Opinion

Hutchinson v. Damin Corp.

  • 154 N.J. Super. 360
  • 381 A.2d 405
  • 1977 N.J. Super. LEXIS 1180
Court
New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
Filed
Nov 29, 1977
Status
Published
Cited by
1 cases
Authority
More cited than 51.3%

The opinion

Per Curiam.

Plaintiffs appeal from a summary judgment of the Chancery Division declaring that an access easement over a portion of property owned by plaintiff Miriam B. Hutchinson granted to defendant Washington Savings Bank’s predecessor in title was valid and enforceable and did not require subdivision approval by the Jersey City Planning Board. Judge Kentz held that the easement did not constitute a minor subdivision within the intendment of the Municipal Planning Act (1953) (N. J. S. A. 40:55-1.1 et seq.) Therefore, compliance with the local subdivision ordinance was not required. We agree and affirm.

The legislative design of the Municipal Planning Act (1953) was to confer upon the municipalities the power “to enact comprehensive regulatory standards which would facilitate sound and orderly future municipal growth along preconceived lines, in short a planned community growth.” Lake Intervale Homes, Inc. v. Parsippany-Troy Hills, 28 N. J. 423; 434-435 (1958). The basic motivating objective *363 of the 1953 Act was “to prevent deleterious future development of vacant land.” Beers v. Wayne Tp Bd. of Adj., 75 N. J. Super. 305, 313 (App. Div. 1962).

Subdivision approval is not required until the ownership of a single tract of land is to be divided. Gulf Oil Co. v. Montanaro, 94 N. J. Super. 348, 353-354 (Ch. Div. 1967). The term “subdivision” is defined by the 1953 act to mean “the division of a lot, tract, or parcel of land into two or more lots, sites or other divisions of land for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale or building development; * * The easement herein granted unrestricted use for ingress and egress of motor vehicles of a part of Hutchinson’s property. This limited interest was not a division of the ownership of the property. Consequently, it did not constitute a subdivision thereof within the Municipal Planning Act (1953).

Accordingly, the judgment of the Chancery Division is affirmed.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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