[Amended 6-17-1980 by Ord. No. 80-7]
A. 
A Zoning Board of Adjustment is hereby established pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69 et seq., consisting of seven residents of the Borough of Carteret appointed by the Mayor with the consent of the Council to serve for terms of four years from January 1 of the year of their appointment. The terms of the members first appointed shall be determined that, to the greatest practicable extent, the expiration of such terms shall be distributed evenly over the first four years after their appointment, provided that the initial term of no member shall exceed four years. Thereafter, the term of each member shall be for four years. Nothing in this chapter shall, however, be construed to affect the term of any member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, all of whom shall continue in office until the completion of the term for which they were appointed.
B. 
In addition to the aforesaid members of said Board, four alternate members shall be appointed by the Mayor with the consent of the Council, each to serve for a term of two years pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69. The alternate members shall be designated as Alternate No. 1, Alternate No. 2, Alternate No. 3, and Alternate No. 4, with the existing alternate members being designated at Alternate No. 1 and Alternate No. 2, respectively, in the order of their current appointments, which are presently set to expire on December 31, 2008. Beginning on January 1, 2009, Alternates No. 1 and No. 2 shall be appointed for an initial term of two years, commencing on January 1, 2009, and expiring on December 31, 2010. Alternates No. 3 and No. 4, as created by this subsection, shall each be appointed for an initial term of one year, commencing on January 1, 2009, and expiring on December 31, 2009. Thereafter, the term of each alternate member shall be two years.
[Amended 12-18-2008 by Ord. No. 08-38]
C. 
No member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment may hold any elective office or position under the municipality.
D. 
A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term shall be filled for the unexpired term only.
E. 
All appointments to the Board of Adjustment shall be made by the Borough Council in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Municipal Land Use Law.[1]
[Added 1-22-1981 by Ord. No. 81-3]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
The Board of Adjustment shall elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman from its members and shall also select a Secretary, who may be either a Board member or another municipal employee.
[Amended 5-18-1995 by Ord. No. 95-22]
There is hereby created the office of Attorney to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall annually appoint, fix the compensation of and agree upon the rate of compensation of the Zoning Board of Adjustment Attorney for other than regularly anticipated legal matters, who shall be an attorney other than the Municipal Attorney.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall also employ or contract with the Planning Board Consultant or other experts and fix the compensation of the Planning Consultant and such other staff and services as it may deem necessary. The Board shall not authorize expenditures which exceed, exclusive of gifts or grants, the amount appropriated by the governing body for this use.
The Board shall adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions and purposes of this chapter. In the issuance of subpoenas, administration of oaths and taking of testimony, the provisions of the County and Municipal Investigations Law of 1953 (N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1 et seq.) shall apply.
A. 
The powers of the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69 et seq., and amendments and supplements thereto, and with the provisions of this chapter.
B. 
It is further the intent of this chapter to confer upon the Zoning Board of Adjustment as full and complete powers as may lawfully be conferred upon such Board, including, but not by the way of limitation, the authority, in connection with any case, action or proceeding before the Board, to interpret and construe the provisions of this chapter, or any term, clause, sentence or word hereof, and the Zoning Map, in accordance with the general rules of construction applicable to legislative enactments.
C. 
The Board may, in appropriate cases and subject to appropriate conditions and safeguards, grant variances from the terms of this chapter in accordance with the general or specific rules contained herein and with the general rules hereby laid down that equity shall be done in cases where the strict construction of the provisions of this chapter would work undue hardships. The powers and duties of the Board having been delegated to and imposed upon it by statute, the Board shall in all cases follow the provisions applicable to it in said P.L. 1975, c. 291,[1] or subsequent statutes in such case made and provided, and it shall from time to time furnish to any person requesting the same a copy of its rules and information as to how appeals and applications may properly be filed with the Board for its decision thereon.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
A. 
Appeals to the Board of Adjustment may be taken by any person aggrieved or by an officer, department, board or bureau of the municipality affected by any decision of the administrative official. Each appeal shall be taken within the 20 days prescribed by statute by filing a notice of appeal with the official from whom the appeal was taken, together with three copies of said notice, with the Secretary of the Board of Adjustment. Said notice of appeal shall specify the grounds for said appeal. The official from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
[Amended 4-19-1990 by Ord. No. 90-16]
B. 
Applications addressed to the original jurisdiction of the Board of Adjustment pursuant to the provisions of P.L. 1975, c. 291,[1] § 160-27A of this article and other provisions of this chapter shall be filed with the Secretary of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The Secretary shall inform the applicant of steps to be taken to initiate proceedings and the regular meeting dates of the Board as well as provide all necessary forms, applications and copies of Board rules and regulations.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
C. 
Any appeal for a variance to allow a structure or use in a district restricted against such structure or use shall have three copies of all supporting documents and the application filed with the Secretary. One copy shall be forwarded to the Planning Board by the Secretary, together with a notice of the hearing date. The Planning Board shall review the material and may make recommendations to the Board of Adjustment at the public hearing on the application. The Planning Board's recommendations may contain, among other things, the Planning Board's opinion as to the compatibility of the proposal to the Master Plan; applications which have been or are currently being processed by the Planning Board for similar uses elsewhere in the Borough; land use, traffic and other data relevant to the application which the Planning Board has in its files; and what conditions, if any, the Planning Board would recommend be imposed on the applicant to improve compatibility with the Master Plan and Zoning Ordinance should the Board of Adjustment grant the variance.
D. 
An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action in respect of which decision appealed from was made, unless the official from whom 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 certificates, a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order, which may be granted by the Board of Adjustment or by the Superior Court of New Jersey on application or notice to the official from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
In exercising the above-mentioned power, the Board of Adjustment may, in conformity with the provisions of P.L. 1975, c. 291, or amendments thereto or subsequent statutes applying,[1] reverse or affirm wholly or partly or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from and make other requirement, decision or determination as ought to be made and, to that end, have all the powers of the administrative official from whom the appeal was taken.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
[Amended 2-19-1998 by Ord. No. 98-4; 6-15-2000 by Ord. No. 00-25; 12-20-2001 by Ord. No. 01-50]
A. 
Any variance from the terms of this chapter hereafter granted by the Board of Adjustment or Planning Board permitting either a specified use of any premises, a specified structure on any premises, or any setback, buffer or other relief shall expire by limitation unless such construction, alteration or improvement shall have actually commenced on each and every structure and improvement permitted by said variance, or unless such permitted use has actually been commenced within one year of the date of adoption of the resolution of the Board of Adjustment, or the Planning Board, as the case may be. However, the Board may extend the time period of such approval for one period of one year. In case of an application where subdivision or site plan approval is also involved, the rights conferred to the applicant by the approval of the subdivision or site plan application shall govern the variance approval.
B. 
In the event that, during the time period of approval for an application for development, the applicant is barred or prevented, directly or indirectly, from proceeding with the development otherwise permitted under such approval by a legal action instituted by any state agency, political subdivision or other party to protect the public health or welfare or by a directive or order issued by any state agency, political subdivision or court of competent jurisdiction to protect the health or welfare and applicant is otherwise ready, willing and able to proceed with said development, the running of the time period of approval under this chapter shall be suspended for the period of time said legal action is pending or such directive or order is in effect.
A. 
The Board of Adjustment shall have such powers as are granted by law to:
(1) 
Hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that there is error in any order, requirement, decision or refusal made by an administrative official or agency based on or made in the enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance.
(2) 
Hear and decide requests for interpretation of the map or Zoning Ordinance or for decisions upon other special questions upon which such Board is authorized by the Zoning Ordinance to pass.
(3) 
Where, by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific piece of property or by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or by reason of other extraordinary and exceptional situations or conditions of such piece of property, the strict application of any regulation in the Zoning Ordinance would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to or exceptional and undue hardship upon the owner of such property, to grant, upon an application or an appeal relating to such property, a variance from such strict application 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 a district restricted against such structure or use, and further provided 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 shall review a request for a variance pursuant to Subsection 47a of the Municipal Land Use Law of 1975, P.L. 1975, c. 291.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-60a.
(4) 
Grant a variance to allow a structure or use in a district restricted against such structure or use in particular cases and for special reasons, but only by the affirmative vote of at least 2/3 of the full authorized membership of the Board.
(5) 
No variance or other relief may be granted under the provisions of this section unless such variance or other relief can get granted without substantial detriment to the public good and will not substantially impair the intent and purpose of the zone plan and Zoning Ordinance. Any application under any subsection of this section may be referred to any appropriate person or agency, including the Planning Board, for its report, provided that such reference shall not exceed the period of time within the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act.
B. 
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall, in addition to the powers specified in Subsection A above, have power given by law to:
(1) 
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 on the Official Map.
(2) 
Direct issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36 for a building or structure not related to a street.
(3) 
Grant, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board and following the same procedures prescribed in this chapter, subdivision or site plan approval pursuant to Article 6 of P.L. 1975, c. 291,[2] or conditional use approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 whenever the Board is reviewing as application for approval of a use variance pursuant to Subsection A(4) of this section. Such action on the subdivision, site plan or conditional use application as part of a use variance request shall be limited to the lot concerning the use variance and adjoining lots, provided that the additional lots are an integral part of an overall plan associated with the use variance request. Any other remaining land proposed for development but not requiring a use variance shall be submitted to the Planning Board as the approving authority.
[Amended 4-19-1990 by Ord. No. 90-16]
[2]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-37 et seq.
A. 
The Board of Adjustment shall render its decision not later than 120 days after the date that an appeal is taken from the decision of an administrative official or the date of the submission of a complete application for development to the Board pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70b.
B. 
Failure of the Board to render a decision within such one-hundred-twenty-day period or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant shall constitute a decision favorable to the applicant.