The following provisions shall apply to the issuance of construction
permits:
A. When required. No activity subject to the New Jersey State Uniform
Construction Code Act shall commence until a construction permit has
been granted by the Town of Westfield Construction Official. Activity
subject to said Act includes the construction, alteration, renovation,
rehabilitation, maintenance, occupancy and use of buildings and structures;
and approval of pre-manufactured systems; all as defined in said Act.
B. Application procedure. Separate construction permit applications
for each building or structure shall be completed and submitted to
the office of the Construction Official. A fee as set forth in the
Town Code for any construction permit shall be paid to the Town of
Westfield prior to the issuance thereof. Applications shall be made
in accordance with the requirements as set forth in N.J.A.C. 5:23
et seq., and shall include properly filled out copies of the following,
which shall be signed by the owner or signed and sealed by an appropriate
licensed professional or tradesman as required by the New Jersey State
Uniform Construction Code Act:
1. The permit application folder and construction permit application
form;
2. The appropriate Sub-Code form(s);
3. Three copies of all construction drawings, sketches, plumbing riser
diagrams, soils reports, specifications, and supporting calculations
and studies;
4. The estimated construction cost form for all building additions and
building alterations;
5. Where Land Use Ordinance review is necessary, three copies of a location
survey which accurately shows all structures, lot lines, easements,
etc. of said property, marked up to show any proposed new construction;
6. Vendor information about equipment and appliances, their maximum
utility consumption, rates, connection sizes, etc.; and
7. Such other special information as the enforcing agency shall require.
C. Review procedure.
1. Mandatory prior approvals. No construction permit shall be issued
unless and until the plans and intended uses therefor have been reviewed
and proof has been received in writing for all mandatory prior approvals
required by the New Jersey State Uniform Construction Code, specifically
including, but not necessarily limited to, the Zoning Officer of the
Town of Westfield, and for all other applicable ordinances of the
Town of Westfield.
2. Permits involving site work. No construction permit which involves
site work ancillary to the permit activity shall be issued unless
and until the grading, storm water drainage, etc. on the site has
been reviewed and approved by the Town Engineer or by the Planning
Board or Board of Adjustment, as applicable, and all conditions precedent
to such approval have been complied with.
3. Modification of utilization. Whenever there is a proposed modification
of utilization of land, buildings or structures as defined in Article
2 of this ordinance, even though permitted in the zone district, zoning
approval shall not be issued until there has been review and approval
of a site plan by the Planning Board or the Board of Adjustment, as
applicable, and all conditions precedent to such approval have been
complied with, unless such review is waived by the Zoning Officer
pursuant to § 8.01A.3 of this ordinance.
4. Change of use. Whenever there is a proposed use of land or buildings
or structures which is not permitted by this ordinance, no zoning
approval shall be granted, nor shall any construction permit be issued
until such use has been approved by the Board of Adjustment pursuant
to § 7.01D of this ordinance, and all conditions precedent
to such approval have been complied with.
5. Completion of required improvements prior to issuance of permits.
In the event subdivision, site plan and/or variance approval is required,
no construction permit shall be issued prior to final approval. Furthermore,
the Board may require, as a condition of any such approval, the withholding
of construction permits pending the satisfactory completion of the
required improvements set forth in § 8.18C and D.
D. Time period for issuance of permit. Construction permits shall be
reviewed within 20 business days of the filing of a complete application.
If the Construction Official fails to complete a review of the permit
application and to notify the applicant of the approval or denial,
as applicable, of the permit within said time period, the applicant
may appeal to the Construction Board of Appeals for a determination
regarding the application. The Construction Board of Appeals shall
approve or deny the permit application within 10 business days of
the submission of a complete application.
The Town of Westfield does not issue any "zoning permits" per
se. Zoning review and approval for all work subject to a construction
permit is documented by a "Zoning Review and Decision Record" form
which is signed by the Zoning Officer and included in the construction
permit application jacket. The occasional activity that may not be
subject to a construction permit or site plan approval, such as but
not limited to parking lots and driveways for single-family detached
or two-family dwellings, antennae, fences, retaining walls, freestanding
walls, patios, other accessory structures not requiring a construction
permit, etc., shall be communicated to the Zoning Officer before the
work is started, and zoning approval will be documented by a letter
signed by the Zoning Officer. The above shall not be construed to
exempt all of the above activities from the requirement to obtain
a construction permit and/or site plan approval in all cases; the
provisions of the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code and this ordinance
shall control in this regard.
[Added 3-24-2020 by G.O. No. 2160]
Upon receipt of any building permit application or development
application pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., the construction
official or the zoning official, as the case may be, shall forward
a copy of such application to the Downtown Westfield Corporation.
The following improvements shall be exempt from the requirement
to obtain a construction permit or zoning approval, unless otherwise
required by the Uniform Construction Code and provided that such improvements
conform with all applicable standards in this ordinance:
A. Fences and freestanding walls conforming with the height limits for
same as set forth in Article 12;
B. Exempt antennas as defined in Article 2; and,
C. Driveways accessory to detached single-family residences, two-family
dwellings and duplexes in the zone districts where such uses and structures
are permitted by this ordinance.
It shall be the duty of the Construction Official and Zoning
Officer to keep records of all applications for construction permits,
zoning approvals and certificates of occupancy, and of all such permits
and certificates issued, together with a notation of all special terms
or conditions imposed thereunder. They shall be responsible for the
filing and safekeeping of all plans and specifications submitted to
them with any application and the same shall form a part of the records
of their offices and shall be available to all officials of the Town
of Westfield. Duplicate copies of any permits or certificates shall
be furnished upon request to any persons who shall have a right thereto
by law upon payment of a fee as set forth in Article 5 of this ordinance.
The erection or alteration of any building or structure prior
to obtaining a construction permit, the installation of any improvement
of land prior to obtaining a zoning approval, the use or occupancy
in whole or in part of any building or structure in which the nature
of the use shall have been changed or wherein there has been a modification
of utilization or upon which an improvement has been made, shall be
a violation of this ordinance, and shall subject the violator(s) to
the penalties herein prescribed.