Class I: the Mayor.

Class II: one of the officials of the municipality other than a member of the Borough Council to be appointed by the Mayor, preferably the Zoning Officer.

Class III: a member of the Borough Council to be appointed by the Council.

Class IV: six other citizens of the municipality to be appointed by the Mayor. The members of Class IV shall hold no other municipal office. A member of the Environmental Commission who is also a member of the Planning Board as required by N.J.S.A. 40:55A-1 shall be a Class IV Planning Board member.

To make and adopt and from time to time amend a Master Plan to guide the use of land within the Borough in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-28.

To administer the site plan and subdivision review provisions of this chapter in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the Municipal Land Use Law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.).

To participate in the preparation and review of programs or plans required of the Planning Board by state or federal law or regulations.

To assemble data on a continuing basis as part of a continuous planning process.

Upon request, to assist the Borough Council in preparation of a program of municipal capital improvement projects and amendments thereto.

To consider and make a report to the Borough Council within 35 days after referrals as to any proposed development regulation submitted to it pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-26(a), and also pass upon other matters specifically referred to the Planning Board by the Mayor and Borough Council, pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-26(b).

To review applications for approval of conditional uses.

To perform such other advisory duties as are assigned to it by ordinance or resolution of the Borough Council for the aid and assistance of the Borough Council or other municipal agencies or officers.

Direct, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-34, the issuance of a permit for a building or structure in the bed of a mapped street or public drainageway, flood control basin or public area reserved pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-32.

Direct, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36, the issuance of a permit for a building or structure not related to a street meeting the requirements of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-35.

Hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that there is error in any order, required decision or refusal made by a Borough officer or agency based on or made in the enforcement of this chapter. The Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or in part, or may modify the action, order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination appealed from and to that end have all the powers of the Borough officer from whom the appeal is taken.

Hear and decide requests for interpretation of the Zoning Map or of this chapter or for decisions upon other special questions upon which the Board is authorized to pass.

When the strict application of any zoning regulation would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to, or exceptional and undue hardship upon the developer of such property, the Board may grant a variance from such strict application of such regulation so as to relieve such difficulties or hardship when one of the following reasons exists:

Variance for special reasons.

If an application for development requests one or more variances, but not a variance for a purpose enumerated in § 145-601J(6), herein, the decision on the requested variance or variances shall be rendered under § 145-601J(5) of this chapter.

Meetings of the Planning Board shall be scheduled no less 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 members and the public in accordance with all applicable legal requirements.

No action shall be taken at any meeting without a quorum being present, said quorum to be the majority of the full authorized membership of the Board. All actions shall be by majority vote of the members of the municipal agency present at the meeting except as otherwise required in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-17, 40:55D-26, 40:55D-32, 40:55D-34, 40:55D-62, 40:55D-63 and 40:55D-70.

All actions shall be taken by majority vote of the members of the Board present at the meeting except as otherwise required by this chapter or by a provision of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. A member of the Board who was absent for one or more of the meetings at which a hearing was held shall be eligible to vote on a matter upon which the hearing was conducted, notwithstanding his absence therefrom, provided that such Board member has available to him the transcript or recording of all of the hearing from which he was absent, and certifies in writing to the Board that he has read such transcript or listened to such recording.

All regular meetings and all special meetings shall be open to the public, except as provided in the Open Public Meeting Law, c. 231, Laws of New Jersey, 1975.[1] Notice of all such meetings shall be given in accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meeting Law, c. 231, Laws of New Jersey, 1975.

For the purposes of this article, the administrative officer designated herein shall be the Secretary of the Planning Board.

The Planning Board shall hold a hearing on each application for development. The Board shall make rules governing such hearings.

Any maps and documents for which approval is sought at a hearing shall be on file and available for public inspection at least 10 days before the date of the hearing during normal business hours in the office of the administrative officer. The applicant may produce any documents, records or testimony at the hearing to substantiate or clarify or supplement the previously filed maps and documents.

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, c. 38 (N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1 et seq.) shall apply.

The testimony of all witnesses relating to an application for development shall be taken under oath or affirmation by the presiding officer, or such other person as he may designate, 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 reasonable limitations as to time and number of witnesses.

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

Public notice of a hearing shall be given for the following applications for development:

The Administrative Officer shall notify the applicant at least two weeks prior to the public hearing at which the application will be discussed. Notice of a hearing requiring public notice shall be given by the applicant at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing in the following manner:

Upon the written request of an applicant, the Borough Tax Assessor shall, within seven days, make and certify a list from current tax duplicates of names and addresses of owners and registered public utilities and cable television companies within the Borough to whom the applicant is required to give notice. The applicant shall be charged $0.25 per name or $10, whichever is greater, for said list and shall be entitled to rely upon the information contained in such list, and failure to give notice to any lot owner or public utility or cable television company not on the list shall not invalidate any hearing or proceeding. Additionally, the applicant shall be responsible for giving proper notice to all property owners within 200 feet of the property, which is the subject of the hearing, who do not reside within the Borough.

The notice shall state the date, time and place of the hearings and the nature of the matters to be discussed, and an identification of the property proposed for development by street address, if any, and 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 or documents for which approval is sought are available for inspection.

Minutes of every regular or special meeting shall be kept and shall include the names and addresses of the persons appearing and addressing the Board and any 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, after approval by the Board, for public inspection during the normal business hours at the office of the administrative officer. Any interested party shall have the right to compel production of the minutes for use as evidence in any legal proceedings concerning the subject matter of such minutes. Such interested party shall be charged a reasonable fee for the reproduction of the minutes as specified by ordinance or statute.

A verbatim recording shall be made of every hearing. The recording of the proceedings shall be made either by stenographer, mechanical or electrical means. The municipality shall furnish a transcript or duplicate recording in lieu thereof on request to any interested party at its expense, provided that the charge for a transcript shall not exceed the maximum amount permitted in N.J.S.A. 2A:11-15[2] and as specified by ordinance. Each transcript shall be certified in writing by the transcriber to be accurate.

Each decision on any application for development shall be reduced to writing by the Board and shall including findings of facts and conclusions based thereon.

The Board shall provide the findings and conclusions through:

The vote on any memorializing resolution shall be deemed to be a memorialization of the action of the Board and not to be an action of the Board; however, the date of the adoption of the resolution shall constitute the date of the decision for purposes of the required mailings, filings and publications.

If the Board fails to adopt a resolution or memorializing resolution as hereinabove specified, any interested party may apply to the Superior Court in a summary manner for an order compelling the Board to reduce its findings and conclusions to writing within a stated time and the cost of the application, including attorney fees, shall be assessed against the municipality.

A copy of the decision shall be mailed by the appropriate Borough authority within 10 days of the date of decision to the applicant or appellant, or, if represented, then to his attorney, without separate charge. A copy of the decision shall also be mailed within 10 days to any interested party who has requested it and who has paid the fee prescribed by the Borough for such service.

The administrative officer shall cause a brief notice of every decision of the Board to be published in the official newspaper of High Bridge Borough, the cost of such publication to be charged to the applicant's escrow account. Such notice shall be sent to the official newspaper within 10 days of the date of the decision.

A copy of the decision shall be filed in the office of the administrative officer, 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 that established for copies of other public documents in the Borough.

Appeals to the Board pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70a [§ 145-601J(3) of this chapter] may be taken by any interested party affected by any decision of a Borough officer based on or made in the enforcement of this chapter or the Official Map, if there is one. Such appeal shall be taken within 20 days by filing a notice of appeal with the officer from whom the appeal is taken specifying the grounds of such appeal. The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall immediately transmit to the Board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed was taken.

A developer may file an application for development with the Board for action under any of its powers without prior application to a Borough officer.

An appeal to the Board under this section shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action with respect to which the decision appealed was made unless the officer from whose action the appeal is taken certifies to the Board, after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with him, that by reason of facts stated in the certificate, a stay would, in his 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 upon notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.

A construction permit for a single-family detached dwelling unit or a two-family dwelling unit and/or their accessory building(s) on a lot shall not require site plan approval, except that the use of any existing or proposed principal or accessory building for a professional office (other than a home occupation) shall require minor site plan approval prior to the issuance of a construction permit or certificate of occupancy. The foregoing shall in no way affect the responsibility of an applicant to submit the necessary information and receive the necessary approvals as may be required pursuant to other ordinances or articles in this chapter (Chapter 145).

Barns, sheds and silos erected for agricultural purposes shall require minor site plan approval.

All appeals, applications for variance relief, applications for a certificate of nonconformity, or applications for direction of the issuance of a permit not involving any related site plan, subdivision or conditional use approval shall be filed at least 14 days prior to the regular meeting of the Board. The filing shall include 15 copies of any maps and related material; 15 completed copies of the appropriate application form(s), which includes the checklist for variances included in § 145-608 of this chapter and the fee(s) in accordance with Article VII of this chapter.

The Board shall render its decision not later than 120 days after a complete application is submitted for a variance or an appeal is taken from the decision of a Borough officer. Failure of the Board to render a decision within the required time period, or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant, shall constitute a decision favorable to the applicant. In the event that the developer elects to submit separate consecutive applications for the variance and for any required subdivision and/or site plan approval(s), the aforesaid provision shall apply to the application for approval of the variance. The period for granting or denying any subsequent approval for subdivision or site plan shall be as otherwise provided in §§ 145-605B(4), 145-606B(4) and 145-606B(5).

Variances shall expire if the applicant has failed to exercise his rights under the variance approval within two years of the date of the Board's decision to grant the variance. Exercising rights shall mean either applying for a construction permit or applying for such subsequent site plan or subdivision approval as may be required prior to the applicant's obtaining a construction permit. The applicant must obtain a zoning permit following approval of the variance in order to proceed with the project. For variances that become the subject of litigation, the two-year period shall commence on the date of the last reviewing court's decision to grant the variance.

For good cause shown, and after a hearing before the Board on notice in the manner required for original variance applications, the Board may extend the variance by resolution. Any extension may not exceed one year in duration and no more than four such extensions shall be permitted. To receive consideration, an application for extension of a variance shall be made prior to the expiration of the time limit sought to be extended.

At the request of an applicant, the Board shall grant one informal review of a concept plan for a development for which the applicant intends to prepare and submit an application for development. This includes Borough residents who intend to submit or need clarification on an application for a site plan or variance approval.

The applicant shall not be required to submit any fees for such an informal review in accordance with fees per § 145-701; however, no professional review(s) will be undertaken unless the applicant agrees to pay for said review(s).

The applicant shall not be bound by any concept plan for which review is requested, and the Board shall not be bound by any such review.

An applicant desiring to have a concept plan informally reviewed by the Board shall so notify the Administrative Officer at least 14 days prior to the regular meeting of the Board. The administrative officer shall thereafter notify the applicant of the time and place that has been scheduled by the Board for the informal review.

All agricultural operations conducted in accordance with a plan approved by the Soil Conservation District and all agriculture operations conducted in accordance with a plan prepared by a professional forester are specifically exempt from the environment impact statement requirements.

Any application for minor subdivision approval and or minor site plan approval shall not require an EIS unless specifically requested by the Board. However, a brief written description of the project, an inventory listing of all existing natural resources on the site, and a statement verifying that either no significant resources exist on the site or no impacts would be expected, shall be provided.

All preliminary major subdivision applications and all preliminary major site plan applications shall be accompanied by an EIS unless specifically waived by the Board.

An EIS is required for all public and quasi-public projects unless they are exempt from the requirements of local law or by supervening county, state or federal law.

EIS scope guidelines. The table below indicates the specific sections of the EIS that should be emphasized depending on the intensity of the development. This is a guideline only. Other sections may be needed depending upon the unique characteristics of the project.

Waiver. The Planning Board, at its sole discretion, may waive the requirement for an EIS, in whole or in part, upon receipt of a written request, if sufficient evidence is submitted to support a conclusion that the proposed project will have a negligible environmental impact or that a complete EIS, in accordance with the guidelines above, need not be prepared in order to evaluate adequately the environmental impact of a project.

Project description. Plan and description of proposed project complete with site plans, which shall specify the purpose of the proposed project, including products and services, if any, being provided, and the regional, municipal and neighborhood setting, including current land use and zoning of the project site and properties within 500 feet of the site (200 feet for one-to-nine-lot subdivisions and minor site plans).

Site description and inventory. Provide a description and mapping of environmental conditions on the site, which shall include the following items:

Impacts. Discuss both the adverse and positive impacts, as well as direct and indirect impacts, during (short term) and after construction (long term) on the resources identified on the site or vicinity in Subsection B(2) above. The discussion should demonstrate compliance with the design standards in Article VIII and the environmental performance standards in § 145-311. Indicate those impacts that are unavoidable or result in public benefits. The specific concerns that shall be considered include, but are not limited to, the following and shall be accompanied by specific quantitative measurements where necessary and possible:

Alternatives analysis. Other potential alternatives to the proposed project shall be discussed. The analysis should demonstrate that the proposed project results in reasonable use of the site, or meets the project objective, with the least environmental impacts. The analysis should include the no-build alternative and at least one other alternative with less intensive use of the site and one with more intensive usage. The discussion only needs to address those impacts from the alternatives that differ appreciably from the proposed project at a level of detail sufficient to clearly show why the proposed project is the best for the site.

Environmental mitigation measures. Describe what measures will be employed during the planning, construction and operation phases that will minimize or eliminate adverse impacts that could result from the proposed project. The mitigation measures may be discussed along with the impact assessment, if desired. Of specific interest are:

Licenses, permits and other approvals required by law. The applicant shall list all known licenses, permits and other forms of approval required by law for the development and operation of the proposed project. The list shall include approvals required by the Borough, as well as agencies of the county, state and federal governments. Where approvals have been granted, copies of said approvals shall be attached. When approvals are pending, a note shall be made to that effect.

Documentation. All publications, file reports, manuscripts or other written sources of information which were first consulted and employed in compilation of the EIS shall be listed. A list of all agencies and individuals from whom all pertinent information was obtained orally or by letter shall be listed separately. Dates and locations of all meetings shall be specified.

EIS summary. The EIS shall contain a concise summary of the environmental impact assessment for the proposed project. This summary will evaluate the adverse and positive environmental effects of the project should it be implemented and the public benefits expected to derive from the project, if any.

In reviewing an EIS, the Planning Board shall take into consideration the effect of the proposed project upon all aspects of the environment, including natural resources; man-made resources, such as wastewater disposal and water supply systems; public benefits; and the avoidance of any nuisance factors. The Planning Board will submit the EIS for review to the Borough Environmental Commission and may submit the EIS to such other governmental bodies or Borough consultants for review, as it may deem appropriate. The Planning Board shall request that an advisory report be submitted to the Board by the governmental body or consultant(s) within 45 days of the submission of the EIS to the governmental body or consultant(s). The Planning Board shall reject the proposed project on an environmental basis, if it can reasonably determine that the proposed project:

The steps to be taken to minimize the adverse environmental impacts during construction and operation and the alternatives, which may be approved by the Planning Board, shall constitute conditions of the approval of the EIS, together with such other conditions as the Planning Board may impose. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued until compliance with such conditions has been verified.

The applicant shall submit to the administrative officer at least 14 days prior to the regular meeting of the Board 20 copies of the minor plat or plan, 20 copies of the appropriate application(s), which includes the checklist(s) included in § 145-608 of this chapter and the fee(s) in accordance with Article VII of this chapter. The administrative officer shall process the application and shall issue an application number. Once an application has been assigned a number, such number shall appear on all papers, maps, plats or plans and other documents for processing in conjunction with the application.

All plans and plats filed with the Borough for review and approval pursuant to this article shall contain or be accompanied by the information required by the checklists called for in § 145-608 of this article. At the time the final subdivision plat or plan is submitted for signature by the municipal officials, the applicant shall submit a CAD-generated data file, prepared by a New Jersey-licensed land surveyor, directly translatable into an identical image of the map. The file shall be submitted on a standard three-and-one-half-inch floppy disk or standard compact disk in accordance with the following requirements:

Upon receipt of an application by the Board Secretary, the application shall be assigned a docket number, which shall appear on all subsequent papers filed in the case. The Board, a subcommittee of the Board, the Board's professionals, or a designee or designees of the Board shall determine completeness of the application in accordance with the Land Use Ordinance. The Board, a subcommittee of the Board, the Board's professionals, or a designee or designees of the Board shall review the aforesaid application for the purpose of determining, within 45 days of its submission, whether said application is complete, or whether any waivers should be granted from the checklist requirements. Thereafter:

On the date the aforesaid application is certified complete, or on the 46th day following the submission of the application, in the event the Board, a subcommittee of the Board, the Board's professionals, or a designee or designees of the Board fail to make a determination of completeness, as the case may be, the applicable time period within which the Board must act upon the application shall commence. In any case, the applicant is obliged to prove that he or she is entitled to approval of the application. The Board, a subcommittee of the Board, the Board's professionals, or a designee or designees of the Board may subsequently require correction of any information found to be in error, may require submission of additional information not specified herein, and/or may require such revisions in the application documents as are reasonably necessary to make an informed decision as to whether the requirements for approval of the application have been met, provided that the application shall not be deemed incomplete for lack of any such additional information or revisions.

Promptly after certification of completeness, the application documents shall be distributed by the administrative officer to the following:

The Board shall take action on minor subdivision and minor site plan applications within 45 days after the application has been certified complete by the Board or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant. Failure of the Board to act within the prescribed time period shall constitute approval of the application; provided that any minor subdivision or minor site plan application which includes any requested variance relief shall be acted upon within 120 days or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant.

Any designated Subdivision Committee or Site Plan Committee, as the case may be, shall read any written report submitted concerning the application and shall itself review the submission to ascertain its conformity with the requirements of this chapter. The Subdivision Committee or Site Plan Committee, as the case may be, shall offer its recommendations to the Board.

Any proposed application for development determined by the Board to be creating, imposing, aggravating or leading to the possibility of an adverse effect upon either the property in question or upon any adjacent properties, may be required to be revised to remove any adverse effect(s) prior to further review or approval by the Board, or, where the remaining portion of the original tract is sufficient to be subdivided or developed further, the applicant may be required to submit a sketch of the entire remaining portion of the tract to indicate a feasible plan whereby the applied for subdivision or development, together with subsequent subdivision(s) or development(s), may be submitted that will not create, impose, aggravate or lead to any adverse effect.

When a minor subdivision or minor site plan is approved by the Board, a notation to that effect, including the date of approval, shall be made on a master copy. At least 10 prints of the plat or plan and any related deed descriptions to be filed with the County Recording Officer shall be signed by the Borough Engineer and the Chairman and Secretary of the Board (or the Acting Chairman or Secretary where either or both may be absent). The final plat must be submitted in accordance with the requirements at § 145-605A(2) herein. No further approval of the application shall be required and the Secretary of the Board, within 10 days of the date of approval, shall notify the applicant of the Board's action. Additionally, the Secretary of the Board shall forward to the applicant a copy of the approval resolution, adopted in accordance with § 145-602E of this chapter, within 10 days of the adoption by the Board.

When a minor subdivision or minor site plan is disapproved by the Board, the Secretary of the Board, within 10 days of such action, shall notify the applicant of such disapproval. Additionally, the Secretary of the Board shall forward to the applicant a copy of the disapproval resolution, adopted in accordance with § 145-602E of this chapter, within 10 days of its adoption by the Board, setting forth the reasons for the disapproval.

Within 190 days from the date on which the resolution of approval of a minor subdivision is adopted by the Board, a plat map drawn in compliance with the Map Filing Act, P.L. 190, c. 141 (N.J.S.A. 46:23-9.9 et seq.)[1] or deed description, properly drafted and signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Board (or Acting Chairman or Secretary where either or both may be absent), shall be filed by the applicant with the County Recording Officer. All plats requiring final approval or deeds requiring approval shall be submitted in a timely fashion following approval to the appropriate Borough officer [see § 145-605B(12) below]. Unless filed within said 190 days, the minor subdivision approval shall expire and will require Board approval as in the first instance, except that the Board may extend the one-hundred-ninety-day period for filing a minor subdivision plat or deed if the applicant proves to the reasonable satisfaction of the Board that the applicant was barred or prevented, directly or indirectly, from filing because of delays in obtaining legally required approvals from other governmental or quasi-governmental entities and that the applicant applied promptly for and diligently pursued the required approvals. The length of the extension shall be equal to the period of delay caused by the wait for the required approvals, as determined by the Board. The applicant may apply for the extension either before or after what would otherwise be the expiration date.

The zoning requirements and general terms and conditions, whether conditional or otherwise, upon which minor subdivision or minor site plan approval was granted, shall not be changed for a period of two years after the date on which the resolution of minor subdivision or minor site plan approval is adopted by the Board, provided that the approved minor subdivision shall have been duly recorded.

The Board shall grant an extension of this two-year period for a period determined by the Board but not exceeding one year from what would otherwise be the expiration date, if the applicant proves to the reasonable satisfaction of the Board that the applicant was barred or prevented, directly or indirectly, from proceeding with the development because of delays in obtaining legally required approvals from other governmental entities and that the applicant applied promptly for and diligently pursued the approvals. A applicant shall apply for this extension before what would otherwise be the expiration date, or the 91st day after the date on which the applicant receives the last of the legally required approvals from the other governmental entities, whichever occurs later.

Before the Secretary of the Board returns any approved minor subdivision plat or minor site plan to the applicant, the applicant must meet all conditions of approval, if any. The applicant shall provide such additional copies of the plat or plan as may be necessary in order to furnish copies to each of the following:

Upon receipt of an application by the Board Secretary, the application shall be assigned a docket number, which shall appear on all subsequent papers filed in the case. The Board, a subcommittee of the Board, the Board's professionals, or a designee or designees of the Board shall determine completeness of the application in accordance with the Land Use Ordinance. The Board, a subcommittee of the Board, the Board's professionals, or a designee or designees of the Board shall review the major subdivision or major site plan application for the purpose of determining, within 45 days of its submission, whether said application is complete, or whether any waivers should be granted from the checklist requirements. Thereafter:

On the date the aforesaid application is certified complete, or on the 46th day following the submission of the application, in the event the Board, a subcommittee of the Board, the Board's professionals, or a designee or designees of the Board fail to make a determination of completeness, as the case may be, the applicable time period within which the Board must act upon the application shall commence. In any case, the applicant is obliged to prove that he or she is entitled to approval of the application. The Board, a subcommittee of the Board, the Board's professionals, or a designee or designees of the Board may subsequently require correction of any information found to be in error, may require submission of additional information not specified in this chapter, and/or may require such revisions in the application documents as are reasonably necessary to make an informed decision as to whether the requirements for approval of the application have been met, provided that the application shall not be deemed incomplete for lack of any such additional information or revisions.

Promptly after certification of completeness, the application documents shall be distributed by the administrative officer to the following:

The Board shall take action on a preliminary major site plan application involving 10 acres of land or less and 10 dwelling units or less and/or a preliminary major subdivision application involving 10 lots or less within 45 days after the application has been certified complete or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant. Failure of the Board to act within the prescribed time period shall constitute approval of the application; provided that any preliminary major site plan or preliminary major subdivision application which includes any requested variance relief shall be acted upon within 120 days or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant.

The Board shall take action on a preliminary major site plan application involving more than 10 acres of land or more than 10 dwellings and/or a preliminary major subdivision applicant involving more than 10 lots within 95 days after the application has been certified complete or within further time as may be consented to by the applicant. Failure of the Board to act within the prescribed time period shall constitute approval of the application; provided that any preliminary major site plan or preliminary major subdivision application which includes any requested variance relief shall be acted upon within 120 days or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant.

Any proposed application for development determined by the Board to be creating, imposing, aggravating or leading to the possibility of an adverse effect upon either the property in question or upon any adjacent properties shall be required to be revised to mitigate any adverse effect(s) prior to further review or approval by the Board, or, where the remaining portion of the original tract is sufficient to be subdivided or further developed, the applicant shall be required to submit a sketch of the entire portion of the tract to indicate a feasible plan whereby the applied for subdivision or development, together with subsequent subdivision(s) or development(s), that may be submitted that will not create, impose, aggravate or lead to any such adverse effect. Such information shall be included and discussed in the environmental impact statement (see § 145-604).

All hearings held on applications for preliminary major subdivision approval and preliminary major site plan approval shall require public notice of the hearing. The Board shall set the date, time and place for the public hearing and shall inform the applicant of this at least 14 days prior to said hearing date. Notice of the hearing shall be given by the applicant at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing in accordance with § 145-602C of this chapter.

The recommendations of those agencies and officials to whom the preliminary plat or plan was forwarded shall be given careful consideration in the final decision on the development application. If the County Planning Board or the Borough Engineer approves the preliminary submission, such approval shall be noted on the plat or plan. If the Board acts favorably on the preliminary plat or plan, the Borough Engineer and the Chairman and Secretary of the Board (or the acting Chairman or Secretary, where either or both may be absent) shall affix their signatures to at least 10 copies of the plat or plan with the notification that it has been approved. The applicant shall furnish such copies to the Board.

Should minor revisions or additions to the plat or plan be deemed necessary, the Board may grant preliminary approval subject to specified conditions and receipt of revised plans within 30 days from the date of said approval. Should substantial revisions be deemed necessary, the Board shall require that an amended plat or plan be submitted and acted upon as in the case of the original application. If the preliminary approval included a section or staging plan and such plan is subsequently changed, the applicant must submit the revised plan to the Borough Engineer who may approve the change or direct the applicant to return to the Planning Board for reapproval.

If the Board, after consideration and discussion of the preliminary plat or plan, determines that it is unacceptable, a notation shall be made by the Chairman of the Board to that effect on the plat or plan and a resolution adopted in accordance with § 145-602E of this chapter setting forth the reasons for such rejection. One copy of the plat or plan and said resolution shall be returned to the applicant within 10 days of the adoption of said resolution.

A final plat or final plan shall be submitted to the administrative officer within three years after the date of preliminary approval or any authorized extension thereof. The applicant shall submit to the administrative officer at least 14 days prior to the regular meeting of the Board: 22 copies of the final major subdivision plat or final major site plan; 22 copies of the appropriate application(s), which includes the checklist included in § 145-608 of this chapter[1]; and the application fee pursuant to Article VII of this chapter.

All plans and plats filed with the Borough for review and approval pursuant to this article shall contain or be accompanied by the information required by the checklist. At the time the final plat is submitted for signature by the municipal officials, the applicant shall submit a CAD-generated data file, prepared by a New Jersey-licensed land surveyor, directly translatable into an identical image of the final plat. The file shall be submitted on a standard three-and-one-half-inch floppy disk or standard compact disk in accordance with the following requirements:

Upon receipt of an application by the Board Secretary, the application shall be assigned a docket number, which shall appear on all subsequent papers filed in the case. The Board, a subcommittee of the Board, the Board's professionals, or a designee or designees of the Board shall determine completeness of the application in accordance with the Land Use Ordinance. The Board, a subcommittee of the Board, the Board's professionals, or a designee or designees of the Board shall review the aforesaid application for the purpose of determining, within 45 days of its submission, whether said application is complete, or whether any waivers should be granted from the checklist requirements. Thereafter:

On the date the aforesaid application is certified complete, or on the 46th day following the submission of the application, in the event the Board, a subcommittee of the Board, the Board's professionals, or a designee or designees of the Board fail to make a determination of completeness, as the case may be, the applicable time period within which the Board must act upon the application shall commence. In any case, the applicant is obliged to prove that he or she is entitled to approval of the application. The Board, a subcommittee of the Board, the Board's professionals, or a designee or designees of the Board may subsequently require correction of any information found to be in error, may require submission of additional information not specified in this chapter, and/or may require such revisions in the application documents as are reasonably necessary to make an informed decision as to whether the requirements for approval of the application have been met, provided that the application shall be deemed incomplete for lack of any such additional information or revisions.

Promptly after certification of completeness, the application documents shall be distributed by the administrative officer to the following:

The Board shall take action on final site plan and final subdivision applications within 45 days after the application has been certified complete or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant. Failure of the Board to act within the prescribed time period shall constitute approval of the application, provided that any final site plan or final subdivision application which includes any requested variance relief shall be acted upon within 120 days or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant.

The recommendations of those agencies and officials to whom the final plat or plan was submitted shall be given careful consideration in the final decision on the development application. If the County Planning Board or the Borough Engineer approves the final submission, such approval shall be noted on the plat or plan. If the Board acts favorably on the final plat or plan, the Borough Engineer and the Chairman and Secretary of the Board (or the acting Chairman or Secretary, where either or both may be absent) shall affix their signature to at least 10 paper copies of the plat or plan with the notification that it has been approved. The applicant shall furnish such copies to the Board for signing, along with an electronic file of the plat or plan in accordance with § 145-607A(2). Moreover, in the case of final subdivisions only, the applicant shall include for signing one cloth copy or equivalent and at least two Mylar copies of the approved plat in addition to the 10 paper copies.

After approval of the final plat or plan by the Board, the administrative officer shall retain one paper copy of the signed plat or plan and shall furnish other copies to each of the following within 10 days from the date of the adoption of a resolution in accordance with § 145-602E of this chapter:

Within 95 days of the date of execution by the Board of a final subdivision plat, the applicant shall file a copy of same with the County Recording Officer. In the event of failure to file within said 95 days, the approval of the major subdivision shall expire and any further proceedings shall require the filing of a new application as in the first instance. The Board, for good cause shown, may extend the filing deadline for an additional 95 days. The Board may extend the initial or subsequent ninety-five-day period if the applicant proves to the reasonable satisfaction of the Board that the applicant was barred or prevented, directly or indirectly, from filing because of delays in obtaining legally required approvals from other governmental or quasi-governmental entities and that the applicant applied promptly for and diligently pursued the required approvals. The length of the extension shall be equal to the period of delay caused by the wait for the required approvals as determined by the Board. The applicant may apply for an extension either before or after the original expiration date.

If the Board, after consideration and discussion of the final plat or plan, disapproves the submission, a notation to that effect shall be made by the Chairman of the Board on the plat or plan. The administrative officer, within 10 days of such adoption, shall notify the applicant of such disapproval and forward the applicant a copy of the adopted resolution setting forth the reason for the disapproval.

A consistency determination from the Highlands Council indicating that the application is consistent with the Highlands Regional Master Plan; or

A consistency determination from the Highlands Council indicating that the application is not consistent with the Highlands Regional Master Plan, accompanied by a certification, as detailed in Subsection B below, by the applicant's professional(s) that the application has been since reviewed by the Highlands Council revised to achieve consistency with the Highlands Regional Master Plan.

Any improvement to a single-family dwelling in lawful existence as of the effective date of this section, provided that such improvement: a) is related and dedicated solely to the single-family residential use of either the dwelling or the property upon which it is situated; b) results in the ultimate disturbance of less than one acre of land; and c) produces a cumulative impervious surface area of less than 1/4 acre.

The reconstruction, within the same footprint, of any building or other structure lawfully existing as of the effective date of this section, in the event of its destruction or partial destruction by fire, storm, natural disaster, or any other unintended circumstance.

The repair or maintenance of any building or other structure lawfully existing as of the effective date of this section. This exclusion shall not be construed to permit repairs or maintenance activities that alter the footprint of such building or structure.

The interior improvement, rehabilitation, or modification of any building or other structure lawfully existing as of the effective date of this section. This exclusion shall not be construed to permit activities that alter the footprint of such building or structure.

The attachment of signs or other ornamentation to any building or structure, to the installation of windows, doors, chimneys, vents, shafts, heating, ventilation, or air-conditioning equipment, or to any other such improvement to a building or structure provided it occupies a surface area footprint of not more than 50 square feet. This exclusion shall not be construed to permit ultimate disturbance or cumulative impervious surface in excess of that provided at Subsection C(1), above, for single-family dwellings.

Any improvement or alteration to a building or other structure lawfully existing as of the effective date of this section, where such improvement or alteration is necessary for compliance with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, or to otherwise provide accessibility to the disabled.

Demonstration of a Highlands Act exemption for an application for development involving lands located in the Planning Area shall consist of a Highlands exemption determination issued by the Highlands Council.

The activity, improvement or development proposed by the subject application for development has not yet been formally determined to be exempt from the Highlands Act, but eligibility for an exemption has been sufficiently established by the applicant; or

The activity, improvement or development proposed in the application for development will neither encroach upon a Highlands resource or Highlands Resource Area, nor be of detrimental impact to any Highlands resource or Highlands Resource Area as these are identified and delineated in the Highlands Regional Master Plan. The applicant's professional(s) responsible for preparation of the applicant's plan shall establish compliance of the above through a formal certification specifically addressing the Highlands resources and resource areas and related policies and objectives as identified in Chapter 4 of the Highlands Regional Master Plan.