[Amended 6-16-2010 by Ord. No. 12-2010]
[Amended 6-16-2010 by Ord. No. 12-2010]
The Planning Board, as constituted in Article V in this chapter, shall exercise, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions, all powers of the Board of Adjustment, but the Class I and the Class III Members shall not participate in the consideration of applications for development which involve relief pursuant to subsection d of Section 57 of P.L. 1975, c. 291, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70. All other references in this chapter to the "Zoning Board of Adjustment" or the "Board of Adjustment" shall mean the Planning Board.
A. 
The powers of the Planning 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 Planning 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 and with the general rules hereby laid down, that equity shall be done in cases where the strict construction of the provisions of this chapter would work 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 said P.L. 1975, 291 N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.) or subsequent statutes in such case 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.
A. 
Appeals to the Planning Board acting as the Board of Adjustment may be taken by any person aggrieved or by an officer, department, board or bureau of the municipality 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 is taken, together with three copies of said notice with the Secretary of the Planning Board. Said notice of appeal shall specify the grounds for said 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.
[Amended 4-3-85 by Ord. No. 1125]
B. 
Applications addressed to the original jurisdiction of the Planning Board acting as the Board of Adjustment without prior application to the Administrative Officer shall be filed with the Secretary of the Board. Three copies of the application shall be filed. At the time of filing the appeal or application, 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 Planning 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.
[Amended 4-3-85 by Ord. No. 1125]
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 other than by an order of the Superior Court of New Jersey upon notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
In exercising the above-mentioned power, the Board may, in conformity with the provisions of P.L. 1975, c. 291, N.J.S.A. 40:55 D-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 order, 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.
Any variance from the terms of this chapter hereafter granted by the Board 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 said variance, or unless such permitted use has actually been commenced, within nine 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.
A. 
The Planning Board acting as the Board of Adjustment shall have such powers as are granted by law to:
(1) 
Hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that there is error in any order, requirement, decision or refusal made by the Zoning Officer or an administrative official or agency based on or made in the enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance.
(2) 
Hear and decide requests for interpretation of the map or Zoning Ordinance or for decisions upon other special questions upon which such Board is authorized by the Zoning Ordinance 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 by reason of other extraordinary and exceptional situation or condition of such piece of property, the strict application of any regulation in the Zoning Ordinance would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to, or exceptional and undue hardship upon, the owner of such property, to grant, upon an application or an appeal relating to such property, a variance from such strict application so as to relieve such difficulties or hardship; provided, however, that no variance shall be granted under this subsection to allow a structure or use in a district restricted against such structure or use; and further provided 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 shall review a request for a variance pursuant to Subsection 47a of the Municipal Land Use Law of 1975, P.L. 1975, c. 291. (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-60)
(4) 
Grant a variance to allow a structure or use in a district restricted against such structure or use in particular cases and for special reasons, but only by the affirmative vote of at least five members of the Board. (N.J.S.A 40:55 D-70)
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 Zoning Ordinance. Any application under any subsection of this section may be referred to any appropriate person or agency, including the Planning Board, for its report, provided that such reference shall not extend the period of time within which the Board shall act.
A. 
The Board shall, in addition to the powers specified in Section 53-43, 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 Board shall have the power to grant, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board, subdivision or site plan approval pursuant to Article 6 of P.L. 1975, c. 291, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-37 et seq., or conditional use approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 whenever the Board is reviewing an application for approval of a use variance pursuant to Section 53-43A (4).
The Planning Board acting as the Board of Adjustment shall render its decision not later than 120 days after the date an appeal is taken from the decision of the Zoning Officer or an administrative officer or after the submission of a complete application for development to the Board pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-72b. Failure of the Board to render a decision within such one-hundred-twenty-day period or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant shall constitute a decision favorable to the applicant.