Newark v. West Milford Township

CONLEY, J.T.C.

In these proceedings the City of Newark seeks a reduction in the local property tax assessments on approximately 18,000 acres of land the city owns in West Milford Township, Passaic County. Essentially undeveloped, the land comprises much of the watershed that feeds Newark’s reservoirs and ultimately provides water to consumers in the city. The assessments are at issue for 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1983. In the aggregate the assessments for all the blocks and lots involved is very close to $20,000,000 for each year.1

The Supreme Court dealt with earlier assessments on the…