[1980 Code § 128-17; Ord. No. 2288]
A. The powers of the Municipal Land Use Board acting as the Zoning Board
of Adjustment shall be in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69 et seq.,
and amendments and supplements thereto, and with the provisions of
this chapter.
B. It is further the intent of this chapter to confer upon the Municipal
Land Use Board acting as the Zoning Board of Adjustment as full and
complete powers as may lawfully be conferred upon such Board, including,
not by way of limitation, the authority in connection with any case,
action or proceeding before the Board to interpret and construe the
provisions of this chapter or any term, clause, sentence or word hereof
and the Zoning Map in accordance with the general rules of construction
applicable to legislative enactments.
C. The Board may, in appropriate cases and subject to appropriate conditions
and safeguards, grant variances from the terms of this chapter in
accordance with the general or specific rules contained herein. The
powers and duties of the Board having been delegated to and imposed
upon it by statute, the Board shall in all cases follow the provisions
applicable to it in the N.J.S.A. 40:55D, or subsequent statutes in
such case made and provided, and it shall furnish to any person requesting
the same a copy of its rules and information as to how appeals or
applications may properly be filed with the Board for its decision
thereon.
[1980 Code § 128-18; amended by Ord. No. 1348; Ord. No. 1354; Ord. No. 2288]
A. Appeals to the Municipal Land Use Board acting as the Board of Adjustment
may be taken by any interested person affected by any decision of
an administrative officer of the Borough based on or made in the enforcement
of Part 3 of this chapter. Each appeal shall be taken within the twenty
(20) days prescribed by statute by filing a notice of appeal with
the officer from whom the appeal is taken, together with three (3)
copies of the notice with the Secretary of the Board. The notice of
appeal shall specify the grounds for the appeal. The officer from
whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board all
the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed
from was taken.
B. Applications addressed to the original jurisdiction of the Board
without prior application to an administrative officer shall be filed
with the Secretary of the Board. Three (3) copies of the application
shall be filed. At the time of filing the appeal or application, but
in no event less than ten (10) days prior to the date set for hearing,
the applicant shall also file all plot plans, maps or other papers
required by virtue of any provision of this chapter or any rule of
the Board. The applicant shall obtain all necessary forms from the
Secretary of the Board. The Secretary of the Board shall inform the
applicant of the steps to be taken to initiate proceedings and of
the regular meeting dates of the Board.
C. An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action in respect
of which the decision appealed from was made, unless the officer from
whom the appeal is taken certifies to the Board after the notice of
appeal shall have been filed with him that, by reason of facts stated
in the certificate, a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril
to life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed
otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the
Board or by the Superior Court of New Jersey on application or notice
to the officer from whom the appeal is taken on due cause shown.
[1980 Code § 128-19; Ord. No. 2288]
In exercising the above-mentioned power, the Municipal Land
Use Board acting as the Board of Adjustment may, in conformity with
the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D or amendments thereto or subsequent
statutes applying, reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify
the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from and
make such other order, requirement, decision or determination as ought
to be made and, to that end, shall have all the powers of the administrative
officer from whom the appeal was taken.
[1980 Code § 128-20; Ord. No. 2288]
Any variance from the terms of this chapter hereafter granted
by the Municipal Land Use Board acting as the Board of Adjustment
permitting the erection or alteration of any structure or structures
or permitting a specified use of any premises shall expire by limitation
unless such construction or alteration shall have been actually commenced
on each and every structure permitted by the variance or unless such
permitted use has actually been commenced within nine (9) months from
the date of entry of the judgment or determination of the Board; except,
however, that the running of the period of limitation herein provided
shall be tolled from the date of filing an appeal from the decision
of the Board to the Governing Body or to a court of competent jurisdiction
until the termination in any manner of such appeal or proceeding.
[1980 Code § 128-21; amended by Ord. No. 1348; Ord. No. 2288]
A. The Board shall have such powers as are granted by law to do the
following:
1. 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 an administrative official or agency based on or made in the enforcement
of Part 3, Zoning, of this chapter.
2. To hear and decide requests for interpretation of the Zoning Map
or Part 3, Zoning, of this chapter or for decisions upon other special
questions upon which such Board is authorized by this chapter to pass.
3. Where, by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape
of a specific piece of property or by reason of exceptional topographic
conditions or physical features uniquely affecting a specific piece
of property or 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
pursuant to Part 3, Zoning, of this chapter would result in peculiar
and exceptional practical difficulties to, or exceptional and undue
hardship upon, the developer of such property, to grant, upon an application
or an appeal relating to such property, a variance from such strict
application of such regulation so as to relieve such difficulties
or hardship; where, in an application or appeal relating to a specific
piece of property, the purposes of this chapter would be advanced
by a deviation from the requirements of Part 3, Zoning, of this chapter,
and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any
detriment, to grant a variance to allow departure from regulations
pursuant to Part 3, Zoning, of this chapter; provided however, that
no variance from those departures enumerated in Subsection A4 of this
section shall be granted under this subsection; and provided, further,
that the proposed development does not require approval by the Municipal
Land Use Board acting as the Planning Board of a subdivision, site
plan or conditional use in conjunction with which the Municipal Land
Use Board acting as the Planning Board has power to review a request
for a variance pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-60a.
4. In particular cases and for special reasons, to grant a variance
to allow departure from regulations pursuant to Part 3, Zoning, of
this chapter to permit a use or principal structure in a district
restricted against such use or principal structure, an expansion of
a nonconforming use, deviation from a specification or standard pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 pertaining solely to a conditional use, an increase
in the permitted floor-area ratio as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4,
an increase in the permitted density as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4
except as applied to the required lot area for a lot or lots for detached
one- and two-dwelling-unit buildings, which lot or lots are either
an isolated undersized lot or lots resulting from a minor subdivision,
but a variance under this subsection shall be granted only by the
affirmative vote of at least five (5) members of the Board.
B. 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 Zone Plan and Part 3, Zoning,
of this chapter. Any application under any subsection of this section
may be referred to any appropriate person or agency for his or its
report, provided that such reference shall not extend the period of
time within which the Municipal Land Use Board acting as the Board
of Adjustment shall act.
[1980 Code § 128-22; amended by Ord. No. 1348; Ord. No. 2288]
A. The Municipal Land Use Board acting as the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall, in addition to the powers specified in §
40-210, have power given by law 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 drainageway,
flood control basin or public area reserved on the Official 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.
B. The Municipal Land Use Board acting as the Board of Adjustment shall
have the power to grant, to the same extent and subject to the same
restrictions as the Municipal Land Use Board acting as the Planning
Board, subdivision or site plan approval pursuant to Article 6 of
N.J.S.A. 40:55D or conditional use approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67
whenever the proposed development requires approval by the Municipal
Land Use Board acting as the Board of Adjustment of a 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 grant of all required subsequent approvals by the Municipal Land
Use Board acting as the Board of Adjustment. No such 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 Zone Plan and Part 3, Zoning, of this
chapter. The number of votes of Board members required to grant any
such subsequent approval shall be as otherwise provided in this chapter
for the approval in question, and the special vote pursuant to N.J.S.A.
40:55D-70d shall not be required.
[1980 Code § 128-212; amended by Ord. No. 1348; Ord. No. 2288]
A. Whenever an applicant for development requests relief pursuant to §
40-211, the Municipal Land Use Board acting as the Board of Adjustment shall render its decision within one hundred twenty (120) days after submission of a complete application to the administrative officer or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant. In the event that the applicant elects to submit separate consecutive applications, the aforesaid provision shall apply to the application for approval of the variance. The period of granting or denying any subsequent approval shall be otherwise provided in this chapter.
B. Failure of the Board to render a decision within the period prescribed
or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant
shall constitute approval of the application, and a certificate of
the administrative officer as to the failure of the Board to act shall
be issued on request of the applicant and it shall be sufficient in
lieu of the written endorsement or other evidence of approval, herein
required, and shall be accepted by the County Register for purposes
of filing subdivision plats.
C. Whenever review or approval of the application by the County Planning
Board is required by N.J.S.A. 40:27-6.3, in the case of a subdivision,
or N.J.S.A. 40:27-6.6, in the case of a site plan, the Board 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.
D. An application pursuant to this subsection may be referred to any
appropriate person or agency for his or its report, provided that
such reference shall not extend the period of time within which the
Board shall act.
[1980 Code § 128-23.1; added by Ord. No. 1367; Ord. No. 2288]
The Municipal Land Use Board acting as the Board of Adjustment
shall, at least once a year, review its decisions on applications
and appeals for variances and prepare and adopt by resolution a report
on its findings on zoning ordinance provisions which were the subject
of variance requests and its recommendations for zoning ordinance
amendments or revisions, if any. The Board shall send copies of the
report and resolution to the Mayor and Council and the Planning Board.