[Amended 12-18-2000 by Ord. No. 00-19]
A. 
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-25c(l) and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70, the Planning Board shall exercise, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions, all the powers and duties of a board of adjustment, including the following powers as granted by law:
(1) 
Hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that there is an error in any order, requirement, decision or referral made by an administrative officer or agency based on or made in the enforcement of this chapter. The Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from and make such other requirement, decision or determination as ought to be made and, to that end, have all the powers of the administrative officer from whom the appeal was taken.
(2) 
Hear and decide requests for interpretation of the Zoning Map or regulations as provided in this chapter.
(3) 
Where by reason of exceptional narrowness, 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 this chapter would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to or exceptional and undue hardship upon the developer of such property, grant, upon an application or an appeal relating to such property, a variance from such strict application of such regulation so as to relieve such difficulties or hardship. Where, in an application or appeal relating to a specific piece of property the purposes of this chapter would be advanced by a deviation from the requirements and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, grant a variance to allow departure from regulations pursuant to this chapter; provided however, that the fact that a proposed use is an inherently beneficial use shall not be dispositive of a decision on a variance under this subsection and provided that no variance from those departures enumerated in Subsection A of this section shall be granted under this subsection.
(4) 
In particular cases for special reasons, grant a variance to allow departure from regulations in Part 3, Zoning,to permit a use or principal structure in a district restricted against such use or principal structure, an expansion of a nonconforming use, deviation from a specification or standard pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 pertaining solely to a conditional use, an increase in the permitted floor area ration as defined in N.J.S.A. 50:55D-4, 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 structure which exceeds by 10 feet or 10% the maximum height permitted in the district for a principal structure. A variance under this subsection shall be granted only by affirmative vote of at least five members of the Planning Board, and pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-25c(1), the Class I and Class III members shall not participate in the consideration of applications for development which involve relief pursuant to this Subsection A(4). If an application for development requests one or more variances but not a variance for a purpose enumerated in this Subsection A(4) of this section, the decision on the requested variance or variances shall be rendered under Subsection A(3) of this section.
(5) 
Direct issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:55D-34 for a building or structure in the bed of a mapped street or public drainageway, flood control basin or public area reserved on the Official Map but only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the full authorized membership of the Board.
(6) 
Direct issuance of a permit to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-16 for a building or structure or a lot not abutting a street as required by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36.
B. 
No variance or other relief may be granted under the provisions of this section, including a variance or other relief involving an inherently beneficial use, without a showing that such variance or other relief can be granted with substantial detriment to the public good and will not substantially impair the intent and purpose of the zone plan and Part 3, Zoning. Any application under any subsection of this section may be referred to any appropriate person or agency for its report, provided that such reference shall not extend the period of time within which the Planning Board shall act.
C. 
The Planning Board shall, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70.1, at least once a year, review its decisions on applications and appeals for variances and prepare and adopt by resolution a report on its findings on the provisions of Part 3, Zoning, amendment or revision, if any. The Planning Board shall send copies of the report and resolution to the Council.
A. 
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-72, appeals to the Planning Board may be taken by any interested party affected by the decision of an administrative officer of the City based on or made in the enforcement of Part 3, Zoning, or the Official Map. Such appeal shall be taken within the 20 days prescribed by the statute by filing a note of appeal with the officer from whom the appeal was taken, together with 10 copies of said notice, with the Secretary of the Planning Board. Said notice of appeal shall specify the grounds for said appeal. The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
B. 
Applications may be made to the Planning Board under any of its powers without prior application to an administrative officer. Ten copies of a completed application form and all plats or plans, along with all required accompanying documents and fees, shall be filed with the Board Secretary at least 10 days prior to the date set for the hearing. The applicant shall obtain all necessary forms from the Board Secretary. The Secretary of the Board shall inform the applicant of the steps to be taken to initiate proceedings and of the regular meeting dates of the Board.
C. 
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-75, an appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action in respect of which the decision appealed from was made, unless the officer from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the Board after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with him that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in this opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such cases, proceedings shall not be stayed other than by an order of the Superior Court of New Jersey upon notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
D. 
Decision.
(1) 
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-73, the Planning Board shall render its decision not later than 120 days after:
(a) 
An appeal is taken from the decision of an administrative officer; or
(b) 
The submission of a complete application for development to the Board pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-72b.
(2) 
Failure of the Board to render a decision within such one-hundred-twenty-day period or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant shall constitute a decision favorable to the applicant.
E. 
Expiration of variance. Any variance from the terms of Part 3, Zoning, hereafter granted by the Planning Board, or heretofore granted by the Zoning Board of Adjustment, permitting the erection or alteration of any structure or structures, or use of any land or structure, shall expire by limitation unless such construction or alteration shall have been actually commenced on each and every structure permitted by said variance or unless such permitted use has actually been commenced within nine months from the date of publication of the notice of determination of the Board, provided that a longer period of time for such expiration may be granted by the Board as reasonably necessary and appropriate due to circumstances clearly demonstrated by the applicant at the hearing; except, however, that the running of the period of limitation herein provided shall be suspended from the date of filing an appeal from the decision of the Board to the Council or to a court of competent jurisdiction, until the termination in any manner of such appeal or proceeding.
[Amended 9-18-2006 by Ord. No. 06-23]
Any interested party may appeal to the Council any final decision of the Planning Board approving a use variance application pursuant to § 130-21A(4) of this Part 2, provided that such appeal shall be made within 10 days of the date of publication of the Board's final decision. Such appeal shall be in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-17.