a. Application to Zoning Officer.
Every application for development, including an application for a change of use, shall require a permit to be issued by the Zoning Officer certifying that the development proposal is in full conformance with the zoning regulations and all other applicable land use ordinances and statutes. Application for a zoning permit shall be made to the Zoning Officer prior to or in conjunction with any application for the issuance of a construction permit or a certificate of occupancy. The applicant shall submit sufficient information for the Zoning Officer to render a decision. This shall include, but not be limited to:
1. Two (2) copies of the appropriate application form, signed by the applicant.
2. Two (2) copies of each of the following information on one (1) or more drawings:
(a) Survey of property.
(b) Plot plans with lot lines, all existing and proposed buildings, alterations and/or additions with appropriate dimensions and elevations.
(c) Dimensioned drawings of all proposed signs, accessory structures, and/or site changes if applicable.
b. Decision by the Zoning Officer.
The Zoning Officer shall make a decision within ten (10) days of the submission of a complete application. If the Zoning Officer shall determine that the application material submitted is complete, and that the proposal is in full conformance with the zoning regulations and all other applicable land use ordinances and statutes, and that no additional reviews are required by any other officers, boards or agencies, he/she shall forthwith issue a zoning permit.
If the Zoning Officer shall determine that the proposal is not in full conformance with the zoning regulations and all other applicable land use ordinances and statutes, and that no additional reviews are required by any other officers, boards or agencies, he/she shall forthwith issue or authorize the issuance of a formal written letter of denial to the applicant, setting forth therein the grounds for the decision.
c. Appeals to the Board of Adjustment. Appeals to the Board of Adjustment pursuant to the Municipal Land Use Law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70a.), may be taken by any interested party affected by any decision of the Zoning Officer based on or made in the enforcement of this chapter or other land use ordinance. Such appeal shall be taken within twenty (20) days of the letter of denial by filing a notice of appeal with the Zoning Officer stating the grounds of such appeal.
Upon receipt of a notice of appeal, the Zoning Officer shall transmit to the Board of Adjustment all papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed was taken.
(Ord. No. O-01-46 § 32-4.1)
If, after the receipt of a Letter of Denial from the Zoning Officer, the developer wishes to pursue the proposal for development, application shall be made for a variance from the zoning regulations. A developer may file an application for a variance with Zoning Board of Adjustment or, where other review is required, with the Planning Board, provided that an application to the Planning Board shall make mention of every type of review being sought. An application for variance pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D70(d) must be filed with the Board of Adjustment and may include a request for other review that may be required in conjunction with the proposed development. (Ord. No. O-01-46 § 32-4.2)
a. Site Plan Review and Approval Required.
1. Prior to the issuance of a permit for the construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation or enlargement of any building or other structure, the excavation or filling of soil, or for the use or change of use of an existing property, site plan review and approval shall be required, except as hereinafter exempted; provided that site plan review is not required for new construction of, or additions to, detached one and two dwelling unit buildings and their customary accessory structures. Detached one- and two-family residences shall be subject to administrative review and approval of a plot and grading plan by the Bureau of Planning and Zoning and Office of the City Engineer prior to the issuance of a zoning permit and building permit(s). Said plot and grading plan shall include architectural elevations and floor plans unless waived by the approving authorities.
2. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued for any structure, unless all construction conforms to the approved final site plan.
b. Exemption from Site Plan Review. Provided that the proposed development (i) does not involve a change in use; (ii) does not involve substantial site development considerations, as certified by the City Engineer; and (iii) does not require a variance from zoning regulations, as certified by the Zoning Officer, site plan review is not required for development which is limited to one (1) or more of the following:
1. New buildings and structures, or additions and alterations to existing buildings and structures, where the new construction or alteration does not exceed six hundred (600) square feet of floor area;
2. New parking areas or additions to parking areas resulting in no more than five (5) spaces;
3. Nonstructural changes in the facade of a structure;
4. Interior changes which do not significantly impact the underlying use, increase parking requirements or impact storm water requirements;
5. Installation, alteration, replacement, relocation or enlargement of a conforming sign.
c. Waiver of Site Plan Review. The Planning Board may waive the requirement for site plan approval where the Board determines that the proposed development is a permitted use in the zone and does not involve substantial site development considerations.
(Ord. No. O-01-46 § 32-4.3; Ord. No. O-07-22 § 1; Ord. No. O-09-28 § 2)
a. Subdivision Review and Approval Required.
1. Any owner of land within or partly within the City, prior to subdividing or resubdividing such land, shall obtain approval of the preliminary and final plats of the proposed subdivision by the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment as provided by law before the subdivision may be recorded in the office of the County Recording Officer of Hudson County.
2. Approval of final subdivision plans by the Planning Board or Zoning Board as provided by law shall constitute an acceptance of the proposed dedication of land for streets, parks and other dedicated areas. However, such approval shall not constitute an acceptance of physical improvements in such streets, parks or other dedicated areas and shall not impose upon the City the obligation of maintenance of or jurisdiction over the physical improvements unless the improvements have been accepted by the City Council in accordance with law.
b. Exemption from Subdivision Approval.
1. In accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-7, so long as no new streets are created, the following divisions of property are exempt from the requirements of local municipal approval:
(a) Divisions of land found by the Planning Board or Committee thereof appointed by the Chairman to be for agricultural purposes where all resulting parcels are five (5) acres or larger in size.
(b) Divisions of property by testamentary or intestate provisions.
(c) Divisions of property upon court order.
(d) Conveyances so as to combine existing lots by deed or other instrument.
2. In all cases involving such exempted divisions, the Planning Board Chairman and Secretary shall certify the exemption on the plat, deed or instrument to be filed with the County Recording Officer.
(Ord. No. 00-01-46 § 32-4.4)
a. Requirement.
If required by any of the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance, conditional use approval by the appropriate approving agency shall be obtained prior to the issuance of a construction permit or certificate of occupancy.
b. Approving Agency.
The Planning Board shall act as the approving agency for all applications for conditional use approval, except that the Board of Adjustment shall have the power to grant conditional use approval to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board whenever the Board of Adjustment is reviewing an application for approval of a variance pursuant to this chapter.
c. Board of Adjustment to Hear Variance from Conditional Use Standards.
If one or more of the conditional use standards is not met, the application for variance must be heard by the Board of Adjustment pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70(d).
(Ord. No. 9-01-46 § 32-4.5)
An applicant shall have the option of seeking the direction of the City Engineer and City Planner, or their designees as to which approvals are required and the appropriate board for hearing same, or filing an application and proceeding before the Board that the applicant believes is appropriate. The City Engineer and City Planner's determination shall be presumed to be correct. In addition to an application for variance from zoning regulations, the following classifications of applications or combinations thereof may be filed:
a. Exempt subdivision (for certification of exempt status).
d. Minor site plan.
e. Major site plan.
(Ord. No. O-01-46 § 32-4.6)
a. Submission Requirements.
1. Each application for approval of a minor subdivision, minor site plan, preliminary major subdivision, preliminary site plan, final major subdivision or final site plan, as the case may be, and each application for variance relief, shall include all information and data listed in the appropriate corresponding checklists set forth in the Section 33-11. See appropriate corresponding checklists set forth in the appendix to this chapter.
2. The applicant may request that one (1) or more submission requirements be waived, in which event the City Engineer and City Planner, or their designees, shall grant or deny the request within forty-five (45) days.
b. Completion Review.
1. The City Engineer and City Planner, or their designees, shall review all applications and accompanying documents required by this chapter to determine that the application is complete. An application for development shall be complete for purposes of commencing the applicable time period for action by a municipal agency when so certified by the City Engineer and City Planner, or their designees, certifying that the application submitted provides sufficient information in accordance with the submission requirements of this Chapter.
2. In the event that the City Engineer and City Planner, or their designees, does not certify the application to be complete within forty-five (45) days of the date of its submission, the application shall be deemed complete upon the expiration of the forty-five (45) day period for purposes of commencing the applicable time period unless:
(a) The application lacks information indicated on the checklist for such application, and
(b) The City Engineer and City Planner have notified the applicant, in writing, of the deficiencies in the application within forty-five (45) days of submission of the application.
(c) The City Engineer and City Planner, or their designees, may subsequently require correction of any information found to be in error and submission of additional information not specified in the checklist or any revisions in the accompanying documents, as are reasonably necessary to make an informed decision as to whether the requirements necessary for approval of the application for development have been met. The application shall not be deemed incomplete for lack of any such additional information or any revisions in the accompanying documents so required by the City Engineer and City Planner, or their designees.
(d) Nothing herein shall be construed as diminishing the applicant's obligation to prove in the application process that he is entitled to approval of the application.
c. Distribution of Applications.
1. In addition to distributing applications to the Board members, the Board Secretary shall forward copies of the application forms and plans to the following officials for review and comment where appropriate:
(a) City Engineer.
(b) Planning Consultant.
(c) Environmental Officer.
(d) Bayonne Environmental Commission.
(e) Tax Assessor (subdivisions only).
(f) Zoning Officer.
(g) Fire Subcode Official.
(h) Hudson County Planning Board (if required, the applicant is responsible for making application to the County).
(i) Historic Preservation Commission (if the proposed development is within an area designated by the zoning ordinance as a historic site or landmark.)
2. The Board shall also have the authority to refer any application to other agencies or individuals for comments or recommendations.
3. The above officials and commissions (with the exception of the Hudson County Planning Board) shall forward any comments and recommendations in writing to the appropriate Board within fifteen (15) days after the receipt of the application, but in no event later than ten (10) days prior to any scheduled hearing.
(Ord. No. O-01-46 § 32-4.7)
a. Notice Required. Notice of a hearing on an application for development, extensions of approval for more than five (5) years, and for modification or elimination of a significant condition or conditions in an approval initially required a public hearing shall be given at least ten (10) days prior to the date of hearing except for:
1. Final major subdivision or final major site plan approval
2. Minor subdivision or minor site plan approval
3. Conventional site plan review pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-46
b. Persons and Entities to be Noticed.
1. Notice of hearing requiring public notice pursuant to this subsection shall be given to the owners of all real property as shown on the current tax duplicate, located in the State and within two hundred (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 (a) condominium association, in the case of any unit owner whose unit has a unit above or below it, or (b) 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 said current tax duplicate, or his agent in charge of the property, or (b) mailing a copy thereof by certified mail to the property owner at his address as shown on the said current tax duplicate.
Notice to a 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 two hundred (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.
2. Notice of hearings on applications for development involving property located within two hundred (200) feet of an adjoining municipality shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the Clerk of such municipality.
3. 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 two hundred (200) feet of a municipal boundary.
4. Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the New Jersey Department of Transportation of a hearing on an application for development of property adjacent to a State highway.
5. 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 one hundred fifty (150) acres or five hundred (500) dwelling units. The notice shall include a copy of any maps or documents required to be on file with the Board.
6. The applicant shall file an affidavit of proof of service with the Board holding the hearing on the application for development at least two (2) days prior to the hearing date.
7. Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail on behalf of public utilities, cable television companies or local utilities to the person whose name appears on the registration form for these entities with the City of Bayonne.
c. Contents of Notice.
Notices pursuant to this subsection shall state the date, time and place of the hearing, the nature of the matters to be considered, an 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 duplicate in the City Tax Department, and the location and times at which any maps and documents for which approval is sought are available for review.
d. List of Property Owners.
Upon the written request of an applicant, the Tax Assessor of the City shall, within seven (7) days, make and certify a list from said current tax duplicates of names and addresses of owners to whom the applicant is required to give notice pursuant to this subsection. The applicant shall be entitled to rely upon the information contained in such list, and failure to give notice to any owner not on the list shall not invalidate any hearing or proceeding. A sum equal to twenty-five ($0.25) cents per name, or ten ($10.00) dollars, whichever is greater shall be charged for such list.
e. Public Notice Claiming Approval by Reason of City Failure to Act.
An applicant shall comply with the provisions of this subsection whenever the applicant wishes to claim approval of his application for development by reason of the failure of the Approving Agency to grant or deny approval within the time period provided in the Municipal Land Use Law, or any supplement thereto.
1. The applicant shall provide notice of the default approval to the Approving Agency and to all those entitled to notice by personal service or certified mail of the hearing on the application for development.
2. The applicant shall arrange publication of a notice of the default approval in the official newspaper of the City.
3. The applicant shall file an affidavit of proof of service and publication with the Board Secretary, the City Engineer and City Planner.
(Ord. No. O-01-46 § 32-4.8)
