Bill > A1425

Introduced Session

This bill would modify the requirements for furnishing performance and maintenance guarantees under the "Municipal Land Use Law." Performance and maintenance guarantees ensure that improvements required to be made by a developer under a development approval are completed and maintained. Under current law, performance guarantees may be required to ensure the completion of certain types of improvements and may include improvements that are not being dedicated to a public entity. The bill provides that guarantees would only cover improvements that are being dedicated to a public entity. Current law lists types of improvements that may be subject to a performance guarantee requirement. The bill eliminates the following types of improvements from the list: culverts, storm sewers, erosion control and sedimentation control devices, other on-site improvements, and landscaping. The bill allows a municipality to require a performance guarantee for privately-owned perimeter buffer landscaping and stormwater management facilities if the facilities are being connected to a public drainage system. The bill allows a developer to opt to post a separate performance guarantee for these items. The bill modifies some of the types of improvements that may currently be subject to a performance guarantee requirement. The bill eliminates reference to "means of sewage disposal" (other than sanitary sewers) from the current list of improvements, but adds "community septic systems" to the list. The bill provides that grading costs can be part of a performance bond only if grading is a necessary part of an improvement that is subject to a performance guarantee requirement. The bill authorizes municipalities to require two additional types of guarantees: a "temporary certificate of occupancy bond," and a "safety and stabilization bond." Under the bill, if a developer seeks a temporary certificate of occupancy for a development, unit, building, or phase of development, a municipality may require the developer to furnish a "temporary certificate of occupancy bond" in favor of the municipality in an amount equal to 100% of the cost of installation of improvements which remain to be completed and which are required to be completed prior to the issuance of the permanent certificate of occupancy. Upon posting a "temporary certificate of occupancy bond," all sums remaining under a performance guaranty would be released because the new bond would adequately ensure completion of the improvements. In addition, the bill authorizes a municipality to require a developer to furnish a "safety and stabilization bond," which would provide the municipality a source of funding to return property to a safe and stable condition or to implement measures to protect the public from access to an unsafe or unstable condition in case the developer commences construction but then ceases all work on the development for more than 90 consecutive days.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Gordon Johnson (D)*,  Eliana Pintor Marin (D)*,  Benjie Wimberly (D)*,  John Wisniewski (D)*, 

Substituted by S3233 (3R) (on 01/08/2018)