Any owner of land within the Borough of Carteret, prior to subdividing or resubdividing land, as defined in this chapter, shall submit to the Secretary of the appropriate approving authority, at least 14 days prior to a regular meeting of the Board, eight copies of a subdivision plat prepared in accordance with § 160-68, together with eight copies of the subdivision application form for classification purposes. The provision of this Article VII concerning subdivision regulations shall not apply to the Borough of Carteret, its assignees, agencies and instrumentalities, the municipality being exempt from all such requirements. The secretary of the approving authority, at the time of filing the sketch plat, shall immediately mark it "filed," put a date on each copy and issue an application number. Once an application has been assigned a number, such number shall appear on all documents, maps and plats submitted for processing in conjunction with the subdivision.

The Secretary shall forward the sketch plat to the Middlesex County Planning Board, the Borough Clerk, the Borough Engineer and the Board's Planning Consultant. The Borough Engineer and the Planning Consultant shall examine the submitted plat to determine the plat's conformance to the requirements of this chapter and may file a written report of their findings and recommendations with the Secretary of the Board within the time period prescribed in § 160-14. No final action by the Planning Board shall be taken on a subdivision application until a written review has been received from the County Planning Board or until expiration of the thirty-day review period, in which case the application shall be deemed to have been approved by the County Planning Board unless extended for an additional thirty-day period by mutual agreement of the Board, the County Planning Board and the applicant.

The approving authority shall review the sketch plat submission for its completeness and take action on accepting or rejecting the submission as a complete application no later than its first regular meeting following the two-week review period. If incomplete, the material shall be returned to the developer for a resubmission at least two weeks prior to a subsequent meeting.

If classified and approved as a minor subdivision by a majority vote of the members of the approving authority present at the hearing, a notation to that effect and the signatures of the Chairman and Secretary will be affixed on the plat. The Board may condition such approvals pursuant to Sections 29, 29.1, 29.2 and 41 of the Act[1] and/or favorable review of the County Planning Board or approval by the County Planning Board by its failure to report thereon within the required time period.

One copy of the signed and approved plat shall be forwarded to the applicant within 10 days of approval of said application.

The Board Secretary shall forward one copy of the approved plat to the following:

The zoning requirements, terms and conditions, whether contingent or otherwise, upon which minor subdivision approval was granted shall not be changed for a period of two years after the date of minor subdivision approval, provided that the approved minor subdivision shall have been duly recorded.

If the plat is classified as a major subdivision, a notation to that effect shall be made on the plat, which shall be returned to the subdivider for compliance with the procedures in Section 1 of this article within 90 days of the date of classification.

Twelve copies of the preliminary plat, prepared in accordance with § 160-69, together with three copies of the completed application form, shall be submitted to the approving authority Secretary 21 days prior to the regular meeting at which consideration is desired. The Secretary of the Board shall forward a copy of the preliminary plat to the County Planning Board, Municipal Clerk, Municipal Engineer, Planning Consultant, Building Inspector, Fire Chief, Police Chief and Superintendent of Public Works for review and comment, if deemed appropriate; however, the Municipal Engineer and Planning Consultant shall examine such preliminary plat to determine the plat's conformance with the requirements of this chapter and shall file a written report of their findings with the Secretary of the Board.

The approving authority shall review the submission for its completeness and take action on accepting or rejecting the submission as a complete application no later than its first regular meeting following the two-week review period. If incomplete, the material shall be returned to the developer for a resubmission at least two weeks prior to a subsequent meeting.

If, in the opinion of the Board, the application for preliminary approval is complete, the applicant will be so advised and a date set for a public hearing required pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. The applicant shall provide notice of the hearing on the application for development in conformance with 40:55D-12 and § 160-34 of this chapter and shall file an affidavit of proof of service thereof with the Secretary of the Board prior to the hearing.

The approving authority shall take action after considering the results of the public hearing and the recommendations, if any, made by the municipal, state and county official or agency within the time period prescribed in § 160-14, or the application for preliminary approval shall be deemed approved.

If the approving authority acts disfavorably on the application for preliminary approval, the applicant shall be so advised in conformance with § 160-36 of this chapter.

If the approving authority requires any substantial amendment in the layout of improvements as proposed by the developer and that plan has been the subject of a hearing, an amended application for development shall be submitted and proceeded upon, as in the case of the original application for development.

If the approving authority acts favorably on a preliminary plat, the Planning Board Chairman and Secretary shall affix their signatures to the plat with a notation that it has received preliminary subdivision approval, and a copy shall be returned to the applicant with instructions to proceed with final major subdivision approval requirements as prescribed in this chapter.

Before consideration of a final subdivision plat, the applicant shall have installed the improvements required under Articles XIV and XV or shall have adequate performance guaranties to assure the installation of the required improvements in conformance with Article XI.

An original tracing and 15 copies of a final plat prepared in conformance with § 160-70, together with three copies of the prescribed application forms, shall be submitted to the Secretary of the approving authority for final approval 21 days prior to a regular Board meeting. The Secretary shall immediately forward a copy thereof to the Municipal Engineer, the Planning Consultant and the County Planning Board.

The Municipal Engineer shall examine the final plat to determine if, in his opinion, it is in all respects accurate and meets the requirements of this chapter and other applicable laws, in particular the Map Filing Law, N.J.S.A. 46:23-10 and 46:23-11. The Municipal Engineer shall thereupon report his findings, in writing, to the Board.

The approving authority shall review the submission for its completeness and take action on accepting or rejecting the submission as a complete application no later than its first regular meeting following the two-week review period. If incomplete, the material shall be returned to the developer for a resubmission at least two weeks prior to a subsequent meeting.

The final plat shall be accompanied by a written statement from the Municipal Engineer that he is in receipt of a map or maps showing all utilities in exact location and elevation identifying all portions already installed and that the applicant has complied with one of the following: installed all improvements in conformance with all requirements of this chapter or a performance guaranty has been posted with the Municipal Clerk in sufficient size and form and in conformance with Article XI to insure the completion of all required improvements.

The Board shall either approve or disapprove the application for final approval, after considering the recommendations made by municipal, state or county officials or agencies, within the time period prescribed in § 160-14, or the application for final approval shall be deemed approved.

If the final plat is approved by the approving authority, a notation to that effect shall be made on each plat and shall be signed by the Chairman and Secretary.

Upon final approval, copies of the final plat shall be filed by the approving authority Secretary with the following: