§ 2-57. OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE.

2-57.1 Establishment. There is hereby established an Open Space Committee which shall consist of seven (7) members whose terms and powers are hereinafter set forth.

(Ord. #652-00, § 1; Ord. #656, § 1)

2-57.2 Membership. The Open Space Committee shall be composed of the following persons:

a.

One (1) member of the Borough Council of the Borough of Sayreville appointed by the Borough Council.

b.

Five (5) citizens of the Borough appointed by the Borough Council, and one (1) citizen of the State to be appointed by the Mayor as the Mayor's designee; however of the five (5) citizens of the Borough appointed, at least three (3) shall be members of the Borough's Environmental Commission, provided three (3) members of the Environmental Commission accept the appointment.

(Ord. #652-00, § 2; Ord. #656, § 2; Ord. #916-05, § 1)

2-57.3 Terms.

a.

The member of the Borough Council appointed to the Open Space Committee shall have a term of one (1) year.

b.

The terms of the citizen members shall be for three (3) years, except that the terms of not more than two (2) citizen members shall expire in any (1) year, provided, however, that the terms of two (2) citizen members first appointed shall not exceed one (1) and two (2) years respectively.

(Ord. #652-00, § 3; Ord. #656, § 3)

2-57.4 Powers and Duties.

a.

The Open Space Committee shall initially prepare a report recommending which parcels of land should be acquired in fee and/or those parcels of land from which the Borough should acquire development rights only.

b.

The Open Space Committee shall submit to the Borough Council a prioritized list of properties which it recommends that the Borough acquire and/or properties from which it recommends that development rights should be acquired. The Borough Council shall review the list as submitted and make a determination as to which properties are to be acquired and shall state the amount of funds that the Committee shall make available for such acquisition.

c.

After selection of the properties to be acquired referred to in subsections a. and b. of this Section, the Borough may proceed to acquire by gift, purchase or by eminent domain proceedings, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 20:3-1 et seq., the identified parcels within the financial constraints established by the Borough Council.

(Ord. #652-00, § 4; Ord. #656, § 4)

2-57.5 Public Meetings. The Open Space Committee shall hold public meetings, which public meetings shall be held in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, and the Committee shall give appropriate notification of said meetings.

(Ord. #652-00, § 5; Ord. #656, § 5)

2-57.6 Officers. The Open Space Committee shall select from among its members a Chairman and 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.

(Ord. #652-00, § 6; Ord. #656, § 6)

2-57.7 Initial Organization Meeting. The Open Space Committee shall hold its initial organization meeting shortly after the ordinance codified in this Section takes effect.

(Ord. #652-00, § 7; Ord. #656, § 7)

2-57.8 Sale of Property. No property acquired with these funds from the Municipal Open Space, Recreation and Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund shall be leased or sold, until the sale or lease of the same has been authorized by the Borough Council in the manner prescribed by law.

(Ord. #652-00, § 8; Ord. #656, § 8)

2-57.9 Review and Reports. In the event that no property is acquired under this Chapter for a period of five (5) consecutive years, then the Borough Council shall review the activities of the Open Space Committee and issue a report with recommendations and conclusions concerning the reserve for open space acquisition.

(Ord. #652-00, § 9; Ord. #656, § 9)