The Board of Adjustment shall elect a Chairman
and Vice Chairman from its members and shall also select a Secretary
who may or may not be a Board member or another municipal employee.
There is hereby created the office of Attorney
to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The Zoning Board of Adjustment
may annually appoint and fix the compensation of or agree upon the
rate of compensation of the Zoning Board of Adjustment Attorney, who
shall be an attorney other than the Municipal Attorney.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment may also employ
or contract for and fix the compensation of such experts and other
staff and services as it may deem necessary. The Board shall not authorize
expenditures which exceed, exclusive of gifts or grants, the amount
appropriated by the governing body for its use.
The Board shall adopt such rules and regulations
as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions and purposes
of this chapter. In the issuance of subpoenas, administration of oaths
and taking of testimony, the provisions of the County and Municipal
Investigations Law of 1953 (N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1 et seq.) shall apply.
In exercising the above-mentioned power, the
Board of Adjustment may, in conformity with the provisions of c. 291,
P.L. 1975, or amendments thereto or subsequent statutes applying,
reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or modify the order, requirement,
decision or determination appealed from and make such other requirement,
decision or determination as ought to be made and to that end have
all the powers of the administrative officer from whom the appeal
is taken.
[Amended 12-19-1988 by Ord. No. 27-88]
Any variance from the terms of this chapter
heretofore or hereafter granted by the Board of Adjustment permitting
the creation or alteration of any structure or structures or permitting
a specified use of any premises shall expire by limitation within
one year from the date of publication of the notice of the judgment
or determination of the Board of Adjustment unless the proposed building
or structure is actually commenced, with the foundations or footings
completed.
A. The running of the period of limitation herein provided
shall be tolled from the date of filing an appeal from the decision
of the Board of Adjustment to the governing body, when permitted by
this chapter, or to a court of competent jurisdiction, until the termination
in any manner of such appeal or proceeding.
B. If an applicant has received a variance pursuant to
this chapter but is prevented from obtaining a construction permit
by the imposition of the sewer connection ban pursuant to N.J.A.C.
7:14A-12.21, as issued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection on August 18, 1988, then the original time limitation of
said variance shall be tolled from August 18, 1988, to the expiration
of the original variance, which time shall be added from the date
of termination of the sewer connection ban. It is the intent of this
section to provide an applicant with 12 unrestricted months to implement
his permit.
[Amended 11-19-1984 by Ord. No. 26-84]
A. The Board of Adjustment shall have such powers as
are granted by law to:
(1) Hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the
appellant that there is an error in any order, requirement, decision
or refusal made by an administrative official or agency based on or
made in the enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance.
(2) Hear and decide requests for interpretation of the
Zoning Map or Zoning Ordinance or for decisions upon other special
questions upon which such Board is authorized by the Zoning Ordinance
to pass.
(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 the Land Use Chapter of the City of Hackensack 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-1 et seq., would be advanced by a deviation from the Land Use 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 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-62 et seq.); provided, however, that no variance from those departures enumerated in Subsection
A(4) of this section shall be granted under this subsection 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 §
26-7 of this chapter.
(4) Particular cases and special reasons.
(a)
In particular cases and for special reasons,
grant a variance to allow departure from the Land Use chapter of the
City of Hackensack to permit:
[1]
A use or principal structure in a district restricted
against such use or principal structure.
[2]
An expansion of a nonconforming use.
[3]
Deviation from a specification or standard pursuant
to Section 54 of P.L. 1975, c. 291 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67), pertaining
solely to a conditional use.
[4]
An increase in the permitted floor area ratio
as defined in Section 3.1 of P.L. 1975, c. 291 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4).
[5]
An increase in the permitted density as defined
in Section 3.1 of P.L. 1975, c. 291 (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.
(b)
A variance under this subsection shall be granted
only by affirmative vote of at least 2/3 of the full authorized membership
of the Board.
B. No variance or other relief may be granted under the
provisions of this section unless 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 zone plan and
Zoning Ordinance. 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.
[Amended 11-19-1984 by Ord. No. 26-84]
A. The Board of Adjustment shall render its decision not later than 120 days after the date an appeal is taken from the decision of an administrative officer or not later than 120 days after the submission of a complete application, as defined in §
26-17E, for development to the Board pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70b.
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.
C. If the Board of Adjustment fails to adopt a resolution
or memorializing resolution of its decision, any stated party may
apply to the Superior Court in a summary manner for an order compelling
the Board of Adjustment to reduce its findings and conclusions to
writing within a stated time, and the cost of the application, including
attorneys' fees, shall be assessed against the municipality.
[Amended 11-19-1984 by Ord. No. 26-84]
An appeal to the Zoning Board of Adjustment may be taken by an interested party affected by any decision of the administrative officer of the municipality based on or made in the enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance or Official Map. Such appeal shall be taken within 20 days by filing a notice of appeal in the manner set forth in Article
II, §
26-17A, of this chapter and in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of the Municipal Land Use Law of 1975.
[Amended 11-19-1984 by Ord. No. 26-84; 9-5-1989 by Ord. No. 23-89]
A. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-17, any interested party
may appeal to the Mayor and Council any final decision of the Zoning
Board of Adjustment approving an application for development pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70d. Such appeal shall be made within 10 days of
publication of such final decision, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10,
by serving the City Clerk in person or by certified mail with a notice
of appeal, specifying the grounds thereof and the name and address
of the appellant and the name and address of his attorney, if represented.
The filing fee for such notice of appeal shall be $50. The cost of
the transcript of the subject proceeding of the Zoning Board of Adjustment
required to be provided to the Mayor and Council shall be borne by
the appellant.
B. The provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-17 shall apply to
the procedures of such appeal to the Mayor and Council.
C. Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict
the right of any party to obtain a review by any court of competent
jurisdiction, according to law.
D. With the exception of the foregoing optional appeal
to the Mayor and Council, an appeal from any decision of the Zoning
Board of Adjustment shall be made to the Superior Court within 45
days of the decision of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The date of
the decision shall be the date of the publication of the final decision
of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.