A Zoning Board of Adjustment is established in the
Borough pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69 et seq. which Board shall consist
of seven residents of the Borough, who shall be appointed by the Mayor.
The terms of the members first appointed shall be
so determined so as to stagger their expiration dates evenly over
the first four years of their appointments, provided that no member
initially appointed shall be appointed for a term to exceed four years.
Thereafter, however, each member shall be appointed for a four-year
period. At the time of the first appointments, the present members
of the Board will remain for the duration of their terms.
The Mayor may also appoint not more than two alternate
members, who shall be designated by the Board Chairman as "Alternate
No. 1" and "Alternate No. 2," and they shall serve in rotation during
the absence or disqualification of any regular member or members.
The term of each alternate member shall be two years.
Upon organization, the Board shall elect a Chairman
and Vice Chairman from its members and shall also select a Secretary,
who may be a member of the Board or another municipal employee. The
Board Secretary shall serve as the administrative officer for the
purpose of applications and notices before the Board.
There is the office of Board Attorney, and that may
be filled annually at a compensation to be agreed upon between the
Board and the applicant. The Attorney, however, shall not represent
either the governing body or the Planning Board.
The Board shall fix compensation for all staff and
other employees but shall not authorize expenditures which exceed,
exclusive of gifts or grants, the amount appropriated by the Mayor
and Council for its use.
The Board of Adjustment is authorized to organize
and to adopt bylaws concerning its administration and procedure and
to enact such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry into
effect the provisions and purposes of this chapter and the enabling
legislation.
It is the purpose and intent of this chapter to confer
the broadest powers upon the Board of Adjustment as more particularly
described in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69 et seq. It shall in all cases follow
the provisions applicable to it as set forth in the Municipal Land
Use Law, Chapter 291 of the Laws of 1975,[1] as from time to time it may be revised, and it shall from
time to time furnish any persons requesting such information copies
of its rules and regulations pertaining to appeals so that applications
may be properly filed with the Board for its decision thereon.
The Board shall comply with subsequent sections of this Code, and more particularly Chapter 212, as it sets forth the standardization of applications, appeals, hearings and decisions.