Sponsored by:
Senator CARMEN F. AMATO, JR.
District 9 (Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires municipal governing body to submit public question to voters if area of municipality with over 10 percent property tax ratables is to be subject to annexation by other municipality.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the annexation of certain municipal land by contiguous municipalities and amending N.J.S.40A:7-12 and P.L.1982, c.182.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. N.J.S.40A:7-12 is amended to read as follows:
40A:7-12. Land in one municipality may be annexed to another municipality to which [said] that land is contiguous. To effect [such] an annexation, the legal voters residing on that land shall present a petition in writing [shall be presented] to the governing body of the municipality to which [such] the annexation is sought to be made, specifically setting forth the boundaries of [such] the land, signed by at least 60[%] percent of the legal voters residing thereon. If the land is vacant, the petition may be signed by the person or persons owning at least 60[%] percent of [said] the land as shown by the assessor's duplicate for the preceding year. [The petition shall be duly verified by one] One of the signers [,] of the petition shall duly verify the petition and shall have attached thereto the oath of an assessor of the municipality in which [said] the land is located, or of some other person having access to the assessor's books, setting forth the assessed value of the real estate contained within the boundaries for the preceding year, and the amount of real estate assessed to any of the persons whose names are signed to [such] the petition. The petition shall also have attached thereto a certified copy of a resolution adopted by two-thirds of the full membership of the governing body of the municipality in which [said] the land is located, consenting to [said] the annexation.
Prior to action on a resolution to consent to or to deny the petition for annexation, the governing body of the municipality in which the land is located shall, within 14 days of the receipt of the petition, refer the petition to its planning board, which shall, within 45 days of its receipt, report to the governing body on the impact of the annexation upon the municipality. [Action] The governing body shall take action on a resolution to consent to or deny the annexation [shall be taken] within 30 days of receipt of the planning board's report , or, in the event that the planning board does not present its report to the governing body within 45 days of its receipt of the petition, within 60 days of the governing bodys referral of the petition to the planning board; however, if the governing body is required to submit a public question to the voters on the proposed annexation, the governing body shall take action within 30 days following the results of the referendum.
If the land proposed to be annexed amounts in aggregate to 10 percent or more of the tax ratables of the municipality in which the land is located, the governing body for the municipality in which the land is located shall submit a public question on the proposed annexation of the land to the electors of the municipality at the general election next occurring at least 45 days after receipt of the petition for annexation. The municipal clerk shall cause to be published, in at least one newspaper having general circulation in the municipality, the municipal public question to be voted upon by the voters on the 30th day before the day of the general election. If a majority of the electors voting on the public question vote against the proposed annexation by the contiguous municipality, then the proposal shall fail and the land shall not be subject to another public question for annexation within one calendar year from the date of the previous election. If a majority of the electors voting on the public question vote to approve the proposed annexation by the contiguous municipality, then the proposed annexation shall be allowed to proceed as provided pursuant to N.J.S.40A:7-12 through N.J.S.40A:7-25 .
(cf: P.L.1982, c.182, s.1)
2. Section 2 of P.L.1982, c.182 (C.40A:7-12.1) is amended to read as follows:
2. In any judicial review of the refusal of the governing body of the municipality in which the land is located or the governing body of the municipality to which annexation is sought to consent to the annexation, the petitioners have the burden of establishing that the refusal to consent to the petition was arbitrary or unreasonable, that refusal to consent to the annexation is detrimental to the economic and social well-being of a majority of the residents of the affected land, and that the annexation will not cause a significant injury to the well-being of the municipality in which the land is located, or that the refusal to consent to the annexation is in violation of the results of the public question on the proposed annexation submitted to the electors of the municipality at the previous general election pursuant to N.J.S.40A:7-12.
(cf: P.L.1982, c.182, s.2)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
Under current law, land in one municipality may be annexed to another municipality to which that land is contiguous. To effect such an annexation, a petition in writing is required to be presented to the governing body of the municipality to which the annexation is sought to be made, specifically setting forth the boundaries of the land, signed by at least 60 percent of the legal voters residing thereon.
In addition to the annexation processes required under law, this bill amends the law to provide that, if the land proposed to be annexed amounts in aggregate to 10 percent or more of the tax ratables of the municipality in which the land is located, the governing body for the municipality in which the land is located is required to submit a public question on the proposed annexation of the land to the electors of the municipality at the general election next occurring at least 45 days after receipt of the petition for annexation. Under the bill, the municipal clerk is required to cause to be published in at least one newspaper having general circulation in the municipality, the municipal public question to be voted upon by the voters on the 30th day before the day of the general election.
The bill specifies that if a majority of the electors voting on the public question vote against the proposed annexation by the contiguous municipality, then the proposal fails and the land is not be subject to another public question for annexation within one calendar year from the date of the previous election. The bill also specifies that if a majority of the electors voting on the public question vote to approve the proposed annexation by the contiguous municipality, then the proposed annexation is to be allowed to proceed as provided pursuant to N.J.S.40A:7-12 through N.J.S.40A:7-25.