No member of the Joint Land Use Board 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 the Joint Land Use Board shall be scheduled no less often
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 shall be held on
notice to its 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.
Minutes of every regular or special meeting shall be kept and shall include the names of the persons appearing and addressing the Board and the persons appearing by attorney, the action taken by the Board, 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 as listed in Chapter 150, Article I, Fee Schedule. Transcripts shall be at the expense of the requester.
A.
Rules. The Joint Land Use Board shall make rules governing the conduct
of hearings before such body, 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 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. The Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the
proceedings by either stenographer, 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., or pursuant to the determination
of the municipal agency in question, 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 shall be given to the owners of all real property as shown
on the current tax duplicate or duplicates located within 200 feet
in all directions of the property which is the subject of such hearing
and whether located within or without the municipality in which the
applicant's land is located. Said notice shall be given by serving
a copy thereof on the owner as shown on the 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
the said current tax duplicate. A return receipt is required. Notice
to a partnership owner may be made by service upon any partner. Notice
to a corporation 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.
[Amended 7-13-2005 by Ord. No. 1164; 2-6-2013 by Ord. No. 1335]
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 Subsection B of this section 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 P.L. 1975, c. 291, [1]Section 6b.[2]
G.
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.
H.
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.
I.
Form of notice. All notices required to be given pursuant to the
terms of this chapter shall state the date, time and place of hearing;
the nature of the matters to be considered; an identification of the
property proposed for development by street address, if any, or by
reference to a lot and block number 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 shall, within seven days after receipt of a request therefor and upon receipt of payment of a fee as prescribed in Chapter 150, Fees, Article I, Fee Schedule, § 150-3, 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 § 190-10B of this chapter.
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.
B.
A copy of the decision shall be mailed by the Board within 10 days
of the decision to the applicant or, if represented, then to his attorney,
without separate charge. 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.[1]
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 Joint Land Use Board without 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 Joint Land Use
Board 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 the Board shall be conditioned upon either the prompt payment of
such taxes or assessments or the making of adequate provisions for
the payment thereof in such manner that the municipality will be adequately
protected.