[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council
of the Township of Bridgewater 12-7-1998 by Ord. No. 98-33. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Land use — See Ch. 126.
There is hereby established an Open Space Advisory
Committee to review and recommend parcels of land and interests therein
for acquisition and preservation as open space within the Township
of Bridgewater. The word "Committee," when used by itself in this
chapter, refers to the Open Space Advisory Committee.
A.
B.
The Township Council will select five members of the
Committee.
(1)
One member will be a Township Council member. His
or her term will run as their elected term in office runs.
(2)
The other four members will be Township residents.
An attempt will be made to select these residents from diverse geographical
locations. Their terms will run for three years. The initial four
appointment terms will be staggered in order to prevent all four Township
resident members' terms from expiring at the same time. Initial appointments
will contain two one-year terms, one two-year term and one three-year
term.
(3)
Ex officio members of the Committee will be the Township
Engineer, Township Planner and Chief Financial Officer. It is understood
that these members will attend meetings if and when the Committee
determines their expertise is required but will not have voting privileges.
A.
The Committee shall prepare and submit to the Bridgewater
Township Council (hereafter referred to as the "Council") an open
space plan for the Township of Bridgewater. It shall develop an inventory
of open space properties within the Township and evaluate and prioritize
such open space properties through the development of appropriate
criteria. Such plan shall consist of parcel ranking as well as recommendations
concerning the nature of the interests in such real estate to be acquired
and the purpose for which such land should be utilized.
B.
The Committee shall assist the Township in the establishment
of an open space tracing program to catalog the state of privately
owned open space in the Township. The Committee shall record the Township's
progress with respect to open space preservation and report to the
Township Council prior to the preparation of the annual budget. The
report will record the lands acquired and their costs, together with
additional recommendations of available land to be acquired.
C.
The Committee shall provide guidance and support to
the Council and Planning Board on issues and matters of open space.
D.
The Committee shall periodically review its functions
and submit a recommendation to the Council as to whether additional
duties should be assigned or delegated to the Committee.
E.
The Committee shall annually select from among its
members a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson to serve as presiding
officer in the absence of the Chairperson. The Committee shall also
select from among its members a Secretary whose function shall be
to maintain minutes of the Committee's meetings and records of proceedings
of the Committee. The Committee may request such clerks and other
employees and professional consultants as it may from time to time
require and as may be within the limits of funds appropriated for
that purpose out of the Open Space Trust Fund or out of general revenues.
F.
The Committee shall have such other duties as the
Council may assign from time to time.
There is hereby established a reserve in the
general capital fund which shall be noted and designated as the "Open
Space Trust Fund." A separate bank account shall be established and
maintained therefor entitled "Bridgewater Township Open Space Trust
Account." As directed by the Council, funds from the Open Space Trust
Fund may be utilized to acquire all types of interests in real property,
including, not by way of limitation, fee simple acquisitions, easements
or any other lesser interests in real estate which will further the
goal of open space acquisition and preservation. The lands in which
such interests may be acquired shall include undeveloped land as well
as land containing improvements at the time of acquisition, provided
that the principal purpose of the acquisition is to preserve open
space. The Council shall have the option of paying for land acquisition
with improvements upon them either solely through the Open Space Trust
Fund or by apportioning the cost thereby charging the Open Space Trust
Fund for the land portion and the capital account for the improvement
portion. It is understood that such acquisition may occur via gift,
purchase or by eminent domain proceeding pursuant to N.J.S.A. 20:3-1
et seq.
The tax levy, pursuant to Ordinance No. 98-21,
would be effective with the annual budget in 1999 and would include
the $0.04 per $100 of assessed valuation. Such tax levy, as it is
collected, will be placed in the Open Space Trust Fund. All interest
which accrues will be held in the trust for the same purposes as expressed
in the ordinances.
[Amended 7-7-2008 by Ord. No. 08-16[1]]
A.
The monies in the Open Space Trust Fund shall be utilized
for the following purposes:
[Amended 12-15-2008 by Ord. No. 08-31]
(1)
Acquisition of lands for recreation and conservation
purposes;
(2)
Up to 25% of Open Space Trust Fund monies, after the
payment of debt, may be utilized for the development of capital projects
on lands acquired for recreation purposes pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:12-15.7(d).
Capital improvements, defined for the purpose of this chapter as projects
with a minimum useful life of five years as determined by the Bridgewater
Township Council;
[Amended 8-6-2018 by Ord.
No. 18-13]
(3)
Up to 25% of Open Space Trust Fund's remaining balance as of
the effective date of this subsection, after the payment of debt,
may be utilized for the acquisition of historic properties or structures
for historic preservation purposes and for capital improvements to
any such properties or structures, in furtherance of the preservation
of same pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:12-15.7(a)(1)(e). "Capital improvements"
are defined for the purpose of this chapter as projects with a minimum
useful life of five years as determined by the Bridgewater Township
Council.
[Added 8-6-2018 by Ord.
No. 18-13; amended 12-17-2018 by Ord. No. 18-26]
B.
Such monies shall be utilized for the development
of all categories of recreation and conservation of lands acquired
by the Township for parks, recreation areas, natural areas, greenways,
wildlife habitats and such other uses consistent with the concept
of open space.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance passed by referendum
at the general election held on 11-4-2008.
A.
No real property or interest therein acquired with
these funds from the Open Space Trust Fund shall be sold, conveyed,
leased or otherwise alienated unless it is needed for another public
use or otherwise furthers the purposes of the trust. If such a sale,
lease or conveyance is made, the Township shall be required to:
B.
The deed of any property acquired with funds from
the Open Space Trust Fund shall contain a specific statement reflecting
that the property was acquired with funds from the Open Space Trust
Fund. This will prevent the land from ever being used in a commercial,
industrial or residential capacity.
This chapter will be in effect for a period
of 10 consecutive years, then the Council shall conduct a review and,
if it deems it appropriate, issue a report with recommendations and
conclusions concerning the continuation of the Open Space Trust Fund.
