Kingwood Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IX
Municipal Planning Board
§ 132-125 Removal; absent members; quorum; organization.
A.
Removal for cause. No member of the Planning Board shall be permitted to act on any matter in which he/she has, either directly or indirectly, any personal or financial interest. Any member other than a Class I member, after a public hearing if he/she requests one, may be removed by the governing body for cause.
B.
Absent members. When any hearing before a Planning Board 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 conducted, notwithstanding his 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 transcript or listened to such recording.
C.
Quorum. A quorum of the Planning Board shall be a majority of the full authorized membership.
D.
Organization. The Planning Board shall elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman from the members of Class IV, select a Secretary who may or may not be a member of the Planning Board or a municipal employee and create and fill such other offices as established by this chapter.
§ 132-126 Power and duties.
The Planning Board shall follow the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. and shall accordingly exercise its power in regard to this Zoning Ordinance as follows:
A.
Site plan review.
B.
Conditional use approval.
C.
Variances in conjunction with subdivision, site plan and conditional use approval.
(1)
The Planning Board shall review all use variances referred to it by the Zoning Board of Adjustment and shall return a written report with recommendations to it within 45 days. Failure of the Planning Board to transmit its report within the mandated time period shall relieve the Board of Adjustment from the requirements of this subsection.
(2)
The Planning Board shall review all other zoning matters referred to it by any municipal body or municipal officer which by ordinance shall be referred to it. A written report within the time limit and under the same circumstances as Subsection C(1) above shall be made to the referring body or officer.
(3)
Whenever the Planning Board shall have made a recommendation regarding a matter authorized by this act to another municipal body, such recommendation may be rejected only by a majority of the full authorized membership of such other body.
§ 132-127 Additional staff and services.
The Planning Board may employ or contract for and fix the compensation of legal counsel, other than the Municipal Attorney, and experts and other staff and services as it may deem necessary, not exceeding, exclusive of gifts or grants, the amount appropriated by the governing body for its use.
§ 132-128 Planning Board review in lieu of Board of Adjustment.
The Planning Board, when reviewing applications for approval of subdivision plats, site plans or conditional uses, shall have the power to grant to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Board of Adjustment for the following:
A.
Variances, pursuant to Section 57c of the Municipal Land Use Law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.) commonly known as "C" or "bulk" variances, from lot area, lot dimensional, setback and yard requirements, provided that relief pursuant to this subsection from lot area requirements shall not be granted for more than one lot.
B.
Direct the issuance of a permit for a building or structure not related to a street where the enforcement of the requirement that every lot shall abut a street giving access to such proposed building or structure where the enforcement here would entail practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship or where the circumstances of the case do not require the building or structure to be related to a street. The Planning Board may, upon application or appeal, direct the issuance of a permit subject to conditions that will provide adequate access for fire-fighting equipment, ambulances and other emergency vehicles necessary for the protection of health and safety.