Paulsboro board designates three blighted parcels as condemnation-area candidates; owner says she is working to clear fire-damaged property

The Land Use Board on June 3 designated three properties as a condemnation area in need of redevelopment, a legal classification the Solicitor said starts a process that can lead to municipal acquisition if unsafe conditions continue. Borough Solicitor Michael Maley told the board the condemnation designation gives the borough the ability to take property through an established process "if the property continues to become a safety hazard, the buildings are substandard, unsanitary, dilapidated, or obsolescent," and that the process is intended to address ongoing public-safety and blight issues.

The properties reviewed were 1035 Penn Line Road (built 1930; demolished April 2025; abandoned since 2017; municipal liens of roughly $103,000; current lot value reported at $12,000), 1510 S. Delaware Street (fire damaged in 2021; owner Patrick Roche died in 2021; the estate is now with daughter Holly Lutner), and 1508–1510 S. Commerce Street (vacant since 2014; municipal liens about $28,000; assessed at $145,500). Holly Lutner of 1515 S. Delaware Street told the board that 1510 S. Delaware is her family home and that she has been in touch with the Code Office and hired a contractor (Imperial, owned by Mr. Esposito) to remove the burned structure; she said a dumpster is scheduled to arrive. The board adopted Resolution PB-19-2025 to designate the parcels; Solicitor Maley emphasized the borough's preference not to take ownership, saying the designation is intended to spur remediation by owners before the borough would proceed to acquire property.