Prior to the subdivision or resubdivision of
land and prior to the issuance of a building permit or certificate
of occupancy for any development for which site plan approval is required,
an application for subdivision or site plan, as the case may be, shall
be submitted to and approved by the Planning Board in accordance with
the requirements of this chapter. For every nonresidential use, site
plan approval shall be required for any new building, any addition
to an existing building, any change in use of an existing building,
any off-street parking area or alteration of said parking area and
any other improvement involving land disturbance, including excavation,
soil removal, land filling or site clearance; except that applications
for subdivision of individual lots for detached one- or two-family-dwelling-unit
buildings shall be exempt from site plan review and approval. For
any application for a change in use and/or occupancy in a nonresidential
zone and/or a nonresidential use, provided that said change in use
involves no building construction, land disturbance or additional
off-street parking, the Planning Board may permit the submission of
a minor site plan containing such information as will make it possible
to determine whether or not such change in use meets all of the requirements
of this chapter. The Planning Board may also permit the submission
of a combined preliminary and final site plan application when, due
to unusual conditions relating to the nature of the development, separate
preliminary and final site plan applications would not be necessary
to meet the purposes of this chapter. In such instances, all procedures
and requirements applicable to preliminary site plans, unless otherwise
waived by the Planning Board, shall be followed.
A.
Review by Zoning Board of Adjustment. In the event that the subdivision or site plan application required action by the Board of Adjustment as provided in § 415-39A(4) of this chapter, said application shall be submitted to and processed by said Board, which shall act in the same manner as the Planning Board as provided in this chapter.
B.
Content of application. An application for development shall include any and all data and material as required for the appropriate type of application by Article VIII and as indicated on the applicable checklist.
C.
Filing fees. The application shall be accompanied by a filing fee pursuant to § 415-12 to cover the technical, investigative and administrative expenses involved in processing the application.
D.
Complete application. A subdivision or site plan application
shall be complete for purposes of commencing the applicable time period
for action when so certified by the administrative officer or designee.
In the event that the administrative officer or designee does not
certify the application to be complete within 45 days of the date
of its submission, the application shall be deemed complete upon the
expiration of the forty-five-day-period for purposes of commencing
the applicable time period unless the application lacks information
indicated on the checklist, the checklist has been provided in writing
to the applicant and the Planning Board or its authorized committee
or designee has notified the applicant, in writing, of the deficiencies
in the application within 45 days of submission of the application.
The applicant may request that one or more of the submission requirements
be waived, in which event the Board or its authorized committee shall
grant or deny the request within 45 days of the date of its submission.
Nothing herein shall be construed as diminishing the applicant's obligation
to prove in the application process that the applicant is entitled
to approval of the application. The Board may subsequently require
correction of any information found to be in error and submission
of additional information not specified in the ordinance or any revisions
in the accompanying documents, as are reasonably necessary to make
an informed decision as to whether the requirements necessary to approval
of the application for development have been met. The application
shall not be deemed incomplete for lack of any such additional information
or any revisions in the accompanying documents required by the Board.
E.
Informal review of sketch plan. At the request of
an applicant, the Planning Board shall grant an informal concept review
of a sketch or concept plan for a development for which the applicant
intends to prepare and submit an application for development. The
applicant shall not be bound by any such plan for which review is
requested, and the Planning Board shall not be bound by any such review.
The sketch plan shall be in sufficient detail to allow the Planning
Board to make an informed decision on the merits of the proposed development.
The submission of a sketch or concept plan is recommended prior to
the filing of a formal application for preliminary subdivision or
site plan approval.
After the date an appeal is taken from the decision
of a municipal officer or the submission of a complete application
for development to the administrative officer, the approving authority
shall render its decision within the maximum number of days as specified
below or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant
in a form approved by the Board Attorney. Where more than one type
of application is involved, the longer time period shall apply.
|
Type of Application
|
Time Period
(Days)
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Site plans:
| |||
|
Minor
|
45
| ||
|
Preliminary approval (10 acres or less, 10 units
or less)
|
45
| ||
|
Preliminary approval (more than 10 acres or
10 units)
|
95
| ||
|
Final approval
|
45
| ||
|
Subdivisions:
| |||
|
Minor
|
45
| ||
|
Preliminary approval (10 lots or less)
|
45
| ||
|
Preliminary approval (more than 10 lots)
|
95
| ||
|
Final approval
|
45
| ||
|
Conditional use authorization
|
95
| ||
|
Variance
|
120
| ||
|
Appeal from the decision of a municipal officer
|
120
| ||
|
Direction for issuance of a building permit
|
120
| ||
