Permitted principal uses in the AR Zone shall be as follows:
A. Agricultural uses and farms, subject to §
550-53.
B. Detached single-family residential dwellings.
C. Community residences for the developmentally disabled and community
shelters for victims of domestic violence, subject to the standards
for detached single-family residential dwellings.
Permitted conditional uses in the AR Zone shall be as follows:
A. All public or institutional uses, subject to the following conditions:
(1) The lot shall contain an area of at least five acres. In the event
that it can be demonstrated that the proposed project can meet all
of the other criteria necessary for the issuance of a permit on a
lot containing less than five acres in area, the Board may reduce
the minimum lot size required.
(2) All buildings and structures to be erected on the tract shall be
so designed and arranged in order to minimize the impact of the use
on the established neighborhood scheme and shall be so designed as
to harmonize, as far as possible, with the established architectural
scheme of the neighborhood.
(3) Adequate provisions shall be made to provide a suitable buffer to
provide a barrier to light and sound between the use sought to be
established and abutting properties.
B. Public utility uses, subject to the following conditions:
(1) The lot shall contain the minimum lot area required in accordance
with the zone district, except that the Board may, for good cause
shown, reduce the lot area requirement, but in no event, to less than
one acre in size.
(2) All buildings shall be so designed as to conform and harmonize with
the general character of the area in which it is located and will
not adversely affect the safe and comfortable enjoyment of properties
in the zone.
(3) All structures shall be designed so as to be as unobtrusive as feasible
and to blend in with the surroundings on the site.
(4) Adequate fencing shall be provided, in accordance with the recommendations
of the Board, in order to provide protection to the public.
(5) Adequate parking shall be required, as determined by the Board when
considering the proposed use.
C. Bed-and-breakfast inns, subject to the following conditions:
(1) The lot shall contain an area of at least four acres.
(2) Bed-and-breakfast inns shall only be permitted in existing owner-occupied
dwellings containing four or more bedrooms. No exterior expansion
of the existing dwelling shall be permitted in order to create or
enlarge the bed-and-breakfast inn. Interior and exterior modifications
which do not increase either the gross floor area of the principal
structure or the number of bedrooms it contains are permitted, provided
that any exterior modifications shall not diminish the residential
appearance of the structure.
(3) No guest rooms shall be permitted in other than the principal building.
(4) If interior modifications to the principal building include the addition
of bathrooms, Board of Health approval of the adequacy of the septic
system shall be required.
(5) The required number of parking spaces shall be calculated as follows:
a minimum of one parking space shall be provided for each available
guest room in addition to the parking spaces required for the owner(s)
of the dwelling. Outdoor parking areas shall be suitably screened
from neighboring residences and the street and shall be located in
side or rear yards only.
(6) Not more than one non-household member at a time shall be employed
in conjunction with the bed-and-breakfast inn use.
(7) Signage shall be permitted as per §
550-135G, which sign may be either freestanding or building-mounted.
(8) Occupancy of the bed-and-breakfast inn shall be by advance reservation
only, and no guest shall be permitted to remain longer than 30 days
nor more than 30 days out of any period of 60 successive days.
(9) No more than two persons shall be permitted per guest room.
(10)
Breakfast shall only be served to guests of the bed-and-breakfast
inn and not to the general public. No meals other than breakfast shall
be provided and no alcohol shall be served to guests of the bed-and-breakfast
inn.
(11)
No cooking or smoking shall be permitted in guest rooms.
(12)
At least 300 square feet of common area, including but not limited
to parlors, dining rooms, libraries and solariums, shall be available
for the exclusive use of the guests of the bed-and-breakfast inn.
(13)
Smoke detectors and fire extinguishers shall be installed as
recommended by the Construction Official.
(14)
Site lighting shall be as approved by the Land Use Board.
D. The boarding, training or selling, including reselling, of domestic
animals, subject to the following conditions:
(1) The minimum lot area required shall be determined on the basis of
the number of animals to be kept on the site, at a ratio of one acre
per each animal to be kept. Recognizing that it is conceivable that
the application of such a straight line ratio may result in a minimum
required area in excess of that actually required for the intended
use, the Board may, for good cause shown, reduce the effect of calculating
lot size in applying the 1:1 ratio on a straight-line basis. However,
in neither case shall the lot area be less than five acres.
(2) Adequate provisions shall be made to provide a suitable buffer to
provide a barrier to light and sound between the use sought to be
established and abutting properties.
(3) Adequate provisions shall be made for the location of manure and
other animal wastes and the storage of such materials shall not be
closer than 100 feet to any property line.
(4) Suitable fencing shall be provided in order to contain animals kept
on the site, in accordance with the requirements of the Board.
(5) The required number of parking spaces shall be calculated as follows:
a minimum of six parking spaces, plus one for each employee not residing
on the premises. There shall be one additional parking space for every
two animals in excess of 12 animals being kept on the premises, unless
it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Board that no additional
parking spaces are required.
E. Veterinary hospitals, subject to the following conditions:
(1) The lot shall contain an area of at least four acres.
(2) The minimum distance of any outside kennels, pens or other enclosures
for animals (other than livestock), shall be 100 feet from any property
line.
(3) Adequate provisions shall be made to provide a suitable buffer to
provide a barrier to light and sound between the use sought to be
established and abutting properties.
(4) The required number of parking spaces shall be calculated as per §
550-124A.
(5) Signage shall be permitted as per §
550-135G, which sign may be either freestanding or building-mounted.
F. Agricultural retail businesses, subject to the following conditions:
(1) The lot shall contain an area of at least 12 acres.
(2) Agricultural retail businesses must be operated in association with
an existing commercial farm located on the same property, or multiple
adjoining properties under the same ownership.
(3) At least 51% of the annual gross sales of the business shall be generated
from sales of agricultural output of the commercial farm, or at least
51% of the sales area shall be devoted to the sale of agricultural
output of the commercial farm.
(4) No single building used in conjunction with the business shall exceed
50,000 square feet in gross size. No combination of multiple buildings
on a single site used in conjunction with the business shall exceed
200,000 square feet. Buildings used in conjunction with the business
may not consist of more than 5% of the entire site.
(5) All structures used in conjunction with the business shall be designed
and constructed to be visually compatible with the single-family residences
and barns in Fredon's agricultural districts.
(6) Adequate provisions shall be made to provide a suitable buffer to
provide a barrier to light and sound between the parking and storage
areas for the business and abutting properties.
(7) No outdoor storage areas of any kind related to the business shall
be permitted. This shall include materials, equipment, parts, supplies,
waste (except in approved waste containers), and similar items. Approved
waste containers shall be located in the rear of the building and
be completely screened from public view.
(8) For any permanent structure devoted to a retail use, the required number of parking spaces shall be calculated in accordance with the standard for retail stores as per §
550-124A.
(9) The parking area shall be designed and constructed of a seasonally
appropriate material to be approved by the Township Engineer.
(11)
Associated small-scale facilities (i.e., tasting rooms, restaurants,
etc.) and special events which may enhance the overall property in
relation to tourism may be permitted on a case-by-case basis by the
Land Use Board and are also subject to the conditions set forth above.
Permitted accessory uses in the AR Zone shall be as follows:
A. Roomers and/or boarders limited to two in the aggregate per family
dwelling unit, but only if such dwelling unit is occupied by the owner
of the same.
B. Home occupation or office of professional persons, provided such
professional person resides on the premises. Not more than two persons,
other than the resident of the premises, may be employed by such professional
person and not more than 1/2 of the floor area of one story or the
basement of the principal structure shall be devoted to such use or,
if conducted in an accessory building, the area of such use shall
be limited to not more than 1/2 of the floor area of the principal
structure. No use permitted by this section shall result in any use
operating in this zone in other than a building strictly residential
in appearance. Except for permitted signs, there shall be no physical
evidence of such use visible from the exterior of the building so
used.
C. Horses and/or ponies for riding purposes in connection with a single-family residential use where such use is the principal use of the property, and the horse and/or pony is owned by a member of the family occupying such single-family dwelling unit. The following ratio of the number of horses and/or ponies per acre of land shall be met: for the first horse and/or pony, at least three acres; for each additional horse and/or pony, one acre. The keeping of such animals shall be subject to and in accordance with the provisions of Chapter
126, Animals, Article
II, Large Animals. In the event a conflict exists between the terms of the foregoing and the provisions of Chapter
126, Article
II, the more restrictive provision shall prevail.
D. Windmills in accordance with the provisions of §
550-40.
E. Small solar systems limited to the lesser of 15 kilowatts (15 kw)
or 110% of the average of the three prior years’ electrical
energy consumption. Solar panels and solar arrays may be rooftop mounted
or ground mounted in the rear yard area only, at the applicant’s
discretion. Ground-mounted solar panel arrays shall be prohibited
from being located within the front yard area. In the event that an
applicant proposes to locate ground-mounted solar panel arrays in
the side yard area, application shall be made to the Zoning Officer
for the grant of a waiver. In order to receive such waiver, the applicant
shall demonstrate to the Zoning Officer that the location of the solar
panel arrays on the roof of the residence (or other structure on the
lot) or in the rear yard area is impracticable or will exact undue
hardship because of peculiar conditions pertaining to the land in
question. In the event that the Zoning Officer has doubt or difficulty
with making a determination as to the granting of such waiver or in
the event that the Zoning Officer denies such waiver, application
shall be made to the Land Use Board for the grant of such waiver,
which shall be treated as an exception pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-51.
All ground-mounted small solar systems will be located upon the lot
in closer proximity to the principal residence thereon than to any
neighboring homes or building envelopes on adjoining properties that
are unimproved. Ground-mounted solar arrays permitted by the Land
Use Board, upon proper application, to be located within the side
yard setback area shall be effectively screened from view from the
street and adjacent properties by evergreen plantings having a minimum
planted height of 48 inches and a maximum on-center planting spacing
of 10 feet to create a continuous visual buffer. After completion
of installation, the applicant shall provide written notice of the
existence of such small solar energy system to the emergency service
providers (Fredon Township Fire Department and Fredon Emergency Medical
Services) identifying the subject property by block and lot, street
address and a graphic plan or narrative identifying the location of
the electrical service disconnect for the solar energy system.
[Amended 6-14-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-05]
F. Outdoor furnaces in accordance with the provisions of §
550-42.
G. Commercial vehicles in accordance with the provisions of §
550-128. Such provisions shall not apply to vehicles kept on a farm and used in the pursuit of agriculture.
H. Other accessory buildings or uses customarily incidental to the main
permitted use in the zone.
The following requirements shall be met for all lots within
the AR Zone:
A. Lot area. The minimum lot area for each lot shall be 14 acres; provided, however, that the Land Use Board may require development in accordance with Article
XVIII, Cluster Subdivisions. In order to determine whether a cluster subdivision is warranted, all applications for development in the AR Zone shall undergo the four-step design process outlined in §
550-101C.
B. Lot width. The minimum lot width at both the street line and the building setback line shall be 250 feet and each lot shall be of such dimension that, at all points within 600 feet of the front street right-of-way line, a circle can be inscribed having a minimum diameter of 250 feet. In the case of flag lots, the required lot width shall be as set forth in §
550-32D.
C. Height. The height of the principal structure shall not exceed 35
feet or 2 1/2 stories, whichever is lesser.
D. Front yard. The minimum front yard setback shall be 100 feet.
E. Side yards. There shall be two side yards totaling 120 feet, provided
that no side yard shall be less than 50 feet. Any existing lot or
lots which are in single ownership at the time of enactment of this
chapter and are less than the minimum width at the building setback
line, may reduce the side yard requirements at a ratio of one foot
for each five feet of lot width less than that required; providing,
however, that no side yard shall be less than 20 feet.
F. Rear yard. The minimum rear yard setback shall be 100 feet.
G. Residential buffer zone. New residential uses, other than those established
on the same lot used for agricultural purposes, shall have a minimum
setback of 100 feet from all side and rear lot lines shared with agricultural
land. The Land Use Board may require that this buffer area be increased
to as much as 300 feet and planted with trees where the proposed dwelling
adjoins any existing intensive livestock, agricultural processing,
or manure disposal operation.
H. Impervious coverage. The maximum land area to be covered by all impervious
surfaces shall not exceed 20% of the total lot area.
Agricultural uses and farms in the AR Zone shall be subject
to the following additional requirements:
A. Residential dwelling. A single-family residential use may be established on the same lot used for agricultural purposes as set forth above. The single-family residential dwelling shall be subject to the area, yard and bulk requirements set forth in §
550-52 above.
B. Animals. Any animals, other than conventional household pets, kept on the premises shall be in connection with the pursuit of agriculture. This shall not include the keeping of domestic animals for boarding, training, sale and resale, where such activities are not in connection with the pursuit of agriculture. However, boarding, training, sale and resale of cattle, horses and ponies, and other farm animals shall be permitted as a conditional use in accordance with §
550-50D. Any animal other than cattle, horses and ponies shall be kept at a distance of at least 100 feet from any property line. The following ratios of animals per acre of land shall be met: cattle, horses and ponies, 1:1; swine, sheep and goats, 5:1; poultry, no ratio. The above provisions shall not be construed to permit commercial piggeries, fur farms and/or animal processing facilities. The keeping of such animals shall be subject to and in accordance with the provisions of Chapter
126, Articles
I and
II. In the event a conflict evicts between the terms of the foregoing and the provisions of Chapter
126, Articles
I and
II, the more restrictive provision shall prevail.