[Ord. No. 97-29 § 401]
a. 
A Zoning Board of Adjustment is hereby established pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69 et seq. consisting of seven citizens of the Borough of Tenafly appointed by the Mayor to serve for terms of four years from January 1 of the year of their appointment.
b. 
There shall also be two alternate members who shall be designated at the time of appointment as "Alternate No. 1" and "Alternate No. 2." Of the alternates first appointed one shall be appointed for a two-year term and one shall be appointed for a one-year term. Thereafter, the term of each such alternate member shall be two years. Alternate members shall also be citizens of the Borough.
c. 
No member or alternate member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment may hold any elective office or position under the municipality.
d. 
A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term shall be filled for the unexpired term only.
e. 
Alternate members may participate in discussions of the proceedings but may not vote except in the absence or disqualification of a regular member. A vote shall not be delayed in order that a regular member may vote instead of an alternate member. In the event that a choice must be made as to which alternate member is to vote, Alternate No. 1 shall vote.
f. 
All regular and alternate members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be citizens of the Borough of Tenafly.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 402]
The Board of Adjustment shall elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman from its members and shall also select a Secretary who may be either a Board member or another municipal employee.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 403]
There is hereby created the office of Attorney to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The Zoning Board of Adjustment may annually appoint, fix the compensation of, or agree upon the rate of compensation of the Zoning Board of Adjustment Attorney, who shall be an attorney other than the Municipal Attorney.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 404]
The Zoning Board of Adjustment may also employ or contract for and fix the compensation of such experts and other staff and services as it may deem necessary. The Board shall not authorize expenditures which exceed, exclusive of gifts or grants, the amount appropriated by the Governing Body for its use.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 405]
The Board shall adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions and purposes of this chapter. In the issuance of subpoenas, administration of oaths and taking of testimony, the provisions of the County and Municipal Investigations Law of 1953 (N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1 et seq.) shall apply.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 406]
a. 
The powers of 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 provision of this chapter.
b. 
It is further the intent of this chapter to confer upon 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 the Zoning Regulations, or any term, clause, sentence or work thereof, 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 the Zoning Regulations in accordance with the general or specific rules contained herein, and with the general rules hereby laid down that equity shall be done in cases where the strict construction of the provisions of the Zoning Regulations would cause undue hardship. 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 N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., or subsequent statutes in such cases made and provided, and it shall from time to time 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.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 407]
a. 
Appeals to the Board of Adjustment may be taken by any person aggrieved, or by an Officer, Department, Board or Bureau of the Borough affected by any decision of the Administrative Officer. Each appeal shall be taken within the 20 days prescribed by the statute by filing a notice of appeal with the officer from whom the appeal was taken, together with three copies of such notice with the Secretary of the Board of Adjustment. Such 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 of Adjustment without prior application to an Administrative Officer, shall be filed with the Secretary of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Three copies of the application shall be filed. At the time of filing the appeal or application, but in no event less than 10 days prior to the date set for hearings, 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 of Adjustment. The applicant shall obtain all necessary forms from the Secretary of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The Secretary of the Board shall inform the applicant of the steps to be taken to initiate proceedings and of the regular meeting date 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 of Adjustment 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 a case, proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the Board of Adjustment or by the Superior Court of New Jersey on application or notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 408]
In exercising the above mentioned power, the Board of Adjustment may, in conformity with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. 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 requirement, decision or determination as ought to be made, and to that end have all the powers of the administrative officer from whom the appeal was taken.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 409]
Any variance from the terms of the Zoning Regulations hereafter granted by the Board of Adjustment permitting the erection of 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 said variance, or unless such permitted use has actually been commenced, within one year from the date of entry of the judgment or determination of the Board of Adjustment; except however, that the running of the period of limitation herein provided shall be extended from the date of filing an appeal from the decision of the Board of Adjustment to the Governing Body, or to a Court of competent jurisdiction, until the termination in any manner of such appeal or proceeding, and provided further, that in the event another agency approval is required and the application is pending before the other agency at the time of approval, then the nine-month period shall commence after receipt of that other approval.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 410]
The Board of Adjustment shall have such powers as are granted by law to:
a. 
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 office based on or made in the enforcement of the Zoning Regulations.
b. 
Hear and decide requests for interpretation of the map or Zoning Regulations or for decisions upon other special questions upon which the Board is authorized to pass by provisions in the Zoning Regulations.
c. 
Where:
1. 
(a) 
By reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific piece of property; or
(b) 
By reason of exceptional topographic conditions or physical features uniquely affecting a specific piece of property; or
(c) 
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 the Zoning Regulations would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to, or exceptional and undue hardship upon, the developer of such property, a grant, upon an application or an appeal relating to such property, a variance from the strict application of such regulation so as to relieve such difficulties or hardship;
2. 
Where in an application or appeal relating to a specific piece of property the purposes of this act would be advanced by a deviation from the Zoning Regulations requirements and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, grant a variance to allow departure from such regulations of the Zoning Regulations; provided, however, that no variance from those departures enumerated in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70(d) shall be granted under this subsection; and provided further that the proposed development does not require approval by the Planning Board of a subdivision, site plan or conditional use in conjunction with which the Planning Board has power to review a request for a variance pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-60(a) of the Municipal Land Use Law.
d. 
In particular cases and for special reasons, grant a variance to allow departure from regulations pursuant to Article VIII of this chapter to permit: (1) a use or principal structure in a district restricted against such use or principal structure; (2) an expansion of a nonconforming use; (3) deviation from a specification or standard pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 pertaining solely to a conditional use; (4) an increase in the permitted floor area ratio as defined in Section 35-201; (5) 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 or two dwelling unit buildings, which lot or lots are either an isolated undersized lot or lots resulting from a minor subdivision; or (6) a height of a principal structure which exceeds by 10 feet or 10% the maximum height permitted in the district for a principal structure. A variance under this subsection shall be granted only by affirmative vote of at least five members. If an application for development requests one or more variances but not a variance for a purpose enumerated in subsection d of this section, the decision on the requested variance or variances shall be rendered under subsection c of this section.
e. 
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 Zoning Chapter. In respect of any airport hazard areas delineated under the "Air Safety and Hazardous Zoning Act of 1983" N.J.S.A. 6:1-80 et seq., no variance or other relief may be granted under the terms of this section permitting the creating or establishment of a nonconforming use which would be prohibited under the standards promulgated pursuant to the Act, except upon issuance of a permit by the Commissioner of Transportation. An application under this section may be referred to any appropriate person or agency other than the Planning Board 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. 97-29 § 411]
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall in addition to the powers specified in Section 35-406 and Section 35-410 have power given by law to:
a. 
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 drainage, flood control basin or public area reserved on the official map;
b. 
Direct issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36 for a building or structure not related to a street; and
c. 
To grant, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board, subdivision or site plan approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-37 et seq., or conditional use approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 whenever the proposed development requires approval by the Board of Adjustment of a variance pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70. 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 grant of all required subsequent approvals by the Board of Adjustment. No such subsequent approvals shall be granted unless such approval can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantial zoning regulations. The number of votes of Board members required to grant such subsequent approvals shall be as otherwise provided in this chapter for the approval in question, and the special vote pursuant to the aforesaid N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70d shall not be required.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 412]
a. 
The Board of Adjustment shall render its decision not later than 120 days after the date: (1) an appeal is taken from the decision of an Administrative Officer, or (2) of certification of completeness of an application for development to the Board of Adjustment in accordance with the provisions of Section 35-706.
b. 
In the event that a developer elects to submit separate consecutive applications for a use variance and for approval of a subdivision, site plan or conditional use, the 120-day provision shall apply to the variance application only; and the period for taking action on the subsequent applicant shall be as otherwise provided in this chapter.
c. 
The failure of the Board to render a decision within the applicable time period 120 days for variance applications and specified time periods as provided otherwise for other subsequent applications), or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant, shall constitute a decision favorable to the applicant and the applicant shall comply with the provisions of Section 35-513.
d. 
If the Board of Adjustment lacks a quorum because any of its regular or alternate members is prohibited by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69 from acting on a matter due to the member's 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. The Class IV members of the Planning Board shall be called upon to serve 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 without any personal or financial interest therein, whether direct or indirect. If a choice has to be made between Class IV members of equal seniority, the Chairman of the Planning Board shall make the choice.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 413]
The Borough Council may reverse, remand or affirm, with or without the imposition of conditions, the final decision of the Board of Adjustment approving a variance pursuant to Section 35-410d. The review shall be made on the record before the Board of Adjustment. The affirmative vote of a majority of the full authorized membership of the Governing Body shall be necessary to reverse or remand to the Board of Adjustment or to impose conditions on or alter conditions to any final action of the Board of Adjustment. Otherwise the final action of the Board of Adjustment shall be deemed to be affirmed. A tie vote of the Governing Body shall constitute affirmance of the decision of the Board of Adjustment appealed to the Governing Body.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 414]
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 Regulation provisions which were the subject of variance request and its recommendations for Zoning Regulation amendment or revision, if any. The Board of Adjustment shall send copies of the report and resolution to the Governing Body and Planning Board.