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, any action taken by
the Board and the findings, conclusions and reasons for any action
taken if said findings, conclusions and reasons are required by law.
If said findings, conclusions and reasons are reduced to a formal
resolution, the minutes may incorporate said resolution by reference
in discharging this obligation to record. The minutes shall thereafter
be made available for public inspection during normal business hours
at the office of the Borough Clerk. 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.
[Amended 12-12-00 by Ord. No. 551]
A. Rules. The Planning Board shall make rules governing the conduct
of hearings which rules shall not be inconsistent with the provisions
of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1, et seq., or of this chapter.
[Amended 12-12-00 by Ord. No. 551]
B. Oaths. The officer presiding at the hearing or such persons 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
(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 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.
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 Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the
proceedings by either stenographic, mechanical or electronic means.
The Board shall furnish a transcript or duplicate recording in lieu
thereof on request to any interested party at his or her expense.
[Amended 12-12-00 by Ord. No. 551]
A. Each decision on any application for development shall be set forth
in writing as a resolution of the Board, which shall include findings
of fact and legal conclusions thereon.
B. The Board may provide such written decision and findings and conclusions either on the date of the meeting at which a decision is made or within 45 days of such meeting by the adoption of a resolution of memorialization pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10g. Such resolution shall be adopted by a vote of the members who voted for the action previously taken, and no other member shall vote thereon. The vote on such a resolution shall be deemed a memorialization of an action of the Board and not to be an action of the Board, and it shall not be construed to alter the applicable time period for rendering a decision of a development application. Whenever a resolution of memorialization is adopted in accordance with this subsection, the date of such adoption shall constitute the date of the decision for the purposes of the mailings, filings and publications required by Subsections
C and
D.
C. 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 attorney without a separate charge. A copy of the decision
shall also be mailed to all persons who have requested it and who
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 Borough Clerk,
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.
D. Publication of decision. A brief notice of every final decision shall
be published in the official newspaper of the municipality. Such publication
shall be arranged by the Planning Board Secretary 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.
[Amended 12-12-00 by Ord. No. 551]
No member of the Planning Board shall act on any matter in which
he or she has either, directly or indirectly, any personal or financial
interest. Whenever any such member shall disqualify himself or herself
from acting on a particular matter, he or she shall not continue to
sit with the Board on the hearing of such matter nor participate in
further discussion or decision relating thereto.
[Amended 12-12-00 by Ord. No. 551]
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-39 and N.J.S.A.
40:55D-65, every application submitted to the Planning 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 said property, any approvals or other relief granted by the Board
shall be conditioned upon the prompt payment of such taxes and/or
assessments or the making of adequate provision for the payment thereof
in such manner that the municipality will be adequately protected.
[Amended 12-12-00 by Ord. No. 551]
Fees due and payable with applications to the Planning Board
shall be established by a separate fee ordinance.