A. 
General. In reviewing any development plan, particularly for nonresidential development, the Planning Board shall consider the criteria found in this and the following sections.
B. 
Circulation.
(1) 
The Planning Board shall consider pedestrian and vehicular traffic movement within and adjacent to the site, with particular emphasis on the provision and layout of parking areas; off-street loading and unloading; movement of people, goods and vehicles from access roads, within the site, between buildings and between buildings and vehicles.
(2) 
The Planning Board shall ensure that all parking spaces are usable and are safely and conveniently arranged. Access to the site from adjacent roads shall be designed so as to interfere as little as possible with traffic flow on these roads and to permit vehicles a rapid and safe ingress and egress to the site.
The design and layout of buildings and parking areas shall be reviewed so as to provide an aesthetically pleasing design and efficient arrangement. Particular attention shall be given to safety and fire protection, impact on and from surrounding development and contiguous and adjacent buildings and land.
Adequate lighting shall be provided to ensure safe movement of persons and vehicles and for security purposes. Lighting standards shall be a type approved by the Planning Board. Lights shall be arranged so as to minimize glare and reflection on adjacent properties.
A. 
Buffering. Buffering shall be located to minimize headlights, noise, light from structures, the movement of people and vehicles, and to shield activities from adjacent properties when necessary. Buffering may consist of fencing, berms, evergreens, shrubs, bushes, deciduous trees, physical barriers, or combinations thereof to achieve the stated objectives.
B. 
Landscaping. Landscaping shall be provided as part of the overall development design and integrated into building arrangements, topography, parking and buffering requirements. Landscaping shall include trees, bushes, shrubs, ground cover, perennials, annuals, plants, sculpture, art and the use of building and paving materials in an imaginative manner. Landscaping shall be maintained, and the owner shall be responsible for replacement of dead plants, trees, or other landscaping items. All developments except one-family residential construction shall have professionally designed and executed landscaping.
Signs shall be designed so as to be aesthetically pleasing, harmonious with other signs on the site, located so as to achieve their purpose without constituting hazards to vehicles and pedestrians and shall comply with all applicable provisions of this chapter. There should be a consistent sign design theme throughout a particular project, neighborhood or area. The design theme should include style of lettering, construction, material, type of pole or standard, size, and lighting. Color of letters and background should be carefully considered in relation to the color or material of buildings where the signs are proposed to be located.
[1]
Editor's Note: See also Art. XII, Signs.
Storm drainage, including water retention and detention, sanitary waste disposal, water supply and solid waste collection and disposal shall be reviewed and considered. Particular emphasis shall be given to the adequacy of existing systems, and the need for improvements, both on site and off site, to adequately carry runoff and sewage, and to maintain an adequate supply of water at sufficient pressure.
[Amended 5-7-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-1017]
A. 
Environmental elements relating to soil erosion, preservation of trees, protection of watercourses and resources, noise, topography, soil and animal life shall be reviewed, and the design of the plan shall minimize any adverse impact on these elements. The Planning Board shall make available any development plan to the Environmental Commission for review and recommendations.
B. 
Development in environmentally sensitive areas.
(1) 
Regulations for slope areas. To meet the purposes and goals set forth in this article, all subdivisions, site plans, lot grading plans and other development plans shall be required to meet the following requirements:
(a) 
The applicant shall prepare a steep slopes map based on ten-foot contour intervals, delineating by category slope classes of 0% to 14.9%, 15% to 19.9%, 20% to 24.9% and 25% and greater. The slope map shall include a calculation of the area of proposed disturbance within each slope class within all existing and/or proposed lots, as well as within any proposed road right-of-way.
(b) 
Those areas with slopes ranging from 0% to 14.9% are not restricted against development under this section.
(c) 
Within slope areas of 15% to 19.9%, not more than 50% of such areas shall be disturbed for development, regraded or stripped of vegetation.
(d) 
Within slope areas of 20% to 24.9%, not more than 33 1/3% of such areas shall be disturbed for development, regraded or stripped of vegetation.
(e) 
Within areas having slopes of 25% or greater, no development, regrading or stripping of vegetation shall be permitted unless such activity is essential for the construction of a roadway or driveway crossing, required utility construction, stormwater management control facility or other like necessary improvement. The applicant must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the reviewing board or other official having jurisdiction that such disturbance activity is necessary to fulfill the essential service requirements of the development and that there is no practical alternative to it.
(f) 
No land disturbance or construction activity shall be undertaken within area with slopes exceeding 14.9% unless the developer has first secured a permit pursuant to § 228-2 of the Revised General Ordinances. Whenever disturbance is proposed in areas with slopes exceeding 14.9%, detailed grading plans and architectural plans must be submitted under Chapter 228 of the Revised General Ordinances. The plans shall be designed to ensure that drainage and/or erosion problems will not result from the proposed development. The architecture of all buildings shall be specifically designed to accommodate the topography. Roads and driveways shall be designed to follow the natural topography to the greatest extent possible in order to minimize disturbance of steep slope areas. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the applicability of Chapter 228 to areas of steep slope.
(g) 
As a condition of approval of any application for development of any lot containing areas of slope in excess of 14.9%, the applicant shall be required to record in the lands records of the Clerk of Essex County a mapped description of the limits of such steep sloped areas, together with a bold print notice that "no land disturbance or other activity may be undertaken therein, except in conformance with the requirements of § 170-68 of the Revised General Ordinances of the Borough of Essex Fells."
(h) 
Whenever any variance or grading permit is sought for any addition to or modification of an existing single-family dwelling and/or the lot on which it is located, the reviewing board, when acting on a variance, and the Borough Engineer, when acting on a grading permit, may waive the requirements of Subsection B(1)(a) and/or (g) above (to the extent they are applicable) when it is reasonably clear to the reviewing authority that there exist no on-site slopes in excess of 14.9% or that any slopes in excess of 14.9% are remote from the areas of proposed development and/or disturbance. Nothing herein shall authorize or permit any lawful disturbance of or activities within slopes in excess of 14.9%.
The site plan shall provide for those elements of street or outdoor furniture appropriate to the particular use. These may include phone booths, benches, bike racks, trash receptacles, bus shelters, kiosks, and similar uses.
If the Master Plan provides for the reservation of designated streets, public drainageways, flood control basins, or public areas such as parks, school sites, historic sites or similar lands within the proposed development, such areas shall be shown on the plan in locations and sizes suitable to their intended uses. The Planning Board may reserve the locations and extent of such public areas in accordance with the requirements of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-44.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 13.32.100, Barrier-free design regulations, which immediately followed this section, was deleted 11-17-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-878.