Liberty Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE X
R-1 Residential Zone
§ 105-62 Permitted uses.
This zone is primarily intended for single-family residential uses. The following uses are also permitted:
A.
Agriculture on a lot of five acres or more, provided that any animal, other than cattle, horses and ponies, shall be kept at a distance of at least 100 feet from any property line. The above provisions shall not be construed to permit commercial piggeries and fur farms. The regulations in this section shall not apply to house pets. Provided that the lot involved consists of five acres or more, the keeping of one horse for riding purposes is permitted. The keeping of one additional horse for riding purposes is permitted for each one acre in the lot involved over the minimum of five acres.
B.
The sale of farm produce grown or produced on the same property, provided that said property has an area of at least five acres.
C.
Not more than two roomers or boarders per family unit, except that, where the premises are actually used for farming purposes, not more than six farmhands employed on the premises may be permitted as roomers or boarders.
D.
All public buildings and public or institutional uses, but the procedure set forth in Article VII must be followed.
H.
Professional offices.
(1)
The office of a professional person, limited to architects, doctors, dentists, engineers, lawyers, accountants, insurance or real estate brokers or agents, music teachers, photographers and artists and the like, provided that such professional person resides on the premises. No more than two persons, other than a resident of the premises, may be employed by such professional person, and not more than 1/2 of the floor area of one story or the basement shall be devoted to such use. No merchandise or materials, either assembled or unassembled, may be received into a residence for the purpose of assembling, fabricating, storing or reselling. No use permitted by this section shall result in any permitted professional use operating in this zone in other than a building strictly residential in appearance. Except for permitted signs, there shall be no physical evidence of said use visible from the exterior of the building so used.
[Amended 8-7-1989 by Ord. No. 6-89]
(2)
Business or commercial telephones may be listed and installed and telephones may be used for business purposes by an individual residing on the premises, provided that business and commercial uses not otherwise permitted in the zone are conducted solely by telephone by such individuals. The premises so used under the provisions of this subsection shall otherwise conform, in appearance, design and use, to those otherwise permitted in the zone. No sign shall be erected on the premises advertising the business being conducted, except such signs as are otherwise permitted, under the terms of this chapter, in this zone. If the conduct of the business by telephone shall legally require the erection of signs for a use which is not otherwise permitted within the zone, such limited business use of the premises is prohibited.
(3)
In addition to professional offices, such other nonresidential activities may be permitted as meet the performance requirements outlined in the definition in § 105-4. Where a home occupation is carried out in an accessory structure, not a part of the principal residence, that structure shall meet the following conditions in addition to those outlined above and elsewhere in this chapter:
[Added 12-7-1992 by Ord. No. 25-92]
(a)
The area of the accessory building devoted to the home occupation shall consist of no more than 50% of the gross living area of any one floor of the existing living space within the principal residence, not to exceed 1,000 square feet. The accessory building shall be set back from all property lines in accordance with the requirements for principal structures in the zone but shall not be permitted to exceed the permitted height for accessory structures.
(b)
Storage of hazardous materials beyond those customarily incidental to residential use is expressly prohibited.
(c)
There shall be no sanitary facilities in such accessory structure.
(d)
There shall be no separate street access to any such accessory building used for home occupation. All access shall be from the driveway serving the residence.
(e)
Exterior lighting shall be limited to that normally associated with the residence.
(f)
There shall be no exterior evidence of business activity being conducted on the premises. For example, there shall be no motor vehicle repair or external equipment storage.
I.
Golf courses.
§ 105-62.1 Conditional uses.
[Added 6-10-1996 by Ord. No. 96-10]
The following conditional uses are permitted in the R-1 Zone:
A.
Accessory housing. Any such unit constructed shall meet all the following requirements:
(1)
The principal dwelling shall be occupied by a family member.
(2)
The occupant of any such unit shall be a family member and no longer able to live independently.
(3)
The property owner/occupant shall annually (on or before the first business day of the calendar year) certify that the occupant of the unit is the person or persons originally approved for the unit.
(4)
The lot shall be conforming in the zone.
(5)
The septic system shall be certified by the Board of Health to be adequate to sustain both uses.
(6)
Adequate on-site parking be available.
(8)
If the unit is constructed within an existing dwelling, it shall only be accessible through a common entrance.
(9)
If the unit is an elder cottage housing opportunity (ECHO) unit, it shall meet the following:
(a)
All bulk requirements including, without limitations impervious coverage, setbacks.
(c)
Septic and water utility service shall be drawn from that of the principal dwelling, although separate electric, telephone and cable television service is permitted.
(d)
The ECHO unit shall be buffered as deemed necessary by the Planning Board. Said screening or buffering shall be designed to minimize visual impact on adjacent properties.
(e)
No such unit shall be larger than 1/2 the square footage of the principal dwelling on site.
[Amended 9-6-2007 by Ord. No. 07-10]
(10)
An application for installation of an accessory housing unit shall be made to the Planning Board. Said application shall be considered a minor site plan.
B.
Communications facilities.
[Added 11-4-1999 by Ord. No. 99-12]
(1)
Definition. A communications facility is a commercial facility selling transmitting/receiving air time, customary support facilities, access and security facilities.
(2)
Area, bulk and yard requirements.
(a)
Minimum lot area: two acres.
(b)
Minimum front yard setback: 90 feet or the height of the structure, whichever is greater.
(c)
Minimum rear yard setback: 90 feet or the height of the structure, whichever is greater.
(d)
Minimum side yard setback: 90 feet or the height of the structure, whichever is greater.
(e)
Maximum height of structure: 90 feet, except where more than one set of commercial transmitting/receiving antennas are collocated on a tower, the total height of the tower shall be not greater than 120 feet. This shall be measured as the overall height, including antennas.
(3)
Locations permitted. Communications facilities are permitted in the R-1 and R-3 Zones[3] as delineated on the zoning map and subject to the following conditions:
(a)
Site plan approval by the Liberty Planning Board shall be required.
(b)
In the event that such communications facilities are abandoned or not operated for a period of one year, the same shall be removed, at the option of the Township, at the sole expense of the operator.
(c)
Noise levels at any property line, shall be not more than 50 decibels.
(d)
Site lighting shall be oriented inward toward the site to avoid off-site impact.
(f)
Any generator located on the site shall be within an equipment structure. All fuel shall be contained in accordance with New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection requirements.
(g)
Site clearing shall be minimized to preclude the removal of vegetation beyond that necessary to install and maintain the facility.
(h)
No tower shall be of such height as to require flashing lights such as air navigation markers.
(i)
No tower shall be located at an elevation of less than 900 feet above mean sea level (MSL) per the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.
(j)
All installations shall be fenced to secure the operation site.
§ 105-63 Required conditions.
The following requirements must be complied with in the R-1 Zone:
A.
Height. The height of a principal structure shall not exceed 2 1/2 stories or 35 feet, whichever is the lesser. The height of an accessory structure is regulated in § 105-6.
B.
Front yard. There shall be a front yard of not less than 100 feet from the center line of state and county roads and 90 feet from the center line of Township roads.
C.
Side yards. There shall be two side yards, and no side yard shall be less than 35 feet.
[Amended 12-6-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-8]
D.
Rear yard. There shall be a rear yard of not less than 50 feet.
E.
Corner lots. Corner lots shall have an average depth, measured from each street, of not less than 200 feet.
F.
Minimum lot width. The minimum lot width at the building setback line shall be 200 feet.
[Amended 6-3-1991 by Ord. No. 8-91; 12-18-1997 by Ord. No. 97-17]
G.
Maximum building coverage. The total ground floor area of all buildings shall not exceed 20% of the total lot area.
I.
Minimum lot area. There shall be a minimum lot area of two acres.
[Amended 12-18-1997 by Ord. No. 97-17]