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.
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 Administrative Officer.
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 shall 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 are not otherwise provided by Article
V of this chapter 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.
The municipal agency shall hold a hearing on each application
for development.
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 chapter.
B. Oaths. The officer presiding at the hearing or such person as he
may designate shall have the 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 rights of cross-examination shall be permitted to
all interested parties through their attorney, 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 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. The municipal
agency, in furnishing a transcript of the proceedings to an interested
party at his expense, shall not charge such interested party more
than the maximum permitted in N.J.S.A. 2B:7-4. Said transcript shall
be certified in writing by the transcriber to be accurate.
A brief notice of every final decision shall be published each
month in the official newspaper of the municipality as required by
law. Such publication shall be arranged by the Secretary of the Planning
Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment as the case may be. The period
of time in which an appeal of the decision may be made shall run from
the date of publication.
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 said 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 the prompt provision for the payment thereof in such manner that
the municipality will be adequately protected.
In the event that, during the period of approval heretofore
or hereafter granted, the developer is barred or prevented, directly
or indirectly, from proceeding with the development otherwise permitted
under such approval by a legal action instituted by any state agency,
political subdivision or other party to protect the public health
and welfare or by a directive or order issued by any state agency,
political subdivision or court of competent jurisdiction to protect
the public health or welfare and the developer is otherwise ready,
willing and able to proceed with said development, the running of
the period of approval under this chapter shall be suspended for the
period of time said legal action is pending or such directive or order
is in effect.
Whenever review or approval of the application by the County
Planning Board is required by Section 4 of P.L. 1968, c. 285 (N.J.S.A.
40:27-6.2), in the case of a subdivision, or Section 8 of P.L. 1968,
c. 285 (N.J.S.A. 40:27-6.6), in the case of a site plan, the municipal
agency shall condition any approval that it grants upon timely receipt
of a favorable report on the application by the County Planning Board
or approval by the County Planning Board by its failure to report
thereon within the required time period.
The time periods within which a municipal agency shall arrive at a decision are set forth at length in the various provisions of this chapter. Failure of the reviewing municipal agency to render a decision within the time periods prescribed below or within such further time as may be consented to by the developer shall constitute a decision favorable to the developer. Unless the developer agrees to an extension of time, a municipal agency must grant or deny approval of a development application within the following number of days after the filing date or date such application shall be deemed filed pursuant to §
17-6.4 of this chapter. In the case of appeals, however, to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, the days shall be counted from the date a decision is rendered by the Administrative Officer or Building Inspector.
A. In the case of the Planning Board:
(1)
For minor subdivision: 45 days.
(2)
For a preliminary major subdivision:
(a)
For 10 lots or fewer: 45 days.
(b)
For more than 10 lots: 95 days.
(3)
For final major subdivision 45 days.
(4)
For preliminary site plan:
(a)
For 10 acres of land or less and for 10 dwelling units or fewer:
45 days.
(b)
For more than 10 acres of land or for more than 10 dwelling
units: 95 days.
(5)
For final site plan: 45 days.
(6)
For conditional use permit: 95 days.
(7)
For direction, pursuant to §
17-2.7H(1)(b) and
(c), for issuance of a permit for a building or structure in the bed of a mapped street or public drainageway, flood control basin or public area, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-34 and 40:55D-35: 120 days.
(8)
For a combined application:
(a)
For a conditional use permit and site plan: 95 days.
(b)
For a subdivision plat and a conditional use permit or site
plan: the largest time period for action by the Planning Board, whether
it be for subdivision, conditional use or site plan approval.
(c)
For a subdivision plat, site plan or conditional use permit
and certain single lot zoning variance or direction of issuance of
a permit for a building not related to a street or in an area designated
on the Official Map for public acquisition or use: 120 days.
(d)
Separate and consecutive applications pursuant to §
17-2.7H of this chapter. In the event the developer elects to submit a separate application requesting approval of the variance or direction of the issuance of a permit and a subsequent application for any required approval of a subdivision, site plan or conditional use, the aforesaid provisions shall apply to the application for approval of the variance or direction for issuance of a permit. The period for granting subsequent approval shall be as otherwise provided in this chapter.
B. In the case of the Zoning Board of Adjustment:
(1)
For an appeal taken from a decision of the Administrative Officer
or Building Inspector: 120 days.
(2)
For a combined application involving the submission of an application
for development: 120 days.