An Act concerning municipal land use restrictions on public institutions of higher education, and amending and supplementing P.L.1975, c.291.

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

1. Section 3.3 of P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-6) is amended to read as follows:

3.3. "Party immediately concerned" means for purposes of notice any applicant for development, the owners of the subject property and all owners of property and government agencies entitled to notice under section 7.1 of P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-12).

"Performance guarantee" means any security, which may be accepted by a municipality, including but not limited to surety bonds, letters of credit under the circumstances specified in section 16 of P.L.1991, c.256 (C.40:55D-53.5), and cash.

"Planned commercial development" means an area of a minimum contiguous or noncontiguous size as specified by ordinance to be developed according to a plan as a single entity containing one or more structures with appurtenant common areas to accommodate commercial or office uses or both and any residential and other uses incidental to the predominant use as may be permitted by ordinance.

"Planned development" means planned unit development, planned unit residential development, residential cluster, planned commercial development or planned industrial development.

"Planned industrial development" means an area of a minimum contiguous or noncontiguous size as specified by ordinance to be developed according to a plan as a single entity containing one or more structures with appurtenant common areas to accommodate industrial uses and any other uses incidental to the predominant use as may be permitted by ordinance.

"Planned unit development" means an area with a specified minimum contiguous or noncontiguous acreage of 10 acres or more to be developed as a single entity according to a plan, containing one or more residential clusters or planned unit residential developments and one or more public, quasi-public, commercial or industrial areas in such ranges of ratios of nonresidential uses to residential uses as shall be specified in the zoning ordinance.

"Planned unit residential development" means an area with a specified minimum contiguous or noncontiguous acreage of five acres or more to be developed as a single entity according to a plan containing one or more residential clusters, which may include appropriate commercial, or public or quasi-public uses all primarily for the benefit of the residential development.

"Planning board" means the municipal planning board established pursuant to section 14 of P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-23).

"Plat" means a map or maps of a subdivision or site plan.

"Preliminary approval" means the conferral of certain rights pursuant to sections 34, 36 and 37 of P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-46; C.40:55D-48; and C.40:55D-49) prior to final approval after specific elements of a development plan have been agreed upon by the planning board and the applicant.

"Preliminary floor plans and elevations" means architectural drawings prepared during early and introductory stages of the design of a project illustrating in a schematic form, its scope, scale and relationship to its site and immediate environs.

"Public areas" means (1) public parks, playgrounds, trails, paths and other recreational areas; (2) other public open spaces; (3) scenic and historic sites; and (4) sites for schools and other public buildings and structures.

"Public development proposal" means a master plan, capital improvement program or other proposal for land development adopted by the appropriate public body, or any amendment thereto.

"Public drainage way" means the land reserved or dedicated for the installation of storm water sewers or drainage ditches, or required along a natural stream or watercourse for preserving the biological as well as drainage function of the channel and providing for the flow of water to safeguard the public against flood damage, sedimentation and erosion and to assure the adequacy of existing and proposed culverts and bridges, to induce water recharge into the ground where practical, and to lessen nonpoint pollution.

"Public institution of higher education" means Rutgers, The State University, the State colleges, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rowan University, the county colleges, and any other public university or college now or hereafter established or authorized by law.

"Public open space" means an open space area conveyed or otherwise dedicated to a municipality, municipal agency, board of education, State or county agency, or other public body for recreational or conservational uses.

"Public utility" means any public utility regulated by the Board of Regulatory Commissioners and defined pursuant to R.S.48:2-13.

"Quorum" means the majority of the full authorized membership of a municipal agency.

"Receiving zone" means an area or areas designated in a master plan and zoning ordinance, adopted pursuant to P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.), within which development may be increased, and which is otherwise consistent with the provisions of section 9 of P.L.2004, c.2 (C.40:55D-145).

"Residential cluster" means a contiguous or noncontiguous area to be developed as a single entity according to a plan containing residential housing units which have a common or public open space area as an appurtenance.

"Residential density" means the number of dwelling units per gross acre of residential land area including streets, easements and open space portions of a development.

"Resubdivision" means (1) the further division or relocation of lot lines of any lot or lots within a subdivision previously made and approved or recorded according to law or (2) the alteration of any streets or the establishment of any new streets within any subdivision previously made and approved or recorded according to law, but does not include conveyances so as to combine existing lots by deed or other instrument.

(cf: P.L.2004, c.2, s.35)

2. (New section) A public institution of higher education shall comply with the provisions of the "Municipal Land Use Law," P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.) if the application for development concerns a parcel of land of five acres or more.

3. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall apply to all development projects, except for those on which construction has already commenced, or for which all necessary environmental, public outreach, and other requirements have already been satisfied such that construction is ready to commence.

STATEMENT

This bill would limit the immunity that public colleges currently enjoy against municipal land use restrictions.

Under current law and the New Jersey Supreme Court decision, Rutgers v. Piluso, 60 N.J. 142 (N.J. 1972), public colleges and universities are exempt from local zoning restrictions, although they are encouraged to consult with local officials. In recognition of the public mission that these institutions serve, this State has pursued a policy of exempting public colleges and universities from local zoning restrictions. The exemption is not unlimited and must be exercised in a reasonable fashion as to not arbitrarily override legitimate local interests. However, the exemption does severely weaken the ability of municipalities that host these institutions to effectively guide local development patterns within their boundaries. This bill would remove the public college exemption from local zoning restrictions in regards to particularly large development projects, those on land parcels of five acres or more, giving the municipality more influence over those projects that are most likely to have the greatest local impact. Because public colleges and universities would still retain their exemption from local zoning constraints in regards to smaller projects, this bill would not restrict the ability of these institutions to provide appropriate facilities for their students. The bill would take effect immediately, and apply to any development project for which construction has not yet commenced.

This bill would provide for a more reasonable balance between the need for public colleges to provide appropriate facilities for their students, and the need for the host municipalities to retain a certain degree of influence over local development.