[Added 11-16-2016 by Ord.
No. 130]
The purposes of this district are to:
A.
Allow for new commercial and office development while also accommodating
the preservation of farm land, open space, and rural character;
B.
Provide a gradation of land use intensity and density from the rural
nature of the Township to the more suburbanized Town Center zoning
area of the Township within the Route 228 Corridor;
C.
Create a desirable "front door" gateway for the Township;
D.
Accommodate land uses that primarily provide for services and amenities
utilized by the local community;
E.
Introduce commercial and other uses into an area of the Township
where these uses were previously not permitted. The introduction of
these uses shall be sensitive to the existing land use context and
landscape. The uses and development of land along this corridor overlay
is intended to be of lesser density than that permitted in the existing
C-2 Highway Commercial or C-3 Regional Commerce Zoning Districts.
The Route 228 Corridor Overlay applies to all properties within
the corridor, generally abutting the existing and/or proposed realigned
Route 228 right-of-way, as indicated on the revised Middlesex Township
Official Zoning Map, and the Route 228 Corridor Overlay District Sheet.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said map and sheet are on file in the Township
offices.
The requirements of the Route 228 Corridor Overlay District
are complementary and in addition to any other applicable requirements
of the existing base zoning districts and any other applicable zoning
regulations. Where there is a conflict between the Route 228 Corridor
Overlay District and any other applicable zoning requirement of the
existing base zoning districts, the Route 228 Corridor Overlay District
shall supersede the conflicting requirement to the extent of the conflicting
requirement only, except that the Route 228 Corridor Overlay District
shall completely preempt any base zoning district regulations with
respect to billboards.
[Amended 8-21-2019 by Ord. No. 134; 12-20-2023 by Ord. No. 138]
In addition to any applicable conditional use requirements of
this article, the following additional requirements shall be met for
the following conditional uses in the Route 228 Corridor Overlay District:
A.
All conditional uses must meet the following requirements:
(1)
The maximum building footprint shall be 40,000 square feet,
except as otherwise may be specifically provided for by the requirements
of this Overlay District.
(2)
The development of any proposed conditional use within 1,000
feet of the western Township boundary on the southern side of Route
228 shall construct a Township gateway sign. The sign shall meet the
following requirements:
(3)
Grocery store, retail, and office uses.
(a)
In addition to any other required setback or buffering, grocery
store, retail, and office uses may exceed the maximum building footprint
of 40,000 square feet up to a maximum building footprint of up to
80,000 square feet, provided that the building shall be set back a
minimum of 100 feet from any boundary line of any adjacent property
within the following zoning districts: R-1, R-2, PRD, AG-A, and R-AG,
whether the abutting property is within or outside of the Overlay
District.
(b)
Grocery store, retail and office uses proposed as part of a
multi-parcel, master-planned development that includes two or more
buildings and two or more land uses, may have a building footprint
larger than 80,000 square feet, provided that the building shall be
set back at least 200 feet from any boundary line of any adjacent
property within the following zoning districts: R-1, R-2, PRD, AG-A,
and R-AG, whether the abutting property is within or outside of the
Overlay District.
A.
Residential uses.
(1)
Setbacks, lot coverage, and other area and bulk regulations
for residential uses in a planned residential development shall be
those as required by the applicable base zoning district.
(2)
Residential uses are permitted only where nonresidential development
is existing or proposed between the residential development and the
Route 228 right-of-way; residential uses may not be located immediately
adjacent to Route 228. Alternatively, all residential uses must be
set back from the Route 228 right-of-way by 300 feet.
[Amended 8-21-2019 by Ord. No. 134]
(3)
Setbacks, lot coverage, area and bulk regulations and other
requirements for townhouses in this zoning district shall be as follows:
[Added 8-21-2019 by Ord.
No. 134]
(4)
No accessory structures are permitted.
[Added 8-21-2019 by Ord.
No. 134]
(5)
Sidewalks. Sidewalks shall be provided within the front yard
setback, and side yard setback on corner lots, on both sides of public
or private roads. The minimum width of all sidewalks shall be four
(4) feet. When practical, all new sidewalks shall directly connect
to existing sidewalks situated on adjoining lots.
[Added 8-21-2019 by Ord.
No. 134]
B.
Nonresidential uses.
(2)
Setbacks.
(a)
Front yard setback: setback from Route 228 right-of-way: minimum
of 75 feet from the edge of the right-of-way or 100 feet from the
center line of Route 228, whichever is greater. However, the front
yard setback may be reduced to no less than 50 feet from the edge
of the right-of-way, provided that the following buffering is provided
between the Route 228 right-of-way and any parking lot, at a minimum:
(b)
Side yard setback: 20 feet.
(c)
Rear yard setback: 50 feet.
(4)
Landscaping shall be required pursuant to the requirements of § 175-140. In addition to any other requirements of this section, the following landscape buffers shall apply:
(a)
Bufferyard A shall be provided along the side and rear perimeter
of any land development where such land development abuts property
that is within the AG-A Rural Residential, R-2 Residential, or R-AG
Residential Agricultural PRD and R-1 Suburban Residential Zoning Districts.
(b)
Bufferyard B shall be provided where any proposed residential
use abuts an existing or proposed nonresidential use.
(c)
Bufferyard C shall be provided along the side and rear perimeter
of any land development where such land development abuts property
that is within the Town Center or C-2 Highway Commercial Zoning Districts.
(5)
Buildings.
(a)
Front building facade materials shall be brick, stone, or similar
material from the ground level to the top of the building structure.
(b)
The ground-level front facade and the facade of any building
facing a public, private or internal street shall have windows and/or
doors covering at least 50% of the horizontal length of the facade,
between the height of three feet and eight feet above the walkway
or grade, allowing views into and out of the interior. Product display
windows may be used to meet the transparency requirement.
[1]
The percentage of required window and door openings, above,
allowing interior views, may be reduced by using false or opaque window
features, provided that they match the form of the required window
and door openings and comprise no more than half of the required 50%
coverage requirement and that the openings appear as an integral part
of the facade.
[2]
No more than two sides of any one building shall be subject
to the transparency requirements.
(c)
All buildings shall provide prominent and highly visible street-level
doorway entrances along the front or side of the building which faces
a public street.
(d)
No mechanical or electrical equipment related to a building
or structure shall be visible from a public right-of-way. Wherever
feasible, the use of exterior mechanical systems should be minimized.
(e)
Buildings included in proposed land development within the Overlay
District shall have a common architectural theme that includes colors,
materials, and architectural design that are common among buildings
within the Overlay District.
A.
Number of spaced required: See Article XIII.
(1)
To the greatest extent possible, off-street parking areas shall
be designed to reduce negative visual effects of extensive paved areas
and contain defined landscaped pedestrian walkways. Parking areas
shall be constructed within centralized locations accessible to multiple
land uses. Parking areas on multiple lots shall be interconnected
to the greatest extent possible to reduce traffic congestion and the
number of curb cuts along public streets. If said layout can be demonstrated
not to be physically feasible, then said parking shall be located
to the rear or side of the lot's structures.
(2)
No single parking lot area shall exceed 40% of the overall lot.
(3)
All parking areas shall be landscaped as per Township standards.
(4)
One landscape island measuring at a minimum of 160 square feet
in area shall be constructed for every 10 parking spaces. The island
shall contain a minimum of one deciduous tree that has a minimum caliper
size of three inches and ground cover planting covering 50% of the
island's area.
(5)
Parking lots shall be located a minimum of 10 feet from any
lot line of an adjacent property or adjacent land development. This
requirement shall not apply where multiple parking lots and properties
are included within one land development.
(6)
All service and loading areas shall be located in the rear yard
of a lot. The service and loading area of all nonresidential developments
shall be screened by an eight-foot-high hedge, earth berm, masonry
wall or fence with a minimum opacity of 80%.
A.
Lighting along streets and within parking lots shall not exceed 24
feet in height. Pedestrian lighting in public areas and along sidewalks
shall not exceed 16 feet in height.
B.
All parking lot light fixtures shall be sharp cutoff fixtures such
that the source of illumination is not visible.
C.
All light fixtures installed within 50 feet of an adjacent land development
or property not within the same land development where the fixture
is located must be shielded to direct the illumination from the fixture
away from the adjacent land development or property.
See Article XIV. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any previous ordinance, billboards are not permitted in the Route 228 Corridor Overlay District, including any properties within the Overlay District that are also within the C-2 base zoning district.
See § 171-141.
See § 175-149.
A.
Vehicular access.
(1)
Access to Route 228: Access shall be designed to minimize the
number of points of access to arterial and collector streets. Any
site which contains two or more buildings shall be designed to encourage
the use of common driveways to control access to Route 228.
(2)
All land developments shall have no more than one point of access
for every 500 feet of frontage on Route 228.
(3)
Ingress, egress and internal traffic circulation on the site
shall be designed to minimize congestion, to ensure safety and to
provide adequate accessibility to all buildings for firefighting equipment
and emergency vehicles.
C.
Connectivity.
[Amended 9-21-2022 by Ord. No. 137]
(1)
All land developments in which public roads are proposed for
dedication shall provide for vehicular and pedestrian access between
the proposed development and any adjacent existing development. Where
such a proposed land development is adjacent to undeveloped land,
the proposed land development shall accommodate future pedestrian
and vehicular connections to such adjacent undeveloped land by accommodating
such access within the overall sight layout and reservation of recorded
construction and access easements to facilitate construction of the
future connection.
See § 175-140.
