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 appointed by the Mayor 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 so 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 be construed to affect the terms of any present members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, all of whom shall continue in office until the completion of the terms for which they were appointed.
B. 
No member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment may hold any elective office or position under the Borough.
C. 
A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term shall be filled for the unexpired term only.
D. 
There shall also be appointed by the Mayor not more than two alternate members to said Zoning Board of Adjustment. The alternate members shall be designated at the time of appointment as "Alternate No. 1" and "Alternate No. 2." The terms of the alternate members shall be so determined that the initial terms shall extend evenly over the first two years after their appointment, provided that the initial terms of said alternate members shall not exceed two years. Thereafter, the terms of each alternate member shall be for two years. Alternate members may participate in discussions of the proceedings but may not vote, except in the absence or disqualification of a regular member. A vote shall not be delayed in order that a regular member may vote instead of an alternate member. In the event that a choice must be made as to which alternate member is to vote, Alternate No. 1 shall vote.
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
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 Chair of the Planning Board shall make the choice.
The Board of Adjustment shall elect a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from its members and shall also elect a Secretary who may be either a Board member or another Borough employee.
There is hereby created the office of Attorney to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The Zoning Board of Adjustment may annually appoint, fix the compensation of or agree upon the rate of compensation of the Zoning Board of Adjustment Attorney, who shall be an attorney other than the Borough Attorney.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment may also employ or contract for and fix the compensation of such experts and 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 Borough Council for its 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. 
Statutory powers. 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. 
Intent of chapter. 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, not by 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. 
Variances. 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 hardship. 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 N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. 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 or applications may properly be filed with the Board for its decision thereon.
A. 
Appeals. Appeals to the Board of Adjustment may be taken by any person aggrieved or by an officer, department, board or bureau of the Borough affected by any decision of the administrative officer. Each appeal shall be taken within 20 days, prescribed by the statute, by filing a notice of appeal with the officer from whom the appeal was taken, together with three copies of such notice, with the Secretary of the Board of Adjustment. The notice of appeal shall specify the grounds for such appeal. The officer 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.
B. 
Applications. Applications addressed to the original jurisdiction of the Board of Adjustment without prior application to an administrative officer shall be filed with the Secretary of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Three copies of the application shall be filed. At the time of filing the appeal or application, but in no event less than 10 days prior to the date set for the hearing, the applicant shall also file all plot plans, maps or other papers required by virtue of any provision of this chapter or any rule of the Board of Adjustment. The applicant shall obtain all necessary forms from the Secretary of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The Secretary of the Board shall inform the applicant of the steps to be taken to initiate proceedings and of the regular meeting dates of the Board.
C. 
Appeal stays proceedings. An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action in respect of which the decision appealed from was made unless the officer from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the Board of Adjustment, after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with them, that, by reason of facts stated in the certificate, a stay would, in their 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 an application or notice to the officer 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 N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., or amendments thereto or subsequent statutes applying, reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination as ought to be made and to that end have all the powers of the administrative officer from whom the appeal was taken.
Any variance from the terms of this chapter hereafter granted by the Board of Adjustment permitting the erection or alteration of any structure or structures or permitting a specified use of any premises shall expire by limitation unless such construction or alteration shall have been actually commenced on each and every structure permitted by such variance or unless such permitted use has actually been commenced within nine months from the date of entry of the judgment or determination of the Board of Adjustment, except that the running of the period of limitation herein provided shall be tolled from the date of filing an appeal from the decision of the Board of Adjustment to the Borough Council or to a court of competent jurisdiction until the termination in any manner of such appeal or proceeding.
The Board of Adjustment shall have such powers as are granted by law as follows:
A. 
Appeals. To 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 Chapter 230, Zoning.
B. 
Interpretation of the map or Chapter 230, Zoning. To hear and decide requests for interpretation of the map or Chapter 230, Zoning, or for decisions upon other special questions upon which such Board is authorized by Chapter 230, Zoning.
C. 
Variance for hardship. 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 in Chapter 230, Zoning, would result in peculiar and exceptional and practical difficulties to or exceptional and undo hardship upon the developer of such property, to grant, upon an application or an appeal relating to such property, a variance from such strict application of such regulations so as to relieve such difficulties or hardships; and where in an application or appeal relating to a specific piece of property the purposes of the Municipal Land Use Law[1] would be advanced by a deviation from the requirements of Chapter 230, Zoning, and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, to grant a variance to allow departure from the regulation of Chapter 230, Zoning; provided, however, that no variance from those departures enumerated in Subsection D of this section shall be granted under this subsection; and provided, further, that the proposed development does not require the approval of 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-60a.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
D. 
District variance.
(1) 
In particular cases and for special reasons, the Board of Adjustment shall have the power to grant a variance to allow departure from the regulations of Chapter 230, Zoning, to permit:
(a) 
A use or principal structure in a district restricted against such use or principal structure.
(b) 
An expansion of a nonconforming use.
(c) 
Deviation from a specification or standard pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 pertaining solely to conditional uses.
(d) 
An increase in the permitted floor area ratio as defined in Section 3.1 of P.L. 1975, c. 291 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4).
(e) 
An increase in the permitted density as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4, 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 in isolated undersized lot or lots resulting from a minor subdivision.
(2) 
A variance under this subsection shall be granted only by affirmative vote of at least five members of the full authorized membership of the Board.
E. 
Prohibition. No variance or other relief may be granted under the provisions under this section unless such variance or other relief can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and will not substantially impair the intent and purpose of the zone plan and Chapter 230, Zoning. Any application under any subsection of this section may be referred to any appropriate person or agency for its report, provided that such reference shall not extend the period of time in which the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act.
A. 
Permits. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall, in addition to the powers specified in § 23-22, have power given by law to:
(1) 
Direct the 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 the issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36 for a building or structure not related to a street.
B. 
Subdivision; site plans; condition of use approval. The Board of Adjustment shall have the power to grant, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board, subdivision or site plan approval pursuant to Article 6 of P.L. 1975, c. 291,[1] or conditional use approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 whenever the proposed development requires approval by the Board of Adjustment of a variance pursuant to § 23-22D of this chapter. 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 a variance shall be conditioned upon a grant of all required subsequent approvals by the Board of Adjustment.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-37 through 40:55D-58
A. 
Time limit. The Board of Adjustment shall render its decision not later than 120 days after the date:
(1) 
That an appeal is taken from the decision of an administrative officer.
(2) 
Of submission of a complete application for development to the Board pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70b.
B. 
Failure to render decision. 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.