Township of Mount Laurel, NJ Procedures

The Planning Board shall have the power to grant subdivision or conditional use approval simultaneously with site plan approval.

The Planning Board shall have the power to act in lieu of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and subject to the same extent and restrictions of the Zoning Board of Adjustment on the following matters when the Planning Board is reviewing applications for approval of subdivision plans, site plans or conditional uses. Whenever relief is requested pursuant to this subsection, public notice shall be given and shall include reference to the request for a variance or direction for issuance of a permit, as the case may be:

Grant variances pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:550-70c.

Direct, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36, 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 pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-32.

Direct, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36, for issuance of a permit for a building or structure not related to a street.

Zoning Board of Adjustment action in lieu of Planning Board. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall have the power to grant, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board, site plan, subdivision or conditional use approval whenever the proposed development requires approval by the Zoning Board of Adjustment of a variance pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70d.

Simultaneous review. The Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment, as the case may be, shall have the power to act upon subdivision, conditional use, site plan or variance applications simultaneously without the application for hearings. The longest time period for action by either Board, whether it is for subdivision, conditional use, site plan or variance approval, shall apply. Whenever approval of a conditional use or variance is requested by the applicant in conjunction with a site plan or subdivision application, notice of the hearing on the plan shall include reference to the request for such conditional use or variance.

§ 138-5 Application of requirements.

Subdivision review. All subdivisions, as defined under § 138-3, are subject to the review procedures specified herein.

Informal review by the Planning Board.

At the request of a developer, the Planning Board shall hear one informal presentation of a concept plat or plan for a development for which the developer intends to prepare and submit an application for development. The information to be included for a concept plat or plan shall be sufficient to enable the Planning Board and the applicant to comment upon:

Design concepts, such as building location, ingress and egress, parking, major natural features that will have to be recognized or may influence certain design criteria and the applicant's basic intent for water, sewerage and storm drainage facilities.

The effect on environmentally sensitive areas based upon a map of the site indicating all ecologically sensitive areas as derived from the applicant's or his representative's knowledge of the site and ecologically sensitive lands as indicated in the regulatory maps and recommendations of the Ecological Planning Study.

The developer shall be required to pay a fee for an informal presentation of a concept plat or plan in accordance with § 138-46 of this chapter; moreover, no professional review(s) will be undertaken unless the developer has agreed to pay for said review(s) and has established an escrow account also in accordance with § 138-46 of this chapter.

The developer shall not be bound by any concept plat or plan for which review is requested, and the Planning Board shall not be bound by any such review.

A developer desiring to have a concept plat or plan informally reviewed by the Planning Board shall submit the required application forms, which include the checklist for informal review attached to this chapter to the administrative officer at least 15 days prior to the meeting of the Planning Board. The administrative officer shall thereafter notify the developer of the time and place which has been scheduled by the Planning Board for the informal review. No request for informal review shall take preference on the agenda over, or prior to, a formally submitted application for development for which time limits are telling, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., and the Planning Board may, prior to said review, establish a time limit for said informal review.

§ 138-6 Action by the Township on minor subdivision plats and minor site plans.

The administrative officer shall review the aforesaid application for the purpose of determining, within 45 days of its submission, whether said application is complete. Thereafter:

If said application is found to contain all of the information required by a checklist adopted as part of this Land Development Ordinance, the administrative officer shall certify that said application is complete and direct the application to the appropriate Board.

If said application is found to lack some of the information required by the checklist, the administrative officer shall either:

Cause the applicant to be notified, in writing, that said application is incomplete, specifying the deficiencies in the application; or,

If waivers of checklist items have been specifically requested by the applicant in the application for development, the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Adjustment, as the case may be, shall act on the request for waivers within 45 days of application submission. If the Board reasonably concludes that the missing items of information are not necessary to make an informed decision on the application, said Board may waive the requirement that said items be supplied as a prerequisite for completeness and certify that the application is complete notwithstanding the missing items. If the waivers are granted, the application is complete as long as all other requirements for submission have been satisfied. If the waivers are denied, the application is incomplete until missing information is submitted. At that time, the application is complete if all other requirements for submission have been satisfied.

An applicant who has been notified that his application is incomplete may request waiver of one or more of the submission requirements, and said request shall be the subject of a resubmitted application treated as a new submission.

In the event that the administrative officer fails to act within 45 days of the date of submission of this application, said application shall be deemed complete as of the 46th day following its submission.

On the date the aforesaid application is certified complete, or on the 46th day following the submission of the application, in the event that the administrative officer fails to make a determination of completeness, as the case may be, the applicable time period within which the Board must act upon the application shall commence. In any case, the applicant is obliged to prove that he or she is entitled to approval of the application. The Board may subsequently require correction of any information not specified in this chapter, and/or may require revisions in the application documents, all as are reasonably necessary to make an informed decision as to whether the requirements for approval of the application have been met; provided, however, that the application shall not be deemed incomplete for lack of any such additional information or revisions.

Promptly after certification of completeness, the application documents shall be distributed by the administrative officer to the following:

The Planning Board (one copy each of the minor plat or plan, the application and any environmental impact statement) or the Zoning Board of Adjustment (seven copies of the minor plat or plan and one copy each of the application and any environmental impact statement).

Board Planner (one copy each of the minor plat or plan, the application, any protective covenants, easements and/or deed restrictions and any environmental impact statement).

Board Engineer (one copy each of the minor plat or plan, the application, any protective covenants, easements and/or deed restrictions and any environmental impact statement).

Zoning Officer (one copy of the minor plat or plan).

(5)

Township Fire Official (one copy of the minor plat or plan).

(6)

At the direction of the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Adjustment, as the case may be, additional copies of the minor plat or plan and/or other items of submitted information shall be sent to other Township, county or state agencies and/or to other professional consultants as may be designated by the Board.

(7)

It shall be the applicant's responsibility, unless specifically provided otherwise in this chapter, to submit the required application to any agency having jurisdiction over any aspect of the proposed development.

The Planning Board shall take action on minor subdivision and minor site plan applications within 45 days after the application has been certified complete by the Board or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant. Failure of the Board to act within the prescribed time period shall constitute approval of the application, provided that any minor subdivision or minor site plan application which includes any requested variance relief pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-60 be acted upon within 120 days or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant.

The Zoning Board shall take action on a minor subdivision or minor site plan application under its jurisdiction in the time frame(s) as the Planning Board unless said minor subdivision or minor site plan application is being considered by the Zoning Board of Adjustment simultaneously with an application for a "use" variance in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70d, in which case the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act upon all aspects of the application within 120 days after the application has been certified complete by the Zoning Board of Adjustment or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant. Failure of the Board to act within the prescribed time period shall constitute approval of the application.

The designated professional staff shall read any written reports submitted concerning the application and shall review the submission to ascertain its conformity with the requirements of this chapter. The Township staff may review the application at the substaff meeting and the full planning staff may review the application at its meeting. Subsequently, the professionals will perform a detailed review of the application and issue written reviews to the Township and applicant. The Township staff shall offer its recommendations to the Board.

Any proposed application for development determined by the Board to be creating, imposing, aggravating or leading to the possibility of an adverse effect upon either the property in question or upon any adjacent properties may be required to be revised to remove any adverse effect(s) prior to further review.

All hearings held on applications for minor site plan approval shall require public notice of the hearing. The Board shall set the date, time and place for the public hearing and shall inform the applicant of this at least 14 days prior to said hearing date. Notice of the hearing shall be given by the applicant at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing. Alternate design submissions will not be accepted; only one plat design will be accepted for public hearing.

For any application that is heard by the Planning Board and is continued for additional studies, reports, plans or revisions to previously submitted material, the new or revised material must be submitted to the Township at least 21 days prior to the hearing at which the new material is to be considered by the Planning Board.

When a minor subdivision or minor site plan is approved by the Board, a notation to that effect, including the date of approval, shall be made and at least 10 prints of the plat or plan and any related deed descriptions to be filed with the County Recording Officer and shall be signed by the Board Engineer and the Chairperson and Secretary of the Board (or the Acting Chairperson where either or both may be absent). No further approval of the application shall be required, and the Secretary of the Board, within 10 days of the date of approval, shall notify the applicant of the Board's action. Additionally, the Secretary of the Board shall forward the applicant a copy of the approved resolution within 10 days of its adoption by the Board.

If plan revisions are required after a Board hearing and decision, plans will then be reviewed by the Board Engineer and Planner to verify conformity with the resolution of approval within 30 days after receipt of the revised submission. Five copies of the revised, verified plan should then be signed by the Board Engineer. Two copies will be sent to the Township and one copy will be returned to the applicant. After the final development plans have been approved by the Board Engineer, seven complete sets should be submitted to the Township. The plans will be stamped approved and distributed to staff, with one set returned to the applicant.

Any substantial plan revision required by an outside reviewing agency, including the County Planning Board, after final action by the Planning Board will require a new substantive review. Whenever a development application which has been the subject of a public hearing has been substantially amended for the layout of improvements or impact on adjoining properties, it shall be proceeded upon as a new application.

When a minor subdivision or minor site plan is disapproved by the Board, the Secretary of the Board, within 10 days of such action, shall notify the applicant of such disapproval. Additionally, the Secretary of the Board shall forward the applicant a copy of the disapproval resolution, within 10 days of its adoption by the Board, setting forth the reasons for the disapproval.

Within 190 days from the date on which the resolution of municipal approval of a minor subdivision is adopted by the Board, a plat map drawn in compliance with the Map Filing Act, P.L. 190, c. 141 (N.J.S.A. 46:23-9.9 et seq.), or deed description, properly drafted and signed by the Chairperson and Secretary of the Board (or the Acting Chairperson or Secretary where either or both may be absent), shall be filed by the subdivider with the County Recording Officer, provided that if an applicant elects to file a deed, said deed shall be accompanied with a photographically reduced copy of the approved plat. Unless filed within the 190 days or an extension for filing is granted by the Board, the approval shall expire and will require Board approval as in the first instance. The Planning Board may extend the one-hundred-ninety-day period for filing a minor subdivision or deed if the developer proves to the reasonable satisfaction of the Planning Board that the developer was barred or prevented, directly or indirectly, from filing because of delays in obtaining legally required approvals from other governmental or quasi-governmental entities; and that the developer applied promptly for and diligently pursued the required approvals. The length of the extension shall be equal to the period of delay caused by the wait for the required approvals, as determined by the Planning Board. The developer may apply for the extension either before or after what would otherwise be the expiration date.

The zoning requirements and general terms and conditions, whether conditional or otherwise, shall not be changed for a period of two years either after the date on which the resolution of approval is adopted by the Board for a minor subdivision or after the date of approval by the Board of a minor site plan. The Planning Board shall grant an extension of this period for a period determined by the Board, but not exceeding one year from what would otherwise be the expiration date, if the developer proves to the reasonable satisfaction of the Board that the developer was barred or prevented, directly or indirectly, from proceeding with the development because of delays in obtaining legally required approvals from other govern mental entities and that the developer shall apply for this extension before what would otherwise be the expiration date, or the 91st day after the date on which the developer receives the last of the legally required approvals from the other governmental entities, whichever occurs later.

Before the Secretary of the Board returns any approved minor subdivision or minor site plan to the applicant, the applicant shall provide five copies of the plat or plan in order to furnish copies to each of the following:

Township Engineer (in the case of subdivisions only, a map of the plat drawn to the Tax Map scale of one inch equals 100 feet or one inch equals 400 feet, as directed by the Board Engineer).

Construction Official.

Township Tax Assessor.

Such other Township, county or state agencies and officials as directed by the Board.

§ 138-7 Effect of preliminary major subdivision approval and extensions.

[Added 8-4-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-19]

Preliminary approval shall confer upon the applicant the following rights for a three-year period from the date of preliminary approval:

That the general terms and conditions on which preliminary approval was granted shall not be changed, including but not limited to, use requirements; layout and design standards for streets, curbs and sidewalks; lot size; yard dimensions; off-tract improvements;

That the applicant may submit for final approval, on or before the expiration date of preliminary approval, the whole or a section or sections of the preliminary subdivision;

The applicant may apply for and the Board may grant extensions on such preliminary approval for additional periods of at least on year; but not to exceed a total extension of two years, provided that if the design standards have been revised by ordinance, such revised standards may govern; and

If the Planning Board grants an extension of preliminary approval pursuant to this section, and preliminary approval has expired before the date on which the extension is granted, the extension shall begin on what would otherwise be the expiration date. The applicant may apply for the extension either before or after what would otherwise be the expiration date. The Planning Board shall grant an extension of preliminary approval for a period determined by the Board but not exceeding one year from what would otherwise be the expiration date if the developer satisfies the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-(f).

§ 138-8 Final plan time limitations.

[Added 8-4-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-19]

Any preliminary plan approval and extensions shall expire if a complete application for final approval is not submitted on or before the expiration date of preliminary approval of the whole or a section or sections of the preliminary subdivision. Failure of an applicant to submit an application for final approval within three years of the preliminary approval, and any extensions, shall result in the expiration and invalidation of the preliminary approval. No application for final approval of a subdivision shall be considered unless it has been submitted prior to the expiration date of the preliminary approval.

§ 138-9 Industrial subdivisions.

Phases of review. All industrial subdivisions as defined in § 138-3B, shall comply with the procedures set forth § 138-5 and this chapter. All industrial subdivisions shall be classified as a "planned industrial development" and approved in accordance with requirements of a planned development pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-45, and if the development application exceeds 100 acres in size, the developer may request approval for a general development plan, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-45.1. Subdivision procedures for a general development plan shall follow the procedures set forth in § 154-30, and action by the Planning Board shall follow the standards of § 154-31 and the effect of a general development plan approval shall, if applicable, be consistent with § 154-32.

Standards of review. Rearrangement or creation of an interior lot line, additional improvements or relocation of initial improvements and any other matter pertaining to development of the tract within the perimeter boundaries shall be handled by the same procedure as minor subdivisions are handled, regardless of the number of lots involved or the number of subdivisions that the applicant makes, provided that each interior subdivision meets the following criteria:

Does not involve the extension of any municipal facilities.

Does not front on any major street.

Does not, in the opinion of the Planning Board, adversely affect the development of the remainder of the parcel by:

Restricting access or street frontage.

Creating awkward or difficult to develop parcels by reason of shape, size, location or physical characteristics of the site.

Unduly restricting the types of potential uses of the remainder of the tract.

Does not, in the opinion of the Planning Board, adversely affect adjoining property by reason of:

Possible nuisance factors of noise, smoke, glare, intensity and time of operation, privacy invasion, etc.

Excessive traffic generation.

Destruction of natural features.

(d)

An adverse effect upon existing drainage patterns.

(5)

Does not adversely affect the present or future development of the Township by reason of:

Conflict with the proposals of the Master Plan regarding types of land use, intensity of land use, density of population, circulation requirements, community facilities, open space preservation and recreation needs.

Conflict with any provision of the Official Map.

Conflict with any provision of the Zoning Ordinance.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 154. Zoning.

(d)

Conflict with any portion of this chapter.

(6)

The developer installs any improvements required or provides for same under the bonding provisions as outlined above and furnishes the Planning Board with any documentation, guaranty or proof of improvement installation as the Planning Board may require.

Industrial subdivisions. With respect to any overall or integrated site plan consisting of two or more detached commercial, office or industrial buildings or combination thereof, said site plan being located in any nonresidential zoning district and which site plan conforms, without the need for variances, to all elements of the municipal ordinances for development of said site plan with respect to lot size, frontage, all setbacks, parking, open space, a subdivision application shall be considered by the municipality for the individual buildings without regard to lot frontage, front, side and rear setbacks, location of parking area, number of parking spaces, amount of open space, for each individual building, provided that:

Each individual parcel subdivided shall contain a sufficient and reasonable portion of the required open space and landscaped area so as to create a pleasant aesthetic effect, which area may include the landscaped islands in the parking area allocated to subdivided parcel.

(1.1)	Traffic and circulation requirements.
	(a)	A traffic study shall provide the various data as outlined below. The traffic study shall address the various traffic-generating characteristics of uses in the planned development and the interface of traffic from the proposed uses and the existing uses in the area to assure that there will not be a degradation in the level of service in the area and that there will not be any traffic hazards created in the area by traffic generated by the planned development. The traffic study shall address the various concerns noted below using the standards outlined.
	(b)	Level of service. It must be shown that the public traffic arteries have adequate capacities to accommodate the traffic to be generated by the proposed project at an acceptable level of service C or better for all approaches to signalized intersections and streets, and that safe, convenient and adequate circulation and parking is provided for the sites. [Amended 11-21-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-28]
	(c)	Traffic volume. Existing twenty-four-hour traffic counts summarized by hour and by direction and peak hour trips by movement on all critical arterials and intersections affected by the proposed development. Traffic volumes utilized in the traffic report shall be taken within 12 months preceding the date of the application.
	(d)	Future background traffic volume. Future traffic volumes shall be calculated by multiplying the peak hour traffic volumes by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) growth factors. These factored traffic volumes will be surcharged with traffic volumes expected to be generated by impending development. Impending development shall include traffic from developments that are expected to be completed in the immediate vicinity. This shall include projects presently approved by the Township, projects in adjacent municipalities and projects that are presently in the planning process and are expected to be approved in the near future.
	(e)	Traffic generation. Future traffic expected to be generated by the proposed development shall be calculated by utilizing the latest copy of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) text, Trip Generation. The values developed by using the Trip Generation method shall be verified by typical counts when requested by the Township to verify results. If trip generation data is required by the Township because the Trip Generation methodology is not accurate due to local conditions or an inadequate data base in the Trip Generation text, the traffic data counts required to verify trip generation data shall be in the ITE format. Traffic generation shall include the amount of traffic to be generated for the projected twenty-four-hour period and during the peak hour trip generation by the proposed project. Traffic to be generated by developments may be reduced using published pass-by rates accepted by the Institute of Transportation Engineers. [Amended 11-21-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-28]
	(f)	Future build traffic volumes. Future background traffic volumes shall be surcharged by adding the traffic volumes that are anticipated to be generated by the proposed development to the future background traffic volumes. Traffic to be generated by development may be reduced using published pass-by rates accepted by the Institute of Transportation Engineers. [Amended 11-21-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-28]
	(g)	Traffic analysis.
		[1]	Capacity analysis. Roadways and intersections shall be analyzed using a capacity analysis. The capacity analysis will utilize the latest approved highway capacity programs. Traffic shall be analyzed for the existing traffic conditions, future background traffic and future build traffic conditions. Traffic analysis shall optimize traffic signals so that the existing traffic conditions show traffic conditions as they exist and with optimization of traffic signal timing. The future background traffic conditions shall require the optimization of the traffic signal timings prior to the addition of the proposed traffic from the proposed development. After the addition of the future background traffic and the optimization of the traffic on the roadways, future traffic shall be added and the traffic signal timings shall be optimized for a final product.
		[2]	Accident analysis. Accident data of critical intersections and roadways affected shall be analyzed.
		[3]	Speed and delay analysis. Speed and delay analysis of critical roadways shall be provided.
		[4]	Gap analysis. Gap studies of critical intersections shall be provided.
		[5]	Safety analysis. Analysis shall be made of all entrances and exits to determine if left-turn lanes are warranted in accordance with Highway Research Record 211. In addition, deceleration and acceleration lanes shall be analyzed to determine if they are needed.
		[6]	Off-tract contributions. The applicant's traffic consultant shall provide a trip distribution that will distribute traffic to the surrounding roadway system. All intersections that have over 25 p.m. peak hour trips shall be tabulated and listed with the amount of traffic from the proposed development and the total build traffic at that location. The applicant's engineer shall show the percent of the p.m. traffic the applicant's traffic will be of the future build traffic at each intersection by approach. If improvements are required on one approach of an intersection only as a result of a significant impact by the development, defined as an approach where the majority of the traffic on the approach (defined as over 50% of the total future build traffic) caused the need for the proposed improvement on that approach to maintain an adequate level of service, the applicant's prorata share of the intersection improvement shall be calculated by using the cost of the improvement and multiplied by a factor consisting of the applicant's traffic volume for that leg of the intersection alone divided by the traffic volume at buildout for that leg of the intersection alone.
		[7]	A report prepared by the applicant and approved by the Planning Board under this section shall satisfy the terms of § 138-38.2.

As part of the application for preliminary subdivision approval, applicant shall submit a draft of cross easements encumbering the total tract, which cross easements deal with circulation, both vehicular and pedestrian, preservation of the open space, access to all utility infrastructure. Said easements shall run perpetually or for a shorter period of time as approved by the municipality, provided, in the latter case, that the municipality shall have notice in writing of any attempt to change or terminate the easement together with notice to all parties who are owners of lands encumbered by the easement, and the municipality shall have the right to deny the change, revocation or termination of the easement requested without the burden of establishing or defending the basis or rationale for such denial.

A public hearing is held with respect to the subdivision application, which application can either parallel the site plan application or follow the approval of the site plan. The notice for the public hearing shall set forth that the subdivision proposes interior lots in an integrated site plan wherein variances will be requested for lot size, frontage, setbacks, parking and open space with respect to the individual lots to be created.

Plat detail to be submitted by the applicant for preliminary and/or final subdivisions approval shall be applicant's site plan which site plan meets all elements of the municipal ordinances for development of the overall tract. The proposed individual lot lines of the parcels to be divided shall be shown on said site plan.

(5)

The proof required by applicant to support the grant of a variance for the division of the individual parcel is a site plan for the overall tract which conforms to the municipality's ordinances without the need for variance, plus satisfaction of the negative criteria that no detriment will accrue to parcels within or without the subdivision as a result of the lots being created.

Maximum number of trips.

[Added 11-21-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-28]

All development shall be designed as to uses such that generate no more that the following maximum peak hour trips per acre.

	Development Tract Size (Acres)	Maximum Trip Peak Hour per Acre
	Under 100 acres	30
	Over 100 acres	25