This Chapter shall be known as the "Township of Branchburg Land
Development Ordinance."
It is the purpose of the Township in adopting this Land Development
Chapter to exercise to the fullest the powers granted to the Township
by the State of New Jersey to manage land use through zoning, subdivision
and site plan control, planned unit development and through the police
powers generally. It is the further purpose of the Township in adopting
this Chapter to organize and codify all such powers of land use management
into one comprehensive and cohesive system which will facilitate administration
and minimize procedural difficulties and technical conflicts inherent
in separate ordinances, while providing maximum protection of the
public health, safety, morals and general welfare in accordance with
the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-2 et seq. through the full exercise
of the land use management powers available to the Township.
If any section, subsection or paragraph of this Chapter shall
be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid or inoperative, in whole
or in part, by a court of competent jurisdiction, such section, subsection
or paragraph shall, to the extent that it is not unconstitutional,
invalid or inoperative, remain in full force and effect, and no such
determination shall be deemed to invalidate the remaining sections,
subsections or paragraphs of this Chapter.
[Ord. No. 2003-939 § 1]
In the construction of this chapter, the present tense shall
include the future, the singular number shall include the plural,
and the plural the singular. The word "shall" is always mandatory.
The word "may" is permissive. The words "zone" and "district" are
synonymous. The word "used" shall include the words "arranged," "designed,"
or "intended to be used." The term "he" includes "she". Unless otherwise
defined, words or terms in this Chapter shall be as defined in the
Municipal Land Use Law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.), the Substantive
Rules of COAH (N.J.A.C. 5:93) or in the Residential Site Improvement
Standards (N.J.A.C. 5:21). Words or terms not defined in the MLUL,
the COAH Rules, the RSIS or this Chapter shall be interpreted according
to the standard or common meaning in recognized planning texts, or
if not defined in such planning texts, according to the standard or
common meaning as defined in Webster's Third New International Dictionary,
Unabridged.
[Ord. No. 2001-849 § 1; Ord. No. 2001-865 §§ 1,
2; Ord. No. 2002-871 § 1; Ord. No. 2002-899 §§ 1
— 4; Ord. No. 2007-1062 § 1; Ord. No. 2008-1093 §§ 1,
2; Ord. No. 2008-1100 § 1; Ord. No. 2008-1114 § 1;
Ord. No. 2008-1117 § 1; Ord. No. 2009-1136 § 2;
Ord. No. 2014-1244 § 1; Ord. No. 2015-1264 § 1;
Ord. No. 2017-1308 § 1; Ord. No. 2018-1334 § 3]
For the purpose of this Chapter, the following terms are herewith
defined to mean and shall be construed to mean the following:
Means a building or structure on the same lot with and subordinate
to a principal building or use, occupied or devoted exclusively to
an accessory use. Where an accessory building is attached to a principal
building by a breezeway, roof, wall or the like, such accessory building
shall be considered part of the principal building.
Means a use customarily incidental and subordinate to the
principal and primary use and located on the same premises as the
principal and primary use.
Means land uses normally associated with the production of
food, fiber and livestock for sale. For purposes of this ordinance,
such uses shall not include the development of land for the processing
or sale of food and the manufacture of agriculturally related products.
Means the production principally for the sale to others of
plants, animals or their products, including, but not limited to,
forage and sod crops, grain and feed crops, dairy animals and dairy
products; livestock including dairy and beef cattle, sheep, horses,
ponies, mules and goats; including the breeding and grazing of all
such animals; bees and apiary products; fruits of all kinds including
grapes, nuts and berries; vegetables; nursery, floral, ornamental
and greenhouse products and other commodities as described in the
Standard Industrial Classification for agriculture, forestry, fishing
and trapping. Commercial agriculture shall not include poultry, swine
production or animal feedlot operations.
Means the production, principally for use or consumption
of the property owner or tenant, of plants and animals or their products
including, but not limited to, gardening, fruit production and poultry
and livestock products and for sale to others where such sales are
incidental to the principal use.
Means any change or rearrangement in the supporting members
of an existing building, such as bearing walls, columns, beams, girders
or interior partitions, as well as any change in doors or windows,
or any enlargement, diminution or relocation of a building or structure.
Alteration shall not be construed to mean any necessary repairs and
renovation of an existing structure solely for the purpose of the
maintenance and/or the improvement of the appearance.
Means a human health care facility or a distinct part of
a human health care facility in which preventive, diagnostic, and
treatment services are provided to persons who come to the facility
to receive services and depart from the facility on the same day.
An Ambulatory Care Facility does not include inpatient care and is
not a hospital.
Means a dwelling unit in a building containing three or more
families or households, living independently of each other with each
unit containing one or more rooms with private bath and kitchen facilities.
Each apartment shall comprise an independent, self-contained dwelling
unit.
See Dwelling, multi-family.
Means a plan to control soil erosion and sediment damage
which has been approved by the Township Engineer, the Planning Board,
or the Somerset-Union Soil Conservation District.
Means a facility which is licensed by the New Jersey Department
of Health and Senior Services to provide long-term care apartment-style
housing and congregate dining and to assure that assisted-living services
are available when needed, for four or more adult persons unrelated
to the proprietor. In this definition, "apartment" shall mean a dwelling
unit offering, at a minimum, one unfurnished room, a private bathroom,
a kitchenette and a lockable door on the unit entrance pursuant to
N.J.A.C. 8:36-1.3 "Standards for Licensure of Assisted Living Residences,
Comprehensive Personal Care Homes, and Assisted Living Programs".
Means the open, nonhabitable space between the ceiling beams
of the top habitable story and the roof rafters in any building.
Means any building, structure, lot or land used or intended
to be used for the retail dispensing or sale of vehicular fuels; and
including as an accessory use the sale and installation of lubricants,
tires, batteries and similar accessories, and minor repairs such as
component replacement. Automobile service station shall not include
car washes, motor vehicle body repair or convenience stores.
Means any sign that is a part of or attached to an awning
or canopy, i.e., a fabric, plastic, or structural protective cover
constructed over a door, entrance, window, or outdoor service area
that is constructed as an integral part of a building.
Means a space having more than one-half of its floor-to-ceiling
height above the average level of the adjoining ground and with a
floor-to-ceiling height of more than 6Â 1/2 feet. See also Crawl
space.
Means any agent or toxin that is identified as a "select
agent" or a "select toxin" by regulation of the United States Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Select Agents and
Toxins, or the United States Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service,
Agriculture Select Agent Service.
Means any sign affixed perpendicularly to a building or wall
in such a manner that its leading edge extends more than six inches
beyond the surface of such building or wall.
Means the municipal agency, either the Planning Board or
Zoning Board of Adjustment, to which an application for development
is submitted.
Means the part of a lot which is not within the required
front, side or rear yards.
Means one or more rooms or groups of rooms, each used primarily
for conducting the affairs of a business, profession, service, industry
or government, but not including manufacturing, assembly or productions
of goods on the premises, banks or the sale of goods or products from
the premises, except for accessory sales and banking services intended
primarily as a convenience to office personnel and office visitors.
Means the diameter of a tree six inches above the ground,
but if that diameter is greater than four inches, the diameter 12
inches above the ground.
Means a space with less than one-half of its floor-to-ceiling
height above the average finished grade of the adjoining ground and
with a floor-to-ceiling height of more than 6Â 1/2 feet. See also
Crawl space.
Means any use that substantially differs from the previous
use of a building or land.
Means the removal of all standing trees on a lot or portion
of a lot.
Means any facility used for the performance of chemical,
bacteriologic, virologic, parasitologic, serologic, hematologic, immunehematologic,
biophysical, cytologic, radiologic, magnetic or other examinations
of materials derived from the human body for the purpose of yielding
information for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of disease
or the assessment of medical condition.
Means the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing.
Means a business (whether inside or outside of a building)
that includes the provision of entertainment, games of skill or the
use of mechanical, aquatic, or other device or attraction that carries
passengers over a fixed or restricted area, primarily for the passengers'
amusement.
Means a use conducted as a business (whether inside or outside
of a building), which is generally related to the entertainment field,
such as theater/music productions, carnivals, nightclubs and similar
entertainment activities. Such uses exclude commercial recreation.
Means recreational facility operated as a business and open
to the general public for a fee, not including commercial amusements
or commercial entertainment.
Means any vehicle licensed by the state as a commercial vehicle
and has a GVWR greater than 7,500 pounds.
Means and includes but is not limited to facilities for the
common use by the residents and visitors within a development such
as private roads, sidewalks, open spaces, recreation facilities and
parking areas established and maintained pursuant to the regulation
of planned developments as defined in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-6.
Means ownership of two or more contiguous parcels of real
property by one person or by two or more persons owning such property
in any form of cotenancy.
Means community residences for the developmentally disabled,
community shelters for victims of domestic violence, community residences
for the terminally ill, community residences for persons with head
injuries, and adult family care homes for elderly persons and physically
disabled adults, all as defined by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-66.2.
Means a room used for recreational, social, educational,
and cultural activities.
Means an application form completed as specified in this
Chapter and all accompanying documents required.
Means any site preparation, assembly, erection, repair, alteration
or similar action, but excluding demolition of buildings or structures.
Means a retail business operating 24 hours per day, 7 days
per week, combining an enclosed area offering grocery items and food
products such as made-to order drinks; prepared foods, including sandwiches,
soups and salads; household items; tobacco products; and newspapers
and magazines, with an adjacent outside area under a lit canopy dispensing
motor fuels for light trucks and passenger vehicles. ATMs and the
sale of lottery tickets within the enclosed area are permitted. Up
to two external air pumps are permitted. Servicing of motor vehicles
is not permitted.
]Added 8-26-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-1359]
Means an open, unoccupied space, other than a yard, on the
same lot with a principal building, which is wholly or partially enclosed
by a building, wall, or other structure.
Means any space containing less than 6Â 1/2 feet floor-to-ceiling
height. Crawl space shall not be counted as a story.
Means a soil producing a highly erodible or severely eroded
area.
Means any dismantling, intentional destruction, or removal
of buildings or structures.
Means an embankment and associated space for impoundment
of water or, alternatively, the space for impoundment partially or
entirely created by excavation rather than by embankment, in either
case designed to temporarily retain stormwater runoff.
Means a detention basin or alternative structure designed
to temporarily retain stormwater runoff.
Means the diameter of a tree measured 4Â 1/2 feet (forestry
method) above the ground level on the downhill side.
Means a channel with or without a supporting ridge on the
lower side constructed across or at the bottom of a slope.
Means the lands required for the installation of stormwater sewers or drainage ditches, or required along a natural stream or watercourse for preserving the channel and providing for the flow of water therein to safeguard the public against flood damage in accordance with Chapter 1 of Title 58 of the Revised Statutes.
Means a limiting line established by a series of perpendicular
drop points marking the maximum radius of the crown of an existing
tree, but not less than six feet from the trunk, whichever is greater.
Means an accessory use and improvement on a lot which provides
vehicular access from a public or private street to the principal
building or use or to accessory buildings or uses on the same lot.
Means a structure or part thereof that is used exclusively
for human habitation.
Means one or more rooms, designed, occupied, or intended
for occupancy as a separate living quarter, with cooking, sleeping
and sanitary facilities provided within the dwelling unit for the
exclusive use of a single-family maintaining a household.
Means a building containing three or more dwelling units,
including units that are located one over the other. Also known as
apartment house or garden apartment.
Means a building containing one dwelling unit and that is
not attached to any other dwelling by any means and is surrounded
by open space or yards.
Means a one-family dwelling attached to one other one-family
dwelling by a common vertical wall, with each dwelling located on
a separate lot.
Means a building on a single lot containing two dwelling
units, each of which is totally separated from the other by an unpierced
wall extending from ground to roof or an unpierced ceiling and floor
extending from exterior wall to exterior wall, except for a common
stairwell exterior to both dwelling units.
Means a restriction established in a deed, and/or duly recorded
instrument and/or on a duly recorded or filed map to permit the use
of land by the public, or by particular persons, corporations or other
legal entities for specified uses.
Means an elevated deposit of soil, rock or other material,
either constructed or natural.
Means any work or action necessary to deliver essential services
including, but not limited to, repairing water, gas, electricity,
telephone, sewer facilities, or public transportation facilities,
removing fallen trees on public rights-of-way, or abating life-threatening
conditions.
Means a lot or site proposed for development where 20% or
more of the land area consists of slopes 12% or greater, wetlands
and flood plains.
Means detachment and movement of soil or rock fragments by
water, wind, ice or gravity.
Means any act by which soil or rock is cut into, dug, quarried,
uncovered, removed, displaced or relocated.
Means permission to depart from the subdivision and site
plan design standards in the ordinance.
Means the vertical location of the existing ground surface
prior to cutting or filling.
Means a facility that is required to register with the New
Jersey Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to the "Toxic
Catastrophe Prevention Act," N.J.S. 13:1K-19 et seq., or regulations
adopted thereto, as that act or those regulations may be amended or
supplemented.
Means the total wall surface, including door and window area,
of a building's principal face. In computing permitted sign area,
only one face of a building may be used as the principal face.
Means a room where administrative work related to the operation
or management of a facility is undertaken.
Means one or more individuals not necessarily related by
blood, marriage, civil union, domestic partnership, adoption, or guardianship
living together in a dwelling unit as a single household under a common
housekeeping management plan based on an intentionally structured
relationship providing organization and stability.
Means the private residence of a family day care provider
which is registered as a family day care home pursuant to the "Family
Day Care Provider Registration Act," N.J.S. 30:5B-16 et seq.
Means floor area ratio.
Means an area of land which is organized as a management
unit actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use, including,
but not limited to, cropland, pasture, idle or fallow land, woodland,
wetlands, farm ponds, farm roads and land under farm buildings and
other enclosures related to agricultural pursuits, which occupies
a minimum of five acres, exclusive of the land upon which the farmhouse
is located and such additional land as may actually be used in connection
with the farmhouse as provided in the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964
(N.J.S.A. 54:423.3 et seq.).
Means a plan which provides for use of farmland, within its
capabilities and treatment, within practical limits, according to
chosen use to prevent deterioration of soil and water resources.
Means a building or structure used for the retail sales of
fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, herbs or plants and accessory sales
of other unprocessed foodstuffs, home processed food products such
as jams, jellies, pickles, sauces or baked goods and homemade handicrafts.
Means an artificially constructed barrier of any material
or combination of materials erected to enclose, screen, or separate
areas.
Means a fence which, when viewed perpendicularly, has the
open space between the vertical posts equal to or exceeding the width
of the vertical posts.
Means the final map of all or a portion of the subdivision
which is presented to the Planning Board for final approval in accordance
with the regulations set forth in this Chapter and which if approved
shall be filed with the Clerk of the County of Somerset for recording
in accordance with law.
Means the final grade or elevation of the ground surface
conforming to the proposed design.
Means a facility designed for the purpose of providing a
place on which to discharge firearms, shoot air guns, and/or archery
equipment. This definition is independent of whether or not: a user
fee is charged; a person must be a member of a group to be allowed
to use the facility; membership requires the payment of dues or fees;
or the facility is public or private.
Means one or more rooms with private bath and kitchen facilities
comprising an independent, self-contained dwelling unit in a building
containing three or more dwelling units.
Means all of the floodway and flood fringe areas as determined
by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the Department of Environmental
Protection under the Flood Hazard Control Act (N.J.S.A. 58:16A-50
et seq.).
Means all of the flood hazard areas as delineated by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency or the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection for delineated streams and areas inundated
by the 100-year flood in nondelineated areas.
Means the channel of a natural stream and portions of the
flood hazard areas adjoining the channel, which are reasonably required
to carry and discharge the flood water or flood flow of any natural
stream.
Means the sum of the gross horizontal areas of all floors
in a building enclosed by an exterior wall, excluding open porches
or exterior balconies, stairwells and elevator shafts, equipment rooms
(for boilers or telephone equipment, etc.), crawl spaces, patios,
garages, carports, interior vehicular parking or loading and all floors
below the first or ground floor, except when used or intended to be
used for human habitation or service to the public.
Means an area so defined by the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection.
Means a detached accessory building or a portion of a principal
building, used primarily for the storage of motor vehicles, as allowed
by law, owned or used by the occupant of the principal building to
which the garage is an accessory.
Means a structure, or portion thereof, other than a private
customer and employee garage or private residential garage, used primarily
for the parking and storage of vehicles and available to the general
public.
See Dwelling, multi-family.
Means a building or facility used for the sale of plants,
shrubs, seed, fertilizers, lawn and garden supplies and related tools
and products primarily intended for domestic use.
See Automobile service station.
Means any department, commission, independent agency, or
instrumentality of the United States, of the State of New Jersey,
and any county or other governmental unit.
Means and includes public parks and playgrounds, public buildings
of a governmental or cultural nature, firehouses, rescue squad buildings,
police stations, and municipal buildings. Firehouses are those structures
owned or under the jurisdiction of a volunteer fire company. Rescue
squad buildings are those structures owned or under the jurisdiction
of the volunteer rescue squad.
Means any stripping, culling, filling, stockpiling, or any
combination thereof, and shall include the land in its cut or filled
condition.
Means a natural or constructed waterway, usually broad and
shallow, covered with erosion-resistant grasses, used to conduct surface
water from a field diversion or other site feature.
Means a self-service retail business offering a wide variety
of food and household products, organized into sections and shelves,
but smaller and more limited in the range of merchandise than a supermarket,
hypermarket or big-box market.
[Added 8-26-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-1359]
Means the vertical distance from the finished grade to the
top of the highest roof beams of a flat roof, the deck level on a
mansard roof and the mean level of the highest gable or slope of a
hip roof. For a multi-dwelling-unit building with more than one finished
first floor level, the finished grade shall be the average measured
along the front of the section of the building with a single finished
first floor level. For other residential buildings, the finished grade
shall be the average measured along the front of the building. For
nonresidential buildings, the finished grade shall be the average
grade around all four sides of the building.
Means an occupation customarily carried on for gain or support
conducted by members of the family residing in a dwelling unit and
conducted solely within the dwelling or accessory building, such as
home professional use, dressmaking, millinery, machine repairs, home
baking, handcrafting, and the like.
Shall mean an occupation conducted by a licensed professional
conducted in a dwelling unit and subordinate to its residential use.
Means a nonprofit entity created under recorded land agreements
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-43, in which is vested the ownership and
responsibility for maintenance of common property and/or facilities
and by operation of which each lot owner in a described land area
is a member and has certain responsibilities.
Means a farm providing for the feeding, housing and exercising
of horses, including horses not owned by the owner of the farm and
for which the owner of the farm may receive compensation.
Means a State-licensed facility for the provision of human
healthcare services, such as medical care or surgery, including in-patient
care.
Means a structure which provides 25 or more rental sleeping
units for temporary or seasonal occupancy, in which the units have
access to a common interior hall or passageway.
Means a family living together in a single dwelling unit,
with common access to and common use of all living and eating areas
and all areas and facilities for the preparation and serving of food
within the dwelling unit.
Means any material that prevents absorption or infiltration
of stormwater into the ground.
Means a residential housing development in which a substantial
percentage of the housing units is provided for a reasonable income
range of low and moderate income households. The term may also mean
housing developments comprised completely of low and moderate income
units.
Means any activity conducted in connection with the manufacture,
assembly, disassembly, fabrication or processing of materials, products
or information, or the storage, distribution or sale of same, all
or any part of which is marketed off the premises.
Means a detention facility designed to infiltrate retained
water to the subsurface and which is not an injection well.
Means a nonprofit or quasi-public use such as a public or
private school, hospital, fraternal organizations, lodges, "Y's",
and similar uses.
Means a place where waste, discarded or salvaged materials
are bought, sold, exchanged, stored, baled, cleaned, packed, disassembled
or handled, including wrecking yards, used lumber yards, and places
or yards for used or salvaged house wrecking and structural steel
materials and equipment; as distinguished from such uses when conducted
entirely within a completely enclosed building, and as distinguished
from pawn shops and establishments for the sale, purchase or storage
of used cars in operable condition, salvaged machinery, used furniture
and household equipment, and the processing of used, discarded or
salvaged materials as part of manufacturing operations.
Means any ground, soil or earth including marshes, swamps,
drainage ways and areas not permanently covered by water.
Means any activity involving the clearing, grading, transporting
or filling of land and any other activity or use which alters land,
topography or vegetation thereby causing the land to be exposed to
the danger of erosion.
Means a person other than a member of a family occupying
a part of any dwelling unit who, for a consideration, is furnished
living accommodations in such dwelling unit.
Means the area within the boundaries of a lot exclusive of
any area lying within any existing or proposed street right-of-way.
Means the combined ground floor area, expressed as a percentage
of lot area, of all buildings and structures on a lot, measured at
the outside face of the exterior walls excluding roof porches, balconies
and cantilevered parts of the building above the ground level. Lot
coverage shall include all impervious surfaces on a lot.
Means the mean distance between the front and rear lot lines
measured from the street line in the general direction of the rear
lot line. If a lot does not have parallel rear and front lines, the
average of such depths taken at ten-foot intervals and perpendicular
to the front street line throughout the width of the lot, shall constitute
the average depth of the lot.
Means the length of the front lot line measured between the
intersection points of the sidelines of a lot.
Means the horizontal distance between the two side lines
of any lot measured at right angles to its depth along a straight
line parallel to the front lot line at the minimum required building
setback line.
Means a lot at the junction of and having frontage on two
or more intersecting streets. A corner lot is also a lot bounded on
two or more contiguous sides by the same street with an included angle
of not more than 135°.
Means housing defined as low income housing by the New Jersey
Council on Affordable Housing.
Means money paid by an individual person, partnership, association,
company or corporation for the improvement of property as permitted
in COAH's rules.
Means a room or space where activities related to the repair
and general upkeep of the physical, mechanical, plumbing, or electrical
systems of a facility, to which it is accessory, is undertaken, along
with materials and equipment for conducting such activities.
Means a false-front addition to the upper front portion of
a building, constructed so as to simulate a mansard roof. For purposes
of administering this Chapter, the area of said false-front may be
included in the calculation of facade area to determine allowable
sign area.
Means the manufacture of products from extracted or raw materials
or the manufacture, assembly, fabrication, packaging or other processing
of such products or an outdoor use engaged in the manufacture, assembly,
fabrication, packaging or other processing of finished or partially
finished parts or products from previously prepared materials. This
term shall include, but shall not be limited to, the above activities
involving the following: chemicals, stone work or concrete product
manufacturing, crude oil or similar petroleum products and tanning.
Means the indoor manufacture, assembly, fabrication, packaging
or other processing of finished or partially finished parts or products
from previously prepared materials. This term shall include, but shall
not be limited to, the above activities involving the following: food,
textiles, wood, paper, pharmaceuticals, plastic or metal products.
This term shall exclude any use which meets the definition of manufacturing,
heavy.
Means one or more rooms or groups of rooms, each used primarily
for conducting the affairs of a licensed clinical practitioner or
health care professional that is engaged in private practice. Such
professionals include persons licensed or otherwise authorized pursuant
to Title 45 or Title 52 of the Revised New Jersey Statutes to practice
a health care profession that is regulated by the Director of the
Division of Consumer Affairs or by one of the following boards: the
State Board of Medical Examiners, the New Jersey Board of Nursing,
the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry, the New Jersey State Board
of Optometrists, the New Jersey State Board of Pharmacy, the State
Board of Chiropractic Examiners, the Acupuncture Examining Board,
the State Board of Physical Therapy, the State Board of Respiratory
Care, the Orthotics and Prosthetics Board of Examiners, the State
Board of Psychological Examiners, the State Board of Social Work Examiners,
the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, the State Board of
Examiners of Ophthalmic Dispensers and Ophthalmic Technicians, the
Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Committee, the State
Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, the Occupational Therapy
Advisory Council and the Certified Psychoanalysts Advisory Committee.
Means a building or buildings containing separate, individual
and private storage spaces of varying sizes which are offered for
rent via individual leases for varying periods of time.
Means housing defined as moderate income housing by the New
Jersey Council on Affordable Housing.
Means an establishment providing transient accommodations
containing 25 or more rooms with at least 25% of all rooms having
direct access to the outside without the necessity of passing through
the main lobby of the building.
Means the application of plant or other suitable materials
on the soil surface to conserve moisture, hold soil in place and aid
in establishing plant cover.
Means any building in which there are two or more dwelling
units.
Means any use by the Township of Branchburg of any property
owned, leased or loaned to it.
Means the ground surface in its original state before any
grading, excavation or filling.
Means pollution from any source other than from any discernible,
confined and discrete conveyances, and shall include, but not be limited
to, pollutants from agricultural, silvicultural, mining, construction,
subsurface disposal and urban runoff sources.
Means those zones set forth in this Chapter where none of
the permitted uses are housing.
Means a facility that is licensed by the Department of Health
and Human Services to provide health care under medical supervision
and continuous nursing care for 24 or more consecutive hours to two
or more patients who do not require the degree of care and treatment
which a hospital provides and who, because of their physical or mental
condition, require continuous nursing care and services above the
level of room and board pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:33H-1.2, "Certificate
of Need: Policy Manual for Long Term Care Service".
Means and refers to any dwelling unit construed to be occupied
if one or more persons or a family customarily reside in said dwelling
unit overnight; or the installation, storage or use of equipment,
merchandise or machinery in any public, commercial or industrial building.
Means the storage of any goods, objects, materials, equipment,
merchandise or vehicles outside the confines of a building.
Means any person having sufficient proprietary interest in
the land sought to be subdivided to commence and maintain proceedings
to subdivide the same under this Chapter.
Means an area other than a public or private road, street
or way used for the parking of motor vehicles and which contains driveways,
access aisles and parking spaces. A parking area may be on grade or
contained wholly or in part in a garage or parking deck.
Means an open area other than a public or private road, street
or way used for the parking of motor vehicles and which contains access
drives and parking spaces.
Means a rectangular space either outdoors or enclosed within
a structure and used for off-street motor vehicle parking.
Means a certificate issued to authorize work to be performed
under this Chapter.
Means any person to whom a permit is issued in accordance
with this Chapter.
Means any individual, corporation, company, association,
society, firm, partnership, joint stock company, the State or any
political subdivision, agency or instrumentality of the State.
Means establishments primarily engaged in providing services
involving the care of a person, including the following: retail laundry,
cleaning and pressing services; beauty shops; barber shops; shoe repair
shops; reducing salons and health clubs. Personal services does not
include massage of any type, except where massage is provided in conjunction
with, and accessory to, the performance of a State licensed profession
such as physician, nurse, chiropractor or physical therapist.
Means a retail business, licensed by the State of New Jersey
for the sale of prescription drugs, which may also sell non-prescription
items, supplies, and equipment, either inside the building or by drive-thru
window service.
[Amended 8-26-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-1359]
Means a water-filled enclosure, permanently constructed or
portable, having a depth of more than 18 inches below the level of
the surrounding land, or an above-surface pool having a depth of more
than 30 inches, used and maintained for swimming and bathing.
Means the map indicating the proposed layout of the subdivision
which is submitted to the secretary of the Planning Board for consideration
and preliminary approval and meeting the requirements of this Chapter.
Means the primary or predominant use of any lot. A principal
building or structure is one devoted to the principal use.
For soil erosion purposes only, means the disturbance of
more than 5,000 square feet of the surface area of land for the accommodation
of construction for which the State Uniform Construction Code would
require a construction permit, except that the construction of a single
family dwelling unit shall not be deemed a "project" under this Chapter
unless such unit is part of a proposed subdivision, site plan, conditional
use, zoning variance, planned development or construction permit application
involving two or more such single family dwelling units.
See Garage, public.
Means any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, sidewalk,
alley that is leased, owned or controlled by a governmental entity.
Means any real property or structures thereon that are owned,
leased, or controlled by a governmental entity.
Means buildings, structures and facilities including switching
stations, poles, lines, pipes, pumping stations, repeaters, antennas,
transmitters and receivers, and all buildings and structures relating
to the furnishing of public utility services for distribution off-site
such as electric, gas, telephone, water, sewer and public transit.
This definition shall not include electric power generating facilities.
Means visible from a public right-of-way, publicly-owned
lands or buildings, or navigable waterways.
Means either (a) the imaginary line including its vertical
extension that separates one parcel of real property from another,
or (b) the vertical and horizontal boundaries of a dwelling unit that
is one in a multi-dwelling-unit building.
Means the replenishment of underground water reserves.
Means any grading performed with the approval of and in accordance
with criteria established by the Township Engineer.
Means a nursery-grown certified tree, properly balled, marked
with a durable label indicating genus, species and variety, and satisfying
the standards established for nursery stock and installation thereof,
set forth by the American Association of Nurserymen.
Means an area of at least 100 contiguous acres used for agricultural
experimentation and trials. Ancillary uses may include meeting and
conference facilities, laboratories and offices subject to the following
standards: minimum perimeter buffer – 75 feet; maximum height;
3Â 1/2 stories/45 feet; maximum FAR - 0.05.
Mean those zones in which housing is a principal permitted
use.
Means an establishment where food and drink are prepared,
served and consumed primarily within the principal building. Restaurant
use shall also include the temporary or seasonal service and consumption
of food and drink in any lawfully pre-existing outdoor area adjacent
to the principal building, such as a public or private sidewalk, deck
or patio, as long as total number of seats in the restaurant is not
increased during such temporary or seasonal use.
Means a retail business offering food and food products such
as soft drinks, ice cream and similar confections which are prepared
and packaged in paper or other types of disposal wrappers or containers
so as to be intended for consumption either on- or off-premises, and
sold either inside the building or by drive-thru window service.
[Amended 8-26-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-1359]
Means an establishment where food and/or beverages are sold
in a form ready for consumption, where all or a significant portion
of the consumption takes place or is designed to take place outside
the confines of the restaurant, and where ordering and pickup of food
may take place from an automobile.
Means restricted for occupancy by a class of individuals
by virtue of legally enforceable conditions contained in a deed or
other duly recorded document.
Means the sale of goods, wares, or merchandise directly to
the ultimate consumer or to persons without a resale license.
Means that geographic area (which may or may not extend beyond
municipal boundary lines) within which additional wireless telecommunications
facilities are required to provide reliable and adequate coverage
consistent with the licensing requirements of the Federal Communications
Commission.
Means solid material, both mineral and organic, that is in
suspension, is being transported, or has been moved from its site
of origin by air, water or gravity as a product of erosion.
Means a barrier or dam built across a water way or at other
suitable locations to retain rock, sand, gravel, silt or other material.
Means the removal of larger trees on an individual basis
while leaving trees of lesser size.
See Environmentally sensitive area.
Means a business whose primary activity is the provision
of assistance, as opposed to products, to individuals, business, industry,
government, and other enterprises.
Means a line within the bounds of a lot parallel to a property
line at a distance from the respective property line equaling the
respective required front, rear or side yard. In those instances where
the street sideline is coterminous with or lies within the bounds
of a lot, required setbacks shall be measured from the street sideline.
Means any object, device, display or structure or part thereof,
situated outdoors or indoors, which is used to advertise, identify,
display, direct or attract attention to an object, person, institution,
organization, business, product, service, event or location by any
means, including words, letters, figures, design, symbols, fixtures,
colors, illumination or projected images.
Means the square footage of a sign as computed in accordance
with the requirements of this Chapter.
Means a sign which directs attention to a business, commodity,
service or entertainment conducted, sold or offered at a location
other than the premises on which the sign is located.
Means a nonadvertising sign which indicates direction to
a permitted use.
Means any sign attached to, painted upon or erected against
the wall or facade of a building or structure and not extending more
than six inches from the building face or facade of the structure.
Means an illuminated sign in which the artificial light is
intermittent or is not maintained in a stationary position or constant
intensity.
Means any immovable sign not affixed to a building. See also
Sign, pole or pylon or Sign, ground.
Means any sign, other than a pole sign, placed upon or supported
by the ground independent of any other structure.
Means any sign lighted by an exterior or interior artificial
light source.
Means a sign that is mounted on a freestanding pole or other
support so that the bottom edge of the sign face is six feet or more
above the finished grade.
Means a sign that is not permanent, affixed to a building,
structure or the ground.
Means a sign or plate indicating the name of the property
or occupants.
Means a sign erected above or on the roof of a building.
Means a sign or advertising display constructed of cloth,
canvas, fabric, plywood or other light material and designed or intended
to be displayed for four weeks or less.
See Sign, facade.
Means a sign maintained in or painted upon a window which
is clearly visible from the exterior of a structure through a window.
Means the management of any wooded tract of land to insure
its continued survival and welfare, whether for commercial or noncommercial
purposes, pursuant to a plan approved by the New Jersey Bureau of
Forestry.
Means any plot or parcel of land or combination of contiguous
lots or parcels of land.
Means any site plan not classified as a minor site plan.
Means an application limited to interior renovations of an
existing building or the proposed construction of any accessory use(s)
and/or improvement of or rearrangement of existing outside site facilities
such as parking, drainage, landscaping, circulation, etc. without
expansion of said facilities.
Means the degree of deviation of a surface from the horizontal
usually expressed in percent or degree.
Means the unconsolidated mineral and organic material on
the immediate surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium
for the growth of land plants.
Means a governmental subdivision of this State, which encompasses
this Township, organized in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A.
4:24-1 et seq.
Means a professional engineer who is qualified by education
and experience to practice applied soil mechanics and foundation engineering.
Means a plan which fully indicates necessary land treatment
measures including a schedule of timing for their installation, which
will effectively minimize soil erosion and sedimentation. Such measures
shall be at least equivalent to the standards specified in this Chapter.
Means the governmental subdivision of this State which encompasses
the Township, organized in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A.
4:24-1 et seq.
Means the sound pressure level measured in decibels with
a sound level meter set for A-weighting.
Means the Standards for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control
in New Jersey as promulgated by the State Soil Conservation Committee.
Means flow on the surface of the ground, resulting from precipitation.
Means that portion of a building included between the surface
of any floor area and the surface of the floor next above it, or,
if there is no floor above it, then the space between the floor and
the ceiling and including those basements used for the principal use.
A basement shall be defined as a story.
Means a space under a sloping roof which has the line of
intersection of the roof and wall face not more than three feet above
the floor level, and in which space the possible floor area with head
room of five feet or less occupies at least 40% of the total floor
area of the story directly beneath.
Means and includes permanent or intermittent watercourses
shown on U.S.G.S. quadrangle maps, and/or the Somerset County Soil
Survey.
Means the stream channel and all of the adjacent land which
is within flood hazard areas, is within flood plain, or is a sloping
area of 15% or greater which is contiguous to the stream channel,
flood hazard areas or flood plain.
Means the outermost line of the whole area devoted to street
purposes on either side thereof. Street sideline is synonymous with
street right-of-way line.
Are those routes that are intended to provide a high degree
of mobility and serve longer trips with higher volumes of traffic
than minor arterials and whose principal function is movement and
are designated as such on the adopted Master Plan of the Township.
Are those streets which are primarily designed and used to
give access to the abutting properties and which may be designated
as such on the adopted Master Plan of the Township.
Are those streets whose primary function is to collect and
distribute traffic between local streets and the arterial system and
which may be designated as such on the adopted Master Plan of the
Township.
Are those streets which provide land access in which movement
is incidental and involves travel to and from a collector facility.
Are those routes designed to interconnect and augment the
major arterial system by accommodating trips of shorter lengths and
which may be designated as such on the adopted Master Plan of the
Township.
Means a commercial use or uses usually contained in a single,
one or two story structure having a linear orientation which is approximately
parallel to a roadway with the majority of the off-street parking
located between the commercial structure and the roadway.
Means any activity which significantly disturbs vegetated
or otherwise stabilized soil surface including clearing and grubbing
operations.
Means the subdivision or resubdivision of one or more preexisting
lots resulting in a number of lots one more than the number of preexisting
lots. A subdivision that involves (1) a planned development, (2) any
new street or (3) extension of any off-tract improvement the cost
of which is to be prorated pursuant to N.J.S. 40:55D-42 shall not
be classified as a minor subdivision.
Means stabilization of erosive or sediment producing areas
as required by the Township Engineer until a permanent means of stabilization
is installed.
Means the removal of undesirable, competitive, diseased or
damaged trees so as to cultivate and improve the development of remaining
trees on the lot.
Means a building or structure designed for and occupied by
no more than one family household and is attached to two or more similar
buildings or structures by not more than two party walls with each
dwelling unit having its own utility services in the same manner as
a single-family detached dwelling unit. For the purposes of this Chapter,
a townhouse shall be in fee simple, condominium, cooperative or any
combination thereof.
Means the area of a lot that does not contain flood plains,
wetlands, wetlands transition areas, easements, rights-of-way or slopes
greater than 15%, except that isolated areas of steep slope, not exceeding
500 square feet per lot, may be considered as unconstrained area.
Means a separate apartment or other combination of rooms
in which one or more individuals reside.
Means stabilization of erosive or sediment producing areas
by covering the soil with:
See Commercial vehicle.
Means permission to depart from the requirements of an ordinance
with respect to the submission of required documents.
Means the practice or process of storing any type of goods,
materials, products, supplies or equipment within a building.
[Added 10-26-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-1392]
Means any natural or artificial stream, river, creek, ditch,
channel, canal, conduit, culvert, drain, waterway, gully, ravine,
rill or wash in which water flows in a definite direction or course,
either continuously or intermittently, and which has a definite channel,
bed and banks, and shall include any area adjacent thereto subject
to inundation by reason of overflow or flood water.
Means any normal business day, Monday through Friday, excluding
holidays.
Means the wireless transmission, between or among points
specified by the user, of information of the user's choosing, without
change in the form or content of the information as sent and received.
Means a system that transmits or receives signals for wireless
communications.
Means buildings, structures and equipment for the delivery
of wireless telecommunications, except for satellite dish antennas.
Means a fenced-in area which houses any combination of wireless
telecommunications equipment.
Means a provider of wireless telecommunications services
which uses physical equipment separate from any other provider of
wireless telecommunications services. A reseller of wireless telecommunications
services is not a wireless telecommunications service provider.
Means a vertical structure designed and constructed to support
wireless telecommunications antennas.
Means the wooded lands within a lot or tract which are not
specifically excluded by any Federal, State, county or municipal law
or ordinance, deed restriction of covenant running with the land.
For purposes of this Chapter, those lands specifically eliminated
from consideration as wooded acres permitted for development include,
but are not limited to, wetlands as defined by N.J.S.A. 13:9B-1, et
seq.
Means an open space that lies between a lot line and the
principal or accessory building nearest the lot line. A yard is a
space unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward except as
specifically provided in this Chapter.
Means an open, unoccupied and unobstructed space extending
across the full width of a lot between the front street sideline and
the nearest part of any building on the lot; except that where there
is a proposed widening of the right-of-way of any street as shown
on the Township Master Plan, the front yard shall be measured from
the proposed right-of-way line shown on the Master Plan rather than
from the existing front street sideline. Front stoops and steps projecting
not more than 60 inches from a building shall not be construed as
part of the building unless such projections are roofed.
Means an open, unoccupied and unobstructed space extending
across the full width of a lot between the rear lot line and the nearest
part of any building on the lot. Stoops, steps, terraces, chimneys
and balconies projecting not more than 36 inches from a building shall
not be construed as part of the building unless such projections are
roofed.
Means an open, unoccupied and unobstructed space extending
from the rear lot line to the front yard line between either side
lot line and the nearest part of any building on the lot. Stoops,
steps, terraces, chimneys and balconies extending not more than 36
inches from a building shall not be construed as part of the building
unless such projections are roofed.
