Carteret City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IV
Provisions Applicable to Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment
§ 160-29 Conflicts of interest.
No member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act on any matter in which he or she has, either directly or indirectly, any personal or financial interest. Whenever any such member shall disqualify himself or herself from acting on a particular matter, he or she shall not continue to sit with the Board on the hearing of such matter nor participate in any discussion or decision relating thereto.
§ 160-30 Meetings.
A.
Meetings of both the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be scheduled no less often than once a month, and any meeting so scheduled shall be held as scheduled unless canceled for lack of applications for development to process.
B.
Special meetings may be provided for at the call of the Chairman or on the request of any two Board members, which shall be held on notice to its members and the public in accordance with all applicable legal requirements.
C.
No action shall be taken at any meeting without a quorum being present.
E.
All regular meetings and all 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 Meetings Law, Chapter 231 of the Laws of 1975.[2] 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 in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9.
[2]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.
§ 160-31 Minutes.
Minutes of every regular or special meeting shall be kept and shall include the names of the persons appearing and addressing the Board and of the persons appearing by attorney, the action taken by the Board, the findings, if any, made by it and the reasons therefor. The minutes shall thereafter be made available for public inspection during normal business hours at the office of the Municipal Clerk. Any interested party shall have the right to compel production of the minutes for use and evidence in any legal proceeding concerning the subject matter of such minutes. Such interested party may be charged a fee for reproduction of the minutes for his use as provided for in the rules of the Board.
§ 160-32 Fees; documents.
Fees and documents for applications or for the rendering of any service by the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment or any member of their administrative staffs which are not otherwise provided by this chapter may be provided for and adopted as part of the rules of the Board, and copies of said rules or of the separate fee and submission schedule shall be available to the public.
§ 160-33 Hearings.
A.
Rules. The Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment may make rules governing the conduct of hearings before such bodies, which rules shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. or of this chapter.
B.
Oaths. The officer presiding at the hearing or such person as he may designate shall have the power to administer oaths and 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, P.L. 1953, N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1 et seq., shall apply.
C.
Testimony. The testimony of all witnesses relating to an application for development 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 directly, if not represented, subject to the discretion of the presiding officer and to reasonable limitation as to time and number of witnesses.
D.
Evidence. Technical rules of evidence shall not be applicable to the hearing, but the Board may exclude irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence.
E.
Records. Each Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the proceedings by either stenographer, mechanical or electronic means at the expense of the respective Board. The Board shall furnish a transcript or duplicate recording in lieu thereof on request to any interested party at his expense.
§ 160-34 Notices.
A.
Whenever public notice of a hearing is required on an application for development pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10 et seq. and this chapter, the applicant shall give notice thereof as follows:
(1)
Public notice shall be given by publication in the official newspaper of the municipality at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing.
(2)
Notice shall be given to the owners of all real property, as shown on the current tax duplicate or duplicates, located within 200 feet in all directions of the property which is the subject of such hearing, whether located within or without the municipality in which applicant's land is located. Such notice shall be given by serving a copy thereof on the owner as shown on said current tax duplicate or his agent in charge of the property or by mailing a copy thereof by certified mail to the property owner at his address as shown on said current tax duplicate. A return receipt is not required. 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.
(3)
Notice of all hearings on applications for development involving property located within 200 feet of an adjoining municipality shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the Clerk of such municipality, which notice shall be in addition to the notice required to be given pursuant to Subsection A(2) of this section to the owners of lands in such adjoining municipality which are located within 200 feet of the subject premises.
(4)
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 200 feet of a municipal boundary.
(5)
Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the Commissioner of Transportation of a hearing on an application for development of property adjacent to a state highway.
(6)
Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the Director of the Division of State and Regional Planning in the Department of Community Affairs of a hearing on an application for development of property which exceeds 150 acres or 500 dwelling units. Such notice shall include a copy of any maps or documents required to be on file with the Municipal Clerk pursuant to Section 6b of P.L. 1975, c. 291.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10b.
(7)
All notices hereinabove specified in this section shall be given at least 10 days prior to the date fixed for hearing, and the applicant shall file an affidavit of proof of service with the Board holding the hearing on the application for development.
(8)
Any notice made by certified mail as hereinabove required shall be deemed to be complete upon mailing in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-14.
B.
Form of notice. All notices required to be given pursuant to the terms of this chapter shall state the date, time and place of the hearing, the nature of the matters to be considered and 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 Municipal Tax Assessor's office and the location and times at which any maps and documents for which approval is sought are available as required by law.
§ 160-35 List of property owners.
[Amended 4-19-1990 by Ord. No. 90-16]
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12c, the administrative official of the municipality, the Building Inspector, shall, within seven days after receipt of a request therefor and upon receipt of payment of a fee not to exceed $0.25 per name or $10, whichever is greater, make and certify a list from the current tax duplicate of names and addresses of owners to whom the applicant is required to give notice pursuant to § 160-34b of this chapter.
§ 160-36 Decisions.
A.
Each decision on any application for development shall be set forth in writing as a resolution of the Board, which shall include findings of fact and legal conclusions based thereon.
B.
A copy of the decision shall be mailed by the Board within 10 days of the date of decision to the applicant or, if represented, then to his attorney, without separate charge. A copy of the decision shall also be mailed to all persons who have requested it and who have paid the fee prescribed by the Board for such service. A copy of the decision shall also be filed in the office of the Municipal Clerk, who shall make a copy of such filed decision available to any interested party upon payment of a fee calculated in the same manner as those established for copies of other public documents in the municipality.
§ 160-37 (Reserved) [1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 160-37, Publication, was repealed 4-22-2004 by Ord. No. 04-16.
§ 160-38 Payment of taxes.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-39 and 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 provisions for the payment thereof in such manner that the municipality will be adequately protected.