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 or decision relating thereto.
A. 
Meetings of both the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be scheduled no less often than once a month and shall be held as scheduled unless cancelled for lack of development applications to process.
B. 
Special meetings may be provided for at the call of the Chair 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 majority vote of the members of the Board present at the meeting except as otherwise required by any provision of Chapter 291, Laws of New Jersey 1975, and subsequent amendment thereto (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-32, 40:55D-34, 40:55D-62, 40:55D-17e, 40:55D-26a and b, and 40:55D-69).
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
E. 
All regular meetings and all special meetings shall be open to the public except when the public has been specifically excluded from a meeting pursuant to Chapter 231, Laws of New Jersey 1975. Notice of all such meetings shall be given in accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act, Chapter 231, Laws of New Jersey 1975,[1] and with any additional requirements of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.
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, the action taken by the Board, the findings, if any, made by it and reasons therefor. The minutes shall thereafter be made available for public inspection during normal business hours at the office of the Municipal Clerk and copies reproduced at a fee set by the Township.
A. 
Bylaws. The Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment shall adopt bylaws 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, P.L. 1953, c. 1938 (N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1 et seq.), shall apply.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
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. 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 during normal business hours of the Department of Construction and Land Use.
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. 
Record. Each Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the proceedings by either stenographic, mechanical or electronic means. The Board shall furnish a transcript or a duplicate recording in lieu thereof on request to any interested party at his expense, provided that this charge does not exceed the maximum permitted by N.J.S.A. 2B:7-4. Such transcript shall be certified in writing by the transcriber to be accurate.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
F. 
Absence at hearing. A member of the Board who is absent for one or more of the meetings at which a hearing was held shall be eligible to vote on the matter upon which the hearing was conducted, provided that such Board member has read or listened to a recording of all of the hearing from which he was absent and certified this to the Board in writing.
[Amended 3-24-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-2]
Whenever a hearing is required on an application for development pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., 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. 
Method of service.
(1) 
Notice shall be given to the owners of all real property as shown on the current tax duplicate or duplicates located within 200 feet in all directions of the property which is the subject of the hearing and whether located within or without the municipality in which the applicant's land is located. Such notice shall be given by:
(a) 
Serving a copy thereof on the owner as shown on the current tax duplicate or his agent in charge of the property; or
(b) 
Mailing a copy thereof by certified mail to the property owner at his address as shown on said current tax duplicate. A return receipt is not required.
(2) 
Notice to a partnership owner may be made by service upon its president, a vice president, secretary or other person authorized by law to accept service on behalf of the corporation.
(3) 
Notice to a condominium association, horizontal property regime, community trust or homeowners' association, because of its ownership of common elements or areas located within 200 feet of the property which is the subject of the hearing, may be made in the same manner as to a corporation without further notice to unit owners, co-owners, or homeowners. The requirement for individual notice is limited to owners whose units could have been on separate lots, such as townhouses.
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 this section to the citizens 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:
(1) 
For property contiguous to an existing county road or proposed road shown on the Official County Map or on the County Master Plan.
(2) 
For property adjoining other county land.
(3) 
For property situated within 200 feet of an adjoining 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 contiguous to a state highway. This notice shall not be required if municipal notice and notice to property owners within 200 feet are not required.
F. 
Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the State Planning Commission of 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 administrative officer pursuant to Section 6b of P.L. 1975, c. 291.[1] This notice shall not be required if municipal notice and notice to property owners within 200 feet are not required.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.
G. 
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.
H. 
Mailing and/or posting of notice.
(1) 
Any notice made by certified mail as hereinabove required shall be deemed complete upon mailing in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-14.
(2) 
Notice of hearings on applications for subdivision or a site plan approval not defined as a minor site plan shall be given to a public utility, cable television company or local utility which possesses a right-of-way or easement within the municipality and which has registered with the municipality pursuant to Chapter 291, Laws of New Jersey 1975 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12.1).
I. 
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.
Upon the request of an applicant, the administrative officer shall, within seven days, make and certify a list from said current tax duplicates of names and addresses of owners to whom the applicant is required to give notice pursuant to this chapter. The applicant shall be entitled to rely on the information contained in such list, and failure to give notice to any owner not on the list shall not invalidate any hearing or proceedings. A sum as provided in Chapter 152 Fees, may be charged for such a list.
A. 
Each decision on any application shall be reduced to writing by the Board in the form of a resolution which shall include findings of fact and legal conclusions based thereon.
B. 
A true copy of the aforesaid resolution shall be mailed by the Board within 10 days of the date of the adoption of the resolution to the applicant, or to the applicant's attorney, without charge. A true copy of the resolution shall also be mailed to those persons who have requested and have paid the fee prescribed by the Board for such services. A true copy of the resolution shall be filed in the Department of Construction and Land Use and be available to the public.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Within 10 days of the rendering of a 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 Township Planner.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-39 and 40:55D-65, every application 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 are due or delinquent on the property which is the subject of such application.