Hampton Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE II
Purpose and Community Development Objectives
§ 310-2 Purpose.
The provisions of this chapter are designed to accomplish the following:
A.
To promote, protect and facilitate any or all of the following: the public health, safety, morals and the general welfare; coordinated and practical community development and proper density of population; emergency management preparedness and operations; the provisions of adequate light and air, vehicle parking and loading space, transportation, water, sewerage, recreational facilities, public grounds; the provision of a safe, reliable and adequate water supply for domestic, commercial, agricultural or industrial use, and other public requirements; as well as preservation of the natural, scenic and historic values in the environment and preservation of forests, environmentally critical lands, wetlands, aquifers and floodplains;
B.
To prevent one or more of the following: overcrowding of land; blight; danger and congestion in travel and transportation; loss of health, life or property from fire, flood, panic or other dangers;
C.
To preserve prime agricultural, farmland, natural resources, and environmentally critical lands, considering topography, soil type and classification and present use;
D.
To provide for the use of land within the municipality for residential housing of various dwelling types encompassing all basic forms of housing, including single-family and two-family dwellings, and a reasonable range of multifamily dwellings in various arrangements, mobile homes and mobile home parks; provided, however, that this chapter shall not be deemed invalid for the failure to provide for any other specific dwelling type;
E.
To accommodate reasonable overall community growth, including population and employment growth, and opportunities for development of a variety of residential dwelling types and nonresidential uses; and
F.
To encourage and facilitate the orderly growth and expansion of the municipality and to protect the character and maintain the stability of residential, commercial and industrial areas within the Township.
§ 310-3 Community development objectives.
In addition to the general purposes behind adoption of this chapter, as laid out in § 310-2, the following specific community development objectives are identified in the Township of Hampton Comprehensive Master Plan relative to land use, as adopted by Resolution No. 771 on January 25, 2006. The following is a supplementary statement of the purpose and intent of this chapter. The objectives may be used in evaluating any proposed additions or deletions to this chapter and Chapter 280, Subdivision and Land Development.
A.
The general objective for the management of growth in the Township is to provide a pleasant, attractive, healthy, safe and convenient environment for living, working, education, shopping and recreation. This objective shall be pursued by the creation and implementation of land use plans to:
(1)
Preserve and improve the natural environment;
(2)
Increase property values, employment opportunities, and the economic base of the community;
(3)
Provide for safe, adequate and attractive housing;
(4)
Minimize losses from flooding;
(5)
Provide the necessary infrastructure of utilities and vehicular transportation arteries;
(6)
Provide for recreational and community facilities;
(7)
Provide for ongoing community planning and growth management; and
(8)
Provide for safe, adequate and attractive commercial, institutional and technical uses.
B.
The preservation and improvement of the environment shall be pursued by:
(1)
The preservation of natural topography, environmentally critical areas, wetlands, and wooded areas, including the limiting of hillside development beyond a reasonable gradient, and the control of floodplains and watersheds;
(2)
The limitation of excess erosion, hazardous rock and soil slippage, sedimentation and other soil and water management problems;
(3)
The regulation and control of the design, construction, quality of materials, use, location and maintenance of grading, excavation and fill; and
(4)
The promotion and dedication of natural open space and wooded slopeland in order to link the existing and proposed open spaces and to prevent ecological problems resulting from extensive cut and fill necessary to develop wooded slopelands.
C.
Recognizing that the Township of Hampton is basically a residential community with limited opportunities for commercial and industrial growth, the increase of property values, employment opportunities and the economic base of the community shall be pursued by:
(1)
The promotion of balanced economic growth and employment opportunities;
(2)
The concentration of commercial and industrial uses in the areas where street and utilities can provide the necessary services and where conflicts with other uses can be minimized through site design and transitional provisions; and
(3)
The responsible redevelopment and productive reuse of brownfield properties, which include properties that are contaminated or perceived to be contaminated, as well as properties that are underutilized for various socioeconomic reasons, obsolescence, tax delinquency and/or blight.
D.
The provision of safe, adequate and attractive housing for the entire population of the community shall be preserved by:
(1)
The provision of a wide range of housing densities, alternatives and a mix of housing types, correlating residential density and housing types with topography, environmental conditions, and the capacity and distance from existing and proposed utilities, streets and community facilities; and
(2)
The promotion of an attractive residential environment through the implementation of the other objectives set forth herein.
F.
The provision of recreation and community facilities may be pursued by: