Township of Marlboro, NJ Article III Agriculture Advisory Committee

[Added 6-24-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-10]

§ 30-12 Committee established.

There is hereby established an Agriculture Advisory Committee which shall consist of three members whose terms and powers are hereinafter set forth.

§ 30-13 Membership and qualifications.

The Agriculture Advisory Committee shall be comprised of the following persons:

A. Three citizens who are residents of the Township, to be appointed by the Mayor with the consent of the Township Council.

B. Two of the three citizen members must be actively engaged in farming and own a portion of the land that they farm.

C. One of the three citizen members may be selected from any other Township board or committee.

D. The Mayor shall select the Chairman of the Agriculture Advisory 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.

§ 30-14 Term.

The terms of the citizen members shall be for two years, except that the initial appointments to the Committee shall be as follows:

A. Two citizen members for a one-year term.

B. One citizen member for a two-year term.

§ 30-15 Powers and duties.

A. The Agriculture Advisory Committee shall report to the Township of Marlboro Planning Board.

B. The Agriculture Advisory Committee shall be responsible for advising and assisting the Township of Marlboro Planning Board and the Township of Marlboro in meeting the eligibility requirements of the Farmland Preservation Planning Incentive Grant Program, N.J.S.A. 4:1C-43.1, including, but not limited to:

(1) Identifying project areas of multiple farms that are reasonably contiguous and located in an agriculture development area authorized pursuant to the Agriculture Retention and Development Act, N.J.S.A. 4:1C-11 et seq.

(2) Assuring that a dedicated source of funding is maintained for farmland preservation as provided for by Article II of this chapter.

(3) Preparing a farmland preservation plan element pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-28.

(4) Preparing and overseeing the submission of a completed application to the State Agriculture Development Committee, including, among other things, a multiyear plan for the purchase of multiple farms in a project area and indicating the Township of Marlboro's annual share of the estimated purchase price.

(5) Satisfying any other requirements to become and remain an eligible municipality under the Farmland Preservation Planning Incentive Grant Program.

C. The Agriculture Advisory Committee shall oversee, in consultation with the Township of Marlboro Planning Board and the Township of Marlboro, the purchase of any development easement pursuant to the Farmland Preservation Planning Incentive Grant Program.

D. The Agriculture Advisory Committee shall be charged with the duty of seeking out other state and federal funding for farmland preservation and making recommendations to the Township of Marlboro Planning Board, Mayor and Township Council with regards to achieving compliance with program guidelines for obtaining funding from such programs.

§ 30-16 Public meetings.

The Agriculture Advisory Committee shall hold public meetings, which public meetings shall be held in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.

§ 30-17 Initial organizational meeting.

The Agriculture Advisory Committee shall hold its initial organizational meeting within 60 days of the effective date of this Article III.