4:1C-32.3 Application fee for special permit; suspension, revocation; report.

3. a. The application fee for a special permit authorized pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2005, c.314 (C.4:1C-32.1) shall be $250. The application fee for a special permit authorized pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2005, c.314 (C.4:1C-32.2) shall be $1,000. All application fees shall be payable to the committee regardless of whether or not a permit is issued. All proceeds from the collection of application fees by the committee pursuant to P.L.2005, c.314 (C.4:1C-32.1 et seq.) shall be utilized by the committee for farmland preservation purposes.

b. The committee may suspend or revoke a special permit issued pursuant to section 1 or 2 of P.L.2005, c.314 (C.4:1C-32.1 or C.4:1C-32.2) if the permittee violates any term or condition of the permit, or any provision of the applicable statutory section.

c. (1) In order to expedite the review and approval of routine applications for a special permit, which have been submitted pursuant to section 1 or 2 of P.L.2005, c.314 (C.4:1C-32.1 or C.4:1C-32.2), the committee may delegate to its executive director, by resolution, the authority to review and approve an application. The delegation of review and approval authority pursuant to this subsection shall be authorized by the committee only in those cases where (a) the committee has not received comments from the board or a qualifying nonprofit organization concerning the potential negative impacts of an application's approval, and (b) the application complies with all provisions of P.L.2005, c.314 (C.4:1C-32.1 et seq.) and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

(2) An applicant whose application is denied by the executive director may appeal the decision to the committee.

(3) Nothing in this subsection shall preclude the executive director from bringing any application before the committee for review and approval, when such action is deemed by the executive director to be appropriate.

d. The committee may take action to deny an application for a special permit or to suspend or revoke a special permit issued pursuant to P.L.2005, c.314 (C.4:1C-32.1 et seq.). The applicant or permittee shall be afforded the opportunity for a hearing prior to the committee taking any such action.

e. Within two years after the date of enactment of P.L.2015, c.275, the committee shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as is necessary to implement and administer the provisions of P.L.2005, c.314 (C.4:1C-32.1 et seq.), as amended by P.L.2015, c.275. These rules and regulations shall include, at a minimum, procedures and standards for the filing, evaluation, and approval of special permit applications, which procedures and standards shall seek to balance, as equally important concepts, the public interest in: (1) protecting farmland from further development as a means of preserving agriculture; (2) protecting heritage farm structures and enhancing the beauty and character of the State and the local communities where farmland has been preserved; and (3) providing support to sustain and strengthen the agricultural industry in the State.

f. Every two years, the committee shall prepare a report on the implementation of P.L.2005, c.314 (C.4:1C-32.1 et seq.), as amended by P.L.2015, c.275. The report shall include a survey and inventory of:

(1) all rural microenterprise activities occurring, and all personal wireless service facilities placed, on preserved farmland in accordance with the provisions of P.L.2005, c.314 (C.4:1C-32.1 et seq.);

(2) the extent to which existing structures, such as barns, sheds, and silos, are used for the purposes identified in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and the manner in which those existing structures have been modified to serve those purposes;

(3) the extent to which new structures, instead of existing structures, have been erected to host personal wireless service facilities, and the number and type of new structures used to disguise those facilities, such as artificial trees and faux barns, sheds, and silos;

(4) the extent to which heritage farm structures have been protected through the placement thereon of heritage preservation easements; and

(5) any other information the committee deems useful.

Any report prepared pursuant to this subsection shall be transmitted to the Governor, and, in accordance with the provisions of section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly, as well as to the respective chairpersons of the Senate Economic Growth Committee, the Senate Environment and Energy Committee, the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, and the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee, or their designated successors. Copies of the report shall also be made available to the public upon request and free of charge, and shall be posted at a publicly-accessible location on the committee's Internet website.

L.2005, c.314, s.3; amended 2015, c.275, s.3.