Pennington City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IX
Exceptions
§ 215-97 Affordable accessory apartments.
A.
Where permitted. Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, one affordable accessory apartment shall be permitted on a lot within the R-80 and R-100 Zoning Districts which meets the following requirements:
(1)
The lot must fully conform to the minimum lot area and the minimum lot width requirements specified for the subject zoning district in the schedule entitled “Schedule of Area, Yard and Building Regulations” as referenced within § 215-66 and found in this chapter of the Code of the Borough of Pennington;
(2)
The lot must have only one single-family detached dwelling situated thereon.
B.
Definition. For the purpose of this section, the definition of an affordable accessory apartment shall be as follows:
(1)
An affordable accessory apartment shall be a self-contained residential dwelling unit with a kitchen, sanitary facilities, sleeping quarters and a private entrance which is created to be occupied by a low-income household in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Substantive Rules of the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) at N.J.A.C. 5:93-1 et seq. The affordable accessory apartment may be created within an existing dwelling unit, may be created within an existing structure on the lot or may be an addition to an existing dwelling unit or accessory building.
C.
Requirements. All “affordable accessory apartments” shall meet the following requirements:
(1)
The minimum yard requirements and maximum lot coverage specified for the subject zoning district in the schedule entitled "Schedule Of Area, Yard And Building Regulations" as referenced within § 215-66 shall be adhered to, provided that any existing yard dimension that is less than a minimum required dimension shall be permitted to remain, but shall not be made less by providing the affordable accessory apartment and provided further that any existing lot coverage that is more than the maximum permitted percentage shall be permitted to remain, but shall not be made more by providing the affordable accessory apartment.
(2)
All affordable accessory apartments shall comply with all applicable statutes and regulations of the State of New Jersey in addition to all local building codes.
(3)
The affordable accessory apartment shall be rented only to a household which is a low-income household at the time of initial occupancy of the unit.
(4)
The affordable accessory apartment shall, for a period of at least 10 years from the date of the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, be rented only to low-income households.
(5)
Rents of "affordable accessory apartments" shall be affordable to low-income income households in accordance with the applicable provisions at N.J.A.C. 5:93-7.4 of COAH's Substantive Rules and shall specifically include an allowance for utilities in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:93-7.4 (h).
(6)
No more than six affordable accessory apartments shall be permitted within the Borough of Pennington.
(8)
Each affordable accessory apartment shall have living/sleeping space, cooking facilities, a kitchen sink and complete sanitary facilities for the exclusive use of its occupants. It shall consist of no less than two rooms, one of which shall be a full bathroom, and the gross floor area shall be at least 350 square feet but shall not exceed 800 square feet.
(9)
The affordable accessory apartment shall have a separate door with direct access to the outdoors. The door to the affordable accessory apartment shall not result in the placement of an additional door on the front facade of the principal dwelling.
(10)
The potable water supply and sewage disposal system for the affordable accessory apartment shall be adequate.
(11)
At least one off-street parking space shall be provided for each affordable accessory apartment in addition to the parking spaces required for the principal dwelling on the lot. No affordable accessory apartment shall reduce the number of required off-street parking spaces on a lot.
(12)
The affordable accessory apartments shall be affirmatively marketed as low-income housing to households within the East Central Housing Region consisting of Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean Counties, in accordance with COAH's Substantive Rules and the Affirmative Marketing Plan provisions in Subsection F of this section hereinbelow.
(13)
In the case of an existing accessory apartment previously created illegally on the subject property, the owner is entitled to legitimize the accessory apartment as an affordable accessory apartment under the terms of this section provisions, provided that all of the requirements of this section and all related COAH criteria shall apply, except that no subsidy need be provided by the Borough.
D.
Administration of the affordable accessory apartment program. The Borough of Pennington shall designate by resolution an outside administrative agency, approved by COAH, as the administrative entity to administer the affordable accessory apartment program in accordance with the following:
(1)
The administrative entity shall administer the affordable accessory apartment program, including advertising, income qualifying prospective renters, setting rents and annual rental increases, maintaining a waiting list, distributing the subsidy, securing certificates of occupancy, qualifying properties, handling application forms, filing deed restrictions and monitoring reports and affirmatively marketing the affordable accessory apartment program.
(2)
The administrative entity shall only deny an application for an accessory apartment if the project is not in conformance with COAH's requirements and/or the provisions of this section. All denials shall be in writing with the reasons clearly stated.
(3)
In accordance with COAH requirements, the Borough of Pennington shall provide at least $10,000 to subsidize the creation of an affordable accessory apartment conforming to the requirements of this section and COAH requirements. Prior to the grant of such subsidy, the property owner shall enter into a written agreement with the Borough of Pennington insuring the following:
E.
Application procedures.
(1)
Each application for the creation of an affordable accessory apartment shall submit the following information to the administrative entity:
(2)
All Pennington Borough building permit fees shall be waived for the development of an affordable accessory apartment which complies with the provisions of this section. Any annual license and inspection fees, if required, shall be paid by the property owners of the subject lot.
(a)
A sketch of floor plan(s) showing the location, size and relationship of both the affordable accessory apartment and the primary dwelling within the building or in another structure;
(b)
Rough elevations showing the modification of any exterior building facade to which changes are proposed; and
(c)
A site development sketch showing the location of the existing dwelling and other existing buildings; all property lines; proposed addition if any, along with the minimum building setback lines; the required parking spaces for both dwelling units; and any natural or man-made conditions which might affect construction.
F.
Affirmative marketing plan. The administrative entity shall be responsible to prepare and execute an affordable accessory apartment marketing plan which shall, at a minimum, consist of the following:
(1)
At least one well publicized public meeting to be held in the Borough of Pennington Municipal Building to discuss and explain the affordable accessory apartment program;
(2)
A large poster highlighting the main features of the affordable accessory apartment program to be prepared and hung in the Borough of Pennington Municipal Building at all times; and
(3)
The issuance of periodic press releases to the official newspapers of the Borough of Pennington regarding the affordable accessory apartment program in order to further inform the public regarding the program.