There is hereby established a Farmland, Historic
and Open Space Committee which shall consist of seven members whose
terms and powers are hereinafter set forth.
The Farmland, Historic and Open Space Committee
shall be comprised of the following persons:
A.
Seven citizens who are residents of the Township,
to be appointed by the Mayor.
B.
No member may be an employee of the Township.
C.
Two members of the Committee may be selected from
any other Township board, provided that no two members shall be from
the same board.
D.
All other appointees shall have expertise in at least one of the following areas: planning, environmental, historic sites, recreation, business and legal. The Mayor shall discuss qualifications of prospective appointees and present their resumes to the Township Council for input. However, the Mayor reserves the right to make all appointments in accordance with Subsection A above.
E.
The Township Council may appoint a Council member
to serve as liaison to the Committee for a term of one year.
A.
The Farmland, Historic and Open Space Committee shall
initially prepare a report recommending which parcels of land should
be acquired in fee and/or those parcels of land from which the Township
should acquire development rights only.
B.
The Farmland, Historic and Open Space Committee shall
submit to the Mayor and the Township Council a prioritized list of
properties which it recommends that the Township acquire and/or properties
from which it recommends that development rights should be acquired.
The Mayor shall review the list as submitted and have the Committee
present the final report and make recommendations to the Township
Council for 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 acquisitions.
C.
After selection of the properties to be acquired referred to in Subsections A and B above, the Township 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 parcels within the financial constraints established by the Township Council.
D.
The Committee shall also be charged with the duty
of seeking out state and federal funding by way of grants, low-interest
loans and matching funds; and shall make recommendations to the Mayor
and Township Council with regards to achieving compliance with the
program guidelines for obtaining funding for the acquisition of land
for the purposes set forth above. This shall include any and all costs
incidental thereto, including but not limited to application fees,
appraisal costs, closing costs, engineering and survey costs, and
the like.
The Farmland, Historic and Open Space Committee
shall hold public meetings, which public meetings shall be held in
accordance with the N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq., the Open Public Meetings
Act, and the Committee shall give appropriate notification of said
meetings.
The Mayor shall select the Chairman of the Farmland,
Historic and Open Space Committee. The Committee shall select from
among its members a Vice Chairman to serve as the presiding officer
in the absence of the Chairman. The Committee shall also select a
Secretary whose function shall be to maintain minutes of the Committee's
meeting and records of the proceedings of the Committee.
The Farmland, Historic and Open Space Committee
shall hold its initial organization meeting within two weeks of the
effective date of this chapter. Township professionals and employees,
including but not limited to the Township Engineer, Business Administrator
and Public Information Officer, shall assist the Committee, as much
as may be practicable.
