[Added 4-18-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-03[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: A complete copy of this article, which
also provides notice and filing requirements and includes a preamble
regarding the Highlands Preservation and Planning Areas, is on file
in the Township offices.
No application for development (as defined pursuant to the Municipal
Land Use Law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.) involving property located
in the municipality, for which application submission requirements
apply under this article, shall be deemed complete or considered for
review by the Township Land Use Board until and unless the applicant
has obtained and provided a copy of:
A.
A consistency determination from the Highlands Council indicating
that the application is consistent with the Highlands Regional Master
Plan; or
B.
A consistency determination from the Highlands Council indicating that the application is not consistent with the Highlands Regional Master Plan, accompanied by a certification, as detailed in § 51-24 below, by the applicant's professional(s) that the application has been revised since review by the Highlands Council to achieve consistency with the Highlands Regional Master Plan.
Where a Highlands Council consistency determination indicates
that an application for development is inconsistent with the Highlands
Regional Master Plan, no such application shall be deemed complete
or considered for review by the Township Land Use Board, until or
unless the applicant has obtained from the professional(s) responsible
for preparation of the applicant's plans, a certification indicating
that to the best of the knowledge and abilities of such professional(s),
the plans have been revised to achieve consistency with the Highlands
Regional Master Plan and specifically describing the revisions made
to achieve such consistency.
The following specific improvements and related applications
shall be excluded from the provisions of this article.
A.
Any improvement to a single-family dwelling in lawful existence as
of the effective date of this article, provided that such improvement:
B.
The reconstruction, within the same footprint, of any building or
other structure lawfully existing as of the effective date of this
article, in the event of its destruction or partial destruction by
fire, storm, natural disaster, or any other unintended circumstance.
C.
The repair or maintenance of any building or other structure lawfully
existing as of the effective date of this article. This exclusion
shall not be construed to permit repairs or maintenance activities
that alter the footprint of such building or structure.
D.
The interior improvement, rehabilitation, or modification of any
building or other structure lawfully existing as of the effective
date of this article. This exclusion shall not be construed to permit
activities that alter the footprint of such building or structure.
E.
The attachment of signs or other ornamentation to any building or structure, to the installation of windows, doors, chimneys, vents, shafts, heating, ventilation, or air-conditioning equipment, or to any other such improvement to a building or structure, provided it occupies a surface area footprint of not more than 50 square feet. This exclusion shall not be construed to permit ultimate disturbance or cumulative impervious surface in excess of that provided at Subsection A, above, for single-family dwellings.
F.
Any improvement or alteration to a building or other structure lawfully
existing as of the effective date of this article, where such improvement
or alteration is necessary for compliance with the provisions of the
Americans with Disabilities Act, or to otherwise provide accessibility
to the disabled.
G.
Any activity, improvement or development project located (or partially
located) in the Preservation Area for which a Highlands applicability
determination is not required as a precondition of NJDEP permitting,
as provided pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:38-2.4(b)1 through 10.
Any activity, improvement or development project listed and
demonstrated to constitute a Highlands Act exemption shall be exempt
from the provisions of this article.
A.
Demonstration of a Highlands Act exemption for an application for
development involving lands located (or partially located) in the
Preservation Area shall consist of a Highlands applicability determination
issued by the NJDEP pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:38-2.4.
B.
Demonstration of a Highlands Act exemption for an application for
development involving lands located wholly in the Planning Area shall
consist of a Highlands exemption determination issued by the Highlands
Council.
The Township may issue a waiver from the provisions of this
article where it can be established by the applicant and can be verified
by the designated representative(s) of the Township that:
A.
The activity, improvement or development proposed by the subject
application for development has not yet been formally determined to
be exempt from the Highlands Act, but eligibility for an exemption
has been sufficiently established by the applicant; or
B.
The activity, improvement or development proposed in the application
for development will neither encroach upon a Highlands resource or
Highlands resource area, nor be of detrimental impact to any Highlands
resource or Highlands resource area as these are identified and delineated
in the Highlands Regional Master Plan. The applicant's professional(s)
responsible for preparation of the applicant's plan shall establish
compliance of the above through a formal certification specifically
addressing the Highlands resources and resource areas and related
policies and objectives as identified in Chapter 4 of the Highlands
Regional Master Plan.
All municipal waivers or findings of application completeness
issued pursuant to this article shall be subject to Highlands Council
call-up review, and the municipality shall specifically include conditions
of this review consistent with this section. In all such cases, the
municipality shall within five calendar days of issuance, provide
notice to the applicant and to the Highlands Council of any waiver
or finding of application completeness made pursuant to this article.
The Highlands Council call-up review period shall expire 15 calendar
days following its receipt of such notice. Absent any notice to the
municipality from the Highlands Council within that time frame, the
application shall be considered complete, with the date of the waiver
or application completeness to be as of the date of first issuance
by the municipality. Upon determining to exercise this authority for
call-up review, the Highlands Council shall transmit notice to the
applicant and the municipality.
For the purpose of this article, the following terms, phrases,
words, and their derivations shall have the meanings stated herein
unless their use in the text of this article clearly demonstrates
a different meaning. When not inconsistent with the context, words
used in the present tense include the future, words used in the plural
number include the singular number, and words used in the singular
number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory
and not merely directory.
Any entity applying to the Board of Health, Planning Board,
Zoning Board of Adjustment, Zoning Officer, Construction Official
or other applicable authority of the municipality for permission or
approval to engage in an activity that requires an application for
development.
The application form and all accompanying documents required
by ordinance for approval of a subdivision plat, site plan, planned
development, conditional use, zoning variance, or direction of the
issuance of a permits pursuant to Section 25 or Section 27 of P.L.
1975, c.291 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-34 or 40:55D-36).
The placement of impervious surface, the exposure or movement
of soil or bedrock, or the clearing, cutting, or removing of vegetation.
The total existing or proposed area of disturbance of a lot,
parcel, or other legally designated (or otherwise legally recognized)
tract or subdivision of land, for the purpose of, and in connection
with, any human activity, property improvement, or development, including
the surface area of all buildings and structures, all impervious surfaces,
and all associated land disturbances such as excavated, filled, and
graded areas, and all lawn and landscape areas. Ultimate disturbance
shall not include areas of prior land disturbance which at the time
of evaluation: a) contain no known man-made structures (whether above
or below the surface of the ground) other than such features as old
stone rows or farm field fencing; and b) consist of exposed rock outcroppings,
or areas which, through exposure to natural processes (such as weathering,
erosion, siltation, deposition, fire, flood, growth of trees or other
vegetation) are no longer impervious or visually obvious, or ecologically
restored areas which will henceforth be preserved as natural areas
under conservation restrictions.
The Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act, P.L. 2004,
c.120, as amended, codified in part at N.J.S.A. 13:20-1 et seq.
The determination made by the NJDEP of whether a project
proposed for the Preservation Area is a major Highlands development,
whether any such major Highlands development is exempt from the Highlands
Act, and whether the project is consistent with the applicable area-wide
water quality management plan.
That portion of the municipality for which the land use planning
and regulation are in conformance with, or are intended or proposed
to be in conformance with, the Highlands Regional Master Plan.
The New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council.
All that area within the boundaries of the municipalities
listed in Subsection a of Section 7 of the Highlands Act.
Any structure, surface, or improvement that reduces or prevents
absorption of stormwater into land, including, but not limited to,
porous paving, paver blocks, gravel, crushed stone, decks, patios,
elevated structures, and other similar structures, surfaces, or improvements.
The total area of all existing or proposed impervious surfaces
situated or proposed to be situated within the boundary lines of a
lot, parcel, or other legally recognized subdivision of land, expressed
either as a measure of land area such as acreage, or square feet,
or as a percentage of the total lot or parcel area.
The New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1
et seq.
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
The regulations established by the NJDEP to implement requirements
of the Highlands Act, titled "Highlands Water Protection and Planning
Act Rules," and codified at N.J.A.C. 7:38-1 et seq.
The process by which a municipality revises the master plan,
development regulations and other regulations related to the development
and use of land to conform them with the goals, requirements, and
provisions of the Regional Master Plan in accordance with the Highlands
Plan Conformance Guidelines.
Lands within the Highlands Region not within the Preservation
Area (N.J.S.A. 13:20-7).
That portion of the Highlands Region so designated by Subsection
b of Section 7 of the Highlands Act.
The Highlands Regional Master Plan or any revision thereof
adopted by the Highlands Council pursuant to N.J.S.A. 13:20-8.
A combination of materials to form a construction for occupancy,
use or ornamentation whether installed on, above, or below the surface
of a parcel of land.
