[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council
of the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills by Ord. No. 89:9. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
There is hereby established an Open Space Committee
which shall consist of seven members and whose terms and the powers
of the Committee are hereinafter set forth.
[Amended by Ord. No. 92:2]
A.
The Mayor and the member of the Township Council appointed
to the Open Space Committee shall have terms which shall correspond
with the term of their respective elective offices.
B.
The Administrative Officer shall serve as a member
of the Open Space Committee as long as he or she is employed by the
Township in the capacity of Township Administrative Officer.
C.
One of the citizens of the Township appointed by the
Mayor and one appointed by the Township Council and so designated
by the Mayor and Township Council at the time of appointment shall
have a term of three years.
D.
One of the citizens of the Township appointed by the
Mayor and one appointed by the Township Council and so designated
by the Mayor and Township Council at the time of appointment shall
have a term of two years.
A.
The Open Space Committee shall make an initial determination
of which parcels of land should be acquired in fee and/or those parcels
of land from which the Township should acquire development rights
only.
B.
The Open Space Committee shall submit to the Township
Council a prioritized list of properties to be acquired and/or properties
from which development rights should be acquired. The Township Council
shall, within 45 days, either approve, disapprove, or modify the list
as submitted and state the amount of funds that the Council shall
make available for such acquisition. If the Township Council shall
fail to act affirmatively by either approving, disapproving or modifying
the list submitted by the Open Space Committee within 45 days after
submission, the list shall be deemed approved as submitted by the
Committee in its entirety with full financial authorization.
C.
After approval of the list referred to in Subsections A and B above, the Township may proceed to acquire, by gift, purchase or by eminent domain proceedings pursuant to N.J.S.A. 20:3-1 et seq., the parcels as prioritized on the list, within the financial constraints established by the Township Council.
D.
The Open Space Committee may employ and/or contract
for professional services by legal counsel, appraisers and staff as
it may deem necessary subject to budget appropriation and Township
Council passage of professional services resolutions establishing
the rates of compensation to be paid.
E.
The Open Space Committee shall hold public meetings,
which public meetings shall be held in accordance with the Open Public
Meetings Act, and the Committee shall give appropriate notification
of said meetings.
F.
The Mayor shall serve as Chairman of the Open Space
Committee, and the Open Space Committee shall select from among the
four citizen members a Vice Chairman to serve as a presiding officer
in the absence of the Chairman. The Committee shall also select a
Secretary whose function shall be to maintain minutes of the Committee's
meeting and records of the proceedings of the Committee.
The Open Space Committee shall hold its initial
organization meeting shortly after this chapter takes effect.
[Amended by Ord. No. 89:60; 5-22-2007 by Ord. No. 2007:12; 5-15-2012 by Ord. No. 2012:16]
There is hereby established an account that shall be known and
designated as the "Municipal Open Space, Recreation, Floodplain Protection,
and Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund," which shall be
maintained in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:4-1, N.J.S.A. 40A:5-1,
and all applicable law. Funds from the Municipal Open Space, Recreation,
Floodplain Protection, and Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust
Fund may, as directed by the governing body of the Township, be utilized
for:
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.
Acquisition
of farmland for farmland preservation purposes;
E.
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;
G.
Blue Acres
projects.
[Amended 5-22-2007 by Ord. No. 2007:12; 5-15-2012 by Ord. No. 2012:16]
A.
The Municipal
Open Space, Recreation, Floodplain Protection, and Farmland and Historic
Preservation Trust Fund shall be funded through the dedication of
an amount of less than $0.02 per $100 of assessed valuation of each
annual tax levy. The Municipal Open Space, Recreation, Floodplain
Protection, and Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund shall
also be permitted to accept donation and testamentary bequests. The
funds accumulated within the Municipal Open Space, Recreation, Floodplain
Protection, and Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund shall
be allocated on an annual basis as follows:
[Amended 4-21-2020 by Ord. No. 2020:08]
(1)
No more
than $0.013 may be used for development and maintenance of lands acquired
for recreation and conservation purposes;
(2)
No more
than $0.004 may be used for 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
(3)
Not less
than $0.003 shall be used for the acquisition of lands for recreation
and conservation purposes.
B.
The foregoing provisions in § 51-7A(1) through (3) to the contrary notwithstanding, in the event that the governing body determines, from time to time, that funds are not required for the purposes set forth in § 51-7A(1) and (2), the governing body shall allocate the funds, in amounts to be determined by the governing body, for the purposes set forth in § 51-7A(3).
C.
The funds as allocated in § 51-7A may be utilized as a down payment for the issuance of bonds or the payment of debt service on indebtedness issued or incurred by the Township for any of the purposes set forth in § 51-6A, B, D, E, or G, at the discretion of the governing body. For purposes hereof and in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:12-15.1, "acquisition” shall mean the securing of a fee simple or lesser interest in land, including, but not limited to, an easement restricting development, by gift, purchase, installment purchase agreement, devise or condemnation.
[Amended 5-15-2012 by Ord. No. 2012:16]
No property acquired with these funds from the
Municipal Open Space, Recreation, Floodplain Protection, and Farmland
and Historic Preservation Trust Fund shall be leased or sold until
the sale or lease of same has been approved by the voters at a referendum.
[Amended 5-15-2012 by Ord. No. 2012:16]
In the event that no property is acquired under
this chapter for a period of three consecutive years, then the Mayor
and Township Council shall review the activities of the Open Space
Committee and issue a report with recommendations and conclusions
concerning the Municipal Open Space, Recreation, Floodplain Protection,
and Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund.
