[Amended 8-2-2017 by Ord.
No. 2017-10]
A.
Background and history. The Township of Chesterfield has a rich history
as a rural farming community dating back to 1677 when the land was
first settled by Quaker immigrants from England. Today, Chesterfield
retains the charm and character of a colonial-era small town with
deep ties to agriculture. Chesterfield takes pride in its history
and works diligently to preserve its reputation as an agrarian farming
community. To that end, as of the start of 2017, Chesterfield has
permanently preserved more than 7,000 acres of farmland, representing
more than half of the Township's total land area. This preservation
was accomplished by utilizing state and county programs and implementing
a comprehensive municipal Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Program
that directed future growth to a designated receiving area. The goal
of Chesterfield's municipal master plan is to cluster new development
into a well-designed community center while allowing the surrounding
lands to remain dedicated to agriculture and natural open space. By
allowing landowners in planned preservation areas to sell development
rights to developers who can use them in the Planned Village Center,
new growth pays for the protection of Chesterfield's historically
significant farmland and open space. Farming, agricultural use of
the land, and preserving open space is integral to Chesterfield's
character and identity, and these activities play a significant role
in its master plan.
B.
Purpose. The Agricultural District represents the bulk of the Township's
land area consistent with present agricultural operations and the
Township's designation in various regional plans as an area for agricultural
preservations. The permitted uses are intended to encourage the continuation
of the industry of agriculture and to discourage growth and infrastructure
which threatens or diminishes the Township's reputation as a farming
community. As such, new residential, commercial and industrial development
is minimized. The attempt is to provide a balance between a landowner's
right to sell a parcel of land for an occasional home and providing
reasonable control to avoid excess development that would intrude
upon efficient agricultural operations. Lost farmland is irreplaceable.
Thus, an acre of farmland, once removed from agricultural purposes
and uses, is gone forever, and cannot generally be replaced with farmland
acreage elsewhere in this community.
[Amended 12-30-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-16; 8-2-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-10]
Permitted uses on the land and in buildings shall be as follows:
Permitted accessory uses shall be as follows:
A.
Garages, patios, porches, parking areas, tennis courts,
swimming pools with single-family homes and farms and uses customarily
associated with the above uses, provided that such accessory uses
are subordinate to the principal use and serve only the principal
use.
B.
Fences and walls.
C.
Barns, toolsheds, grain sheds, bins, greenhouses and
similar structures and equipment accessory to agricultural uses.
D.
Temporary equipment and structures associated with
development shall be permitted during the site construction period
beginning with the issuance of a building permit and concluding with
the issuance of a certificate of occupancy or on one year, whichever
is less, provided that said equipment and structures are situated
on the site where construction is taking place.
E.
An accessory apartment in any existing detached single-family
dwelling, provided that it complies with the following:
(1)
One unit shall be occupied by the owner of the structure;
(2)
One unit shall be occupied by at least one person
age 62 or more;
(3)
One unit shall be occupied by a household qualifying
as a low- or moderate-income household and the rent for that unit
shall not exceed what is permitted for a low- or moderate-income household
under the terms of this chapter;
(4)
The additional unit shall be accommodated in the original
structure without an enlargement of the structure;
(5)
The additional unit shall be no more than a one-bedroom
unit, the size of which shall not be less than 400 square feet nor
more than 800 square feet or 30% of the floor area of the original
house, whichever is smaller;
(6)
The original structure shall contain at least 1,600
square feet, excluding basement area;
(7)
The exterior appearance of the structure shall not
be altered from that of a single-family dwelling;
(8)
At least one additional off-street parking space shall
be provided, which space shall not be blocked by any other parking
space; and
(9)
The lot size shall be at least 1.5 acres in size and
have adequate well and septic systems.
F.
Migrant housing facilities to be used on a seasonal
basis for migratory farm workers shall be permitted when the buildings
are on the farm property and migrant workers perform their labor for
occupants of the farm, provided that said buildings comply in every
respect to the existing statutes, laws, rules and regulations of the
federal government and of the State of New Jersey concerning migrant
housing and further provided that said buildings are located at a
distance of at least 200 feet from any public street or, by reason
of topography or other features of the premises, are completely nonvisible
from said street and at least 150 feet from any adjoining property
line.
G.
In addition to Subsection E above and other housing opportunities on farms, the following options are provided in order to offer additional housing opportunities for low- and/or moderate-income households which are employed on a farm. These opportunities shall be limited to manufactured homes and/or the conversion of an accessory building and/or the conversion of an existing single-family dwelling to a two-family dwelling, provided that the units serve as a living quarters on an operating farm; that the units are occupied by full-time employees of the farm and their families; that the occupants do not exceed the lower income qualifications; that the rent or housing provided in lieu of wages meets the limits for lower income most recently established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for each specific occupant; and that the units are located and comply with the following requirements:
(1)
The setbacks shall be twice the setbacks required
for farm accessory buildings, except that said units shall not be
located in any front yard area. The manufactured home shall use the
same driveway as the principal residence on the property.
(2)
The number of units (in addition to the principal
residence) permitted on a farm under these provisions shall not exceed
on one unit per 20 acres or one unit per eight horse stalls or a total
of five units per farm for farms of less than 100 acres or a total
of seven units for farms of greater than 100 acres, whichever results
in the smaller number.
(3)
Eligibility for occupancy of a dwelling unit under
this subsection shall include meeting the requirements of a COAH low-
or moderate-income unit, certification that the occupant is an employee
of the farm and the principal wage earner of the family and that the
rent or housing provided in lieu of wages falls within the most recent
price limits established by the United States Department of Housing
and Urban Development for lower income families.
(4)
A farm must have an area of at least 20 contiguous
acres to be eligible.
(5)
Any units provided under this provision shall be removed
from the property within six months of the date that eligible occupancy
ceases or that the property no longer qualifies as an operating farm
of at least 20 contiguous acres.
(6)
A building permit and certificate of occupancy are
required for these units.
I.
Notwithstanding
anything contained above, no permits, licenses or other forms of approval
shall be issued for any of these permitted accessory uses, where the
subject property is enrolled in the Township's Transfer of Development
Rights Program, and is subject to TDR Deed-Restrictions, or is otherwise
farmland preservation and subject to deed restrictions under that
program, unless and until the matter has first been reviewed by the
Township Committee, and the Township Committee has granted its approval
for the accessory uses sought by the applicant to be permitted on
the property.
[Added 12-8-2016 by Ord.
No. 2016-16]
Conditional uses shall be as follows:
A.
Home occupations as a use subordinate and incidental to the primary residential use, after site plan approval, located on lots conforming to the residential requirements of this chapter and conforming to the requirements of § 130-48A, except that no commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight in excess of 10,000 pounds shall be parked on the lot unless the lot is 3.3 acres or larger in size, in which case, no more than two commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight in excess of 10,000 pounds shall be parked on the lot and these vehicles shall be parked in an area screened from public streets and adjoining properties by buildings, plantings or both. No construction vehicles shall be permitted to be parked on a property as part of a home occupation.
B.
Veterinary hospital.
C.
Cemetery.
D.
Retail nursery outlets and sale of farm products primarily
grown or produced on the farm site as an accessory use on the site
of the nursery, farm or agricultural use, provided that the requirements
of the schedule for the AG District are met, the facility is located
on a farm, each parking space is located at least 20 feet from the
edge of the street right-of-way and each parking space has access
to an on-site driveway or aisle, but does not have direct access to
the public street.
F.
Telecommunications towers and associated facilities,
as defined in this chapter shall be permitted as a conditional use
in the AG Agricultural District.
[Added 4-12-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-7]
G.
Cannabis cultivators, manufacturers and wholesalers, as said terms are defined in the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act and Chapter 87 of this Code, shall be permitted as conditional uses in accordance with § 130-48K.
[Added 7-28-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-12]
A.
Development may occur on a site with the minimum lot size of ten acres and the area, yard and bulk requirements as specified for ten-acre lots on the chart below (see § 130-15D).
B.
For all lots in existence as of November 18, 1986,
and which have not been modified as to lot or dimension area since
that time, the following rules shall apply:
[Amended 10-11-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-20]
(1)
Lots that were 10 acres or less in size may be further subdivided into lots of at least 3.33 acres set forth in § 130-15D below.
(2)
For lots greater than 10 acres in size the following
development rules shall apply:
(a)
General principles.
[1]
In order to preserve equity and provide some liquidity to farmsteads in the Township, the developer of a tract of land in existence on the date set forth above may develop the first 10% of the acreage into building lots which are a minimum of one acre in size. The bulk criteria applicable to the lots shall then be set forth in § 130-15D below.
[2]
If the total farm is subdivided according to an overall plan that will preserve major tracts for agriculture, an "intermediate dwelling unit yield" as outlined below is allowed. See § 130-15B(2)(b)[2].
(b)
Intermediate dwelling unit yield. For all lots
in existence as of November 18, 1986, the following rules shall apply:
[1]
Where the total farm is planned so as to preserve
a major agricultural area, all housing is designed to have access
from an interior secondary local street and the housing is located
in a way to minimize the negative impact of residential development
on agricultural operations, the number of dwelling units permitted
shall be based on the following maximum gross density (see definition[1]): the dwelling unit yield for the tract shall be calculated
as producing dwelling units based on an average lot size of 3 1/3
acres.
[2]
Once a sketch plat for the entire farm has been
prepared, subsequent preliminary and final plans may be submitted
in stages of one or more lots at a time. The lot sizes may vary, provided
that the average lot size, as outlined below, is maintained. However,
at least 50% of the original farm shall be dedicated through a deed
restriction, as set forth below, for one or more farms of at least
25 acres each, except dedicated acreage less than 25 acres shall be
permitted where these smaller areas are attached to other dedicated
farmland of 25 acres or more. Where appropriate, an area between the
new residences and the farming operations may be dedicated as a buffer
area of either common property or areas of open space with a conservation
easement. The resulting dwelling units shall meet the following criteria.
The deed restrictions for farmland dedication shall be approved by
the Approving Authority upon the advice of the Board Attorney. The
deed shall include in its provisions that the property shall be limited
to agriculture use; that the initial period of the restriction shall
be for at least 15 years; and that thereafter, the deed restriction
shall be automatically extended for period of six years, unless relief
is granted as herein provided. The deed restriction shall also contain
provisions stating that at any time after the end of the fifteen-year
period, the property owner may apply, in writing, to the governing
body for relief or partial relief from the agricultural use restrictions.
If the request is denied by the governing body, the owner cannot apply
again for similar relief for another six years, unless the governing
body establishes a shorter time period. The deed shall recite that
the relief able to be granted by the governing body shall be in the
form of allowing the deed restriction to expire on all or a portion
of the property. If expiration of the deed restriction is approved,
the use of the property shall then be limited to the zoning provisions
in effect at the time or as may be amended by the governing body.
|
Example: A one-hundred-acre farm:
| |
|
With no overall development plan: 10% or 10
acres into a minimum of one-acre lotting with the balance divided
into a minimum of ten-acre lotting;
| |
|
With an overall plan, overall density at 3.3
acres and 50% of overall tract reserved for agricultural preserves:
10% or 10 acres into lots with a minimum one acre in size balance
of allowed dwelling unit yield with lots at a minimum of 3/4 acre
in size.
|
(c)
Low dwelling unit yield.
[1]
Where an overall plan to develop housing on a new interior street system and preserve major tracts of land for agriculture is not prepared, each lot shall be a minimum of ten acres and meet the area, yard and bulk requirements set forth on the chart below (see § 130-15D).
[2]
The minimum lot size to be dedicated to public
space, school site, other public purpose or agriculture in exchange
for transferring the dwelling units to another site shall be 25 acres.
[3]
Notwithstanding the foregoing, for all single-family
detached homes on lots of more than 4,000 square feet but less than
one acre, the bulk and area requirements of the V Village District
(§ 130-20D of this Code) shall apply.
C.
All lands located within the AG Zoning District may be incorporated within a voluntary transfer development rights program. Upon enrollment, the tract enrolled may only be developed and used in accordance with the regulations applicable to this option (see Article XVII) and deed restrictions imposed upon the lands enrolled.
(2)
Permitted accessory uses shall be:
(a)
Customary farm buildings.
(b)
Accessory dwellings for domestic or household
employees or farm workers, provided that each such dwelling unit meets
local codes and complies in every respect to the statutes of the State
of New Jersey and the rules and regulations of the New Jersey State
Board of Health concerning farm labor housing.
(c)
Roadside farm stands primarily for the sale
of farm products grown or raised locally by the owner or operator
of the farm, with a limit of one stand per farm, and provided that
such stand shall be set back a minimum of 20 feet from the street
line.
(d)
Private garages and carports.
(e)
Off-street parking facilities.
(f)
Private residential swimming pools.
(3)
Conditional uses shall meet the standards set forth in Article XI.
(a)
Home occupations as a use subordinate and incidental to the primary residential use, after site plan approval, located on lots conforming to the residential requirements of this chapter and conforming to the requirements of § 130-48A, except that no commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight in excess of 10,000 pounds shall be parked on the lot unless the lot is 3.3 acres or larger in size, in which case, no more than two commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight in excess of 10,000 pounds shall be parked on the lot and these vehicles shall be parked in an area screened from public streets and adjoining properties by buildings, plantings or both. No construction vehicles shall be permitted to be parked on a property as part of a home occupation.
(4)
Area, yard and bulk requirements. The attached area,
yard and bulk requirements set forth for the AG District apply to
parcels which transfer development rights and one development right
shall be retained for each existing and proposed dwelling.
(a)
The number of detached dwellings which may be
developed on parcels which transfer development rights shall not exceed
one dwelling for each 50 acres (.02 dwelling unit per parcel).
(b)
For existing parcels which are smaller than
50 acres in size and transfer development rights, one detached dwelling
shall be permitted.
D.
Area, yard and bulk requirements (principal permitted
uses) for the AG Agricultural District.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: The Table of Area, Yard and Bulk Requirements is included at the end of this chapter.
[Added 12-29-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-20]
A.
Purpose. The Old York Rehabilitation Area Supplemental Access Overlay
Zone is located on Block 701, Lot 1.02. The purpose of the Old York
Rehabilitation Area Supplemental Access Overlay Zone is to facilitate
access to the Old York Rehabilitation Area at Block 701, Lot 2.01,
and to thereby also facilitate the implementation of the Old York
Redevelopment Plan adopted by Ordinance 2022-15, as amended by Ordinance
2022-17.
B.
D.
Development standards for access driveway:
(1)
For access to and from Lot 2.01, except for the relocated Black
House, utilization of the access driveway shall be limited to passenger
vehicles and emergency access.
(2)
Ingress and egress movements shall be permitted for all vehicles
accessing the relocated Black House as contemplated in the Old York
Redevelopment Plan.
(3)
The access driveway shall also provide all vehicle ingress and
egress access to any single-family dwelling on Block 701, Lot 1.02.
(4)
The access driveway shall have a maximum width of 30 feet (excluding
driveway apron).
E.
One monument sign shall be permitted at the entrance to the access
driveway along Old York Road for the use of the relocated Black House,
subject to the following requirements:
(1)
The sign shall not interfere with any necessary sight triangle
at the driveway intersection.
(2)
The maximum height of a monument sign shall be five feet, inclusive
of any base structure.
(3)
Monument signs shall be composed of a brick or stone base at
least 18 inches in height and surrounded by decorative landscaping.
(4)
The maximum sign area of a monument sign shall be 20 square
feet, excluding the base.
(5)
The monument sign shall be internally illuminated in order to
provide adequate visibility to vehicular traffic accessing the site
from Old York Road.
