Township of North Brunswick, NJ Article XIV C-2 General Commercial District

[Amended 11-17-1980; 8-16-1982; 2-4-1985]

§ 205-67 Permitted uses.

[Amended 8-1-1994; 4-29-1996 by Ord. No. 96-10; 9-2-2003 by Ord. No. 3-29; 10-19-2009 by Ord. 09-20; 4-26-2018 by Ord. No. 18-06; 11-16-2020 by Ord. No. 20-23; 1-26-2026 by Ord. No. 26-01]

The following uses shall be permitted in C-2 General Commercial Districts:

A. Permitted principal uses.

(1) All principal uses permitted in the C-1 Neighborhood Commercial Districts, as provided in § 205-65A.

(2) Auditoriums, conference or concert halls.

(3) Hotels with a minimum of 75 units or more of accommodation.

(4) Motor vehicle service stations.

B. Required accessory uses.

(1) Off-street parking, subject to the provisions of Article XXIV of this chapter.

(2) Off-street loading, subject to the provisions of Article XXIV of this chapter.

C. Permitted accessory uses.

(1) Signs, subject to the provisions of Article XXV of this chapter.

(2) Fences, subject to the provisions of § 205-93 of this chapter.

(3) Repair services related to the permitted uses in this zone district.

(4) Other customary accessory uses and buildings which are clearly incidental to the principal use and building.

(5) Mechanical amusement devices, as defined in this chapter, provided that no more than four such devices shall be permitted within any building or premises used for business purposes in this zone.

(6) Charitable clothing bins, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 145.

D. Conditional uses (subject to the provisions of Article XXIX of this chapter).

(1) Public utilities.

(2) Animal shelters, pounds, kennels.

(3) Drive-in restaurants.

(4) Hospitals, nursing homes and sanatoriums.

(5) New car sales, service and showrooms.

(6) (Reserved)

(7) (Reserved)

(8) New truck sales, display service and rental.

(9) Theaters.

§ 205-68 Development standards.

A. Minimum front yard setback: 75 feet from U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 130 and 60 feet from all other streets.

B. Where a proposed commercial development abuts a residential zone or a lot developed for residential uses, a buffer shall be established; an additional thirty-foot buffer strip, designed in accordance with the requirements of Article XXVI, shall be added to any required rear or side yard which abuts said residential use.

C. All properties and uses shall also be subject to the general provisions under Article IV.

D. Front yards may be utilized for parking, provided that no parking shall be closer than 10 feet to the street line, and all nonparking areas shall be landscaped.

E. Nonconforming residential uses located in this zone shall be permitted to have accessory buildings and uses permitted in the R-2 Zone in accordance with the provisions of the R-2 Zone.

F. All properties and uses are subject to the performance standards as specified in Article XXVII.

G. Loading/unloading and truck idling restrictions. Any portion of a nonresidential use which lies within 300 feet of either a residential zone or a lot developed for residential use which is not separated from the residential zone or lot developed for residential use by a noise abatement wall which has been approved by the Township in accordance with the provisions of Paragraphs 3 through 6 of a January 23, 2003, consent order in the matter of Church & Dwight v. North Brunswick, Middlesex Superior Court, Docket No. L-6144-01, shall comply with the following restrictions in those portions of the rear or side yard areas which lie within 300 feet of the residential zone or use. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the restrictions against truck idling for more than three minutes contained in Subsection G(2) hereof shall be fully applicable.

[Added 7-6-1993; amended 5-21-2001 by Ord. No. 01-7; 4-14-2003 by Ord. No. 03-10]

(1) Loading/unloading restrictions. Loading/unloading and the operation of forklifts outside of the building within 300 feet of a residential property line shall be prohibited during the hours of 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Monday to Friday and 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

(2) Truck idling restrictions. The idling of truck engines for more than three consecutive minutes when the vehicle is not in motion shall be prohibited except for the following:

(a) A motor vehicle at the vehicle operator's place of business where the motor vehicle is permanently assigned may idle for 30 consecutive minutes;

(b) A motor vehicle may idle for 15 consecutive minutes when the vehicle engine has been stopped for three or more hours;

(c) Motor vehicles whose primary and/or secondary power source is utilized in whole or in part for necessary and definitively prescribed mechanical operation other than propulsion, passenger compartment heating or air conditioning;

(d) Motor vehicles while engaged in the process of connection, detachment or exchange of trailers; and

(e) Motor vehicles manufactured with a sleeper berth while being used by the vehicle's operator for sleeping or resting in a nonresidential area located a minimum of 300 feet from a residential property line.

(3) Appropriate signs shall be posted both at the rear of the building and on the buffer located to the rear of the parking lot. Said signs shall indicate the following: "The idling of engines for more than three minutes in a rear or side yard is prohibited and subject to a fine not to exceed $1,000."

(4) Truck access restrictions applicable to warehouse/distribution operations. Truck access to loading/unloading facilities in rear or side yards abutting residential zones shall be restricted during the hours of 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Monday to Friday, and 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. Saturday and Sunday by the installation of a fence with a gate. Said gate shall remain closed during prohibited hours to keep trucks out of rear or side yard areas. However, trucks stored at the vehicle operator's place of business shall be permitted to be parked overnight in side yard areas subject to truck idling restrictions of this section.

(5) Inside operation of forklifts. The inside operation of forklifts and inside loudspeaker system between the hours of 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Monday to Friday and 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. Saturday and Sunday shall be prohibited unless all overhead doors within 300 feet of a residential use or residential zone remain closed.

(6) Outside loudspeakers prohibited. The installation of outside loudspeakers shall be prohibited.

H. Standards for motor vehicle service stations.

[Added 4-26-2018 by Ord. No. 18-06]

(1) All motor vehicle service stations shall install and maintain a working air pump for inflating tires.

(2) Any repair of vehicles shall take place in a fully enclosed building.

(3) No auto bodywork shall be permitted.

(4) If a retail/convenience building in excess of 2,000 square feet is also located on the site, then appropriate space shall be delineated to accommodate deliveries by a tractor trailer.

(5) A traffic study must document that all proposed means of ingress and egress will operate at level of service E or better.

(6) If a retail/convenience building in excess of 2,000 square feet is also located on the site, then appropriate provision shall be made either on site or off site (subject to approval by the Township Council if off site) to accommodate larger commercial vehicles such as landscaping vehicles and utility body trucks, as well as for tractor trailers, unless a plan is proffered to restrict tractor trailers from entering the site.

(7) Any point of ingress/egress designed to restrict left-turn maneuvers shall be designed to effectively make such maneuvers impractical.

(8) If a retail/convenience building in excess of 2,000 square feet is also located on the site, and the site is located on Livingston Avenue between Fleetwood and Bergen Avenue, then said site must provide outdoor seating along the Livingston Avenue frontage to accommodate patrons.

(9) Accessory goods for sale may be displayed on the pump islands only if displayed in suitable racks.

(10) A ten-foot-wide landscaped buffer shall be provided between the curb cuts and along all property lines.

(11) If a retail/convenience building in excess of 2,000 square feet is also located on the site and the site is located on Livingston Avenue between Fleetwood and Bergen Avenue, then brick, stone or stamped concrete (or equivalent materials) pedestrian connections must be provided to Livingston Avenue, and no pylon sign shall be permitted on the Livingston Avenue frontage.

(12) Permitted signage for motor vehicle service stations include the following:

(a) With the exception of Subsection H(11) above, one pylon identification sign, internally illuminated, for each 300 feet of frontage, not to exceed 20 feet in height and 75 square feet in area on any one side.

(b) One portable A-frame sign approximately three feet by three feet shall be permitted for each 300 feet of frontage.

(c) A sign pertaining to the products or services offered by the service station may be displayed on the pylon sign, such sign not to exceed two square feet.

(d) The use of all flags, windmills, banners and any flashing or animated sign and the use of neon shall be prohibited, with the exception of banners which may be utilized for the purpose of advertising the opening of a new station for a ten-day period of time.