Applications to the Planning Board shall conform to the appropriate provisions in Article III or, if none of these are applicable, then shall conform to subsections 30-7.3, 30-7.4, 30-7.5 and 30-7.6. (See also Section 30-12, Fees.) Procedures for a determination of a complete application shall be as set forth in Section 30-8. (1976 Code § 78-17; Ord. No. 3-82; Ord. No. 90-11)

In reviewing plats or any other matters referred to it, the Board may submit the data to any agency or individual for review and comment. (1976 Code § 78-17; Ord. No. 3-82)

The Planning Board shall elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman from the members of Class IV. The Board of Adjustment shall elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman from its membership. Both Boards shall elect a Secretary who may or may not be a member of the Board or a municipal employee. (1976 Code § 78-18; Ord. No. 3-82)

There is hereby created the office of Planning Board Attorney and the office of Attorney to the Board of Adjustment. Each Board may annually appoint, fix the compensation of or agree upon the rate of compensation of its respective Board Attorney, who shall be an attorney other than the Municipal Attorney or anyone in his office. (1976 Code § 78-18; Ord. No. 3-82)

Both Boards may employ or contract for the services of experts and other staff and services as they may deem necessary, including a professional engineer. Neither Board shall authorize expenditures which exceed, exclusive of the gifts or grants, an amount appropriated by the governing body for its use. (1976 Code § 78-18; Ord. No. 3-82)

Each Board shall adopt such rules and regulations necessary to carry out their duties. (1976 Code § 78-18; Ord. No. 3-82)

No member shall act on any matter in which he has, either directly or indirectly, any personal or financial interest. Whenever any member shall disqualify himself, he shall not continue to sit with the Board on the hearing of such matter nor participate in any discussion or decision relating thereto. (1976 Code § 78-18; Ord. No. 3-82)

a. Meetings shall be scheduled no less than once a month, and any meeting shall be held as scheduled unless canceled for lack of applications for development to process.

b. Special meetings may be called by the Chairman or on request of any two (2) Board members, provided that there is notice to the members and public in accordance with all applicable legal requirements.

c. No action shall be taken at any meeting without a quorum being present. All actions shall be by majority vote of the Board present at the meeting, except where a specified portion of the full authorized membership is required. See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9, 40:55D-26, 40:55D-34 and 40:55D-70d.

d. All meetings shall be conducted pursuant to the Open Public Meetings Law, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq. (1976 Code § 78-18; Ord. No. 3-82; Ord. No. 85-12)

Minutes of regular and special meetings shall be kept and shall include the names of persons appearing and addressing the Board and of persons appearing by attorney, the action taken, the findings, if any, and reasons therefor. The minutes shall be made available for public inspection during normal business hours at the office of the Township Clerk. Any interested party shall have the right to compel production of the minutes and be charged a fee for their reproduction. (1976 Code § 78-18; Ord. No. 3-82)

a. Rules. Both Boards may make rules governing the conduct of hearings. The rules shall be consistent with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. and this chapter. The approving authority may waive the required notices and hearing for minor and exempt subdivisions and minor and exempt site plans, except where a variance or conditional use is part of the application.

b. Oaths. The presiding officer or such person as he may designate shall have power to administer oaths or issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of relevant evidence, including witnesses and documents presented by the parties, and the provisions of the County and Municipal Investigations Law of 1953 (N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1 et seq.) shall apply.

c. Testimony. The testimony of all witnesses shall be taken under oath or affirmation by the presiding officer and the right of cross examination shall be permitted to all interested parties through their attorneys, if represented, or indirectly, if not represented, subject to the discretion of the presiding officer and to reasonable limitations as to time and number of witnesses.

d. Evidence. Technical rules of evidence shall not be applicable, but irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.

e. Records. Each Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the proceedings by either stenographer, mechanical or electronic means. Each Board shall furnish a transcript or duplicate recording in lieu thereof on request to any interested party at his expense. The charge for a copy of the transcript shall not be more than the maximum permitted in N.J.S.A. 2A:11-15, and the transcript shall be certified, in writing, by the transcriber to be accurate.

f. Certified Court Reporter. Where a certified court reporter is not otherwise retained by the Township and an applicant desires a certified court reporter, the cost of taking testimony and transcribing it and providing a copy of the transcript to the approving authority shall be at the expense of the applicant, who shall also arrange for the reporter's attendance.

g. When any hearing before either Board shall carry to 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 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. (1976 Code § 78-18; Ord. No. 3-82)

All public hearing dates shall be set by the approving authority. The approving authority shall hold a public hearing on each application for development, except that the approving authority may waive the required notices and hearing for minor and exempt subdivisions and minor and exempt site plans unless a variance or conditional use is part of the application. No public hearing shall be required for final site plan or subdivision approval. All public hearings conducted on subdivisions, site plans or variances before either the Board of Adjustment or Planning Board shall follow the requirements of the Municipal Land Use Law as summarized below. (See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-11 and 55D-12.)

a. Any maps and documents submitted for approval shall be on file and available for public inspection at least ten (10) days before the hearing date during normal business hours in the office of the administrative officer.

b. The Planning Board or Zoning Board shall include findings of fact and conclusions based thereon in each decision on any application for development and shall reduce the decision to writing. The Planning Board or Zoning Board shall provide the findings and conclusions through:

1. A resolution adopted at a meeting held within the time period provided in the act for action by the Planning Board or Zoning Board on the application for development; or

2. A memorializing resolution adopted at a meeting held not later than forty-five (45) days after the date of the meeting at which the municipal agency voted to grant or deny approval. Only the members of the Planning Board or Zoning Board who voted for the action taken may vote on the memorializing resolution, and the vote of a majority of such members present at the meeting at which the resolution is presented for adoption shall be sufficient to adopt the resolution. An action pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9 resulting from the failure of a motion to approve an application shall be memorialized by resolution as provided above, with those members voting against the motion for approval being the members eligible to vote on the memorializing resolution. The vote on any such resolution shall be deemed to be a memorialization of the acts of the Planning Board or Zoning Board and not to be an action of the municipal agency; however, the date of the adoption of the resolution shall constitute the date of decision for purposes of the mailings, filings and publications required by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.

c. A copy of the decision shall be mailed by the approving authority within ten (10) days of the date of the decision to the applicant of, if represented by an attorney, then to the attorney, and a copy shall also be filed in the office of the administrative officer. A brief notice of the decision shall also be published in the official newspaper of the Township, the publication of which shall be arranged by the Secretary of the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment, as applicable. The period of time in which an appeal of the decision may be made shall run from the first publication of the decision.

d. All notices shall state the date, time and place of the hearing, the nature of the matters to be considered and an identification of the property proposed for development by street address, if any, or by reference to lot and block numbers and the location and time(s) at which any maps and documents are available for public inspection.

e. All hearing notices shall be the responsibility of the applicant and shall be given at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing date established by the approving authority.

1. Public notice shall be given by publication in the official newspaper of the Township, if there is one, or in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality.

2. Notice 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 a condominium association, in the case of any unit owner whose unit has a unit above or below it, or to a horizontal property regime, in the case of any co-owner whose apartment has an apartment above or below it. This notice shall be given by either serving a copy thereof on the property owner as shown on the current tax duplicate or his agent in charge of the property or mailing a copy thereof, by certified mail, to the property owner at his address on the current tax duplicate.

3. 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.

4. Notice of all 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.

5. Where a public hearing is required by this chapter, a notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the County Planning Board where the hearing concerns a 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; to the Commissioner of Transportation where the hearing concerns a property adjacent to a State highway; to the Director of the Division of State and Regional Planning where the hearing concerns a property which exceeds one hundred fifty (150) acres or exceeds five hundred (500) dwelling units, and the notice to the Director shall include a copy of any maps or documents required to be on file with the administrative officer.

f. The applicant shall file an affidavit of proof of service with the municipal agency holding the hearing. Any notice made by certified mail shall be deemed complete upon mailing. (1976 Code § 78-19; Ord. No. 3-82; Ord. No. 12-83; Ord. No. 85-12)

These regulations shall not abate or modify any action, penalty, liability or right pending under any ordinance repealed by the adoption of this chapter, except as expressly provided in this chapter. (See Sections 30-14 and 30-78.) (1976 Code § 78-20; Ord. No. 3-82; Ord. No. 20-82)

Any appeal for a variance to allow a structure or use in a district restricted against such structure or use shall have one (1) copy forwarded to the Planning Board by the administrative officer, together with a notice of the hearing date. The Planning Board shall review the material and may make recommendations at the public hearing. The Planning Board's recommendations may contain, among other things, its opinion as to the compatibility of the proposal to the Master Plan; applications which may have been or are currently being processed by the Planning Board for similar uses elsewhere in the Township; land use, traffic and other data considered by the Planning Board to be relevant to the application; and what conditions, if any, it would recommend be imposed on the applicant to improve compatibility with the Master Plan and Zoning Ordinance should the Board of Adjustment grant the variance. (1976 Code § 78-21; Ord. No. 3-82)

a. In case of any violation of this chapter, the Township or an interested party may institute appropriate action to prevent such violation; to restrain, correct or abate such violation; to prevent the occupancy of the structure or land, and to prevent any illegal act, conduct, business or use in or about such premises. Any person, firm or corporation found guilty in the Municipal Court of the Township of Holmdel or a violation of any provision or section of the Code shall be subject to the penalties stated in Chapter I, Section 1-5.

Except as otherwise provided, each and every day in which a violation of any provision of this chapter exists, shall constitute a separate violation. In addition, each violation of this chapter shall be considered a separate offense upon each and every day in which a violation exists.

Any person who is convicted of violating an ordinance within one (1) year of the date of a previous violation of the same ordinance and who was fined for the previous violation, shall be sentenced by a court to an additional fine as a repeat offender. The additional fine imposed by the court upon a person for a repeated offense shall not be less than the minimum or exceed the maximum fine fixed for a violation of the ordinance, but shall be calculated separately from the fine imposed for the violation of the ordinance.

b. If before final subdivision approval any person as owner or agent transfers or sells or agrees to transfer or sell, except pursuant to an agreement expressly conditioned on final subdivision approval, any land which forms a part of a subdivision for which municipal approval is required, such persons shall be subject to a penalty not to exceed two thousand ($2,000.00) dollars and each lot disposition so made may be deemed a separate violation.

c. In addition, the Township may institute and maintain a civil action for injunctive relief and to set aside and invalidate any conveyance made pursuant to such a contract of sale if a certificate of compliance has not been issued in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-56, but only if the municipality has a Planning Board and has adopted by ordinance standards and procedures in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-38.

d. In any such action, the transferee, purchaser or grantee shall be entitled to a lien upon the portion of the land from which the subdivision was made that remains in the possession of the developer or his assignees or successors, to secure the return of any deposits made or purchase price paid and, also, a reasonable search fee, survey expense and title closing expense, if any. Any such action must be brought within two (2) years after the date of the recording of the instrument of transfer, sale or conveyance of the land or within six (6) years, if unrecorded.

e. See Sections 30-11 and 30-16. (1976 Code § 78-23; Ord. No. 3-82; Ord. No. 91-21; Ord. No. 2006-07 § IX)