[Adopted 12-23-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-05]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
AGRITOURISM
For the purposes of this article, a commercial, civic, cultural,
recreational or social activity for visitors or customers that is
usually but not always conducted on farm-assessed land and is thematically
oriented around, dependent upon, promotes, or otherwise takes advantage
of Alexandria Township's agricultural character, rural landscape
and open land assets as a component of the theme of the activity,
not including overnight lodging.
APPLICANT
For the purpose of this article, an Alexandria Township resident
landowner or an Alexandria Township resident that is an immediate
family member of a resident landowner, or an LLC where a member of
the LLC is an Alexandria Township resident.
COMMERCIAL
Concerned with or engaged in commerce of any sort, including
charges for attendance or participation, or for the sale of goods
and services.
COMPLETE APPLICATION
A special event license application, checklist and the required
fee for a special event license that includes the information and
details required in the Special Event Ordinance for the municipality
to determine that:
A.
All required submissions and information are provided;
B.
The application and special event plan conform to all performance
standards for a special event; and
C.
The public health, safety and general welfare shall be protected.
SIGNIFICANT IMPACT
A.
The disturbance or diversion of farm assessed land from agricultural
production to conduct a special event; and
B.
A special event that produces or results in:
(1)
Audible sound or noise that exceeds the NJDEP maximum allowable
noise standards at the property line for a duration of 15 minutes
or more and occurring at a frequency of more than once per day;
(2)
Light trespass onto a residential property from traffic or site
lighting that exceeds existing ambient lighting under normal conditions
(non-special event times);
(3)
Parking of vehicles on a public road, an off-site driveway,
private property or within 50 feet a residential property line.
SPECIAL EVENT
A duly municipally licensed agritourism commercial activity
that is accessory, incidental and subordinate to the principal use
of the property, that does not result in a significant impact on neighboring
residences or in the case of a farm, on the agricultural viability
of the farm, and does not result in a significant impact on the rural
or residential character of Alexandria Township and that is conducted
on a one-time, occasional, periodic or seasonal basis, and occurs
within only one season of the year; and
A.
Is conducted no more frequently than three consecutive days
excluding preparation and cleanup, and is conducted no more than three
weeks in a row;
B.
Does not involve overnight lodging, public accommodations or
visitation;
C.
Does not involve construction of new buildings or structures;
D.
Does not involve outdoor storage, outdoor display of items for
sale or signs that are visible to the public or neighbors for more
than 30 days;
E.
Is conducted between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.;
F.
Secures a municipal license in the calendar year in which it
is conducted.
G.
A special event does not include noncommercial activities, such
as, but not limited to: a private party, family celebration or gathering
on private property; a civic fundraising event for a school; a special
event conducted by a religious organization such as a church picnic,
dance, dinner, auction, or revival that is conducted on property tax
Class 15D exempt property, not including a carnival or fair involving
electronic rides, amusements and food for sale to the public.
H.
"Major special event" means a special event on land of any tax
assessment category that involves traffic and parking of more than
25 vehicles or 50 or more attendees, customers, or visitors on site
at a given time. A major special event may be one event or a series
of events.
I.
"Minor special event" means a special event on land of any tax
assessment category that occurs not more than three times per season
of the year, involves traffic and parking of approximately 25 vehicles
or less and/or attendance of approximately 50 or fewer attendees,
customers, or visitors on site at a given time.
J.
A special event that occurs more than three times per season
is a major special event irrespective of parking, traffic and attendance
generated by the event.
K.
A minor special event does not include a Home Occupation use as defined in §
115-22H(1) as home occupation.
SPECIAL EVENT LICENSE (or LICENSE)
A license issued by Alexandria Township to conduct a special
event on land taxed as farmland, vacant, residential, commercial,
or industrial land in accordance with the definition of "special event"
above and the licensing requirements established herein below. A minor
special event may be one event or a series of events.
The purpose of the following standards is to protect the public
health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the Township
of Alexandria and the general public. The applicant for a special
event license shall submit a completed application, checklist and
sketch plan to the Township Clerk that clearly explains and depicts
the nature and location of the event and all activities to take place
at the special event. The sketch plan shall clearly depict the proposed
physical layout of existing on-site buildings any proposed improvements
or site modifications in conformity with requirements set forth in
this section. Where specific standards are not provided in this section,
standards set forth in the Code of the Township of Alexandria and
those standards set forth at N.J.A.C. 2:76-2A.13, for "On-Farm Direct
Marketing Facilities, Activities, and Events" shall govern. Where
standards may conflict between the Township Code and the "On-Farm
Direct Marketing Facilities, Activities, and Events," the Code of
the Township of Alexandria shall govern. The Township Clerk or Township
Committee may not require the applicant to submit certain information
in the application or details on the sketch plan where they may deem
the nature of the proposed special event may not require certain details;
however, a waiver request may delay the municipal review and approval
of a special event application, which may in turn complicate the applicant's
scheduling plans for a special event because the municipality will
require time to review a waiver request. An applicant for a minor
special event may be required to submit some of the following information.
An applicant for a major Special may be required to submit all the
following information.
A. Visitor management.
(1) The application shall include a sketch plan identifying the location
and dimensions of all structures, parking areas, existing and proposed
driveways, parking and vehicular turning areas, sanitary facilities,
areas where visitors will be permitted and restricted, location of
food and beverage preparation and serving areas, retail or hand-crafted
goods sales areas, special event activity areas, and landscaping if
required to buffer adjacent properties. The sketch plan shall include
parcel boundaries and a brief description of adjoining land uses and
roads and the number of residential dwellings located off-site within
200 feet of all residential parcel boundaries. In the case of a farm,
the sketch plan shall identify the number of residential dwellings
within 200 feet of the area of the farm upon which the special event
is proposed to take place, including all special event parking and
activity areas.
(a)
The sketch plan may be hand-drawn information added to a survey
of the property or an aerial photograph of the property; however,
hand-drawn information shall be drawn to scale and clearly legible.
(2) Number of visitors and vehicles anticipated. Identify the maximum
number of visitors and vehicles anticipated to be on site at any given
time during the special event.
(3) Sanitary facilities. Identify existing and proposed sanitary facilities
needed to accommodate the special event. Sanitary facilities shall
conform to NJDEP, NJ Dept. of Agriculture, and Hunterdon County Department
of Health requirements. If portable toilets and hand sanitizers are
to be provided, identify the number and location on site where these
facilities will be located, which shall be no closer to a residential
property line than 100 feet. The number and type of sanitary facilities
provided shall be adequate to address the total number of patrons
expected and shall be ADA or handicapped accessible.
(4) Dates, days, times of day for the special event. The application
shall clearly state the dates, days of the week and times of day that
the special event will be held and the anticipated number of special
events proposed in a calendar year. Opening and closing time for each
day shall be clearly identified in the application along with a brief
description of how patrons will be cleared from the site at closing.
(5) Signs. All proposed signs and sign locations shall be identified
in the application for a special event license.
(a)
Site identification sign. A special event site identification
sign may be erected on a temporary basis for the special event. The
site identification sign shall not exceed 32 square feet in area,
may be double sided if freestanding and shall not be closer than 10
feet to the road or public right-of-way, and shall not be closer than
50 feet to a residential property line.
(b)
Directional signs. Directional or wayfinding signs may be erected
on site if the special event property has sufficient frontage for
such signs to be spaced at least 50 feet apart. Such signs may not
exceed 10 square feet in area, may not be located closer than 50 feet
between signs and shall not number more than 10. All such signs shall
be setback a minimum of 10 feet from the property line and public
right-of-way line and at least 10 feet from the edge of road pavement.
(c)
Signs approved in the special event license shall not be erected
more than 10 days prior a special event and shall be removed not more
than 10 days following a special event. This shall apply to each day
of the year a special event is held.
(d)
All special event signs shall be erected on the property upon
which the special event is licensed.
(6) Special event transportation. A plan for special event transportation shall be provided and identify on-site locations where adequate parking will be provided and additional information required under Subsection
C, Transportation, below.
(7) A security plan identifying the plan for security, personnel required
and the names of persons responsible for security at the special event.
Indicate whether police are needed for crowd and traffic control,
and if so, how many officers may be needed. All security and traffic
control shall be provided at the expense of the applicant.
B. Visitor service. Identify food and/or beverages that will be provided
for sale and/or consumption. List State and local regulations and
approvals required for food and beverage sales and on-site consumption
in the application. Submission of all outside agency approvals, such
as Board of Health approval, will be a condition of a special event
license issued that includes food and beverage sales and/or on-site
consumption.
C. Transportation.
(1) Adequate off-street parking shall be provided, which shall be set
back from all property lines at least 50 feet.
(2) Parking spaces, driveways and drive aisle widths shall conform to
Alexandria Township standards (i.e., nine-foot by eighteen-foot parking
spaces for cars, twenty-four-foot-wide drive aisles, etc.). The sketch
plan shall identify the location and dimensions of parking areas,
existing and proposed driveways, parking and vehicular turning areas.
(3) All visitor and special event parking shall be located on the special
event property with access provided via a driveway to the parking
area. There shall be no special event parking off site, on public
roads, shoulders of roads or anywhere within the public road right-of-way.
(4) Design of driveways and adequate sight distance to accommodate expected
traffic must conform to Alexandria Township standards.
(5) Where treatment of parking and driveways is necessary to control
dust, the method and frequency of treatment shall be indicated on
the sketch plan.
D. Buffering. Adequate landscaped or vegetated buffering shall be provided
between adjacent residential uses and all special event parking and
activity areas, which may include a solid fence, berm or existing
hedgerow.
(1) Vegetated buffers, existing or proposed, shall be shown on the special
event sketch plan. There shall be no visibility between special event
parking and activity areas and adjoining residential uses and yards
such that the privacy of adjoining residential neighbors is not compromised.
(2) Buffers may include existing vegetation consisting of hedgerows,
plantings or forested conditions that provide an effective landscaped
or vegetated screen between adjoining residential uses and special
event parking and activity areas.
(3) Where no existing landscaping and vegetated buffer exists, the sketch plan shall identify proposed buffering consisting of a fence, berm, landscaping or a combination of the three, which shall be sufficient to achieve the objective identified in Subsection
D(1) above.
E. Lighting. When special event activities are proposed during non-daylight
hours, adequate lighting shall be provided to provide safe pedestrian
access within and around special event activity areas and for safe
pedestrian access to parking areas.
(1) Parking areas shall be suitably lighted to provide for safe vehicular
access within and around parking areas and drive aisles.
(2) No off-site lighting impact shall be permitted so as to cause off-site
glare or a nuisance lighting impact to an adjoining residential neighbor.
F. Noise and audible sound. Special events shall not produce audible
sound or noise that exceeds the NJDEP maximum allowable noise standards
at the property line, nor shall there be audible sound or noise produced
that exceeds allowable limits for a duration of 15 minutes or more
and occurring at a frequency of more than once per day.
(1) No sound or noise of any kind that is audible at an adjoining residential
property line shall be produced at a special event earlier than 7:00
a.m., nor later than 11:00 p.m.
(2) For special events that include music, performance activities or
amplified sound of any kind, the applicant may be required to provide
noise readings taken at property lines may prior to the issuance of
a special event license and conducting special event activities .
In the case of a farm, sound levels shall be measured at the property
line or at a distance of 200 feet from the special event area where
the noise or sound is being generated, whichever location is closest
to the nearest off-site residence (See § 151.F.9. below).
G. Nuisances of any kind. In the event that there are any activities
conducted under the special event license that results in a nuisance
relating to lighting, noise or sound, crowd activity, traffic, or
if activities are conducted on site that are not approved by the Township,
a special event license may be revoked by the Township of Alexandria
with all special event activities to be discontinued and requiring
all special event improvements, signs and appurtenant structures taken
down and removed from the site.
H. Conditions of approval. Where, in the judgment of the Township Clerk,
Engineer and/or Township Committee it is determined that the nature
of a special event activity, or site raises concerns related to operation
of the event and potential impacts to the surrounding area, a special
event license may be issued subject to conditions of approval to be
satisfied prior to, during or following the special event. By way
of example but not limitation, in the case of a noise or sound concern,
the applicant may be required to provide sound measurements documenting
the level of noise to be generated.
Upon submission of an application for a major special event
license, the applicant shall provide Notice of the application, as
follows:
A. Contents. The notice shall state the date, time and place of the
proposed special event and shall state that the application and sketch
plan is available for public inspection at the office of the Township
Clerk and shall describe in sufficient detail the nature of the proposed
special event, and identify the address of the Township Clerk, and
the days of the week and times of day the application may be inspected
at the Clerk's office. The notice shall contain an identification
of the property by street address and the lot and block numbers of
the property as shown on the current tax duplicate in the Municipal
Assessor's office.
B. Notice by publication. Notice shall be given by publication in the
Township's official newspaper within seven days of submission
of an application for a special event license.
C. Notice to property owners; list of property owners to be furnished.
Notice shall be given by the applicant to the owners of all real property,
as shown on the current tax duplicate, located within 200 feet in
all directions of the property which is the subject of the special
event, by serving a copy thereof on each owner or his or her agent
in charge of the property or by mailing a copy thereof by certified
mail to each such owner at his or her address as shown on said tax
duplicate. Certified notice shall be mailed within seven days of submission
of an application for a special event license. If a condominium association
is within 200 feet of the property, notice to the condominium association
shall be sufficient. Notice to a partnership owner may be given to
any partner, and notice to a corporate owner may be given to its president,
a vice president, secretary or other person authorized by appointment
or by law to accept service on behalf of the corporation, and notice
to a condominium association, horizontal property, community trust
or homeowners' association, because of its ownership of common
elements or areas located within 200 feet of the property which is
subject of the applicant, may be made in the same manner as to a corporation
without further notice to unit owners, co-owners or homeowners on
account of such common elements or areas. The Municipal Assessor's
office shall, within seven days of written request by the applicant,
make and certify a list from the current tax duplicate of the names
and addresses of the property owners entitled to notice as aforesaid,
and a sum not to exceed $0.25 per name or $10, whichever is greater,
may be charged for such list. The applicant shall be entitled to rely
upon the information contained in such list, and failure to give notice
to any owner not on the list shall not invalidate any special event
license issued by Alexandria Township.
An interested party residing on residential property within
200 feet of the proposed major special event license property may
appeal the issuance of a major special event license to the Township
Committee. The appeal shall be filed by submitting a notarized letter
to the Township Clerk within 10 days of the date of newspaper publication
or within 10 days of the date of the certified mail notice received
from the special event license applicant. Such objection shall clearly
state the bases for an objection, including but not limited to potential
noise, light and traffic impacts to a residential property within
200 feet of the special event property. The Township Committee normally
meets twice monthly on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month.
The Township Clerk shall schedule the objection to be heard at a regular
Township Committee meeting.
A. Appeal procedure. The Township Committee shall hear and decide all
appeals to issuance of a major special event license.
(1) An appellant shall appear before the Alexandria Township Committee
to present an in-person verbal explanation of objections to the application
for a proposed special event license.
(a)
Where reasonably practicable, an appellant shall provide evidence
in support of their objection(s) to the special event license application.
(2) The applicant for a major special event license shall have the right
to answer an objection filed with the Township Committee.
(3) If the applicant is not in attendance when an objection to their
special event license application is heard by the Township Committee,
issuance of a major special event license may be delayed.
(4) After hearing objections from the appellant and an answer by the
applicant for a major special event license, the Township Committee
shall decide whether to issue, deny, or approve the major special
license with conditions.