Mr. Saint-Jean

I am in receipt of your Open Public Records Request dated July 16, 2020
for the following; my response is in bold.

I am requesting a current list of records for each of the following be
delivered via e-mail: 

1) All abandoned/vacant residential properties (Property Class 2)
2) All condemned properties    
3) All residential properties with delinquent taxes - file attached
4) All residential properties for which a Lis Pendens notice has been
filed or that are currently in probate 

5) All properties that are absentee-owned   
6) All properties with delinquent water and sewer which date back up to 1
year, including amounts owed  - file attached   
7) All properties currently listed with water shut-off notice

8) All properties with code violations, including the type of violation   
9) All properties with notices of abatement   

The remaining unanswered requests are not a request for a government
record.  OPRA does not require record custodians to conduct research among
its records for a requestor and correlate data from various government
records in the custodian's possession.( if such information or records
exist) OPRA only allows requests for records, not requests for
information, and therefore, it is incumbent on the requestor to perform
any correlations and analysis it may desire..

Such an open-ended demand required the records custodian to manually
search through all of the Board’s files, analyze, compile and collate the
information which might contained therein.   Further, once the specific
records were identified, the records custodian would then be required to
evaluate, sort out, and determine the documents to be produced and those
otherwise exempted. While OPRA provides significant access to governmental
records, your request is not a proper one as it is broad-based demand for
research and analysis not a public records request.

Please be advised that N.J.S.A. 47:1A-6 provides that a person who is
denied access to a government record by the custodian of the record, at
the option of the requestor, may institute a proceeding to challenge the
custodian's decision by filing an action in Superior Court which shall be
heard in the vicinage where it is filed by a Superior Court Judge who has
been designated to hear such cases because of that judge's knowledge and
expertise in matters relating to access to government records; or in lieu
of filing an action in Superior Court, file a complaint with the
Government Records Council established pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-7.

The right to institute any proceeding shall be solely that of the
requestor. Any such proceeding shall proceed in a summary or expedited
manner. The public agency shall have the burden of proving that the denial
of access is authorized by law. If it is determined that access has been
improperly denied, the court or agency head shall order that access be
allowed. A requestor who prevails in any proceeding shall be entitled to a
reasonable attorney's fee.

 Very truly yours

Janine Gillis

Janine Gillis, RMC, CMR
Borough Clerk
Assistant Borough Administrator
Certified Municipal Registrar
Borough of Spring Lake Heights
555 Brighton Avenue
Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey  07762
 
732.449.3500 phone
732.449.3535 fax

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