32:8-4. Condemnation of real property; entry upon lands; municipal consents and conveyances; "real property" defined

ARTICLE III.

If for any of its authorized purposes (including temporary purposes) the commission shall find it necessary or convenient to acquire for public use any real property in the state of New Jersey or the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, whether for immediate or future use, the commission may, by resolution, determine to acquire such property by a fee simple absolute or a lesser interest, and the said determination shall not be affected by the fact that such property has theretofore been taken for or is then devoted to a public use, but the public use in the hands or under the control of the commission shall be deemed superior to the public use in the hands or under the control of any other person, association, or corporation.

If the commission is unable to agree with the owner or owners thereof upon terms for the acquisition of any such real property, in the state of New Jersey, for any reason whatsoever, then the commission may acquire such property by the exercise of the right of eminent domain, in the manner provided by an act entitled "An act authorizing the acquisition and maintaining by the state of New Jersey, in conjunction with the state of Pennsylvania, of toll bridges across the Delaware river, and providing for free travel across the same," approved the first day of April, one thousand nine hundred and twelve (chapter two hundred ninety-seven), and the various acts amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto, relating to the acquisition of interstate toll bridges over the Delaware river.

If the commission is unable to agree with the owner or owners thereof upon terms for the acquisition of any such real property, in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for any reason whatsoever, then the commission may acquire such real property by the exercise of the right of eminent domain, in the manner provided by the act approved the eighth day of May, one thousand nine hundred and nineteen (pamphlet laws, one hundred forty-eight), entitled "An act providing for the joint acquisition and maintenance by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the state of New Jersey of certain toll bridges over the Delaware river," and the acts amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto, relating to the acquisition of interstate toll bridges over the Delaware river.

The power of the commission to acquire real property by condemnation or the exercise of the power of eminent domain in the state of New Jersey and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall be a continuing power and no exercise thereof shall be deemed to exhaust it.

The commission and its duly authorized agents and employees may enter upon any land, in the state of New Jersey or the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for the purpose of making such surveys, maps, or other examinations thereof as it may deem necessary or convenient for its authorized purposes.

However, anything to the contrary contained in this compact notwithstanding, no property, now or hereafter vested in or held by any county, city, borough, village, township or other municipality, shall be taken by the commission without the consent of such municipality, unless expressly authorized so to do by the state or commonwealth in which such municipality is located. All counties, cities, boroughs, villages, townships and other municipalities, and all public agencies and commissions of the state of New Jersey and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, are hereby authorized and empowered to grant and convey to the commission upon its request, but not otherwise, upon reasonable terms and conditions, any real property which may be necessary or convenient to the effectuation of its authorized purposes, including real property already devoted to public use.

The state of New Jersey and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby consent to the use and occupation by the commission of any real property of the said two states, or of either of them, which may be or become necessary or convenient to the effectuation of the authorized purposes of the commission, including lands lying under water and lands already devoted to public use.

The term "real property" as used in this compact includes lands, structures, franchises, and interests in land, including lands under water and riparian rights, and any and all things and rights usually included within the said term, and includes not only fees simple and absolute, but also any and all lesser interests, such as easements, rights of way, uses, leases, licenses, and all other incorporated [incorporeal] hereditaments and every estate, interest or right, legal or equitable, including terms of years and liens thereon by way of judgments, mortgages, or otherwise, and also claims for damage to real estate.