The secretary of the reviewing board shall distribute
the site plan application for review and report, and approval where
required, as follows:
A.
The applicant shall submit to the administrative officer
a site plan and such other information which is reasonably necessary
to make an informed decision as to whether the requirements necessary
for preliminary major site plan approval, or for minor site plan approval,
have been met. The site plan and any engineering documents to be submitted
shall be required in tentative form for discussion purposes for preliminary
approval or major site plans. If any architectural plans are required
to be submitted for site plan approval, the preliminary plans and
elevations shall be sufficient. If an application is found to be incomplete,
the applicant shall be notified in writing of the deficiencies therein
by the review committee of the board within 45 days of the submission
of such application or it shall be deemed to be properly submitted.
When it has been determined by the review committee that an application
meets all requirements specified in the ordinance and in the rules
and regulations of the board, the review committee shall immediately
certify the application as complete and the application shall be deemed
to be complete as of the day it was so certified for the purposes
of commencement of the time periods for actions by the board.
B.
Upon submission of a complete application for a site
plan which involves 10 acres of land or less, and 10 dwelling units
or less, the Planning Board shall grant or deny preliminary approval
within 45 days of certification of completeness of such application,
or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant.
Except that if the application for site plan approval also involves
an application for relief pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-60, the Planning
Board shall grant or deny the approval within 95 days of the date
of certification of a complete application, or within such further
time as may be consented to by the applicant.
C.
Upon submission of a complete application for a site
plan which involves more than 10 acres or more than 10 dwelling units,
or for a subdivision of more than 10 lots, the Planning Board shall
grant or deny preliminary approval within 95 days of the date of certification
of completeness of such submission, or within such further time as
may be consented to by the developer. Otherwise, the Planning Board
shall be deemed to have granted preliminary approval to the site plan.
D.
Failure of the reviewing board to reach a decision
within the specified time periods or extensions thereof shall result
in the approval of the site plan as submitted.
E.
If the reviewing board requires any substantial amendment
in the layout of improvements proposed by the developer that have
been the subject of a hearing, an amended application for development
shall be submitted and proceeded upon, as in the case of the original
application for development. The reviewing board shall, if the proposed
development complies with this chapter, grant preliminary site plan
approval.
F.
Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the right
of a developer to submit a sketch plan to the reviewing board for
informal review, and neither the reviewing board nor the developer
shall be bound by any discussions or statements made during such review;
provided that the right of the developer at any time to submit a complete
application for site plan approval shall not be limited by his submittal
of a sketch plan and the time for the reviewing board's decision shall
not begin to run until the submission of a complete application.
A public hearing, noticed in accordance with Chapter 74, Land Use Procedures, shall be held on all major site plan applications. The Planning Board may waive the requirement for notice and public hearing for applications for site plan approval if the Planning Board, or the review committee of the board, finds that the application conforms to the definition of minor site plan contained in this chapter.
The reviewing board, when acting upon applications
for preliminary site plan approval, shall have the power to grant
such exceptions from the requirements for site plan approval as may
be reasonable and within the general purpose and intent of this chapter,
if the literal enforcement of one or more provisions of this chapter
is impracticable or shall exact undue hardship because of peculiar
conditions pertaining to the land in question. The reviewing board
shall state its reasons for granting any such exceptions.
Preliminary approval of a site plan, except
as provided in Subsection D of this section, shall confer upon the
applicant the following rights for a three-year period from the date
of the preliminary approval:
A.
Modification.
(1)
The general terms and conditions on which preliminary
approval was granted shall not be changed, including but not limited
to:
(a)
Use requirements.
(b)
Layout and design standards for streets, curbs
and sidewalks, and lot size.
(c)
Yard dimensions and off-tract improvements.
(d)
Natural resources to be preserved on the site.
(e)
Vehicular and pedestrian circulation, parking
and loading.
(f)
Screening, landscaping and location of structures.
(g)
Exterior lighting, both for safety reasons and
streetlighting.
(2)
Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the Township
from modifying by ordinance such general terms and conditions of preliminary
approval as relate to the public health and safety or as otherwise
permitted by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-49(a).
B.
The applicant may submit for final approval on or
before the expiration date of preliminary approval the whole or a
section or sections of the preliminary site plan.
C.
The applicant may apply for and the reviewing board
may grant extensions on such preliminary approval for additional periods
of at least one year but not to exceed a total extension of two years,
provided that, if the design standards have been revised by ordinance,
such revised standards may govern.
D.
Site plan of 50 acres or more.
(1)
(2)
Extension; modification.
(a)
The applicant may apply for thereafter and the
reviewing board may thereafter grant an extension to preliminary approval
for such additional period of time as shall be determined by the reviewing
board to be reasonable, taking into consideration:
(b)
If the design standards have been revised by
ordinance, such revised standards may govern.
A.
Minor site plan approval shall be deemed to be final
approval of the site plan by the board, provided that the board may
condition such approval upon terms insuring the provisions of improvements
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-38, 40:55D-39, 40:55D-41, and 40:55D-53.
B.
The zoning requirements and general terms and conditions,
whether conditional or otherwise, upon which minor site plan approval
was granted shall not be changed for a period of two years after the
date of minor site plan approval.
A.
The reviewing board shall grant final approval if
the detailed drawings, specifications and estimates of the application
for final approval conform to the standards established by ordinance
for final approval and the conditions of preliminary approval; provided
that in the case of a planned development, if and when permitted,
the reviewing body may permit minimal deviations from the conditions
of preliminary approval necessitated by change of conditions beyond
the control of the developer since the date of preliminary approval
without the developer being required to submit another application
for development for preliminary approval.
B.
Final approval shall be granted or denied within 45
days after submission of a complete application to the secretary of
the reviewing board, or within such further time as may be consented
to by the applicant. Failure of the reviewing board to act within
the period prescribed shall constitute final approval of the application
for final approval as submitted. A certificate of the secretary of
the reviewing board as to failure of the reviewing board to act shall
be issued on request of the applicant, and shall be sufficient in
lieu of the written endorsement or other required evidence of approval.
C.
A final site plan and supporting drawings and documentation
constitute the complete development of the site plan proposal and
become the basis for the construction of the plan and inspection by
the Township.
D.
A complete application for final approval shall consist
of the following:
E.
The site plan and any engineering or architectural
documents required shall be in final form and accurate for final approval.
F.
The developer may at his option submit a final site
plan in stages to include only a portion of the original preliminary
site plan. Approval of the final site plan for a section shall not
extend the time limit of preliminary approval for the remaining sections.
G.
The appropriate Township body shall insure that any
improvements required for the site plan as a whole, which might have
an adverse effect on an approved section if the remaining sections
were not completed, shall be installed as a condition of approval
for any section. This shall include but not be limited to roads, open
space, recreation, soil and erosion control, landscaping, lighting,
and similar improvements.
A.
Final site plan details are primarily a refinement
of preliminary details by providing final engineering and architectural
information which shall be classified as site plan construction details.
B.
Whereas preliminary site plan data may have been tentative,
the final data shall be accurate. The following data shall be provided
on the final site plan:
A.
The zoning requirements applicable to the preliminary approval first granted and all other rights conferred upon the developer pursuant to § 131-18, whether conditionally or otherwise, shall not be changed for a period of two years after the date of final approval. If the developer has followed the standards prescribed for final approval, the reviewing board may extend such period of protection for extensions of one year but not to exceed three extensions. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the granting of final approval terminates the time period of preliminary approval pursuant to § 131-18 for the section granted final approval.
B.
In the case of a site plan for a planned development of 50 acres or more or conventional site plan for 150 acres or more, the reviewing board may grant the rights referred to in Subsection A of this section for such period of time, longer than two years, as shall be determined by the reviewing board to be reasonable, taking into consideration:
C.
The developer may apply for thereafter, and the reviewing
board may thereafter grant, an extension of final approval for such
additional period of time as shall be determined by the reviewing
board to be reasonable, taking into consideration:
Nothing in this article precludes a developer
from submitting his preliminary and final site plan as one submission,
providing all requirements of the final site plan shall be adhered
to.
The developer shall undertake construction in
compliance with the approved final site plan. He shall not deviate
from that plan without prior approval of the appropriate Township
body, which may require such additional fees as may be necessary.
