Except as otherwise provided, the following provisions of this
article shall apply.
No building permit or zoning approval shall be granted for a
building, structure or use if the design or construction of said building
or structure involves exceptional risks of traffic congestion or public
safety. If the Construction Official or Zoning Officer, as applicable,
finds either of the above to be the case, he/she shall refuse to issue
a permit and refer the application to the Board.
Outdoor storage containers, sometimes called PODS (portable
on demand storage) are portable and temporary storage units intended
to be utilized upon the exterior of residential premises for the purpose
of storing items of personal and household property either as general
temporary storage or to facilitate the moving of persons from household
unit to another household unit, with the understanding that such items,
after a period of time (as defined herein) for loading, will be removed
from the site.
A. Time limit. Except in the case of a state of emergency declared by federal, state or municipal authorities, the outdoor storage container shall not be located on residential premises for a total of more than 90 days. If more than one outdoor storage container is utilized, the ninety-day period shall commence at the time the first outdoor storage container is physically situated on the real estate. A permit for each such outdoor storage container under this subsection shall be obtained from the Building Department before placement. The fee for said permit for each storage container per 30 days, or portion thereof, is set forth in §
120-6.2, Schedule of fees.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
B. Placement. Outdoor storage containers may be placed only on driveways,
rear yards, or side yards behind the front house line. The final placement
of the container(s) is subject to the approval of the Zoning Officer.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
C. Miscellaneous additional requirements. The following requirements
shall be met by the owner or occupier of the residential premises
with respect to outdoor storage containers:
(1)
The outdoor storage container situated on residential property
shall only be used for the storage of personal property, furniture
and household items normally located on or in a residential dwelling
or premises.
(2)
All outdoor storage containers shall not have a height in excess
of seven feet nor a length of more than 10 feet nor a width of more
than eight feet.
(3)
All access doors shall be secured by locks.
D. Violations and penalties. Any person who violates any provision of
this section shall, upon conviction thereof in the Municipal Court,
be punished by a fine not exceeding $1,000. A separate offense may
be deemed committed for each day during or on which a violation occurs
or continues.
The keeping of fowl, chickens, ducks, pigeons, horses, ponies,
or other domestic equine animals, pigs, goats, sheep or cattle or
other kinds of livestock or exotic animals is prohibited in all zones.
Flag lots, as defined in this chapter, are prohibited in all
zones.
In all districts where front yards are required on corner lots,
all walls, fences, ornamental structures, hedges, shrubbery or other
plantings, other fixtures and structures, and ground elevation located
within a triangular area having two thirty-foot sides measured along
the front lot line and side street line from the intersection point
of such lines shall be limited in height so as to prevent the impairment
of vision at such street intersection. Such height shall not be in
excess of three feet above the established curb elevation of the nearest
curb, except that retaining walls shall be permitted where changes
in street grade, width, or alignment have made such structures necessary.
In the case of trees within this triangular area, all branches shall
be trimmed away to a height of nine feet above the curb level where
vision is measurably impaired or obstructed.
The following regulations apply to retaining walls:
A. "Retaining wall" shall mean a structure that is constructed between
lands of different elevations to stabilize the surfaces, prevent erosion,
and/or protect structures.
B. Retaining walls shall be permitted in front, side and rear yards.
C. Building permits shall be required for new or substantial replacement
of retaining walls over three feet high conforming with the height
limits for same as set forth in this section. Permit applications
for retaining walls in excess of four feet shall require structural
calculations.
[Amended 9-12-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-14]
D. Retaining walls shall not exceed four feet in height in the front
yard or six feet in height in the side and rear yards. In the event
a guard rail or other restraining device is provided at the top of
the wall, the wall height shall be measured to the top of said restraining
device. For purposes of administering this subsection, terraced retaining
walls involving more than one section of wall above or below each
other shall be construed as one wall unless the base of the upper
wall is separated from the face of the lower wall by at least four
feet, measured horizontally.
E. In the event a retaining wall is permitted by variance to exceed
four feet in height in the front yard or six feet in height in the
side and rear yards, the approving authority granting the variance
may require an appropriate guard rail or other restraining device
in order to protect persons from falling off the edge of the wall.
F. Retaining walls which may present a danger or hazard to the public
welfare, including but not limited to retaining walls which are electrified
or contain broken glass, razor wire or barbed wire, or other sharp
edges, are prohibited.
G. Approval by the Borough Engineer shall be required for the erection,
relocation, alteration or other construction involving any retaining
wall located within a street right-of-way, public drainage or sewer
easement or other public land or easement under the control or jurisdiction
of the Borough.
Essential services shall be exempt from the provisions of this
Part 3.
Any outdoor aboveground storage tank in any zone district within
the Borough of Kenilworth shall be enclosed by a solid wall no higher
than eight feet in height and constructed of noncombustible materials.
Such tanks shall meet all maximum setbacks applicable for mechanical
devices, such as generators, air-conditioning units and compressors,
and accessory structures.
[Added 5-22-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-03]
A. Prior to a building permit being issued for any new building, building
addition, or building alteration that involves construction of a new
foundation for any use, the owner shall demonstrate, to the satisfaction
of the Borough Engineer, that any subsurface floor is at an elevation
of a minimum of two feet above the seasonal high water table (SHWT)
and that no footing drain or under-drain system shall be less than
two feet above the SHWT. For the purpose of this section, "subsurface"
shall be defined as any part of a building that is below existing
grade.
B. The SHWT elevation shall be certified by a licensed professional
engineer as described in N.J.A.C. 7:9A-5.8. Profile pits are required
at the location of the proposed foundation. One profile pit per 5,000
square feet of building footprint area is required.
C. Profile pits shall be provided as described in N.J.A.C. 7:9A-5.8(e),
as follows:
(1)
Profile pits shall be excavated, if possible, to a minimum depth
of 10 feet below the existing ground surface or to solid bedrock,
where encountered. If the profile pit becomes unstable due to lack
of soil cohesion or the presence of groundwater, or both, the pit
may be terminated at a depth less than 10 feet, and soil evaluation
below the depth of the pit may be carried out by means of three or
more soil borings, performed as prescribed in N.J.A.C. 7:9-5.8(f).
The depth of the soil evaluation shall never be less than two feet
below the proposed lowest subsurface floor elevation.
(2)
It is recommended that persons performing soil evaluation not
enter into portions of a soil profile pit which have been excavated
to depths greater than five feet below the surrounding ground surface.
It is the responsibility of persons performing or witnessing soil
evaluation to comply with all applicable federal, state and local
laws and regulations governing occupational safety.
(3)
In soil profile pits and borings, the following characteristics
of each recognizable soil horizon or substratum (not including rock
substrata) shall be determined:
(a)
Depth and thickness of horizon;
(b)
Soil color, using the Munsell system of classification, which
includes an alphanumeric symbol together with a descriptive color
name;
(c)
Estimated soil textural class, using the USDA system of classification;
(d)
Estimated volume percentage of coarse fragment, if present;
(e)
Abundance, size and contrast of mottles, if present;
(f)
Soil structural class (soil profile pits only); and
(4)
Terminology for soil logs shall be as described in N.J.A.C.
7:9A-5.3. Alternate methods may be used as approved by the Borough
Engineer.
D. Profile pits and soil borings are required to be witnessed by the
Borough. A notice of not less than 48 hours shall be provided. A witness
fee of $300 per profile pit or soil boring is required.
E. The elevation of the SHWT shall be determined as described in N.J.A.C.
7:9A-5.8 as follows:
(1)
Where mottling is observed, at any season of the year, the SHWT
shall be taken as the highest level at which mottling is observed,
except when the water table is observed at a level higher than the
level of the mottling.
(2)
Where mottling is not observed, the SHWT shall be determined
based upon either of the following methods:
(a)
During the months of January through April, inclusive, water
levels may be measured directly within soil profile pits or borings.
Whenever the Borough determines that there has been a significant
departure from normal climatic conditions, the Borough may, with due
notice to the administrative authority, lengthen or shorten the period
allowed for direct measurement during any given year. In low-lying
coastal areas where groundwater levels fluctuate with the tides, measurements
shall be taken at the time of highest groundwater elevation in response
to tidal fluctuation; or
(b)
During other times of the year, the depth to the SHWT may be
obtained from the Soil Conservation Service County Soil Survey Report,
provided that the soil series present at the site is identified based
upon comparison of soil profile morphology observed within a soil
profile pit, and the soil profile description provided for the soil
series in question within the County Soil Survey Report. In cases
where the SHWT is shown as a range of elevations in the County Soil
Survey Report, the highest elevation of the range shall be used as
the seasonal high water table. The highest elevation determined by
this method shall be decreased by a factor of 1.5. For example, a
SHWT depth of six feet shall be reduced to four feet.
(3)
When the determination of the SHWT must be made in disturbed
ground recognized as prescribed in N.J.A.C. 7:9A-5.10, direct observation
during the months of January through April, inclusive, is the only
method which shall be permitted.
[Added 5-22-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-03]
A. It shall be the responsibility of the contractor working at a construction/renovation
site or the owner of a construction/renovation site to secure the
construction/renovation site with a lockable fence to protect the
health and safety of the public. The Borough Engineer or the Construction
Official, in the reasonable exercise of their discretion, shall determine
the type of fence as to material, height, type, fence-locking mechanism,
and the type of machinery that requires fencing and the size of the
hole, cavity or mound that requires fencing so as to protect the health
and safety of the public. The fence shall be installed prior to the
commencement of work and shall remain and be maintained on the construction/renovation
site until there is no longer a hole, cavity or mound, until there
is no machinery or until a structure is closed, whichever is later.
For subdivisions and new single-family construction, it shall be the
responsibility of the contractor/owner to install a fence around the
entire perimeter of the construction area. Fencing is to remain closed/locked/secured
when no personnel are at the construction site or no construction
activities are taking place.
B. Fences shall be constructed and erected according to trade standards
and of adequate strength to resist wind pressures, and for purposes
of preventing unauthorized entry. Fences shall not be constructed
of barbed wire, razor ribbon, metal spikes, electrified materials
or other dangerous materials. Affixed to the fence shall be two signs.
The first sign shall read, "NO TRESPASSING," and the second sign shall
read "DANGER."
C. The construction/renovation site must be closed, and the fence locked,
as set forth in this section, at the end of each workday and whenever
the construction/renovation site is not attended to by either the
owner or contractor.
D. Fences shall not block or prohibit access to fire hydrants or Fire
Department suppression system/standpipe system connections.
E. Fences erected on construction/renovation sites pursuant to this §
120-22.17 shall be considered temporary fences; and nothing within this §
120-22.17 shall be construed to replace, amend or supersede the provisions of the Borough's Land Use Code at Chapter
120, §
120-22.10, (Vision clearance at intersections).