CRANBURY TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Middlesex County) — Legislators from New Jersey’s 24th Legislative District voiced strong opposition Wednesday to a proposal that could lead to the use of eminent domain to acquire farmland for affordable housing, calling it an example of what they described as overreach under Democratic control of state government.
The criticism follows a recent move by the all-Democrat Cranbury Township Committee, which added a 175-year-old family farm to a list of potential sites for state-mandated affordable housing development. According to township documents, the land could be acquired by eminent domain if the owners decline to sell voluntarily.
“Stripping an individual of one’s land through eminent domain to build high-density housing for others is the very definition of government overreach,” said Sen. Parker Space. “Taking this family’s farm away is a land grab and most people see it for what it is — government run amok. It also demonstrates the absolute absurdity of mandating an arbitrary number of housing units on municipalities who have no reasonable means to satisfy the government’s extreme quotas.”
New Jersey’s 24th Legislative District includes all of Sussex County and parts of Morris and Warren counties. Republican lawmakers from the district have previously raised concerns over Assembly Bill 4 (A4), legislation passed in 2023 that expanded municipal obligations for low-income housing.
“Government seizing someone’s land — especially farmland that’s been cultivated for generations — for overdevelopment is morally repugnant,” said Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia. “The elected officials in Cranbury should be ashamed of even considering this. Republicans in the Legislature sounded the alarm last year when Governor Murphy and the Democrats pushed through the A4 low-income housing law. We warned that farmland and open space would be snatched up by government-mandated housing. Now, our worst nightmares are coming true.”
The Cranbury plan has not yet resulted in formal action to seize the farm, but the possibility has drawn attention from state lawmakers.
“Forcing farmers off their own land where they are growing fruits and vegetables to meet a totally unrealistic, high-density development is beyond the pale,” said Assemblyman Michael Inganamort. “This is taking the garden right out of the Garden State. Rural communities have long feared that their farms and open space might one day succumb to state-imposed development and seeing that actually start to happen is truly frightening. We vocally opposed Assembly Bill 4 last year, which dramatically increased many towns’ housing obligations, and we will continue to speak out against the forced development of rural New Jersey.”
State officials have not yet commented on the lawmakers’ statements or the situation in Cranbury. The issue remains under local review.
