To encourage municipal action to guide the appropriate use or development of the lands in the Borough of Spotswood, in a manner which will promote the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare;

To secure safety from fire, flood, panic, and other natural and man-made disasters;

To provide adequate light, air and open space;

To ensure that the development of individual municipalities does not conflict with the development and general welfare of neighboring municipalities, the county and the state as a whole;

To promote the establishment of appropriate population densities and concentrations that will contribute to the well-being of persons, neighborhoods, communities and regions and preservation of the environment;

To encourage an appropriate and efficient expenditure of public funds by the coordination of public development with land use policies;

To provide sufficient space in appropriate locations for a variety of agricultural, residential, recreational, commercial and industrial uses and open space, both public and private, according to their respective environmental requirements in order to meet the needs of all New Jersey citizens;

To encourage the location and design of transportation routes which will promote the free flow of traffic while discouraging location of such facilities and routes which result in congestion or blight;

To promote a desirable visual environment through creative development techniques and good civic design and arrangements;

To promote the conservation of historic sites and districts, open space, energy resources and valuable natural resources in New Jersey and to prevent urban sprawl and degradation of the environment through improper use of land;

To encourage planned unit developments which incorporate the best features of design and relate the type, design and layout of residential, commercial, industrial and recreational development of the particular site;

To encourage senior citizen community housing construction;

To encourage coordination of the various public and private procedures and activities shaping land development with a view of lessening the cost of such development and to the more efficient use of land;

To promote utilization of renewable energy sources;

To promote the maximum practicable recovery and recycling of recyclable materials from municipal solid waste through the use of planning practices designed to incorporate the State Recycling Plan goals and to compliment municipal recycling programs; and

To further the goals and policies of the Master Plan of the Borough of Spotswood, The County of Middlesex and the State of New Jersey.

Regulating and limiting the uses of land and the uses and the locations of buildings and structures;

Regulating and restricting the height and bulk of buildings and structures and determining the area of yards and other open spaces;

Regulating and restricting the density of population;

Dividing the Borough of Spotswood into zoning districts and enumerating development standards for each district;

Adopting a Zoning Map of the Borough of Spotswood showing the boundaries and the names of the zoning districts;

Establishing the rules, regulations and standards governing the subdivision and site development of the lands within the Borough;

Establishing a Planning Board which shall, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-25c(1) and (2), have nine members and shall exercise, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions, all the powers of a board of adjustment, but the Class I and Class III shall not participate in any matter involving relief pursuant to Subsection 40:55D-70.d.

Prescribing the penalties for the violation of and the methods for enforcement of the provisions of this Land Use and Development chapter.

The provisions of this chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements enumerated in the text unless otherwise specified. The term "shall" indicates a mandatory requirement.

Where this chapter imposes a greater restriction than is imposed and required by other provisions of law or by other rules, regulations or resolutions, the provisions of this chapter shall control unless they are preempted by such other provisions, in which case the provisions of this chapter shall nevertheless remain a viable and valid expression of the Borough of Spotswood's interests and concerns regarding the applicable subject matter.

Where other laws, rules, regulations or resolutions require greater restrictions than are imposed by this chapter, the provisions of such other laws, rules, regulations or restrictions shall control.

Zoning district boundary lines are intended to follow street centerlines, the centerline of railroad rights-of-way, the centerline of streams and lot lines as they exist on lots of record at the time of enactment of this chapter unless otherwise indicated by dimensions on the Zoning Map.

Any dimensions shown on the Zoning Map are in feet and are measured horizontally and, when measured from a street, are measured from the street right-of-way line even if the centerline of that street is used for the location of the zoning district line.

The exact location of any disputed zoning district boundary line shall be determined by the Planning Board pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-25c(1).

The zoning standards, controls and designations apply to every structure, lot and use within each zoning district, and the zoning district boundary lines extend vertically in both directions from ground level.

No building or any other structure shall be erected, enlarged, altered, added to, reduced, moved or changed in use unless in conformity with the applicable bulk and use requirements of this chapter. Should any nonconforming use desire to expand or intensify in any way, relief should be sought pursuant to 40:55D-70d. Should any building or structure not in conformance with the applicable bulk requirements of this chapter desire to be erected, enlarged, altered, added to, reduced, moved or changed, bulk relief shall be required pursuant to 40:55D-70c.

All applicable requirements of this chapter shall be met at the time a building or any other structure is first erected, enlarged, altered, added to, reduced, moved or changed in use.

All applicable requirements of this chapter shall apply to the entire structure, whether or not the entire structure was involved in the erection, enlargement, alteration, addition, reduction, moving or change in use.

No structure or land area in the Borough of Spotswood shall be used for any purpose or in any manner other than as specified in this chapter and/or in accordance with a site plan or subdivision plat as specifically approved by the (combined) Planning Board, including any conditions of approval which the Board may require.

The Borough of Spotswood and all municipal divisions, departments and agencies, including the Department of Public Works or Engineering, Spotswood Housing or Parking Authorities, Division of Libraries, Division of Public Safety, Spotswood Board of Education, and/or any other entity of the Borough or of the County of Middlesex or of the State of New Jersey or the federal government of the United States shall retain the presumption of acting in the public interest in all matters of development, and shall therefore be exempt from all zoning, site plan and subdivision requirements of this chapter. This exemption shall not apply to public utility providers or telecommunications operators which may or may not be acting under municipal franchise license or similar authority.