These rules, regulations and standards shall
be considered the minimum requirements for the protection of the health,
safety and welfare of the citizens of the Township of Morris.
A.Â
Whenever at any time after the Planning Board has
granted preliminary approval for a subdivision, and prior to the completion
of the required improvements by the subdivider, the subdivider determines
that it is necessary to seek a waiver of certain of the required improvements,
the subdivider must make an application to the Planning Board, setting
forth in detail the nature of the improvements for which he seeks
a waiver. After receipt of the application for a waiver, the Planning
Board shall then set a date for a public hearing on the request for
a waiver and shall forthwith notify the subdivider of the time, place
and date of said public hearing. The applicant shall cause public
notice of said hearing in accordance with Part 2.
B.Â
After the public hearing, the Planning Board shall,
by resolution, make a determination upon the requested waiver and
recommend to the Township Committee of the Township of Morris either
the granting or the denying, in whole or in part, of the requested
waiver, giving its reasons for such recommendations and setting forth
the terms and conditions, if any, under which the waiver should be
granted. Upon receipt of such a resolution from the Planning Board,
the Township Committee shall thereupon determine to grant or deny
the waiver of the improvements as requested by the subdivider and
shall notify the Planning Board and the subdivider of its action.
Where sidewalks have been required as a condition of preliminary approval
by the Planning Board, no request for waiver for sidewalks shall be
entertained.
A.Â
The prospective purchaser, prospective mortgagee or
any other person interested in any land which forms part of a subdivision
may apply in writing to the Township Clerk for the issuance of a certificate
certifying whether or not such subdivision has been approved by the
Planning Board. Such application shall contain a diagram showing the
location and dimension of the land to be covered by the certificate
and the name of the owner thereof.
B.Â
The Township Clerk shall make and issue such certificate
within 15 days after the receipt of such written application and the
fees therefor. Said officer shall keep a duplicate copy of each certificate,
consecutively numbered, including a statement of the fee charged,
in a binder as a permanent record of his office.
C.Â
Each such certificate shall be designated a "certificate
as to approval of subdivision of land" and shall certify:
(1)Â
That there exists a duly established Planning Board
and that there is an ordinance controlling subdivision of land.
(2)Â
Whether the subdivision, as it relates to the land
shown in said application, has been approved by the Planning Board
and, if so, the date of such approval and any extensions and terms
thereof, showing that the subdivision of which the lands are a part
is a validly existing subdivision.
D.Â
The administrative officer shall be entitled to demand
and receive for such certificate issued by him a reasonable fee not
in excess of those provided in N.J.S.A. 54:5-14 and 54:5-15. The fees
so collected by such official shall be paid by him to the municipality.
E.Â
Any person who shall acquire for a valuable consideration
an interest in the lands covered by any such certificate of approval
of a subdivision in reliance upon the information therein contained
shall hold such interest free of any right, remedy or action which
could be prosecuted or maintained by the municipality. If the Township
Clerk fails to issue the same within 15 days after receipt of an application
and the fees therefor, any person acquiring an interest in the lands
described in such application shall hold such interest free of any
right, remedy or action which could be prosecuted or maintained by
the Township.
A.Â
No building permit shall be issued by the Construction
Official for any dwellings or structures within the subdivision until
final approval has been granted.
B.Â
No certificate of occupancy for any dwelling, building
or structure shall be granted unless all required improvements have
been installed or completed except as noted below.
C.Â
Exceptions.
(1)Â
A certificate of occupancy may be issued if all improvements
have been installed or completed except the finished course of the
road and the Township Engineer certifies that completion of the road
is in the Township's interest after the applicant has completed construction
of dwellings and structures.
(2)Â
The certificate of occupancy may be issued if all
of the sidewalk areas have been cut out and the base course installed.
A.Â
If, before final approval has been granted, any person
transfers or sells or agrees to transfer or sell, except pursuant
to an agreement expressly conditioned on final subdivision approval,
as owner or agent, any land which forms a part of a subdivision for
which municipal approval is required by this chapter, such person
shall be subject to a penalty not to exceed $1,000, and each lot disposition
so made may be deemed a separate violation.
B.Â
In addition to the foregoing, the Township may institute and maintain a civil action for injunctive relief and to set aside and invalidate any conveyance made pursuant to such a contract of sale if a certificate of compliance has not been issued in accordance with § 57-91. In any such action, the transferee, purchaser or grantee shall be entitled to a lien upon the portion of the land from which the subdivision was made that remains in the possession of the developer or his assigns or successors, to secure the return of any deposits made or purchase price paid, and also a reasonable search fee, survey expense and title closing expense, if any. Any such action must be brought within two years after the date of the recording of the instrument of transfer, sale or conveyance of said land or within six years, if unrecorded.