Pursuant to P.L. 1975, c. 291 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.), there
is hereby established a Zoning Board of Adjustment consisting of seven
residents of the Township who shall not hold any elective office or
position under the municipality. Members of the Board shall be appointed
by the governing body.
[Added 5-1-1992; amended 2-2-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-1]
A.
In addition to the foregoing regular members of the Zoning Board
of Adjustment, up to four alternate members to the Board shall be
appointed and shall serve in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69.
B.
Said alternates, as appointed, shall be known as “Alternate
No. 1," "Alternate No. 2," "Alternate No. 3" and "Alternate No. 4,"
respectively, and each shall serve for a period of two years from
the date of his or her appointment. The initial appointment shall
run from July 10, 1992, to December 31, 1993.
If a vacancy on the Board of Adjustment shall occur otherwise
than by expiration of the Board of Adjustment term, it shall be filled
by appointment, as above provided, for the unexpired term.
[Amended 9-9-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-6]
A.
No member
of the Planning Board or 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. 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 relating thereto, as a member
of the Board.
B.
If the
Board of Adjustment lacks a quorum because any of its regular or alternate
members is prohibited by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69 from acting on a matter
due to the member's personal or financial interest therein, Class
IV members of the Planning Board shall be called upon to serve, for
that matter only, as temporary members of the Board of Adjustment.
The Class IV members of the Planning Board shall be called upon to
serve 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 Chairman of
the Planning Board shall make the choice.
[Amended 9-5-1986]
A.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall adopt and may amend bylaws and
such other reasonable rules and regulations governing its procedural
operation, which bylaws, rules and regulations shall be consistent
with the provisions of this chapter and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
B.
The Board shall elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman from its members
and select a Secretary, who may or may not be a member of the Board
of Adjustment or a Township employee.
C.
The Board may employ or contract for and fix the compensation of
legal counsel, other than the Township 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 governing body
for its use.
D.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall, at least once a year, review
its decision on applications and appeals for variances and prepare
and adopt by resolution a report on its findings on Zoning Ordinance
provisions which were the subject of variance requests and its recommendations
for Zoning Ordinance[1] amendment or revision, if any. The Zoning Board of Adjustment
shall send copies of each report and resolution to the Township Committee
and Planning Board.[2]
[Amended 9-5-1986]
The 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 the Construction Official or Zoning Officer based on or made in
the enforcement of the zoning regulations.
B.
Hear and decide requests for interpretation of the Zoning Map or
zoning regulations or for decisions upon other special questions upon
which such Board is authorized to pass by any zoning regulation or
Official Map Ordinance in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
C.
Variances.
(1)
Where by 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 regulation pursuant to Articles XII through XXVIII of this chapter 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.
(2)
Where in an application or appeal relating to a specific piece of
property the purposes of this Act[1] would be advanced by a deviation from the Zoning Ordinance[2] requirements and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, grant a variance to allow departure from regulation pursuant to Articles XII through XXVIII of the chapter; provided, however, that no variance from those departures enumerated in Subsection B of this section shall be granted under this subsection, and provided further that the proposed development does not require approval by the Planning Board of a subdivision, site plan or conditional use in conjunction with which the Planning Board has power to review a request for a variance pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-60.
D.
In particular cases and for special reasons, grant a variance to allow departure from regulations pursuant to Articles XII through XXVIII of this chapter to permit a use or principal structure in a district restricted against such use or principal structure an expansion of a nonconforming use, deviation from a specification or standard pursuant to Article XIV of this chapter pertaining solely to a conditional use, an increase in the permitted floor area ratio, an increase in the permitted density 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. A variance under this subsection shall be granted only by affirmative vote of at least five members of the Board of Adjustment.
E.
No variance or other relief may be granted under the terms of Subsections A through D, unless such variance or other relief can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and will not substantially impair the intent and the purpose of the zone plan and zoning regulations. In respect of any airport hazard areas delineated under the Air Safety and Hazardous Zoning Act of 1983, P.L. 1983, c. 260 (N.J.S.A. 6:1-80 et seq.), no variance or other relief may be granted under the terms of this section permitting the creation or establishment of a nonconforming use which would be prohibited under the standards promulgated pursuant to that Act except upon issuance of a permit by the Commissioner of Transportation.
F.
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 drainageway,
flood control basin or public area reserved pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-32.
G.
Direct issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36 for a
building or structure not related to a street.
H.
Grant, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board, subdivision or site plan approval pursuant to Articles IX, X and XI or conditional use approval pursuant to Article XIV whenever the proposed development requires approval by the Board of Adjustment of a variance pursuant to Subsection D of this section. 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, site plan or conditional use. The separate approval of the variance shall be conditioned upon a 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 Zoning Map and zoning regulations. The number of votes of Board of Adjustment 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 Subsection D of this section shall not be required.
I.
Grant, after a hearing, certificates of preexisting, nonconforming
uses pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-68.
[Amended 9-5-1986]
An application under the terms of § 160-19 may be referred to any appropriate person or agency for its report, provided that such reference shall not extend the period of time within which the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act.
The governing body shall make provision in its budget and appropriate funds for the expenses of the Board of Adjustment. The Board may employ experts and legal advice as set forth in § 160-19 above.
A.
Appeals to the Board of Adjustment may be taken by any interested
party affected by any decision of the Construction Official or the
Zoning Officer of the Township of White based on or made in enforcement
of this chapter. Such appeal should be taken within 20 days by filing
a notice of appeal with the officer from whom the appeal is taken,
specifying the grounds of such appeal. The officer from whom the appeal
is taken shall immediately transmit to the Board of Adjustment all
the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed
from was taken.
B.
A developer may file an application for development with the Board
of Adjustment for action under any of its powers without prior application
to an administrative officer.
B.
In the event that the developer elects to submit separate consecutive applications as provided in § 160-20G of this chapter, the one-hundred-twenty-day provision shall apply to the application for approval of the variance. The period for granting or denying any subsequent approval shall be as otherwise provided in this chapter.
C.
Failure of the Board of Adjustment to act within the prescribed period
or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant
shall constitute a decision favorable to the applicant. Whenever the
applicant wishes to claim approval of his application for development
by reason of the failure of the Zoning Board of Adjustment to grant
or deny approval within the applicable time period, the applicant
shall comply with the procedural requirements of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.4.
[Amended 9-5-1986]
The Board of Adjustment 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 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 Board of Adjustment, 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 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.
Whenever review or approval of the application by the County
Planning Board is required by Section 5 of P.L. 1968, c. 285 (N.J.S.A.
40:27-6.3), in the case of a subdivision, or Section 8 of P.L. 1968,
c. 285 (N.J.S.A. 40:27-6.6), in the case of a site plan, the 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.
Any exception or variation from this chapter granted by the
Board to an applicant shall expire if no construction, alteration
or conversion has been commenced within one year from the date of
granting such variation or exception unless otherwise provided in
the resolution of the Board granting the exception or variation or
unless an extension of time is granted by the Board, upon application
to the Board for good cause shown.
