The Planning Board shall elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman from the Class IV members and select a Secretary, who may be either a member of the Planning Board or a municipal employee designated by it.
The Planning Board 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 Township Committee for its use.
A. 
Meetings of the Planning Board shall be scheduled no less often than once a month, and any meeting so scheduled shall be held as scheduled unless canceled for lack of applications for development to process.
B. 
Special meetings may be provided for at the call of the Chairman or on the request of any two Board members, which shall be held on notice to its members and the public in accordance with all applicable legal requirements.
C. 
No action shall be taken at any meeting without a quorum being present.
D. 
All actions shall be taken by a majority vote of a quorum except as otherwise required by any provision of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
E. 
All regular meetings and all 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 Meetings Law, P.L. 1975, c. 231.[1] An executive session for the purpose of discussing any matters to come before the Board shall not be deemed a regular or special meeting in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 20:4-6 et seq.
Minutes of every regular or special meeting shall be kept and shall include the names of the persons appearing and addressing the Board and of the persons appearing by attorney, the action taken by the Board, the findings, if any, made by it and the reasons therefor. The minutes shall, thereafter, be made available for public inspection during normal business hours at the office of the Township Clerk. Any interested party shall have the right to compel production of the minutes for use as evidence in any legal proceeding concerning the subject matter of such minutes. Such interested party may be charged a fee for reproduction of the minutes for his use as provided for in the rules of the Board.
A. 
Rules. The Planning Board may make rules governing the conduct of hearings before the Board, which rules shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. or this chapter.
B. 
Oaths. The officer presiding at the hearing or such person as he may designate shall have the power to administer oaths and issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of relevant evidence, including witnesses and documents presented by the parties. In such event, the provisions of the County and Municipal Investigations Law, P.L. 1953, c. 38 (N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1 et seq.), shall apply.
C. 
Testimony. The testimony of all witnesses relating to an application for development shall be taken under oath or affirmation administered by the presiding officer, and the right of cross-examination shall be permitted to all interested parties through their attorneys, if represented, or directly, if not represented, subject to the discretion of the presiding officer and to reasonable limitations as to time and number of witnesses.
D. 
Evidence. Technical rules of evidence shall not be applicable to the hearing, but the Board may exclude irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence.
E. 
Records. The Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the proceedings by either stenographic, mechanical or electronic means. The Board shall furnish a transcript or duplicate recording in lieu thereof on request to any interested party at his expense.
A. 
Each decision on any application for development shall be set forth in writing as a resolution of the Board, which shall include findings of fact and legal conclusions based thereon.
B. 
A copy of the decision shall be mailed by the Board within 10 days of the date of the decision to the applicant or, if represented, to his attorney without separate charge. A copy of the decision shall also be mailed to all persons who have requested it and who have paid the fee prescribed by the Board for such service. A copy of the decision shall also be filed in the office of the Township Clerk, who shall make a copy of such filed decision available to any interested party upon the payment of a fee calculated in the same manner as those established for copies of other public documents in the municipality.
A brief notice of every final decision shall be published in the official newspaper of the Township. Such publication shall be arranged by the Secretary of the Planning Board, the cost to be paid by the applicant. Said notice shall be sent to the official newspaper for publication within 10 days of the date of any such decision.
The Mayor may appoint one or more persons as a Citizens' Advisory Committee to assist or collaborate with the Planning Board in its duties, but such person or persons shall have no power to vote or take other action required of the Board. Such person or persons shall serve at the pleasure of the Mayor.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12a, approval for any site plan application submitted to the Carneys Point Township Planning Board shall not be granted unless the applicant shall give public notice in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12 and a hearing shall have been held in compliance with the statutes and the requirements of this chapter. Notice requirements for the hearing, as well as the rules and regulations governing the hearing, shall be in compliance with §§ 125-12 and 125-17 hereof.