The furnishing of a performance guaranty in favor of the municipality in an amount not to exceed 120% of the cost of installation of the improvements as approved by the Board Consultant, as it may deem necessary or appropriate, including: streets, grading, pavement, gutters, curbs, sidewalks, streetlighting, shade trees, surveyor's monuments, as shown on the final map and required by the Map Filing Law, P.L. 1960, c. 141 (N.J.S.A. 46:23-9.9 et seq.)[1], water mains, culverts, storm sewers, sanitary sewers or other means of sewage disposal, drainage structures, erosion control and sedimentation control devices, public improvements of open space and, in the case of site plans only, other on-site improvements and landscaping. Of such performance guaranty a minimum of 10% must be in the form of cash, bank check, money order or certified check made payable to the municipality, and the remainder shall be in the form of a corporation surety performance bond or letter of credit issued by an authorized New Jersey corporation. The Municipal Attorney shall approve the performance guaranty as to form, sufficiency and execution. The Board Consultant shall approve the performance guaranty as to size and scope.

Provision for a maintenance guaranty to be posted with the governing body for a period not to exceed two years after final acceptance of the improvement, in an amount not to exceed 15% of the approved total Bond amount. In the event that other governmental agencies or public utilities automatically will own the utilities to be installed or the improvements are covered by a performance or maintenance guaranty to another governmental agency, no performance or maintenance guaranty, as the case may be, shall be required by the municipality for such utilities or improvements.

All improvements and utility installations shall be inspected during the time of their installation under the supervision of the Board Consultant and/or Municipal Engineer to ensure satisfactory completion. The cost of said inspection shall be the responsibility of the subdivider and shall be deposited with the Municipal Clerk as cash or certified check equal to 5% of the performance guaranty, to be applied to the cost of inspection of public improvements by the Board Consultant and/or Municipal Engineer.

If the required improvements are not completed or corrected in accordance with the performance guaranty, the obligor and surety, if any, shall be liable thereon to the municipality for the reasonable cost of the improvements not completed or corrected and the municipality may, either prior to or after the receipt of the proceeds thereof, complete such improvements.

When all of the required improvements have been completed, the obligor shall notify the governing body in writing, by certified mail addressed in care of the Municipal Clerk, of the completion of said improvements and shall send a copy thereof to the Borough Consultant. Thereupon the Borough Consultant shall inspect all of the improvements and shall file a detailed report in writing with the governing body, indicating either approval, partial approval or rejection of the improvements with a statement of reasons for any rejection. If partial approval is indicated, the cost of the improvements rejected shall be set forth.

The governing body shall either approve, partially approve or reject the improvements on the basis of the report of the Borough Consultant and shall notify the obligor in writing, by certified mail, of the contents of said report and the action of said approving authority with relation thereto not later than 45 days after receipt of the notice from the obligor of the completion of the improvements. Where partial approval is granted, the obligor shall be released from all liability pursuant to its performance guaranty, except for that portion adequately sufficient to secure provision of the improvements not yet approved. Failure of the governing body to send or provide such notification to the obligor within 45 days shall be deemed to constitute approval of the improvements, and the obligor and surety, if any, shall be released from all liability pursuant to such performance guaranty.

If any portion of the required improvements are rejected, the approving authority may require the obligor to complete such improvements, and upon completion the same procedure of notification as set forth in this section shall be followed.

Nothing herein, however, shall be construed to limit the right of the obligor to contest by legal proceedings any determination of the governing body or the Board Consultant. The municipality shall return any balance of the inspection fee to the development applicant upon expiration of the maintenance bond, together with a statement of charges against this amount.