[Ord. No. 97-29 § 501]
No member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act on any matter in which he has either directly or indirectly any personal or financial interest. Whenever any 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 relating thereto.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 502]
a. 
Meetings of both the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be scheduled no less than once a month and any meeting scheduled shall be held unless canceled for lack of applications for development to process.
b. 
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.
c. 
No action shall be taken at any meeting without a quorum being present.
d. 
All actions shall be taken by a majority vote of the members present at the meeting except as otherwise required by a provision of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. (See Board Rules). Failure of a motion to receive the number of votes required to approve an application for development shall be deemed an action denying the application.
e. 
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, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq. An executive session for the purpose of discussing and studying any matters to come before either Board shall not be deemed a Regular or Special Meeting in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 503]
Minutes of every Public Meeting and Special Public 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 therefore. The minutes, once approved by Board, 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 proceeding 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 for in the rules of the Board.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 504]
Fees or charges for submission of applications or for rendering of any service by the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment or any members of their administrative staffs for review of an application for development, for inspections or for taking of appeals are as set forth in Article VI or as established in other Borough ordinances establishing fees. Any fee paid for in connection with an informal review of a concept plan for development for which the developer intends to prepare and submit an application for development shall be a credit toward fees for review of the application for development.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 505]
a. 
Rules. The Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment may 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 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 the 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. Each Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the proceeding by either stenographer, mechanical or electronic means. The Board shall furnish a transcript or duplicate recording in lieu thereof on request to any interested party at his expense.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 506; Ord. No. 09-23 § 1]
Whenever a hearing is required on an application for development pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., or as to any matter coming before the Zoning Board of Adjustment, the applicant shall give notice thereof as follows:
a. 
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.
b. 
Notice shall be given to the owners of all real property located in this State as shown on the current tax duplicate or duplicates within 200 feet in all directions of the property which is the subject of such hearing, and whether located within or without the municipality. Such notice shall be given by:
1. 
Serving a copy thereof on the owner, as shown on the said current tax duplicates, or his agent in charge of the property; or
2. 
Mailing a copy thereof, by certified mail to the property owner at his address, as shown on the current tax duplicate or duplicates.
3. 
The above requirements shall be deemed satisfied where condominiums or horizontal property regimes are within 200 feet of applicant's property, by making service in the following manner:
(a) 
If the applicant's property abuts a condominium and the owner of any unit is within 200 feet of the applicant's property and said unit has a unit above or below it, by giving notice to the condominium association.
(b) 
If the applicant's property abuts a horizontal property regime and an apartment of the co-owner is within 200 feet of the applicant's property and such apartment has an apartment above or below it, by giving notice to the horizontal property regime.
(c) 
If the applicant is the owner of a condominium unit or co-owner of an apartment, notice shall be given to all other unit owners or apartment co-owners within 200 feet of the unit or apartment owned or co-owned by the applicant.
4. 
A return receipt is not required. Notice to a partnership owner may be made upon any partner. Notice to a corporate owner may be made by service upon its president, vice-president, secretary or other person authorized by appointment or by law to accept service on behalf of the corporation. Where a condominium association, horizontal property regime community trust or homeowner's association, own grass, landscaped areas, driveways, parking lots, recreational facilities, etc., which are common elements or areas, that are within 200 feet of the property which is the subject of a hearing, notice 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 all hearings on applications for development involving property located within 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 the notice required to be given pursuant to Section 35-506b to the owners of lands in such adjoining municipality which are located within 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 or 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 200 feet of the municipal boundary.
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 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-10(b).
g. 
In any case where notice is required pursuant to this section, notice shall be given, in the case of a public utility, cable television company or local utility which possesses right-of-way or easement within the Borough and which has registered with the Borough in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12.1, by: (1) serving a copy of the notice on the person whose name appears on the registration form on behalf of the public utility, cable television company or local utility, or (2) mailing a copy thereof by certified mail to the person whose name appears on the registration form at the address shown on that form.
h. 
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 service with the Board holding the hearing on the application for development.
i. 
Notice pursuant to paragraphs c, d, e and f of this section shall not be required unless public notice pursuant to paragraph a and paragraph b of this section is required.
j. 
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 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.
k. 
Any maps and documents for which approval is sought at a hearing shall be on file and available for public inspection at least 10 days before the date of the hearing in the Administrator's Office.
l. 
Notice pursuant to paragraphs c, d, e, and f of this section shall not be required unless public notice pursuant to paragraph a and paragraph b of this section is required. Notice under paragraphs a and b is not required for: (1) conventional site plan review, (2) minor subdivision approval or (3) final approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-50.
[Ord. 97-29 § 507]
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12c the Tax Assessor of the Borough shall, within seven days after receipt of a request therefore, and upon receipt of a fee not to exceed $0.25 per name or $10, 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 35-506.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 508]
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 based thereon.
b. 
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 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 Municipal 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 Borough.
c. 
The municipal agency shall include findings of fact and conclusions based thereon in each decision on any application for development and shall reduce the decision in writing. The municipal agency shall provide the findings and conclusions through:
1. 
A resolution adopted at a meeting held within the time period provided in the act for activation by the municipal agency on the application for development; or
2. 
A memorializing resolution adopted at a meeting held no 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. 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 mailing, filings, and publications required under Section 35-508b and under Section 35-509. 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 attorneys fees, shall be assessed against the Borough.
d. 
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. An action resulting from the failure of a motion to approve an application shall be memorialized by resolution as provided above notwithstanding the time at which the action occurs within the applicable time period for rendering a decision on the application.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 509; Ord. No. 13-21 § 2]
A brief notice of every final decision shall be published in the official newspaper of the Borough. Such publication shall be arranged by the Secretary of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment, as the case may be, 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. 97-29 § 510]
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-65, every application for development submitted to the Planning Board or to the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be accompanied by proof that no taxes or assessments for local improvements or other monies 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 either 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 Borough will be adequately protected.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 511]
a. 
A corporation or partnership applying to a municipal agency for permission to subdivide a parcel of land into six or more lots, or applying for a variance to construct a multiple dwelling of 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 10% of its stock of any class, or at least 10% of the interest in the partnership, as the case may be.
b. 
If a corporation or partnership owns 10% or more of a stock of a corporation, or 10% or greater interest in a partnership, subject to disclosure pursuant to paragraph a of this subsection, that corporation or partnership shall list the names and addresses of its stockholders holding 10% or more of its stock, or of 10% or greater interest in the partnership, as the case may be, and this requirement shall be followed by every corporate stockholder or partner in a partnership until the names and addresses of the non-corporate stockholders and individual partners exceeding the 10% ownership criterion have been listed.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 512]
a. 
Conditions Precedent. Whenever any application for development is approved subject to specified conditions, intended to be fulfilled before the approval becomes effective, said conditional approval shall lapse and become null and void unless all specified conditions are fulfilled within 190 days of the date of conditional approval.
b. 
The fulfillment of all conditions precedent shall be reported in writing to the municipal agency, which may cause such reports to be verified in an appropriate manner. Only upon fulfillment of all conditions shall any subdivision map or site plan be assigned or any required building permit, occupancy permit or zoning permit be issued.
c. 
Conditions Subsequent. Whenever any application for development is approved subject to conditions, which by their terms are incapable of being fulfilled, or are not required to be fulfilled prior to the final approval of the application, the performance of which are not guaranteed by bonds of securities of any type, failure to fulfill any such condition within six months from the date of the final approval of the application for development shall be grounds for the issuance of a stop work order by the enforcing official and the withholding of any zoning permit, Certificate of Occupancy or any other approval until such condition or conditions are fulfilled.
d. 
Nothing herein contained shall be construed as preventing the municipal agency from specifying a longer period of time within which any specific condition must be fulfilled, or from granting, upon an ex parte application, an extension of time for fulfilling a condition for good cause shown.
e. 
The fulfillment of all conditions shall be reported in writing to the municipal agency which may cause such reports to be verified in an appropriate manner. Only upon fulfillment of all conditions shall any subdivision map or site plan be signed or any required building permit, occupancy permit, zoning permit or other required approval be issued.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 513]
An applicant shall comply with the provisions of this section whenever the applicant wishes to claim approval of his application for development by reason of the failure of a municipal agency to grant or deny approval with the time periods specified in the Municipal Land Use Law and this chapter.
a. 
Applicant shall provide notice of the default approval to the municipal agency and to all those entitled to notice by personal service or certified mail of the hearing on the application for development; but for purposes of determining who is entitled to notice, the hearing on the application for development shall be deemed to have required public notice pursuant to subsection (a) of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12b. The applicant shall arrange publication of the notice of the default in the official newspaper of the municipality, if there be one, or in a newspaper of general circulation in the Borough.
b. 
The applicant shall file an affidavit of proof of service and publication with the Secretary of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment as the case may be.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 514]
All applications for development filed prior to the effective date of the chapter[1] may be continued, but any appeals arising out of decisions made on any such application shall be governed by the provisions of Section 35-407.
[1]
Editor's Note: This chapter was adopted on December 22, 1997 as Ord. No. 99-29.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 515; Ord. No. 10-24 § 3]
Members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment on the effective date of this chapter shall continue in office until the completion of their terms as provided by law immediately prior to the effective date of this chapter.[1] Any new appointments or reappointments to the Boards shall be governed by the provisions of this chapter. Members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment may also be removed for cause, pursuant to Section 40:55D-23 and 40:55D-69, respectively, as provided Chapter 291, Municipal Land Use Law, State of New Jersey.
[1]
Editor's Note: This chapter was adopted on December 22, 1997 as Ord. No. 97-29.