[MC 2002-29 § 17:3-1, December 2, 2002]
The Zoning Board of Adjustment previously established is hereby
continued pursuant to the Municipal Land Use Law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69,
et seq.).
[MC 2002-29 § 17:3-2, December 2, 2002]
A. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall consist of seven (7) residents
of the City of Plainfield appointed by the Mayor with the advice and
consent of City Council.
B. The Mayor shall also appoint two (2) alternate members with the advice
and consent of the City Council. Alternate members shall be designated
at the time of appointment as "Alternate No. 1" and "Alternate No.
2." Alternate members may participate in discussions of the Board
proceedings but may not vote except in the absence or disqualification
of a regular Board member. 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 member is to vote,
Alternate No. 1 shall vote.
[MC 2002-29 § 17:3-3, December 2, 2002]
A. The term of each Board member shall be four (4) years.
B. The term of each alternate member shall be two (2) years, except
that the terms of the alternate members shall be such that the term
of not more than one (1) alternate member shall expire in any one
(1) year.
C. Nothing herein shall affect the term of any member of the Zoning
Board of Adjustment at the time of adoption of this chapter, all of
whom shall continue in office until the completion of the terms for
which they were appointed.
D. All terms shall run from January 1 of the year in which the appointment
is made.
[MC 2002-29 § 17:3-4, December 2, 2002]
A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term, shall
be filled for the unexpired term only.
[MC 2002-29 § 17:3-5, December 2, 2002]
No member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment may hold any elective
office or position under the City. No member of the Board shall be
permitted to act on any matter in which said member has, either directly
or indirectly, any personal or financial interest. Whenever any such
member shall disqualify himself from acting on a particular matter,
said member shall not continue to sit with the Board on the hearing
of such matter and shall not participate in any discussion or decision
relating thereto as a member of the Board. Any member of the Board;
after a public hearing if requested by said member, may be removed
by the City Council for cause.
[MC 2002-29 § 17:3-6, December 2, 2002]
If the Zoning Board of Adjustment lacks a quorum because any
of its regular or alternate members is prohibited by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23
or N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23.1 from acting on a matter due to the member's
personal or financial interests therein, Class IV members of the Planning
Board shall be called upon to serve, for that matter only, as temporary
members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The Class IV members of
the Planning Board shall be called in order of seniority of continuous
service to the Planning Board until there are the minimum number of
members necessary to constitute a quorum to act upon the matter without
any personal or financial interest therein, whether direct or indirect.
If a choice has to be made between Class IV members of equal seniority,
the Chair of the Planning Board shall make the choice.
[MC 2002-29 § 17:3-7, December 2, 2002]
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall elect a Chair and Vice-Chair
from the members, and select a Secretary who may be a member of the
Zoning Board of Adjustment or a City employee designated by it, and
create and fill such other offices as established by ordinance at
an annual reorganization meeting in January of each year.
[MC 2002-29 § 17:3-8, December 2, 2002]
A. There is hereby created the office of Zoning Board of Adjustment
Attorney. The Zoning Board of Adjustment may annually appoint, fix
the compensation of or agree upon the rate of compensation of the
Zoning Board of Adjustment Attorney. Such compensation shall be within
the appropriation made by the City Council. The Board Attorney shall
not be the City Attorney or the Planning Board Attorney.
B. The Zoning Board of Adjustment may employ or contract for the services
of licensed planning consultants, a licensed engineer, and other staff
and services as it may deem necessary, not exceeding, exclusive of
gifts, grants, or professional fees, the amount appropriated by the
City Council for its use.
[MC 2002-29 § 17:3-9, December 2, 2002]
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall have the power to:
A. Hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that
there is error in any order, requirement, decision or refusal made
by an administrative officer based on or made in the enforcement of
the zoning ordinance;
B. Hear and decide requests for interpretation of the zoning map or
ordinance or for decisions upon other special questions upon which
such Board is authorized to pass by any zoning or official map ordinance
in accordance with this act;
C. Grant, upon an application or an appeal relating to a specific piece of property, variances from the strict application of any regulation pursuant to Articles
IX of this chapter:
1. (a) Where exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific
piece of property, or (b) exceptional topographic conditions or physical
features uniquely affecting a specific piece of property, or (c) an
extraordinary and exceptional situation uniquely affecting a specific
piece of property or the structures lawfully existing thereon results
in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to, or exceptional
and undue hardship upon the developer of such property.
2. Where the purposes of the Municipal Land Use Law would be advanced
by a deviation from the zoning ordinance requirements and the benefits
of the deviation substantially outweigh any detriment. No "c" variance
shall be granted for variances enumerated in subsection D below and
the fact that a proposed use is an inherently beneficial use shall
not be dispositive of a decision for a variance under this section.
D. Grant variance to allow departure from regulations pursuant to Article
IX of this chapter in particular cases and for special reasons, 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. An increase in the permitted floor area ratio as defined in N.J.S.A.
40:55D-4;
4. An increase in the permitted density as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4
except as applied to the required lot area for a lot or lots for detached
one (1) or two (2) dwelling unit buildings which lot or lots are either
an isolated undersized lot or lots resulting from a minor subdivision;
5. An increase in height of a principal structure which exceeds by ten
(10) feet or ten percent (10%) the maximum height permitted in the
zone district for principal structure.
6. A "d" variance shall be granted only by affirmative vote of at least
five (5) members.
E. No variance or other relief may be granted 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, zoning ordinance, and master plan.
[MC 2002-29 § 17:3-10, December 2, 2002]
A. If the Zoning Board of Adjustment has primary jurisdiction of an
application based on the powers set forth above, then the Board shall
also have the power to:
1. Direct issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-34, for a
building or structure in the bed of a mapped street or public drainage
way, flood control basin or public area reserved pursuant to N.J.S.A.
40:55D-32; or
2. Direct issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36 for a
building or structure not related to a street.
B. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall have the power to grant to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board, subdivision or site plan approval pursuant to Article
VIII of this chapter or conditional use approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 46:55D-67 whenever the proposed development requires approval by the Zoning Board of Adjustment of a variance pursuant to Section d of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70. The developer may elect to submit a separate application requesting approval of the variance and a subsequent application for any required approval of a subdivision or site plan. The separate approval of the variance shall be conditioned upon grant of all required subsequent approvals by the Board of Adjustment. No such subsequent approval shall be granted unless such approval can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantial impairment of the intent and purpose of the zone plan and zoning ordinance.
C. The number of votes of Board members required to grant any such subsequent
approval shall be as otherwise provided in this chapter for the approval
in question and the special vote pursuant to the aforesaid Section
d of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70 shall not be required.
[MC 2002-29 § 17:3-11, December 2, 2002]
A. Appeals to the Zoning Board of Adjustment may be taken by any interested
party aggrieved by any decision of the administrative officer based
on or made in the enforcement of the zoning ordinance or official
map. Such appeal shall be taken within twenty (20) days of the date
of the written decision of the administrative officer by filing a
notice of appeal with the Board Secretary and administrative officer
specifying the grounds of such appeal. The administrative officer
shall immediately transmit to the Board Secretary all of the papers
constituting the record upon which the action appealed from is taken.
The Board Secretary shall schedule the appeal for the next scheduled
Board meeting provided that the date of the filing is not less than
ten (10) days prior to the next scheduled Board meeting. If the appeal
filing date is less than ten (10) days from the next Board meeting,
the appeal shall be scheduled for the following Board meeting.
B. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall render a decision no later than
one hundred twenty (120) days or such time as consented to by the
applicant from the date the appeal of the decision of the administrative
officer is filed. The Board may reverse or affirm, in whole or in
part, or may modify the action, order, requirement, decision, interpretation
or determination appealed from and to that end have all the powers
of the administrative officer from whom the appeal is taken.
C. Failure of the Zoning Board of Adjustment to render a decision within
the one hundred twenty (120) day period or within such time period
as may be consented to by the applicant shall constitute a decision
favorable to the applicant.
[MC 2002-29 § 17:3-12, December 2, 2002]
An appeal to the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall stay all proceedings
in furtherance of the action in respect to which the decision appealed
from was made unless the officer from whose action the appeal is taken
certifies to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, after the notice of appeal
shall have been filed with him/her, that by reason of facts stated
in the certificate a stay would, in his/her opinion, cause imminent
peril to life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be
stayed other than by an order of the Superior Court upon notice to
the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
[MC 2002-29 § 17:3-13, December 2, 2002]
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall, at least once a year,
review its decisions on applications and appeals for variances and
prepare and adopt by resolution a report of its findings on zoning
ordinance provisions which were the subject of variance requests and
its recommendations for zoning ordinance amendments or revisions,
if any. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall send copies of this report
and resolution to the City Council and the Planning Board.
[MC 2002-29 § 17:3-14, December 2, 2002]
Any variance or exemption granted under this chapter shall expire
if construction, alteration or conversion is not commenced within
one (1) year from the date of the resolution granting the variance
or exception, provided however that if the developer is barred or
prevented directly or indirectly from proceeding because of a legal
action instituted by a state agency or other party to protect the
public health and welfare or by an order or directive of a state agency,
political subdivision or court of competent jurisdiction to protect
the public health or welfare and the developer is otherwise ready,
willing and able to proceed with the development, in which event this
time period shall be suspended during the pendency of the legal action.
The applicant has the right to apply for an extension from the approving
authority for good cause shown upon submittal of fee set forth herein.
[Prior § 17-3.15 Contribution disclosure statements
was repealed 7-10-2023 by Ord. No. MC 2023-18. History includes MC 2011-12;
MC 2013-13, December 9, 2013]