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 as a member of the Board.
A.
Meetings of both the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment
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 scheduled by the Chairman or on the request
of any two (2) Board members. All meetings 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 a meeting unless a quorum is present
other than to adjourn the meeting to a specified time and place.
D.
All regular meetings and all special meetings shall be open to the
public.
Minutes for 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, the findings, if any, made by it and the reasons therefor.
The minutes shall thereafter be made available for public inspection
during the normal business hours of 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.
A.
Rules. The Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment shall 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,
c. 38, P.L. 1953 (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 stenographer or 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.
[Amended 10-13-2004 by Ord. No. 04-19]
For all hearings on an application for minor or major site plan
approval before the Planning Board, all hearings on an application
or appeal before the Planning Board, and all hearings for a Certificate
of Appropriateness for Demolition before the Historic Preservation
Commission, 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 ten (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 two hundred
(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. Such 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 current tax duplicate. A return receipt is not required.
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.
C.
Notice of all hearings on applications for development involving property located within two hundred (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 § 94-91B of this Article to the owners of lands in such adjoining municipality which are located within two hundred (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 two hundred (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 one hundred fifty (150) acres or five hundred
(500) dwelling units. The notice shall include a copy of any maps
or documents required to be on file with the Municipal Clerk as a
part of the application for approval of the development.
G.
Notice of hearings on applications for approval of a major subdivision,
or a site plan not defined herein as a minor site plan, requiring
public notice pursuant to this chapter shall be given, in the case
of a public utility, cable television company or local utility which
possesses a right-of-way or easement within the borough and which
has registered with the borough 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 that form.
H.
All notices hereinabove specified in this section shall be given at least ten (10) days prior to the date fixed for the hearing. At the time of the hearing, the applicant shall file with the Board an affidavit of proof of service, accompanied by a copy of the form of the notice served and a copy of the certified list of property owners obtained from the Borough Clerk as required by § 94-92.
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; 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.
All applicants may obtain from the Borough Clerk a certified list of property owners to whom the applicant is required to give notice pursuant to § 94-91 of this chapter. The Borough Clerk shall, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12c, within seven (7) days after receipt of a request therefor and upon receipt of payment of a fee as set forth in § 94-108C(7) of this chapter, make and certify a list from the current tax duplicates of the names and addresses of owners to whom the applicant is required to give notice.
A.
Each decision on any application for development shall be set forth
in writing as a resolution of the Board, which resolution shall include
findings of fact and legal conclusions based thereon.
B.
A copy of the decision shall be mailed by the Board within ten (10)
days of the date of the decision to the applicant or, if represented,
then to his attorney, without separate charge. A copy of the decision
shall also be mailed to persons who have requested it and who have
paid the fee prescribed for such service. A copy of the decision shall
also be filed by tax block and lot 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.
C.
A brief notice of every final decision shall be published by the
borough in the official newspaper of the municipality. Said notice
shall be sent to the official newspaper for publication within ten
(10) days of the date of any such decision.
No application filed with the Planning Board or Zoning Board
of Adjustment may be withdrawn by the applicant without the consent
of the board before whom the application is pending. The board may
condition its consent to withdraw upon such terms and conditions as
the board deems appropriate, including for example the condition that
the applicant reimburse the board and any objector for all expenses,
including attorneys' fees, incurred in responding to the application.
No application fees shall be returned to the applicant. In determining
whether to grant consent for withdrawal of an application, a board
shall consider the following factors:
A.
The amount of time and effort spent by the municipality and its agents
in reviewing the application prior to the request for withdrawal.
B.
The lack of finality that would result if the application were permitted
to be withdrawn.
C.
The point in the proceedings at which time the request for withdrawal
is made.
D.
The interests of any member of the public that has opposed the application
and whether any such person has retained counsel or incurred other
expenses.
E.
Whether any conditions or terms could be imposed on the withdrawal
to mitigate the adverse consequences of withdrawal.
F.
Any other relevant factors or considerations that bear on the request
for withdrawal.
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 municipality will be adequately protected.
