The terms of the members initially appointed shall run from January 1 preceding the date of appointment, with the terms of the members distributed as follows:

Thereafter, the term of each member shall be four years. No term of any present members of the Board of Adjustment shall be affected, all of whom shall continue in office until the completion of the terms for which they were appointed.

In addition to the foregoing regular members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, up to four alternate members to the Board shall be appointed and shall serve in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69.

Said alternates, as appointed, shall be known as “Alternate No. 1," "Alternate No. 2," "Alternate No. 3" and "Alternate No. 4," respectively, and each shall serve for a period of two years from the date of his or her appointment. The initial appointment shall run from July 10, 1992, to December 31, 1993.

No member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be permitted to 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, as a member of the Board.

If the Board of Adjustment lacks a quorum because any of its regular or alternate members is prohibited by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69 from acting on a matter due to the member's personal or financial interest therein, Class IV members of the Planning Board shall be called upon to serve, for that matter only, as temporary members of the Board of Adjustment. The Class IV members of the Planning Board shall 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 Chairman of the Planning Board shall make the choice.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall adopt and may amend bylaws and such other reasonable rules and regulations governing its procedural operation, which bylaws, rules and regulations shall be consistent with the provisions of this chapter and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.

The Board shall elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman from its members and select a Secretary, who may or may not be a member of the Board of Adjustment or a Township employee.

The Board may employ or contract for and fix the compensation of legal counsel, other than the Township Attorney, and experts and other staff and services as it may deem necessary, not exceeding, exclusive of gifts or grants, the amount appropriated by the governing body for its use.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall, at least once a year, review its decision on applications and appeals for variances and prepare and adopt by resolution a report on its findings on Zoning Ordinance provisions which were the subject of variance requests and its recommendations for Zoning Ordinance[1] amendment or revision, if any. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall send copies of each report and resolution to the Township Committee and Planning Board.[2]

Hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that there is error in any order, requirement, decision or refusal made by the Construction Official or Zoning Officer based on or made in the enforcement of the zoning regulations.

Hear and decide requests for interpretation of the Zoning Map or zoning regulations or for decisions upon other special questions upon which such Board is authorized to pass by any zoning regulation or Official Map Ordinance in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.

Variances.

In particular cases and for special reasons, grant a variance to allow departure from regulations pursuant to Articles XII through XXVIII of this chapter to permit a use or principal structure in a district restricted against such use or principal structure an expansion of a nonconforming use, deviation from a specification or standard pursuant to Article XIV of this chapter pertaining solely to a conditional use, an increase in the permitted floor area ratio, an increase in the permitted density 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. 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 Subsections A through D, 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 regulations. In respect of any airport hazard areas delineated under the Air Safety and Hazardous Zoning Act of 1983, P.L. 1983, c. 260 (N.J.S.A. 6:1-80 et seq.), no variance or other relief may be granted under the terms of this section permitting the creation or establishment of a nonconforming use which would be prohibited under the standards promulgated pursuant to that Act except upon issuance of a permit by the Commissioner of Transportation.

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.

Grant, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions as the Planning Board, subdivision or site plan approval pursuant to Articles IX, X and XI or conditional use approval pursuant to Article XIV whenever the proposed development requires approval by the Board of Adjustment of a variance pursuant to Subsection D 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 shall be conditioned upon a 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 Zoning Map and zoning regulations. The number of votes of Board of Adjustment members required to grant any such subsequent approval shall be as otherwise provided in this chapter for the approval in question, and the special vote pursuant to Subsection D of this section shall not be required.

Grant, after a hearing, certificates of preexisting, nonconforming uses pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-68.

Appeals to the Board of Adjustment may be taken by any interested party affected by any decision of the Construction Official or the Zoning Officer of the Township of White based on or made in enforcement of this chapter. Such appeal should be taken within 20 days by filing a notice of appeal with the officer from whom the appeal is taken, specifying the grounds of such appeal. The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall immediately transmit to the Board of Adjustment all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.

A developer may file an application for development with the Board of Adjustment for action under any of its powers without prior application to an administrative officer.

The Board of Adjustment shall render a decision not later than 120 days after the date:

In the event that the developer elects to submit separate consecutive applications as provided in § 160-20G of this chapter, the one-hundred-twenty-day provision shall apply to the application for approval of the variance. The period for granting or denying any subsequent approval shall be as otherwise provided in this chapter.

Failure of the Board of Adjustment to act within the prescribed period or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant shall constitute a decision favorable to the applicant. Whenever the applicant wishes to claim approval of his application for development by reason of the failure of the Zoning Board of Adjustment to grant or deny approval within the applicable time period, the applicant shall comply with the procedural requirements of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.4.