Eastampton Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE I
General Provisions
§ 540-1 Title.
The title of this chapter shall be known as the "Zoning Ordinance of the Township of Eastampton."
§ 540-2 Purpose.
A.
This chapter was developed by the Township Council to promote the public health, safety, morals, general welfare and all other purposes enumerated in the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law, Chapter 291 of the Laws of New Jersey 1975, as amended and supplemented.[1] In particular, it is the intent and purpose of this chapter as follows:
(1)
To encourage municipal action to guide the appropriate use of development of all lands in the Township in a manner which will promote the public health, safety, morals and general welfare.
(2)
To secure safety from fire, flood, panic and other natural and man-made disasters.
(3)
To provide adequate light, air and open space.
(4)
To ensure that the development of individual municipalities does not conflict with the development and general welfare of neighboring municipalities, the county and the state as a whole.
(5)
To provide for the establishment of appropriate population densities and concentrations which will contribute to the well-being of persons, neighborhoods and communities and preservation of the environment.
(6)
To encourage the appropriate and efficient expenditure of public funds by coordination of the public development with land use policies.
(7)
To provide sufficient space in appropriate locations for a variety of agricultural, residential, recreational, commercial and industrial uses and open space, both public and private, according to their respective environmental requirements in order to meet the needs of all New Jersey citizens.
(8)
To 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.
(9)
To promote a desirable visual environment through creative development techniques and good civic design and arrangements.
(10)
To promote the conservation of historic sites and districts, open space, energy resources and valuable natural resources in the state and to prevent suburban sprawl and the degradation of the environment through the improper use of land.
(11)
To encourage planned unit developments which incorporate the best features of design while relating the type, design and layout of residential, commercial, industrial and recreational development to the particular site.
(12)
To promote senior citizen community housing construction.
(13)
To encourage coordination of the various public and private procedures and activities that shape land development, with an emphasis on lessening the cost of such development and the more efficient use of land.
(14)
To promote the utilization of renewable energy resources.
(15)
To promote the maximum practicable recovery and recycling of recyclable materials from municipal solid waste through the use of planning practices designed to incorporate the state recycling plan goals and to complement municipal recycling programs.
(16)
To enable municipalities the flexibility to offer alternatives to traditional development, through the use of equitable and effective planning tools including clustering, transferring development rights, and lot-size averaging in order to concentrate development in areas where growth can best be accommodated and maximized while preserving agricultural lands, open space, and historic sites.
(17)
To ensure that the development of individual municipalities does not unnecessarily encroach upon military facilities or negatively impact the operation of military facilities, and to those ends, to encourage municipalities to collaborate with military facility commanders in planning and implementing appropriate land use controls, thereby improving the vitality of military facilities and protecting against their loss through the base realignment and closure process or mission loss.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
B.
Furthermore, this chapter was developed to implement the Master Plan and achieve its following goals:
(1)
Protect the environment and natural resources.
(2)
Preserve important agricultural land and open space.
(3)
Create a town center.
(4)
Achieve a walkable and bikeable community.
(5)
Pursue and maintain aesthetically pleasing, environmentally and economically sustainable development and redevelopment.
(6)
Expand and strengthen the local economy and tax base to provide needed jobs, goods and services.
(7)
Promote Eastampton Township as a major recreational destination.
(8)
Provide safe, Code-compliant housing stock for a diverse cross-section of households and household incomes.
(9)
Improve and carefully expand the municipality's infrastructure, services and amenities to meet current and future needs.
§ 540-3 Minimum standards.
The regulations established by this chapter shall be held to be the minimum standards necessary to achieve the purposes and objectives of the Township of Eastampton Master Plan and to protect the public health, safety and general welfare, and shall be applied uniformly to each class or kind of structure or land. It is not the intention of this chapter to interfere with, abrogate or annul any easements, covenants or other agreements between parties provided. Where this chapter imposes a greater restriction than is imposed and required by other provisions of the Code of the Township of Eastampton, county, state, or federal government, the provisions of this chapter shall govern.
§ 540-4 Use of land and buildings.
A.
Use of land and construction of buildings. On and after the effective date of this chapter, no land or building shall be used, developed, constructed, located, altered, rebuilt or enlarged for any purpose within the Township of Eastampton except in conformity with the restrictions and regulations established by this chapter for the district in which such land or building is located and in conformity with all other pertinent terms and provisions of this chapter.
B.
Existing uses and structures. In all districts, after the effective date of this chapter, any existing building or structure and all tracts of land, the use of which is not in conformity with the regulation for the district in which it is located, shall be deemed as nonconforming and subject to the appropriate regulations of this chapter governing such nonconforming lots, uses and structures.
C.
Failure to comply. Any building constructed, rebuilt, altered or located on or after the effective date of this chapter, in violation of the restrictions and regulations established for the district in which it is located or in violation of other pertinent terms or provisions of this chapter, shall be changed, altered, reconstructed or relocated by the person who illegally constructed or located such building and by the owner of the land on which the illegal activities are situated so that both the building and premises shall conform with all provisions of this chapter. Such change, alteration, correction or relocation shall be made within 30 days after notification, in writing, by the Zoning Officer to the person who constructed, altered or located the building and the owner of the land on which it is located. Such notification shall be by personal service on those to be served, by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of those to be served.
D.
Prohibited uses. All uses not expressly permitted in this chapter are prohibited.