Politicians Try To Forcibly Seize 160-Year-Old Church Property To Build Public Park

By User:Jimmypitt1234 – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22491406

Council members from a New Jersey town voted in late April to forcibly acquire the 11-acre campus of Christ Episcopal Church through eminent domain.

Christ Episcopal Church is not for sale, but that hasn’t stopped Toms River’s elected council members from forcibly seizing or forcing the sale of the land to the town so they can build two parks, according to Episcopal News Service. The move by the town council comes as the church has fought to open a 17-bed homeless shelter.

The town did not allegedly tell the church of the proposed vote. “The Rev. Lisa A. Hoffman, Christ Church’s rector, said that a Toms River resident alerted a parishioner to the addition of the proposed eminent domain ordinance to the meeting’s agenda, and that parishioner contacted Hoffman the evening before the meeting,” the outlet wrote.

‘Shocking And Surprising And Very Disappointing’

“It’s just really shocking and surprising and very disappointing,” Hoffman told the outlet. “There’s a lot of anger and frustration going on.”

A vote on the shelter plan will be held by the Zoning Board of Adjustment on May 22. Just six days later, on May 28, the town council will take public comment on the land-seizure ordinance and a final decision will be made. (READ MORE: TREND ALERT: Young Americans Are Going Red And Refusing To Look Back)

The region is apparently undergoing a significant homeless crisis. Toms River Mayor Daniel Rodrick has recently been accused of being “highly critical of the presence of people experiencing homelessness,” and going so far as to suggest that Ocean County is “dumping” homeless people in the town.

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