Any applicant wishing to develop land within the Township of Roxbury shall apply for and obtain the approval of the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Adjustment (if applicable) in accordance with the following procedure.

1. All subdivisions as defined under Article I are subject to the review procedures specified herein.

2. No building permit shall be issued for any new construction or parking lot or for an addition to an existing structure or parking lot and no certificate of occupancy shall be issued for any change of use, occupancy, tenancy, or ownership for an existing structure until the site plan has been reviewed and approved by the Approving Board except that: a) The building permit or certificate of occupancy for a single family detached dwelling unit or a two family dwelling unit shall not require such an approval, provided that the use of an existing or proposed principal or accessory building, or any portion thereof, for "Home Office" defined and permitted as an accessory use in this ordinance shall require a zoning permit prior to the issuance of a construction permit or certificate of occupancy; and provided further that the use of any existing or proposed principal or accessory building, or any portion thereof, for a Home Business in accordance with the conditional use provisions of subsection 13-7.3501 of this Ordinance shall require site plan approval prior to the issuance of a construction permit or certificate of occupancy. The foregoing shall in no way effect the responsibility of the applicant to submit the necessary-information and receive all necessary approvals as may be required pursuant to other ordinances. b) The Zoning Officer and/or Township Planner may waive the requirement of a site plan for a change of use, occupancy, tenancy, or ownership involving a change from one permitted non-residential use to another permitted use within the same category of non-residential uses, subject to the following criteria and procedures:

1. The existing site development meets the requirements of Article VII of this ordinance, or that any pre-existing nonconformity is not increased.

2. The new use, occupancy, tenancy, or ownership does not require an increase of more than three in the number of required parking spaces.

3. There is no intensification of use or other changes which reasonably require site plan review.

4. the Zoning Officer and/or Township Planner may request advice from the planning board attorney regarding the above with a reasonable fee to be charged to the applicant to cover the costs of said review by the planning board attorney. The applicant may elect to file for site plan or subdivision approval simultaneously with the above review process. The site plan or subdivision shall be prepared in accordance with the requirements stipulated in this ordinance.

5. If the Zoning Officer and/or Township Planner determines that the foregoing criteria are satisfied, he/she may issue a change of use permit in lieu of site plan approval.

3. Variance. All applications for variance not related to any site plan subdivision or conditional use approval shall be made to the Zoning Board of Adjustment and shall be filed at least three (3) weeks prior to the date of the hearing. The filing shall be in accordance with the checklists adopted in this ordinance and the applicant shall provide the fees in accordance with this ordinance provision. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act upon the application as required by law.

For the purpose of expediting applications and reducing subdivision and site plan design and development costs, the developer may request a pre-application conference and/or concept plan in accordance with the following requirements:

1. Pre-application Conference a) At the request of the applicant, the planning board shall authorize a pre- application conference. The purpose of this conference is to:

1. Acquaint the applicant with the substantive and procedural requirements of the subdivision and site plan ordinance.

2. Provide for an exchange of information regarding the proposed development plan and applicable elements of the master plan, zoning ordinance and other development requirements.

3. Advise the applicant of any public sources of information that may aid the application.

4. Otherwise identify policies and regulations that create opportunities or pose significant constraints for the proposed development.

5. Review any proposed concept plans and consider opportunities to increase development benefits and mitigate undesirable project consequences.

6. Permit input into the general design of the project. b) The pre-application conference allows the applicant to meet with appropriate municipal representatives. These individuals may include:

1. Municipal Engineer.

2. Municipal Planner.

3. Municipal Construction Officer and Zoning Officer.

4. Representative(s) from the Planning Board and the Board of Adjustment.

5. Representative(s) from Municipal Environmental, Historic Preservation, and other commissions, as deemed appropriate.

6. Subdivision and Site Plan Committee or representative(s) if this committee is established.

7. Any other municipal representative(s) invited by the Planning Board Chairperson. c) Applicants seeking a pre-application conference shall submit the information stipulated in article six of this ordinance fourteen (14) days prior to the pre-application conference, unless waived by the Municipal Planner. d) The applicant shall not be bound by the determination of the preapplication conference nor shall the approving board or subdivision and site plan committee be bound by any such review. e) An applicant seeking a pre-application conference shall pay such fees and deposit funds to escrow for use by the Township as required by Section 13-2.4 fees. Any unused fee will be credited towards fees for review of the application for development.

2. Concept Plan. a) In addition or as an alternative to the pre-application conference, at the request of the applicant, the planning board shall grant an informal review of a concept plan for a development for which the applicant intends to prepare and submit an application for development. The purpose of the concept plan is to provide planning board input in the formative stages of subdivision and site plan design. b) Applicants seeking concept plan informal review shall submit the items stipulated in article six of this ordinance 14 days before the concept plan meeting. These items provide the applicant and planning board with an opportunity to discuss the development proposal in its formative stages. c) An applicant seeking a concept plan review shall pay such fees and deposit funds to escrow for use by the Township as required by Section 13-2.4 fees. Where an applicant for concept plan review has paid the fee for pre-application conference, no additional fee is necessary. The amount of any used fees for concept plan review shall be a credit towards fees for review of the application for development. d) The applicant shall not be bound by any concept plan for which review is requested, nor shall the approving board be bound by any such review. Public notice of the concept plan meeting pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12 shall not be required.

Township Planner may review subdivision plats or site plans and recommend classification to the approving Board as a minor or major subdivision or minor or major site plan and take such other actions as may be deemed appropriate. The approving board shall classify all applications for subdivisions or site plans.

The applicant shall submit eighteen (18) copies of the application together with eighteen (18) legible prints containing all information required by the checklist, with all appropriate fees, at least three (3) weeks before the date of the regular meeting of the approving Board at which application is to be considered.

The secretary of the approving board shall forward copies of the application, or relevant portions thereof, to the following officials for review and comment, where appropriate:

1. Township Engineer

2. Township Planner

3. Morris County Planning Board

4. Zoning Officer

5. Tax Assessor

6. Approving Board Consultants

7. Approving Board Attorney

8. Environmental Commission

9. Historic Advisory Committee

10. Soil Conservation District

In appropriate cases, the approving board shall have the authority to approve a minor subdivision without the necessity of any specific referrals. The approving board shall also have the authority to refer any plat to other agencies or individuals for comment or recommendations.

An application for development in the form that the applicant intends to be a complete application, together with all required fees and deposit for escrow, shall be provided to the Secretary of the Approving Board by the applicant in a single submission. All items on the checklist of requirements shall be submitted with the application unless the applicant submits a written request seeking waiver of the omitted checklist requirements with reasons supporting the proposed completeness waiver. Upon submission of the application for development, the application shall be administratively reviewed and recommendations provided to the approving board by the Municipal Planner or his designee describing the status of completeness of the application. If the Municipal Planner deems the submission to be insufficient to perform his/her administrative review, he/she may require that the applicant resubmit or supplement its application documents. Upon submission of an application deemed by the Municipal Planner to be administratively sufficient, the application shall be filed and assigned a docket number by the Secretary and scheduled for a public hearing to determine completeness within forty-five (45) days of filing. Requests for completeness waivers shall be considered at the time of the completeness hearing.

At the completeness hearing, the approving board shall determine whether the application is complete or incomplete in accordance with the requirements of the checklist and after consideration of any written requests that any one or more of the checklist requirements be waived. If the approving board shall determine that the application is incomplete, the Secretary shall advise the applicant or its attorney, in writing, of the reasons why the application is incomplete within forty-five (45) days of the filing of the application for development. In the event that the approving board does not certify the application to be incomplete or complete within forty-five (45) days of the date of filing of an application for development, the application shall be deemed complete upon the expiration of the forty-five (45) day period for purposes of commencing the applicable time period for approval or denial of the application pursuant to this Ordinance.

In the event that the approving board determines that the application is incomplete, the applicant shall not have to pay a new application fee as long as the incomplete items are submitted within sixty (60) days of the determination of incompleteness. Otherwise, the application process shall begin as in a new filing. Where the board has determined the application is incomplete, an applicant wishing to make supplemental submissions to the original application within the sixty (60) day time period allowed shall make such supplemental submission at one time with all intended supplemental material filed simultaneously. The resubmission shall retain the original application docket number and shall be reviewed administratively and placed on the agenda before the board for a determination of completeness as in the case of a new application, and all procedures for determination of completeness shall be followed as in the case of a new application.

Nothing herein shall be construed as diminishing the applicant's obligation to prove in the application process that he or she is entitled to approval of the application. The approving board may subsequently request the submission of checklist items waived for purposes of application completeness and/or the correction of any material found to be in error. The approving board may require submission of additional information not specified in the ordinance and/or such revisions in the accompanying documents as are reasonably necessary to make an informed decision as to whether the requirements necessary for approval of an application for development have been satisfied. The board shall also have the authority to refer any application plans or documents to other agencies or individuals for comment or recommendations.

The Municipal Planner may, under appropriate circumstances, make a preliminary determination of completeness for the purpose of expediting the designation of a hearing date for the application, provided that any such determination shall be provisional in nature and shall be subject to confirmation by the Board at the public hearing of the application.

The officials and agencies to whom application plans or documents have been forwarded for review pursuant to this section shall forward their comments and recommendations in writing to the approving board prior to the first public hearing of the application.

At the time when the approving board determines that the application is complete and ready for public hearing, the approving board shall set a date for the public hearing and notify the applicant of said date. After such notification by the approving board, the applicant shall follow the procedures established by this Ordinance and the Municipal Land Use Law with respect to the notice of hearing. If no public notice is required, the approving board may directly proceed with the public hearing of the application after determining completeness.

Where, after an application is complete, the applicant proposes changes in the application, or accepts changes suggested by the approving board, the approving board may require the submission of an amended application which shall proceed as in the case of the original application for development, except that additional application/escrow fees and/or completeness review may be waived at the discretion of the approving board. The time within which the approving board shall review the amended application and make its determination shall commence as of the date of the filing of the amended application, or the date the amended application is determined to be complete, if additional completeness review is not waived. If the applicant fails to submit an amended application within the original time for review authorized by this ordinance, the approving board shall be obligated to act on the original application. If, at the discretion of the approving board, the change or changes are considered minor in nature, the applicant may be given approval subject to the submission of an amended plan indicating the changes.

Whenever review or approval of the application by the County Planning Board is required by N.J.S.A. 40:27-6.3, the approving board 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 period.

The approving board shall approve, conditionally approve, or deny a minor subdivision within forty-five (45) days of the determination of the approving board that the application is complete, unless the applicant shall extend the period of time within which the board may act. Failure of the approving board to act within the period of time prescribed shall constitute minor subdivision approval and a certificate of the secretary as to the failure of the approving board to act shall be issued on request of the applicant; and it shall be sufficient in lieu of the written endorsement or other evidence of approval, herein required, and shall be so accepted by the County Recording Officer for purposes of filing minor subdivision plats or deeds.

Approval of a minor subdivision shall expire 190 days from the date on which the resolution of the approval is adopted unless within such period a plat to conformity with such approval and the provisions of the `Map Filing Act' (NJSA 46:23-9.9 et sect ), or a deed clearly describing the approved minor subdivision is filed by the developer with the county recording officer, the municipal engineer and the municipal tax assessor Any such plat or deed accepted for such filing shall have been signed by the Chairperson and Secretary of the approving Board and the Lot Line Revision Fee shall have been paid pursuant to Section 13-2.402A. In reviewing the application for development for a proposed minor subdivision, the approving Board may accept a plat not in conformity with the "Map Filing Act" (NJSA 46:23 9.9 et sect ), provided that, if the development chooses to file the minor subdivision as provided herein by plat rather than deed, any approval shall condition such tiling upon the revision of the plat to conform with the provisions of the said Act.

**Webmasters Note: The previous section 13-3.208 has been amended as per Ord. No. 18-02.

Any lands, lots or parcels resulting from a minor subdivision may not be resubmitted as a minor subdivision for a sixty (60) month period from the date of initial approval as a minor subdivision where the cumulative total will exceed three (3) lots.

Approval of a minor subdivision shall be deemed to be a final approval of the subdivision by the approving board provided that the board may condition such approval on terms ensuring the provision of improvements as may be required pursuant to this Ordinance and/or the Municipal Land Use Law. The zoning requirements and general terms and conditions, whether conditional or otherwise, upon which minor subdivision approval was granted, shall not be changed for a period of two (2) years after the date on which the resolution of minor subdivision approval is adopted; provided that the approved minor subdivision shall have been duly recorded as provided in this section.

The approving Board may extend the 190-day period for filing a minor subdivision plat or deed pursuant to Section 13-3.208 of this Article after developer proves to the reasonable satisfaction of the approving board (1) that the developer was barred or prevented, directly or indirectly, from filing because of delays in obtaining legally required approvals from other governmental or quasi-governmental entities and (2) that the developer applied promptly for and diligently pursued the required approvals. The length of the extension shall be equal to the period of delay caused by the wait for the required approvals, as determined by the approving board. The developer may apply for the extension either before or after what would otherwise be the expiration date.

The approving board may grant an extension of minor subdivision approval for a period determined by the approving Board, but not exceeding one year from what would otherwise be the expiration date, if the developer proves to the reasonable satisfaction of the approving board that the developer was barred or prevented, directly or indirectly, from proceeding with the development because of delays of obtaining legally required approvals from other governmental agencies and that the developer applied promptly for and diligently pursued the required approvals. The developer shall apply for the extension before (1) what would otherwise be the expiration date of minor subdivision approval or (2) the 91st day after the developer receives the first legally required approval from other governmental entities, whichever occurs later.

After the approval of a minor subdivision, copies of the signed plat shall be distributed to the following, where appropriate:

1.Township Clerk

2.Township Engineer

3.Zoning Officer

4.Tax Assessor

5.Secretary to the approving Board

6.Morris County Planning Board

7.Morris County Soil Conservation District

8. Applicant

The applicant shall submit twenty (20) copies of the application together with twenty (20) legible prints containing all information required by the checklist, together with all appropriate fees, at least three weeks before the date of the regular meeting of the approving Board at which the application is to be considered. The Secretary of the approving board shall forward copies of the application, or relevant portions thereof, to the following officials for review and comment, where appropriate:

1. Township Engineer

2. Morris County Planning Board

3.Zoning Officer

4. Tax Assessor

5. Township Planner

6. Approving Board Attorney

7. Approving Board Consultants

8. Environmental Commission

9. Historic Advisory Committee

10. Morris County Soil Conservation District

In appropriate cases the approving board shall have the authority to approve a preliminary major subdivision without the necessity of any specific referrals. The approving board shall also have the authority to refer any application documents to other agencies or individuals for comment or recommendations.