Lafayette City Zoning Code
§ 13-13F.1
Purpose.
[Ord. No. 2016-13 § 2; Ord. No. 2018-10 §§ 1—3]
The purpose of the R-5 Cemetery Overlay Zone is to permit cemetery use in the R-5 Zone on larger tracts of land with County and State highway access to serve a range of coordinated uses for comprehensive cemetery planning and development in accordance with Lafayette Township's land use protection objectives and ordinances.
a.
Any tract of land for use as a cemetery for human interment shall conform to the standards for the R-5 Zone as provided at § 13-8. Where the following requirements may be more restrictive than those provided at § 13-8, the following requirements shall apply.
b.
Minimum tract size: 70 acres.
c.
Location: Tract shall have not less than 1,000 feet of frontage on a State highway and 1,000 feet of separate frontage on a County highway.
d.
Permitted Cemetery Uses, Accessory Uses and Accessory Structures.
1.
Permitted cemetery uses include all typical cemetery services, including, but not limited to committal services, burial services, scattering services, memorial services, prayer services, Military Honors, sunrise services, holiday services and religious services and other commemorative services which may include music as well as temporary facilities required to support said events. Cemetery use may include Audubon or other natural designations and walking paths or arboretum trails.
2.
Permitted accessory uses shall include all uses typically undertaken at a cemetery including but not limited to offices, maintenance yards, the stockpiling and removal of soil, the disposal of cremated remains, the memorialization of the dead by way of religious or other memorial services, the installation of features and monuments including, but not limited to gates, head markers, gravestones, statues, terraced walls, gardens, flags, fountains, water features and other such customary items, on-site outdoor storage of equipment.
3.
Permitted accessory structures shall include any structure typically found at a cemetery which shall include but not be limited to buildings for meetings and gatherings, buildings for storage of maintenance equipment, offices, vaults, columbaria, mausoleum buildings (both public and private), pavilions or other open air structures for protection from the elements during a service, features and monuments including, but not limited to gates, head markers, gravestones, statues, terraced walls, gardens, flags, fountains, water features and other such customary items. Fences, gates, dumpsters, signage (including a main entrance sign) and lighting shall be permitted under Chapter 12, Land Use Standards. Notwithstanding the foregoing, signage and entranceways shall be permitted on each public right-of-way frontage.
e.
Access:
1.
Primary Access. Primary access shall be provided via an existing driveway located on a County highway. A second primary access may be provided from a State highway, subject to NJDOT approval and site plan approval.
2.
Secondary Access. One secondary access driveway limited to maintenance, service and administrative uses, and egress only shall be permitted on a State highway and one on a County highway.
f.
Drainage. Sufficient data shall be provided to show that the drainage shall not create any erosion or flooding of adjacent lands and shall conform to stormwater management requirements found at Chapter 21, Stormwater Control of the Revised General Ordinances of the Township of Lafayette. It shall be demonstrated that adequate stormwater management and drainage facilities are provided for all existing and proposed impervious coverage.
g.
Impervious Coverage: 15% maximum permitted. The top/face of grave monuments/markers/headstones and the foundations/ribbons for the monuments/ markers/headstones and paved driveways existing at the time of site plan approval shall not be computed toward the maximum permitted impervious coverage and lot coverage, provided, however, that such features are less than 100 sq. ft. in area. Paved driveways, however, shall be subject to stormwater management control requirements as part of the overall stormwater management system for the cemetery.
h.
Landscaped Buffer.
1.
Residential Buffer. A minimum landscaped buffer at least 50 feet in width shall be established and maintained adjacent to any residential use, which shall effectively screen the cemetery use from view of the adjacent residential use.
2.
Perimeter Buffer. A minimum landscaped buffer at least 100 feet in width shall be established and maintained adjacent to any public road, State, County or local.
3.
There shall be no new disturbance of existing forest, tree lines and hedgerows that serve as the required buffer without prior site plan approval. Clearing for access driveway shall be permitted, subject to site plan approval; however, such clearing shall be limited to the minimum amount necessary to construct such access driveways.
[Ord. No. 2018-10 § 1]
i.
(Reserved)
[Reserved by Ord. No. 2018-10 § 2]
j.
Any cemetery shall be permitted to construct, as an accessory use, a building for ceremonial services, mausoleum(s), and a building for storage of maintenance equipment. Such structures shall be buffered from view by an existing forested strip of land at least 50 feet in width located so as to buffer structures from off site, or such buffer shall be established at the time of site plan approval. The Board shall have the authority to grant relief from this standard in conjunction with the review procedures found at § 13-13E, Ridgeline and Hillside Viewshed Protection Overlay Zone.
1.
All development in excess of 100 sq. ft. or 10 feet in height shall be subject to the review and buffering requirements of § 13-13E, Ridgeline and Hillside Viewshed Protection Overlay Zone.
k.
Minimum Setbacks:
1.
Graves:
(a)
One hundred feet from any public right-of-way.
(b)
Fifty feet from all property lines.
2.
Permitted Accessory Buildings:
(a)
Two hundred feet from the property line or public right-of-way line, whichever is greater, provided that such accessory structure is situated above the 700 foot elevation contour line, subject to review in accordance with § 13-13E, Ridgeline and Hillside Viewshed Protection Overlay Zone.
(b)
Two hundred feet from any other property line.
3.
Parking and Access Roads. All designated parking areas and internal access roads shall be set back from tract boundaries not less than 100 feet. To the extent that temporary parking may be required during burial services, such parking may be permitted within 100 feet of the tract boundary for enhanced access by the elderly or disabled.
4.
Stockpile and Maintenance Areas. All areas used for stockpiling of material, soil and supplies and maintenance activities shall be set back from property boundaries at least 100 feet from any public right-of-way and 50 feet from any property boundary. The location and development of all such areas shall be subject to site plan approval and shall be screened from view off site through the use of a berms or fences and/or landscaping as may be required by the Board.
l.
Lighting. Notwithstanding applicable ordinance standards for lighting, there shall be no direct view of any light source from off site. Lighting, including security and site identification may be permitted dusk to dawn and shall be controlled by timers, subject to site plan approval.
m.
Total Site Disturbance. For the purpose of this standard, the site disturbance and grading limits found at 13-13E, Ridgeline and Hillside Viewshed Protection Overlay Zone are not applicable to this Cemetery Overlay Zone and "new disturbance" shall be defined as areas of the property that have not been previously disturbed for agriculture or other use as indicated on 1992 aerial photography. New disturbance shall be limited to 10% of the gross site area; however, all such disturbance shall be subject to site plan approval and shall not contravene the purposes of perimeter buffering of the tract. Further, existing hedgerows and forested slopes in excess of 15% shall not be disturbed except for site access as may be approved by the Board.
[Ord. No. 2018-10 § 3]
