Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024
(a)
Green Acres shall disburse the loan or matching grant in advance of closing, or
as reimbursement after closing or after the filing of a declaration of
taking.
(b) If a local government
unit seeks payment in advance of closing, it shall submit its request at least
60 days before the scheduled date of closing.
(c) For each parcel of land in the project
site for which payment is requested, the local government unit shall submit:
1. For payment in advance of closing, the
following:
i. Until the deed is executed, a
copy of the contract of sale or, for condemnation cases, the Declaration of
Taking. Immediately upon acquiring the land, the local government unit shall
record the deed and, within 30 days of its recording, shall submit to Green
Acres a copy of the recorded deed or Declaration of Taking, containing the
metes and bounds description required under (c)1ii below, including the clause
stating that the parcel is subject to the Green Acres restrictions as required
by the project agreement under
N.J.A.C.
7:36-9.1(a);
ii. The survey package including:
(1) Two copies of a land survey plan prepared
in accordance with the Local and Nonprofit Land Survey Overview, attached as
Appendix 2, incorporated herein by reference, and supplied to the local
government unit by Green Acres with the procedural letter at
N.J.A.C.
7:36-8.1. The survey shall be prepared in
accordance with the rules of the State Board of Professional Engineers and Land
Surveyors at N.J.A.C. 13:40-5 and be compatible with the Mapping and Digital
Data Standards at N.J.A.C. 7:1, Appendix A. The survey shall show areas to be
subject to or excluded from Green Acres restrictions;
(2) One 3 1/2 inch floppy diskette or CD-ROM
of the parcel survey lines in a .dxf format;
(3) Two copies of the metes and bounds
description, stating acreage of each included lot, corresponding to the survey
required under (c)1ii(1) above, submitted on the surveyor's letterhead, and
signed and sealed by the surveyor, each with an 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch reduced
survey plan described at (c)1ii(1) above attached for recording; and
(4) A Surveyor's Certification and Summary
form provided by Green Acres, completed and signed by the surveyor, that
identifies the project, provides information about the parcel's survey and
title, and certifies that the survey was completed in accordance with the Local
and Nonprofit Land Survey Overview, set forth herein as chapter Appendix 2,
available from Green Acres at PO Box 412, Trenton, New Jersey 08625 or on the
Green Acres web page at
www.nj.gov/dep/greenacres;
iii. Until the title insurance
policy described at (c)2iii below is issued, a copy of the title insurance
binder, with copies of the deeds of record and of all easements, restrictions,
and other instruments of record as attachments. The binder shall insure the
land survey plan and shall name the State as an additional insured. Within 60
days of the recording of the deed, the local government unit shall submit to
Green Acres the title insurance policy;
iv. A copy of each cancelled check (both
sides) or evidence of each electronic transfer of funds for allowable project
costs under
N.J.A.C.
7:36-4.10 associated with the
parcel;
v. An Acquisition Payment
Request Form, provided by Green Acres with the notification of the eligible
land cost under
N.J.A.C.
7:36-8.4, with the following items completed:
(1) The project name, lot and block numbers,
name of local government unit, and county;
(2) An itemized statement of the cost of
acquisition of the parcel;
(3) A
certification by the local government unit's chief executive officer, chief
financial officer, or municipal clerk that the information contained in the
form is accurate and that no bonus has been given or received in connection
with any bill for which the local government unit seeks payment;
(4) A justification of any difference between
the purchase price and the eligible land cost of the parcel; and
(5) A justification of any difference between
the parcel acreage as described in the appraisal and the parcel acreage to be
purchased;
vi. The
certification from the local government unit's chief executive office regarding
the Preliminary Assessment, required under
N.J.A.C.
7:36-8.2, if not previously submitted;
and
vii. For a purchase of a
conservation or historic preservation restriction, the Present Condition Report
described at
N.J.A.C.
7:36-4.7(e).
2. For reimbursement after closing
or after the filing of a Declaration of Taking, the following:
i. A copy of the recorded deed or Declaration
of Taking, containing the metes and bounds description required under ii below,
including the clause stating that the parcel is subject to the Green Acres
restrictions as required by the project agreement under
N.J.A.C.
7:36-9.1(a);
ii. The survey package including:
(1) Two copies of a land survey plan prepared
in accordance with the Local and Nonprofit Land Survey Overview, attached as
Appendix 2, incorporated herein by reference, and supplied to the local
government unit by Green Acres with the procedural letter at
N.J.A.C.
7:36-8.1. The survey shall be prepared in
accordance with the rules of the State Board of Professional Engineers and Land
Surveyors at N.J.A.C. 13:40-5 and be compatible with the Mapping and Digital
Data Standards at N.J.A.C. 7:1, Appendix A. The survey shall show areas to be
subject to or excluded from Green Acres restrictions;
(2) One 31/2 inch floppy diskette or CD-ROM
of the parcel survey lines in a .dxf format;
(3) Two copies of the metes and bounds
description, stating acreage of each included lot, corresponding to the survey
required under (c)2ii(1) above, submitted on the surveyor's letterhead, and
signed and sealed by the surveyor, each with an 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch reduced
survey plan described at (c)2ii(1) above attached for recording; and
(4) A Surveyor's Certification and Summary
form provided by Green Acres, completed and signed by the surveyor, that
identifies the project, provides information about the parcel's survey and
title, and certifies that the survey was completed in accordance with the Local
and Nonprofit Land Survey Overview, set forth herein as chapter Appendix 2 and
available from Green Acres at PO Box 412, Trenton, New Jersey 08625 or on the
Green Acres web page at
www.nj.gov/dep/greenacres.
iii. A copy of the title insurance
policy, with copies of the deeds of record and of all easements, restrictions,
and other instruments of record as attachments, and conforming to the
following:
(1) The policy must show that the
local government unit has clear title to the project site;
(2) The policy must contain a survey
endorsement that insures title to the area within the metes and bounds
description;
(3) The policy amount
must be at least equal to the purchase price; and
(4) The policy must name the State as an
additional insured;
iv.
A copy of each cancelled check (both sides) or evidence of each electronic
transfer of funds for the purchase of the parcel and all allowable project
costs under
N.J.A.C.
7:36-4.10 associated with the parcel and, for
condemnation cases, a copy of the final judgment;
v. An Acquisition Payment Request Form,
provided by Green Acres with the notification of the eligible land cost under
N.J.A.C.
7:36-8.4, with the following items completed:
(1) The project name, lot and block
number(s), name of local government unit, and county;
(2) An itemized statement of the cost of
acquisition of the parcel;
(3) A
certification by the local government unit's chief executive officer, chief
financial officer, or municipal clerk that the information contained in the
form is accurate and that no bonus has been given or received in connection
with any bill for which the local government unit seeks payment;
(4) A justification of any difference between
the purchase price and the eligible land cost of the parcel; and
(5) A justification of any difference between
the parcel acreage as described in the appraisal and the parcel acreage
purchased;
vi. The
certification from the local government unit's chief executive officer
regarding the Preliminary Assessment, required under
N.J.A.C.
7:36-8.2, if not previously submitted;
and
vii. For a purchase of a
conservation or historic preservation restriction, the Present Condition Report
described at
N.J.A.C.
7:36-4.7(e).
(d) Upon receipt of a
request for payment under (c) above and approval of all required documentation,
Green Acres shall send to the local government unit a payment invoice for Green
Acres' share of the allowable project costs, up to the funding award. The local
government unit's chief financial officer or the local government unit's
authorized designee shall verify, sign, and return the invoice to Green Acres
for processing, along with information related to the bank account required
under (f) below.
(e) If the local
government unit acquires a conservation restriction pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
7:36-4.7(a)2 or 3, or a
historic preservation restriction pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
7:36-4.7(b)2, Green Acres
will provide to the local government unit for land acquisition half of what the
local government unit would otherwise be eligible to receive for the purchase
of the restriction.
(f) The local
government unit shall establish a separate, non-interest-bearing bank account
for the purpose of receiving Green Acres disbursements for the project. If a
local government unit has undertaken more than one Green Acres funded project,
it may establish a single bank account to receive all Green Acres disbursements
for all of the projects. If the local government unit will be receiving a Green
Acres disbursement only as a reimbursement, it may designate an existing
account into which the disbursement will be received, provided proper
accounting procedures are in place to allow for easy and accurate financial
tracking of Green Acres disbursements. Any account into which Green Acres
disbursements are deposited will be subject to audit by the State. Upon receipt
of the signed invoice and bank account information, the State shall:
1. Transmit each loan disbursement directly
into such account; and
2. Mail each
matching grant disbursement to the local government unit in the form of a
check. The local government unit shall not sign over the check to the property
owner or any other person, but shall deposit the check into such
account.
(g) Immediately
upon receipt of the funding disbursement under this section, the local
government unit shall have the declaration provided by Green Acres at
N.J.A.C.
7:36-9.1(g) recorded by the
county clerk or registrar and returned to Green Acres. Prior to a subsequent
disbursement of Green Acres funding, a local government unit may be required to
submit to Green Acres an updated Recreation and Open Space Inventory and to
execute and record an updated declaration.
(h) The local government unit shall
immediately inform Green Acres if the closing date established in the contract
of sale for the project site is postponed for any reason. A local government
unit that has received a disbursement in advance of a scheduled closing that is
postponed is subject to the following conditions:
1. As of the 30th day after the disbursement
is made, the local government unit shall pay to the State interest accrued on
the amount of the disbursement from that day up to the 90th day after the
disbursement. The interest rate shall be the judgment interest rate established
under the New Jersey Court Rules Governing Civil Practice at R. 4:42-11(a)(ii)
in effect on the 30th day; and
2.
As of the 90th day after the disbursement is made, the local government unit
shall repay to the State the amount of the disbursement plus accrued interest
from 30 days after disbursement to the date of repayment. The interest rate
shall be the judgment interest rate established under the New Jersey Court
Rules Governing Civil Practice at R. 4:42-11(a)(ii) in effect on the 90th
day.
(i) A local
government unit that has repaid the disbursement plus accrued interest under
(h)2 above may, upon acquisition of the project site, submit a request for
reimbursement after closing in accordance with (c)2 above.
(j) The local government unit may
unilaterally withdraw the project at any time before it receives Green Acres
funding. The local government unit shall not terminate the project agreement
after it receives any Green Acres funding without the written consent of Green
Acres.
(k) If the local government
unit terminates the project agreement under (j) above, the local government
unit is responsible for any costs of acquisition incurred as of the time of
termination. The local government unit shall also repay, with interest at the
judgment interest rate established under the New Jersey Court Rules Governing
Civil Practice at R. 4:42-11(a)(ii) in effect at the time of termination, any
disbursements that Green Acres made to the local government unit for the
project.
(l) Green
Acres shall provide to the local government unit a sign (or signs, as
applicable) that identifies the parkland as a Green Acres funded site that is
permanently dedicated to recreation and conservation purposes. The local
government unit shall post the sign(s) in a prominent place on the funded
parkland and maintain it.
