Robbinsville Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE I
Title; Purpose; Interpretation
§ 142-1 Long title.
[Amended 7-20-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-27; 11-14-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-40]
The long title of this chapter is "A Comprehensive Ordinance Regulating and Limiting the Uses of Land and the Uses and Locations of Buildings and Structures; Regulating and Restricting the Height and Bulk of Buildings and Structures and Determining the Area of Yards and Other Open Spaces; Regulating and Restricting the Density of Population; Dividing the Township of Robbinsville into Districts for Such Purposes; Adopting a Zoning Map of the Township, Showing Boundaries and the Classification of Such Districts; Establishing Rules, Regulations and Standards Governing the Subdivision of Land Within the Township; Establishing a Land Use Board; and Prescribing Penalties for the Violation of its Provisions."
§ 142-2 Short title.
[Amended 11-14-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-40]
The short form by which this chapter may be known shall be the "Land Management Code of the Township of Robbinsville."
§ 142-3 Purpose; goals and objectives.
A.
This chapter is adopted pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. in order to promote and protect the public health, safety, morals and general welfare and in furtherance of the following related and more specific objectives:
(1)
To encourage municipal action to guide the appropriate use or development of all lands in this state, in a manner which will promote the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare;
(2)
To secure safety from fire, flood, panic and other natural and man-made disasters;
(3)
To provide adequate light, air and open space;
(4)
To ensure that the development of the individual municipality does not conflict with the development and general welfare of neighboring municipalities, the county and the state as a whole;
(5)
To promote the establishment of appropriate population densities and concentrations that will contribute to the well-being of persons, neighborhoods, communities and regions and preservation of the environment;
(6)
To encourage the appropriate and efficient expenditure of public funds by the coordination of public development with land use policies;
(7)
To provide sufficient space in appropriate locations for a variety of agricultural, residential, recreational, commercial and industrial uses and open space, both public and private, according to their respective environmental requirements in order to meet the needs of all New Jersey citizens;
(8)
To encourage the location and design of transportation routes, which will promote the free flow of traffic while discouraging location of such facilities and routes which result in congestion or blight;
(9)
To promote a desirable visual environment through creative development techniques and good civic design and arrangements;
(10)
To promote the conservation of historic sites and districts, open space, energy resources and valuable natural resources in the state and to prevent urban sprawl and degradation of the environment through improper use of the land;
(11)
To encourage planned unit developments which incorporate the best features of design and relate the type, design and layout of residential, commercial, industrial and recreational development of the particular sites;
(12)
To encourage senior citizen community housing construction;
(13)
To encourage coordination of the various public and private procedures and activities shaping land development with a view of lessening the cost of such development and to the more efficient use of land;
[Amended 11-14-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-40]
(14)
To promote utilization of renewable energy sources;
(15)
To promote the maximum practicable recovery and recycling of recyclable materials from municipal solid waste through the use of planning practices designed to incorporate the State Recycling Plan goals and to complement municipal recycling programs;
[Added 11-14-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-40]
(16)
To enable municipalities the flexibility to offer alternatives to traditional development, through the use of equitable and effective planning tools including clustering, transferring development rights, and lot-size averaging in order to concentrate development in areas where growth can best be accommodated and maximized while preserving agricultural lands, open space, and historic sites; and
[Added 11-14-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-40]
(17)
To ensure that the development of individual municipalities does not unnecessarily encroach upon military facilities or negatively impact the operation of military facilities, and to those ends, to encourage municipalities to collaborate with military facility commanders in planning and implementing appropriate land use controls, thereby improving the vitality of military facilities and protecting against their loss through the base realignment and closure process or mission loss.
[Added 11-14-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-40]
B.
The Robbinsville Planning Board adopted a 2020 Comprehensive Master Plan Update and Land Use Plan Amendment ("Master Plan Update") in June 2020. In addition to bringing the Township's Planning documents up to date, the Master Plan Update rescinds, revises, and/or restates the various goals and objectives of prior Township master planning efforts as Principles and Strategies that reflect current policy direction and municipal priorities.
This chapter adopts these Principles and Strategies by reference.
[Amended 11-14-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-40]
§ 142-4 Interpretation of standards.
The provisions of this chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements. Where this chapter imposes a greater restriction than is imposed or required by other provisions of law or by other rules or regulations or resolutions, the provisions of this chapter shall control. Where other laws, rules, regulations or resolutions require greater restrictions than are imposed or required by this chapter, the provisions of such other laws, rules, regulations or restrictions shall control.
§ 142-5 Prohibition of uses not specifically permitted.
All uses not expressly permitted in this chapter are prohibited.
§ 142-6 Time of compliance.
[Amended 11-14-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-40]
All applicable requirements of this chapter shall be met at the time of erection, enlargement, alteration, moving or change in any use of land(s) or structure(s), or the physical nature of any land(s) or structure(s), existing or proposed to exist in the Township of Robbinsville, and shall apply to the entirety of all land(s) and structure(s), whether or not the entire property(ies) or structure(s) were involved in any such change in use(s) or structure(s).