1. The Planning Board shall review the application for the General Development Plan for the purpose of determining, within 45 days of its submission, whether said application is complete. Thereafter:
 

a. If said application is found to contain all of the information required by § DR-807B of this ordinance, the Planning Board shall certify that said application is complete.

b. If said application is found to lack some of the information required by said § DR-807B, the Planning Board shall either: (1) cause the applicant to be notified, in writing, that said application is incomplete, specifying the deficiencies in the application; or (2) if the Planning Board reasonably concludes that the missing items of information are not necessary to make an informed decision on the application, said Board may waive the requirement that said items be supplied as a prerequisite for completeness and certify that the application is complete notwithstanding the missing items, provided that they be submitted to the Township within a specified time period.

c. An applicant may request waiver of one or more of the submission requirements set forth in § DR-807B and said request shall be granted or denied by the Planning Board within 45 days after receiving such a request in writing.

d. In the event the Planning Board fails to act pursuant to Subsections C.1.a through C.1.c hereinabove, said application shall be deemed complete as of the 46th day following its submission.

2. On the day the aforesaid application is certified complete, the applicable time period within which the Board must act upon the application shall commence. In any case, the applicant is obliged to prove that he or she is entitled to approval of the application. The Board may subsequently require correction of any information found to be in error, may require submission of additional information not specified in § DR-807B of this ordinance, and/or may require revisions in the application documents; each and all as are reasonably necessary in order for the Board to make an informed decision as to whether the requirements for approval of the application have been met, provided that the application shall not be deemed incomplete for lack of any such additional information or revisions.

3. Promptly after certification of completeness, the application documents shall be distributed by the Secretary of the Planning Board in the same manner as set forth in this ordinance for a Preliminary Site Plan.

4. The Planning Board shall grant or deny an application for General Development Plan approval within 95 days after the application has been certified complete or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant. Failure of the Board to act within the prescribed time period shall constitute approval of the application.

5. Any proposed application determined by the Board to be creating, imposing, aggravating or leading to the possibility of an adverse effect upon either the property in question or upon adjacent properties may be required to be revised to mitigate the adverse effect(s) prior to further review or approval by the Board.

6. The Board shall find the following facts and conclusions prior to granting General Development Plan approval:
 

a. That departures by the proposed development from zoning regulations otherwise applicable to the subject property conform to the zoning provisions specified in this ordinance pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-65c;

b. That the proposals for maintenance and conservation of the common space are reliable and the amount, location, and purpose of the common open space are adequate;

c. That provisions through the physical design of the proposed development for public services, control over vehicular and pedestrian traffic, and the amenities of light and air, recreation, visual enjoyment are adequate;

d. That the proposed Planned Development will not have an unreasonably adverse impact upon the area in which it is proposed to be established; and

e. In the case of a proposed Planned Development which contemplates construction over a period of years, that the terms and conditions intended to protect the interests of the public and of the residents, occupants and owners of the proposed development in the total completion of the development are adequate.

7. All hearings held on any application for General Development Plan approval shall require public notice of the hearing. The Board shall set the date, time and place for the hearing and shall inform the applicant of this at least 14 days prior to said hearing date. Notice of the hearing shall be given by the applicant at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing in accordance with the requirements of this ordinance.

D. Effect of General Development Plan Approval.
 

1. The term of the effect of the General Development Plan approval shall be determined by the Planning Board, but shall not exceed seven years from the date upon which the developer receives final approval of the first section of the Planned Development. In making its determination regarding the duration of the effect of approval of the development plan, the Planning Board shall consider: the number of dwelling units to be constructed; prevailing economic conditions; the timing schedule to be followed in completing the development and the likelihood of its fulfillment; the developer's capability of completing the proposed development; and the contents of the General Development Plan and any conditions which the Planning Board attaches to the approval thereof.

2. The General Development Plan shall set forth the permitted number of dwelling units and the square footage of nonresidential uses according to a timing schedule which sets forth the timing of the various sections of the development. The Planned Development shall be developed in accordance with the General Development Plan approved by the Planning Board notwithstanding any provision of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1, or any Ordinance or regulations adopted pursuant thereto after the effective date of the approval.

3. In the event that the developer seeks to modify the proposed timing schedule, such modification shall require the approval of the Planning Board. The Planning Board shall, in deciding whether or not to grant approval of the modification, take into consideration prevailing economic and market conditions, anticipated and actual needs for the residential units within the Township and the region, and the availability and capacity of public facilities to accommodate the proposed development.

4. Except as provided hereunder, the developer shall be required to gain the prior approval of the Planning Board if, after the approval of the General Development Plan, the developer wishes to make any variation in the location of land uses within the Planned Development or to increase the density of residential development or the square footage of nonresidential development in any section of the Planned Development.

Any variation in the location of land uses or increase in the density proposed in reaction to a negative decision of, or condition of development approval imposed by, the Pinelands Commission and/or the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to P.L. 1973, c.185 (C.13:19-1 et seq.) shall be approved by the Planning Board if the developer can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Planning Board that the variation being proposed is a direct result of such determination by the Pinelands Commission and/or the Department of Environmental Protection, as the case may be.

5. Once a General Development Plan has been approved by the Planning Board, annual written and oral status reports shall be delivered by the landowner to both the Planning Board and Township Council at approximate twelve-month intervals subsequent to the date of approval and prior to the completion of the development. Moreover, the General Development Plan may be amended or revised only pursuant to approval by the Planning Board of an application submitted by the developer, except that a developer, without violating the terms of the approval pursuant to this ordinance may, in undertaking any section of the Planned Development, reduce the number of residential units by no more than 15% or reduce the residential density by more than 15%; provided, however, that a developer may not reduce the number of residential units accounted for pursuant to P.L. 1985, C.222 (C.52:27D-301 et al).

6. Upon the completion of each section of the development as set forth in the approved General Development Plan, the developer shall notify the administrative officer, by certified mail, as evidence that the developer is fulfilling his obligations under the approved plan. For the purpose of this section, "completion" of any section of the development shall mean that the developer has acquired a Certificate of Occupancy for every residential unit and nonresidential building as set forth in § 15 of P.L. 1975 and the approved General Development Plan pursuant to C.217 (C.52:27D-133).

If a developer does not complete any section of the Planned Development within eight months of the date provided for in the approved plan, or if at any time the Township has cause to believe that the developer is not fulfilling his obligations pursuant to the approved plan, the Township shall notify the developer, by certified mail, and the developer shall have 10 days within which to give evidence he is fulfilling his obligation pursuant to the approved plan. The Township thereafter shall conduct a hearing to determine whether or not the developer is in violation of the approved plan. If, after such a hearing, the Township finds good cause to terminate the approval, it shall provide written notice of same to the developer and the approval shall be terminated 30 days thereafter.

7. In the event that a developer who has General Development Plan approval does not apply for preliminary approval for the Planned Development which is the subject of that General Development Plan within five years of the date upon which the General Development Plan has been approved by the Planning Board, the Township shall have cause to terminate the approval.

8. In the event that a Planned Development which is the subject of an approved General Development Plan is completed before the end of the term of the approval, the approval shall terminate with the completion of the development. For the purposes of this section, a development shall be considered complete on the date upon which a Certificate of Occupancy has been issued for the final residential structure in the last section of the development in accordance with the timing schedule set forth in the approved General Development Plan and the developer has fulfilled all of his obligations pursuant to the approval.

9. No portion of any lands having received General Development Plan approval shall be conveyed separately from the entire lands having received General Development Plan approval until said portion has received formal preliminary site plan approval.