Moonachie City Zoning Code
§ 22-5.11
Performance Standards.
[Ord. #72-10; Ord. #79-20; 1970 Code § 17-5.11]
a.
Buffers. Buffer strips are required in all business and manufacturing districts along the district boundaries between themselves and residential districts.
1.
The buffer strips shall be measured from the district boundary line or the street line on the side of the street on which the industrial or commercial use is located where a street center line serves as the district boundary line.
2.
Buffer areas shall be maintained and kept clean of all debris, rubbish, weeds and tall grass, in conformance with existing regulations.
3.
No structure, activity, storage of materials or parking of vehicles shall be permitted in the half of the buffer strip nearest the property line.
4.
Buffer widths shall be as established in the schedule of area and bulk requirements. No less than the exterior half of the buffer area for business zones and 1/4 for manufacturing zones shall be planted and maintained with grass or ground cover as well as a dense screen of trees, shrubs, or other plant material in accordance with the following requirements. (The preservation of all natural wooded tracts shall be an integral part of all site plans regardless of their proximity to required buffer areas.)
(a)
Plant materials used in the screen planting shall be at least four feet in height when planted and be of such species as will produce a complete visual screen year round.
(b)
The screen planting shall be maintained permanently and any plant material which does not live shall be replaced within one year.
(c)
The screen planting shall be so placed that at maturity it will be no closer than three feet from any street or property line.
(d)
A clear-sight triangle shall be maintained at all street intersections and at all points where private accessways intersect public streets.
(e)
The screen planting shall be broken only at points of vehicular and pedestrian ingress and egress.
5.
No screen planting shall be required along streets which form district boundary lines, provided that:
6.
Prior to the issuance of any building permit, complete plans showing the arrangement of all buffer strip and the placement, species and size of all plant materials and the placement, size, materials, and type of all fences to be placed in such buffer strip shall be reviewed by the Zoning Officer or Construction Official to ascertain that the plans are in conformance with the terms of this chapter.
b.
Dust, Fumes, Vapors and Gases.
1.
The emission of dust, dirt, fly ash, fumes, vapors or gases which can cause any damage to human health, to animals, or vegetation, or to other forms of property, or which can cause any soiling or staining of persons or property at any point beyond the lot line of the use creating the emission is herewith prohibited.
2.
No emission of liquid or solid particles from any chimney or otherwise shall exceed 3/10 grains per cubic foot of the covering gas at any point beyond the lot line of the use creating the emission. For measurement of the amount of particles in gases resulting from combustion, standing correction shall be applied to a stack temperature of 500° F. and 50% excess air in stack at full load.
3.
Dust and other types of air pollution borne by the wind from such sources as parking areas, driveways, roads, loading areas, storage areas, construction sites, and yards, within lot boundaries, shall be kept to a minimum by appropriate landscaping, oiling, paving or other acceptable means of stabilization.
c.
Glare. No use shall produce a strong dazzling light or a reflection of a strong dazzling light beyond its lot lines. Exterior lighting shall be buffered so that glare will not become a nuisance to adjoining properties or adjoining districts.
d.
Heat. No use shall produce heat perceptible beyond its lot lines. Further, no process shall be permitted which would cause the temperature to rise or fall in any part of ponds, streams or other watercourses.
e.
Noise. The sound level of any operation (other than the operation of motor vehicles or other transportation facilities on public highways, operations involved in the construction or demolition of structures, emergency alarm signals or time signals) shall not exceed the decibel levels in the designated octave bands as stated below. The sound pressure level shall be measured with a sound level meter and an octave band analyzer that conform to specifications published by the American Standards Association, New York, New York.
The maximum permissible sound-pressure levels for smooth and continuous noise shall be as follows (all of the decibel levels stated below shall apply in each case) between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.:
Frequency Band (Cycles per Second) | Maximum Permitted Sound-Pressure Level (Decibels) at the Property Line or Along Any Public Right of Way Within the Property |
|---|---|
20 to 75 | 60 |
75 to 150 | 54 |
150 to 300 | 47 |
300 to 600 | 41 |
600 to 1,200 | 37 |
1,200 to 2,400 | 34 |
2,400 to 4,800 | 31 |
Above 4,800 | 28 |
If the noise is not smooth and continuous or it is not radiated at night time, one or more of the corrections below shall be added to or subtracted from each of the decibel levels given above. |
Type of Operation or Character of Noise | Corrections in Decibels |
|---|---|
Daytime operation only (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.) | -/-3 |
Noise occurs less than 5% of any one-hour period | -/-3 |
Noise is of peculiar character (hum, scream, etc.) or is of impulsive character (hammering, pressure release, etc.) (In the case of impulsive noise, the correction shall apply only to the average pressure during an impulse, and impulse peaks shall not exceed the basic standards given above.) | -5 |
f.
Odor. No use shall emit odorous gases or other odorous matter in such quantities as to be offensive at any point on or beyond its lot lines. The guide for determining such quantities of offensive odors shall be the most restrictive provisions of Table III (odor thresholds) in Chapter 5, "Air Pollution Abatement Manual", copyright 1951 by Manufacturing Chemists' Association, Inc., Washington, D.C., or any other governmental law which supersedes such provision.
g.
Air Pollution Control. The requirement of the State of New Jersey Air Pollution Control Code shall be complied with.
h.
Storage and Waste Disposal.
1.
No highly flammable or explosive liquids, solids, or gases shall be stored in bulk aboveground, except tanks or drums of fuel directly connecting with energy devices, heating or appliances, located and operated on the same lot as the tanks or drums of fuel.
2.
All storage facilities for fuel, raw materials and products; and all fuel, raw materials and products stored shall be enclosed in an approved building.
3.
No materials or wastes shall be deposited upon a lot in such form or manner that they may be transferred off the lot by natural causes or forces, nor shall any substance which can contaminate a stream or watercourse or otherwise render such stream or watercourse undesirable as a source of water supply or recreation, or which will destroy aquatic life, be allowed to enter any stream or watercourse.
4.
All materials or wastes which might cause fumes or dust or which constitute a fire hazard or which may be edible or otherwise attractive to rodents or insects shall be stored in containers which are adequate to eliminate such hazards.
i.
Vibrations. No use shall cause earth vibrations or concussions in excess of the standards outlined below, with the exception of that vibration produced as a result of construction activity. The standards below are set forth in the table of Frequency Amplitude Relations. Vibration shall be expressed as displacement in inches and shall be measured with a standard three-component measuring system, which is a device for recording the intensity of any vibration in three mutually perpendicular directions.
Frequency of Ground Motion in Cycles Per Second | Maximum Amplitude of Ground Motion in Inches |
|---|---|
Up to 10 | 0.003 |
11 to 20 | 0.00015 |
21 to 30 | 0.0001 |
31 to 40 | 0.00007 |
41 to 50 | 0.00005 |
51 to 60 | 0.00004 |
j.
Evaluation of Environmental Assessment Statement by Planning Board. An environmental assessment statement may be submitted by the developer addressing points one through 10 below, which shall be posted at least 10 days prior to the Planning Board meeting at which the project will be reviewed by the Planning Board. The Planning Board shall prepare an evaluation of the impact of the construction upon the ecological, cultural and aesthetic environment of the borough. Specific points to be covered in the report are as follows:
1.
Does the project have a significant impact upon the environment.
2.
Is the project controversial.
3.
Does the project interfere with existing community standards of living.
4.
Is the construction situated on land which, because of its natural beauty and wilderness state, has potential for recreation or park development and would the damage to the environment and loss of aesthetics incurred through construction of the development substantially reduce the potential and cause an unwarranted burden on the surrounding community.
5.
Does the development have a cumulative effect when compared to the number of other projects proposed in the existing area, and does the development fit into the overall proposed or adopted master plan of the area.
6.
Is there, as a result of the development, an irreversible commitment of natural resources such as water, gas, and electricity. Signed statements from the managers of the various utilities affected should be incorporated into the report assuring existing committees that the new development will:
7.
If forested area is to be damaged or cleared, does the construction interfere with any select stands of native forested trees, and is there any serious influence on the natural wildlife in the area.
8.
All changes in natural runoff and the ultimate disposal of the storm waters collected within the development should be discussed in detail. The environmental effects of the storm water discharges and the location of the discharge points should be discussed in detail to insure no serious flooding conditions or substantial increases in health hazards or flooding over existing conditions would occur to the surrounding area or communities.
9.
All increases in air pollution, noise levels and other environmental quality changes that might result through clearing of land and increased traffic patterns should be specifically delineated in the report.
10.
All methods of construction to be used in the building of the development should be specifically delineated and restraints set out to avoid any adverse effects during the construction project upon surrounding communities. This would include access roads for truck vehicles and methods to eliminate blowing of dust and dirt and control noise during the construction period.
In the event that an Environmental Commission shall have been established by the governing body, the Environmental Commission shall review the assessment statement required hereunder and submit its report based upon such review to the Planning Board with any recommendations which the Commission deems advisable. The reports shall be advisory in nature and the recommendations contained therein shall not be mandatory on the Planning Board in making its determination hereunder.