No member of the Planning Board or 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. 
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 interest 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 Chairman of the Board of Adjustment shall make the choice.
[Added 6-1-1992 by Ord. No. 15-92]
B. 
If the 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 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 persons 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 Chairman of the Planning Board shall make the choice.
[Added 6-1-1992 by Ord. No. 15-92]
[Added 12-21-1992 by Ord. No. 29-92]
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-3, the Secretary of the Liberty Township Planning Board is hereby designated as the administrative officer for said Board. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-3, the Secretary to the Liberty Township Zoning Board of Adjustment is hereby designated as the administrative officer for said Board.
A. 
Meetings of both the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be scheduled no less 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 municipal regulations.
[Amended 7-6-1987]
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 of the Board present at the meeting, except as otherwise required by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-32, 55D-34, 55D-62, 55D-63, 55D-17 and 55D-26. Failure of a motion to receive the number of votes required to approve an application for development shall be deemed an action denying the application.
[Amended 7-6-1987]
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 municipal regulations. 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 within the meaning this Part 1.
[Amended 7-6-1987]
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 the 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 may be charged a fee for reproduction of the minutes for his use as provided for in the rules of the Board.
Fees for application or for the rendering of any service by the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment or any member of their administrative staffs which are 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.
A. 
Rules. The Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment shall make rules governing the conduct of hearings before such bodies, which rules shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. or of this Part 1.
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, P.L. 1953, c. 38 (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) 
Each Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the proceedings by either stenographer or 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 in N.J.S.A. 2A:11-15.[1] Said transcript shall be certified, in writing, by the transcriber to be accurate.
[Added 7-6-1987]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said N.J.S.A. 2A:11-15 was repealed by P.L. 1991, c. 119, § 4, effective 4-25-1991. See now N.J.S.A. 2B:7-4.
[Amended 6-1-1992 by Ord. No. 15-92; 4-5-1993 by Ord. No. 4-93; 9-9-1999 by Ord. No. 99-6]
Whenever a hearing is required on an application for development pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., or pursuant to the determination of the municipal agency in question, or for any hearing requested of the Board of Adjustment under § 72-21 of the Code of the Township of Liberty, 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 the applicant's land is located. Such notice shall be given by serving a copy thereof on the owner, as shown on 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 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, 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, be 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 situate 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 Director of the Division of State and Regional Planning in the Department of Community Affairs 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 of P.L. 1975, c. 291.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10b.
G. 
In connection with an application for a major subdivision or a site plan not defined as a minor site plan under the Municipal Land Use Law, pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12, notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the corporate secretary of all public utilities and the general manager of all cable television companies that own land or any facility or that possess a right-of-way or easement within 200 feet in all directions of the property which is the subject of such hearing. An applicant seeking approval of a development which does not require notice shall be required to provide notice by personal service or certified mail to the corporate secretary of any public utility and the general manager of any cable television company that possess a right-of-way or easement situated within the property limits of the property which is the subject of the application for development.
H. 
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.
I. 
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.
J. 
Form of notice. All notices required to be given pursuant to the terms of this Part 1 shall state the date, time and place of the bearing, 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.
K. 
Where a Corporate Secretary of a local utility has registered with the township in order to receive notice of development applications, such notice shall be provided pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12.1.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12c, the administrative officer of the municipality shall, within seven days after receipt of a request therefor and upon receipt of payment of a fee of $10, 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 § 72-29B.
A. 
The Board 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 Board shall provide the findings and conclusions through a resolution, adopted at a meeting held within the time period provided in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. for action by the Board on the application for development, or a memorializing resolution, adopted at a meeting held not later than 45 days after the date of the meeting at which the Board voted to grant or deny approval. Only the members of the Board 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 for adoption 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 Board and not to be an action of the Board; however, the date of the adoption of the resolution shall constitute the date of the decision for purposes of the mailings, filings and publications required by Subsection B of this section and § 72-32. If the Board 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 Board 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.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
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 Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment, as the case may be, 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. of 40:55D-39 and 55D-65, every application for development submitted to the Planning Board or to the 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.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Art. IV, Appeals, which immediately followed this section, was deleted at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.