No member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act on any matter in which he has either directly or indirectly any personal or financial interest. A Board member who owns property within 200 feet of the property affected by a Board proceeding shall be disqualified. Whenever any such member shall disqualify himself or be disqualified by the Board from acting on a particular matter, he shall not continue to sit with the Board on the hearing of such matter nor participate in any discussion or decision relating thereto.
A.
Meetings of both the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be scheduled no less often than once a month and any meeting so scheduled shall be held as scheduled unless cancelled for lack of applications for development to process.
B.
Special meetings may be provided for at the call of the Chairman or on the request of any two Board members, which shall be held on notice to its members and the public in accordance with all applicable legal requirements.
C.
No action shall be taken at any meeting without a quorum being present.
D.
All actions shall be taken by majority vote of a quorum except as otherwise required by any provision of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
E.
All regular meetings and all special meetings shall be open to the public. Notice of all such meetings shall be given in accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Law, Chapter 231, P.L. 1975.
Minutes of every regular or special meeting shall be kept and shall include the names of the persons appearing and addressing the Board and of the persons appearing by attorney, the action taken by the Board, the findings, if any, made by it and reasons therefor. The minutes shall thereafter be made available for public inspection during normal business hours at the office of the Borough Clerk. Any interested party shall have the right to compel production of the minutes for use as evidence in any legal proceeding concerning the subject matter of such minutes. Such interested party may be charged a fee for reproduction of the minutes for his use as provided for in the rules of the Board.
A.
Fees for applications or for the rendering of any service by the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment or any of the professionals so designated by the Boards or any of the professionals hired by the Borough for the purpose of covering technical, investigative and administrative expenses involved in processing the application shall be as follows:
[Amended 7-5-2005 by Ord. No. 1237; 2-19-2008 by Ord. No. 1302; 2-17-2009 by Ord. No. 1330; 6-2-2009 by Ord. No. 1339; 6-4-2013 by Ord. No. 1424; 6-20-2017 by Ord. No. 1500; 9-5-2017 by Ord. No. 1503; 10-16-2018 by Ord. No. 1532; 4-20-2021 by Ord. No. 1586; 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1618]
Category | Application Fee | Escrow Fee |
|---|---|---|
Subdivision, minor | $550 | $1,000 per lot |
Subdivision, major | $550 | $1,000 per lot |
Site plan, major (preliminary) | $550 | $2,000 |
Site plan, major (final) | $550 | $2,000 |
Informal review | $550 | $1,000 |
Variances | $550 per variance | $1,200 if no site plan required; $2,000 if site plan required |
Request for extension of time | $100 | $700 |
Subdivision or site plan amendments | 50% of original fees | |
Zoning permit | 0.0035 of project cost (but not less than $100) | $850* |
Certified list of property owners | $10 | |
Tax Map changes resulting from subdivisions and other applications creating new lots | $150 per lot | |
Copy of minutes, proceedings and Notice of decision | ||
Appeals | $150 | $700 |
* | For applications involving grading plans only. |
B.
Any charitable, philanthropic, fraternal and religious nonprofit organization holding a tax-exempt status under the Federal Internal Revenue Code of 1954 shall be exempt from the payment of any application fees as noted above but shall pay all escrow fees and copying costs. A Board of Education shall be exempt from the payment of any fees noted above.
C.
The escrow fees noted above are minimums, which must accompany the application.
D.
The application shall not be deemed complete until the applicable fees have been paid. In the case of larger or more complex applications, the Zoning Officer may establish higher escrow fees at the time of submission of the application. Any escrow amounts not actually used minus any fees allowable by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., as amended and/or supplemented from time to time shall be refunded to the applicant upon their request and upon recommendation of the applicable Board.
A.
Rules. The Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment shall make rules governing the conduct of hearings before such bodies which rules shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. or of this chapter.
B.
The procedures in connection with the hearings are set forth in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10, as amended and/or supplemented from time to time, and are as follows:
(1)
Oaths. The officer presiding at the hearing or such person as he may designate shall have power to administer oaths, and issue subpoenas to require the attendance of witnesses and the production of relevant evidence, including witnesses and documents presented by the parties. The provisions of N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1, known as the "County and Municipal Investigations Law," shall apply.
(2)
Testimony. The testimony of all witnesses relating to an application for development shall be taken under oath or affirmation by the presiding officer and the right of cross examination shall be permitted to all interested parties through their attorneys, if represented, or directly, if not represented; subject to the discretion of the presiding officer and to reasonable limitations as to time and number of witnesses.
(3)
Evidence. Technical rules of evidence shall not be applicable to the hearing, but the Board may exclude irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence.
(4)
Records. Each Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the proceedings by either stenographer, mechanical or electronic means. The Board shall furnish a transcript or duplicate recording in lieu thereof on request to any interested party at their expense.
A.
Whenever a hearing is required on an application for development pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. or pursuant to the determination of the municipal board in question, the applicant shall give notice in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12, as amended and/or supplemented from time to time.
B.
Form of notice. All notices required to be given pursuant to the terms of this chapter shall state the date, time and place of the hearing, the nature of the matter to be considered, an identification of the property proposed for development by street address, if any, or by reference to lot and block number as shown on the current tax map in the Borough Assessor's office, and the location and times at which any maps and documents for which approval is sought are available for inspection as required by law.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12c the administrative officer of the Borough, the zoning official, shall within seven days after receipt of a request therefor and upon receipt of the applicable fee, make and certify a list from the current tax duplicate of names and addresses of persons or entities to whom the applicant is required to give notice pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12, as amended and/or supplemented from time to time.
A.
Each decision on any application for development shall be set forth in writing as a resolution of the Board which shall include findings of fact and legal conclusions based thereon.
B.
A copy of the decision shall be mailed by the Board within 10 days of the date of decision to the applicant or if represented, then to his attorney, without separate charge. A copy of the decision shall also be mailed to all persons who have requested it and who have paid the fee prescribed by the Board for such service. A copy of the decision shall also be filed in the office of the Borough Clerk, who shall make a copy of the filed decision available to any interested party upon payment of a fee calculated in the same manner as those established for copies of other public documents in the Borough.
A brief notice of every final decision shall be published in the official newspaper of the Borough. Such publication shall be arranged by the secretary of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment, as the case may be, without separate charge to the applicant. The notice shall be sent to the official newspaper for publication within 10 days of the date of such decision.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-39 and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-65, every application for development submitted to the Planning Board or to the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be accompanied by proof that no taxes or assessments for local improvements are due or delinquent on the property which is the subject of such application; or, if it is shown that taxes or assessments are delinquent on said property, any approvals or other relief granted by either Board shall be conditioned upon either the prompt payment of such taxes or assessments, or the making of adequate provisions for the payment thereof, in such manner that the Borough will be adequately protected.
Any variance granted pursuant to the terms of this chapter 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, alteration or use shall have been commenced on or in each and every structure which the variance applies, within two years from the date of publication of a notice of the variance.