As a condition of final approval, the following agreements, if applicable, shall be provided by the applicant for review and comment of the Township Engineer, in consultation with the Township Attorney as the Township Engineer may deem appropriate, and for approval by the Township Committee upon recommendation of the Township Engineer.
[Ord. #585, § 517; Ord. #1103, § 50]
[Ord. #585, § 517A; Ord. #1103, § 50]
Coincident with the furnishing of the performance guaranty by the developer, there shall be executed an agreement between the developer and the Township incorporating all of the terms and conditions of approval imposed by the Board in the form set forth in Appendix C. Developers must use the preprinted form which is available from the Township Engineering Department. The Township Engineer, in consultation with the Township Attorney, may revise the preprinted form from time to time, but such revisions may not alter the substance of such forms unless authorized by an ordinance implementing the revision.
[Ord. #585, § 517B; Ord. #1103, § 50; Ord. #1429, 5-29-2001, amended; Ord. #1504, 11-8-2001, amended]
For property to be transferred to the Township, and for all easements shown on the development plan and requested by the Board, the applicant shall prepare all necessary deeds of transfer of title and/or easements in a form acceptable to the Township. For easements, applicants must use the preprinted forms set forth in Appendices D through J and L, which are available from the Township Engineering Department. The Township Engineer, in consultation with the Township Attorney, may revise the preprinted form from time to time, but such revisions may not alter the substance of such forms unless authorized by an ordinance implementing the revision. These deed(s) shall be accompanied by a map drawn to the scale of the Township's tax maps showing proposed lot lines, easements and lot numbers.
[Ord. #585, § 517C; Ord. #1103, § 50; Ord. #1229, § 1]
If any development plan is approved which involves lands in common ownership, or common elements, the applicant shall establish an organization(s) to own and maintain such common lands and elements. Those documents establishing the organization(s) shall include the following provisions:
a. 
Membership in any created organization by all property owners with the right of enjoyment of all common lands and/or common elements shall be mandatory. Such required membership in any created organization and the responsibilities upon the members shall be in writing between the organization and the individual in the form of a covenant with each member agreeing to his liability for his pro rata share of the organization's costs and providing that the Township shall be a third party beneficiary to such covenant entitled to enforce its provisions.
b. 
Executed deeds transferring title of common land and/or common elements to the association shall be tendered to the Township simultaneously with the granting or as a condition of final approval stating that the prescribed use(s) of the lands in common ownership shall be absolute and not subject to reversion for possible future development for the Board's review. Final approval of the development plan shall expire 95 days from the date of decision unless within such period the plat and all related deeds and easements shall have been duly filed by the developer with the County Recording Officer.
c. 
The organization shall be responsible for liability insurance, municipal taxes, maintenance of land and any facilities, including stormwater facilities, that may be erected on any land deeded to the organization and shall hold the Township harmless from any liability relating to other common lands or common elements.
[Ord. #2423, 6-25-2019, amended]
d. 
Any assessment levied by the organization may become a lien on the private properties in the development. The duly created organization shall be allowed to adjust the assessment to meet changing needs and any deeded lands may be sold, donated or in any other way conveyed to the Township for public purposes only, but only if agreed to by the Township.
e. 
The organization initially created by the developer shall clearly describe in its bylaws the rights and obligations of any owner and tenant in the development, along with the covenant and model deeds and the articles of incorporation of the association.
f. 
Part of the development proposals submitted to and approved by the Township shall be provisions to ensure that control of the organization will be transferred to the individual owners in the development based on a percentage of the dwelling units sold and/or occupied, together with assurances in the bylaws that the organization shall have the maintenance responsibilities for all lands to which they hold title in accordance with Subsection 21-58A.4 below.
g. 
In order to ensure adequate notice to future owners of property within a development of the obligation to become members in an ownership organization, the developer shall cause the organizational documents governing the ownership, operation, maintenance and repair of the common elements to be recorded in the office of the Somerset County Clerk prior to the issuance of any construction permit for the subject development.
h. 
All ownership organizations shall register with the Township as per Bernards Township Code Section 17-6.7.
[Ord. #2423, 6-25-2019, added]
[Ord. #585, § 517D; Ord. #1103, § 50]
a. 
Any development plan which incorporates open space and/or private roads entirely owned by an individual, partnership or corporation (other than a homeowners' cooperative, or condominium association) shall enter into a maintenance agreement with the Township subject to the conditions set forth in Paragraph c below.
b. 
Any development plan which incorporates open space, land in common ownership or common elements shall establish an organization to maintain such common lands and elements in accordance with law. Such organization shall not be dissolved, nor shall it sell or otherwise dispose of the common lands or elements except to another organization which is conceived and established to own and maintain the common lands and elements. The organization shall enter into a maintenance agreement with the Township subject to the conditions set forth in Paragraph c below.
c. 
In the event that the owner or organization shall fail to maintain the open space or common elements in reasonable order and condition, the Township Committee may serve written notice upon such organization or upon the owners of the development setting forth the manner in which the organization or owners have failed to maintain the open space in reasonable condition and demanding that any deficiencies be remedied within 35 days. This notice shall also state the date and place of a hearing thereon which shall be held within 15 days of the date of the notice. At such hearing, the Township Committee may modify the terms of the original notice as to deficiencies and may give an extension of time within which they shall be corrected. If the deficiencies set forth in the original notice or in the modification thereof shall not be corrected within 35 days of the date of the notice or within the period of any extension granted, the municipality, in order to preserve the open space or common elements and maintain the same for a period of one year, may enter upon and maintain such land. The entry and maintenance shall not vest in the public any rights to use the open space or common elements except when the same is voluntarily dedicated to the public by the organization or owners. Before the expiration of the year, the Township Committee shall, upon its initiative or upon the request of the organization therefor responsible for the maintenance of the open space or common elements, call a public hearing upon 15 days' notice to such organization or owners of the development, to be held by the Township Committee, at which hearing such organization or owners of the development shall show cause why such maintenance by the municipality shall not, at the discretion of the municipality, continue for a succeeding year. If the Township Committee shall determine that such organization is ready and able to maintain such open space or common elements in reasonable condition, the municipality shall cease to maintain the open space or common elements at the end of the year. If the Township Committee shall determine such organizations not ready and able to maintain the open space or common elements in a reasonable condition, the municipality may, in its discretion, continue to maintain the open space or common elements during the next succeeding year and, subject to a similar hearing and determination, in each year thereafter. The decision of the Township Committee in any such case shall constitute a final administrative decision subject to judicial review.
The cost of such maintenance by the municipality shall be assessed ratably against the properties within the development that have a right of enjoyment of the open space or common elements and shall become a tax lien on the properties. The municipality, at the time of entering upon the open space or common elements for the purpose of maintenance, shall file a notice of such lien in the office of the County Clerk upon the properties affected by such lien within the development, and the same shall be discharged by the municipality upon payment as with other liens.
[Ord. #585, § 517E; Ord. #1103, § 50]
The applicant shall submit for review and comment by the Township Engineer the master deed and bylaws and all material required by the New Jersey Planned Estate Development Full Disclosure Act-Regulations.