[Added 2-1-2021 by Ord.
No. 2332-2021]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Site Plan
Design Regulations of the Borough of Manasquan."
[Added 2-1-2021 by Ord.
No. 2332-2021]
The purpose of this chapter shall be to provide rules, regulations,
and standards to guide site plan design in the Borough of Manasquan,
in order to promote the public health, safety, convenience and general
welfare of the municipality. It shall be administered to ensure the
orderly growth and development, the conservation, protection and proper
use of land and adequate provision for landscaping, lighting, building
and site plan design.
[Added 2-1-2021 by Ord.
No. 2332-2021]
The approval provisions of this chapter shall be administered
by the Planning Board of the Borough of Manasquan in accordance with
Chapter 291 of the Laws of New Jersey 1975.
[Added 2-1-2021 by Ord.
No. 2332-2021]
a. Landscape Design Guidelines.
1. Landscaping is to be integrated into building arrangements, topography,
parking, buffering and other site features. Landscaping may include
trees, shrubs, ground cover, berms, flowers, sculpture, art and similar
materials and shall be designed to provide aesthetic, buffer, climatological,
environmental, ornamental, and other related functions. All landscaping
plans must be prepared by a New Jersey- registered landscape architect
or other individual deemed suitably qualified by the Planning Board.
2. Landscape design should facilitate capture, management and recharge
of stormwater and integration of potable water reuse strategies. The
thoughtful integration of nonstructural stormwater management elements
within landscape design is encouraged.
3. Landscaping for commercial uses should define entrances to buildings
and parking lots, define the edges of various land uses, provide transition
(buffering) between neighboring properties, and provide screening
for loading and equipment areas.
4. Landscaping around the entire base of structures is recommended to
soften the edge between the parking lot and the structure and should
be accented at entrances to provide focus.
5. Landscaping should be utilized to soften the edges of parking areas
and to provide a sense of border. Trees should be located throughout
parking areas and not simply at the ends of parking aisles to provide
shade and visual relief.
6. Landscaping should be protected from vehicular and pedestrian encroachment
by raised planted surfaces, depressed walks, or the use of curbs.
7. Parking area landscaping and buffering should be used to minimize
direct views of parked vehicles from streets and sidewalks and to
avoid spillover light and glare onto adjacent properties.
8. The use of vines and climbing plants on buildings, trellises and
perimeter garden walls is strongly encouraged.
9. Plants in boxed, clay or wood containers should be used to enhance
sidewalk shops, plazas, and courtyards.
10. Landscaping shall not obstruct visibility at drive-aisle intersections.
b. Shade Trees Along Streets.
1. Shade trees shall be planted along all streets. Shade trees shall
be planted on all sites at a minimum rate of 10 trees per acre, inclusive
of trees required along any street line.
2. Shade trees shall meet all the following requirements:
(a) Measure three inches to 3.5 inches in diameter six inches above the
ground.
(b) Have a straight trunk and be properly staked.
(c) Be balled and burlapped, well-branched and with a good root system.
Backfill shall consist of 50% humus for each tree, and each tree shall
be thoroughly watered and properly pruned at the time of planting.
3. Trees to be planted in any street right-of-way shall be planted one
tree every 40 feet of street frontage.
4. Where the placement of required trees within a street right-of-way
is impossible or impractical due to the presence of sidewalks, critical
areas or other physical or environmental features, the Planning Board
may require a 10-foot-wide street tree easement to be located adjacent
to the right-of-way.
c. Decorative Plantings.
1. The planting of shrubbery, bushes, flowers, and similar plantings
shall be designed to serve decorative and ornamental functions as
well as screening and buffering.
2. Evergreen plants shall largely be used for screening and buffering,
while flowering shrubs and similar plants shall be used at highly
visible locations such as front yards and building entrances.
3. The use of rain gardens, perennial flowerbeds and planters is strongly
encouraged in all commercial development.
d. Parking Areas. Areas containing 10 or more parking stalls shall contain
the following landscaping features:
1. 5% of the interior portion of the parking areas shall be landscaped,
excluding all perimeter landscaping, and required buffer areas.
2. No more than 15 parking stalls shall exist in a continuous row without
a landscaped break.
3. One shade tree shall be provided for every 10 parking stalls to create
a canopy effect.
4. A landscaped island at least four feet in width shall separate the
ends of parking rows from drive aisles.
5. Landscaping in a parking or loading area shall have a width of at
least four feet and be in defined landscaped areas that are uniformly
distributed throughout the parking or loading area.
6. Landscaped buffers between parking areas and abutting property lines
shall have a minimum width of five feet.
7. Evergreen plantings shall be required to screen headlights in parking
areas from public rights-of-way and adjacent residential properties.
e. Buffers.
1. A landscaped and/or screened buffer area is required between commercial
uses and adjacent residential uses. The minimum height and width shall
be five feet of continuous evergreen hedge screen in two years (or
a wall or fence with a minimum height of five feet).
2. Landscaped buffers shall consist of evergreen ground cover and shrubs
mixed with a variety of flowering and deciduous plant species of trees
and shrubs.
3. Required landscaping shall be maintained and not allowed to fall
into disrepair. The owner, its successors and/or assigns, shall maintain
vegetation planted in accordance with an approved site plan. A developer
shall be required to replace dead or dying plant material for a period
of two years from the date of issuance of a final zoning permit for
occupancy and shall post a maintenance guarantee for such. If plant
material is dead or dying during a planting season, it shall be replaced
the same season. If plant material is dead or dying during a non-planting
season, it shall be replaced as soon as is reasonably possible at
the start of the next planting season.
f. Post-Development Inspection. All landscaping shall be subject to
a post-development inspection by the Planning Board Engineer.
g. The Planning Board shall have the right to impose additional landscaping
requirements after due consideration of the size and type of proposed
development, the extent of existing vegetation to be removed during
construction, and the nature of surrounding land uses.
[Added 2-1-2021 by Ord.
No. 2332-2021]
a. Loading areas, recycling facilities, solid waste facilities and other
service areas shall be placed to the rear of buildings a minimum of
five feet from adjoining properties. Developments containing more
than one commercial/residential use shall design loading areas, recycling
facilities, solid waste facilities and other service areas for multiple
users to limit the total number.
b. One loading space shall be at least 12 feet in width, 50 feet in
length and have a 16-foot clearance above grade for commercial or
mixed-use buildings.
c. All loading areas shall be landscaped in a manner that sufficiently
screens the view of the loading area and vehicles from any public
right-of-way and residential property. Landscaping in this instance
may include fencing, walls, or a combination thereof.
[Added 2-1-2021 by Ord.
No. 2332-2021]
a. General Design Guidelines for Lighting.
1. Street lighting and parking area lighting shall meet the minimum
standards set forth below and shall be designed to complement the
design aesthetic established by the decorative lighting along Main
Street.
2. All lighting shall be designed in a manner that conforms to the style
and architectural design of adjacent structures and uses. Wherever
possible, the lighting shall be similar and conforming.
3. All outdoor lighting shall be shown on the site plan in sufficient
detail to allow a determination of its effect at the property line
and on nearby streets, driveways, residences, and overhead sky glow.
4. Lighting shall be shielded and directed down onto the site so as
not to shine or glare onto adjacent property or streets. Lighting
shall not shine directly or reflect into windows or shine onto streets
and driveways to interfere with driver vision.
5. Lights that have a yellow, red, green, or blue beam and/or that rotate,
pulsate, or operate intermittently are prohibited.
6. The intensity, shielding, direction, reflection, and similar characteristics
of lighting shall be subject to site plan approval.
b. Lighting Requirements.
1. The maximum height of lights shall be 15 feet measured from the surrounding
grade.
2. Pedestrian and parking areas shall have a minimum of one-half (0.5)
foot-candle and a maximum of five (5) foot-candles, with the overall
site average not being less than one-half (0.5) foot-candles.
3. Drive-through areas and other similar areas where money is exchanged
may have a limited footprint where lighting levels may exceed the
maximum allowable values but shall not exceed ten (10) foot-candles
unless regulatory requirements specify otherwise.
4. Lighting at the property boundary shall not exceed zero (0) foot-candle,
except those areas adjacent to a public street where public streetlights
provide illumination.
5. Metal-halide (or comparable light quality) and LED lamps are suggested
for their efficiency and light quality. Mercury vapor and high-pressure
sodium lighting shall not be allowed.
6. The maximum color temperature of all light fixtures shall be 3,000k.
[Added 2-1-2021 by Ord.
No. 2332-2021; amended 3-1-2021 by Ord. No. 2337-2021]
a. All Site Plan design standards as enumerated in this chapter shall
apply to the B-1 Business Zone; B-3 General Business Zone; O-Office
Zone; I-Industrial Zone; and BR-1 Business Retail Zone properties
with frontage on State Highway Route 71.