Municipality of Princeton, NJ Nonconforming Structures and Uses

[Ord. No. 856, § 2.]

Any nonconforming structure or use may be continued upon the land or in the structure so occupied or used, and any nonconforming structure may be restored or repaired in the event of partial destruction thereof, but no such structure or use which is abandoned shall be reinstated. Cessation of a use for a continuous period of one year shall create a rebuttable presumption that such has been abandoned.

[Ord. No. 856 § 2; Ord. No. 88-43, § 1; Ord. No. 97-2, § 2.]

A nonconforming structure or a conforming structure on a nonconforming lot may be altered or enlarged provided that such alteration or enlargement neither increases existing nonconformity nor creates a new violation; except, the gross floor area of a single-family house that occupies a lot that is smaller than the required lot area for the district in which the house is located may be increased proportionately by using the following formula for determining the adjusted F.A.R. that may be applied to the existing area (in square feet) of the nonconforming lot:

[1+ [(required lot area - Existing lot area)/required lot area]] x FAR for the district = adjusted F.A.R

For purposes of this calculation:

1. Subtract the existing lot area from the required lot area.

2. Divide the result by the required lot area.

3. Add 1 to the result.

4. Multiply the result by the district F.A.R. expressed as a decimal to determine the adjusted F.A.R.

5. To obtain the maximum gross floor area for the existing lot, multiply the adjusted F.A.R. by the existing lot area.

By way of an example, on a 32, 670 square foot lot in the R-3 zoning districts where the required lot area is 43,560 square feet and the maximum F.A.R. is 15% the adjusted F.A.R. stated as a decimal is .1875 (i.e., 1.25 x .15) and the permitted gross floor area is 6,126 square feet (i.e., 32,670 x .1875).

If such single-family house is in a zoning district in which residential use is not permitted, the district referred to in the first paragraph shall be the residence district nearest to such house.

If a variance is granted to allow a single-family house to be constructed on a vacant lot that is smaller than the required lot area for the district in which the house is to be located, then the above formula shall also apply in determining the permitted gross floor area.