Any owner of land wishing to subdivide or resubdivide land within the Township, wherein such subdivision meets, or appears to meet, the definition as contained in this chapter for minor subdivision, shall file an original and 18 copies of a minor subdivision application together with 18 copies of the proposed minor subdivision plat, together with a fee as set forth in Article
VIII of Chapter
45, Land Use Procedures. All development applications shall be completed in accordance with the attached checklist Forms A through J.
If approved as a complete application for a minor subdivision
by action of the Land Use Board, a notation to that effect shall be
made on the minor subdivision plat. The Land Use Board may condition
such approval on terms insuring the provisions of improvements pursuant
to Sections 29, 29.1, 29.2, and 41 of the Municipal Land Use Law,
C. 291, P.L. 1975, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. The Land Use Board Chairperson
and Land Use Board Secretary shall then affix their signatures on
the plat upon receipt of the report of the County Planning Board review
or upon the expiration of the time in which the county may make such
a report as hereinafter set forth.
Applications made pursuant to the provisions of the Municipal
Land Use Law, particularly by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-7, the definition of
subdivision, exception number (1), which provides for: divisions of
land found by the Land Use Board or Subdivision Committee thereof
appointed by the chairman to be for agricultural purposes where all
resulting parcels are five acres or larger in size, shall require
the following procedures, submittals and proofs:
A. A sketch plat of the proposed agriculturally exempt division shall be prepared and 18 copies thereof provided to the Land Use Board Secretary, accompanied by an application fee as set forth in Article
VIII of Chapter
45, Land Use Procedures. The sketch plat shall be completed in accordance with the attached checklist Forms A through J.
B. For purposes of notice of the application in accordance with N.J.S.A.40:55D-12, the application shall comply with the notice requirements of Chapter
45, Land Use Procedures, and shall be treated as a minor subdivision for notice requirements, only.
C. A hearing shall be held upon the application upon proper, timely
and adequate notice thereof in accordance with Chapter XI, Land Use
Procedures, in the presence of the applicant who shall testify, under
oath, as to the intent and purpose of the proposed agriculturally
exempt division and, particularly, as to what, if any, practical difficulty
or undue hardship would attend the submission and review of the application
as a conventional (non-agriculturally exempt) subdivision (minor or
major) and shall further demonstrate that one or more of the following
criteria will be met by the proposed agriculturally exempt division:
(1) The division will enable the conveyance and/or exchange of lands
between adjoining property owners, whose properties are actively devoted
to agricultural or horticultural purposes and qualify for and are,
in fact, assessed under the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964.
(2) The division is for the purpose of modifying, shifting and/or relocating
common boundary lines between adjoining parcels which are actively
devoted to agricultural or horticultural purposes and qualify for
and are, in fact, assessed under the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964.
(3) The division is for the purpose of providing access for agricultural-only
(and not residential or any other forms of development) purposes to
a parcel which does not presently have frontage upon an existing approved
and improved public street and has no access easement attending same,
the applicant being required to demonstrate why a conventional access
easement is not sufficient for the intended purposes.
(4) The division is for estate planning purposes, where the applicant,
who shall be the owner of the subject property, clearly demonstrates
to the Land Use Board that divisions of lands by testamentary or intestate
provisions, as specifically enabled by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-7, the definition
of a subdivision, exception number (2), does not provide an adequate
remedy; provided, however, that any such division approved by the
Land Use Board for these purposes shall be perfected by deed of conveyance
from the applicant/property owner to his heirs at law or next of kin,
which deed shall specifically contain a prohibition against the obtaining
of a building permit for the construction of a residence or any other
nonagricultural structure (barns, silos etc., shall be permitted to
be constructed) during the lifetime of the applicant.
(5) All other divisions represented by the applicant to be for agricultural
purposes provided the resultant parcels are five acres or larger in
size and are deed restricted against nonagricultural uses and structures,
naming the Township of Fredon, in the County of Sussex, as a third-party
beneficiary of such deed restrictions having the right, but not the
obligation, to enforce same.
D. All divisions found by the Land Use Board in accordance with the
foregoing to be agriculturally exempt divisions shall be perfected
as in the case of a minor subdivision pursuant to the provisions of
the Municipal Land Use Law, particularly N.J.S.A. 40:55D-47(d).
E. In administering applications for agricultural exemption determination,
the Land Use Board shall compare the intent and purpose of the division
proposal with those which attend conventional (nonexempt) subdivisions
and determine what, if any, distinctions exist between the two. In
the event the applicant fails to satisfy the Land Use Board as to
the benefits accruing to the applicant and/or avoidance of detriment
to the applicant, by engaging in an agriculturally exempt division
(as opposed to a conventional subdivision), the Land Use Board shall
determine the application not to be exempt and shall enter a finding
and a memorializing resolution to that effect, whereupon the applicant
shall be free to resubmit same as a conventional (nonexempt) subdivision.
F. All agricultural exempt divisions approved by the Land Use Board shall be perfected by deed in accordance with Subsection
D above, which deed shall contain a covenant and restriction against the issuance of any building permit for a residence or any other nonagricultural structure unless and until a conventional (nonexempt) subdivision application is submitted to, reviewed and approved by the Land Use Board. The Township of Fredon, in the County of Sussex, shall be made a third-party beneficiary of such deed covenant and restriction, thereby having the right, but not the obligation, to enforce same by any legal or equitable means.
Upon the applicant's filing an application for a minor
subdivision with the Land Use Board Secretary, the applicant shall
immediately file a copy of his/her subdivision application with the
County Planning Board in accordance with its requirements. Any approval
granted by the Land Use Board shall be conditioned upon the approval
of the application by the Sussex County Planning Board or upon a written
determination by said Board that it has no jurisdiction thereof.
The Secretary of the Land Use Board shall forward one copy to
each of the following:
A. Township Planning Consultant.
C. Township Environmental Commission.
D. Such other Township, county or state officials as directed by the
Land Use Board.
E. If the property which is the subject of the development application
lies within 200 feet of a municipal boundary, a copy of the plat shall
be sent by the Land Use Board Secretary to the Secretary of the Planning
Board of the adjoining municipality. A written statement shall be
requested from the adjoining municipality indicating whether the proposed
subdivision in the Township of Fredon is also subject to the joint
jurisdiction of that adjoining municipality and whether or not a formal
application and review is required or requested by the adjoining municipality.
The Secretary of the Planning Board of the adjoining municipality
shall be informed of the date of the public hearing and any communications
received prior to this date shall be considered in relation to the
approval or disapproval of the plan.
If a plat is not approved as a minor subdivision, a notation
to that effect shall be made on the plat which will be returned to
the subdivider for compliance with the procedures applicable to a
major subdivision as set forth in this chapter.