This ordinance shall be known as "The Land Use Ordinance of
the Town of Westfield".
It is the intent and purpose of this ordinance:
A.
To encourage municipal action to guide the appropriate use or development
of all lands in this State, 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 the Town of Westfield 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 the 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 arrangement;
J.
To promote the conservation of historic sites and districts, open
space, energy resources and valuable natural resources in the Town
of Westfield and to prevent urban sprawl and degradation of the environment
through improper use of land;
K.
To encourage planned residential developments which incorporate the
best features of design and relate the type, design and layout of
residential and recreational development to 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; and
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 complement
municipal recycling programs.
The provisions and requirements of this ordinance shall be held
paramount to any corresponding or similar, but less restrictive provisions
and requirements of any existing law, ordinance rule, regulation,
deed, restriction or private covenant affecting lands and premises
in the Town of Westfield; provided, the Town of Westfield as an entity
shall be exempt from all provisions of this ordinance unless otherwise
provided herein or as may be required by state law.
In the event that any section, part, or provision of this ordinance
shall be held to be unconstitutional or invalid by any court, such
holding shall not affect the validity of this ordinance as whole,
or any part thereof other than the part so held unconstitutional or
invalid.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict or inconsistent
with any part of the terms of this ordinance are hereby repealed to
the extent that they are in such conflict or inconsistent, including
the current Land Use Ordinance and appendices thereto.
This ordinance shall take effect after passage and publication,
as soon as, and in the manner permitted by law.
