Green Acres Survey Section

This page contains links to the various forms and documents needed by surveyors who perform work directly or indirectly for Green Acres, and by those who contract to obtain that survey work.

• State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors: Requirements for Land Surveys
• State Land Acquisitions
• Local Government and Non–Profit Acquisitions
• Environmental Infrastructure Funding Program (EIFP and EIT)
• Diversions and State House Commission Actions

Title 13, Chapter 40 of the New Jersey Administrative Code outlines general minimum standards for all land surveys performed by professional licensed surveyors within the State of New Jersey.

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The contract process for Green Acres has recently changed. Survey contractors now must first be generally pre–qualified with Treasury's Division of Property Management and Construction (DPMC) and then evaluated by Green Acres on a technical basis for the more specialized work associated with Green Acres' needs.

Green Acres recently awarded a two–year contract and is not reviewing technical proposals from any additional survey service providers at this time. Survey firms may find that DPMC pre–qualification allows them to secure awards from other agencies and organizations, and will be a prerequisite for future Green Acres State Land Acquisition survey service contracts.

The full “Scope of Survey Services” document is available under Standard Scope of Survey Work page of this website.

Checklist for surveys performed for State land acquisitions (PDF file, 56 KB)

Surveyor's Certification and Summary Form for State Land Acquisitions (Word document, 28 KB)

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Local Government and Non–Profit Acquisitions

“Appendix 2” of the rule published in the New Jersey Register on January 3, 2006 is a summary of survey requirements for local government units and non-profit organizations. (PDF file, 64 KB)

Note: The full rule adoption revising NJAC 7:36 regarding Green Acres programs can be found at 38 NJR 223. Also, remember that Green Acres is one of the Ultimate Users of any survey for a project in which Green Acres participates. See the full Standard Scope of Survey Work for details applicable to all submissions to Green Acres.

Checklist for surveys performed for local government units and non-profit organizations (PDF file, 100 KB)

Surveyor's Certification and Summary Form for Local Government Unit and Non-Profit acquisitions (Word document, 28 KB)

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The Environmental Infrastructure Funding Program (EIFP) places Environmental Infrastructure Trust (EIT) restrictions on any property acquired with this funding. Properties eligible for EIFP funding must be free of any easements, encroachments, or any uses other than passive open space. EIT restrictions are in addition to any encumbrance placed on a site by Green Acres.

Guidelines for Environmental Infrastructure Funding Program surveys (PDF file, 96 KB)

Surveyor's Certification and Summary Form for acquisitions through Environmental Infrastructure Funding Program (Word document, 28 KB)

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Properties that are encumbered by open space requirements through Green Acres must be kept free of any violations of that requirement. When a violation does occur, this is considered a diversion, and is subject to actions by the State House Commission. Diversions can result in requirements for set asides of additional land for open space purposes in a ratio possibly as high as 20 to 1. Diversions include, but are not limited to, building construction, road widening, sale or use of land for non–open space purposes, etc.

In preparing survey documents for a diversion, there are two elements to be considered: the diverted land and the remainder. The survey requirements may differ for each of these portions of the original tract.

For the diverted land, Green Acres requires a survey plan (tied to the State Plane Coordinate System) and a matching deed description (adhering to standard Green Acres format for descriptions). The new limits of the State's interests are to be marked on the ground with concrete monuments. The acreage of the diverted land and the acreage of the remaining lands both must be reported on the plan and in the description. If the diverted lands are part of a larger tract, it may not be necessary to survey the entire tract, but just the diversion itself, as long as the plan identifies where the diversion occurs and that diversion is tied to the State Plane Coordinate System. For large tracts from which there is only a small diversion, a deed plot or a plot of the overall site that was the subject of a prior survey may be adequate.

The survey of lands replacing the diverted lands must follow the full scope of requirements as if acquired with Green Acres funds. The full scope of work for land surveying services is posted on this site under Standard Scope of Survey Work.

State House Commission review sheet and diversion form (PDF file, 20 KB)

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