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.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said forms are included at the end of this chapter.
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.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said forms are included at the end of this chapter.
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.
B. 
Township Engineer.
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.
A. 
Except as provided in Subsection C below, approval of a minor subdivision shall expire 190 days from the date on which the resolution of municipal approval is adopted, unless within such period a plat in conformity with such approval and the provisions of § 45-9A of Chapter 45, Land Use Procedures, or a deed clearly describing the approved minor subdivision is filed by the developer with the County Recording Officer, the Township Engineer and the Township Tax Assessor. Any such plat or deed accepted for such filing shall have been signed by the Chairperson and Secretary of the Land Use Board.
B. 
The zoning requirements and general terms and conditions, whether conditional or otherwise, upon which minor subdivision approval was granted, shall not be changed for a period of two years after the date on which the resolution of minor subdivision approval is adopted; provided that the approved minor subdivision shall have been duly recorded as provided in this section.
C. 
The Land Use Board may extend the one-hundred-ninety-day period for filing a minor subdivision plat or deed pursuant to Subsection D below if the developer proves to the reasonable satisfaction of the Land Use Board that the developer was barred or prevented, directly or indirectly, from filing because of delays in obtaining legally required approvals from other governmental or quasi-governmental entities; and that the developer applied promptly for and diligently pursued the required approvals. The length of the extension shall be equal to the period of delay caused by the wait for the required approvals, as determined by the Land Use Board. The developer may apply for the extension either before or after what would otherwise be the expiration date.
D. 
The Land Use Board shall grant an extension of minor subdivision approval for a period determined by the board but not exceeding one year from what would otherwise be the expiration date, if the developer proves to the reasonable satisfaction of the board that the developer was barred or prevented, directly or indirectly, from proceeding with the development because of delays in obtaining legally required approvals from other governmental entities and that the developer applied promptly for and diligently pursued the required approvals. A developer shall apply for the extension before what would otherwise be the expiration date of minor subdivision approval or the 91st day after the developer receives the last legally required approval from other governmental entities, whichever occurs later.
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.