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Springfield Burlington County
City Zoning Code

ARTICLE VII

NC Neighborhood Commercial District

§ 215-23 Principal permitted uses.

Principal permitted uses on the land and in buildings shall be as follows:
A. 
Detached single-family dwelling units.
B. 
Churches.
C. 
Professional, business and contractors offices, provided there is no outside storage.
D. 
Shops and stores for the retail sales of antiques, books, confections, drugs, dry goods, flowers, gifts, notions, stationery and other similar goods. Food stuffs and beverages also are included, provided that no distribution activities or fast-food convenience stores shall be permitted.
E. 
Food service establishments, including sit-down restaurants with table service. Coffee shops, bakery, pastry, candy, confectionery or ice cream shops, provided that no wholesale distribution activities, fast-food restaurants or drive-through window facilities or services shall be permitted.
F. 
Personal service shops dealing directly with customers, including beauty shops, barbershops, shoe repair and other similar uses.
G. 
Farms and farm buildings; see Article XVIII for regulations.

§ 215-24 Conditional uses and permitted accessory uses.

Conditional uses and permitted accessory uses shall be as follows:
A. 
Private residential swimming pools (see § 215-134 for standards) and other usual recreational facilities, customarily associated with residential dwelling units.
B. 
Sheds; see § 215-9 herein for definition and Article XXI for regulations.
C. 
Accessory buildings; see § 215-9 herein for definition.
D. 
Off-street loading and parking and private garages, either attached or detached; see § 215-28 herein below, Article XV and Chapter 164, Site Plan Review, § 164-25.
E. 
Fences and walls; see Article XVII.
F. 
Home occupations; see § 215-30 herein.
G. 
Home offices; see § 215-31 herein.
H. 
Signs; see § 215-29 herein and § 215-109.
I. 
Satellite dish antennas as conditional uses under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67; see § 215-132 for standards.
J. 
Cellular antennas and other public utility uses as conditional uses under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67; see § 215-132 for applicable standards.
K. 
Residential flats as conditional uses under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67; see § 215-132 for applicable standards. A total of 10 accessory apartments and residential flats are included in the Township’s fair share housing plan. Accessory apartments and residential flats are permitted as conditional uses to implement that plan. Upon the grant of approval by the Land Development Board for the 10th accessory apartment or residential flat, as the case may be, this subsection shall be repealed and of no further force or effect.
[Amended 3-13-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-01]
L. 
Farm stands; see § 215-97 for regulations.
[Amended 11-10-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-08]
M. 
Temporary construction trailers and one temporary sign not exceeding 32 square feet, advertising the prime contractor, subcontractor(s), architect, financing institution and similar data for the period of construction beginning with the issuance of a construction permit and concluding with the issuance of a certificate of occupancy or one year, whichever is less, provided that said trailer(s) and sign are on the site where the construction is taking place, are not on any existing or proposed street or easement and are set back at least 30 feet from all street and lot lines.
N. 
Renewable energy facilities as accessory uses; see § 215-134 for regulations.
[Added 11-10-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-07]

§ 215-25 Maximum building height.

No principal building shall exceed 35 feet in height and 2.5 stories, and no accessory building shall exceed 20 feet in height and 1.5 stories.

§ 215-26 Area and yard requirements.

Area and yard requirements shall be as follows:
A. 
Principal buildings, minimum in feet.
Detached Single-Family Dwellings
Professional and Retail Uses
Churches
Lot area
(acres)
31
3
3
Lot frontage
200
150
200
Lot width
200
150
200
Lot depth
200
150
200
Side yards, each
20
25
40
Front yard
30
30
30
Rear yard
35
35
35
NOTES:
1At least one acre shall be contiguous noncritical acreage, be appropriately situated for the location and construction of the detached single-family dwelling and its appurtenances, including the septic system serving the lot.
B. 
Accessory buildings, minimum in feet. [Note: Where a nonresidential use abuts a residential use or district, the minimum setbacks for accessory buildings shall apply to any accessory structures, off-street parking, driveways, aisles, loading or other accessory uses.]
Distance to side line
15
20
30
Distance to rear line
15
20
30
Distance to other building
20
20
30
C. 
Coverage.
Maximum impervious surface ratio
0.25
0.60
0.20
Floor area ratio
0.10
0.20
0.15
D. 
The rear and side yard setback requirements for both principal and accessory buildings on preexisting undersized lots in this zone shall be modified as follows: The minimum rear and side yard requirements shall decrease in proportion to the lot’s decrease below the minimum dimensions established herein. For example, a new home on a preexisting one-hundred-foot-wide lot would be required to be set back 10 feet from each side lot line and 17.5 feet from the rear lot line. The minimum rear and side yard setbacks for a detached garage on the same lot would be 7.5 feet and the garage could be no closer than 10 feet from the principal building. Maximum building and lot coverages would not be altered.

§ 215-27 General requirements for nonresidential uses.

A. 
One building may contain more than one use, provided that the total building and lot coverage of the combined uses does not exceed the maximums specified for the district, and provided further that each use occupies a minimum gross floor area of 750 square feet.
B. 
Display or storage.
(1) 
Unless otherwise specifically approved by the Board as part of a site plan application, no merchandise, product, equipment or similar material or objects shall be displayed or stored outside.
(2) 
Where merchandise, products, equipment or similar material or objects are approved by the Board to be displayed or stored outside, the materials shall be suitably screened to be obscured from view from adjacent residential uses and must be situated within the property lines of the principal use.
C. 
All areas not utilized for buildings, parking, loading, access aisles and driveways or pedestrian walkways shall be suitably landscaped with shrubs, ground cover, seeding or plantings and maintained in good condition.
D. 
All buildings shall be compatibly designed, whether constructed all at one time or in stages over a period of time. All building walls facing any street or residential use or district shall be suitably finished for aesthetic purposes and shall be compatible in design and scale to the surrounding residential areas. No commercial or office building facade shall be repeated/duplicated for a distance of 400 feet. All commercial and office buildings shall have a gable, hip or gambrel (or other dual-pitched, single-ridge roof). No such roofline shall be repeated/duplicated for a distance of 400 feet.
E. 
The minimum setback area shall include a planted buffer of at least 10 feet in width along any common property line with a residential district or use.
F. 
Each building shall provide at least one off-street loading space and one trash and garbage pickup location in accordance with the provisions of Article XV.
G. 
At least the first 15 feet adjacent to any street line and at least the first 10 feet adjacent to any lot line shall not be used for parking and shall be planted and maintained in lawn areas or ground cover and landscaped in compliance with the standards set forth in Chapter 119, Landscaping.

§ 215-28 Minimum off-street parking.

A. 
Each individual use shall provide parking spaces according to the following minimum provisions. Where a permitted use of land includes different specific activities with different specific parking requirements, the total number of required parking spaces shall be obtained by computing individually the parking requirements for each different activity and adding the resulting numbers together. No parking area shall be located within 10 feet of any property line.
(1) 
Dwelling units shall provide two spaces per unit.
(2) 
Churches shall provide one space per every three permanent seats.
(3) 
Professional offices shall provide one space per every 200 square feet of gross floor area or part thereof.
(4) 
Retail and service activities shall provide one space per 200 square feet of gross floor area or part thereof.
B. 
See Article XV and Chapter 164, Site Plan Review, § 164-25, for additional standards.

§ 215-29 Signs.

A. 
Permitted signs shall be as follows:
(1) 
Detached dwelling units: signs as permitted by § 215-108.
(2) 
Churches: one freestanding sign not exceeding 15 square feet in area, 10 feet in height and set back at least 10 feet from all street lines and at least 50 feet from all property lines, plus one attached sign not exceeding eight square feet in area.
(3) 
Professional offices, retail and service activities: one attached sign, not exceeding 10% of the front facade of the building or 12 square feet in area, whichever is less. Where a principal use occupying at least 500 square feet of segregated area has direct access from the outside, a sign not exceeding four square feet in area, identifying the name of the activity, may also be attached to the building at the entrance.
B. 
See § 215-107 for definitions and § 215-111 for additional standards.

§ 215-30 Home occupations.

A. 
Definition: same as in AR zone.
B. 
Requirements:
(1) 
Such occupation may be pursued in the principal dwelling unit structure or in one or more secondary buildings which are accessory to such principal structure.
(2) 
The use of the property for the home occupation shall be clearly incidental and subordinate to its use for residential purposes by its occupants, and not more than 20% of the gross floor area of all buildings shall be used in the conduct of the home occupation.
(3) 
No person other than members of the household residing on the premises plus one outside employee or other assistant shall be engaged in the occupation on the premises.
(4) 
The residential character of the lot and building shall not be changed, no occupational sounds shall be audible outside the building and no equipment shall be used which will cause interference with radio or television reception in neighboring residences. No display of products shall be visible from the street, nor shall any materials be stored outside.
(5) 
The home occupation shall not include the breeding, raising, care, boarding or maintenance of animals.
(6) 
The home occupation shall not create the need to park more than two vehicles at any time in addition to those ordinarily used by the residents of the home. Said vehicles shall be limited to passenger automobiles, that is, no commercial or construction vehicles, and must be parked off-street. The home occupation shall not reduce the parking or yard requirements of the dwelling. There may be parked on the premises not more than one vehicle owned or operated in conjunction with the home occupation. No other vehicle(s) owned or operated in conjunction with the home occupation shall be parked overnight, stored or repaired, either on- or off-premises, within a residential zone, and no such vehicle(s) shall be parked overnight or stored on a street.
(7) 
See § 215-109 for additional standards.

§ 215-31 Home offices.

A. 
Definition: same as in the AR zone.
B. 
Requirements:
(1) 
The office area shall not occupy more than 300 square feet or 12.5% of the gross floor area of the detached dwelling, whichever is greater, and excluding the area of garages, basements and attics in the calculation of gross floor area.
(2) 
The office area shall not have direct access to the outside via a door, but shall be an existing room or area within the detached dwelling unit which is integrated within the overall floor plan of the dwelling.
C. 
The office area shall not contain any kitchen or bathroom facilities which are separate from the remainder of the detached dwelling unit.
D. 
No supplies or furnishings shall be permitted other than typical office supplies and furnishings.
E. 
No evidence of the office area shall be visible from the outside of the detached dwelling unit.
F. 
Clients and/or customers shall not come to the home office.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Sections 22-8J and K, regarding the definitions of “shed” and “accessory building,” which immediately followed this subsection, were deleted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. IV). See now § 215-9.