There is hereby created a municipal Planning Board, which will
consist of nine members as follows:
A.
Class I. Mayor or Mayor's designee.
B.
Class II. One of the officials of the municipality other than a member
of the governing body, to be appointed by the Mayor; the member of
the Environmental Commission who is also a member of the Planning
Board as required by Section 1 of P.L. 1968, c. 245 (N.J.S.A. 40:56A-1)
shall be deemed to be the Class II Planning Board member for purposes
of this act in the event that there be among the Class IV members
of the Planning Board both a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment
and a member of the Board of Education.
C.
Class III. A member of the governing body to be appointed by it,
except that no member for Class III shall be appointed to the Planning
Board if the governing body consists of only three members.
D.
Class IV. Other citizens of the municipality, to be appointed by
the Mayor. The members of Class IV shall hold no other municipal office,
except that one such member may be a member of the Zoning Board of
Adjustment, and one such member may be a member of the Board of Education.
The member of the Environmental Commission who is also a member of
the Planning Board, as required by Section 1 of P.L. 1968, c. 245
(N.J.S.A. 40:56A-1), shall be a Class IV Planning Board member, unless
there be among the Class IV members of the Planning Board both a member
of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and a member of the Board of Education,
in which case, the member common to the Planning Board and the municipal
Environmental Commission shall be deemed a Class II member of the
Planning Board.
A.
Class I. The Mayor's terms shall correspond to his official tenure,
or if the member is the Mayor's designee in the absence of the Mayor,
the designee shall serve at the pleasure of the Mayor during the Mayor's
official tenure.[1]
B.
Class II and Class III. The terms for these members shall be for
one year or terminate at the completion of their respective terms
of office, whichever occurs first, except for a Class II member who
is also a member of the Environmental Commission.
C.
Environmental Commission member. The term of a Class II or Class
IV member who is also a member of the Environmental Commission shall
be for three years or terminate at the completion of his term of office
as a member of the Environmental Commission, whichever first occurs.
D.
Class IV. The term of Class IV members shall be four years. The term
of a Class IV member who is also a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment,
or Board of Education, shall terminate whenever he is no longer a
member of such other body or at the completion of his Class IV term,
whichever first occurs.
E.
Vacancy. If a vacancy in any class shall occur otherwise than by
expiration of the Planning Board term, it shall be filled by appointment
as above provided for the remaining unexpired term.
F.
Alternate members. The governing body may appoint two alternate members
of Class IV who shall serve for terms of two years; provided that
in the event that two alternate members of Class IV are appointed,
the initial term of such members shall be one and two years, respectively.
Such alternate members shall be designated by the Chairman as "Alternate
No. 1" and "Alternate No. 2" and shall serve in rotation during the
absence or disqualification of any regular member or members of Class
IV.
No member of the Planning Board shall be permitted to act on
any matter, in which he or she has, either directly or indirectly,
any personal or financial interest. Any member other than a Class
I member, after a public hearing if he or she requests one, may be
removed by the governing body for cause.
When any hearing before the Planning Board shall carry over
two or more meetings, a member of the Board, who was absent for one
or more of the meetings, shall be eligible to vote on the matter upon
which the hearing was conducted, notwithstanding his or her absence
from one or more of the meetings. This is provided, however, that
such Board member has available to him or her a transcript or recording
of the meeting from which he or she was absent, and certifies in writing
to the Board that such transcript or recording was listened to or
read.
A quorum of the Planning Board shall be a majority of the full
authorized membership. If the Planning Board lacks a quorum because
any of its regular or alternate members is prohibited by N.J.S.A.
40:55D-23 or 40:55D-23.1 from acting on a matter due to the member's
personal or financial interests therein, regular members of the Board
of Adjustment shall be called upon to serve, for that matter only,
as temporary members of the Planning Board in order of seniority of
continuous service to the Board of Adjustment 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 regular
members of equal seniority, the Chair of the Board of Adjustment shall
make the choice.
The Planning Board shall elect a chairman and vice chairman
from the members of Class IV, select a secretary who may or may not
be a member of the Planning Board or a municipal employee, and create
and fill such other offices as established by this chapter.
The Planning Board shall follow the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1
et seq., and shall accordingly exercise its power in regard to this
chapter as follows:
B.
Conditional uses. Review of conditional uses shall be conducted pursuant to Article IV of this chapter.
D.
Referral powers.
(1)
Referral reports. Prior to the adoption of a zoning ordinance, revision,
or amendment thereto, the Planning Board shall make and transmit to
the governing body, within 35 days of referral, a written report including
recommendations concerning the proposed ordinance, revision or amendment.
The governing body, when considering the adoption of a zoning ordinance,
revision or amendment thereto, shall approve or change any recommendation
by a vote of a majority of its full authorized membership and shall
record in its minutes the reasons for not following such recommendations.
Failure of the Planning Board to transmit its written report within
the thirty-five-day period provided herein shall relieve the governing
body from the requirements of this section in regard to the proposed
ordinance, revision or amendment thereto referred to the Planning
Board. The provisions of the proposed zoning ordinance or any amendments
or revisions thereto shall be substantially consistent with the land
use plan element of the Master Plan and shall be composed with reasonable
consideration to the character of each district and to encourage the
most appropriate use of the land. The regulations in the zoning ordinance
shall be uniform throughout each district for each class or kind of
buildings or other structures or use of land, but the regulations
in one district may differ from those in other districts.
(2)
Zoning Board of Adjustment referrals. The Planning Board shall review
all use variances referred to them by the Zoning Board of Adjustment
and shall return a written report with recommendations to them within
120 days, the time for action by the Board of Adjustment. Failure
of the Planning Board to transmit its report within the mandated time
period shall relieve the Board of Adjustment from the requirements
of this subsection.
(3)
Referrals by other agencies. The Planning Board shall review all other zoning matters referred to it by any municipal body or municipal officer which by ordinance shall be referred to them. A written report within the time limit and under the same circumstances as Subsection D(2) above shall be made to the referring body or officer.
(4)
Rejection of recommendations. Whenever the Planning Board shall have
made a recommendation regarding a matter authorized by this act to
another municipal body, such recommendation may be rejected only by
a majority of the full authorized membership of such other body.
A.
Appropriation of funds. The governing body shall make provision in
its budget and appropriate funds for the expenses of the Planning
Board.
B.
Compensation for professional services. The Planning Board may employ,
or contract for, and fix the compensation of legal counsel, other
than the municipal attorney, and experts, and other staff and services
as it may deem necessary, not exceeding, exclusive of gifts and grants,
the amount appropriated by the governing body for its use.
The Planning Board, when reviewing applications for approval
of subdivision plats, site plans or conditional uses, shall have the
power to grant approval to the same extent and subject to the same
restrictions as the Board of Adjustment in the following instances:
A.
Bulk variances. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c, commonly known as
"c" or "bulk" variances, from lot area, lot dimensional, setback,
and yard requirements for reasons of:
(1)
Hardship. Where: (a) by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness
or shape of a specific piece of property; or (b) by reason of exceptional
topographic conditions or physical features uniquely affecting a specific
piece of property; or (c) 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 to relieve such difficulties or hardship; or
(2)
Purposes of chapter promoted. Where in an application relating to a specific piece of property, the purposes of this chapter would be advanced by a deviation from the Zoning Ordinance requirements and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, grant a variance to allow departure from regulations pursuant to the Zoning Ordinance; provided, however, that no variance from those departures enumerated in § 230-63D of this chapter relating to the powers of the Board of Adjustment shall be granted under this section.
B.
Variances from the Official Map. Direct the issuance of a permit
for a building or structure in the bed of a mapped street or public
drainageway, flood control basin or public area reserved pursuant
to the Official Map of the municipality, if such has been adopted.
C.
Variance related to a street. Direct, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36,
the issuance of a permit for a building or structure not related to
a street.
D.
Notice of a variance request. Whenever relief is requested pursuant
to this section, notice of the hearing on the application for development
shall include reference to the request for a variance, or direction
for issuance of a permit, as the case may be.
A.
Time frame for Township Planning Board approval. Whenever an application for approval of a site plan or conditional use includes a request for relief pursuant to § 230-53 of this chapter, the Planning Board shall conditionally grant or deny approval of the application within 120 days after determination of completeness of the application or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant. Failure of the Planning Board to act within the period prescribed shall constitute approval of the application and a certificate of the Municipal Clerk as to the failure of the Planning Board to act shall be issued on request of the applicant, and it shall be sufficient in lieu of the written endorsement or other evidence of approval, herein required, and shall be so accepted by the County Recording Officer for purposes of filing subdivision plats.
B.
Time frame for County Planning Board approval. Whenever review or
approval of the application by the County Planning Board is required
in the case of a subdivision or site plan, the Municipal Planning
Board shall condition any approval that it grants upon timely receipt
of a favorable report on the application by the County Planning Board
or approval by the County Planning Board by its failure to report
thereon within the thirty-day time period.
Whenever the Environmental Commission has prepared and submitted
to the Planning Board an index of the natural resources of the municipality,
the Planning Board shall make available to the Environmental Commission
an informational copy of every application for development submitted
to the Planning Board. Failure of the Planning Board to make such
informational copy available to the Environmental Commission shall
not invalidate any hearing or proceeding.
After the appointment of a Planning Board, the Mayor may appoint
one or more persons as a Citizens Advisory Committee to assist or
collaborate with the Planning Board in its duties, but such person
or persons shall have no power to vote or take other action required
of the Board. Such person or persons shall serve at the pleasure of
the Mayor.
