The purpose of establishing planned garden apartment districts shall be to encourage the logical and timely development of land for garden apartment purposes in accordance with the objectives, policies and proposals of the Comprehensive Plan; to permit a variety of housing types which conforms to the intent of the Comprehensive Plan and this chapter; to ensure the suitable design of the garden apartment in order to protect surrounding neighborhoods; to ensure that the said development will constitute a residential environment of sustained desirability and stability; to minimize traffic congestion, overcrowding of the land, noise and glare, so as to lessen the danger to the public safety.

In GA Garden Apartment Districts, the following regulations shall apply.

Apartment house or group of apartment houses which constitute a single operating or proprietary unit.

Playgrounds, parks, tot-lots and other public or semipublic noncommercial recreation facilities as well as open spaces.

Off-street automobile parking and off-street delivery-collection facilities shall be required. Such parking area shall not be leased but shall be for the sole use of the occupants of such building and visitors thereto.

Accessory uses customarily incidental to the above uses.

The following uses when authorized as a special exception:

Lot area and width. A lot of not less than one acre shall be provided for every area to be used in whole or in part as a Garden Apartment District, and a lot width of not less than 200 feet at the building line shall be provided for each apartment house erected in this district. A lot area of not less than 3,000 square feet per dwelling unit shall be provided for every building hereafter erected or used as an apartment house.

Building coverage. The building coverage on any lot shall not be in excess of the following:

Setback from streets. There shall be a setback from the ultimate right-of-way of each street on which the garden apartment district abuts which shall not be less than 50 feet in depth measured from the ultimate right-of-way to the building line.

Setback from property lines. There shall be a setback from any property line which the garden apartment district abuts, of not less than 30 feet.

Distance between buildings. The perpendicular distances measured in feet between parallel elements of buildings forming court and courtyards shall not be less than 1 1/2 the height of the taller building, measured in feet.

Dwelling units per acres. There shall be no more than 14 dwelling units per developable acre.

The proposed development shall be constructed in accordance with an overall plan and shall be designed as a unified architectural unit with appropriate landscaping.

The following classes of apartments shall be permitted in a GA District: (1) Efficiency one-bedroom unit; (2) one-bedroom unit; and (3) two-bedroom unit. A proposed development shall be designed so as to provide one-bedroom or efficiency apartment units for at least 60% of the dwelling units. In no case shall the number of two-bedroom units be more than 40% of the total number of dwelling units.

Parking. Not less than two off-street automobile parking spaces shall be required for each dwelling unit. Such parking area shall be so placed as not to interfere with any recreation or service area, and shall not be less than 25 feet from property lines or ultimate right-of-way lines.

Service. Areas for loading and unloading of delivery trucks and other vehicles and for the servicing of refuse collection, fuel and other services shall be provided and shall be adequate in size and shall be arranged that they may be used without blockage or interference with the use of accessways or automobile parking facilities.

Lighting facilities. Lighting facilities shall be required where deemed necessary for the safety and convenience of garden apartment residents. These facilities shall be arranged in a manner which will protect streets and neighboring properties from unreasonable glare or hazardous interference of any kind.

Buffer. The Garden Apartment District shall have a permanent landscaped planting area of at least 10 feet in depth designed for screening from view and access any use which is adjoining and contiguous to the said district.

Recreation. Recreation areas and facilities may be required by the Planning Commission where considered to be necessary for the comfort and convenience of the garden apartment residents.

Paving. All areas provided for use by vehicles and all pedestrian walks shall be constructed in accordance with all pertinent Borough specifications.

If the development of the garden apartments is to be carried out in stages, each stage shall be so planned that the foregoing requirements and the intent of this article shall be fully complied with at the completion of any stage. The initial stage of development shall comprise a total floor area of not less than 15,000 square feet.

The developer shall ensure the provision of required improvements by means of a proper completion guarantee in the form of a bond or deposit of funds or securities in escrow to cover the cost of the improvements. The work shall be performed in accordance with all requirements and the approved plans.

All plans shall be submitted to the Code Enforcement Officer who shall first determine whether they conform with all applicable ordinances, regulations and resolutions of the Borough. These plans shall then be forwarded to the Borough Planning Commission for their consideration. The recommendations of the Code Enforcement Officer and the Planning Commission, together with the plans, shall then be transmitted to the Borough Council, who shall have the power of final approval or disapproval.

An architect's drawing showing the external appearance of the proposed building or buildings, with a certificate thereon by the owner that the building will be constructed as to appearance, in conformity with said drawing, shall be submitted with the plan.

Plans submitted for approval shall show the layout of the total area and shall include the following: