No member of the Planning Board and no member of the Zoning
Board of Adjustment 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 a Class I member of the Planning Board, after
a public hearing if he requests it, may be removed by the governing
body for cause.
The Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall
each adopt, and may thereafter amend, rules and regulations not inconsistent
with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1, et seq. (Municipal Land Use Law) or this or
other applicable ordinances as may be necessary to carry into effect
the provisions and purposes of this Ordinance and to provide for the
administration of its functions, powers and duties. Each Board shall
furnish a copy thereof to any person upon request and may charge a
reasonable fee for such copy. Copies of all such rules and regulations
and amendments thereto shall be maintained in the office of the Administrative
Officer of the respective Board.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-39 and N.J.S.A.
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.
a.
The Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment each shall
by its rules fix the time and place for holding its regular meetings
for business authorized to be conducted by such Board. Regular meetings
of the Boards shall be scheduled not less than once a month and shall
be held as scheduled unless canceled for lack of applications for
development to process.
b.
All the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9 shall apply to special meetings,
quorums and votes of the Boards.
c.
All regular meetings and special meetings shall be open to the public.
Notice of all such meetings shall be given in accordance with the
requirements of the Open Public Meeting Law, Chapter 231 P.L. 1975.
An executive session for the purpose of discussing and studying any
matters to come before either Board shall not be deemed a regular
or special meeting within the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9.
d.
Minutes of every regular or special meeting shall be kept and made
available for public inspection in strict adherence to the provisions
of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9, and any interested party shall have the right
to compel production thereof as therein provided. A reasonable fee
may be charged the interested party for reproduction of the minutes
for his use.
a.
The Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall each
make rules governing the conduct of hearings before them which rules
shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1,
et seq., or this Ordinance.
b.
All the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10 regarding hearings shall
be strictly adhered to by both Boards, applicants, interested parties
or others in attendance at hearings before the Boards. By way of illustration
and not by way of limitation, the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10
shall apply to and include the following:
1.
Filing of documents and their availability for public inspection
prior to the hearing;
2.
Production of documents, records or testimony at the hearing;
3.
The power to administer oaths and issue subpoenas;
4.
Testimony under oath or affirmation;
5.
Cross-examination;
6.
Applicable rules of evidence; and
7.
Verbatim recordings, by stenographer, mechanical or electronic means,
and the furnishing of a transcript or duplicate recording, which shall
be provided on request to any interested party at his expense.
When any hearing before the Planning Board or Zoning Board of
Adjustment shall carry over two (2) or more meetings, a member of
the Board who was absent for one (1) or more of the meetings shall
be eligible to vote on the matter upon which the hearing was conducted,
notwithstanding his absence from one (1) or more of the meetings;
provided, however, that such Board member has available to him a transcript
or recording of the meeting from which he was absent, and certifies
in writing to the Board that he has read such transcript or listened
to such recording.
[Ord. #04-13, § 6]
a.
All the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-11 through N.J.S.A. 40:55D-15,
inclusive, regarding notice shall be strictly adhered to by both Boards,
applicants, interested parties or others, as the case may be.
b.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-11, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-13 and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-15,
notice hereunder shall be given by the appropriate Administrative
Officer of the municipality or Board.
c.
All other notice required by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-11 and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12
shall be given by the applicant at his expense, except as may be provided
elsewhere in this Ordinance.
d.
The applicant shall file an affidavit of proof of service with the
Board or municipal agency holding the hearing on the application for
development in the event that the applicant is required to give notice,
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-11 and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12. The affidavit
of proof of service shall be filed prior to the commencement of the
hearing and shall be verified before commencing the hearing as to
accuracy and compliance with the notice requirements by the Board
or municipal agency holding the hearing.
e.
The Board or municipal agency holding the hearing on an application
for development shall require the applicant to file adequate proof
of service with regard to, or state on the record the status of and
his intentions with regard to, such notice the applicant may be required
to give and such approvals the applicant may be required to obtain
from any other municipal, County, State or Federal agency or agencies;
such proof of service or such statement on the record shall be required
at the hearing and just prior to the commencement of the hearing on
the merits of the application itself.
f.
Public notice of a hearing on an application for development shall,
in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12, be given and a public hearing
held except for
1.
Conventional site plan review for ten (10) acres of land or less;
2.
Minor subdivisions; and
3.
Final approval of site plans and major subdivisions; provided that
public notice of a hearing shall also be required in the event that
any application otherwise excepted from the requirement of public
notice and hearing seeks relief pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-60 or
N.J.S.A. 40:55D-51.
g.
Public notice of a hearing shall, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12,
be given for appeals of determinations of administrative officers
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70a, and for requests for interpretation
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70b.
h.
A sum not to exceed ten dollars ($10.00) may be charged an applicant
for the list referred to in N.J.S.A. 40:55-12.
a.
Each decision on any application for development shall be in writing
as a resolution of the Board and shall include findings of fact and
legal conclusions based thereon. The resolution shall also set forth
any conditions that must be met, including, but not limited to, required
performance guarantees.
b.
A copy of the decision shall be mailed to the applicant by the Board
within ten (10) days of the date of the decision, or, if represented,
then to his attorney, without separate charge, and to all who request
a copy of the decision for a reasonable fee. A copy of the decision
shall also be filed by the Board in the office of its Administrative
Officer. The Administrative Officer shall make a copy of such filed
decision available to any interested party for a reasonable fee and
available for public inspection at his office during reasonable hours.
c.
A brief notice of the decision shall be published in the official
newspaper of the municipality, if there be one, or in a newspaper
of general circulation in the municipality. Such publication shall
be arranged by the Planning Board Administrative Officer or the Zoning
Board Administrative Officer, as the case may be, and the municipality
shall make a reasonable charge payable by the applicant for its publication,
provided that nothing here shall be construed as preventing the applicant
from arranging such publication, if he so desires. At a minimum the
notice shall clearly identify the nature of the Board action requested,
the public meeting or meetings at which the matter was heard and decided,
and whether or not the application was granted. Said notice shall
be sent to the appropriate newspaper for publication within ten (10)
days of the date of any such decision. The period of time in which
an appeal of the decision may be made shall run from the first publication
of the decision, whether arranged by the municipality or the applicant.
Whenever review or approval of the application by the County
Planning Board is required by the County Planning Law, N.J.S.A. 40:27-6.3,
in the case of a subdivision, or N.J.S.A. 40:27-6.6, in the case of
a site plan, the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Adjustment
shall condition any approval that it grants upon timely receipt of
a favorable report on the application by the County Planning Board
or approval by the County Planning Board by its failure to report
thereon within the required time period.
a.
In the event that an applicant submits an application for development
proposing a development that is barred or prevented, directly or indirectly,
by a legal action instituted by any State agency, political subdivision
or other party to protect the public health and welfare or by a directive
or order issued by any State agency, political subdivision or court
of competent jurisdiction to protect the public health and welfare,
the Board or municipal agency shall process such application for development
in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. and
municipal development regulations, and if such application for development
complies with municipal development regulations, the Board or municipal
agency shall approve such application conditioned on removal of such
legal barrier to development.
b.
In the event that development proposed by an application for development
requires an approval by a governmental agency other than the Board
or municipal agency, the Board or municipal agency shall, in appropriate
instances, condition its approval upon the subsequent approval of
such governmental agency; provided that the Board or municipal agency
shall make a decision on any application for development within the
time period provided in the Ordinance or within an extension of such
period as has been agreed to by the applicant unless the Board or
municipal agency is prevented or relieved from so acting by the operation
of law.
c.
The Board may condition its approval, either preliminary or final,
of any site plan or subdivision, whether minor or major, or other
development application on compliance by the applicant with any lawful
requirement it deems, in its judgment, reasonable and necessary for
the public health, safety and welfare.
Final approval of site plans and major subdivisions shall be
granted by the Board only if the detailed drawings, specifications
and estimates of the application for final approval conform to the
standards established by ordinance for final approval, the conditions
of preliminary approval have been complied with and, in the case of
a major subdivision, the standards prescribed by the "Map Filing Law
N.J.S.A. 46:23-919, et seq." shall have been met; provided that in
the case of a planned unit development, planned unit residential development
or residential cluster, the Board may permit minimal deviation from
the conditions of preliminary approval necessitated by change of conditions
beyond the control of the applicant since the date of preliminary
approval without the applicant's being required to submit another
application for development for preliminary approval.
The provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-21 shall govern the tolling
of the running of any period of approval when an applicant is barred
or prevented, directly or indirectly, from proceeding with the development
otherwise permitted under such approval as a result of certain legal
action.
