No member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment shall
act on any matter in which he or she has, either directly or indirectly, any
personal or financial interest. Whenever any such member shall disqualify
himself or herself from acting on a particular matter, he or she shall not
continue to sit with the Board on the hearing of such matter nor participate
in any discussion or decision relating thereto.
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 the reasons therefor. The minutes 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 or her use as provided
for in the rules of the Board.
[Amended 6-5-1986; 8-1-1996
by Ord. No. 96-11]
A. In addition to the filing fee established by this chapter, all applications for development shall be accompanied by a deposit of adequate funds from which the Treasurer of the township shall make all of the payment to professionals for services rendered to the approving authority for review of applications for development, review and preparation of documents, inspection of improvements or other purpose under the provision of the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. Such fees or charges shall be as set forth in Chapter
108, Fees.
B. The application review and inspection charges shall be limited only to professional charges for review of applications, review and preparation of documents and inspections of developments under construction and review by outside consultants when an application is of a nature beyond the scope of the expertise of the professionals normally utilized by the township. The only costs that shall be added to any such charges shall be actual out-of-pocket expense of any such professionals or consultants, including normal and typical expenses incurred in processing applications and inspecting improvements. The township or approving authority shall not bill the applicant or charge any escrow account or deposit authorized under Subsection
D of this section for any municipal clerical or administrative functions, overhead expenses, meeting room charges or any other township costs and expenses except as provided for in this section, nor shall a township professional add any such charges to his or her bill.
C. If the salary, staff support and overhead for a township
professional are provided by the township, the charge shall not exceed 200%
of the sum of the products resulting from multiplying the hourly base salary,
which shall be established annually by ordinance, of each of the professionals,
by the number of hours spent by the respective professional upon review of
the application for development or inspection of the developer's improvements,
as the case may be. For other professionals, the charge shall be at the same
rate as all other work of the same nature by the professionals for the township
when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed on applicants or developers.
D. All deposits required under this section and intended
to reimburse township expenses for professional services shall be placed in
an escrow account pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.1. Deposits for inspection
fees shall be established in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53h.
E. The amount of the initial escrow deposit to be remitted at the time of the filing of the application shall be as set forth in §
192-30.
F. Each payment charged to the deposit for review of applications,
review and preparation of documents and inspection of improvements shall be
pursuant to a voucher from the professional personnel performing the service
and, for each date the service is performed, the hours spent to 1/4 increments,
the hourly rate and the expenses incurred. All professionals shall submit
vouchers to the Treasurer of the township on a monthly basis in accordance
with the schedules and procedures established by the Treasurer. If the services
are provided by a township employee, such employee shall prepare and submit
to the Treasurer a statement containing the same information as required on
a voucher, on a monthly basis. The professional shall send an informational
copy of all vouchers or statements submitted to the Treasurer of the township
simultaneously to the applicant.
G. The Treasurer will prepare and send to the applicant
a statement which shall include an accounting of funds listing all deposits,
disbursements and the cumulative balance of the escrow account.
H. In the event that an escrow account or deposit contains
insufficient funds to enable the township or approving authority to perform
required application reviews or improvement inspections, the Treasurer of
the township shall provide the applicant with a notice of the insufficient
escrow or deposit balance. In order for work to continue on the development
or the application, the applicant shall, within a reasonable time period,
post a deposit to the account in an amount to be agreed upon by the township
or approving authority and the applicant. In the interim, any required health
and safety inspections shall be made and charged back against the replenishment
of funds.
I. The following close-out procedure shall apply to all
deposits and escrow accounts established pursuant to the Municipal Land Use
Law and shall commence after the approving authority has granted final approval
and signed the subdivision plan or site plan, in the case of application review
escrows and deposits, or after the improvements as provided in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53
have been approved, in the case of improvement inspection escrows and deposits.
The applicant shall send written notice by certified mail to the Treasurer
and approving authority and to relevant approving authority and municipal
professional that the application or the improvements, as the case may be,
are completed. After receipt of such notice, the professional shall render
a final bill to the Treasurer within 30 days and shall send a copy simultaneously
to the applicant. The Treasurer shall render a written financial accounting
to the applicant on the uses to which the deposit was put within 45 days of
receipt of the final bill. Any balance remaining in the deposit or escrow
account, including interest, shall be refunded to the developer along with
the final accounting.
J. All professional charges for review of an application
for development review and preparation of documents or inspection of improvements
shall be reasonable and necessary, given the status and progress of the application
or construction. Review fees shall be charged only in connection with an application
for development presently pending before the approving authority or upon review
of compliance with conditions of approval or review of requests for modification
or amendment made by the applicant. A professional shall not review items
which are subject to approval by any state governmental agency and not under
township jurisdiction except to the extent consultation with a state agency
is necessary due to the effect of state approvals in the subdivision or site
plan. Inspection fees shall be charged only for actual work shown on a subdivision
or site plan or required by an approving resolution. Professionals inspecting
improvements under construction shall charge only for inspections that are
reasonably necessary to check the progress and quality of the work, and such
inspections shall be reasonably based on the approved development plans and
documents.
K. If the township retains a different professional or consultant
in the place of the professional originally responsible for development application
review or inspection of improvements, the township or approving authority
shall be responsible for all time and expenses of the new professional to
become familiar with the application or the project, and the township or approving
authority shall not bill the applicant or charge the deposit or the escrow
account for any such services.
L. Appeal of disputed charges. The following procedures
shall govern when an applicant disputes escrow charges:
(1) An applicant shall notify in writing the Mayor and Township
Committee with copies to the Treasurer, the approving authority and the professional
whenever the applicant disputes the charges made by a professional for service
rendered to the township in reviewing applications for development, review
and preparation of documents, or other charges made pursuant to the provisions
of the Municipal Land Use Law.
(2) The Mayor and Committee, or its designee, shall within
a reasonable time period attempt to remediate any disputed charge.
(3) If the matter is not resolved to the satisfaction of
the applicant, he may appeal to the Bergen County Construction Board of Appeals
established pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:27D-127 any charge to an escrow account
or a deposit by any township professional or consultant or the cost of installation
of improvements estimated by the Township Engineer. An applicant or its authorized
agent shall submit the appeal in writing to the Bergen County Construction
Board of Appeals. The applicant or its authorized agent shall send a copy
of the appeal to the township, approving authority and any professional whose
charge is the subject of the appeal.
(4) An applicant shall file an appeal within 45 days of receipt of the informational copy of the professional's voucher required by Subsection
F of this section, except that if the professional has not supplied the applicant with an informational copy of the voucher, then the applicant shall file any appeal within 60 days from receipt of the statement of activity against the deposit or escrow amount required by Subsection
G of this section.
(5) An applicant may file an appeal for an ongoing series
of charges by a professional during a period not exceeding six months to demonstrate
that they represent a pattern of excessive or inaccurate charges. An applicant
making use of this provision need not appeal each charge individually.
(6) During the pendence of any appeal to the Bergen County
Construction Board of Appeals, the township or approving authority shall continue
to process, hear and decide the application for development and to inspect
the development in the normal course and shall not withhold, delay or deny
reviews, inspections, signing of subdivision plats or site plans, the reduction
or the release of performance or maintenance guaranties, the issuance of construction
permits or certificates of occupancy or any other approval or permit because
an appeal has been filed or is pending under this section. The Treasurer may
pay charges out of the appropriate escrow account or deposit for which an
appeal has been filed. If a charge is disallowed after payment, the Treasurer
shall reimburse the deposit or escrow account in the amount of any such disallowed
charge or refund the amount to the applicant. If a charge is disallowed after
payment to a professional or consultant who is not an employee of the township,
the professional or consultant shall reimburse the township in the amount
of any such disallowed charge.
All parts of ordinances inconsistent with this chapter are hereby repealed
as to such inconsistent parts, and this chapter shall take effect after its
approval by the Planning Board as provided by the Municipal Land Use Law and its final passage and publication according to law and the
filing of a copy hereof with the County Planning Board.
[Added 6-5-1986]
On each and every decision on any application for development, the Board
shall include findings of fact and conclusions based thereon and shall reduce
the decision to writing, either through a resolution adopted at a meeting
held within the time period provided by the Municipal Land Use Law for action
or a memorializing resolution adopted at a meeting held not later than 45
days after the date of the meeting at which the municipal board voted to grant
or deny approval. Only the members of the Board who voted for the action taken
may vote on the memorializing resolution, and the vote of the majority of
such members present at the meeting at which the resolution is presented for
adoption shall be sufficient to adopt the resolution. The date of the adoption
of the memorializing resolution shall constitute the date of the decision
for purposes of mailing, filings and publications as required by Subsections
h and i of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.
[Added 6-5-1986]
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 or her
attorney, without separate charge, and to all who request a copy of the decision,
for a reasonable fee. A copy of the decision shall also be filed by the Board
in the office of the administrative officer. The administrative officer shall
make a copy of such filed decision available to any interested party for a
reasonable fee and available for public inspection at his or her office during
reasonable hours. A brief notice of the decision shall be published in the
official newspaper of the Township of South Hackensack. The publication shall
be arranged by the Board Clerk. The applicant shall pay the cost of said publication.
Every application for development submitted to the Boards shall be accompanied
by a proof that no taxes or assessments for local improvements are due or
delinquent on the property which is the subject of the application, or if
it is shown that taxes or assessments are delinquent on said 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 township will be
adequately protected.
[Added 1-21-1994; amended 2-17-1994]
Except as to applications relating to owner-occupied one- and two-family
dwellings, no application under any Article of this chapter or any other application
as may be permitted or required by law shall be either deemed complete or
entertained unless and until the applicant has filed with that application
written certification of the Collector that all taxes, assessments and other
charges levied by the township against the premises which are the subject
of the application are currently paid in full.