Scotch Plains City Zoning Code
§ 23-10.1
Jerusalem Road Overlay Zone District.
a.
Intent and purpose. The intent and purpose of the Jerusalem Road Overlay Zone District is to provide an opportunity to develop affordable housing to meet present and prospective housing needs, with particular attention to very-low-, low-, and moderate-income housing, in conformance with the requirements of the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing ("COAH"), the settlement agreement entered into between the Township of Scotch Plains, Fair Share Housing Center ("FSHC"), Lamberts Mill, Amberg, ATA Developers, and SP Reserve on January 15, 2018 (hereinafter "settlement agreement"), and the court order approving same, which was entered by the court on April 20, 2018, after a properly noticed fairness hearing, and the Township's conditional declaratory judgment of compliance and repose entered by the Superior Court of New Jersey on January 9, 2019, and filed by the Court on January 11, 2019, which approved the land use regulations and affirmative devices in the Township's Housing Element and Fair Share Plan to comply with the Township's constitutional obligation with respect to affordable housing under Mount Laurel doctrine.
c.
Accessory uses and structures.
1.
Parking and parking facilities as regulated herein;
3.
Common outdoor public or private spaces, decks, and terraces;
4.
Active and passive recreation facilities;
5.
Maintenance facilities;
6.
Gardens, hardscape patio areas, landscape features;
7.
Green building techniques and green roofs;
8.
Solar canopy array or roof-mounted systems; and
9.
Stormwater management/flood storage systems.
d.
Bulk requirements.
1.
Maximum density: 12 DU/acre.
2.
Minimum lot area: 21,000 feet.
3.
Minimum lot depth: 100 feet.
4.
Minimum street frontage: 200 feet.
5.
Maximum building coverage: 40%.
6.
Maximum impervious lot coverage: 70%.
7.
Principal and accessory building setbacks and requirements.
(a)
Minimum front yard setback: 25 feet.
(b)
Minimum one side yard setback: 10 feet.
(c)
Minimum total both side yard setbacks: 25 feet.
(d)
Minimum rear yard setback: 25 feet.
(e)
Minimum distance between buildings side elevation to side elevation: 40 feet.
(f)
Minimum distance between buildings side elevation to rear elevation: 50 feet.
(g)
Minimum distance between buildings rear elevation to rear elevation: 60 feet.
(h)
Principal building height (stories): three stories.
(i)
Principal building height (feet), townhouse: 36 feet.
(j)
Principal building height (feet), multifamily apartment: 42 feet.
(k)
Accessory building height (stories): 1 1/2 stories.
(l)
Accessory building height (feet): 15 feet.
(m)
Minimum townhouse unit width: 25 feet.
(n)
Minimum townhouse unit length: 40 feet.
e.
Site plan and building requirements.
1.
Parking and circulation.
(a)
Granite block curbing shall be utilized along all internal roads and along the lot's frontage along any public right-of-way. All other design standards for residential projects shall conform to RSIS.
(b)
All required off-street parking and loading spaces shall be provided on-site.
(c)
In order to count towards the off-street parking requirements, the minimum length of townhouse unit driveways shall be 18 feet.
(d)
Multifamily projects which generate 15 or more residential units are required to submit a traffic and parking study at the time of the site plan application before the Planning Board that shall address the traffic and parking impact of the proposed development on the Township's circulation and roadways.
2.
Sidewalks. Sidewalks shall be provided along the frontage of all public rights-of-way which the property fronts.
3.
Landscape buffer. A landscape buffer shall be provided along the site's perimeter, with the exception of the lot frontage. Areas between property lines and parking areas shall be buffered with a mixture of deciduous and evergreen plantings. This landscaped buffer area shall be a minimum of 10 feet in depth. To the extent practical, existing trees on the site shall be preserved and protected during construction. The Planning Board may approve fencing in conjunction with any such screening requirement. Any site plan or subdivision plan shall be accompanied by a landscape plan specifying details for tree-protection measures, proposed landscape plantings, and street trees to be provided in accordance with ordinance requirements, and/or contract of sale or developer's agreement.
4.
Open space. Multifamily apartment projects containing 10 or greater total residential units shall allocate a minimum of 15% of the gross lot area to be used as a common hardscaped outdoor area such as courtyards, patios, terraces, or similar. The required hardscape common area shall not count towards the project's impervious coverage bulk requirements of this zone.
5.
Architectural design guidelines.
(a)
The primary materials for buildings shall be brick, stone, HardiePlank® or similar cement board siding, subject to Planning Board approval. The use of vinyl siding is prohibited.
(b)
All buildings and building elevations shall be constructed with the same building materials and to the same building construction standards and aesthetics.
(c)
No more than six townhouse units shall be attached in a series.
(d)
No more than two contiguous townhouse units shall be located on the same setback line.
(e)
(f)
Buildings shall have a clear base, middle, and top by providing string courses and/or horizontally differentiating surface treatments.
(g)
Residential first-floor units shall be located a minimum of two feet above the sidewalk, with windowsills a minimum of five feet above the sidewalk.
(h)
All mechanical equipment shall be screened from view. Rooftop equipment shall be screened in a manner consistent with the architecture and building materials of the building. Ground-level mechanical equipment shall be screened by means of solid fencing and supplemented with evergreen plantings.
(i)
Roofs should be designed to reduce the apparent exterior mass of a building, add visual interest, and be appropriate for the architectural style of the building. Overhanging eaves, sloped roofs with a minimum pitch of 8/12, and multiple roof elements are highly encouraged. In the case of a pitched roof, roofline offsets, dormers or gables shall be provided in order to provide architectural interest and to minimize the apparent mass of the building.
f.
Affordable housing requirements. Any project containing residential units shall meet the requirements of the Township's Affordable Housing Ordinances,[3] applicable COAH regulations, the settlement agreement entered into between the Township of Scotch Plains and Fair Share Housing Center ("FSHC") on January 15, 2018, the court order approving the settlement agreement, the Court-approved Housing Element and Fair Share Plan, any applicable order of the Court and other applicable law.
1.
For projects which consist of five or more new residential units, no fewer than 20% for-sale units or 15% of for rental units constructed shall be set aside as units affordable to very-low-, low-, and moderate-income households.
2.
Income distribution: The income distribution for the affordable units in each project shall be as follows: no more than 50% may be moderate-income units, at least 37% shall be low-income units and at least 13% shall be very-low-income units.
3.
Bedroom mix: At least 20% of the affordable units in each project shall be three-bedroom units; no more than 20% of the affordable units in each project shall be efficiency and one-bedroom units; at least 30% of the affordable units in each project shall be two-bedroom units; the balance may be two- or three-bedroom units; at the discretion of the developer.
4.
The developer shall have an obligation to deed restrict the affordable units as very-low-, low- or moderate-income affordable units for a period of at least 30 years, until such time and under conditions as the Township elects to release the deed restriction, so that the Township may count the affordable units against its affordable housing obligation. The deed restrictions shall be recorded with the County Clerk, and a copy of the recorded deed shall be forwarded to the Township Municipal Housing Liaison and administrative agent. Any sale of the property or units shall not affect the length or terms of the deed restriction.
5.
All affordable units shall comply with the bedroom distribution requirements, income distribution requirements, pricing requirements, integration of affordable unit requirements, affirmative marketing requirements, candidate qualification and screening requirements and deed restriction requirements of the Township's Affordable Housing Ordinance.[4]
6.
The developer/owner of the affordable units shall contract with an experienced and duly qualified administrative agent for the administration of the affordable units. The developer's/owner's administrative agent may either be the Township administrative agent or shall report to the Township administrative agent, and the developer/owner shall have the obligation to pay all costs associated with affirmatively marketing and deed restricting the affordable units, income qualifying residents, and maintaining compliance with the affordability controls on the affordable units in accordance with this section and the Township's Affordable Housing Ordinance for the entirety of the deed restriction period. The developer/owner and its administrative agent shall provide annual reports as required by the Township and the Township's administrative agent to enable the Township to comply with the affordable housing monitoring requirements of the Court.