Franklin Lakes City Zoning Code

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.

Special meetings may be provided for at the call of the Chairman or on the request of any two Board members, which meetings shall be held on notice to the Board's members and the public in accordance with all applicable legal 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 this chapter or of law.

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, P.L. 1975, c. 231.[1] 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.

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.

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 the Municipal Investigations Law, P.L. 1953, c. 38 (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 to cross-examine 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. Each Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the proceedings by either stenographer, mechanical or electronic means. The Board shall furnish a transcript or duplicate recording in lieu thereof on request to any interested party at his expense.

Qualification. When any hearing before the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment shall carry over two or more meetings, a member of the Board who was absent for one or more of the meetings shall be eligible to vote on the matter upon which the hearing was conditioned, notwithstanding his/her absence from one or more of the meetings; provided, however, that such Board member has available to him/her a transcript or recording of the meeting from which he/she was absent and certifies in writing to the Board that he/she has read such verbatim transcript or listened to such recording.

Public notice shall be given by publication in the official newspaper of the Borough, if there is one, or in a newspaper of general circulation in the Borough at least 10 days prior to the date of the 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 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 a horizontal property regime, in the case of a co-owner whose apartment has an apartment above or below it. Such notice shall be given by either serving a copy thereof on the owner as shown on the 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 the said current tax duplicate. 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 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.

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 situate within 200 feet of a municipal boundary.

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.

Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail to the Director of the Division of State 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 N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10b.

Notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail of a hearing on an application of a major subdivision or a site plan not defined as a minor site plan to a public utility, cable television company or local utility which possesses a right-of-way or easement within the Borough and has registered with the Borough in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12.1.

All notices herein above 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.

Any notice made by certified mail as herein above required shall be deemed complete upon mailing in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-14.

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; 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 Borough 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.

Notice regarding Master Plan. The Planning Board shall give:

Notice of hearing on ordinance or capital improvement program. Notice of action on capital improvement or Official Map shall be made as follows:

Each decision on any application for development shall be set forth in writing as a resolution of the Board, which resolution shall include findings of fact and legal conclusions 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, then to his attorney, without separate charge. A copy of the decision shall also be mailed to all persons who have requested it and 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 Board 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.

See §§ 300-11 and 300-26 for time for approval and expiration of approval, wherein the statutory time frames for action by the Planning Board and Zoning Board, respectively, are set forth.