Franklin Township Hunterdon
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE V
Conditional Uses
§ 220-22 Public schools and houses of worship.
[Added 12-4-1997 by Ord. No. 97-44; amended 12-4-1997 by Ord. No. 97-44A; 12-4-1997 by Ord. No. 97-44B; 9-3-1998 by Ord. No. 98-44C]
A.
In the AR-7.0, RR-5.0 and R-3.0 Zones, public schools and houses of worship are permitted only in accordance with the special conditions set forth herein. These conditions are in addition to any requirement of the zone in which the use is proposed. In the event of conflict between the standards for the zone in which the use is proposed and those of this section, these standards shall prevail.
B. ACCESSORY STRUCTURES DAY CARE HOUSE OF WORSHIP PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION RELIGIOUS EDUCATION SCHOOLS
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Any structures other than the school or house of worship located on the same lot, which structure shall be limited to one single-family dwelling unit and one detached passenger vehicle garage of not more than three bays.
The provision of services to persons, regardless of age, on a not-for-profit basis for purposes other than religious educations and other than in conjunction with primary or secondary education, as defined in N.J.S.A. 18A:1-1 et seq. Day-care services may only be provided on Monday through Friday, between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. All day care must be licensed by the State of New Jersey.
A structure principally devoted to the exercise of religion by bona fide members of a corporation or religious association organized and in good standing pursuant to N.J.S.A. 16:1-1 et seq. and which also qualifies pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of the United States for tax-exempt status. Proof of such lawful organization, good standing and tax-exempt status must be submitted at the time of application.
The provision of services to school-age children, whether on a profit or not-for-profit basis, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:1-1 et seq.
The instruction of the religious creed to members of a religious corporation or association conducted by members of the congregation solely for the benefit of congregation members. Such education shall not be deemed to be the provisions of day-care services of primary or secondary education when provided to persons who are members of the congregation.
A structure principally devoted to primary and secondary education as defined hereinabove.
C.
Conditional uses. Conditional uses shall be as follows:
(1)
Principal permitted structure/use: school or house of worship.
(2)
Permitted accessory structure/use.
(a)
A school or house of worship may contain nonresidential ancillary meeting rooms or halls. Such accessory use may include kitchen facilities, provided that the Board shall require separate studies relating to the capacity of the site to safely sustain anticipated water uses and on-site sewage disposal.
(b)
Day services.
(c)
Religious educational services.
(d)
Off-street parking.
(3)
Prohibited use. No use, combinations of use or configuration of use shall be permitted, except as expressly provided for herein, and all other such uses, combination of uses or configurations are prohibited. Cemeteries, whether designated for in-ground or aboveground interment are prohibited. The construction, erection or provision of any other structure or shelter, whether permanent or temporary, including by way of example tents, lean-tos or tarps, is prohibited. The provision of overnight shelter is prohibited within the school or house of worship or accessory detached residential dwelling unit, except by lawful order of civilian emergency management personnel.
D.
Lot requirements. Lot requirements shall be as follows:
(1)
Bulk requirements:
(a)
Lot size: five acres; eight acres if the lot is to include an accessory residential structure or detached garage.
(b)
Lot frontage: 400 feet.
(c)
Front yard setback: 100 feet.
(d)
Side yard setback: 100 feet.
(e)
Rear yard setback: 100 feet.
(f)
Height: 35 feet, not including bell towers, steeples or religious symbols, but in no event shall any portion of the structure exceed 50 feet measured from finished grade at the front of the structure.
(g)
Lot coverage: maximum impervious coverage shall be 40%.
(2)
Off-street parking.
(a)
All proposed parking in support of the use shall be located on site and limited to one side yard and the rear yard.
(b)
All parking areas are subject to setback requirements.
(c)
There shall be provided one space for each three seats intended for religious services.
(d)
For accessory residential use, one space for each two residents.
(e)
For accessory nonresidential and ancillary meeting rooms or halls, one space for each 200 square feet of gross floor area or part thereof, in addition to Subsection D(2)(d) above; provided, however, that if the nonresidential ancillary meeting rooms or halls are not to be used at the same time as religious services and/or education, then the larger of Subsection D(2)(c) or one space per 200 square feet of ancillary space shall apply.
(3)
Additional site requirements.
(a)
Road right-of-way. No school or house of worship shall be located on any road with less than a sixty-foot right-of-way; provided, however, that the additional grant of road right-of-way shall then qualify. An existing cartway of less than 46 feet (23 feet from the center line of the road) must be improved to 23 feet (from the center line of the road) along the entire frontage or within 500 feet of all driveways located on the site, whichever is greater.
(b)
Driveway access. No driveway shall be located within 100 feet of any property line or within 500 feet of any street intersection, bridge or existing nonresidential use driveway and shall be paved according to ordinance.
(c)
Parking areas. No parking areas shall be visible from the road. Screening of parking areas shall be indigenous evergreen planted in double offset rows. Initial plantings shall be at least four feet high as measured after planting. The number of trees shall be computed on the basis of one tree for each 10 feet of road frontage or perimeter of the proposed parking area, whichever is greater.
(4)
Lighting. No on-site lighting shall be permitted which results in the lighting element being visible when viewed from the property line. All parking lot lighting shall be timer-controlled such that it will shut off not more than 1/2 hour after conclusion of the use of the parking area. Parking area lighting shall be arranged in such a manner that lighting can be turned on or off in multiples of not more than 20 spaces.
§ 220-23 (Reserved) [1]
[1]
Editor's Note Former § 220-23, Two-dwelling-unit conversions, as amended, was repealed 11-13-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-18.
§ 220-24 Live-work unit.
[Added 5-7-1992 by Ord. No. 92-14; amended 4-1-1999 by Ord. No. 99-5; 6-25-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-06]
A.
A live-work unit is permitted only in accordance with the conditions set forth herein:
(1)
A live-work unit shall be located on a parcel with frontage along a county road or be located on a parcel within the Neighborhood Business Zone.
(2)
The "work" or nonresidential component may consistent of one of the following uses: retail, personal service, office or medical office.
(3)
The nonresidential use shall comprise no more than 45% of the total principal structure's square footage.
(4)
The building shall be owner-occupied, and the nonresidential use shall be conducted by a member of the immediate family residing on the premises, and entirely within the residential building.
(5)
There shall be a maximum of five nonresident employees.
B.
The following standards shall apply to live-work units, but any deviation from the below shall be treated as a "c" bulk variance:
(1)
No loading space shall be required.
(2)
A minimum average of 0.5 footcandle shall be maintained in the parking area. Along any property line common with an adjacent residential use the maximum footcandles shall be 0.5.
(3)
A maximum of one ground sign for the nonresidential use is permitted. Said ground sign shall be a maximum of five feet tall and a maximum of 15 square feet in area. Said sign shall be located at least 10 feet from the property line and may be illuminated.
§ 220-24.1 Wind energy systems.
[Added 6-25-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-06]
A.
A wind energy system is permitted only in accordance with the conditions set forth herein:
(1)
A wind energy system may be located in the AR-7.0 Zone and shall be an accessory use to the principal use on the same lot.
(2)
The parcel shall contain a minimum of 20 acres.
(3)
The wind energy system shall be setback a minimum of 150% of the system height as defined in § 220-5 from all property lines and 110% of the system height from any buildings.
(4)
The wind energy system shall be a maximum of 100 feet tall. If this height limit precludes the effective use of a wind energy system on a particular site, such system shall not be a permitted use.
(5)
Wind energy systems shall not be permitted in a front yard unless they are a minimum of 400 feet from the right-of-way.
(6)
No more than one wind energy facility shall be permitted per property.
(7)
All ground-mounted electrical and control equipment shall be labeled and secured to prevent unauthorized access.
(8)
A wind energy system shall not be artificially lit unless such lighting is required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
(9)
The system shall remain painted or finished in the color or finish that was originally applied by the manufacturer.
(10)
There shall be no signs posted on the wind energy system or any associated building that would be visible from any public road except for the manufacturer's or installer's identification, appropriate warning signs or owner identification.
(11)
The wind energy system shall be designed with an automatic brake or governing system to prevent over-speeding and excessive pressure on the tower structure.
(12)
For wind speeds between zero and 25 mph, the noise level generated by any wind energy system, measured at the common property line, shall not exceed 55 decibels.
(13)
Site plan approval shall be required for the wind energy system.
(14)
Wind energy systems that connect to the electric utility shall comply with New Jersey's Net Metering and Interconnection Standards for Class 1 Renewable Energy Systems and as required by the electric utility servicing the parcel.
B.
The following standards shall apply to wind energy systems, but any deviation from the below shall be treated as a "c" bulk variance:
(1)
The application for site plan approval shall include all of the following information:
(a)
A survey indicating property lines, physical dimensions of the property along with location, dimensions, and existing structures on the property.
(b)
A plan indicating the proposed location and dimensions of the proposed wind energy facility.
(c)
A plan indicating the locations of any overhead utility easements on the property.
(d)
Proposed wind facility specifications, including manufacturer and model, rotor diameter, system height, tower height, and tower type (freestanding or guyed).
(e)
At least one photograph of the subject premises depicting the area for which a wind energy system is proposed.
(2)
A wind energy system that has been out of service for a continuous twelve-month period shall be deemed to have been abandoned and shall be completely removed from the premises within three months of such abandonment; areas from which wind energy system have been removed shall be restored to a pre-installation state. The owner of the land occupied by the wind energy system shall be responsible for such removal.
(a)
The Zoning Officer may issue a notice of abandonment to the landowner of a wind energy system that is deemed to have been abandoned. The notice shall be sent return receipt requested.
(b)
The landowner shall have the right to respond to the notice of abandonment within 14 days of receipt.
(c)
If the owner provides information to the Zoning Officer within the requisite fourteen-day respond period that demonstrates that the wind energy system has not been abandoned, the Zoning Officer shall withdraw the notice of abandonment and notify the owner that the notice has been withdrawn.
(d)
If the Zoning Officer determines that the wind energy system has been abandoned the landowner of the wind energy system shall remove the wind energy system and all other equipment associated with it, at the landowner's sole expense, within three months after receipt of the notice of abandonment, and the area of the site that contains such equipment shall be restored to a preinstallation state.
§ 220-24.2 (Reserved) [1]
§ 220-24.3 Commercial solar energy system.
[Added 11-12-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-12]
Commercial solar energy systems are permitted subject to compliance with the following conditions:
A.
Commercial solar energy systems shall be permitted in nonresidential zones on lots with at least 10 acres and in residential zones on lots with at least 40 acres.
B.
Commercial solar energy systems shall comply with the principal structure setbacks in the underlying zone.
C.
Said use shall be a maximum of 15 feet tall.
D.
All electrical wires servicing the system, other than wires necessary to interconnect the solar panels, and the grounding wires shall be located underground.
E.
The installation of a commercial solar energy system shall conform to the National Electric Code as adopted by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.
F.
Said systems that connect to the electric utility shall comply with New Jersey's Net Metering and Interconnection Standards for Class I Renewable Energy Systems and as required by the electric utility servicing the parcel.
G.
Said systems shall not be used for displaying any advertising except for reasonable identification of the manufacture or operator of the system. In no case shall identification be visible from a property line.
H.
The design of a commercial solar energy system shall, to the extent practicable, use materials, colors, textures, screening and landscaping that will blend the facility into a natural setting and existing environment.
I.
Abandonment:
(1)
A commercial solar energy system that is out of service for a continuous twelve-month period shall be deemed abandoned.
(2)
The Construction Official may issue a notice of abandonment to the owner. The notice shall be sent via regular and certified mail return receipt required to the owner of record.
(3)
Any abandoned system shall be removed at the owner's sole expense within six months after the owner receives the notice of abandonment from the Township Construction Official. If the system is not removed within six months of receipt of notice, the Township may remove the system as set forth below.
(4)
When an owner of a commercial solar energy system has been notified to remove same and has not done so six months after receiving said notice, then the Township may remove such system and place a lien upon the property for the cost of the removal. If removed by the owner, a demolition permit shall be obtained, and the facility shall be removed. Upon removal, the site shall be cleaned, restored and revegetated to blend with the existing surrounding vegetation at the time of abandonment.
(5)
Solar panels removed from the site should be deposited at a recognized solar panel recycling center. Panels that are not recycled must be disposed of in accordance with current NJDEP or EPA requirements.
J.
Permit requirements.
(1)
A building and electrical permit shall be required for the installation of a commercial solar energy system.
(2)
The site plan shall include the following:
(a)
Name, address and phone number of the owner and applicant; north arrow, graphic and written scale; date of preparation; block and lot; name and address, signature and license number of person(s) preparing the survey; revision box and date of each revision; zone data box; and key map;
(b)
Property lines and physical dimensions of the property;
(c)
Location, dimension, and types of existing principal and accessory structures on the property;
(d)
Location of the proposed commercial solar energy system;
(e)
The right-of-way delineation of any public road that is contiguous with the property;
(f)
Any overhead utility lines;
(g)
Location and definition of easements;
(h)
Commercial solar energy systems specifications; including manufacturer and model of all components, panel height and width;
(i)
At least one photograph of the subject site depicting the area for which a commercial solar energy system is proposed; and
(j)
Valid survey representative of current conditions of the property and a site plan of proposed conditions.