The short title of this chapter shall be the "Land Use and Development
Ordinance of the Borough of Spotswood."
This chapter is adopted pursuant to the Municipal Land Use Law
(N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.) with the following intent and purpose:
A.
To encourage municipal action to guide the appropriate use or development
of the lands in the Borough of Spotswood, in a manner which will promote
the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare;
B.
To secure safety from fire, flood, panic, and other natural and man-made
disasters;
C.
To provide adequate light, air and open space;
D.
To ensure that the development of individual municipalities does
not conflict with the development and general welfare of neighboring
municipalities, the county and the state as a whole;
E.
To promote the establishment of appropriate population densities
and concentrations that will contribute to the well-being of persons,
neighborhoods, communities and regions and preservation of the environment;
F.
To encourage an appropriate and efficient expenditure of public funds
by the coordination of public development with land use policies;
G.
To provide sufficient space in appropriate locations for a variety
of agricultural, residential, recreational, commercial and industrial
uses and open space, both public and private, according to their respective
environmental requirements in order to meet the needs of all New Jersey
citizens;
H.
To encourage the location and design of transportation routes which
will promote the free flow of traffic while discouraging location
of such facilities and routes which result in congestion or blight;
I.
To promote a desirable visual environment through creative development
techniques and good civic design and arrangements;
J.
To promote the conservation of historic sites and districts, open
space, energy resources and valuable natural resources in New Jersey
and to prevent urban sprawl and degradation of the environment through
improper use of land;
K.
To encourage planned unit developments which incorporate the best
features of design and relate the type, design and layout of residential,
commercial, industrial and recreational development of the particular
site;
L.
To encourage senior citizen community housing construction;
M.
To encourage coordination of the various public and private procedures
and activities shaping land development with a view of lessening the
cost of such development and to the more efficient use of land;
N.
To promote utilization of renewable energy sources;
O.
To promote the maximum practicable recovery and recycling of recyclable
materials from municipal solid waste through the use of planning practices
designed to incorporate the State Recycling Plan goals and to compliment
municipal recycling programs; and
P.
To further the goals and policies of the Master Plan of the Borough
of Spotswood, The County of Middlesex and the State of New Jersey.
This Land Use and Development Ordinance, Chapter 120 of the Code of the Borough of Spotswood, is intended to comprehensively plan, direct, guide and control the development of the Borough of Spotswood by:
A.
Regulating and limiting the uses of land and the uses and the locations
of buildings and structures;
B.
Regulating and restricting the height and bulk of buildings and structures
and determining the area of yards and other open spaces;
C.
Regulating and restricting the density of population;
D.
Dividing the Borough of Spotswood into zoning districts and enumerating
development standards for each district;
E.
Adopting a Zoning Map of the Borough of Spotswood showing the boundaries
and the names of the zoning districts;
F.
Establishing the rules, regulations and standards governing the subdivision
and site development of the lands within the Borough;
G.
Establishing a Planning Board which shall, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-25c(1)
and (2), have nine members and shall exercise, to the same extent
and subject to the same restrictions, all the powers of a board of
adjustment, but the Class I and Class III shall not participate in
any matter involving relief pursuant to Subsection 40:55D-70.d.
H.
Prescribing the penalties for the violation of and the methods for
enforcement of the provisions of this Land Use and Development chapter.
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements
enumerated in the text unless otherwise specified. The term "shall"
indicates a mandatory requirement.
B.
Where this chapter imposes a greater restriction than is imposed
and required by other provisions of law or by other rules, regulations
or resolutions, the provisions of this chapter shall control unless
they are preempted by such other provisions, in which case the provisions
of this chapter shall nevertheless remain a viable and valid expression
of the Borough of Spotswood's interests and concerns regarding the
applicable subject matter.
C.
Where other laws, rules, regulations or resolutions require greater
restrictions than are imposed by this chapter, the provisions of such
other laws, rules, regulations or restrictions shall control.
A.
Zoning district boundary lines are intended to follow street centerlines,
the centerline of railroad rights-of-way, the centerline of streams
and lot lines as they exist on lots of record at the time of enactment
of this chapter unless otherwise indicated by dimensions on the Zoning
Map.
B.
Any dimensions shown on the Zoning Map are in feet and are measured
horizontally and, when measured from a street, are measured from the
street right-of-way line even if the centerline of that street is
used for the location of the zoning district line.
C.
The exact location of any disputed zoning district boundary line
shall be determined by the Planning Board pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-25c(1).
D.
The zoning standards, controls and designations apply to every structure,
lot and use within each zoning district, and the zoning district boundary
lines extend vertically in both directions from ground level.
A.
No building or any other structure shall be erected, enlarged, altered,
added to, reduced, moved or changed in use unless in conformity with
the applicable bulk and use requirements of this chapter. Should any
nonconforming use desire to expand or intensify in any way, relief
should be sought pursuant to 40:55D-70d. Should any building or structure
not in conformance with the applicable bulk requirements of this chapter
desire to be erected, enlarged, altered, added to, reduced, moved
or changed, bulk relief shall be required pursuant to 40:55D-70c.
B.
All applicable requirements of this chapter shall be met at the time
a building or any other structure is first erected, enlarged, altered,
added to, reduced, moved or changed in use.
C.
All applicable requirements of this chapter shall apply to the entire
structure, whether or not the entire structure was involved in the
erection, enlargement, alteration, addition, reduction, moving or
change in use.
D.
No structure or land area in the Borough of Spotswood shall be used
for any purpose or in any manner other than as specified in this chapter
and/or in accordance with a site plan or subdivision plat as specifically
approved by the (combined) Planning Board, including any conditions
of approval which the Board may require.
A.
The Borough of Spotswood and all municipal divisions, departments
and agencies, including the Department of Public Works or Engineering,
Spotswood Housing or Parking Authorities, Division of Libraries, Division
of Public Safety, Spotswood Board of Education, and/or any other entity
of the Borough or of the County of Middlesex or of the State of New
Jersey or the federal government of the United States shall retain
the presumption of acting in the public interest in all matters of
development, and shall therefore be exempt from all zoning, site plan
and subdivision requirements of this chapter. This exemption shall
not apply to public utility providers or telecommunications operators
which may or may not be acting under municipal franchise license or
similar authority.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. § 40:55D-31, the governing body
of the Borough of Spotswood or any other public agency having jurisdiction,
before taking action necessitating the expenditure of public funds,
shall refer the details incidental to the location, character or extent
of a specific project to the Planning Board for review and recommendation
in conjunction with the Master Plan. The Governing Body shall not
act thereon without such recommendation or until 45 days have elapsed
after such reference without receiving such recommendation.
If the provisions of any section, subsection, paragraph, subdivision,
or clause of this chapter shall be judged invalid by a court of competent
jurisdiction, such order of judgment shall not affect or invalidate
the remainder of any section, subsection, paragraph, subdivision,
or clause of this chapter.
