[Adopted 8-8-1988 by Ord. No. 198-1988 (Ch. 9 of the 1993
Code)]
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:56A-1 et seq., the Township Committee
considers it to be a need in the interest of the public health, safety
and welfare that an environmental commission be established for the
protection, development or use of natural resources, including water
resources, located within the territorial limits of the Township of
Buena Vista; and, therefore, there is hereby created an environmental
commission which shall be known as the "Environmental Commission of
Buena Vista Township."
[Amended 10-9-2012 by Ord. No. 4-2012]
The function of said Environmental Commission shall be limited
to advising the Planning Board, the Township Committee and all subsidiary
agencies thereof on the areas as hereinafter delineated and receiving
and disseminating information on said issues and securing federal
and state funds for said purposes. Said Commission shall not have
any power whatsoever to legislate or make final determinations on
any pending subdivisions or other similar applications but shall be
permitted to review the same for the purposes of making recommendations
to the appropriate Township agencies when so requested.
Said Environmental Commission shall consist of seven members,
to be appointed by the Chairman of the Township Committee (Mayor),
one of whom shall also be a member of the Municipal Planning Board
and all of whom shall be residents of the Township of Buena Vista.
The Planning Board member of said Commission shall be appointed for
a term not to exceed the remainder of his term on the Planning Board.
The members shall serve without compensation. The Mayor shall designate
one of the members to serve as Chairman and presiding officer of the
Commission. The terms of office of the Commissioners shall be designated
by the Mayor in the making of his appointments so that the terms of
approximately 1/3 of the members will expire each year, and their
successors shall be appointed for terms of three years and until the
appointment and qualification of their successors. The Mayor or Township
Committee of Buena Vista Township may remove any member of the Commission
for cause on written charges served upon the member and after a hearing
thereon at which the member shall be entitled to be heard in person
or by counsel. A vacancy on the Commission occurring otherwise than
by expiration of a term shall be filled for the unexpired term in
the same manner as an original appointment. The powers of appointment
and removal hereby accorded to the Mayor shall be vested in the elected
official so designated or, where there is a vacancy in the office
of Mayor, in his duly designated Acting Mayor.
The creation of said Commission is for the following purposes:
A.
To
promote the conservation and development of the environmental quality
of the Township of Buena Vista.
B.
To
plan, implement and inform the public about local conservation programs.
C.
To
compile and keep an index of all open areas, publicly or privately
owned, including open marshlands, swamps and other wetlands.
D.
To
conduct research into the possible use of the open areas and the preservation
or protection of their resources, such as air and water.
E.
To
recommend to the Planning Board and Board of Adjustment plans and
programs for inclusion in a Municipal Master Plan and the development
and use of such areas.
F.
To
inform the public of ways and means of promotion and encouraging the
betterment of the quality of our environment.
G.
To
identify all scenic, historic, park and recreation sites and make
recommendations for their protection and improvement.
H.
To
make recommendations as to legislation for control of excavation and
soil erosion and other activities affecting the landscape.
I.
To
review all proposed road locations and subdivisions for their environmental
impact when requested to do so by the governing body, Planning Board,
Zoning Board of Adjustment or other Township agencies.
J.
To
promote good architectural and landscape design for all developments
with adequate provisions for park and green areas therein.
K.
To
manage donated or purchased lands for conservation purposes and operate
conservation programs.
L.
To
act as the coordinating agency of the community on conservation matters
and a liaison between local conservation needs and regional, state
and federal agencies administering to those needs.
All members of the Township of Buena Vista Environmental Commission
shall serve during their terms in office without any compensation.
The Commission may, subject to the approval of the Committee
(which approval must be in the form of a 2/3 vote in the affirmative
of the entire membership of the Township Committee), acquire property,
both real and personal, in the name of the Township of Buena Vista
by gift, purchase, grant, bequest, devise or lease for any of its
purposes and shall administer the same for such purposes, subject
to the terms of the conveyance or gift. Such acquisition may be to
acquire the fee or any lesser interest, development, right, easement
(including conservation easements), covenants or other contractual
right (including a conveyance on conditions or with limitations or
reversions) as may be necessary to acquire, maintain, improve, protect,
limit the future use of or otherwise conserve and protect and properly
utilize open spaces and other land or water areas in the Township
of Buena Vista.
The Environmental Commission may, subject to the approval of
the Township Committee (2/3 vote of the entire membership of the Township
Committee required), have control of lands acquired for the purposes
herein stated and may adopt suitable rules and regulations for the
use thereof and the conduct of all persons while on or using the same.
[Amended 10-9-2012 by Ord. No. 4-2012]
The Commission shall keep records of its meetings and activities
and shall make a annual report on or before the first day of January
and on or before the first day of July and submit the same to the
Township Committee, which report shall be comprehensive and detailed
governing operations, receipts, disbursements and expenditures for
the full year.
The Mayor[1] shall designate one of the members to serve as Chairman
and presiding officer of the Commission. Said Commission is authorized
to adopt bylaws governing the procedural operations of said Commission.
[1]
Editor's Note: The name of the Mayor, John Krokos, was
deleted at time of publication of this ordinance.
The Township Committee of the Township of Buena Vista may remove
any member of the Commission for cause on written charges served upon
the member and after a fair and impartial hearing thereon, at which
the member shall be entitled to be heard in person or by counsel.
A vote of two-thirds of the entire membership shall be needed to remove
any members, and no member shall be removed for political reasons.
The Township Committee may appropriate funds for the expenses
incurred by the Environmental Commission. But under no circumstances
shall any expenses exceed the limits of the funds appropriated to
it.
The Commission may appoint a Secretary or Clerk and such number
of custodians, supervisors and assistants for the lands acquired for
the uses and purposes herein mentioned as it shall think necessary,
but the salaries of all such clerks, custodians, supervisors and assistants
shall be fixed and determined by the Township Committee (which determination
must be in the form of a two-thirds vote in the affirmative of the
entire membership of the Township Committee).
