This chapter shall be known and cited as the "Borough of Raritan Comprehensive Land Use and Development Ordinance of 1982."
This chapter is enacted in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 to 40:55D-92, inclusive, and the amendments thereof and supplements thereto, in order to:
A. 
Encourage municipal action to guide the appropriate use or development of all lands in this state in a manner which will promote the public health, safety, morals and general welfare.
B. 
Secure safety from fire, flood, panic and other natural and man-made disasters.
C. 
Provide adequate light, air and open space.
D. 
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. 
Promote the establishment of appropriate population densities and concentrations that will contribute to the well-being of persons, neighborhoods, communities and regions and the preservation of the environment.
F. 
Encourage the appropriate and efficient expenditure of public funds by the coordination of public development with land use policies.
G. 
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. 
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. 
Promote a desirable visual environment through creative development techniques and good civic design and arrangements.
J. 
Promote the conservation of open space and valuable natural resources and prevent urban sprawl and degradation of the environment through improper use of land.
K. 
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 to the particular site.
L. 
Encourage senior citizen community housing construction consistent with provisions permitting other residential uses of a similar density in the same zoning district.
M. 
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. 
Promote utilization of renewable energy resources.
O. 
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 complement municipal recycling programs.
P. 
Protect and enhance the established character and the social and economic well-being of both private and public property within the limits of the Borough of Raritan.
In interpreting and applying the provisions of this chapter, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements to serve the aforesaid purposes and the community development objectives hereinafter set forth. Where the provisions of this chapter impose greater restrictions or higher standards than those of any statute, other ordinance or regulation, the provisions of this chapter shall govern. Where the provisions of any statute, other ordinance or regulation impose greater restrictions or higher standards than this chapter, the provisions of such statute, ordinance or regulation shall govern.
[Amended 7-26-2011 by Ord. No. 11-07]
Wherever the requirements of this chapter or parts of this chapter are inconsistent with all or parts of other ordinances of the Borough of Raritan, the more stringent of the two requirements shall apply. The Planning Board shall have the right of decision in the event of disagreement between an applicant and another board or agency of the Borough as to which of the two conflicting requirements is the more stringent.
This chapter may be amended, changed, modified or repealed in the manner provided by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., and any amendments and supplements thereto.