No member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board
of Adjustment shall act on any matter in which he/she or she has either
directly or indirectly any personal or financial interest. Whenever
any such member shall disqualify himself or herself from acting on
a particular matter, he/she or she shall not continue to sit with
the Board on the hearing of such matter nor participate in any discussion
or decision relating thereto.
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
Township 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 or her
use as provided for in the rules of the Board.
[Amended 6-2-1997]
Fees for applications or for the rendering of
any service by the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment or
any member of their administrative staffs which are not otherwise
provided by ordinance may be provided for and adopted as part of the
rules of the Board, and copies of such rules or of the separate fee
schedule shall be available to the public. Fees shall be as set forth
in Part 6, Fees and Deposits.
[Amended 6-2-1997]
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12c, the administrative officer shall, within seven days of receipt of a request therefor and upon receipt of payment of a fee as specified in Part
6, Fees and Deposits, provide a list certified by the Tax Assessor from the current tax duplicate of names and addresses of owners in the Township to whom the applicant is required to give notice, pursuant to §
113-28A(2).
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 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 the
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 provision for the payment thereof in such
manner that the Township shall be adequately protected.
Immediately upon adoption of this chapter, the
Township Clerk shall file a copy with the County Planning Board as
required by law. The Clerk shall also file with the County Planning
Board copies of all other Township land use ordinances.
[Amended 12-5-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-25]
A. Any variance
or design waiver hereafter granted by the Zoning Board of Adjustment
or the Planning Board permitting the use, erection, of alteration
of any building(s) or structure(s) shall expire by limitation unless
such construction or alteration shall have been actually commenced
on each and every structure permitted by the variance or design waiver,
or unless such permitted use has actually been commenced, within one
year from the date of the date of publication of the notice of the
judgment or determination the Zoning Board of Adjustment or the Planning
Board.
B. In the
event that an appeal is filed from the decision of the Zoning Board
of Adjustment or the Planning Board, the running of the period of
limitation herein provided shall be suspended from the date the appeal
is filed with the Township Council or with a court of competent jurisdiction
until the adjudication or termination in any manner of such appeal
or proceeding.
C. In the
case of a variance or design waiver which also involves a subdivision
or site plan approval, the variance or design waiver shall extend
for the full period of preliminary or final approval or any extension
thereof pursuant to the Municipal Land Use Law. In the case of a bifurcated use variance application,
the variance shall expire within one year from the date of publication
of the notice of the judgment or determination of the Zoning Board
Adjustment unless a complete application has been filed with the Administrative
Officer within that time.
D. Upon written
request of the applicant, the Zoning Board of Adjustment or the Planning
Board may grant an extension or extensions of a variance or design
waiver approval for up to 12 additional months. Whenever the Zoning
Board of Adjustment or the Planning Board shall grant an extension
of variance or design waiver approval, and the variance or design
waiver approval has expired before the date on which the extension
is granted, the extension shall begin on what would otherwise be the
expiration date. The applicant may apply for the extension either
before or after what would otherwise be the expiration date. The Zoning
Board of Adjustment or the Planning Board shall only grant such an
extension if the applicant demonstrates to the reasonable satisfaction
of such Board that the applicant was barred or prevented, directly
or indirectly, from proceeding with the project because of delays
beyond the control of the applicant, including but not limited to
delays due to unforeseen financial, economic, or health-related conditions,
project design or title complications, and/or delays in obtaining
legally required approvals from other governmental entities, provided
the applicant applied promptly for and diligently pursued the other
required approvals.
Whenever the Environmental Commission has prepared
and submitted to the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment
an index of the natural resources of the Township, the Planning Board
and Zoning Board of Adjustment shall make available to the Environmental
Commission an informational copy of every application for development
submitted to either. Failure of the Planning Board or Zoning Board
of Adjustment to make such informational copy available to the Environmental
Commission shall not invalidate any hearing or proceeding.
The following fees and deposits shall be paid
by every applicant for development within the Township:
A. Application charges and escrow deposits. Every application
for development shall be accompanied by two separate checks payable
to the Township of Chester, one for the application charge and the
other for the escrow account, in accordance with the schedule set
forth in Part 6, Fees and Deposits.
[Amended 6-2-1997]
B. Multiple applications. In the case of applications
involving more than one category of application for development such
as an application for site plan or subdivision approval coupled with
a variance, the application charge shall be the highest of the applicable
charges, plus 50% of all other applicable charges.
C. Nonrefundability. The application charge is a nonrefundable
flat fee to cover administrative expenses.
D. Determination of site plan charges. On applications
for site plan approval, the applicant shall submit a statement in
support of the calculation of the application charge, which statement
shall be subject to review by the Board.
E. Escrow account. The escrow account is established
to cover the cost of professional services, including engineering,
legal and other expenses connected with the review of submitted materials.
Escrow account funds not utilized in the review process will be returned
to the applicant.
(1) Additional deposits. As invoices are received from
time to time by the Board or by the Township from the professional
consultants of the Board or the Township (attorney, planner, professional
engineer, traffic engineer and others who are employed to review the
application for development) the Treasurer of the Township shall immediately
request the applicants, in writing, to pay such additional sums into
the escrow account as may be required to cause the amount in the escrow
account to equal the initial deposit plus all outstanding directly
related professional fee invoices.
(2) Monthly review. The Treasurer will review the account
at least monthly to ensure that the escrow fund is maintained at the
prescribed level.
(3) Payments divided from escrow fund. As the invoices
of the professional consultants are reviewed and approved for payment
by the Board or Council, the Treasurer will pay 100% of the approved
invoices from the escrow account.
F. Payments and deposits required prior to Board review.
The Board hearing the application shall not proceed with any hearing
and shall not take any action, except to deny an application because
of nonpayment of fees, and shall not release any signed maps, site
plans or plats, without first obtaining from the Treasurer a certification
that the applicant has paid all required charges and escrow amounts.
G. Final billing or return of excess deposits. Upon completion
of the processing of an application for development, whether by way
of withdrawal, denial, approval, conditional approval or other disposition,
the Treasurer shall, as soon as practicable, either invoice the applicant
for any remaining fees that may be due, after deducting the 10% to
be paid by the Township, or return any excess funds on hand to the
applicant.
H. Deposits after approval. Upon receipt of approval
of the development plan, and as a condition thereto, the applicant
shall pay to the Township as a deposit with respect to professional
inspection fees the sums required under the appropriate schedule that
appears below. In the case of a development plan involving improvements
that are intended to be accepted by the Township, the estimated construction
costs shall be approved by the Township Engineer and the Mayor and
Council. In all other cases the estimated construction costs shall
be approved by the Township Engineer and the Board acting on the application.
The estimated cost of improvements shall be based upon charges by
contractors for public work of a similar nature.
|
Estimated Construction Cost of Site Plan
and Subdivision Items to be Inspected by the Township Engineer
|
Inspection Charge
(Percent of Construction Cost)
|
---|
|
Less than $10,000
|
6% of estimated cost
|
|
$10,000 to $50,000
|
$600 plus 5% of excess over $10,000
|
|
Over $50,000
|
$2,600 plus 4 1/2% over $50,000
|
I. Deposit deficiency. In the event that the actual reasonable
costs of inspection exceed the deposit set forth herein, the Treasurer
will invoice the applicant for the difference. The applicant will
not be deemed to have satisfied the conditions of the development
plan approval unless such invoice is paid in full. The Treasurer will
promptly notify the Construction Official of any deficiency with respect
to the payment of such fees. The Construction Official shall not issue
a certificate of occupancy or any other permit until such invoice
is paid in full.
J. Excess deficiency. In the event that the reasonable
costs of the inspection are less than the deposit paid, the excess
will be returned to the applicant.
K. Statement of account. Upon request, in writing, the
Treasurer shall provide the applicant with a statement of the escrow
account and with copies of any professional fee invoices relating
to the approval of the application or to the inspection of the development.
L. Reasonableness of charges. The applicant may request
a hearing as to the reasonableness of any of the invoices. If such
request is received, in writing, the hearing shall be held by the
Council at the next available public meeting. The failure of the applicant
to protest an invoice shall not be construed to be an acknowledgment
of the reasonableness of the invoice in the event the issue should
arise in any later proceeding.
M. Changes to tax map charged to applicant. An applicant
shall be responsible for reimbursing the Township for the costs and
fees incurred by the Township for revisions to the tax maps caused
by an application for development being approved. No plat or site
plan shall be signed, nor shall any zoning permit, building permits,
certificates of occupancy or any other types of permits be issued
with respect to any approved application for development, until all
costs, fees and bills have been paid by the applicant.
[Added 11-5-1990 by Ord. No. 2:19W-90]
In the event that Township costs, fees and other
charges are not paid, the sums due and not paid within 45 days of
billing shall become a lien upon the land which is the subject of
the application and shall be assessed in the same manner that taxes
are made on a lien against lands in the Township, and the payment
thereof shall be enforced within the same time, in the same manner
and by the same proceedings as the payment of taxes is enforced by
the Township.