Vernon Township City Zoning Code
§ 330-198
Farmland preservation.
A.
Any one or more owners of land within the Township which qualifies for a differential property tax assessment pursuant to the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964, N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.1 et seq., and which is included in an agricultural development area as defined in N.J.S.A. 4:1C-13, may petition the County Agriculture Development Board for the creation of a municipally approved program comprising that land; provided that the owner or owners own at least the minimum acreage established by such Board. The petition shall include a map of the boundaries of the municipally approved program and other information deemed appropriate by such Board.
B.
In the event that the County Agriculture Development Board shall have found that the minimum eligibility criteria for preservation have been met, and in the event that a copy of such petition shall have been sent to the County Planning Board and the Township Council, the Planning Board shall, within 60 days of receipt of the petition, review and report to the Township Council the potential effect of the proposed municipally approved program upon the planning policies and objectives of the Township.
C.
The Township Council shall, after public hearing and within 120 days of receipt of the report, recommend to the County Agriculture Development Board, by ordinance duly adopted, that the municipally approved program boundaries be approved, conditionally approved with proposed geographical modifications, or disapproved.
D.
If, upon receipt of the Township Council's recommendation to approve the petition, the County Agriculture Development Board shall have forwarded the petition for the creation of the municipally approved program and the Township ordinance approving the municipally approved program to the County Planning Board, such actions shall constitute creation of a municipally approved program in and for the Township and the petitioners therefor.
E.
If the Township Council shall have conditionally approved the petition subject to proposed geographical modifications, and if the County Agriculture Development Board shall have reviewed the recommendation and found that the criteria have been met notwithstanding the proposed modifications, the petition shall be forwarded and adopted as aforesaid. A recommendation by the Township Council to disapprove the petition will cause the County Agriculture Development Board to take no further action, and the proposed municipally approved program shall not be adopted. If the Township Council proposed modifications to the petition which exclude any land from being included within a municipally approved program, the owner thereof may request that the County Agriculture Development Board mediate on behalf of the land owner with the Township Council prior to acting on the recommendation thereof. The Township Council shall have 180 days from receipt by the Planning Board of the petition in which to act on said petition to create a municipally approved program.
F.
Any landowner not included in the municipally approved program as initially created may, within two years following the creation date, request inclusion, and upon review by the County Agriculture Development Board and the Township Council, and upon a finding that this inclusion is warranted, become part of the municipally approved program; provided that the landowner enters into an agreement pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:1C-24 for the remaining duration of the municipally approved program.
G.
Documentation of municipally approved program.
(1)
The creation of a municipally approved program shall be documented in the following manner:
(a)
The petition in its final form shall be filed and recorded, in the same manner as a deed, with the County Clerk and shall be filed with the Township Clerk;
(b)
The petition, the Township ordinance of adoption, and the county resolution or ordinance of adoption, as the case may be, shall be filed with the State Agriculture Development Committee; and
(c)
The petition in its final form shall be filed with the Township Tax Assessor for the purpose of qualifying for exemption or for property taxation under farm structures and improvements within the municipally approved program.
(2)
The documentation of the creation of the municipally approved program as prescribed herein shall in no way be construed to constitute or in any other way authorize exclusive agricultural zoning.
H.
Zoning of land in program. The provisions of this chapter notwithstanding, the Township shall not alter the provisions of this article and chapter as they pertain to land included within a municipally approved program in any way so as to provide for exclusive agricultural zoning or zoning which has the practical effect of exclusive agricultural zoning for a period of 11 years from the date of the creation of the municipally approved program, unless all landowners within that municipally approved program who entered into an agreement pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:1C-24 agree to that alteration by express written consent at the end of the minimum period required pursuant to the said section.
I.
Agreement to retain land in agricultural production or to convey development easement; restrictive covenant; filing and recording.
(1)
Agreement.
(a)
Landowners within a municipally approved program or other farmland preservation program shall enter into an agreement with the County Agriculture Development Board, and the Township Council, if appropriate, to retain the land in agricultural production for a minimum period of eight years.
(b)
Any landowner whose land is within a municipally approved program or other farmland preservation program or a landowner whose land qualifies for differential property tax assessment pursuant to the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964, N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.1 et seq., and which is included in an agricultural development area, may enter into an agreement to convey a development easement on the land pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:1C-24, which easement shall be permanent or for a term of 20 years.
(c)
Any agreement entered into pursuant to Subsection I(1)(a) of this section shall constitute a restrictive covenant and shall be filed with the Township Tax Assessor and recorded with the County Clerk in the same manner as a deed. Any development easement conveyed pursuant to Subsection I(1)(b) of this section shall be filed with the Township Tax Assessor and recorded with the County Clerk in the same manner as a deed. The recording of any such agreement or development easement of limited term shall include notification that the State Agriculture Development Committee may exercise the first right and option to purchase a fee simple absolute interest in the land pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:1C-38 et al.
(2)
A landowner, or a farm operator as an agent for the landowner, whose land is within a municipally approved program or other farmland preservation program, or is subject to a development easement conveyed pursuant to Subsection I(1)(b) of this section, shall be eligible and may apply to the local Soil Conservation District and the County Agriculture Development Board for a grant for soil and water conservation project approved by the State Soil Conservation Committee subject to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:1C-11 et al.
(3)
Approval by the local Soil Conservation District and the County Agriculture Development Board for grants for soil and water conservation projects shall be contingent upon a written agreement by the person who would receive funds that the project shall be maintained for specified period of not less than three years, and shall be a component of a farmland conservation plan approved by the local Soil Conservation District.
(4)
If the landowner applying for funds for a soil and water conservation project pursuant to this section provides 50% of those funds without assistance from the county, the local Soil Conservation District shall review, approve, conditionally approve or disapprove the application. The State Agriculture Development Committee shall certify that the land on which the soil and water conservation project is to be conducted has had a development easement conveyed from it pursuant to Subsection I(1) of this section or is part of a municipally approved program or other farmland preservation program.
J.
For purposes of this chapter, there shall exist a rebuttable presumption that no agricultural operation, activity or structure which is conducted or located within a municipally approved program, or on land from which a development easement has been conveyed pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:1C-24 and which conforms to agricultural management practices approved by the Committee and all relevant federal or state statutes or rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto and which does not pose a direct threat to public health and safety shall constitute the public or private nuisance, nor shall any such operation, activity or structure be deemed to otherwise invade or interfere with the use and enjoyment of any other land or property.
K.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, any criteria developed by a land grant college or a recognized organization of architectural engineers and approved by the Committee for farm structure design shall be the acceptable minimum construction standards for a farm structure located in a municipally approved program or other farmland preservation program or on land from which a development easement has been conveyed pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:1C-24. The use by a farm owner or operator of a farm structure designed and approved pursuant to this subsection shall be exempt from any requirement concerning the seal of approval or fee of an architect or professional engineer, notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to the contrary.
L.
Length of program; termination; inclusion of additional landowners.
(1)
The program shall remain in effect for a minimum of eight years, provided that a review of the practicability and feasibility of its continuation shall be conducted by the County Agriculture Development Board and the Township Council within the year immediately preceding the termination date of the program.
(2)
If, subsequent to notification by the County Agriculture Development Board, none of the parties to the agreement entered into pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:1C-24 notify the County Agriculture Development Board within this one-year period that they wish to terminate the program, the program shall continue in effect for another eight-year period and may continue for succeeding eight-year periods, provided that no notice of termination is received by the Board during subsequent periods of review.
(3)
Termination of the program at the end of any eight-year period shall occur following the receipt by the Board of any notice of termination. The Township Tax Assessor shall be notified by the County Agriculture Development Board if the program is terminated.
(4)
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to preclude the reformation of a program as initially created pursuant to the provisions of this section.
(5)
Any landowner not included in the program may request inclusion at any time during the review conducted pursuant to Subsection L(1) of this section. If the County Agriculture Development Board and the Township Council find that this inclusion would promote agricultural production, the inclusion shall be approved.
M.
Withdrawal of lands; taxation.
(1)
Withdrawal of land from the program prior to its termination date may occur in the case of death or incapacitating illness of the owner or other serious hardship or bankruptcy, following a public hearing and approval by the County Agriculture Development Board and Township Council. The approval shall be documented by the filing with the County Clerk and County Planning Board, by the County Agriculture Development Board and Township Council, of a resolution or ordinance, as appropriate, therefor, together with notification to the Township Tax Assessor.
(2)
Following approval to withdraw from the program, the effected landowner shall pay to the Township, with interest at the rate imposed by the Township for nonpayment of taxes pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:4-67, any taxes not paid as a result of qualifying for the property tax exemption for new farm structures or improvements in the program, and shall repay, on a pro rata basis as determined by the local Soil Conservation District, to the County Agriculture Development Board or the State Agriculture Development Committee, or both, as the case may be, any remaining funds from grants for soil and water conservation projects, except in the case of bankruptcy, death or incapacitating illness of the owner, where no such payback of taxes or grants shall be required.
N.
Offer to sell development easement; price; evaluation of suitability of lands; appraisal.
(1)
Any landowner applying to the County Agriculture Development Board to sell a development easement pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:1C-24 shall offer to sell the development easement at a price, which, in the opinion of the landowner, represents a fair value of the development potential of the land for nonagricultural purposes. The valuation and suitability shall be determined in accordance with N.J.S.A. 4:1C-31. Two independent appraisals pursuant to Subsection c of N.J.S.A. 4:1C-31 shall be conducted for each parcel of land so offered and deemed suitable. Any offer with respect to such property shall be accepted or rejected within 30 days of receipt thereof; any offer not accepted within 30 days shall be deemed rejected pursuant to Subsection f of N.J.S.A. 4:1C-24.
O.
Conveyance of easement following purchase; conditions and restrictions; payment.
(1)
No development easement purchase pursuant to the provisions of this section or the Farmland Preservation Law shall be sold, given, transferred or otherwise conveyed in any manner except as may be provided by law.
(2)
Upon the purchase of the development easement the landowner shall cause a statement containing the conditions of the conveyance and the terms of the restrictions on the use and development of the land to be attached to and recorded with the deed of the land, in the same manner as the deed was originally recorded. These restrictions and conditions shall state that any development for nonagricultural purposes is expressly prohibited, shall run with the land and shall be binding upon the landowner and every successor in interest thereto.