No member of the Planning Board and no member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be permitted to act on any matter in which he has, either directly or indirectly, any personal or financial interest. Any member, other than a Class I member of the Planning Board, after a public hearing if he requests it, may be removed by the governing body for cause.

The Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall each adopt, and may thereafter amend, rules and regulations not inconsistent with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1, et seq. (Municipal Land Use Law) or this or other applicable ordinances as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions and purposes of this Ordinance and to provide for the administration of its functions, powers and duties. Each Board shall furnish a copy thereof to any person upon request and may charge a reasonable fee for such copy. Copies of all such rules and regulations and amendments thereto shall be maintained in the office of the Administrative Officer of the respective Board.

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 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.

a. The Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment each shall by its rules fix the time and place for holding its regular meetings for business authorized to be conducted by such Board. Regular meetings of the Boards 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.

b. All the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9 shall apply to special meetings, quorums and votes of the Boards.

c. All regular meetings and special meetings shall be open to the public. Notice of all such meetings shall be given in accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meeting Law, Chapter 231 P.L. 1975. An executive session for the purpose of discussing and studying any matters to come before either Board shall not be deemed a regular or special meeting within the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9.

d. Minutes of every regular or special meeting shall be kept and made available for public inspection in strict adherence to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9, and any interested party shall have the right to compel production thereof as therein provided. A reasonable fee may be charged the interested party for reproduction of the minutes for his use.

a. The Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall each make rules governing the conduct of hearings before them which rules shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1, et seq., or this Ordinance.

b. All the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10 regarding hearings shall be strictly adhered to by both Boards, applicants, interested parties or others in attendance at hearings before the Boards. By way of illustration and not by way of limitation, the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10 shall apply to and include the following:

1. Filing of documents and their availability for public inspection prior to the hearing;

2. Production of documents, records or testimony at the hearing;

3. The power to administer oaths and issue subpoenas;

4. Testimony under oath or affirmation;

5. Cross-examination;

6. Applicable rules of evidence; and

7. Verbatim recordings, by stenographer, mechanical or electronic means, and the furnishing of a transcript or duplicate recording, which shall be provided on request to any interested party at his expense.

When any hearing before the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment shall carry over two (2) or more meetings, a member of the Board who was absent for one (1) or more of the meetings shall be eligible to vote on the matter upon which the hearing was conducted, notwithstanding his absence from one (1) or more of the meetings; provided, however, that such Board member has available to him a transcript or recording of the meeting from which he was absent, and certifies in writing to the Board that he has read such transcript or listened to such recording.

a. All the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-11 through N.J.S.A. 40:55D-15, inclusive, regarding notice shall be strictly adhered to by both Boards, applicants, interested patties or others, as the case may be.

b. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-11, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-13 and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-15, notice hereunder shall be given by the appropriate Administrative Officer of the municipality or Board.

c. All other notice required by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-11 and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12 shall be given by the applicant at his expense, except as may be provided elsewhere in this Ordinance.

d. The applicant shall file an affidavit of proof of service with the Board or municipal agency holding the hearing on the application for development in the event that the applicant is required to give notice, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-11 and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12. The affidavit of proof of service shall be filed prior to the commencement of the hearing and shall be verified before commencing the hearing as to accuracy and compliance with the notice requirements by the Board or municipal agency holding the hearing.

e. The Board or, municipal agency holding the hearing on an application for development shall require the applicant to file adequate proof of service with regard to, or state on the record the status of and his intentions with regard to, such notice the applicant may be required to give and such approvals the applicant may be required to obtain from any other municipal, County, State or Federal agency or agencies; such proof of service or, such statement on the record shall be required at the hearing and just prior to the commencement of the hearing on the merits of the application itself.

f. Public notice of a hearing on an application for development shall, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:5513-12, be given and a public hearing held except for

1. Conventional site plan review for ten (10) acres of land or less;

2. Minor subdivisions; and

3. Final approval of site plans and major subdivisions; provided that public notice of a hearing shall also be required in the event that any application otherwise excepted from the requirement of public notice and hearing seeks relief pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-60 or N.J.S.A. 40:55D-51.

g. Public notice of a hearing shall, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12, be given for appeals of determinations of administrative officers pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70a, and for requests for interpretation pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70b.

h. A sum not to exceed ten dollars ($10.00) may be charged an applicant for the list referred to in N.J.S.A. 40:55-12.

i. Notice of any decision of a Board shall be accomplished as provided in Section 25-900.8c. (Ord. #04-13, §6)

a. Each decision on any application for development shall be in writing as a resolution of the Board and shall include findings of fact and legal conclusions based thereon. The resolution shall also set forth any conditions that must be met, including, but not limited to, required performance guarantees.

b. A copy of the decision shall be mailed to the applicant by the Board within ten (10) days of the date of the decision, or, if represented, then to his 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 its Administrative Officer. The Administrative Officer shall make a copy of such filed decision available to any interested party for a reasonable fee and available for public inspection at his office during reasonable hours.

c. A brief notice of the decision shall be published in the official newspaper of the municipality, if there be one, or in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. Such publication shall be arranged by the Planning Board Administrative Officer or the Zoning Board Administrative Officer, as the case may be, and the municipality shall make a reasonable charge payable by the applicant for its publication, provided that nothing here shall be construed as preventing the applicant from arranging such publication, if he so desires. At a minimum the notice shall clearly identify the nature of the Board action requested, the public meeting or meetings at which the matter was heard and decided. and whether or not the application was granted. Said notice shall be sent to the appropriate newspaper for publication within ten (10) days of the date of any such decision. 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 municipality or the applicant.

Whenever review or approval of the application by the County Planning Board is required by the County Planning Law, N.J.S.A. 40:27-6.3, in the case of a subdivision, or N.J.S.A. 40:27-6.6, in the case of a site plan, the Planning Board or the Zoning 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 period.

**Webmasters Note: The previous sections, 25-900.6 through 25-900.9, have been amended as per Supplement No. 2.

a. In the event that an applicant submits an application for development proposing a development that is barred or prevented, directly or indirectly, by a legal action instituted by any State agency, political subdivision or other party to protect the public health and welfare or by a directive or order issued by any State agency, political subdivision or court of competent jurisdiction to protect the public health and welfare, the Board or municipal agency shall process such application for development in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. and municipal development regulations, and if such application for development complies with municipal development regulations, the Board or municipal agency shall approve such application conditioned on removal of such legal barrier to development.

b. In the event that development proposed by an application for development requires an approval by a governmental agency other than the Board or municipal agency, the Board or municipal agency shall, in appropriate instances, condition its approval upon the subsequent approval of such governmental agency; provided that the Board or municipal agency shall make a decision on any application for development within the time period provided in the Ordinance or within an extension of such period as has been agreed to by the applicant unless the Board or municipal agency is prevented or relieved from so acting by the operation of law.

c. The Board may condition its approval, either preliminary or final, of any site plan or subdivision, whether minor or major, or other development application on compliance by the applicant with any lawful requirement it deems, in its judgment, reasonable and necessary for the public health, safety and welfare.

Final approval of site plans and major subdivisions shall be granted by the Board only if the detailed drawings, specifications and estimates of the application for final approval conform to the standards established by ordinance for final approval, the conditions of preliminary approval have been complied with and, in the case of a major subdivision, the standards prescribed by the "Map Filing Law N.J.S.A. 46:23-919, et seq." shall have been met; provided that in the case of a planned unit development, planned unit residential development or residential cluster, the Board may permit minimal deviation from the conditions of preliminary approval necessitated by change of conditions beyond the control of the applicant since the date of preliminary approval without the applicant's being required to submit another application for development for preliminary approval.

The provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-21 shall govern the tolling of the running of any period of approval when an applicant is barred or prevented, directly or indirectly, from proceeding with the development otherwise permitted under such approval as a result of certain legal action.