Freehold City Zoning Code

The purposes of this chapter are as follows:

A.

Promote economic growth and employment within the downtown business district;

B.

Foster and encourage self-help programs to enhance the local business climate;

C.

Create a self-financing special improvement district to assist in meeting local needs, goals and objectives.

D.

Designate a district management corporation to assist in managing self-help programs and in carrying out local needs, goals, and objectives.

(Ord. No. 28/91, § 1, 9-16-91)

[The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:]

A.

"Special improvement district" (sometimes also referred to as "district") means an area within the borough of Freehold designated by this chapter as an area in which a special assessment on property within the district shall be imposed for the purposes of promoting the economic and general welfare of the district and the municipality.

B.

"District management corporation" means the Freehold Center Management Corporation, (also referred to as "management corporation"), an entity incorporated pursuant to Title 15A of the New Jersey Statutes and designated by this chapter to receive funds collected by a special assessment within the special improvement district, as authorized by this chapter and any amendatory supplementary ordinances.

(Ord. No. 28/91, § 2, 9-16-91)

The mayor and council find and declare:

A.

The central business areas of the borough of Freehold have special needs and require special services that can best be achieved through a private public partnership implemented by a special improvement district and managed by a district management corporation.

B.

The creation of a special improvement district and the designation of the district management corporation will promote economic growth and employment, foster and encourage business vitality expansion and self-help; enhance the local business climate and otherwise be in the best interest of the property owners in the district and in the overall municipality.

C.

That the area within the borough of Freehold and as described by lot and block numbers and by street addresses as set forth in Schedule A of the ordinance [from which this chapter derived] will benefit from being designated as a special improvement district.

D.

That a district management corporation would provide administrative and other services to benefit the businesses, employees, residents, and consumers in the special improvement district. Also, the management corporation will assist the borough in promoting economic growth and employment.

E.

That a special assessment shall be imposed and collected by the borough with the regular property tax payment or payment in lieu of taxes or otherwise, and that all or a portion of these payments shall be transferred to the district management corporation to effectuate the purposes of this chapter and to exercise the powers given to it by this chapter.

(Ord. No. 28/91, § 3, 9-16-91)

A.

There is hereby created and designated within the borough of Freehold a special improvement district to be known as the Freehold Special Improvement District consisting of the properties designated on the map prepared by Cranmer Engineering entitled "Special Improvement District" attached hereto as Schedule "A" and on file in the borough clerk's office. The special improvement district shall be subject to special assessments on all affected property within the district which assessment shall be imposed by the borough of Freehold for the purposes of promoting the economic and general welfare of the district and the municipality.

B.

All business and income-producing properties within the special improvement district are deemed included in the assessing and taxing provisions of this chapter and are expressly subject to potential tax or assessment made for special improvement district purposes. Tax exempt, public housing facilities and non-rental residential properties shall be excluded from the assessing and taxing provisions of this chapter and are expressly not subject to potential tax or assessment made for special improvement district purposes.

C.

All properties within the special improvement district that are tax exempt or used strictly for non-rental residential purposes, are deemed excluded from the assessing or taxing provisions of this chapter and are expressly exempt from any tax or assessment made for special improvement district purposes.

D.

Those portions of mixed use properties that are owner-occupied residences, or residences occupied by immediate family members of the owner at a nominal rent are deemed excluded from the assessing or taxing provisions of this chapter and are expressly exempt from any tax or assessment made for special improvement district purposes.

E.

Any property owner claiming exclusion from the assessing or taxing provisions of this chapter by virtue of tax exemption or non-rental residential uses as set forth in [Subsections] C. and D. above shall provide an annual certification evidencing the continuing tax exemption or non-rental residential use to the tax assessor on or before September 15 of each calendar year.

The assessor shall submit the list of exempt or excluded properties to the district management corporation by October 1 of each year. The district management corporation and any other interested party shall have until November 1 of each year to file an objection to the exclusion of any property from the assessing and taxing provisions of the district. Said objection must be in writing, with notice to the affected property owner, setting forth in detail the basis for the objection. The decision of the assessor shall be final, subject to the filing of a tax appeal by any interested party.

Any property losing its exempt status shall be included in the assessing and taxing provisions of this chapter as soon as practicable.

(Ord. No. 28/91, § 4, 9-16-91; Ord. No. 34/94, § 1, 8-15-94; Ord. No. 2006/27, § I, 9-5-06; Ord. No. 2012/2, § I, 2-6-12)

A.

It is hereby determined that the operation and maintenance of the district may involve annual costs relating to services peculiar to the district that are distinguished from operation and maintenance services normally provided by the borough outside of the district. Those annual costs shall be assessed or taxed to the benefited properties or businesses pursuant to this chapter and N.J.S.A. 40:56-65 et seq. The properties to be assessed or taxed to provide for the payment of such annual costs are described in Section 18.06.040 hereof.

B.

Each year, when the mayor and council shall have acted on the estimated costs and/or on the budget of the district, the assessor shall prepare an assessment roll setting forth, separately, the amounts to be specially assessed against the benefited and assessable properties in the district. Description of such properties, and the names of the then current owners of such properties, so far as names are available shall be included in each annual assessment roll. The assessment roll, when so prepared, shall be filed in the office of the municipal clerk and be there available for inspection. The mayor and council shall annually meet to consider objections to the amount of such special assessments at least ten (10) days after a notice of hearing has been published once in the official newspaper and mailed to the named owners of all tracts, parcels and lots of property proposed to be assessed. The notice shall set forth the time and place of the meeting, and set forth the purpose of such meeting, but may refer to the assessment roll for further particulars. When the governing body shall have approved the amounts of the special assessments set forth therein, or as may be changed by it, the municipal clerk shall forthwith certify a copy of the assessment roll to the Monmouth County Tax Board.

(Ord. No. 28/91, § 5, 9-16-91)

A.

The non-profit corporation, the Freehold Center Management Corporation, New Jersey, Inc., trading as the Freehold Center Partnership, is hereby designated as the district management corporation for the district. This management corporation, in addition to acting as an advisory board to the mayor and council, shall have all powers necessary and requisite to effectuate the purposes of this chapter and the district, including, but not limited to:

1.

Adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business and to prescribe rules, regulations and policies in connection with the performance of its functions and duties.

2.

Employ such persons as may be required, and fix and pay their compensation from funds available to the corporation.

3.

Apply for, accept, administer and comply with the requirements respecting an appropriation of funds or a gift, grant or donation of property or money;

4.

Make and execute agreements which may be necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers and functions of the corporation, including contracts with a person, firm, corporation, governmental agency or other entity;

5.

Administer and manage its own funds and accounts and pay for its own obligations;

6.

Borrow money from private lenders for periods not to exceed one hundred eighty (180) days and from governmental entities for longer periods.

7.

Fund the improvement for the exterior appearance of properties in the district through grants or loans;

8.

Fund the rehabilitation of properties in the district.

9.

Accept, lease or manage property in the district.

10.

Enforce the conditions of any loan, grant, sale or lease made by the corporation.

11.

Provide security, sanitation and other services to the district supplemental to those provided normally by the municipality.

12.

Undertake improvements designated to increase the safety or attractiveness of the district to businesses which may wish to locate there or to visitors to the district, including, but not limited to, litter cleanup and control, landscaping, parking areas and facilities, recreational and rest areas and facilities, pursuant to pertinent regulations of the borough of Freehold.

13.

Publicize the district and the businesses included within the district boundaries.

14.

Recruit new businesses to fill vacancies in, and to balance the business of, the district.

15.

Organize special events in the district.

16.

Provide special parking arrangements for the district.

17.

Provide temporary decorative lighting in the district.

18.

Advise the council in connection with the acquisition and construction of improvements in the special improvement district, the making of a plan therefore, and to meet and furnish recommendations or comments and requests of members of the public and of owners and occupants of property included within the special improvement district.

B.

1.

In order to receive any funds or exercise any of the powers granted herein, the board of trustees/directors of the Freehold Center Management Corporation ("management corporation"), trading as Freehold Center Partnership and/or Downtown Freehold shall include as voting members the mayor or a designee named by the mayor and a member of the borough council as selected by the council.

2.

a.

Membership in the management corporation shall be open to all property owners and business operators located within the defined area.

b.

The board of trustees/directors may include up to three residents nominated by the board of trustees/directors.

c.

The board of trustees/directors shall include a representative/designee of the board of chosen Freeholders as a nonvoting member.

d.

Representatives/designees of nonprofit organizations may be nonvoting members of the management corporation.

e.

Residents of Freehold Borough may participate in the management corporation in a nonvoting capacity.

f.

Other than as specifically set forth herein, nonresidents who are not property or business owners within the defined area may not be voting or nonvoting members of the management corporation.

C.

Elections for the board of directors shall take place annually at the annual meeting.

1.

Notice of the election shall be made by posting on the borough and management corporation website and by mailing to all property owners and registered business operators in the defined area at least fourteen (14) calendar days prior to the election. The borough clerk shall send out the notices at the expense of the management corporation. The management corporation and the borough clerk shall confer and approve the list of eligible business owners.

2.

Voting shall take place at borough hall between the hours of eight-thirty a.m. to four-thirty p.m. on the two business days prior to the annual meeting and on the day of the annual meeting between the hours of eight-thirty a.m. to four-thirty p.m. and five-thirty p.m. to six-thirty p.m.

3.

Voting may be in person or by vote by mail. Forms of vote by mail ballots shall be available from the office of the borough clerk at least twenty-one (21) days prior to the election and shall be received by the borough clerk no later than six-thirty p.m. on the day of the election. No vote by mail ballots shall be issued unless the recipient has been verified by the clerk as an eligible voter. Each vote by mail ballot shall be numbered sequentially and the clerk shall record the name of the recipient of each ballot and the assigned ballot number. Votes will be tallied by the borough clerk or the clerk's designee.

4.

Every property owner in the designated area will be entitled to one vote, regardless of the number of properties owned.

5.

Every business owner in the designated area will be entitled to one vote, regardless of the number of businesses owned.

D.

The Freehold Center Management Corporation shall file with the borough clerk a certified copy of the adopted bylaws of the corporation, which shall be in substantial conformity with the terms of this section and which shall be subject to the approval of the governing body. The Freehold Center Management Corporation shall have the right to amend its bylaws from time to time provided that they remain in substantial conformity to the terms of the enabling ordinance and subject to the approval of the governing body.

(Ord. No. 28/91, § 6, 9-16-91; Ord. No. 2016/4, § 1, 5-16-16)

A.

Notwithstanding the creation of a special improvement district, the borough of Freehold expressly retains all its powers and authority over the area designated as within the special improvement district.

B.

Nothing contained herein shall be interpreted or construed to be a vacation, in whole or in part, of any municipal street or part thereof.

C.

The district management corporation shall not make or enter into any contracts for the improvement of any publicly-owned or operated facility or property within the special improvement district, nor adopt any regulations relating to public property in such district.

D.

The district management corporation shall comply with all applicable ordinances or regulations of the borough of Freehold.

(Ord. No. 28/91, § 7, 9-16-91)

A.

The fiscal year of the district shall be July 1 through June 30.

B.

The district management corporation shall submit to the mayor and council a detailed annual budget for the upcoming fiscal year by May 1.

C.

The budget shall be submitted with a report which explains how the budget contributes to goals and objectives for the special improvement district. The budget shall be reasonably itemized and shall include a summary of the categories of cost properly chargeable as follows:

1.

The amount of such costs to be charged against the general funds of the municipality, if any.

2.

The amount of costs to be charged and assessed against properties benefited in the district in proportion to benefits which shall be the aggregate of costs of annual improvements to be made in the district during the ensuing year.

3.

The amount of costs, if any, to to be specially taxed against properties in the district.

D.

The budget shall be introduced, approved, amended and adopted by resolution passed by not less than a majority of the full membership of the governing body.

The procedure shall be as follows:

1.

Introduction and approval;

2.

Public advertising;

3.

Public hearing;

4.

Amendments and public hearings, if required;

5.

Adoption.

E.

The budget shall be introduced in writing at a meeting of the governing body. Approval thereof shall constitute a first reading, which may be by title.

Upon the approval of the budget by the governing body, it shall fix the time and place for the holding of a hearing upon the budget.

F.

The budget shall be advertised after approval. The advertisement shall contain a copy of the budget and shall set forth the date, the time, and the place of the hearing. It shall be published at least ten (10) days prior to the date fixed therefore, in the official newspaper of the Borough.

G.

No budget shall be adopted until a public hearing has been held thereon and all persons having an interest therein shall have been given an opportunity to present objections.

The hearing shall be held not less than twenty-eight (28) days after the approval of the budget.

H.

The public hearing shall be held at the time and place specified in the advertisement thereof, but may be adjourned from time to time until the hearing is closed.

I.

The budget, as advertised, shall be read at the public hearing, in full, or it may be read by its title if:

1.

At least one week prior to the date of the hearing, a complete copy of the approved budget as advertised shall be posted in the borough hall, in the clerk's office and is made available to each person requesting same during the week and during the public hearing; and

2.

The governing body shall, by resolution passed by not less than a majority of the full membership, determine that the budget shall be read by its title and declare that the conditions set forth in paragraph 1. have been met.

J.

After closing the hearing, the governing body may adopt the budget by title, without amendments, or may approve amendments, as provided in this section, before adoption.

K.

The governing body may amend the budget during or after the public hearing. No amendment by the governing body shall be effective until taxpayers and all persons having an interest therein shall have been granted a public hearing thereon, if the amendment shall:

1.

Add a new item in an amount in excess of one percent of the total amount as stated in the approved budget; or

2.

Increase or decrease any item by more than ten (10) percent; or

3.

Increase the amount to be raised pursuant to section 16 of P.L. 1972, c. 134 (C.40:56-80) or Section 19 of this amendatory and supplementary Act by more than five percent, unless the same is made pursuant to an emergency temporary appropriation only.

Notice of hearing on an amendment shall be advertised at least three days prior to the date set therefore. The amendment shall be published in full in the original publication and shall be read in full at the hearing and before adoption.

L.

Final adoption shall be by resolution, adopted by a majority of the full membership of the governing body, and may be by title.

(Ord. No. 28/91, § 8, 9-16-91; Ord. No. 13/92, § 1, 5-4-92)

A.

Moneys appropriated and collected for the annual costs of operating and maintaining a special improvement district shall be credited to a special account. The mayor and council may incur the annual costs of improving, operating, and maintaining a special improvement district during any fiscal year though not specifically provided for by line item or other category in an approved estimate for such fiscal year, if in its discretion it shall be deemed necessary to provide for such annual improvements or operation or maintenance prior to the succeeding fiscal year, and so long as the total amount of the account as approved for that year is not exceeded by that expenditure. Any balances to the credit of the account and remaining unexpended at the end of the fiscal year shall be conserved and applied towards the financial requirements of the succeeding year.

The mayor and council may retain a portion of the collected special assessment proceeds to offset the direct costs incurred in the required assessment and budget processes.

The mayor and council shall, by resolution, direct the finance officer to pay over the funds collected to the management corporation on a quarterly basis thirty (30) days from the date that taxes are due for each quarter.

B.

The district management corporation shall, within thirty (30) days after the close of each fiscal year, provide an annual activity and finance report to the governing body detailing the activities undertaken by the corporation for the previous year, the costs and expenses for same and how the activities further the goals and objectives of the special improvement district. The report shall be presented by the management corporation to the governing body at a regular council meeting within thirty (30) days after the close of each fiscal year.

C.

The district management corporation shall, at its own expense, cause an annual certified audit of its books, accounts and financial transactions to be conducted in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards and filed with the mayor and council. For that purpose, the corporation shall employ a certified public accountant with experience performing municipal or government audits. The audit shall embrace the books, accounts and transactions of the corporation and shall include a verification of all cash and bank balances as of the date of the audit.

The audit report will set forth instances or practices which violate statute or sound financial practice and make recommendations for changes in procedures.

The annual audit shall be completed and filed with the governing body within six months after the close of the fiscal year of the corporation.

In the event the audit is not performed in accordance with the requirements of this chapter, Freehold Borough reserves the right to have an independent audit conducted by a certified public accountant at the expense of the special improvement district.

(Ord. No. 28/91, § 9, 9-16-91; Ord. No. 2016/4, § 2, 5-16-16; Ord. No. 2020/6, § 1, 3-2-20)

Nothing contained herein shall prevent the council at anytime subsequent to the adoption of this chapter by ordinance from abandoning the operation of the special improvement district, changing the extent of the 'special improvement district, supplementing or amending the description of the district to be specially assessed or taxed for annual costs of the special improvement district, changing or repealing any plan, rules, requisitions or limitations adopted for the operation of the special improvement district or rescinding the designation of or redesignating a district management corporation.

(Ord. No. 28/91, § 10, 9-16-91)

The special improvement district shall become operable when the bylaws of the Freehold Center Management Corporation are adopted by a vote of the eligible participants in the manner provided for in the draft bylaws on file with the borough clerk.

(Ord. No. 28/91, § 11, 9-16-91)

There is hereby created and designated within the Borough a Downtown Improvement Zone ("D-BIZ") which shall be co-extensive with the Special Improvement District as defined by the Code of the Borough of Freehold, Chapter 18.06.

(Ord. No. 2023/28, § 2, 12-18-23)