m CITIZEN POWER
AT THE PLANNING BOARD:
A MANUAL FOR CONTROLLING GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Harry S. Pozycki THE CENTER FOR CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY
The author gratefully acknowledges the Environmental Endowment for New Jersey for its gracious support, which partially funded this publication. The author wishes to credit the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) for the information available on its web site at www.anjec.org.
Copyright Š 2005, by the Center for Civic Responsibility All rights reserved. Produced by Scanlon Communications www.scanloncommunications.com.
Table of Contents Author’s Note................................................................ iii Introduction.................................................................. iv Chapter I Who Controls Environmental Policy at the Local Level?.......1
Chapter II What Controls Environmental Policy at the Local Level?......5 The Municipal Master Plan................................................................5 Conservation Plan Element........................................................6 Recreation Plan Element.............................................................6 Farmland Preservation Plan Element.......................................6 Natural Resource Inventory........................................................7
Note on the Master Plan’s Relationship to Other Planning Activities........................................................7
Chapter III How Do I Get Information?..............................................9 Your Rights Under the Open Public Records Act.........................9 Information You May Want to Request........................................ 10 Your Rights Under the Open Public Meetings Act.................... 11 The Power 10: Your Rights at Planning Board Meetings.......... 12 Chapter IV How Do I Get Appointed to a Position Where I Can Influence Policy?..........................................................15 A Proposal to Increase Citizen Participation.............................. 16 How to Apply for a Board or Commission Seat.......................... 16 A Good Idea: Becoming a Political Party Representative (Running for the most attainable elected office)....................... 17
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
Governing Bodies (Mayor and Council/Committee)...................1 Planning Boards...................................................................................1 The Powerful Planning Board............................................................2 A Word of Caution..............................................................................2 Environmental Commissions............................................................3 Shade Tree Commissions...................................................................3 Local Boards of Health........................................................................3 Historic Commissions.........................................................................3
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Chapter V How Do I Effect Change?.............................................. 19
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Shaping Your Community’s Master Plan..................................... 19 Some Other Things You Can Do.................................................... 21 Find Allies to Support Your Cause................................................ 21 Put the Media Spotlight on Your Initiative.................................. 22 You Can Succeed!.............................................................................. 22 Appendices Appendix A: Model Outline of a Conservation Plan Element A .1 Appendix B: Model Letter to Request Development and Environmental Information about Your Town......................... A.2 Appendix C: Model Open Application Ordinance for Citizen Board and Commission Appointments.................................................. A.3 Appendix D: Model Municipal Developer Disclosure Ordinance..................................................................... A.6
Author’s Note If you, as a regular citizen, want to control development, improve air quality, and increase open space in your community, the place to start is before your local planning board. Your first step should be to petition this influential board to amend your town’s master plan to include a powerful environmental plan.
The existence of a good environmental plan not only makes good environmental sense—it also makes good economic sense. By adopting an environmental plan, your community becomes eligible to apply for various grants to clean up local polluted sites and to acquire open space. An environmental plan can also lead to lower local government energy costs and reduced local property tax pressures. As you read this guide, you’ll find the information you need to take personal responsibility for your town’s environmental and development policies. We have included a section summarizing your legal rights to interact with the planning board and describing how you can trigger your town’s legal option to adopt an environmental plan. For those of you who wish to serve in an official local government position, where you can directly affect development and environmental policy, there is a “how to” chapter on getting appointed to key boards and commissions. Finally, if you want more legal control over development and property taxes in your community, you must be proactive. Take the time to read this guide and to learn about your legal right to petition your town’s planning board to immediately adopt a strong environmental plan. Above all, act now to protect and preserve your community. If you wait until it’s too late, you may find yourself in a losing battle against unwanted development simply because your community’s master plan wasn’t strong enough.
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
When your local planning board adopts an environmental plan (technically known as a “conservation plan”), this action triggers a legal requirement mandating that your town’s master plan and all of its zoning laws be consistent with the environmental plan. This makes your town’s growth and development policy legally subject to controls against environmentally damaging growth.
Harry S. Pozycki Chairman The Center for Civic Responsibility iii
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Introduction Did you know that you have extraordinary power to make a real contribution to shaping growth and development policy in your community? As a citizen, you have many legal rights that empower you to attend any public meeting you want to attend, request any public document you want to view, participate in the activities of any political party you choose, and much more. Did you know that you have the right to suggest new laws? The right to influence policy using tools and strategies available to every citizen? The right to apply for positions on community boards and commissions where you can make a difference? In this guide, we tell you how you, as an average citizen, can get information, gain influence, and effect positive change in your community. Chapter I introduces you to the players who most likely establish growth and development policy in your community. Chapter II describes the key land use planning documents that affect your local environment and control future development. Chapter III shows you how to get the information you need to intelligently advocate for your local environment. Chapter IV explains the steps that you can take to get appointed to the boards and commissions that set your community’s environmental agenda. Finally, in Chapter V, we show you the power you have—even if you do not hold a formal position of power— to effect change in your community. It is our hope that this guide will empower you to directly shape policies that affect environmental planning and development in your community.
Chapter I Who Controls Environmental Policy at the Local Level?
Following are some key policy making and/or advisory entities that may exist in your community.
Governing Bodies (Mayor and Council/Committee) A municipality’s chief legislative authority is its elected governing body. In some communities, this governing body is called a council; in others, it is a committee. The governing body can have as many as nine members and as few as three. Every municipality also has a mayor. Mayors usually enjoy veto power, but their overall power and legal relationship to the governing body can vary from community to community. For environmental purposes, it is important to know that the governing body has final authority to approve the laws that regulate growth and development in your community. These laws (which you will hear more about in Chapter II) include your community’s official map, zoning ordinance, subdivision and site plan ordinances, and many development regulations.
Planning Boards Your local planning board has authority over many issues that determine your community’s future growth and the quality of its environment. Among its more important powers, the planning board adopts your town’s master plan. It also advises your community’s governing body on the local capital improvement plan and on proposed capital projects, such as schools. The planning board has either seven or nine members (and sometimes two alternates) appointed by the mayor and governing body. Its members include: n the mayor or city manager n a municipal official other than a member of the governing body (e.g., an environmental commissioner) n a member of the governing body appointed to the planning board n residents of the municipality who hold no other municipal office and are appointed by the mayor or town manager
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
On almost any given weeknight in your community, a body of elected or appointed representatives gathers to discuss or vote on important environmental or land use issues that may determine your community’s future growth. You have every right as a citizen to attend and participate in these discussions. In fact, if you really want to help shape environmental policy in your town, it is important that you know who these bodies are, the powers they hold, when they meet, and who their members are.
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In the case of nine-member planning boards, one member may be appointed who also serves on the municipal zoning board of adjustment or historic preservation commission and one member may be drawn from the local board of education. Some board members may have an engineering or planning background. Towns also hire legal counsel to sit with the board and provide guidance. The Powerful Planning Board The Planning Board is a powerful entity because it has final authority over your town’s master plan and environmental plan. The mayor or a mayoral representative and a member of the municipal council or committee must, by law, sit on the planning board. This requirement adds a large measure of political responsibility and accountability when it comes to decision making. Planning boards are permitted to establish special committees, which may include citizens who are not formal members of the board. These committees can include master plan committees, affordable housing committees, or committees that address special development issues or growth concerns. Citizens who volunteer to participate on these committees can have a lot of influence in shaping planning decisions that affect their communities. (See Chapter IV for tips and strategies for getting appointed to these subcommittees.)
A Word of Caution Your community’s master plan and its environmental plan component is a carefully thought out roadmap for future development. But even the best plans can go awry when applicants appear before your local zoning board with a development project that deviates from the goals of the master plan. This is a special concern in circumstances where developers may exert influence on local decision makers through political contributions. In municipalities whose leaders are dedicated to openness in government and to a fair and impartial development approval process, the governing bodies have adopted developer disclosure ordinances to assure the continued integrity of their municipal master plans. If your community has not already done so, you may wish to advocate that your local governing body adopt such an ordinance. (Please see Appendix D: Model Municipal Developer Disclosure Ordinance for a model that you can propose to your elected leaders.)
Environmental Commissions
Shade Tree Commissions Shade tree commissions are created by local ordinance, with their members appointed by the mayor or town manager, to maintain, protect, and promote planting of municipally owned trees along local roads. They sometimes review and comment on land development applications before the local planning board. In many communities, ordinances are in effect that make it illegal to cut, prune, or damage a municipally owned tree without permission of the shade tree commission.
Local Boards of Health Many communities create boards of health to protect and promote the public health. These boards, which may have seven or fewer members, usually have advisory, governing, and policymaking responsibilities. Boards of health often make policy recommendations to their municipal health departments about such matters as they relate to septic system management.
Historic Commissions Historic preservation commissions, comprising five to nine members, are appointed by the mayor or chairman of the local planning board. They are responsible for preparing a survey of historic sites in the community, making recommendations about the historic preservation plan element in the local comprehensive master plan, and serving in an advisory capacity to the local planning and zoning boards.
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
The municipal environmental commission advises local government agencies on environmental policy and can be influential in helping the governing body and the planning board to understand the environmental impact of the decisions they make. While any citizen may directly petition the planning board to adopt a strong environmental plan, a supportive environmental commission can play a critical role in helping to achieve this goal. Generally, an environmental commission comprises five to seven members who are appointed by the mayor or town manager; one of these members must also be a member of the local planning board.
Chapter II What Controls Environmental Policy at the Local Level?
The Municipal Master Plan One of the most important documents affecting land use at the local level is the municipal master plan, which is best described as a roadmap showing how a community will grow. The master plan, which is adopted by the local planning board, uses narrative and maps to identify the current use of property within a given municipality and to describe future development objectives for the community. It also recommends the types of uses that will be permitted in each area of a municipality (e.g., single family residential, commercial, and industrial uses). A municipality that wants to preserve natural resources and critical environmental areas or to identify areas of historic significance can and should support these policy goals in its master plan. Doing so allows the community’s governing body to adopt zoning ordinances that implement these goals, and also offers the community a greater chance of withstanding a judicial challenge. Once adopted by the planning board, the master plan establishes a municipality’s growth and development vision and serves as the basis of any zoning laws (i.e., ordinances) a town may pass to implement its master plan. In fact, no governing body can legally pass a zoning law until its planning board has adopted a master plan. The planning board also must re-examine the community’s master plan at least every six years to ensure that the document is still relevant. (See Chapter V for a more in-depth discussion about the importance of the master plan re-examination process.)
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
Do you think your community is doing enough to protect its local environment? Are you worried about overdevelopment? Would you like a preview of what your town will look like in a few years? You can see the future, and all you have to do is walk into your local municipal building and ask for a copy of your town’s master plan. It may cost a few dollars to have a copy made for yourself, or you can review the municipality’s copy for free. A review of the master plan will show what measures your community has taken to protect the local environment.
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By law, every master plan must offer a statement of “objectives, principles, assumptions, policies and standards upon which the constituency proposals for the physical, economic, and social development of the municipality are based.”
A mandatory component of the master plan is the land use plan element, which provides a snapshot of your town’s development policy. Also required are a housing element, a recycling element, and now, under a new state law, a stormwater management plan element. In addition, municipalities may—but are not required to—include an array of optional elements in their master plans. Those that are significant from an environmental perspective are discussed below. n
Conservation Plan Element. This is the technical name of your master plan’s optional environmental plan component. This element analyzes the impact that each component of the master plan will have on open space, local government energy usage, water supply, and a wide range of natural resources within a community. The conservation plan element is an invaluable resource for protecting your local environment. Appendix A: Model Outline of a Conservation Plan Element suggests some components of a model conservation plan element. If your community has not already done so, Chapter V offers tips and strategies for getting your community to incorporate a conservation plan element in its master plan.
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Recreation Plan Element. Sometimes referred to as the “open space” plan element of a master plan, the recreation plan element discusses existing and proposed public recreation areas such as parklands, exercise and sports facilities, and other open space areas targeted for acquisition by your town.
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Farmland Preservation Plan Element. The farmland Preservation plan element includes a map illustrating any agricultural lands that may exist within a community, an inventory of farm properties, a discussion of municipal ordinances that support and promote agricultural businesses, and a plan for preserving farmland to the extent possible
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Natural Resource Inventory. The natural resource inventory (NRI) is adopted as part of a municipality’s master plan conservation element, or as an appendix to its master plan. The NRI documents the community’s natural resource and environmental characteristics and evaluates existing or future resource protection issues.
State law requires that the public be given ample opportunity to comment and participate in the development of a community’s master plan. The law includes an extensive public outreach component (including provisions for public meetings and hearings) to ensure that there is sufficient public discussion and feedback during the plan adoption process and whenever the plan is being amended.
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
Note on the Master Plan’s Relationship to Other Planning Activities: The master plan must address its relationship to other local, regional, and state planning initiatives, including the master plans of neighboring communities, the county master plan, the State Development and Redevelopment Plan, and the county or district solid-waste management plan.
Chapter III How Do I Get Information? In Chapters I and II you learned about the entities that, in most New Jersey communities, may have influence over local environmental and land use policies. You also discovered how the master plan has a powerful role in governing the implementation of these important policies.
Your Rights Under the Open Public Records Act A recent major expansion of New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA) [N.J.S.A. 47A:1A et. seq.] has enhanced your right of access to government documents. The revamped law provides you with broad rights to inspect, examine, and/or copy a wide range of public documents. These may include contracts, memoranda, maps, photos, plans, reports, databases, and other information that is maintained or stored in print, electronically, or recorded. (See sidebar, Information You May Want to Request.) You must direct your records request to your municipality’s “custodian of records.” In most cases, that person will be the municipal clerk. However, if you are requesting planning-related documents, the custodian of records may be your local planning board secretary. Government agencies are required to adopt a records request form to be used by citizens to request records. You can pick up an OPRA request form at your municipal clerk’s office. You are not required to use this form, but you do have to make your request in writing. (If you wish, you may use the model request letter found in Appendix B for this purpose.) When making your request, ask the clerk to stamp the date on your request and make a copy for your records.
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
Your next step as a successful citizen advocate is to become better informed about what is happening in your community. You do this by finding out when your local policy-making boards and commissions meet, by viewing meeting agendas, and by attending and speaking out at meetings at which important issues are discussed. You also do this by finding out the names of the individuals who set your community’s policy agenda and serve on its influential boards and commissions. And, finally, you do this by asking your municipal clerk or other designated official to view any public document that you think might help you to become a better informed citizen advocate. Fortunately, this part is easy, because the law is solidly on your side.
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Information You May Want to Request
n Names and terms of planning board members n Names and terms of environmental commission members n Names and terms of zoning board members
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n Copy of the municipal master plan n Copy of any element of the municipal master plan,
including conservation plan elements and recreation plan elements
n Copy of any equal biomass or tree ordinance n Date of last amendment of the master plan You may ask to view records, or you can request copies of documents. If you are requesting the latter, be sure to view the documents first to ensure they are what you wanted, because you will most likely be charged for copies. When requesting records, you must be very specific about the records you want. For example, you might be interested in finding out whether your city or town’s master plan includes a conservation element in its environmental portion. Requesting the entire master plan could be very costly and unnecessary. By law, you cannot be asked to pay more than 75 cents a page for the first 10 pages you request; that amount decreases to 50 cents per page for pages 11-20 and 25 cents per page for anything above 20 pages. You can also request that your copies be delivered in a specific format. If the government entity is able to accommodate your special formatting request, they may charge you an additional fee for this service. Also, keep in mind that some clerk’s offices can fill requests on disk. OPRA stipulates that you must receive within seven business days of making your request either the information you seek or a response explaining why the government entity is unable to provide you with the information. OPRA puts the burden on the government entity to prove that an exception to OPRA exists and to fully explain the exception to any citizen who has been denied information. Certain documents and records are excluded from the public access provisions of OPRA. These include citizens’ private records and documents relating to public safety concerns or ongoing investigations. However, if you have been denied access to information and are not satisfied with the explanation you received, you can appeal in writing to the Government Records Council, a new state agency created under OPRA, which has the authority to penalize entities that wrongfully withhold information. (See www.nj.gov/grc)
Your Rights Under the Open Public Meetings Act New Jersey’s Open Public Meetings Act [N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et. seq.], also called the “Sunshine Law,” requires that public decision-making bodies at all levels of government conduct their business in public. The law defines a public body as a group of two or more people who have the power to vote on any public spending initiative. The act also defines a meeting as any collective gathering that occurs in person, by telephone, or by other means of electronic communication.
n Question the developer’s witnesses n Present testimony about proposed development projects n Hear planning board members’ reasons for approving or
denying an application
The Sunshine Law exempts certain bodies, including the judicial branch, the Parole Board, the State Commission of Investigation, and all political parties. In addition, advisory bodies are exempted unless they have the authority to influence decisions made by a governmental decision-making body. Decision-making bodies are permitted to go into closed executive sessions (where the public is barred) to protect the privacy of individuals, the safety of the public, or the effectiveness of government in such areas as negotiations or investigations. If a meeting of a public body is closed to the public, however, the reason for closing the session must be specifically authorized by law and the minutes of the meeting must be made available at an “appropriate” time. The Sunshine Law also requires that citizens be given adequate public notice of all planned meetings of public bodies. The law stipulates that every public body must publish its meeting schedule by Jan. 10 or within seven days of its annual organization meeting, whichever is later. Further, the law requires that a 48-hour written notice be given for any regular, special, adjourned, or unscheduled meeting that is planned, with information provided regarding the time, date, location, and agenda. This notice must be prominently posted in a public place, usually in the municipal building, and printed in at least two newspapers of record. Emergency meetings, which may be called by a three-quarters vote if it is perceived that substantial harm to the public interest would result from a delay, are exempt from this notification requirement.
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
At public hearings on major development applications, you have the right to:
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The Power 10: Your Rights at Planning Board Meetings* 1.
Right to Advance Notice of Planning Board Meetings [Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL), Sec. 40:55D-12] You have the right to adequate and advance notice of planning board meetings.
2.
Right to Examine Development Documents [MLUL, Sec. 40:55D-10 (b)] You have the right to examine maps and other development-proposal documents during normal business hours at the office of the clerk or zoning officer for at least ten days prior to a hearing.
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Right to Make Copies [Open Public Records Act] You have the right to make copies of all documents and forms that are filed as part of the development application, master plan, or zoning process.
4. Right to a Public Hearing [MLUL, Sec. 40:55D-10 (a)] You have the right to a public hearing on all major development applications. 5.
Right to Question a Developer’s Witnesses [MLUL, Sec. 40:55D-10 (g)] You have the right to question a developer’s witnesses about their testimony and any reports they have submitted.
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Right to Testify About a Proposed Development [MLUL, Sec. 40:55D-10 (d)] You have the right to testify about your knowledge of a proposed development and its relationship to the neighborhood, and to present expert testimony for or against an application.
Right to Hear Planning Board Members’ Reasons for Their Decisions [MLUL, Sec. 40:55D-10 (g)] At public hearings on development applications, you have the right to hear board members resolve conflicting testimony or other evidence and make conclusions as to why a proposed development meets or fails to meet the criteria for approval.
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Right to Minutes and Transcripts [MLUL, Sec. 40:55D-9 (c)] You have the right to read and obtain copies of the minutes of zoning and planning board meetings.
9. Right to a Written Decision [MLUL, Sec. 40:55D-10 (g) and (h)] You have the right to a copy of a written resolution setting forth a decision on any application for a development, which must state the board’s reasons for approving or denying a development proposal. 10. Right to Appeal [MLUL, Sec. 40:55D-17)] You have the right to appeal all planning board decisions directly to Superior Court. In most cases, appeals must be filed within 45 days of the date of publication of the board’s decision. *Adapted from The Citizens Manual: Paths to Power for Regular Citizens (Harry S. Pozycki, 2005).
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
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Chapter IV How Do I Get Appointed to a Position Where I Can Influence Policy?
Are you ready to take the next step? In this chapter, you will receive tips and strategies for getting elected to public office or for getting appointed to one of the local boards or commissions whose actions influence environmental policy in your community. You could try to go right to the top by seeking election to a mayoral seat or to a seat on your local council—and you might even succeed! A more strategic and realistic approach, however, may be to gradually work your way up to higher office. For example, consider getting appointed to your local shade tree or environmental commission. You will not only play an important role in shaping your community’s environmental agenda, but you also will become better known in your community and within local political circles, which will put you in a stronger position should you later pursue elective office. Remember, as you discovered in Chapter I, some local boards and commissions whose activities may have an environmental impact include the local planning board, zoning board, environmental commission, or shade tree commission, to name a few. In New Jersey, one out of three seats on most local boards and commissions is vacant. You do not need money and you don’t have to take a test to apply for these seats—you only need to meet the membership requirements of these boards and commissions, which usually are related to age and residency. These requirements are not arbitrary; they are established by law.
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
By now, you have learned quite a bit about becoming a successful advocate for your local environment. You have developed a better understanding of the various laws and planning documents that govern land use practices in your town. You have grown more familiar with your citizen rights to contribute to local policysetting initiatives. And you’ve learned about the key public boards and commissions whose decision-making activities can have a significant effect on your local environment.
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A Proposal to Increase Citizen Participation In the absence of an open application procedure for citizen positions, qualified community residents are neither informed of openings nor able to readily apply. As a result, citizen seats on municipal boards and commissions are often left vacant or are filled with less qualified individuals. Open application procedures foster citizen leadership and provide a means for regular citizens to participate and better hold their government officials accountable. What your community can do: n Establish an open application procedure by which community residents may indicate their interest in appointed municipal positions by filing a standardized application form. (See Appendix C: Model Open Application Ordinance for Citizen Board and Commission Appointments.) n Provide for a notification process by which citizens who apply for citizen appointments will be notified when the position is under consideration.
How to Apply for a Board or Commission Seat There are hundreds of board and commission seats in your community; claiming one of them is a great way to enter the public arena. If you are 18 years old and a resident of a town or city, you may apply for an appointed seat on a board or commission. While there is no guarantee that your community will have a formal application process in place, you are certainly qualified to apply if you meet age and residency requirements. To seek an appointment, you may submit your resume or a letter saying why you could be helpful if selected and indicating which board or commission you wish to serve on. Individuals to whom you would send or give the letter include: n The city or town administrator or manager n The mayor or any other local elected officials n The local party chair of your political party n The elected neighborhood party committee members for your election district
A Good Idea: Becoming a Political Party Representative* (Running for the Most Attainable Elected Office)
You have the right to run for a party committee seat if you: n will be 18 years old by the next election n are a resident of the election district, and n are registered to vote as a party member. If you meet these three qualifications, you can go to the municipal clerk and request a “nominating petition” form to run for a party committee seat. If you are not yet registered to vote as a party member, you can also ask for a “party declaration” form. Fill out the form, get 10 signatures of your party members who live in your election district, one of which can be yours. Your name will appear on the primary election ballot. The petition should then be filed by the deadline with the county clerk (53 days before the primary election). It is not especially hard to win a party committee seat. Often committee seats are vacant, and if you run and vote for yourself, you win. *Adapted from The Citizens Manual: Paths to Power for Regular Citizens (Harry S. Pozycki, 2005).
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
The office of the neighborhood party representative is the closest and most accessible elected position for entry into public life. The position, known officially as “party committee member,” is a post to which four citizens are elected during the primary election to represent a single neighborhood of 700 to 1,000 voters. A male and a female are elected for both the Republican and Democratic parties, usually for one or two-year terms. This is the only office for which 50 percent of the seats are reserved by law for women. It is important to understand that this political system provides these neighborhood committee positions in order to involve as many of its citizens in the representative process as possible.
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Chapter V How Do I Effect Change?
In this chapter, we suggest practical actions that you can take to be a successful advocate for your local environment.
Shaping Your Community’s Master Plan As you learned in Chapter II, your community’s master plan is a powerful document. It describes current uses of land; establishes your municipality’s vision for future development; and controls local land use laws and policies, including those that influence environmental protection and conservation. Consequently, the master plan can profoundly affect your local environment. Given the power of this one document, focusing your energies on improving the content and vision of your community’s master plan is one of the most significant things you can do to help shape your community’s environmental agenda. And you don’t have to wait for your elected leaders to take the initiative—you can get the process started yourself. Your first step should be to find out what’s in your community’s master plan. Does it include the optional pro-environment planning elements that you read about in Chapter II? For example, if your community’s master plan does not include a conservation (environmental) plan element, you have the right to propose that one be included. If a conservation plan is already in place, you can press for improvements. (See Appendix A: Model Outline of a Conservation Plan Element for suggested components of a model conservation plan element.) Another important step is to find out when your community’s master plan was first adopted or last amended. This is important to know because municipalities—through their planning boards—are required by law to re-examine their master plans at least every six years and they also must issue a report on their findings. If it was six years or more since the master plan was last adopted or updated, it is legally considered out of date.
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
You don’t have to be connected, wealthy, or powerful to effect positive change in your community. As a regular citizen, you have the right and the ability to be an advocate for your local environment. You can speak out at planning board meetings. Propose better environmental plans. Join forces with others or work with local political leaders to influence your community’s growth and environmental agenda. And you can enlist the media to shine a spotlight on initiatives that improve or protect your local environment and prevent irresponsible development.
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Even if the master plan was re-examined recently, you don’t have to wait six years to propose amendments to your community’s master plan. A master plan or any of its elements, including its environmental plan, may be revised at any time. And you don’t have to wait for someone on the planning board to propose an amendment. You can stand up and propose an amendment at any public planning board meeting. However, a few preliminary steps are in order: n
If your planning board is in the process of re-examining or updating its master plan, find out if a master plan subcommittee has been formed for this purpose. Find out who is on the committee and when and where it meets—and make it a point to attend these meetings. (See The Power 10: Your Rights at Planning Board Meetings in Chapter III to learn more about your rights in relation to the planning board. Also, see Chapter IV to learn how you can get appointed to a planning board committee.)
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If an environmental commission exists in your community, attend its meetings or contact the chair to find out what input the commission may have given to the planning board with respect to adopting a local environmental plan. It’s better to understand what the environmental commission or any other master plan subcommittee is doing about environmental planning before proposing that a powerful environmental plan be adopted. (See Chapter I and its discussion of the role of the environmental commission.) Many planning boards take the position that they have a continual planning process and re-examine the master plan as is necessary to respond to changing conditions, advances in technology, and enlightened ideas. Citizens do not have a right to require the planning board to re-examine the master plan or adopt new elements; however, a citizen may correspond with the board and request that a re-examination be conducted and new or amended elements be considered. Similar correspondence from several citizens may be particularly influential. Citizens may also appeal to elected members of the planning board (these include the mayor or mayoral representative and the governing body planning board liaison) and request the re-examination process be initiated. Often, elected board members are more responsive than appointed members of the planning board to citizen concerns.
What else can you do? Attend planning board meetings and take good advantage of your right to speak out in public about your concerns. State publicly that you have reviewed your community’s master plan and tell board members why you think the plan could
be better. Get your friends and others who are committed to the environment to join you at meetings. Remember, when you are appearing before a board or committee, you will be more effective if you are respectful to your audience and if you limit your presentation to five minutes or so. You also should be prepared and be very specific in stating what you think needs to be done.
Another good idea is to share your recommended solutions with your town’s planning professionals and staff, whose job it will be to prepare any plans. Send your ideas to them, or at least send them a copy of any written materials that you have sent to the planning board. While these professionals don’t have the power to vote, they do have the technical expertise to make recommendations to the planning board if they think your idea is a good one.
Some Other Things You Can Do There are other initiatives that you can support to enhance your community’s environmental policy agenda. Here are a few ideas worth pursuing: n Appear before your local council or committee to propose an open application procedure to ensure that the best-qualified individuals serve on your community’s influential policy making boards and committees. (See Chapter IV. Also see Appendix C: Model Open Application Ordinance for Citizen Board and Commission Appointments.) n Propose that your local governing body adopt a developer disclosure ordinance to assure the continued integrity of your municipal master plan. (See Chapter I and also see Appendix D: Model Municipal Developer Disclosure Ordinance for a model that you can propose to your elected leaders.) n If your community does not have an official body dedicated to developing sound environmental policy, such as a municipal environmental commission, propose your government leaders create such a body. (See Chapter I.)
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
Showing respect includes dressing appropriately, addressing officials by their names and titles, and thanking your audience for their attention. In other words, try to “atttract more flies with honey than vinegar.” After your presentation is complete, you must ask for a commitment. Say, “By when will the board be able to respond?” Or, “To whom or which committee will this matter be referred?” Any response received becomes part of the public record.
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Find Allies to Support Your Cause You are not alone in promoting your cause: plenty of people in your community care about their local environment. When you join forces with others, you multiply your power to effect positive change.
Center for Civic Responsibility
Following are some suggested allies: n Your friends and neighbors. Share your concerns about the local environment with the people you know in your community—and encourage them to support you by attending crucial meetings of the council or planning board. (Don’t overlook the parents you see in the playground or at school functions, the folks you run into at the grocery store, or fellow residents you meet at community events.) n Local environmental groups. If your community boasts a citizen’s group that is focused on environmental issues, make it a point to join the group or meet with its members to promote your ideas. n Political party representatives. Neighborhood political party representatives have influence over the elected and appointed officials of their respective parties. If you need to get the attention of the government, one of the most effective routes is through your neighborhood party representative— who might very well be your friend or neighbor! (See Chapter IV to learn more about how these party representatives are appointed.)
Put the Media Spotlight on Your Initiative Use the power of the press to your advantage. Journalists who cover municipal meetings try to present several sides of an issue. If you can speak knowledgeably and articulately—and politely—about your cause at a public hearing, you will most likely find yourself appearing on the evening news, or quoted in the next day’s edition of your local newspaper. You can also organize a rally around your cause and fax a media advisory, i.e., “press release” (with the basic who, what, when, where, and why information), to local media outlets informing them of your event. (Do not forget to include a contact person and phone number on the advisory.) In addition, you can respond to breaking news by faxing a brief statement presenting your views to local media covering the story. Other things you can do are enlist others to write letters to the editor, write an opinion column and send it to your local newspaper’s opinion page editor, or fax a news source advisory establishing your credentials as an advocate for a particular cause, so that reporters can add you to their contact lists.
You Can Succeed! Remember, your elected leaders and those they appoint to influential positions know that their fates rest on the whims of voters. Many will see your pro-environment proposal as an opportunity; others will be responsive when they realize that your proposal is gaining the attention of the electorate.
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
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Appendix A: Model Outline of a Conservation Plan Element Following are some suggested components of a conservation plan element:
n Incorporate water-quality elements l Amend the local board of health code to assure proper management of septic systems to control groundwater pollution. A model ordinance is available at www.anjec.org l Adopt model zoning ordinances and master plan standards for freshwater wetlands protection. A manual providing these models is available at www.anjec.org
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
n Incorporate air pollution reduction directives l Develop an open space acquisition plan to prioritize the acquisition of forested land and additional land to plant trees, in order to reduce greenhouse gasses, air conditioning costs, and asthma l Establish a municipal tree fund to which both citizens and the town can contribute money l Create Transportation Development Districts (TDDs) to fund additional intersection turning lanes, thereby reducing concentrated auto exhaust pollution at intersections l Adopt an ordinance that would require developers to replace an equal amount of trees, shrubs, and other biomass that they destroyed l Adopt a plan to convert township vehicles to hybrid vehicles l Incorporate a policy requiring developer applications to consider solar orientation in subdivisions and commercial lots where feasible
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Appendix B:
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Model Letter to Request Development and Environmental Information About Your Town*
Center for Civic Responsibility
DATE NAME OF OFFICIAL TITLE OFFICE OR AGENCY Dear (NAME OF OFFICIAL): Under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA), I am requesting that any and all records related to (NAME OF RECORDS/GENERAL DESCRIPTION) be made available to me for inspection. These records should include, but not be limited to, the following: (DETAILED LISTING OF RECORDS) I acknowledge that not all government-held information is open to the public. However, OPRA requires that the party claiming nondisclosure carries the burden to prove that an exemption to the law applies. If you claim such an exemption to my request, please cite in writing the specific statutory exemption. Please note that I am asking to inspect these records. I reserve, however, the right to request copies when the records are examined. Under OPRA, the custodian of government records must comply with any request for information “as soon as possible,” and no later than seven business days after the request is received. Accordingly, please respond to this request by no later than (DATE). If the information cannot be made available by this date, please indicate within seven business days when the record(s) will be available. Thank you for your cooperation. Sincerely, (YOUR NAME, TITLE AND CONTACT INFORMATION, INCLUDING ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER AND E-MAIL ADDRESS) * Available for download at www.Join theCampaign.com
Appendix c: Model Open Application Ordinance for Citizen Board and Commission Appointments*
Please read and complete both sides of this application. Personal Information Name Home Address City Home Phone
State
Zip
Do you reside within the city limits? If yes, how long?
Yes q No q
Are you over the age of 18? Yes q No q Are you a U.S. citizen? Yes q No q Education and Related Experience Diploma/degree and school attended: Memberships in fraternal, business, church, or social organizations (include offices held):
Civic Activities (include other boards/commissions):
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
City of [INSERT MUNICIPALITY NAME] Application for Appointment to Citizen Advisory Boards and Commissions
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Center for Civic Responsibility
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Statement of Interest For which board or commission would you like to be considered?
Please write a brief statement explaining your interest in the board or commission for which you are applying. Include any experience, training, and/or qualifications you have relating to this board or commission.
Please indicate any conflicts of interest you may have if chosen for this board or commission.
Guidelines for Applying for Citizen Advisory Boards and Commissions w
Please submit one application per board or commission for which you are applying. The application will be kept on file for two years.
w
To allow a large number of citizens to serve on boards and commissions, the City Council policy allows individuals to serve on only one standing board or commission at a time. A current member of a board/commission who is a successful applicant for another board/commission will be required to choose one board/commission on which to serve. This policy does not apply to ad hoc committees or departmental committees or positions that are designated for members of specific advisory groups.
w
Board or committee members will serve a maximum of two consecutive terms when the length of the term is three years or more. Individuals serving terms less than three years will be limited to a total of six consecutive years of service.
Current board or committee members must submit a new application at the end of their term if they wish to reapply. The deadline for applications from incumbents is the same as the deadline for new applications.
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An individual may reapply for appointment to a board or commission after at least a one year hiatus from service.
w
City of _________ employees may not serve on City of ________ boards or commissions except as specifically provided by the City Code, or as required to perform official duties.
In accordance with the Local Government Ethics Law (N.J.S.A. 40A: 9-22.1 et seq.) annual Financial Disclosure Statements must be filed by elected officials, certain government employees, and members of the housing authority, recreation commission, planning board, zoning board, board of health, board of education, and library board of trustees. Financial Disclosure statements indicate the source of income but not the amount. Information submitted on this application is public information. I verify that the information provided herein is true and complete. I understand that false or misleading statements may be cause for elimination from consideration. Applicant Signature Date Return completed applications to Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.:
City Clerk’s Office [Name of Municipality] City Hall [Address] [City, State]
* Available for download at www.Join theCampaign.com
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
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Appendix D:
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Model Municipal Developer Disclosure Ordinance*
Center for Civic Responsibility
Be it Ordained by the Mayor and Council of _______________________, County of __________________, and State of New Jersey as follows: Section 1. Short Title:
Contribution Disclosure Ordinance
Section 2. Purpose: WHEREAS municipal Master Plans include well thought out, longterm decisions about the development capacity of community; and WHEREAS municipal Master Plans are implemented through the enactment of local land use ordinances; and WHEREAS deviations from these local ordinances by way of variances pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70d and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c, exceptions and waivers pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-51 provide opportunities for significant private gain; and WHEREAS, applicants for planned developments, as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-6 often deviate from the goals of the municipal master plan and provide opportunities for significant private gain; and WHEREAS openness in government and a fair and impartial variance, waiver and exception and planned development application process is crucial to assuring the continuing integrity of the municipal Master Plan, its implementing ordinances and the integrity of the variance application process; and WHEREAS disclosure of political contributions by property owners, developers and professionals will enhance the township’s existing commitment to openness in government and provide further guarantees for a fair and impartial variance, waiver and exception application process; and WHEREAS disclosure of political contributions by property owners, developers and professionals will effectuate the purposes of the Municipal Land Use Law to promote morals and the general welfare; THEREFORE, it is accordingly found and determined that the paramount public interest in enhancing the township’s commitment to openness in government, in providing further guarantees for a fair and impartial variance, waiver and exception application process, and in promoting morals and the general welfare through the integrity of the municipal planning process requires the supplementation of the municipal application checklist to mandate the listing of specified political contributions made by property owners, developers and the professionals whose services they use in applications for major variances, waivers and exceptions. Section 3. Definitions: a.
Application Checklist – The term “Application Checklist” means the list of submission requirements adopted by ordinance and provided by the municipal agency to a developer pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.3.
b.
Developer – The term “Developer” means a developer as defined by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-4, i.e. the legal or beneficial owner or owners of a lot or of any land proposed to be included in a proposed development, including the holder of an option or contract to purchase, or other
person having an enforceable proprietary interest in such land. Professional – The term “Professional” means any person or entity whose principals are required to be licensed by New Jersey Law and who supplies legal representation, expert testimony or written reports in support of an application. Professionals shall include both any individuals supplying the representation, testimonies or reports and the firms or entities in which said individuals practice.
d.
Contribution – The term “Contribution” means every loan, gift, subscription, advance or transfer of money or other thing of value, including any item of real property or personal property, tangible or intangible (but not including services provided without compensation by individuals volunteering a part or all of their time on behalf of a candidate, committee or organization), made to or on behalf of any candidate, candidate committee, joint candidates committee, political committee, continuing political committee or political party committee and any pledge, promise or other commitment or assumption of liability to make such transfer. For purposes of reports required under the provisions of the ordinance, any such commitment or assumption shall be deemed to have been a contribution upon the date when such commitment is made or liability assumed.
e.
Contribution Disclosure Statement – The term “Contribution Disclosure Statement” means a list specifying the amount, date, and the recipient of any and all Contributions made to or on behalf of any candidate, candidate committee, joint candidates committee, political committee, continuing political committee or political party committee of, or pertaining to, this municipality, made up to one year prior to filing the variance application and/or during the pendency of the application process, and required to be reported pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:44A-1 et seq.
Section 4. General Provisions: a. Disclosure Requirements i.
Any applicant for a variance pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70(d) or a variance pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c in conjunction with any application for a subdivision not considered a minor subdivision pursuant to local ordinance or a site plan not considered a minor site plan pursuant to local ordinance as well as any application for a subdivision not considered a minor subdivision pursuant to local ordinance or site plan not considered a minor site plan pursuant to local ordinance requiring waivers or exceptions pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-51 shall include in the application Contribution Disclosure Statements for all Developers; all associates of said Developers who would be subject to disclosure pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D48.1 or 40:55D-48.2; and all Professionals who apply for or provide testimony, plans, or reports in support of said variance and who have an enforceable proprietary interest in the property or development which is the subject of the application or whose fee in whole or part is contingent upon the outcome of the application. Regardless of whether the owner of the property which is the subject of the variance application falls in any of the categories established in the preceding sentence, the applicant shall include in the application a Contribution Disclosure Statement for said owner.
ii.
During the pendency of the application process until final site plan approval is granted, any applicant required to comply with this ordinance shall amend its Contribution Disclosure Statements to include continuing disclosure of all Contributions within the scope of disclosure requirement of the above paragraph.
b.
Inclusion of Contribution Disclosure Statements as an Element of the Application Checklist
Citizen Power at the Planning Board: A Manual for Controlling Growth and Development in Your Community
c.
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Center for Civic Responsibility
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i.
An Application Checklist ordinance is hereby adopted pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-10.3 to require that the Contribution Disclosure Statements specified in paragraph “a” of this section be submitted by the applicant for all applications for variance relief pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70d as well as for relief pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D70c or N.J.S.A. 40:55D-51 in applications for site plan and subdivision approval not considered to be minor site plans or minor subdivisions pursuant to local ordinance.
ii.
The municipal planning board and board of adjustment shall amend its Application Checklist for variances pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D70(d) as well as for relief pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c or N.J.S.A. 40:55D-51 in applications for site plan and subdivision approval not considered to be minor site plans or minor subdivisions pursuant to local ordinance to include the Contribution Disclosure Statements specified in paragraph “a” of this section.
iii. An application shall not be deemed complete by the administrative official or accepted for public hearing by the Municipal Agency until the required Contribution Disclosure Statements are submitted. c.
Availability of the Disclosure Statement
All Contribution Disclosure Statements shall be available in the office of the administrative officer for review by any member of the public.
d.
Intent of the Disclosure Statement
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It is the intent of this ordinance that the Disclosure Statement shall serve to inform the public and not serve as evidence relevant to the decision criteria for variance applications pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D70(d) as well as for relief pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c or N.J.S.A. 40:55D-51 in applications for site plan and subdivision approval not considered to be minor site plans or minor subdivisions pursuant to local ordinance.
Section 5. Severability and Effectiveness Clause:
If any sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any persons or circumstances shall be adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, or if by legislative action any sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall lose its force and effect, such judgment or action shall not affect, impair or void the remainder of this ordinance.
Section 6. Effective Date: This ordinance shall become effective on
Mayor
Municipal Clerk
Introduced: Adopted: Veto or Approval: Final Publication: * Available for download at www.Join theCampaign.com
Inside X Your Legal Rights With Respect to the Planning Board
X How You Can Gain Adoption of a Strong Environmental Plan
The Center for Civic Responsibility 450 Main Street Metuchen, NJ 08840 Telephone: 732-548-9798 www.JoinTheCampaign.com