[New]
The purposes of this chapter are to establish a pattern for
the use of land and buildings based on the land use element of the
Master Plan and to effectuate the Master Plan and it is enacted in
order to encourage municipal action and to guide the appropriate development
of land in a manner which will promote the public health, safety,
morals and general welfare of the people. This chapter is intended
to regulate the use of land within zoning districts; secure safety
from fire, flood, panic and other natural and man-made disasters;
provide adequate light, air and open space; limit and restrict buildings
and structures to specified districts and regulate buildings and structures
according to their type and the nature and extent of the use of land
for trade, industry, residence, open space or other purposes; regulate
the bulk, height, number of stories and size of buildings and other
structures; avoid a conflict with the development and general welfare
of neighboring municipalities, the county and the state; establish
appropriate population densities and concentrations contributing to
the well-being of persons, neighborhoods, communities and regions
and the preservation of the environment; provide sufficient space
for agricultural, residential, recreational, commercial and industrial
uses and open space; encourage the location and design of transportation
routes which will promote the free flow of traffic while discouraging
the location of such facilities and routes which result in congestion
or blight; promote a desirable visual environment; promote the conservation
of open space and valuable natural resources and prevent urban sprawl
and degradation of the environment through improper use of land; provide
procedures for planned developments which incorporate the best features
of design and relate the type, design and layout of residential, commercial,
industrial, and recreational development to the particular site; and
encourage coordination of 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; promote
the purposes of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-2.
