[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council
of the Township of Byram 1-10-2000 by Ord. No. 11-1999. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Amended 7-1-2002 by Ord. No. 7-2002]
There is hereby established an Open Space Committee
which shall consist of seven members whose terms and powers are set
forth below.
The Open Space Committee shall be comprised
of the following persons to be appointed by the Township Council:
A.
The Manager of the Township of Byram.
B.
One member of the Township Planning Board.
C.
One member of the Township Environmental Commission.
D.
One member of the Township Recreation Commission.
E.
One citizen of the Township holding no other elected
or appointed position.
F.
One member of the Township Council.
[Added 7-1-2002 by Ord. No. 7-2002]
G.
One citizen of the Township who may hold another elected
or appointed position.
[Added 7-1-2002 by Ord. No. 7-2002]
[Amended 7-1-2002 by Ord. No. 7-2002]
With the exception of the Township Manager,
all members shall have a term of office of three years with rotating
expiration dates so that two members shall be appointed or reappointed
each year. An appointment to fill a vacancy shall be for the unexpired
term. To establish the rotation the current terms shall have the following
termination dates:
[Amended 8-4-2008 by Ord. No. 17-2008]
A.
The Committee shall select from among the members
a Chairman, and a Vice Chairman to serve as the presiding officer
in the absence of the Chairman.
B.
There shall be a Secretary of the Committee who shall
be responsible to the Committee and who shall record the minutes of
all meetings and records of proceedings of the Committee. The Secretary
shall be appointed by the Township Manager for a term of one year.
C.
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.
D.
The Open Space Committee shall prepare an Open Space
and Recreation Plan (the "Plan") to be used in conjunction with applications
for participation in the Green Trust Planning Incentive funding category
and submitted to other sources of funding to fulfill the purposes
for which the Open Space Trust Fund was created.
E.
The Open Space Committee shall also make a determination
of properties which it recommends that the Township acquire, and/or
properties from which it recommends that development rights should
be acquired, developed, and/or maintained for recreation, conservation,
farmland or historic preservation purposes.
F.
The Open Space Committee shall submit a prioritized
list of those properties to the Township Council, which shall review
the list and make a determination as to which properties are to be
acquired and shall state the amount of funds that the Committee shall
make available for such acquisition development, maintenance, and/or
preservation.
The Open Space Committee shall hold its initial
organization meeting within 30 days of the effective date of this
chapter or appointment of the Committee, whichever occurs last.
There is hereby established an account to be
known and designated as the "Open Space Dedicated Trust Fund" (the
"Trust Fund") which shall be maintained in accordance with N.J.S.A.
40A:4-1 and N.J.S.A. 40A:5-1. Funds from the Trust Fund may, as directed
by the Township Council, be utilized to acquire or develop vacant
land, as well as land which has improvements upon it at the time of
acquisition, or to acquire development rights, where the principal
purpose of the acquisition is to preserve open space, recreation,
farmland preservation and/or historic preservation.
A.
The Trust Fund shall be funded through the dedication
of an amount not to exceed $0.02 per $100 of assessed valuation of
each annual tax levy commencing with the year 2000. The Trust Fund
shall also be permitted to accept donations and testamentary bequests.
B.
The funds accumulated within the Trust Fund may be
utilized for any of the purposes set forth in N.J.S.A. 40:12-15.7.
Any and all interest that accrues shall remain in the Trust Fund and
may be utilized for the above-described purposes.
C.
The Township Council shall determine the amount of
the tax levy each year by resolution.
D.
The Township Council may, after conducting at least
one public hearing, determine how to subdivide the amount of the tax
levy among the various purposes set forth in N.J.S.A. 40:12-15.7 and
this chapter.
A.
Property acquired with funds from the Trust Fund may
not be leased or sold, until and unless the sale or lease has been
authorized by the Township Council in the manner prescribed by law.
B.
The Mayor and Township Council, after at least one
public hearing, and upon a finding that the purposes of this chapter
will be better served, or that any land acquired by the Township pursuant
to this chapter is required for another public use, may by chapter
convey, through sale, exchange, transfer or other disposition, title
to or a lesser interest in that land, provided that the Township shall
replace any land conveyed under this section with land of at least
equal fair market value and reasonably equivalent usefulness, size,
quality and location. Any money derived from the conveyance shall
be deposited into the Trust Fund.
C.
Any conveyance made pursuant to this chapter shall
be made in strict accordance with the "Local Lands and Buildings Law"
(N.J.S.A. 40A:12-1 et seq.). In the event of conveyance by exchange,
the land or improvements thereon to be transferred to the Trust shall
be at least equal in fair market value and of reasonably equivalent
usefulness, size, quality and location to the land or improvements
transferred from the Trust.
In the event that no property is acquired under
this chapter for a period of five consecutive years, then the Township
Council shall review the activities of the Open Space Committee and
issue a report with recommendations and conclusions concerning the
Trust Fund.
