Closter City Zoning Code

A church or place of worship, including a parish house and religious school.

The requirements set forth on Schedule B, Limiting Schedule For Group Gathering Uses — No. 1 Residence Area A and No. 2 Residence Area B, adopted by Ordinance No. 1994:671.[1]

Any conditional use must access a collector street or county road, and the pavement width must be not less than 36 feet along the frontage of the conditional use property and for a distance of not less than 300 feet in one direction therefrom, unless good cause is established by objectors before the Planning Board. The direction of the thirty-six-foot pavement width shall be determined by the Planning Board based upon the direction which will have the greatest traffic to and from the conditional use site upon issuance of a certificate of occupancy. For purposes of this section, and notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the property line contiguous to the collector street or county road shall be the front property line, and the portion of the property between the front property line and the building setback line shall be the front yard and the only front yard. If the property accesses more than one collector street or county road, the front of the property shall be where the main entrance is located as determined by the Planning Board. Streets must be adequate to handle increased traffic generated by the development. Improvements to streets, if necessary to support increased traffic, will be borne by the applicant.

No use shall be permitted except uses specifically incorporated by the Planning Board approval. No portion of the property lying within the required setbacks set forth in Schedule B[2] shall be used for any purpose excepting those permitted by Footnotes 1 and 2 of Limiting Schedule B. No portion of any off-street parking area shall be used for any purpose but off-street parking. No outdoor activities (e.g., parties and fairs) shall be conducted without approval by the Mayor and Council, and no structure, including tents, canopies, awnings or recreational facilities, permanent or temporary, shall be constructed, erected or brought in the lot that has not been part of the approved site plan, unless specifically approved by the Mayor and Council. The Mayor and Council shall consider the impact of the outdoor activities or structures on the surrounding neighborhood and its relationship to the originally approved use. The Planning Board shall not have jurisdiction to review, approve or reject the outdoor activities or structures referenced herein. This prohibition shall not be deemed to prohibit any use or activity required by religious belief or tenet to be conducted outdoors.

No portion of the premises may be used, leased or borrowed by any person not an owner, director, religious leader, officer, trustee or member or immediate family member of the owner, director, religious leader, officer, trustee or member of the conditionally permitted user of the property. By way of example only, a house of worship may have a wedding reception for a member of the congregation (or a member of the family of the congregation member) but may not cater a wedding for a person unaffiliated with the conditionally permitted user. For purposes of this Subsection B(4), "immediate family member" shall mean a spouse, parent or child.

There shall be no outdoor lighting or spot lighting shining directly or indirectly on abutting property.

The buffer required by Limiting Schedule B shall be sufficient to create a visual block from surrounding homes and streets within two years of completion of the development.

The Planning Board may approve a proposed development if the use does not substantially impair the present or future use and enjoyment of surrounding properties and does not substantially impair the character of the surrounding area.

The Planning Board shall consider the impact of any additional noise, traffic, odors, air pollution and similar factors on the surrounding properties and area, relative acceptability of the lot in terms of transportation and circulation patterns, the environmental factors, the visual and aesthetic impacts, the adequacy of existing and proposed utility and drainage systems, the public interest in the existence of such use and the relative availability of other suitable sites for such use, the sufficiency of related uses and services, the adequacy of proposed barriers and safety devices and other such factors as may be relevant to the proposed use and the area in question.

The Planning Board may impose any other conditions necessary to maintain the character of the neighborhood and to protect the rights and privacy of neighbors.