[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Parsippany-Troy
Hills 10-28-1986 by Ord. No. 86:72 as Sec. 10-9 of the 1986 Code. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
A.
Serious difficulties have confronted many residents of
the Township and the Township Council thereof as a result of inadequate or
inaccurate information having been provided to prospective buyers of newly
built homes within major subdivisions within the Township.
B.
It is the desire of the Township Council to reduce such
problems in the future and to insure, to the largest degree possible, full
and adequate disclosure of pertinent facts and information to the prospective
purchaser.
This chapter shall be known as the "New Home Buyers Protection Code
of the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills."
The purpose of this chapter is to insure, to the greatest degree possible,
the disclosure of pertinent facts and information to prospective purchasers
of new homes in major subdivisions within Parsippany-Troy Hills.
This chapter shall be administered, regulated and enforced by the Division
of Inspections.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
The legal or beneficial owner or owners of a lot or of any land proposed
to be included in a proposed development, including the holder of an option
or contract to purchase, or other person having an enforceable proprietary
interest in such land.
A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by a plat
or otherwise as permitted by law and to be used, developed or built upon as
a unit.
Any subdivision not classified by the Planning Board as a minor subdivision.
Any subdivision conforming to all of the following conditions: containing
not more than three lots, including the remainder of any prior subdivision
obtained subsequent to January 1, 1966, fronting on an existing street, provided
that if the aggregate frontage of the three lots constitute not less than
80% of all the continuous frontage that is in the same ownership, the remainder
of such frontage may be included, not involving any new street or road or
the extension of municipal facilities; not in conflict with any subdivision
or portion of the Master Plan, Official Map, or Zoning Ordinance[1]; and not adversely affecting the remainder of the parcel or adjoining
land regardless of ownership.
A map or maps of subdivision or site plan.
That map approved by the Planning Board as the preliminary subdivision
plat drawn at a scale of not less than one inch equals 100 feet, or a map
based thereon.
Any office, not necessarily either on site or within the Township,
which is used in the sale of newly built homes and the location of which is
on file with the Division of Inspections.
Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, lane, parkway, viaduct, alley
or other way that is an existing state, county or municipal highway, street
or road, or a street or way shown on a plat approved pursuant to law or approved
by official action, or a street or way on a plat duly filed and recorded in
the office of the County Recording Officer prior to the appointment of a Planning
Board and the grant to such Board of the power to review plats. A street shall
be deemed to include all the land between the street lines, whether improved
or unimproved, and may comprise pavement, shoulders, gutters, sidewalks, parking
areas and other areas within the street lines.
A.
Any developer developing land within the Township classified
as a major subdivision by the Planning Board who has obtained a preliminary
approval to subdivide the lands and to construct homes thereon shall, prior
to the sale of said lots or homes upon said lots, maintain a sales office,
either within or without the Township.
B.
The sales office shall have displayed therein a sales
map, in a conspicuous place.
C.
The sales map may be that map approved by the Planning
Board as the preliminary subdivision plat drawn at a scale of not less than
one inch equals 100 feet, or a map based thereon, but need only include the
following:
(1)
A key map showing the entire subdivision, its relation
to surrounding areas, parcels of public use and the zoning districts within
500 feet from the boundaries of the subdivision.
(2)
Streets, both existing and planned (so far as the latter
can be ascertained), within a distance of 500 feet from the boundaries of
the subdivision, showing any connections from the proposed streets in the
subdivision thereto and to nearby arterial and collector streets.
(3)
A title containing the tract name, Tax Map sheet, block
and lot number, date, North point, written and graphic scales, and the names
and addresses of the owner, subdivider, and the person who prepared the map.
(4)
Acreage of tract to be subdivided to the nearest 1/10
of an acre.
(5)
Five-foot contour lines over the entire area of the proposed
subdivision where the slope is greater than 10%, and not more than two feet
where the slope is less than 10%, and showing also the natural flow of surface
drainage, together with watercourses and an indication of the final disposal
of surface waters; such elevations shall refer to New Jersey Geodetic Control
Survey. Substantial deviations in the above, arising after preliminary approval,
will be shown by footnotes.
(6)
The locations and dimensions of existing streets, watercourses,
railroad rights-of-way, bridges, culverts, drain pipes, and natural features,
such as wooded areas, lakes, ponds, and extensive rock formations.
(7)
The locations and widths of proposed streets, easements
and rights-of-way in the subdivision.
(8)
All proposed lot lines, with the approximate lot dimensions
and the areas of all lots.
(9)
All parcels proposed for public use, such as parks, playgrounds,
building sites, and the like, with their respective areas to within 1/100
of an acre, and a statement of the purpose of each.
A.
Prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy by
the Building Department, a certificate of compliance must be filed with the
Building Department, signed by the purchaser stating that:
A.
Any person engaging in the sale of lots within a subdivision without first displaying the sales map as required herein and any developer who shall fail to file the certification of compliance or who files a fraudulent certification of compliance or waiver will be subject to a penalty as established in Chapter 1, § 1-17. Each day that a sales map is not displayed as required herein shall be deemed a separate and distinct violation.
B.
In addition to the foregoing, if the developer or his
agents continuously for a period five days or more fail and refuse to comply
with the requirements of this chapter, the Township may institute and maintain
action for injunctive relief to prohibit the subdivision until compliance
with this section is complete.
All requirements set forth in this chapter with regard to the sale of
lots shall apply with equal force and effect to lands which have been previously
subdivided pursuant to law with the exception of subdivisions in which 75%
of the houses are either under contract or completed.
