[Amended 1-16-2001 by Ord. No. 0.03.01]
No member of the Planning Board shall act on any matter in which he
has, either directly or indirectly, any personal or financial interest. If
any such member shall have such conflict of interest, he shall disqualify
himself. If an appellant, developer or other person or entity having business
before the Board shall raise the question as to a specific member's conflict
of interest and said member believes he is not in conflict, said question
shall be resolved by the appropriate solicitor. Whenever any member is disqualified
or disqualifies himself, for whatever reason, concerning a specific matter,
he shall not continue to sit with the Board on the hearing of such specific
matter nor participate in any discussion or decision relating thereto.
A.
Meetings of the Planning Board shall be scheduled no
less often than once a month, and any meeting so scheduled shall be held as
scheduled unless canceled for lack of applications for development to process.
[Amended 1-16-2001 by Ord. No. 0.03.01]
B.
Special meetings may be provided for at the call of the
Chairman or on the request of any two Board members, which meetings 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.
Minutes of every regular or special meeting shall be kept and shall
include the names of 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 the reasons therefor. The minutes shall thereafter
be made available for public inspection during normal business hours at the
office of the Municipal 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.
[Amended 1-16-2001 by Ord. No. 0.03.01]
Fees for applications or for the rendering of any service by the Planning
Board or any member of its administrative staff which is not otherwise provided
by ordinance may be provided for and adopted as part of the rules of the Board,
and copies of said rules or of the separate fee schedule shall be available
to the public.
[Amended 7-15-2003 by Ord. No. 06.03]
Upon submitting an application for the development to the Land Use Board,
the applicant shall be required to deposit with the Borough Treasurer such
sums as may be set and modified from time to time by the Borough Council and
execute an escrow agreement requiring the applicant to pay all necessary and
reasonable costs incurred by the Borough for technical and professional review
by the approving authority. The escrow agreement shall be in a form approved
by the Borough Council. The amounts specified to be placed in escrow are estimates
of professional fees only and should not be considered as a minimum or maximum
fee which may be required of the applicant to compensate the Borough for legal,
engineering, planning or other professional services. Said fees must be paid
prior to the Board certifying the application as complete; provided, however,
that payment of the fee in and of itself shall not be deemed as making the
application complete. In the event that the amounts required to be posted
are not sufficient to cover the professional charges incurred by the Borough
of Paulsboro for such application, then the applicant shall pay the amount
required which is over and above the funds previously collected and shall
not receive any approvals or other permits from the Borough before such fees
are paid in full. In the event that the amounts posted as fees shall be in
excess of the amount required for all professional review, the excess funds
shall be returned to the applicant within 30 days of the issuance of a certificate
of occupancy for the project which the application fee covers. The Board Secretary
shall periodically advise the Board Chairman of the balance of all escrow
accounts and whether additional funds are required as provided for hereinafter.
In the event that additional funds are required, the Board Chairman or Secretary
shall notify the applicant of amounts required as additional fees. In the
event that the applicant refuses or fails to make the payments required within
10 days of demand, the Board Chairman shall notify the approving authority.
In the event that the additional fees are not paid, the Land Use Board may
deny the application before it, and no other permits or certificates shall
be issued by the Borough to the applicant for the applicable project until
payment is made in full. In the event that additional fees are required, the
applicant shall pay such fees to the Borough of Paulsboro in accordance with
the same agreement already entered into or under any additional terms which
may be agreed to by the applicant and the approving authority.
A.
Rules. The Planning Board shall make rules governing
the conduct of hearings before it, which rules shall not be inconsistent with
the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. or of this ordinance.
[Amended 1-16-2001 by Ord. No. 0.03.01]
B.
Oaths. The officer presiding at the hearing or such person
as he may designate shall have power to administer oaths and issue subpoenas
to compel the attendance of witnesses and production of relevant evidence,
including witnesses and documents presented by the parties, and the provisions
of the County and Municipal Investigations Law, P.L. 1953, c. 38 (N.J.S.A.
2A:67A-1 et seq.), shall apply.
C.
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.
D.
Evidence. Technical rules of evidence shall not be applicable
to the hearing, but the Board may exclude irrelevant, immaterial or unduly
repetitious evidence.
E.
Records. The Board shall provide for the verbatim recording
of the proceedings by either stenographic, mechanical or electronic means.
The Board shall furnish a transcript or duplicate recording in lieu thereof
on request to any interested party at his expense.
[Amended 1-16-2001 by Ord. No. 0.03.01]
F.
Findings of fact and conclusions. The Planning Board
shall include findings of fact and conclusions based thereon in each decision
of any application for development and shall reduce the decision to writing.
The Planning Board shall provide the findings and conclusions through:
[Added 11-18-1986 by Ord. No. 0.10.86;
amended 1-16-2001 by Ord. No. 0.03.01]
(2)
A memorializing resolution adopted at a meeting held not later than 45 days after the date of the meeting which the Planning Board voted to grant or deny approval. Only the members of that Board who voted for the action taken may vote on the memorializing resolution, and the vote of a majority of such members present at the meeting at which the resolution was presented for adoption shall be sufficient to adopt the resolution. Likewise, action pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9, resulting from the failure of a motion to approve an application, shall be memorialized by resolution as provided above, with those members voting against the motion for approval being the members eligible to vote on the memorializing resolution. The vote on any such resolution shall be deemed to be a memorialization of the action of the Board and not to be an action of that Board; however, the date of adoption of the resolution shall constitute the date of the decision for purposes of the mailings, filings and publications required by §§ 40A-34 and 40A-35 and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.
(3)
If the Planning Board fails to adopt a resolution or memorializing resolution, as hereinabove specified, any interested party may apply to the Superior Court in a summary manner for an order compelling the Planning Board to reduce its findings and conclusions to writing within a stated time, and the cost of the application, including attorney's fees, shall be assessed against the Planning Board. (NOTE: This subsection is mandated by Chapter 20 of the Laws of 1984 signed into law on March 22, 1984;[2] it is included to alert all Borough officials of their obligations
to adopt the necessary resolution or memorializing resolution within the time
specified by state statute.)
[2]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.
[Amended 7-1-1997 by Ord. No. 0.3.97]
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
agency in question, and for every application for site plan approval, the
applicant shall give notice thereof as follows:
A.
Public notice shall be given by publication in the official
newspaper of the municipality at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing.
B.
Notice shall be given to the owners of all real property
as shown on the current tax duplicate or duplicates located within 200 feet
in all directions of the property which is the subject of such hearing and
whether located within or without the municipality in which the applicant's
land is located. Such notice shall be given by serving a copy thereof on the
owner as shown on said current tax duplicate or his agent in charge of the
property or by mailing a copy thereof by certified mail to the property owner
at his address as shown on said current tax duplicate. A return receipt is
not required. Notice to a partnership owner may be made by service upon any
partner. Notice to a corporate owner may be made by service upon its president,
a vice president, secretary or other person authorized by appointment or by
law to accept service on behalf of the corporation.
C.
Notice of all hearings on applications for development involving property located within 200 feet of an adjoining municipality shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the Clerk of such municipality, which notice shall be in addition to the notice required to be given pursuant to Subsection B of this section to the owners of lands in such adjoining municipality which are located within 200 feet of the subject premises.
D.
Notice shall be given by personal service or certified
mail to the County Planning Board of a hearing on an application for development
of property adjacent to an existing county road or proposed road shown on
the Official County Map or on the County Master Plan, adjoining other county
land or situate within 200 feet of the municipal boundary.
E.
Notice shall be given by personal service or certified
mail to the Commissioner of Transportation of a hearing on an application
for development of property adjacent to a state highway.
F.
Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the Director of the Division of State and Regional Planning in the Department of Community Affairs of a hearing on an application for development of property which exceeds 150 acres or 500 dwelling units. Such notice shall include a copy of any maps or documents required to be on file with the Municipal Clerk pursuant to Subsection B of this section and P.L. 1975, c. 291.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
G.
All notices hereinabove specified in this section shall
be given at least 10 days prior to the date fixed for the hearing, and the
applicant shall file an affidavit of proof of service with the Board holding
the hearing on the application for development.
H.
Any notice made by certified mail as hereinabove required
shall be deemed to be complete upon mailing, in accordance with the provisions
of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-14.
I.
Form of notice. All notices required to be given pursuant
to the terms of this ordinance shall state the date, time and place of the
hearing; the nature of the matters to be considered; the identification of
the property proposed for development by street address, if any, or by reference
to lot and block numbers as shown on the current tax duplicate in the Municipal
Tax Assessor's office, and the location and times at which any maps and
documents for which approval is sought are available pursuant to Section 6b
of P.L. 1975, c. 291.[2].
[2]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10b
[Amended 7-15-2003 by Ord. No. 06.03]
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12c, the Clerk of the Borough of Paulsboro or a designee shall, within seven days after receipt of a request therefor and upon receipt of payment of a fee of $10 or $0.25 per name, whichever is greater, make and certify a list from the current tax duplicate of names and addresses of owners to whom the applicant is required to give notice pursuant to § 40A-32B of this ordinance. The applicant shall be entitled to rely upon the information contained in such list, and failure to give notice to any owner not on the list shall not invalidate any hearing or proceeding.
[Amended 11-18-1986 by Ord. No. 0.10.86]
A.
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.
B.
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.
C.
A copy of the decision shall also be filed in the office
of the Municipal Clerk, who shall make a copy of such 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 municipality.
[Amended 1-16-2001 by Ord. No. 0.03.01]
A brief notice of every final decision shall be published in the official
newspaper of the municipality. Such publication shall be arranged by the Secretary
of the Planning Board. The Board may fix a reasonable charge for said publication
costs, and the notice shall be sent to the official newspaper for publication
within 10 days of the date of any such decision. The period of time in which
an appeal of the decision may be made shall run from the first publication
of the decision.
[Amended 1-16-2001 by Ord. No. 0.03.01]
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-39 and 55D-65, every application
for development submitted to the Planning Board 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 approval or
other relief granted by the Board shall be conditioned upon either the prompt
payment of such taxes or assessments or the making of adequate provision for
the payment thereof in such manner that the municipality will be adequately
protected.
