ASSEMBLY, No. 2017
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED MAY 13, 1996
By Assemblymen O'TOOLE and WEINGARTEN
An Act concerning Palisades Interstate Park and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, and amending P.L.1980, c.104 and R.S.32:14-5.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.1980, c.104 (C.32:14-1.1) is amended to read as follows:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that the Palisades Interstate Park constitutes a natural and historic resource of immeasurable value; that concern for the preservation of this resource resulted in the enactment, in 1937, of an interstate compact between New Jersey and New York; that this compact established the Palisades Interstate Park Commission as a separate agency charged with the responsibility of maintaining this interstate park; that the separation of this commission from all other agencies of State government has tended to impede, rather than facilitate, the discharging of this responsibility; that from time to time it may benefit the State of New Jersey to utilize the Palisades Interstate Park Commission as the administering agency for parkland that may be acquired in the Highlands or Skylands areas of Bergen, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset and Warren counties in the State of New Jersey, including lands in those areas lying within the North Jersey Water Supply District; that from time to time it may also benefit the State of New Jersey to utilize the Palisades Interstate Park Commission as the administering agency for parkland that may be acquired in Essex county in the State of New Jersey; and that, in order to insure the realization of the purpose of the interstate compact, it is necessary to alter the powers, functions and duties of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, all as hereinafter provided.
(cf: P.L.1995, c.274, s.1)
2. R.S.32:14-5 is amended to read as follows:
32:14-5. a. Palisades Interstate Park Commission shall, from time to time, select and locate such lands lying between the top or steep edge of the Palisades or the crest of the slope in places where the steep Palisade rocks are absent and the high-water line of the Hudson river, from the New York State line on the north, to a line beginning at the intersection of the southern line of the old Fort Lee dock or landing with the high-water line of the Hudson river and running thence in a westerly direction and at right angles to said high-water line of the Hudson river to the east side of the river road running from Edgewater to Fort Lee, in Bergen county, on the south, and such lands or rights in lands belonging to persons other than the State, as may lie between the exterior bulkhead line established in the Hudson river and the high-water line of the Hudson river, as may, in the opinion of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, be proper and necessary to be reserved for the purpose of establishing a park and thereby preserving the scenic beauty of the Palisades.
b. The Palisades Interstate Park Commission, in cooperation with the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission and in consultation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, may, from time to time, select and locate such lands lying within (1) the Highlands or Skylands areas of Bergen, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset and Warren counties in the State of New Jersey, including lands in those areas lying within the North Jersey Water Supply District, and (2) Essex county in the State of New Jersey, as may, in the opinion of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission and the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission, in consultation with the department, be proper and necessary to be reserved for establishing a park:
(1) to preserve the scenic beauty of those areas;
(2) for the purposes of recreation and conservation, which shall include hunting and fishing, or historic preservation; or
(3) for the purposes of watershed conservation or protecting, maintaining, or enhancing the quality and quantity of water supplies.
c. Except as authorized for the purposes specified by R.S.32:15-1 et seq. and R.S.32:16-1 et seq. with regard to the location, construction, maintenance, and operation of the Henry Hudson Drive and the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Bergen county, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission shall not acquire by condemnation any lands described in subsections a. and b. of this section. Any such lands shall be acquired by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission only through a sale by a willing seller.
(cf: P.L.1995, c.274, s.2)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would expand the jurisdiction of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission so that it may acquire land in Essex county for general park, recreation and conservation, and watershed conservation purposes. Any such parks would become part of the Palisades Interstate Park system.
Expands jurisdiction of Palisades Interstate Park Commission to include Essex county.