[Amended 2-26-1980 by Ord. No. 80:3]

A. There is hereby established in the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills a Zoning Board of Adjustment consisting of seven regular members, who shall serve for terms of four years from January 1 of the year of their appointment, and two alternate members, who shall be residents of the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills appointed by the Township Council. Alternate members shall be designated at the time of appointment by the authority appointing them as "Alternate No. 1" and "Alternate No. 2."

B. Terms. The terms of the members first appointed under this Act shall be so determined that, to the greatest practicable extent, the expiration of such terms shall be distributed, in the case of regular members, evenly over the first four years after their appointment, and in the case of alternate members, evenly over the first two years after their appointment, provided that the initial terms of no regular member shall exceed four years and that the initial term of no alternate member shall exceed two years. Thereafter, the term of each regular member shall be four years and the term of each alternate member shall be two years. No member may hold any elective office or position under the municipality. No member of the Board of Adjustment shall be permitted to act on any matter in which he has, either directly or indirectly, any personal or financial interest. A member may, after public hearing if he requests it, be removed by the governing body for cause. A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term shall be filled for the unexpired term only.

C. The Board of Adjustment shall elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman from its members and select a Secretary who may or may not be a member of the Board of Adjustment or a municipal employee.

D. Alternate members may participate in discussions of the proceedings but may not vote except in the absence or disqualification of a regular member. A vote shall not be delayed in order that a regular member may vote instead of an alternate member. In the event that a choice must be made as to which alternate member is to vote, Alternate No. 1 shall vote.

A. The Board of Adjustment shall employ or contract for the services of a Board of Adjustment Attorney, other than the Municipal Attorney, and for the services of such other and additional experts, staff and services as it shall deem necessary and appropriate for the performance by it of its duties and functions.

B. The Board of Adjustment may fix the compensation of or agree upon the compensation or other remuneration to be paid to such Attorney, experts and staff. Such amount shall not exceed the amount appropriated by the Township Council for the use of the Board of Adjustment.

The Board shall adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary and appropriate to its functions. 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 Board of Adjustment shall have the power to:

A. Hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that there is error in any order, requirement, decision or refusal made by an administrative officer based on or made in the enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance.

B. Hear and decide, in accordance with the provisions of any such ordinance, requests for interpretation of the Zoning Map or Zoning Ordinance or for decisions upon other special questions upon which such Board is authorized to pass by any zoning or official map ordinance.

C. Grant variances. [Amended 2-26-1980 by Ord. No. 80:3]

(1) Where, by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific piece of property or by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or by reason of other extraordinary and exceptional situation or condition of such piece of property, the strict application of any zoning regulation would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to or exceptional and undue hardship upon the developer of such property, grant, upon an application or an appeal relating to such property, a variance from such strict application of such regulation so as to relieve such difficulties or hardship, including a variance for a conditional use; provided, however, that no variance shall be granted under this section to allow a structure or use in a district restricted against such structure or use; and provided further that the proposed development does not require approval by the Planning Board of a subdivision, site plan or conditional use in conjunction with which the Planning Board shall review a request for a variance.

(2) In particular cases and for special reasons, grant a variance to allow departure from regulations pursuant to Article 9 of the Municipal Land Use Law, including but not limited to allowing a structure or use in a district restricted against such structure or use, but only by affirmative vote of at least five members, in the case of a municipal board, or 2/3 of the full authorized membership, in the case of a regional board, pursuant to Article 10 of the Municipal Land Use Law.

(3) No variance or other relief may be granted under the terms of this section unless such variance or other relief can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and will not substantially impair the intent and the purpose of the zone plan and Zoning Ordinance. An application under this section may be referred to any appropriate person or agency, including the Planning Board, for its report, provided that such reference shall not extend the period of time within which the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act.

D. Direct issuance of a permit for a building or structure in the bed of a mapped street or public drainageway, flood control basin or public area reserved on the Official Map, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the full authorized membership of the Board of Adjustment.

E. Direct issuance of a permit for a building or structure not related to a street, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the full authorized membership of the Board of Adjustment.

F. Grant, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board, subdivision or site plan approval or conditional use approval whenever the proposed development requires approval by the Board of Adjustment of a variance pursuant to Subsection C(2). The developer may elect to submit a separate application requesting approval of the variance and a subsequent application for any required approval of a subdivision, site plan or conditional use. The separate approval of the variance shall be conditioned upon grant of all required subsequent approvals by the Board of Adjustment. No such subsequent approval shall be granted unless such approval can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantial impairment of the intent and purpose of the zone plan and Zoning Ordinance. The number of votes of Board members required to grant any such subsequent approval shall be as otherwise provided for the approval in question, and the special vote pursuant to the aforesaid Subsection C(2) shall not be required. [Amended 2-26-1980 by Ord. No. 80:3]

A. Appeals to the Board of Adjustment may be taken by any interested party affected by any decision of an administrative officer of the municipality based on or made in the enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance or Official Map. Such appeal shall be taken within 20 days by filing a notice of appeal with the officer from whom the appeal is taken specifying the grounds of such appeal. The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall immediately transmit to the Board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken. Public notice of hearings on appeals filed pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70a shall be required, and the applicant shall comply with the notice requirements set forth in § 225-32B through F below. All notices shall be given at least 10 days prior to the date fixed for hearing, and the applicant shall file affidavits of proof of service and publication with the Board of Adjustment. [Amended 2-26-1980 by Ord. No. 80:3; 8-8-1989 by Ord. No. 89:49]

B. A developer may file an application for development with the Board of Adjustment for action under any of its powers without prior application to an administrative officer.

C. Stay of proceedings by appeal; exception. An appeal to the Board of Adjustment shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action in respect to which the decision appealed from was made, unless the officer from whose action the appeal is taken certifies to the Board of Adjustment, after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with him, that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed other than by an order of the Superior Court upon notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.

D. No application shall be deemed complete unless, in addition to any other requirements contained in this chapter, the items, information and documentation listed in the applicable checklists at § 225-12B are submitted to the Board, together with the completed checklist(s). The applicant may request, in writing, that one or more of the submission requirements be waived, in which event the Board shall grant or deny the request within 45 days of submission of the written request. An application for development shall be complete for purposes of commencing the applicable time period for action by the Board, when so certified by the Board or its authorized committee or designee. [Amended 8-15-2006 by Ord. No. 2006:17]

E. Modification on appeal. The Board of Adjustment may reverse or affirm, wholly or in part, or may modify the action, order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination appealed from and to that end have all the powers of the Zoning Officer from whom the appeal is taken.

**Webmasters Note: The previous section has been amended as per Ordinance No. 2006:17.

[Amended 2-26-1980 by Ord. No. 80:3]

The Board of Adjustment shall render its decision not later than 120 days after the date an appeal is taken from the decision of the Zoning Officer or not later than 120 days after the date of the submission of a completed application for development to the Board. Failure of the Board to render a decision within such one-hundred-twenty-day period or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant shall constitute a decision favorable to the application. In the event that the developer elects to submit separate consecutive applications, the aforesaid provision shall apply to the application for approval of the variance. The period for granting or denying any subsequent approval shall be as otherwise provided in this chapter. Whenever review or approval of the application by the County Planning Board is required in the case of a subdivision or site plan, the Board of Adjustment shall condition any approval that it grants upon timely receipt of a favorable report on the application by the County Planning Board or approval by the County Planning Board by its failure to report thereon within the required time. An application under this article may be referred to any appropriate person or agency, including the Planning Board for its report, provided that such reference shall not extend the period of time within which the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act.

Any relief granted by the Board of Adjustment shall expire unless a building permit or certificate of occupancy shall have been applied for within 180 days from the date of publication of the final decision. The running of the period of limitation shall be tolled from the date of filing an appeal from the decision of the Board of Adjustment to the Township Council or to a court of competent jurisdiction, until termination in any manner of such appeal or proceeding. Nothing herein shall preclude the Board from extending such time for a further period upon application and for good cause shown.

[Amended 4-8-1986 by Ord. No. 86:18]

The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall provide for the verbatim recording of the hearings by either stenographic or mechanical or electronic means. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall furnish a duplicate recording, on request, to any interested party at his expense. The fee for a duplicate recording shall be $50 for proceedings up to and including three hours in length, plus $25 for each additional hour or fraction thereof.

[Amended 10-25-1977]

Upon the filing of an appeal or an application for development, as the case may be, the following fees shall be paid to the Secretary of the Board of Adjustment:

A. Upon the filing of an application for development pursuant to § 225-22B and C(1) of this chapter: [Amended 8-14-1990 by Ord. No. 90:57]

(1) Construction of not more than 400 square feet:

(a) Residential: $60.

(b) Nonresidential: $150.

(c) Escrow fee: $250.

(2) Construction of 400 or more square feet:

(a) Residential: $100.

(b) Nonresidential: $250.

(c) Escrow fee: $500.

B. (Reserved)

C. Upon the filing of an application for development in a case involving an undersized residential lot: a fee of $150.

D. Upon the filing of an application for development involving an undersized commercial lot: a fee of $200.

E. Upon the filing of an appeal pursuant to § 225-22A of this chapter: [Amended 8-14-1990 by Ord. No. 90:57]

(1) Residential: $60.

(2) Nonresidential: $100.

(3) Escrow fee: $250.

F. Upon the filing of an application for a development pursuant to § 225-22C(2) of this chapter: [Amended 6-9-1981 by Ord. No. 81:17; 8-14-1990 by Ord. No. 90:57]

(1) Residential: $300.

(2) Nonresidential: $300.

(3) Escrow fee: $500.

G. (Reserved)

H. In cases where the applicant seeks multiple variances, only one fee will be required, which will be the highest fee for any one type of relief requested.

I. Upon the filing of an application for development involving subdivision or site plan approval, the applicant shall, in addition, pay the applicable fees contained in § 225-17.

J. (Reserved)

K. For a building permit request which is in conflict with the Official Map: [Added 8-14-1990 by Ord. No. 90:57]

(1) Residential: $75.

(2) Nonresidential: $150.

(3) Escrow fee: $250.

L. Concept plan: $250. The escrow fee shall be $500. [Added 8-14-1990 by Ord. No. 90:57]

**Webmasters Note: Subsection M. has been repealed as per Ordinance No. 2005:19.