No member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment
shall act on any matter in which he/she has, either directly or indirectly,
any personal or financial interest. Whenever any such member shall
disqualify himself/herself from acting on a particular matter, he/she
shall not continue to sit with the Board on the hearing of such matter
or participate in any discussion or decision relating thereto.
A.Â
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.Â
Special meetings may be provided for at the call of the Chairperson
or on the request of any two Board members, which meetings shall be
held on notice to the Board's members and the public in accordance
with all applicable legal requirements.
C.Â
No action shall be taken at any meeting without a quorum being present.
D.Â
All actions shall be taken by majority vote of a quorum except as
otherwise required by any provision of this chapter or of law.
E.Â
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.[1] An executive session for the purpose of discussing and
studying any matters to come before either Board shall not be deemed
a regular or special meeting in accordance with the provisions of
N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9.
[1]
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 and 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 Secretary/Land Use
Administrator. 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 use as provided
for in the rules of the Board.
A.Â
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 chapter.
B.Â
Oaths. The officer presiding at the hearing or such person as he/she
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 the Municipal Investigations
Law, P.L. 1953, c. 38 (N.J.S.A. 2A:67-1 et seq.), shall apply.
C.Â
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 to cross-examine 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.Â
Evidence. Technical rules of evidence shall not be applicable to
the hearing, but the Board may exclude irrelevant, immaterial or unduly
repetitious evidence.
E.Â
Records. Each Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the
proceedings by either stenographer, mechanical or electronic means.
The Board shall furnish a transcript or duplicate recording in lieu
thereof on request to any interested party at his/her expense.
F.Â
Qualification. When any hearing before the Planning Board or Zoning
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 shall
be eligible to vote on the matter upon which the hearing was conditioned,
notwithstanding his/her absence from one or more of the meetings;
provided, however, that such Board member has available to him/her
a transcript or recording of the meeting from which he/she was absent
and certifies, in writing, to the Board that he/she has read such
verbatim transcript or listened to such recording.
Notices of hearings shall be given for all applications for
development except minor subdivision approval and final subdivision
approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12. Whenever a hearing is required
on an application for development pursuant to this section, the applicant
shall give notice thereof as follows:
A.Â
Public notice shall be given by publication in the official newspaper
of the Township, if there is one, or in a newspaper of general circulation
in the Township at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing.
B.Â
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,
provided that this requirement shall be deemed satisfied by notice
to a condominium association, in the case of any unit owner whose
unit has a unit above or below it, or a horizontal property regime,
in the case of a co-owner whose apartment has an apartment above or
below it. Such notice shall be given by either serving a copy thereof
on the owner as shown on said current tax duplicate or his/her agent
in charge of the property or by mailing a copy thereof by certified
mail to the property owner at his/her address as shown on said current
tax duplicate. 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.Â
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.
D.Â
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 situated within 200 feet of a municipal boundary.
E.Â
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.Â
Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the
Director of the Division of State 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 Township Clerk pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10b.
G.Â
Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail of a
hearing on an application of a major subdivision or a site plan not
defined as a minor site plan to a public utility, cable television
company or local utility which possesses a right-of-way or easement
within the Township and has registered with the Township in accordance
with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12.1.
H.Â
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.Â
Any notice made by certified mail as hereinabove required shall be
deemed complete upon mailing in accordance with the provisions of
N.J.S.A. 40:55D-14.
J.Â
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; 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 as required by law.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12c, the Tax Assessor of the Township of Montville 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 § 230-28B of this chapter.
A.Â
Each decision on any application for development shall be set forth,
in writing, as a resolution of the Board, which resolution shall include
findings of fact and legal conclusions based thereon.
B.Â
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/her attorney, without separate charge. A copy of the decision
shall also be mailed to all persons who have requested it and 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 Secretary/Land Use
Administrator, 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.
C.Â
See § 230-48B(3) and (4), wherein the statutory time frames for action by the approving authority on subdivision and site plan applications, respectively, are set forth.
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/Land Use Administrator 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. 40:55D-39 and N.J.S.A.
40:55D-65, every application for development submitted to the Planning
Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be accompanied by proof
that no taxes or assessments for local improvements are 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,
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 a manner
that the municipality will be adequately protected.