40:55D-28 Preparation; contents; modification.

19. Preparation; contents; modification.

a. The planning board may prepare and, after public hearing, adopt or amend a master plan or component parts thereof, to guide the use of lands within the municipality in a manner which protects public health and safety and promotes the general welfare.

b. The master plan shall generally comprise a report or statement and land use and development proposals, with maps, diagrams and text, presenting, at least the following elements (1) and (2) and, where appropriate, the following elements (3) through (17):

(1) A statement of objectives, principles, assumptions, policies and standards upon which the constituent proposals for the physical, economic and social development of the municipality are based;

(2) A land use plan element

(a) taking into account and stating its relationship to the statement provided for in paragraph (1) hereof, and other master plan elements provided for in paragraphs (3) through (14) hereof and natural conditions, including, but not necessarily limited to, topography, soil conditions, water supply, drainage, flood plain areas, marshes, and woodlands;

(b) showing the existing and proposed location, extent and intensity of development of land to be used in the future for varying types of residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, open space, educational and other public and private purposes or combination of purposes including any provisions for cluster development; and stating the relationship thereof to the existing and any proposed zone plan and zoning ordinance;

(c) showing the existing and proposed location of any airports and the boundaries of any airport safety zones delineated pursuant to the "Air Safety and Zoning Act of 1983," P.L.1983, c.260 (C.6:1-80 et al.);

(d) including a statement of the standards of population density and development intensity recommended for the municipality;

(e) showing the existing and proposed location of military facilities and incorporating strategies to minimize undue encroachment upon, and conflicts with, military facilities, including but not limited to: limiting heights of buildings and structures nearby flight paths or sight lines of aircraft; buffering residential areas from noise associated with a military facility; and allowing for the potential expansion of military facilities;

(f) including, for any land use element adopted after the effective date of P.L.2017, c.275, a statement of strategy concerning:

(i) smart growth which, in part, shall consider potential locations for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations,

(ii) storm resiliency with respect to energy supply, flood-prone areas, and environmental infrastructure, and

(iii) environmental sustainability; and

(g) showing the existing and proposed location of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure;

(3) A housing plan element pursuant to section 10 of P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-310), including, but not limited to, residential standards and proposals for the construction and improvement of housing;

(4) A circulation plan element showing the location and types of facilities for all modes of transportation required for the efficient movement of people and goods into, about, and through the municipality, taking into account the functional highway classification system of the Federal Highway Administration, the types, locations, conditions and availability of existing and proposed transportation facilities, including air, water, road and rail, and identifying existing and proposed locations for public electric vehicle charging infrastructure;

(5) A utility service plan element analyzing the need for and showing the future general location of water supply and distribution facilities, drainage and flood control facilities, sewerage and waste treatment, solid waste disposal and provision for other related utilities, and including any storm water management plan required pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1981, c.32 (C.40:55D-93 et al.). If a municipality prepares a utility service plan element as a condition for adopting a development transfer ordinance pursuant to subsection c. of section 4 of P.L.2004, c.2 (C.40:55D-140), the plan element shall address the provision of utilities in the receiving zone as provided thereunder;

(6) A community facilities plan element showing the existing and proposed location and type of educational or cultural facilities, historic sites, libraries, hospitals, firehouses, police stations and other related facilities, including their relation to the surrounding areas;

(7) A recreation plan element showing a comprehensive system of areas and public sites for recreation;

(8) A conservation plan element providing for the preservation, conservation, and utilization of natural resources, including, to the extent appropriate, energy, open space, water supply, forests, soil, marshes, wetlands, harbors, rivers and other waters, fisheries, endangered or threatened species wildlife and other resources, and which systemically analyzes the impact of each other component and element of the master plan on the present and future preservation, conservation and utilization of those resources;

(9) An economic plan element considering all aspects of economic development and sustained economic vitality, including (a) a comparison of the types of employment expected to be provided by the economic development to be promoted with the characteristics of the labor pool resident in the municipality and nearby areas and (b) an analysis of the stability and diversity of the economic development to be promoted;

(10) An historic preservation plan element: (a) indicating the location and significance of historic sites and historic districts; (b) identifying the standards used to assess worthiness for historic site or district identification; and (c) analyzing the impact of each component and element of the master plan on the preservation of historic sites and districts;

(11) Appendices or separate reports containing the technical foundation for the master plan and its constituent elements;

(12) A recycling plan element which incorporates the State Recycling Plan goals, including provisions for the collection, disposition and recycling of recyclable materials designated in the municipal recycling ordinance, and for the collection, disposition and recycling of recyclable materials within any development proposal for the construction of 50 or more units of single-family residential housing or 25 or more units of multi-family residential housing and any commercial or industrial development proposal for the utilization of 1,000 square feet or more of land;

(13) A farmland preservation plan element, which shall include: an inventory of farm properties and a map illustrating significant areas of agricultural land; a statement showing that municipal ordinances support and promote agriculture as a business; and a plan for preserving as much farmland as possible in the short term by leveraging moneys made available by P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-1 et al.) through a variety of mechanisms including, but not limited to, utilizing option agreements, installment purchases, and encouraging donations of permanent development easements;

(14) A development transfer plan element which sets forth the public purposes, the locations of sending and receiving zones and the technical details of a development transfer program based on the provisions of section 5 of P.L.2004, c.2 (C.40:55D-141);

(15) An educational facilities plan element which incorporates the purposes and goals of the "long-range facilities plan" required to be submitted to the Commissioner of Education by a school district pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-4);

(16) A green buildings and environmental sustainability plan element, which shall provide for, encourage, and promote the efficient use of natural resources and the installation and usage of renewable energy systems; consider, encourage and promote the development of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure in locations appropriate for their development, including but not limited to, commercial districts, areas proximate to public transportation and transit facilities and transportation corridors, and public rest stops; consider the impact of buildings on the local, regional and global environment; allow ecosystems to function naturally; conserve and reuse water; treat storm water on-site; and optimize climatic conditions through site orientation and design; and

(17) A public access plan element that provides for, encourages, and promotes permanently protected public access to all tidal waters and adjacent shorelines consistent with the public trust doctrine, and which shall include a map and inventory of public access points, public facilities that support access, parking, boat ramps, and marinas; an assessment of the need for additional public access; a statement of goals and administrative mechanisms to ensure that access will be permanently protected; and a strategy that describes the forms of access to satisfy the need for such access with an implementation schedule and tools for implementation.

c. The master plan and its plan elements may be divided into subplans and subplan elements projected according to periods of time or staging sequences.

d. The master plan shall include a specific policy statement indicating the relationship of the proposed development of the municipality, as developed in the master plan to (1) the master plans of contiguous municipalities, (2) the master plan of the county in which the municipality is located, (3) the State Development and Redevelopment Plan adopted pursuant to the "State Planning Act," sections 1 through 12 of P.L.1985, c.398 (C.52:18A-196 et seq.) and (4) the district solid waste management plan required pursuant to the provisions of the "Solid Waste Management Act," P.L.1970, c.39 (C.13:1E-1 et seq.) of the county in which the municipality is located.

In the case of a municipality situated within the Highlands Region, as defined in section 3 of P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-3), the master plan shall include a specific policy statement indicating the relationship of the proposed development of the municipality, as developed in the master plan, to the Highlands regional master plan adopted pursuant to section 8 of P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-8).

L.1975, c.291, s.19; amended 1980, c.146, s.2; 1983, c.260, s.10; 1985, c.222, s.29; 1985, c.398, s.16; 1985, c.516, s.11; 1987, c.102, s.26; 1991, c.199, s.3; 1991, c.445, s.7; 1999, c.180, s.2; 2004, c.2, s.37; 2004, c.120, s.60; 2007, c.137, s.59; 2008, c.54; 2013, c.106, s.6; 2016, c.21, s.4; 2017, c.275; 2019, c.81, s.7; 2019, c.267, s.1.