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demonstrate that the proposed use will not have a negative impact on the adjacent properties, and that it will not cause such damage to the character of the neighborhood as to constitute “substantial detriment to the public good”. The applicant shall provide testimony at the Zoning Board hearing.
In the second prong of the Negative Criteria, the applicant must demonstrate that the requested relief will not impair the intent and purpose of the zone plan and zoning ordinance. Testimony should be provided as to why the proposal will not impair the intent and purpose of the I Zone and the Jackson Township Master Plan.
The MLUL defines “peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties” and “exceptional and undue hardship” as:
[where] by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific piece of property, or (b) by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or physical features uniquely affecting a specific piece of property, or (c) 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... would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to, or exceptional and undue hardship upon, the developer of such property...[N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c(1)]
Under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-2, the MLUL enumerates as its purposes:
To encourage municipal action to guide the appropriate use or development of all lands in this State, in a manner which will promote the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare;
To secure safety from fire, flood, panic, and other natural and man-made disasters;
To provide adequate light, air, and open space;
To ensure that the development of individual municipalities does not conflict with the development and general welfare of neighboring municipalities, the county, and the State as a whole;
To promote the establishment of appropriate population densities and concentrations that will contribute to the well-being of persons, neighborhoods, communities and regions and preservation of the environment;
To encourage the appropriate and efficient expenditure of public funds by the coordination of public development with land use policies;
To provide sufficient space in appropriate locations for a variety of agricultural, residential, recreational, commercial, and industrial uses and open space, both public and private, according to their respective environmental requirements in order to meet the needs of all NJ citizens;
To encourage the location and design of transportation routes which will promote the free flow of traffic while discouraging location of such facilities and routes which result in congestion or blight;
To promote a desirable visual environment through creative development techniques and good civic design and arrangement;