Point Pleasant Beach
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
§ 19-13.6
Provisions Applicable to Both the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment.
a.
Conflict 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 hearings of such matter nor participate in any discussion or decision relating thereto.
b.
Meetings.
1.
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 cancelled for lack of applications for development to process.
2.
Special meetings may be provided for at the call of the chairman or on the request of any two board members, which shall be held on notice to its members and the public in accordance with all applicable legal requirements.
3.
No action shall be taken at any meeting without a quorum being present.
4.
All actions shall be taken by majority vote of a quorum except as otherwise required by a provision of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
5.
All meetings shall be open to the public. 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.
c.
Records.
1.
Minutes of every regular or special meeting shall be kept and shall include the names of the persons appearing and addressing the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and of the persons appearing by attorney, the action taken by the planning or zoning board, the findings, if any, made by it and reasons therefor. The minutes shall thereafter be made available for public inspection during the 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 proceedings concerning the subject matter of such minutes.
2.
A verbatim recording shall be made of every hearing. The recording of the proceedings shall be made by either stenographer, mechanical or electronic means. The Borough shall furnish a transcript or duplicate recording in lieu thereof on request to any interested party at his expense.
d.
Hearings.
1.
The Planning Board or Board of Adjustment, as the case may be, shall hold a hearing on each application for a request for site plan or subdivision approval, zoning variance, conditional use, appeal, interpretation or direction for the issuance of a permit.
2.
The chairman 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.).
3.
The testimony of all witnesses relating to an application shall be taken under oath or affirmation by the chairman, 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.
4.
Technical rules of evidence shall not be applicable to the hearing, but the planning or zoning board may exclude irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence including testimony.
e.
Notice of applications (N.J.S.A. 40.55D-12).
1.
2.
Responsibilities of the applicant.
(a)
Notice of a hearing requiring public notice pursuant to this subsection shall be given by the applicant as follows at least ten days prior to the date of the hearing:
(1)
By publication in the official newspaper of the Borough, if there is one, or in a newspaper of general circulation in the Borough.
(2)
To all owners of real property as shown on the current tax duplicate located within 200 feet in all directions of the property which is the subject of the hearing, which notice shall be given by serving a copy thereof on the property; or mailing a copy thereof by certified mail to the property owner at his address as shown on the current tax duplicate. It is not required that a return receipt be obtained. Notice is deemed complete upon mailing (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-15).
(3)
Notice to a partnership owner may be made by service upon any partner; 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.
(4)
To the clerk of any adjoining municipality or municipalities and to the county Planning Board when the property involved is located within 200 feet of the adjoining municipality or municipalities, which notice shall be given by personal service or certified mail.
(5)
To the county Planning Board when the application for development involves property adjacent to an existing county road or proposed road shown on the official county map or county master plan or adjoins other county land.
(6)
To the Commissioner of Transportation of the State of New Jersey when the property abuts a State highway.
(7)
To the Director of the Division of State and Regional Planning in the Department of Community Affairs when the hearing involves an application for development of property which exceeds 150 acres or 500 dwelling units, in which case the 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.
(8)
All taxes and municipal assessments due must be paid prior to any application being heard by either the Zoning Board of Adjustment or the Planning Board.
(b)
Upon the written request of an applicant or his agent and the payment of a fee of twenty-five ($0.25) cents per name or ten ($10.00) dollars whichever is more, either the Borough Clerk or the tax assessor shall make and certify a list from the current tax duplicates of names and addresses of owners within the Borough to whom the application is required to give notice. The applicant shall be entitled to rely upon the information contained in such list, and failure to give notice to any owner not on the list shall not invalidate the hearing or proceeding. (Note: For the names and addresses of property owners in adjacent municipalities, when required, contact the respective clerks.)
3.
Contents of notice. The notice shall state the date, time and place of the hearing and the nature of the matters to be considered, and an 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 or documents for which approval is sought are available for inspection.