The provisions of this article modify the regulations applicable
to the underlying municipal zoning districts, with specific regard
to permitted uses, conditionally permitted uses, prohibited uses,
and densities and intensities of development.
All principal and accessory uses permitted or conditionally
permitted by the underlying municipal Zoning Ordinance shall remain
in effect as provided therein, except to the extent that such uses
may be modified or eliminated by the provisions of this section. Any
and all principal and accessory uses prohibited by the underlying
Zoning Ordinance shall remain prohibited as provided therein, unless
specifically designated as a permitted use by the provisions of this
section. The lists of permitted, conditionally permitted and prohibited
uses of the underlying Zoning Ordinance are herewith amended as necessary
to provide for the use allowances and use restrictions that follow.
A. Permitted uses. The permitted uses applicable to that portion of any municipal zoning district overlain by the Highlands District classifications listed below shall be modified in accordance with the provisions that follow. In addition, any use permitted by the underlying zoning that is cited at Subsection
B or
C below shall be amended in accordance with the provisions set forth therein.
(1) Agricultural resource area.
(a)
With the exception of any forested portion of the Agricultural Resource Area that is also designated as a Forest Resource Area, permitted principal uses shall be supplemented to include the agricultural and horticultural uses (defined at §
535-11) specified at §
535-29C below. Accessory uses permitted in conjunction with these uses shall include ancillary, incidental or otherwise related supporting uses and the accessory structures devoted to such uses.
(b)
Permitted principal uses shall include the continuance of any
lawfully existing residential use permitted by the underlying municipal
Zoning Ordinance as of the effective date of this chapter.
B. Conditional uses. Any use conditionally permitted by the underlying zoning that is cited at Subsection
A above or Subsection
C below shall be amended in accordance with the provisions set forth therein.
C. Prohibited uses.
(1) Carbonate rock area, prime groundwater recharge area, wellhead protection
area. The following principal or accessory uses and structures related
or devoted to such uses, where otherwise permitted by the underlying
municipal Zoning Ordinance, are expressly prohibited from the prime
groundwater recharge area, Wellhead Protection Area Tiers 1 and 2,
and from any portion of the carbonate rock area determined to contain
karst features, or from any lands identified as discharging surface
water into any portion of a designated carbonate rock area determined
to contain karst features:
(b)
Facilities for the permanent storage or disposal of hazardous
wastes, industrial or municipal sludge or radioactive materials, including
solid waste landfills;
(c)
Collection and transfer facilities for hazardous wastes, solid
wastes that contain hazardous materials, and radioactive materials;
and
(d)
Industrial treatment facility lagoons.
(2) Wellhead Protection Area, Tier 1. Any principal or accessory use,
or structure related or devoted to such use, which is designated by
the Highlands Council as a Major or Minor Potential Contaminant Source
(PCS) (see Appendix B and Appendix C), where otherwise permitted by the municipal ordinance,
is expressly prohibited from that portion of any Tier 1 Wellhead Protection
Area lying within 200 feet of the wellhead.
The provisions of this section are intended to ensure that development
in the Highlands Preservation Area occurs at densities and intensities
that are appropriate to the water supply and wastewater treatment
options available to support it. These provisions shall serve as a
check on the various density/intensity provisions of the underlying
Zoning Ordinance, which shall remain in effect to the extent not specifically
in conflict with these provisions. The density/intensity allowances
of the underlying Zoning Ordinance provisions reflect the intents
and purposes set forth for the municipal zoning districts as established
by the Township Master Plan and the effectuating Zoning Ordinances.
They define and support the intended character and patterns of development
for each district, setting forth the relationship between built form
in a district and the lot or lots on which it is situated. The provisions
of this section relate solely to ensuring that such development: does
not exceed the capacity of the land, resources and infrastructure
available to support it; and is designed to minimize land disturbance
and protect natural resources.
A. Use of terms. For purposes of these provisions, "density of development
standards" refer to requirements of the underlying Zoning Ordinance
that regulate the permitted number of dwelling units per acre of land,
whether specifically defined as density standards or set forth as
minimum lot size requirements for application to specific zoning districts.
"Intensity of development standards" refer to those requirements used
to define the relationship between the permitted extent, form and
location of development of a lot, to the size, shape and configuration
of the lot on which it is situated (e.g., floor area ratio, building
coverage, building height, yard setbacks, number of stories).
B. Base mapping. Base maps regarding water availability and wastewater
treatment capacity appear in the technical information provided in
the Conservation and Utility Services Plans of the Township Master
Plan Highlands Element. These maps are combined into one for purposes
of this chapter, denoted as Exhibit 10 and herewith adopted and incorporated
as titled: "Net Water Availability by HUC14 Subwatershed, Highlands
Domestic Sewerage Facilities, Public Community Water Systems."
C. Development subject to water availability. Any proposed increase in the demand for water supply averaging 6,000 gallons per day or more, deriving from Highlands Preservation Area groundwater sources or from surface water sources that are not associated with a NJDEP-approved safe yield, shall be accompanied by a finding of sufficient water capacity, which finding shall be issued by the Highlands Council. This provision shall apply to all development as defined at §
535-11, expressly including changes in use and modifications to existing uses. Specific requirements pertinent to new development reliant upon groundwater supplies may be found at §
535-26. For purposes of determining net increases in water demand associated with modifications to existing uses pursuant to these requirements, the following unit/square footage figures shall apply as four-hundred-gallon-per-day equivalents:
(1) Residential uses (all types): one dwelling unit.
(2) Office and commercial uses: 2,400 square feet of floor area.
(3) Industrial (including warehousing/distribution) uses: 18,182 square
feet of floor area (excluding process wastewater flow).
D. Development served by septic systems. Development proposals involving
new or increased demand for septic system capacity shall be regulated
in accordance with NJDEP Preservation Area Rules (N.J.A.C. 7:38).
Applicable only to major Highlands development, these provisions override
any density, intensity, bulk, or other standard of the underlying
Zoning Ordinance that would permit a septic system density in excess
of that provided therein. The applicable NJDEP septic system density
requirements appear below. Nothing herein shall be deemed to apply
to the replacement or repair of an existing septic system.
(1) Septic system density requirements. A new individual subsurface disposal system or aggregate of equivalent disposal units where the sanitary wastewater design flow is 2,000 gallons per day or less shall be permitted only in accordance with the density limitations, at Subsection
D(1)(a) through
(d), below. "Forest" under this subsection shall be identified and calculated as provided at Appendix A (from N.J.A.C. 7:38-3). For the purposes of this subsection, "equivalent disposal
unit" means: for residential development, one system serving one single-family
home sized in accordance with the Standards for Individual Subsurface
Sewage Disposal Systems, Volume of Sanitary Sewage, at N.J.A.C. 7:9A-7.4;
or for nonresidential development or residential development comprising
structures other than single-family homes, 500 gallons of wastewater
per day generated for the development type, as determined in accordance
with N.J.A.C. 7:9A-7.4 (provided at Appendix F).
(a)
On a lot that contains all forest, there shall be no more than
one individual subsurface disposal system or equivalent disposal unit
for each 88 acres of the lot;
(b)
On a lot that does not contain forest, there shall be no more
than one individual subsurface disposal system or equivalent disposal
unit for each 25 acres of the lot;
(c)
For the purposes of this subsection, the acreage of a lot shall
be the total area of the lot(s) on which the proposed development
is located as described by deed(s) or subdivision plat(s) on file
with the municipal or County Clerk.
(d)
For a lot containing both forest and non-forest areas, the total
number of allowable individual subsurface disposal systems or equivalent
disposal units permitted on the lot shall be determined by calculating
the number of acres of the lot that are forest (as determined in accordance
with Appendix A, from N.J.A.C. 7:38-3.9) and dividing that number by 88;
calculating the remaining number of acres of the lot that are not
forest and dividing that number by 25; and then summing the results.
If the sum results in a fraction, the number shall be rounded down
to the nearest whole number in order to determine the number of permitted
individual subsurface disposal systems or equivalent disposal units.
(e)
For purposes of this section, noncontiguous lots in existence
as of August 10, 2004 may be aggregated such that the number of individual
subsurface disposal systems or equivalent disposal units that would
be permitted under this section on one or more of the aggregated lots
is transferred to one or more of the aggregated lots, provided:
[1]
The proposed development on the lot or lots to receive the transferred
individual subsurface disposal systems or equivalent disposal units
complies with all federal, state and local laws;
[2]
The proposed development on the lot or lots to receive the transferred
individual subsurface disposal systems or equivalent disposal units
does not require a waiver of any requirement of N.J.A.C. 7:38 and
is constructed in accordance with the Highlands Act and N.J.A.C. 7:38,
inclusive of 3% maximum impervious surface limitations;
[3]
The lots to be aggregated under this subsection are all located
in the Preservation Area and within the same HUC14; and
[4]
The lot or lots from which the individual subsurface disposal
systems or equivalent disposal units are to be transferred are subject
to a conservation restriction against future disturbance provided
in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:38-6.3.
(2) Additional septic system requirements. In addition to the requirements
above, individual subsurface sewage disposal systems or equivalent
disposal units shall satisfy the Standards for Individual Subsurface
Sewage Disposal Systems (N.J.A.C. 7:9A) without extraordinary measures,
including replacement of disposal field soil with permeable material
or mounding of a disposal field to achieve the required depth to groundwater
or confining layer.
E. Development served by existing utility infrastructure. Where lots
proposed for development in the Highlands Preservation Area are served
by existing public water and wastewater utility infrastructure having
sufficient available capacity, the density and intensity of new development
shall be consistent with all requirements of the underlying municipal
Zoning Ordinance. For purposes of this provision, "existing" water
and wastewater utility infrastructure refers only to such infrastructure
that is lawfully constructed and operational.
F. New or extended utility infrastructure prohibited. New, expanded
or extended public water systems, wastewater collection and treatment
systems, and community on-site treatment facilities are prohibited
unless approved through issuance of either a Highlands Applicability
Determination indicating that a project is exempt from the Highlands
Act, or a Highlands Preservation Area Approval with waiver pursuant
to N.J.A.C. 7:38.