[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.[1] 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.
[1]
Editor's Note: In lieu of providing landscaping within the parking area, an applicant can request to provide the requisite number of plants and shrubs required per this section of the chapter on-site outside the parking area.
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.