Sponsored by:
Senator OWEN HENRY
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Diegnan
SYNOPSIS
Requires municipal planning boards and zoning boards of adjustment to incorporate recommendations from certain local environmental commissions on applications for development.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning recommendations provided by certain local environmental commissions on applications for development, and amending P.L.1975, c.291.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 18 of P.L.1975, c.291 (40:55D-27) is amended to read as follows:
a. After the appointment of a planning board, the mayor may appoint one or more persons as a citizens' advisory committee to assist or collaborate with the planning board in its duties, but such person or persons shall have no power to vote or take other action required of the board. Such person or persons shall serve at the pleasure of the mayor.
b. Whenever the environmental commission has prepared and submitted to the planning board and the board of adjustment an index of the natural resources of the municipality, the planning board or the board of adjustment shall make available to the environmental commission [an informational] a copy of every application for development submitted to either board. The environmental commission may submit recommendations to the planning board or the board of adjustment on each application for development submitted to either board. The planning board or board of adjustment, as appropriate, shall review and consider the recommendations submitted, by the environmental commission, on an application for development that is pending before the respective board, and, to the extent possible, shall incorporate the environmental commissions recommendations into the boards decision on the application. Failure of the planning board or board of adjustment to make such [informational] copy available to the environmental commission shall [not] invalidate any hearing or proceeding.
(cf: P.L.1977, c.49, s.1)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require each municipal planning board or board of adjustment to review and consider recommendations that are submitted, by the local environmental commission, on any application for development pending before the respective board, and, to the extent possible, to incorporate those environmental recommendations into the boards decision on the relevant application. While existing law already authorizes a local environmental commission to submit such recommendations to these local boards, in association with each such boards review of development applications submitted thereto, the law does not currently require either type of board to review or consider, or to use, those recommendations in any way.
In addition, this bill would require the planning board and the board of adjustment to provide a copy, rather than an informational copy, of every application for development to the environmental commission. The bill would also change the current law to provide that a failure of the planning board or the board of adjustment to provide a copy of the application for development to the environmental commission would invalidate any hearing or proceeding. Current law provides that the failure to provide a copy of application for development would not invalidate any hearing or proceeding.