No member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board
of Adjustment shall act on any matter in which he has either directly
or indirectly any personal or financial interest. Whenever any such
member shall disqualify himself from acting on a particular matter,
he shall not continue to sit with the Board on the hearing of such
matter nor participate in any discussion or decision relating thereto.
A.
Meetings of both the Planning Board and Zoning Board
of Adjustment shall be scheduled no less than once a month, and any
meeting so scheduled shall be held as scheduled unless canceled for
lack of applications for development to process.
B.
Special meetings may be provided for at the call of
the Chairman or on the request of any two Board members, which meetings
shall be held on notice to the Board's members and the public in accordance
with all applicable legal requirements.
C.
No action shall be taken at any meeting without a
quorum being present.
D.
All action shall be taken by a majority vote of the
municipal agency present at the meeting except as otherwise required
by any provision of Chapter 291 of the Laws of New Jersey 1975[1] and any amendments or supplements thereto.
[Amended 5-14-1980 by Ord. No. 409]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
E.
All regular meetings and all special meetings shall
be open to the public. Notice of all such meetings shall be given
in accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act,
Chapter 231 of the Laws of New Jersey 1975.[2] An executive session for the purpose of discussing and
studying any matters to come before either Board shall not be deemed
a regular or special meeting in accordance with the provisions of
N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9.
[2]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.
Minutes of every regular or special meeting
shall be kept and shall include the names of the persons appearing
and addressing the Board and of the persons appearing by attorney,
the action taken by the Board and the findings, if any, made by it
and reasons therefor. The minutes shall thereafter be made available
for public inspection during normal business hours at the office of
the Municipal Clerk. Any interested party shall have the right to
compel production of the minutes for use as evidence in any legal
proceeding concerning the subject matter of such minutes. Such interested
party may be charged a fee for reproduction of the minutes for his
use as provided for in the rules of the Board.
[Amended 4-10-1985 by Ord. No. 529-85]
Fees for any application for land use approval shall be those fees as set forth in Chapter 97, Fees, of the Code of the Borough of Northvale, its amendments and supplements thereto.
A.
Rules. The Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment
may make rules governing the conduct of hearings before such bodies,
which rules shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A.
40:55D-1 et seq. or of this chapter.
B.
Oaths. The officer presiding at the hearing or such
person as he may designate shall have power to administer oaths and
issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production
of relevant evidence, including witnesses and documents presented
by the parties, and the provisions of the County and Municipal Investigations
Law, P.L. 1953, c. 38 (N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1 et seq.), shall apply.
C.
Testimony. The testimony of all witnesses relating
to an application for development shall be taken under oath or affirmation
by the presiding officer, and the right of cross-examination shall
be permitted to all interested parties through their attorneys, if
represented, or directly, if not represented, subject to the discretion
of the presiding officer and to reasonable limitations as to time
and number of witnesses.
D.
Evidence. Technical rules of evidence shall not be
applicable to the hearing, but the Board may exclude irrelevant, immaterial
or unduly repetitious evidence.
E.
Records. Each Board shall provide for the verbatim
recording of the proceedings by either stenographic, mechanical or
electronic means. The Board shall furnish a transcript or duplicate
recording in lieu thereof on request to any interested party at his
expense.
Whenever a hearing is required on an application
for development pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., the applicant
shall give notice thereof as follows:
A.
Public notice shall be given by publication in the
official newspaper of the municipality at least 10 days prior to the
date of the hearing.
B.
Notice of a hearing requiring public notice pursuant to Subsection A of this section shall be given to the owners of all real property as shown on the current tax duplicates, located in the state and within 200 feet in all directions of the property which is the subject of such hearing, provided that this requirement shall be deemed satisfied by notice to the condominium association, in the case of any unit owner whose unit has a unit above or below it, or the horizontal property regime, in the case of any co-owner whose apartment has an apartment above or below it. Notice shall be given by serving a copy thereof on the property owner as shown on said current tax duplicate or his agent in charge of the property or by mailing a copy thereof by certified mail to the property owner at his address as shown on said current tax duplicate. Notice to a partnership owner may be made by service upon any partner. Notice to a corporate owner may be made by service upon its President, a Vice President, Secretary or other person authorized by appointment or by law to accept service on behalf of the corporation. Notice to a condominium association, horizontal property regime, community trust or homeowners' association, because of its ownership of common elements or areas located within 200 feet of the property which is the subject of the hearing, may be made in the same manner as to a corporation without further notice to unit owners, co-owners or homeowners on account of such common elements or areas.[1]
C.
Notice of all hearings on applications for development involving property located within 200 feet of an adjoining municipality shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the Clerk of such municipality, which notice shall be in addition to the notice required to be given pursuant to § 29-29B of this Article to the owners of lands in such adjoining municipality which are located within 200 feet of the subject premises.
D.
Notice shall be given by personal service or certified
mail to the County Planning Board of a hearing on an application for
development of property adjacent to an existing county road or proposed
road shown on the Official County Map or on the County Master Plan,
adjoining other county land or situate within 200 feet of a municipal
boundary.
E.
Notice shall be given by personal service or certified
mail to the Commissioner of Transportation of a hearing on an application
for development of property adjacent to a state highway.
F.
Notice shall be given by personal service or certified
mail to the State Planning Commission of a hearing on an application
for development of property which exceeds 150 acres or 500 dwelling
units. Such notice shall include a copy of any maps or documents required
to be on file with the Municipal Clerk pursuant to Section 6b of Chapter
291 of the Laws of New Jersey 1975.[2]
G.
Notice of hearings on applications for approval of a major subdivision or a site plan not defined as a minor site plan under this section requiring public notice pursuant to Subsection A of this section shall be given in the case of public utility, cable television company or local utility which possesses a right-of-way or easement within the municipality and which has registered with the municipality in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12.1 by serving a copy of the notice on the person whose name appears on the registration form on behalf of the public utility, cable television company or local utility or by mailing a copy thereof by certified mail to the person whose name appears on the registration form at the address shown on the form.[3]
H.
All notices hereinabove specified in this section
shall be given at least 10 days prior to the date fixed for hearing,
and the applicant shall file an affidavit of proof of service with
the Board holding the hearing on the application for development.
I.
Any notice made by certified mail as hereinabove required
shall be deemed to be complete upon mailing in accordance with the
provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-14.
J.
Form of notice. All notices required to be given pursuant
to the terms of this chapter shall state the date, time and place
of the hearing, the nature of the matters to be considered and identification
of the property proposed for development by street address, if any,
or by reference to lot and block numbers as shown on the current tax
duplicate in the Municipal Tax Assessor's office and the location
and times at which any maps and documents for which approval is sought
are available as required by law.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12c, the administrative officer of the municipality, the Borough Clerk, shall, within seven days after receipt of a request therefor and upon receipt of payment of a fee not to exceed $0.25 per name or $10, whichever is greater, make and certify a list from the current tax duplicate of names and addresses of owners to whom the applicant is required to give notice pursuant to Article III, § 29-29B, of this chapter. Utilities which are interested in receiving notice of development applications must register to receive such information.
A.
Each decision on any application for development shall
be set forth in writing as a resolution of the Board, which shall
include findings of fact and legal conclusions based thereon. Such
resolution may be adopted at the meeting at which the municipal agency
votes to grant or deny approval or may be adopted not later than 45
days after the date of such meeting. Only the members of the municipal
agency who voted for the action may vote on the memorializing resolution,
and the vote of the majority of such members present at which the
resolution is presented for adoption shall be sufficient to adopt
the resolution. An action resulting from the failure of a motion to
approve an application shall be memorialized by resolution as provided
above with those members voting against the motion for approval, being
the members eligible to vote on the memorializing resolution. The
vote on any such resolution shall be deemed to be a memorialization
of the action of the municipal agency and not to be an action of the
municipal agency. However, the date of adoption of the resolution
shall constitute the date of the decision for purposes of mailings,
filings and publications.
[Amended 5-14-1980 by Ord. No. 409; 4-10-1985 by Ord. No.
529-85]
B.
A copy of the decision shall be mailed by the Board,
within 10 days of the date of decision, to the applicant, or, if represented,
then to his attorney, without separate charge. A copy of the decision
shall also be mailed to all persons who have requested it and who
have paid the fee prescribed by the Board for such service. A copy
of the decision shall also be filed in the office of the Municipal
Clerk, who shall make a copy of such filed decision available to any
interested party upon payment of a fee calculated in the same manner
as those established for copies of other public documents in the municipality.
A brief notice of every final decision shall
be published in the official newspaper of the municipality. Such publication
shall be arranged by the Secretary of the Planning Board or Zoning
Board of Adjustment, as the case may be, within separate charge to
the applicant. Said notice shall be sent to the official newspaper
for publication within 10 days of the date of any such decision.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-39
and 40:55D-65, every application for development submitted to the
Planning Board or to the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be accompanied
by proof that no taxes or assessments for local improvements are due
or delinquent on the property which is the subject of such application,
or if it is shown that taxes or assessments are delinquent on said
property, any approvals or other relief granted by either Board shall
be conditioned upon either the prompt payment of such taxes or assessments
or the making of adequate provision for the payment thereof in such
manner that the Borough will be adequately protected.
