A. 
A Zoning Board of Adjustment is hereby established pursuant to N.J.S.A.40:55D-69 et seq., consisting of seven residents of the Township of Franklin appointed by the Township Council to serve for terms of four years. The terms of the members first appointed shall be so determined that, to the greatest practicable extent, the expiration of such terms shall be distributed evenly over the first four years after their appointment, provided that the initial term of no member shall exceed four years. Thereafter, the terms of each member shall be for four years. Nothing in this chapter shall, however, be construed to affect the term of any present member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, all of whom shall continue in office until the completion of the term for which they were appointed.
B. 
There shall also be appointed to the Zoning Board of Adjustment four alternate members who shall be designated by the Township Council at the time of their appointment as "Alternate No. 1," "Alternate No. 2," "Alternate No. 3" and "Alternate No. 4." In the event that a choice must be made as to which alternate member is to vote, alternate members shall vote in the order of their numerical designation. The terms of the alternate members first appointed shall be so determined that, to the greatest practicable extent, the expiration of such terms shall be distributed evenly over the first two years of their appointment, provided that the initial term shall not exceed two years. Thereafter, the term of each alternate member shall be two years. The terms of not more than two alternates shall expire in any one year.
[Amended 3-14-2006 by Ord. No. 3599]
C. 
No member of the Zoning Board may hold any elective office or position under the municipality.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 112-286, Removal and vacancies, was repealed 2-13-2007 by Ord. No. 3656. See now Ch. 13, Art. XXII.
The Board of Adjustment shall elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman from the Board members and shall also select a Secretary who may or may not be a Board member or another municipal employee.
There is hereby created the office of Attorney to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall 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.
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, grants or escrow fees, the amount appropriated by the Township Council for its use.
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.
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 provisions 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 this chapter, or any term, clause, sentence or word hereby, 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 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 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.
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former § 112-292, Appeals and applications, was repealed 2-26-2019 by Ord. No. 4261-19.
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.
Any variance from the terms of this chapter hereafter granted by the Board of Adjustment 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 be been actually commenced on each and every structure permitted by said variance, or less such permitted use has actually been commenced, within one year from the date of publication of the notice of the judgment or determination of the Board of Adjustment; 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 of Adjustment to the Township Council, or to a court of competent jurisdiction, until the termination of any manner of such appeal or proceeding.
The Board of Adjustment shall have the 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 official or agency based on or made in the enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance;
B. 
Hear or decide requests for interpretation of the Map or Zoning Ordinance, or for decisions upon which such board is authorized by the Zoning Ordinance to pass;
C. 
Where, by 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 regulation pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-62 et seq. 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;
D. 
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 Ordinance requirements and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, grant a variance to allow departure from regulations pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40.55D-62 et seq.; provided, however, that no variance from those departures enumerated in § 112-295D 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.
E. 
In particular cases and for special reasons, grant a variance to allow departure from regulations pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-62 et seq. 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 pertaining solely to a conditional use;
(4) 
An increase in the permitted floor area ratio;
(5) 
An increase in the permitted density, 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) 
A variance under this subsection shall be granted only by affirmative vote of at least five members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-77 et seq.
(b) 
If an application for development requests one or more variances but not a variance for a purpose enumerated in § 112-295D, the decision on the requested variance or variances shall be rendered under § 112-295C.
F. 
No variance or other relief may be granted under the terms 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 the purpose of the Zone Plan and Zoning Ordinance. Any application under 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 Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act.
G. 
In respect to any airport safety zones delineated under the Air Safety and Zoning Act of 1983, P.L. 1983, c. 260 (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 creation or establishment of a nonconforming use which would be prohibited under standards promulgated pursuant to that 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 for its report, provided that such reference shall not extend the period of time within which the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall, in addition to the powers specified in § 112-295 of this chapter, 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 drainageway, 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.
C. 
Grant to the same extent and subject to the same 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 Board is reviewing an application for approval of a use variance.
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 any administrative officer; or
(2) 
The submission of a complete application for development to the Board pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-72b.
B. 
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.
An appeal to the Zoning Board of Adjustment may be taken by any interested party affected by any decision of the administrative officer of the municipality based on or made in the enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance or Official Map. Such appeal shall be taken within 65 days by filing a notice of appeal in the manner set forth in § 112-292 of this chapter, and in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69 et seq.
Any party desiring to appeal the decision of the Zoning Board of Adjustment where it has approved or granted a use variance pursuant to the provisions of § 112-295C of this chapter may appeal to the Township Council, provided that such appeal shall be made within 10 days of the date of publication of such final decision of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
[Amended 3-27-2013 by Ord. No. 4012-13; 11-10-2014 by Ord. No. 4089-14; 2-26-2019 by Ord. No. 4261-19]
A. 
The Township hereby adopts, and incorporates herein, the Variance Submission Checklist contained in Schedule 8.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Schedule 8 is attached to this chapter.
B. 
An application for D variance pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70d shall include all applicable forms, data, information, fees, etc. outlined on the Variance Submission Checklist contained in Schedule 8.
C. 
An application for C variance pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c, whether before the Planning or Zoning Board of Adjustment, shall include all applicable forms, data, information, fees, etc. outlined on the Variance Submission Checklist contained in Schedule 8.
[Amended 3-27-2013 by Ord. No. 4012-13; 2-26-2019 by Ord. No. 4261-19]
A. 
The Township hereby adopts, and incorporates herein, the General Application Checklist contained in Schedule 11.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Schedule 11 is attached to this chapter.
B. 
Applicants wishing to appear before the Zoning Board of Adjustment for matters other than for a variance, such as appeals (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70a), interpretations (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70b) and certification of preexisting nonconforming use, shall submit all applicable data, information, fees, etc. contained on the General Application Checklist contained in Schedule 11. This checklist shall also be used by other parties wishing to appear before the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment on matters for which the Township does not provide a specific application form and/or checklist.