Scotch Plains City Zoning Code

It is recognized that, in accordance with the purposes of the Land Development Ordinance[1] of the Township of Scotch Plains and the Municipal Land Use Law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.) may be necessary and appropriate to permit activities for a limited period of time, under very specific conditions, which activities may be prohibited by other provisions of the aforesaid ordinance, if such uses are of such a nature and are so located that, at the time of application, they would:

The provisions of this temporary operating permit subsection shall apply only to temporary operating uses not customary or incidental to single-family dwellings within single-family residential zone districts in the Township. The Zoning Board of Adjustment of the Township of Scotch Plains shall (herein "Board") have the power to grant temporary operating permits (herein "TOP") except for the following limited uses, if not located within a single family residential zone district (provided the criteria set forth in Subsection 23-4.3a above have been met to the satisfaction of the Board):

The Board, if it finds the criteria set forth in Subsection 23-4.3a above to have been satisfied, may grant a temporary operating permit for such activity, and no other application or action shall be required of the applicant in receipt of such temporary operating permit. The Board may refer such temporary operating permit request to any agency, department or board prior to its decision for comment, but the Board shall not be bound by the same. The Board shall limit the time period for which the initial temporary operating permit shall be valid, to a maximum period of 12 consecutive months from approval by the Board, and shall impose any conditions upon the temporary operating permit which it deems appropriate.

The Township's Construction Code Official/Zoning Officer or Board Secretary shall have the authority to require the applicant for a temporary operating permit to give notice of the application to the owners of all real property, as shown on the current tax duplicate, within 200 feet in all directions of the property which is the subject of such application. The notice shall contain a designation of the property which is the subject of the application by lot and block and street address and shall contain a description of what use the applicant is requesting and also at what meeting the application will be heard (address, date and time of meeting) and that the recipient of the notice shall have the right to be heard relative to the application. Notice shall be given in accordance with the notice procedures set forth in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12.

The applicant for a temporary operating permit shall pay to the Township, at the time the application is filed, a $100 fee to cover administrative expenses, the same being nonrefundable. In addition to the said fee, either the Construction Code Official/Zoning Officer or the Board Secretary shall have the authority to require an escrow account of up to $500 to be established for the purpose of covering the costs of professional services, including engineering, planning, legal and other expenses connected with the review of the application. The escrow will be held and administered in accordance with the provisions of Subsection 19-3.4 of the Scotch Plains Land Development Ordinance[2] and the Municipal Land Use Law.[3] If neither the Construction Code Official nor the Board Secretary shall require the applicant to post an escrow account fee, the Board, nonetheless, reserves the right to require the applicant for a temporary operating permit to post such escrow account fee.

In the event that an applicant for a temporary operating permit requests such permit for an activity for which a permit has been granted for the year subsequent to the year first granted, the Board shall have the right to review such permit for up to (but not in excess of) three years. The Board may grant successive renewal permits for up to three years thereafter. The Board may grant the renewal permit in its sound discretion only if no valid complaints were received, in writing, since the issuance of either the original or subsequently renewed and approved temporary operating permit, and there are no significant changes from either the original or subsequently renewed and approved temporary operating permit. All conditions imposed by either the original or subsequently renewed and approved temporary operating permit shall continue in effect in the renewal permit, and the Board may impose new conditions if it deems such new conditions necessary, or if such new conditions are deemed necessary by other Township officials.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, wherever, in the judgment of the Building Inspector, or other designated officer, a catastrophe such as fire, flood, tornado, or other similar disaster occurs which causes a residential structure to become unfit for human habitation, the Building Inspector shall have the power and right to issue a temporary operating permit so that a house trailer may be placed on the land for a period not to exceed 12 months from the date of its issuance. Any extension beyond said twelve-month period shall require Board approval in accordance with the procedures outlined above.