East Brunswick City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVIII
Regulations for the C-2 Neighborhood Business District
§ 228-166 Permitted uses.
Types of principal uses and buildings permitted shall be:
A.
A single freestanding retail or service establishment which supplies commodities or performs a service primarily for residents of the surrounding neighborhood, such as grocery store, delicatessen, meat market, drugstore, confectionery store, bakery store, barbershop, beauty parlor, clothes cleaning and laundry pickup establishments (no cleaning to be done on the premises), and bank.
B.
Professional occupations, including the office of a physician, surgeon, dentist, minister, architect, engineer, attorney or other member of a recognized profession.
C.
The studio of a teacher of music, dancing or art.
D.
The studio of a photographer.
E.
The office of an insurance agent, real estate broker, accountant, travel agent or bookkeeper.
F.
Churches and other places of worship and Sunday school buildings and parish houses.
G.
Public and parochial schools and colleges and private schools and colleges for academic instruction.
H.
Public recreational and community center buildings and grounds.
I.
Public libraries and museums.
J.
Buildings used exclusively by the federal, state, county or local municipal government for public purposes, but not including workshops, warehouses or storage yards.
K.
Private, non profit recreational and community buildings, clubs, swimming pools and activities of a quasi public, social, fraternal or recreational character, such as golf and tennis clubs, camps, veteran or fraternal organizations which are not of a commercial character.
L.
Residential dwellings. Where a single family dwelling existing on a lot as of January 1, 1988, the residential use may be thereafter continued and the structure may be thereafter enlarged or expanded as long as the proposed alteration conforms to the minimum requirements for height, area, yard and off street parking as they existed prior to January 1, 1988. If the proposed alteration does not conform to the prior bulk regulations, an application for a bulk variance shall be made to the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
§ 228-166.1 Conditional uses.
[Added 4-11-83 by Ord. No. 83-501; 2-14-00 by Ord. No. 00-2]
A.
A shopping center of multiple retail and service establishments, provided the following conditions are met:
1.
a.
The minimum distance between all buildings, side to side, shall be ten (10') feet.
b.
The minimum distance between all buildings, front to front, shall be fifty (50') feet.
c.
The minimum distance between all buildings, rear to rear, shall be twenty (20') feet.
d.
When the development proposes buildings to be situated side to front, or rear to side, or front to rear, the aggregate setback between structures shall be thirty (30') feet.
2.
a.
The total maximum lot coverage for buildings, structures, parking areas and loading areas, drives, walkways and other impervious surfaces shall not exceed sixty-five (65%) percent of the total lot area.
b.
No less than thirty-five (35%) percent of the site shall be designated to usable open space for the purposes of landscaped courtyards, walkways, sitting areas, planted buffers, ornamental gardens and special water features and other site amenities.
3.
The applicant shall present a design proposal which sets forth all styles, sizes and locations, material for any signs to be installed on the site subject to the approval of the Planning Board. The plans shall address typical details for the entrance marker signs, internal directory signs and individual establishment signs, all of which are to be submitted to the Planning Board for approval.
4.
The shopping center described herein shall be of a village cluster type layout not a linear strip center, and shall consist of multiple buildings and maximize the use of uniform and/or integrated architectural design and styles, unique building materials, including but not limited to ornamental lighting, architectural planters, brick and other special paving materials, water features, landscaped internal pedestrian courtyards, sitting areas, alleyways and other site amenities. All facades shall have uniform architectural treatment. All materials and design concepts are subject to the review and approval of the Planning Board.
5.
Minimum lot size shall be one acre.
6.
Floor area ratio (F.A.R.) shall be .20 for one story buildings and .25 for two story buildings.
B.
Parks and playgrounds.
No conditional use permit shall be granted unless the following conditions are met:
1.
Minimum lot size: two acres.
2.
Minimum lot width: two hundred (200) feet.
3.
Adequate parking facilities are provided.
4.
Ingress and egress are adequate to prevent traffic hazard, congestion or excessive interference with normal traffic movement on adjacent public streets and thoroughfares.
5.
Buildings and uses are appropriately located and designed and will meet a community need.
C.
Nursery schools.
No conditional use permit shall be granted unless the following conditions are met:
D.
Billboards subject to the following standards:
[Added 2-14-00 by Ord. No. 00-2]
1.
No part of the billboard may extend more than one hundred (100) feet from the New Jersey Turnpike right-of-way.
2.
The minimum setback from the New Jersey Turnpike right-of-way shall be 10 feet. The minimum setback from the front property line shall be fifty (50) feet. The minimum setback from all other lot lines shall be fifteen (15) feet.
3.
Maximum billboard height shall be forty (40) feet as measured from an elevation of the finished grade at the base of the structure to the top of the billboard. The Planning Board may permit any billboard allowed under this section to be increased to no greater than seventy-five (75) feet in height to minimize the adjustment, alteration or removal of natural landscaping or to provide an unobstructed, legible view of the advertising surfaces of the billboard.
4.
Minimum distance between any two billboards shall be 1000 feet along the same side of the New Jersey Turnpike.
5.
The maximum permitted advertising area showing in one direction shall not exceed 672 square feet with copy extensions beyond the basic billboard not to exceed 10% of the basic billboard area.
6.
Billboards shall be located no closer than two hundred (200) feet to a residential zone or municipal boundary.
7.
Billboards shall be designed and constructed for the advertising surface to be viewed primarily by motorists from the New Jersey Turnpike.
8.
Lighting for any billboard shall be designed to restrict any glare and spillover to the immediate area of the sign. Blinking or flashing lights shall be prohibited.
9.
Billboards shall not be illuminated between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following morning.
10.
Visual impact, particularly on surrounding properties shall be minimized through the use of landscaping, berming and, grading. All season landscaping shall be installed to achieve a positive aesthetic impression of the general sign area. This will include the solid screening of the rear of the sign as deemed appropriate by the Planning Board.
11.
The applicant shall comply with the Roadside Sign Control and Outdoor Advertising Act as contained in N.J.S.A. 27:5-5 et seq. as well as any other applicable statutes, laws and regulations related to billboards.
12.
Site plan approval shall be obtained from the Planning Board. The items to be reviewed as part of such an application shall include traffic safety, lighting, visual impact, drainage, and other pertinent elements of site plan reviews. As part of its review the Board shall consider the impact of the proposal on surrounding properties and the New Jersey Turnpike itself.
13.
No more than a total of four billboards shall be permitted to be erected in East Brunswick along the New Jersey Turnpike.
14.
Billboards shall not contain pornographic or obscene material or advertise alcohol or tobacco products.
§ 228-167 Permitted accessory uses.
Accessory uses and buildings permitted shall be:
A.
Home occupations.
B.
Private residential garages; provided, however, that the garage shall be for not more than three private cars or two private cars and one commercial vehicle.
C.
Garages to house commercial vehicles normally associated with the type of businesses above shall be regulated as follows:
(1)
Any new structure which provides garage space shall have the garage attached as a part of the main building, not to exceed space for six (6) automobiles or three automobiles and three commercial vehicles.
(2)
Any existing structure may provide garage space in an accessory building within the required rear yard space, not to exceed six (6) automobiles or three automobiles and three commercial vehicles.
§ 228-168 Prohibited uses.
[Amended 4-10-89 by Ord. No. 89-7; 8-28-89 by Ord. No. 89-51; 10-27-97 by Ord. No. 97-22; 6-23-2025 by Ord. No. 25-24; 8-11-2025 by Ord. No. 25-28]
The following are specifically prohibited in C-2 Districts:
A.
Outside storage uses of any kind. Such storage shall consist of the storing or accumulation of goods, wares, supplies or merchandise of any kind on the outside of a building or structure.
B.
Trailers intended or used for dwelling space, offices, storage or any other residential, commercial or industrial purpose, except that nothing herein contained is intended to prohibit the use of trailers for transportation or as construction offices and for the storage of materials and supplies on a job site during the period of construction.
C.
Fast food restaurants.
D.
Mechanical amusement devices and mechanical amusement facilities.
E.
Sex clubs and massage parlors.
F.
Department stores and all uses normally associated with department stores, including the sale and installation of auto accessories in the main building or in a separate building.
G.
Hotels, motels and small animal hospitals.
H.
Contractors' and builders' offices.
I.
Storage warehouses.
J.
Automobile service stations and repair and gasoline sales.
K.
Recreational and amusement facilities operated for profit, including bowling alleys, dance halls, skating rinks and indoor theaters.
L.
Drive in restaurants.
M.
New car showrooms and used car lots.
N.
Car washes.
O.
Lumber and building material sales.
P.
Retail sale of alcoholic beverages and packaged goods.
Q.
Limousine or livery service.
R.
Storage yard for wreckers and damaged or disabled vehicles associated with a wrecker operation.
§ 228-169 Area and bulk requirements.
A.
Minimum lot size: forty thousand (40,000) square feet.
B.
Minimum lot width: two hundred (200) feet.
C.
Front yard setback for principal and accessory structures: 60 feet.
D.
Side yard setback for principal building: one side: 20 feet; two sides: 50 feet.
E.
Rear yard setback for principal building: 30 feet.
F.
Maximum Height: 2 stories or thirty-five (35) feet.
G.
Maximum lot coverage: sixty-five (65%) percent.
H.
Landscape buffer: fifteen (15') feet wide along lot frontage and includes shade trees, earth berms and landscaping.
I.
Parking area and driveway setback: 10 feet from side and rear lot lines.
J.
Landscape buffer between residential zone and C-2 zone: fifteen (15%) percent of lot depth with a minimum of twenty-five (25) feet required.