Except as otherwise provided herein, no land
or premises shall be used and no building or structure shall be erected,
raised, moved, extended, enlarged, altered or used for any purpose
other than a purpose permitted herein in the zone in which it is located,
and all construction shall be in conformity with regulations provided
for the zone in which such building or premises is located.
[Amended 9-8-1994 by Ord. No. 94-12]
A.
No building or structure or part thereof shall be
erected, constructed, reconstructed, structurally altered or moved
until a building permit has been procured. All applications for permits
shall be filed in accordance with the construction code of the Township.[1]
B.
No building permit shall be issued for the erection,
construction, reconstruction, structural alteration or moving of any
building or structure or part thereof unless the plans and intended
use indicate that such building or structure is designed and intended
to conform in all respects to the provisions of this chapter.
C.
A record of all applications, plot plans and permits
shall be kept by the Construction Code Official.
D.
The Construction Code Official shall revoke any building
permit if he finds that actual conditions or construction does not
adhere either to the plans or specifications submitted to him or to
any other applicable municipal or state regulations.
[Added 9-8-1994 by Ord. No. 94-12]
A.
A zoning permit shall be required in the following
instances:
B.
All zoning permits shall indicate that every building,
or premises or part thereof and the proposed use thereof are in conformity
with the provisions of this chapter or in conformity with the provisions
of a variance granted according to law.
C.
It shall be the duty of the Zoning Officer to issue
the proper zoning permit when he is satisfied that the structure,
parking area or other use requiring a permit conforms to all requirements
of this chapter.
D.
All zoning permits shall be issued in triplicate and
one copy shall be posted conspicuously on the premises affected whenever
construction work is being performed thereon. No owner, contractor,
workman or other person shall perform any building operations of any
kind unless the zoning permit covering such operation has been previously
issued. No building operations of any kind shall be performed after
notification of the revocation of said zoning permit.
E.
A record shall be kept of all zoning permits issued,
and the original applications therefor shall be kept on file in the
same manner as applications for building permits. No owner, tenant
or other persons shall use or occupy any building or structure erected
or altered, the use of which shall be changed, without first obtaining
a zoning permit.
F.
A zoning permit, unless revoked, shall continue in
effect as long as there is no change of use of the premises.
G.
The Zoning Officer shall act upon all applications
for zoning permits within 10 days of receipt of a completed application,
or shall notify the applicant, in writing, of his refusal to issue
such permit and the reasons therefor.
H.
Failure to notify the applicant in the case of such
refusal within 10 days shall entitle the applicant for a zoning permit
to file an appeal to the Land Use Board as in the case of a denial.
J.
If at any time the Zoning Officer discovers that an
application for a zoning permit or accompanying plans are in any material
respect false or misleading, or that the work being done upon the
premises is materially different from that specified in the application
previously filed with the, he may forthwith revoke the zoning permit.
K.
No zoning permit shall be issued for a change in use,
erection, construction, reconstruction, structural alteration or moving
of any building or structure or part thereof unless the plans and
intended use indicate that such building or structure is designed
and intended to conform in all respects to the zoning laws of the
Township of Franklin.
A.
No land or building hereafter erected, altered or
the title to which is transferred shall be occupied or used in whole
or part for any purpose until a certificate of occupancy (CO) or a
certificate of continued occupancy (CCO) shall have been issued by
the Construction Code Official or, if such is the case, a temporary
certificate of occupancy issued pursuant to this chapter. Inspection
for issuance of a certificate of continued occupancy for transfer
of title shall be limited to only visual inspection by the Construction
Code Official and his/her subcode officials with respect to the individual
sewage disposal system, electrical system, plumbing system, heating
system and the presence of one functioning smoke detector on each
level of any principal building being inspected. The tests required
for a certificate of continued occupancy are the same tests required
on a new well to obtain approval from the Hunterdon County Department
of Health. These tests are pH, coliform, manganese, iron and nitrates.
[Amended 5-5-1988 by Ord. No. 88-5; 6-10-1993 by Ord. No.
93-5]
B.
A certificate of occupancy shall not be issued until
the land, use, building, structure or premises complies with all provisions
of this chapter and all other applicable Township and state requirements
and, if involved, with such conditions as have been required by any
subdivision or site plan approval. No certificate of occupancy or
continued certificate of occupancy shall be issued unless a zoning
permit identifying the use and location of a proposed structure has
first been obtained or a building permit, which was signed off by
the Zoning Officer, has been issued.
[Amended 9-8-1994 by Ord. No. 94-12]
C.
The certificate of occupancy shall specify the use
of land or building and any circumstances or conditions imposed by
any public agency, code or regulations. Any change in use, including
a change from one permitted use to another kind of permitted use in
the same zone, or any additional use will be treated as a new use
and a new certificate of occupancy shall be required. Prior to the
issuance of a certificate of occupancy for said change in use, all
provisions of this chapter shall be complied with the same as if the
new use were a new structure or a new use of land and the applicant
shall be required to seek a change of use minor site plan approval
from the Land Use Board to assure compliance with this section for
nonresidential or commercial uses.
[Amended 10-31-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-12]
D.
When a building permit is applied for, a certificate
of occupancy shall be applied for at the same time and shall be issued
within 10 days after the erection or alteration of the building shall
have been completed in accordance with this chapter. A record of all
certificates shall be kept on file in the office of the Construction
Code Official and copies shall be furnished upon request to any person
having a proprietary or leasehold interest in the building or land
affected.
E.
Where a site plan as required has been duly reviewed
and approved by the Land Use Board, the erection or alteration of
the building shall not be deemed to be completed until all the requirements
of the approved site plan are met. Where weather conditions or other
forces beyond the control of the applicant unduly delay the reasonable
occupancy of a building under this subsection, the Land Use Board
may authorize the issuance of a temporary occupancy permit, provided
that the condition to be met and a termination date for the temporary
occupancy are so stated on the temporary occupancy permit. This subsection
shall not be construed to authorize the Land Use Board to waive the
requirements of any other local, county or state regulation.
When a new lot or lots are formed from part
of a parcel of land, the separation must be effected in such a manner
as not to impair any of the provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 6-23-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-08]
Where a use is not specifically permitted in a zoned district,
it is prohibited. In addition, without limiting the foregoing language:
A.
Drilling for natural gas, using the drilling technique of hydraulic
fracturing and exploring for natural gas beyond the reconnaissance
phase, 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,
but not the delivery of cannabis items and related supplies by a delivery
service, are prohibited.
[Added 7-8-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-09]
Unless otherwise provided herein, all yards,
open spaces and off-street parking must be contained on the lot and
within the zoned district in which the use is located.
Only one principal building may be erected on
a lot except for the related buildings forming one principal use in
the same ownership.
Every lot must provide front, rear and side
yards as required by its zoned district. All front yards must face
upon a dedicated public street or a private street approved by the
Land Use Board.
Where a lot is bounded by more than one street,
the front yard setback requirement from each abutting street shall
be met. On a corner lot, the owner may select any street as the front
of the lot regardless of which direction the building faces. The yard
opposite the front of the lot shall be considered the rear yard for
purposes of meeting the minimum rear yard requirement.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 220-35, Height exceptions, was
repealed 11-13-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-18.
No transportable or wheel-based structure or
other temporary structure used as an office, storage shed or other
use incidental to and in connection with a permitted construction
project or building shall be placed on the site unless the Construction
Code Official shall first have issued a temporary permit therefor.
Such structure shall not be located so as to be detrimental to any
adjoining property and shall be removed from the site prior to the
issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the permitted construction
project or building.
No article or material shall be kept, stored
or displayed outside the confines of a building unless the same is
screened by special planting or a fence as approved by the Land Use
Board. No storage area shall be located in a front yard nor in a side
yard adjoining a street. Said storage area shall meet the location
requirements for accessory buildings. This shall not be deemed to
include display and sale of seasonal farm produce or the outdoor parking
of farm machinery or vehicles in use on a farm or normal outdoor storage
such as firewood in residential zones.
The portion of a lot lying within the dedicated
boundaries of a public street shall be deemed to be included in the
computation of lot area for compliance with the terms of this chapter.
[Amended 3-2-1979; 9-6-1990 by Ord. No. 90-7]
Not more than three commercial vehicles, only
one of which may exceed a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds, shall
be parked or garaged on a lot except in the Neighborhood Business
Zone or the Commercial Zone. The three allowed commercial vehicles
shall be owned, leased or regularly used by a resident of the premises.
This provision shall not be deemed to limit the number or type of
commercial vehicles in use on a farm in connection with the farming
operation conducted on the property.
Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted
as prohibiting public utility distribution facilities, such as telephone
and electric distribution lines, water distribution lines, sanitary
sewers with related attendant facilities intended for local service,
which systems are permitted in all zoned districts when approved by
the appropriate serving utility agency.
At all street intersections, no obstruction
to vision exceeding 30 inches in height above the established grade
of the street at the property line shall be erected or maintained
on any lot within the area bounded by the line drawn between points
along such street lot lines or their extension thereof 30 feet distant
from their intersection or at a distance determined by the Township
Engineer.[1]
A.
Patios. Notwithstanding any other provision of the
Schedule of Zone Requirements,[1] patios shall be located only in side or rear yards not
less than 10 feet from the lot line.
[Amended 9-3-1998 by Ord. No. 98-44C]
[1]
Editor's Note: The Schedule of Zone Requirements is included as an attachment to this chapter.
B.
Radio towers. Guy wires for radio towers may be located
within one foot of side or rear property lines. The towers shall not
cause a threat to adjacent property. The height shall not exceed the
distance to the nearest property line.
C.
Accessory buildings. The maximum size of a detached
accessory building shall be the lesser of 1,210 square feet or 90%
of the square feet of the principal building. The sum total of all
accessory buildings shall not exceed the total square feet of the
principal building. The accessory building shall be subordinate in
height to the principal building.
[Amended 10-17-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-11]
D.
Fences. Fences 50% or more open shall not be considered
structures and shall be allowed in the setback, provided that all
design conditions of opacity have been met and an access strip of
five feet is provided to allow for maintenance on both sides of the
fence.
[Amended 8-12-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-11]
[Amended 12-1-1988 by Ord. No. 88-14; 3-7-1991 by Ord. No.
91-1; 9-3-1998 by Ord. No. 98-44C]
No permit for the construction or occupancy of any dwelling or establishment of any commercial or recreational activity or facilities of any kind for human use shall be issued without prior certification by a licensed civil engineer, other than the Township Engineer, of the underground water capability of the site and the sewerage disposal capacity pursuant to Chapter 420 of the Code of the Township of Franklin. A permit shall not be granted unless the tests meet the requirements of all laws, regulations or ordinances nor where other physical conditions of the land would cause unsanitary septic conditions. Any proposed remedy to overcome such unacceptable conditions or test results must be first approved by the appropriate health agency.
[Added 2-6-1992 by Ord. No. 92-4; amended 9-3-1998 by Ord. No.
98-44C]
Whereas previously once a farmland preservation easement was purchased no further residential development was possible, RDSO provides the opportunity to construct a residential unit within a two-acre site, as long as its construction and use is for agriculture purpose. The Municipal Land Use Board is given the responsibility to approve the RDSO under the State Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Act. Granting of an RDSO will allow in the future the construction of a residential dwelling. To ensure the ability to construct said dwelling, the applicant shall comply with § 220-43, as well as provisions of the requirements of the application procedure for a minor subdivision.[1]
[Added 8-5-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-10]
A.
Applicability. The calculations required in Table B of this subsection shall be prepared by the applicant and submitted to the approving authority in conjunction with any concept plan or any minor or major subdivision or site plan application. This section is to be used to compute the total area of a tract that is suitable for development after adjusting for those portions of the tract that are identified as Natural Resource Conservation Areas The table in subsection B shall be used to determine the residential lot density in the respective zone districts pursuant to § 220-8, Schedule of Zone Requirements.
B.
Calculations.
(1)
If the property in question covers more than one zone, the calculations shall be performed for each zone. If an area within a tract of land contains more than one applicable natural resource conservation area category, calculations should apply the most constraining factor. For the purposes of this section, any natural resource category which is less than the size defined in Subsection D, Definitions, shall be classified as "environmentally unencumbered."
(2)
Chart B instructions.
(a)
The applicant shall indicate in Column 2 the
acres classified in each category of land.
(b)
The adjusted acres for each land category is
calculated by multiplying Column 2 by Column 3, placing the result
in Column 4.
(c)
The allowable tract lot density is calculated
by summing the adjusted area and dividing this total in Column 4 by
the minimum lot size in the zone per the zoning requirements. This
will calculate the maximum lots to be subdivided.
(d)
Each lot of the subdivision shall be no smaller
than the minimum allowable acres in the zone or no smaller than the
total unadjusted acres (total Column 2) divided by the number of lots
allowed (Column 4).
C.
Residential Density Adjustment Chart.
|
Table B
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Residential Density Adjustment1
| |||
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
|
Natural Resource Conservation Area Categories
|
Acres
|
Adjustment
Factor
|
Adjusted
Area
|
|
Environmentally unencumbered
|
1.0
| ||
|
Stream corridor [D(4)]
|
0.0
| ||
|
Open waters [D(5)]
|
0.0
| ||
|
Critical slopes (25% or greater)
|
0.0
| ||
|
Floodplain area [D(2)]
|
0.0
| ||
|
Danger soils [D(7)]
|
0.1
| ||
|
Freshwater wetlands
|
0.25
| ||
|
Freshwater wetlands transition area [D(1)]
|
0.5
| ||
|
Steep slopes (15% to 24%)
|
0.5
| ||
|
Forest or woodlands [D(3)]
|
0.5
| ||
|
Shallow depth to bedrock [D(6)]
|
0.5
| ||
|
Soil Conservation Soils A and B
|
0.5
| ||
|
Severe soils [D(7)]
|
0.5
| ||
|
High-water table (less than 2 feet)
|
0.5
| ||
|
High-water table (less than 3 feet)
|
0.75
| ||
|
Total
| |||
|
Minimum acres/lot per zone requirements
| |||
|
Number of lots allowed (Column 4 adjusted acres/minimum
lot size per zone)
| |||
|
NOTE:
| |
|---|---|
|
1See subsection D for category definitions.
|
D.
Category definitions.
(1)
Freshwater wetlands. Freshwater wetlands includes
compensation area within an approved transition area (buffer) plan
by NJDEP or required transition area in accordance with freshwater
wetlands classifications if no approved buffer-averaging plan has
been approved at the time of site plan or subdivision submission.
(3)
Forest or woodlands. Forest or woodlands shall consist
of a biological community dominated by trees and other woody plants
covering an unfragmented land area of two acres or more with a density
of one tree per 400 square feet or less or a combined fragmented forested
area of five acres or more with a density of one tree per 400 square
feet in each fragmented area. Orchards and tree nursery operations
are excluded.
(4)
Stream corridor. Stream corridor shall consist of
the stream channel and all land on either side of the stream channel
which is within the one-hundred-year floodplain as delineated by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) or is a sloping area of 15% or
greater contiguous to the stream channel, one-hundred-year floodplain
or state open water. "Stream channels" shall mean permanent or intermittent
watercourses shown on USGS quadrangle maps, the Hunterdon County Soil
Survey or such other authoritative source as the approving authority
may deem appropriate. Any water body classified as a C-1 category
stream shall provide the requisite three-hundred-foot buffer (greater
than 10,000 square feet).
(5)
Open water. Open water shall include a pond or lake
area with a mean depth of four feet and a surface area greater than
one acre, including any such areas created for stormwater retention
or detention purposes.
(6)
Shallow depth to bedrock shall include all areas composed
of soils having 3 1/2 of depth to bedrock or less, as indicated
in the Soil Survey of Hunterdon County (greater than 10,000 square
feet).
(7)
Soil classification. Soils classifications in accordance
with Map III-6 entitled "Soils with Septic Limitations" as contained
in the Township of Franklin Master Plan, 1995 (greater than 10,000
square feet).
E.
Marking. Areas identified as Natural Resource Conservation
Areas and 100% (adjustment factor of 0.0) excluded from applicable
development in adjusted density calculations (in Table B) shall be
established as conservation areas, physically demarcated with permanent
markers, and protected against future development through deed restrictions.
