White Township City Zoning Code

There shall be provided, for every lot, front, rear and side yards as required in the zone district in which said lot is located unless otherwise regulated by § 160-95, except that, in the case of flag lots as regulated by § 160-131, all front yards must face upon a dedicated public street and shall be of the size required for the particular zone district in which the lot is located; provided, however, that on streets less than 50 feet in width, the required front yard shall be increased by 1/2 the difference between the width of the street and 50 feet, and provided further that any lot which abuts a street with a proposed right-of-way greater than 50 feet in width, as shown on the Master Plan of the Township of White, adopted pursuant to P.L. 1975, c. 291 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.), shall have a front yard setback measured from the nearest line of the proposed building or structure to the proposed right-of-way line shown on said Master Plan.

No open space which has been counted or included as part of a side yard, rear yard, front yard, court or other open space as required by this chapter for one building or lot may, by reason of change of ownership or for any other reason, be counted or included in order to comply with the yard, court or other open space requirement of any other building or lot.

No accessory building or structure shall be built on any lot on which there is not a principal building or structure. No trailer or mobile home shall be used in any zone district as an accessory building or structure except as permitted as a conditional use under § 160-121.

Customary and permitted accessory uses as defined in § 160-5 of the Code shall be located where permitted in other sections of this Code.

Each lot that contains a single-family dwelling as defined in § 160-5, regardless of zoning district, shall be permitted to have at least one accessory building or structure as well as customary and permitted accessory uses as long as the setback requirements in § 160-92 and other applicable sections of the Code are complied with.

The following requirements shall be met in all residential zones:

The following requirements shall be met in all nonresidential zones:

Outdoor storage of any kind or nature, except storage of those items customarily used in conjunction with a residential occupancy, is prohibited in all residential zones.

In all nonresidential zones, where not specifically prohibited, outdoor storage is only permitted in the side and rear yards as herein regulated. No article, equipment, vehicles, supplies or materials or other matter shall be kept, stored or displayed outside the confines of any building unless and until the same is screened by special planting or fencing, as approved by the Planning Board, and maintained in good condition so that it shall not be visible from any adjacent property or public street; provided, however, that where otherwise permitted by this chapter, the display of new and used motor vehicles as a permitted accessory use in a nonresidential zone district shall not be required to be screened by a planting or fence so that said use is not visible from any abutting public street.

Planting and fences on street property lines. No fence, hedge, shrubbery or planting on any lot in any zone shall be permitted to overhang or project beyond any street side line. The branches of all trees projecting beyond any such street side line must be trimmed at all times to ensure unobstructed vision and clearance eight feet above ground or sidewalk level.

Buffers. Whenever buffers have been specified by this chapter or as may be required by the municipal agency, such buffer shall be of the width so specified or required and shall be used to minimize adverse impacts or nuisances on a site or from adjacent areas. Within the buffer area, vegetation shall be placed so as to avoid damage to existing plantings and to provide maximum protection to adjacent properties. Existing wooded areas shall be incorporated into buffers wherever possible. The buffer shall be adequately planted with landscape materials, including trees, shrubs, grass, ground cover and berms, to present an attractive appearance, and shall include a screen at least 10 feet high at maturity. The screen shall be in accordance with the following specifications or an equivalent acceptable to the municipal agency.

Maintenance. The owner shall protect the integrity of the buffer area and ensure that it remains undeveloped. Plantings shall be properly maintained in order to minimize adverse effects on adjacent properties. The owner shall replace all dead and dying plants.

Improvements adjacent to tract lines. No embankments, excavation, structure, pond, detention basin, storm drainage facility or other utility shall be permitted beyond the front, side or rear yard setback line of a tract of land subject to development adjacent to property used or zoned for residential use, except for access into the interior of the tract or where stormwater discharge or utility line extensions must cross into adjacent lands and where appropriate utility easements have been established and dedicated as approved by the approving authority.

All residential dwellings shall incorporate a substantial tree and shrub buffer within 15 feet of any property line.

Only one principal building may be erected on a lot, except for related, compatible buildings constituting one basic use or operation under one management and limited to the following:

No building to be used as a dwelling shall be constructed, altered or moved on, to or in the rear of any building situated on the same lot, except for ECHO housing as permitted by § 160-121.

The height limitations required in each zone district shall not apply to church steeples or farm buildings.

Church buildings, hospitals for humans, public school buildings and structures, masts, flagpoles, household receiving antennas or any municipally owned, leased or operated building, structure or use shall not exceed 50 feet in height or the height limitation set for the zone district in which it is located, whichever is greater.

In the I Zone, roof structures such as air-conditioning, ventilating or elevator equipment, fans, stairways, railings, vents, duct work and other like mechanical equipment may be placed or erected on roofs of permitted buildings, provided that such roof structures do not occupy more than 20% of any roof area and do not exceed the applicable maximum building heights as permitted pursuant to § 160-174I of Article XXIV by more than 15 feet. Where the roof structures occupy more than 20% of any roof area or exceed the maximum applicable building height by more than 15 feet, such roof structures must be appropriately screened as required by the Planning Board, and no height exceptions under this subsection shall apply.

In the I Zone, freestanding accessory structures, such as chimneys, stacks, water tanks, electronic and communications equipment, columns, towers, silos, spires and other like structures, may be erected to a height functionally or technically necessary or required by state or federal regulation, provided that the distance of such accessory structures from any property line is not less than a dimension that equals the height of said accessory structure, plus the minimum applicable setback requirement set forth in § 160-174F, G and H of Article XXIV, and further provided that no width or horizontal dimension of such accessory structures may exceed 15 feet measured above the maximum applicable height limit for principal structures as set forth in § 160-174I of Article XXIV.

General provisions related to fences and retaining walls.

Fences.

Retaining walls. Retaining walls may be constructed in accordance with the following requirements:

Special provisions for railroad-tie and landscape-tie retaining walls.

Statement of purpose.

Applicability. The requirements, guidelines and controls promulgated under this section shall be applicable to all properties within all zone districts situated in the Township in their existing physical state or condition as of the date of the passage of this section. The requirements of Subsections C, D and E shall apply where said properties have a slope area of 15% or greater.

Construction control limitations. Disturbance of steep slopes shall be limited to the following based on the indicated slopes:

Exception. The above construction control limitations are not applicable for isolated slope areas of 15% or greater with an area of 1,000 square feet or less.

Departures and exceptions from the provisions of Subsections C and D above shall be considered variances.

The Board, in considering a variance from the provisions of Subsections C and D above, to the extent permitted by law and to the extent applicable to the variance requested, may be guided by the following:

All lots must comply with the following:

Lots containing state regulated environmentally sensitive area(s). No lot shall be created where more than 1/2 of the party consists of freshwater wetlands.

Development and disturbance restrictions. No development or disturbance shall occur within 50 feet of surface water bodies, except stream corridors as defined in this chapter, endangered or threatened species habitats, sinkholes or other limestone solution features.

In all zones of the Township of White, it shall be permissible to allow aboveground storage tanks for petroleum or its derivatives, but not to exceed 2,000 gallons in capacity, provided that all applicable rules and regulations are followed. Above ground tanks in excess of 2,000 gallons but less than 5,000 gallons in capacity shall be permitted, provided that such installations have been approved by and are operated in accordance with the requirements of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and all other rules, regulations and statutes pertaining to aboveground storage of petroleum or its derivatives. Aboveground storage tanks in excess of 5,001 gallons' capacity shall be permitted, provided that such installations have been approved by and are operated in accordance with the requirements of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and all other rules, regulations and statutes pertaining to aboveground storage of petroleum or its derivatives and provided that such tanks are accessory to the principal use on the site in question.

Aboveground storage with proper permits and Department of Environmental Protection approvals shall be permitted in any zone within the Township of White.[1]