New Jersey § 13:8c-26

§ 13:8c-26.

a. Moneys appropriated from the Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund to

the Department of Environmental Protection shall be used by the department to: (1) Pay the cost of acquisition and development of lands by the State for recreation

and conservation purposes; (2) Provide grants and loans to assist local government units to pay the cost of acquisition

and development of lands for recreation and conservation purposes; and (3) Provide grants to assist qualifying tax exempt nonprofit organizations to pay

the cost of acquisition and development of lands for recreation and conservation purposes. b. The expenditure and allocation of constitutionally dedicated moneys for recreation

and conservation purposes shall reflect the geographic diversity of the State to the

maximum extent practicable and feasible. c. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 5 of P.L.1985, c. 310 ( C.13:18A-34 ) or this act, or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, to the contrary,

the value of a pinelands development credit, allocated to a parcel pursuant to P.L.1979,

c. 111 ( C.13:18A-1 et seq. ) and the pinelands comprehensive management plan adopted pursuant thereto, shall

be made utilizing a value to be determined by either appraisal, regional averaging

based upon appraisal data, or a formula supported by appraisal data. The appraisal and appraisal data shall consider as appropriate: land values in

the pinelands regional growth areas; land values in counties, municipalities, and

other areas reasonably contiguous to, but outside of, the pinelands area; and other

relevant factors as may be necessary to maintain the environmental, ecological, and

agricultural qualities of the pinelands area. (2) No pinelands development credit allocated to a parcel of land pursuant to P.L.1979,

c. 111 ( C.13:18A-1 et seq. ) and the pinelands comprehensive management plan adopted pursuant thereto that is

acquired or obtained in connection with the acquisition of the parcel for recreation

and conservation purposes by the State, a local government unit, or a qualifying tax

exempt nonprofit organization using constitutionally dedicated moneys in whole or

in part may be conveyed in any manner. All such pinelands development credits shall be retired permanently. d. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2010, c. 70 ) e. Moneys appropriated from the fund may be used to match grants, contributions, donations,

or reimbursements from federal aid programs or from other public or private sources

established for the same or similar purposes as the fund. f. Moneys appropriated from the fund shall not be used by local government units or

qualifying tax exempt nonprofit organizations to acquire lands that are already permanently

preserved for recreation and conservation purposes, as determined by the department. g. Whenever lands are donated to the State by a public utility, as defined pursuant

to Title 48 of the Revised Statutes, for recreation and conservation purposes, the

commissioner may make and keep the lands accessible to the public, unless the commissioner

determines that public accessibility would be detrimental to the lands or any natural

resources associated therewith. h. Whenever the State acquires land for recreation and conservation purposes, the

agency in the Department of Environmental Protection responsible for administering

the land shall, within six months after the date of acquisition, inspect the land

for the presence of any buildings or structures thereon which are or may be historic

properties and, within 60 days after completion of the inspection, provide to the

New Jersey Historic Preservation Office in the department (1) a written notice of

its findings, and (2) for any buildings or structures which are or may be historic

properties discovered on the land, a request for determination of potential eligibility

for inclusion of the historic building or structure in the New Jersey Register of

Historic Places. Whenever such a building or structure is discovered, a copy of the written notice

provided to the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office shall also be sent to the

New Jersey Historic Trust and to the county historical commission or advisory committee,

the county historical society, the local historic preservation commission or advisory

committee, and the local historical society if any of those entities exist in the

county or municipality wherein the land is located. i. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2010, c. 70 ) j. (1) Commencing on the date of enactment of P.L.2004, c. 120 ( C.13:20-1 et al.) and through June 30, 2024 for lands located in the Highlands Region as defined pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2004, c. 120 ( C.13:20-3 ), when the department, a local government unit, or a qualifying tax exempt nonprofit

organization seeks to acquire lands for recreation and conservation purposes using

constitutionally dedicated moneys in whole or in part , Green Acres bond act moneys in whole or in part, or constitutionally dedicated CBT moneys pursuant to P.L.2016, c. 12 ( C.13:8C-43 et seq. ) in whole or in part, it shall conduct or cause to be conducted an appraisal or appraisals of the value

of the lands that shall be made using (a) the land use zoning of the lands, and any

State environmental laws or Department of Environmental Protection rules and regulations

that may affect the value of the lands, subject to the appraisal and in effect at

the time of proposed acquisition, and (b) the land use zoning of the lands, and any

State environmental laws or Department of Environmental Protection rules and regulations

that may affect the value of the lands, subject to the appraisal and in effect on

January 1, 2004. The higher of those two values shall be utilized by the department, a local government

unit, or a qualifying tax exempt nonprofit organization as the basis for negotiation

with the landowner with respect to the acquisition price for the lands. The landowner shall be provided with both values determined pursuant to this paragraph. A landowner may waive any of the requirements of this paragraph and may agree to sell

the lands for less than the values determined pursuant to this paragraph. The provisions of this paragraph shall be applicable only to lands the owner of which

at the time of proposed acquisition is the same person who owned the lands on the

date of enactment of P.L.2004, c. 120 ( C.13:20-1 et al.) and who has owned the lands continuously since that enactment date, or is

an immediate family member of that person. (2) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2010, c. 70 ) (3) The requirements of this subsection shall be in addition to any other requirements

of law, rule, or regulation not inconsistent therewith. (4) This subsection shall not: (a) apply in the case of lands to be acquired with federal moneys in whole or in part; (b) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2010, c. 70 ); or (c) alter any requirements to disclose information to a landowner pursuant to the

“Eminent Domain Act of 1971,” P.L.1971, c. 361 ( C.20:3-1 et seq. ). (5) For the purposes of this subsection, “ immediate family member ” means a spouse, child, parent, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, first cousin,

grandparent, grandchild, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law,

stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister, whether

the individual is related by blood, marriage, or adoption. k. The department shall adopt guidelines for the evaluation and priority ranking process

which shall be used in making decisions concerning the acquisition of lands by the

State for recreation and conservation purposes using moneys from the Garden State

Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund and from any other source. The guidelines shall be designed to provide, to the maximum extent practicable and

feasible, that such moneys are spent equitably among the geographic areas of the State. The guidelines, and any subsequent revisions thereto, shall be published in the

New Jersey Register. The adoption of the guidelines or of the revisions thereto, shall not be subject

to the requirements of the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c. 410 ( C.52:14B-1 et seq. ). l . In making decisions concerning the acquisition of lands by the State for recreation

and conservation purposes using moneys from the Garden State Green Acres Preservation

Trust Fund, in the evaluation and priority ranking process the department shall accord

three times the weight to acquisitions of lands that would protect water resources,

and two times the weight to acquisitions of lands that would protect flood-prone areas,

as those criteria are compared to the other criteria in the priority ranking process. m. The department, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c. 410

( C.52:14B-1 et seq. ), shall adopt rules and regulations that establish standards and requirements regulating

any activity on lands acquired by the State for recreation and conservation purposes

using constitutionally dedicated moneys to assure that the activity on those lands

does not diminish the protection of surface water or groundwater resources. Any rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this subsection shall not apply to activities

on lands acquired prior to the adoption of the rules and regulations. n. (1) The department, within three months after the date of the first meeting of

the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council established pursuant to section

4 of P.L.2004, c. 120 ( C.13:20-4 ), shall consult with and solicit recommendations from the council concerning land

preservation strategies and acquisition plans in the Highlands Region as defined in

section 3 of P.L.2004, c. 120 ( C.13:20-3 ). The council's recommendations shall also address strategies and plans concerning establishment

by the department of a methodology for prioritizing the acquisition of land in the

Highlands preservation area, as defined in section 3 of P.L.2004, c. 120 ( C.13:20-3 ), for recreation and conservation purposes using moneys from the Garden State Green

Acres Preservation Trust Fund, especially with respect to (a) any land that has declined

substantially in value due to the implementation of the “Highlands Water Protection

and Planning Act,” P.L.2004, c. 120 ( C.13:20-1 et al.), and (b) any major Highlands development, as defined in section 3 of P.L.2004, c. 120 ( C.13:20-3 ), that would have qualified for an exemption pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection

a. of section 30 of P.L.2004, c. 120 ( C.13:20-28 ) but for the lack of a necessary State permit as specified in subparagraph (b) or

(c), as appropriate, of paragraph (3) of subsection a. of section 30 of P.L.2004, c. 120 ( C.13:20-28 ), and for which an application for such a permit had been submitted to the Department

of Environmental Protection and deemed by the department to be complete for review

on or before March 29, 2004. The recommendations may also include a listing of specific parcels in the Highlands

preservation area that the council is aware of that meet the criteria of subparagraph

(a) or (b) of this paragraph and for that reason should be considered by the department

as a priority for acquisition, but any such list shall remain confidential notwithstanding

any provision of P.L.1963, c. 73 ( C.47:1A-1 et seq. ) or any other law to the contrary. (2) In making decisions concerning applications for funding submitted by municipalities

in the Highlands planning area, as defined in section 3 of P.L.2004, c. 120 ( C.13:20-3 ), to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes using moneys

from the Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund, in the evaluation and priority

ranking process the department shall accord a higher weight to any application submitted

by a municipality in the Highlands planning area that has amended its development

regulations in accordance with section 13 of P.L.2004, c. 120 ( C.13:20-13 ) to establish one or more receiving zones for the transfer of development potential

from the Highlands preservation area, as defined in section 3 of P.L.2004, c. 120 ( C.13:20-3 ), than that which is accorded to comparable applications submitted by other municipalities

in the Highlands planning area that have not made such amendments to their development

regulations. o . Notwithstanding any provision of P.L.1999, c. 152 ( C.13:8C-1 et seq. ) to the contrary, for State fiscal years 2005 through 2009, the sum spent by the

department in each of those fiscal years for the acquisition of lands by the State

for recreation and conservation purposes using moneys from the Garden State Green

Acres Preservation Trust Fund in each county of the State shall be not less, and may

be greater if additional sums become available, than the average annual sum spent

by the department therefor in each such county, respectively, for State fiscal years

2002 through 2004, provided there is sufficient and appropriate lands within the county

to be so acquired by the State for such purposes.