Mount Laurel Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXIV
MH-MF Marne Highway Multifamily District
§ 154-175 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 MH-MF Zoning District, designed to create a total of 500 residential units which will include an overall 20% 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 215, Lot 15, as set forth on the Township of Mount Laurel Tax Map (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 All ordinances or parts thereof that are inconsistent with the provisions of this article are hereby repealed to the extent of their inconsistency.
§ 154-176 Permitted uses and total number of units.
Multifamily residential buildings may not exceed 360 units. Single-family homes and townhomes, inclusive of affordable dwellings which may be included in stacked flats designed to generally reflect the design of townhomes, may not exceed, in combination with the multifamily residential units, a total of up to 500 units within the overall development.
§ 154-177 Accessory uses.
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, playgrounds, dog park.
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.
J.
Electric vehicle charging stations or EVSE make ready parking spaces.
[Added 2-28-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-9]
§ 154-178 Affordable housing requirements.
A.
Twenty percent of the total residential dwelling units shall be provided as affordable housing units, whether provided as rental or "for sale" units.
B.
At least 15% of each section or neighborhood of the development (i.e., apartment or townhome area) shall be provided as affordable housing units. Within the rental apartment development, the affordable housing units shall be generally dispersed within mixed income buildings. Within the townhome and/or single-family portion of the development, affordable units may be provided in buildings consisting entirely of affordable units. Such buildings shall be designed to reflect the building massing and shape of townhome structures, while allowing two dwellings in each vertical plane (one over the other). Such buildings shall be located on the site to provide appropriate access to open space areas for resident families.
C.
The affordable housing units shall be developed and managed in accordance with the applicable UHAC regulations and N.J.A.C. 5:93-1 et seq. provisions,[1] 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.
[1]
Editor's Note: In accordance with N.J.S.A. 52:14B-5.1b, Chapter 93, Substantive Rules of the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing for the Period Beginning June 6, 1994, expired on October 16, 2016. See: 43 N.J.R. 1203(a).
D.
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.
§ 154-179 Signs.
Signs for residential development shall conform to § 154-92.5.
§ 154-180 Bulk standards.
A.
Overall tract impervious coverage for the MH-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 MH-MF Zone shall be used for purposes of calculating overall tract coverage.
B.
Perimeter setbacks and buffers.
(1)
Residential units with a height of 45 feet or less shall provide a setback of no less than 50 feet from any external tract boundary line or from any other right-of-way line of a dedicated municipal roadway. Units with a height exceeding 45 feet shall be set back a minimum of 75 feet.
(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.
C.
Landscaped buffer requirements.
(1)
A landscaped buffer, inclusive of berming, of 50 feet shall be provided along Marne Highway.
(2)
Between garden apartment parking areas and townhome buildings: 30 feet.
(3)
Between all impervious surfaces on the property and the perimeter boundary line of the property: 50 feet.
(4)
Utilities and stormwater management basins and structures shall be permitted within the buffer.
(5)
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.
(6)
There shall be a thirty-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.
D.
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.
E.
Standards for single-family lots.
(1)
Minimum lot size: 9,375 square feet, with a minimum lot size for corner lots of 11,000 square feet. The minimum lot area may not include wetlands or wetland buffers.
(2)
Minimum lot width at building setback line: 75 feet.
(3)
Minimum lot frontage: 50 feet.
(4)
Front yard: 30 feet.
(5)
Side yard: A minimum of 10 feet per yard, with an aggregate side yard requirement of 24 feet.
(6)
Side yard adjacent to a street: 25 feet.
(7)
Rear yard: 35 feet.
(8)
Height: 35 feet, 2.5 stories.
F.
Standards for townhomes. (Lot requirements apply only where lots are provided.)
(1)
Minimum lot size: 2,000 square feet. The minimum lot area may not include wetlands or wetland buffers.
(2)
Minimum lot frontage: 20 feet.
(3)
Front yard: 15 feet.
(4)
Minimum distance from back of sidewalk to face of garage: 20 feet.
(5)
Side setback: a minimum distance of 25 feet from the side of one building to any other building.
(6)
Rear setback: a minimum distance of 50 feet from the rear of one building to any other building.
(7)
Decks: Raised decks may be provided but may not encroach to within 2.5 feet of any yard line, nor may two decks be closer than five feet from one another.
(8)
Height: 45 feet, three stories.
(9)
No more than eight units may be provided in a single building, or no more than 16 units in an affordable housing building with stacked flats.
G.
Standards for multifamily residential buildings.
(1)
Minimum distance between multifamily residential buildings: 25 feet.
(2)
Minimum distance between multifamily residential buildings and accessory buildings: 15 feet.
(3)
Minimum distance between accessory buildings: 15 feet.
(4)
Minimum distance between multifamily residential buildings and streets: 25 feet.
(5)
Minimum distance between multifamily residential buildings and parking areas and spaces: 10 feet.
(6)
Height: 50 feet, three stories.
(7)
No more than 36 units may be provided in a single building.
(8)
Building design. The design of the multifamily buildings shall be residential and not institutional and conform to the following:
(a)
Floor plans shall be provided for each of the buildings. Architectural design shall be consistent with architect's project elevation provided.
(b)
The buildings shall include breaks in the facades with the use of different colors or materials to break up the building lengths.
(c)
Rooflines shall be pitched.
(d)
All HVAC and mechanical equipment shall be inconspicuously placed or adequately screened from view.
H.
Streets and 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 space.
(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.
(3)
Street width. The width of all on-site residential streets shall be governed by the RSIS.
(4)
Curbs and sidewalks. Curbs and sidewalks shall be governed by the RSIS. Sidewalks shall be provided to reasonably connect the residential units to parking and recreation areas.
I.
Recreation areas. Recreational areas may be divided between neighborhoods of the overall community and shall be provided as follows:
(1)
A clubhouse or community building with a minimum size of 2,500 square feet for the apartment residents.
(2)
Swimming pool for the apartment residents.
(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.
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 30 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 single-family residential buildings facing the main drive aisle. Foundation plantings shall be on all sides of multifamily and townhouse buildings.
(6)
Yard areas and open spaces between multifamily residential buildings shall contain the equivalent of at least four shrubs and at least two shade or ornamental trees of two- to 2.5-inch caliper or greater for each 1,500 square feet of yard area, not including areas devoted to parking.
K.
Trash/recycling enclosures. The trash/recycling enclosure area(s) shall be suitably located, and screened and arranged for access and ease of collection and shall not be part of, restrict or occupy any parking aisle.
§ 154-181 Unnecessary cost-generating features.
A.
The Planning Board shall conduct its review of any multifamily residential development application in the MH-MF Zoning District in accordance with the fast-tracking requirements of the 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 MH-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.