Township of Montclair, NJ C-1 Central Business Zone

The center area, comprising that portion of the C-1 Central Business Zone between St. Luke's Place/Francis Place to the west and Elm Street/Grove Street to the east; and

The community area, comprising that portion of the C-1 Central Business Zone between Elm Street/Grove Street to the west and the border of Montclair Township and the Borough of Glen Ridge to the east.

[Amended 2-11-2008 by Ord. No. 08-02]

In the center area of the C-1 Central Business Zone, pedestrian-oriented, regional, specialized shopping opportunities in a downtown setting shall be encouraged. Uses which are automobile-oriented, or which have low customer turnover on the ground floor or which create gaps in retail store frontage shall be discouraged, except that appropriate retail, office and residential uses in all areas of the zone shall be encouraged above the ground floor.

In the community area of the C-1 Central Business Zone, a wide variety of both local and regional shopping opportunities which are both pedestrian- and automobile-oriented are encouraged. In this area a greater mix of uses on both the ground floor and on the upper floors is encouraged.

All required parking shall be provided on site.

[Amended 5-18-2021 by Ord. No. O-21-03]

§ 347-80 Permitted principal and conditional uses.

The following principal uses shall be permitted in all areas of the C-1 Central Business Zone:

Restaurants and eating and drinking establishments, but excluding drive-in or drive-through restaurants.

Commercial recreation facilities, such as theaters, movie theaters, museums, galleries and amusement centers and other educational and event spaces associated with the arts and entertainment industry.

[Amended 9-29-2015 by Ord. No. O-15-025]

Convenience retail establishments, such as supermarkets, food stores, liquor stores, bakeries, cosmetic stores, drugstores and video sales and rental stores.

Specialty retail establishments, such as antique stores, opticians, gift stores, clothing and shoe stores, toy stores, jewelry stores, sports and outdoor equipment stores, bicycle stores, furniture stores, hobby stores, photography stores, electronic and appliance stores, pet stores, stationery and office supply stores, record and book stores and hardware stores.

Service retail establishments, such as barbershops, beauty parlors, nail salons, dry-cleaning establishments, laundries, copy or printing establishments, tailors, household and electronic repair establishments, health clubs, gyms and travel agencies.

Banks.

(7)

[1]Mixed-use buildings that meet the following requirements:

[Added 7-26-2022 by Ord. No. O-22-17]

Permitted nonresidential uses, other than office uses, are provided along the first floor of all street-facing facades with a depth of at least 30 feet measured from the building wall. A residential lobby may also occupy the first floor frontage.

Any curb cut for access lanes to parking shall not interrupt the street frontage of the building.

All parking shall be screened as required in Montclair Code § 347-82A.

[1]

Editor's Note: Former Subsection A(7), Nonprofit institutional uses, was repealed 6-18-2013 by Ord. No. O-13-22. See now § 347-80B(6).

(8)

Educational play centers.

The following principal uses are permitted in the community area of the C-1 Central Business Zone and on all but the first floor of the center area of the C-1 Central Business Zone:

Apartments.

Educational or quasi-educational establishments, such as ballet or dance schools, martial arts schools, nursery schools and business, vocational or technical schools.

General, business and professional offices, including medical offices, finance, insurance and real estate offices.

Municipal, county, state and federal government offices.

Senior citizen housing.

[Added 5-26-1998 by Ord. No. 98-17]

Nonprofit institutional uses.

[Added 6-18-2013 by Ord. No. O-13-22]

The following principal uses shall be permitted only in the community area of the C-1 Central Business Zone:

Bowling alleys and billiard or pool halls.[2]

[2]

Editor's Note: Former Subsection C(2), New automobile sales and automobile rental establishments and taxi stands, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 2-14-2006 by Ord. No. 05-60.

The following principal uses shall be permitted as conditional uses in the C-1 Central Business Zone:

(Reserved)[3]

[3]

Editor’s Note: Former Subsection A(1), Drive-through or drive-in banks, was repealed 2-14-2006 by Ord. No. 05-60.

Garden centers and building supply establishments, subject to the following conditions:

Such uses shall be permitted in the community area of the C-1 Central Business Zone only.

Sufficient space shall be provided on the site for loading operations.

Loading areas and outdoor storage areas shall be set back at least 25 feet from a residential zone boundary or an existing residential use, and separated from such areas by a buffer strip at least 15 feet in width with a screening at least six feet high comprised of a berm, fence or evergreen vegetation or a combination thereof.

The facade of any building devoted to such uses which faces the street shall have the appearance of a commercial or residential building.

Fast-food restaurants, bars and taverns, subject to the following conditions:

No fast-food restaurant or bar or tavern shall be located closer than 750 feet to property occupied by another such establishment in the C-1 Zone.

Minimum on-site parking of one space per two seats or one space per (50) square feet of gross floor area, whichever is greater, shall be provided.

Consumption of food and drink outdoors or in the accessory parking lot shall be prohibited.

A buffer strip of at least (15) feet in width shall be established adjacent to any residential or office uses and to any residential zone boundary. The buffer strip shall be appropriately landscaped with evergreens supplemented by fencing to shield adjacent properties.

Parking decks as a principal use, subject to the following conditions:

No parking decks shall have frontage on Bloomfield Avenue.

No parking decks may exceed two stories or levels nor more than 40 feet in height.

A setback of at least 15 feet shall be provided from all property lines. Within such setback areas, vegetative plantings shall be provided to screen the deck from adjacent properties and from the public street.

The facade of the parking deck facing a public street or an adjacent residential use or zone boundary shall have an architectural finish in keeping with the commercial or residential character of the surrounding area.

Assisted-living facilities, permitted as a principal use, subject to the following conditions:

[Added 5-26-1998 by Ord. No. 98-17]

The maximum density shall be 55 units per acre.

Off-street parking shall be provided pursuant to § 347-101.

Site plan approval shall be required.

The maximum height shall be six stories or 67 feet, whichever is less.

(e)

The minimum front yard setback shall be zero feet. The minimum side yard setback shall be zero feet. The minimum rear yard setback shall be 10 feet.

(f)

The applicant shall provide evidence of a license issued by the New Jersey State Department of Health pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:36-1 through 8:36-16.

(g)

If located in the "center" area of the C1 Zone, the assisted-living facility shall not occupy the first floor.

Cannabis retailers licensed by the State of New Jersey and the Township of Montclair, subject to the following conditions:

[Added 8-10-2021 by Ord. No. O-21-18]

The facility is located on:

[1]

Bloomfield Avenue; or

[2]

Lackawanna Plaza, west side only, between Bloomfield Avenue and the Township-owned right-of-way situated opposite the intersection of Greenwood Avenue.

The requirements in Montclair Code § 347-17.2 are met.

(7)

Medical cannabis alternative treatment centers licensed by the State of New Jersey and the Township of Montclair, subject to the following conditions:

[Added 8-10-2021 by Ord. No. O-21-18]

The facility is located above the first floor.

The requirements in Montclair Code § 347-17.2 are met.

(8)

Cannabis establishments, other than cannabis retailers:

[Added 8-10-2021 by Ord. No. O-21-18]

The facility is located above the first floor.

The requirements in Montclair Code § 347-17.2 are met.

§ 347-81 Prohibited uses.

The following uses shall be prohibited in the C-1 Central Business Zone:

Drive-in or drive-through restaurants.

Adult entertainment.

Tattoo parlors, including body piercing establishments.

New and use automobile sales, automobile rentals, automobile service stations, repair establishments and automobile washing establishments.

[Amended 2-14-2006 by Ord. No. 05-60]

Manufacturing, research and development, wholesale trade or warehouse establishments and bus and truck depots.

Storage establishments, including mini-storage warehouses.

Pawn shops.

Check-cashing shops.

The retail or wholesale sale of weapons or firearms, as the same are defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:39-1.

[Added 9-5-1995 by Ord. No. 95-32]

Drive-through or drive-in banks.

[Amended 2-14-2006 by Ord. No. 05-60]

§ 347-82 Permitted accessory uses.

[Amended 2-11-2008 by Ord. No. 08-02; 7-21-2015 by Ord. No. O-15-016; 5-18-2021 by Ord. No. O-21-03; 9-21-2021 by Ord. No. O-21-23]

The following uses shall be permitted as accessory uses in the C-1 Central Business Zone:

Surface parking and parking decks of up to two stories in height. Parking below buildings in the C-1 Zone District is only permitted if it is fully screened or enclosed so as not to be visible from any public area and is accessed via a side street or parking lot, not Bloomfield Avenue or Glenridge Avenue.

§ 347-83 Area, height and setback requirements.

Lot size requirements.

Lots for new multifamily buildings containing apartment units exclusively shall have a minimum width of 100 feet and a minimum lot area of 20,000 square feet.

Lots for mixed-use buildings exclusively shall have a minimum lot width of 60 feet and a minimum lot area of 10,000 square feet.

[Amended 1-23-2007 by Ord. No. 07-02; 7-26-2022 by Ord. No. O-22-17]

Lots for buildings containing nonresidential uses shall have a minimum width of 60 feet and a minimum lot area of 10,000 square feet, except that previously existing lots which are less than 60 feet wide and 10,000 square feet in area may be used for nonresidential uses.

Height, setback and density standards for principal structures. Except as otherwise provided, the following height, setback and density standards shall apply to principal buildings in the C-1 Central Business Zone:

Maximum height and number of stories.

[Amended 4-25-2006 by Ord. No. 06-17]

The maximum height of a building shall be 67 feet.

Maximum number of stories: six.

A minimum stepback of 10 feet shall be provided for all stories above the third floor.

[Added 7-26-2022 by Ord. No. O-22-16]

The minimum front yard setback for all buildings shall be zero feet. In the central area of the C-1 Central Business Zone, no building shall be set back further than the greater setback of buildings on the adjoining lots.

No side yards shall be required for buildings in the C-1 Central Business Zone, except that where a side yard is provided, such side yard shall be a minimum of six feet.

The minimum rear yard for all permitted buildings shall be 10 feet, except that for buildings which are exclusively residential or which contain residential apartment units, a rear yard in excess of 10 feet may be required, as determined by the Planning Board, based on the provision of adequate light and air and open space; however, in no case shall the required rear yard setback exceed 30 feet.

For buildings containing exclusively residential apartment units, the maximum density shall be 55 units per acre. For mixed-use buildings containing both apartments and nonresidential uses, the maximum number of residential units shall be 55 units per acre multiplied by the proportion of the total floor area of the building devoted to residential use.

Provisions shall be made at the rear of all nonresidential buildings for off-street loading and unloading, subject to Planning Board review. Exceptions may be granted for existing buildings where no such loading or unloading is provided for or for new buildings where rear access from public streets is not available.

Height and setback of accessory structures, parking areas and driveways.

No parking or accessory structures shall be permitted in front yards. Surface parking areas shall be set back at least four feet from side or rear property lines, although the Planning Board may require such additional distance from property lines to allow for appropriate fencing and for landscaped screening where adjoining residential zones.