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Rockaway City Zoning Code

ARTICLE VIII

N-C Neighborhood Commercial District

§ 172-66 Permitted principal uses.

A. 
The primary intended uses shall be as follows. The N-C Neighborhood Commercial District is intended to provide for a broad range of commercial uses for local needs. Large highway-type commercial uses are prohibited due to the small size of the properties within the district boundaries and the scale and the intensity of these uses relative to their need for parking, access and storage. Larger more intense commercial uses of this type are intended to be located within the H-C Highway Commercial District.
B. 
The following uses, conducted within the confines of a building, are permitted:
(1) 
Business uses limited to the following:
(a) 
Retail sales and retail service businesses.
(b) 
Banks and financial offices.
(c) 
Professional offices.
(d) 
Restaurants, cafes, taverns and other food and beverage establishments excluding those establishments, commonly known as "fast-food" establishments.
(e) 
Funeral homes.
(f) 
Vocational schools and studios for instruction in the arts, dancing, music, languages, photography and similar activities.
(g) 
Nursery schools and child-care centers per N.J.S.A. 40:55D-66.6.
(2) 
Clubs, lodges and fraternal, civic and charitable organizations.
(3) 
Municipal government buildings and uses including planned open space and conservation areas.

§ 172-67 Prohibited uses.

Any use other than the above permitted uses is prohibited. The following uses are specifically prohibited:
A. 
None of the foregoing uses shall be construed to include, either as principal or accessory uses, price or club retail or warehouse uses, auction establishments, commercial recreational uses, flea markets, industrial, manufacturing, processing or assembly uses, warehousing or storage uses, junk yards or motor vehicle sales or service establishments.
B. 
Shopping centers and strip malls.

§ 172-68 Permitted accessory uses.

[Amended 12-14-2023 by Ord. No. 23-24; 11-14-2024 by Ord. No. 24-25]
The following shall be permitted accessory uses in the N-C District:
A. 
Signs conforming to Article IV, Signs, of this chapter.
B. 
Parking and parking facilities.
C. 
Outdoor storage as regulated in § 172-22.
D. 
Other accessory uses customarily incident to the permitted principal uses.

§ 172-69 Conditional uses.

[Amended 9-11-2025 by Ord. No. 25-19]
A. 
The following shall be conditionally permitted uses, subject to compliance with the following requirements for each principal building:
(1) 
Front yard: 75 feet.
(2) 
Rear yard: 50 feet.
(3) 
Side yard: 25 feet.
(4) 
Frontage: 200 feet.
(5) 
Floor area ratio: 0.20.
(6) 
Maximum impervious coverage of lot: 50%.
B. 
Churches and similar places of worship of recognized religious groups as defined in § 169-4.
C. 
Public and private schools teaching academic subjects.
D. 
Public libraries.
E. 
Public utility facilities.
F. 
Garden apartments in compliance with § 172-54, Requirements for garden apartments.
G. 
Community residences and shelters for the developmentally disabled, community residences and shelters for victims of domestic violence and community residences and shelters for persons with head injuries pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-66.1 of the Municipal Land Use Law.
H. 
Medical offices.
I. 
Apartment unit(s) use in a mixed-use building, so long as the following conditions are met:
(1) 
Apartment uses on the ground floor may not front onto any street-facing facade. Ground floor entrance vestibules serving the apartment use may be permitted with ground floor street-facing facade visibility.
(2) 
Apartment uses may be exempted from conditions set forth in § 172-69A(1) through (6) if the following are met:
(a) 
The total parking requirement for all uses are satisfied in accordance with the applicable parking standards.
(b) 
Buildings containing residential units shall provide a minimum residential Amenity Space at a rate of 75 square feet per unit, with a maximum of 50% indoor. Open/outdoor Amenity Space may consist of rear lawns, preserved wooded and natural land, decks, patios, terraces, balconies, atria, swimming pools, or similar amenity. Areas used for stormwater detention and retention basins, as well as areas with slopes exceeding 15%, shall not count towards open/outdoor Amenity Space.
(c) 
Applicable bulk standards per Chapter 172 Attachment 1 are in compliance.

§ 172-70 Compliance with scheduled requirements.

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the requirements and limitations contained in the Schedule of Zoning Requirements referred to in § 172-5 shall be complied with.

§ 172-71 Yard requirement modifications.

[Amended 11-14-2024 by Ord. No. 24-25]
A. 
In the N-C Neighborhood Commercial District there shall be a minimum rear yard setback of 10 feet; provided, however, that for principal buildings greater than 20 feet in height there shall be in addition to the minimum rear yard setback an increase in the rear yard setback of one foot for every two feet or fraction thereof of the height of the principal building.