[Amended 11-8-1995 by Ord. No. 95-16]
No member of the Joint Planning/Zoning Board
of Adjustment 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 Joint Planning/Zoning Board of Adjustment
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.
E.
All regular meetings and all special meetings shall
be open to the public. Notice of all such meetings shall be given
in accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act,
Chapter 231 of the Laws of New Jersey 1975.[2] An executive session for the purpose of discussing and
studying any matters to come before either Board shall not be deemed
a regular or special meeting in accordance with the provisions of
N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9.
[2]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.
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
shall 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 Joint Planning/Zoning Board of Adjustment 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.[1]
[1]
Editor’s Note: See also the Fee Schedule included as an attachment to this chapter.
A.
Rules. The Joint Planning/Zoning Board of Adjustment
may 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 P.L. 1953, c. 1938 (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.
(1)
The 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
in lieu thereof on request to any interested party at his expense.
(2)
The municipal agency, in furnishing a transcript of
the proceedings to an interested party at his expense, shall not charge
such interested party more than the maximum permitted by law. Said
transcript shall be certified, in writing, by the transcriber to be
accurate.
[Amended 3-2-2010 by Ord.
No. 10-04]
Whenever a hearing is required on an application
for development pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., 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 applicant's land is located. Such notice shall be given 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 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.
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 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 situated 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 State Planning Commission 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[1] of Chapter 291 of the Laws of New Jersey 1975.
[Amended 3-2-2010 by Ord.
No. 10-04]
[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 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 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 Borough Clerk 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 Article III, § 230-27B, 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 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.
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 Joint Planning/Zoning Board
of Adjustment 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 40:55D-65, every application for development submitted to the
Joint Planning/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 said
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 municipality will be adequately protected.
