South River City Zoning Code
§ 350-31
Performance standards and procedures.
A.
Performance standards.
(1)
General intent. As a condition to an approval or the continuance of any building, process, installation, construction, production or other use in any zone, the applicant shall supply evidence, satisfactory to the Planning Board, that the proposed use will conform fully with all the applicable performance standards stated herein. As evidence of compliance, the Board may require certification of tests by appropriate government agencies or by recognized testing laboratories, with any cost thereof to be borne by the applicant. The Planning Board may require the specified types of equipment, machinery, or devices be installed and that specific operating procedures or methods be followed, if government agencies or testing laboratories determine that the use requires such in order to assure compliance with applicable performance standards.
(2)
Standard requirements.
(a)
Smoke control.
[1]
No smoke shall be emitted from any chimney or other source as visible gray greater than No. 1 on the Ringlemann Smoke Chart as published by the U.S. Bureau of Mines.
[2]
Smoke of a shade not darker than No. 1 on the Ringlemann Smoke Chart may be emitted for not more than four minutes in any 30 minutes.
[3]
These provisions, applicable to visible gray smoke, shall also apply to visible smoke of a different color but with an equivalent apparent opacity.
(b)
Control of dust and dirt, fly ash, fumes, vapors and gases.
[1]
No emission shall be made which can cause any danger to health, to animals or vegetation or to other forms of property or which can cause excessive soiling at any point.
[2]
No emission of liquid or solid particles from any chimney or device shall exceed 0.3 grains per cubic foot of the covering gas at any point.
[3]
For measurement of the amount of particles in gases resulting from combustion, standards correction shall be applied to a stack temperature of five-hundred-percent excess air.
(c)
Control of odors. There shall be no emission of odorous matter in such quantities as to be offensive. Any process which may involve the creation or emission of any odors shall be provided with a secondary safeguard system so that control will be maintained. As a guide in determining offensive odors, Table II (Odor Thresholds) in Chapter 5, "Air Pollution Abatement Manual," copyrighted 1951 by Manufacturing Chemists Association, Inc., Washington, D.C., shall be used.
(d)
Electricity. Electronic equipment shall be shielded so there is no interference with any radio or television reception beyond the operator's property as the result of the operation of such equipment.
(e)
Heat. Sources of heat, including but not limited to steam, gases, vapors, products of combustion or chemical reaction, shall not discharge onto or directly contact structures, plant life or animal life on neighboring uses or impair the function or operation of a neighboring use. No use, occupation, activity, operation or device shall cause an increase in ambient temperature as measured on the boundary between neighboring uses.
(f)
Radioactivity. No use, activity, operation or device concerned with the utilization or storage of radioactive materials shall be established, modified, constructed or used without having first obtained valid permits and certificates from the Office of Radiation Protection, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Proof of compliance with this requirement shall be the submission of duplicate copies of said permits and certificates.
(g)
Glare. Any process producing intense glare or the flashing of lights shall be performed within a completely enclosed building in such manner that no discomforting glare shall be disseminated beyond the building. Parking and loading and unloading areas that are in use after dark shall be so situated as to provide maximum shielding and concealment of lighting from adjoining properties. Lighting of any sign, building exterior, fountain or decorative fixture shall be placed in such a manner that it is directed toward the object to be lighted and does not disseminate glare. This section shall not be construed to prohibit lighting required by police or other enforcement agencies for the safety and protection of employees and of the general public.
(h)
Noise and vibration. All uses and activities shall comply with noise and vibration standards promulgated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Further, no use shall cause an increased vibration beyond the limits of the property on which located nor increase the ambient noise levels present at boundaries of the site nor cause intermittent or point audible noise or noise vibration to adversely impact adjoining property.
[1]
Standard. Ground-transmitted vibrations shall be measured with a seismograph or complement of instruments capable of recording vibration displacement and frequency in the three mutually perpendicular directions simultaneously.
[2]
Vibration level restrictions. Vibration levels shall not exceed a particular velocity of 0.05 inch per second in any district. During the hours of 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. in residential districts, vibration levels shall not exceed a particle velocity of 0.02 inch per second. Measurements shall be made at the points of maximum vibration intensity and on or beyond adjacent lot lines or neighboring uses, whichever is more restrictive.
(i)
Airborne emissions. In all districts, no use, activity, operation or device shall be established, modified, constructed or used without having first obtained valid permits and certificates from the Bureau of Air Pollution Control, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:27-8. Specifically, no use, activity, operation or device shall be established, modified or constructed without a valid permit to construct. No use, activity, operation or device shall be operated, occupied or used without a valid certificate to operate control apparatus or equipment. Proof of compliance with this requirement shall be the submission of duplicate copies of the permit to construct and certificate to operate.
(j)
Noise emissions. The noise standards as adopted, amended and enforced by Middlesex County, which are adopted herein by reference and included in their entirety in this chapter.
(k)
Industrial waste. No industrial waste shall be discharged into the public sewage collection and disposal system unless the appropriate officials of the Borough of South River shall have first investigated the character and volume of such waste and shall have certified that it will accept the discharge of the waste material into the system. The applicant shall comply with any requirements of the Borough, including the pretreating of such wastes, control of pH and other methods of improving such wastes prior to discharge, as a condition of acceptance by the Borough.
(l)
Outdoor storage and waste disposal.
[1]
In all districts permitting an operation, use or any activity involving the manufacture, utilization or storage of flammable, combustible and/or explosive materials, such operation shall be conducted in accordance with the regulations promulgated by the Department of Labor and Industry of New Jersey or the Fire Code of the National Fire Protection Association, whichever is more restrictive.
[3]
All outdoor storage facilities for fuel, raw materials and products stored outdoors, wherever permitted, shall be enclosed by a conforming safety fence and visual screen and shall conform to all yard requirements imposed upon the principal building in the district and storage regulations of the National Fire Protection Association.
[4]
No materials or wastes shall be deposited upon a lot in such form or manner that they may be transferred off the lot by natural causes or forces, nor shall any substance which can contaminate a stream or watercourse or otherwise render such stream or watercourse undesirable as a source of water supply or recreation, or which will destroy aquatic life, be allowed to enter any stream or watercourse.
[5]
All material or wastes which may cause fumes or dust or which constitute a fire hazard or which may be edible or otherwise attractive to rodents or insects shall be stored outdoors only in closed containers.
[6]
No flammable or explosive liquids, solids or gases shall be stored in bulk above the ground; however, tanks or drums of fuel directly connecting with energy devices, heating devices, or appliances located on the same lot as tanks or drums of fuel are excluded from this provision.
(m)
Fire protection.
[1]
Provision shall be made for fire hydrants along streets, together with standpipe and sprinkler connections on the outside walls of nonresidential structures as approved by the Municipal Fire Department and Municipal Engineer in accordance with Insurance Services Office standards.
[2]
Fire lanes 18 feet in width shall be required across the front and rear of all new residential, institutional, commercial and industrial uses with gross floor area in excess of 10,000 square feet. Similar fire lanes are recommended for design along the sides of all new commercial and industrial uses. Parking shall be strictly prohibited in all fire lane areas.
[3]
Hydrant spacing shall not exceed 400 feet between any hydrants and any building when measured along the street right-of-way.
(n)
Public utilities. All public services shall be connected to approved public utilities systems where they exist.
[1]
The developer shall arrange with the servicing utility for all underground installation of the utility's distribution supply lines and service connections in accordance with the provisions of the applicable standard terms and conditions incorporated as a part of its tariff as the same are then on file with the State of New Jersey Board of Public Utility Commissioners.
[2]
The developer shall submit to the approving authority, prior to the granting of final approval, a written instrument from each serving utility which shall evidence full compliance or intended full compliance with the provisions of this section; provided, however, that lots which abut existing streets where overhead electric or telephone distribution supply lines and service connections have heretofore been installed may be supplied with electric and telephone service from those overhead lines, but the service connections from the utilities' overhead lines shall be installed underground. In the case of existing overhead utilities, should a road widening or an extension of service or other such condition occur as a result of the development and necessitate the replacement, relocation or extension of such utilities, such replacement, relocation or extension shall be underground.
[3]
Where natural foliage is not sufficient to provide year-round screening or any utility apparatus appearing above the surface of the ground, other than utility poles, the applicant shall provide sufficient live screening to conceal such apparatus year round.
[4]
Any installation under this section to be performed by a servicing utility shall be exempt from the requirement of performance guarantees but shall be subject to inspection and certification by the Municipal Engineer, unless specifically and documentably exempt by operation of state law.
(o)
Public utility installations.
[1]
Cellular communications towers. No cellular communications tower shall be located within a minimum distance of 1,000 feet of a residential structure, public park or school.
[2]
Exemptions. Notwithstanding the above, communications towers used for the following purposes are hereby specifically exempted in the requirements of this chapter:
(p)
Additional standards and references. In order to satisfy itself that the applicant will comply fully with all of the applicable performance standards, the Planning Board or its designated representative may examine and refer to any or all of the available standards, codes, regulations and requirements of the federal, state, County or local government and recognized professional organizations, associated and societies.
(q)
Testing Procedures and Technical Assistance. In all cases where the Planning Board shall deem that it is advisable to determine whether or not the facility will be in conformance with applicable performance standards, the Planning Board or its designated representatives shall require adequate testing procedures and shall utilize expert assistance at the expense of the applicant.