Scotch Plains City Zoning Code
§ 23-4.2
Permitted Area Modifications.
a.
Front yards. In such cases in residential zones where the frontage on the same side of the street within 500 feet is 50% or more developed, then the required front yard area for a new structure shall be modified to the average for such existing development, or as otherwise recommended by the Zoning Officer. Otherwise, the requirements of Subsections 23-3.4A and 23-3.4B[1] shall apply.
[1]
Editor's Note: The provisions of Subsections 23-3.4A and 23-3.4B are the Schedules of Lot, Yard, and Building Regulations, which are on file in the office of the Township Clerk.
b.
Side yards. In the case of lots upon which an existing structure is located or which comply with the provisions for modification of Subsection 23-4.1 combined total side yard requirements, as specified in Column 9 of Subsections 23-3.4A and 23-3.4B, shall be reduced by six inches for each foot by which a lot is less than the minimum requirements specified in Column 4 or 6 of Subsection 23-3.4A and in Column 5 of Subsection 23-3.4B for the zone in which located. In any case, the side yard area for either side yard shall not be reduced to less than 50% of the requirement of Column 8 of Subsections 23-3.4A and 23-3.4B.
c.
Porches, stoops, fireboxes, chimneys, ramps. Porches, stoops, fireboxes, chimneys, HVAC equipment and the like shall be exempt from the front, side, and rear requirements as outlined in Subsection 23-3.4A, Schedule of Lot, Yard, and Building Regulations.
1.
Steps shall be exempt from all of the lot, yard, and building regulations as they may be necessary to carry out the passage of ingress and egress.
2.
Porches shall be a three-sided, open-air, roofed structure without the use of windows, screens, or curtains; and shall be constructed in accordance with the latest edition of the Building Code.
3.
Porches shall be permitted to extend 96 inches from the face of the existing front setback as outlined in Subsection 23-3.4A, paragraphs A, B, C, G, and H, as long as the setback conforms to the above-referenced subsection or as the average setback applies. This subsection applies to residential structures only.
4.
Ramps and mechanical appliances for the physically impaired, aged, and handicapped shall be exempt from all of the lot, yard, and building regulations as they may be necessary to carry out the passage of ingress and egress. Sites, facilities, buildings and elements may be made accessible to and usable by people with such physical disabilities as the inability to walk, difficulty walking, reliance on walking aids, blindness and visual impairment, deafness and hearing impairment, in coordination, reaching and manipulation disabilities, lack of stamina, difficulty interpreting and reacting to sensory information, and extremes of physical size. The intent of these sections is to allow a person with a physical disability to independently get to, enter, and use a site, facility, building, or element as it may be necessary to carry out the passage of ingress and egress.