There is hereby established in the
Township of East Amwell an advisory committee known as the Ringoes
Village Advisory Committee.
As used in this chapter, the following
terms have the following meanings:
RINGOES VILLAGE
The area within East Amwell Township designated as the "Village
District" on the July 2006 version of the Zoning Map of East Amwell
Township.
RINGOES VILLAGE BUSINESS OWNER
An individual who owns or co-owns, directly or through an
entity, actively manages and is regularly present at a business located
within the Ringoes Village and open to the public, or one or more
commercial or residential rental properties located within the Ringoes
Village.
The Ringoes Village Advisory Committee
will consist of the following members, each of whom will be appointed
by the Mayor:
A. Regular members. Seven regular members,
each of whom will be a voting member.
B. Youth members. Up to two youth members,
who must be between 15 and 18 years old at the time of their appointment,
each of whom will be a nonvoting member.
At each annual reorganization meeting
of the Ringoes Village Advisory Committee, the regular members of
the Committee will elect, by a majority vote, a Chairperson and a
Vice-Chairperson. There is no limit on the number of times, consecutively
or nonconsecutively, that a person may serve as Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson.
The Ringoes Village Advisory Committee
will hold public meetings on a regular basis.
A quorum of the Ringoes Village Advisory
Committee will consist of at least four regular members; provided,
however, that if on any date the total number of regular members on
the Ringoes Village Advisory Committee is less than seven, then a
quorum of the Ringoes Village Advisory Committee on that date will
consist of at least a majority of the actual number of regular members
on the Committee on that date. Approval of any matter will require
the affirmative vote of a majority of a quorum.
The Mayor will have the right to
remove any regular member or youth member of the Ringoes Village Advisory
Committee for cause. Absent a clear showing of bad faith, a determination
by the Mayor that there was cause for removal shall be conclusive
and final. It is expected that each regular member will regularly
attend the meetings of the Ringoes Village Advisory Committee. Unexcused
absence from three or more of the regularly scheduled meetings in
any calendar year is grounds for removal and replacement by the Mayor.
Each year, the Ringoes Village Advisory
Committee will prepare an annual budget, and will submit that budget
to the Township Committee for its approval. The budget may, but will
not be required to, include costs of obtaining legal advice, or advice
from a municipal planner or other qualified professionals, regarding
proposals for improving the Ringoes Village, costs of seeking and
applying for grants to improve the Ringoes Village, and costs of an
administrator for the Ringoes Village Advisory Committee. Approval
of any such budget will be in the sole discretion of the Township
Committee. The Township Committee will have the right to modify any
budget that is proposed by the Ringoes Village Advisory Committee.
No member of the Ringoes Village
Advisory Committee will receive any compensation for serving on the
Committee.
Each year, the Mayor will appoint
one member of the Township Committee as its liaison to the Ringoes
Village Advisory Committee, the Planning Board Chairperson will appoint
one member of the Planning Board as its liaison to the Ringoes Village
Advisory Committee, and if East Amwell Township has a Zoning Board
of Adjustment, the Zoning Board of Adjustment Chairperson will appoint
one member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment as its liaison to the
Ringoes Village Advisory Committee. Each other committee and board
in the Township will have the right, but not any obligation, to appoint
a liaison to the Ringoes Village Advisory Committee. No liaison will
have any voting rights on the Ringoes Village Advisory Committee.
The purpose of the Ringoes Village
Advisory Committee is to carefully study the Ringoes Village and identify
practical and economically viable ways to improve the Ringoes Village,
including, but not limited to:
A. Improving the aesthetic appearance of the
Ringoes Village, focusing in particular on the properties within the
Ringoes Village that have fallen into extreme disrepair.
B. Determining whether it is desirable to
increase commercial activity within the Ringoes Village and, if it
is, whether the focus should be on certain type of businesses, such
as antique shops and art galleries, whether the increased commercial
activity will require more parking than is currently available in
the Ringoes Village, whether existing residences in the Ringoes Village
should be converted to commercial use, whether the infrastructure
of the Ringoes Village, particularly the septic systems, can accommodate
the increased commercial activity and whether, in connection with
any of the foregoing, the permitted uses within the Ringoes Village
should be changed.
C. Determining whether it is desirable to
convert any of the existing residences in the Ringoes Village to affordable
housing, either rental or owner-occupied, to assist the Township in
satisfying its affordable housing obligations.
D. Examining the success, economically and
otherwise, of the existing multi-family housing and affordable housing
in the Ringoes Village.
E. Determining whether there are ways to improve
pedestrian, vehicular and bicycle circulation within the Ringoes Village.
F. Determining whether to preserve any of
the historic structures within the Ringoes Village.
G. Determining whether government or private
grants are available to assist with the funding of any recommendations.
H. Determining whether there are economically
viable ways for East Amwell Township to assist with the funding of
any recommendations.
The Ringoes Village Advisory Committee
will report directly to the Township Committee. The Ringoes Village
Advisory Committee is solely an advisory committee and therefore will
not have any legislative or judicial authority or enforcement powers.