[Ord. No. 2018-11 § 4]
For the purposes of this division, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
CHANNEL
The bed and banks of a stream which convey the normal flow of the stream that occurs most of the time.
DESIGN FLOOD (FLOODWAY OR FLOOD HAZARD AREA)
The relative size or magnitude of a flood, expressed as a design discharge in cubic feet per second, which is developed from hydrologic criteria, represents a major flood of reasonable expectancy, reflects both flood experience and flood potential and is the basis of the delineation of the floodway and the flood hazard area and of the water surface elevations thereof.
DESIGN FLOOD PROFILE (FLOODWAY OR FLOOD HAZARD AREA)
The elevations of the water surface of the floodway design flood and the flood hazard area design flood as shown on a flood map.
FLOOD HAZARD AREA "A"
The flood hazard area of the lesser tributaries of Mountain Brook as shown on the map entitled "Township of Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, Flood Plain Delineation Program, Mountain Brook, Elson T. Killam Associates, Inc."
FLOOD HAZARD AREA
The floodway and additional portions of the flood plain that are subject to flood flow at lesser depths and lower velocities than the floodway, that are inundated by the flood hazard area design flood and that are delineated on a flood map as a flood hazard area in the municipality. This definition does not apply to "flood hazard area 'A'."
FLOOD MAP
Any of the maps identified within Section T10B-236.
FLOOD PLAIN
The relatively flat area adjoining the channel which has been or may be hereafter covered by flood water of a stream.
FLOODWAY
The channel and portions of the adjacent flood plain that carry the greater part of flood flow at greater depths and velocities than do the other parts of the flood plain, that constitute the minimum area required for the passage of flood flows without aggravating flood conditions upstream and downstream that are necessary to preserve the natural regimen of the stream for the reasonable passage of the floodway design flood and that are delineated on a flood map as a floodway in Princeton.
[Ord. No. 2018-11 § 4]
It is found that Stony Brook, the Millstone River, Harry's Brook and Mountain Brook in the municipality are subject to recurring flooding, that such flooding damages and endangers life and public and private property and facilities, that this condition is aggravated by developments and encroachments in the flood plain and that the most appropriate method of alleviating such condition is through regulation of such developments and encroachments.
The paramount public interest in the flood plain justifies the regulation of property located therein as provided in this division, which is in the exercise of the police power of the municipality for the protection of the persons and property of its inhabitants and for the preservation of the public health, safety and general welfare.
More particularly, this division is intended to implement the following studies of flood hazard areas along Stony Brook, the Millstone River, Harry's Brook and Mountain Brook, and flood hazard areas "A" along the lesser tributaries of Mountain Brook, insofar as they pertain to the municipality:
(a) 
State of New Jersey, Department of Conservation and Economic Development, Division of Water Policy and Supply, Flood Hazard Report No. 1, Stony Brook, Princeton Township, Anderson-Nichols and Company, Incorporated, Consultant, February 1967.
(b) 
State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Water Resources, Flood Hazard Report No. 12, Millstone River-Rocky Brook, Anderson-Nichols and Company, Incorporated, Consultant, February 1973.
(c) 
Delineation of flood hazard areas along Harry's Brook for the Township of Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, Elson T. Killam Associates, Incorporated, Environmental and Hydraulic Engineers, June 1974.
(d) 
Delineation of flood hazard areas along Mountain Brook for the Township of Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, Elson T. Killam Associates, Incorporated, Environmental and Hydraulic Engineers, December 1978.
[Ord. No. 856, § 2; Ord. No. 2018-11 § 4]
This division consists of this text and the following maps, which are on file in the offices of the municipal clerk and the municipal engineer and which are incorporated in this division by reference:
(a) 
Map entitled '"State of New Jersey, Department of Conservation and Economic Development, Division of Water Policy and Supply, Stony Brook, Princeton Township, Delineation of Floodway and Flood Hazard Area, Anderson-Nichols & Co., Boston, Mass." This map is part of the study referred to in section T10B-235(a) and it consists of seven sheets, identified as Plate Nos. 1 through 7, respectively, each showing the plan and profile of a portion of Stony Brook and the adjacent floodway and flood hazard area. These sheets encompass in the aggregate approximately 10 miles of Stony Brook, extending from its junction with the Millstone River upstream to Province Line Road.
(b) 
Map entitled "State of New Jersey, Department of Conservation and Economic Development, Division of Water Policy and Supply, Delineation of Floodway and Hazard Area, Millstone River, Franklin Township etc., Anderson-Nichols & Co., Boston, Mass." This map is part of the study referred to in section T10B-235(b), and insofar as it pertains to the township, the map consists of three sheets, identified as Plate Nos. MI-11, MI-12 and MI-13, each showing the plan and profile of a portion of the Millstone River and the adjacent floodway and flood hazard area. These sheets encompass in the aggregate approximately three miles of the Millstone River, extending from its intersection with the Princeton-Montgomery Township boundary upstream to its junction with Stony Brook.
(c) 
Map entitled "Township of Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, Flood Plain Delineation Program, Harry's Brook, Elson T. Killam Associates, Inc." This map is part of the study referred to in section T10B-235(c) and consists of nine sheets identified as Plate Nos. HB-1 through HB-9, each showing the plan and profile of a portion of Harry's Brook or a tributary thereof and the adjacent floodway and flood hazard area. These sheets encompass Harry's Brook and its principal tributary branches in the township, and they were adopted by the New Jersey Water Policy and Supply Council November 18, 1974.
(d) 
Map entitled "Township of Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, Flood Plain Delineation Program, Mountain Brook, Elson T. Killam Associates Inc." This map is part of the study referred to in section T10B-235(d), and consists of eight sheets identified as plate numbers MB-1 through MB-8, each showing the plan and profile of a portion of Mountain Brook or a tributary thereof, and the adjacent floodway and flood hazard area or the adjacent flood hazard area "A". These sheets encompass Mountain Brook and certain of its tributary branches in the Township, and they were adopted by the New Jersey Water Policy and Supply Council, April 16, 1979.
[Ord. No. 2018-11 § 4]
Site developments requiring site plan approval shall be deemed minor site developments and shall be processed upon classification applications, as provided in Division 2 of this article. Approvals of such developments shall constitute and shall have the force and effect of final site plan approvals. However, the procedures and standards of review prescribed in sections T10B-239 and T10B-240 shall be applicable and shall supersede those set forth in such Division 2. Nothing in this Division 9 shall relieve an applicant from complying with other requirements of this Chapter that are applicable to the proposed development.
[Ord. No. 2018-11 § 4]
The following regulations shall govern site developments in the floodway, flood hazard area and flood hazard area "A".
(a) 
Floodway. No building or structure shall be erected or moved, or externally altered or added to or enlarged, nor shall any material or equipment be stored, nor shall any fill be placed, nor shall the elevation of any land be substantially changed, in the floodway, except in accordance with site plan approval granted as provided by this division; provided that accepted practices of soil husbandry and the harvesting of crops, in connection with farming, are not included in the foregoing prohibitions. For the purposes of this subsection (a) only, the term "structure" shall include fences which are situated in such a fashion so as to substantially impede the passage of flood water flow or debris.
(b) 
Flood Hazard Area. No building or structure greater than 10 feet by 10 feet in size shall be erected or moved, or externally altered or added to or enlarged, nor shall any fill be placed, nor shall the elevation of any land be substantially changed in that portion of the flood hazard area outside of the floodway, or within 100 feet upstream of a culvert carrying a stream under a road except in accordance with site plan approval granted as provided by this division; provided that accepted practices of soil husbandry and the harvesting of crops, in connection with farming, are not included in the foregoing prohibitions.
(c) 
Flood Hazard Area "A". The restrictions set forth in subsection (a) hereinabove applicable to buildings or structures in the floodway shall also be applicable to flood hazard area "A" unless in accordance with a site plan approval granted as provided by this division.
[Ord. No. 2018-11 § 4]
The following procedure shall govern the granting of site plan approvals required by this division:
(a) 
The property owner shall apply to the administrative officer for approval of a site plan, which shall be submitted with the application. The plan shall include a true and accurate plot plan, submitted in triplicate, drawn to a scale of not less than one inch equals 50 feet, with contour lines at intervals of not more than two feet, showing the exact size, shape, location and elevation of existing and proposed buildings and structures and of any proposed fill or regrading, the exact dimensions and acreage of each lot or plot to be built upon or otherwise used, the location of the floodway, flood hazard area and flood hazard area "A" limits, the location, layout and elevation of existing and proposed parking areas, driveways, drainage culverts, sewer and water facilities and connections, plantings seedings, screenings, fences and signs, and such other information as shall be reasonably required for an evaluation of the effect of the development upon flood control.
(b) 
The administrative officer shall, with such promptness as will enable the Planning Board to make a timely decision in accordance with section T10B-58 Division 7 of Article IV, forward the application and the site plan submitted with the application, together with his written report thereon, to the Planning Board for review. The report shall state whether or not the proposed development complies with the requirements of this division and provisions of applicable zoning regulations and, if not, it shall specify the respects in which the development does not comply. A copy of the report shall be furnished to the applicant. Nothing included in or omitted from the report shall relieve the applicant from compliance with the requirements of applicable zoning regulations.
(c) 
The Planning Board shall review the application, and after giving the applicant an opportunity to appear and be heard with respect thereto, shall render its decision approving or disapproving the same, being guided in its action by the standards set forth in this division. Approval may be conditional upon the applicant's adoption of specified changes, and as to applications for development in the floodway and within 100 feet of a culvert carrying a stream under a road, any approval shall be subject to the approval of the state division of water policy and supply.
[Ord. No. 2018-11 § 4]
Waterway stream buffers shall be calculated in the following manner.
Waterway shall mean:
(a) 
Any stream in Princeton for which an adjacent floodway or flood hazard area has been delineated on any of the maps listed in Section T10B-236 or in the Flood Boundary and Floodway map prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the National Flood Insurance Program; and
(b) 
Any other watercourse (other than a man-made drainage ditch) in Princeton identified as a waterway using the following standards:
(1) 
In all zoning districts other than the R-A and R-B zoning districts, a waterway shall be identified by the presence of a defined channel (the distinct appearance of scouring of soil evidenced by exposed soil and the lack or reduction of vegetation in the stream bed caused by the periodic or permanent flow of water) having a contributing watershed area of at least 10 acres;
(2) 
In the R-A and R-B zoning districts, a waterway shall be identified as provided in paragraph (1) above but with a defined channel having a contributing watershed area of at least five acres;
WATERWAY CHANNEL OR CHANNEL OF A WATERWAY - Shall mean the bed and banks of a waterway which confine and conduct continuously or intermittently flowing water.
WATERWAY CORRIDOR, FOR A WATERWAY IDENTIFIED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE DEFINITION OF A WATERWAY, - Shall mean the waterway channel and an "adjacent buffer strip" identified as an area on both sides of the waterway measured from the top of the channel banks and extending outward therefrom:
a. 
The minimum distance from the top of each channel bank specified in Column A of Schedule I; or
b. 
To the outer limits of the delineated flood hazard area, if any, plus the distance specified in Column B of Schedule I; and if the flood hazard area has not been delineated on any of the maps listed in section T10B-236, the administrative officer may require the applicant to delineate it; or
c. 
Where there are slopes of 12% or more contiguous to a channel bank or the outer limits of a delineated flood hazard area, to the point where there is a change of grade from 12% or more to less than 12% (which grade change continues for at least 20 feet) plus the distance specified in Column C of Schedule I; whichever of (a), (b), or (c) results in the most encompassing adjacent buffer strip.
Schedule I
Schedule for Determining
Adjacent Buffer Strips
A
B
C
Waterway Category
Minimum distance from top of channel banks of waterway
Distance on either side of waterway from outer limits of any delineated flood hazard area
Distance on side of waterway from top of a critical slope contiguous to Channel banks or any delineated flood hazard area
Millstone River Stony Brook
150 feet
75 feet
50 feet
Harry's Brook, Mountain Brook, Van Horne's Brook, Cherry Brook
60 feet
40 feet
30 feet
Other waterways identified in accordance with the definition of a waterway in this Section T10B-203.
50 feet
25 feet
25 feet
[Ord. No. 2018-11 § 4]
Applications involving surface water drainage facilities pursuant to section T10B-227 shall be accompanied by an additional fee of $1,500, which shall be held in escrow by the municipality under a written agreement with the applicant for the purpose of defraying the cost to the municipality of engaging a storm drainage engineer to review the plans for the facilities, to advise the applicant or his engineer of any problems involving the plans, and to submit to the Planning Board or flood control committee a written report of such review upon completion thereof. The escrow agreement shall be in such form as shall be approved by the municipal attorney and shall include the following provisions:
(a) 
That the escrowed funds shall be used for payment of the fees and charges incurred by the municipality for the services of the storm drainage engineer with respect to the facilities;
(b) 
That if the fees and charges are less than the amount of the escrowed funds, the difference shall be refunded to the applicant upon demand; and
(c) 
That if the fees and charges exceed the amount of the escrowed funds, the excess shall be paid by the applicant to the municipality upon demand.
Should the administrative officer, upon review of the applicant's submission, determine that it is necessary for a municipal-retained consultant to review the applicant's delineation of the waterway corridor, the administrative officer shall notify the applicant that the processing of the application will require a review and report on the waterway corridor delineation by a municipal-retained consultant and that the applicant must submit a review fee in the amount of $1,500 to be held in escrow. The escrow review fee will be held by the municipality under a written agreement with the applicant for the purpose of defraying the cost to the municipality of engaging a consultant to advise the administrative officer and the applicant or his engineers of any problems involving the delineation of waterway corridors, and to submit to the Planning Board a written report of the consultant's work upon completion thereof. The form of escrow agreement shall be approved by the municipal attorney and shall be substantially the same in form as the storm drainage escrow agreement.