[Added 6-18-1998 by Ord. No. 98-3]
A. Walls and fences.
(1) Walls and fences may be erected where required for
privacy, screening, separation, security or to serve other necessary
and reasonable functions.
(2) Design and materials shall be functional, they shall
compliment the character of the size and type of building, and they
shall be suited to the nature of the project and the proposed site
architecture.
(3) No fence or wall shall be so constructed or installed
so as to constitute a hazard to traffic and safety.
(4) No fence in any front yard shall exceed a height of
four feet as measured from the lowest elevation of the finished grade
or from the top of the retaining wall. In the case of corner lots,
such restrictions shall apply to both street frontages. No fence shall
exceed six feet in height inside rear yards. Fences shall have a 50%
minimum transparency.
[Amended 8-4-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-12]
(5) Along State Highways Route 31, fences up to six feet
high are permitted in the front or the back yard of single-family
homes, whichever abuts the road.
[Amended 8-4-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-12]
(6) A dog run or privacy area may have fencing a maximum
of seven feet in height, provided that such area or structure is located
in rear yard areas only and is set back from any lot line in accordance
with accessory setback requirements.
(7) A tennis court area, located in rear yard areas only,
may be surrounded by a fence at least 15 feet high, said fence to
be set back from any lot line the distance required for accessory
buildings in the applicable district.
(8) Swimming pool requirements shall be adhered to as
per BOCA regulations.
(9) Board-on-board fence shall be constructed with opposing
boards separated by a rail/beam no more than four inches in width.
(10)
All permitted fences shall be situated on a
lot in such a manner that the finished side of such fence shall face
adjacent properties. No fence shall be erected nor constructed of
any material or in any manner which may be dangerous to persons or
animals, except that these provisions shall not apply to farms and
except further that fences permitted for commercial and industrial
uses may be topped by a barbed wire protective barrier but should
not exceed a total height of 10 feet.
B. Retaining walls.
(1) No retaining walls shall be permitted within the right-of-way
or within 30 feet of the intersection point of intersecting streets.
No retaining wall shall be located within five feet of a property
line unless a maintenance easement is secured from the adjoining property
owner and approved by the Land Use Board.
(2) Retaining walls shall be of durable construction and
of a design approved by the Land Use Board.
(3) No retaining wall exceeding four feet in height from
the lowest elevation of the finished grade to the top of the retaining
wall shall be built unless and until a site plan has been submitted
to and approved by the Land Use Board in accordance with the requirements
of site plan submission. Safety fence along the top of the retaining
walls shall be provided in accordance with BOCA requirements.
[Added 7-19-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-15; amended 8-15-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-08]
No accessory building permitted by this chapter
shall be placed in any required yard except as specified hereinafter
in this section.
A. The aggregate ground area covered by accessory buildings
shall not exceed 25% of the required rear yard area within any residential
zone or 576 square feet for the R-10 Zone and any cluster development
or 600 square feet in all other residential zones, whichever is less.
Within any business and industrial zone, the aggregate area covered
by any accessory buildings shall not exceed 50% of the required rear
yard area or 800 square feet, whichever is less.
B. An accessory building attached to the principal building
shall comply in all respects with the requirements of this chapter
applicable to the principal building.
C. No accessory building within any zone shall exceed
15 feet in height.
D. No accessory building erected in a required yard on
any lot within any zone shall be used for residential purposes.
E. Within the limitations hereinbefore recited, any accessory
building within any residential zone shall be located behind the rear
line of the principal structure.
F. On through lots, no accessory building erected in
the rear yard shall be nearer the street line than the minimum distance
specified for front yard setback on that part of the street which
said yard abuts.
G. Open, private swimming pools designed and intended
for the sole use of resident site occupants shall be considered accessory
structures for the purpose of permits and shall be controlled by the
New Jersey Uniform Construction Code. Pool footprint areas shall not
be considered when calculating the allowable coverage of accessory
structures for an individual property.
H. Garden sheds shall be governed by this section, except
that they may be erected closer to the rear and side property lines
as indicated in the below modified schedule. In no instance, however,
shall the location of the garden shed be closer to the existing dwelling,
which is located on an adjacent lot, than the prescribed minimum side
yard depth for accessory buildings of the zone in which the garden
shed within the modified setbacks, must provide the location of dwellings
on the adjacent lot on their filed plan.
(1) Garden sheds shall not exceed the following standards
governing size:
(d)
Total square footage: 120 square feet.
[Added 4-1-2020 by Ord.
No. 2020-04; amended 10-7-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-09]
A. Accessory apartments shall be permitted in all residential zones
within the Township of Oxford, subject to the following requirements:
(1)
All accessory apartments proposed and meeting the requirements
of this section shall be required to obtain a zoning permit from the
Zoning Officer of the Township of Oxford prior to the issuance of
construction permits. Any and all construction permits required shall
be obtained by the applicant at his/her own expense, and the accessory
apartment shall only be occupied upon issuance of a certificate of
occupancy by the Construction Office. Any accessory apartment proposed
not meeting the requirements of this section shall seek appropriate
relief from the Oxford Township Land Use Board and shall only be granted
construction permits upon receiving all necessary land use approvals.
(2)
Any lot where an accessory apartment is proposed shall meet
all area, yard and bulk requirements for the zone in which the lot
is located.
(3)
No individual lot within the Township shall be permitted more
than one accessory apartment.
(4)
No accessory apartment shall contain more than one bedroom.
(5)
All accessory apartments shall be contained in an accessory
building, whether existing or newly constructed, and shall not be
attached to the principal dwelling in the case of a new building.
Any newly constructed accessory building shall meet the minimum yard
requirements for an accessory building/structure as required for the
zone in which the lot is located.
(6)
Any person wishing to construct an accessory apartment shall
demonstrate that either public sewer exists or can be provided to
the lot or the existing septic system is adequate to handle the additional
bedroom proposed. Demonstration of the adequacy of the existing septic
system shall be in the form of inspection and written report by a
qualified professional engineer or other professional licensed to
provide such determination. Provided proper approvals are obtained
from any agency having jurisdiction over the matter, expansion of
existing septic systems to provide additional capacity to support
an accessory apartment shall be permitted.
(7)
Adequate additional parking per the New Jersey Residential Site
Improvement Standards, N.J.A.C. 5:21 et seq., shall be provided. For
a one-bedroom apartment, two additional spaces shall be provided.
(8)
All accessory apartments shall be registered with the Township
Clerk and assigned a street address by the Township. The number designation
of the accessory apartment shall be identical to that assigned to
the principal dwelling plus the letter "B." Such number designation
shall be posted on the accessory building containing the apartment
in a location visible to emergency responders and shall also be posted
on a separate mailbox that shall be installed for the apartment.