Boards & Commissions Descriptions
Board descriptions for zoning and planning are covered under the
municipalities planning code, which you can find at
Section 209.1. Powers and Duties of Planning Agency.
(a) The planning agency shall at the request of the governing body have the
power and shall be required to:
(1) Prepare the comprehensive plan for the development of the municipality
as set forth in this act,
and present it for the consideration of the governing body.
(2) Maintain and keep on file records of its action. All records and files
of the planning agency shall
be in the possession of the governing body.
(b) The planning agency at the request of the governing body may:
(1) Make recommendations to the governing body concerning the adoption or
amendment of an
official map.
(2) Prepare and present to the governing body of the municipality a zoning
ordinance, and make
recommendations to the governing body on proposed amendments to it as set
forth in this act.
(3) Prepare, recommend and administer subdivision and land development and
planned residential
development regulations, as set forth in this act.
(4) Prepare and present to the governing body of the municipality a
building code and a housing
code and make recommendations concerning proposed amendments thereto.
(5) Do such other acts or make such studies as may be necessary to fulfill
the duties and obligations
imposed by this act.
(6) Prepare and present to the governing body of the municipality an
environmental study.
(7) Submit to the governing body of a municipality a recommended capital
improvements program.
(7.1) Prepare and present to the governing body of the municipality a water
survey, which shall
consistent with the State Water Plan and any applicable water resources
plan adopted by a river
basin commission. The water survey shall be conducted in consultation with
any public water
supplier in the area to be surveyed.
(8) Promote public interest in, and understanding of, the comprehensive
plan and planning.
(9) Make recommendations to governmental, civic and private agencies and
individuals as to the
effectiveness of the proposals of such agencies and individuals.
(10) Hold public hearings and meetings.
(10.1) Present testimony before any board.
(11) Require from other departments and agencies of the municipality such
available information as
relates to the work of the planning agency.
(12) In the performance of its functions, enter upon any land to make
examinations and surveys with
the consent of the owner.
(13) Prepare and present to the governing body of the municipality a study
regarding the feasibility
and practicability of using renewable energy sources in specific areas
within the municipality.
(14) Review the zoning ordinance, subdivision and land development
ordinance, official map, provisions
for planned residential development, and such other ordinances and
regulations governing
the development of land no less frequently than it reviews the
comprehensive plan.
ZONING
Section 908. Hearings. The board shall conduct hearings and make decisions
in accordance with the
following requirements:
(1) Public notice shall be given and written notice shall be given to the
applicant, the zoning officer, such
other persons as the governing body shall designate by ordinance and to any
person who has made
timely request for the same. Written notices shall be given at such time
and in such manner as shall be
prescribed by ordinance or, in the absence of ordinance provision, by rules
of the board. In addition to
the written notice provided herein, written notice of said hearing shall be
conspicuously posted on the
affected tract of land at least one week prior to the hearing.
(1.1) The governing body may prescribe reasonable fees with respect to
hearings before the zoning hearing
board. Fees for said hearings may include compensation for the secretary
and members of the zoning
hearing board, notice and advertising costs and necessary administrative
overhead connected with the
hearing. The costs, however, shall not include legal expenses of the zoning
hearing board, expenses for
engineering, architectural or other technical consultants or expert witness
costs.
(1.2) The first hearing before the board or hearing officer shall be
commenced within 60 days from the date
of receipt of the applicants application, unless the applicant has agreed
in writing to an extension of
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time. Each subsequent hearing before the board or hearing officer shall be
held within 45 days of the
prior hearing, unless otherwise agreed to by the applicant in writing or on
the record. An applicant
shall complete the presentation of his case-in-chief within 100 days of the
first hearing. Upon the
request of the applicant, the board or hearing officer shall assure that
the applicant receives at least
seven hours of hearings within the 100 days, including the first hearing.
Persons opposed to the application
shall complete the presentation of their opposition to the application
within 100 days of the first
hearing held after the completion of the applicant's case-in-chief. And
applicant may, upon request, be
granted additional hearings to complete his case-in-chief provided the
persons opposed to the application
are granted an equal number of additional hearings. Persons opposed to the
application may,
upon the written consent or consent on the record by the applicant and
municipality, be granted
additional hearings to complete their opposition to the application
provided the applicant is granted an
equal number of additional hearings for rebuttal.
(2) The hearings shall be conducted by the board or the board may appoint
any member or an independent
attorney as a hearing officer. The decision, or, where no decision is
called for, the findings shall be
made by the board; however, the appellant or the applicant, as the case may
be, in addition to the
municipality, may, prior to the decision of the hearing, waive decision or
findings by the board and
accept the decision or findings of the hearing officer as final.
(3) The parties to the hearing shall be the municipality, any person
affected by the application who has
made timely appearance of record before the board, and any other person
including civic or community
organizations permitted to appear by the board. The board shall have power
to require that all persons
who wish to be considered parties enter appearances in writing on forms
provided by the board for that
purpose.
(4) The chairman or acting chairman of the board or the hearing officer
presiding shall have power to
administer oaths and issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses
and the production of
relevant documents and papers, including witnesses and documents requested
by the parties.
(5) The parties shall have the right to be represented by counsel and shall
be afforded the opportunity to
respond and present evidence and argument and cross-examine adverse
witnesses on all relevant issues.
(6) Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial,
or unduly repetitious evidence may
be excluded.
(7) The board or the hearing officer, as the case may be, shall keep a
stenographic record of the
proceedings. The appearance fee for a stenographer shall be shared equally
by the applicant and the
board. The cost of the original transcript shall be paid by the board if
the transcript is ordered by the
board or hearing officer or shall be paid by the person appealing from the
decision of the board if such
appeal is made, and in either event the cost of additional copies shall be
paid by the person requesting
such copy or copies. In other cases the party requesting the original
transcript shall bear the cost
thereof.
(8) The board or the hearing officer shall not communicate, directly or
indirectly, with any party or his
representatives in connection with any issue involved except upon notice
and opportunity for all parties
to participate, shall not take notice of any communication, reports, staff
memoranda, or other materials,
except advice from their solicitor, unless the parties are afforded an
opportunity to contest the material
so noticed and shall not inspect the site or its surroundings after the
commencement of hearings with
any party or his representative unless all parties are given an opportunity
to be present.
(9) The board or the hearing officer, as the case may be, shall render a
written decision or, when no
decision is called for, make written findings on the application within 45
days after the last hearing
before the board or hearing officer. Where the application is contested or
denied, each decision shall be
accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions based thereon together with
the reasons therefor.
Conclusions based on any provisions of this act or of any ordinance, rule
or regulation shall contain a
reference to the provision relied on and the reasons why the conclusion is
deemed appropriate in the
light of the facts found. If the hearing is conducted by a hearing officer
and there has been no stipulation
that his decision or findings are final, the board shall make his report
and recommendations
available to the parties within 45 days and the parties shall be entitled
to make written representations
thereon to the board prior to final decision or entry of findings, and the
boards decision shall be
entered no later than 30 days after the report of the hearing officer.
Except for challenges filed under
section 916.1 where the board fails to render the decision within the
period required by this subsection
or fails to commence, conduct or complete the required hearing as provided
in subsection (1.2), the
decision shall be deemed to have been rendered in favor of the applicant
unless the applicant has
agreed in writing or on the record to an extension of time. When a decision
has been rendered in favor
of the applicant because of the failure of the board to meet or render a
decision as hereinabove
provided, the board shall give public notice of said decision within ten
days from the last day it could
have met to render a decision in the same manner as provided in subsection
(1) of this section. If the
board shall fail to provide such notice, the applicant may do so. Nothing
in this subsection shall
prejudice the right of any party opposing the application to appeal the
decision to a court of competent
jurisdiction.
(10) A copy of the final decision or, where no decision is called for, of
the findings shall be delivered to the
applicant personally or mailed to him not later than the day following its
date. To all other persons who
have filed their name and address with the board not later than the last
day of the hearing, the board
shall provide by mail or otherwise, brief notice of the decision or
findings and a statement of the place
at which the full decision or findings may be examined.
