a. Any one or more owners of land which qualifies for differential property tax assessment pursuant to the “Farmland Assessment Act of 1964,” P.L.1964, c.48 (C. 54:4-23.1 et seq.), and which is included in an agricultural development area may petition the board for the creation of a municipally approved program comprising that land; provided that the owner or owners own at least the minimum acreage established by the board. The petition shall include a map of the boundaries of the municipally approved program and any other information deemed appropriate by the board.

b. Upon receipt thereof, the board shall review this petition for conformance with minimum eligibility criteria as established by the committee and the board. If the board finds that the criteria have been met, it shall immediately forward a copy of the petition to the county planning board, the governing body of any municipality wherein the proposed municipally approved program is located, and to the planning board of each affected municipality.

c. Within 60 days of receipt of the petition, the municipal planning board shall review and report to the municipal governing body the potential effect of the proposed municipally approved program upon the planning policies and objectives of the municipality.

d. The municipal governing body shall, after public hearing and within 120 days of receipt of the report, recommend to the board, by ordinance duly adopted, that the municipally approved program boundaries be approved, conditionally approved with proposed geographical modifications, or disapproved.

e. Upon receipt of a recommendation by the governing body to approve the petition, the board shall forward the petition for the creation of the municipally approved program and the municipal ordinance approving the municipally approved program to the county planning board. This action shall constitute creation of a municipally approved program.

f. Upon receipt of a recommendation by the governing body to conditionally approve the petition with proposed geographical modifications, the board shall review the recommendation for conformance with minimum eligibility criteria. If the board finds that the criteria have been met and that the proposed modifications encourage agriculture retention and development to the greatest practicable extent, the petition shall be forwarded and adopted pursuant to subsection e. of this section.

g. Upon receipt of a recommendation by the governing body to disapprove the petition, the board shall take no further action and the proposed municipally approved program shall not be adopted.

h. If the governing body proposes modifications to the petition which exclude any land from being included within a municipally approved program, the owner thereof may request that the board mediate on behalf of the landowner with the municipal governing body prior to acting on the recommendation thereof. The landowner may request mediation by the committee with respect to any action taken by the board.

i. The provisions of this section to the contrary notwithstanding, if any municipal governing body fails to act on a petition to create a municipally approved program within 180 days of the receipt by the municipal planning board of the petition, regardless of whether or not the municipal planning board has submitted a report pursuant to subsection c. of this section, the board or the landowner may appeal to the committee to intervene, and the committee may approve or disapprove a petition for the creation of a municipally approved program pursuant to the provisions of this section.

j. The board shall advise owners of any land contiguous to the proposed municipally approved program that a petition has been received, solicit opinions concerning inclusion of this land and, if the board deems appropriate, encourage the inclusion of the land in the municipally approved program.

Any landowner not included in the municipally approved program as initially created may, within two years following the creation date, request inclusion, and upon review by the board and municipal governing body, and a finding that this inclusion is warranted, become part of the municipally approved program; provided that the landowner enters into an agreement pursuant to section 17 of this act for the remaining duration of the municipally approved program.

L.1983, c.32, s.14; amended 1989,c.242,s.1.