City of Vineland, NJ Article II Municipal Planning Board

§ 425-21 Establishment; membership; terms; removal.

A. The City of Vineland hereby establishes a Municipal Planning Board comprised of nine members.

B. The membership shall consist of, for convenience in designating the manner of appointment, the following four classes:

(1) Class I: the Mayor.

(2) Class II: a municipal official other than a member of the governing body, appointed by the Mayor, provided that a member of the Environmental Commission who is also a Planning Board member as required by Section 1 of P.L. 1968, c. 245 (N.J.S.A. 40:56A-1) shall be deemed to be the Class II member in the event that the Class IV or alternate membership includes a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment or Historic Preservation Commission and a member of the Board of Education.

(3) Class III: a member of the governing body appointed by it.

(4) Class IV: other citizens of the City of Vineland appointed by the Mayor. The Class IV member shall hold no other municipal office except that one member may be a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment or Historic Preservation Commission and a member of the Board of Education. If such be the case, then the Environmental Commission member shall be deemed to be the Class II member. For the purpose of this section, membership on a municipal board or commission whose function is discretionary and not required by statute shall not be considered the holding of municipal office.

C. The terms of office for each class shall be as follows:

(1) For Class I members, the term shall correspond to official tenure.

(2) For Class II and Class III members, the term shall be for one year or terminate with the term of office, whichever occurs first, except for a Class II member who is also a member of the Environmental Commission. The term of an Environmental Commission member, whether in Class II or Class IV, shall be for three years or terminate at the completion of his term of office as a member of the Commission, whichever occurs first.

(3) For Class IV members, the initial term of office shall not exceed four years and shall be spaced so that the term of at least one member expires each year. Thereafter, the Class IV term shall be four years. If a vacancy occurs before the term expires, it shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term.

D. No member of the Planning Board shall be permitted to act on any matter in which he has, either directly or indirectly, any personal or financial interest. Any member other than the Mayor, after a public hearing if he requests one, may be removed by the governing body for cause.

§ 425-22 Alternate members.

A. The governing body hereby provides for the appointment of two alternate members to the Planning Board, who shall meet the qualifications of Class IV membership. Alternate members shall be designated, at the time of appointment by the Mayor, as "Alternate No. 1" and "Alternate No. 2."

B. The terms of alternate members shall be for two years, except that said terms shall be such that the term of not more than one alternate shall expire in any one year. In no instance shall the terms of the alternate members first appointed exceed two years. If a vacancy occurs, the Mayor shall appoint a member to fill the unexpired term only.

C. The same rules of ethical conduct and the conditions for removal which apply to Planning Board members shall apply to alternate members.

D. Alternate members may participate in discussions of the proceedings but may not vote except in the absence or disqualification of a regular member of any class. 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 is to vote, Alternate No. 1 shall vote.

§ 425-23 Organization; compensation.

The Planning Board shall elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman from the Class IV members, shall select a Secretary, who may or may not be a member of the Board or a municipal employee, and shall create and fill such other offices as established by ordinance. The Board may employ or contract for and fix the compensation of legal counsel other than the Municipal Attorney, experts, staff and services as it may deem necessary, not exceeding, exclusive of gifts or grants, the amount appropriated by the governing body for its use.

§ 425-24 Powers and duties.

A. The Planning Board shall follow the provisions of this chapter and shall accordingly exercise its powers in regard to:

(1) The Master Plan, pursuant to Article III.

(2) Subdivision control and site plan review, pursuant to Article VI.

(3) The Official Map, pursuant to Article V.

(4) The Zoning Ordinance, pursuant to Article XV.

(5) The Capital Improvements Program, pursuant to Article IV.

(6) Variances and certain building permits in conjunction with subdivision, site plan and conditional use approval, pursuant to Article XIV.

B. The Planning Board may:

(1) Participate in the preparation and review of programs or plans required by state or federal law or regulation.

(2) Assemble data on a continuing basis as part of a continuous process.

(3) Perform such other duties as are assigned to it by ordinance or resolution of the governing body to aid and assist said body or other agencies or officers.

§ 425-25 Referral powers.

A. Prior to the adoption of a development regulation or any revision or amendment thereto, the Planning Board shall transmit a report to the governing body within 35 days after referral, including identification of any provisions in the proposed regulation, revision or amendment which are inconsistent with the Master Plan, and recommendations concerning these inconsistencies and any other matters the Board deems appropriate. The governing body shall review the report, may disapprove or change any recommendation by a majority vote of its full membership and shall record in its minutes the reasons for not following the Board's recommendations. Failure of the Board to send its report within 35 days shall relieve the governing body from the requirements of this subsection. Nothing in this section shall be construed as diminishing the application of the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-32 (official map) or N.J.S.A. 40:55D-62 (power to zone).

B. The governing body may, by ordinance, provide for the reference of any matter to the Planning Board before final approval of said matter. Such reference shall not extend the time for action by the referring body, whether or not the Planning Board has submitted its report. Whenever the Planning Board shall have made recommendations to another municipal body, such recommendations may not be rejected except by a majority vote of the full authorized membership of such other body.

§ 425-26 Citizens Advisory Committee.

The Mayor may appoint one or more persons as a Citizens Advisory Committee to assist the Planning Board in its duties, but such person or persons shall have no power to vote or take other action required by the Board and shall serve at the pleasure of the Mayor.

§ 425-27 Environmental Commission.

Whenever the Environmental Commission has prepared and submitted to the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment an index of the natural resources of the City of Vineland, said Boards shall make available to the Commission an informational copy of every application submitted to either Board. Failure of the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Adjustment to make such informational copy available to the Environmental Commission shall not invalidate any hearing or proceeding.

(NOTE: The basis for this article is N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23 to 40:55D-27.)