Bill Text: NJ A1580 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Restricts sale and use of remaining State-owned portion of Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital property in Morris County.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-27 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A1580 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A1580-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
217th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2016 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JAY WEBBER
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
Assemblyman ANTHONY M. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Restricts sale and use of remaining State-owned portion of Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital property in Morris County.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital property in Morris County, and amending P.L.2001, c.345.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.2001, c.345 is amended to read as follows:
1. a. (1) The portions, located as described in paragraph (2) of this subsection, of the 671 + acres of real property, including the improvements thereon, owned by the State, known as the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital, are hereby declared to be surplus to the needs of the hospital and the State and are deemed appropriate and usable for preservation, recreation, or conservation purposes, as well as for the provision of services to the public by local governmental or private not-for-profit entities. The Attorney General is hereby authorized to sell and convey all of the State's interest in those portions of real property, and improvements thereon, owned by the State to the County of Morris, in accordance with the provisions and schedule set forth in this section. During the period ending six months after the effective date of this act, the county shall be permitted, before entering into any agreement for the sale and conveyance of such property interest, to enter upon the real property for the purpose of examining and evaluating the condition thereof, and the State shall provide the county at its request with any information or other assistance reasonably necessary for the conduct of that examination and evaluation. The sale and conveyance of this property is declared to be in the best interests of the State.
(2) The portions of real property and improvements thereon to be sold and conveyed pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be those designated on the map thereof prepared by the Office of the County Engineer of the County of Morris and generally meeting the following descriptions:
(a) A portion located in the southeast area of the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital property between Old Dover Road and Central Avenue and between Central Avenue and West Hanover Avenue, but not including these roads, and bounded, at one end, by as straight a line as is geographically possible, from West Hanover Avenue to Old Dover Road perpendicular to the terminus of Central Avenue in front of the building known as the Main Building, but not including the buildings known as North Cottage and South Cottage, and bounded, at the other end, by another line as straight as is geographically possible approximately parallel to the previous straight line from West Hanover Avenue to Old Dover Road following the line of Collins Road, but not including Collins Road or the improvements known as the Waste Water Treatment Facility, including, but not limited to, on the west side of Central Avenue the improvements known as the Nurses' Residences and Employees' Residences and associated structures, and on the east side of Central Avenue the improvements known as the Clinic Building, Employees' Cafeteria Building, Curry Building, Central Avenue Complex (medical services building) and the Executive and other Residences and associated structures; and
(b) A portion located in the northeastern area of the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital property, bounded by a line beginning from the point at which Old Dover Road intersects the existing southeasterly property line, and following the existing easterly property line to the point at which it intersects the northerly portion of Old Dover Road, then following westerly along Old Dover Road to a point opposite the mid-point of Block 14, Lot 21, then southerly in a straight line at an angle of approximately 120 degrees for a distance of approximately 1,810 feet, then westerly at an angle of approximately 67 degrees for a distance of approximately 770 feet, then southerly at an angle of approximately 90 degrees to Old Dover Road, and then along the northerly edge of Old Dover Road to the first point.
If the description of either portion of land, as set forth in the foregoing provisions of this paragraph, varies from the designation of that portion as it appears on the map, the Attorney General, in consultation with the governing body of the County of Morris, is authorized and directed, in preparing the instrument of conveyance, to conform the instrument's description of that portion to the designation indicated by the map.
b. (1) The deed conveying the property described in subsection a. of this section from the State to the County of Morris shall contain appropriate restrictions limiting the use of the property for preservation, recreation, or conservation purposes, but also permitting use for the purpose of providing services to the public by local governmental or private not-for-profit entities simultaneously with the use of the property for preservation, recreation, or conservation purposes. Upon the conveyance, the County of Morris shall agree to assume responsibility for the preservation, management and maintenance of the property and to provide public access thereto.
(2) (a) Prior to the execution of the sale and conveyance of the property described in subsection a. of this section, the State shall conduct a review and determination of any abatement of hazardous materials or remediation of environmental conditions that would be required on the property both if the land, buildings and structures are to be restored to habitable use and if the buildings and structures are to be demolished. A written report of this review and determination shall be submitted to the County of Morris upon completion. The review shall be completed within 90 days following the effective date of this act.
(b) If the report contains a determination that abatement or remediation is needed, the State and the County of Morris shall enter into a written agreement, prior to the execution of the sale and conveyance, as to which entity shall be responsible for the abatement or remediation, and the schedule for the abatement and remediation to be undertaken and completed by the State, if any, before the sale and conveyance or after.
(c) The property shall be conveyed to the County of Morris in an "as is" condition with no responsibility assumed or expenditure made by the State prior to, or as a condition of, the execution of the sale or conveyance, unless otherwise provided in a written agreement between the State and the County of Morris prior to the execution of the sale and conveyance, for any repair, reconstruction or renovation of the land, buildings or structures made necessary due to ordinary or extraordinary use, wear and tear, neglect, deterioration due to exposure to the elements, vandalism, or age, or for any infrastructure, habitability, life safety or building code upgrade or improvement to, nor any demolition on, the property. The State may assume responsibility for and make expenditure for such repair, reconstruction, renovation, upgrade or improvement if such is an integral part of any abatement or remediation to be undertaken and completed by the State in accordance with a written agreement entered into pursuant to subparagraph (b) of this paragraph.
c. The Attorney General shall be responsible for ensuring implementation [with] of this act and for the expeditious execution of the sale and conveyance of the property described in subsection a. of this section in accordance with the schedule set forth in subsection e. of this section. The necessary documents required for the execution of the sale and conveyance, including any written agreements provided for in this section, shall be prepared by the Attorney General.
d. (1) The conveyance of the property described in subsection a. of this section shall be made free of all liens and other claims by third parties which adversely affect good and marketable title.
(2) The consideration to be paid to the State by the County of Morris for the sale and conveyance shall be the sum of one dollar, which shall be deposited into the State General Fund.
(3) The execution of the sale and conveyance shall include such easements, at no cost, for both the State across and unto the property being sold and conveyed and the County of Morris across and unto property owned by the State and adjacent to the property being sold and conveyed, as may be necessary for effective and practical use by both the State and county for their respective purposes.
e. (1) Within 90 days following the effective date of this act, the Attorney General shall obtain a survey and inventory of the property described in subsection a. of this section necessary for the proper conveyance.
(2) If the property to be sold and conveyed is being used for the purposes of the hospital or State government on the effective date of this act, the execution of the sale and conveyance of that section in use may be delayed, but in no event longer than one year following the effective date of this act. If delay in the execution is necessary, the property shall be divided, into several sections but no more than three sections if necessary to ensure the efficacy of the conveyance, so that the section that is being used for hospital or State purposes is segregated from the whole for sale and conveyance at a later date.
(3) The County of Morris and the Attorney General may enter into a written agreement to extend, in whole or in part, the schedule provided for in this section for the sale and conveyance. If no such agreement is entered into prior to the 180th day following the effective date of this act, the schedule set forth in this section shall be implemented.
f. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of P.L.1999, c.188 specifically or any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the sale and conveyance described in subsection a. of this [act] section shall not require the approval of the Department of the Treasury, Department of Human Services or the State House Commission, nor shall the sale and conveyance require any further approval of the Legislature.
(2) With respect to the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital property not conveyed under the provisions of subsection a. of this [act] section, no portion of that property shall be used for any purpose other than (a) recreation and conservation, historic preservation, or farmland preservation, or (b) the administration of programs and the provision of services by the Department of Human Services. Furthermore, no portion of that property shall be developed, used, sold, or conveyed for residential or commercial purposes, including development, use, sale, or conveyance for such purposes that would be concurrent with any other use or purpose permitted by this paragraph.
If all or any portion of the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital property not conveyed under the provisions of subsection a. of this section is declared to be surplus to the needs of the State, the surplus property shall not be sold or otherwise conveyed to any person or entity other than the County of Morris, and the property shall be used only for the purposes of recreation and conservation, historic preservation, farmland preservation, or the provision of services to the public by local governmental or private not-for-profit entities simultaneously with the use of the property for recreation and conservation, historic preservation, or farmland preservation purposes. Any such sale and conveyance shall be conducted in the same manner, with the same conditions, and for the same price as the property sold and conveyed pursuant to subsection a. of this section. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, any sale or conveyance described in this paragraph shall not require the approval of the State House Commission or any further approval of the Legislature.
(cf: P.L.2001, c.345, s.1)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
P.L.2001, c.345 authorized the Attorney General, on behalf of the State, to sell and convey to Morris County approximately 671 acres of the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital property located in Morris County. This portion of the hospital property was declared by that law to be surplus to the needs of the State. The law further provided that the remaining portion of the hospital property retained in State ownership could be used by the State only for recreation and conservation, historic preservation, or farmland preservation purposes, or for the administration of programs and the provision of services by the Department of Human Services.
This bill provides that if all or any portion of that remaining State-owned portion of the Greystone property is declared to be surplus to the needs of the State, the surplus property cannot be sold or otherwise conveyed to any person or entity other than Morris County. The bill further provides that Morris County can use the property only for the purposes of recreation and conservation, historic preservation, farmland preservation, or the provision of services to the public by local governmental or private not-for-profit entities simultaneously with the use of the property for recreation and conservation, historic preservation, or farmland preservation. The sale or conveyance would be conducted in the same manner, with the same conditions, and for the same price as the portion of the Greystone property sold and conveyed to Morris County pursuant to P.L.2001, c.345.
The bill also clarifies current law by expressly prohibiting the development, use, sale, or conveyance of all or any portion of the remaining State-owned portion of the Greystone property for residential or commercial purposes, including development, use, sale, or conveyance for such purposes that would be concurrent with the preservation of the property for recreation and conservation, farmland preservation, or historic preservation uses.
