Moorestown City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XI
AR-1 Age-Qualified Residence 1 Districts
§ 180-30 Use restrictions and regulations.
The AR-1 Age-Qualified Residence 1 District is intended to provide for age-qualified development consisting of townhouses for active adults with ancillary social, cultural and recreational amenities in a comprehensively planned development with significant open space. In all AR-1 Districts, the following uses, and no others, of lands and buildings shall be permitted.
A.
General use requirements. Development within the AR-1 District shall conform to the following requirements:
(1)
The development shall be a planned unit residential development within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-6.
(2)
The development shall be an age-qualified development as defined in § 180-2. Under no circumstances shall any resident be enrolled in secondary or lower school.
(3)
All development shall be subject to a mandatory development fee for affordable housing in accordance with § 158-40 et seq.
(4)
Common open space shall be under the control of an open space organization as defined herein.
C.
Accessory uses. The following accessory uses shall be permitted when used in conjunction with a principal use:
(1)
Community center for the use of residents and guests.
(2)
Active recreational facilities for the use and enjoyment of residents and their guests, including but not limited to tennis, community swimming pool, court and field sports, fitness center, fitness trail and bikeway.
(3)
Management office as part of a community center.
(4)
Sales center for on-tract real estate transactions only, until the final dwelling is initially sold.
(5)
Maintenance facility.
(6)
Security facility, excluding gate-controlled access.
§ 180-31 Area restrictions and regulations.
In all AR-1 Residence Districts, the following area restrictions and regulations are established:
A.
General tract requirements. The following requirements shall apply to any planned unit residential development in the AR-1 District:
(1)
Minimum tract size shall be 50 acres.
(2)
Maximum residential density shall be 1.2 units per gross acre, unless modified by § 180-31A(3) below.
(3)
A bonus density equal to a total of 2.25 units per gross acre, not including any land within a freshwater wetlands mitigation area and its associated transition area, shall be permitted for the public dedication of contiguous open space equal to 22% of the total tract acreage; or 13 acres, whichever is greater, and the payment of $2,000 per residential unit to the Recreation Trust Fund in accordance with § 158-17F(5) for active recreation purposes. In no circumstance shall the number of dwelling units exceed 122. Any publicly dedicated open space shall encompass a rectangle measuring a minimum of 500 feet by 800 feet and shall not include any stormwater management basin(s) required for the construction of the age-qualified development.
(4)
Minimum open space. At least 50% of the tract shall be designated by the applicant as an open space area for either public use, for use by all of the residents of the proposed development or a combination of the foregoing. Such open space shall be appropriate and in suitable condition for such uses as the following: active recreation, woodland conservation area, floodplains and other scenic or special features and open spaces of such a nature as to contribute to neighborhood attractiveness and environmental protection and which further the objectives of this section. Stormwater management basin areas may be included in computing the 50% open space requirement.
(5)
The minimum tract perimeter setback shall be 150 feet from a major thoroughfare or from the property line of a single-family detached use, 75 feet from any other residential use, and zero feet from a freshwater wetlands transition area.
(6)
Impervious surface coverage shall not exceed 35% of the total tract area.
(7)
Total building coverage shall not exceed 15% of the total tract area.
(8)
No building shall contain more than three townhouse dwellings, except that no more than 17.5% of the total number of dwellings may be in four-unit buildings, provided that any four-unit buildings shall not be located immediately adjacent to a single-family detached residential use.
(9)
The maximum length of a building shall be 110 feet for a building with three townhouses and 145 feet for a building with four townhouses, measured through the long axis.
B.
Building separation requirements. The following minimum building separation distances, measured from the closest point to the edge of the cartway shall be maintained:
(1)
Front of building to private street or cartway: 26 feet.
(2)
Side of building to private street or cartway: 20 feet.
(3)
Rear of building to private street or cartway: 24 feet.
(4)
Front of building to any other building: 65 feet.
(5)
Side of building to side of building: 30 feet.
(6)
Side of building to rear of building: 40 feet.
(7)
Rear of building to rear of building: 36 feet.
(8)
Residential building to common building: 50 feet.
C.
Area and yard requirements for fee-simple residential lots.
E.
Site improvements. Utilities, stormwater management, roads, parking, and other site or subdivision improvements shall comply with the Residential Site Improvement Standards, N.J.A.C. 5:21-1 et seq., regardless of whether the improvements shall be publicly or privately owned and maintained.
§ 180-32 Additional requirements.
In all AR-1 Residence Districts, the following additional restrictions and regulations are established:
A.
Landscaping buffer requirements. Landscape buffers shall consist of a combination of deciduous trees, conifers, shrubs, berms and, if appropriate, supplemental fences or walls in sufficient quantities and sizes designed to continuously limit the view of and/or sound from the site to adjacent sites or properties. No more than 10% of the lineal measure of the buffer may consist of fences and walls. Berms shall be undulating and be designed to achieve a naturalistic appearance. The design of berms and landscape buffer shall be in accordance with § 158-26.
(1)
The following landscape buffer widths shall apply:
(a)
A fifty-foot-wide landscape buffer incorporating berms shall be provided along major thoroughfares to screen the view of dwellings and accessory buildings. Each berm shall be a minimum height of four feet except that, for at least 30% of the lineal measurement of the buffer, such berm shall be minimum of six feet in height. The height of the berm shall be measured from the toe of the slope to the top of the berm.
(b)
A fifty-foot-wide landscape buffer incorporating a berm a minimum height of three feet shall be required between any other residential, nonresidential, or active recreation use.
(c)
A fifteen-foot-wide landscape buffer shall be required between any active recreation facility for the use and enjoyment of residents, and an age-qualified townhouse dwelling, excluding fitness trails and bikeways internal to the development.
(2)
Bicycle and pedestrian paths and fitness traits may be located within the buffer; however, no buildings or other structures, parking and stormwater management facilities shall be permitted within the landscape buffer.
(3)
Stormwater management basins shall not be permitted between any required landscape berm and a major thoroughfare.
B.
Streetscape standards. Standards for the placement of street trees, bicycle/pedestrian paths, landscaping buffers and berming shall conform to the requirements of § 158-26 and this section.
C.
Pedestrian circulation. A combined bicycle/pedestrian path, either located within the right-of-way or within a pedestrian access easement accessible to the public, shall be required along any major thoroughfare, conforming to the design standards of the Township of Moorestown, unless such land is publicly dedicated. Such pedestrian access easement shall be a minimum width of 25 feet. The pedestrian access easement may also incorporate utility and landscaping easements as may be permitted by the approving authority. Pedestrian and bicycle circulation shall be provided within and through any AR-1 Residence District to other residential areas located adjacent to the tract.
D.
Active recreation. A minimum of one acre of land shall be devoted to active recreation purposes for the use and enjoyment of residents and their guests.
E.
Visitor parking. A portion of the parking required per unit pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:21-4.14, as it may be amended or superseded, equal to 0.25 parking space per unit, shall be grouped together to provide visitor and active recreation parking in reasonable proximity to residences.
F.
Garage design. Side entry garages shall be utilized to the greatest feasible extent using engineering criteria. Common driveways serving two side-entry garages are permitted and encouraged.
G.
Restrictions on environmentally sensitive lands. All environmentally sensitive lands, including, but not limited to wetlands, steep slopes and floodplains, shall be deed-restricted from development. Appropriate conservation easements shall be applied to such land with a benefit running to the Township of Moorestown or its designee.
H.
Review by Board Attorney.
(1)
Prior to any approval of an application for development for an age-qualified development, the approving authority shall determine that the following provisions and requirements have been satisfactorily met by the applicant pursuant to a review by the Board Attorney, who may request assistance from the Township Attorney.
(a)
Verification that there are adequate maintenance services, utility services and support facilities for the project.
(b)
Verification of policies and procedures to assure that at the time of each sale of a unit or execution of a lease for a unit, that the occupancy of such unit will be limited to a minimum of one permanent occupant at least 55 years of age or older, and prohibiting any permanent occupant from being less than 19 years of age.
(c)
Verification of the establishment of a permanent organization or association whose responsibility it will be to:
(d)
Establishment of a procedure and provision whereby any homeowner's association established pursuant to an approval of an application for development shall indemnify and hold the Township of Moorestown harmless from any liability, claims, costs or expenses (including reasonable attorney's fees) arising out of the failure to enforce or abide by the age restriction.
(2)
The documentation to be reviewed pursuant to Subsection H(1) hereinabove shall include the following:
(a)
Deed restrictions;
(b)
Sales literature;
(c)
Agreement of sale form;
(d)
Lease forms;
(e)
Declaration of covenants and restrictions for fee-simple ownership or master deed for condominium ownership;
(f)
Bylaws of the homeowner's association;
(g)
Rules and regulations for the homeowners' association;
(h)
Any documents required to be filed with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.