No member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board
of Adjustment shall act on any matter in which he/she has either directly
or indirectly any personal or financial interest. Whenever any such
member shall disqualify himself/herself from acting on a particular
matter, he/she shall not continue to sit with the Board on the hearing
of such matter nor participate in any discussion or decision relating
thereto.
A.
Meetings of both the Planning Board and Zoning Board
of Adjustment shall be scheduled no less often than once a month,
and any meeting so scheduled shall be held as scheduled, unless canceled
for lack of applications for development to process.
B.
Special meetings may be provided for at the call of
the Chairperson or at the request of any two Board members. Such meetings
shall be held on notice to its members and the public in accordance
with all applicable legal requirements.
C.
No action shall be taken at any meeting without a
quorum being present.
D.
All actions shall be taken by majority vote of the
members present, except as otherwise required by any provision of
N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
E.
All regular meetings and all special meetings shall
be open to the public. Notice of all such meetings shall be given
in accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Law,
N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq. To the extent permitted by the Open Public
Meetings Law, and in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9,
an executive session for the purpose of discussing and studying any
matters to come before either Board shall not be deemed a regular
or special meeting, and no actions requiring a vote shall be taken.
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
reasons therefor. The minutes shall thereafter be made available for
public inspection during normal business hours at the office of the
Township 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/her use,
as provided for in the rules of the Board.
A.
Determination of fees. Fees for applications or for the rendering of any service by the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment, or any member of their administrative staffs, which are not otherwise provided by ordinance may be provided for and adopted as part of the rules of the Board, and copies of such rules or of the separate fee schedule shall be available to the public. Fees shall be as set forth in Chapter 80, Fees.
B.
Application charges and escrow deposits. Every application for development shall be accompanied by two separate checks payable to the Township, one for the application charge and the other for the escrow account, in accordance with the schedule set forth in Chapter 80, Fees.
C.
Nonrefundability. The application charge is a nonrefundable
flat fee to cover administrative expenses.
A.
Reimbursement of Township expenses. In addition to the fees set forth in this chapter and Chapter 80, Fees, an applicant shall be responsible for reimbursing the Township for all necessary expenses of professional personnel incurred and paid by the Township to process an application for development before the approving Board, including, without limitation:
(1)
Charges for reviews by professional personnel of applications
and accompanying documents.
(2)
Issuance of reports by professional personnel to the
approving Board setting forth recommendations resulting from the review
of any documents submitted by the applicant.
(3)
Charges for any telephone conference or meeting requested
or initiated by the applicant, his/her attorney or any of his/her
experts.
(4)
Review of documents submitted by the applicant and
issuance of reports relating thereto.
(5)
Review or preparation of easements, developer's agreements,
deeds or the like.
(6)
Preparation for and attendance at special meetings.
(a)
A special meeting shall be defined as any meeting
held at the request of the applicant or approving Board which is not
held during a regularly scheduled approving Board session.
(b)
All meetings, whether regular or special, shall
be in compliance with the Open Public Meetings Law, N.J.S.A. 10-4.6
et seq.
(7)
The preparation of extraordinary or specialized resolutions
of memorialization, including, without limitation, resolutions pertaining
to an application for general development plan approval and an application
concerning which the resolution must contain a summary of more than
two experts testifying on behalf of the applicant in order for the
resolution to contain adequate findings of fact and conclusions based
thereon pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10(c).
(8)
Costs for all hearing transcripts.
B.
Notice to applicant of intent to obtain additional
expert advice. The approving Board shall give prior notice to the
applicant of its intention to obtain additional expert advice or testimony
and afford the applicant an opportunity to be heard as to the necessity
for such additional advice or testimony and the definition of the
limitations on the nature and extent thereof.
C.
Exceptions. No applicant shall be responsible to reimburse
the Township for any of the following:
(1)
The cost of attendance, advice and/or testimony of
any expert testifying at a regularly scheduled meeting of the approving
Board in his/her capacity as a full-time Township employee; provided,
however, that the Township shall be entitled to be reimbursed for
attendance of its professional personnel at special meetings of the
approving Board which are called at the applicant's request. Nothing
contained herein shall be construed as requiring the approving Board
to grant an applicant's request to hold a special meeting.
D.
"Professional" defined. The term "professional personnel"
or "professional services," as used herein, shall include the services
of a duly licensed engineer, surveyor, planner, attorney, realtor,
appraiser, certified shorthand reporter or other experts required
by the approving Board who would provide professional services to
ensure an application complies with the standards set forth in this
Code and other experts whose testimony is in an area testified to
by any of the applicant's experts.
E.
Escrow accounts.
(1)
Each applicant, prior to the application being ruled complete pursuant to the provisions of the Municipal Land Use Act, shall submit the sum(s) to be held in escrow in accordance as set forth in Chapter 80, Fees, of this Code.
(2)
The sums hereinabove set forth are estimates and,
during its review of an application for development, the approving
Board may determine that such sums are sufficient, excessive or insufficient,
based upon the following criteria:
(a)
The presence or absence of public water and/or
sewer servicing the site.
(b)
Environmental considerations, including, without
limitation, geological, hydrological and ecological factors.
(c)
Traffic impact of the proposed development.
(d)
Impact of the proposed development on existing
aquifer and/or water quality.
(e)
Impact on improvements which might require off-tract
or off-site contributions.
(3)
All applicants shall be required to submit escrow deposits with their application. At the time of filing its application for development, the applicant shall execute an escrow agreement containing the terms set forth herein. In the event that the approving Board shall determine such amount is excessive, upon the prior written request of the applicant and by resolution it shall specify the amount that shall be deemed sufficient, including a specification, if appropriate, that no escrow be posted, and the excess of the escrowed amount over the amount so determined shall be refunded to the applicant, together with such interest as allowed by Subsection F(2) below. In the event the approving Board shall determine the amount specified above is insufficient or, in the event the escrow has been depleted, it shall, by resolution, so specify and shall further set forth the additional amount required to be posted in light of the criteria specified herein. Such additional amount shall be paid by the applicant prior to advancing to the next step in the approval procedure.
(4)
The administrative officer shall determine the status
of all escrow accounts. Where additional funds are required, it shall
be the obligation of the administrative officer to so notify the applicant
of the amounts needed.
F.
Refund of escrow; interest.
(1)
If the amount of the deposit exceeds the actual cost as approved for payment by the Township Council, the developer shall be entitled to a return of the excess deposit, together with such interest as allowed by Subsection F(2) herein.
(2)
Deposits received from a developer pursuant to this
subsection shall be deposited in a banking institution or savings
and loan association in this state insured by an agency of the federal
government, or in any other fund or depository approved for such deposits
by the state, in an account bearing interest at no less than the minimum
rate currently paid by the institution on deposits on time or savings
deposits. The Township shall notify the applicant, in writing, of
the name and address of the institution or depository in which the
deposit is made and the amount of the deposits. The Township shall
not be required to refund any amount of interest paid on a deposit
which does not exceed $100 for the year. If the amount of interest
exceeds $100, that entire amount shall belong to the applicant and
shall be refunded to him/her by the Township annually, or at the time
the deposit is repaid, or applied to the purposes for which it was
deposited, as the case may be, except that the Township may retain
for administrative expenses a sum equivalent to no more than 33 1/3%
of the accrued interest on the escrow amount, which shall be for custodial
administrative expenses.
G.
Rate of professional charges.
(1)
No professional personnel submitting charges to the
Township for any of the services referred to in this subsection shall
charge for any of such services at any higher rate or in any different
manner than would normally be charged the Township for similar work
as determined by the professional's contract of employment with the
Township or by provisions of the Township's Salary Ordinance. Payment
of any bill rendered by a professional to the Township in respect
to any service for which the Township is entitled to reimbursement
under this subsection shall in no way be contingent upon receipt of
reimbursement by a developer, nor shall any payment to a professional
be delayed pending reimbursement from a developer.
(2)
The Township may charge for the services of any Township
employee rendering expert advice for the benefit of an applicant when
the employee is required to attend special meetings, as defined herein,
during nonbusiness hours, as well as services rendered beyond the
scope of the employee's regularly defined duties.
H.
Payment of all reimbursable costs prior to final approval
or issuance of any permit or certificate. No subdivision plat or deed
or site plan shall be signed, nor shall any zoning permits, building
permits, certificates of occupancy or any other types of permits be
issued with respect to any approved application for development until:
(1)
All bills for reimbursable services have been received
by the Township from professional personnel rendering services in
connection with such application.
(2)
Payment of such bills has been approved by the Township
Council.
(3)
The applicant has reimbursed the Township the excess
of such bills over the escrowed amount otherwise herein provided for.
A.
Rules. The Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment
may make rules governing the conduct of hearings before such bodies,
which rules shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A.
40:55D-1 et seq. or of this chapter.
B.
Oaths. The officer presiding at the hearing, or such
person as he/she may designate, shall have power to administer the
oaths and issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and
the production of relevant evidence, including witnesses and documents
presented by the parties, and the provisions of the County and Municipal
Investigations Law, N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1 et seq., shall apply.
C.
Testimony. The testimony of all witnesses relating
to an application for development shall be taken under oath or affirmation
by the presiding officer and the right of cross-examination shall
be permitted to all interested parties through their attorneys, if
represented, or directly, if not represented, subject to the discretion
of the presiding officer and to reasonable limitations as to time
and number of witnesses.
D.
Evidence. Technical rules of evidence shall not be
applicable to the hearing, but the Board may exclude irrelevant, immaterial
or unduly repetitious evidence.
E.
Records. Each Board shall provide for the verbatim
recording of the proceedings by either stenographer or by mechanical
or electronic means. The Board shall furnish a transcript, or duplicate
recording in lieu thereof, on request to any interested party, at
his/her expense.
F.
Absences; eligibility to vote. When any hearing shall
carry over two or more times, a member of the Board who was absent
for one or more of the meetings shall be eligible to vote on the matter,
provided that that member has available to him/her a transcript or
recording of the meeting or meetings from which he/she was absent
and certifies, in writing, to the Board that he/she has read the transcript
or listened to the recording.
Whenever a hearing shall be required on an application
for development, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., the applicant
shall give notice thereof as follows:
A.
By publication in the official newspaper of the Township
at least 10 days prior to the date of hearing.
B.
Notice shall be given to the owners of all real property,
as shown on the current tax duplicate, located within 200 feet in
all directions of the property which is the subject of such hearing;
and whether located within or without the Township. Notice shall be
given by serving a copy thereof on the owner, as shown on the current
tax duplicate, or his/her agent in charge of the property, or mailing
a copy thereof by certified mail to the property owner at his/her
address, as shown on the current tax duplicate. A return receipt shall
not be required. Notice shall be deemed complete upon mailing. Notice
to a partnership owner may be made by service upon any partner. Notice
to a corporate owner may be made by service upon its president, a
vice president, secretary or other person authorized by appointment
or by law to accept service on behalf of the corporation. Notice to
a condominium association, horizontal property regime, community trust
or homeowners' association, because of its ownership of common elements
or areas located within 200 feet of the property which is the subject
of the hearing, may be made in the same manner as to a corporation
without further notice to unit owners, co-owners or homeowners on
account of such common elements or areas.
C.
Notice of all hearings on applications for development involving property located within 200 feet of an adjoining municipality shall be given to the Clerk of that municipality, which notice shall be in addition to the notice required to be given, pursuant to Subsection B of this section, to the owners of lands in such adjoining municipality which are located within 200 feet of the subject premises.
D.
Notice shall be given to the County Planning Board
of a hearing on an application for development of property adjacent
to an existing county road or proposed road shown on the official
County Map or on the County Master Plan, adjoining other county land
or situate within 200 feet of a municipal boundary.
E.
Notice shall be given to the Commissioner of Transportation
of a hearing on an application for development of property adjacent
to a state highway.
F.
Notice shall be given to the Director of the Office
of State Planning in the Department of Treasury of a hearing on an
application for development of property which exceeds 150 acres or
500 dwelling units. Such notice shall include a copy of any maps or
documents required to be on file with the Clerk pursuant to N.J.S.A.
40:55D-10.
G.
All notices hereinabove specified in this section
shall be given at least 10 days prior to the date fixed for hearing,
and the applicant shall file an affidavit of proof of service with
the Board holding the hearing on the application for development.
H.
All notices required to be given, pursuant to the
terms in this section, shall state the date, time and place of the
hearing, the nature of the matters to be considered and identification
of the property proposed for development by street address, if any,
or by reference to lot and block numbers, as shown on the current
tax duplicate in the Township Tax Assessor's office, and the location
and times at which any maps and documents for which approval is sought
are available, as required by law.
I.
Any notice made by certified mail shall be deemed
to be complete upon mailing, in accordance with the provisions of
N.J.S.A. 40:55 D-14.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12c, the administrative officer, within seven days of receipt of a request therefor and upon receipt of payment of a fee as specified in Chapter 80, Fees, shall provide a list certified by the Tax Assessor from the current tax duplicate of names and addresses of owners in the Township to whom the applicant is required to give notice, pursuant to § 125-31.
A.
Findings of fact and conclusions. The Board shall include findings of fact and conclusions based thereon in each decision on any application for development, and shall reduce the decision to writing. Failure of a motion to receive the number of votes required to approve an application for development pursuant to the exceptional vote requirements of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-34 or § 125-20A(4) of this chapter shall be deemed an action denying the application. The Board shall provide the findings and conclusions through:
(1)
A resolution adopted at a meeting held within the
time period provided in the Municipal Land Use Act for action by the
Board on the application for development; or
(2)
A memorializing resolution adopted at a meeting held
not later than 45 days after the date of the meeting at which the
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 a majority of such members present at the meeting
at which the resolution is presented for adoption shall be sufficient
to adopt the resolution. An action pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9,
resulting from the failure of a motion to approve an application,
shall be memorialized by resolution as provided above, with those
members voting against the motion for approval being the members eligible
to vote on the memorializing resolution. The vote on any such resolution
shall be deemed to be a memorialization of the action of the Board
and not to be an action of the Board. However, the date of the adoption
of the resolution shall constitute the date of the decision for purposes
of the mailings, filings and publication required by Paragraphs h
and i of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.
B.
Conditional decisions; County Planning Board approval.
Where required by law, N.J.S.A. 40:27-6.6, the application shall be
submitted to the County Planning Board for review or approval, and
in such cases the Township Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment
shall condition any approval that each grants upon timely receipt
of a favorable report from the County Planning Board or upon the County
Planning Board's failure to report within the required time period.
Decisions may also be conditioned on approval by other governmental
agencies.
C.
Mailing. 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/her attorney, without separate charge.
A copy of the decision shall also be mailed to all persons who request
it and who have paid the prescribed fee. A copy of the decision shall
also be filed in the office of the administrative officer, who shall
make a copy of such filed decision available for public inspection
during his/her office hours and a copy available to any interested
party upon payment of a fee, calculated in the same manner as those
established for copies of the other public documents in the Township.
D.
Publication. A brief notice of every final decision
on an application for a variance or development shall be published
in the official newspaper of the Township. Such publication shall
be arranged by and be the responsibility of the applicant. Notice
shall be sent to the official newspaper for publication within 10
days of the date of any such decision. The applicant shall file an
affidavit of publication with the Board making the decision on the
application for development.
E.
Time for appeal. The period of time in which an appeal
of the decision may be made shall run from the date of publication
of the decision.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-39
and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-65, every application for development submitted
to the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be accompanied
by proof that no taxes or assessments for local improvements are due
or delinquent on the property which is the subject of such application;
or if it is shown that taxes or assessments are delinquent on the
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 shall be adequately protected.
Immediately upon adoption of this chapter, the
Township Clerk shall file a copy with the County Planning Board, as
required by law. The Clerk shall also file with the County Planning
Board copies of all other Township land use ordinances.
Any variance hereafter granted by the Zoning
Board of Adjustment or the Planning Board, 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 have been actually commenced on each and every
structure permitted by the variance, or unless such permitted use
has actually been commenced, within one year from the date of entry
of the approval of the variance, except 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 Zoning Board of Adjustment to the
Council, or to a court of competent jurisdiction, until the termination
in any manner of such appeal or proceeding.
A.
Authority. This section is adopted pursuant to the
authority granted the Township under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.3.
B.
Applicability. This checklist shall apply to all applications
for development in all zones within the Township.
C.
Determination of completeness no bearing on merits.
A determination of completeness, pursuant to the terms and conditions
hereof, is in no way to be interpreted or understood as an evaluation
of the adequacy or acceptability of the information submitted, and
shall not be construed as diminishing the applicant's obligation to
prove in the application process that he/she is entitled to approval
of the application.
D.
Additional information. The approving Board may subsequently
require correction of any information found to be in error and submission
of any additional information not specified in this chapter or any
other ordinance of the Township, or any revisions thereof, as is or
may be reasonably necessary to make an informed decision as to whether
the requirements necessary for approval of the application for development
have been met.
E.
Checklist. For the purposes of determining that an application for any development within the Township is complete, pursuant to the terms of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.3, an applicant shall be required to furnish the following information, documents and fees:
(1)
A completed application form, as supplied by the Secretary
of the appropriate Board, containing full and complete responses and
answers to all requirements and questions contained thereon.
(2)
All required fees and charges pursuant to a schedule
of fees to be supplied the applicant by the Secretary of the appropriate
Board.
(3)
Certificate of Tax Collector that taxes have been
paid.
(4)
An appropriate sketch plat, subdivision map or site
plan, prepared in accordance with the terms and conditions of the
appropriate Township ordinances, as follows:
(a)
Preliminary and final minor and major subdivisions. Any application for a minor subdivision or a major subdivision, either preliminary or final, presented to either the Zoning Board of Adjustment or the Planning Board, shall comply with all of the terms and conditions of Chapter 220, Subdivision of Land, of this Code and subsequent amendments thereto, and, if necessary, all of the terms and conditions of Chapter 216, Streets and Sidewalks, and all of the terms and conditions of any other applicable ordinance of the Township.
(b)
Preliminary and final site plans. Any application for a preliminary or final site plan, presented to either the Zoning Board of Adjustment or the Planning Board, shall comply with all of the terms and conditions of Chapter 199, Site Plan Review, of this Code, and amendments thereto, and all of the terms and conditions of any other applicable ordinance of the Township.
(c)
Variances, use variances, and conditional uses. All applications for variances, use variances and/or conditional uses shall comply with the various and miscellaneous sections of Chapter 285, Zoning, of this Code, and amendments thereto, as may be required, depending upon the nature of the variance, use variance or conditional use requested, and all of the terms and conditions of any other applicable ordinance of the Township.
(d)
Site plan or plan of survey.
[1]
The site plan or plan of survey shall contain
an area map and shall include the following:
[a]
Lot lines, with dimension.
[b]
Tax block and lot numbers.
[c]
Zoning district.
[d]
Name of road or roads on which the property
fronts.
[e]
Easements, rights-of-way, if any, and zone boundaries.
[f]
Location of streams, if any.
[g]
Location of all existing buildings, if any,
and of proposed structures or changes showing front, rear and side
yard dimensions and distance from buildings to property lines.
[h]
Building area allowed, draw lines showing required
front, rear and side yard setbacks.
[i]
Location, arrangement and dimensions of parking
areas, driveways, patios, etc.
[j]
Names of adjoining property owners.
[k]
Location of all buildings on all adjoining properties,
including setbacks.
[2]
The area map may be copied from the Tax Maps
in the assessment office. It must show the applicant's plot and the
properties within 200 feet in outline, including properties outside
the Township, where necessary. It must indicate lot and block numbers
on each plot within the two-hundred-foot area within or without the
Township.
F.
In addition to any and all of the items as set forth under Subsection E above, each applicant before the Zoning Board of Adjustment or Planning Board is required to comply with all of the submission requirements contained within a document known as the “Township of Washington Land Development Checklist,” setting forth 73 separate submission requirements with the corresponding designation as to which items contained on the checklist will be required for proposed development applications dependent upon the following designation: Development Review Committee (DCR) Concept Plan; minor subdivision; major subdivision; minor site plan; major site plan; site plan waiver. The checklist is incorporated within this chapter and section.[1]
[Amended 12-13-2007 by Ord. No. 42-2007]
(1)
The land development checklist must be completed by
each applicant and submitted together with all other items required
for land development applications before the Zoning Board of Adjustment
or Planning Board.
(2)
The Zoning Board of Adjustment and Planning Board
may require an applicant to submit information in addition to that
contained on the checklist depending upon unique conditions that may
exist on each property for which a development application is submitted.
(3)
In addition to the items set forth on the checklist,
any application for development shall be subject to any rule, regulation
or procedure, as adopted, from time to time, by either the Zoning
Board of Adjustment or Planning Board, copies of which shall be supplied
to the applicant along with the application form.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Land Development Checklist is included at the end of this chapter.
Whenever the Environmental Commission has prepared
and submitted to the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment
an index of the natural resources of the Township, the Planning Board
and Zoning Board of Adjustment shall make available to the Environmental
Commission an informational copy of every application for development
submitted to either. Failure of the Planning Board or Zoning Board
of Adjustment to make such informational copy available to the Environmental
Commission shall not invalidate any hearing or proceeding.