§ 276-59. Appeals and applications to the Planning Board.

A. 

Appeals to the Planning Board may be taken by any interested party affected by any decision of a municipal official of the municipality based on or made in the enforcement of the zoning provisions of this chapter or a duly adopted Official Map. Such appeal shall be taken within 20 days by filing a notice of appeal with the official from whom the appeal is taken, with three copies of the notice given to the Secretary of the Planning Board. The notice shall specify the grounds for the appeal. The official from whom the appeal is taken shall immediately transmit to the Board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.

B. 

The Planning Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or in part, or may modify the action, order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination appealed from and to that end have all powers of the municipal official from whom the appeal is taken.

C. 

An appeal to the Planning Board shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action in respect to which the decision appealed from was made unless the municipal official from whose action the appeal is taken certifies to the Planning Board, after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with him, that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed other than by an order of the Superior Court upon notice to the municipal official from whom the appeal is taken and due cause shown.

D. 

A developer may file an application for development with the Planning Board for action under any of its powers without prior application to a municipal official.

E. 

The Planning Board shall act upon any appeal or any application for development within 120 days either from the date the appeal is taken from the decision of the municipal official or from the date the application is certified as a complete application, as the case may be, or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant, except that when an applicant elects to submit separate consecutive applications for use variance approval and site plan, subdivision or conditional use approval, the 120-day time period for action shall apply to the application for approval of the use variance, and the time period for granting or denying any subsequent approval shall be as otherwise provided in this chapter.

F. 

Failure of the Planning Board to render a decision within such 120-day period or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant shall constitute a decision favorable to the applicant.