[Added 4-21-1987 by Ord. No. 1987-6]
This Article shall be known and be cited as the "Design Criteria Ordinance" and shall be applicable to all applicants requesting site plan approval. All applicants for site plan approval shall comply with the hereinafter design criteria set forth in this Article before approval of their plans shall be granted, unless, for good cause, the approving authority waives all or part of the requirements set forth in this Article.
Within any zone, other than a single-family residential zone, in which the development submitted for site plan approval abuts a residential zone, the following buffer area and landscaping requirements shall apply. The buffer area shall consist of, be designed and planted as follows:
A. 
A strip of land 10% of the average width of the property when a nonresidential use abuts a residential zone on the side and/or 10% of the average depth of the property when a nonresidential use abuts a residential zone at the rear shall be designated as a buffer area and so indicated on the plat. Buffer areas will be contiguous with residential property lines and shall be of uniform width. In no case should the width of the buffer exceed 30 feet. If the buffer is less than 15 feet wide, the applicant may be required to erect a five-foot high stockade fence within the buffer area parallel to the lot line of the abutting residential lot and set back a distance appropriate for the landscaping treatment in the buffer area.
B. 
Requirements for planting in the buffer area. Buffer areas shall consist of a landscaped area consisting of massed evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs. Evergreen trees shall be planted 10 feet apart in two staggered rows that will provide a continuous visual screen throughout the entire year within a period of two full growing seasons following the planting of the buffer. Evergreen trees should be six to eight feet in height at the time of planting. Evergreen and deciduous shrubs shall have a minimum height of three feet when planted and shall be of varieties which normally grow to a minimum height of six feet within two full growing seasons. The height of shrubs planted in buffer areas shall be measured from the ground level around the base of the shrub to the topmost part of the shrub once the shrub has been properly planted in the ground. In such cases as the ground elevation of the location at which the screen is to be planted is less than the elevation of the edge of an adjacent parking area, the required height of the screen shall be increased in an amount equal to said difference in elevation.
(1) 
Required buffers may be used for no other purposes than as a buffer. The only structures which may be erected within buffer areas are fences, as elsewhere regulated in this Article.
(2) 
Where an area required for a buffer is already wooded, it may be left in its natural state, and the existing growth shall be supplemented with additional plant material, at the discretion of the appropriate approving authority, to bring the buffer area up to the minimum requirements of this Article.
(3) 
Where a particular use, at the discretion of the appropriate approving authority, cannot be adequately screened from an adjacent residential use or zone through proper grading and/or landscaping with natural plant material, a solid, continuous fence of not less than five feet in height shall be erected within the designated buffer zone. The finished side of the fence shall face outward towards the adjacent lot.
(4) 
In the event that any tree, shrub or other planting required by the landscape and buffer provisions of this Article or of any other provisions of this chapter shall not live, they shall be replaced immediately, or, if they shall die at a time which is not appropriate for planting, then they shall be replaced in the next planting season.
C. 
The approving authority shall have the power to waive any of the requirements or details specified above if it determines an adequate buffer can be provided in less than 15 feet while maintaining the purposes of this Article. The approving authority, when considering waiving any of the buffer requirements, shall review the proposed plat and the standards and purposes of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1, et seq., and, to these ends, shall consider the location of buildings, parking areas, outdoor illumination and other features of the topography of the area and existing features such as trees, streams; the efficiency, adequacy and safety of the proposed layout of driveways, streets, sidewalks and paths; the adequacy and location of existing green areas and buffer areas; the adequacy and location of screening and parking areas; structures and uses; and such other matters as may be found to have a material bearing on the above standards and objectives.
Within any zone in which development submitted for site plan approval requires landscaping and screening, all portions of the property not utilized by buildings or paved surfaces shall be landscaped, utilizing combinations such as landscaped fencing, shrubbery, lawn area, ground cover, existing foliage and the planting of coniferous and/or deciduous trees native to the area. The landscape plan and screening plan shall be designed so as to lessen the visual impact of the structures and shall be planned for aesthetic, drainage and erosion control purposes.
In any zone wherein site plan approval is requested, all structures and containers used for solid waste collection and disposal shall be entirely enclosed or adequately screened for aesthetic purposes.