[Amended 4-18-2011 by Ord. No. 658]
A.
There
is hereby established in the Borough a Zoning Board of Adjustment
consisting of seven members and up to two alternates appointed by
the Mayor with the consent of the Council.
B.
No member
may hold an elective office or position under the Borough.
C.
All members
shall be citizens of the Borough.
D.
If more
than one alternate is appointed, he or she shall be designated as
"Alternate No. 1" and "Alternate No. 2" by the Borough Council at
the time of appointment.
[Added 4-18-2011 by Ord.
No. 658]
If the Zoning Board of Adjustment lacks a quorum because any
of its regular or alternate members is prohibited by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69
from acting on a matter due to the member's personal or financial
interest therein, Class IV members of the Planning Board shall be
called upon to serve, for that matter only, as temporary members of
the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The Class IV members of the Planning
Board shall be called upon to serve in order of seniority of continuous
service to the Planning Board until there are the minimum number of
members necessary to constitute a quorum to act upon the matter without
any personal or financial interest therein, whether direct or indirect.
If a choice has to be made between Class IV members of equal seniority,
the Chairperson of the Planning Board shall make the choice.
A.
The term of each member shall be four years.
B.
Regular members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment
holding office on the effective date of this chapter shall continue
in office until completion of their terms as provided by law.
C.
The term of one additional member who is an alternate
member holding office on the effective date of this chapter shall
be for one year, and the term of the other such additional member
who is an alternate member holding office on the effective date of
this chapter shall be for four years. All other initial appointments
made after the effective date hereof shall be for four years.
D.
All terms shall commence on January 1 of the year
in which the appointment is made.
Vacancies occurring other than by expiration
of a term shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term by
the Mayor with the consent of the Council.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall elect a
Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from its members and shall also select
a Secretary, who is a member of the Board.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall annually
appoint legal counsel, other than the Municipal Attorney, and may
employ or contract for other staff and services as it may deem necessary
and shall fix the compensation therefor; provided, however, that in
no case shall the compensation for legal counsel and the costs of
other staff and services exceed the amount appropriated by the governing
body for Zoning Board of Adjustment use, exclusive of gifts or grants.
The Board shall adopt such rules and regulations
not inconsistent with this chapter as may be necessary to carry into
effect the provisions and purposes of this chapter.
A.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall have the power
granted by law to:
(1)
Hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that there is an error in any order, requirement, decision or refusal made by an administrative officer based on or made in the enforcement of Chapter 350, Zoning. For the purposes of this section, "administrative officer" shall be deemed to mean the Construction Code Official, Zoning Officer, Board or other official or agency of the Borough.
(2)
Hear and decide requests for interpretation of the Zoning Map or Chapter 350, Zoning, or for decisions upon other special questions upon which such Board is authorized by the appropriate ordinance to pass.
(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 the structures lawfully existing thereon, the strict application of any regulation in Chapter 350, Zoning, would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to or exceptional and undue hardship upon the owner or developer of such properly, grant, upon an application or an appeal relating to such property, a variance from such strict application so as to relieve such difficulties or hardship; where in an application or appeal relating to a specific piece of property the purposes of Chapter 350, Zoning, or the purposes of the Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act (N.J.S.A. 18A:7G-1 et seq.) would be advanced by a deviation from the zoning requirements and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, grant a variance to allow departure from regulations of the provisions of this section; 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(4) of this section shall be granted under this subsection, and provided further that the proposed development does not require approval by the Planning Board of a subdivision, site plan or conditional use, in conjunction with which the Planning Board has power to review a request for a variance pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-60; provided, however, that:
[Amended 5-16-1988 by Ord. No. 396; 4-18-2011 by Ord. No. 658]
(a)
No variance shall be granted under this subsection
to allow a structure or use in a district restricted against such
structure or use.
(4)
Grant a variance to allow departure from the regulations of Chapter 350, Zoning, to permit (i) a use or principal structure in a district restricted against such use or principal structure; (ii) an expansion of a nonconforming use; (iii) deviation from a specification or standard pursuant to Section 54 of P.L. 1975, c. 291 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67), pertaining solely to a conditional use; (iv) an increase in the permitted floor area ratio as defined in Section 3.1 of P.L. 1975, c. 291 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4); (v) an increase in the permitted density as defined in Section 3.1 of P.L. 1975, c. 291 (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 undersized lot or lots resulting from a minor subdivision; or (vi) a height of a principal 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 Zoning Board of Adjustment.
[Amended 5-16-1988 by Ord. No. 396; 4-18-2011 by Ord. No. 658]
B.
No variance or other relief may be granted under the terms 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 without substantial detriment to the public good and will not substantially impair the intent and the purpose of the zone plan and Chapter 350, Zoning. In respect to any airport hazard areas delineated under the Air Safety and Hazardous Zoning Act of 1983, P.L. 1983, c. 260 (N.J.S.A. 6:1-80 et seq.), no variance or other relief may be granted under the terms of this section permitting the creation or establishment of a nonconforming use which would be prohibited under the standards promulgated pursuant to that Act except upon issuance of a permit by the Commissioner of Transportation. An application under 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 Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act.
[Amended 5-16-1988 by Ord. No. 396; 4-18-2011 by Ord. No. 658]
In addition to the powers specified in § 202-18 of this chapter or Chapter 350, Zoning, the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall have power to:
A.
Grant, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board, subdivision, site plan or conditional use approval when required in connection with a use variance properly before the Zoning Board of Adjustment pursuant to § 202-18A(4).
B.
Grant variances from the requirements of law that
no permit shall be issued for any building or structure in the bed
of any street, public drainageway, flood control basin or public area
reserved on the Official Map.
(1)
Such variances may be approved only if:
(a)
Such variance is approved by a majority of the full authorized membership
of the Board.
(b)
Unless a variance is granted, the parcel or parcels of land on which
the mapped street, drainageway, flood control basin or reserved area
is located cannot yield a reasonable return to the owner.
(c)
The variance required will cause the least practicable increase in
the cost of opening the street or will tend to cause the least change
in the Official Map.
(2)
The Board shall impose such reasonable requirements
as conditions for granting such a variance as will promote the health,
morals, safety and general welfare of the public.
C.
Grant variances from the requirements of law that
no permit for the erection of any building or structure be issued
unless the lot abuts a street giving access to the proposed building
or structure. Such a variance shall be granted only if the enforcement
of such requirements of law would entail practical difficulties or
undue hardship or where the circumstances of the case do not require
the building or structure to be related to a street. Such variances
may be granted subject to conditions that will provide adequate access
for firefighting equipment, ambulances and other emergency vehicles
necessary for the protection of health and safety and that will protect
any future street layout shown on the Official Map or on a general
Circulation Plan Element of the Master Plan.
A.
Appeals to the Zoning Board of Adjustment may be taken by any interested party affected by any decision of an administrative officer [as defined in § 202-18A(1)] of the municipality. Each appeal shall be taken within the 20 days prescribed by the statute by filing a notice of appeal with the administrative officer from whom the appeal is taken, together with three copies of said notice with the administrative officer of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Said notice of appeal shall specify the grounds for said appeal. The administrative officer shall forthwith transmit to the Zoning Board of Adjustment all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
[Amended 5-16-1988 by Ord. No. 396]
B.
Completed applications (as defined by § 202-28C) addressed to the original jurisdiction of the Zoning Board of Adjustment without prior application to an administrative officer shall be filed with the administrative officer of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and in accordance with the requirements of § 202-28.
In exercising the above-mentioned powers, the
Zoning Board of Adjustment may, in conformity with the power granted
by law, reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or 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.
An appeal from any decision of the Zoning Board
of Adjustment granting a use variance pursuant to the provisions of
N.J.S.A. 40:55D-17d may be taken to the governing body, provided that
such appeal shall be made within 10 days of the date of publication
of such final decision of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
An appeal to the Zoning Board of Adjustment
or the governing body, as the case may be, stays all proceedings in
furtherance of the action in respect of which the decision appealed
from was made, unless the Construction Code Official certifies to
the Zoning Board of Adjustment or the governing body, as the case
may be, after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with the
Construction Code Official or Zoning Board of Adjustment, as the case
may be, that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would,
in the opinion of the Construction Code Official or Zoning Board of
Adjustment, as the case may be, cause imminent peril to life or property.
In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed other than by an order
of the Superior Court of New Jersey on application or notice to the
officer or Board from whom or which the appeal is taken and on good
cause shown.
