Editor's Note: See also Chapter 33, Flood Damage Prevention and Protection.
[1999 Code § 15.40.010, A]
The purposes of this section are:
a.
To implement the land use rules and regulations to preserve and protect
stream banks and adjacent areas of streams, either natural or man-made
that are not currently delineated by the State of New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection.
b.
To discourage construction and re-grading in flood hazard areas.
c.
To prevent encroachments into flood hazard areas which would obstruct
or constrict the area through which water must pass.
d.
To prevent pollution of watercourses during low- or high-water periods
by preventing the placing or storing of unsanitary or dangerous substances
in the flood hazard areas.
[1999 Code § 15.40.010, B]
As used in this section:
Means the channel and portions of the flood plain adjoining
the channel which are reasonably required to carry and discharge the
regulatory flood.
Means that portion of the flood plain outside the floodway
or encroachment lines.
Means the area inundated by the regulatory flood including
the watercourse that creates it.
Means the 100-year flood along non-delineated watercourses
for which this section applies.
[1999 Code § 15.40.010, C]
The flood hazard design elevation shall be determined on an
individual basis based upon stream encroachment line data from the
Department of Environmental Protection or, in the absence of that
data, the flood elevation based on a one-hundred-year storm frequency.
Either shall be delineated on a development plan, site plan or other
document depicting proposed improvements. In addition, the Municipal
Engineer may, upon request of and at the expense of the applicant
or at the request of the approving authority and with the consent
of the landowner and at the applicant's expense, determine the
precise location of a floodway and flood fringe area by close inspection,
field survey or other appropriate method and cause the same to be
marked on the ground and on the plan, notifying the owner, the New
Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Environmental
Protection and the approving authority. The assistance of the United
States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, and the
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, may be sought to
aid in delineating the flood hazard design elevation, except that
where State or Federal agencies shall subsequently publish any reports
which delineate the flood hazard design elevation of a watercourse,
said report shall be the officially delineated flood hazard area as
if said report were published in this section.
[1999 Code § 15.40.010, D]
Any lot containing a floodway portion of a drainage course and
on which it is proposed to re-grade and to construct an improvement
shall not be permitted unless a floodway permit has been issued by
the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, where required
by State regulations.
[1999 Code § 15.40.010, E]
Any lot containing a flood fringe portion of the flood hazard
area and on which it is proposed to re-grade and/or construct an improvement
shall not be permitted unless the proposed use is permitted by the
Code of the Township of Edison and until plan approval has been granted
by the Division of Engineering.
[1999 Code § 15.40.010, F]
The procedure for reviewing any proposed re-grading and/or construction
shall be by submittal to the Division of Engineering for review and
approval. No application shall be approved and no building permit
granted if there are zoning violations or a variance is required.
[1999 Code § 15.40.010, G]
a.
Permitted uses in a flood fringe portion of the flood hazard area
shall be restricted to the following, provided they are permitted
uses in the district in which the flood fringe portion is located:
1.
Agriculture: general farming, pasture, grazing, outdoor plant nurseries,
horticulture, viticulture, truck farming, forestry, sod farming and
wild crop harvesting.
2.
Industrial-commercial: yards, loading areas and parking areas.
3.
Recreation: golf courses, improved courts and playing fields, swimming
areas, boat launching ramps, picnic and camping, and open space uses
such as hiking trails.
4.
Residential: lawns, gardens, parking areas and play areas.
b.
Non-permitted uses shall include, but not be limited to above-ground
and in-ground swimming pools, sheds, fences at ground level, as well
as prohibited uses contained in N.J.A.C. 7:13-2.2.
[1999 Code § 15.40.010, H, I]
a.
The applicant shall submit maps, reports and other appropriate documents
permitting the approving authority to evaluate whether the proposal
has an inherent low flood damage potential; does not obstruct flood
flows or increase flood heights and/or velocities; does not affect
adversely the water-carrying capacity of any delineated or non-delineated
floodway and/or channel; does not increase local runoff and erosion;
does not unduly stress the natural environment of the floodplain or
degrade the quality of surface water or the quality of groundwaters;
does not require channel modification or relocation; does not require
fill or the erection of structures; and does not include the storage
of equipment and materials.
b.
Upon reviewing the application, hearing the applicant's representation
and reviewing comments received from other municipal agencies to which
the application was forwarded for comment, the approving authority
shall deny, approve subject to conditions, or approve the application.
Its conclusion shall be based on findings related to the above criteria.
[1999 Code § 15.40.020]
All lots being filled shall be filled with clean fill and/or
topsoil in such a manner as to allow complete surface draining of
the lot into local storm sewer systems or natural drainage rights-of-way.
[1999 Code § 15.40.030]
a.
No structure shall be built within one hundred (100) feet of the
top of the bank of any stream, open or partially piped, or other body
of water or within any drainage or conservation easement, and no fence
shall be constructed on a conservation easement. No building shall
be constructed within the one-hundred-year floodplain of any stream
or watercourse, or on land subject to periodic overflow, or on land
which has a water table within two (2) feet from the bottom of the
structure's lowest footing or slab, whichever is lowest.
b.
Existing natural features, such as trees, shrubs, brooks, drainage
channels, shall be retained. Whenever such features interfere with
the proposed use of such property, retention of the maximum of such
features consistent with the use of the property shall be required,
at the discretion of the reviewing agency.
[1999 Code § 15.40.040]
The Stream Corridor Preservation Area is required to be delineated
as the most restrictive limit of any of the three (3) distances established
in accordance with the following schedule:
|
Minimum Distance from Stream**
|
Minimum Distance on Either Side of Stream From Outer Limits
of Any Flood
|
Critical Slopes as Defined
| |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Raritan River
|
150 feet
|
50 feet
|
100 feet or 50 feet
|
|
Delineated Streams
|
75 feet
|
50 feet
|
100 feet or 50 feet
|
|
Intermittent Or Undelineated streams
|
50 feet
|
50 feet
|
100 feet or 50 feet
|
|
**edge of channel
|
[1999 Code § 14.44.010; Ord. No.
O.1695-2009§ 1]
The purpose of this section is to regulate the intensity of
use in areas of steeply sloping terrain in order to limit soil loss,
erosion, excessive stormwater runoff, the degradation of surface water
and to maintain the natural topography and drainage patterns of land.
The Township Council finds that residential and nonresidential developments
have encroached into steep slope areas, thereby increasing the likelihood
of erosion in periods of moderate or heavy rainfall and destruction
of the natural character of the Township of Edison. The Township Council
also finds that disturbance of steep slope areas of Edison Township
produces including increased run-off, soil erosion, creation of retaining
walls greater than four (4) feet in height and destruction of mature
woodland areas that provide natural stabilization of steep slopes,
gradual natural surface flows to streams and their tributaries and
natural recharge groundwater resources in the headwaters and tributaries
of the streams that originate within or flow through the Township.
The Township Council finds that many of the steep slope areas are
adjacent to streams and their tributaries and disturbance of these
woodlands reduces the natural water filtering function of the stream
banks thereby the water quality of the streams, increasing the turbidity
of the streams and transportation of topsoil from the Township and
reduction of the streams to fulfill their multi-faceted functions
of surface drainage, subsurface recharge, and maintaining the natural
stream bank habitat and canopy that is essential for maintaining and
enhancing water quality, water temperatures and stream benthic and
stream-edge vegetation and wildlife habitats.
[Ord. No. O.1695-2009§ 1]
Disturbance of steep slopes results in accelerated erosion processes
from stormwater runoff and the subsequent sedimentation of waterbodies
with the associated degradation of water quality and loss of aquatic
life support. Related effects include soil loss, changes in natural
topography and drainage patterns, increased flooding potential, further
fragmentation of forest and habitat areas, and compromised aesthetic
values. It has become widely recognized that disturbance of steep
slopes should be restricted or prevented based on the impact disturbance
of steep slopes can have on water quality and quantity, and the environmental
integrity of landscapes.
[Ord. No. O.1695-2009§ 1]
This section shall be applicable to new development or land
disturbance on a steep slope within the Township of Edison.
[Ord. No. O.1695-2009§ 1]
Means the placement of impervious surface, the exposure or
movement of soil or bedrock, or the clearing, cutting, or removing
of vegetation.
Means any structure, surface, or improvement that reduces
or prevents absorption of stormwater into land, and includes porous
paving, paver blocks, gravel, crushed stone, decks, patios, elevated
structures. and other similar structures, surfaces, or improvements.
Means the construction of structures or improvements on areas
which previously contained structures or other improvements.
Means (i) any slope equal to or greater than twenty (20%)
percent as measured over any minimum run of ten (10) feet, or (ii)
a slope area of twelve (12%) percent or greater having a rise of five
(5) vertical feet or greater. Steep slopes are determined based on
contour intervals of two (2) feet or less based upon reliable data.
[Ord. No. O.1695-2009§ 1]
The percent of slope (rise in feet per horizontal distance)
shall be established by measurement of distance perpendicular to the
contour of the slope. The percent of slope shall be calculated for
each two-foot contour interval. For example, any location on the site
where there is a one-foot rise over a 10-foot horizontal run constitutes
a ten (10%) percent slope; a one and one-half (1.5) foot rise over
a 10-foot horizontal run constitutes a fifteen (15%) percent slope;
a two-foot rise over a 10-foot horizontal run constitutes a twenty
(20%) percent slope (5 to 1) slope).
[Ord. No. O.1695-2009§ 1]
a.
For steep slopes any disturbance shall be prohibited except as provided
below:
1.
Redevelopment within the limits of existing impervious surfaces;
and
2.
New disturbance necessary to protect public health, safety or welfare,
such as necessary linear development with no feasible alternative;
to provide an environmental benefit, such as remediation of a contaminated
site; to prevent extraordinary hardship on the property owner peculiar
to the property; or to prevent extraordinary hardship, provided the
hardship was not created by the property owner, that would not permit
a minimum economically viable use of the property based upon reasonable
investment. For example, redevelopment, within the footprint of existing
impervious cover should be allowed to support efforts to revitalize
development that has fallen into disrepair. The applicant shall demonstrate
through site plans depicting proposed development and topography that
new disturbance is not located in areas with steep slopes.
[1999 Code § 15.44.020; Ord. No.
O.1695-2009§ 1]
a.
Any property which is the subject of a minor or major subdivision
or site plan application and which contains steep slopes shall comply
with the provisions set forth below.
b.
Existing and proposed lots with steep slopes and shall be subject
to the following requirements:
1.
Existing wooded and well-established steep slopes shall not be disturbed
and shall be contained in conservation easements.
2.
Previously disturbed, eroded and/or poorly stabilized steep slopes
in excess of five (5) vertical feet.
(a)
The approval board may require filling of the steep slope area
with compacted clean fill to a maximum slope of twenty (20%) percent
and restablization of the slope as described.
(b)
Stabilization of the steep slope areas through application of
topsoil, fertilization, seeding, ground cover, and tree planting to
promote reforestation based upon a reforestation plan approved by
the approval board.
(c)
Steep sloped areas shall be contained in conservation easements.
3.
If retaining walls are used to stabilize existing or proposed steep
slopes, all slope area measurements will be calculated as if retaining
walls were not used. Retaining walls of four (4) feet or greater shall
be permitted only if their design is prepared and certified by a professional
engineer licensed in New Jersey.
c.
Steep slope areas shall be maintained in an open space condition
and shall not have any structures constructed within it except for
public structures and facilities (i.e. bridges, headwalls, endwalls,
conduits and outlets).
[Ord. No. O.1695-2009§ 1]
a.
Conflicts. All other ordinances, parts of ordinances, or other local
requirements that are inconsistent or in conflict with this section
are hereby superseded to the extent of an inconsistency or conflict,
and the provisions of this ordinance apply.
b.
Severability.
1.
Interpretation. This section shall be so construed as not to conflict
with any provisions of New Jersey or Federal law.
2.
Notwithstanding that any provision of this section is held to be
invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction,
all remaining provisions of the section shall continue to be of full
force and effect.
3.
The provisions of this section shall be cumulative with, and not
in substitution for, all other applicable zoning, planning and land
use regulations.
[Ord. No. O.1695-2009§ 1]
A prompt investigation shall be made by the appropriate personnel
of the Township of Edison, of any person or entity believed to be
in violation hereof. If, upon inspection, a condition which is in
violation of this section is discovered, a civil action in the Special
Part of the Superior Court, or in the Superior Court, if the primary
relief sought is injunctive or if penalties may exceed the jurisdictional
limit of the Special Civil Part, by the filing and serving of appropriate
process. Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude the
right of Edison Township, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 26:3A2-25, to initiate
legal proceedings hereunder in Municipal Court. The violation of any
section or subsection of this section shall constitute a separate
and distinct offense independent of the violation of any other section
or subsection, or of any order issued pursuant to this section. Each
day a violation continues shall be considered a separate offense.
