There is hereby established pursuant to P.L. 1975, c. 291 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.) a Combined Planning Board of nine members consisting of four classes of members as follows:
A. 
Class I: The Mayor, or the Mayor's designee, in the absence of the Mayor.
B. 
Class II: One of the officials of the municipality other than a member of the Borough Council to be appointed by the Mayor.
C. 
Class III: A member of the Borough Council, as appointed by the Borough Council.
D. 
Class IV: Six citizens of the municipality, to be appointed by the Mayor. The members of Class IV shall hold no other municipal office except that one member may be a member of the Board of Education. The member of the Environmental Commission who is also a member of the Combined Planning Board as required by N.J.S.A. 50A:56A-1, shall be a Class IV member unless a member of the Board of Education is a Class IV member, in which case the Environmental Commission member shall be the Class II member.
E. 
Alternates: There should also be appointed to the Combined Planning Board two alternate members to be appointed by the Mayor. The alternate members shall be appointed as Class IV members and shall meet the qualification of Class IV members as established herein. Such appointments shall be designated as Alternate No. 1 and Alternate No. 2. Alternate members as designated herein shall have the powers as provided to them in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23.1 and shall have the power to participate in discussions of proceedings but may not vote except in the absence of disqualification of a regular member of any class. In the event that a choice must be made as to which alternate member is to vote, Alternate No. 1 shall vote.
A. 
The term of the Mayor (Class I) shall correspond with his or her official tenure. The terms of the members composing Class II and Class III shall be for one year or shall terminate at the completion of their respective terms of office, whichever occurs first. The term of a Class IV member who is also a member of the Environmental Commission shall be for three years or shall terminate at the completion of his or her term of office as a member of the Environmental Commission, whichever occurs first.
B. 
The term of a Class IV member who is also a member of the Board of Education shall terminate whenever he or she is no longer a member of such other body or at the completion of the Class IV term, whichever occurs first.
C. 
The terms of all Class IV members first appointed pursuant to this chapter shall be so determined that to the greatest practicable extent the expiration of such term shall be evenly distributed over the first four years after their appointment as determined by resolution of the Borough Council; provided, however, no term of any member shall exceed four years and further provided that nothing herein shall affect the term of any present member of the Combined Planning Board, all of whom shall continue in office until the completion of the term for which they were appointed. Thereafter, all Class IV members shall be appointed for terms of four years except as otherwise herein provided. All terms shall run from January 1 of the year in which the appointment was made.
D. 
The terms of the alternate members shall be for two years except that the terms of the alternate members shall be such that the term of not more than one alternate member shall expire in any one year; provided, however, that in no instance shall the terms of the alternate members first appointed exceed two years. A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term shall be filled by the appointing authority for the unexpired term only. The initial term of the alternate members shall be as established at the time of appointment by the Mayor of the Borough of Wenonah.
E. 
Whenever the Combined Planning Board considers an application for development which involves relief pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70, Subsection d, neither the Class I or Class III members shall participate.
When any hearing before the Combined Planning Board shall extend over two or more meetings, a member of the Board who was absent for one or more of the meetings, or was not a member of the Board at that time, shall be eligible to vote on the matter upon which the hearing was conducted, notwithstanding his or her absence from one or more of the meetings, or his or her non-membership on the Board at that time; provided, however, that such Board member has available a transcript or recording of the meeting from which he or she was absent or was not a member, and certifies, in writing, to the Board that such transcript has been read, or such recording heard, and that they have review the application and all supporting documentation submitted by the applicant therewith, as well as any review letters submitted by the Board's professionals and any other evidence placed on the record with regard to the application.
The Combined Planning Board is authorized to adopt such rules and regulations1 which shall be consistent with the provisions of this chapter and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. The Combined Planning Board shall elect a chairman and vice chairman from the members of Class IV, select a secretary who may or may not be a member of the Combined Planning Board or a municipal employee, and create and fill such other offices as established by ordinance. It may employ, or contract for, and fix the compensation of legal counsel, other than the municipal attorney, and experts and other staff and services as it may deem necessary not exceeding exclusive of gifts or grants, the amount appropriated by the Borough Council for its use. The Borough Council shall make provision in its budget and appropriate funds for the expenses of the Combined Planning Board.
The Combined Planning Board shall have the authority to exercise its powers to:
A. 
Prepare, adopt and, from time to time, amend or revise a Master Plan or Reexamination Report of the Master Plan.
B. 
Prepare an official map.
C. 
Exercise control over the granting of approval of subdivision plats, site plans or conditional uses, and variances for relief from the Land Use Ordinance.
D. 
To receive for recommendation, referrals of land development regulations from the Borough Council.
E. 
To prepare a capital improvements program when so authorized by the Borough Council.
F. 
Exercise such other advisory duties as may be assigned to it by ordinance or resolution of the Borough Council and perform such other functions as may be authorized by law.
G. 
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 administrative officer or zoning official based on or made in the enforcement of the zoning regulations.
H. 
Hear and decide, in accordance with the provisions of the zoning regulations, requests for interpretation of the zoning map or zoning regulation or for decisions upon other special questions upon which such Board is authorized to pass by any zoning regulation or official map in accordance with this chapter.
I. 
Whereby reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific piece of property, or by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or physical features uniquely affecting a specific piece of property, or 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 zoning regulation would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to, or exceptional and undue hardship upon, the developer of such property, grant, upon an application or an appeal relating to such property, a variance from such strict application of such regulation 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.
J. 
Where in an application or appeal relating to a specific piece of property the purposes of the Municipal Land Use Law[1] would be advanced by a deviation from the zoning provisions of this chapter and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, grant a variance to allow departure from the zoning provisions of this chapter; provided, however, that the fact that a proposed use is an inherently beneficial use shall not be dispositive of a decision on a variance under this subsection, and provided that no variance from those departures enumerated in Subsection K of this section shall be granted under this subsection.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
K. 
In particular cases for special reasons grant a variance to allow a structure or use in a district restricted against such structure or use; or to grant a variance for an expansion of a nonconforming use; or permit a deviation from a specification or standard pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 pertaining solely to a conditional use; or an increase in the permitted floor ratio as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4; or 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 permit a height of a principal structure which exceeds 10 feet or 10% of the maximum height permitted in the district for a principal structure, in particular cases and for special reasons, but only by the affirmative vote of a least two-thirds of the full authorized membership of the Board.
L. 
No variance or other relief may be granted under the terms of G through J herein, including a variance of other relief involving an inherently beneficial use, 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 zoning plan and zoning regulations.
M. 
Give direction pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-25 for issuance of a permit for a building or structure in the bed or a mapped street or public drainage way, flood control basin or public area reserved on an official map.
N. 
Give direction pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-27 for issuance of a permit for a building or structure not related to a street.
A. 
Prior to the adoption of a development regulation, revision or amendment thereto, the Combined Planning Board shall make and transmit to the Borough Council, within 35 days after referral, a report including recommendations concerning the proposed development regulation, revision or amendment. The Borough Council, when considering the adoption of a development regulation, revision or amendment thereto, shall review the report of the Combined Planning Board and may disapprove or change any recommendation by the vote of a majority of its entire membership. It shall record in its minutes the reasons for not following such recommendations. Failure of the Combined Planning Board to transmit its report within the thirty-five-day period provided herein shall relieve the Borough Council from the requirements of this subsection in regard to the proposed development regulation, revision or amendment previously referred to the Combined Planning Board.
B. 
The Borough Council may by ordinance provide for the reference of any matter to the Combined Planning Board before final action thereon by a municipal body or municipal officer having final authority thereon. Such reference shall not extend the time for action by the referring body, whether or not the Combined Planning Board has submitted its report. Whenever the Combined Planning Board shall have make a recommendation regarding a matter authorized by this chapter to another municipal body, such recommendation may be rejected only by a majority of the entire member ship of such other body.
The Combined Planning Board shall have the power to review and approve or deny conditional uses or site plans simultaneously with review for subdivision approval without the developer being required to make further application to the Board, or the Board being required to hold further hearings. The longest time period for action by the Combined Planning Board, whether it be for subdivision, conditional use or site plan approval, shall apply. Whenever approval of a conditional use is requested by the developer pursuant to this subsection, public notice of the hearing on the plat shall include reference to the request for such conditional use.
Whenever the Environmental Commission has prepared and submitted to the Combined Planning Board an index of natural resources of the municipality, the Combined Planning Board shall make available to the Environmental Commission an informational copy of every application for development submitted to the Combined Planning Board. Failure of the Combined Planning Board to make such informational copy available to the Environmental Commission shall not invalidate any hearing or proceeding.
The Combined Planning Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or in part, or may modify the action, order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination appealed from and to that end have all the powers of the administrative officer from whom the appeal is taken.
An appeal to the Combined Planning Board shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action in respect to which the decision appealed from was made unless the officer from whose action the appeal is taken certifies to the Combined Planning 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 or her opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed other than an order of the Superior Court of New Jersey upon notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and for due cause shown.