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.
Meetings of both the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment
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, which meetings 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.
(1)
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. [1]
(2)
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 Chair of the
Planning Board shall make the choice.[2]
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, P.L. 1975, c. 231.[4] An executive session for the purpose of discussion and
studying any matters to come before either Board shall not be deemed
a regular or special meeting in accordance with these provisions.
[4]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.
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 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 applications or for the rendering of any service by
the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment or any member of
their administrative staffs which is 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 chapter.
B.
Oaths. The officer presiding at the hearing or such person as he
may designate shall have 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. Each Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the
proceedings by either a 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.
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, 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, a
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 of this section to the owners of lands in such adjoining municipality which are located within 200 feet of the subject premises.
D.
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, 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
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 Municipal Clerk pursuant to Section 6b of P.L. 1975, c. 291.[1]
[Amended 12-20-1993 by Ord. No. 93-19]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10b.
G.
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.
H.
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 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.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12c, the Borough Clerk of the municipality shall, within seven days after receipt of a request therefor and upon receipt of payment of a fee of $0.25 per name or $10, whichever is less, 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 § 75-39B of this chapter.
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.
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.
[Amended 12-20-1993 by Ord. No. 93-19]
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, the costs to be charged 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. 40:55D-39 and 40:55D-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.
When any hearing before the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment
shall carry over two or more meetings, a member of the Board who was
absent for one or more of the meetings at which a hearing was held
or was not a member of the municipal agency at that time 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,
however, that such Board member has available to him a transcript
or recording of the meetings from which he was absent and has certified,
in writing, to the Board that he has read such transcript or listened
to such recording.
