If a vacancy of any Class IV or alternate shall occur, other
than by expiration of term, the unexpired portion of that term shall
be filled by appointment as provided above.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment, in accordance with N.J.S.A.
40:55D-70, shall have the following powers and duties:
A. To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that there is error in any order, requirement, decision or refusal made by the Zoning Officer or other administrative officer of the City based on or made in the enforcement of the Zoning Map or Chapter
196, Zoning.
B. To hear and decide requests for interpretation of the Zoning Map or Chapter
196, Zoning, or for decisions upon other special questions upon which the Zoning Board is authorized to make determination in accordance with this chapter.
C. To hear and decide requests for variances or other relief to allow departure from regulations set forth in Chapter
196, Zoning, in accordance with the Municipal Land Use Law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.). Variance relief shall be limited to the following:
(1) Where (a) by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific piece of property; or (b) by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or physical features uniquely affecting a specific piece of property; or (c) 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 regulation in Chapter
196, Zoning, would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to, or exceptional and undue hardship upon, the owner of such property, the Zoning Board may determine to grant upon an application or an appeal relating to such property a variance from such strict application of 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 requirements of Chapter
196, Zoning, and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, the Zoning Board may determine to grant a variance to allow departure from regulations pursuant to Chapter
196, Zoning: provided, however, that no variance from those departures enumerated in Subsection
C(3) of this section shall be granted under this subsection, and further provided that the proposed development does not require approval by the Planning Board of a subdivision, site plan or conditional use in conjunction with which the Planning Board has power to review a request for a variance pursuant to §
44-105J.
(3) Where special reasons exist to allow (a) departure from regulations pursuant to Chapter
196, Zoning, to permit a use or principal structure in a district restricted against such use or principal structure; (b) an expansion of a nonconforming use; (c) deviation from a specification or standard pertaining solely to a conditional use: (d) an increase in the permitted floor area ratio: (e) an increase in the permitted density, 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 (f) an increase in height of a principal structure which exceeds by 10 feet or 10% 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.
D. 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 Master Plan, Zoning Map and Chapter
196, Zoning.
E. The Zoning Board shall, in addition to the powers enumerated above,
have the power given by law in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-76
to:
(1) Direct issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-34 for a
building or structure in the bed of a mapped street or public drainage
way, flood control basin, or public area reserved on the Zoning 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.
(3) Grant to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board, subdivision or site plan approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-37 et seq., or conditional use approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67, whenever the Zoning Board is reviewing an application for approval of a "d" variance pursuant to N.J.S.A.40-55D-70d. The developer may elect to submit a separate application requesting approval of the variance and a subsequent application for any required approval of a subdivision, site plan or conditional use. The separate approval of the variance shall be conditioned upon the granting of all required subsequent approvals by the Zoning Board. No subsequent approval shall be granted unless such approval can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantial impairment of the intent and purpose of the Zoning Map and Chapter
196, Zoning.
F. The Zoning Board shall annually review its decisions and prepare and adopt by resolution a report of its findings on Chapter
196, Zoning, provisions that were the subject of variance requests and its recommendations for amendments to Chapter
196, Zoning, if any. Copies of the report and resolution shall be submitted to the City Council and the Planning Board.