For the purpose of this chapter, all words used in the present
tense include the future tense; all words in the plural number include
the singular number, unless the natural construction of the word indicates
otherwise; the word "shall" is mandatory and directory; and the word
"used" includes "designated, intended or arranged to be used."
Certain words and terms in this chapter are to be interpreted
as defined below:
A subordinate building or structure, the purpose of which
is customarily incidental to that of the principal use or building
and on the same lot. Where an accessory building is attached to the
side or front of a principal building by a wall or roof, such accessory
building shall be considered part of the main building for the purpose
of determining the required dimensions of yards, but if it is attached
completely to the rear of the principal building, it may be considered
an "accessory building" for determining required yard dimensions.
Any establishment which provides dancers, strippers, or other
forms of entertainment of a sexual or erotic nature, whether as a
principal activity or as an accessory activity to another use. Adult
entertainment establishments include theaters or other facilities
used for presenting cinematic or video material of a primarily sexual
or erotic nature.
Any bookstore, video store, or other establishment having
as a portion of its stock-in-trade, books, magazines, periodicals,
videos, novelties, or amusements of a primarily sexual or erotic nature.
The travel lanes by which vehicles enter and exit parking
spaces.
As applied to a building or a structure, any change in the
supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls, columns,
beams, girders and interior partitions, as well as any change in doors
and windows or any addition to or diminution of a building.
An establishment utilized wholly or in part for the accommodation
of six or more amusement games or devices.
Any piece of equipment which is maintained or operated for
the amusement, patronage, or recreation of the public, including but
not limited to pinball and video games.
Any exterior transmitting or receiving device mounted on
a tower, building or structure and used in communications that radiate
or capture electromagnetic waves, digital signals, analog signals,
radio frequencies (excluding radar signals), wireless telecommunications
signals or other communication signals.
An independent, self-contained dwelling unit with its own
sleeping, sanitary, and cooking facilities in a building containing
two or more such dwelling units or more than one use.
An establishment selling or leasing automobiles, trucks,
motorcycles, any other type of motor vehicle, or trailers that can
be attach to a motor vehicle, whether new or used.
An establishment engaged in the repair, service, or maintenance
of any motor vehicle or trailer and/or the repair or painting of the
vehicle/trailer body.
An establishment used for the washing of any motor vehicle
or trailer, whether by hand or by automated or mechanical equipment.
The lines that connect a provider's towers/cell sites to
one or more cellular telephone switching offices, and/or long-distance
providers, or the public switched telephone network.
A business establishment authorized to perform financial
transactions such as receiving and lending money, but not including
check-cashing establishments or pawnbrokers.
An establishment used for the sale of liquor, where all consumption
is conducted on the premises.
A story partly underground and having more than 1/2 of its
height above the average level of the finished grade at the front
of the building.
Any shopping center having one or more retail establishments
selling merchandise in bulk quantities and where at least one such
retail establishment has a gross floor area of 50,000 square feet
or more.
A sign which directs attention to a business, commodity,
service or entertainment conducted, sold or offered elsewhere than
upon the same lot.
An establishment able to accommodate large assemblages of
people for the purpose of playing bingo or similar games, but not
including organized gambling.
Any house, building, or structure which contains two or more
units of dwelling space arranged or intended for single room occupancy
wherein meals, personal services, or other services are provided to
residents, including any residential hotel.
An establishment providing as a service the decoration or
embellishment of the human body including, but not limited to, tattoo
parlors and piercing parlors.
An area consisting of densely planted trees and shrubs or
solid fencing or a combination thereof, which provides both a visual
and acoustical barrier between adjacent properties.
Any combination of materials to form a construction adapted
to permanent, temporary or continuous occupation and having a roof.
The aggregate of the areas of all enclosed and roofed spaces
of the principal building and all accessory buildings. Such areas
shall be computed by using exterior building dimensions measured on
a horizontal plane at ground level.
The vertical dimension measured from the average elevation
of the finished lot grade at the front of the building to the highest
point of the ceiling of the top story in the case of a flat roof,
to the deckline of a mansard roof and to the average height between
the plate and ridge of a gable, hip or gambrel roof.
The official designated as the Building Inspector and/or
Construction Official of the Township of Irvington.
A line formed by the intersection of a horizontal plane at
average grade level and a vertical plane that coincides with the exterior
surface of the building; the vertical plane will coincide with the
most projected surface. All yard requirements are measured to the
building line.
A structure in which is conducted the principal use of the
site on which it is situated. In any residential district, any dwelling
shall be deemed to be a principal building on the zoned lot on which
it is located.
A restaurant which is small in size, which may have a limited
menu of food and/or drinks, or which may serve primarily coffee or
coffee-based drinks.
A story wholly or partly above curb level, having 1/2 or
more of its floor-to-ceiling height below the average level of the
adjoining ground. No cellar or portion thereof shall be used as a
dwelling unit.
Any site used for burying or storing human remains.
A certificate issued by the Building Inspector upon completion
of construction, alteration or change in occupancy of a building.
Any establishment primarily engaged in the business of cashing
checks but not offering the full range of financial services normally
associated with a bank.
Any residence or facility which is maintained for the care,
development or supervision of six or more children under 13 years
of age who attend for less than 24 hours a day, not including the
resident's own children if the center is located in a home.
A building or group of buildings, including customary accessory
buildings, designed for public worship, and including chapels, congregations,
cathedrals, temples and similar designations, as well as parish houses,
convents and such accessory uses.
A medical office or center where patients are treated by
specialist physicians.
The officially established grade of the curb in front of
the midpoint of the lot.
An establishment able to accommodate large assemblages of
people for the purpose of dancing, whether to the sound of recorded
music or live performers.
The removal of surface water or groundwater from land by
drains, grading or other means, and includes control of runoff to
minimize erosion or sedimentation during and after construction, preservation
of water supplies and prevention or alleviation of flooding.
A facility attached to a retail store, restaurant, bank,
or other similar establishment where customers or clients can make
a purchase, pick up products, or complete transactions while seated
in their automobiles.
Any area devoted exclusively to providing vehicle access
to off-street parking or garage facilities.
Any establishment in which clothing is dry cleaned on the
premises. Such an establishment may or may not include customer drop-off
and pickup facilities.
A retail establishment used primarily for the purpose of
dropping off or picking up clothing by customers for dry-cleaning
purposes. No dry cleaning is conducted on the premises, but clothing
is sent for dry-cleaning purposes to a dry-cleaning plant.
Any building or portion thereof designated or used exclusively
as the residence or sleeping place of one or more persons, except
mobile homes and as otherwise provided herein.
A single structure containing more than five but not more
than 20 individual units designed and erected within a structure of
not more than three stories in height as an integrated development
with singleness of use and operation and which utilizes such common
facilities as pedestrian walks, parking and garage areas, open space
or recreation areas and utility and sanitary systems.
A detached building designated for or occupied exclusively
by one household and containing not more than one dwelling unit.
Single structure containing dwelling units for three and
four households, respectively, each dwelling unit being completely
separate from the others and having at least one private entrance
from the outside.
A detached or semidetached building having not more than
two individual dwelling units which are entirely separated by vertical
walls or horizontal floors, unpierced except for entryways or stairwells.
One or more rooms, including cooking facilities and sanitary
facilities, in a dwelling structure designated as a unit for occupancy
by not more than one family for living and sleeping purposes.
The erection, construction, alteration or maintenance, by
public utilities or governmental agencies, of underground or overhead
gas, electrical, steam, water, cable television or sewerage transmission
or distribution systems, including buildings, poles, wires, mains,
drains, sewers, pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarm boxes, police
call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants and other similar equipment
and accessories in connection therewith, reasonably necessary for
the furnishing of adequate service by such public utilities or governmental
agencies or for the public health, safety or general welfare.
Federal Aviation Administration.
Two or more persons related by blood or marriage living together
as a single housekeeping unit in a dwelling.
A private residence in which the resident provides child-care
services for a fee to no less than three children and no more than
five children under 13 years of age at any one time for no less than
15 hours per week, not including the resident's own children.
Federal Communications Commission.
An artificially constructed barrier of wood, masonry, stone,
wire, metal or any manufactured material or combination of materials
erected for the enclosure of yard areas.
A business establishment providing financial services similar
to that of a bank and which may serve as a repository for savings
or brokerage accounts.
The floor area of a building is the sum of the gross area
of each floor of the building, excluding mechanical space, cellar
space, floor space in open balconies, elevators or stair bulkheads
and, in most zoning districts, floor space used for accessory parking
that is located less than 23 feet above curb level.
[Added 1-15-2008 by Ord.
No. MC 3366]
The principal bulk regulation controlling the size of buildings.
FAR is the ratio of total building floor area to the area of its zoning
lot. Each zoning district has a FAR control which, when multiplied
by the lot area of the zoning lot, produces the maximum amount of
floor area allowable in a building on the zoning lot. For example,
on a 10,000 square foot zoning lot in a district with a maximum FAR
of 1.0, the floor area of a building cannot exceed 10,000 square feet.
[Added 1-15-2008 by Ord.
No. MC 3366]
A building used as an accessory to the main building which
provides for the storage of motor vehicles and in which no occupation,
business or service for profit is conducted.
Any garage, other than a private garage, available to the
public and operated for gain.
An establishment primarily used for the retail dispensing
of vehicular fuel and oil to motor vehicles and the incidental or
routine servicing thereof, but not including repair or body work.
A retail establishment primarily selling foodstuffs, cooking
ingredients, and related household goods, where the vast majority
of the food for sale is not ready for immediate consumption, and where
consumption is primarily conducted off-premises.
The sum of the gross horizontal areas of the floors or floor
of a building which are enclosed and usable for human occupancy. Said
areas shall be measured between the inside face of exterior walls
or from the center line of walls separating two dwelling units. Said
areas shall not include areas below the average level of adjoining
garage space or accessory building space.
A residence for mentally disabled persons or persons belonging
to other special needs populations, who live in a group setting with
shared facilities and common areas. The group home may provide residents
with meals, medical care, personal care, counseling services, transportation,
and/or protective supervision.
An accessory use of a service character customarily conducted
within a dwelling only by residents thereof, which is clearly secondary
to the use of the dwelling for living purposes and does not change
the character thereof or cause any exterior evidence of such use,
but excluding the operation of a beauty parlor, barbershop, convalescent
or nursing home, tourist home, boardinghouse, rooming house, kennel
or stable, auto repair or body shop, insurance or real estate agency,
massage parlor or similar establishment.
The office of a member of a recognized profession when conducted
on the residential property where the professional resides and where
the primary use of the property is for living purposes. Such recognized
professions include, but shall not be limited to, medicine, dentistry,
law, architecture, engineering, and accounting.
An institution which maintains and operates organized facilities
and services for the diagnosis, treatment, or care of persons suffering
from illness, injury, or deformity and/or obstetrics, and in which
all diagnosis, treatment, and care is administered by or performed
under the direction of persons licensed to practice medicine in the
State of New Jersey.
A building which contains 20 or more rooms used, rented or
hired out to be occupied for sleeping purposes by guests and where
only a general kitchen and dining room are provided within the building
or as an accessory building.
One or more persons who live together in a single dwelling
unit, share general housekeeping tasks and expenses, and use in common
all living, kitchen, and bathroom facilities.
An enclosed structure wherein recreational games, such as
handball, paddleball, tennis and skating, are conducted or automatic
amusement devices are played.
An establishment engaged in the transformation of raw natural
materials into any secondary products by means of any industrial processes
which does not meet the definition of "light industry."
An establishment engaged in the transformation of raw natural
materials into any secondary products by means of any industrial processes
that do not emit odor, noise, smoke, dust, particulate matter, radiation,
gas, vibration, glare, or heat, perceptible beyond the boundaries
of the premises on which the establishment is located.
Any area and/or structure used or intended to be used for
the business of selling, buying, storing or trading in used or discarded
metal, glass, paper, cordage or any used or disabled fixtures, furniture,
vehicles or equipment of any kind.
An establishment or part thereof equipped and used for experimental
study, testing, or analysis in a field of science.
A business premises equipped with individual clothes-washing
machines for the use of retail customers, exclusive of laundry facilities
provided as an accessory use in a residential structure.
Any form of entertainment which is performed in person before
an attending audience.
An off-street space or berth used for the loading or unloading
of cargo, products, or materials from vehicles.
A piece or parcel of land occupied or intended to be occupied
by a principal building or a group of such buildings and accessory
buildings or utilized for a principal use and uses accessory or incidental
to the operation thereof, together with such open spaces as required
by this chapter, and having frontage on a public street.
An area of land which is determined by the limits of the
lot lines bounding that area and expressed in terms of square feet
or acres. Any portion of a lot included in a street right-of-way shall
not be included in calculating "lot area."
A parcel of land at the junction of and fronting on two or
more intersecting streets.
That percentage of the lot area which may be devoted to building
area.
A mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot
lines, measured at right angles to the street at two equidistant points
on the front lot lines and in the general direction of said lot lines.
A lot line or portion thereof which is coexistent with a
street line. In the case of a corner lot, the smaller of the two lot
lines coexistent with street lines shall be considered as the "frontage."
The horizontal distance between the side lot lines, measured
at right angles to its depth and at a point which constitutes the
rear line of the required front yard space.
The treatment or processing of raw materials and the production
of articles or finished products from raw or prepared materials by
giving them new forms and qualities.
A building in a commercial district used partly for residential
use and partly for community facility or commercial use. A building
that contains any combination of uses is often referred to as a mixed-use
building. When a building contains more than one use, the maximum
FAR permitted on the zoning lot is the highest FAR allowed for any
of the uses, provided that the FAR for each use does not exceed the
maximum FAR permitted for that use. In a CBD District, for example,
where the maximum commercial FAR is 2.0 and the maximum residential
FAR is 7, the total permitted FAR for a mixed residential/commercial
building would be 7, of which no more than 2.0 FAR may be applied
to the commercial space.
[Added 1-15-2008 by Ord.
No. MC 3366]
A building containing rooms or suites of rooms designed and
intended to be used as overnight sleeping accommodations for transient
guests, which building has a public lobby and full-time management
and which may contain ancillary services and facilities, such as restaurants,
shops, meeting rooms and convention facilities.
A building, the size, dimension or location of which was
lawful prior to the adoption, revision or amendment of this chapter
but which fails to conform to the requirements of the zoning district
in which it is located by reason of such adoption, revision or amendment.
A lot, the area, dimension or location of which was lawful
prior to adoption, revision or amendment of this chapter but which
fails to conform to the requirements of the zoning district in which
it is located by reason of such adoption, revision or amendment.
A use or activity which was lawful prior to the adoption,
revision or amendment of this chapter but which fails to conform to
the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located by
reason of such adoption, revision or amendment.
The specific purpose for which land or a building is used,
designated or maintained.
A room or group of rooms used for conducting the practice
of a business or profession and generally furnished with desks, tables,
files, file storage areas, computers, telephones, and other related
furniture and electronic devices, but not including warehouse or industrial
space.
An unoccupied space open to the sky, whether or not on the
same lot with a principal and/or accessory building.
A district superimposed upon another district which supersedes,
modifies or supplements the underlying regulations. Limited-height
districts and commercial overlay districts are examples of overlay
districts.
[Added 1-15-2008 by Ord.
No. MC 3366]
The keeping of any goods, merchandise, equipment, or other
material outside any fully enclosed structure in the same place continuously
for a period of more than 24 hours.
An establishment used primarily for the sale of liquor, where
all consumption is conducted off-premises.
An off-street space of less than 15% slope used for the parking
of a motor vehicle, which shall measure not less than 10 feet wide
and 20 feet long, exclusive of passageways and driveways appurtenant
thereto and giving access thereto.
An establishment in which the proprietor lends money on the
security of personal property pledged in his or her keeping.
An establishment engaged in providing services involving
the care of a person or his or her personal goods or apparel, including
but not limited to self-service laundries, barber and beauty shops,
tailor shops, and shoe repair shops.
A private or public organization whose purpose is to provide
a public or charitable service or carry on a trade or business on
a not-for-profit basis.
An establishment providing as a service the puncture of the
human skin or human body parts and the insertion of decorative objects,
such as earrings.
A building, part of a building, or group of buildings, designed
and set up for public worship, including churches, chapels, meeting
halls, cathedrals, temples mosques, and similar designations. A place
of worship includes parish houses, convents, Sunday school classrooms,
rectories, and other such customary accessory uses and buildings,
but does not include parochial schools, day-care centers, homeless
shelters, or soup kitchens.
The Planning Board of the Township of Irvington.
An open area adjacent to a building and accessible to the
public. It must generally be at the level of the sidewalk it adjoins
and be unobstructed to the sky except for seating and other permitted
obstructions. In certain high-density zoning districts, a floor area
bonus is available for provision of a residential or urban plaza.
[Added 1-15-2008 by Ord.
No. MC 3366]
RESIDENTIAL PLAZAAn open area for public use adjacent to a predominantly residential building.
URBAN PLAZAAn open area for public use adjacent to a nonresidential or predominantly nonresidential building.
Any tower or antenna for which a building permit or conditional
use permit has been properly issued prior to the effective date of
this section, including permitted towers or antennas that have not
yet been constructed so long as such approval is current and not expired.
A vocation or occupation requiring advanced education, training,
and intellectual skill, such as medicine, psychology, architecture,
accounting, law, and similar fields.
A person engaged in a profession.
Buildings and recreational facilities operated for the exclusive
use of nonprofit organizations, sporting or social clubs, or neighborhood
or community associations. Such facilities include, but shall not
be limited to, clubhouses, outdoor playing fields or courts, indoor
recreational facilities, playgrounds, swimming pools, tennis courts,
meeting halls, and banquet facilities.
The practice of scientific experimentation for the purpose
of developing prototype products, machines, chemicals, medicines,
or techniques, but not for the purpose of mass production.
A residential space in an apartment building generally 1,200
square feet to 1,800 square feet consisting of one room segmented
into various living spaces such as a sleeping area, kitchen, entertainment
area, etc.
[Added 1-15-2008 by Ord.
No. MC 3366]
An establishment, however designated, at which food is sold
for consumption on the premises to patrons seated within an enclosed
building. A snack bar at a public or community playground, playfield,
park or swimming pool operated solely for the agency or group operating
the recreational facilities and for the convenience of patrons of
the facility shall not be deemed to be a "restaurant."
An establishment engaged in the selling of goods and merchandise
to the general public, including automobile parts and supplies but
not including automobile service.
A boardinghouse where no meals, personal services, or other
services are provided to the residents.
An establishment where goods or services are offered for
sale.
A group of retail establishments planned, constructed, and
managed as a single entity, where customer parking is provided on
site, where loading areas are separated from customer entry points,
and where there is a unified architectural style.
A portion of an eating or drinking place that is located
on a public sidewalk. Sidewalk cafe regulations are administered by
the Township of Irvington Department of Health.
[Added 1-15-2008 by Ord.
No. MC 3366; amended 7-14-2009 by Ord. No. MC 3407; 7-1-2014 by Ord. No. MC 3511]
ENCLOSED SIDEWALK CAFEA sidewalk cafe that is contained within a structure constructed predominantly of lightweight materials.
UNENCLOSED SIDEWALK CAFEContains readily removable tables, chairs or railings, with no overhead coverage other than umbrellas or a retractable awning.
SMALL SIDEWALK CAFEAn unenclosed sidewalk cafe containing no more than a single row of tables and chairs adjacent to the street line.
Any device, structure or object for visual communication
that is used for the purpose of bringing the subject thereof to the
attention of others, but not including any flag, badge or insignia
of any public, quasi-public, civic, charitable or religious group.
The area defined by the frame or edge of a sign. When there
is no geometric frame or edge of the sign, the area shall be defined
by a projected, enclosed, four-sided (straight sides) geometric shape
which most closely outlines said sign.
A sign which directs attention to a business or profession
conducted or to a commodity, service or entertainment sold or offered
upon the premises where such sign is located or to which it is affixed.
A retail establishment.
That portion of a building included between the surface of
any floor and the surface of the upper floor or roof next above.
A public thoroughfare which has been dedicated or deeded
to the public for public use and which has been improved in accordance
with municipal standards.
The line determining the limit of the highway rights of the
public, either existing or contemplated.
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.
A public or privately owned pool open to the general public
on a membership basis and having dressing rooms, recreational facilities
and off-street parking areas.
A private swimming pool associated with a residential dwelling
unit or units and located on an individual residential lot.
A permanent, decorative design or mark on the human skin
created by puncturing the skin with a needle and injecting indelible
colors.
An establishment providing as a service the inscription of
tattoos on the human skin.
Any structure that is designed and constructed primarily
for the purpose of supporting one or more antennas for telephone,
radio and similar communication purposes, including self-supporting
lattice towers, guyed towers, or monopole towers. The term includes
radio and television transmission towers, microwave towers, common-carrier
towers, cellular telephone towers, alternative tower structures, and
the like. The term includes the structure and any support thereto.
A residential building where there is front and rear access
to the outside, but where the side walls are adjoining other structures.
A townhouse is generally not more than three to four stories in height
and may be designed as a one-, two-, three-, or four-family dwelling.
If there are two or more dwelling units in the building, each unit
typically occupies at least one entire floor, with windows facing
both the front and the rear yards.
A vehicle used or so constructed as to permit it to be used
as a licensed conveyance upon the public streets or highways and constructed
in such a manner as will permit occupancy as a place of day-to-day
habitation for one or more persons. This term shall also include automobile
trailers, mobile homes and house trailers and trailer coaches, excepting
therefrom travel trailers and campers which are under eight feet in
width and under 20 feet in length and which are not used for purposes
of day-to-day habitation.
Land and premises upon which two or more trailer coaches
occupied for dwelling or sleeping purposes are located. This term
shall include trailer coach parks and courts.
A site and/or building where trucks load and unload cargo
and freight and where the cargo and freight may be broken down or
aggregated into smaller or larger loads for transfer to other vehicles
or modes of transportation.
The specific purpose for which land or a building is designed,
arranged, occupied, maintained, used or intended to be used.
An establishment used primarily for the storage of goods,
merchandise, cargo, and other materials and which may receive or distribute
such materials via truck or rail.
An establishment engaged in the storage and selling of merchandise
to retailers, businesses, or other wholesalers, but excluding any
establishment selling such materials to the general public.
A residential space in an apartment building generally 1,200
square feet to 1,800 square feet consisting of one room segmented
into various living and occupation spaces such as an area set aside
for a permitted occupation, a sleeping area, kitchen, entertainment
area, etc.
[Added 1-15-2008 by Ord.
No. MC 3366]
An open, unoccupied space on the same lot with the principal
building, extending the full width of the lot and situated between
the street line and the front line of the building projected to the
side lines of that lot. "Setback line" shall be synonymous with the
rear limit of the required front yard areas.
An open, unoccupied space extending across the full width
of the lot and lying between the rear line of the lot and the nearest
line of any building on the same lot. The depth of a rear yard shall
be measured at right angles to the rear line of the lot or, if the
lot is not rectangular, then in the general direction of its side
building lines.
An open, unoccupied space between the side lines of the lot
and the nearest line of the building and extending from the front
yard to the rear yard or, in the absence of either front or rear yards,
to the nearest street or rear lot line, as the case may be. The width
of a side yard shall be measured at right angles to the side line
of the lot.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment of the Township of Irvington.
