Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23,
the Borough of Franklin Lakes Planning Board shall be comprised of
nine members consisting of the following four classes:
A. Class I: the Mayor or the Mayor's designee.
B. Class II: one of the officials of the municipality,
other than a member of the governing body, to be appointed by the
Mayor, provided that if there is an Environmental Commission, the
member of the Environmental Commission who is also a member of the
Planning Board as required by N.J.S.A. 40:56A-1 shall be deemed to
be the Class II Planning Board member for purposes of this Act in
the event that there be among the Class IV or alternate members of
the Planning Board both a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment
and a member of the Board of Education.
C. Class III: a member of the Borough Council, appointed
by the Council.
D. Class IV: six other citizens of the municipality, to be appointed by the Mayor. The members of Class IV shall hold no other municipal office, except that one such member may be a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment or Historic Preservation Commission. A member of the Environmental Commission who is also a member of the Planning Board as required by N.J.S.A. 40:56A-1 shall be a Class IV Planning Board member, unless there be amongst the Class IV or alternate members both a member of the Zoning Board or Historic Preservation Commission and a member of the Board of Education, in which case the member common to the Planning Board and Environmental Commission shall be deemed a Class II member. Two Class IV members shall be appointed as alternates. See §
300-9.
If a vacancy in any class shall occur otherwise
than by expiration of term, it shall be filled by appointment as above
provided for the unexpired term.
Any member other than a Class I member, after
a public hearing if he/she requests one, may be removed by the Council
for cause.
The Planning Board shall elect a Chairman and
Vice Chairman from the members of Class IV and select a Clerk who
may be either a member of the Planning Board or a municipal employee
designated by it.
The Planning Board is authorized to adopt bylaws
governing its procedural operation. It shall also have the following
powers and duties:
A. To make and adopt and from time to time amend a Master
Plan for the physical development of the Borough, including any areas
outside its boundaries which, in the Board's judgment, bear essential
relation to the planning of the Borough, in accordance with the provisions
of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-28.
B. To approve conditional use applications as authorized
by state statute.
C. To administer the provisions of this chapter in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter and the Municipal Land Use Law
of 1975, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
D. To participate in the preparation and review of programs
or plans required by state or federal law or regulations.
E. To assemble data on a continuing basis as part of
a continuing planning process.
F. To review and make recommendations to the Council
on the Official Map of the Borough pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-32
and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-26.
G. To annually prepare a program of municipal capital
improvement projects over a term of six years, and amendments thereto,
and recommend same to the governing body.
H. To consider and make report to the governing body
within 35 days after referral as to any proposed development regulation
submitted to it pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-26a,
and also pass upon other matters specifically referred to the Planning
Board by the Borough Council pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A.
40:55D-26b.
I. When reviewing applications for approval of subdivision
plats, site plans or conditional uses, to grant, to the same extent
and subject to the same restrictions as the Zoning Board of Adjustment:
(1) A variance pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c.
(2) Direct the issuance of a permit for a building or
structure either not related to a street (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36) or in
the bed of a mapped street or public drainage way, flood control basin
or public area reserved on the Official Map (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-32).
(3) Whenever relief is requested pursuant to this subsection,
notice of a hearing on the application for development shall include
reference to the request for a variance or direction for issuance
of a permit as the case may be.
J. To perform such other advisory duties as are assigned
to it by ordinance or resolution of the governing body or other agencies
or officers.
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.
The Planning Board may employ, or contract for,
and fix the compensation of legal counsel, experts and other staff
and services as it may deem necessary. The Board shall not, however,
exceed, exclusive of grants, the amount appropriated by the governing
body for its use.
[Added 3-19-2019 by Ord.
No. 1771]
A. Intent. The intent of this section is to reduce the cost and time
usually associated with the development review process for certain
applications, to encourage economic growth, and to streamline smaller
commercial development applications.
B. Site Plan Waiver Committee. The Chairman of the Planning Board shall
appoint a Site Plan Waiver Committee. The Committee shall consist
of three regular or alternate Planning Board members. Three members
shall be considered a quorum of the Committee. The Chairman or, in
the Chairman's absence, the Vice Chairman shall be an ex officio member
of the Committee. The Committee shall review all site plan waiver
applications and may, by unanimous vote, waive site plan approval.
The Planning Board Chairman shall designate one member of the Committee
as the Committee's Chairman and another member as the Committee's
Vice Chairman. The Committee shall be advisory to the Planning Board
and shall not be itself a public body; its meetings shall not be public
meetings even if open to the public; and its actions shall not be
subject to a right of appeal to the Planning Board or Mayor and Council.
C. Site plan waiver procedure.
(1)
Submission requirements. The applicant shall submit six copies
of the fully completed site plan waiver application form with required
attachments. The Committee may require additional documentation or
information as deemed necessary to properly evaluate the application.
The applicant may at any time withdraw a waiver request and proceed
with a site plan application.
(2)
Committee review. The Committee will review the application,
and the applicant or the applicant's representative shall be present
unless waived by the Committee. The Committee shall render its decision
within 30 days from the date of submission of a complete application.
(3)
Board professional review. The Committee Chairman or the Committee
may refer any application to Board professionals for review and comments,
and the applicant shall provide such additional documentation or information
as may be requested by Board professionals. Any Board professional
reviewing an application shall provide a written report to the Committee.
If an additional escrow amount is required for Board professional
review, the applicant shall deposit the additional amount, or the
Committee may administratively deny the application.
(4)
Committee action. If the Committee unanimously approves the
waiver, with at least three members of the Committee voting, no further
review by the Planning Board shall be required, and the Committee
shall merely report such approval to the full Board. If the vote by
the Committee is not unanimous, the site plan waiver shall be deemed
to be denied, and the applicant may then proceed before the Planning
Board with an application for site plan approval.
(5)
Reopening and reconsideration. By submitting a request for a
site plan waiver and accepting a waiver, the applicant shall be deemed
to have consented to allowing the Planning Board to reopen and reconsider
the approval of a waiver at any time if the Board determines there
to have been substantial misrepresentation, fraud or other misconduct
by or on behalf of the applicant.
D. Eligibility; standards for waivers. The Committee may waive full site plan review where there is a change in use or occupancy and only de minimis building construction or site improvements. For purposes of this section, construction or removal of 1,000 square feet or less of gross floor area, construction, removal or relocation of five parking spaces, creation of pickup or delivery locations pursuant to §
300-72, or 2,000 square feet of additional lot coverage may be considered as de minimis construction or site improvements. A waiver may only be granted upon a determination that there will be no more than a de minimis effect on stormwater drainage, traffic circulation, landscaping requirements, buffering requirements, lighting, and other considerations of site plan approval. No waiver may be approved if any variance is required or in connection with a conditional use approval.
[Amended 11-23-2021 by Ord. No. 1855]