[Amended 6-10-1987 by Ord. No. 5-13-87]
A.
A Zoning Board of Adjustment is hereby established pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69 et seq., consisting of seven regular members and two
alternate members who are residents of the Borough of Haledon, appointed by
the Mayor to serve for terms of four years from January 1 of the year of their
appointment. Alternate members shall be designated at the time of their appointment,
by the authority appointing them, as "Alternate Number 1" and "Alternate Number
2." 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 article shall,
however, be construed to affect the term of any present 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.
No member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment may hold
any elective office or position under the municipality.
C.
A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term
shall be filled for the unexpired term only.
The Board of Adjustment shall elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman from
its members and shall also select a Secretary, who may or may not be a Board
member or another municipal employee.
There is hereby created the position of Attorney to the Zoning Board
of Adjustment. The Zoning Board of Adjustment may annually appoint the Zoning
Board of Adjustment Attorney, who shall be an attorney other than the Municipal
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 governing body 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.
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, 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[1] 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
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 said P.L. 1975, c. 291, 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 to the Board of Adjustment may be taken by any
interested party. Each appeal shall be taken within the 65 days prescribed
by the statute by filing a notice of appeal with the officer from whom the
appeal is 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 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 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
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.
An appeal stays 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 him that by reason of
facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent
peril to life or property. In such cases, 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 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 P.L. 1975, c. 291 (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 appealed from, and make such 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
of 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 said variance or unless
such permitted use has actually been commenced within one year from the date
of publication of the notice of the judgment or determination of the Board
of Adjustment; except, however, 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 governing body or to a court of
competent jurisdiction until the termination in any manner of such appeal
or proceeding.
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 Chapter 405, Zoning.
(2)
Hear and decide requests for interpretation of the Map or Chapter 405, Zoning, 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 situation or condition of such piece of property, the strict application of any regulation in Chapter 405, Zoning, would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to, or exceptional and undue hardship upon, the owner of such property, 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 in 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 § 47a of the Municipal Land Use Law of 1975, P.L. 1975, c. 291 (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.
B.
No variance or other relief may be granted under the provisions of 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 405, Zoning. 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 extend the period of time within which the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act.
A.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall, in addition to the powers specified in § 33-21, 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.
B.
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 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.), or conditional use approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 whenever the Board is reviewing an application for approval of a use variance pursuant to § 33-21A(4) of this chapter.
The Board of Adjustment shall render its decision not later than 120
days after the date an appeal is taken from the decision of an administrative
officer or the submission of a complete application for development to the
Board pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70b. 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.