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Attorney warns planning board against informal site visits and outside fact‑finding
Summary
The borough attorney told the board that independent fact‑finding is prohibited in quasi‑judicial hearings and that any site visits must be advertised as public meetings with agenda, notice and opportunity for public participation.
Nick told members that independent investigation — going alone to a site or doing individualized research outside the record — is inconsistent with the adversarial, record‑based system used in quasi‑judicial proceedings. "That's independent fact finding," he said, and explained judges and quasi‑judicial decision makers cannot privately gather evidence that the opposing side did not have an opportunity to challenge.
He said site visits are permitted only if they are conducted as advertised public meetings with an agenda, recording and public participation; otherwise, members should ask staff to include visual materials in the packet or request a continuance so parties can provide missing information. When asked whether staff could pull up Google Maps during a hearing, Nick said visuals are acceptable if presented publicly but cautioned members against independently conducting or introducing outside evidence.
