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Mahwah City Zoning Code

§ 24-4.28

MF-2 Multi-Family-2.

[Amended 10-15-2020 by Ord. No. 1916; 3-10-2022 by Ord. No. 1958]
The following standards shall apply to development within the MF-2 Zone. When the standards herein conflict with other provisions of Chapter 24, the standards herein shall apply.
a. 
Permitted Uses.
1. 
Multi-family housing.
2. 
Municipal uses, including off-street parking.
b. 
Accessory Uses.
1. 
Home occupations subject to § 24-3.6 a8.
2. 
Parks, playgrounds, open space, and tenant recreation facilities.
3. 
Fences and walls subject to § 24-5.6b.
4. 
Surface parking subject to § 24-3.7.
5. 
Community rooms and amenity spaces for the use of building owners and/or tenants.
c. 
Signs.
1. 
Signage shall comply with § 24-6, signs.
2. 
In addition to the above, a ground sign, next to the site entrance, identifying the development shall be permitted. Said sign shall not exceed twenty-five (25) square feet, may be illuminated and shall be setback a minimum of ten (10') feet from any property line.
d. 
Area, Bulk and Yard Requirements.
1. 
Area, Yard and Bulk Controls shall be in accordance with the Zoning Schedule of Area, Bulk and Yard Requirements attached to this chapter.
2. 
Density. Maximum density of the site shall not exceed fifteen (15) units per acre.
3. 
Internal setbacks.
(a) 
Buildings shall be setback a minimum of five (5') feet from driveways and parking areas.
(b) 
No parking shall be permitted within twenty (20') feet of an adjacent single- family use.
e. 
Affordable Housing.
1. 
One-hundred (100%) percent of the units shall be reserved for, and affordable to, low- and moderate-income households. The units shall meet the low-/moderate- income split required by the Uniform Housing Affordability Controls ("UHAC") except in lieu of ten (10%) percent of units at thirty-five (35%) of median income the developer shall provide at least thirty (13%) percent of the units as very-low income units at thirty (30%) percent of median income within each bedroom distribution.
2. 
The affordable units shall have a minimum thirty (30) year deed restriction. Any such affordable unit shall comply with UHAC, applicable affordable housing regulations, the Fair Housing Act, any applicable order of the Court, and other applicable laws.
3. 
The units shall meet the bedroom distribution required by the UHAC.
4. 
The developer shall be responsible for retaining a qualified Administrative Agent, as approved by the Township, at the developer's sole cost and expense.
5. 
All necessary steps shall be taken to make the affordable units provided creditworthy pursuant to applicable law.
6. 
The affordable units shall be reserved for families or special needs households.
f. 
Off-Street Parking Requirements.
1. 
Off-street parking shall be in accordance with Off-Street Parking and Loading, § 24-3.7.
2. 
All parking spaces shall measure no less than nine (9') feet in width by eighteen (18') feet in length.
3. 
Off-street parking shall be provided in accordance with RSIS.
4. 
Parking lot lighting shall comply with § 22-6.4.
5. 
Within surface parking lots one (1) landscape island shall be provided for every twenty (20) parking spaces. Said landscape island shall contain a minimum of one hundred sixty (160) square feet. At least half of the landscape islands shall contain a shade tree and other landscaping; the remainder shall contain shrubs. Said shade tree shall be a minimum of three (3) inches caliper at installation.
g. 
Building Design.
1. 
Building wall offsets, including both projections and recesses, shall be provided along any street-facing building wall measuring greater than forty (40') feet in length in order to provide architectural interest and variety to the massing of a building and relieve the negative visual effect of a single, long wall.
2. 
The maximum spacing between such offsets shall be thirty-five (35') feet. The minimum projection or depth of any individual vertical offset shall not be less than one (1') foot.
3. 
Vertical offsets can include pilasters, projecting bays, changes in facade materials and balconies.
4. 
The architectural treatment of a facade shall be completely continued around all street-facing facades of a building. All sides of a building shall be architecturally designed to be consistent regarding style, materials, colors and details.
5. 
If the building has a flat roof, a parapet shall project vertically to hide any roof- mounted mechanical equipment.
6. 
Roofline offsets shall be provided along any gable roof measuring more than fifty (50') feet in length.
7. 
Building facades visible from any street shall consist of durable, long-lasting materials such as brick, stone, cast stone, Hardie plank or other high-quality material.
8. 
Heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems, utility meters and regulators, exhaust pipes and stacks, satellite dishes and other telecommunications receiving devise shall be screened or otherwise specially treated to be, as much as possible, inconspicuous as viewed from the public right-of-way and adjacent properties.
h. 
Landscaping.
1. 
Areas of the property not used for buildings, parking or other impervious surfaces shall be landscaped.
2. 
Landscaping shall be provided to promote a desirable visual environment, to accentuate building design, define entranceways, screen parking areas, mitigate adverse visual impacts, provide windbreaks for winter winds and summer cooling for buildings, and enhance buffer areas. Plants and other landscaping materials shall be selected in terms of aesthetic and functional considerations. The landscape design shall create visual diversity and contrast through variation in size, shape, texture and color. The selection of plants in terms of susceptibility to disease and insect damage, wind and ice damage, habitat, soil conditions, growth rate, longevity, root pattern, maintenance requirements, etc., shall be considered.
3. 
There shall be a minimum ten- (10') foot-wide landscaped buffer adjacent to any existing single-family homes. The only improvements permitted to encroach on this buffer are utilities.
4. 
Buffer plantings shall consist of a combination of shade trees, evergreen trees, ornamental trees and shrubs. Existing shade and evergreen trees within the buffer area may be counted in fulfilling the required buffer planting.
5. 
Buffer plants shall include, at a minimum, the following:
(a) 
One shade tree for every seventy-five (75') linear feet of buffer;
(b) 
One evergreen tree for every forty (40') linear feet of buffer;
(c) 
Ten (10) shrubs for every fifty (50') linear feet of buffer.
6. 
Buffer plants shall be the following size at the time of planting:
(a) 
Shade trees shall be planted at a minimum three (3") inch caliper and shall be a minimum of twelve (12) to fourteen (14') feet in height, balled and burlapped.
(b) 
Evergreen trees shall be planted at a minimum height of seven (7') feet, balled and burlapped.
(c) 
Shrubs shall be planted at a minimum of three (3') feet in height. All shrubs shall be evergreen.
7. 
Foundation plantings shall be provided around all buildings. These plantings shall include species that provide seasonal interest at varying heights to complement and provide pedestrian scale to the proposed architectural design of the buildings. The foundation planting shall incorporate evergreen shrubs and groupings of small trees in order to provide human scale to building facades and winter interest.
8. 
If an outdoor dumpster is utilized for the storage of trash and recycling, it shall be screened and fully enclosed with a solid enclosure a minimum six (6') feet in height. Alternatively, refuse and recycling may be stored inside of the building(s).
9. 
The above standard shall supplement the requirements of § 22-6.5, paragraph a and supersede said design standards when there is a conflict.