In order to regulate and restrict the location and type of buildings and structures intended for trade, industry, residence or other purposes; to regulate and limit the height and size of buildings; to regulate the use and limit the intensity of the use of the land and the density of population; and to regulate and determine the size of yards and other open spaces surrounding buildings, the City is hereby divided into districts known as:
A. 
Regular zoning districts.
R-1 District
Single-Family Residential
R-2 District
Two-Family Residential, Townhouses
R-3 District
Multifamily Structures, Townhouses, Garden Apartments
R-4 District
Multifamily Structures, High-Rise Apartments, Hotels
R-O District
High-Rise Multifamily Structures; Offices
CCC District
Continuing Care Community
C-1 District
Neighborhood Commercial
C-2 District
Gateway Commercial
C-3 District
Gateway Commercial
IND District
Industrial
IND-1 District
Mixed Industrial/Commercial
INST District
Institutional, Medical Related, Cemeteries
MPX District
Multiplex Concrete Redevelopment Area
GRN District
Greenwood Redevelopment Area
UPS District
Upsala Redevelopment Area
RUT District
Rutledge Avenue Redevelopment Area
ARC District
Arcadian Gardens Redevelopment Area
B. 
Transit Village Districts (TVD).
VC District
Village Core Transit District and Muir's Berkeley Redevelopment Area
ES District
Evergreen/Halsted and Evergreen Square Redevelopment Areas
MSE District
Lower Main Street Redevelopment Area — Phase I & Phase II
CAE District
Central Avenue Entertainment District
TR-2 District
Transit Area Medium Density Residential
TR-3 District
Transit Area Multifamily Structures, Townhouses, Garden Apartments
TR-4 District
Transit Area Multifamily Structures, High-Rise Apartments, Hotels
T-RO District
Transit Area High-Rise Multifamily Structures; Offices
NW District
North Walnut Street Redevelopment Area
LM District
Lower Main Street Area  — Phase 2 Area
Regulations for these districts are contained in this chapter.
A. 
Applicability. In redevelopment areas designated by the City of East Orange for which redevelopment plans are adopted pursuant to the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1 et seq., and where there exists variations in land use or design controls between the redevelopment plan and other provisions of this chapter, the provisions of the adopted redevelopment plan supersede the applicable provisions of this chapter of the City of East Orange.
B. 
Urban redevelopment districts. The following redevelopment areas are designated on the Zoning Map as urban redevelopment districts:
VC District
Muir's Berkeley Redevelopment Area
MPX District
Multiplex Concrete Redevelopment Area
ES District
Evergreen/Halsted Redevelopment Area
GRN District
Greenwood Redevelopment Area
UPS District
Woodlands at Upsala Redevelopment Area
NW District
North Walnut Street Redevelopment Area
RUT District
Rutledge Avenue Redevelopment Area
MSE District
Lower Main Street Redevelopment Area — Phase I
LM District
Lower Main Street Redevelopment Area — Phase II
ARC District
Arcadian Gardens Redevelopment Area
The boundaries of the districts are shown on the map designated as the "Zoning Map," as amended and supplemented and as approved by the City Council as part of this chapter and filed in the office of the Administrative Officer. Such Zoning Map and all notations, references and other information shown thereon are a part of this chapter and have the same force and effect as if the Zoning Map and all notations, references and other information shown thereon were all fully set forth as described herein.
Except as in this chapter otherwise provided, the following shall apply:
A. 
Compliance with district regulations. No building or structure shall be erected, converted, enlarged, reconstructed or structurally altered, nor shall any building or structure or land be used, which does not comply with all the district regulations established by this chapter for the district in which the building, structure or land is located.
B. 
Yard and area regulations, minimum requirements. The yard regulations and the lot area per family provisions required by this chapter shall be considered minimum regulations for each and every building or structure at the time of the effective date of this chapter and for any building or structure thereafter erected or structurally altered. No land required for yards or for lot area per family in connection with an existing building or structure or in connection with any building or structure hereafter erected or structurally altered shall be decreased by sale or otherwise or be made a portion of any required yard or lot area for any other building or structure.
C. 
Principal buildings to be on lots. Every principal building or structure thereafter erected or structurally altered shall be located on a lot, as herein defined.
D. 
District boundary lines dividing lots. Where a district boundary line divides a lot of record at the time such line is adopted, the regulations as are applicable to accessory uses and accessory structures for the less-restricted portion of such lot shall apply to the more-restricted portion, but for a distance of not more than 51 feet, measured at right angles to such district boundary line. In such instance, the lot must have frontage on a street in the less-restricted district, and where such accessory uses and buildings extend into a residential district, they shall be set back and screened with a minimum height of six feet of either an evergreen landscape buffer installed in accord with § 51-193 or an opaque wall or fence which shall have no painted or attached signage.
E. 
The site plan standards as enumerated under Articles XIII (§ 51-75), XIV (§§ 51-76 through 51-79) and XV (§§ 51-80 through 51-82) shall be deemed the minimum requirements for all site plan and subdivision applications unless otherwise indicated.
A. 
Front yard setback standards. Front yard setback standards shall be measured to the structural front walls of applicable buildings and shall not be based on the locations of open or enclosed porches, balconies or bay windows. Small sections of a new facade may also be recessed deeper than the required setback to allow for architectural interest in the new building.
(1) 
The front setback of a new structure shall match the shorter front setback of the two closest principal buildings on each side of the project site on the same block frontage as the site.
(2) 
Bay windows (with no wall section wider than six feet), balconies, stoops and porches are permitted to encroach into the front setback area.
(3) 
When the block has no existing development to serve as the reference for the required setback, the front yard setback shall be six feet.
(4) 
For through lots, the street frontage where the closest principal buildings on each end of the lot that have the lesser setback shall be considered the front yard.
(5) 
For corner lots, the following special setback requirements apply to the street frontages of the two intersecting streets.
(a) 
One of the setbacks of a new structure shall match the lesser front setback of the closest principal building on that block and on that street frontage.
(b) 
The other frontage's setback shall be six feet or less.
(6) 
Existing front yard setbacks for existing buildings are conforming.
B. 
Glazing regulations.
(1) 
Minimum amount of area on exterior walls devoted to transparent glazing for new buildings other than buildings put to warehousing or industrial use.
(a) 
For the primary front facade, a minimum of 25% of the wall area shall be devoted to transparent windows or doorway areas, except for ground-floor commercial portions of buildings, which shall comply with Subsection B(1)(e) below.
(b) 
For street-facing side or rear walls of structures on corner lots or through lots, a minimum of 20% of the wall area shall be devoted to transparent windows or doorway areas.
(c) 
For non-street-facing walls, the greater of a minimum of 10% of wall area or the maximum amount allowed by the construction code shall be devoted to transparent windows or doorway areas.
(d) 
All transparent glazing areas on door panels count toward this requirement, but door panels themselves do not count towards this requirement.
(e) 
For the first-floor facade, measured from grade to the ceiling height of that first floor of commercial or mixed use buildings, the minimum required area of wall devoted to transparent windows or doorway areas is 45%. Additionally, any security gates, grilles or roll-down barricades shall have a minimum transparency of 75%.
(2) 
For existing buildings, no additional transparent glazing is required; however, the removal of existing windows or the reduction in size of existing windows is prohibited on all street-facing walls (walls parallel to the street) of the building.
(3) 
For all storefront windows facing Central Avenue or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard (Main Street), no more than 30% of the window area is permitted to be used for posters, displays, shelves or other items that block the view into the interior of the commercial space in that building. Therefore, 70% of the window area shall be transparent and provide a view from the sidewalk into the commercial area, enabling a view distance of at least 10 feet into the building's interior.
(4) 
Opaque window tinting is prohibited. Window tinting that gives a metallic or mirrored appearance is prohibited. Any installed window tinting is required to provide a visible light transmission percentage in excess of 70%.
C. 
Special side yard and rear yard setback regulations. No new construction may encroach within three feet of the windows or doors of another existing building on another property nor block emergency access to those windows or doors.
D. 
Minimum dwelling unit or apartment sizes for newly constructed buildings, new additions or for the subdividing of dwelling units in existing buildings.
(1) 
Studio apartment: 500 square feet.
(2) 
One-bedroom apartment: 700 square feet.
(3) 
Two-bedroom apartment: 850 square feet.
(4) 
Three-bedroom apartment: 1,000 square feet.
(5) 
Bedroom size: 110 square feet (10 feet by 11 feet).
(6) 
New residential units larger than three bedrooms are only permitted in the R-1 District and the Woodlands at Upsula Redevelopment Plan Area and are prohibited in all other districts.
A. 
Chimneys, cooling towers, elevator bulkheads, fire towers, gas tanks, solariums, steeples, penthouses, stacks, stage towers or scenery lofts, tanks, water towers, ornamental towers and spires, wireless radio or television towers or necessary mechanical appurtenances may be erected, provided that no tower other than a church steeple or tower of a public building shall exceed the applicable height limitations by more than 10%. No tower shall be used as a place of habitation or for tenant purposes. No sign, nameplate, display or advertising device of any kind whatsoever shall be inscribed upon or be attached to any chimney, tower, tank or other structure which extends above the applicable height limitations. Cooling towers, elevator bulkheads, fire towers, gas tanks, penthouses, stacks, stage towers or scenery lofts, tanks, water towers, wireless radio or television towers or necessary mechanical appurtenances are only permitted to be mounted on flat roofs and shall be set back from any street-facing edge of the roof on which they are mounted for a distance of one foot from the roof edge for every one foot of height above the roofline of the item.
B. 
On through lots 120 feet or less in depth, the height of a building may be measured from the grade on either street. On through lots more than 120 feet in depth, the height regulations and basis of height measurements for the street permitting the greater height shall apply to a depth of not more than 120 feet from the street.
A. 
In computing the depth of a rear yard where the rear yard opens to an alley, 1/2 of the width of the alley shall be considered to be a portion of the rear yard.
B. 
No accessory building shall occupy more than 400 square feet for lots smaller than 10,000 square feet and no more than 15% of the rear yard for lots larger than 10,000 square feet, and shall only be permitted in the rear yard.
C. 
Every part of a required rear yard shall be open to the sky unobstructed, except for accessory buildings in a rear yard.
D. 
Open or lattice-enclosed fire escapes, required by law, projecting into a yard not more than five feet and the ordinary projection of chimneys and pilasters shall be permitted by the Construction Official when placed so as not to obstruct light and ventilation.
E. 
Along a narrower street near its intersection with a wider street or on an interior lot running through to a narrower street, any building or part of a building shall be governed by the volume regulations provided for the wider street or to within 100 feet of such narrower street where the restriction on the latter may be less severe.
F. 
An offset to a court or yard may be considered as a part of such court or yard, provided that it shall not be deeper in any part than it is wide on the open side and that such open side shall in no case be less than six feet wide.
G. 
The space above any underground structure shall be considered a yard. No underground structure is subject to the setback requirements of this chapter, nor shall its area be used in the calculation of the floor area ratio and the building area.
H. 
Where a nonresidential zone adjoins a residential zone within a block, any principal or accessory building constructed in the nonresidential district within 100 feet of the residential district along the same street front shall be set back at least 1/2 the distance that would be required if the premises were deemed to be located in the adjoining residential zone, but in no event less than 20 feet.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-66.1, community residences for the developmentally disabled, community shelters for victims of domestic violence, community residences for the terminally ill, community residences for persons with head injuries, and adult family care homes for elderly persons and physically disabled adults shall be a permitted use in all residential districts, and the requirements therefor shall be the same as for single-family dwelling units located within such districts.
[1]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-66.6, child-care centers for which, upon completion, a license is required from the Department of Human Services pursuant to N.J.S.A. 30:5B-1 et seq., shall be a permitted use in all nonresidential districts of a municipality. The floor area occupied in any building or structure as a child-care center shall be excluded in calculating: (1) any parking requirement otherwise applicable to that number of units or amount of floor space, as appropriate, under state or local laws or regulations adopted thereunder; and (2) the permitted density allowable for that building or structure under any applicable municipal zoning ordinance.
[1]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).