[Amended by Ord. No. 561; 9-21-2004 by Ord. No. 07-2004]
A. 
There shall be a Zoning Board of Adjustment consisting of seven residents of the City, none of whom shall hold any elected office or position under the City, appointed by City Council to serve for terms of four years from July 1 of the year of their appointment. The terms of the members first appointed shall be as follows:
(1) 
One member appointed for a one-year term.
(2) 
Two members appointed for two-year terms.
(3) 
Two members appointed for three-year terms.
(4) 
Two members appointed for four-year terms.
B. 
Thereafter the term of each member shall be for four years.
C. 
No member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment may hold any elective office or position under the municipality.
D. 
A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term shall be filled for the unexpired term only.
E. 
Any member, after public hearing if he or she requests it, may be removed by the City Council for cause.
F. 
In addition to the regular members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment hereinabove provided for, City Council shall appoint two alternate members who shall be designated as "Alternate No. I" and "Alternate No. 2." The term of each alternate member shall be two years; provided, however, that the initial terms of the two such alternate members shall be one and two years, respectively.
A. 
The Board of Adjustment shall elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman from its members and shall also select a Secretary who may be either a Board member or municipal employee.
B. 
The Board of Adjustment 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 shall deem necessary, in an amount not exceeding, exclusive of gifts or grants, the amount appropriated by the governing body for its use.
C. 
The Board shall adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions and purposes of this chapter.
[Amended by Ord. No. 697]
A. 
The Board of Adjustment shall have the power 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 Building Inspector or any other administrative official or agency based on or made in the enforcement of Chapter 525, Zoning.
(2) 
Hear and decide, in accordance with the provisions of any such ordinance, requests for interpretation of the Zoning Map or Chapter 525, Zoning, or for decisions upon other special questions upon which the Board is authorized to pass by any zoning or official map ordinance.
(3) 
Variances.
(a) 
Where (a) by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness of shape of specific piece of property; or (b) by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or physical features uniquely affecting a specific piece of property; or (c) 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 could result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to, or exceptional and undue hardship upon, the developer of such property, grant a variance from such strict application of such regulation so as to relieve such difficulties or hardship;
(b) 
Where, in an application or appeal relating to a specific piece of property, the purposes of this chapter and the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-l et seq., would be advanced by a deviation from the requirements of Chapter 525, Zoning, 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 and the Land Use Ordinances of this City; provided, however, that no variance from those departures enumerated in Subsection A(4) of this section 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 variance pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-60a and § 59-6G of this chapter.
(4) 
In particular cases for specific reasons, grant a variance to allow departure from regulations pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-62 et seq. to permit:
(a) 
A use or principal structure in a district restricted against such use or principal structure;
(b) 
An expansion of a nonconforming use;
(c) 
Deviation from a specification or standard pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 pertaining solely to a conditional use;
(d) 
An increase in the permitted floor area ratio as defined in § 525-4, Definitions, of the City Code;
(e) 
An increase in the permitted density as defined in § 525-4, Definitions, of the City Code, 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. A variance under this subsection shall be granted only by affirmative vote of at least five members of the Zoning Board.
B. 
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 Chapter 525, Zoning. 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.
[Amended 8-16-2005 by Ord. No. 39-2005]
A. 
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-72, an appeal to the Zoning Board of Adjustment may be taken by any interested party as defined by the Municipal Land Use Law (P.L. 1975, c. 291)[1] affected by any decision of an administrative officer of the City based on or made in the enforcement of Chapter 525, Zoning, or the Official Map. Such appeal shall be taken within 20 days by filing the notice of appeal with the officer from whom the appeal is taken, together with 20 copies to the Secretary of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, specifying the grounds of such an appeal. The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall immediately transmit to the Board all papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
B. 
An application may be filed with the Secretary of the Zoning Board of Adjustment for action under any of its powers without first making application to the Construction Official. Twenty copies of the application shall be filed. At the time of filing the appeal or application, the applicant shall also file all plot plans, proof of payment of taxes, photographs of the property, or other materials required by virtue of the "Instructions to Applicants Applying to the Cape May City Zoning Board of Adjustment" form which can be acquired from the Zoning Board Secretary, or any provisions of this chapter or any rules of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The applicant shall obtain all necessary forms from the Secretary of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. When the application is deemed complete, it will be scheduled for a Zoning Board meeting. The Zoning Board Secretary will notify the applicant of the date of the meeting. The applicant must attend the meeting for the matter to be considered.
C. 
The Zoning Board of Adjustment may reverse or affirm, wholly or in part, or may modify the action, order, requirement, the decision, interpretation or determination appealed from and to that end have all the powers of the administrative officer from whom the appeal is taken.
A. 
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall, in addition to the powers specified in § 59-17, 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 of Adjustment 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 N.J.S.A. 40:55D-37 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 § 59-17A(4) of this chapter. Prior to the granting of such approval or denial, the Board of Adjustment shall refer such application to the Planning Board pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-26 and § 59-6H.
A. 
The Board of Adjustment shall render its decision not later than 120 days after the date an appeal is taken from the decision of an administrative officer, or the submission of a complete application for development to the Board pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-72(b).
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.
A. 
Any interested party may, upon notice, appeal to the City Council any final decision made by the Board of Adjustment approving an application for development made pursuant to § 59-17A(4) within 10 days after publication of the decision pursuant to § 59-31 B.
B. 
The appeal shall be made by serving notice upon the City Clerk specifying the grounds and the name and address of the appellant and his attorney, if represented. Thereafter the City Council shall decide the appeal upon the record before the Board of Adjustment.
C. 
Notice of the meeting to review the record shall be given by the City Council by certified mail or personal service to the appellant and the Board of Adjustment at least 10 days prior to the meeting. The City Council shall conclude a review of the record not later than 45 days from the date of receipt of the transcript of the hearing. The appellant shall arrange for a transcript for use by the City Council at his expense. Failure to hold a hearing and conclude a review of the record and render a decision within 45 days without written consent of the appellant shall constitute a decision affirming the action of the Board.
D. 
The City Council may reserve, remand, affirm or modify, wholly or in part, the final decision of the Board of Adjustment. The affirmative vote of a majority of the full authorized membership of the City Council shall be necessary to reverse, remand, or modify any action of the Board. A copy of the decision shall be mailed to the appellant or his attorney, if represented, and to any interested party who has requested it within 10 days after the decision. A brief notice shall also be published in the official newspaper of the City by the City Clerk who shall make a reasonable charge for publication to the applicant.
E. 
An appeal to the City Council shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action in respect to which the decision appealed from was made unless the Board of Adjustment from whose action the appeal is taken certifies to the City Council after notice of appeal shall have been filed with it that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in its opinion, cause immediate peril to life or property. In such case proceedings shall not be stayed other than by order of the Superior Court.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12(c), the Tax Assessor shall, within seven days after receipt of a request therefor and upon receipt of payment of a fee of $10, make and certify a list from the current tax duplicate of names and addresses of owners to whom the applicant is required to give notice pursuant to § 59-30B.