Belleville City Zoning Code

Front facade design shall be consistent with the design and architecture of proximate mid-century and historic resources within the Township of Belleville with an emphasis on compatibility with late nineteenth century architectural proportions and architectural detail of the Silver Lake District traditional neighborhood character.

The front facade of any building shall incorporate a high-quality material to support the design theme such as brick, stone or non-standard Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU) sized composite stone, stucco, wood siding, decorative metal, slate, or simulated slate shingles, terra cotta, or similar materials. The use of polyurethane, vinyl, asphalt or aluminum siding, concrete block, perma-stone, and EIFS or similar cementations concrete panels shall be prohibited.

Street fronting building facades shall be broken down in scale by dividing the facade into smaller sections to resemble the typical of traditional development patterns with an emphasis on vertical proportions.

Window, door, garage, entrance, lintel, and sill sizes, proportions, and materials must be consistent with those found on this block and in compatible Township resources of note within the district. Windows shall be simulated double or single hung, although casement windows may be permitted where appropriate to the style of the building as an accent, and be consistent with the vertical proportion of windows typical of the resources in the District's vernacular architecture and set in four inch (one brick width) from the face of the brick facade.

Where a garages are proposed, a single 12 to 14 foot wide decorative carriage house style garage door is permitted. The garage door must be partly glazed at the top and have a vertical proportion.

Period appropriate decorative mounted light fixtures are required at main entry and garage entry.

An entry stoop is required with stone or metal railings consistent with other railings in the District. Cast, wrought iron or mild steal shall be used for railings, fences and gates along the street frontage. The use of tubular steel for fencing and rails is prohibited.

Bay windows or oriels are encouraged on each street facade and shall project a maximum of 36 inches beyond the building face. Bays shall be constructed of brick, stone and or cast stone decorative metal panels on a masonry base of stone cast stone or brick. Oriels shall be constructed of decorative metal paneling. Metal facing and roofing above the first floor shall be permitted on oriels.

Front landscaping and stoops may project into the right-of-way to align with stoops, porches and/or other front yard landscaping found on the block and curbed of a minimum of four inches high and four inches wide.

A building base shall be clearly defined at the first floor level, using an appropriate design methodology such as an alternating brick pattern, shape, style, coursing and/or color and/or a variety of materials such as stone, cast stone and decorative window heads and sills.

Floors 2 and above shall have an appropriate rich texture of brick using different patterns, shapes, colors mortar joints and coursing with decorative window heads and sills. The use of stone, cast stone and tile as design elements is permitted.

The rooflines shall be clearly defined through the use of decorative cornice lines, detailed brick work, mansard roofs with slate or simulated slate, gables of brick or stone, and dormers with brick, stone or metal detailing and cornices of metal, fiberglass or another appropriate and durable substitute.

All doors and framing elements must be wood, have a glazing component, and may not be solid. The use of double doors, sidelights, transoms, pilasters, panels, styles and rails and/or entablatures, etc. in order to emphasize the importance of residential entryways is required.

All windows opening into a garage must be glazed and include the same treatments as applied to residential windows, such as lintels, sills, simulated divided lights, muntins, mullions etc. However the use of decorative, textured, stained, tinted, or etched glass must be utilized.

All architectural design of buildings in this area shall be consistent with historic design idioms, principals and proportions as demonstrated by residential historic resources in the approximate area within the Silver Lake District.

All buildings with a commercial first floor must include a cornice or decorative element above the first floor. Commercial first floors must be 12 feet floor to ceiling within the first 30 feet from the street facade, and include at least 75% glazing which must begin at no more than 18 inches above the sidewalk level.

All security gates must be inside any glass windows.

Signs must conform to the Silver Lake District standards.

All facade vents for air conditioning or heating units must be incorporated into the window design such that vent grills and windows appear as a single unit. This is best achieved by lining up vent grills with the vertical or horizontal edge of the adjacent window and matching the window's length or width or using a spandrel panel to fill any voids. Vent grills shall be hidden behind decorative iron or metal work which complements the style of the building.

Sidewalks with a minimum width of eight feet shall be provided along the frontage of all streets. A detailed cross section of required improvement is provided below.

The texture of the concrete shall be made smooth with a wood float in order to create a texture more like blue stone. The sidewalk should cure without fine finishing and lines should be scored without edging, using saw cut joints.

The scoring pattern shall be two feet by four feet. The tree pits shall be four feet by four feet surrounded by a tree guard. Requirements are illustrated in Figure 1 and Figure 2.

Street trees shall be provided along the frontage of all streets. Street trees shall have a maximum spacing of 30 feet on center.

Tree Pit Dimension: four feet by four feet with tree guards.

Tree guard shall be:

At least 20% of every lot shall be landscaped with plants that are native, non-invasive, and proven drought resistant in an urban environment.

Within the required landscape strip, period appropriate street lights shall be included, with a maximum light fixture height of 14 feet.

Street light fixtures shall be spaced in between street trees to minimize conflicts between trees and lighting of the sidewalk and street areas.

Street light fixtures shall be a Capital Luminaire fixture, with a Classic I pole and Base, as provided by PSEG.

No standard cobra-head light fixtures shall be permitted.

Driveways and parking spaces shall be constructed of pervious paving materials. The following materials shall be considered acceptable such as:

Buildings with attached garages cannot be setback a distance that would allow a car to be parked in front of the garage.

Any garage door shall be designed to mimic the character of a carriage house door.

Where a lot has frontage on more than one street, any curb cut and driveway shall be located along the frontage which is the functional side yard of the corner lot or rear yard for a thru lot.

No more than one curb cut shall be permitted, except that duplexes, triplexes, and townhouse developments may have one curb cut per residential unit.