The approving authority may require the installation of applicable
improvements and may rely on the specific design standards listed
in Part 5, Subdivision of Land. These improvements shall be installed
in accordance with the standards, specifications and engineering inspection
requirements of that Part 5. In addition to the above-cited required
improvement and design standards, the following additional standards
shall apply to site plans. For good and sufficient reasons, the approving
authority may vary these design details as they may apply to a specific
site plan application.
Adequate off-street parking space, open air or indoor, shall
be provided with all new construction, the creation of new uses or
the extension or alteration of existing uses.
A.
Parking area design standards. All parking areas shall be designed
in accordance with the following standards:
(1)
The minimum parking stall dimension shall be nine feet in width and
18 feet in length.
(2)
Access driveways to parking areas shall not be less than 10 feet in width for one-way traffic and not less than 20 feet in width for two-way traffic. The location of entrances and exits shall be in accordance with the access provisions of § 67-87. Access driveways shall be separated from parking areas by a buffer strip for a distance of 50 feet from its intersection with a public road or street. Parking spaces shall not be located along access roads except if the road is designed to be wide enough to prevent vehicles from backing into the travel lane.
(3)
Off-street parking areas providing more than two required spaces
shall be designed so that no vehicle would have occasion to back into
any public street.
(4)
Aisles and driveways within parking areas shall have the following
minimum widths:
(a)
For parallel parking: 12 feet.
(b)
For angle parking of thirty degrees (30°) or less: 12 feet.
(c)
For angle parking of forty-five degrees (45°) or less but
greater than thirty degrees (30°): 13 feet.
(d)
For angle parking of sixty degrees (60°) or less but greater
than forty-five degrees (45°): 18 feet.
(e)
For angle parking of ninety degrees (90°) or less but greater
than sixty degrees (60°): 25 feet.
(5)
Parking spaces shall be provided in accordance with the minimum requirements
specified in the off-street parking schedule (Schedule A). When the
computation to determine the number of spaces results in a requirement
of a fractional space, any fraction up to and including 1/2 shall
be disregarded, and fractions exceeding 1/2 shall require one space.
For any other uses or combination of uses which do not fit one of
the categories listed in the schedule, the approving authority should
determine the required number of spaces. The specified standards are
to be the basis of such a determination.
(6)
In parking areas for major commercial development, a one-way internal
circulation system is encouraged to facilitate traffic movement and
to reduce the number of conflict points.
(7)
Parking stalls, driveways and isles shall be clearly marked and delineated.
The Planning Board shall require that fire lanes be maintained for
fire-fighting or other emergency purposes, and these areas shall be
properly designated.
[Amended 3-9-87 by Ord. No. 379]
(8)
All off-street parking areas shall be paved according to borough
specifications listed in the subdivision design section[1] except if the intensity and frequency of use is limited,
in which case the Planning Board may permit a gravel or stone surface.
(9)
Parking areas shall not be located in the required side or rear yards
or closer than 10 feet to the street's proposed right-of-way line
in the front yard. This requirement shall be maintained to permit
adequate buffering of the parking area.
(10)
All parking areas shall be suitably landscaped and buffered from adjacent land uses. At least 5% of the parking area shall be landscaped (along walkways, center islands and at the end of bays) to break up the amount of impervious surfaces. This landscaping requirement shall be in addition to the buffering provisions of § 67-89. All double-loaded parking bays with more than 20 total parking spaces shall provide a park strip at least 10 feet in width between aisles. The park strip shall be suitably landscaped and shall include a four-foot sidewalk unless exclusive walkways are provided elsewhere.
(11)
Curbing and guttering shall be required for all paved parking
areas to ensure adequate drainage, to define the extent of the parking
area and to separate parking bays from park strips or access roads.
B.
Existing off-street parking areas shall not be reduced or encroached
upon in any way which would make them deficient for the uses served.
C.
The collective provision of off-street parking by two or more buildings
or uses located on adjacent lots is permitted, provided that the total
of such facilities shall not be less than the sum required for involved
buildings or uses computed separately, unless it can be demonstrated
to the satisfaction of the approving authority that the periods of
need are entirely or partially mutually exclusive.
D.
All off-street parking is to be provided on the lot or contiguous
to the lot and adjacent to the specified principal use. For nonresidential
uses in commercial districts, required parking may be located within
150 feet of such use, said distance to be measured from the nearest
point of the parking facility to the nearest point of the building
served.
E.
Schedule A, Off-Street Parking Requirements shall be as follows:
|
Type of Use
|
Minimum Parking Spaces
|
|---|---|
|
Residential units
[Amended 3-9-87 by Ord. No. 379] | |
|
Single-family detached, 2-family units, single-family
attached or townhouses
|
2 per unit, plus 1 per additional 2 bedrooms beyond the first
2 bedrooms in the unit
|
|
Garden apartments
[Amended 3-9-87 by Ord. No. 379] |
1.5 per unit, except if 2 or more bedrooms exceed 40% of unit
total, then 2 per unit, provided in off-street bays
|
|
Commercial establishments
| |
|
Retail stores and service businesses
|
1 per 200 square feet of gross leasable area
|
|
Service stations
|
2.5 for each service bay
|
|
Theaters
|
1 for each 4 seats
|
|
Shopping centers
|
5.5 per 1,000 square feet of gross leasable area
|
|
Banks
|
6 per teller window
|
|
Motels, hotels and transient guest homes
|
1 per room
|
|
Restaurants
|
1 per 2 seats devoted to service
|
|
Offices, general and professional
|
1 per 250 square feet of gross floor area
|
|
Research laboratories
|
1 per employee, plus 10%
|
|
Wholesale stores, motor vehicle establishments and furniture
stores
|
Exclusive of storage space, 1 per 400 square feet
|
|
Community facilities
| |
|
Churches and houses of worship
|
1 for each 3 seats
|
|
Assembly halls, auditoriums and community centers
|
1 for each 100 square feet of gross floor area or 1 for each
4 seats, whichever is greater
|
|
Hospitals
|
1.5 per bed
|
|
Nursing homes and institutions for the aged
|
1 for each 3 beds
|
|
Schools
| |
|
Elementary schools and junior high schools
|
1 for each employee, plus 10%
|
|
High schools
|
10 per classroom
|
|
Colleges
|
1 for every 2 students, plus 1 per 4 dormitory beds
|
|
Libraries or museums
|
1 per 500 square feet of gross floor area
|
|
Funeral homes
|
10, plus 1 for each 50 square feet devoted to chapel or slumber
rooms
|
|
Industrial establishments
| |
|
Industrial and manufacturing uses
|
1 per employee, plus 10% or 1 per 750 square feet of gross floor
area, whichever is greater
|
|
Storage warehouses
|
1 per employee, plus 10% or 1 per 750 square feet of gross floor
area, whichever is greater
|
|
Recreation facilities
| |
|
Clubs, golf clubhouses and commercial or noncommercial
uses
|
1 for each 6 persons of rated capacity
|
|
Bowling alleys
|
4 spaces per alley
|
|
Skating rinks
|
1 space for each 120 square feet of skating area
|
Off-street loading space shall be provided with all new construction
or the creation of new uses in accordance with the following standards:
A.
An off-street loading space, as defined in this chapter shall be
required:
(1)
For each 10,000 square feet of gross floor area in a hospital.
(2)
For each 2,500 square feet of gross floor area in a funeral home.
[Dimensions of loading space may be reduced to thirty-three by twelve
(33 x 12) feet.]
(3)
For each 12,000 square feet of gross floor area in a commercial use
or manufacturing establishment.
B.
When the computation to determine the number of required loading
spaces results in a requirement of a fractional space, any fraction
up to and including 1/2 shall be disregarded, and fractions exceeding
1/2 shall require one space.
C.
Existing required loading areas, together with their accessways,
shall not be encroached upon or reduced in any manner or devoted to
any other use. The use's certificate of occupancy shall be declared
invalid in the event of such occurrence.
D.
All off-street loading spaces shall be surfaced with asphaltic or
portland cement concrete. The arrangement of off-street loading space
shall be such that no vehicle shall have occasion to back into any
public street or an internal access road of a parking area.
E.
Off-street loading areas shall be located or screened so that they
cannot be seen from adjacent land uses or from the public street and
shall not encroach on any required yards.
Access shall be designed in accordance with the driveway regulations
in Part 3, as well as with the following additional standards for
all site plans:
A.
Access to a site shall be provided from an improved existing or proposed
public street at defined locations. For developments on parcels of
land with frontage of less than 150 feet, no more than two one-way
driveways or one two-way driveway shall be permitted. The number of
driveways provided from a site directly to a road for a parcel of
150 feet or more shall not exceed two two-way driveways or one two-way
driveway and two one-way driveways.
B.
All entrance and exit driveways to a road shall be located to afford
maximum safety to traffic on the road. Where a site occupies a corner
of two intersecting roads, no driveway entrance or exit may be located
within 50 feet of the tangent of the existing or proposed curb radius
of that site if the Board determines that such placement would constitute
a safety hazard.
C.
Whenever a development is proposed at the intersection of an arterial
or major collector and a road of lesser importance, access to the
development shall be gained from the county or borough road of lower
functional classification.
D.
The width of a driveway at the right-of-way line shall be a minimum
of 20 feet and a maximum of 40 feet for two-way operation and a minimum
of 12 feet and a maximum of 20 feet for one-way operation.
E.
No part of any driveway shall be located within a minimum of 10 feet
of a side property line. However, the Planning Board may permit a
driveway serving two or more adjacent sites to be located on or within
10 feet of a site property line between the adjacent site. The use
of marginal access roads or joint driveways may be required by the
Planning Board in an area of commercial development to collect the
commercial traffic.
F.
Where two or more driveways connect a single site to any one road,
a minimum clear distance of 75 feet shall separate the closest edge
of any two such drive-ways for a parcel with less than 150 feet of
frontage, and a minimum of 100 feet shall separate any two driveways
for a parcel of more than 150 feet.
G.
Deceleration lane. Where a driveway serves as an entrance to a land
development providing 50 or more spaces, a deceleration lane shall
be provided for traffic turning right into the driveway from any arterial
or major or minor collector road. The deceleration lane shall be at
least 200 feet long and at least 13 feet in width. A minimum forty-foot
curb radius will be used from the deceleration lane into the driveway.
If a deceleration lane is provided, the driveway angle may be less
than the seventy-five degrees (75°) required in Part 3.
H.
Acceleration lane. Where a driveway serves right-turning traffic
from a parking area providing 200 or more parking spaces and the abutting
road has a peak-hour traffic volume exceeding 1,000 vehicles per hour,
an acceleration lane shall be provided at least 200 feet in length
and at least 13 feet in width. In situations where these criteria
are not met, the Planning Board may require acceleration lanes for
commercial, residential or industrial development upon the recommendation
of the Township Engineer to improve traffic merging or sight conditions.
[Repealed 5-9-06 by Ord. No. 2006-632]
All site plan applications shall include plans for proposed
exterior lighting. These plans shall include the location, type of
light, radius of light and intensity in footcandles. All lighting
shall be designed in accordance with the following design standards:
A.
The style of the light and the light standards shall be consistent
with the architectural style of the principal building. The height
of the lighting shall be in scale with the height of the principal
building and shall not exceed 35 feet.
B.
All lights shall be properly shielded to restrict the maximum apex
of illumination to one hundred fifty degrees (150°) and to prevent
glare or illumination on adjacent land uses.
C.
Lighting shall be located along streets, parking areas and at all
intersections. In addition, all building entrances and exits shall
be lighted, and all sidewalks shall have low or mushroom-type structures.
Freestanding lights shall be located and designed so as not to be
easily damaged by vehicles or to be a roadside safety hazard.
All site plans shall provide sufficient buffering and screening
to minimize any adverse impacts or nuisances of the site or from adjacent
areas and to improve the physical appearance of the site. The use
of buffering, such as adequately spaced deciduous trees, low hedges,
bushes, berms and other landscaping elements, is used to soften the
visual impact of the proposed use and to provide a break between adjacent
uses of the same type or from the road. "Screening" is defined as
a physical or natural barrier that is required to block an objectionable
view or to prevent nuisance characteristics of the proposed use, such
as noise or light, from extending beyond the limits of the property.
Fences, walls, high hedges, mounds and dense tree plantings (normally
evergreens or poplar trees) are examples of effective screening methods.
The following general standards are to be utilized in the design of
all site plans:
A.
Buffering or screening shall be required along the perimeter of all
site plans unless waived by the Planning Board. Buffers shall be created
along and adjacent to property lines of similar or proposed uses and
along the road. Buffers may also be required on the interior of the
site plan to shield parking areas. Whenever a commercial or industrial
land use abuts existing or proposed residential land use, a dense
natural barrier or screen shall be required. Screening may also be
required around garbage collection areas and loading bays and where
interior roads run parallel with roads exterior to the site. Screening
should also be considered along the rear property line to act as a
backdrop for the proposed use.
B.
Windbreaks, composed of appropriate natural screening, should be
considered in the prevailing wind direction to prevent windborne debris
from leaving the site.
C.
Buffer zones shall be maintained in their natural state when wooded.
When natural vegetation is sparse at certain locations, the Planning
Board may require additional plantings.
[Amended 3-9-87 by Ord. No. 379]
D.
Fences or walls are effective screening devices. However, any proposed
fence or wall shall complement the structural type and design of the
principal buildings. The use of fences with high transparency (i.e.,
chain link fence) shall not be considered as an adequate buffer unless
complemented by landscaping. High fences or walls with little, if
any transparency, shall only be considered in areas appropriate for
screening.
E.
The use of landscaping techniques, such as terracing and the creation
of berms or mounds, shall be encouraged as part of the landscaping
plan and to accomplish adequate buffering or screening.
A landscaping plan shall be submitted with each site plan application.
The plan shall identify and locate existing and proposed trees, shrubs,
bushes, plant material and ground cover. The plan shall also indicate
any proposed alterations of the terrain for landscaping purposes.
The following principles shall be followed in the development of a
landscaping plan:
A.
Landscaping shall be designed to accent and complement buildings
and shall be located to assist with interior climate control.
B.
The impact of any proposed landscaping plan shall be considered over
time so that shrubs or trees do not grow and eventually block sight
distances. This concern is particularly important at driveway entrances
and in parking areas.
C.
Factors, such as texture, color, shapes and foliage, shall be considered
in the choice of species. In addition, the susceptibility of the species
to disease and litter or maintenance problems must be considered.
D.
The preservation of existing trees and vegetation is encouraged.
Specimen trees over 15 inches in diameter shall be incorporated in
all landscaping plans. Although the alteration of the existing terrain
is permitted to accomplish appropriate landscaping objectives, the
grade around existing trees may not be varied more than six inches
except if properly designed tree wells are to be considered.
E.
If a submitted plan requires the removal of any existing trees, the
Municipal Shade Tree Commission shall first be consulted and their
input obtained by the approving authority before rendering any decision.
The applicant shall specifically be responsible for notifying the
Shade Tree Commission prior to any preliminary review.
