In interpreting and applying Chapter 355, Zoning, the requirements contained herein and therein are declared to be the minimum requirements for the protection of the health, safety and general welfare of the public, and for the preservation and improvement of the value and aesthetics of the land.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2000-18]
A.
Grant of authority; responsibility. The Zoning Officer
is hereby authorized to and shall administer and enforce the provisions
of this chapter.
B.
Issuance of permits and certificates. In no case shall
a zoning permit or certificate of conformance be issued by the Zoning
Officer for any construction, erection, alteration or use of any building,
other structure, lot or area of land that would be in violation of
any provision of this chapter.
C.
Inspection of premises. The Zoning Officer, or his or her duly authorized agent, shall have the right to enter and inspect any building, other structure, lot or area of land at all reasonable times, subject to due process of law, whether already constructed, erected, altered or put into use, or during the course of construction, erection, alteration or putting into use, for the purpose of determining whether or not the provisions of Chapter 355, Zoning, are being complied with.
D.
Records and reports.
(1)
The Zoning Officer shall keep a record of all applications
for zoning permits and certificates of conformance and a record of
all permits issued, together with all notations of all special conditions
involved. The Zoning Officer shall file and safely keep copies of
all applications submitted, and the same shall form a part of the
records of his or her office, and shall be available for the use of
the Township Council, the Zoning Board of Adjustment, the Planning
Board and other officials of the Township.
(2)
The Zoning Officer shall prepare a monthly report
for the Township Council summarizing for the period since his or her
last previous report all permits issued and all complaints of violations
and the action taken by him or her consequent thereon. A copy of each
such report shall be filed with the Township Tax Assessor at the same
time it is filed with the Township Council.
E.
Cases of doubt. Should the Zoning Officer be in doubt as to the meaning or intent of any provision of Chapter 355, Zoning, as to the location of a district boundary line on the Zoning Map, or as to the propriety of issuing any permit in a particular case, he or she shall present the matter to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for interpretation and decision. Any proposed use which is not clearly identified in Chapter 355, Zoning, as being a permitted use in a district shall be prohibited, subject to clarification by the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and no permit shall be issued by the Zoning Officer authorizing the proposed use.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2000-18]
A.
No building, other structure, lot or area of land shall be hereafter used; nor shall any building or other structure be hereafter constructed, erected, or altered; and no excavation for any building or other structure shall be hereafter begun without the issuance of a zoning permit by the Zoning Officer indicating that such construction, erection, alteration or use of such building, other structure, lot or area of land conforms in every respect to the provisions of Chapter 355, Zoning, or a variance obtained therefrom by the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
B.
All applications for a zoning permit shall be made by the owner or authorized agent on forms provided by the Zoning Officer in the required number of copies. Each such application shall be supplemented with a plot plan prepared in triplicate and drawn to such scale as the Zoning Officer may require showing the exact dimensions and locations of all buildings, other structures, yards, lot lines, off-street parking facilities and such other appropriate details and information as may be necessary to provide for the enforcement of Chapter 355, Zoning. All dimensions shown on these plans, relating to the location and size of the lot or area of land to be used or built upon, shall be based upon actual survey or deed description or on an officially recorded subdivision plat.
C.
No application for a zoning permit shall be accepted
by the Zoning Officer unless all of the information required has been
furnished by the applicant.
D.
The construction, erection or alteration of any building
or other structure for which a zoning permit was issued must be begun
within six months after the date of issuance of such permit; and such
construction, erection or alteration of any building or structure,
or use of lot or area of land must be completed or fully effected
within two years after the date of issuance of such permit; after
which time such permit becomes void. The Zoning Officer, at his or
her discretion, may issue a new permit granting a continuation of
time where unavoidable conditions prevented the effectuation or completion
of all construction, erection, alteration or use within the time periods
hereinabove prescribed.
E.
The lot or area of land and the location of all buildings
or other structures to be constructed, erected, altered or used thereon
shall be staked out on the ground and an inspection thereof shall
be made by the Zoning Officer, before work is started.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2000-18]
A.
Required.
(1)
No building or other structure hereafter constructed,
erected or altered, and no lot or area of land hereafter put into
use shall be occupied or used, in whole or in part, for any use whatsoever;
and no change of use of any building, structure, lot or area of land,
or part thereof, and no sale, transfer or conveyance of any building
or structure irrespective of the purpose for which such building or
structure may be used, shall hereafter be made until a certificate
of conformance shall have been issued by the Zoning Officer certifying
that such building, other structure, lot or area of land, or part
thereof, complies with all applicable provisions of the land use ordinances.
(2)
Change of use does not include a change from one conforming
use to another unless there is a change in the parking requirements
or in other features relating to the site plan.
B.
Time for issuance. Certificates of conformance shall
be granted or denied by the Zoning Officer within 10 days from the
date of application therefor by the owner of the premises for which
use or occupancy, or change in use is sought, or his or her authorized
agent. In the event that the Zoning Officer shall decline to issue
a certificate of conformance, his or her reasons for doing so shall
be stated in detail on at least one filed copy of the application
and that copy returned to the applicant.
C.
Preexisting uses. Upon written application by the owner or authorized agent, the Zoning Officer shall, after inspection, issue a certificate of conformance, for any building, other structure, lot or area of land existing and in use at the effective date of Chapter 355, Zoning, provided that the Zoning Officer shall find that such building, other structure, lot or area of land is in conformity with the applicable provisions of Chapter 355, Zoning.
D.
Traffic signs; regulations.
(1)
Prior to the issuance of a final certificate of conformance
for any development which is presented to the Zoning Board of Adjustment
or the Planning Board for commercial property, of whatever nature,
and which provides for private entrance to and exit from such property,
and where such ingress and egress shall have been determined by the
Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment to be one-way only, appropriate
directional signs shall have been erected.
(2)
The owners of such property shall, as a condition
of issuance of a certificate of conformance and of final approval
by the Board, be required to grant to the Township the authority to
approve all motor vehicle laws and regulations on such property.
(3)
All signs and traffic control devices required hereunder
shall be in accordance with and shall be of a design and construction
as provided for in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices,
1988 Edition, or other regulations of the New Jersey Department of
Transportation, as same shall be amended from time to time.
Nothing in Chapter 355, Zoning, shall require any change in or otherwise interfere with any construction, erection, alteration or use of any building, other structure, lot or area of land for which a zoning permit has been issued authorizing such construction, erection, alteration or use not more than one year prior to the effective date of enactment of Chapter 355, Zoning.
A.
Any owner or agent and any person or corporation who violates any of the provisions of this chapter or Chapter 355, Zoning, or fails to comply therewith or with any of the requirements thereof, or who shall erect, structurally alter, enlarge, rebuild or move any building or buildings or any structure, or who shall put into use any lot or land in violation of any detailed statement or plan submitted hereunder, or who shall refuse reasonable opportunity to inspect any premises shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to the penalty provisions of § 1-5, Violations and penalties, of this Code. A separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.
B.
The owner of any building or structure, lot or land or part thereof, where anything in violation of this chapter or Chapter 355, Zoning, shall be placed or shall exist, and any architect, builder, contractor, agent, person or corporation employed in connection therewith and who assists in the commission of such violation shall each be guilty of a separate violation and upon conviction thereof, shall each be liable to the fine or imprisonment, or both, specified in § 1-5, Violations and penalties, of this Code.
C.
In case any building, other structure, lot or area
of land, or part thereof, is or is proposed to be constructed, erected,
altered, or used in violation of this chapter, the Township Council,
the Construction Official, or any other agency or official, or any
owner of or any person having an interest in adjacent property who
would be specifically damaged by such violation may institute an action
for injunctive relief or abatement or any other appropriate action
or proceeding, to prevent, restrain, correct or abate such unlawful
construction, erection, alteration, continuation or use; to prevent
the occupancy of such building, other structure, lot or area of land,
or part thereof; or to prevent any illegal act, conduct, business
or use in or about such premises.
Neither this chapter nor Chapter 355, Zoning, shall be deemed to interfere with, abrogate or annul, or otherwise affect in any manner whatsoever any ordinances, rules, regulations, easements, covenants or other agreements between parties; provided, however, that where Chapter 355, Zoning, imposes greater restrictions upon the construction, erection, alteration or use of structures, or the use of land, than are imposed or required by other ordinances, rules, regulations, easements, covenants or agreements, the provisions of Chapter 355, Zoning, shall prevail.
