Trenton City Zoning Code
ARTICLE 18
Land Use Boards
§ 315-18.1 PLANNING BOARD.
A.
Establishment.
A Planning Board is hereby created consisting of nine regular and two alternate members, consisting of the following four classes:
1.
Regular Members.
a.
Class I: The Mayor, or the Mayor's designee in the absence of the Mayor.
b.
Class II: One of the officials of the City other than a member of the City Council, to be appointed by the Mayor.
c.
Class III: A member of the City Council to be appointed by it.
d.
Class IV: Six other citizens of the City to be appointed by the Mayor. The members of Class IV cannot hold any other municipal office, except that one such member may be a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and one Class IV member may be a member of the Board of Education. If there is an Environmental Commission, the member of the Environmental Commission who is also a member of the Planning Board, as required by N.J.S.A. 40:56A-1, will be a Class IV Planning Board member, unless there is among the Class IV members of the Planning Board both a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and a member of the Board of Education, in which case the member common to the Planning Board and the Environmental Commission is deemed a Class II member of the Planning Board. For the purpose of this section, membership on a municipal board or commission whose function is advisory in nature, and the establishment of which is discretionary and not required by statute, is not considered to hold municipal office.
2.
Alternate Members.
a.
Alternate members to the Board may be appointed only in Class IV. Alternate members are appointed by the Mayor and must meet the qualifications of Class IV members of nine member boards. Alternate members must be designated at the time of appointment by the Mayor as "Alternate No. 1" and "Alternate No. 2."
b.
Alternate members may participate in discussions of the proceedings but may not vote except in the absence or disqualification of a regular member of any class. A vote will not be delayed in order that a regular member may vote instead of an alternate member. In the event that a choice must be made as to which alternate member is to vote, "Alternate No. 1" will vote.
c.
Alternate members must be City residents.
B.
Lack of Quorum Due to Conflicts of Interest.
If the Planning Board lacks a quorum because any of its regular or alternate members is prohibited by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23 or the Local Government Ethics Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.1 et seq., from acting on a matter due to the member's personal or financial interests therein, regular members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment will be called upon to serve, for that matter only, as temporary until there are the minimum number of members necessary to constitute a quorum to act upon the matter without any personal or financial interest therein, whether direct or indirect. If a choice has to be made between regular members of equal seniority, the Chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment will make the choice.
C.
Terms.
1.
Regular Members.
a.
The term of the member composing Class I will correspond with his/her official tenure, or if the member is the Mayor's designee in the absence of the Mayor, the designee will serve at the pleasure of the Mayor during the Mayor's official tenure.
b.
The terms of the members composing Class II and Class III will be for one year or terminate at the completion of their respective terms of office, whichever occurs first, except for a Class II member who is also a member of the Environmental Commission. The term of a Class IV, or a Class II member who is also a member of the Environmental Commission, will be for three years or terminate at the completion of his/her term as a member of the Environmental Commission, whichever comes first.
c.
The term of a Class IV member who is also a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment or Board of Education will terminate whenever they are no longer a member of such other body or at the completion of his Class IV term, whichever occurs first. The term of each Class IV regular member is four years.
2.
Alternate Members.
The terms of the Class IV alternate members is two years, except that the terms of the alternate members will be such that the term of no more than one alternate member expires in any one year; provided, however, that in no instance will the terms of the alternate members first appointed exceed two years.
3.
Staggered Terms.
All present Class IV members of the Planning Board will continue in office until the completion of the terms for which they were appointed. The terms of Class IV regular members first appointed pursuant to this Article must be so determined that, to the greatest practicable extent, the expiration of such term will be evenly distributed over the first four years after their appointment, provided that the initial term cannot exceed four years.
4.
Commencement of Term.
All terms run from January 1st of the year in which the appointment is made.
D.
Removal.
Any member or alternate member, other than a Class I member, may be removed by the City Council for cause, but only after public hearing, if requested, and other requested procedural due process protection.
E.
Vacancy.
If a vacancy of any class member, including alternate members, occurs otherwise than by expiration of term, it will be filled by appointment as above provided for the unexpired term.
F.
Organization of Board.
The Planning Board will organize annually by selecting from among its Class IV regular members a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson. The Board will also select a secretary who may or may not be a member of the Board or an employee of the City. The Board may create and fill such other offices as established by ordinance. An alternate member cannot serve as Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Planning Board.
G.
Planning Board Attorney.
The office of Planning Board Attorney is hereby created. The Planning Board may appoint to such office and fix compensation or rate of compensation of an attorney at law of New Jersey, other than the City Attorney.
H.
Experts and Staff.
The Planning Board may also employ or contract for, and fix the compensation of, such experts and other staff and services as it may deem necessary. The Board, however, cannot authorize expenditures which exceed, exclusive of gifts, grants, or application and escrow fees, the amount appropriated by the City Council for its use.
I.
Budget.
The City Council, after giving due consideration to budget requests that may be submitted by the Planning Board, will make provisions in its budget and appropriate funds for the expenses of the Planning Board.
J.
Powers and Duties.
The Planning Board has the powers listed below, in addition to other powers established by law:
1.
To make, adopt and, from time to time, amend a Master Plan for the physical development of the City, including any areas outside its boundaries which, in the Board's judgment, bear essential relationship to the planning of the City.
2.
To administer the subdivision and site plan review provisions of this Ordinance in accordance with this Ordinance. In addition to the power to review and approve site plan and subdivision applications for development, the Planning Board's powers include the following:
a.
To grant subdivision or conditional use approval simultaneously with site plan approval.
b.
To grant variances pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c and subject to the same extent and restrictions of the Zoning Board of Adjustment when the Planning Board is reviewing applications for approval of subdivision plats, site plans, or conditional uses. Whenever relief is requested pursuant to this subsection, public notice must be given and include reference to the requested variances.
3.
To hear and decide applications for conditional uses in accordance with this Ordinance.
4.
To participate in the preparation and review of programs or plans required by state or federal law or regulation.
5.
To assemble data on a continuing basis as part of a continuous planning process.
6.
Pursuant to the Business Administrator's assemblage and submission to the Planning Board of statements and estimates of the capital needs and projections of the several departments in the City, to prepare and transmit to the Mayor and Council, at such times as it may deem appropriate, a proposed capital improvement plan. The Board may hold public hearings on the proposed capital improvement plan on or before September 15th of each calendar year and may transmit to the Mayor and Council its recommended plan. The plan must set forth by major programs the Board's recommendations for capital improvements to be initiated during the ensuing six fiscal years, and previously authorized and uncompleted capital improvements, including reference to such capital improvements as may be planned or in progress, or proposed by the Board of Education, together with the estimated cost and method of financing each improvement.
7.
To consider and report to the City Council, within 35 days after referral, as to any proposed development regulation submitted to it, and also to pass upon other matters specifically referred to the Planning Board by the City Council.
8.
To perform such other advisory duties as are assigned to it by ordinance or resolution of the City Council for the aid and assistance of the City Council or other agencies and officers.
9.
To study and report on such other matters as may be referred to it by the Mayor or Council.
10.
To make recommendations to the City Council upon referral of the Official Map or any amendment thereto. The Planning Board is the custodian of the Official Map of the City, as such Official Map is established, changed or amended from time to time pursuant to law; and will cause any change, amendment, or addition thereto or deletion therefrom made by ordinance to be recorded on the map by appropriate revision and notation.
§ 315-18.2 ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT.
A.
Establishment.
A Zoning Board of Adjustment is hereby created pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69 et seq., consisting of seven members. The Zoning Board of Adjustment may have not more than four alternate members.
B.
Appointment, Term, and Alternate Members.
1.
Members must be residents of the City of Trenton and are appointed by the City Council. The members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment are hereby reappointed to serve their respective terms. The terms of the members first appointed under this section will be so determined that, to the greatest practicable extent, the expiration of such terms are distributed evenly over the first four years after their appointment and, in the case of alternate members, evenly over the first two years after their appointment; provided, however, that the initial term of no regular member may exceed four years and that the initial term of an alternate member cannot exceed two years. Thereafter, the term of each regular member will be four years and the term of each alternate member will be two years.
2.
Alternate members will be designated at the time of their appointment as "Alternate No. 1," "Alternate No. 2," "Alternate No. 3," and "Alternate No. 4."
3.
Alternate members may participate in the discussions of the proceedings but may not vote except in the absence or disqualification of a regular member. A vote cannot be delayed in order that a regular member may vote instead of an alternate member. In the event that a choice must be made as to which alternate is to vote, alternates will vote in order of designation starting with "Alternate No. 1.".
4.
No member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall hold an elective office or position under the City of Trenton.
C.
Lack of Quorum Due to Conflicts of Interest.
If the Zoning Board of Adjustment lacks a quorum because any of its regular or alternate members is prohibited by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69 or the Local Government Ethics Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.1 et seq. from acting on a matter due to the member's personal or financial interest therein, Class IV members of the Planning Board will be called upon to serve, for that matter only, as temporary members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The Class IV members of the Planning Board will be called upon to serve in order of seniority of continuous service to the Planning Board until there are the minimum number of members necessary to constitute a quorum to act upon the matter without any personal or financial interest therein, whether direct or indirect. If a choice has to be made between Class IV members of equal seniority, the Chair of the Planning Board shall make the choice.
D.
Vacancy.
Any vacancy on the Board occurring other than by expiration of term will be filled by appointment by the City Council for the unexpired term of the member whose term shall become vacant.
E.
Removal.
A member may be removed by the City Council for cause, but only after public hearing, if requested, and other requested procedural due process protections.
F.
Organization of Board.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment will organize annually by selecting from among its regular members a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson. The Board shall also select a Secretary who may or may not be a member of the Board or a City employee.
G.
Zoning Board Attorney.
The office of Zoning Board of Adjustment Attorney is hereby created. The Board may annually appoint to such office and fix the compensation or rate of compensation of an attorney at law of New Jersey, other than the City Attorney.
H.
Experts and Staff.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment may also employ or contract for, and fix the compensation of, such experts and other staff and services as it may deem necessary. The Board, however, will not authorize expenditures which exceed, exclusive of gifts, grants, or application and escrow fees, the amount appropriated by the City Council for its use.
I.
Budget.
The City Council, after giving due consideration to budget requests that may be submitted by the Zoning Board of Adjustment, will make provisions in its budget and appropriate funds for the expenses of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
J.
Powers and Duties.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment has the powers listed below:
1.
Appeals.
Hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the applicant that there is an error in any order, requirement, or decision or refusal made by the Zoning Officer based on or made in the enforcement of the zoning provisions of this Ordinance.
2.
Interpretations.
Hear and decide requests for interpretation of the Zoning Map or the zoning provisions of this Ordinance or for decisions upon special questions upon which the Board is authorized to pass by any zoning provisions of this chapter or by any duly adopted Official Map.
3.
General Bulk Variance.
a.
Where, by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness, or shape of a specific piece of property; by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or physical features uniquely affecting a specific piece of property; or 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 of 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.
b.
Where, in an application or appeal relating to a specific piece of property, the purposes of this Ordinance would be advanced by a deviation from the zoning requirements and the benefits of the deviation would substantially outweigh any detriment, grant a variance to allow departure from such zoning requirements; provided, however, that the fact that a proposed use is an inherently beneficial use cannot be dispositive of a decision on a variance under this subsection and provided that no variance from those departures enumerated in item 4 below can 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 pursuant to § 315-18.1.
4.
Use Variance, Variances from Conditional Use Standards, and Major Specific Bulk Variances.
5.
Other Powers and Duties.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment has other powers prescribed by law, including, but not limited to, the following:
a.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall have the power to grant, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board, subdivision, site plan, or conditional use approval whenever the proposed development requires approval by the Zoning Board of Adjustment of a variance pursuant to item D.4 of this section. The developer 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 is conditioned upon a grant of all required subsequent approvals by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. No such subsequent approval will 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 the zoning provisions of this chapter. The number of votes of Board members required to grant such subsequent approval is as otherwise provided in this section for the approval in question, and the special vote pursuant to item D.4 of this section is not required.
b.
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 Section 23 of the act.
c.
Direct issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36 for a building or structure not related to a street.
d.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment will, at least once a year, review its decisions on applications and appeals for variances and prepare and adopt by resolution a report on its findings on Ordinance provisions which were the subject of variance requests and its recommendations for Ordinance amendment or revision, if any. The Zoning Board of Adjustment will send copies of the report and resolution to the City Council and Planning Board.
§ 315-18.3 CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.
No regular or alternate member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment may act on any matter in which they have, either directly or indirectly, any personal or financial interest. Whenever any such member disqualifies themselves from acting on a particular matter, they will not continue to sit with the Board on the hearing of such particular matter nor participate in any discussion by the Board or any decision relating thereto.
§ 315-18.4 MEETINGS.
A.
Meetings of both the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment will be scheduled no less than once a month. Any meeting so scheduled will be held as scheduled unless canceled for lack of applications for development to process.
B.
Special meetings may be provided for at the call of the Chairperson or on the request of any two Board members, which will be held on notice to its members and the public in accordance with all applicable legal requirements.
C.
No action will be taken at any meeting without a quorum being present. A quorum is the majority of the full authorized membership of the Board.
D.
All actions must be taken by majority vote of the members of the Board present at the meeting, except as otherwise required by any provision of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. A member of the Board who was absent for one or more of the meetings at which a hearing was held or was not a member of the municipal agency at that time is eligible to vote on a matter upon which the hearing was conducted, notwithstanding such absence from one or more of the meetings, provided that such Board member has available to them the transcript or recording of all of the hearings from which they were absent and certifies, in writing, to the Board that they have read such transcripts or listened to such recordings.
E.
All regular meetings and all special meetings will be open to the public, except as provided in the Open Public Meetings Law, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6. Notice of all such meetings must be given in accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Law.
F.
An executive session for the purpose of discussing and studying any matters to come before the Board will not be deemed a regular or special meeting within the meaning of this section.
§ 315-18.5 HEARINGS.
A.
The municipal agency will hold a hearing on each application for development, adoption, revision, or amendment of the Master Plan, each application for approval of an outdoor advertising sign submitted to the municipal agency as required pursuant to an ordinance adopted under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-39, or any review undertaken by the Planning Board pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-31. Each Board will make rules governing such hearings.
B.
Any maps and documents for which approval is sought at a hearing must be on file and available for public inspection at least 10 days before the date of the hearing during normal business hours in the office of the Department of Housing and Economic Development. The applicant may produce any documents, records, or testimony at the hearing to substantiate or clarify or supplement the previously filed maps and documents.
C.
The officer presiding at the hearings, or such persons as (s) he may designate, has the 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, N.J.S.A. 2A:67A-1 et seq., apply.
D.
The testimony of all witnesses relating to an application for development must be taken under oath or affirmation by the presiding officer. The right of cross-examination is permitted to all interested parties through their attorneys, if represented, or directly, if not represented, subject to the discretion of the presiding officer and reasonable limitations as to time and number of witnesses.
E.
Technical rules of evidence are not applicable to the hearing, but the Board may exclude irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence.
§ 315-18.6 RECORDS.
A.
Minutes of every regular or special meeting must be kept and must include the names and addresses of the persons appearing and addressing the Board, and of any persons appearing by attorney, the action taken by the Board, the findings, if any, made by it and the reasons therefor. The minutes will thereafter be made available for public inspection during normal business hours at the office of the Department of Housing and Economic Development. Any interested party has the right to compel production of the minutes for use as evidence in any legal proceedings concerning the subject matter of such minutes. Such interested party will be charged a reasonable fee for the reproduction of the minutes.
B.
A verbatim recording must be made of every hearing on an application for development submitted to the City. The recording of the proceedings must be made either by stenographer, mechanical, or electronic means. The City will furnish a transcript, or duplicate recording in lieu thereof, on request to any interested party at his/her expense, provided that the charge for a transcript cannot exceed the maximum permitted by N.J.S.A. 2B:7-4. Each transcript must be certified, in writing, by the transcriber to be accurate.
§ 315-18.7 TRAINING IN LAND USE LAW AND PLANNING.
A.
Except as otherwise provided in item D below, a person cannot be seated as a first-term member or alternate member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment unless the person agrees to take the basic course in land use law and planning required to be offered under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23.3, which the person must successfully complete within 18 months of assuming Board membership in order to retain Board membership.
B.
Except as otherwise provided in item D below, any person who is serving as a regular or alternate member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment on the first date on which a course in land use law and planning is offered pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23.3 is required to complete that course within 18 months of the date upon which the course is first offered in order to retain membership on that Board.
C.
A hearing or proceeding held, or decision or recommendation made, by the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment cannot be invalidated if a member has participated in the hearing or proceeding or in the decision making or recommendation and that member is subsequently found not to have completed the basic course in land use law and planning required pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23.3.
D.
The following persons are exempt from the educational requirements established pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23.3:
1.
The Mayor or person designated to serve on a Planning Board in the absence of a Mayor who serves as a Class I member pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23 and this Article.
2.
A member of the governing body serving as a Class III member pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23 and this Article.
3.
Any person who is licensed as a professional planner and maintains a certificate of license issued pursuant to Chapter 14A of Title 45 of the Revised Statutes 7 which is current as of the date upon which that person would otherwise be required to demonstrate compliance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23.3.
4.
Any person who offers proof of having completed a more extensive course in land use law and planning than that required by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23.3 and § 315-38.1 within 12 months of the date upon which that person would otherwise be required to demonstrate compliance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23.3 and § 315-38.1 and which, in the determination of the Commissioner, is equivalent to or more extensive than that course offered pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23.3 and § 315-38.1.