[Amended 9-27-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-17[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance retitled this article and provided
for the elimination or update of references to the repealed Zoning
Board of Adjustment.
No member of the Planning Board shall act on any matter in which
he has, either directly or indirectly, any personal or financial interest.
Whenever any 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 Planning Board 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 and 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.
D.
All actions shall be taken by majority vote of the members present
at the meeting or as otherwise required by any provision of N.J.S.A.
40:55D.
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 Law, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6
et seq. An executive session for the purpose of discussing and studying
any matters to come before the Board shall not be deemed a regular
or special meeting in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9.
A.
Minutes of every regular and special meeting shall be kept and shall
include the names of the persons appearing and addressing the Board
and of the person appearing by attorney, the action taken by the Board,
the findings, if any, made by it and reasons therefor.
B.
The minutes shall thereafter be made available for public inspection
during normal business hours at the office of the Town 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 may be charged
a fee for reproduction of the minutes for his use, as provided for
in the rules of the Board.
Fees or charges for submission of applications or for rendering
of any service by the Planning Board or any member of its administrative
staff for review of an application for development, for inspections
or for taking of appeals shall be as set forth in any general fee
ordinance of the Town or as established in any ordinance regulating
the use and development of land.
A.
Rules. The Planning Board may make such 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 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 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. The Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of 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.
F.
Vote by absent members. A member of a municipal agency who is absent
from one or more of the meetings at which a hearing was held shall
be eligible to vote on the matter upon which the hearing was conducted
notwithstanding his absence from one or more of the meetings, provided
that such Board member has available to him the transcript or recording
of all the hearings from which he was absent and certifies in writing
to the Board that he has read the transcript or listened to the recording.
On every application for preliminary major subdivision approval,
site plans involving more than 1,000 square feet of disturbed area,
and on all applications before the Planning Board, the applicant shall
give notice thereof as follows:
A.
Publication. 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.
Adjoining property owners.
(1)
Notice shall be given to the owner of all real property located in
this state, 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 Town. Such
notice shall be given by serving a copy thereof on the owner, as shown
on the current tax duplicate, or his agent in charge of the property,
or mailing a copy thereof by certified mail to the property owner
at his address, as shown on the current tax duplicate.
(2)
The above requirements shall be deemed satisfied where condominiums
or horizontal property regimes are within 200 feet of the applicant's
property by making service in the following manner:
(a)
If the applicant's property abuts a condominium and the
owner of any unit is within 200 feet of the applicant's property
and such unit has a unit above or below it, by giving notice to the
condominium association.
(b)
If the applicant's property abuts a horizontal property
regime and an apartment of the co-owner is within 200 feet of the
applicant's property and such apartment has an apartment above
or below it, by giving notice to the horizontal property regime.
(c)
If the applicant is the owner of a condominium unit or co-owner
of an apartment, notice shall be given to all other unit owners or
apartment co-owners within 200 feet of the unit or apartment owned
or co-owned by the applicant.
(3)
A return receipt shall not be required. Notice to a partnership owner
may be made 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.
Municipalities within 200 feet. Notice of all hearings on application 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 of this section hereof to the owners of lands in such adjoining municipality which are located within 200 feet of the subject premises.
D.
County Planning Board. 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 as adjoining other county land or situate within 200 feet
of a municipal boundary.
E.
New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation. 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.
State Planning Commission. 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 Town pursuant to N.J.S.A.
40:55D-10b.
G.
Time of notice. All notices hereinabove specified in this subsection
shall be given at least 10 days prior to the date fixed for the hearing,
and the applicant shall file an affidavit of proof of service with
the Board holding the hearing on the application for the development.
H.
Complete upon mailing. 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, 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 Town 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.
J.
Exceptions. Notice pursuant to Subsections C, D, E and F of this section shall not be required unless public notice pursuant to Subsections A and B of this section shall not be required. Notice under Subsections A and B of this section shall not be required for conventional site plan review (meaning applications involving less than 1,000 square feet of disturbed area), minor subdivision approval, or final approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-50.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12c, the Tax Assessor of the Town shall, within seven days after receipt of a request therefor and upon receipt of payment of the maximum fees provided for in the section of the statute, 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 § 166-36B of this chapter.
A.
An application for development shall be complete for purposes of
commencing the applicable time period for action by a municipal agency
when so certified by the municipal agency or its authorized committee
or designee.
(1)
In
the event that the agency, committee or designee does not certify
the application to be complete within 45 days of the date of its submission,
the application shall be deemed complete upon the expiration of the
forty-five-day period for purposes of commencing the applicable time
period, unless:
(a)
The application lacks information indicated on a checklist as hereinafter
specified, a copy of which shall have been provided to the applicant;
and
(b)
The municipal agency or its authorized committee or designee has
notified the applicant in writing of the deficiencies in the application
within 45 days of submission of the application.
(2)
The
applicant may request that one or more of the submission requirements
be waived, in which event the agency or its authorized committee shall
grant or deny the request within 45 days.
(3)
Nothing
herein shall be construed as diminishing the applicant's obligation
to prove in the application process that he is entitled to approval
of the application. The municipal agency may subsequently require
correction of any information found to be in error and submission
of additional information not specified in the ordinance or any revisions
in the accompanying documents as are reasonably necessary to make
an informed decision as to whether the requirements necessary for
the approval of the application for development have been met. The
application shall not be deemed incomplete for lack of any such additional
information or any revisions in the accompanying documents so required
by the agency.
B.
The checklist requirements for applications for development are as
follows:
(2)
One of the following:
(a)
A letter of interpretation from the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection indicating the absence of freshwater wetlands
or indicating the presence and verifying delineation of the boundaries
of freshwater wetlands;
(b)
A letter of exemption from the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection certifying that the proposed activity is exempt from the
Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act and regulations promulgated thereunder;
or
(c)
A copy of any application made to the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection for any permit concerning a proposed regulated
activity in or around freshwater wetlands.
(3)
The Planning Board may, in minor applications, waive the above requirements
where it can be established and verified by the Board and its professionals
that no wetlands exist on site or on contiguous property owned by
the applicant.
(5)
One of the following:
(a)
A letter of interpretation from the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection indicating the absence of freshwater wetlands,
or indicating the presence and verifying delineation of the boundaries
of freshwater wetlands;
(b)
A letter of exemption from the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection certifying that the proposed activity is exempt from the
Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act, and regulations promulgated thereunder;
or
(c)
A copy of any application made to the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection for any permit concerning a proposed regulated
activity in or around freshwater wetlands.
(6)
The Planning Board may, in minor applications, waive the above requirements
where it can be established and verified by the Board and its professionals
that no wetlands exist on site or on contiguous property owned by
the applicant.
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, where appropriate.
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 for such service. A copy of the decision shall
also be filed in the office of the appropriate official, 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 Town.
C.
The municipal agency 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 municipal agency shall
provide the findings and conclusions through:
(1)
A resolution adopted at a meeting held within the time period provided
in the act for action by the municipal agency on the application for
development; or
(2)
A memorializing resolution adopted at a meeting held no later than 45 days after the date of the meeting at which the municipal agency voted to grant or deny approval. Only the members of the municipal agency 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 shall be sufficient to adopt the resolution. An action pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9 (resulting from the 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 on any such resolution shall be deemed to be a memorialization of the action of the municipal agency and not to be an action of the municipal agency; however, the date of the adoption of the resolution shall constitute the date of the adoption of the decision for purposes of the mailings, filings and publications required under Subsection B of this section and under § 166-40. If the municipal agency fails to adopt a resolution or memorializing resolution as hereinabove specified, any interested party may apply to the Superior Court in a summary manner for an order compelling the municipal agency to reduce its findings and conclusions to writing within a stated time, and the cost of the application, including attorney's fees, shall be assessed against the municipality.
D.
Failure of a motion to approve an application for development to
receive the number of votes required for approval shall be deemed
an action denying the application. An action resulting from the failure
of a motion to approve an application shall be memorialized by resolution
as provided above, notwithstanding the time at which the action occurs
within the applicable time period for rendering a decision on the
application.
A brief notice of every final decision shall be published in
the official newspaper of the Town. Such publication shall be arranged
by the appropriate Town official without separate charge to the applicant.
The notice shall be sent to the official newspaper for publication
within 10 days of the date of the decision.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-39 and 40:55D-65,
every application for development submitted to the Planning Board
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 such property, any approval 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 provisions for
the payment thereof in such manner that the Town will be adequately
protected.
A.
A corporation or partnership applying to a municipal agency 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.
B.
If a corporation or partnership owns 10% or more of a stock of a corporation or ten-percent or greater interest in a partnership subject to disclosure, pursuant to Subsection A of this section, that corporation or partnership shall list the names and addresses of its stockholders holding 10% or more of its stock or ten-percent or greater interest in the partnership, as the case may be; and this requirement shall be followed by every corporate stockholder or partner in a partnership until the names and addresses of the noncorporate stockholders and individual partners exceeding the ten-percent ownership criterion have been listed.
A.
Conditions precedent. Whenever any application for development is
approved subject to specified conditions intended to be fulfilled
before the approval becomes effective, said conditional approval shall
lapse and become null and void unless all specified conditions are
fulfilled within 190 days of the date of conditional approval.
B.
The fulfillment of all conditions precedent shall be reported in
writing to the municipal agency, which may cause such reports to be
verified in an appropriate manner. Only upon fulfillment of all conditions
shall any subdivision map or site plan be assigned or any required
building permit, occupancy permit or zoning permit be issued.
C.
Conditions subsequent. Whenever any application for development is
approved subject to conditions which by their terms are incapable
of being fulfilled or are not required to be fulfilled prior to the
final approval of the application, the performance of which are not
guaranteed by bonds or securities of any type, failure to fulfill
any such condition within six months from the date of the final approval
of the application for development shall be grounds for the issuance
of a stop-work order by the enforcing official and the withholding
of any zoning permit, certificate of occupancy or any other approval
until such condition or conditions are fulfilled.
D.
Nothing herein contained shall be construed as preventing the municipal
agency from specifying a longer period of time within which any specific
condition must be fulfilled or from granting, upon an ex parte application,
an extension of time for fulfilling a condition for good cause shown.
E.
The fulfillment of all conditions shall be reported in writing to
the municipal agency, which may cause such reports to be verified
in an appropriate manner. Only upon fulfillment of all conditions
shall any subdivision map or site plan be signed or any required building
permit, occupancy permit, zoning permit or other required approval
be issued.
