[Added 5-21-2012 by Ord. No. 09-12; amended 8-18-2014 by Ord. No.
13-14]
A.Â
This article shall apply to any application for development involving
lands located within (or partially within) the Township Highlands
Area (as illustrated in Exhibit 1, "Washington Township Highlands
Area")[1] that seeks approval of a site plan, subdivision, or change
in use, where approval of such application would:
(1)Â
Result in the ultimate disturbance of one acre or more of land;
(2)Â
Produce a cumulative impervious surface area of one-quarter acre,
or more;
(3)Â
In the case of residential development, create three or more dwelling
units; or
(4)Â
Introduce or expand on any of the following land uses/facilities:
(a)Â
Landfills;
(b)Â
Permanent storage or disposal of hazardous wastes, industrial
or municipal sludge or radioactive materials, including solid waste
landfills;
(c)Â
Collection and transfer facilities for hazardous wastes, solid
wastes that contain hazardous materials, and radioactive materials;
(d)Â
Industrial treatment facility lagoons; or
(e)Â
Any major or minor potential contaminant source (as identified
in Appendix A and Appendix B of this article, respectively)[2] on lands located within 200 feet of the wellhead of any public community well or public non-community well, as these are defined at § 111-62 below.
[2]
Editor's Note: Said appendix is included as an attachment
to this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said Exhibit A is on file in the Township offices.
A.Â
Consistency determinations required. No application for development included in § 111-59 above shall be deemed complete or considered for review by the applicable Township Land Use Board until and unless the applicant has obtained and provided a copy of:
(1)Â
A consistency determination from the Highlands Council indicating
that the application is consistent with the Highlands Regional Master
Plan; or
(2)Â
A consistency determination from the Highlands Council indicating that the application is not consistent with the Highlands Regional Master Plan, accompanied by a certification, as detailed in § 111-60B below, by the applicant's professional(s) that the application has been revised since review by the Highlands Council to achieve consistency with the Highlands Regional Master Plan.
B.Â
Findings of inconsistency. Where a Highlands Council consistency
determination indicates that an application for development is inconsistent
with the Highlands Regional Master Plan, no such application shall
be deemed complete or considered for review by the applicable Township
Land Use Board, until or unless the applicant has obtained from the
professional(s) responsible for preparation of the applicant's plans,
a certification indicating that to the best of the knowledge and abilities
of such professional(s), the application has been revised to achieve
consistency with the Highlands Regional Master Plan and specifically
describing the revisions made to achieve such consistency.
C.Â
Checklist waiver. Washington Township may issue a waiver from the provisions of this § 111-60 where it can be established by the applicant and can be verified by the designated representative(s) of Washington Township that:
(1)Â
The activity, improvement or development proposed by the subject application for development has not yet been formally determined to be exempt from the Highlands Act (see § 111-61B, below), but eligibility for an exemption has been sufficiently established by the applicant; or
(2)Â
The activity, improvement or development proposed in the application
for development will neither encroach upon a Highlands Resource or
Highlands Resource Area, nor be of detrimental impact to any Highlands
Resource or Highlands Resource Area as these are identified and delineated
in the Highlands Regional Master Plan. The applicant's professional(s)
responsible for preparation of the applicant's plan shall establish
compliance of the above through a formal certification specifically
addressing the Highlands Resources and Resource Areas and related
policies and objectives as identified in Chapter 4 of the Highlands
Regional Master Plan.
D.Â
Highlands Council call-up. All municipal waivers or findings of application completeness issued pursuant to this § 111-60 shall be issued in writing, inclusive of a statement indicating the rationale for the determination. All such determinations shall be subject to Highlands Council call-up review, and shall include conditions requiring same consistent with this subsection. The municipality shall, within five calendar days of issuance of all such determinations, provide a copy of the decision to the applicant and to the Highlands Council. The Highlands Council call-up review period shall expire 15 calendar days following its receipt of same. Upon determining to exercise this authority for call-up review, the Highlands Council shall transmit notice to the applicant and the municipality. Absent any such notification from the Highlands Council within that timeframe, the application shall be considered complete, with the date of the waiver or finding of application completeness to be as of the date of first issuance by the municipality.
A.Â
Exclusions. The following specific improvements and related applications
shall be excluded from the provisions of this article:
(1)Â
The reconstruction, within the same footprint, of any building or
other structure lawfully existing as of the effective date of this
article, in the event of its destruction or partial destruction by
fire, storm, natural disaster, or any other unintended circumstance.
(2)Â
Any improvement or alteration to a building or other structure lawfully
existing as of the effective date of this article, where such improvement
or alteration is necessary for compliance with the provisions of the
Americans with Disabilities Act, or to otherwise provide accessibility
to the disabled.
(3)Â
Any agricultural or horticultural use or development that would not
result in either:
(a)Â
An increase, since the date of enactment of the Highlands Act (August 10, 2004), either individually or cumulatively, of new agricultural impervious cover of greater than 3% to the total land area of a farm management unit. Solar panels shall not be included in any calculation of agricultural impervious cover (all terms as defined in § 111-62, below); or
(b)Â
Construction of three or more residential dwelling units (including
accessory dwelling units) served by individual on-site septic system(s).
B.Â
Exemptions. Any activity, improvement or development project listed
and demonstrated to constitute a Highlands Act exemption shall be
exempt from the provisions of this article. Formal demonstration of
a Highlands Act exemption for an application for development involving
lands located (or partially located) in the Highlands Area shall consist
of one of the following:
(1)Â
State agency determination. State agency determinations shall include
either a Highlands applicability determination (HAD) issued by the
NJDEP for a Preservation Area proposal, or a Highlands exemption determination
issued by the Highlands Council for a Planning Area proposal, in either
case, indicating that the proposal qualifies as a Highlands Act exemption.
(2)Â
Municipal determination. Pursuant to Washington Township Ordinance
#RO-12-14, entitled "Township of Washington Highlands Area Exemption
Ordinance,"[1] effective as of the same date as this article, for any
application under this article involving Highlands Act Exemption Nos.
4, 6, 7, or 8, the applicant may request and shall be deemed to have
satisfied the evidentiary requirement by obtaining a municipal exemption
determination issued by the municipal exemption designee(s), provided
such determination indicates that the proposal qualifies as a Highlands
Act exemption. The applicant may rely upon the findings of a municipal
exemption determination to the same extent and with the same protections
as would apply in the case of a Highlands exemption determination
issued by the Highlands Council, or of a HAD issued by the NJDEP.
For the purpose of this article, the following terms, phrases,
words, and their derivations shall have the meanings stated herein
unless their use in the text of this article clearly demonstrates
a different meaning. When not inconsistent with the context, words
used in the present tense include the future, words used in the plural
number include the singular number, and words used in the singular
number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory
and not merely directory.
Agricultural or horticultural buildings, structures or facilities
with or without flooring, residential buildings and paved areas, but
not meaning temporary coverings.
Construction for the purposes of supporting common farmsite
activities, including but not limited to the production, harvesting,
storage, grading, packaging, processing, and the wholesale and retail
marketing of crops, plants, animals, and other related commodities
and the use and application of techniques and methods of soil preparation
and management, fertilization, weed, disease, and pest control, disposal
of farm waste, irrigation, drainage and water management, and grazing.
The use of land for common farmsite activities, including
but not limited to the production, harvesting, storage, grading, packaging,
processing, and the wholesale and retail marketing of crops, plants,
animals, and other related commodities and the use and application
of techniques and methods of soil preparation and management, fertilization,
weed, disease, and pest control, disposal of farm waste, irrigation,
drainage and water management, and grazing.
A developer submitting an application for development.
The application form and all accompanying documents required
by ordinance for approval of a subdivision plat, site plan, planned
development, conditional use, zoning variance, or direction of the
issuance of a permit pursuant to Section 25 or Section 27 of P.L.
1975, c.291 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-34 or N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36).
The placement of impervious surface, the exposure or movement
of soil or bedrock, or the clearing, cutting, or removing of vegetation.
The total existing or proposed area of disturbance of a lot,
parcel, or other legally designated (or otherwise legally recognized)
tract or subdivision of land, for the purpose of, and in connection
with, any human activity, property improvement, or development, including
the surface area of all buildings and structures, all impervious surfaces,
and all associated land disturbances such as excavated, filled, and
graded areas, and all lawn and landscape areas. Ultimate disturbance
shall not include areas of prior land disturbance which at the time
of evaluation: a) contain no known man-made structures (whether above
or below the surface of the ground) other than such features as old
stone rows or farm field fencing; and b) consist of exposed rock outcroppings,
or areas which, through exposure to natural processes (such as weathering,
erosion, siltation, deposition, fire, flood, growth of trees or other
vegetation) are no longer impervious or visually obvious, or ecologically
restored areas which will henceforth be preserved as natural areas
under conservation restrictions.
A parcel or parcels of land, whether contiguous or noncontiguous,
together with agricultural or horticultural buildings, structures
and facilities, producing agricultural or horticultural products,
and operated as a single enterprise.
The New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council.
The Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act, P.L. 2004,
c.120, as amended, codified in part at N.J.S.A. 13:20-1 et seq.
The determination made by the NJDEP of whether a project
proposed for the Preservation Area is a major Highlands development,
whether any such major Highlands development is exempt from the Highlands
Act, and whether the project is consistent with the applicable Areawide
Water Quality Management Plan.
That portion of the municipality for which the land use planning
and regulation are in conformance with, or are intended or proposed
to be in conformance with, the Highlands Regional Master Plan.
All that area within the boundaries of the municipalities
listed in Subsection a of Section 7 of the Highlands Act.
Any structure, surface, or improvement that reduces or prevents
absorption of stormwater into land, including, but not limited to,
porous paving, paver blocks, gravel, crushed stone, decks, patios,
elevated structures, and other similar structures, surfaces, or improvements.
The total area of all existing or proposed impervious surfaces
situated or proposed to be situated within the boundary lines of a
lot, parcel, or other legally recognized subdivision of land, expressed
either as a measure of land area such as acreage, or square feet,
or as a percentage of the total lot or parcel area.
Land uses and activities determined by the Highlands Council
to pose a major risk of ground water contamination (see Appendix A).[1]
Land uses and activities determined by the Highlands Council
to pose a minor risk of ground water contamination (see Appendix B).[2]
The New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1
et seq.
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
The regulations established by the NJDEP to implement requirements
of the Highlands Act, titled "Highlands Water Protection and Planning
Act Rules," and codified at N.J.A.C. 7:38-1 et seq.
Lands within the Highlands Region not within the Preservation
Area (N.J.S.A. 13:20-7).
The process by which a municipality revises the Master Plan,
development regulations and other regulations related to the development
and use of land to conform them with the goals, requirements, and
provisions of the Regional Master Plan in accordance with the Highlands
Plan Conformance Guidelines.
A well that provides water to a public water system serving
at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents or regularly
serving at 25 year-round residents.
A well that is not a public community well and that provides
water to a public water system regularly serving at least 25 individuals
for at least 60 days in any given calendar year.
That portion of the Highlands Region so designated by Subsection
b. of Section 7 of the Highlands Act.
The Highlands Regional Master Plan or any revision thereof
adopted by the Highlands Council pursuant to N.J.S.A. 13:20-8.
An elevated panel or plate, or a canopy or array thereof,
that captures and converts solar radiation to produce power, and includes
flat plate, focusing solar collectors, or photovoltaic solar cells
and excludes the base or foundation of the panel, plate, canopy, or
array. (As defined by the Highlands Act, N.J.S.A. 13:20-1 et seq,
as amended.)
A combination of materials to form a construction for occupancy,
use or ornamentation whether installed on, above, or below the surface
of a parcel of land.
