B.
The members of the Board of Adjustment shall be appointed
by the Township Council. The terms of the members first appointed
under this chapter 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. Thereafter, the term
of each member shall be four years. No member may hold any elective
office or position in the Township. No member shall be permitted to
act on any matter in which he has, either directly or indirectly,
any personal or financial interest. A member may, after public hearing
if he requests it, be removed from by the Township Council for cause.
A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of a term shall be
filled for the unexpired term only.[2]
C.
The Board of Adjustment shall elect a Chairman and
Vice Chairman from its members and select a Secretary who may or may
not be a member of the Board of Adjustment or a municipal employee.
A.
The Board of Adjustment shall have the power 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 the Zoning Enforcement Officer or other administrative
official based on or made in the enforcement of this chapter.
(2)
Hear and decide, in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter, requests for interpretation of the Zoning Map or
this chapter or decisions upon other special questions upon which
such Board is authorized 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 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 zoning regulation of this chapter would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to or exceptional and undue hardship upon the developer of such property, grant, upon an application or an appeal relating to such property, a variance from such strict application of such regulation so as to relieve such difficulties or hardship; where in an application or appeal relating to a specific piece of property the purposes of this chapter would be advanced by a deviation from the requirements of this chapter and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, grant a variance to allow departure from the zoning regulations of this chapter; provided, however, that no variance from those departures enumerated in Subsection A(4) of this section shall be granted under this subsection; and provided, further, 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 Beard has power to review a request for a variance pursuant to this chapter.[1]
(4)
In particular cases and for special reasons, grant a variance to allow departure from the zoning regulations of this chapter to permit a use or principal structure, an expansion of a nonconforming use, deviation from a specification or standard pursuant to Article XV of this chapter pertaining solely to a conditional use, an increase in the permitted floor area ratio as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4, or 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 an isolated, undersized lot or lots resulting from a minor subdivision. A variance under this subsection shall be granted only by affirmative vote of at least five members of the Board.[2]
(5)
Give direction, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-34, for
issuance of a permit for a building or structure in the bed of a mapped
street or public drainageway, flood control basin or public area reserved
on an official map.
(6)
Give direction, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36, for
issuance of a permit for a building or structure not related to a
street.
(7)
Grant, to the same extent and subject to the same restriction as the Planning Board, subdivision or site plan approval or conditional use approval whenever the proposed development requires approval by the Board of Adjustment of a variance pursuant to Subsection A(4). 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 the variance shall be conditioned upon the grant of all required subsequent approvals by the Board of Adjustment. No such subsequent approval shall be granted unless such approval can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without a substantial impairment of the intent and purpose of the Zone Plan.
B.
No variance or other relief may be granted under the
terms 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
this chapter. An application under this section may be referred to
any appropriate person or agency, including the Planning Board, provided
that such reference shall not extend the period of time within which
the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act.
The Board of Adjustment may employ or contract
for and fix the compensation of legal counsel, other than the Municipal
Attorney, a licensed planning consultant, a licensed engineer and
other staff and services as it shall deem necessary, not exceeding,
exclusive of gifts or grants, the amount appropriated by the Township
Council for its use.
The Board of Adjustment shall, at least once
a year, review its decisions on applications and appeals for variances
and prepare and adopt by resolution a report of its findings on zoning
ordinance provisions which were the subject of variance requests and
its recommendations for amendments or revisions, if any, to this chapter.
The Board of Adjustment shall send copies of the report and resolution
to the governing body and Planning Board.
A.
Appeals to the Board of Adjustment may be taken by
an interested party effected by any decision of an administrative
officer of the municipality based on or made in the enforcement of
this chapter or the Official Map. Such appeal shall be taken within
20 days by filing a notice of appeal with the officer from whom the
appeal is taken specifying the grounds of such appeal. The officer
from whom the appeal is taken shall immediately transmit to the Board
all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed
from was taken.
B.
A developer may file an application for development
with the Board of Adjustment for action under any of its powers without
prior application to an administrative officer.
C.
The Board of Adjustment may reverse or affirm, wholly
or in part, or may modify the action, order, requirement, decision,
interpretation or determination appealed from and, to that end, have
all the powers of the administrative officer from whom the appeal
is taken.
D.
An appeal to the Board of Adjustment shall stay all
proceedings in furtherance of the action in respect to which the decision
is appealed from was made unless the officer from whose action 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 case, proceedings shall not be
stayed other than by an order of the Superior Court upon notice to
the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
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.
C.
Variances granted under § 243-18A(3), commonly known as "bulk variances," and variances granted under § 243-18A(4) hereof, commonly known as "use variances," shall be and remain valid for three years from the date of the adoption of the resolution of the granting of such variance by the approving authority, and the validity of such variances shall not be affected by any subsequent zoning change. In the event that the applicant or his successors or assigns fail to pursue further development approvals required hereby (for example, site plan review and approval), or fail to obtain a building permit where such development approvals are not required, within the three-year duration of the variance, the same shall lapse and be null and void and of no further force and effect. The approving authority shall be at liberty to grant reasonable extensions of zoning variances based upon a showing by the applicant that circumstances beyond his control prevented the inception of the use or construction of the improvement, as the case may be. In no case shall any such extension be for a period of longer than five years from the date of expiration of the original approval.
[Added 9-1-1993 by Ord. No. 1993-16]
[Added 2-1-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-2]
The following fees are to be paid in compliance
with the GIS fees:
A.
Zoning Board applications: $50.
