Hazlet Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE I
Title
§ 181-100 TITLE.
A comprehensive ordinance of the Township of Hazlet, Monmouth County, New Jersey, establishing and fixing regulations for the development of lands within the Township and the uses and locations of buildings and structures; regulating and restricting the height and bulk of buildings and structures and determining the area of yards and other open spaces; regulating and limiting the density of population; dividing the Township of Hazlet into zone districts for such purposes; adopting a map of the Township showing boundaries and the classification of such zone districts; establishing rules, regulations and standards governing the subdivision of land within the Township; establishing a Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment; and prescribing penalties for the violation of its provisions.
§ 181-101 SHORT TITLE.
This Ordinance shall be known and may be cited as "The Development Review Ordinance of the Township of Hazlet."
§ 181-102 PURPOSE AND INTENT.
It is the intent and purpose of this Ordinance to exercise the authority delegated to municipalities under the Municipal Land Use law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.) to regulate development.
The implementation of the Township of Hazlet Master Plan through the provisions of this Ordinance is intended:
A.
To guide the appropriate use or development of all lands in a manner that will promote the public health, safely, morals and general welfare;
B.
To secure safety from fire, flood, panic and other natural and manmade disasters;
C.
To provide adequate light, air and open space;
D.
To ensure that the development of the Township of Hazlet does not conflict with the development and general welfare of neighboring municipalities, the County and State as a whole;
E.
To promote the establishment of appropriate population densities and concentrations that will contribute to the well-being of persons, neighborhoods, communities and regions and presentation of the environment;
F.
To encourage the appropriate and efficient expenditure of public funds by the coordination of public development with land use policies;
G.
To provide sufficient space in appropriate locations for a variety of 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;
H.
To encourage the location and design of transportation routes that will promote the free flow of traffic while discouraging location of such facilities and routes which will result in congestion or blight;
I.
To provide a desirable visual environment through creative development techniques and good civic design and arrangements;
J.
To promote the conservation of open space, energy resources and valuable natural resources and to prevent urban sprawl and degradation of the environment through improper use of land;
K.
To encourage the coordination of various public and private procedures and activities shaping land development with a view of lessening the cost of such development and to the more efficient use of land;
L.
To promote the maximum practical 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 compliment municipal recycling programs;
M.
To promote a balanced variety of residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, public, open space and conservation land uses;
N.
To preserve and enhance the existing character of the residential neighborhoods in the Township while providing a mix of housing types and uses;
O.
To promote aesthetic and site improvements in the Township's major commercial and industrial areas in a manner that maintains an appropriate transition between residential and commercial uses and districts;
P.
To guide the redevelopment and development of the remaining large parcels and scattered vacant sites within neighborhoods to ensure proposed uses support existing uses without adverse impacts in terms of land use compatibility, traffic, economic, and aesthetic impacts;
Q.
To maintain a balance between residential and nonresidential uses to ensure a stable and sound community tax base and local employment opportunities;
R.
To reclaim underutilized and/or constrained parcels for productive use;
S.
To provide a circulation network for vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians that permits safe and efficient travel;
T.
To provide for adequate parking facilities in accordance with the needs of the respective land uses and the character of the individual zone districts;
U.
To provide adequate community facilities and services in order to enhance the quality of life for existing and future Township residents and respond to changing demographics;
V.
To promote the purposes of the Municipal Land Use Law.
§ 181-103 APPLICABILITY TO TOWNSHIP.
Whenever the Township or any duly constituted board, agency or department thereof is acting in or pursuant to the performance of a governmental function, carrying out a legislative mandate or in the exercise of its private right as a corporate body, any Township owned, operated or controlled building, structure, facility or use either existing or proposed shall not be subject to the provisions of this Ordinance. It is the intention of this section that whatever the Township may be authorized to do shall constitute a function of government and that whenever the Township shall act pursuant to granted authority, it acts as government and not as private entrepreneur and, therefore, is exempt from any Zoning and any land use act zoning provisions.
§ 181-104 INTERPRETATION.
In interpreting and applying the provisions of this Ordinance, they shall be held to be the minimum required to serve the aforesaid "purposes" and the "community development objectives" hereinafter set forth. Where the provisions of this Ordinance impose greater restrictions or higher standards than those of any statute, other ordinance or regulations, the provisions of this Ordinance shall govern. Where the provisions of any statute, other ordinance or regulation impose greater restrictions or higher standards than this Ordinance, the provisions of such statute, ordinance or regulation shall govern.
§ 181-105 TIME OF COMPLIANCE.
All applicable requirements shall be met at the time of erection, enlargement, alteration, moving or change in use of the principal use and shall apply to the entire structure or structures whether or not the entire structure or structures were involved in the erection, enlargement, alteration, moving or change in use.
§ 181-106 PROPOSED PUBLIC DEDICATIONS.
Approval of final plans by the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment, as the case may be, shall constitute an acceptance of proposed dedications for streets, parks, and other public uses or purposes. Nonetheless, such approval shall not constitute an acceptance of physical improvements on such dedicated land and shall not impose on the Township any obligation of jurisdiction or maintenance of such improvements. The acceptance of such physical improvements shall be by action of the Township Committee in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.
§ 181-107 DATE OF APPROVAL.
The time period for the effect of approval shall begin with the date of the adoption of the resolution memorializing such approval of the subject application by the board of jurisdiction.
§ 181-108 DEDICATION OF RIGHT-OF-WAY.
No subdivision or site plan involving any street(s) requiring additional right-of-way width as specified in the Master Plan or Official Map and the street requirements of this Ordinance shall be approved unless such additional right-of-way, either along one or both sides of said street(s), as applicable, shall be deeded to the municipality or other appropriate governmental agency.
§ 181-109 REQUIRED CONFORMANCE.
No building shall be erected and no existing building shall be moved, altered, enlarged, or rebuilt, nor shall any land be designed, used or intended to be used for any purpose other than as permitted within the zoning districts so described by this Ordinance, nor shall any open space or yard area be encroached upon or reduced in any manner except in strict conformity with the regulations contained herein.