Township of Bethlehem, NJ Highlands Area Zone District Regulations

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 § 102A-3.2) specified at § 102A-6.10.3, 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.

The permitted principal residential use for any underlying municipal zoning district which permits single-family residential development as a principal use shall be restricted solely to residential cluster development in accordance with the residential cluster development standards as set forth at § 102A-8.1, below. This provision shall apply only if the minimum threshold requirements for residential cluster development pursuant to § 102A-8.1.6 can be satisfied. Where the minimum threshold requirements of § 102A-8.1.6 cannot be satisfied, permitted principal residential uses shall remain as permitted by the underlying municipal zoning ordinance.

(3)

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 part.

§ 102A-5.2.2 Conditional uses.

Any use conditionally permitted by the underlying zoning that is cited at §§ 102A-5.2.1 above or 102A-5.2.3 below shall be amended in accordance with the provisions set forth therein.

§ 102A-5.2.3 Prohibited uses.

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:

Landfills;

Facilities for the permanent storage or disposal of hazardous wastes, industrial or municipal sludge or radioactive materials, including solid waste landfills;

(3)

Collection and transfer facilities for hazardous wastes, solid wastes that contain hazardous materials and radioactive materials; and

(4)

Industrial treatment facility lagoons.

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[1]), 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.

Editor's Note: Appendix B and Appendix C are included as attachments to this chapter.

All Highlands Areas. Outdoor off-premises and/or off-site (commercial) advertising is prohibited in all zoning districts per Bethlehem Township Ordinance No. 255-51-2008, adopted November 6, 2008, and found in § 120-30F of the Bethlehem Township Land Use Code.

§ 102A-5.3 DENSITY AND INTENSITY OF DEVELOPMENT.

The provisions of this section are intended to ensure that development in the Highlands 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: a) does not exceed the capacity of the land, resources and infrastructure available to support it; and b) is designed to minimize land disturbance and protect natural resources.

§ 102A-5.3.1 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).

§ 102A-5.3.2 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 part, denoted as Exhibit 10[1] and herewith adopted and incorporated as titled: "Net Water Availability by HUC14 Subwatershed, Public Community Water Systems."

Editor's Note: Exhibit 10 is included in Appendix G, Exhibits, which appendix is included as an attachment to this chapter.

§ 102A-5.3.3 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 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 § 102A-3.2, expressly including changes in use and modifications to existing uses. Specific requirements pertinent to new development reliant upon groundwater supplies may be found at § 102A-6.7. 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:

Residential uses (all types): one dwelling unit.

Office and commercial uses: 2,400 square feet of floor area.

Industrial (including warehousing/distribution) uses: 18,182 square feet of floor area (excluding process wastewater flow).

§ 102A-5.3.4 Development served by septic systems.

Preservation Area. Development proposals involving new or increased demand for septic system capacity in the Preservation Area 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. For septic systems proposed in service to a cluster development, the provisions of Article VIII shall also apply. Nothing herein shall be deemed to apply to the replacement or repair of an existing septic system. The Bethlehem Township Code § 102-39.3A through C specifically states that Echo units constructed as accessory units on single-family lots shall not require a new septic system. Similarly, pursuant to § 102-35I(2)(j), accessory apartments constructed to meet the Townships affordable housing obligation are required to include adequate potable water supply and sewage disposal. This section does not specify a new septic system is required for the apartment.

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 A(1)(a) through (d), below. Forest under this subsection shall be identified and calculated as provided at Appendix A[1] (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[2]).

(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 nonforest 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,[3] 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.

[3]

Editor's Note: Appendix A is included as an attachment to this chapter.

(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:

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 three-percent 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.

Editor's Note: Appendix A is included as an attachment to this chapter.

[2]

Editor's Note: Appendix F is included as an attachment to this chapter.

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.

Planning Area. Development proposals involving new or increased demand for septic system capacity in the Planning Area shall be regulated in accordance with this subsection. These provisions shall override any density, intensity, bulk, or other standard of the underlying Zoning Ordinance that would otherwise permit a septic system density or use of septic system yield in excess of that as provided herein. These provisions shall apply equally in the case of any agricultural or horticultural development application proposing three or more residential dwelling units (including accessory dwelling units) served by individual on-site septic system(s). Nothing herein shall be deemed to apply to the replacement or repair of an existing septic system, however.

Septic system density allowances.

(a)

Septic system density (gross acres per septic system) shall not exceed the following allowances for each Highlands zone and sub-zone:

Existing Community Zone (and sub-zones): 10 acres/septic system.

[2]

Conservation Zone (and sub-zones): 11 acres/septic system.

[3]

Protection Zone (and sub-zones): 28 acres/septic system.

(b)

These allowances indicate the minimum acreage required per septic system, where that system is designed for a one-family household generating a maximum flow of 300 gallons of wastewater per day. The resulting acreage shall be applied as the minimum average acreage necessary to support every 300 gallons of daily wastewater flow generated by any proposed use where the unit/square footage figures below shall be applied as three-hundred-gallon-per-day equivalents.