Bill Text: NJ S2857 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Chaptered

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Bill Title: Appropriates $84,495,199 from "2009 Green Acres Fund" and "Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund" for local government open space acquisition and park development projects.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2011-08-03 - Approved P.L.2011, c.90. [S2857 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2010-S2857-Chaptered.html

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Approp.

 

P.L.2011, CHAPTER 90, approved August 3, 2011

Senate, No. 2857

 

 

An Act appropriating moneys from the "2009 Green Acres Fund" and the "Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund" to assist local government units to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    As used in this act:

     "Densely or highly populated municipality" means a municipality with a population density of at least 5,000 persons per square mile, or a population of at least 35,000 persons, according to the latest federal decennial census.

     "Densely populated county" means a county with a population density of at least 5,000 persons per square mile according to the latest federal decennial census.

     "Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund" means the fund established pursuant to section 19 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-19).

     "Green Acres bond act" means P.L.2009, c.117, P.L.2007, c.119, P.L.1995, c.204, P.L.1992, c.88, P.L.1989, c.183, P.L.1987, c.265, and P.L.1983, c.354.

     "Highly populated county" means a county with a population density of at least 1,000 persons per square mile according to the latest federal decennial census.

 

     2.    There is appropriated to the Department of Environmental Protection the following sums for the purpose of providing grants or loans, or both, to assist local government units to acquire lands for recreation and conservation purposes pursuant to section 3 of this act, for the purpose of providing grants or loans, or both, to assist local government units to develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes pursuant to section 4 of this act, and for the purpose of providing grants to assist local government units to acquire repetitively flooded lands located in the Passaic River Basin for recreation and conservation purposes pursuant to section 5 of this act:

     a.     $55,000,000 from the "2009 Green Acres Fund" established pursuant to section 17 of the "Green Acres, Water Supply and Floodplain Protection, and Farmland and Historic Preservation Bond Act of 2009," P.L.2009, c.117; and

     b.    $29,495,199 reappropriated from the "Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund," established pursuant to the "Garden State Preservation Trust Act," P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-1 et seq.), and made available due to interest earnings, loan repayments, and project withdrawals, cancellations, or cost savings.

 

     3.    a.  The following projects to acquire lands for recreation and conservation purposes are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

 

     (1)   Planning Incentive Acquisition Projects:

 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Atlantic County	Atlantic	Atlantic County Open Space Acq	$900,000
Franklin Lakes Boro	Bergen	Haledon Reservoir Acq	450,000
Ridgewood Village	Bergen	Open Space Project	450,000
River Vale Twp	Bergen	Watershed Property Acq	450,000
Wyckoff Twp	Bergen	Wyckoff Land Acq Program	450,000
Burlington County	Burlington	Planning Incentive	900,000
Bordentown Twp	Burlington	Bordentown Twp Open Space Acq	450,000
Eastampton Twp	Burlington	Planning Incentive	450,000
Medford Twp	Burlington	Open Space Incentive	450,000
Moorestown Twp	Burlington	Open Space Preservation Plan	450,000
Shamong Twp	Burlington	Shamong Open Space Acq	450,000
Westampton Twp	Burlington	Planning Incentive	450,000
Clementon Boro	Camden	Clementon Open Space Acq	150,000
Gibbsboro Boro	Camden	Greenway Acq	434,914
Haddonfield Boro	Camden	Open Space Acq	450,000
Voorhees Twp	Camden	Planning Incentive Grant	450,000
Livingston Twp	Essex	Livingston Twp Open Space Acq	450,000
Gloucester County	Gloucester	Open Space Plan	900,000
Bethlehem Twp	Hunterdon	Open Space Plan Implementation	450,000
Delaware Twp	Hunterdon	Open Space Acq	450,000
East Amwell Twp	Hunterdon	Open Space & Recreation Plan	330,000
High Bridge Boro	Hunterdon	Open Space Plan	450,000
Kingwood Twp	Hunterdon	Open Space Plan	450,000
Raritan Twp	Hunterdon	Land Acq Plan	450,000
Readington Twp	Hunterdon	Greenway Incentive Plan	450,000
Union Twp	Hunterdon	Union Twp Open Space Plan	450,000
East Windsor Twp	Mercer	East Windsor Open Space Acq	250,000
Hopewell Boro	Mercer	Hopewell Boro Greenbelt Acq	350,000
Hopewell Twp	Mercer	Hopewell Open Space Acq	450,000
Pennington Boro	Mercer	Pennington Greenbelt Planning Incentive	400,000
Princeton Twp	Mercer	Princeton Open Space Acq	450,000
Robbinsville Twp	Mercer	Green Links Program	450,000
Cranbury Twp	Middlesex	Cranbury Twp Acq	450,000
Allentown Boro	Monmouth	Planning Incentive Acq	350,000
Manalapan Twp	Monmouth	Manalapan Twp Planning Incentive Acq	450,000
Manasquan Boro	Monmouth	Manasquan Boro Open Space Acq	450,000
Millstone Twp	Monmouth	Millstone Planning Incentive - Project Evergreen	450,000
Tinton Falls Boro	Monmouth	Tinton Falls Acq	450,000
Upper Freehold Twp	Monmouth	Upper Freehold Open Space Acq - 2000	450,000
Wall Twp	Monmouth	Wall Twp Open Space Plan	450,000
Denville Twp	Morris	Denville Open Space Acq	450,000
Jefferson Twp	Morris	Jefferson Acq Plan	450,000
Madison Boro	Morris	Madison Boro Open Space Acq	450,000
Mendham Twp	Morris	Mendham Twp Open Space Acq	450,000
Montville Twp	Morris	Montville Open Space Acq	450,000
Mount Olive Twp	Morris	Mount Olive Greenway Acq	450,000
Pequannock Twp	Morris	Planning Incentive	450,000
Ocean County	Ocean	Planning Incentive Grant	900,000
Ocean Twp	Ocean	Planning Incentive	450,000
Point Pleasant Beach Boro	Ocean	Open Space & Recreation Acq	450,000
Ringwood Boro	Passaic	Ringwood Boro Open Space Acq	450,000
Somerset County	Somerset	County Open Space Acq	900,000
Bedminster Twp	Somerset	Bedminster Parks Exp	450,000
Montgomery Twp	Somerset	Open Space Acq 5	450,000
Peapack-Gladstone Boro	Somerset	Open Space Acq	450,000
Warren Twp	Somerset	Warren Twp Planning Incentive	450,000
Sussex County	Sussex	Planning Incentive Grant	900,000
Wantage Twp	Sussex	Wantage Twp Plagar Site Acq	72,500
New Providence Boro	Union	Open Space Acq	450,000
Frelinghuysen Twp	Warren	Frelinghuysen Twp Open Space & Recreation Plan	450,000
Greenwich Twp	Warren	Greenwich Twp Planning Incentive	450,000
Hardwick Twp	Warren	Hardwick Twp Open Space	450,000
Harmony Twp	Warren	Harmony Twp Open Space & Recreation Plan	450,000
TOTAL			$29,787,414

 

     (2)   Site Specific Incentive Acquisition Projects:

 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Chesterfield Twp	Burlington	Recreation Fields Acq	$450,000
Cape May City	Cape May	Lafayette Street Open Space Recreation Area	450,000
Lambertville City	Hunterdon	McCann Tract Acq	440,000
West Milford Twp	Passaic	Apple Acres/Open Space Acq	450,000
TOTAL			$1,790,000

 

     (3)   Standard Acquisition Projects:

 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Ocean City	Cape May	4th Street Life Saving Station	$450,000
Fairfield Twp	Essex	Blue Acres Acq	286,493
Aberdeen Twp	Monmouth	Freneau Lands Acq	450,000
Fair Haven Boro	Monmouth	Waterfront Park Acq	325,000
Mine Hill Twp	Morris	Canfield Land Acq	450,000
Vernon Twp	Sussex	Stanhill Conservation	151,250
TOTAL			$2,112,743

 

      b.    The following projects to acquire lands for recreation and conservation purposes located in municipalities eligible to receive State aid pursuant to P.L.1978, c.14 (C.52:27D-178 et seq.), either as of June 30, 2010 or the effective date of this act, are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Garfield City	Bergen	Passaic River Historic Park Acq	$219,863
Bayonne City	Hudson	Russell Golding Park Expansion	900,000
Trenton City	Mercer	Assunpink Creek Greenway	900,000
Old Bridge Twp	Middlesex	Planning Incentive Grant	900,000
Woodbridge Twp	Middlesex	Colonia Country Club	900,000
Neptune Twp	Monmouth	Welsh Farms Site Acq	844,000
Rahway City	Union	125 Monroe Street Acq	900,000
TOTAL			$5,563,863

 

     c.     The following projects to acquire lands for recreation and conservation purposes, located in densely or highly populated municipalities or sponsored by densely populated counties or highly populated counties, are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Margate City	Atlantic	Ventnor Ave Park / Beach Parking Lot Acq	$675,000
Teaneck Twp	Bergen	Teaneck Open Space Acq	500,000
Evesham Twp	Burlington	Planning Incentive	675,000
Mount Laurel Twp	Burlington	Mt. Laurel Acq Plan	675,000
Camden County	Camden	Bancroft Property Acq	800,000
Winslow Twp	Camden	Forest Meadows Program	150,000
Washington Twp	Gloucester	Open Space & Recreation Project	675,000
Hudson County	Hudson	Open Space Acq	1,350,000
Mercer County	Mercer	Mercer County Planning Incentive	1,125,000
Hamilton Twp	Mercer	Hamilton Twp Open Space Acq	675,000
Middlesex County	Middlesex	Middlesex County Open Space Acq	1,125,000
East Brunswick Twp	Middlesex	Open Space Plan	675,000
North Brunswick Twp	Middlesex	North Brunswick Plan	675,000
Piscataway Twp	Middlesex	Piscataway Open Space Acq	675,000
South Brunswick Twp	Middlesex	Open Space Acq	675,000
Monmouth County	Monmouth	Planning Incentive Acq	1,125,000
Howell Twp	Monmouth	Howell Twp Planning Incentive	675,000
Marlboro Twp	Monmouth	Marlboro Open Space Acq	416,442
Middletown Twp	Monmouth	Middletown Twp Planning Incentive	675,000
Morris County	Morris	Morris County Planning Incentive	1,125,000
Morristown Town	Morris	Hillcrest Park Acq	100,000
Jackson Twp	Ocean	Jackson Twp Open Space Acq Plan	675,000
Manchester Twp	Ocean	Planning Incentive	675,000
Passaic County	Passaic	Open Space Plan Acq	1,125,000
Wayne Twp	Passaic	Wayne Open Space Acq	675,000
Bridgewater Twp	Somerset	Bridgewater Open Space Plan	24,283
Hillsborough Twp	Somerset	Hillsborough Land Acq	675,000
Union County	Union	Union County Open Space & Recreation Plan	1,350,000
TOTAL			$20,440,725
GRAND TOTAL			$59,694,745

 

     4.    a.  The following projects to develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
East Rutherford Boro	Bergen	Saint Joseph's Park Renovation	$250,000
Secaucus Town	Hudson	Multi Parks	450,000
TOTAL			$700,000

 

     b.    The following projects to develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes, located in municipalities eligible to receive State aid pursuant to P.L.1978, c.14 (C.52:27D-178 et seq.) either as of June 30, 2010 or the effective date of this act, or sponsored by densely populated counties, are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Camden City	Camden	Pyne Point Park Rehabilitation	$500,000
Pennsauken Twp	Camden	Crescent Field Renewal	900,000
Essex County	Essex	Multi-Parks Improvements (Belleville Twp Bloomfield Twp Caldwell Twp Boro East Orange City Essex Fells Twp Irvington Twp Montclair Twp Newark City Orange City Twp South Orange Village Twp Verona Twp West Orange Twp)	1,350,000
Essex County	Essex	Riverfront Park Improvements (Newark City)	1,350,000
Bloomfield Twp	Essex	Foley Field Restoration	900,000
Newark City	Essex	Minish Park Passaic Riverfront Development Project	900,000
Orange City Twp	Essex	Multi-Park Improvements - Phase III and IV	900,000
Hoboken City	Hudson	Hudson River Waterfront Reconstruction	900,000
Jersey City	Hudson	City Wide Park Improvements	900,000
North Bergen Twp	Hudson	Riverfront Park Development	900,000
Union City	Hudson	Washington Park Improvements	900,000
West New York Town	Hudson	Donnelly and Veteran's Park Rehab	900,000
Carteret Boro	Middlesex	Carteret Park Improvements 4	650,000
Long Branch City	Monmouth	Boardwalk Repair	842,400
Brick Twp	Ocean	Trader's Cove Marina Park	900,000
Clifton City	Passaic	Athenia Steel Recreational Complex	900,000
Passaic City	Passaic	Christopher Columbus Park Rehabilitation	900,000
Paterson City	Passaic	Paterson Great Falls and Pocket Parks - Phase 1	696,000
Union County	Union	Oak Ridge Park Phase I (Clark Twp)	1,350,000
Roselle Boro	Union	Multi-Park Improvement Project	900,000
TOTAL			$18,438,400

 

     c.     The following projects to develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes, located in densely or highly populated municipalities or sponsored by highly populated counties, are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Bergen County	Bergen	Improvements to Westvale Park (Westwood Boro)	$123,461
Cliffside Park Boro	Bergen	Auxiliary Field Improvements	151,350
Little Ferry Boro	Bergen	Indian Lake Park Recreation Improvements - Ph III	230,650
Ridgefield Park Village	Bergen	Veteran's Park Multipurpose Grass Field Project	259,000
Rutherford Boro	Bergen	Wall Field Improvements	422,593
Camden County	Camden	Cooper River Park Improvements (Pennsauken Twp)	1,125,000
Hudson County	Hudson	Pond and Lake Improvements (Bayonne City Jersey City)	1,350,000
TOTAL			$3,662,054
GRAND TOTAL			$22,800,454

 

     5.  Of the funds appropriated pursuant to subsection b. of section 2 of this act, $2,000,000 shall be made available for the purpose of providing grants to assist local government units to acquire, for recreation and conservation purposes, properties that are prone to or have incurred flood or storm damage located in the Passaic River Basin, as follows: 

 

                COUNTY                                MUNICIPALITY

                Bergen                   Allendale Boro

                                                Carlstadt Boro

                                                East Rutherford Boro

                                                Elmwood Park Boro

                                                Fair Lawn Boro

                                                Franklin Lakes Boro

                                                Garfield City

                                                Glen Rock Boro

                                                Hackensack City

                                                Hasbrouck Heights Boro

                                                Hillsdale Boro

                                                Ho-Ho-Kus Boro

                                                Lodi Boro

                                                Lyndhurst Twp

                                                Mahwah Twp

                                                Maywood Boro

                                                Midland Park Boro

                                                Montvale Boro

                                                North Arlington Boro

                                                Oakland Boro

                                                Paramus Boro

                                                Ramsey Boro

                                                Ridgewood Village

                                                Rochelle Park Twp

                                                Rutherford Boro

                                                Saddle Brook Twp

                                                Saddle River Boro

                                                South Hackensack Twp

                                                Upper Saddle River Boro

                                                Waldwick Boro

                                                Wallington Boro

                                                Washington Twp

                                                Woodcliff Lake Boro

                                                Wood-Ridge Boro

                                                Wyckoff Twp

                Essex                      Belleville Twp

                                                Bloomfield Twp

                                                Caldwell Boro

                                                Cedar Grove Twp

                                                East Orange City

                                                Essex Fells Twp

                                                Fairfield Twp

                                                Glen Ridge Twp Boro

                                                Livingston Twp

                                                Millburn Twp

                                                Montclair Twp

                                                Newark City

                                                North Caldwell Twp

                                                Nutley Twp

                                                Orange City Twp

                                                Roseland Boro

                                                South Orange Village Twp

                                                Verona Twp

                                                West Caldwell Twp

                                                West Orange Twp

 

                Hudson                  East Newark Boro

                                                Harrison Town

                                                Kearny Town

 

                Morris                    Boonton Town

                                                Boonton Twp

                                                Butler Boro

                                                Chatham Boro

                                                Chatham Twp

                                                Denville Twp

                                                Dover Town

                                                East Hanover Twp

                                                Florham Park Boro

                                                Hanover Twp

                                                Harding Twp

                                                Jefferson Twp

                                                Kinnelon Boro

                                                Lincoln Park Boro

                                                Long Hill Twp

                                                Madison Boro

                                                Mendham Boro

                                                Mendham Twp

                                                Mine Hill Twp

                                                Montville Twp

                                                Morris Plains Boro

                                                Morris Twp

                                                Morristown Town

                                                Mount Arlington Boro

                                                Mountain Lakes Boro

                                                Parsippany-Troy Hills Twp

                                                Pequannock Twp

                                                Randolph Twp

                                                Riverdale Boro

                                                Rockaway Boro

                                                Rockaway Twp

                                                Roxbury Twp

                                                Victory Gardens Boro

                                                Wharton Boro

 

                Passaic                  Bloomingdale Boro

                                                Clifton City

                                                Haledon Boro

                                                Hawthorne Boro

                                                Little Falls Twp

                                                North Haledon Boro

                                                Passaic City

                                                Paterson City

                                                Pompton Lakes Boro

                                                Prospect Park Boro

                                                Ringwood Boro

                                                Totowa Boro

                                                Wanaque Boro

                                                Wayne Twp

                                                West Milford Twp

                                                Woodland Park Boro

 

                Somerset                Bernards Twp

                                                Bernardsville Boro

                                                Bridgewater Twp

                                                Far Hills Boro

                                                Warren Twp

 

                Sussex                    Hardyston Twp

                                                Sparta Twp

                                                Vernon Twp

 

                Union                     Berkeley Heights Twp

                                                New Providence Boro

                                                Summit City

 

     6.    a.  Any transfer of funds, or change in project sponsor, site, or type, listed in section 3, section 4 or section 5 of this act shall require the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee or its successor.

     b.    To the extent that moneys remain available after the projects listed in section 3, section 4 or section 5 of this act are offered funding pursuant thereto, any project of a local government unit that previously received funding appropriated or reappropriated from any Green Acres bond act, any annual appropriations act, or the Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund for recreation and conservation purposes, or that receives funding approved pursuant to this act, shall be eligible to receive additional funding, as determined by the Department of Environmental Protection, subject to the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee or its successor.

 

     7. a. There is reappropriated to the Department of Environmental Protection the unexpended balances, due to project withdrawals, cancellations, or cost savings, of the amounts appropriated or reappropriated from any Green Acres bond act, any annual appropriations act, or the Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund to assist local government units to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes, for the purposes of providing:

     (1)   grants or loans, or both, to assist local government units to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes, for projects approved as eligible for such funding pursuant to this act; and

     (2)   additional funding, as determined by the Department of Environmental Protection, to any project of a local government unit that previously received funding appropriated or reappropriated from any Green Acres bond act, any annual appropriations act, or the Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund for recreation and conservation purposes or that receives funding approved pursuant to this act, subject to the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee or its successor.  Any such additional funding provided from a Green Acres bond act may include administrative costs.

     b.    There is appropriated to the Department of Environmental Protection such sums as may be, or may become, available on or before June 30, 2011, due to interest earnings or loan repayments in any "Green Trust Fund" established pursuant to a Green Acres bond act or in the "Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund," for the purpose of providing:

     (1)   grants or loans, or both, to assist local government units to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes, for projects approved as eligible for such funding pursuant to this act; and

     (2)   additional funding, as determined by the Department of Environmental Protection, to any project of a local government unit that previously received funding appropriated or reappropriated from any Green Acres bond act, any annual appropriations act, or the Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund for recreation and conservation purposes or that receives funding approved pursuant to this act, subject to the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee or its successor.  Any such additional funding provided from a Green Acres bond act may include administrative costs.

 

     8.    This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill appropriates $84,495,199 from the "2009 Green Acres Fund" and the "Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund" to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to provide grants or low-interest loans, or both, to assist local government units in the State to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes. 

     Of the amount appropriated, $55 million is from the "2009 Green Acres Fund" and $29,495,199 is reappropriated from the "Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund."  The "2009 Green Acres Fund" was established pursuant to the "Green Acres, Water Supply and Floodplain Protection, and Farmland and Historic Preservation Bond Act of 2009," P.L.2009, c.117, and the "Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund" was established pursuant to the "Garden State Preservation Trust Act," P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-1 et seq.). 

     The total amount of funding allocated for local government projects that are listed in this bill is $84,495,199.  Of this amount, $61,694,745 is for projects to acquire lands for recreation and conservations purposes, of which $2 million is allocated for a new local block grant program for "Blue Acres" acquisitions by counties and municipalities of properties that are prone to or have incurred flood or storm damage located in the Passaic River Basin for recreation and conservation purposes, and $22,800,454 is for projects to develop lands for recreation and conservations purposes.

     Of the sum for projects to acquire lands for recreation and conservations purposes: $29,787,414 is allocated for planning incentive open space acquisition projects; $1,790,000 is allocated for site specific incentive open space acquisition projects; $2,112,743 is allocated for standard open space acquisition projects (i.e., projects located in municipalities that do not have an open space tax); $5,563,863 is allocated for projects in "urban aid" municipalities; and $20,440,725 is allocated for projects in densely or highly populated municipalities or sponsored by densely or highly populated counties. 

     Of the sum for projects to develop lands for recreation and conservations purposes:  $700,000 is allocated for "standard" open space development projects (i.e., located in non-urban municipalities and counties); $18,438,400 is allocated for local park development projects in urban aid municipalities or sponsored by densely populated counties; and $3,662,054 is allocated for local park development projects in densely or highly populated municipalities or sponsored by highly populated counties.

     The projects listed have been approved by the DEP and the Garden State Preservation Trust (GSPT).  The project list approved by the DEP and the GSPT originally totaled $85,395,199, of which $23,700,454 was allocated for development projects.  However, the Ivy Point Interpretive Center project in Salem City, approved for an amount of $900,000, in the category for development projects in urban aid municipalities or sponsored by densely populated counties, was subsequently withdrawn by the project sponsor.  That withdrawn project is not included in the project lists and totals contained in this bill.

     The projects approved by the bill include projects in "urban aid" and densely or highly populated municipalities and counties.  The bill defines a "densely or highly populated municipality" as a municipality with a population density of at least 5,000 persons per square mile or a population of at least 35,000 persons; a "densely populated county" as a county with a population density of at least 5,000 persons per square mile; and a "highly populated county" as a county with a population density of at least 1,000 persons per square mile.

     To the extent that there are funds remaining after those local government unit projects listed in this bill are offered funding, the bill also authorizes the DEP, with the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee (JBOC), to use those funds to provide additional funding for local government unit projects listed in this bill as well as for local government unit projects previously approved for funding pursuant to various other laws.

     The bill also allows the DEP, subject to the approval of the JBOC, to re-distribute moneys, which have been returned to the department due to project withdrawals, cancellations, or cost savings, or which have or will become available on or before June 30, 2011 due to interest earnings and loan repayments from various Green Acres bond act funds, for the purpose of providing additional funding, for recreation and conservation purposes, to previously approved and funded projects of local government units, or to local government unit projects listed in this bill.  This additional funding, if provided from a Green Acres bond act, may include administrative costs.

 

 

                                

 

     Appropriates $84,495,199 from "2009 Green Acres Fund" and "Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund" for local government open space acquisition and park development projects.