This chapter is enacted for the following purposes: to promote the health, morals and general welfare of the inhabitants of the Borough of Westville; to lessen congestion in the streets; to provide safety from fire, panic and other dangers; to provide adequate light and air; to prevent the overcrowding of land or buildings; to avoid undue concentration of population; and to conserve the value of property and encourage the most appropriate use of land.

From and after the effective date of this chapter, the use of all land and every building or portion of a building erected, altered with respect to height and area, added to or relocated, and every use within a building or use accessory thereto, in the Borough of Westville shall be in conformity with the provisions of this chapter. Any existing building or structure and any existing use of building or land not in conformity with the regulations herein prescribed shall be regarded as nonconforming but may be continued, extended or changed subject to the special regulations herein provided with respect to nonconforming buildings or uses.[1]

For the purpose of limiting and restricting to specified districts and regulating therein buildings and structures according to their construction and the nature and extent of their use, including regulations and restrictions pertaining to the height, number of stories, location, use and extent of use of buildings and structures for trade, residence or other purposes; also for the purpose of regulating in the interest of and promoting the general welfare, and also for the purpose of regulating with reasonable consideration, among other things, to the character of the district and its peculiar suitability for particular uses, and with a view of conserving the value of property and encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the said Borough of Westville, the said Borough is hereby divided into the following four districts and two overlays which shall be designated as follows:

The boundaries of said districts shall be shown on the map attached to and made a part of this chapter, which map shall be known as the "Zoning Map of the Borough of Westville of 2010," and as amended by subsequent ordinance. Said map and all notations, references and data pertinent to zoning and zoning districts shown thereon are hereby incorporated by reference into this chapter and shall be as much a part of this chapter as if all were fully described herein.[2]

The boundaries between districts are, unless otherwise indicated, either the center lines of streets or the center lines of railroad beds or such lines extended or lines parallel or perpendicular thereto. Where distances are shown on said map such distances shall govern, but where distances are not shown on the said map, the following provisions shall apply: the boundary lines are intended generally to follow the Borough boundary lines, street lines or existing lot lines as shown on the tax map of said Borough of Westville; where a boundary line does not follow such a location, its exact location is to be determined by a calculation made according to the scale of said map.