Wistuk v. Lower Mt. Bethel Township Zoning Hearing Board

OPINION

The initial question presented is whether a landowner's acquiescence to the conduct of a meeting of a zoning hearing board to entertain written briefs, deliberate, and render a decision constituted a waiver of the statutory entitlement to a deemed approval of a special exception and variance, where the Board did not issue a written decision within forty-five days after the close of the evidentiary record. We also consider whether such a meeting constitutes a hearing for purposes of the forty-five-day requirement.

Pertinent to this question, Section 908(9) of the Municipalities Planning…