OPRA Request—Certificates
Dear Morris Plains Borough,
*This request is intended for the Building Department or the appropriate custodian of the requested records. If you are not the correct recipient, please forward this request to the appropriate department or individual that holds these records.
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
*Certificates of Occupancy
*Certificates of Continued Occupancy
*Certificates of Approval
*Certificates of Compliance
*Please provide records for all submissions made within the last 60 days, limited to commercial properties or spaces, in a spreadsheet or CSV format.
You are the best.
Yours faithfully,
Salem
Dear Morris Plains Borough,
I apologize for not including this information in my original request.
I am writing to add the following disclosures regarding my recent OPRA request:
1. I have not been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
2. I intend to use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
3. I am not seeking these records in connection with a legal proceeding.
4. I am not requesting these records under common law.
Thank you for your attention.
Yours faithfully,
Salem
PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHED RESPONSE OF THE BOROUGH CLERK OF THE BOROUGH OF MORRIS PLAINS, DATED May 29, 2025, WHICH IS ANNEXED HERETO AND INCORPORATED HEREIN.
M. Salem,
Your request seeks information that is overly broad and requires clarifications as it does not identify specific government records. As such, your request is an invalid OPRA request and is denied. When a request is “complex” because it fails to specifically identify the documents sought, then that request is not “encompassed” by OPRA. See New Jersey Builders Association v. New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing, 390 N.J. Super. 166, 180 (App. Div. 2007). A proper request under OPRA must identify with reasonable clarity those documents that are desired, and a party cannot satisfy this requirement simply by requesting all of an agency’s documents. See Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005). Custodians are not required to conduct research or create new records in response to an OPRA request.
Rosanne Denman, RMC, CMR
Borough Clerk
973-538-2224
Morris Plains Borough
531 Speedwell Ave