Old Tappan City Zoning Code

Uses as permitted within the B-1 District.

Mixed-use development consisting of ground floor nonresidential development as permitted within the B-1, Local Business District, and apartment lobby, with apartments above, located within only that portion of the property subject to the minimum area and bulk requirements of the TCO Zone. Drive-throughs shall be permitted for any permitted nonresidential use component of mixed-use development, with the exception of restaurants or refreshment stands.

Multifamily residential in a stand-alone building provided that no more than 30% of the land area within the District shall be devoted to multifamily development that is not mixed-use.

Business, executive and professional offices, such as, but not limited to, administrative offices, utility offices, medical and dental offices, insurance offices, offices of architects, engineers, surveyors or lawyers, real estate offices.

Child care centers for which a license is required from the Department of Human Services pursuant to N.J.S.A. 30:5B-1 et seq.

Minimum lot area (acres): nine.

Minimum setbacks from external lot lines (feet):

Maximum number stories and building height: three stories/45.

Maximum building lot coverage: 35%.

Maximum impervious lot coverage: 75%.

Minimum lot area (square feet): 30,000.

Minimum setbacks from external lot lines (feet):

Maximum number stories and building height: three stories/45.

Maximum building lot coverage: 35%.

Maximum impervious lot coverage: 75%.

All exterior parking shall be landscaped, screened, and lighted, as specified in § 250-133C herein pursuant to site plan approval to be granted by Planning Board.

Structured parking is permitted but shall be contained below principal buildings and not as stand-alone structures. The total area of structured parking shall at minimum be no less than 75% below grade provided further however, that such structured parking can be accessible from proposed driveways and streets at grade level. For that portion of structured parking that is above grade the exposed walls shall not exceed a maximum height of five feet.

Loading areas servicing commercial uses shall be designated and approved as part of any site plan application for development.

Landscaping shall be provided to promote a desirable visual environment, to accentuate building design, define entranceways, screen parking areas, mitigate adverse visual impacts and provide windbreaks for winter winds and summer cooling for buildings, and enhance buffer areas. The impact of any proposed landscaping plan at various time intervals shall be considered. Plants and other landscaping materials shall be selected in terms of aesthetic and functional considerations. The landscape design shall create visual diversity and contrast through variation in size, shape, texture and color. The selection of plants in terms of susceptibility to disease and insect damage, wind and ice damage, habitat (wet-site, drought, sun and shade tolerance), soil conditions, growth rate, longevity; root pattern, maintenance requirements, etc., shall be considered. Consideration shall be given to accenting site entrances and unique areas with special landscaping treatment. Flowerbed displays are encouraged.

Landscaped islands shall be at least six feet in width to accommodate plantings.

A minimum ten-foot landscaped buffer consisting of a dense evergreen mass shall be planted along the perimeter of the property to form a screen from adjoining properties.

Landscaping within sight triangles shall not exceed a mature height of 30 inches. Shade trees shall be pruned up to an eight-foot branching height above grade.

All areas that are not improved with buildings, structures and other man-made improvements shall be landscaped with trees, shrubs, ground cover, street furniture, sculpture or other design amenities.

Shade trees shall be a minimum 2.5- to three-inch caliper with a canopy height of at least the minimum American Nursery and Landscape Association Standards for this caliper.

Landscape plantings. The preference is for all plant materials to be indigenous to the region herein defined as the Bergen County region but in no event shall the plant materials be comprised of less than 50% indigenous species.

Plant species identified as "invasive" as identified by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection are prohibited.

Irrigation shall be provided to all landscaped areas.

Landscape plan content. A landscape plan shall be submitted with each major site plan or major subdivision application. In addition to the major site plan or subdivision submission requirements, the landscape plan shall include and identify the following information:

Any buffer zone shall remain in its natural state where wooded, or shall otherwise consist of new landscaping and plantings, including year-round plantings of both deciduous and evergreen type trees, which may be combined and integrated with berm areas. Said new landscaping and planting shall provide a year-round visual screen and shall be comprised of plant material that is at least six feet in height planted six feet on centers with staggered planting to be provided where practicable.

No buildings, structures, driveways, parking or loading areas or other use of the land shall be permitted within any buffer area, provided however that decorative walls and fences may be erected only at the edge or perimeter of the buffer zone.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A hereof, pertaining to the required depth of a buffer zone, upon an application for development of a particular property as a planned residential development, the Planning Board may increase the required buffer zone to a maximum depth of 100 feet, upon the Board's specific findings of particular circumstances relating to conditions of topography, natural features, lot configuration, natural vegetation or the lack thereof, soil conditions, drainage or other related site characteristics, or where such proposed planned residential development is incompatible with existing adjacent development.

All lighting fixtures and foot-candle standards for parking areas and recreation facilities shall be consistent with the standards outlined by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA).

A lighting plan prepared by a qualified professional shall be provided with site plan applications.

The intensity, shielding, direction and reflecting of lighting shall be subject to site plan approval by the Planning Board.

All parking areas, walkways, building entrances, and driveways required for uses in this zone shall be adequately illuminated during the hours of operation that occur after sunset.

Lighting shall be shielded so as to prevent glare from adversely impacting surrounding properties.

Lighting shall be dark sky compliant pursuant to the standards of Dark Sky International.

Building height shall mean the vertical distance from the average ground elevation of the building or structure to the level of the highest point measured at the building corners from the first finished floor.

The height limit shall not apply to roof-mounted heating, air-conditioning or other mechanical equipment, except that such equipment shall not exceed a maximum height of 10 feet and shall not occupy more than 25% of the roof area. Additionally, such equipment shall setback from the roof edge a minimum of 10 feet and be screened by a wall, cover or by other means and that such screening shall be in keeping with the architectural motif of the building.

Building height for all other structures shall be limited to a building height of three stories over below grade structured parking. The maximum building height shall not exceed 45 feet.

Horizontal articulation between floors. Each facade should be designed to have a delineated floor line between street level and upper floors. This delineation can be in the form of a masonry belt course, a concrete lintel or a cornice line delineated by wood detailing.

Vertical articulation. Each building facade facing a public right-of-way must have elements of vertical articulation comprised of columns, piers, recessed windows or entry designs, overhangs, ornamental projection of the molding, different exterior materials or wall colors, or recessed portions of the main surface of the wall itself. The vertical articulations shall be designed in accordance with the following:

Architectural materials.

Rooflines. Roofline offsets, dormers or gables shall be provided in order to provide architectural interest and variety to the massing of a building and to relieve the effect of a single, long roof.

All ground level retail and service use that face a public street shall have clear glass on at least 60% of their facades between two and eight feet above grade.

Fenestration shall be architecturally compatible with the style, materials, colors and details of the building. Windows shall be vertically proportioned.

All buildings should relate harmoniously to the site's natural features and existing buildings, as well as other structures in the vicinity that have a visual relationship and orientation to the proposed buildings. Such features should be incorporated into the design of building form and mass and assist in the determination of building orientation in order to preserve visual access to natural and man-made community focal points.

Buildings should be broken into segments having vertical orientation. A visual or physical break shall be required where buildings have a front wall that exceeds 125 feet in length, and in such case a visual or physical break shall be provided minimally every 50 linear feet.

Buildings with expansive blank walls are prohibited. Appropriate facade treatments should be imposed to ensure that such buildings and facades are integrated with the rest of the development and the entirety of the building.

New buildings are encouraged to incorporate such building elements as entrances, corners, graphic panels, display windows, etc., as a means to provide a visually attractive environment.

Cornices, awnings, canopies, flagpoles, signage, and other ornamental features should be encouraged as a means to enhance the visual environment. Such features may be permitted to project over pedestrian sidewalks, with a minimum vertical clearance of 8.5 feet, to within four feet of a curb.

A "human scale" of development should be achieved at grade and along street frontages through the use of such elements as windows, doors, columns, awnings and canopies.

Multi-tenant buildings shall provide varied storefronts and such elements as noted above for all ground-floor tenants. Upper floors shall be coordinated with ground floors through common materials and colors.

Design emphasis should be placed on primary building entrances. They should be vertical in character, particularly when there is the need to provide contrast with a long linear building footprint, and such details as piers, columns, and framing should be utilized to reinforce verticality.

Refuse and recycling shall be located interior to a building or alternatively, if located outside, the refuse area shall be appropriately screened by decorative masonry wall consistent with the type of building materials used within the development not to exceed six feet.

Rooftop utilities including HVAC units shall be shielded from public view with appropriate screening that complements the character of the building's architecture.