A. 
A comprehensive land development ordinance regulating and limiting the uses of land and the uses and locations of buildings and structures; regulating and restricting the height and bulk of buildings and structures and determining the area of yards and other open spaces; regulating and restricting the density of housing and population; implementing the housing requirements mandated by the "Mt. Laurel" Supreme Court decisions; dividing the City of Camden into districts for such purposes; adopting a map of said City showing boundaries and the classification of such districts; establishing rules, regulations and standards governing the subdivision and development of land within the City; establishing a Planning Board and a Zoning Board of Adjustment; and prescribing penalties for the violation of its provisions.
B. 
This chapter shall consist of text and a Zoning Map, said map being entitled "Zoning Map, City of Camden." This map, together with all explanatory matter thereon, is declared to be a part of this chapter, and is on file and shall be kept on file with the City Clerk and the Planning Board Secretary. If and when changes are made in boundaries or other matters included on said Zoning Map, such changes in the map shall be made promptly after the amendment has been approved by the City Council. This chapter is enacted pursuant to the authority granted by Chapter 291, Laws of 1975, commonly cited and referred to as the "Municipal Land Use Law" (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.), as amended by Assembly Bill No. 826 of the New Jersey Assembly.
The short form by which this chapter may be known shall be "The Land Development Ordinance of the City of Camden."
A. 
This chapter is adopted pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. and subsequent amendments and supplements thereto, in order to promote and protect the public health, safety, comfort, convenience, prosperity, morals, and general welfare, and in the furtherance of the following related and more specific objectives of the City of Camden:
(1) 
To secure safety from fire, flood, panic, and other natural and man-made disasters;
(2) 
To provide adequate light, air and open space;
(3) 
To ensure that the development of the City does not conflict with the development and general welfare of neighboring municipalities, the county and the state as a whole;
(4) 
To promote the smart growth planning goals of the State of New Jersey with 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 natural and historic environment;
(5) 
To provide sufficient space in appropriate locations for a variety of 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 Camden citizens, workers and visitors;
(6) 
To prohibit and to gradually eliminate uses, buildings or structures which are incompatible with the character of neighborhood development or detrimental to adjoining areas;
(7) 
To encourage intense and varied development where land, utilities and access to mass transportation exists;
(8) 
To provide flexibility to encourage new construction, repair, renovation, rehabilitation and investment and a more efficient use of land;
(9) 
To provide for proper site plan and subdivision, design and layouts;
(10) 
To promote the conservation of historic sites and districts, open space, energy resources and valuable natural resources in the City and to prevent urban degradation of the natural environment through improper use of land;
(11) 
To encourage planned and comprehensive developments which incorporate the best features of design and relate the type, design and layout of residential, commercial, and recreational development to a particular site and its surroundings;
(12) 
To encourage coordination of the various public and private procedures and activities that shape land development with a view of lessening the cost of such development and to promote more efficient use of land;
(13) 
To promote a desirable visual environment through creative development techniques and good civic design and arrangements;
(14) 
To encourage all types of senior citizen (age restricted) housing construction;
(15) 
To promote the conservation of energy through the use of planning practices designed to reduce energy consumption and to provide for the maximum utilization of renewable energy sources.
(16) 
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 complement municipal recycling programs.
(17) 
To delineate the City into zones and districts, restricting and regulating herein the location, construction, reconstruction, alteration and use of buildings, structures, open space, for residence, business, commercial, manufacturing, institutional, recreational, conservation and other specified uses.
(18) 
To protect and preserve the character of residential, business, commercial, manufacturing, natural areas and recreation areas within the City and to promote orderly and beneficial conservation, development and redevelopment of such areas as appropriate and which are consistent with the State Development and Redevelopment Plan for the State of New Jersey and the New Jersey Outdoor Recreation Resources Plan.
(19) 
To conserve a corridor of natural open space (greenways) primarily along waterways within the City of Camden where environmentally sensitive lands are preserved and protected, open space is made available for recreation, and public access to the water is improved in appropriate areas. Designated greenways will be preserved in such a manner that they blend in with the existing community, businesses and water dependent activities.
(20) 
To emphasize the need for a wide variety of open space and demonstrate its value as an essential community asset; to assure sufficient land and facilities for active and passive recreational pursuits with ease of access from residential and employment locations (a minimum of 10 acres/1,000 people or 850 acres City-wide).
(21) 
To promote the orderly growth of lands within the City of Camden, taking into consideration the character of each district and its peculiar suitability for particular land uses, to generally encourage the most appropriate use of land through the police power, and to promote sustainable and orderly growth.
(22) 
To limit and restrict buildings and structures to specified zone districts and to regulate buildings and structures according to their type and nature and the extent of their use and to regulate the nature and extent of use of land for trade, industry, residence, open space or other purposes in order to avoid undue concentration of population and to conserve the value of property.
(23) 
To protect and preserve the character of homes and businesses within the City and to promote orderly and beneficial development and redevelopment of such areas.
(24) 
To encourage the location and design of transportation routes which will promote the free flow of automobile, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic while discouraging the location of such facilities and routes which would result in congestion, blight, and/or safety hazards.
(25) 
To safeguard and improve the amenities and appearance of the City of Camden by providing for the regulation of signs and for appropriate review of proposed new structures and substantial alterations.
(26) 
To protect the public health, safety, convenience, and general welfare by providing for the adequate parking of motor vehicles and for the loading and unloading of commercial vehicles.
(27) 
To provide protection against fire, flood, explosion, excessive noise, light, noxious fumes and other hazards in the interest of public safety, health, comfort, and the general welfare.
(28) 
To provide for special districts for mixed land uses and flexible development areas to ensure that such districts and uses shall be compatible with each other and not detrimental to surrounding areas and are in complete accordance with the City's Master Plan.
(29) 
To regulate the use and bulk of buildings in relation to the land surrounding them and to control those uses of land, buildings, and structures which do not conform to zoning standards and to regulate their reasonable expansion so that no adjoining uses or persons are adversely affected.
(30) 
To regulate the intensity of land uses and to ensure the provision of open spaces surrounding buildings, necessary to provide adequate access, light and air and to protect the public health.
(31) 
To prohibit and to gradually eliminate land uses, buildings and structures which are incompatible with the character of the neighborhood in which they are located or detrimental to adjoining areas.
(32) 
To encourage intense and varied development where land, utilities and access to mass transportation exists and to provide flexibility to encourage new construction, repair, renovation, rehabilitation and investment and a more efficient use of land.
(33) 
To conserve and enhance the value of property throughout the City of Camden.
B. 
These specific purposes shall also include by reference the goals found in the City Master Plan.
The provisions of this chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements. 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. Where the provisions of any 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.
Historic Overlay Districts and sites, as shown and listed in the City Master Plan and as shown on the Zoning Map, are subject to the regulations of the Zone district or districts in which they are located, and are also subject to the additional requirements of Article XXV.
Historic Conservation Overlay Districts, as shown in the City Master Plan and as shown on the Zoning Map, are subject to the regulations of the Zone district or districts in which they are located, and are also subject to the additional requirements of Article XXVI.
A. 
The regulations set forth in this chapter for each zoning district shall be minimum regulations, unless otherwise specified, and shall apply uniformly to each class or kind of structure or land.
B. 
In all zoning districts, after the effective date of this chapter, any new building or structure or any tract of land shall be constructed, developed and used only in accordance with the regulations specified for each district.
C. 
In all zoning districts, after the effective date of this chapter, any existing building or other structure or part thereof or any tract of land which is not in conformity with the regulations for the district in which it is located shall be deemed as nonconforming and subject to the regulations found in this chapter.
All applicable requirements shall be met at the first time of erection, enlargement, alteration, moving or change in use or change in ownership of a structure and shall apply to the entire structure or structures or lot, whether or not the entire structure or structures were involved in the erection, enlargement, alteration, moving or change in use. Moreover, no building or structure shall be erected, moved, altered, added to or enlarged unless in conformity with this chapter and no building or structure shall be designed, used or occupied and no land shall be used or occupied for any purpose or in any manner other than as specified in this chapter. Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to require a change in plans, construction, or intended use of any buildings, structure or land on which actual construction or the application for a permit and/or preliminary plans were lawfully submitted to any governmental agency having applicable jurisdiction, and said actions were begun and diligently pursued before the adoption of this chapter.
The following minimum and uniform regulations shall apply in the respective districts:
A. 
Use regulations, including uses by right, accessory uses and conditional uses.
B. 
Area and bulk regulations, including required front, side and rear yards, maximum permitted height and maximum allowable lot coverage.
C. 
Off-street parking regulations, including minimum required parking spaces for specified uses.
D. 
Off-street loading regulations, including minimum required loading spaces for specified uses.
These regulations shall not abate or modify any action, penalty, liability, or right pending under any ordinance repealed by the adoption of this chapter except as expressly provided in this chapter.
Nothing in this chapter shall require any change in a building permit, site plan or zoning variance which was approved before the enactment of this chapter provided construction shall have been started within one year from the effective date of this chapter and the project shall be continuously pursued to completion; otherwise, said approvals and permits shall be void.