1. How does the approval process work?
2. What Aspects Of My Project Are Reviewed By The County Planning Board?
3. If My Application Requires Review By The County and The Municipality
Which
Agency Should I File To First?
4. When Must I Submit A Traffic Report?
5. When Must I Submit A Drainage Report?
6. How Many Copies of the Drainage and Traffic Reports Must I submit?
7. When Would a Project Require Retention/Detention (Zero Increase in Runoff)?
8. When Do I Need To Submit Construction Drawings?
9. What Type Of Inlet Casting Are required?
10. What Storm Frequency Does The County Use In Drainage Design
And Flood
Management Review?
11. Does Conditional Approval Mean I Can Start Building?
12. But I Have Municipal Approval, Why Can’t I Begin Building?
13. What Is A Reproducible And When Should I Submit It;
How Many Copies and What
Sheets?
14. When Should I Submit A Survey Of The Property In Question?
1. How does the approval process work?
At the County Level in New Jersey, in contrast to the municipal level, the Applicant communicates with the Staff of the Planning Board. The Staff to the Board, also known as the Site Plan/Subdivision Review Team consists of area planners, civil engineers, and liaisons from the County Engineer’s Office. Each development proposal is assigned an “Area Planner” to determine if the project requires an approval by the Board, or an exemption. This determination is made based on the criteria found in Section II of the County Site Plan/Subdivision Review Resolution.
If the project is deemed exempt, then it is not required to be heard by the Planning Board at a public meeting, and a Letter of Exemption signed by the Department of Planning and Economic Development’s Director is issued to the applicant with municipal officials notified by copy.
Projects that fall under the jurisdiction of the County Planning Board for review and approval are logged in with an application number, and then distributed to the Site Plan/Subdivision Review Team. A letter is sent to the construction official of the municipality in which the project is located requesting that a building permit be withheld, as per N.J.S.A 40:27-6.7, until final approval is granted by the County. A letter also is sent to the municipal board hearing the project notifying them that the County has received an application.
Initial review of the project by the team involves evaluating the plans to see if they conform to the Site Plan/Subdivision Review Resolution. Section III of the Resolution clearly states what information is required on the plans. Section IV in conjunction with the Stormwater Management Resolution, the County Master Plan and the County Engineer’s design criteria provides the standards that all projects must conform to. If the drawing(s) are deficient, the area planner will write a letter summarizing what is necessary to bring the plans/project in to conformance with the Resolution. If the plans conform to the standards set forth by these documents a Joint Report, which details what the requirements are for approval, is written and presented to the Planning Board at a public meeting. The Planning Board’s regularly scheduled meeting is held on the first Monday of each month, but is subject to change or cancellation.
The County Planning Board will act on the Joint Report for the project, either approving it or denying it. If the Board accepts the report, the project receives a Conditional Approval status. This means the applicant must comply with all of the requirements & conditions set forth in the Joint Report to receive Final Approval. Typical conditions might be for example the submission of the reproducible drawing for signature, the payment of various fees, submission of deeds, and placement of a performance bond. When all of the conditions have been met and processed the Director of the Planning Department with an accompanying letter issues final approval in the form of a signed and sealed drawing(s) of the project.
2. What Aspects Of My Project Are Reviewed By The County Planning Board?
Traffic and stormwater drainage and its effects on County facilities, which typically consist of County roads.
3. If My Application Requires Review By The County and The Municipality Which Agency Should I File To First?
The County encourages concurrent reviews and as such applications should be filed simultaneously.
4. When Must I Submit A Traffic Report?
All site plan applications proposing 50 of more parking stalls/ or when requested by the Department.
5. When Must I Submit A Drainage Report?
When a connection to any County drainage facility is proposed.
When the project proposes one acre or more of impervious surfaces.
When the existing County drainage facility is deemed inadequate to handle any additional drainage.
6. How Many Copies of the Drainage and Traffic Reports Must I submit?
4 Copies.
7. When Would a Project Require Retention/Detention (Zero Increase in Runoff)?
When it proposes one acre or more of impervious surfaces. This includes roofs, paved areas and walkways.
When the existing capacity of the county’s drainage facility is inadequate to handle the additional stormwater.
8. When Do I Need To Submit Construction Drawings?
When proposed roadway improvements require 100 feet or more of new curbing and/or widening of three (3) or more feet from the existing edge of pavement
9. What Type Of Inlet Casting Are required?
All inlets on a County road must be Type “B” inlets with Type “N-Eco-Bergen County” (pattern #2618-BC) curb pieces. The grates must be heavy-duty bicycle safe grates (pattern #2617).
10. What Storm Frequency Does The County Use In Drainage Design And Flood Management Review?
25-year storm frequency based on the Rockland/Orange County rainfall charts, to be included in appendix of the drainage report.
11. Does Conditional Approval Mean I Can Start Building?
No. A conditional approval outlines the conditions that must be met prior to final approval. Construction should not commence prior to the issuance of a final approval letter from the Director of Planning and Economic Development.
12. But I Have Municipal Approval, Why Can’t I Begin Building?
In accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:27-6.7 The Municipal Construction Official is not authorized to issue a building permit on projects before the County Planning Board until the County grants final approval
13. What Is A Reproducible And When Should I Submit It, How Many Copies and What Sheets?
A reproducible drawing or tracing is a copy of your site plan/ subdivision plat done on a medium that can be run through a blue print machine or copier for reproduction.
You should submit one reproducible for each of the drawings listed in Section A.1 of your Joint Report. Each reproducible to be submitted must have following county signature stamp on the lower left hand corner or bottom border:
APPROVED BY THE
COUNTY PLANNING BOARD
COUNTY OF BERGEN, NEW JERSEY
ATTESTED TO BY: DATE:
Director of Planning & Economic Development
TITLE:
14. When Should I Submit A Survey Of The Property In Question?
A survey must be submitted with every application for a site plan on a County road.