[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Northvale 4-12-2006
by Ord. No. 818-2006. Amendments noted where applicable.]
There is hereby established an Open Space Trust Fund which shall be
administered by the Borough Council.
The Borough Council is authorized by majority vote to acquire lands,
easements and/or development rights to specified lands within the Borough.
The Council shall determine the amount of funds that the Council shall make
available for each acquisition. After selection of the lands, easements or
development rights as herein provided, the Council may proceed to acquire
by gift, purchase or by eminent domain proceedings pursuant to N.J.S.A. 20:3-1
et seq., the identified lands, easements or development rights within the
financial constraints established by the Council.
There is hereby established a reserve in the general capital fund which
shall be known and designated as the "Open Space Trust Fund." A separate bank
account shall be opened and maintained for this purpose. Funds from the account
may be used, as directed by the Council, to acquire vacant land, easements
and development rights. Funds from the account may also be used to acquire
land which has improvements upon it at the time of acquisition, provided that
the principal purpose of the acquisition is to preserve open space. In the
event that the Council shall find it appropriate to apportion the cost of
acquisition between open space and improvements, it may do so and charge the
Open Space Trust Fund for the approximate value that it deems appropriate
relative to open space and the Borough's capital account for the value
that it determines attributable to improvements.
The Open Space Trust Fund shall be funded through the dedication to
the fund of an amount not to exceed $0.01 per $100 of assessed valuation of
each annual tax levy. The fund shall also be permitted to accept donations
and testamentary bequests. The funds accumulated within the fund may be utilized
for the acquisition of land, easements and/or development rights as a down
payment for the issuance of bonds for the same purpose at the discretion of
the Council. Any and all interest accruing shall remain in the fund and may
be utilized for the above-described purposes.
No property or interest in land so acquired with funds from the Open
Space Trust Fund shall be leased, sold or otherwise disposed of or by the
Borough until the disposition has been authorized by the Council after and
in accordance with a binding public referendum.
