The purpose of the B-3 Community Commercial Overlay zone is to create opportunities for planned commercial development in key locations in the Route 295 growth corridor within the township. The overlay is intended to provide the flexibility needed to accommodate a variety of uses while setting specific standards for design and ensuring that developments relate to their surroundings in a way that enhances the community. Even with a well conceived land use plan, the timing of the development of individual parcels is often beyond the township's control. While development will occur incrementally, the B-3 overlay will assist the township in setting the stage for a development program that will achieve the desired physical design standards, improve the jobs-housing balance, bring services to the community, and reduce the need for long commutes to shopping and service destinations. The consolidation of smaller parcels to create larger developable tracts is encouraged throughout the overlay zone and the redevelopment area overall. Coordinated development should provide for common access drives, shared parking, unified design theme, pedestrian walkways and greens, and coordinated stormwater management. Within the redevelopment area, applicants wishing to develop properties subject to the B-3 overlay must establish and enter into a redevelopment agreement with the township committee.

B-3 Community Commercial Overlay regulations apply to Route 295 Corridor Redevelopment Area B-3 overlay permitted uses. Applicants proposing B-1, B-2 and I zone permitted uses may develop without B-3 overlay regulations. B-1, B-2 and I zone regulations apply to development of permitted uses within their respective zone. Applicants developing properties within the redevelopment area not subject to the B-3 overlay may enter into a redevelopment agreement with the township committee.

(Ord. No. 6-2009, § 2a.; Ord. No. 9-2018, 10-9-2018)

A.

Mixed-use-occupancy buildings and facilities as defined herein and the uses permitted herein.

B.

Shopping centers, malls and other facilities providing for stores and different uses within the same building.

C.

Planned commercial developments.

D.

Warehouse and distribution centers as conditionally permitted under Section 16.79.040F.

(Ord. No. 6-2009, § 2b.; Ord. No. 9-2018, 10-9-2018)

A.

Banks and fiduciary institutions with up to four drive-through lanes.

B.

Day care centers.

C.

Department stores.

D.

Garden centers.

E.

Grocery stores.

F.

Medical centers.

G.

Offices for governmental agencies.

H.

Offices for medical, professional, and business.

I.

Personal and business services (such as beauty salons, dry cleaners, mailing centers, etc.)

J.

Private educational or instructional centers for dance, art, martial arts, etc.

K.

Retail stores.

L.

Restaurants.

M.

Warehouses and distribution centers, as conditionally permitted under Section 16.79.040F.

(Ord. No. 6-2009, § 2c.; Ord. No. 9-2018, 10-9-2018)

A.

Hotels and motels in accordance with the standards set forth in section 16.78.020C.

B.

Fast food and drive through restaurants:

1.

If constructed as a stand-alone store within a commercial development, the structure must be designed to be compatible with the overall architectural theme.

2.

No more than one drive-through restaurant is permitted in each commercial development.

3.

Fast-food and drive-through restaurants may not be open between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. unless they are more than one thousand (1,000) feet from the nearest residential zone.

4.

The restaurant must be connected to the overall development with pedestrian walkways and decorative crosswalks.

C.

Outdoor storage.

1.

Outdoor storage of materials may not be located closer than 100 feet to any street or property line, and not in any front yard.

2.

Outdoor storage must be screened with a wall or solid fence accompanied by evergreen plantings to create a screen in coordination with the overall landscape plan so that the materials are not visible from the outside.

3.

Materials stacked outdoors shall not be higher than the height of the screening wall, or eight feet, whichever is less.

4.

A request for outdoor storage must be part of a site plan and [include] a general description of the proposed storage.

D.

Theaters and places of amusement.

1.

A traffic study is required.

2.

A patron drop off area is required as part of the site plan.

3.

A security plan must be submitted at the time of the site plan to address evacuation procedures, number of security guards proposed for the day-to-day operations, and emergency vehicle access.

4.

A fifty-foot landscaped buffer is required around the perimeter of the site.

5.

A central pedestrian walkway must be provided through the parking area.

E.

Churches and places of worship.

1.

Conditions set forth in section 16.84.020.

2.

Parking shall be at the sides or rear, not directly in front of the principal building.

F.

Warehouses and Distribution Centers. Warehouse and distribution center building height not to exceed sixty-five (65) feet.

(Ord. No. 6-2009, § 2d.; Ord. No. 9-2018, 10-9-2018; Ord. No. 13-2021, §§ 1, 2, 12-28-2021)

A.

Automobile service stations.

B.

Gasoline filling stations.

C.

Car sales.

(Ord. No. 6-2009, § 2e.)

A.

Off-street parking in accordance with the ordinance requirements.

B.

Off-street loading in accordance with the ordinance requirements.

C.

Signs as regulated in accordance with the ordinance.

D.

Indoor storage.

E.

Temporary construction and sales trailers.

F.

Stormwater management structures and facilities.

(Ord. No. 06-2009, § 2f.)

A.

The standards apply to the overall tract or assemblage of lots, not to individual lots within a planned commercial development.

B.

Minimum tract area size is two acres, however lots that are part of a planned commercial development may be as small as one acre for financing and conveyance purposes.

C.

Dimensional requirements vary based on the tract size. The intent is to encourage consolidation of smaller tracts and avoid fragmented strip development.

¹  The side yard building setback from residential use may be reduced a maximum of twenty (20) percent to eighty (80) feet subject to installation of an "enhanced buffer design" to include as required by the planning board supplemental trees, shrubs, opaque fencing, sound walls, and berming.

D.

Signs.

1.

Freestanding signs. One freestanding sign is permitted per street frontage.

a.

Maximum area per side is not to exceed twenty (20) square feet for every one hundred (100) feet of frontage, to a maximum of one hundred (100) square feet.

b.

Maximum height for pole sign is 20 feet. Maximum height for monument-style sign is eight feet.

2.

Façade or wall signs. One façade or wall sign is permitted on each principal use or structure on each wall that faces a street frontage. Pad sites with frontage on an interior roadway may have two façade signs, one on the principal frontage and one on a secondary frontage.

a.

Maximum sign area is 10% of the principal façade area or 80 square feet, whichever is less.

b.

Façade or wall signs may not protrude above the roofline.

3.

Planned commercial developments with more than four tenants may have one directory sign, not to exceed sixteen (16) square feet and eight feet in height.

4.

All signs must be set back a minimum of fifteen (15) feet from the property lines and must be outside all sight triangles.

5.

Sign design regulations.

a.

A total increase in size and height of up to ten percent may be allowed for monument or ground signs that are designed with cared or sandblasted copy and borders.

b.

Freestanding and ground signs shall have a landscaped area around the base. The landscaped area shall be a minimum of 1.5 times the area of the sign. For example, a twenty-four-square-foot sign must have a minimum thirty-six-square-foot landscaped area at the base consisting of evergreen shrubs, ground cover and seasonal flowers.

c.

There should be a consistent sign design theme throughout a particular project. The design theme should include style of lettering, illumination, color, height, construction material, size, and type of pole or structure. Color of letters and background should be carefully considered in relation to the color and material of the buildings where the signs are proposed to be located. Signs should be a subordinate feature of the plan relative to the principal structure. The design of a sign must be integrated into the design of the building to which it relates. Adjacent property owners should also seek harmony in design with the neighboring properties.

d.

Signs must be located on a lot so that they are not within the public right-of-way and do not interfere with sight distances at street intersections or ingress and egress points to a lot. Signs intended to be seen from a vehicle should be perpendicular to the line of travel, while signs designed to be read by pedestrians can be parallel with walkways.

e.

Sign lettering. The standard letter height for directional signs is a letter size of two inches plus one additional inch for each 25 feet of viewing distance. A sign designed to be read from 100 feet way [away] should have letters of at least six inches.

(Ord. No. 6-2009, § 2g.; Ord. No. 9-2018, 10-9-2018; Ord. No. 13-2021, §§ 1, 2, 12-28-2021

The design standards for the B-3 overlay district are intended to ensure that commercial developments are of a high quality and that careful attention is given to site layout, building massing and form, landscaping and connecting and integrating the development to the greater community. The design standards will ensure that economic development results in preservation and enhancement of the character of the township's commercial corridor. Architecture and site planning should be designed with a cohesive design scheme. Building details and ornamentation such as indentations, variations in rooflines, cornices, offsets and overhangs are encouraged.

1.

The architectural style of the building shall be designed to avoid the massive scale and uniform impersonal appearances of a strip center or "big box" center through façade ornamentation, building offsets, window treatments, variation in rooflines, entry treatments and upgraded building materials.

a.

With the exception of warehouse and distribution centers, each building façade shall have clearly defined, prominent customer entrances and must include at least three of the following:

• Canopy, portico, overhangs or awnings.

• Recesses or projections.

• Arcades.

• Raised cornices or parapets over the door.

• Peaked roof form or arch.

• Detailed roofing materials.

• Outdoor patios.

• Large display windows.

• Tile work or moldings.

• Integral planters or wing walls.

b.

Building façade materials may include:

• Stone.

• Wood.

• Brick.

• Glass.

• CMU, but it must have a textured finish.

• Tiles and muted metals may be used as a secondary material.

c.

Building façade materials may not include:

• Aluminum siding.

• Vinyl siding.

• Smooth-faced CMU.

• Concrete panels.

• Neon tube lighting.

d.

Decorative elements and building trim should be emphasized.

e.

Awnings over doors and windows are encouraged. Colors may vary, but the design and angles should be consistent throughout the development.

f.

All sides of a building visible to the public must be designed with the same treatment as the front façade.

g.

Variations in rooflines (parapets) shall be used to screen HVAC equipment, to provide interest, and reduce the scale of large buildings.

h.

Outdoor seating for restaurants should be delineated with decorative fencing, bollards or landscaping.

i.

Two-story retail buildings and retail and office combinations are encouraged.

2.

Site Design and Parking.

a.

Parking space requirements shall be in accordance with Township Code section [chapter] 16.22 except that parking for professional offices and retail stores shall be required at a ration of one space for each two hundred (200) square feet of floor area.

b.

Where there is potential for additional development or redevelopment on adjacent lots, the site plan should include provisions for connectivity for vehicular and pedestrian access.

c.

Parking areas must be buffered from view of adjacent properties with extensive landscaping and retention of existing wooded buffers where they exist.

d.

Parking and drive aisles must be set back a minimum of fifty (50) feet from the front property line and may not encroach on the required fifty-foot perimeter buffer.

e.

Except for warehouses and distribution centers that are permitted to have all required passenger motor vehicle parking in the front of the building, no more than sixty-five (65) percent of the required parking lot may be located in front of the buildings.

f.

Sidewalks throughout the site must be a minimum of eight feet wide.

g.

A pedestrian plan must be provided to show pedestrian connections throughout the site and to the adjacent roadways. Pedestrian crosswalks should be constructed with colored stamped concrete, brick or pavers. "Bump outs" are encouraged at crossing areas.

h.

Outdoor common seating areas and "community greens" should be provided as a focal point for planned commercial developments.

3.

Landscaping. A comprehensive landscape plan prepared by a licensed professional landscape architect that provides for shade, buffering to adjacent uses, planting beds within parking areas, foundation plantings adjacent to buildings, preservation of existing healthy vegetation where possible, and other landscaping elements designed to complement and enhance the overall site and building design. In addition to landscaping set forth in sections [chapters] 16.28 and 16.54, the following apply:

a.

At main entryways massed landscaping, architectural features and appropriate signage shall be utilized to create visual focal points and to add to the creation of a sense of place.

b.

Shade trees shall be installed along road frontages and internal access drives at intervals of no less than 40 feet.

c.

There shall e a landscape island at least 9 feet in width at the terminus of each parking row.

d.

Each parking lot island must contain at least one shade tree along with shrubs and ground cover.

e.

Planted berms shall be utilized to enhance buffers between incompatible uses and to shield loading and service activities.

f.

A fifth (50) foot wide landscaped perimeter buffer is required for all planned commercial developments.

g.

Seasonal flowers should be incorporated at entryways and at internal intersection.

h.

Streetlights and pedestrian lighting shall be pedestrian scaled, traditionally styled fixtures and shall be consistent with fixtures designated by the township as suitable for streetscapes.

(Ord. No. 6-2009, § 2h.; Ord. No. 9-2018, 10-9-2018)