Establishment. There is hereby established, pursuant to Chapter 219, P.L. 1975 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23 et seq.), in the Borough of Sea Bright, a Municipal Planning Board of nine members, consisting of the following four classes:

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-25c and being that the Borough of Sea Bright is a municipality having a population of 2,500 or less, the nine-member Planning Board shall exercise, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions, all the powers of a Board of Adjustment; but the Class I and Class III members shall not participate in the consideration of applications for development which involve relief pursuant of Subsection D of Section 57 of P.L. 1975, c. 291 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70).

Alternate members.

The term of the member composing Class I shall correspond with his official tenure. The terms of the members composing Class II and Class III shall be for one year or terminate at the completion of their respective terms of office, whichever occurs first.

The term of a Class IV member who is also a member of the Board of Education shall terminate whenever he is no longer a member of such other body or at the completion of his Class IV term, whichever occurs first.

The terms of all Class IV members first appointed pursuant to this chapter shall be so determined that to the greatest practicable extent the expiration of such terms shall be distributed evenly over the first four years after their appointment as determined by resolution of the governing body; provided, however, that no term of any member shall exceed four years and; further, provided that nothing herein shall affect the term of any present member of the Planning Board, all of whom shall continue in office until the completion of the terms for which they were appointed. Thereafter, all Class IV members shall be appointed for terms of four years, except as otherwise hereinabove provided. All terms shall run from January 1 of the year in which the appointment is made.

Regular meetings of the Planning Board shall be scheduled not less than once each month and shall be held as scheduled unless canceled for lack of applications for development to process. The Planning Board may provide, in its rules and regulations, for special meetings, at the call of the Chairperson or on the request of any two of its members, which shall be held on notice to its members and the public in accordance with the notice provisions of state and municipal regulations.

No action shall be taken at any meeting without a quorum being present. All actions shall be taken by a majority vote of a quorum unless the specific action being taken required a vote of a different proportion.

All regular meetings and all special meetings shall be open to the public. Notice of such meetings shall be given in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, Chapter 231 of the Laws of 1975.[1] All meetings and business conducted by the and before the Planning Board shall be in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, Chapter 231 of the Laws of 1975.

The Planning Board shall hold a hearing on each application for development or adoption or amendment of the Master Plan, within its jurisdiction.

The Board shall make the rules governing such hearings consistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. Any maps and documents for which approval is sought at a hearing shall be on file available for public inspection at least 10 days before the day of the hearing during normal business hours in the office of the Secretary. The applicant may produce other documents, records or testimony at the hearing to substantiate or clarify or supplement the previously filed maps and documents.

The officer presiding at any 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.

The testimony of all witnesses relating to an application for development shall be taken under oath or affirmation by the residing 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.

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

The Planning Board shall provide for the verbatim recording of the proceedings by either stenographic, mechanical or electronic means. The Planning Board shall furnish a transcript, or duplicate recording in lieu thereof, on request to any interested party at his expense.

Each decision on any application for development shall be in writing and shall include findings of facts and legal conclusions based thereon.

A copy of the decision shall be mailed by the Planning Board within 10 days of the date of decision to the applicant, or if represented, then to his attorney, without separate charge, and to all who request a copy of the decision for a reasonable fee. A copy of the decision shall also be filed by the Planning Board in the office of the Board Secretary. The Board Secretary shall furnish a copy of such file decision 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 and shall make it available for public inspection at the office during reasonable hours.

A brief notice of the decision shall be published in the official newspaper of the municipality, if there shall be one, or in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. Such publication shall be arranged by the applicant. The period of time in which an appeal of the decision may be made shall run from the first publication of the decision.

Contents. Notices of hearings shall state the date, time and place of the hearing, the nature of the matters to be considered and, in the case of notices of application, 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 Municipal Tax Assessor's office, and the location and times at which any maps and documents for which approval are sought are available for review by the public.

Responsibility. Notice of hearings shall be given by the applicant at least 10 days prior to the date of hearing.

When required.

Method of notice. Notice shall be given by:

Furnishing of lists. Upon the written request of any applicant, the Borough Clerk shall, within seven days, make and certify a list from said current tax duplicates of the names and addresses of owners to whom the applicant is required to give notice pursuant to § 130-18F of this chapter. 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 any hearing or proceeding. A sum as provided in § 130-74E may be charged for such list.

Distribution of notice. Whenever public notice is required, a notice shall also be given to the owners of all real property as shown on the current tax duplicate, located within 200 feet in all directions of the property which is the subject of such hearing. Any application for development involving property located within 200 feet of an adjoining municipality shall require that notice also be given to the Clerk of such adjoining municipality. Notice of an application for development on property adjacent to an existing county road or proposed road shown on the Official County Map or on the County Master Plan or adjoining other county land or situated within 200 feet of the municipal boundary shall also require that notice be served upon the County Planning Board. Notice shall be given to the Commissioner of Transportation of a hearing on an application for development of property adjacent to a state highway. Notice shall be given to the State Planning Commission of a hearing on an application for development of property which exceeds 150 acres or 500 dwelling units. Such notice to the State Planning Commission shall include a copy of any maps or documents required to be on file prior to the hearing of the application for development.

Proof of service. The applicant shall file an affidavit of proof of service with the Planning Board.

Effect of mailing notice. Any notice of hearing made by certified mail shall be deemed complete upon mailing.