Requires municipal governing body to consider preservation of certain open space proposed for development.

This bill requires New Jersey municipalities to pause development approvals for projects on 20 or more contiguous acres of land while considering preservation of that land for recreation or conservation. Municipal governing bodies must hold a public hearing within 45 days and decide whether to pursue purchasing the land under existing conservation law (P.L.1997, c.24), which would deny the development application. If preservation is not pursued, the development process resumes under standard timelines. The bill directly affects developers seeking large-scale projects and municipal governments handling land-use decisions.