a. Notwithstanding any other provision of P.L. 1975, c. 217 (C. 52:27D-119 et seq.), the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs and the Secretary of Agriculture shall, within 270 days of the effective date of this amendatory and supplementary act, jointly promulgate, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L. 1968, c. 410 (C. 52:14B-1 et seq.), separate construction code criteria for commercial farm buildings. The Commissioner shall, upon adoption, incorporate these criteria into the State Uniform Construction Code.

b. The Secretary of Agriculture shall, in consultation with the Commissioner of Community Affairs and all other interested and affected parties, prepare the criteria to be proposed for adoption pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L. 1968, c. 410 (C. 52:14B-1 et seq.). The Secretary may, in his discretion, make use of the services of Rutgers, The State University to prepare the proposed criteria.

c. The Commissioner and the Secretary shall, to the greatest extent possible, ensure that the criteria provide no impediment to the orderly development of the State’s agricultural and horticultural enterprises. They shall pay particular attention to establishing separate height, area, fire protection and construction type requirements which are more suitable to agricultural and horticultural uses than those which are presently incorporated in the State Uniform Construction Code.

d. The Commissioner and the Secretary shall ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, criteria are completely eliminated for structures and buildings which are not intended for human occupancy, such as storage bins, silos and the like.

L. 1986, c. 119, s. 2, eff. Oct. 8, 1986.