No development application as defined in this chapter shall
be accepted unless submitted in proper form, and no plat or plan shall
be accepted for consideration unless it conforms to the requirements,
as set forth herein, as to form, content and accompanying information,
and complies with the provisions of the New Jersey Map Filing Law,
as amended. All plats and plans shall bear the signature, seal, license
number and address of the professional authorized to draw same.
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 Land
Use Board shall be accompanied by proof that no taxes or assessment
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 the 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.
The Land Use Board shall hold a hearing on each application
for development consistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1,
et seq. and this chapter and such hearings shall be conducted according
to the provisions of this Section.
A. Rules. The Land Use Board 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 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
(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 to 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. The Land Use Board shall provide for the verbatim recording
of the proceedings by stenographic, mechanical or electronic means.
The Board shall furnish a transcript or duplicate recording in lieu
thereof on request of any interested party at his expense. The Land
Use Board 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. 2A:11-15. Said transcript shall
be certified in writing by the transcriber to be accurate.
Whenever a hearing on an application for development pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. is required, 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 ten (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 in the State and
within two hundred (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 the (1) condominium association in
the case of any unit owner whose unit has a unit above or below it,
or (2) horizontal property regime, in the case of any co-owner whose
apartment has an apartment above or below it.
1. Such notice shall be given by serving a copy on the owner as shown
on the 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 the said current tax duplicate. A return
receipt is not required.
2. 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 on behalf of the corporation. Notice to a condominium
association, horizontal property regime, community trust or homeowners
association, because of its ownership of common elements or areas
located within two hundred (200) feet of the property which is the
subject of the hearing, may be made in the same manner as to a corporation,
without further notice to unit owners, co-owners or homeowners on
account of such common elements or areas.
C. Notice of hearings on applications for development involving property located within two hundred (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 notice required to be given pursuant to Section
35-13.14B of this Article to the owners of lands in such adjoining municipality which are located within two hundred (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 situated within two hundred (200) feet of the
subject premises.
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 one hundred fifty (150) acres or five hundred
(500) dwelling units. The 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-10.
G. All notices hereinabove specified in this Section shall be given
at least ten (10) days prior to the date fixed for hearing, and the
applicant shall file an affidavit of proof of service with the Land
Use Board.
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; identification
of the property proposed for development by street address, if any,
or by reference to lot and block number as shown on the current tax
duplicate in the Township Tax Assessor's Office; and the location
and time at which any maps and documents for which approval is sought
are available as required by law.
J. For any development located in the Pinelands Protection Area, notice of any hearing, public meeting or other formal proceeding at which an application for said development is to be considered shall comply with the provisions of Section
35-10.4 of this chapter.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12c, the Township Tax Assessor shall, within seven (7) days after receipt of a request therefore and upon receipt of payment of a fee of twenty five cents ($.25) per name or ten dollars ($10.00), whichever is greater, 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 Section
35-13.13 of this chapter.
The Land Use Board shall include findings of fact and conclusions
based thereon in each decision on any application for development
and shall reduce the decision to writing. The Land Use Board shall
provide the findings and conclusions through:
A. A resolution adopted at a meeting held within the time period provided
by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1, et seq. For action by the Land Use Board on
the application for development; or
B. A memorializing resolution adopted at a meeting held not later then
forty five (45) days after the date of the meeting at which the Land
Use Board voted to grant or deny approval. Only the members of the
Land Use Board who voted for the action taken may vote on the memorializing
resolution, and the vote of a majority of such members present at
the meeting at which the resolution is presented for adoption shall
be sufficient to adopt the resolution. An action pursuant to N.J.S.A.
40:55D-9 (resulting from failure of a motion to approve an application)
shall be memorialized by resolution as provided above, with those
members voting against the motion for approval being the members eligible
to vote on the memorializing resolution. The vote of any such resolution
shall be deemed to be a memorialization of the action of the Land
Use Board and not to be an action of the Land Use Board; however,
the date of the adoption of the resolution shall constitute the date
of the decision for purposes of mailings, filings and publications
required by subsections h and i of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10. If the Land
Use Board fails to adopt a resolution or a memorializing resolution
as hereinabove specified, any interested party may apply to the Superior
Court in a summary manner for an order compelling the Land Use Board
to reduce its findings and conclusions to writing within a stated
time and the cost of the application, including attorney's fees, shall
be assessed against the Township.
C. A copy of the decision shall be mailed by the Land Use Board within
ten (10) days of the date of the decision to the applicant, or if
represented, then to his attorney, without separate charge, and to
all who request a copy of the decision for a reasonable fee. A copy
of the decision shall also be filed by the Land Use Board in the office
of the administrative officer. The administrative officer shall make
a copy of such filed decision available to any interested party for
a reasonable fee and make available for public inspection at his office
during reasonable hours.
D. A copy of the decision shall also be mailed by the Land Use Board
to the Executive Director of the Pinelands Commission, for applications
for development proposed to be located within the Pinelands Protection
Area.
A brief notice of every final decision shall be published in
the official newspaper of the Township. At a minimum, the notice shall
clearly identify the nature of the Board action requested; the public
meeting or meetings at which the matter was heard and decided; and
whether or not the application was granted. Such publication shall
be arranged by the administrative officer of the Land Use Board without
charge to the applicant. Said notice shall be sent to the official
newspaper for publication within ten (10) days of the date of such
decision.
A corporation or partnership applying to Land Use Board for permission to subdivide a parcel of land into six or more lots, or applying for a variance to construct a multiple dwelling of twenty five (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 ten percent (10%) of its stock of any class or at least ten percent (10%) of the interest in the partnership, as the case may be. Said disclosure shall be in compliance with the provisions of Section
35-13.7B2 through B4 of this Article.
The following checklists to be used for determining the completeness
of any development application submitted to the approving authority
are hereby adopted by reference and made a part of this chapter:
Checklist A.
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Minor Subdivision
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Checklist B.
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Minor Site Plan
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Checklist C.
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Major Subdivision
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Checklist D.
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Major Site Plan
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Checklist E.
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General Development Plan
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Checklist F.
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Preliminary Zoning Permit within a Flood Plain Area
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Checklist G.
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Forestry Permit
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Checklist H.
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Sign Permit
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Checklist I.
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Cultural Resource Review
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Checklist J.
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Wireless Local Communications Facilities Application - Supplemental
Information
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Checklist K.
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Variance Application
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Checklist L.
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(Reserved)
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Checklist M.
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Environmental Impact Statement
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The administrative officer of the Land Use Board or other approving
authority shall provide all applicants for development approval with
a copy of all applicable checklists as noted above for the proposed
development involved. Said checklist(s) shall be completed and submitted
along with all documentation and plans or plats as indicated on said
checklist(s) to the administrative officer at the time of his making
application for development review. The checklist or checklists shall
be used in determining completeness of the application for review
submitted as required by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.3.