§ 200-249. Administrative procedures applicable to both the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment.

A. 

Meetings of municipal agencies.

(1) 

Regular meetings. Every municipal agency shall hold regular meetings at the times and places fixed by its rules. Regular meetings shall be scheduled not less than once a month and shall be held as scheduled unless canceled for lack of applications for development to process.

(2) 

Special meetings. Special meetings may be provided for at the call of the Chair or on the request of any two members, and such shall be held on notice to the members and the public in accordance with legal requirements.

(3) 

Open to public. All regular and special meetings shall be open to the public, and notice thereof shall be given in accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Law, P.L. 1975, c. 231. An executive session for the purpose of discussing and studying any matters to come before the agency shall not be deemed a regular or special meeting within the meaning of the Municipal Land Use Law.

Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.

(4) 

Action at meetings; quorum. No action shall be taken at any meeting without a quorum being present. All actions shall be taken by a majority vote of the members of the municipal agency present at the meeting, except as otherwise provided in this Part 4 and except also that adjournment for lack of a quorum may be by majority vote of those present. Failure of a motion to receive the number of votes required to approve an application for development pursuant to the exceptional vote requirements of § 200-245I(2) of this Part 4 or § 4-68 of Chapter 4, Administration of Government, shall be deemed an action denying the application. A member of a municipal agency who was absent for one or more of the meetings at which a hearing was held shall be eligible to vote on the matter upon which the hearing was conducted, notwithstanding the member's absence from one or more of the meetings; provided, however, that such Board member has available to said member the transcript or recording of all of the hearing from which said member was absent and certifies, in writing, to the Board that said member has read such transcript or listened to such recording.

[Amended 8-13-1984 by Ord. No. 84-24]

(5) 

Minutes. Minutes of every regular or special meeting shall be kept and shall include the names of the persons appearing and addressing the municipal agency and the persons appearing by attorney, the action taken by the agency, 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 administrative officer. Any interested party shall have the right to compel production of the minutes for use as evidence in any legal proceedings concerning the subject matter of such minutes and shall be charged a fee for reproduction of the minutes as provided by Chapter 82, Fees, of this Code.

B. 

Fees for applications or for the rendering of any services by the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment or any member of their administrative staffs shall be as provided by Chapter 82, Fees, of this Code.

C. 

Hearings.

(1) 

Application by corporation or partnership. A corporation or partnership applying to the Planning Board or the Board of Adjustment or to the governing body for permission to subdivide a parcel of land into six or more lots or applying for a variance to construct a multiple dwelling of 25 or more family units or for approval of a site to be used for commercial purposes shall list the names and addresses of all stockholders or individual partners owning at least 10% of its stock of any class or at least 10% of the interest in the partnership, as the case may be.

(2) 

Disclosure of 10% ownership interest of corporation or partnership which is 10% owner of applying corporation or partnership. If a corporation or partnership owns 10% or more of the stock of a corporation or 10% or greater interest in a partnership, subject to disclosure pursuant to Subsection A that corporation or partnership shall list the names and addresses of its stockholders holding 10% or more of its stock or of 10% or greater interest in the partnership, as the case may be, and this requirement shall be followed by every corporate stockholder or partner in a partnership until the names and addresses of the noncorporate stockholders and individual partners exceeding the 10% ownership criterion established in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-48.1 et seq. have been listed.

[Amended 4-19-1999 by Ord. No. 99-07]

(3) 

Disapproval of application. The Planning Board, Board of Adjustment or governing body shall not approve the application of any corporation or partnership which does not comply with Subsection C(1) and (2) of this section.

(4) 

Penalty. Any corporation or partnership which conceals the names of the stockholders owning 10% or more of its stock or of the individual partners owning a 10% or greater interest in the partnership, as the case may be, shall be subject to a fine of $1,000 to $10,000, which shall be recovered in the name of the municipality in any court of record in the State in a summary manner pursuant to the Penalty Enforcement Law (N.J.S.A. 2A:58-1 et seq.).

(5) 

Rules. The Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment shall 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 Part 4.

(6) 

Oaths. The officer presiding at the hearing or such person as the presiding officer may designate shall have the power to administer 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, c. 38, P.L. 1953 (N.J.S.A, 2A:67A-1 et seq.) shall apply.

(7) 

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.

(8) 

Evidence. Technical rules of evidence shall not be applicable to the hearing, but the Board may exclude irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence.

(9) 

Records. Each Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the proceedings by either stenographer, mechanical or electronic means. In all applications for use variance, if the Board does not provide, by regulation, a stenographer, it shall be the obligation of the applicant to provide a stenographer for the purpose of recording the hearing. The Board shall furnish a transcript or duplicate recording in lieu thereof on request to any interested party at his or her expense. A deposit representing an estimate of the cost of said transcript shall be paid prior to its preparation.

[Amended 5-24-1982 by Ord. No. 82-22]

Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III).

D. 

Notice requirements for hearing. Whenever a hearing is required on an application for development pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. or pursuant to the determination of the municipal agency in question, the applicant shall give notice thereof as follows:

(1) 

Public notice shall be given by publication in the official newspaper of the municipality at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing.

(2) 

Notice shall be given to the owners of all real property as shown on the current tax duplicate located in the state and within 200 feet in all directions of the property which is the subject of such hearing, provided that this requirement shall be deemed satisfied by notice to the condominium association, in the case of any unit owner whose unit has a unit above or below it, or horizontal property regime, in the case of any co-owner whose apartment has an apartment above or below it. Notice shall be given by serving a copy thereof on the property owner as shown on the current tax duplicate, or on the agent in charge of the property, or mailing a copy thereof by certified mail to the property owner at the property owner's address as shown on the current tax duplicate.

(3) 

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.

(4) 

Notice of hearings on applications for development involving property located within 200 feet of an adjoining municipality shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the Clerk of such municipality, which notice shall be in addition to the notice required to be given pursuant to Subsection D(2) above to the owners of lands in such adjoining municipality which are located within 200 feet of the subject premises.

(5) 

Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail 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 situated within 200 feet of a municipal boundary.

(6) 

Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the Commissioner of Transportation of a hearing on an application for development of property adjacent to a state highway.

(7) 

Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the Director of the Division of State and Regional Planning in the Department of Community Affairs 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 Municipal Clerk pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10b.

(8) 

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.

(9) 

Any notice made by certified mail as hereinabove required shall be deemed to be complete upon mailing. All notices required to be given pursuant to the terms of this Part 4 shall state the name, time and place of hearing, the nature of the matters to be considered, including a description of any waivers that may be requested by the applicant in accordance with Part 1, Site Plan Review, Part 2, Subdivision, and Part 3 Subdivision and Site Plan Procedures, of this chapter, and identification of the property proposed for development by street address, if any, or by reference to lot and block number as shown on the current tax duplicate in the Municipal Tax Assessor's office and the location and times at which any maps and documents for which approval is sought or available as required by law.

[Amended 8-9-1982 by Ord. No. 82-37]

(10) 

Notice pursuant to Subsections D(3), (4), (5) and (6) above shall not be deemed to be required unless public notice pursuant to Subsections D(1) and (2) above is required.

E. 

List of property owners furnished. The Zoning Officer of the municipality shall within seven days after receipt of a request therefor and upon receipt of payment of a fee as prescribed in Chapter 82, Fees, 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 Subsection D(1) above. The applicant shall be entitled to rely upon the information contained in such list, and failure to give notice to any owner not on the list shall not invalidate any hearing or proceeding.

F. 

Decisions.

[Amended 8-13-1984 by Ord. No. 84-24]

(1) 

The municipal agency shall include findings of fact and conclusions based thereon in each decision on any application for development and shall reduce the decision to writing. The municipal agency shall provide the findings and conclusions through:

(a) 

A resolution adopted at a meeting held within the time period provided in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. for action by the municipal agency on the applications for development.

Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III).

(b) 

A memorializing resolution adopted at a meeting held not later than 45 days after the date of the meeting at which the municipal agency voted to grant or deny approval. Only the members of the municipal agency 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 Subsection A (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 municipal agency and not to be an action of the municipal agency; however, the date of the adoption of the resolution shall constitute the date of the decision for purposes of the mailings, filings and publications required by Subsection F(2) below and Subsection G of this section. If the municipal agency fails to adopt a resolution or memorializing resolution as hereinabove specified, any interested party may apply to the Superior Court in a summary manner for an order compelling the municipal agency to reduce its findings and conclusions to writing within a stated time, and the cost of the application, including attorney's fees, shall be assessed against the municipality.

(2) 

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. A copy of the decision shall also be mailed to all persons who have requested it and who have paid the fee prescribed by the Board for such service. A copy of the decision shall also be filed in the office of the Municipal Clerk, who shall make a copy of such filed decision available to any interested party upon payment of a fee calculated in the some manner as those established for copies of other public documents in the municipality.

G. 

Publication of decision. A brief notice of every final decision shall be published in the official newspaper of the municipality. Such publication shall be arranged by the secretary of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment, as the case may be, without separate charge to the applicant. Such notice shall be sent to the official newspaper for publication within 10 days of the date of any such decision.

H. 

Payment of taxes. Every application for development submitted to the Planning Board or to the 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 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 municipality will be adequately protected.

I. 

Appeals from decisions of a municipal agency on applications for development. The Township Council shall not hear any appeals from the decision of a municipal agency. Any interested party desiring to appeal such decision shall file directly for review by any court of competent jurisdiction according to law and pursuant to the rules of court.

[Added 8-13-1984 by Ord. No. 84-24]

Editor's Note: Original Subsections 22-10.5.11 through 22-10.5.18, which immediately followed this subsection, were deleted by Ord. No. 84-24.