No member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act on any matter in which (s)he has, either directly or indirectly, any personal or financial interest. Whenever any such member shall disqualify himself/herself from acting on a particular matter, (s)he shall so state the reasons for the record. Further, (s)he shall not sit with the Board on the hearing of such matter, nor participate in any discussion or decision relating thereto.

The Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall, by its rules, fix the time and place for holding their regular meetings for business authorized to be conducted by such Board. In addition:

A. Meetings of both the Planning Board and the 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 cancelled for lack of applications to process.

B. Special meetings may be scheduled at the call of the Chairperson or on the request of any two Board members. Such meetings shall be held on notice to all 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, which is defined as a majority of the full authorized membership of the Board.

D. All actions shall be taken by majority vote of a quorum, except as otherwise required by the Municipal Land Use Law and this Code.

E. Regular and special meetings shall be open to the public, except as provided by the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq. Notice of such meetings shall be given in accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act.

Minutes of every meeting or special meeting shall be kept and shall include proofs of notice and service and the names of both the persons appearing and addressing the Board and of the persons appearing by attorney; the action of the Board, if any, and the findings and decisions of the Board, if any, and the reasons therefore. The minutes shall thereafter be made available for public inspection during normal business hours at the office of the Board secretary. 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 reasonable fee for reproduction of the minutes.

A. Fees for the rendering of any service by the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment or any member of their administrative or professional 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, and are set forth in Chapter 91, Fees, of this Code.

B. All application fees are nonrefundable, except the Board may elect in its sole discretion to refund part or all of such application fees based on the stage of the application or the hardship it may cause the applicant.

C. Fees for professional review of any proposed application as required by the Board, such as review by the Board attorney or engineer, shall be billed directly by the appropriate Township office directly to the applicant. No certificate of approval, permit or signed map shall be given to the applicant until all such fees have been paid.

A. Required. The Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Adjustment, as the case may be, shall hold a hearing on each application for development, appeal from a decision of an administrative officer or adoption, revision or amendment of the Master Plan.

B. Rules and regulations. The Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment may adopt and amend rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the Municipal Land Use Law or any ordinance pursuant thereto, for the administration of its functions. Copies of such rules and regulations shall be maintained in the office of the Board secretary and made available to any person upon request and upon payment of the fee set forth in Chapter 91, Fees.

C. Oaths. The officer presiding at the hearing, or such person as (s)he 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 parties, and the provisions of the County and Municipal Investigations Law, N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1 et seq., shall apply.

D. Testimony. The testimony of all witnesses relating to an application for development, or the appeal of a decision of an administrative officer, shall be taken under oath or affirmation. The right of cross-examination shall be permitted to all interested parties, through their attorney, 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.

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

F. Records. Each Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the proceedings by either stenographer, mechanical or electronic means. Each Board shall furnish a transcript, or duplicate recording in lieu thereof, upon the request of any interested party at the expense of the interested party. The transcript shall be certified, in writing, by the transcriber to be accurate.

Notice pursuant to Subsections A through F of this section shall be given by the applicant at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing.

A. Notice required; exceptions.

(1) Public notice of a hearing on an application for development or appeal of a decision of an administrative officer shall be given, except for:

(a) Minor site plan review.

(b) Minor subdivision approval.

(c) Final approval of major subdivisions and site plans.

(2) Public notice shall also be given in the event that relief is requested pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-60 or 40:55D-76 as part of an application for development otherwise excepted from public notice. Public notice shall be given by publication in the official newspaper of the Township.

B. To adjacent property owners.

(1) Notice of a hearing requiring public notice pursuant to Subsection A of this section shall be given to all owners of real property, as shown on the current tax duplicates, 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:

(a) Serving a copy thereof on the property owner, as shown on the current tax duplicate, or his/her agent in charge of the property; or

(b) Mailing a copy thereof by certified mail to the property owner at his/her address, as shown on the current tax duplicate.

(2) Notice to 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. To other municipalities. Notice of hearings on applications for development or appeal of a decision of an administrative officer 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. The applicant shall also obtain from the administrative officer of such adjoining municipality responsible for the preparation of such lists a certified list, from current tax duplicates, of all names and addresses of owners within 200 feet of the property which is the subject of the hearing.

D. To County Planning Board. 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 2,000 feet of a municipal boundary.

E. To Commissioner of Transportation. 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.

F. To State Planning Commission. Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the State Planning Commission of a hearing on an application for development of property which exceeds 150 acres or 500 dwelling units. The notice shall include a copy of any maps or documents required to be on file with the Township Clerk pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.

G. Proof of service. The applicant shall file an affidavit of proof of service with the Board holding the hearing on the application for development in the event that the applicant is required to give notice pursuant to this subsection.

H. Contents of notice. All notice required to be given pursuant to the terms of this section shall state the date, time, and place of 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 duplicates in the Township Tax Assessor's office and the location and times during which any maps, applications and other documents for which approval is sought are available for public inspection.

I. Notice by certified mail. Any notice made by certified mail, as hereinabove permitted, shall be deemed complete upon mailing, in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-14.

Upon written request of the applicant, the administrative officer of the Township shall, within seven days, make and certify a list from the current tax duplicates of names and address of owners to whom the applicant is required to give notice pursuant to § 18-29B. The applicant shall be entitled to rely upon the information contained in such lists, and failure to give notice to any owner not on the lists shall not invalidate any hearing or proceeding. A fee, as set forth in Chapter 91, Fees, of this Code, may be charged to the applicant for such list.

A.Board member who was absent from 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 his/her absence from one or more of the meetings provided that such Board member has available to him/her the transcript or recording of all of the hearing from which (s)he was absent and certifies, in writing, to the Board that (s)he has read such transcript or listened to such recording.

A. Conclusions and findings of fact; forms. Each Board shall include findings of fact and conclusions based thereon in each decision on any application for development or appeal of a decision of an administrative officer and shall reduce the decision to writing. Each Board shall provide the findings and conclusions through:

(1) A resolution adopted at a meeting held within the time period provided by statute for action by the Board on the application for development or appeal of a decision of an administrative officer.

(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. The date of the adoption of the resolution shall constitute the date of the decision for the purposes of the mailings, filings and publications required by Subsections B and C of this section. If the Board 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 Board 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 Township.

B. Copies of decisions. A copy of the decision shall be mailed by the Board within 10 days of the date of its decision to the applicant or, if represented, then to the applicant's attorney, without separate charge, and to all who request a copy of the decision, for a reasonable fee. A copy of the decision shall also be filed by the Board in the office of the Township Clerk. The Township Clerk shall make a copy of such filed decision available to any interested party for a reasonable fee and available for public inspection at the Clerk's office during reasonable hours.

C. Publication of decision. A brief notice of the decision shall be published in the official newspaper of the Township, if there is one, or in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township. Such publication shall be arranged by the Board secretary provided that nothing contained herein shall be construed as preventing the applicant from arranging such publication if (s)he so desires. The administrative officer shall charge the fee set forth in Chapter 91, Fees, for such publication. The period of time in which an appeal of the decision may be made shall run from the first publication of the decision, whether arranged by the Township or the applicant.

Upon the conclusion of any matter coming before the Planning Board the Zoning Board of Adjustment or upon appeal to the Township Council, a copy of each application, supporting documentation, minutes of hearings, correspondence, decision and other information relevant to the determination shall be maintained in the office of the Township Clerk for a period of not less than five years. These shall be considered a public record under the Right to Know Law, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.

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 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 the application of development.

[Amended 9-14-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-15]

The Land Use Administrator is hereby designated as the administrative officer of the Planning Board and of the Zoning Board. It shall be the duty of the Land Use Administrator to review all applications from both boards for completeness and to perform all other administrative functions for each board. The Land Use Administrator shall be appointed by the Township Council upon the recommendation of each board. Each board shall have a Secretary who shall attend all meetings and maintain minutes for each board, but all other administrative functions shall be performed by the Land Use Administrator.

[Amended 9-14-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-15]

A. The checklist, adopted by Ordinance No. 1990-7, maintained in the office of the Land Use Administrator and incorporated herein by reference, shall be used by each board in determining the completeness of each application. The Land Use Administrator shall review each application for completeness and report the status of the application to the board. Based on the report of the Land Use Administrator, which may be written or verbal, the board shall decide if the application is complete. If the application is deemed complete by the board, the application can then be reviewed by the board professionals and scheduled for a hearing.