Meetings of the Planning Board shall be scheduled no less often than once a month, and any meeting so scheduled shall be held as scheduled unless cancelled due to lack of applications for development to process or lack of other business.

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 requirements.

No action shall be taken at any meeting without a quorum being present.

All actions shall be taken by majority vote of a quorum except as otherwise required by any provision of C. 291, Laws of N.J. 1975.

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, C. 231, Laws of N.J. 1975. An executive session, for the purpose of discussing and studying any matters to come before the Planning Board, shall not be deemed a regular or special meeting, in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9.

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 reasons therefor.

The minutes shall thereafter be made available for public inspection during normal business hours at the office of the Borough Clerk. Copies of the minutes shall be forwarded to the Borough Clerk, Borough Engineer, and Planning Board Attorney, the Construction Code Official, and the Pinelands Commission.

Any interested party shall have the right to compel production of the minutes for use as 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 said fee is provided for in the rules of the Board.

Rules. The Planning Board may make rules governing the conduct of hearings before it. These rules shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. or of this chapter.

Oaths. The officer presiding at the hearing, or such person as he may designate, shall have 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, c. 1938 (N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1 et seq.) shall apply.

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 limitations as to time and number of witnesses.

Evidence. Technical rules of evidence shall not be applicable to the hearing, but the Board may exclude irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence.

Records. The Planning Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the proceedings by either a stenographer, or mechanical or electronic means, at the expense of the Board. The Board shall furnish a transcript, or duplicate recording in lieu thereof, on request to any interested party, at his expense.

Where a meeting, hearing or other formal proceeding on an application for development approval in the Pinelands Area is required, the applicant shall provide notice to the Pinelands Commission, by e-mail, regular mail or delivery of the same, to the principal office of the Commission at least five days prior to such meeting, hearing or other formal proceeding. Such notice shall contain at least the following information:

The Pinelands Commission may participate in any hearing held in the Borough involving the development of land, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:50-4.36 of the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan.

Notices of changes in any application shall be made to the Pinelands Commission in accordance with § 285-8 of this chapter.

Public notice shall be given by publication in the official newspaper of the Borough at least 10 days prior to the date of the scheduled hearing.

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 to such hearing, whether located within or without the Borough. Such notice shall be given by: 1) serving a copy thereof on the owner as shown on said tax duplicate, or his agent in charge of the property; or 2) mailing a copy thereof by certified mail to the property owner at his address, as shown on the 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, vice president, secretary or other person authorized by appointment or by law to accept service on behalf of the corporation.

Notice of all hearings on an application for development involving property located within 200 feet of an adjoining municipality shall be given by personal service, or by certified mail, to the clerk of said municipality; this notice shall be in addition to the notice required under § 285-27B.

Notice shall be given by personal service, or by certified mail, to the County Planning Board of all hearings 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.

Notice shall be given by personal service, or by certified mail, to the Commissioners of Transportation of a hearing on an application for development of property adjacent to a state highway.

Notice shall be given by personal service, or by 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 Borough Clerk, pursuant to Section 6b of C. 291, Laws of N.J. 1975.

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 Planning Board.

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.

All notices required to be given, pursuant to the terms of this chapter, shall state: the date, time and place of the hearing; describe specified exceptions sought to the design and performance standards of this chapter, if applicable; the nature of the matters to be considered; identification of the property proposed for development, by street address, if any, or by reference to lot and block numbers as shown on the tax duplicate; and the location and times at which any maps and documents for which approval is sought are available for inspection.

Each decision on any application for development shall be set forth in writing as a resolution of the Board, and shall include findings of fact and legal conclusion based thereon.

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, 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 a fee of $0.75 per page for the first 10 pages; $0.50 per page for the next 10 pages and $0.25 per page thereafter for such service. A copy of the decision shall also be filed in the office of the Borough 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 Borough.[1]

Notices of approvals or denials of any application shall be given to the Pinelands Commission in accordance with § 285-8.

No development authorized pursuant to an approval shall commence until the Pinelands Commission review procedures of § 285-8 have been completed.

Any interested party may appeal to the Borough Council a final decision of the Planning Board approving a variance, pursuant to § 285-16M of this chapter. Such appeal shall be made within 10 days of the date of publication of such final decision, pursuant to § 285-30. The appeal to the Borough Council shall be made by serving the Borough Clerk in person or by certified mail with a notice of appeal, specifying the grounds therefor and the name and address of the appellant and name and address of his attorney, if represented. Such appeal shall be decided by the Borough only upon the record established before the Planning Board.

Notice of a meeting to review the record shall be given by the Borough Council, by personal service or by certified mail, to the appellant, to the Pinelands Commission, to those entitled to notice of a decision, pursuant to § 285-27, and to the Board from which the appeal is taken, at least 10 days prior to the date of the meeting. The parties may submit oral and written argument on the record at such meeting, and the Borough Council shall provide for verbatim recording and transcripts of such meetings, pursuant to § 285-25 of this chapter.

The Borough Council shall conclude a review of the record not later than 45 days from the date of receipt of the transcript of the hearing, unless the applicant consents in writing to an extension of such period. The appellant shall arrange for a transcript for use by the Borough Council and shall submit proof, upon the filing of his notice of appeal or within 10 days thereof, that he has ordered said transcript.

The Borough Council may reverse, remand or affirm, wholly or in part, or may modify the final decision of the Planning Board.

The affirmative vote of a majority of the full authorized membership of the Borough Council shall be necessary to reverse, remand or modify any final action of the Board.

An appeal to the Borough Council shall stay all proceeding in furtherance of the action in respect to which the decision appealed from was made, unless the Board from whose action the appeal is taken certifies to the Borough Council, after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with such Board, that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in its opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed, other than by an order of the Superior Court on application upon notice to the Board from whom the appeal is taken and on showing good cause.

The Borough Council shall mail a copy of the decision to the appellant or, if represented, to his attorney, without separate charge, and for a fee to be established by the Borough Council, to any interested party requesting it, not later than 10 days after the date of decision. A brief notice of the decision shall be published in the official newspaper of the Borough, as arranged by the applicant.

Nothing herein shall be construed to restrict the right of any party to obtain a review by any court of competent jurisdiction according to law.

The procedures governing notice and review of decisions for the Pinelands, as set forth in § 285-8 of this chapter, shall apply to all appeals to and decisions by the Borough Council.