[1]
Editor's Note: For establishment of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and provisions pertaining to its composition, terms of office of members, etc., see Ch. 3, Administrative Code, Art. XX, Zoning Board of Adjustment.
A. 
The Zoning Board of Adjustment is authorized to adopt bylaws governing its procedural operation. It shall also have the following powers and duties:
(1) 
To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that there is error in any order, requirement, decision or refusal made by an administrative officer based on or made in the enforcement of Chapter 160, Zoning, or Chapter 161, Zoning Modifications and Additional Requirements.
(2) 
To hear and decide requests for interpretation of the Zoning Map or Chapter 160, Zoning, or Chapter 161, Zoning Modifications and Additional Requirements, or for decisions upon other special questions upon which the Board is authorized to pass by Chapter 160, Zoning, or Chapter 161, Zoning Modifications and Additional Requirements.
(3) 
Where, by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific piece of property, or by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or physical features uniquely affecting a specific piece of property, or by reason of an extraordinary and exceptional situation uniquely affecting a specific piece of property or the structures lawfully existing thereon, the strict application of any regulation in Chapter 160, Zoning, or Chapter 161, Zoning Modifications and Additional Requirements, would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to or exceptional and undue hardship upon the developer of such property, grant, upon an application or an appeal relating to such property, a variance from such strict application of such regulation so as to relieve such difficulties or hardship; or where, in an application or appeal relating to a specific piece of property, the purposes of the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-2, would be advanced by a deviation from the requirements of Chapter 160, Zoning, or Chapter 161, Zoning Modifications and Additional Requirements, and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, grant a variance to allow departure from regulations of Chapter 160, Zoning; provided, however, that no variance from those departures enumerated in § 15-3A(4) shall be granted under this Subsection A(3); and provided further that the proposed development does not require approval by the Planning Board of a subdivision, site plan or conditional use in conjunction with which the Planning Board has power to review a request for a variance pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-60a.
(4) 
In particular cases and for special reasons, grant a variance to allow departure from regulations pursuant to Article 8 of the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-62 et seq., to permit a use or principal structure in a district restricted against such use of principal structure; an expansion of a nonconforming use; deviation from a specification or standard pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 pertaining solely to a conditional use; an increase in the permitted floor area ratio as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4; an increase in the permitted density as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4 except as applied to the required lot area for a lot or lots for detached one- or two-dwelling-unit buildings, which lot or lots are either an isolated undersized lot or lots resulting from a minor subdivision; height of a principal structure which exceeds by 10 feet or 10% the maximum height permitted in the district for a principal structure. A variance under this subsection shall be granted only by affirmative vote of at least five members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
(5) 
Direct the issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-34 for a building or structure in the bed of a mapped street or public drainageway, flood control basin or public area reserved on the Official Map.
(6) 
Direct the issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36 for a building or structure not related to a street.
(7) 
Grant, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board, subdivision, general development plan, or site plan approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-37 et seq. or conditional use approval, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67, whenever the proposed development requires approval by the Board of Adjustment of a variance pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70d. The developer may elect to submit a separate application requesting approval of the variance and a subsequent application for any required approval of a subdivision, site plan or conditional use. The separate approval of the variance shall be conditioned upon grant of all required subsequent approvals by the Board of Adjustment. No such subsequent approval shall be granted unless such approval can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantial impairment of the intent and purpose of the zone plan and Zoning Ordinance. The number of votes of Board members required to grant any such subsequent approval shall be as otherwise provided in the Municipal Land Use Law[1] for the approval in question, and the special vote pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70d shall not be required.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
(8) 
If an application for development requests one or more variances, but not a variance for a purpose enumerated in § 15-3A(4) of this Code, the decision on the requested variances shall be rendered under § 15-3A(3) of this Code.
B. 
No variance or other relief may be granted under the provisions of Subsections A(1), (2), (3) or (4) of this § 15-3, including a variance or other relief involving an inherently beneficial use, without a showing that such variance or other relief can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and will not substantially impair the intent and purpose of the Evesham Township Zone Plan and Chapters 160, Zoning, and 161, Zoning Modifications and Additional Requirements. Any application under any subsection of this section may be referred to any appropriate person or agency for its report, provided that such references shall not extend the period of time within which the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act.
C. 
Any municipal variance approval which grants relief from the density or lot area requirements set forth in the RG-1 and RG-2 Zones shall require that Pinelands development credits be used for all dwelling units or lots in excess of that otherwise permitted without the variance.
D. 
Any municipal variance or other approval for the development of a nonresidential use not otherwise permitted in the RG-1 or RG-2 Zones located in the Pinelands Area shall require that Pinelands development credits be used at 50% of the maximum rate permitted for Pinelands development credit use in the zone in which the nonresidential use will be located for parcels under 10 acres in size; at 75% of the maximum rate for parcels between 10 and 20 acres in size; and at 100% of the maximum rate for parcels over 20 acres in size. This requirement shall not apply to a variance or other approval which authorizes the expansion of or changes to existing nonresidential uses in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:50-5.2.
[Amended 8-7-2001 by Ord. No. 16-5-2001]
E. 
Any variance or other approval for a residential use in that portion of the OP Zone located in the Pinelands Area shall require that Pinelands development credits be used for 50% of the authorized units for parcels under 10 acres in size; for 75% of the authorized units for parcels between 10 and 20 acres in size; and for 100% of the authorized units for parcels over 20 acres in size.
[Added 8-7-2001 by Ord. No. 16-5-2001]
A. 
Appeals to the Board of Adjustment may be taken by any interested party affected by a decision of a Township official based on or made in the enforcement of Chapter 160, Zoning, or Chapter 161, Zoning Modifications and Additional Requirements. Each appeal shall be taken within 20 days by filing a notice of appeal with the official from whom the appeal was taken, together with three copies of said notice with the Director of Community Development. Such notice of appeal shall specify the grounds for said appeal. The official from whom the appeal is taken shall immediately transmit all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken to the Director of Community Development.
B. 
Three copies of an application for the exercise of the Board's power, pursuant to § 15-3A(2), 15-3A(3), 15-3A(4), 15-3A(5), 15-3A(6) or 15-3A(7), shall be filed with the Secretary of the Board of Adjustment.
C. 
At the time of filing the appeal or application but in no event less than 20 days prior to the date set for the hearing, the applicant shall also file all relevant plans, maps or other papers. The applicant shall obtain all necessary forms from the Secretary of the Board of Adjustment. The Secretary of the Board of Adjustment shall inform the applicant of the steps to be taken to initiate proceedings and of the regular meeting dates of the Board. The applicant shall file the required fees in accordance with the fee schedule and standards adopted by the Township Council by ordinance.
D. 
An appeal to the Board of Adjustment shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action in respect to which the decision appealed from was made unless the official from whose decision the appeal is taken certifies to the Board of Adjustment, after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with the official, that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in the official's opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by an order of the Superior Court of New Jersey upon notice to the official from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
E. 
The Board of Adjustment may reverse or affirm, wholly or in part, or may modify the action, order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination appealed from and, to that end, shall have all powers of the administrative officer from whom the appeal was taken.
Any variance from the terms of Chapter 160, Zoning, or Chapter 161, Zoning Modifications and Additional Requirements, granted by the Board of Adjustment permitting the erection or alteration of any structure or structures or a specified use of any premises shall expire unless such construction, alteration or use shall have been actually commenced on or in each and every structure permitted by said variance within one year from the date of authorization by the Board of Adjustment and is diligently pursued to completion; except, however, that the running of this period shall be tolled from the date of filing an appeal from the decision of the Board of Adjustment to a court of competent jurisdiction, until the termination in any manner of such appeal or proceeding; provided, however, that if any variance is granted as part of a site plan or subdivision approval, the expiration of the variance shall occur upon the expiration of the site plan or subdivision approval.
A. 
The Board of Adjustment shall render its decision not later than 120 days after the date that:
(1) 
An appeal is taken pursuant to § 15-4A; or
(2) 
A complete application for approval of a subdivision plat, site plan, conditional use, zoning variance or direction of the issuance of a permit is submitted to the Board pursuant to the provisions of § 15-3A(3), (4), (5), (6) or (7).
(3) 
In the event that the developer elects to submit separate consecutive applications, the aforesaid provision shall apply to the application for approval of the variance. The period for granting or denying any subsequent approval shall be as otherwise provided in this chapter.
B. 
Failure of the Board of Adjustment to act within such period of 120 days or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant shall constitute approval of the application. In the event that the Board fails to so act on a complete application for development, the administrative officer shall issue a certificate, on request to the applicant, and it shall be sufficient, in lieu of the written endorsement or other evidence of approval herein required and shall be so accepted by the County Clerk for purposes of filing subdivision plats.