The Zoning Board of Adjustment previously established is hereby continued pursuant to the Municipal Land Use Law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69, et. seq.).

A. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall consist of seven (7) residents of the City of Plainfield appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of City Council.

B. The Mayor shall also appoint two (2) alternate members with the advice and consent of the City Council. Alternate members shall be designated at the time of appointment as "Alternate No. 1" and "Alternate No. 2." Alternate members may participate in discussions of the Board proceedings but may not vote except in the absence or disqualification of a regular Board 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 term of each Board member shall be four (4) years.

B. The term of each alternate member shall be two (2) years, except that the terms of the alternate members shall be such that the term of not more than one (1) alternate member shall expire in any one year.

C. Nothing herein shall affect the term of any member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment at the time of adoption of this ordinance, all of whom shall continue in office until the completion of the terms for which they were appointed.

D. All terms shall run from January 1 of the year in which the appointment is made.

A.vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term, shall be filled for the unexpired term only.

No member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment may hold any elective office or position under the City. No member of the Board shall be permitted to act on any matter in which said member has, either directly or indirectly, any personal or financial interest. Whenever any such member shall disqualify himself from acting on a particular matter, said member shall not continue to sit with the Board on the hearing of such matter and shall not participate in any discussion or decision relating thereto as a member of the Board. Any member of the Board, after a public hearing if requested by said member, may be removed by the City Council for cause.

If the Zoning Board of Adjustment lacks a quorum because any of its regular or alternate members is prohibited by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23 or N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23.1 from acting on a matter due to the member's personal or financial interests therein, Class IV members of the Planning Board shall be called upon to serve, for that matter only, as temporary members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The Class IV members of the Planning Board shall be called in order of seniority of continuous service to the Planning Board until there are the minimum number of members necessary to constitute a quorum to act upon the matter without any personal or financial interest therein, whether direct or indirect. If a choice has to be made between Class IV members of equal seniority, the chair of the Planning Board shall make the choice.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall elect a chair and vice-chair from the members, and select a Secretary who may be a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment or a City employee designated by it, and create and fill such other offices as established by ordinance at an annual reorganization meeting in January of each year.

A. There is hereby created the office of Zoning Board of Adjustment Attorney. The Zoning Board of Adjustment may annually appoint, fix the compensation of or agree upon the rate of compensation of the Zoning Board of Adjustment Attorney. Such compensation shall be within the appropriation made by the City Council. The Board Attorney shall not be the City Attorney or the Planning Board Attorney.

B. The Zoning Board of Adjustment may employ or contract for the services of licensed planning consultants, a licensed engineer, and other staff and services as it may deem necessary, not exceeding, exclusive of gifts, grants, or professional fees, the amount appropriated by the City Council for its use.

The Zoning 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 requests for interpretation of the zoning map or ordinance or for decisions upon other special questions upon which such board is authorized to pass by any zoning or official map ordinance in accordance with this act;

C. Grant, upon an application or an appeal relating to a specific piece of property, variances from the strict application of any regulation pursuant to Articles IX of this ordinance:

1. Where exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific piece of property, or (b) exceptional topographic conditions or physical features uniquely affecting a specific piece of property, or (c) an extraordinary and exceptional situation uniquely affecting a specific piece of property or the structures lawfully existing thereon results in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to, or exceptional and undue hardship upon the developer of such property.

2. Where the purposes of the Municipal Land Use Law would be advanced by a deviation from the zoning ordinance requirements and the benefits of the deviation substantially outweigh any detriment. No "c" variance shall be granted for variances enumerated in Section D below and the fact that a proposed use is an inherently beneficial use shall not be dispositive of a decision for a variance under this Section.

D. Grant variance to allow departure from regulations pursuant to Article IX of this ordinance in particular cases and for special reasons, to permit:

1. A use or principal structure in a district restricted against such use or principal structure;

2. An expansion of a non-conforming use;

3. An increase in the permitted floor area ratio as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4;

4. An increase in the permitted density as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4 except as applied to the required lot area for a lot or lots for detached one or two dwelling unit buildings which lot or lots are either an isolated undersized lot or lots resulting from a minor subdivision;

5. An increase in height of a principal structure which exceeds by ten feet or 10% the maximum height permitted in the zone district for a principal structure.

6. A "d" variance shall be granted only by affirmative vote of at least five (5) members.

E. No variance or other relief may be granted unless such variance or other relief can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and will not substantially impair the intent and purpose of the zone plan, zoning ordinance, and master plan.

A. If the Zoning Board of Adjustment has primary jurisdiction of an application based on the powers set forth above, then the Board shall also have the power to:

1. Direct issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-34, for a building or structure in the bed of a mapped street or public drainage way, flood control basin or public area reserved pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-32; or

2. Direct issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36 for a building or structure not related to a street.

B. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall have the power to grant to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board, subdivision or site plan approval pursuant to Article VIII of this ordinance or conditional use approval pursuant to N.J.S.A. 46:55D-67 whenever the proposed development requires approval by the Zoning Board of Adjustment of a variance pursuant to Section d. of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70. 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 or site plan. 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.

C. The number of votes of board members required to grant any such subsequent approval shall be as otherwise provided in this ordinance for the approval in question and the special vote pursuant to the aforesaid Section d. of N.J.S.A. 40:55D- 70 shall not be required.

A. Appeals to the Zoning Board of Adjustment may be taken by any interested party aggrieved by any decision of the Administrative Officer based on or made in the enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance or Official Map. Such appeal shall be taken within twenty (20) days of the date of the written decision of the Administrative Officer by filing a notice of appeal with the board secretary and Administrative Officer specifying the grounds of such appeal. The Administrative Officer shall immediately transmit to the board secretary all of the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from is taken. The Board secretary shall schedule the appeal for the next scheduled Board meeting provided that the date of the filing is not less than ten days prior to the next scheduled Board meeting. If the appeal filing date is less than ten days from the next Board meeting, the appeal shall be scheduled for the following Board meeting.

B. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall render a decision no later than one hundred and twenty (120) days or such time as consented to by the applicant from the date the appeal of the decision of the Administrative Officer is filed. The Board may reverse or affirm, in whole 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 Administrative Officer from whom the appeal is taken.

C. Failure of the Zoning Board of Adjustment to render a decision within the one hundred and twenty (120) day period or within such time period as may be consented to by the applicant shall constitute a decision favorable to the applicant.

An appeal to the Zoning 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 Zoning Board of Adjustment, after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with him/her, that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in his/her 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.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall, at least once a year, review its decisions on applications and appeals for variances and prepare and adopt by resolution a report of its findings on zoning ordinance provisions which were the subject of variance requests and its recommendations for zoning ordinance amendments or revisions, if any. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall send copies of this report and resolution to the City Council and the Planning Board.

Any variance or exemption granted under this ordinance shall expire if construction, alteration or conversion is not commenced within one year from the date of the resolution granting the variance or exception, provided however that if the developer is barred or prevented directly or indirectly from proceeding because of a legal action instituted by a state agency or other party to protect the public health and welfare or by an order or directive of a state agency, political subdivision or court of competent jurisdiction to protect the public health or welfare and the developer is otherwise ready, willing and able to proceed with the development, in which event this time period shall be suspended during the pendency of the legal action. The applicant has the right to apply for an extension from the approving authority for good cause shown upon submittal of fee set forth herein.