A.
A Zoning Board of Adjustment is hereby established, pursuant to N.J.S.A.
40:55D-69 et seq., consisting of seven regular members and two alternate
members appointed by the Borough Council. The regular members shall
serve for terms of four years from January 1 of the year of their
appointment. The terms of the members first appointed shall be so
determined that to the greatest practicable extent the expiration
of such terms shall be distributed evenly over the first four years
after their appointment, provided that the initial term of no member
shall exceed four years. Nothing in this chapter shall, however, be
construed to affect the terms of any present members of the Zoning
Board of Adjustment, all of whom shall continue in office until the
completion of the terms for which they were appointed.
B.
No member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment may hold any elective
office or position under the municipality.
C.
A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term shall be
filled for the unexpired term only.
D.
All members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be entitled to
a yearly stipend in the amount of $150. The Board Chairman shall receive
an additional $50 per year.
[Added 7-16-2018 by Ord.
No. 2018-013]
A.
There shall be two alternate members of the Board of Adjustment appointed
by the Borough Council. The alternate members shall be designated
at the time of appointment 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;
provided, however, that in no instance shall the terms of the alternate
members first appointed exceed two years. Notwithstanding the aforesaid,
the initial terms of the members shall be arranged so as to accomplish
the intent of this section.
B.
The alternate members may participate in discussion proceedings but
may not vote except in the absence or disqualification of a regular
member. 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.
[Added 9-20-2010 by Ord.
No. 1439-2010]
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 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 Chairman
of the Planning Board shall make the choice.
The Board of Adjustment shall elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman
from its members and shall also select a Secretary, who may be either
a Board member or another municipal employee.
A member may, after public hearing if he requests it, be removed
by the Council for cause. No member shall be permitted to act on any
matter in which he has, either directly or indirectly, any personal
or financial interest. An alternate member may, after public hearing
if he requests one, be removed by the Borough Council for cause.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment may also employ, or contract
for, and fix the compensation of legal counsel and such experts and
other staff and services as it may deem necessary. The Board shall
not authorize expenditures which exceed, exclusive of funding or grants,
the amount appropriated by the governing body for its use.
The Board shall adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary
to carry into effect the provisions and purposes of this chapter.
In the issuance of subpoenas, administration of oaths and taking of
testimony, the provisions of the County and Municipal Investigations
Law of 1953 (N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1 et seq.) shall apply.
A.
The Board of Adjustment shall have such powers as are granted by
law to:
(1)
Hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that
there is error in any order, requirement, decision or refusal made
by an administrative official or agency based on or made in the enforcement
of the Zoning Ordinance.
(3)
Granting of variances.
(a)
Where, by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape
of a specific piece of property, or by reason of exceptional topographic
conditions, or by reason of other extraordinary and exceptional situation
or condition of such piece of property, the strict application of
any regulation in the Zoning Ordinance would result in peculiar and
exceptional practical difficulties to or exceptional and undue hardship
upon the owner of such property, a variance from such strict application
may be granted, so as to relieve such difficulties or hardship; provided,
however, that no variance shall be granted under this subsection to
allow a structure or use in a district restricted against such structure
or use, and further provided that the proposed development does not
require approval by the Planning Board of a subdivision, site plan
or conditional use approval.
(b)
In particular cases and for special reasons, grant a variance
to allow a principal use or structure in a district restricted against
such use or principal structure; an expansion of a nonconforming use;
a deviation from a specification or standard pertaining solely to
a conditional use; an increase in the permitted floor area ratio;
an increase in the permitted density, except as applied to the required
lot area for a lot or lots for detached one- or two-family dwelling
unit buildings, which lot or lots are either an isolated undeveloped
sized lot or lots resulting from a minor subdivision; or a height
of a principal structure which exceeds by 10 feet or 10% the maximum
height permitted in the district for a principal structure, but only
by the affirmative vote of five members of the Board.
B.
No variance or other relief may be granted under the provisions of
this section unless such variance or other relief can be granted without
substantial detriment to the public good and will not substantially
impair the intent and purpose of the zone plan and the Zoning Ordinance.
Any application under any subsection of this section may be referred
to any appropriate person or agency, including the Planning Board,
for its report, provided that such reference shall not extend the
period of time within which the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act.
A.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall, in addition to the powers specified in § 240-26 of this article, have power given by law to:
(1)
Direct issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-34 for a
public building or structure in the bed of a mapped street or public
drainage way, flood control basin or public area reserved on the Official
Map.
(2)
Direct issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36 for a
building or structure not related to a street.
B.
The Board of Adjustment shall have the power to grant, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board, subdivision or site plan approval or conditional use approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 whenever the Board is reviewing an application for approval of a use variance pursuant to Article III, § 240-26A(3)(b) of this chapter.
A.
Appeals to the Board of Adjustment may be taken by any person aggrieved
or by an officer, department, board or bureau of the municipality
affected by any decision of the administrative officer. Each appeal
shall be taken within the 20 days prescribed by the statute by filing
a notice of appeal with the officer from whom the appeal was taken,
together with 14 copies of said notice with the Zoning Officer. Said
notice of appeal shall specify the grounds of said appeal. The officer
from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board
all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed
from was taken.
B.
Applications addressed to the original jurisdiction of the Board
of Adjustment without prior application to an administrative officer
shall be filed with the Zoning Officer. The applicant shall complete
all portions of the application form minimally 15 days prior to the
scheduled meeting and submit 16 copies of the application and 16 copies
of the plans and reports associated with the application. The submission
of the application shall be accompanied by a completed checklist as
adopted as part of this chapter (see Appendix A[1]). The Zoning Officer shall inform the applicant of the
steps to be taken to initiate proceedings and of the regular meeting
dates of the Board.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is on file in the Borough offices.
C.
Appeals from Board of Adjustment to governing body. 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 Board
of Adjustment.
D.
An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action in respect
to which the decision appealed from was made, unless the officer from
whom the appeal is taken certifies to the Board of Adjustment after
the notice of appeal shall have been filed with him that by reason
of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in his opinion, cause
imminent peril to life or property. In such case, proceedings shall
not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order of the Superior
Court of New Jersey on application or notice to the officer from whom
the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
In exercising the above-mentioned power, the Board of Adjustment
may, in conformity with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.,
or amendments thereto, or subsequent statutes applying, 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.
Any variance from the terms of this chapter hereafter granted
by the Board of Adjustment permitting the erection or alteration of
any structures or permitting a specified use of any premises shall
expire by limitation unless such construction or alteration shall
have actually commenced on each and every structure permitted by said
variance or unless such permitted use has actually been commenced
within one year from the date of entry of the judgment or determination
of the Board of Adjustment; 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 of the Board of Adjustment to
the governing body, or to a court of competent jurisdiction, until
the termination in any manner of such appeal or proceeding.
The Board of Adjustment shall render its decision not later
than 120 days after the date an appeal is taken from the decision
of an administrative officer or of the submission of a complete application
for development to the Board pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A.
40:55D-70, or as otherwise provided in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. Failure
of the Board to render a decision within such one-hundred-twenty-day
period or as otherwise provided, within such further time as may be
consented to by the applicant, shall constitute a decision favorable
to the applicant.
