Barker's Trailer Court, Inc. v. Borough of Lakehurst

853 A.2d 348, 371 N.J. Super. 432, 2004 N.J. Super. LEXIS 340
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedApril 12, 2004
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 853 A.2d 348 (Barker's Trailer Court, Inc. v. Borough of Lakehurst) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barker's Trailer Court, Inc. v. Borough of Lakehurst, 853 A.2d 348, 371 N.J. Super. 432, 2004 N.J. Super. LEXIS 340 (N.J. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

SERPENTELLI, A.J.S.C.

In this Action in Lieu of Prerogative Writs, the plaintiff, Barker’s Trailer Court, Inc. (hereinafter “plaintiff’ or “Barker’s”), seeks to compel the Borough of Lakehurst (hereinafter “defendant,” “Borough” or “Lakehurst”) to provide garbage collection for its mobile home court. Alternatively, the plaintiff seeks reimbursement from the defendant for the cost incurred for private collection. This case presents a novel issue not addressed by any controlling New Jersey authority.

Barker’s operates a mobile home park within the Borough. It rents approximately 46 spaces1 for placement thereon of manufactured homes licensed pursuant to Chapter 10 of the Motor Vehicle Laws. N.J.S.A. 39:10-1 to -37. By letter dated May 3, 2002, the plaintiff requested that the Borough commence collection of all solid waste generated in the mobile home park or, alternatively, reimburse the plaintiff for the cost of such services. Lakehurst determined that it was not required either to collect the refuse or to make reimbursement. As a result, this suit followed.

The plaintiff posits three justifications for its claimed entitlement to garbage collection or reimbursement for the cost thereof. First, it asserts that it is a “qualified private community” within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 40:67-23.2(e), and thus it is entitled to garbage collection pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:67-23.3(a)(3). Second, Barker’s contends that the Borough’s recent imposition of a municipal service fee on mobile home owners reinforces the presumption that the plaintiff is entitled to collection of solid waste. Third, the plaintiff argues that the defendant’s failure to provide for collection and disposal of waste from mobile home parks is [437]*437violative of the plaintiffs equal protection rights. The court will consider each argument in the order presented.

A. Is Barker’s a “qualified private community” within the meaning oi N.J.S.A. 40:67-23.2(e)?

The plaintiff contends that it is a “qualified private community” as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:67-23.2(e), which provides:

“Qualified private community” means a residential condominium, cooperative, fee simple community, or horizontal property regime, the residents of which do not receive any tax abatement or tax exemption related to its construction, comprised of a community trust or other trust device, condominium association, homeowners’ association, or council of eoowners, wherein the cost of maintaining roads and streets and providing essential services is paid for by a not-for-profit entity consisting exclusively of unit owners within the community. No apartment building or garden apartment complex owned by an individual or entity that receives monthly rental payments from tenants who occupy the premises shall be considered a qualified private community.

Barker’s acknowledges that it could not be deemed a condominium or fee simple community within the meaning of the quoted section. However, the plaintiff argues that its mobile home park could be considered a cooperative or a horizontal property regime.

Yet, the plaintiff is met with the express definitions of both terms which do not seem to make room for the plaintiffs use. N.J.S.A. 40:67-23.2(b) defines a “cooperative” as:

[A] housing corporation or association wherein the holder of a share or membership interest in the corporation or association is entitled to possess and occupy, for dwelling purposes, a house, apartment, or other unit of housing owned by the corporation or association, or to purchase a unit of housing constructed or erected by the corporation or association.

As noted at the outset, Barker’s owns the land within the park and rents pads therein to mobile home owners. There is no entity whose members hold shares or membership interests that entitle them to possess mobile home units owned by the entity, or to purchase a unit of housing constructed by it.

Equally, the plaintiff does not fit into the definition of a “horizontal property regime.” N.J.S.A. 46:8A-2(e) defines a horizontal property regime as “the form of ownership of real property which [438]*438consists of the building or buildings, common elements and other property described in the master deed creating and establishing the same.” On the face of it, the statute could not include the mobile home park. There is no master deed. The pad occupants have no ownership interest in the land; they are essentially nothing more than tenants.

There are two legislative enactments governing condominium ownership in the State. The Horizontal Property Act, N.J.S.A. 46:8A-1 to -28, was passed in 1963, and subsequently the Condominium Act, N.J.S.A. 46:8B-1 to -38, was adopted in 1969. The latter provided an updated method of ownership and administration for that form of housing but is generically similar to ownership under the Horizontal Property Act.

The plaintiff has already conceded that it does not qualify as a “condominium” as defined in N.J.S.A. 46:8B-3(h). Its brief cites the definition of “condominium,” noting that it is a form of ownership under a master deed. The same is true of a “horizontal property regime” under N.J.S.A. 46:8A-2. In short, there is no similarity between either a cooperative or a horizontal property regime and the plaintiff’s mobile home park.

B. Does the defendant’s recent imposition of a municipal service fee reinforce a presumption that the plaintiff is entitled to the collection and disposal of waste or reimbursement for the cost of those services?

Next, the plaintiff contends that the defendant’s promulgation of a municipal service fee provides additional justification for requiring Lakehurst to collect Barker’s garbage. The plaintiff concedes that N.J.S.A. 54:4-1.6 empowers the Borough to impose an annual municipal service fee on manufactured homes located in a mobile home park. Barker’s has provided the court with a copy of Chapter XVIII of the Borough Code that provides a formula to calculate the fee. The amount charged is reviewed on an annual basis and changed by resolution. The Code recites that the fee defrays the cost of services provided or paid for by the municipali[439]*439ty or any other appropriate taxing authority for the park tenants. As part of the calculation, the fee is reduced by taxes which are levied against the mobile home park land and improvements pursuant to Title 54 of the New Jersey statutes.

The plaintiffs trial brief argues that the fee completely offsets the reasonable value of any services provided by the municipality. There are no proofs to that effect. In fact, the defendant asserts that the Borough presently provides police protection, public works, including maintenance of local roads, and other municipal services which inure to the benefit of the tenants. The defendant also contends that the taxes presently paid by Barker’s hardly offset the cost involved in providing these services so that the fee is merely in addition to the taxes paid. The facts elicited at trial, which are discussed hereafter, fully support the Borough’s claims, and even the plaintiffs witness seemed to acknowledge that the fee did not include the cost of garbage collection.

C. Defendant’s failure to provide solid waste collection for the plaintiffs mobile home park violates the equal protection clause.

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853 A.2d 348, 371 N.J. Super. 432, 2004 N.J. Super. LEXIS 340, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barkers-trailer-court-inc-v-borough-of-lakehurst-njsuperctappdiv-2004.