A. 
The Zoning Board of Adjustment previously established is hereby continued pursuant to the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69 et seq., and shall consist of seven residents of the Township of Knowlton appointed by the governing body to serve for terms of four years from January 1 of the year of their appointment.
B. 
No member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment may hold any elective office or position in the township.
A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term shall be filled for the unexpired term only.
[Added 4-27-1995 by Ord. No. 95-5]
Any member, other than the Class I member, after a public hearing if one is requested, may be removed by the governing body for cause.
The governing body shall appoint two alternate members to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Alternate members shall be designated by the governing body as "Alternate No. 1" and "Alternate No. 2" and shall serve during the absence or disqualification of any regular member or members of the Board. The term of each alternate shall be two years except in the case of the appointment of the first two alternate members of the Board, in which case Alternate No. 1 shall be appointed to a one-year term and Alternate No. 2 to a two-year term. Alternate members may participate in discussions of the proceedings but may not vote except in the absence or disqualification of a regular member. A vote shall not be delayed in order that a regular member may vote instead of an alternate member. In the event that a choice must be made as to which alternate member is to vote, Alternate No. 1 shall vote.
The Board of Adjustment shall elect a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from its members and shall select a Secretary who may or may not be a member of the Board or a municipal employee.
A. 
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70, the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall have the power to:
(1) 
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 official based on or made in the enforcement of Part VI, Zoning.
(2) 
Hear and decide requests for interpretation of the Zoning Map or Ordinance or for decisions upon other special questions upon which the Board is authorized to pass upon by this chapter.
(3) 
Where, by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific piece of property or by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or by reason of other extraordinary and exceptional situation or condition of such piece of property, the strict application of any regulation in this chapter would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to or exceptional and undue hardship upon the owner of such property, grant upon an application or an appeal relating to such property a variance from such strict application so as to relieve such difficulties or hardship; where, in an application or appeal relating to a specific piece of property, the purposes of this chapter would be advanced by a deviation from the Zoning Ordinance requirements and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, grant a variance to allow departure from regulations pursuant to Article 8 of the Municipal Land Use Law; provided, however, that no variance shall be granted under this subsection to allow a structure or use in a district restricted against such structure or use; and further provided 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 shall 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 to permit (a) a use or a principal structure in a district restricted against such use or principal structure; (b) the expansion of a nonconforming use; (c) deviation from the specifications or standards pertaining solely to a conditional use; (d) an increase in the permitted floor area ratio as defined by the Municipal Land Use Law, as amended; (e) an increase in the permitted density as defined by the Municipal Land Use Law, as amended, except as applied to a 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; (f) a 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.
B. 
If an application for development requests one or more variances but not a variance for the purpose enumerated in this subsection, the decision on the requested variance or variances shall be rendered under Subsection C.
C. 
No variance or other relief may be granted under the provisions of this section unless such variances or other relief can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and will not substantially impair the intent and purposes of the Master Plan and this chapter. Any application under any subsection of this section may be referred to any appropriate person or agency, including the Planning Board, for its report, provided that such reference shall not extend the period of time within which the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act.
D. 
Direct 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. The Board of Adjustment shall not exercise the power otherwise granted by this subsection if the proposed development requires approval by the Planning Board of a subdivision, site plan or conditional use in conjunction with which the Planning Board has power to direct the issuance of the permit pursuant to the Municipal Land Use Law and its amendments.
E. 
Direct issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36 for a building or structure not related to a street. The Board of Adjustment shall not exercise the power otherwise granted by this subsection if the proposed development requires approval by the Planning Board of a subdivision, site plan or conditional use in conjunction with which the Planning Board has power to direct the issuance of the permit pursuant to the Municipal Land Use Law and its amendments.
F. 
Grant to the same extent, and subject to the same procedures and restrictions as the Planning Board, subdivision or site plan approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-37 through N.J.S.A. 40:55D-59, inclusive, or conditional use approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 whenever the Board is reviewing an application for approval of a use variance pursuant to Subsection D of this section.
(1) 
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 conditional upon granting 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 Master Plan and this chapter. The number of votes of Board members required to grant any such subsequent approval shall be as otherwise provided in this chapter for the approval in question, and the special vote pursuant to the aforesaid subsection of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70 not be required.
(2) 
Whenever an application for development requests relief pursuant of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-76b, the Board of Adjustment shall grant or deny approval of the application within 120 days after submission by a developer of a complete application to the administrative officer or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant. 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. Failure of the Board of Adjustment to act within the period prescribed shall constitute approval of the application, and a certificate of the administrative officer as to the failure of the Board of Adjustment to act shall be issued on request of 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 recording officer for purposes of filing subdivision plats.
(3) 
Where review or approval of an application by the County Planning Board is required, the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall condition any approval that it grants upon timely receipt of favorable report or approval by the County Planning Board.
A. 
Appeals to the Zoning Board of Adjustment may be taken by any interested party from a decision of an administrative officer based on or made in the enforcement of Part VI, Zoning, or the Official Map. Each appeal shall be taken within the 20 days prescribed by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-72a by filing a notice of appeal with the officer from whom the appeal was taken. Said notice of appeal shall specify the grounds of said appeal. The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
B. 
An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action in respect of which the decision appealed from was made, unless the officer from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the Board of Adjustment after notice of appeal shall have been filed with the officer that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in the officer's opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such cases, proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the Board of Adjustment or by the Superior Court of New Jersey on application or notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
In exercising its power, the Zoning Board of Adjustment may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the action, order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination appealed from and to that end have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal was taken.
A. 
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall render its decision not later than 120 days after:
(1) 
The date an appeal is taken from the decision of an administrative official; or
(2) 
The submission of a complete application for development to the Board pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-72.
B. 
Failure of the Board to render a decision within such one-hundred-twenty-day period or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant shall constitute a decision favorable to the applicant.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 11-19, Expiration of variance, as amended, was repealed 12-22-2005 by Ord. No. 05-22.
The Board of Adjustment must prepare and adopt by resolution a report of its findings on zoning provisions which were the subject of variance requests and its recommendations for zoning amendment or revision, if any, be sent to the Planning Board and governing body.