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 Land Use Board shall be accompanied by proof that no taxes
or assessment 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.
The Land Use Board shall hold a hearing on each
application for development consistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A.
40:55D-1 et seq. and this chapter and such hearings shall be conducted
according to the provisions of this section.
A. Rules. The Land Use Board 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. Oaths. The officer presiding at the hearing or such
person as he may designate shall have the 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 (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 to 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 Land Use Board shall provide for the
verbatim recording of the proceedings by stenographic, mechanical
or electronic means. The Board shall furnish a transcript or duplicate
recording in lieu thereof on request of any interested party at his/her
expense. The Land Use Board in furnishing a transcript of the proceedings
to an interested party at his/her expense shall not charge such interested
party more than the maximum permitted in N.J.S.A. 2B:7-4. Said transcript
shall be certified in writing by the transcriber to be accurate.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Whenever a hearing on an application for development
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. is required, the applicant shall
give notice thereof as follows:
A. Public notice shall be given by publication in the
official newspaper of the Township 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 in the
state and within 200 feet in all directions of the property which
is the subject of such hearing, provided that this requirement shall
be deemed satisfied by notice to the 1) condominium association in
the case of any unit owner whose unit has a unit above or below it,
or 2) horizontal property regime, in the case of any co-owner whose
apartment has an apartment above or below it.
(1) Such notice shall be given by serving a copy on the
owner as shown on the 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 the said current tax
duplicate. A return receipt is not required.
(2) 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.
Notice to a condominium association, horizontal property regime, community
trust or homeowners' association, because of its ownership of common
elements or areas located within 200 feet of the property which is
the subject of the hearing, may be made in the same manner as to a
corporation, without further notice to unit owners, co-owners or homeowners
on account of such common elements or areas.
C. Notice of 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 notice required to be given pursuant to §
145-92B of this article 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 Land Use 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 situated within 200 feet of the subject
premises.
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 State Planning Commission of a hearing on an application
for development of property which exceeds 150 acres or 500 dwelling
units. The notice shall include a copy of any maps or documents required
to be on file with the Township Clerk pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.
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 Land Use Board.
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; the nature of the matters to be considered; 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
duplicate in the Township Tax Assessor's Office; and the location
and time 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-12, Subdivision c, the Township Tax Assessor shall, within seven days after receipt of a request therefor and upon receipt of payment of a fee of $0.25 per name or $10, 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 §
145-92 of this chapter.
The Land Use Board shall include findings of
fact and conclusions based thereon in each decision on any application
for development and shall reduce the decision to writing. The Land
Use Board shall provide the findings and conclusions through:
A. A resolution adopted at a meeting held within the
time period provided by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., for action by the
Land Use Board on the application for development; or
B. A memorializing resolution adopted at a meeting held
not later than 45 days after the date of the meeting at which the
Land Use Board voted to grant or deny approval. Only the members of
the Land Use 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 is presented for adoption
shall be sufficient to adopt the resolution. An action pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9 (resulting from 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
of any such resolution shall be deemed to be a memorialization of
the action of the Land Use Board and not to be an action of the Land
Use Board; however, the date of the adoption of the resolution shall
constitute the date of the decision for purposes of mailings, filings
and publications required by Subsections h and i of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.
If the Land Use Board fails to adopt a resolution or a memorializing
resolution as hereinabove specified, any interested party may apply
to the Superior Court in a summary manner for an order compelling
the Land Use Board to reduce its findings and conclusions to writing
within a stated time and the cost of the application, including attorneys'
fees, shall be assessed against the Township.
C. A copy of the decision shall be mailed by the Land
Use Board within 10 days of the date of the decision to the applicant,
or if represented, then to his attorney, without separate charge,
and to all who request a copy of the decision for a reasonable fee.
A copy of the decision shall also be filed by the Land Use Board in
the office of the administrative officer. The administrative officer
shall make a copy of such filed decision available to any interested
party for a reasonable fee and make available for public inspection
at his/her office during reasonable hours.
A brief notice of every final decision shall
be published in the official newspaper of the Township. At a minimum,
the notice shall clearly identify the nature of the Board action requested;
the public meeting or meetings at which the matter was heard and decided;
and whether or not the application was granted. Such publication shall
be arranged by the administrative officer of the Land Use Board without
charge to the applicant. Said notice shall be sent to the official
newspaper for publication within 10 days of the date of such decision.
A corporation or partnership applying to Land Use Board for permission to subdivide a parcel of land into six or more lots, or applying for a variance to construct a multiple dwelling of 25 or more family units or for approval of a site to be used for commercial purposes shall list the names and addresses of all stockholders or individual partners owning at least 10% of its stock of any class or at least 10% of the interest in the partnership, as the case may be. Said disclosure shall be in compliance with the provisions of §
145-85B(2) through
(4) of this article.