This chapter is intended to comprehensively
plan, direct, guide and control the development of the Township of
Blairstown by:
A.
Regulating and limiting the uses of land and the uses
and the locations of buildings and structures;
B.
Regulating and restricting the height and bulk of
buildings and structures and determining the area of yards and other
open spaces;
C.
Regulating and restricting the density of population;
D.
Implementing the housing requirements mandated by
the "Mt. Laurel II" New Jersey Supreme Court Decision and the New
Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH);
E.
Dividing the Township of Blairstown into zoning districts
and providing for planned developments on certain lands designated
for such purposes;
F.
Adopting a Zoning Map of the Township of Blairstown
showing the boundaries and the names of the zoning districts;
G.
Establishing the rules, regulations and standards
governing the subdivision and site development of the lands within
the Township;
H.
Establishing a Land Use Board; and
[Amended 4-11-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-02]
I.
Prescribing the penalties for the violation of and
the methods for enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.
The short title of this chapter shall be the
"Land Development Ordinance (LDO) of the Township of Blairstown."
This chapter is adopted pursuant to the Municipal
Land Use Law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.) with the following intent
and purpose:
A.
To encourage municipal action to guide the appropriate
use or development of the lands in the Township of Blairstown, in
a manner which will promote the public health, safety, morals, and
general welfare;
B.
To secure safety from fire, flood, panic, and other
natural and man-made disasters;
C.
To provide adequate light, air and open space;
D.
To ensure that the development of individual municipalities
does not conflict with the development and general welfare of neighboring
municipalities, the county and the state as a whole;
E.
To promote the establishment of appropriate population
densities and concentrations that will contribute to the well-being
of persons, neighborhoods, communities and regions and preservation
of the environment;
F.
To encourage an appropriate and efficient expenditure
of public funds by the coordination of public development with land
use policies;
G.
To provide sufficient space in appropriate locations
for a variety of agricultural, residential, recreational, commercial
and industrial uses and open space, both public and private, according
to their respective environmental requirements in order to meet the
needs of all New Jersey citizens;
H.
To encourage the location and design of transportation
routes which will promote the free flow of traffic while discouraging
location of such facilities and routes which result in congestion
or blight;
I.
To promote a desirable visual environment through
creative development techniques and good civic design and arrangements;
J.
To promote the conservation of historic sites and
districts, open space, energy resources and valuable natural resources
in New Jersey and to prevent urban sprawl and degradation of the environment
through improper use of land;
K.
To encourage planned unit developments which incorporate
the best features of design and relate the type, design and layout
of residential, commercial, industrial and recreational development
of the particular site;
L.
To encourage senior citizen community housing construction;
M.
To encourage coordination of the various public and
private procedures and activities shaping land development with a
view of lessening the cost of such development and to the more efficient
use of land;
N.
To promote utilization of renewable energy sources;
O.
To promote the maximum practicable recovery and recycling
of recyclable materials from municipal solid waste through the use
of planning practices designed to incorporate the State Recycling
Plan goals and to compliment municipal recycling programs; and
P.
To further the goals and policies of the Master Plan
of the Township of Blairstown.
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall be held to be
minimum requirements.
B.
Where this chapter imposes a greater restriction than
is imposed and required by other provisions of law or by other rules,
regulations or resolutions, the provisions of this chapter shall control
unless they are preempted by such other provisions, in which case
the provisions of this chapter shall nevertheless remain a viable
and valid expression of the Township of Blairstown's interests and
concerns regarding the applicable subject matter.
C.
Where other laws, rules, regulations or resolutions
require greater restrictions than are imposed by this chapter, the
provisions of such other laws, rules, regulations or restrictions
shall control.
A.
Unless otherwise specifically permitted by this chapter,
no more than one principal use shall be permitted on any one lot.
B.
Unless otherwise specifically permitted by this chapter,
no more than one principal building shall be permitted on any one
lot.
C.
Unless otherwise specifically permitted by this chapter,
no more than one dwelling unit shall be permitted on any one lot.
[Amended 9-12-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-19; 7-29-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-06]
Any use not expressly permitted by this chapter is hereby specifically
prohibited throughout the Township of Blairstown and the following
uses and activities are specifically prohibited in any zoning district
throughout the Township of Blairstown:
A.
Billboards and any signboards, advertising signs or devices not expressly
related to the business being conducted on the premises or otherwise
specifically permitted by this chapter;
B.
Boardinghouses;
C.
Junkyards, any automobile wrecking or disassembly yards, any sorting
or bailing of scrap metal, paper, rags, and/or other waste material;
D.
Unless otherwise permitted by this chapter or by applicable licensing
provisions elsewhere in the Code of the Township of Blairstown, the
maintenance of any nonregistered, uninspected, inoperable, abandoned,
wrecked or junked vehicle;
E.
Any privately operated dump or the use of land for disposal of garbage,
trash, junk, refuse and/or similar material;
F.
The removal of sand, stone, gravel and/or topsoil from any land and/or
the disturbance or clearing of any land area greater than 5,000 square
feet, except as specifically related to an agricultural use or to
a development which has been approved in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter;
H.
Any and all commercial marijuana cultivation facilities, marijuana
production or manufacturing facilities, and marijuana testing facilities.
A.
No building or any other structure shall be erected,
enlarged, altered, added to, reduced, moved or changed in use unless
in conformity with the applicable requirements of this chapter.
B.
All applicable requirements of this chapter shall
be met at the time a building or any other structure is first erected,
enlarged, altered, added to, reduced, moved or changed in use.
C.
All applicable requirements of this chapter shall
apply to the entire structure, whether or not the entire structure
was involved in the erection, enlargement, alteration, addition, reduction,
moving or change in use.
D.
No structure or land area in the Township of Blairstown
shall be used for any purpose or in any manner other than as specified
in this chapter and/or in accordance with a site plan or subdivision
plat as specifically approved by the Land Use Board, including any
conditions of approval.
[Amended 4-11-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-02]
