[Ord. No. 581 § 4-1]
The provisions of this Article shall apply to both the Planning
Board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-2]
No member of the Board shall act on any matter in which he has
either directly or indirectly any personal or financial interest.
Whenever 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.
Meetings of the Board shall be scheduled no less often than
once a month and any meetings so scheduled shall be held as scheduled
unless canceled for lack of applications for development to process.
Special meetings may be provided for at the call of the Chairman
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.
No action shall be taken at any meeting without a quorum being
present.
All actions shall be taken by a majority vote of the members
of any Municipal Agency of the Borough present at the meeting except
as otherwise required by any provision of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
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, c. 231, Laws
of N.J. 1975, and as otherwise provided by law.
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.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-3]
The adoption of a resolution of memorialization, pursuant to
Subsection 4-9.1 of this chapter, 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 any Municipal Agency of the Borough 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
or an action of a Municipal Agency of the Borough and not to be an
action on an application for development by a Municipal Agency of
the Borough, 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.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-4]
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 Municipal Clerk.
Any interested party shall have the right to compel production of
the minutes for use as evidence in any legal proceedings concerning
the subject matter of such minutes. Such interested party may be charged
a fee for reproduction of the minutes for his use as provided by ordinance.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-5]
Fees for application or for the rendering of any service by
these Boards or any member of their administrative staffs shall be
pursuant to Article 15 of this chapter.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-6.1]
The Board may make rules governing the conduct of hearings before
it, which rules shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A.
40:55D-1 et seq., or of this chapter.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-6.2]
The officer presiding at the hearing or such person as he 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 Municipal Investigations Law,
P.L. 1953, c.38 (N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1 et seq.) shall apply.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-6.3]
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.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-6.4]
Technical rules of evidence shall not be applicable to the hearing,
but the Board may exclude irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious
evidence.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-6.5]
Any Municipal Agency of the Borough conducting any hearing shall
provide for a verbatim recording of the proceedings by either a stenographer,
mechanical or electronic means. The Municipal Agency of the Borough
shall furnish a transcript, or duplicate recording in lieu thereof,
on request to any interested party at his expense, pursuant to Article
15 of this chapter. The transcript shall be certified in writing by
the transcriber to be accurate.
[Ord. No. 98-1149 § 1
Art. 4]
A member of a municipal agency who was absent for one or more
of the meetings at which a hearing was held or was not a member of
the municipal agency at that time, shall be eligible to vote on the
matter upon which the hearing was conducted, notwithstanding his absence
from one or more of the meetings; provided, however, that such Board
member has available to him the transcript or recording of all of
the hearing from which he was absent or was not a member, and certifies
in writing to the Board that he has read such transcript or listened
to such recording.
[Ord. No. 2015-1680; amended 1-24-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-1907]
Notice of hearing shall be given by the applicant, at least
10 days prior to the date of the hearing for the following development
applications: preliminary major site plans, preliminary major subdivisions,
all variances, special permits, interpretations and appeals to the
Board of Adjustment from an order, requirement, decision or refusal
made by an administrative officer, minor site plans and minor subdivisions,
except for minor subdivisions that are merely lot line adjustments
between two or three lots that involve no variances or physical changes
to the sites as part of the application. Notice of hearings shall
not be required for final major subdivisions or for final major site
plans.
Public notice shall be given by publication in the official
newspaper of the municipality at least 10 days prior to the date of
the hearing.
The public notice of the hearing shall be given to the owners
of all real property within the State of New Jersey shown on the current
tax duplicate located within 200 feet in all directions of the property
which is the subject of such hearing. Notice shall be given by serving
a copy thereof on the property owner as shown on the 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. 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 service
on behalf of the corporation. This requirement shall be deemed satisfied
by notice to the condominium association, in the case of any unit
owner whose unit has a unit above or below it, or to the horizontal
property regime, in the case of any co-owner whose apartment has an
apartment above or below it. Notice to a condominium association,
horizontal property regime, community trust or homeowner's association,
because of its ownership of common elements or areas located within
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.
Notice of all hearings on applications for development involving
property located within 200 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 4-7.2 of this Article to the owners of lands
in such adjoining municipality which are located within 200 feet of
the subject premises.
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.
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.
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 Municipal Clerk pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10b.
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 such service with the Board holding
the hearing on the application for development.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-7.8]
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.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-7.9; Ord. No. 98-1149 § 1 Art. 4]
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 and 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 Municipal 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.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-8]
Upon the written request of an applicant, the Administrative
Officer of the Borough shall, within seven days make and certify a
list from the current tax duplicates of names and addresses of owners
to whom the applicant is required to give notice pursuant to Subsection
4-7.2 of this chapter. The applicant shall be entitled to rely upon
the information contained in such list and failure to give notice
to any owner not on the list shall not invalidate any hearing or proceeding.
A fee pursuant to Article 15 shall be charged for such list.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-9.1]
Each decision on any application for development shall be reduced
to writing as follows and shall include findings of fact and legal
conclusions based thereon.
The Municipal Agency of the Borough may provide such written
decision and findings and conclusions within five working days of
the date of the meeting at which the Municipal Agency of the Borough
grants or denies approval unless a resolution of memorialization as
provided in Subsection 4-9.2 is adopted by the Agency.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-9.2; Ord. No. 98-1149 § 1 Art. 4]
A memorializing resolution adopted at a meeting held not later
than 45 days after the date of the meeting at which the municipal
agency voted to grant or deny approval. Only the members of the municipal
agency 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. If only one member who voted
for the action attends the meeting at which the resolution is presented
for adoption, the resolution may be adopted upon the vote of that
member. An action pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9 (resulting from the
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 on any such resolution shall be
deemed to be a memorialization of the action of the municipal agency
and not to be an action of the municipal agency; however, the date
of the adoption of the resolution shall constitute the date of the
decision for purposes of the mailings, filings and publications required
by Subsections h. and i. of section N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10. If the municipal
agency fails to adopt a resolution or memorializing resolution as
hereinabove specified, any interested party may apply to the Superior
Court in a summary manner for an order compelling the municipal agency
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 municipality.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-9.2]
A brief notice of every final decision shall be published in
the official newspaper of the municipality. Such publication shall
be arranged by the Administrative Officer of the Board with separate
charge to the applicant. The notice shall be sent to the official
newspaper for publication within 10 days of the date of any such decision.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-11]
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 Board
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; or if it is shown that taxes or assessments are
delinquent on the 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.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-12]
Every application for development submitted to the Board on
property containing one or more structures shall be accompanied by
a certification of the Zoning Officer as to use of each of such existing
structures, including the number of dwelling units, if any, contained
therein.
[Ord. No. 581 § 4-13; Ord. No. 98-1149 § 1 Art. 4]
The Zoning Board of Adjustment may refer an application under
N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70 to any appropriate person or agency for its report,
provided that such reference shall not extend the period of time within
which the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act.
[Ord. No. 92-931 § 1]
In the event the Planning Board lacks a quorum because any of
its regular or alternate members is prohibited from acting on a matter
due to the member's personal or financial interests therein, regular
members of the Board of Adjustment shall be called upon to serve,
for that matter only, as temporary members of the Planning Board in
order of seniority of continuous service to the Board of Adjustment
until there are the minimum number of members necessary to constitute
a quorum to act upon the matter. If a choice has to be made between
regular members of equal seniority, the Chairman of the Board of Adjustment
shall make the choice.
In the event the Board of Adjustment lacks a quorum because
any of its regular or alternate members is prohibited from acting
on a matter due to the members personal or financial interest therein,
Class IV members of the Planning Board shall be called upon to serve,
for that matter only, as temporary members of the Board of Adjustment
in order of seniority of continuous service to the Planning Board
until there are the minimum number of members necessary to constitute
a quorum to act upon the matter. If a choice has to be made between
Class IV members of equal seniority, the Chairman of the Planning
Board shall make the choice.
