A blog about living in Aberdeen, New Jersey.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Matawan Ordinance 34-70 to be Revamped

The Independent says Matawan is looking to revamp its Highway Improvement zoning ordinance to spur local development. ClerkBase provides information about it under Chapter XXXIV Development Reulgations. I've copied Matawan ordinance 34-70 below so you can have a look at what they are considering modifying. You'll have to go to the Matawan Aberdeen Public Library to look at the Master Plan to see the areas of the borough covered by HI zoning. The Independent doesn't attempt to label those areas and you won't find a zoning map online.

34-70 HI HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT.

a. Permitted Principal Uses.

1. Retail business establishments limited to the following: hardware, paint, glass and wallpaper stores; department stores and variety stores; dry goods stores; food stores, dairy stores and retail stores; apparel and accessories stores; furniture, home furnishings and equipment stores; radio, television and music stores; restaurants and taverns, but not including drive-in refreshment stands where food, drink and confections are served outside of the buildings or where food is intended to be consumed in cars parking on the premises; drug stores; liquor stores; antique stores; book and stationery stores; sporting goods, bicycle and hobby stores; jewelry stores; cigar stores and news dealers; camera and art stores; luggage and leather goods stores; franchised new motor vehicle dealers which provide not less than two thousand (2,000) square feet of interior floor space devoted to display of new motor vehicles and appropriate space for service, parts and office facilities; and farm and garden supply stores, provided that no merchandise is displayed or stored outside of a fully enclosed building.

2. Personal service establishments limited to the following: banks and fiduciary establishments; credit agencies, security and commodity brokers; real estate and insurance offices; holding and investment company offices; laundry and dry cleaning pick up stores; photographic stores; barber and beauty shops, shoe repair shops; garment pressing, alterations and repair shops; miscellaneous repair shops other than automotive; motion picture theater other than outdoor; dance studios and schools; medical and health services, excluding veterinarian services; legal services; engineering and architectural services; accounting and bookkeeping offices; business offices; funeral homes; electrical supply stores; nonprofit clubs, lodges and fraternal, civil service or charitable organizations; and order centers or stores.

3. Public or quasi-public areas, such as municipal parks, playgrounds, buildings and uses deemed appropriate and necessary by the Borough Council, and churches, synagogues and other religious buildings and uses for worship but excluding schools and auditoriums.

b. Permitted Accessory Uses.

1. Other uses and structures customarily incident to a principal permitted use.

2. Public and private parking.

c. Conditional and Prohibited Uses.

1. Conditional Uses.

(a) Necessary public utilities and services as per Section 34-77.

(b) Hospitals as per Section 34-80.

(c) Eleemosynary, charitable and philanthropic institutions as per Section 34-81.

2. Prohibited Uses.

(a) Correctional or detention centers.

d. Off-Street Parking. In addition to the provisions of Section 34-43, the following provisions shall be adopted as the required Highway Improvement District parking regulations of the Borough.

1. Parking facilities may be located in any required yard space but shall not be less than ten (10) feet from any street line. Ingress and egress to the parking area shall be a minimum of fifteen (15) feet and a maximum of thirty (30) feet in width

and shall not cause a hazardous condition to exist. The area shall be illuminated during operating hours if they occur after sunset. The illumination shall be shielded from streets and adjoining residential properties, if any.

2. All parking spaces provided for business uses in this section may be located on a lot within four hundred (400) feet of the public entrances of the building they are intended to serve, but only if it is determined by the Unified Planning Board that it is impractical to provide the required parking spaces on the same lot with the building they are intended to serve.

3. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent collective provision of off-street parking facilities by two (2) or more buildings or uses located on adjacent lots, provided that the total of such off-street parking facilities shall not be less than the sum of the requirements for the various individual uses computed separately in accordance with the standards contained in Section 34-43.

4. All off-street parking areas shall be hard-surfaced with a bituminous concrete or concrete pavement and graded and drained as approved by the Borough Engineer.

5. Parking shall be subject to Unified Planning Board site plan review as stated elsewhere in this chapter.

e. Landscaping and Buffer.

1. Landscaping, consisting of attractive trees, shrubs, plants, natural or synthetic grass lawns and decorative stone or rock gardens within the Highway Improvement Districts, shall be shown on site plans and shall be maintained as required in this chapter.

2. Wherever a parking plan in the Highway Improvement District has a capacity of one hundred (100) or more cars, a landscaping plan shall be submitted with the site plan to the Unified Planning Board indicating a minimum of five (5%) percent of the total land area for parking maintained in decorative landscaping, such as planting islands or focal points.

3. Wherever a use permitted in the Highway Improvement District abuts a residential zone, a solid and continuous landscape screen shall be required as per Section 34-41. In addition, the following buffer requirements shall apply in the HI District:

(a) In the event that the width of the parcel at the building line exceeds one hundred (100) feet and adjoins a residential property, the buffer area shall be increased by ten (10%) percent of the footage exceeding the initial one hundred (100) feet at the building line to a maximum buffer of fifty (50) feet.

(b) In the event that the average depth of the parcel exceeds two hundred (200) feet and adjoins a residential property, the buffer area shall be increased by ten (10%) percent or the average depth exceeding the initial two hundred (200) feet to a maximum buffer area of fifty (50) feet.

(c) In addition to such buffer planting, the applicant or owner shall erect on the buffer area a fence six (6) feet in height for the purpose of protecting the residential property from litter, debris, light glare and other such nuisances that would disturb the enjoyment and peaceful possession of the residential property. Such fence shall not be less than seventy-five (75%) percent solid and shall be located only as shown on the site plan approved by the Unified Planning Board.

4. Guaranties.

(a) Whenever landscaping, seeding and/or buffer area planting is required under this subsection, or any section of this chapter or by an approval of the Unified Planning Board or Borough Council, as the case may be, the same shall be planted prior to the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy for the use on the property; provided, however, that when the season or weather conditions do not permit such plantings to coincide with the completion of the buildings or structures, same shall be accomplished with a time to be specified in the issuance of such Certificate of Occupancy, based upon the season of the year when issued.

(b) No Certificate of Occupancy shall be issued for any use requiring landscaping, seeding and/or planted buffer area under this chapter, or as a condition of any approval under this chapter, unless the owner shall have filed with the Borough the performance guaranties herein required, sufficient in amount to cover the costs of such required plantings, including replacement thereof and maintenance thereof for a two-year period.

(c) Ten (10%) percent of the total estimated costs of all such plantings, as aforesaid, shall be deposited in cash or equivalent with the Borough Treasurer, conditioned upon the proper planting and seeding (where such has not already taken place) and maintenance for a period of two (2) years, and/or assurance that the same will survive two (2) growing seasons or be replaced if same should die within such time. Such deposit, or any portion thereof in an amount as certified by the Borough Engineer and approved by the Borough Council may be expended by the Borough if the owner shall fail within thirty (30) days after written notice to make such plantings, or replace dead or dying trees or shrubs, as the case may be, or to provide additional plantings which are deemed necessary to meet the requirements of such approval. The Borough shall be obligated to return only the unexpended portion of the deposit to the applicant upon the completion of all required plantings and survival through two (2) growing seasons, as aforesaid.

(d) The balance of the performance guaranty may be in the form of a performance bond, which shall be issued by a bonding or surety company approved by the Borough Council, a certified check or cash deposit or any other type of surety acceptable to the Borough Council and approved as to form by the Borough Attorney.

(e) The posting of a performance guaranty as set forth above shall not relieve the owner from the obligation to perform nor shall such guaranty preclude the Borough from revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy where the owner fails to perform.

5. In the event of a discrepancy between the buffer requirements of this section and Section 34-41, the more stringent regulation shall apply.

f. Fences.

1. Where fences are to be installed as part of an initial application involving a building or other structures, the same shall be shown on the site plan, and the nature of the proposed fence shall be described.

2. Barbed wire and electricity charged fences are specifically prohibited, however, barbed wire may be permitted to be installed above a height of six (6) feet on customary security type fences, if permission therefor is specifically granted by the appropriate authorities.

3. All fences must be erected within the property lines, and no fences shall be erected so as to encroach upon a public right-of-way.

4. Every fence shall be maintained in a safe, sound, upright condition.

5. Spite fences are specifically prohibited, as are fences made from used or discarded materials not usually associated with fences, such as but not limited to doors, old lumber and the like.

g. Signs. See Section 34-44.

h. Driveways. The following standards shall apply for driveways within the Highway Improvement District.

1. Driveways shall enter the road system as nearly as possible to ninety (90°) degrees.

2. The number of driveways provided for the site directly to any road shall be as follows:

(a) For a length of site frontage of less than three hundred (300) feet, there shall be no more than two (2) driveways.

(b) For a length of site frontage three hundred (300) feet or more, the number of driveways shall be specified by the Borough Unified Planning Board, upon receipt of advice of the Borough Engineer.

3. All entrance and exit driveways to the road shall be located to afford maximum safety to traffic on the road.

4. Where a site occupies a corner of two (2) intersecting roads, no driveway entrance or exit may be located within fifty (50) feet of the intersection of the curb lines when extended.

5. No part of any driveway may be located within five (5) feet of a side property line. However, upon application to the Unified Planning Board and upon approval of the design by the Borough Engineer, the Unified Planning Board may permit a driveway serving two (2) or more adjacent sites to be located on or within five (5) feet of a side property line between the adjacent site.

6. Where two (2) or more driveways connect a single site to any one (1) road, a minimum clear distance of twenty-five (25) feet measured along the right-of-way line shall separate the closest edges of any two (2) such driveways.

7. For a driveway having a two-way operation, the driveway will intersect the road at an angle as near ninety (90°) degrees as site conditions will permit, and in no case will be less than sixty (60°) degrees.

i. Buffer.

1. There shall be a twenty-foot buffer area along any side line or rear line which abuts the residential zone. If the area is substantially screened by natural trees and growth, the same shall be left in its natural state. If the area is not substantially screened in its natural state, it shall be planted with shrubs and trees so as to provide an adequate screen from the residential properties.

2. In the event the width of the parcel at the building line exceeds one hundred (100) feet and adjoins a residential property, the buffer area shall be increased by ten (10%) percent of the footage exceeding the initial one hundred (100) feet at the building line to a maximum buffer of fifty (50) feet.

3. In the event the average depth of the parcel exceeds two hundred (200) feet and adjoins a residential property, the buffer area shall be increased by ten (10%) percent or the average depth exceeding the initial two hundred (200) feet to a maximum buffer area of fifty (50) feet.

j. Lot Area and Yard Requirements. See Section 34-60.

k. Abandonment.

1. If a nonconforming use of land, premises, building or structure, or any part or portion thereof, has been terminated or discontinued for a period of two (2) years, such nonconforming use shall not thereafter be reestablished, and all future use shall be in conformity with the provisions of this chapter. Such termination or discontinuance of the active and continuous operation of such nonconforming use, or a part or portion thereof, for such period of two (2) years shall be presumed to be an abandonment of such nonconforming use, regardless of any reservation of an intent not to abandon same or of an intent to resume active operations.

2. If actual abandonment in fact is evidenced by the substantial removal of buildings, structures, machinery, equipment and other evidences of such nonconforming use of the land and premises, the abandonment shall be construed and considered to be completed within a period of less than two (2) years, and all rights to reestablish or continue such nonconforming use shall thereupon terminate.

(Ord. No. 98-21 § 304-70)

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