City of Burlington, NJ Establishment of Land Use Board

Each Class IV member shall hold no other municipal office, position or employment, except that one such member may be a member of the Historic Preservation Commission and one such member may be a member of the Board of Education. For the purpose of this section, membership on a municipal board or commission whose function is advisory in nature, and the establishment of which is discretionary and not required by statute, shall not be considered the holding of municipal office.

Terms. The term of the member composing Class I shall correspond to the Mayor's 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. The terms of the members composing Class II and Class III shall be for a year or terminate at the completion of their respective terms of office, whichever occurs first. The term of a Class IV member who is also a member of the Board of Education shall terminate whenever that person is no longer a member of the Board of Education or at the completion of that person's Class IV term, whichever occurs first. The terms of all Class IV members first appointed pursuant to this chapter shall be so determined that to the greater practicable extent the expiration of such terms shall be distributed evenly over the first four years after their appointment; provided that the initial Class IV term of no member shall exceed four years. Thereafter, the Class IV term of each member shall be four years. If a vacancy in any class shall occur otherwise than by expiration of the Land Use Board term, it shall be filled by appointment, as above provided, for the unexpired term. The term of appointment of any class of member shall commence on January 1.

Personal or financial interest; removal. No member shall be permitted to act on any matter in which the member has, either directly or indirectly, any personal or financial interest. Any member other than the Mayor, after a public hearing if the member requests one, may be removed by the Common Council for cause.

Alternate members; appointment; personal or financial interest; removal. The Mayor shall appoint two alternate members who meet the qualifications of Class IV members. Alternate members shall be designated at the time of appointment by the Mayor as "Alternate No. 1" and "Alternate No. 2." The terms of the alternate members shall be for two years, except that the terms of the alternate members shall be such that the term of not more than one alternate member shall expire in any one year. Nothing herein shall affect the term of any present alternate member of the Land Use Board, all of whom shall continue in office until completion of the term for which they were appointed. A vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled by the Mayor for the unexpired term only. An alternate member shall not act on any matter in which the alternate member has either directly or indirectly any personal or financial interest. An alternate member may, after public hearing if the member requests one, be removed by the governing body for cause.

Participation by alternate members. Alternate members may participate in discussions or proceedings but may not vote except in the absence or disqualification of a regular member of any class. A vote shall not be delayed in order that a regular member may vote instead of an alternate member. In the event that a choice must be made as to which alternate member is to vote, Alternate No. 1 shall vote.

Commencement of term. Terms shall commence as of January 1 in the year in which the appointment shall be made.

§ 207-5 Officers.

The Land Use Board shall annually elect a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from the members of Class IV and select a Secretary who may or may not be a member of the Land Use Board or a City employee.

§ 207-6 Attorney, experts and staff.

The Land Use Board shall annually appoint and fix the compensation by contract for legal counsel, other than the City Solicitor, experts, and other staff and services as it may deem necessary, not exceeding, exclusive of gifts or grants, the amount appropriated by the governing body for its use.

§ 207-7 Rules and regulations.

The Land Use Board shall adopt and may amend reasonable rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the Municipal Land Use Law or with any applicable ordinance, for the administration of its functions, powers and duties, and shall furnish a copy thereof to any person upon request and may charge a reasonable fee for such copy.

§ 207-8 Limitation on Class I and Class III member participation in certain applications.

As a result of the Land Use Board exercising the powers and duties of a Zoning Board of Adjustment, the Class I and Class III members of the Land Use Board are prohibited from participating in the consideration of applications for development which seek relief pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70d.

§ 207-9 Powers, duties and responsibilities.

The Land Use Board shall, in accordance with the Municipal Land Use Law, exercise its powers in regard to:

Preparation, adoption or amendment of the Master Plan pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-28 et seq.;

Subdivision and site plan review and approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-27 et seq.;

Review of the Official Map, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-32 et seq.;

The adoption of any zoning ordinance, development regulation, revision or amendment thereto; it shall make and transmit to the Common Council, within 35 days after referral, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-26 and 40:55D-64, a report including identification of any provisions in the Article VII of this chapter, development regulation, revision or amendment, which are inconsistent with the Master Plan and recommendations concerning these inconsistencies and any other matters as it deems appropriate;

Directing pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-34 the issuance of a permit for a building or structure in the bed of a mapped street or public drainage way, flood control basin or public area reserved pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-32;

Directing pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36 the issuance of a permit for a building or structure not related to a street;

Granting of approval for a conditional use pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67;

Hearing and deciding an appeal from any interested party affected by any decision of an administrative officer of the City based on or made in the enforcement of the Article VII of this chapter or Official Map pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-72 or as to the existence of a nonconforming structure or use pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-68;

Participating in the preparation and review of programs or plans required by state or federal law or regulation;

Assembling data as part of a continuous planning process;

Performing such other advisory duties as are assigned to it by ordinance or resolution of Common Council for the aid and assistance of the governing body or other agencies or officers;

Granting at the request of a developer, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.1, an informal review of a concept plan for development. Fees for an informal review shall be a credit toward fees for review of the application for development;

Historic preservation in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-109 et seq. and Article IV;

Adopting rules, regulations and procedures with accompanying forms or documents, for the proper administration of these powers, duties and responsibilities;

Hearing and deciding requests for interpretation of the Zoning Map or Chapter VII of this chapter or for decisions upon other special questions upon which it is authorized to pass by any Zoning or Official Map ordinance, in accordance with the Municipal Land Use Law;

Variances.

(1)

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 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 zoning regulation would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to, or exception 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 or such regulation so as to relieve such difficulties or hardship;

(2)

Where in an application or appeal relating to a specific piece of property the purposes of the Municipal Land Use Law would be advanced by a deviation from the Article VII of this chapter requirements and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, grant a variance to allow departure from the zoning regulations;

In particular cases for special reasons, grant a variance to allow departure from zoning regulations to permit:

(1)

A use or principal structure in a district restricted against such use or principal structure;

(2)

An expansion of a nonconforming use;

(3)

Deviation from a specification or standard pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:44D-67 pertaining solely to a conditional use;

(4)

An increase in the permitted floor area ratio as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4;

(5)

An increase in the permitted density as defined in 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

(6)

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, which shall not include the Class I or Class III members;

Annually reviewing its decisions on applications and appeals for variances and preparing and adopting by resolution a report of its findings on zoning provisions which were the subject of variance requests and its recommendations for zoning provision amendments or revisions, if any. The report and resolution shall be filed with the Municipal Clerk no later than February 28.

§ 207-10 Expiration of variance.

Any variance as of January 1, 1999, granted by the Land Use Board permitting the erection or alteration of any structure or structures, or permitting a specified use of any premises, shall expire by limitation unless such construction or alteration shall have been actually commenced on each and every structure permitted by such variance, or unless such permitted use shall have actually been commenced, within one year from the date of entry of the judgment or determination of the Land Use Board; except, however, that the running of the period of limitation herein provided shall be tolled from the date of filing an appeal from the decision to a court of competent jurisdiction, until the termination in any manner of such appeal or proceeding.