[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Barnegat Light 9-16-2009 by Ord. No. 09-6. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
There is hereby established an Open Space Advisory Committee
of the Borough of Barnegat Light.
A.
Membership and appointment. The Open Space Advisory Committee shall
be composed of seven regular members, plus two alternates, who shall
be appointed by the Mayor, with the advice and consent of the Borough
Council. The Committee shall consist of the Mayor (or the Mayor's
designee in the Mayor's absence), a member of the Barnegat Light
Taxpayers' Association, a member of the Barnegat Light Historical
Society, the Barnegat Light Zoning Officer, and three at-large members,
who need not be full-time residents of the Borough of Barnegat Light.
B.
Alternate members. There shall be two alternate members, who may
participate in all Committee discussions but may not vote except in
the absence or disqualification of a regular member.
C.
Terms; vacancies. The terms of the regular members shall be a one-year
term. The alternate members shall also serve for a one-year term.
All terms shall begin as of January 1 and shall expire on December
31 annually. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term in the
same manner as the initial appointment.
D.
Quorum. The presence of four members shall constitute a quorum.
E.
Removal. Any member of the Committee may, after a public hearing
if requested, be removed for cause by the Mayor and Borough Council.
A.
Officers. The Open Space Advisory Committee shall annually select
from its membership a Chair and Vice Chair to serve as the presiding
officer in the absence of the Chair. The Committee shall also select
a Secretary whose function shall be to manage minutes of the Committee's
meetings.
B.
Meetings. The Open Space Advisory Committee shall be a purely advisory
committee, not subject to the Open Public Meetings Act, NJSA 10:4-6
et seq. Nonetheless, the Committee shall conduct its meetings in public.
The Open Space Advisory Committee shall:
A.
Study and determine the existence of open space properties within
the Borough;
B.
Make recommendations to the Borough Council as to those properties
which it has determined meet the criteria for possible acquisition,
whether in fee, by easement, by means of development rights, or by
other means;
C.
Prepare an open space plan which shall be submitted to the Borough
Council on an annual basis; the plan shall contain an updated inventory
of open space properties and shall include recommendations for the
acquisition or preservation of certain lands within the Borough;
D.
Perform such other advisory duties as are requested by the Mayor
and Borough Council.
There is hereby established a reserve in the Borough's
general capital fund which shall be known and designated as the "Open
Space Conservation Trust Fund."
The Open Space Conservation Trust Fund shall be funded through
the collection of local property taxes in the amount of an additional
one cent per hundred dollars of assessed value on the annual local
property tax levy, as approved by voter referendum in the November
2008 general election. Donations and testamentary bequests made for
the purposes enumerated in N.J.S.A. 40:12-15.7 shall also be deposited
in this fund.
Funds from the Open Space Conservation Trust Fund account may
be used, as directed by the Mayor and Borough Council, solely for
the purchase, including all costs and expenses associated therewith,
of property rights within the Borough of Barnegat Light, including
but not by way of limitation, fee simple acquisitions, easements,
development rights, or any other lesser interest in real estate which
will further the goals of:
A.
Acquisition of lands for recreation and conservation purposes;
B.
Development of lands acquired for recreation and conservation purposes;
C.
Maintenance of lands acquired for recreation and conservation purposes;
D.
Historic preservation of historic properties, structures, facilities,
sites, areas, or objects, and the acquisition of such properties,
structures, facilities, sites, areas, or objects for historic preservation
purposes; and
E.
Payment of debt service on indebtedness issued or incurred by a municipality
for any of the purposes set forth in this section.
Any property rights acquired through or with the use of the
Open Space Conservation Trust Fund shall not be sold or conveyed by
the Borough unless or until authorized by subsequent public referendum
of the voters of the Borough of Barnegat Light, as provided by law.
