No member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment
shall act on any matter in which the member has, either directly or
indirectly, any personal or financial interest. Whenever any such
member shall be disqualified from acting on a particular matter, the
member shall not continue to sit with the Board on the hearing of
such matter, nor shall the member participate in any discussion or
decision relating thereto.
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. Regular meetings of the Planning Board
or Zoning Board of Adjustment shall not be scheduled to conflict with
the regularly scheduled meetings of the Township Council, Zoning Board
of Adjustment or Planning Board.
B.
Special meetings may be provided for at the call of the Chairperson
or on the request of any two Board members, which 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,
which is defined as the majority of the full authorized membership
of the Board.
D.
All actions shall be taken by a majority vote of the members of the
Board present, except as otherwise required by statute.
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 Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6
et seq. Any executive session for the purpose of discussing and studying
any matters to come before either Board shall not be deemed to be
a regular or special meeting.
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 finding, 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 Township 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 as provided for in the rules of the Board.
Fees for applications or for 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, subject to the approval of Township Council, and copies of such rules or of the separate fee schedule shall be available to the public, provided that the application fee for a variance by the Zoning Board of Adjustment or for a conditional use by either body shall be as provided in § 150-5B of the Code of the Township of Willingboro. Applications for more than one type of development shall accumulate the fees. Either Board may waive any fee in the event of an application on behalf of a nonprofit or religious corporation or association.
A.
Rules. The Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment may 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 section.
B.
Oaths. The officer presiding at the hearing or such person as the
presiding officer 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 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 applied 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 stenographer or mechanical or electronic means.
The Board shall furnish a transcript of the proceedings to any interested
party at the request and at the expense of the party, charging therefor
at the maximum rate permitted by N.J.S.A. 2B:7-4. The transcript shall
be certified in writing by the transcriber to be accurate.
Whenever a hearing is required on an application for development
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., the applicant shall give notice
thereof as follows:
A.
Public notice shall be given by publication in the official newspaper
of the Township 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 Township in which the applicant's
land is located. Such notice shall be given by serving a copy thereof
on the owner as shown on the current tax duplicate or the agent in
charge of the owner's property or mailing a copy thereof by certified
mail to the property owner at the owner's address as shown on
the current tax duplicate. A return receipt is not required. Notice
to a partnership owner, corporate owner or condominium association,
horizontal property regime, community trust or homeowners' association
owner may be made in the manner provided by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12.
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
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 Secretary of the appropriate Board.
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.
All notices required to be given pursuant to the terms of this section
shall state the date, time and place of the hearing; the nature of
the matters to be considered; 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 Township
Tax Assessor's office; and the location and times at which any
maps and documents for which approval is sought are available for
public inspection.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12c, the Township Tax Assessor shall, within seven days after receipt of a fee as provided in § 150-5A of the Code of the Township of Willingboro, 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 § 60-29B.
A.
Each decision on any application for development shall be set forth
in writing and shall include findings of fact and conclusions based
thereon. 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. The Board may provide such written
decision and findings and conclusions either on the date of the meeting
at which the Board takes action to grant or deny approval or, if the
meeting at which such action is taken occurs within the final 45 days
of the applicable time period for rendering a decision on the application
for development, within 45 days of such meeting by the adoption of
a resolution of memorialization setting forth the decision and the
findings and conclusions of the Board thereon. 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
such action occurs within the applicable time period for rendering
a decision on the application. The adoption of a resolution of memorialization
shall not be construed to alter the applicable time period for rendering
a decision on the application for development. Such resolution shall
be adopted by a vote of a majority of the members of the Board who
voted for the action previously taken, and no other member shall vote
thereon. The vote on such resolution shall be deemed to be a memorialization
of an action of the Board, and not to be an action of the Board, except
that failure to adopt such a resolution within the forty-five-day
period shall result in the approval of the application for development,
notwithstanding any prior action taken thereon. In the event that
the Board fails to adopt a resolution or memorializing resolution
as prescribed, 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 set time, in accordance
with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10g(2). Whenever a resolution of memorialization
is adopted in accordance herewith, the date of such adoption shall
constitute the date of the decision for purposes of the mailings,
filings and publications required herein.[1]
B.
A copy of the decision shall be mailed by the Board within 10 days
of the date of the decision to the applicant or, if represented, then
to the applicant's 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 set forth in N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5. A copy
of the decision shall also be filed in the office of the Township
Clerk, who shall make a copy of such filed decision available to any
interested party upon payment of the fee set forth in N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.[2]
C.
A member of the Board who was absent for 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 such member's
absence from one or more of the meetings; provided, however, that
such Board member has available the transcript or recording of all
of the hearing from which the member was absent and certifies in writing
to the Board that the member has read such transcript or listened
to such recording.
A brief notice of every final decision shall be published in
the official newspaper of the Township. Such publication shall be
arranged by the Secretary of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of
Adjustment, as the case may be, who shall charge the applicant for
the cost of such publication. The notice shall be sent to the official
newspaper for publication within 10 days of the date of any such decision.
Upon the conclusion of any matter coming before the Planning
Board, the Zoning Board of Adjustment, or, upon appeal, the Township
Council, a copy of each application, supporting documentation, minutes
of hearings, correspondence, decisions and other information relevant
to the determination shall be maintained in the office of the Township
Clerk for a period of not less than five years, which shall be considered
a public record within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-39 and N.J.S.A.
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.
A.
A corporation or partnership applying to the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Adjustment or involving an appeal therefrom to the Township Council pursuant to Article IV of this chapter, which application is for permission to subdivide a parcel of land into six or more lots or 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 the stock of a corporation or a ten-percent or greater interest in a partnership, subject to disclosure pursuant to Subsection A hereof, that corporation or partnership shall list the names and addresses of its stockholders holding 10% or more of its stock or a ten-percent or greater interest in a 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 established in this section, have been listed.
C.
The Planning Board, Zoning Board of Adjustment or Township Council
shall not approve the application of any corporation or partnership
which does not comply with this section.
D.
Any corporation or partnership which conceals the names of the stockholders
owning 10% or more of its stock or of the individual partners owning
a ten-percent or greater interest in the partnership, as the case
may be, shall be subject to a fine of $1,000 to $10,000, which shall
be recovered in the name of the Township in any court of record in
the state in a summary manner pursuant to the Penalty Enforcement
Law of 1999, N.J.S.A. 2A:58-10 et seq.[1]
