Long Hill Township City Zoning Code

Hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that there is error in any order, requirement, decision or refusal made by an Administrative Officer based on or made in the enforcement of this Ordinance;

Hear and decide requests for interpretation of the Zoning Map or Ordinance or for decisions upon other special questions upon which such Board is authorized to pass by any zoning or official map ordinance, in accordance with the Municipal Land Use Law;

(1) Where: (a) by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific piece of property, or (b) by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or physical features uniquely affecting a specific piece of property, or (c) by reason of an extraordinary and exceptional situation uniquely affecting a specific piece of property or the structures lawfully existing thereon, the strict application of any regulation in this Ordinance would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to, or exceptional and undue hardship upon, the developer of such property, grant, upon an application or an appeal relating to such property, a variance from such strict application of such regulation so as to relieve such difficulties or hardship; (2) where in an application or appeal relating to a specific piece of property the purposes of the Municipal Land Use Law would be advanced by a deviation from the Ordinance requirements herein provided and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, grant a variance to allow departure from the regulations of this Ordinance; provided, however, that no variance from those departures enumerated in Subsection a4 of this subsection shall be granted under this subsection; and provided further that the proposed development does not require approval by the Planning Board of a subdivision, site plan or conditional use, in conjunction with which the Planning Board has power to review a request for a variance.

In particular cases and for special reasons, grant a variance to allow departure from the regulations of this Ordinance to permit: (1) a use or principal structure in a district restricted against such use or principal structure, (2) an expansion of a nonconforming use, (3) deviation from a specification or standard pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 pertaining solely to a conditional use, (4) an increase in the permitted floor area ratio as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4, (5) an increase in the permitted density as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4, except as applied to the required lot area for a lot or lots for detached one or two dwelling unit buildings, which lot or lots are either an isolated undersized lot or lots resulting from a minor subdivision, or six a height of a principal structure which exceeds by 10 feet or 10% the maximum height permitted in the zone district for a principal structure. A variance under this subsection shall be granted only by affirmative vote of at least five members of the Board of Adjustment.

No variance or other relief may be granted under the terms of this subsection unless such variance or other relief can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and will not substantially impair the intent and the purpose of the zone plan and zoning ordinance.

Direct issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-34 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 issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36 for a building or structure not related to a street.

The Board of Adjustment shall have the power to grant, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board, subdivision or site plan approval or conditional use approval whenever the proposed development requires approval by the Board of Adjustment of a variance pursuant to Subsection 172.9a4. The applicant may elect to submit a separate application requesting approval of the variance and a subsequent application for any required approval of a subdivision, site plan or conditional use. The separate approval of the variance shall be conditioned upon grant of all required subsequent approvals by the Board of Adjustment. No such subsequent approval shall be granted unless such approval can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantial impairment of the intent and purpose of the zone plan and Zoning Ordinance. The number of votes of Board members required to grant any such subsequent approval shall be as otherwise provided for the approval in question, and the special vote pursuant to the aforesaid Subsection 172.9a4 shall not be required.