There is hereby established pursuant to P.L. 1975, c. 291 (N.J.S.A.
40:55D-1 et seq.) a Combined Planning Board of nine members consisting
of four classes of members as follows:
A. Class I: The Mayor, or the Mayor's designee, in the absence of the
Mayor.
B. Class II: One of the officials of the municipality other than a member
of the Borough Council to be appointed by the Mayor.
C. Class III: A member of the Borough Council, as appointed by the Borough
Council.
D. Class IV: Six citizens of the municipality, to be appointed by the
Mayor. The members of Class IV shall hold no other municipal office
except that one member may be a member of the Board of Education.
The member of the Environmental Commission who is also a member of
the Combined Planning Board as required by N.J.S.A. 50A:56A-1, shall
be a Class IV member unless a member of the Board of Education is
a Class IV member, in which case the Environmental Commission member
shall be the Class II member.
E. Alternates: There should also be appointed to the Combined Planning
Board two alternate members to be appointed by the Mayor. The alternate
members shall be appointed as Class IV members and shall meet the
qualification of Class IV members as established herein. Such appointments
shall be designated as Alternate No. 1 and Alternate No. 2. Alternate
members as designated herein shall have the powers as provided to
them in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23.1 and shall have the power
to participate in discussions of proceedings but may not vote except
in the absence of disqualification of a regular member of any class.
In the event that a choice must be made as to which alternate member
is to vote, Alternate No. 1 shall vote.
All members of the Combined Planning Board shall serve without
compensation.
When any hearing before the Combined Planning Board shall extend
over two or more meetings, a member of the Board who was absent for
one or more of the meetings, or was not a member of the Board at that
time, shall be eligible to vote on the matter upon which the hearing
was conducted, notwithstanding his or her absence from one or more
of the meetings, or his or her non-membership on the Board at that
time; provided, however, that such Board member has available a transcript
or recording of the meeting from which he or she was absent or was
not a member, and certifies, in writing, to the Board that such transcript
has been read, or such recording heard, and that they have review
the application and all supporting documentation submitted by the
applicant therewith, as well as any review letters submitted by the
Board's professionals and any other evidence placed on the record
with regard to the application.
The Combined Planning Board is authorized to adopt such rules
and regulations1 which shall be consistent
with the provisions of this chapter and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
The Combined Planning Board shall elect a chairman and vice chairman
from the members of Class IV, select a secretary who may or may not
be a member of the Combined Planning Board or a municipal employee,
and create and fill such other offices as established by ordinance.
It may employ, or contract for, and fix the compensation of legal
counsel, other than the municipal attorney, and experts and other
staff and services as it may deem necessary not exceeding exclusive
of gifts or grants, the amount appropriated by the Borough Council
for its use. The Borough Council shall make provision in its budget
and appropriate funds for the expenses of the Combined Planning Board.
The Combined Planning Board shall have the authority to exercise
its powers to:
A. Prepare, adopt and, from time to time, amend or revise a Master Plan
or Reexamination Report of the Master Plan.
C. Exercise control over the granting of approval of subdivision plats,
site plans or conditional uses, and variances for relief from the
Land Use Ordinance.
D. To receive for recommendation, referrals of land development regulations
from the Borough Council.
E. To prepare a capital improvements program when so authorized by the
Borough Council.
F. Exercise such other advisory duties as may be assigned to it by ordinance
or resolution of the Borough Council and perform such other functions
as may be authorized by law.
G. Hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that
there is error in any order, requirement, decision or refusal made
by the administrative officer or zoning official based on or made
in the enforcement of the zoning regulations.
H. Hear and decide, in accordance with the provisions of the zoning
regulations, requests for interpretation of the zoning map or zoning
regulation or for decisions upon other special questions upon which
such Board is authorized to pass by any zoning regulation or official
map in accordance with this chapter.
I. Whereby reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of
a specific piece of property, or by reason of exceptional topographic
conditions or physical features uniquely affecting a specific piece
of property, or by reason of an extraordinary and exceptional situation
uniquely affecting a specific piece of property or the structures
lawfully existing thereon, the strict application of any zoning regulation
would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to,
or exceptional and undue hardship upon, the developer of such property,
grant, upon an application or an appeal relating to such property,
a variance from such strict application of such regulation so as to
relieve such difficulties or hardship; provided, however, that no
variance shall be granted under this subsection to allow a structure
or use in a district restricted against such structure or use.
J. Where in an application or appeal relating to a specific piece of
property the purposes of the Municipal Land Use Law would be advanced by a deviation from the zoning provisions of this chapter and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, grant a variance to allow departure from the zoning provisions of this chapter; provided, however, that the fact that a proposed use is an inherently beneficial use shall not be dispositive of a decision on a variance under this subsection, and provided that no variance from those departures enumerated in Subsection
K of this section shall be granted under this subsection.
K. In particular cases for special reasons grant a variance to allow
a structure or use in a district restricted against such structure
or use; or to grant a variance for an expansion of a nonconforming
use; or permit a deviation from a specification or standard pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 pertaining solely to a conditional use; or an
increase in the permitted floor ratio as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4;
or 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- or two-dwelling-unit buildings, which lot or lots are either
an isolated undersized lot or lots resulting from a minor subdivision;
or permit a height of a principal structure which exceeds 10 feet
or 10% of the maximum height permitted in the district for a principal
structure, in particular cases and for special reasons, but only by
the affirmative vote of a least two-thirds of the full authorized
membership of the Board.
L. No variance or other relief may be granted under the terms of G through
J herein, including a variance of other relief involving an inherently
beneficial use, 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 zoning plan and zoning regulations.
M. Give direction pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-25 for issuance of a permit
for a building or structure in the bed or a mapped street or public
drainage way, flood control basin or public area reserved on an official
map.
N. Give direction pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-27 for issuance of a permit
for a building or structure not related to a street.
The Combined Planning Board shall have the power to review and
approve or deny conditional uses or site plans simultaneously with
review for subdivision approval without the developer being required
to make further application to the Board, or the Board being required
to hold further hearings. The longest time period for action by the
Combined Planning Board, whether it be for subdivision, conditional
use or site plan approval, shall apply. Whenever approval of a conditional
use is requested by the developer pursuant to this subsection, public
notice of the hearing on the plat shall include reference to the request
for such conditional use.
Whenever the Environmental Commission has prepared and submitted
to the Combined Planning Board an index of natural resources of the
municipality, the Combined Planning Board shall make available to
the Environmental Commission an informational copy of every application
for development submitted to the Combined Planning Board. Failure
of the Combined Planning Board to make such informational copy available
to the Environmental Commission shall not invalidate any hearing or
proceeding.
The Combined Planning Board may reverse or affirm, wholly 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.
An appeal to the Combined Planning Board 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 Combined Planning Board after the notice of appeal
shall have been filed with him, that by reason of facts stated in
the certificate a stay would, in his or her opinion, cause imminent
peril to life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be
stayed other than an order of the Superior Court of New Jersey upon
notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and for due cause
shown.