Township of Mount Laurel, NJ Article XIV Board of Adjustment

§ 154-101 Establishment; membership; vacancies.

[Amended 2-4-1974 by Ord. No. 1974-2; 1-17-1977 by Ord. No. 1977-1; 5-19-1980 by Ord. No. 1980-14]

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, said members to be residents of the Township of Mount Laurel. The Township Council shall appoint the regular and alternate members. The alternate members shall be designated at the time of appointment by the Township Council as "Alternate Number 1" and "Alternate Number 2." The regular members shall be appointed for four-year terms commencing January 1 of the year of their appointment, and the alternate members shall be appointed for two-year terms commencing 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, in the case of regular members, evenly over the first four years after their appointment, and in the case of alternate members, evenly over the first two years after their appointment, provided that the initial term of no regular member shall exceed four years and that the initial term of no alternate member shall exceed two years. Thereafter, the term of each regular member shall be four years, and the term of each alternate member shall be two years.

B. No member may hold any elective office or position under the municipality.

C. No member of the Board of Adjustment shall be permitted to act on any matter in which he has, either directly or indirectly, any personal or financial interest.

D. A member may, after public hearing if he requests it, be removed by the governing body for cause.

E. A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term shall be filled for the unexpired term only.

F. 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 municipal employee.

G. Alternate members may participate in discussions of the proceedings of the Zoning Board 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 Number 1 shall vote.

H. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the term of any individual serving as a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment as of the date of the adoption of this section, said members to continue in office until the completion of the term for which they were appointed.

§ 154-102 Powers and duties.

A. The Board of Adjustment shall have the following powers and duties, as prescribed by the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., including those powers set forth at N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70, and shall exercise such powers and discharge such duties in the manner provided by law:

[Amended 7-17-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-24]

(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 this Zoning Ordinance.

(2) Hear and decide requests for interpretation of the Zoning Map or Ordinance or for decisions upon other special questions upon which such Board is authorized to pass by any Zoning or Official Map Ordinance in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.

(3) Powers.

(a) Where by reason of exceptional 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 pursuant to the provisions of N.J.A.C. 40:55D-62 et seq., 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 of such application of such regulation so as to relieve such difficulties or hardships.

(b) Where in an application or appeal relating to a specific piece of property the purposes of the Municipal Land Use Law would be advanced by a deviation from Zoning Ordinance requirements and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, grant a variance to allow departure from regulations pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-62 et seq.; provided, however, that no variance from those departures enumerated pursuant to § 154-102A(4) of the Mount Laurel Township Code 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 Board has power to review a request for a variance pursuant to the provisions of the Municipal Land Use Law.

(4) Variances.

(a) In particular cases and for special reasons, grant a variance to allow departure from regulations created pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-62 et seq. to permit:

[1] A use or principal structure in a district restricted against such use or principal structure.

[2] An expansion of a nonconforming use.

[3] Deviation from a specification or standard pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 pertaining solely to a conditional use.

[4] An increase in the permitted floor area ratio as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4.

[5] 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.

(b) A variance under this subsection shall be granted only by affirmative vote of at least five members of the Zoning Board. No variance pursuant to this subsection of § 154-102 of the Township Code shall be granted to allow greater or lesser densities in conjunction with the inclusion of low- and moderate-income housing until such time as the Order of September 9, 1985, and signed by L. Anthony Gibson, J.S.C., is vacated or the provisions therein relating to variances for densities is otherwise amended.

(5) Recommend to the Township Council and to the Planning Board, at intervals of not less than every three years, areas in which the zoning district classification should be reconsidered to accommodate and promote the orderly residential, commercial and industrial growth of the Township.

B. No relief may be granted or action taken under the terms of this section unless such relief can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and not substantially impair the intent and purpose of the Zoning Ordinance.

C. In exercising the above-mentioned powers, the Board of Adjustment may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from and make such order, recommendation, decision or determination as ought to be made and, to that end, have all the powers of the administrative officer from whom the appeal is taken.

§ 154-103 Fees and procedures.

[Amended 3-17-1969 by Ord. No. 1969-1; 2-21-1972 by Ord. No. 1972-2; 3-5-1973 by Ord. No. 1973-2; 9-18-1989 by Ord. No. 1989-34; 4-19-1999 by Ord. No. 1999-2; 3-15-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4]

A. The Board of Adjustment shall adopt rules in accordance with the provisions of law and this chapter. Such rules shall include, but shall not be limited to, the manner of filing appeals, the manner of filing applications for special exceptions and variances from the terms of this chapter and the manner of giving notice of public hearings. Board meetings and public hearings shall be held, notices given and appeals made to the Board or from decisions of the Board, as required by Chapter 274, Public Laws of 1928 (N.J.S.A. 40:55-30 to 40:55-51), as amended, and by any rules adopted hereunder.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: N.J.S.A. 40:55D-30 to 40:55-51 were repealed by P.L. 1975, c. 291. For current statutory provisions regarding planning and zoning, see N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.

B. All applications made to the Board of Adjustment for hearing and relief specified in § 154-102A(1), (2), (3) and (4) shall be subject to fees as follows:

(1) "A" variance (appeals from Zoning Officer Decision):

(a) Application fee: $250; plus

(b) Escrow: $250.

(2) "B" variance (interpretation of Zoning Ordinance):

(a) Application fee: $250; plus

(b) Escrow: $250.

(3) "C" variance (bulk variance):

(a) Application fee: $250; plus

(b) Escrow.

[1] Associated with either a site plan or subdivision: $200.

[2] Sign escrow for applications that do not involve a site plan or subdivision: $500. These fees are cumulative and are in addition to site plan and/or subdivision fees.

[3] Single-family detached home escrow not involving any planning, engineering or traffic engineering reviews: flat $200. The flat escrow fees for single-family detached homeowners pertain only to simple applications involving no more than one Zoning Board of Adjustment public hearing meeting. An applicant shall pay an additional escrow fee for the second ZBA meeting that is equal to the initial escrow fee, and he/she shall be responsible for professional reviews required by the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

[4] Single-family detached home escrow involving an application for a fence, walls, signs or roof-mounted renewable energy sources where the overall height of the house and the equipment is less than 10% of the height permitted in the zoning district: flat $500. The flat escrow fees for single-family detached homeowners pertain only to simple applications involving no more than one Zoning Board of Adjustment public hearing meeting. An applicant shall pay an additional escrow fee for the second ZBA meeting that is equal to the initial escrow fee, and he/she shall be responsible for professional reviews required by the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

(4) "D" variance (use variance):

(a) Application fee: $250; plus

(b) Residential escrow: $1,000; or

(c) Nonresidential escrow: $1,500.

(d) These fees are in addition to any other variance, site plan or subdivision application and escrow fees.

(5) Conditional use fees shall be as follows:

(a) Application fee: $200; plus

(b) Escrow: $500.

(6) Publication of final decision fee shall be as follows: $40.

(7) Submission of revised plans requires the applicant to also submit additional escrow fees in the same amount as the initial escrow fee.

(8) Submission of compliance plans requires the applicant to submit an escrow fee of $1,000. This escrow is based on plans that satisfy all conditions of approval. If the revised plans have not previously been reviewed for compliance with conditions of approval, an escrow fee equal to the initial escrow fee must be paid.

(9) In the event that the time or expertise of the Zoning Board professionals or the Mount Laurel Township Fire Official is utilized in the review and interpretation of any other application, such applicant shall be required to post an escrow equal to the amount of said obligation incurred as a result of professional review of their application. Any amounts placed into escrow shall be established in an escrow fund to be placed with the Township Treasurer. Said funds shall be used to pay the fees of any professional personnel employed to process, review, inspect and make recommendation on said application(s).