4:1C-32. Conveyance of easement following purchase; conditions, restrictions; payment

25. a. No development easement purchased pursuant to the provisions of this act shall be sold, given, transferred or otherwise conveyed in any manner except in those cases when development easements have been purchased on land included in a farmland preservation program included in a sending zone established by a municipal development transfer ordinance adopted pursuant to P.L.1989, c.86 (C.40:55D-113 et al.).

b. Upon the purchase of the development easement by the board, the landowner shall cause a statement containing the conditions of the conveyance and the terms of the restrictions on the use and development of the land to be attached to and recorded with the deed of the land, in the same manner as the deed was originally recorded. These restrictions and conditions shall state that any development for nonagricultural purposes is expressly prohibited, shall run with the land and shall be binding upon the landowner and every successor in interest thereto.

c. At the time of settlement of the purchase of a development easement, the landowner, the board, and the committee may agree upon and establish a schedule of payment which provides that the landowner may receive consideration for the easement in a lump sum, or in installments over a period of up to 40 years from the date of settlement, provided that, if a schedule of installments is agreed upon, the State Comptroller each year shall retain in the fund, or the governing body each year shall retain, an amount of money sufficient to pay the landowner for the current year pursuant to the schedule. For installment purchases, (1) the landowner may receive annually interest on any unpaid balance remaining after the date of settlement, which shall accrue at a rate established in the installment contract; and (2) the committee shall make annual payments to the board in an amount equal to the committee's proportionate annual share of the purchase price of the development easement.

d. Nothing in this section shall prevent a board from receiving a lump sum from the committee and establishing a schedule of installment payments with the landowner.

L.1983,c.32,s.25; amended 1989, c.86, s.16; 1992, c.157, s.6; 1999, c.163.