Oradell City Zoning Code
ARTICLE V
Provisions Applicable to Both Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment
§ 240-5.1 Conflicts of interest.
No member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment shall act on any matter in which he has, either directly or indirectly, any personal or financial interest. Whenever any such member shall disqualify himself from acting on a particular matter, he shall not continue to sit with the Board on the hearing of such matter nor participate in any discussion or decision relating thereto, except as a member of the public.
§ 240-5.2 Meetings.
A.
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 or for such reasons as are set forth in the duly adopted rules and regulations of such Board.
B.
Special meetings may be requested by the applicant which are dedicated solely to the applicant's case for efficiency reasons, and then with Board approval, shall be conducted on a schedule at the discretion of the Board. The applicant will compensate the Borough for all costs, expenses and fees incurred as a result of the specially scheduled meeting(s). In addition, the applicant shall specify that the time limit(s) for the Board's decision is waived and such waiver may be withdrawn by the applicant within 70 days' written notice to the Board.
§ 240-5.3 Minutes.
Minutes of every regular or special meeting shall be kept and shall include the names of the person appearing and addressing the Board and of the person 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. 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.
§ 240-5.4 Fees.
Fees shall be as indicated in Chapter 115 of the Code of the Borough of Oradell, which establishes fees. All fees shall be payable at the time of filing any application for development. If such fees and escrows are not maintained at least at a minimum of 70% of the initial escrow on a monthly basis (two full work days before the next hearing), the application/case shall be considered to be put on hold by the applicant, whereby the time limit for decision is put on hold and hearing of the case shall cease until the escrow and fees are reestablished to their required initial levels. If no action/full payment is taken by the applicant for a three-month period, the application will be deemed withdrawn and will be dismissed by the Board without prejudice. If the applicant in the future reapplies for any kind of construction or relief on this property or part thereof, all prior expenses shall be paid/covered prior to having the new application deemed complete/acceptable for hearing by the Board.
§ 240-5.5 Hearings.
A.
Rules. The Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment shall 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.
B.
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. 38 (N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1 et seq.), shall apply.
C.
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.
D.
Evidence. Technical rules of evidence shall not be applicable to the hearing, but the Board may exclude irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence.
E.
Records. Each Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the proceedings by either stenographic, 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.
§ 240-5.6 Notice.
Pursuant to requirements of MLUL prior to commencement of hearing, the municipal Board may require any additional notice it deems necessary to meet the objectives of the notice requirements of this chapter.
§ 240-5.7 List of property owners furnished.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12c, the administrative office of the municipality shall, within seven days after receipt of a request therefor and upon receipt of payment of a fee as established in the Fee Schedule in Chapter 115, make and certify a list, from the current tax duplicate, of names and addresses of owners and other persons required to receive notice, to whom the applicant is required to give notice.
§ 240-5.8 Decisions on application for development.
A.
Each decision on any application for development shall be set forth in writing as a resolution of the Board, which shall include findings of fact and legal conclusions based thereon.
B.
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 who 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 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 municipality.
§ 240-5.9 Publication of decision.
A brief notice of every final decision shall be published in the official newspaper of the municipality. Such publication shall be arranged by the Administrative Officer with separate charge to the applicant. Said notice shall be sent to the official newspaper for publication within 10 days of the date of any such decision.
§ 240-5.10 Payment of taxes.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-39 and 40:55D-65, every application for development submitted to the Planning Board or to the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be accompanied by proof that no taxes or assessments for local improvements are due or delinquent on the property which is the subject of such application; or, if it is shown that taxes or assessments are delinquent on said property, any approvals or other relief granted by either Board shall be conditioned upon either the prompt payment of such taxes or assessment or the making of adequate provision for the payment thereof in such manner that the municipality will be adequately protected.
§ 240-5.11 Rules and regulations.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment and the Planning Board shall each adopt, and may from time to time amend, such rules and regulations with respect to their various functions as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions and purposes of this chapter, which rules and regulations shall not be inconsistent with this chapter. Said rules and regulations shall be available for inspection at the office of the respective Boards, and copies thereof shall be provided 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.
§ 240-5.12 Escrow for professional fees.
A.
All applicants or appellants to the Municipal Board shall deposit and maintain escrows for professional fees as established in Chapter 115 of the Code of the Borough of Oradell, which establishes fees.
B.
The Borough shall make all of the payments to professionals for services rendered to the municipality for review of applications for development, review and preparation of documents, inspection of improvements or other purposes under the provisions of the Municipal Land Use Law. If the Borough requires of the developer an escrow toward anticipated municipal expenses for these professional services, the deposit shall be pursuant to vouchers from the professionals stating the hours spent, the hourly rate and the expenses incurred. The Borough shall render a written final accounting to the developer setting forth all the charges made to the escrow. Thereafter, the Borough shall, upon written request, provide copies of the vouchers to the developer. For professionals, the charge to the escrow shall be at the same rate as all other work of the same nature by the professional for the municipality.
§ 240-5.13 Flood-fringe areas.
In all applications involving a flood-fringe area, the provisions of Chapter 132 of the Code of the Borough of Oradell shall be followed.
§ 240-5.14 Conditional approval; county approval.
The applicant shall comply with reasonable conditions laid down by the approving board for design, dedication, improvements and the use of the land to conform to the physical and economical development of the municipality and to the safety and general welfare of the future residents/owners in the development and the community at large. Where County Planning Board review or approval is required on an application, the approving authority shall condition any approval it grants upon receipt of a favorable report from the County Planning Board. If the county's report attaches mandatory conditions, the original conditional approval by the approving municipal Board shall be void, and the application shall be denied, and a new resolution shall be adopted which considers the County Planning Board's report.
§ 240-5.15 Simultaneous review and approval.
A.
Where an applicant is seeking simultaneous subdivision and/or site plan review and approval of a use variance, the applicant shall submit, in addition to the Zoning Board of Adjustment application, all Planning Board applications accompanied by plats and other supporting documents required for subdivision and site plan approval by the Planning Board.
B.
Where an applicant is seeking simultaneous variance approval as part of an application for subdivision and/or site plan, the applicant shall submit, in addition to the Planning Board application, all applications and documents required for variance approval by the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
§ 240-5.16 Appeals to Zoning Board of Adjustment.
An appeal to the Zoning Board of Adjustment may be taken by any interested party affected by any decision of the administrative officer of the municipality based on or made in the enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance or Official Map. Such appeal shall be taken within 20 days by filing a notice of appeal in the manner set forth in this chapter and in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Land Use Law.