This chapter shall be known and cited as the "Land Development Ordinance of the Township of Berkeley."

The purposes of this chapter are to establish a pattern for the use of land and buildings based on the land use element of the master plan and to effectuate the master plan as enacted in order to encourage municipal action to guide the appropriate development of land in a manner which will promote the public health, safety, morals and general welfare of the people. This chapter is intended to regulate the use of land within zoning districts; secure safety from fire, flood, panic, and other natural and man-made disasters; provide adequate light, air and open space; limit and restrict buildings and structures to specified districts and regulate buildings and structures according to their type and the nature and extent of their use, and regulate the nature and extent of the use of land for trade, industry, residence, open space or other purposes; regulate the bulk, height, number of stories and size of buildings and other structures; avoid a conflict with the development and general welfare of neighboring municipalities, the County and the State; establish appropriate population densities and concentrations contributing to the well-being of persons, neighborhoods, communities and regions and the preservation of the environment; provide sufficient space for agricultural, residential, recreational, commercial and industrial uses and open space; encourage the location and design of transportation routes which will promote the free flow of traffic while discouraging the location of such facilities and routes which result in congestion or blight; promote a desirable visual environment; promote the conservation of open space and valuable natural resources and to prevent urban sprawl and degradation of the environment through improper use of land; and encourage coordination of various public and private procedures and activities shaping land development with the view of lessening the cost of such development and to the more efficient use of land; and implement the objectives of the Pinelands Protection Act and the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan in the Pinelands Area of the Township and conform to the minimum standards contained in said Plan.