[Amended 8-2-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-10]
A. 
Background and history. The Township of Chesterfield has a rich history as a rural farming community dating back to 1677 when the land was first settled by Quaker immigrants from England. Today, Chesterfield retains the charm and character of a colonial-era small town with deep ties to agriculture. Chesterfield takes pride in its history and works diligently to preserve its reputation as an agrarian farming community. To that end, as of the start of 2017, Chesterfield has permanently preserved more than 7,000 acres of farmland, representing more than half of the Township's total land area. This preservation was accomplished by utilizing state and county programs and implementing a comprehensive municipal Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Program that directed future growth to a designated receiving area. The goal of Chesterfield's municipal master plan is to cluster new development into a well-designed community center while allowing the surrounding lands to remain dedicated to agriculture and natural open space. By allowing landowners in planned preservation areas to sell development rights to developers who can use them in the Planned Village Center, new growth pays for the protection of Chesterfield's historically significant farmland and open space. Farming, agricultural use of the land, and preserving open space is integral to Chesterfield's character and identity, and these activities play a significant role in its master plan.
B. 
Purpose. The Agricultural District represents the bulk of the Township's land area consistent with present agricultural operations and the Township's designation in various regional plans as an area for agricultural preservations. The permitted uses are intended to encourage the continuation of the industry of agriculture and to discourage growth and infrastructure which threatens or diminishes the Township's reputation as a farming community. As such, new residential, commercial and industrial development is minimized. The attempt is to provide a balance between a landowner's right to sell a parcel of land for an occasional home and providing reasonable control to avoid excess development that would intrude upon efficient agricultural operations. Lost farmland is irreplaceable. Thus, an acre of farmland, once removed from agricultural purposes and uses, is gone forever, and cannot generally be replaced with farmland acreage elsewhere in this community.
[Amended 12-30-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-16; 8-2-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-10]
Permitted uses on the land and in buildings shall be as follows:
A. 
Agricultural operations and farms.
B. 
Single-family dwellings.
C. 
Public parks and playgrounds.
[Amended 12-8-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-16; 8-28-2025 by Ord. No. 2025-10]
Permitted accessory uses shall be as follows:
A. 
Garages, patios, porches, parking areas, tennis courts, swimming pools with single-family homes and farms and uses customarily associated with the above uses, provided that such accessory uses are subordinate to the principal use and serve only the principal use.
B. 
Fences and walls.
C. 
Barns, toolsheds, grain sheds, bins, greenhouses and similar structures and equipment accessory to agricultural uses.
D. 
Temporary equipment and structures associated with development shall be permitted during the site construction period beginning with the issuance of a building permit and concluding with the issuance of a certificate of occupancy or on one year, whichever is less, provided that said equipment and structures are situated on the site where construction is taking place.
E. 
An accessory apartment in any existing detached single-family dwelling, provided that it complies with the following:
(1) 
One unit shall be occupied by the owner of the structure;
(2) 
One unit shall be occupied by at least one person age 62 or more;
(3) 
One unit shall be occupied by a household qualifying as a low- or moderate-income household and the rent for that unit shall not exceed what is permitted for a low- or moderate-income household under the terms of this chapter;
(4) 
The additional unit shall be accommodated in the original structure without an enlargement of the structure;
(5) 
The additional unit shall be no more than a one-bedroom unit, the size of which shall not be less than 400 square feet nor more than 800 square feet or 30% of the floor area of the original house, whichever is smaller;
(6) 
The original structure shall contain at least 1,600 square feet, excluding basement area;
(7) 
The exterior appearance of the structure shall not be altered from that of a single-family dwelling;
(8) 
At least one additional off-street parking space shall be provided, which space shall not be blocked by any other parking space; and
(9) 
The lot size shall be at least 1.5 acres in size and have adequate well and septic systems.
F. 
Migrant housing facilities to be used on a seasonal basis for migratory farm workers shall be permitted when the buildings are on the farm property and migrant workers perform their labor for occupants of the farm, provided that said buildings comply in every respect to the existing statutes, laws, rules and regulations of the federal government and of the State of New Jersey concerning migrant housing and further provided that said buildings are located at a distance of at least 200 feet from any public street or, by reason of topography or other features of the premises, are completely nonvisible from said street and at least 150 feet from any adjoining property line.
G. 
In addition to Subsection E above and other housing opportunities on farms, the following options are provided in order to offer additional housing opportunities for low- and/or moderate-income households which are employed on a farm. These opportunities shall be limited to manufactured homes and/or the conversion of an accessory building and/or the conversion of an existing single-family dwelling to a two-family dwelling, provided that the units serve as a living quarters on an operating farm; that the units are occupied by full-time employees of the farm and their families; that the occupants do not exceed the lower income qualifications; that the rent or housing provided in lieu of wages meets the limits for lower income most recently established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for each specific occupant; and that the units are located and comply with the following requirements:
(1) 
The setbacks shall be twice the setbacks required for farm accessory buildings, except that said units shall not be located in any front yard area. The manufactured home shall use the same driveway as the principal residence on the property.
(2) 
The number of units (in addition to the principal residence) permitted on a farm under these provisions shall not exceed on one unit per 20 acres or one unit per eight horse stalls or a total of five units per farm for farms of less than 100 acres or a total of seven units for farms of greater than 100 acres, whichever results in the smaller number.
(3) 
Eligibility for occupancy of a dwelling unit under this subsection shall include meeting the requirements of a COAH low- or moderate-income unit, certification that the occupant is an employee of the farm and the principal wage earner of the family and that the rent or housing provided in lieu of wages falls within the most recent price limits established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for lower income families.
(4) 
A farm must have an area of at least 20 contiguous acres to be eligible.
(5) 
Any units provided under this provision shall be removed from the property within six months of the date that eligible occupancy ceases or that the property no longer qualifies as an operating farm of at least 20 contiguous acres.
(6) 
A building permit and certificate of occupancy are required for these units.
H. 
Signs. See signs as authorized by § 130-87.
[Amended 4-12-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-7; 7-28-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-12; 12-12-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-25]
Conditional uses shall be as follows:
A. 
Home occupations as a use subordinate and incidental to the primary residential use, after site plan approval, located on lots conforming to the residential requirements of this chapter and conforming to the requirements of § 130-48A, except that no commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight in excess of 10,000 pounds shall be parked on the lot unless the lot is 3.3 acres or larger in size, in which case, no more than two commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight in excess of 10,000 pounds shall be parked on the lot and these vehicles shall be parked in an area screened from public streets and adjoining properties by buildings, plantings or both. No construction vehicles shall be permitted to be parked on a property as part of a home occupation.
B. 
Veterinary hospital.
C. 
Cemetery.
D. 
Retail nursery outlets and sale of farm products primarily grown or produced on the farm site as an accessory use on the site of the nursery, farm or agricultural use, provided that the requirements of the schedule for the AG District are met, the facility is located on a farm, each parking space is located at least 20 feet from the edge of the street right-of-way and each parking space has access to an on-site driveway or aisle, but does not have direct access to the public street.
E. 
Nursery school or child-care or day-care facility in accordance with § 130-48E.
F. 
Telecommunications towers and associated facilities, as defined in this chapter shall be permitted as a conditional use in the AG Agricultural District.
G. 
Cannabis cultivators, manufacturers and wholesalers, as said terms are defined in the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act and Chapter 87 of this Code, shall be permitted as conditional uses in accordance with § 130-48K.
H. 
Special occasion events on preserved farms in accordance with § 130-48L and Chapter 167, Special Occasion Events on Preserved Farmland.
A. 
Development may occur on a site with the minimum lot size of ten acres and the area, yard and bulk requirements as specified for ten-acre lots on the chart below (see § 130-15D).
B. 
For all lots in existence as of November 18, 1986, and which have not been modified as to lot or dimension area since that time, the following rules shall apply:
[Amended 10-11-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-20]
(1) 
Lots that were 10 acres or less in size may be further subdivided into lots of at least 3.33 acres set forth in § 130-15D below.
(2) 
For lots greater than 10 acres in size the following development rules shall apply:
(a) 
General principles.
[1] 
In order to preserve equity and provide some liquidity to farmsteads in the Township, the developer of a tract of land in existence on the date set forth above may develop the first 10% of the acreage into building lots which are a minimum of one acre in size. The bulk criteria applicable to the lots shall then be set forth in § 130-15D below.
[2] 
If the total farm is subdivided according to an overall plan that will preserve major tracts for agriculture, an "intermediate dwelling unit yield" as outlined below is allowed. See § 130-15B(2)(b)[2].
[3] 
If the farm is subdivided without an overall plan to preserve major tracts for agriculture, the balance of the tract may be developed at a maximum dwelling unit yield called for in Subsection A above.
(b) 
Intermediate dwelling unit yield. For all lots in existence as of November 18, 1986, the following rules shall apply:
[1] 
Where the total farm is planned so as to preserve a major agricultural area, all housing is designed to have access from an interior secondary local street and the housing is located in a way to minimize the negative impact of residential development on agricultural operations, the number of dwelling units permitted shall be based on the following maximum gross density (see definition[1]): the dwelling unit yield for the tract shall be calculated as producing dwelling units based on an average lot size of 3 1/3 acres.
[1]
Editor's Note: See § 130-4.
[2] 
Once a sketch plat for the entire farm has been prepared, subsequent preliminary and final plans may be submitted in stages of one or more lots at a time. The lot sizes may vary, provided that the average lot size, as outlined below, is maintained. However, at least 50% of the original farm shall be dedicated through a deed restriction, as set forth below, for one or more farms of at least 25 acres each, except dedicated acreage less than 25 acres shall be permitted where these smaller areas are attached to other dedicated farmland of 25 acres or more. Where appropriate, an area between the new residences and the farming operations may be dedicated as a buffer area of either common property or areas of open space with a conservation easement. The resulting dwelling units shall meet the following criteria. The deed restrictions for farmland dedication shall be approved by the Approving Authority upon the advice of the Board Attorney. The deed shall include in its provisions that the property shall be limited to agriculture use; that the initial period of the restriction shall be for at least 15 years; and that thereafter, the deed restriction shall be automatically extended for period of six years, unless relief is granted as herein provided. The deed restriction shall also contain provisions stating that at any time after the end of the fifteen-year period, the property owner may apply, in writing, to the governing body for relief or partial relief from the agricultural use restrictions. If the request is denied by the governing body, the owner cannot apply again for similar relief for another six years, unless the governing body establishes a shorter time period. The deed shall recite that the relief able to be granted by the governing body shall be in the form of allowing the deed restriction to expire on all or a portion of the property. If expiration of the deed restriction is approved, the use of the property shall then be limited to the zoning provisions in effect at the time or as may be amended by the governing body.
Example: A one-hundred-acre farm:
With no overall development plan: 10% or 10 acres into a minimum of one-acre lotting with the balance divided into a minimum of ten-acre lotting;
With an overall plan, overall density at 3.3 acres and 50% of overall tract reserved for agricultural preserves: 10% or 10 acres into lots with a minimum one acre in size balance of allowed dwelling unit yield with lots at a minimum of 3/4 acre in size.
[3] 
Lot area dimensions. The lot area dimensions shall reflect the standards set forth in the chart (see § 130-15D below). The overall dwelling unit yield for a medium density development shall be 3.3 acres per unit.
[4] 
The presumptive density and yield for a lot regulated under this section shall be that equal to that given to the parcel pursuant to the TDR program (Article XVII).
(c) 
Low dwelling unit yield.
[1] 
Where an overall plan to develop housing on a new interior street system and preserve major tracts of land for agriculture is not prepared, each lot shall be a minimum of ten acres and meet the area, yard and bulk requirements set forth on the chart below (see § 130-15D).
[2] 
The minimum lot size to be dedicated to public space, school site, other public purpose or agriculture in exchange for transferring the dwelling units to another site shall be 25 acres.
[3] 
Notwithstanding the foregoing, for all single-family detached homes on lots of more than 4,000 square feet but less than one acre, the bulk and area requirements of the V Village District (§ 130-20D of this Code) shall apply.
C. 
All lands located within the AG Zoning District may be incorporated within a voluntary transfer development rights program. Upon enrollment, the tract enrolled may only be developed and used in accordance with the regulations applicable to this option (see Article XVII) and deed restrictions imposed upon the lands enrolled.
(1) 
Under this option, permitted uses shall be:
(a) 
Farms and farm buildings.
(b) 
Detached dwellings.
(c) 
Golf courses are not permitted on a parcel which transfers development rights.
(2) 
Permitted accessory uses shall be:
(a) 
Customary farm buildings.
(b) 
Accessory dwellings for domestic or household employees or farm workers, provided that each such dwelling unit meets local codes and complies in every respect to the statutes of the State of New Jersey and the rules and regulations of the New Jersey State Board of Health concerning farm labor housing.
(c) 
Roadside farm stands primarily for the sale of farm products grown or raised locally by the owner or operator of the farm, with a limit of one stand per farm, and provided that such stand shall be set back a minimum of 20 feet from the street line.
(d) 
Private garages and carports.
(e) 
Off-street parking facilities.
(f) 
Private residential swimming pools.
(g) 
Signs: see § 130-87.
(3) 
Conditional uses shall meet the standards set forth in Article XI.
(a) 
Home occupations as a use subordinate and incidental to the primary residential use, after site plan approval, located on lots conforming to the residential requirements of this chapter and conforming to the requirements of § 130-48A, except that no commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight in excess of 10,000 pounds shall be parked on the lot unless the lot is 3.3 acres or larger in size, in which case, no more than two commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight in excess of 10,000 pounds shall be parked on the lot and these vehicles shall be parked in an area screened from public streets and adjoining properties by buildings, plantings or both. No construction vehicles shall be permitted to be parked on a property as part of a home occupation.
(4) 
Area, yard and bulk requirements. The attached area, yard and bulk requirements set forth for the AG District apply to parcels which transfer development rights and one development right shall be retained for each existing and proposed dwelling.
(a) 
The number of detached dwellings which may be developed on parcels which transfer development rights shall not exceed one dwelling for each 50 acres (.02 dwelling unit per parcel).
(b) 
For existing parcels which are smaller than 50 acres in size and transfer development rights, one detached dwelling shall be permitted.
D. 
Area, yard and bulk requirements (principal permitted uses) for the AG Agricultural District.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: The Table of Area, Yard and Bulk Requirements is included at the end of this chapter.
[Added 12-29-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-20]
A. 
Purpose. The Old York Rehabilitation Area Supplemental Access Overlay Zone is located on Block 701, Lot 1.02. The purpose of the Old York Rehabilitation Area Supplemental Access Overlay Zone is to facilitate access to the Old York Rehabilitation Area at Block 701, Lot 2.01, and to thereby also facilitate the implementation of the Old York Redevelopment Plan adopted by Ordinance 2022-15, as amended by Ordinance 2022-17.
B. 
Permitted principal uses.
(1) 
Access driveway(s) to a redevelopment project located within Block 701, Lot 2.01 pursuant to the Old York Redevelopment Plan, provided they all share one common access to Old York Road.
(2) 
All principal uses permitted in the AG zone.
(3) 
Access driveway(s) to the redevelopment project pursuant to Subsection B(1) above and one principal use permitted in the AG zone pursuant to Subsection B(2) above shall be simultaneously permitted on Block 701, Lot 1.02, notwithstanding any other prohibition(s) in this section.
C. 
Permitted accessory uses and structures.
(1) 
Signage.
(2) 
Stormwater best management practices.
(3) 
Lighting.
(4) 
Any other use which is subordinate to, and customarily incidental to the principal use.
D. 
Development standards for access driveway:
(1) 
For access to and from Lot 2.01, except for the relocated Black House, utilization of the access driveway shall be limited to passenger vehicles and emergency access.
(2) 
Ingress and egress movements shall be permitted for all vehicles accessing the relocated Black House as contemplated in the Old York Redevelopment Plan.
(3) 
The access driveway shall also provide all vehicle ingress and egress access to any single-family dwelling on Block 701, Lot 1.02.
(4) 
The access driveway shall have a maximum width of 30 feet (excluding driveway apron).
E. 
One monument sign shall be permitted at the entrance to the access driveway along Old York Road for the use of the relocated Black House, subject to the following requirements:
(1) 
The sign shall not interfere with any necessary sight triangle at the driveway intersection.
(2) 
The maximum height of a monument sign shall be five feet, inclusive of any base structure.
(3) 
Monument signs shall be composed of a brick or stone base at least 18 inches in height and surrounded by decorative landscaping.
(4) 
The maximum sign area of a monument sign shall be 20 square feet, excluding the base.
(5) 
The monument sign shall be internally illuminated in order to provide adequate visibility to vehicular traffic accessing the site from Old York Road.