Montgomery City Zoning Code
§ 16-4.6
REO-1 Research, Engineering and Office; REO-2 Research, Engineering and Office; REO-3 Research, Engineering and Office.
[Ord. #85-482, S 406; Ord. #85-485, S 1; Ord. #85-497, S 1; Ord. #86-506, S 1; Ord. #86-521, S 1; Ord. #86-525, S 1; Ord. #87-555, S 2; Ord. #87-556, S 1; Ord. #87-557, S 1; Ord. #87-570, S 5; Ord. #88-584, S II O-P; Ord. #89-607, S 9; Ord. #89-639, SS 3, 5; Ord. #90-663, S 5; Ord. #90-674, S 2; Ord. #93-781, S 5; Ord. #93-789, S 1; Ord. #95-845, S 2; Ord. #95-850, S 3; Ord. #96-870, S 2; Ord. #97-914, S 2; Ord. #00-1016, S 1; Ord. #03-1122, S 4; Ord. #04-1138, S 4; Ord. #04-1170, S 5; Ord. #08-1294, S 1; Ord. #12-1418, S 5; amended Ord. No. 2015-1487; 4-18-2024 by Ord. No. 24-1723; 8-15-2024 by Ord. No. 24-1736]
a.
Permitted Uses on the Land and in Buildings.
1.
Farms.
2.
Offices and office buildings.
3.
Research laboratories.
4.
Public playgrounds, conservation areas, parks and public purpose uses.
5.
Subdivided development parks on tracts of land at least 25 acres in area comprised of the preceding uses, as permitted in the particular zoning district.
6.
Public utility uses as conditional uses under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 (see Subsection 16-6.1 for standards).
7.
Residential care facilities for the elderly in the REO-1 District only as conditional uses under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 (see Subsection 16-6.1 for standards).
8.
Residential limited care facilities for the elderly in the REO-3 District only as a conditional use under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 and in accordance with the specific conditions for development included in Subsection 16-6.1h, Conditional Uses — Residential Limited Care Facilities for the Elderly, of this chapter.
9.
(Reserved)
10.
Child care centers as conditional uses under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 (see Subsection 16-6.1 for standards).
11.
Airports in the REO-3 District only as a conditional use under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67, provided that the airport use is in compliance with the conditions and standards specified in Subsection 16-6.1l of this chapter for the location and operation of an airport and provided that the required site plan application is approved by the Planning Board.
13.
Cellular antennas for telephone, radio, paging and/or television communication as conditional uses under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 (see Subsection 16-6.1, Conditional Uses, and specifically Subsection 16-6.1p for the required conditions for cellular antennas for telephone, radio, paging and/or television communication).
15.
A portion of a Planned Shopping Complex only on that portion of the REO-3 District where indicated on the Zoning Map, and in accordance with the provisions specified in Subsection 16-6.5h of this chapter.
b.
Accessory Uses Permitted.
4.
Employee cafeterias as part of a principal building or as the entire use of an accessory building, provided the cafeteria is limited in service to the employees of the principal use designated on the site plan as approved by the Board.
5.
Child care centers as conditional uses under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67 as part of a principal building or as the entire use of an accessory building, provided the child care center is limited in service to the employees of the principal use designated on the site plan as approved by the Board (see Subsection 16-6.1 standards).
c.
Maximum Building Height. Except as provided in Subsection 16-6.2 of this chapter, no building in any REO District shall exceed 35 feet and 2 1/2 stories in height, and no building in the MFG District shall exceed 45 feet and three stories in height.
d.
Area And Yard Requirements For Uses Within the REO-1, REO-2 And REO-3 Districts.
Lots Not Within Subdivided Development Parks | Lots Within Subdivided Development Parks | |
|---|---|---|
Principal Building | ||
Minimum | ||
Lot area | 5 ac. | 3 ac. |
Lot frontage | 400' | 300' |
Lot width | 400' | 300' |
Lot depth | 400' | 300' |
Side yard (each)(1) | 60'(2) | 50'(2) |
Front yard | 125' | 100' |
Rear yard (1) | 60'(2) | 50'(2) |
Accessory Building | ||
Minimum | ||
Distance to side line (1) | 75' | 50' |
Distance to rear line (1) | 75' | 50' |
Distance to other building | 50' | 50' |
Maximum | ||
Floor Area Ratio | (3) | (3) |
Lot Coverage | (4) | (4) |
NOTES: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) | No provision stipulated herein shall prohibit a building from being situated adjacent to a railroad right-of-way for purposes of loading and unloading materials. | ||||
(2) | Or not less than 200 feet where a building abuts a residential district, except and provided as follows: | ||||
(a) | When a railroad right-of-way is situated between a building and a residential district, then the yard distance shall be not less than 100 feet; or | ||||
(b) | When deed restricted common open space approved for active recreational use as part of a "Residential Cluster" planned development is situated between a building and a residential district, then the width of the common open space shall be included as part of the required 200-foot yard distance, provided that in any case no building shall be located closer to the designated common open space area than the applicable side or rear yard distance noted hereinabove in the table. | ||||
(3) | Floor Area Ratio. | ||||
(a) | REO-1: The maximum gross floor area of a building within the REO-1 District shall be computed on the basis of an F.A.R. of 0.15 for the non-critical acreage of the lot, plus a transfer of an additional 0.03 F.A.R. from any "critical" acreage of the lot to the noncritical lands. | ||||
(b) | REO-2: The maximum gross floor area of a building within the REO-2 District shall be computed on the basis of an F.A.R. of 0.125 for the non-critical acreage of the lot, plus a transfer of an additional 0.025 F.A.R. from any "critical" acreage of the lot to the noncritical lands. | ||||
(c) | REO-3: The maximum gross floor area of a building within the REO-3 District shall be based upon the percentage proportion of the gross floor area to be utilized for offices versus research laboratories as defined in section 16-2 of this chapter; specifically, the following floor area ratios shall apply to the REO-3 District: | ||||
Percentage of Gross Floor Utilized by Offices | Maximum F.A.R. for Non-Critical Acreage | Maximum F.A.R. for Critical Acreage | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0% to 40% | 0.125 | 0.025 | |||
Over 40% to 60% | 0.100 | 0.020 | |||
Over 60% to 100% | 0.080 | 0.016 | |||
In reviewing submitted applications for development in order to determine the percentage proportion of office versus research laboratory use, the Board shall be guided by the fact that a basic premise and purpose for distinguishing between office versus research laboratory space within buildings in the REO-3 District is to equalize the traffic impact emanating from a given square footage of building space within the District; therefore, any building space likely to generate a floor/space occupancy rate equal to or less than 350 square feet per person shall be classified as "offices". | |||||
Moreover, all main building lobbies, hallways, stairwells, elevator shafts, and mechanical equipment rooms and storage areas shall be deemed common areas, and the aggregate square footage of such common areas shall be counted as office versus research laboratory space in direct proportion to the gross floor area otherwise specifically determined to be office versus research laboratory space. The entirety of the gross floor area of the building shall be designated as "office area", "research laboratory area" or "common area" for the purpose of determining the maximum permitted F.A.R. and the applicant shall submit floor plans specifically indicating the location and extent of the three areas. In instances where the applicant is seeking site plan approval prior to being able to commit a portion or portions of a building to one of three areas noted above, the noncommitted portion or portions shall be considered offices for the purpose of determining the percentage proportion of the gross floor area of the building to be utilized for office versus research laboratories. | |||||
(4) | Lot Coverage. | ||||
District | Maximum Lot Coverage | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
REO-1 | 40.0% | |||
REO-2 | 37.5% | |||
REO-3 | ||||
0% to 40% office | 37.5% | |||
Over 40% to 60% office | 35.0% | |||
Over 60% to 100% office | 32.5% | |||
e.
General Requirements.
1.
Any principal building may contain more than one use or organization. Any lot may contain more than one principal building, provided that the minimum lot size is at least 20 acres and that all land coverage requirements of this chapter are met.
2.
Within the required front yard area and at least 50 feet adjacent to any lot line, there shall be no parking and, except for access driveways, the area shall be planted and maintained in lawn area or ground cover and landscaped with evergreen shrubbery.
3.
No merchandise, products, waste, equipment or similar material or objects shall be displayed or stored outside.
4.
All areas not utilized for buildings, parking, loading, access aisles and driveways or pedestrian walkways shall be suitably landscaped with shrubs, ground cover, seeding or plantings and maintained in good condition. A portion of the required landscaped area may contain a permanent water area.
6.
No critical acreage shall be developed.
f.
Minimum Off-Street Parking. Each individual use shall provide parking spaces according to the following minimum provisions:
1.
One space for every 1,000 square feet or fraction thereof of net habitable floor area used for inside storage, plus one space for every 500 square feet or fraction thereof of net habitable floor area used for research laboratories, plus one space for every 250 square feet or fraction thereof of net habitable floor area used for offices, provided that the number of parking spaces resulting from the application of these provisions to the subject building shall not be increased by more than 10%.
g.
Minimum Off-Street Loading. The provisions specified in Subsection 16-4.5i of this chapter shall apply.
h.
Permitted Signs.
1.
Each principal building may have one freestanding sign along each road which the property abuts, provided that there is at least 250 feet of unbroken frontage, plus each principal permitted use may have one attached sign, provided and in accordance with the following:
(a)
Any freestanding sign shall not exceed 40 square feet in area, shall be set back at least 15 feet from any street right-of-way line and 25 feet from any other property line and shall not exceed eight feet in height.
(b)
Each principal use in a building with direct access from the outside shall be permitted a sign attached flat against the building. The size of each such attached sign shall not exceed 1/2 square foot of sign area per one linear foot of building facade fronting on a street and occupied by the individual use, but in no case shall the size of the sign exceed 50 feet in area.
2.
Additionally, each subdivided development park may have one freestanding sign along each abutting arterial or collector road which provides vehicular access to the development, provided there exists at least 250 feet of unbroken frontage. Such sign(s) shall not exceed eight feet in height, shall be set back at least 15 feet from any street right-of-way line and driveways and 25 feet from any other property line, shall not exceed an area of 50 square feet, and shall be used only to display the development's name.
3.
For each multi-tenant building or each building on a single lot or in a subdivided development park, one directory sign listing the building names or addresses and/or tenants may be permitted within the internal circulation system, provided that the sign is set back at least 60 feet from any street right-of-way or property line and is no larger than 20 square feet in size or eight feet in height.