No building shall hereafter be erected, nor shall any existing building be moved, structurally altered, rebuilt, added to or enlarged, nor shall any land be designed or used for any purpose other than those included among the uses listed as permitted uses in each zone by this chapter and meeting the requirements set forth in the schedule made a part of this chapter and consisting of a part of Article XIV of this chapter, nor shall any open space contiguous to any building be encroached upon or reduced in any manner, except in conformity with the yard, lot area, building location, percentage of lot coverage, off-street parking requirements, and such other regulations designated in said schedule and in this chapter for the zone district in which such building or space is located. In the event of any such unlawful encroachment or reduction, such building shall be deemed to be in violation of this chapter, and the certificate of occupancy shall become void.
Each of the sections and subsections of this Part 6 shall apply to all zone districts unless otherwise stated.
A. 
Where a use is not specifically permitted in a zone district, it is prohibited.
B. 
All classes of cannabis establishments or cannabis distributors or cannabis delivery services as said terms are defined in Section 3 of P.L. 2021, c. 16,[1] but not the delivery of cannabis items and related supplies by a delivery service.
[Added 6-22-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-07; amended 7-26-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-10]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 24:6I-33.
Any lot or plot as recorded at the time of passage of this chapter that fails to comply with the minimum requirements of this Part 6 may be used for any use not otherwise prohibited in such district in which it lies, provided that the yard requirements are complied with. Where the average lot width is less than its zone district requirement, the side yards may be reduced by the percentage that the lot width bears to the zone district requirements, provided that no side yard shall be less than 1/2 of the required side yard.
Unless otherwise provided herein, all yards, open spaces and off-street parking shall be contained on the lot and within the zone district in which the lot is located.
No lot, yard, parking area or other space shall be so reduced in area or dimension as to make said area or dimension less than the minimum required under this Part 6. If already less than the minimum required under this Part 6, said area or dimension shall not be further reduced.
A. 
Only one principal building shall be erected on a lot, except for related buildings forming one principal use in the same ownership and limited to the following:
(1) 
Public or institutional building complexes.
(2) 
Research, industrial, manufacturing, office or retail shopping complexes.
(3) 
Multifamily dwelling complexes.
B. 
Unless otherwise regulated in this chapter, no principal buildings shall be located closer to another building than the height of the taller building.
A. 
An accessory building, whether attached or detached to a principal building, regardless of its location within the Borough of Raritan, and regardless of any other regulations within the zone in which the structure may exist, must comply with the following regulations:
(1) 
Any accessory building or structure and its use must be such as is customarily incident and subordinate to the principal uses permitted, provided that such accessory uses do not include any activity carried on in a manner contrary to the permitted use in such zone in which it is located.
(2) 
Any accessory building or structure must be constructed or erected in such a way that its appearance is in conformity with the character of the surrounding neighborhood.
(3) 
No accessory building or structure shall be permitted, constructed or erected in such a manner that it would have an adverse effect on the use or enjoyment of adjoining properties or which would have an adverse effect on the property values of adjoining properties. Any accessory building or structure must be such that it conserves the property values of the neighborhood.
(4) 
No accessory building or structure may be permitted, constructed or erected which would have an adverse effect upon the health or safety of residents or workers on adjacent properties in the surrounding neighborhood.
B. 
Accessory buildings in residential zones shall meet the following requirements:
(1) 
An accessory building attached to a principal building shall comply in all respects with the yard requirements of this chapter for the principal building. Detached accessory buildings shall be located to the rear of the front building line of the principal building. Rear and side setbacks shall conform to the yard requirements for accessory structures for the zone district in which it is located.
(2) 
No accessory building shall exceed a height of 16 feet.
(3) 
An accessory building shall not be located closer than six feet to any other building.
(4) 
Accessory buildings shall not occupy more than 30% of the rear yard area.
C. 
Accessory buildings in nonresidential zones shall meet the setback requirements in the Schedule of Bulk Requirements.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The Schedule of Bulk Requirements is included at the end of this chapter.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all dwellings or principal structures shall be constructed or located upon a lot abutting and having frontage upon an existing state, county or Borough street or highway, a street shown upon a plat approved by the Planning Board pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and for which a performance guaranty has been posted, or a street shown upon a plat duly filed in the Somerset County Clerk's office prior to the adoption of this chapter and which shall have been suitably improved to the satisfaction of the Borough Council.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
A. 
Yards facing public street. All yards facing on a public street shall be considered front yards and shall conform to the minimum front yard requirements for the zone in which they are located.
B. 
Corner lots. Corner lots shall provide the minimum front yard requirements for the prospective zone for both intersection streets, for both principal and accessory buildings.
C. 
Yards facing on proposed right-of-way widening. Where a building lot has frontage on a street which the Master Plan or the Official Map of the Borough indicates is proposed for right-of-way widening, the required front yard area shall be measured from such proposed right-of-way line.
D. 
Fire escapes in yards. Open fireproof fire escapes or stairways may project not more than eight feet into any side or rear yard.
E. 
No storage in front yards. No front yard shall be used for open storage of boats, vehicles or any other equipment, except for permitted vehicular off-street parking or vehicular parking on driveways. All open storage areas shall be properly landscaped. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed so as to prohibit or limit the placement of mobile homes upon a lot as provided for under the temporary dwellings provisions of § 207-88 of this chapter.
A. 
Front yard depth. The depth of a front yard shall be measured between the street line established by the intended ultimate right-of-way of the street(s) on which the lot fronts and the nearest point of the principal building on the lot. The depth of a front yard shall be measured perpendicular to the street line.
B. 
Side yard. A side yard shall be measured parallel to the street line, and the dimension of a side yard shall be the distance between the side lot line and the nearest point of the building or structure for which the side yard is being measured to that side lot line.
C. 
Rear yard. A rear yard shall be measured perpendicular to the street line, and the dimension of a rear yard shall be the distance between the rear lot line and the nearest point of the building or structure for which the rear yard is being measured to the rear lot line.
A. 
Where a lot is situated between two lots, each of which is developed with a principal building which projects into the required front yard setback, the minimum front yard requirement of such lot may be the average of the front yards of the existing buildings.
B. 
Where a lot adjoins one lot developed as described above and a vacant lot, the minimum front yard requirement of such lot may be the average of the front yard of the existing building and the required front yard.
C. 
Where, in a given block, there is a pronounced uniformity in the alignment of the existing buildings in which the front yard depths are greater or less than required, then any new building shall conform to the established alignment.
At an intersection, there shall be no obstruction of vision between a height of two feet and 10 feet above the center-line grade of the street within the triangle defined by the first 75 feet of each of the intersection street lines for local streets. Said distance shall be increased to 100 feet if either of the streets is a collector street or increased to 150 feet if either of the streets is an arterial street. Such triangles shall be graded as necessary and kept clear of any building, planting or other obstruction.
When a new lot is formed so as to include within its boundaries any part of a former lot on which there is an existing building or use, the subdivision must be carried out in such a manner as will not infringe upon any provisions of this chapter either with respect to any existing structures or use or any proposed structures or use.
In the case of irregularly shaped lots, the minimum lot width specified in the Schedule of Bulk Requirements[1] may be measured at the rear line of the required front yard, provided that in no case shall the lot frontage measured at the street right-of-way line be less than 70% of the minimum lot frontage as specified in the Schedule of Bulk Requirements.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Schedule of Bulk Requirements is included as an attachment to this chapter.
[Amended 11-22-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-15]
The height provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the erection of spires, belfries or towers associated with the places of worship, chimneys, flues or other similar appurtenances, which shall be limited to a maximum of 45 feet or 115% of the building height, whichever is higher, or to parapet walls and cornices extending no more than three feet above the height limit for the zone. Nor shall they apply to bulkheads, elevator enclosures, water tanks or similar accessory uses, provided that they occupy no more than 15% of the area of the roof on which they are located, do not exceed the height limit for the zone by more than five feet, and are fully screened.
Not more than one commercial vehicle shall be parked out-of-doors overnight or on Sunday in conjunction with a residential property in a residential zone. No display vehicles for commercial purposes shall be parked in any district.
A. 
In the event that damage resulting from a fire, explosion, flood or other natural disaster renders any existing single-family or two-family dwelling uninhabitable, the Zoning Officer may issue a permit for the temporary placement and occupancy of one temporary dwelling to be located on the lot whereupon the damaged and uninhabitable dwelling is located, for a period not to exceed nine months, to be renewable for one additional period not to exceed six months.
B. 
While the placement of the temporary dwelling upon the lot shall not be governed by existing setback requirements, such placement shall meet those requirements wherever possible, and under no conditions may a temporary dwelling be set back less than six feet from adjacent properties.
C. 
All temporary dwellings must conform to the structural strength, firesafety, means of egress, light, ventilation, and sanitary requirements of this chapter necessary to insure public health, safety and general welfare.
A. 
Intent and purpose. It is hereby determined that sexually oriented businesses as defined by this section tend to attract an undesirable quantity and quality of transients, adversely affect property values, cause an increase in crime, and adversely affect residents and businesses. Due to such deleterious and destructive effect upon land uses and value within the Borough of Raritan, it is recognized that regulation of such uses is essential to property values, and neighborhoods within the Borough of Raritan are to be preserved and the public health, safety, comfort, morals, convenience and general welfare promoted. It is acknowledged by the Borough of Raritan that the State of New Jersey by statutory scheme has set forth a regulatory scheme as to sexually oriented businesses. In order to promote the health, safety, comfort, morals, convenience and general welfare of the residents of the Borough of Raritan, and to comport with the statutory scheme of the State of New Jersey, this section is intended to expressly regulate sexually oriented business uses as defined herein within the Borough of Raritan.
B. 
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
PERSON
An individual, proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity.
SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESS
(1) 
A commercial establishment which, as one of its principal business purposes, offers for sale, rental or display any of the following: books, magazines, periodicals or other printed material or photographs, films, motion pictures, videocassettes, slides or other visual representations which depict or describe a specified sexual activity or specified anatomical area; or still or motion-picture machines, projectors or other image-producing devices which show images to one person per machine at any one time, and where the images so displayed are characterized by the depiction of a specified sexual activity or specified anatomical area; or instruments, devices, or paraphernalia which are designed for use in connection with a specified sexual activity; or
(2) 
A commercial establishment which regularly features live performances characterized by the exposure of a specified anatomical area or by a specified sexual activity or which regularly shows films, motion pictures, videocassettes, slides or other photographic representations which depict or describe a specified sexual activity or specified anatomical area.
SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREA
(1) 
Less than completely and opaquely covered human genitals, pubic region, buttocks or female breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areola; or
(2) 
Human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if covered.
SPECIFIED SEXUAL ACTIVITY
(1) 
The fondling or other erotic touching of covered or uncovered human genitals, pubic region, buttock or female breasts; or
(2) 
Any actual or simulated act of human masturbation, sexual intercourse, or deviate sexual intercourse.
C. 
Restrictions on location of sexually oriented businesses.
(1) 
No person shall operate a sexually oriented business within 1,000 feet of any existing sexually oriented business or any church, synagogue, temple or other place of public worship or any elementary or secondary school or any school bus stop or any municipal or county playground or place of public resort and recreation or any hospital or any child-care center or within 1,000 feet of any area zoned for residential use.
(2) 
Every sexually oriented business shall be surrounded by a perimeter buffer of a minimum of 50 feet in width and consisting of plantings sufficient to impede the view of the interior of any building and to the satisfaction of the Planning Board of the Borough of Raritan.
A. 
Outdoor storage of any kind or nature, except those items customarily used in conjunction with a residential occupancy, is prohibited in all residential zones. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed so as to prohibit or limit the placement of mobile homes or other temporary buildings upon a lot as provided for under the temporary dwellings provisions of § 207-88 of this chapter.
B. 
In all nonresidential zones, where not specifically prohibited, outdoor storage is only permitted in the side and rear yards as herein regulated. No article, equipment, vehicles, supplies or materials or other matter shall be kept, stored or displayed outside the confines of any building unless and until the same is screened by special planting or fencing, as approved by the Planning Board, and maintained in good condition, so that it shall not be visible from any adjacent property or public street; provided, however, that where otherwise permitted by this chapter, the display of new and used motor vehicles as a permitted accessory use in a nonresidential zone district shall not be required to be screened by a planting or fence, so that said use is not visible from any abutting public street.
[Added 10-28-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-06]
A. 
No persons shall store firewood in the front yard on residentially zoned property, except that firewood may be temporarily stored in a front yard for a period of 10 days from the date of its delivery.
B. 
Outside storage of firewood, generally.
(1) 
The firewood shall be cut, split, prepared for use and stored in neat, secure stacks. The firewood shall be neatly stacked and may not be stacked closer than three feet to any lot line and not higher than four feet from grade, except adjacent to a fence, where firewood can be stacked as high as the fence. Fences as used in this section shall not include hedges and other vegetation. The firewood shall be stored a minimum of eight inches off the ground and on a well-supported, nonrotting base.
(2) 
There shall be no more than two cords of wood stored at any time, and no more than 1/4 of a fireplace cord shall be stored on the porch of a residential structure.
C. 
All brush, debris and refuse from the processing of firewood shall be promptly and properly disposed of within 10 days and shall not be allowed to remain on the premises.
D. 
Wood piles that contain diseased wood that is capable of transmitting disease to healthy trees and wood piles that harbor or are infested or inhabited by rats or other vermin are public nuisances and may be abated pursuant to the provisions of this Code.
E. 
Firewood may be stored on a residential property solely for use on the premises and not for resale.
[Added 11-25-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-11]
The provisions of this § 207-90.2 do not apply to police, fire and other emergency response agencies. Emergency generators may be located outside the building envelope on lots in residential zoning districts subject to the following:
A. 
These provisions only apply to emergency generators having a rated generating capacity not exceeding 20 kilowatts; a footprint, including the pad, not exceeding 20 square feet; and a height not exceeding four feet measured from the top of the pad to the top of the generator.
B. 
The emergency generator shall not be located in front of the principal building on the lot.
C. 
No portion of the emergency generator and pad may be located within the principal structure bulk setback of the prevailing zone in which the generator is to be sited and no more than 20 feet from the principal structure on the lot. The generator may be placed in the side yard in accordance with the accessory structure setback, provided that six-foot board-on-board fencing is installed along the side yard where the generator is located. The fence must conform to the Raritan Borough fence code. The fence is required to be installed within 60 days of the installation of the generator. All other state and local codes must be met as well as the manufacturer's specifications for the installation and placement of the generator.
D. 
The emergency generator shall be appropriately screened/buffered by nondeciduous plantings (subject to seasonal planting timing limitations) and/or a fence so as to minimize visibility from all lot lines from which the setback is less than the minimum applicable to buildings and structures.
E. 
The emergency generator shall be located in the back yard where practical and with due consideration for adjoining buildings in order to be as minimally intrusive as possible when the emergency generator is in operation.
[Added 5-28-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-08; amended 4-5-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-06]
A. 
All residential development, including the residential portion of a mixed-use project, which consists of five or more new residential units to be offered for sale or seven or more new residential units to be offered for rental, shall be required to provide an appropriate percentage of the residential units be set aside for very-low-, low-, and moderate-income households, as set forth below.
B. 
This requirement shall not apply to residential expansions, additions, renovations, replacement, or any other type of residential development that does not result in a net increase in the number of dwellings of five or more.
C. 
For residential or mixed-use projects in which the affordable units are to be offered for sale, the set-aside percentage shall be 20%; for projects in which the affordable units are to be offered for rent, the set-aside percentage shall be 15%.
D. 
The developer shall provide that half of the affordable units constructed be reserved for low-income households and that the remaining half be reserved for moderate-income households. At least 13% of all restricted units shall be very-low-income units (affordable to a household earning 30% or less of median income). The very-low-income units shall be counted as part of the required number of low-income units within the development.
E. 
Subdivision and/or site plan approval shall not be approved by the reviewing board unless the developer complies with the requirements to provide very-low-, low-, and moderate-income housing pursuant to the provisions of this section. A property shall not be permitted to be subdivided so as to avoid meeting this requirement. The board may impose any reasonable conditions to ensure such compliance.
F. 
This requirement does not create any entitlement for a property owner or applicant for a zoning amendment, variance, or adoption of a redevelopment plan or amended redevelopment plan in areas in need of redevelopment or rehabilitation, or for approval of any particular proposed project.
G. 
This requirement shall not apply to sites or zoning districts identified in the Fair Share Plan where standards for the set-aside of affordable housing units have already been established.
H. 
In the event application of the required set-aside percentage (15% or 20%) to the total number of residential units proposed does not result in a full integer, the developer shall round the required set-aside upward and construct a whole affordable unit.