Guide to a Planning Board Meeting

Welcome to a meeting of the East Brunswick Planning Board. This brochure is intended to help you with the application process and the format of the Planning Board meeting.

Planning Board Organization

The Planning Board has approval authority over proposed development applications in East Brunswick. The Board is established and governed by the Municipal Land Use Law and Township Ordinances.

The Board consists of nine voting members and two alternates appointed by the Mayor. The Board Attorney is present at all action meetings to furnish advice as needed and to ensure that all legal requirements are met. The recording secretary prepares verbatim minutes of all action meetings. The Department of Planning and Engineering provides staff support.

Planning Board Schedule

The Board holds public hearings on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building. All meetings are open to the public except for executive session sessions.

Public Notification of Hearing

The law requires that property owners within 200 feet of a site that is the subject of an application for development must receive a notice from the applicant by either certified mail or hand delivery.

The public may review files and plans for all applications at the Department of Planning and Engineering located at 4 Harts Lane on the first floor between the hours of 7:30 am and 3:30 pm on weekdays.

Presentation of the Application

The Planning Board is addressed by the applicant or by the representing attorney, who describes the application and provides an outline of the presentation that will follow. Public hearings on an application can last for more than one meeting.

Testimony by the Applicant

Witnesses for the applicant will be placed under oath and specific testimony will be presented. The witnesses may display and refer to additional exhibits at this time. All exhibits are marked into evidence and considered by the Planning Board. At this point in the hearing, questions may be asked by the Planning Board or the Staff.

Public Questions

After questions by the Board and the Staff, the public has the opportunity to ask questions of the applicant's witnesses.

During the public portion, the Chairman will ask whether any member of the public wishes to be heard on an application. If you wish to speak about an application you should:

Raise your hand and wait for the Chair to call on you.
Proceed to the microphone.
Raise your right hand and take the oath; state and spell your name and state your address for the record.
Ask questions.

Corporation Testimony

When public testimony is presented by a corporation or other legally constituted organization, an attorney must make the presentation.

Spokesperson

A group of residents interested in an application should designate a single spokesperson to represent the group. Letters and petitions cannot be considered by the Board. A person must be present or represented by an attorney to make statements or ask questions.

Public Comments

The public has the opportunity to provide comments after all testimony is presented by the applicant.

Deliberation by the Board

After the Planning Board closes the public hearing, the Board begins the deliberation process. Deliberations may carry over to a future meeting. The Board will then vote to approve or deny with specific reasons given for the denial.

Resolution of Memorialization

After an application is voted on, the Board Attorney will draft a resolution of memorialization to officially record the Board's decision. The Planning Board will vote to adopt the resolution at a future meeting.

Appeal Process

After the resolution is adopted, a notice of the decision is sent to the Home News Tribune for publication. Appeals to Superior Court must be filed within 45 days of the newspaper publication.