[Amended 7-6-1992 by Ord.
No. 1051; 5-1-2017 by Ord. No. 17-15]
No member of the Municipal Land Use Board shall
act on any matter in which he has either directly or indirectly any
personal or financial interest. Whenever any such member shall disqualify
himself 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 the Municipal Land Use 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.
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.
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
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.
Fees for applications or for the rendering of
any service by the Municipal Land Use 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.
A.
For the developments for which the reasonably anticipated
fees are less than $10,000, fees may, at the option of the developer,
be paid in two installments. The initial amount deposited by a developer
shall be 50% of the reasonably anticipated fees. When the balance
on deposit drops to 10% of the reasonable anticipated fees because
the amount deposited by the developer has been reduced by the amount
paid to the Municipal Engineer for inspection, the developer shall
deposit the remaining 50% of the anticipated inspection fees.
B.
For those developments for which the reasonably anticipated
fees are $10,000 or greater, fees may, at the option of the developer,
be paid in four installments. The initial amount deposited by a developer
shall be 25% of the reasonably anticipated fees. When the balance
on deposit drops to 10% of the reasonable anticipated fees because
the amount deposited by the developer has been reduced by the amount
paid to the Municipal Engineer for inspection, the developer shall
make deposits of 25% of the reasonably anticipated fees. The Municipal
Engineer shall not perform any inspection if sufficient funds to pay
for those inspections are not on deposit.
A.
Rules. The Municipal Land Use Board shall make rules
governing the conduct of hearings before such body, which rules shall
not be inconsistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
or of this chapter.
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 the production
of relevant evidence, including witnesses and documents presented
by the parties, and the provisions of the County and Municipal Investigations
Law, c. 38, P.L. 1953 (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. 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 thereof on request to any interested party at his expense.
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, 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 giving
by serving a copy thereof on the owner as shown on the said current
tax duplicate or his agent in charge of the property; or mailing a
copy thereof by certified mail to the property owner at his address
as shown on the said current tax duplicate. 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 a 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 Section 6b of c.
291, P.L. 1975.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10b.
G.
All notices hereinabove specified in this section
shall be given at least 10 days prior to the date fixed for 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 chapter shall state the date, time and place
of the hearing, nature of the matters to be considered and 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 as required by law.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12c, the administrative officer of the municipality, the Tax Assessor, shall, within seven days after receipt of a request therefor and upon receipt of payment of a fee of $10, 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 Article III, § 49-32B of this chapter.
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 Municipal
Clerk, who shall make a copy of such 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.
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 Municipal Land Use Board
without separate charge to the applicant. Said notice shall be sent
to the official newspaper for publication within 10 days of the date
of any 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 Municipal Land Use 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 approvals 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.
