Mount Laurel Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXIIIA
BR-MF Briggs Road Multifamily District
§ 154-174.1 Purpose and intent.
A.
Pursuant to the settlement agreement between the parties of Mount Laurel litigations captioned Chase Partners Mt. Laurel, LLC v. Township of Mount Laurel, et als, BUR-L-2962-14 ("Chase Partners Litigation"), and In the Matter of the Application of the Township of Mount Laurel, County of Burlington, Docket BUR-L-1620-15 ("DJ Action"), this article creates the BR-MF Zoning District implementing the concept plan by Hammer Land Engineering, dated January 25, 2016 ("concept plan"), designed to create a total of a minimum of 621 residential units, which will include a 15% set-aside of affordable rental units that will be governed by controls on affordability and comply with all other Uniform Housing Affordability Controls, N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.1 et seq. ("UHAC") requirements as of the date of the adoption of this article.
B.
This article shall apply specifically to the future residential inclusionary development to be located on Block 304, Lots 3 and 3.01 on the Township of Mount Laurel Tax Map, as shown on the concept plan referenced above (the "property").
C.
The provisions of this article shall govern all future development of the property. This article expressly preempts and supersedes all prior ordinances regarding the zoning and land development standards applicable to the property. All ordinances or parts thereof that are inconsistent with the provisions of this article are hereby repealed to the extent of their inconsistency.
§ 154-174.2 Permitted uses.
Multifamily residential buildings, which may include, but are not limited to, townhouses and garden apartments.
§ 154-174.3 Accessory uses.
In a multifamily residential development, accessory uses may include:
A.
Detached and attached private garages, parking spaces and parking areas and/or lots.
B.
Private passive or active recreational facilities, including, but not limited to, a clubhouse and swimming pool.
C.
Stormwater management facilities.
F.
Private trash/recycling enclosures.
G.
Parking, streets and driveways subject to the New Jersey Residential Site Improvements Standards ("RSIS").
H.
All necessary utilities.
I.
Other accessory uses and structures normally considered incidental to multifamily buildings.
§ 154-174.4 Signs.
Signs for residential development shall conform to § 154-92.5.
§ 154-174.5 Impervious coverage.
Overall tract impervious coverage for the BR-MF District shall not exceed 50%. The total gross acreage of all contiguous lots under the ownership or control of the property owners of the property within the BR-MF Zone shall be used for purposes of calculating overall tract coverage.
§ 154-174.6 Bulk standards related to multifamily residential development on Property.
A.
Maximum density of 10 units per acre or a maximum of 660 residential units. The total gross acreage of all contiguous lots under the ownership or control of the property owners of the property within the BR-MF District shall be used for purposes of calculating density for the multifamily residential development.
B.
Setbacks.
(1)
Permitted uses: 50 feet from any external tract boundary line or from any other right-of-way line of a dedicated municipal roadway.
(2)
Accessory uses: 20 feet from any tract boundary line or from any other right-of-way line of a dedicated municipal roadway, excluding permitted accessory uses at roadway intersections.
(3)
All setbacks shall be measured from the external tract boundary line or right-of-way line, and not as set forth in § 154-68D(3) and (5) requiring setbacks to be measured from required buffer areas.
(4)
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, setbacks and gross track area will be measured from the proposed tract boundaries, and not from existing right-of-way lines resulting from right-of-way dedications required for roadway improvements.
C.
Parking.
(1)
Residential parking requirements. The number and dimensions of all on-site parking stalls shall be governed by the RSIS. Private garage parking stalls and driveway stalls shall each count as 1.0 spaces.
(2)
Clubhouse parking requirements. Parking for the clubhouse, if any, shall be based upon one off-street on-site space per 300 square feet of building area.
D.
Street width. The width of all on-site residential streets shall be governed by the RSIS.
E.
Landscaped buffer.
(1)
Between garden apartment parking areas and townhome buildings: 30 feet.
(2)
Between all impervious surfaces on the property and the perimeter boundary line of the property: 50 feet.
(3)
Utilities and stormwater management basins and structures shall be permitted within the buffer.
(4)
Existing vegetation and environmentally restricted areas can be utilized as part of the landscaping and supplemented as appropriate. The buffer shall be landscaped as detailed in § 154-68C.
(5)
There shall be a 30-foot buffer between the top of the bank around any constructed stormwater basin, pond, lake or watercourse and the nearest wall of any residential structure.
F.
Open space: 40% of the gross tract area. All open space shall be set aside as permanent open space to be owned and/or maintained by the property owners or the management entity of the multifamily residential buildings. Open space shall specifically include all landscaped areas, stormwater management structures and environmentally restricted areas on the property.
H.
Curbs and sidewalks. Curbs and sidewalks shall be provided along a single side of the entire length of major internal street frontages. Sidewalks shall be provided to reasonably connect the residential units to the parking and recreation areas.
I.
Recreation areas. Recreational areas shall be provided as follows:
(1)
A clubhouse or community building with a minimum size of 3,500 square feet.
(2)
Swimming pool.
(3)
Additional recreational activities may be provided, including, but not limited to, bocce courts, pedestrian paths, bicycle paths, sitting areas or playground areas.
(4)
All recreational activities shall be subordinated to the residential character of the development, and no advertising shall be permitted.
(5)
Architectural elevations and floor plans shall be provided for the clubhouse or community building.
(6)
The completion of the clubhouse or community building shall be completed in the first phase of the development of the multifamily buildings.
J.
A maximum of 36 apartment units or eight townhouses shall be permitted in each multifamily building.
K.
The maximum building height for principal buildings shall be three stories and 50 feet.
L.
Landscaping. A landscape plan shall be submitted to the municipal agency that contains the following standards:
(1)
The plan shall include suitable street trees along all streets to be constructed on-site spaced not less than 40 feet apart. The plan shall specify the location of planting material, their minimum sizes, quantity, variety and species.
(2)
Trees shall meet planting requirements as specified in sections of this chapter related to planting of trees.
(3)
No parking lot shall contain more than 20 spaces in a row without interruptions by a landscaped divider at least eight feet wide.
(4)
A landscaped island between head-to-head parking stalls is not required.
(5)
Foundation plantings shall be limited to the side of the building facing the main drive aisle.
(6)
Yard areas and open spaces between buildings shall contain the equivalent of at least four shrubs and at least two shade or ornamental trees of two-inch caliper or greater for each 1,500 square feet of yard area, not including areas devoted to parking.
M.
Bedroom distribution. The affordable units shall comply with N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.3 bedroom distribution requirements, adopted as of the date of the adoption of this article.
N.
Affordable housing requirements.
(1)
Fifteen percent of the total residential dwelling units shall be provided as affordable housing units. The affordable housing units shall be constructed as rental units.
(2)
Affordable housing regulations. The affordable housing units shall be developed and rented in accordance with the applicable UHAC regulations and N.J.A.C. 5:93-1 et seq. provisions, adopted as of the date of the adoption of this article, which requirements include but are not limited to split between low- and moderate-income housing, bedroom distribution, range of affordability, pricing and rent of units, affirmative marketing, affordability controls, and construction phasing with the market-rate units developed on the tract.
(3)
Consistent with UHAC, the developer (or its agent) may act as the administrative agent to be responsible for the administering of the affordable housing program and reporting to the Municipal Housing Liaison.
(4)
Design and location of affordable housing. The affordable housing units shall be generally dispersed throughout the rental development in various buildings.
(5)
Controls on affordability shall expire on each unit 30 years subsequent to the initial certificate of occupancy.
O.
Trash/recycling enclosures. The trash/recycling enclosure area(s) shall be suitably located and consistent with the concept plan, and screened and arranged for access and ease of collection and shall not be part of, restrict or occupy any parking aisle.
P.
Building design. The design of the multifamily buildings shall be residential and not institutional and conform to the following:
(1)
Floor plans shall be provided for each of the buildings. Architectural design shall be consistent with architect's project elevation provided.
(2)
The buildings shall include breaks in the facades with the use of different colors or materials to break up the building lengths.
(3)
Rooflines shall be pitched.
(4)
All HVAC and mechanical equipment shall be inconspicuously placed or adequately screened from view.
§ 154-174.7 Unnecessary cost-generating features.
A.
The Planning Board shall conduct its review of any multifamily residential development application in the BR-MF Zoning District in accordance with the fast-tracking requirements of Council on Affordable Housing ("COAH") rules. In order to expedite the review of a multifamily residential development application, the Planning Board shall cooperate with the applicant in scheduling pre-application conferences. The Planning Board shall schedule regular and special monthly meetings as needed and provide ample time at these meetings to consider the merits of the multifamily residential development application.
B.
The applicant for a residential development in the BR-MF Zoning District shall be entitled to invoke any rights conferred by COAH rules, including the right to request relief from cost-generating application requirements and development standards that are not essential to protect the public health and safety, and the Planning Board shall cooperate with the applicant for the multifamily residential development in granting reasonable variances and waivers necessary to construct the inclusionary multifamily residential development.
C.
Cooperation. The Township and Planning Board shall cooperate with the applicant by expeditiously endorsing applications to other governmental agencies that require review and approval of that agency.