[Adopted 9-10-1985 by Ord. No. 18-85 (Ch.
15, Art. VI, of the 1985 Code)]
There is hereby established within the Village
of Ridgefield Park a Uniform Construction Board of Appeals, consisting
of five members who are residents of the Village of Ridgefield Park,
who shall be appointed by the Board of Commissioners. Each member
appointed to the Board shall be qualified by experience or training
to perform the duties of a member of a construction board of appeals.
The Construction Board of Appeals shall exercise all of the authority
conferred on it by N.J.S.A. 52:27D-127. The initial membership of
the Board shall consist of five members.
The terms of office of the newly appointed members
shall be one for a term of one year; one for a term of two years;
one for a term of three years; and two for a term of four years. Upon
the expiration of a term for a member, his term shall be then for
a period of four years. A vacancy on the Board shall be filled for
the unexpired time of the term. All terms of office shall begin on
January 1 and terminate in accordance with the terms of appointment,
i.e., December 31 of each respective year. A member may be removed
by the appointing authority for just cause.
The duties of the members of the Construction
Board of Appeals shall be to hear appeals from the decision of the
Construction Code Official, the Fire Code Official, the Electrical
Code Official and Plumbing Code Official.
An owner or his authorized agent who may be
dissatisfied with the decision of an enforcing agency in connection
with the enforcement of the Uniform Construction Code (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-119
et seq.) and, in particular, the refusal to grant an application to
act upon an application for a construction permit, or when a Construction
Code Official makes any other decision pursuant to the Uniform Construction
Code or the Uniform Fire Code (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-192 et seq.), may file
a written appeal with the Construction Board of Appeals. The Board
shall hear the appeal and render its opinion thereon and file its
decision with its reason thereon with the enforcing agency from which
the appeal has been taken no later than 10 business days following
the submission of the appeal, unless consent has been given by the
applicant. The decision may affirm, reverse or modify the decision
of the enforcing agency or remand the matter to the enforcing agency
for further action.
The failure of the Board to hear an appeal and
return a decision within the time limits described above, i.e., 10
days after the filing of the appeal, shall be deemed a denial of the
appeal for purposes of a complaint, application or appeal to a court
of competent jurisdiction. A record of all decisions made by the Board,
properly indexed, shall be kept by the enforcing agency and shall
be subject to public inspection during business hours. The Board shall
provide rules for its procedure in accordance with the laws of the
State of New Jersey, regulations promulgated by the Department of
Community Affairs and such rules as it may lawfully adopt.
A fee of $25 shall accompany each application
which is filed with the Construction Board of Appeals. The fee shall
be payable upon the filing of the application. Nonprofit corporations
shall not be required to pay a filing fee but shall be required to
file all other documents as all other applicants and pay any other
expenses which might be charged to an applicant.
The Chairman or, in his absence, the Acting
Chairman shall have the power to issue subpoenas for the attendance
of witnesses and production of records and may administer oaths.
At least three members of the Board shall constitute
a quorum to conduct business. If a member absents himself for more
than three consecutive meetings without good cause, the Chairman of
the Construction Board of Appeals shall immediately notify the Board
of Commissioners of the meetings the individual was absent from, what
business was transacted at those meetings and if the member gave any
valid reason for not attending the meetings. Members of the Board
shall be excused from meetings for illness, important personal business,
regular vacations from employment and any other important events.
The Construction Board of Appeals shall adopt
such rules and regulations as may be necessary to govern its proceedings,
which shall be filed with the Clerk of the municipality and a copy
forwarded to the Commissioner to whom the Construction Board of Appeals
is assigned, in accordance with the form of government in the Village
of Ridgefield Park. The Board may appoint a Secretary to serve at
the pleasure of the Board. The compensation of the Secretary shall
be discussed with the appropriate officials of the Village of Ridgefield
Park prior to fixing such compensation. A copy of the rules and regulations
shall be available to the public during regular business hours of
the municipality, and all meetings shall be open to the public in
accordance with the Open Public Meeting Law (N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.).
The Board shall keep appropriate minutes of each meeting, a copy of
which shall be forwarded to the Board of Commissioners of the Village
of Ridgefield Park and, where necessary, the Department of Community
Affairs.
