No member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment shall 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.
A. 
Meetings of both the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment 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 majority vote of a quorum except as otherwise required by any provision of c. 291, P.L. 1975 (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, Chapter 231, P.L. 1975 (N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 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 reasons therefor. The minutes shall thereafter be made available for public inspection during normal business hours at the office of the Municipal 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.
[Amended 2-20-1990 by Ord. No. 2032; 9-12-2006 by Ord. No. 2468]
In addition to the filing fees and any other fees or payments required by City Code, the applicant for any development application, appeal or other matter pursuant to this chapter shall be responsible to reimburse the City for payments made to professionals for services rendered to the City.
A. 
Initial deposits for professionals. The following escrow fees shall be collected by the Secretary at the time of the filing of the application:
(1) 
Planning Board.
Application
Escrow Fee
Site plan application:
Initial engineering escrow
Minor residential
$2,000
Major residential
$2,000 plus $250 per unit in excess of two
Initial attorney escrow
Residential
$1,000
Commercial
$1,500
Subdivision application:
Initial Engineering escrow
Minor residential
$2,000
Major residential
$2,000 plus $250 per unit in excess of two
Commercial
$2,000
Initial attorney escrow
Residential
$750
Commercial
$1,000
(2) 
Zoning Board.
Application
Escrow Fee
Initial attorney escrow
Residential
$750
Commercial
$750
Initial engineering escrow
[Amended 7-10-2007 by Ord. No. 2503]
$1,500
Site plan application:
Initial engineering escrow
Minor residential
$2,000
Major residential
$2,000 plus $250 per unit in excess of two
Initial attorney escrow
Residential
$1,000
Commercial
$1,500
(3) 
These fees are to be applied for the review of applications by the professional staff/consultants and shall include all office review, phone correspondence, preparation of reports, conferences, appearance at meetings or other purposes under the provisions of this chapter or the Municipal Land Use Law.[1] For purposes of this section, professional staff shall include the City Attorney, City Planner and City Engineer and such other professionals as may be deemed necessary by the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Adjustment to review an application. Deposits shall be paid by personal check, certified check, cashier's check or bank money order. In the case of proposals requiring a combination of approvals, such as subdivision, site plan and/or variance(s), the applicant shall deposit an amount equal to the sum of the deposits required for each application. In the event that there is no new schedule of fees filed by the professionals, the schedule previously filed by the professional shall prevail.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
B. 
Subsequent deposits for professional services. In the event that the amount in the individual account for professional services should become depleted to less than 25% of the initial deposit required by this chapter and if the Secretary determines that additional funds are necessary to cover the cost of processing said application, the Secretary shall notify the applicant immediately of such depletion. Upon receiving such notice, the applicant shall deposit additional funds as necessary to make the amount in the account not less than 50% of the initial deposit required by this chapter for professional services.
C. 
Failure to maintain deposit for professional services. If the required funds for professional services are not deposited in a timely manner. The Secretary shall notify the City agency having jurisdiction over the application and shall send copies of said notification to the City Finance Director. Upon receipt of the copy of notification, the Finance Officer shall immediately inform the City Committee of said notification. No further action shall be taken on the application unless the deposits have been made by the applicant as required above. In the event the time for action by a City agency as required by this chapter shall expire prior to the payment of the required deposits, the reviewing agency shall have the option of dismissing the application.
D. 
Vouchers for payment of professional services. All payments charged to a deposit required by this section shall be made pursuant to written monthly vouchers for each application from the professional(s), stating the hours spent, the hourly rate and the expenses incurred. The City shall render a written final accounting to the application on the uses to which the deposit was put.
E. 
Procedure for payment of vouchers; appeals of charges. The following procedure shall apply to the payment of vouchers for professional services pursuant to this section:
(1) 
Upon receipt of any vouchers for payment of professional services, the Secretary shall submit a copy of said voucher to the applicant.
(2) 
Within 14 days of the mailing of said vouchers, the applicant may request in writing a hearing on the reasonableness of the charges contained in said vouchers. Any such hearing shall be held by the City agency with jurisdiction over the application.
(3) 
In the event the applicant requests such hearing, no payments shall be made pursuant to the disputed voucher(s) until the City agency shall have ruled on the appeal. If the City agency finds in favor of the application, payment pursuant to said voucher(s) shall be adjusted accordingly.
(4) 
All vouchers for payment of professional services pursuant to this section shall be submitted to the City agency for whom the services were performed. The City agency shall, at a public hearing, approve or deny payment of the vouchers. No voucher shall be denied payment without giving the professional submitting the voucher an opportunity to be heard concerning the reasonableness of said voucher.
(5) 
If no hearing is requested as outlined above or if the City agency finds in favor of the professional, payment shall be made pursuant to the voucher.
(6) 
If approved by the City agency, the voucher shall be directed to the City Finance Director for reimbursement to the professional for services rendered.
F. 
Unpaid fees establishes liens. Any professional or consultant fees incurred as part of site plan or subdivision approval shall become a lien upon the subject property and shall remain as such until paid directly or satisfied by payment from escrow accounts. Any professional or consultant vouchers which remain unpaid for 30 days or which cannot be satisfied from existing escrow accounts shall be certified by the Administrator to the City Assessor and Tax Collector. The sums shall be levied and collected at the same time and in the same manner as City taxes. All such moneys received by the Collector shall be paid over to the Administrator to be applied only to the purposes for which they were levied.
A. 
Rules. The Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment shall make rules governing the conduct of hearings before such bodies, which rules shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. or of this chapter.
B. 
Oaths. The officer presiding at the hearing or such person as he may designate shall have 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, and the provisions of the County and Municipal Investigations Law, c. 38, P.L. 1953 (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 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. Each Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the proceedings by either stenographer, 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.
Whenever a hearing is required on an application for development pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. or pursuant to the determination of the municipal agency in question, the applicant shall give notice thereof as follows:
A. 
Public notice shall be given by publication in the official newspaper of the municipality at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing.
B. 
Notice shall be given to the owners of all real property, as shown on the current tax duplicate or duplicates, located within 200 feet in all directions of the property which is the subject of such hearing and whether located within or without the municipality in which applicant's land is located. Such notice shall be given by serving a copy thereof on the owner as shown on the said current tax duplicate or his agent in charge of the property or by mailing a copy thereof by certified mail to the property owner at his address as shown on the said current tax duplicate. A return receipt is not required. Notice to a partnership owner may be made by service upon any partner. Notice to a corporate owner may be made by service upon its president, a vice president, secretary or other person authorized by appointment or by law to accept service on behalf of the corporation.
C. 
Notice of all hearings on applications for development involving property located within 200 feet of an adjoining municipality shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the Clerk of such municipality, which notice shall be in addition to the notice required to be given pursuant to Subsection B to the owners of lands in such adjoining municipality which are located within 200 feet of the subject premises.
D. 
Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the County Planning Board of a hearing on an application for development of property adjacent to an existing county road or proposed road shown on the Official County Map or on the County Master Plan, adjoining other county land or situate within 200 feet of a municipal boundary.
E. 
Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the Commissioner of Transportation of a hearing on an application for development of property adjacent to a state highway.
F. 
Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the Director of the Division of State and Regional Planning in the Department of Community Affairs of a hearing on an application for development of property which exceeds 150 acres or 500 dwelling units. Such notice shall include a copy of any maps or documents required to be on file with the Municipal Clerk pursuant to Section 6b of c. 291, P.L. 1975 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10b).
G. 
All notices hereinabove specified in this section shall be given at least 10 days prior to the date fixed for hearing, and the applicant shall file an affidavit of proof of service with the Board holding the hearing on the application for development.
H. 
Any notice made by certified mail as hereinabove required shall be deemed to be complete upon mailing in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-14.
I. 
Form of notice. All notices required to be given pursuant to the terms of this chapter shall state the date, time and place of the hearing, the nature of the matters to be considered, an identification of the property proposed for development by street address, if any, or by reference to lot and block numbers as shown on the current tax duplicate in the Municipal Tax Assessor's office, and the location and times at which any maps and documents for which approval is sought are available as required by law. [1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 157-29, List of property owners, which immediately followed this section, was deleted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
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 decision to the applicant, or if represented, then 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 Municipal Clerk, who shall make a copy of such filed decision available to any interested party upon 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 municipality. Such publication shall be arranged by the Secretary of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment, as the case may be, without separate charge to the applicant. Said notice shall be sent to the official newspaper for publication within 10 days of the date of any such decision.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-39 and 40:55D-65, every application for development submitted to the Planning Board or to the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be accompanied by proof that no taxes or assessments for local improvements are due or delinquent on the property which is the subject of such application; or if it is shown that taxes or assessments are delinquent on said property, any approvals or other relief granted by either Board shall be conditioned upon either the prompt payment of such taxes or assessments or the making of adequate provision for the payment thereof in such manner that the municipality will be adequately protected.