Township of Ewing, NJ Redevelopment Agreements under Local Redevelopment and Housing Law

§ 59-1 Prohibition of entering into or amending redevelopment agreements with certain contributors.

Campaign contributions.

Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, the Township of Ewing or any of its purchasing agents or agencies or those of its independent authorities, as the case may be, shall not enter into an agreement, amend an agreement, or otherwise contract with any redeveloper for the planning, replanning, construction or undertaking of any redevelopment project, including the acquisition or leasing of any public property in conjunction with the redevelopment of any area within the Township of Ewing pursuant to the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law (N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1 et seq.), if that redeveloper has made any contribution of money, pledge of a contribution, including in-kind contributions or loans, during the applicable time period as specified below, to a campaign committee of any Township of Ewing candidate or holder of public office within the Township of Ewing having responsibility for arranging, entering into or approving the redevelopment agreement, or for appointing those who enter into the agreement on behalf of the Township of Ewing, or to any candidates' committee, joint candidates' committee, municipal political campaign committee (PAC) or to any Mercer County party committee or to any political action committee which engages in the support of the Township of Ewing municipal campaigns.

[Amended 7-25-2006 by Ord. No. 06-26]

(2)

For purposes of this section, the "applicable time period" shall be defined as the time period between the date that the property which is the subject of the redevelopment project has been included in a memorializing resolution adopted by the governing body directing the Planning Board to conduct a preliminary investigation to determine if the site is in need of redevelopment pursuant to and in accordance with the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1 et seq., and the date of entering into the redevelopment agreement, or the 12 months prior to entering into the agreement, whichever is shorter.

All redevelopment agreements or amendments thereto entered into by the Township of Ewing shall contain a provision prohibiting redevelopers as defined in Subsection C to solicit or make any contribution of money, pledge of a contribution including in-kind contributions or loans to any Township of Ewing candidate or holder of public office within the Township of Ewing having responsibility for arranging, entering into or approving the redevelopment agreement, or for appointing those who enter into the agreement on behalf of the Township of Ewing, or to any Township of Ewing political campaign committee or to any Township of Ewing or Mercer County party committee, candidates' committee, joint candidates' committee or to any political action committee (PAC) which engages in the support of municipal elections and/or municipal parties or which engages in the support of the Township of Ewing municipal campaigns, between the time of first communication between that redeveloper and the municipality regarding a redevelopment project and the latter of the termination of negotiations or the completion of all matters specified in the redevelopment agreement.

[Amended 7-25-2006 by Ord. No. 06-26]

Terms defined.

(1)

As defined in N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-3, a "redeveloper" means any person, firm, corporation or public body that shall enter into or propose to enter into a contract with a municipality or other redevelopment entity for the redevelopment or rehabilitation of an area in need of redevelopment or an area in need of rehabilitation, or any part thereof, under the provisions of this act, or for any construction or other work forming part of a redevelopment or rehabilitation project.

(2)

For the purposes of this article, a "redeveloper" means an individual, including the individual's spouse, if any, and any child living at home; a person, firm, corporation, professional corporation, partnership, organization or association, including all principals who own 10% or more of the equity in the corporation, professional corporation, partnership, organization, or association, partners and officers in the aggregate employed by the provider as well as any subsidiaries directly controlled by the redeveloper.

For purposes of this section, the office that is considered to have responsibility for arranging and entering into the redevelopment agreement under the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law (N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1 et seq.) shall be:

(1)

The Township Council, if the redevelopment agreement requires approval or appropriation from the Council, or a public officer who is responsible for arranging and entering into the redevelopment agreement, if that public officer is appointed by Council;

(2)

The Mayor of the Township of Ewing, if the redevelopment agreement requires the approval of the Mayor, or a public officer who is responsible for arranging and entering into the redevelopment agreement, if that public officer is appointed by the Mayor; or

(3)

The Ewing Township Redevelopment Agency, if the redevelopment agreement requires the approval of the Agency.

§ 59-2 Contributions made prior to effective date.

No contribution of money or any other thing of value, including in-kind contributions, made by a redeveloper to any Township of Ewing candidate for Mayor or Council or to any political action committee shall be deemed a violation of this section, nor shall an agreement for redevelopment projects of any kind whatsoever be disqualified thereby if that contribution or agreement was made by the redeveloper prior to the effective date of this article.

§ 59-3 Notice given by Township; sworn statement of redeveloper.

It shall be the Township of Ewing's continuing responsibility to give notice of this article when the Township gives notice of redevelopment pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-6 and when the Township adopts a resolution directing the Planning Board to prepare a redevelopment plan and at the time that the municipality adopts the ordinance to implement the redevelopment plan.

Prior to arranging and entering into the redevelopment agreement with any redeveloper, the Township of Ewing or any of its purchasing agents or agencies or independent authorities, as the case may be, shall receive a sworn statement from the redeveloper that the redeveloper has not made any contribution in violation of § 59-1A above. Furthermore, the redeveloper shall have a continuing duty to report any violations of this article that may occur while arranging and entering into the redevelopment agreement and until all specified terms of the agreement have been completed. The certification required under this subsection shall be made prior to entry into the agreement with the municipality and shall be in addition to any other certifications that may be required by any other provision of law.

§ 59-4 Return of excess contributions.

A redeveloper or municipal candidate or officeholder or municipal or county party committee or PAC referenced in this article may cure a violation of § 59-1 of this article, if, within 30 days after the general election, the redeveloper notifies the Township Council in writing and seeks and receives reimbursement of a contribution from the municipal candidate or municipal or county political party or PAC referenced in this article.

§ 59-5 Breaches of agreement enumerated; disqualification of developer.

It shall be a breach of the terms of the Township of Ewing redevelopment agreement for a redeveloper to:

(1)

Make or solicit a contribution in violation of this article;

(2)

Knowingly conceal or misrepresent a contribution given or received;

(3)

Make or solicit contributions through intermediaries for the purpose of concealing or misrepresenting the source of the contribution;

(4)

Make or solicit any contribution on the condition or with the agreement that it will be contributed to a campaign committee of any candidate or holder of a public office of the Township of Ewing;

(5)

Engage or employ a lobbyist or consultant with the intent or understanding that such lobbyist or consultant would make or solicit any contribution, which if made or solicited by the redeveloper itself would subject that entity to the restrictions of this article;

(6)

Fund contributions made by third parties, including consultants, attorneys, family members and employees;

(7)

Engage in any exchange of contributions to circumvent the intent of this article; or

(8)

Directly or indirectly, through or by any other person or means, do any act which would subject that entity to the restrictions of this article.

Furthermore, any redeveloper who violates Subsection A(1) through (8) above shall be disqualified from eligibility for future Township of Ewing redevelopment agreements for a period of four calendar years from the date of the violation.

§ 59-6 Contribution disclosure statement.

[Added 7-25-2006 by Ord. No. 06-26]

No redevelopment contract shall be entered without submission by the redeveloper of a contribution disclosure statement. For purposes of this article, "contribution disclosure statement" means a list specifying the amount, date and recipient of any and all contributions made to or on behalf of any candidate, candidates' committee, joint candidates' committee, political committee, continuing political committee or political party committee of, or pertaining to, the Township of Ewing, up to two years prior to filing a redevelopment or variance application and for two years after the completion of the redevelopment project.