Borough of Rockleigh, NJ Definitions

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Word Usage. Words used in the present tense include the future. Words in the singular number include the plural, and words in the plural number include the singular. The word "person" includes a corporation as well as an individual. The word "lot" includes the word "plot." The word "building" includes the word "structure." The word "shall" is mandatory and not discretionary. The word "occupied" or "used" shall be considered as though followed by the words "intended, arranged or designed to be occupied or used."

Definitions. As used in this chapter:

ACCESSORY BUILDING OR USE

Shall mean a subordinate building or use which is located on the same lot in which the main building or use is located and which is customarily or reasonably necessary and incidental to the conduct of the primary use of such building or main use.

CHURCH

Shall mean buildings and structures which by design and construction are primarily intended for the conducting of regular assembly for religious services such as a church, synagogue, chapel, temple or other place of divine worship and church school, which is used solely for such purposes and those necessary activities as are customarily associated therewith, and for which such use qualifies for tax exemption as a nonprofit religious institution.

CHURCH SCHOOL

Shall mean an educational facility forming an adjunct to and on the same site as a church and used only for specialized religious instruction such as Saturday School, Sunday School and weekday Bible, Torah and Koran classes for elementary and high school age students but not including regular school classes of the type operated by a Municipal Board of Education in the State of New Jersey.

[Ord. No. 10-92-1]

CONSTRUCTION OFFICIAL

Shall mean the person or persons or organization or organizations acting as such pursuant to resolution or ordinance of the Borough Council.

FAMILY

Shall mean any number of individuals related by blood, adoption or marriage, living together as a single housekeeping unit or any number of individuals not related by blood, adoption or marriage, living together as a single housekeeping unit, not operated for profit; domestic help serving such individuals; and together with not more than two boarders or roomers. Specifically prohibited, by way of illustration and not of limitation, are boardinghouses, lodging houses, clubs, fraternities and hotels operated for profit. Also permitted are adopted children and foster children placed with a family in a dwelling by the Division of Youth and Family Services in the Department of Children and Families or a duly incorporated child care agency and children placed pursuant to law in single-family dwellings known as "group homes." As used in this section, the term "group home" means and includes any single-family dwelling used in the placement of children pursuant to law, recognized as a group home by the Department of Children and Families in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Children and Families Department; provided, however, that no group home shall contain more than 12 children.

FLARED OVERHANG

Shall mean the lower overhanging portion of a roof, the upper main portion of which has a steep slope, but which curves outward to a low slope at the eaves.

FRONT YARD

Shall mean an open, unoccupied space on the same lot with a building, situated between the street wall of the building extended to the side lines of the lot and the street property line.

HEIGHT

Shall mean the vertical distance measured prior to any site disturbance from the average existing grade or average finished grade, at all corners of the proposed structure to the highest point of the roof for flat roofs or the highest gable, whichever is more restrictive. This definition shall be applicable to all zones.

[Ord. No. 06-19; Ord. No. 07-08; Ord. No. 2011-06]

HISTORIC DISTRICT

Shall mean one or more historic sites and intervening or surrounding property significantly affecting or affected by the quality and character of the historic site or sites.

HISTORIC SITE

Shall mean any real property, man-made structure, natural object or configuration or any portion or group of the foregoing which have been formally designated in the Master Plan as being of historical, archaeological, cultural, scenic or architectural significance.

INDOOR FARMING

Shall mean the commercial raising of flowers, vegetables, fruit, trees or mushrooms in a greenhouse or other suitable building.

LOT

Shall mean a parcel of land occupied by one building and the accessory buildings and/or uses customarily incident to each, including such open spaces as are required by this chapter.

NONCONFORMING USE

Shall mean the lawful use at the time of passage of this chapter of a building or premises for a purpose that does not conform with the regulations of the zone in which such building or premises is located.

PARABOLIC ANTENNA

Shall mean any apparatus which employs that parabolic phenomenon and which is designed for the purpose of receiving television, radio, microwave, satellite or similar signals.

PRIVATE GARAGE

Shall mean a compartment in or a structure appurtenant to the principal building on the same lot, designed to house not more than three motor-driven vehicles for the purpose of storage. All vehicles stored in such garage shall be the property of legal residents of the lot, except that space for the storage of not more than one vehicle may be rented.

PUBLIC SERVICE STATION

Shall mean a structure for the sale of gasoline, oil and customary minor accessories for automobiles, where minor repairs and services shall be permitted, but the sale of new or used cars shall be prohibited.

REAR LOT LINE

Shall mean the lot line opposite to the street line; or in the case of a corner lot, the "rear lot line" may be elected by the owner, provided that it be indicated on the plans as filed with the Construction Official.

REAR YARD

Shall mean an open, unoccupied space on the same lot with a building, between the rear wall of the building extended to the side lines of the lot and the rear line of the lot, including areas occupied by accessory buildings within that area.

ROOF-MOUNTED SERVICE EQUIPMENT

Shall mean mechanical appurtenances such as condensers, elevator penthouses, exhaust fans, air conditioning equipment and other similar equipment.

[Ord. No. 2011-06]

SIDE YARD

Shall mean an open, unoccupied space on the same lot with the building, situated between the building and a side line of the lot and extending through from the front yard to the rear yard.

STORY

Shall mean the vertical distance from top to top of two successive tiers of beams or finished floor surfaces; and, for the topmost story, from the top of the floor finish to the top of the ceiling joists, or, when there is not a ceiling, to the top of the roof rafters.

STORY ABOVE GRADE

Shall mean any story having its finished floor surface entirely above grade, except that a basement shall be considered as a "story above grade" when the distance from grade to the finished surface of the floor above the basement is more than six feet for more than fifty (50%) percent of the total perimeter or more than 12 feet at any point.

STREET PROPERTY LINE

Shall mean the street right-of-way line as shown on the current Tax Assessment Map of the Borough of Rockleigh.

STRUCTURAL ALTERATION

Shall mean any change in the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams or girders, excepting such alterations as may be ordered by the Construction Official to maintain the safety of a building.

STRUCTURE

[1973 Code § 88-1; Ord. No. 10-92-1, adopted 11/4/92; Ord. No. 9-00-02, adopted 10/12/2000; Ord. No. 10-2-02, adopted 12/02/2002; Ord. No. 06-19, adopted 11/9/2006; Ord. No. 07-08; adopted 8/14/2007; Ord. No. 07-15, adopted 9/11/2007; Ord. No. 2011-06, adopted 9/7/2011; amended 2-4-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-1]

Shall mean material or a combination of materials to form a construction for occupancy, use or ornamentation, whether installed or located on, above or below a parcel of land, or attached to something so located, whether portable, prefabricated, sectional or otherwise, whether permanent or temporary, including but not limited to decks, patios, private tennis courts, paddle ball courts, platform tennis courts, swimming pools and similar recreational facilities designed to serve the premises on which it is located, as well as all decks, decking, patios, walking areas or other structures accessory to such uses.

For properties located in the A Zone (Residential), however, and for the purpose of lot coverage applications only, pursuant to § 34-23.6 of the Rockleigh Borough Code, "structure" shall not include:

Driveways that are used for ingress to the subject property from a street or public road, up to the first 15 feet in width. Any area in excess of the first 15 feet in width shall be considered a structure.

All sidewalks or walkways, up to the first four feet in width. Any area in excess of the first four feet in width shall be considered a structure.

Up to 20 feet in depth of garage apron in front of and contiguous to each garage bay and extending no wider than the width of the garage and a single driveway no wider than 15 feet to connect such apron in front of each garage bay up to a maximum of three bays.

An inground pool, walkways and decking contiguous to an inground pool and a patio contiguous to an inground pool, the total of all of which shall not exceed 1,400 square feet in total area.

A patio not in excess of 800 square feet in area.

Garden/landscaping mulch or wood chips.

Decorative gravel/stone subject to the following conditions: (i) all such gravel/stone shall conform to the requirements of Article V of the Rockleigh Borough Code and 34 Appendix 3, "Guidelines and Recommendations for Architectural Review in the Rockleigh National Historic District"; (ii) use of decorative gravel/stone shall be limited to decorative landscaped beds only; (iii) lot coverage shall be limited to 15% of the total area of the lot.