Englewood City Zoning Code
PART 5
Miscellaneous Regulations
§ 250-133 Subdivision and site plan approval not required.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, neither subdivision approval nor site plan approval shall be required for any acquisition or sale of lands by the City of Englewood, or for any development undertaken by the City of Englewood on lands owned, leased or to be owned or leased by the City of Englewood, provided that such acquisition, sale or development is authorized by resolution or ordinance adopted by the City Council.
§ 250-134 Referral to Planning Board.
Any proposal for acquisition, sale or development as described in § 250-133 of this article which, if undertaken by someone other than the City of Englewood, would require subdivision and/or site plan approval shall be referred by the City Council, or by such officer or officers of the City as shall be designated by the City Council, to the Planning Board for its review, comments and recommendations prior to effecting such acquisition or sale or commencing construction of such development, and the Planning Board shall review and evaluate the same and apply the same criteria thereto as if such acquisition, sale or development did in fact require subdivision and/or site plan approval.
§ 250-135 Report and recommendations by Planning Board.
Within 45 days of a referral to the Planning Board of any such proposed acquisition, sale or development, the Planning Board shall submit to the City Council its report and recommendations respecting same.
§ 250-136 Rejection or disapproval of Planning Board recommendations.
The City Council shall be guided by and shall proceed pursuant to the report and recommendations of the Planning Board, unless, by resolution duly adopted, it shall reject or disapprove all of any of same. Adoption of any such resolution of rejection or disapproval shall require the votes of three Council members or, in the event of a tie vote among the Council members, a vote of two Council members and the Mayor.
§ 250-137 Failure of Planning Board to submit report.
Failure of the Planning Board to submit its report and recommendations within the aforesaid forty-five-day period shall be deemed to constitute and be the equivalent of a favorable report and recommendation from the Planning Board.
§ 250-138 Redevelopment plans. [1]
A.
Applicability. This section shall be applicable to all applications for development pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1 et seq. and authorized pursuant to a developer’s agreement between a redeveloper and the City Council or a redevelopment agency established by the City of Englewood.
[Amended 4-24-2012 by Ord. No. 12-14]
B.
Submission of application for development. A redeveloper may submit an application for development notwithstanding the failure to either own the proposed site or have a fully executed contract of purchase of the proposed site from the owner thereof at the time of application, provided that the agreement entered into between the redeveloper and the City Council or the redevelopment agency provides for the acquisition of the site by eminent domain, if necessary, and the subsequent conveyance thereof by the City or redevelopment agency to the redeveloper, whether or not subject to conditions precedent.
C.
Except as otherwise provided herein, an application for development filed under this section shall be processed and administered in accordance with the same procedures and pursuant to the same criteria established by ordinance for application for development of nonmunicipal projects.
D.
The City Council may, in the exercise of its sound discretion and in furtherance of a redevelopment plan, designate, by resolution adopted by a majority of the City Council, the application for development by the redeveloper as a municipal project. Upon the filing of a certified copy of such resolution with the Planning Board, the Planning Board shall conduct a review and evaluation of the application for development pursuant to the provisions of §§ 250-134 and 250-135 of this article. Upon completion of the Planning Board review, the City Council may approve or disapprove the report or recommendation of the Planning Board and may approve the proposed development notwithstanding the report, recommendations or approval of the Planning Board in accordance with §§ 250-136 and 250-137 of this article.
[1]
Editor's Note: The redevelopment plans adopted by the City Council are included as an attachment to this chapter.
§ 250-139 Interpretation.
A.
In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this chapter shall be held to be the minimum requirements adopted for the promotion of the public health, safety, comfort, convenience and general welfare. Wherever the requirements of this chapter differ from the requirements of another ordinance, the provisions of that ordinance which impose greater restrictions upon the use of buildings or require larger yards or other open spaces shall govern.
B.
In the event of any conflict in the terminology of any section of part thereof, or between different sections of this chapter, the more restrictive provisions shall control.
§ 250-140 Invalidity.
A.
Should any section or provision of this chapter be decided by any court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the ordinance as a whole or any part thereof other than the part so decided to be unconstitutional or invalid. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this chapter and each section and subsection thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more parts, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases may be declared unconstitutional or invalid.
B.
Should this chapter in its entirety be decided by any court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or invalid, Part 4, Zoning, of this chapter of the City of Englewood, including all amendments thereto, as it existed immediately prior to the adoption of this chapter, shall be deemed to have remained in effect.
§ 250-141 Repeal of inconsistent ordinances.
All ordinances or parts thereof either inconsistent with the provisions hereof or with the provisions of the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
§ 250-142 Matters not covered.
Any matter specifically required to be provided for by the provisions of the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. and not otherwise provided for herein, is hereby incorporated by reference and made a part hereof.
§ 250-143 Severability.
If any section, sentence, clause or other provision of this chapter, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is for any reason adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgement shall not effect, impair or invalidate the remainder of this chapter.
§ 250-144 Preexisting development applications.
All applications for development made pursuant to any land use ordinance or regulation in effect prior to the effective date hereof may be continued pursuant to the provisions of said prior ordinance or regulation, provided that the procedural provisions of the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., shall be adhered to in the processing thereof following the effective date of this chapter to the maximum extent practicable.
§ 250-145 Violations and penalties.
[Amended 3-14-2006 by Ord. No. 06-04]
Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a fine not to exceed the sum of $1,250 and/or imprisonment for a term not to exceed 90 days and/or community service for a period not to exceed 90 days. A separate violation shall occur for each day upon which a violation exists or continues.
§ 250-146 Applicability.
The following provisions are applicable to both the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment.
§ 250-147 Required guarantees; surety.
In accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.4, for the purpose of assuring the installation and maintenance of bondable land development improvements, as a condition of all final site plan, subdivision, and/or zoning permit approvals, the Board or Zoning Officer, as appropriate, shall require, and the City Council shall accept, the following guarantees:
A.
Performance guarantees.
(1)
The furnishing of a performance guarantee in favor of the City in an amount not to exceed 120% of the cost of installation of only those improvements required by an approval or developer's agreement, ordinance, or regulation to be dedicated to a public entity, and that have not yet been installed for the following improvements as shown on the approved plans or plat: streets, pavement, gutters, curbs, sidewalks, street lighting, street trees, surveyor's monuments, as shown on the final map; water mains, sanitary sewers, community septic systems, drainage structures, public improvements of open space, and any grading necessitated by the preceding improvements. The performance guarantee shall also cover the cost for privately owned perimeter buffer landscaping in an approved phase or section of a development, either as a separate guarantee or as a line item of the performance guarantee.
(2)
The cost of the improvements covered by the performance guarantee shall be determined by the City Engineer.
(3)
The City Engineer shall prepare an itemized cost estimate of the improvements covered by the performance guarantee, which itemized cost estimate shall be appended to each performance guarantee posted by the obligor.
B.
Maintenance guarantee.
(1)
In accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.4, developer shall post with the municipality a maintenance guarantee in an amount not to exceed 15% of the cost of the installation of the following private site improvements: stormwater management basins, inflow and water quality structures within the basins, and the outflow pipes and structures of the stormwater management system, if any, which cost shall be determined by the Municipal Engineer.
(2)
The maintenance guarantee shall be furnished upon the inspection and issuance of final approval of the applicable private site improvements by the Municipal Engineer.
(3)
The term of the maintenance guarantee shall be for a period not to exceed two years and shall automatically expire at the end of the established term.
C.
Temporary certificate of occupancy guarantee.
(1)
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53(1)(c), a developer shall furnish a temporary certificate of occupancy guarantee ("TCOG") whenever the developer seeks a temporary certificate of occupancy for a development, unit, lot, building, or phase of development. The TCOG shall be furnished in favor of the municipality in an amount equal to 120% of the cost of installation of any improvements which 1) remain to be completed or installed under the terms of the temporary certificate of occupancy; 2) are required to be completed or installed as a condition precedent to the issuance of a permanent certification of occupancy; and 3) are not covered by an existing performance guarantee.
(2)
The scope and amount of the TCOG shall be determined by the Municipal Engineer.
(3)
The TCOG shall be released upon the issuance of a permanent certificate of occupancy.
D.
Safety and stabilization guarantee.
(1)
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53(1)(d), a developer shall furnish a safety and stabilization guarantee ("SSG") in favor of the municipality, either as a separate guarantee or as a line item of the performance guarantee.
(2)
The amount of the SSG for a development with bonded improvements in an amount not exceeding $100,000 shall be $5,000. The amount of the SSG for a development with bonded improvements exceeding $100,000 shall be calculated as a percentage of the bonded improvement costs of the development or phase of development as follows: $5,000 for the first $100,000 of bonded improvement costs, plus 2 1/2% of bonded improvement costs in excess of $100,000 up to $1,000,000, plus 1% of bonded improvement costs in excess of $1,000,000.
(3)
The municipality shall release a separate SSG to a developer upon the developer's furnishing of a performance guarantee which includes a line item for safety and stabilization in the amount required pursuant to this chapter.
(4)
An SSG shall be available to the municipality for the purposes of returning property that has been disturbed to a safe and stable condition, or taking other measures to protect the public from access to an unsafe or unstable condition. An SSG shall only be available to the municipality when:
(a)
Site disturbance has commenced and, thereafter, all work on the development has ceased for a period of at least 60 consecutive days following such commencement for reasons other than force majeure; and
(b)
Work has not recommenced within 30 days following the provision of written notice by the municipality to the developer of the municipality's intent to claim payment under the guarantee. A municipality shall not provide notice of its intent to claim payment under a SSG until a period of at least 60 days has elapsed during which all work on the development has ceased for reasons other than force majeure. A municipality shall provide written notice to a developer by certified mail or other form of delivery providing evidence of receipt.
(5)
The municipality shall release an SSG upon the Municipal Engineer's determination that the development of the project site has reached a point that the improvements installed are adequate to avoid any potential threat to public safety.
§ 250-148 Other governmental agencies.
In the event that other governmental agencies or public utilities will automatically own the utilities to be installed or the improvements are covered by a performance or maintenance guarantee to another governmental agency, no performance or maintenance guarantee, as the case may be, shall be required by the City for such utilities or improvements.
§ 250-149 Failure to perform; municipal completion.
If the required improvements are not completed or corrected in accordance with the performance guarantee, the obligor and surety, if any, shall be liable thereon to the City for the reasonable cost of the improvements not completed or corrected, and the City may either prior to or after the receipt of the proceeds thereof complete such improvements. Such completion or correction of improvements shall be subject to the public bidding requirements of the Local Public Contracts Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq.
§ 250-150 Conformance with municipal standards.
All improvements shall be in accordance with the design standards of the City Code or as authorized by a design exception granted by the reviewing board and shall be subject to inspection and approval by the Municipal Engineer. The Municipal Engineer shall be notified 24 hours prior to the start of the various phases of the work, and if discontinued, shall again be notified when the work will be continued.
§ 250-151 Release or reduction of performance guarantee.
A.
Upon substantial completion of all required improvements, the obligor may request of the governing body, in writing, by certified mail addressed in care of the City Clerk, that the City Engineer prepare, in accordance with the itemized cost estimate prepared by the City Engineer and appended to the performance guarantee pursuant to this article, a list of all uncompleted or unsatisfactorily completed improvements. If such a request is made, the obligor shall send a copy of the request to the City Engineer. The request shall indicate which improvements have been completed and which improvements remain uncompleted in the judgment of the obligor. Thereupon the City Engineer shall inspect all improvements covered by the obligor's request and shall file a detailed list and report, in writing, with the City Council, and shall simultaneously send a copy thereof to the obligor not later than 45 days after receipt of the obligor's request.
B.
The list prepared by the City Engineer shall state, in detail with respect to each improvement determined to be incomplete or unsatisfactory, the nature and extent of the incompleteness of each incomplete improvement or the nature and extent of, and remedy for, the unsatisfactory state of each completed improvement determined to be unsatisfactory. The report prepared by the City Engineer shall identify each improvement determined to be complete and satisfactory together with a recommendation as to the amount of reduction to be made in the performance guarantee relating to the completed and satisfactory improvement, in accordance with the itemized cost estimate prepared by the Municipal Engineer and appended to the performance guarantee pursuant to this article.
C.
The City Council, by resolution, shall either accept the improvements determined to be complete and satisfactory by the City Engineer or reject any or all of these improvements upon the establishment in the resolution of cause for rejection, and shall approve and authorize the amount of reduction or release to be made in the performance guarantee relating to the improvements accepted, in accordance with the itemized cost estimate prepared by the City Engineer and appended to the performance guarantee pursuant to this article. This resolution shall be adopted not later than 45 days after receipt of the list and report prepared by the City Engineer. Upon adoption of the resolution by the City Council, the obligor shall be released from all liability pursuant to its performance guarantee, with respect to those accepted improvements, except for that portion sufficient to secure completion or correction of the improvements not yet accepted; provided that 30% of the amount of the performance guarantee posted may be retained to ensure completion and acceptability of all improvements. If any portion of the required improvements is rejected, the City shall require the obligor to complete or correct such improvements, and, upon completion or correction, the same procedure of notification, as set forth in this section, shall be followed.
§ 250-152 Release or reduction of performance guarantee.
A.
The obligor shall reimburse the City for all reasonable inspection fees paid to the City Engineer for the foregoing inspection of improvements; provided that the municipality may require of the developer a deposit for the inspection fees in an amount not to exceed, except for extraordinary circumstances, the greater of $270 or 5% of the cost of improvements, which cost shall be determined pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.4.
B.
If the municipality determines that the amount in escrow for the payment of inspection fees is insufficient to cover the cost of additional required inspections, the municipality may require the developer to deposit additional funds in escrow.
C.
If additional funds are required, the municipality shall submit to the developer a written inspection escrow deposit request, signed by the Municipal Engineer, which:
§ 250-153 Phasing in sections.
In the event that final approval is by stages or sections of development pursuant to Subsection a of Section 29 of P.L. 1975, c. 291 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-38), the provisions of this section shall be applied by stage or section.
§ 250-154 Dedication and acceptance.
To the extent that any of the improvements have been dedicated to the City on the subdivision plat, site plan and/or zoning permit, the municipality shall be deemed, upon the release of any performance guarantee required hereunder, to accept dedication for public use any improvements made thereunder, provided that such improvements have been inspected and have received final approval by the City Engineer.
§ 250-155 Site plan bonding provisions.
Performance and maintenance bonds: In approving the site plan, the Planning Board shall require that the applicant furnish a performance, maintenance, and related bonds in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
§ 250-156 Subdivision of land bonding provisions.
A.
Performance guaranties and inspections. Installation of improvements and maintenance guaranty or performance guaranty required. No final plat shall be approved by the approving authority until all items required to be bonded (on-site, off-site, on-tract and off-tract) in the public interest have been installed, inspected, certified and approved by the City Engineer and accepted by the governing body and a maintenance guaranty has been filed and accepted by the governing body in accordance with the requirements of this Code at § 250-147 et seq.
B.
Maintenance guaranty. The municipality shall also require a maintenance guaranty in accord with this chapter.
§ 250-157 Applicability to existing projects.
The modifications in this article shall be applicable to all projects that have not received final approvals from the City Planning Board or the City Zoning Board of Adjustment and/or which have not posted bonds and begun construction of required improvements as of January 16, 2018, the date of enactment of P.L. 2017, c. 312, which obviated the City's previously lawful ordinances.
§ 250-158 Repealer; severability; when effective.
A.
Repealer. Any and all ordinances inconsistent with the terms of this article are hereby repealed to the extent of any such inconsistencies.
B.
Severability. In the event that any clause, section, paragraph or sentence of this article is deemed to be invalid or unenforceable for any reason, then the City Council hereby declares its intent that the balance of this article not affected by said invalidity shall remain in full force and effect to the extent that it allows the City to meet the goals of this article.
C.
Effective date. This article shall take effect upon proper passage and approval in accordance with the law.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 250-159, Mandatory affordable housing set-aside, which comprised former Art. XXII, Affordable Housing, added 4-8-2022 by Ord. No. 22-01, which immediately followed this section, was repealed 7-11-2023 by Ord. No. 23-21.