DRIVEWAY - Any lane, way, opening, construction entrance or privately owned road entering upon any public road within the municipality, excepting field openings non-residential land used exclusively for farming purposes.
MODIFIED - An existing driveway is modified within the meaning of this chapter when it is paved, widened or narrowed, when its horizontal location or vertical elevation is changed, or when drainage facilities are installed or replaced.
UPHILL DRIVEWAY - A driveway whose grade rises in elevation from the existing grade at the edge of the municipal roadway.
DRIVEWAY -Any lane, way, opening, construction entrance, or privately owned road entering upon any public road within the Municipality, excepting field openings to nonresidential land used exclusively for farming purposes.
MODIFIED - An existing driveway is modified within the meaning of this Ordinance when it is paved, widened or narrowed, when its horizontal location or vertical elevation is changed, or when drainage facilities are installed or replaced.
UPHILL DRIVEWAY - A driveway whose grade rises n elevation from the existing grade at the edge of the Municipal roadway.
MUNICIPALITY - Township of Alexandria, Hunterdon County, New Jersey.
ACCESSORY BUILDING, STRUCTURE OR USE A building, structure or use which is customarily associated with and is subordinate and incidental to the principal building, structure or use and which is located on the same lot therewith. An accessory building attached to the principal building shall comply in all respects with the requirements applicable to the principal building.
ACCESSWAY A way for vehicular and foot traffic leading from any street. ACRE 43,560 square feet.
ACT The New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law, Chapter 291 of the Laws of 1975,2 as supplemented and amended from time to time.
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER The Clerk of the municipality, unless a different municipal official or officials are designated by ordinance or statute.
AGRICULTURE The science and art of farming and herein specifically refers to the work of cultivating the soil in or outside a structure, such as a greenhouse, producing and harvesting crops and breeding and raising livestock. Livestock encompasses animals of all kinds. Processing of livestock, meaning freezing, canning, drying or salting, and large-scale feed lots are specifically excluded as not constituting agricultural activities. [Amended 7-13-1988 by Amendment 1]
AGRICULTURAL Soils classified in the Soil Survey of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, November, 1974. The term, unless otherwise specified, refers to land capability Classes I, II and III; those soils which may be considered prime agricultural soils.
ALLEY OR SERVICE STREET A minor right-of-way providing secondary vehicular access to the side or rear of two or more properties.
ALTERATIONS Alterations include, but are not limited to, the following:
A. All incidental changes or replacements in the nonstructural parts of a building or other structure.
B. Minor changes or replacements in the structural parts of a building or other structure, including but not limited to the following examples:
(1) Alteration of interior partitions to improve livability in nonconforming residential buildings, provided that no additional dwelling units are created thereby.
(2) Alteration of interior partitions in all other types of buildings or other structures.
(3) Constructing windows or doors in exterior walls.
(4) Strengthening the load-bearing capacity in not more than 10% of the total floor area to permit the accommodation of a specialized unit of machinery or equipment.
(5) Removal of the blinding from one location to another.
APPLICANT A developer submitting an application for development.
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 permit pursuant to Section 25 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-34) or Section 27 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-36) of the Act.
APPROVING AUTHORITY The Alexandria Township Planning Board, unless a different agency is designated by ordinance when acting pursuant to the authority of the Act.
AREA OF A SIGN The total area of a sign, including all borders and trim but not structural elements.
BASE SITE AREA See "site area, base."
BASEMENT An enclosed area partly or completely below grade. It shall be considered a building story if more than 1/3 of the perimeter walls are five feet or more above grade and if the net area of the door or window openings in the exterior ways is equal to at least 10% of the enclosed floor area.
BILLBOARD See "sign, outdoor advertising."
BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT The Alexandria Township Board of Adjustment established pursuant to Section 56 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-69) of the Act.
BOARDER A person occupying any room or group of rooms forming a single, habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and sleeping, but not for cooking or eating purposes, and paying compensation for lodging or board and lodging by prearrangement for a week or more at a time to the owner or operator. Any person occupying such room or rooms and paying such compensation without prearrangement or for less than a week at a time shall be classified for the purposes of this chapter not as a roomer, boarder or lodger, but as a guest of a commercial lodging establishment (motel, hotel, tourist home).
BUFFER YARD A strip of required yard space adjacent to the boundary of a property, district, road, street or highway, not less in width than is designated in this chapter, and on which is placed year-round shrubbery, hedges, evergreens or other suitable plantings of sufficient height and density to constitute an effective screen and to give maximum protection and immediate screening to an abutting property or district. A buffer yard may include a wall or fence or a solid wall or fence, provided that such wall or fence is screened or constructed in such a manner that it will not conflict with the character of the abutting district.
BUILDING A combination of materials to form a construction adapted to permanent, temporary or continuous occupancy and having a roof.
BUILDING COVERAGE The sum of the area of the plan projection of all buildings on a site compared to the base site area, as expressed as a ratio. [Added 6-9-2004 by Amendment 22]
BUILDING SETBACK LINE The line parallel to the proposed right-of-way line at a distance therefrom equal to the depth of the front yard required for the district in which the lot is located, provided that, in the case of a lot where the side lines are not parallel, the building setback line shall be where lot width first coincides with the required minimum lot width but in no case closer to the street than the required front yard.
BULK The term used to describe the size of buildings or other structures and their relationship to each other, to open areas, such as yards, and to lot lines and therefore including:
A. The size, including height and floor area, of a building or other structure.
B. The relation of the number of dwelling units in a residential building to the area of the lot.
C. All open areas in yard space relating to buildings and other structures.
CALIPER A measurement of the size of a tree equal to the diameter of its trunk measured four feet above natural grade. [Amended 7-13-1988 by Amendment 1]
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT A governmental acquisition of real property or major construction project.
CELLAR A story, partly underground, and having more than 1/2 of its height, measured from floor to ceiling, below the average level of the adjoining ground or a floor-to-ceiling height of less than 6 1/2 feet. A cellar should not be considered in determining the permissible number of stories or square footage, nor shall it be used for dwelling purposes.
CERTIFICATION A written endorsement of a plan for soil erosion and sediment control by the Township Engineer which indicates that the plan meets the Standards for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control in New Jersey, as promulgated by the State Soil Conservation Committee .4
CHANNEL The bed and banks of watercourses which confine and convey the normal flow of the water, either continuously or intermittently.
CIRCULATION Systems, structures and physical improvements for the movement of people, goods, water, air, sewage or power by such means as streets, highways, railways, waterways, towers, airways, pipes and conduits, and the handling of people and goods by such means as terminals, stations, warehouses and other storage buildings or transshipment points.
CLEAR-SIGHT TRIANGLE An area of unobstructed vision at street intersections defined by lines of sight between points at a given distance from the intersection of the street right-of-way lines.
CLEAR ZONE An area within an Airport Hazard Area extending 1,000 feet from the end of the runway with a base width of 250 feet at the end of the runway subzone and a final width of 450 feet as described in the Air Safety and Hazardous Zoning Act of 1983 (P.L. 1983, c. 62), as amended April 11, 1989.5 [Added 6-13-1990 by Amendment 6]
CLUSTER OR CLUSTERING A site planning technique that concentrates buildings and structures in specific areas on a lot, site, or parcel to allow the remaining land to be used for agriculture, recreation, open space, and/or preservation of features and/or structures with environmental, historical, cultural, or other significance. [Added 2-8-2006 by Amendment 28]
CLUSTER, SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED A land development project in which the site planning technique of clustering is employed. [Added 2-8-2006 by Amendment 28]
COMMERCIAL VEHICLE Any vehicle registered with the State of New Jersey or any other state as a commercial vehicle and displaying commercial plates.
CONCEPT PLAN A general plan, sufficiently detailed for discussion purposes.
CONDITIONAL USE A use permitted in a particular zoning district only upon showing that such use in a specified location will comply with the conditions and standards for the location or operation of such use as contained in this chapter, and upon the issuance of an authorization therefor by the Planning Board.
CONDOMINIUM As defined within the State Condominium Act. Real estate, portions of which are designed for separate ownership and the remainder of which is designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those portions. Real estate is not a condominium unless the included interests in the common elements are vested in the unit owners.
CONTIGUOUS Immediately adjacent, abutting, bordering and/or sharing a common property line.
CONVENTIONAL Development other than planned development.
CORNER LOT A lot which has an interior angle of less than 135 at the intersection of two street lines. A lot fronting upon a curved street or streets shall be considered a corner lot if the tangents to the curve at points within the lot or at the points of intersection of the side lot lines with the street line intersect at an angle of less than 135. Front yards are required on both streets; the remaining yards are to be side yards.
COUNTY MASTER PLAN A composite of the Master Plan for the physical development of Hunterdon County with the accompanying maps, plats, charts and descriptive and explanatory matter adopted by the County Planning Board pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:27-2 and N.J.S.A. 40:27-4.
COUNTY PLANNING BOARD The Hunterdon County Planning Board, as defined in Section 1 of P.L. 1968, c. 285 (N.J.S.A. 40:27-6.1).
CUL-DE-SAC A street which intersects another street at one end and terminates at the other end in a vehicular turnaround.
DAYS Calendar days.
DEDICATION The transfer of property interests from private to public ownership for a public purpose. The transfer may be of fee simple interest or a less than fee interest, including an easement.
DENSITY, GROSS A measure of the number of permitted dwelling units per unit per gross area of land to be developed. It shall be expressed in dwelling units per acre. The measure is arrived at by dividing the number of dwelling units by the base site area. This is the maximum density permitted on the buildable portion of the site.
DENSITY RATIO, GROSS A measure of the permitted dwelling units per gross acre of land to be developed expressed in dwelling units per acre. The maximum density permitted on a specific parcel shall be calculated by multiplying the gross density ratio by the base site area. [Added 6-9-2004 by Amendment 22]
DETENTION BASIN OR POND A natural or man-made area in which stormwater is temporarily detained (for more than six hours following a ten-year storm) and from which said water is slowly released at a rate compatible with sound soil management practices as approved by the Township Engineer.
DEVELOPER The legal or beneficial owner or owners of a lot or of any land proposed to be included in a proposed development, including the holder of an option or contract to purchase or other person having an enforceable proprietary interest in such land.
DEVELOPMENT The division of a parcel of land into two or more parcels; the construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation or enlargement of any building or other structure or of any mining excavation or landfill, any use or change in the use of any building or other structure, or land or extension of use of land, for which permission may be required pursuant to the Act.
DEVELOPMENT REGULATION A zoning ordinance, subdivision ordinance, site plan ordinance, Official Map ordinance or other municipal regulation of the use and development of land, or amendment thereto adopted and filed pursuant to this chapter.
DISTURBANCE Any activity involving the clearing, excavating, storing, grading, filling or transporting of soil or any other activity which causes soil to be exposed to the danger of erosion.
DIVERSION A channel with or without a supporting ridge on the lower side constructed across or at the bottom of a slope.
DRAINAGE The removal of surface water or groundwater from land by drains, grading or other means and includes control of runoff to minimize erosion and sedimentation during and after construction or development and the means necessary for water supply preservation or prevention or alleviation of flooding.
DRIFTWAY A roadway or passageway which is not a street as defined herein, but which prior to adoption of this chapter has become an established use for owners of abutting lands, having no frontage on any existing state, County or municipal road for ingress or egress over the property of others, between a public street and the abutting properties. Private roads or lanes entirely situated on a single property shall not be considered a driftway.
DRIVEWAY A private strip of land, generally graded, intended for use as a means of vehicular or pedestrian access to an individual lot.
DRIVEWAY, COMMON A shared vehicular access to more than one property. All proposed common driveways shall be located within an easement specifically created to allow and assure continued access to the several properties sharing the accessway. [Added 6-10-1998 by Amendment 11]
DUMP A lot or part thereof used for disposal by abandonment, dumping, burial, burning or any other means and for whatever purpose of garbage, offal, sewage, trash, refuse, junk, discarded machinery, vehicles or parts thereof, or standardized products.
DWELLING A building designed and occupied for residential purposes, excluding hotels, rooming houses, tourist homes, institutional homes, residential clubs, mobile home parks and the like.
A. SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED DWELLINGS Buildings designed for or occupied as a dwelling for one family.
B. TWO-FAMILY DWELLINGS Buildings designed for or occupied as two dwellings for two families.
C. MULTIFAMILY DWELLINGS Buildings designed for, occupied or used for dwelling purposes by three or more families living independently of one another.
DWELLING UNIT One or more rooms for living purposes, together with cooking and sanitary facilities, which are used or intended to be used by one or more persons living together and maintaining a common household. Each shall be accessible from the outdoors either directly or through an entrance hall shared with other dwelling units.
EASEMENT A right-of-way or restriction granted for limited use of private land within which the owner of the property may be restricted from erecting permanent structures, but shall have the right to make any other use of the land which is not inconsistent with the rights of the grantee.
EAVES The lowest horizontal line of a sloping roof.
ECHO (ELDER COTTAGE HOUSING OPPORTUNITY) HOUSING A small, removable residential unit designed to provide temporary housing for immediate, elderly relatives in an accessory residential structure on a lot containing a principal residential structure. [Added 10-8-2003 by Amendment 20]
EMBANKMENT A man-made deposit of soil, rock or other materials.
EMPLOYEE A term referred to in the parking standards as a measure of the number of parking spaces required. It shall refer to the maximum number of employees on duty at any time, whether the employees are full- or part-time. If shifts are involved in which two shifts overlap, it refers to the total of both shifts.
ENFORCEMENT OFFICER The Zoning Officer, Building Inspector or other individual appointed by the municipality to enforce this chapter within the jurisdiction of the municipality.
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION A municipal advisory board created pursuant to P.L. 1968, c. 245 (N.J.S.A. 40:56A-1 et seq.).
EROSION The detachment and movement of soil or rock fragments by water, wind, ice and gravity.
EXCAVATION OR CUT An act by which soil or soils are cut into, dug, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced or relocated.
EXISTING GRADE The vertical location of the existing ground surface prior to cutting or filling.
EXPANSION An addition to the floor area of an existing building, an increase in size of another structure or an increase in that portion of a tract of land occupied by an existing use.
FACADE The exterior wall, face or plane of a building. The area of the facade is computed by multiplying the distance between the corners of the facade by the distance from the average level of the finished grade of the ground to the eaves or parapet of the facade.
FAMILY One or more persons related by blood, foster relationship, marriage or adoption and, in addition, any domestic servants or gratuitous guests thereof, or a group of not more than five persons who need not be so related and, in addition, domestic servants or gratuitous guests thereof who are living together in a single dwelling unit and maintaining a common household with single cooking facilities. A roomer, boarder or lodger shall not be considered a member of the family. [Amended 7-13-1988 by Amendment 1]
FARM A lot of at least five acres used solely for agricultural purposes, exclusive of the minimum lot area required for a building intended for habitation.
FARMING The same as agriculture. The existence of a vegetable garden for home consumption or the presence of not to exceed five animals as pets is not construed as farming.
FINAL PLAT The final map of all or portion of the subdivision which is presented to the Planning Board for final approval in accordance with these regulations and which, if approved, shall be filed with the Hunterdon County Recording Office.
FINISHED GRADE The final elevation of the ground surface conforming to the proposed design.
FLOOD OR FLOODING A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of inland or tidal waters and/or the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source. A one-hundred-year flood is one that, on the average, is likely to occur once every 100 years (i.e., that has a one-percent chance of occurring each year), although the flood may occur more frequently. A fifty-year flood is one which, on the average, is likely to occur once every 50 years (i.e., that has a two-percent chance of occurring each year), although the flood may occur more frequently. A ten-year flood is one which, on the average occurs every 10 years (i.e., that has a ten-percent chance of occurring each year), although the flood may occur more frequently. A five-hundred-year flood is one which, on the average, is likely to occur once every 500 years (i.e., that has a two-tenths-percent chance of occurring each year), although the flood may occur more frequently.
FLOOD ELEVATION REGULATORY The one-hundred-year flood elevation, plus a free board safety factor of 1 1/2 feet.
FLOOD-FRINGE That portion of the flood hazard area outside the floodway. The boundaries of the flood-fringe are delineated on the Flood Insurance Study for the municipality and on the Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps (as further defined in Article VI herein), such maps being a part of the Flood Insurance Study. The Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps are hereby incorporated into this chapter and shall be as much a part of this section as if all were fully described herein.
FLOODPLAIN A relatively flat or low land area adjoining a river, stream or watercourse which is subject to partial or complete inundation, and/or an area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source. The boundaries of the floodplain are delineated on the Flood Insurance Study and the Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps.
FLOODPLAIN DISTRICTS, DESIGNATED Those Floodplain Districts specifically designated in each municipality as being inundated primarily by the one-hundred-year flood. Such areas include the Floodway District, the Flood-Fringe District and the Approximated Floodplain District.
FLOODPLAIN SOILS Areas subject to periodic flooding and listed in the Soil Survey of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, November 1974, as being on the floodplain or subject to flooding. The following soil types are floodplain soils:
A. Alluvial land.
B. Bowmansville silt loam.
C. Marsh.
D. Pope loam.
E. Raritan.
FLOODWAY The channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas required to carry and discharge the flood of the one-hundred-year magnitude without causing more than a 0.2 foot rise above the current natural conditions. The boundaries of the floodway are delineated on the Flood Insurance Study and the Flood Boundary and Floodways Maps referred to in Article VI herein.
FLOODPROOFING Structural or other changes or adjustments to properties or obstructions for the reduction or elimination of flood damages to such properties and obstructions or to the contents of the structure.
FLOOR AREA The sum of the areas of the several floors of a building measured from the outside face of the exterior walls or from center lines of walls separating two buildings. In particular, floor area includes but is not limited to the following:
A. Basement space, if it meets the requirements of a building story.
B. Elevator shafts, stairwells and attic space (whether or not a floor has been laid) providing structural headroom of eight feet or more.
C. Roofed terraces, exterior balconies, breezeways or porches, provided that over 50% of the perimeter of these is enclosed.
D. Any other floor space used for dwelling purposes, no matter where located within the building.
E. Accessory buildings, excluding space used for off-street parking or loading berths.
F. Any other floor space not specifically excluded, excluding space used for air-conditioning machinery or cooling towers and similar mechanical equipment serving the building and cellar space.
FLOOR AREA RATIO The sum of the area of all floors of buildings and structures compared to the base site area, as expressed as a ratio. [Amended 6-9-2004 by Amendment 22]
FORESTRY Forestry is the ongoing program of clearing or cutting timber resources within the forested or wooded areas and coordinated with a reforestation program. Forestry does not include authorized clearing in accordance with plans approved pursuant to this chapter, the issuance of a building permit nor the removal of sick or dead trees.
FREEBOARD A margin of safety, expressed in feet above the one-hundred-year flood elevation.
GOVERNING BODY The Township Committee, the chief legislative body of the municipality.
GRADING Any stripping, cutting, filling, stockpiling or any combination thereof and shall include the land in its cut or filled condition.
GRADE PERMIT A permit issued to authorize work to be performed under this chapter in a situation not requiring subdivision or site plan approval.
GRASSED WATERWAY A natural or constructed path, usually broad and shallow, covered with erosion-resistant grasses, used to conduct surface water from a field diversion or other site feature.
GROUND FLOOR The first floor of a building other than a cellar or basement.
HEIGHT OF BUILDING The vertical distance measured from the average level of the finished grade along all the exterior walls of a building to:
A. The highest point of the roof, in the case of a flat roof.
B. One-half the distance between the top of the uppermost plate and the highest point of the roof, in the case of sloping roofs.
C. The highest point of any accessory structure or other irregularity which rises wholly or partly above the general or average roofline and whose area equals or exceeds 10% of the ground floor area of the building which supports it.
HISTORIC SITE Any building, structure, area or property that is significant in the history, architecture, archaeology or culture of the state, its communities or the nation, or so identified in the Alexandria Township Master Plan, and has been so designated pursuant to the Act.
HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION An incorporated, nonprofit organization operating in a cluster or planned development under recorded land agreements through which:
A. Each lot owner is automatically a member.
B. Each occupied dwelling unit is automatically subject to a charge for a proportionate share of the expenses for the organization's activities and maintenance, including any maintenance costs levied against the association by the Township.
C. Each owner and tenant has the right to use the common property.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACES Those surfaces which do not absorb rain. All buildings, parking areas, driveways, roads, sidewalks and any areas in concrete, asphalt and packed stone shall be considered impervious surfaces within this definition. In addition, other areas determined by the Municipal Engineer to be impervious within the meaning of this definition will also be classed as impervious surfaces.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE RATIO A measure of the intensity of use of a piece of land. It is measured by dividing the total area of all impervious surfaces within the site by the base site area. [Amended 6-9-2004 by Amendment 22]
IMPROVEMENTS Buildings for public or quasi-public use, grading, paving, streetlights and signs, fire hydrants, water mains, sanitary sewers, storm drains, sidewalks, crosswalks, bridges, culverts, monuments, retaining walls and shade trees as proposed or required and intended for dedication to the municipality.
INTERESTED PARTY
A. In a criminal or quasi-criminal proceeding, any citizen of the State of New Jersey.
B. In the case of a civil proceeding in any court or in an administrative proceeding before a municipal agency, any person, whether residing within or without the municipality, whose right to use, acquire or enjoy property is or may be affected by any action taken under this chapter, or whose rights to use, acquire or enjoy property under this chapter or any other law of this state or of the United States have been denied, violated or infringed by an action or a failure to act under the Act.
ISOLATED LOT An undeveloped substandard lot in separate ownership from surrounding property.
LAKES AND PONDS Natural or artificial bodies of water which retain water year-round. Artificial ponds may be created by dams or result from excavation. The shoreline of such water bodies shall be measured from the permanent pool elevation. Lakes are bodies of water two or more acres in extent. Ponds are any body less than two acres in extent.
LAND Includes improvements and fixtures on, above or below the surface.
LOADING BERTH An area abutting the building especially designated for the loading and unloading of vehicles and which has convenient access to a storage location for the goods, loaded or unloaded, such access being furnished by an elevated floor, a recessed vehicle parking area, a ramp or other facility of like purpose.
LOOP STREET A street which has two points of intersection with the same road. In its simplest form, a loop street enters a tract, follows a course through it and returns to the same road at some distance from the other intersection.
LOT A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by a plat or otherwise as permitted by law and to be used, developed or built upon as a unit.
LOT AREA The area contained within the property lines of a lot, as shown on the development plan, excluding space within an existing or future street right-of-way and within all permanent drainage easements, but including the areas of all other easements assigned an individual owner or to a given collective use by means of a subdivision of land. Open space required under this chapter shall not be counted as a portion of the lot area for the purposes of measuring lot area per dwelling unit.
LOT AREA PER DWELLING UNIT, AVERAGE (MINIMUM) The minimum lot area which is expressed as an average of all lots for a single type of dwelling unit.
LOT DEPTH The mean distance from the street line of a lot to its opposite rear line, measured in the general direction of the side lines of the lot.
LOT WIDTH The distance measured between the side lot lines at the required building setback line. In a case where there is only one side lot line, lot width shall be measured between such side lot line and the opposite rear lot line or street line.
LOT LINE, FRONT See "street line."
LOT LINE, REAR Any lot line which is parallel to or within 45 of being parallel to a street line, except for a lot line that is itself a street line. In the case of a lot having no street frontage or a lot of an odd shape, only the one lot line furthest from any street shall be considered a rear lot line. In the case of a triangular lot, the yard setbacks will be determined by averaging the rear and side yard setback requirements for the district wherein the lot is located.
LOT LINE, SIDE Any lot line which is not a street line or a rear lot line.
LOWEST FLOOR Lowest floor of the enclosed area, including basement.
MANUFACTURED HOME
A. A unit of housing which:
(1) Consists of one or more transportable sections which are substantially constructed off site and, if more than one section, are joined together on site.
(2) Is built on a permanent chassis.
(3) Is designed to be used, when connected to utilities, as a dwelling on a permanent foundation.
(4) Is manufactured in accordance with the standards promulgated for a manufactured home by the Secretary pursuant to the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, Pub. L. 93-383 (42 U.S.C. § 5401 et seq.) and the standards promulgated for a manufactured mobile home by the commissioner pursuant to the State Uniform Construction Code Act. P.L. 1975, c. 217 (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-119 et seq.).
B. For the purpose of this chapter, it shall be treated the same as a single-family detached dwelling and shall be constructed on a full permanent foundation.
MAINTENANCE GUARANTY Any security, other than cash, which may be accepted by the Township for the maintenance of any improvement required by the Municipal Land Use Law, Chapter 291 Laws of New Jersey, 1975.
MAJOR SUBDIVISION Any subdivision not classified as a minor subdivision.
MASTER PLAN A composite of one or more written or graphic proposals for the development of the municipality as set forth in and adopted pursuant to Section 19 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-28) of the Act.
MINOR SUBDIVISION A subdivision of land for the creation of not more than one lot with lands remaining within any eighteen-month period from date of any previous subdivision approval, provided that such subdivision does not involve a planned development, any new street or the extension of any off-tract improvement, the cost of which is to be prorated pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-42, and no more than three new lots per property shall be allowed as minor subdivisions from the date of this chapter adoption. All three new lots shall have a slope of 15% or less. Any subsequent subdivision beyond the three lots permitted shall constitute a major subdivision. [Amended 7-13-1988 by Amendment 1]
MINOR SUBDIVISION RURAL ESTATE RESIDENCE (B-16) A B-16 subdivision for the creation of not more than 10 B-16 lots, including lands remaining, provided that there are no new public roads or the extension of any off-tract improvement. [Added 10-12-1994 by Amendment 8]
MULCHING The application of plant or other suitable materials on the soil surface to conserve moisture, hold soil in place and aid in establishing plant cover.
MUNICIPALITY Township of Alexandria.
MUNICIPAL AGENCY A municipal planning board, or board of adjustment or a governing body of a municipality when acting pursuant to the Act and any agency which is created by or responsible to one or more municipalities when such agency is acting pursuant to the Act.
NATURAL GROUND SURFACE The ground surface in its original state before any grading, excavation or filling.
NONCONFORMING LOT A lot the area, dimension or location of which was lawful prior to the adoption, revision or amendment of a zoning ordinance, but fails to conform to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located by reason of such adoption, revision or amendment.
NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE A structure the size, dimension or location of which was lawful prior to the adoption, revision or amendment of a zoning ordinance, but which fails to conform to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located by reasons of such adoption revision or amendment.
NONCONFORMING USE A use or activity which was lawful prior to the adoption, revision or amendment of a zoning ordinance, but which fails to conform to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located by reasons of such adoption, revision or amendment.
OBSTRUCTION Any structure or assembly of materials, including fill above and below the surface of land or water, and any activity which might impede, retard or change flood flows. The planting, cultivation and harvesting of field and orchard crops or the grazing of livestock, including the maintenance of necessary appurtenant agricultural fencing, shall not be considered any obstruction under this definition and shall not be subject to regulation under these regulations.
OCCUPANT OR OCCUPANCY The legal occupant of a building or premises licensed to engage in a business, residence or profession, or exempt from license due to governmental, educational, religious or other privileged status.
OFFICIAL COUNTY MAP The map, with changes and additions thereto, adopted and established, from time to time, by resolution of the Board of Chosen Freeholders of the County pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:27-5.
OFFICIAL MAP A map adopted by ordinance of the Township of Alexandria pursuant to Article 5 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-32 et seq.).
OFF-SITE Located outside the lot lines of the lot in question, but within the property (of which the lot is part) which is the subject of a development application or contiguous portion of a street or right-of-way.
OFF-TRACT Not located on the property which is the subject of a development application nor on a contiguous portion of a street or right-of-way.
ON-SITE Located on the lot in question.
ON-TRACT Located on the property which is the subject of a development application or on a contiguous portion of a street or right-of-way.
OPEN SPACE Any parcel or area of land or water essentially unimproved and set aside, dedicated, designated or reserved for public or private use or enjoyment of owners and occupants of land adjoining or neighboring such open space, provided that such areas may be improved with only those buildings, structures, streets and off-street parking and other improvements that are designed to be incidental to the natural openness of the land.
A. OPEN SPACE, COMMON An open space area within or related to a site designated as a development, and designed and intended for the use or enjoyment of the residents and owners of the development. "Common open space" means the portion of the site set aside in perpetuity as open space. Common open space may contain such complementary structures and improvements as are necessary and appropriate for the use or enjoyment of residents and owners of the development not including streets, off-street parking areas and areas set aside for public facilities. Common open space includes both developed (active) and undeveloped (passive open space). [Amended 2-8-2006 by Amendment 28]
B. OPEN SPACE, DEVELOPED (ACTIVE) Land without resource restrictions which is set aside for use as active recreational areas, such as playfields, playgrounds, skating rinks, swimming pools, tennis courts and areas for water management (storm, waste, potable supply).
C. OPEN SPACE, UNDEVELOPED (PASSIVE) Land used for passive recreation, agriculture, resource protection, freshwater wetlands, floodplains or flood hazard areas, stream corridors, prime agricultural lands, habitats of endangered wildlife as identified on applicable federal or state lists, historical or cultural features, archaeological sites, amenity or buffers, or other elements to be protected from development by the provisions of this chapter to ensure that it remains as open space. [Amended 2-8-2006 by Amendment 28]
OWNER Any individual, firm, association, syndicate, copartnership or corporation having sufficient proprietary interest in the land sought to be subdivided to commence and maintain proceedings to subdivide the same under this chapter.
PARAPET The top of a building wall or facade which is raised above the roof.
PERFORMANCE GUARANTY Any security which may be accepted by a municipality, including cash, provided that the municipality shall not require more than 10% of the total performance guaranty in cash.
PERFORMANCE SUBDIVISION A subdivision in which mixed residential types are encouraged in order to promote sound land planning and to provide a variety of housing choices and to encourage clustering to provide open space.
PLANNING BOARD The Alexandria Township Planning Board, established pursuant to Section 14 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23) of the Act.
PLAT A map or maps of a subdivision or site plan.
POLLUTION The contamination of any waters such as will create a nuisance or to render such waters harmful, detrimental or injurious to public health, safety or welfare; or to domestic, municipal, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational or other legitimate beneficial uses; or to livestock, wild animals, birds, fish or other aquatic life, including but not limited to such contamination by alteration of the physical, chemical or biological properties of such waters, or change in temperature, taste, color or odor thereof, or the discharge of any liquid, gaseous, radioactive, solid or other substances into such waters.
PRELIMINARY PLAT The preliminary plat indicating the proposed layout of the subdivision which is submitted to the Secretary of the Planning Board for Planning Board consideration and tentative approval, and meeting the requirements of this chapter.
PREMISES Any tax parcel within a municipality.
PRINCIPAL USE The main purpose for which a lot or building, or portion of a lot or building, is used.
PUBLIC AREA Public parks, playgrounds, trails, paths and other recreational areas; other public open spaces; scenic and historic sites; and sites for schools and other public buildings and structures. [Amended 7-13-1988 by Amendment 1]
PUBLIC DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL A master plan, capital improvement program or other proposal for land development adopted by the appropriate public body, or any amendment thereto.
PUBLIC UTILITY OPERATING FACILITY Any building or structure or extension thereof used, or to be used, by a public utility corporation or authority for public utility purposes.
QUORUM The majority of the full authorized membership of a municipal agency.
RESIDENTIAL CLUSTER An area to be developed as a single entity according to a plan containing residential housing units which have a common or public open space area as an appurtenance.
RESIDENTIAL DENSITY The number of dwelling units per gross acre of residential land area, including streets, easements and open space portions of a development.
RESUBDIVISION The further division or relocation of lot lines of any lot or lots within a subdivision previously made and approved or recorded according to law, or the alteration of any streets or the establishment of any new streets within any subdivision previously made and approved or recorded according to law, but does not include conveyances so as to combine existing lots by deed or other instrument.
RETENTION BASIN OR POND A natural or man-made area in which stormwater is retained on a long-term basis.
REVERSED FRONTAGE LOT A lot extending between and having frontage on a major street and a minor street with vehicular access solely from the minor street.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
A. RIGHT-OF-WAY Land set aside for use as a street, alley or other means of travel.
B. EXISTING RIGHT-OF-WAY The legal right-of-way as established by the State of New Jersey or other appropriate governing authority and currently in existence.
C. ULTIMATE RIGHT-OF-WAY The right-of-way deemed necessary by the Comprehensive Master Plan for Alexandria Township or approved plans of Hunterdon County or the State Department of Transportation.
ROAD CLASSIFICATION The classification of roads as described in the Comprehensive Master Plan for Alexandria Township or approved plans of Hunterdon County or the State Department of Transportation.
ROOFLINE The highest continuous horizontal line of a roof. On a sloping roof, the roofline is the principal ridge line or the highest line common to one or more principal slopes of roof. On a flat roof, the roofline is the highest continuous line of the roof.
SEDIMENTATION The deposition of solid material, both mineral and organic, that was in suspension and that has been transported from its site of origin by water, ice, wind, gravity or other natural means as a product of erosion.
SEDIMENT BASIN A barrier or dam built across a waterway or at other suitable locations to retain rock, sand, gravel, silt or other material.
SEDIMENT POOL A reservoir space allotted to the accumulation of submerged sediment during the life of a structure.
SEWER FACILITY Any municipally or privately owned sewer system in which sewage is collected from several buildings on a single property or from several lots and treated at a common plant. The design, operation and location of the sewer plant shall be in accordance with the wastewater policies of Alexandria Township, participating municipalities and the State Department of Environmental Protection. For the purposes of this chapter, community sewage systems shall be defined in accordance with the administrative regulations of the Department of Environmental Protection.
SIGN
A. SIGN Any letter, number, symbol, figure, character, mark, plane, design, picture, stroke, strike, trademark or combination of these which is constructed, placed, attached, painted, erected, fastened or manufactured in any manner whatsoever, which is used to the attraction of the public to any place, subject, person, firm, corporation, public performance, article or merchandise, and which is displayed in any manner whatsoever so that it can be seen from the right-of-way of a public street or highway, including permanent window signs placed inside windows to attract attention of those outside in the public right-of-way.
B. SIGN, OFFICIAL TRAFFIC AND HIGHWAY Official highway route number signs, street name signs, directional signs and other traffic signs erected and maintained on public highways and roads in the interest of public safety or for the regulation of traffic.
C. SIGN, OUTDOOR ADVERTISING A type of freestanding sign which directs attention to a business, industry, profession, commodity, service or entertainment, not necessarily sold or offered on the premises where the sign is located.
D. SIGN, PORTABLE Any sign used for a short duration of time, including sandwich boards, posters, bunting and signs on wheels.
SINGLE AND SEPARATE OWNERSHIP The ownership of a lot, tract or parcel of land by one or more persons, partnerships, corporations or other legal entities which is separate and distinct from the ownership of any abutting or adjoining lot, tract or parcel. Separate and distinct means that the lot, tract or parcel owned does not abut or adjoin any other lot, tract or parcel of land under the ownership or control of the same one or more persons, partnerships, corporations or other legal entities.
SITE AREA
A. SITE AREA, BASE The remainder of the gross site area after subtracting the area of all lands within existing roads or their ultimate rights-of-way and the area of all land subject to restrictive covenants, easements and/or rights-of-way that preclude development, such as land within conservation easements; land within above-, or below-ground utility easements or rights-of-way; freshwater wetlands and wetlands transition area as determined by NJDEP; stream encroachment areas as determined by NJDEP; flood hazard areas; and lakes, ponds, and watercourses. [Amended 6-9-2004 by Amendment 22]
B. SITE AREA, GROSS All land area within the site as defined in the deed. Area shall be determined from an actual site survey rather than from a deed description.
C. SITE AREA, NET BUILDABLE That part of the base area remaining for development after the amount of open space necessary for resource protection and recreation has been calculated.
SITE PLAN A development plan of one or more lots on which is shown the existing and proposed conditions of the lot, including but not necessarily limited to topography, vegetation, drainage, floodplains, marshes and waterways; the location of all existing and proposed buildings, drives, parking spaces, walkways, means of ingress and egress, drainage facilities, utility services, landscaping, structures and other signs, lighting and screening devices; and any other information that may be reasonably required in order to make an informed determination concerning the adequacy of the plan in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
A. MINOR SITE PLAN A development plan of one or more lots which proposes new development within the scope of development specifically permitted by ordinance as a minor site plan, does not involve planned development, any new street or extension of any off-tract improvement, is less than 2,000 square feet in size and requires fewer than five parking spaces and contains the information reasonably required in order to make an informed decision pursuant to the provisions of this chapter requiring review and approval of site plans by the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment.
B. MAJOR SITE PLAN Any development plan not classified as a minor site plan.
SKETCH PLAT The sketch map of a subdivision used for the purpose of classification and meeting the requirements of this chapter.
SLOPE Degree of deviation of a surface from the horizontal, usually expressed in percent.
SOIL All unconsolidated mineral and organic matter of whatever origin that underlies bedrock and which can be readily excavated.
SOIL EROSION AND SEDIMENT CONTROL PLAN A plan which fully indicates necessary land treatment measures, including a schedule for the timing of their installation, which will effectively soil erosion and sedimentation. Such measures shall be in accordance with the Standards for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control in New Jersey as promulgated by the State Soil Conservation Committee.
START OF CONSTRUCTION Includes substantial improvement and means the date the building permit was issued, provided that the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction or improvement was within 180 days of the permit date. The actual start means the first placement of permanent construction of a structure (other than a mobile home) on a site, such as the pouring of slabs or footings or any work beyond the stage of excavation.
STORY That part of a building located between the surface of any floor and the floor or roof next above. The first story of a building is the lowest story having 50% or more of its area above grade level or having the floor at the level of the exterior grade on one or more sides. A half-story is a story under a gable, hip or gambrel roof, the wall plates of which on at least two opposite exterior walls are not more than two feet above the floor. Also see "basement" herein.
STREET Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, parkway, viaduct, drive or other way which is an existing state, County or municipal roadway, or which is shown upon a plat heretofore approved pursuant to the law, or which is approved by official action as provided by this Act, or which is shown on a plat duly filed and recorded in the office of the County Recording Officer prior to the appointment of a planning board and the grant to such board of the power to review plats; and includes the land between the street lines, whether improved or unimproved, and may comprise pavement, shoulders, gutters, curbs, sidewalks, parking areas and other areas within the street lines. The specific classification for each street is shown on the Functional Classification Maps in the Master Plan and is hereby made a part of this chapter.
MINOR ARTERIAL A route providing interstate and intercounty service.
MAJOR COLLECTOR A route which should link places of traffic generation with nearby larger towns or with more important intracounty corridors.
MINOR COLLECTOR A route which is provided at intervals, consistent with population density, to collect traffic from local streets.
RURAL LOCAL ROAD OR FEEDER STREET Designed to function as an intersector and intraTownship facility, serving as a feeder route to the arterial system and also serving interTownship travel.
RESIDENTIAL COLLECTOR A street which carries residential neighborhood traffic, but which provides no or limited residential frontage.
RESIDENTIAL SUBCOLLECTOR A street providing access to abutting properties and may also conduct traffic from residential streets that intersect it.
RESIDENTIAL ACCESS Designed to serve the properties fronting thereon, generally to discourage through traffic.
ALLEY A minor way which is used primarily for vehicular service access to the back or the side of properties otherwise abutting on a street.
DRIVEWAY Generally a private way for vehicular and pedestrian access between a public street and a parking area within a lot or property.
CUL-DE-SAC A local street intersecting another street at one end and terminating in a vehicular turnaround at the other end.
HALF OR PARTIAL STREET A street generally parallel and adjacent to a property line, having a lesser right-of-way width than normally required for movement and use of the street.
MARGINAL ACCESS STREET .
PRIVATE ROADS A street owned and maintained by one or more individual landowners not accepted by the Township into the municipal road system. [Amended 6-10-1998 by Amendment 11]
STREET LINE The dividing line between the street and the lot. The street line shall be the same as the legal right-of-way, provided that where an ultimate right-of-way width for a road or street has been established in the adopted Master Plan or Official Map, that width shall determine the location of the street line.
STRIPPING Any activity which removes or disturbs the vegetative surface cover, including clearing and grubbing operations.
STRUCTURE 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. Among other things, structures include buildings, swimming pools, mobile homes, billboards and poster panels, but shall exclude fences, posts, wires and their supporting poles or frames of electric or telephone utilities or other service facilities and school bus waiting shelters whose location and design have been approved before erection by the Board of Education of the Township of Alexandria.
STORMWATER DETENTION Any storm drainage technique that retards or detains runoff, such as a detention or retention basin, parking lot storage, rooftop storage, porous pavement, dry wells or any combination thereof.
SUBDIVIDER Any individual, firm, association, syndicate, copartnership, corporation, trust or any other legal entity commencing proceedings under this chapter to affect a subdivision of land hereunder for himself or herself or for another with the written consent of the owner according to the provisions of this chapter.
SUBDIVISION A division of a lot, tract or parcel of land into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions of land for sale or development. The following shall not be considered subdivisions within the meaning of this chapter if no new streets are created: divisions of land found by the Planning Board or subdivision committee thereof appointed by the Chairperson to be for agricultural purposes where all resulting parcels are five acres or larger in size; divisions of property by testamentary or interstate provisions; divisions of property upon court order, including but not limited to judgments of foreclosure; consolidation of existing lots by deed or other recorded instrument, and the conveyance of one or more adjoining lots, tracts or parcels of land, owned by the same person or persons, and all of which are found and certified by the administrative officer to conform to the requirements of the municipal development regulations and are shown and designated as separate lots, tracts or parcels on the tax map or atlas of the municipality. The term subdivision shall also include the term resubdivision.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTS Any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure either before the improvement or repair is started, or, if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. For the purposes of this definition, substantial improvement is considered to occur when the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor or other structural part of the building commences, whether or not the alteration affects the external dimensions of the structure. The term does not, however, include either any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary or safety code specifications which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions or any alteration to a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic Places.
SWIMMING POOL
A. SWIMMING POOL, PERMANENT A pool which by the nature of its construction attaches to and becomes part of the realty upon which it is constructed, regardless of whether it is below ground, partially above the ground surface or completely above the ground surface. All artificial bodies of water will fall within this classification if their construction normally requires excavation, except for exemptions for ornamental pools as noted in Article V.
B. SWIMMING POOL, SEMIPERMANENT A pool which by the nature of its construction is erected above ground level and is reasonably capable of being dismantled on a seasonal basis. A pool capable of being filled to a depth of more than 36 inches at the deepest or lowest point is within the classification of permanent swimming pool.
C. SWIMMING POOL, PRIVATE, RESIDENTIAL Artificially constructed pools, whether located above or below the ground, having depth of more than two feet and/or a water surface of 40 square feet, designed and maintained for swimming and bathing purposes by an individual for use and shall include all accessory buildings, structures and equipment.
D. SWIMMING POOL, PUBLIC OR PRIVATE CLUB Either outdoor or indoor pools which are artificially constructed to provide recreational facilities for swimming, bathing or wading.
TEMPORARY PROTECTION Stabilization of erosive or sediment-producing materials.
USE The specific purpose for which land or a building or a structure thereon is designed, arranged or intended, or for which it may be occupied or maintained.
A. USE, ACCESSORY A use located on the same lot with a principal use and clearly incidental or subordinate to and in connection with the principal use.
B. USE, PRINCIPAL A main use; a use which is not incidental or subordinate to another use on the same lot.
UTILITIES Those services customarily rendered by public utility corporations, municipalities or municipal authorities, in the nature of electricity, gas, telephone, water and sewerage, including the appurtenances used in connection with the supplying of such services (buildings, wires, pipes, poles and the like).
VARIANCE Permission to depart from the literal requirements of a zoning ordinance pursuant to Section 47 and Subsections 29.2b, 57c and 57d. (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-40b., N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c. and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70d.) of the Act.
VEGETATIVE PROTECTION Stabilizations of erosive or sediment-producing areas, by covering the soil with permanent seeding, producing long-term vegetative cover; short term seeding producing temporary vegetative cover; or sodding, producing areas covered with turf of perennial sod-forming grass.
WATERCOURSE Any natural or artificial waterway, stream, river, creek, ditch, channel, millrace, canal, conduit, culvert, drain, gully, ravine or wash in which water flows in a definite direction or course, either continuously or intermittently, and which has a definite channel, bed and banks, and shall include any area adjacent thereto subject to inundation by reason of overflow of floodwater.
WETLANDS Areas known as marshes, swamps or wetlands, including all areas with a slope of less than 0.5% or less and greater than 0.25% of an acre where standing water is retained for a portion of the year and unique vegetation has adapted to the area.
WOODLANDS Areas, groves or stands of mature or largely mature trees (i.e., greater than six inches caliper as measured at a point four feet above grade) covering an area greater than 1/4 acre; or groves of mature trees (greater than 12 inches caliper as measured at a point four feet above grade) consisting of more than 10 individuals. Woodlands consist of three different associations which can be determined by field survey in combination with air photo interpretation.
A. FLOODPLAIN ASSOCIATION This type of woodland association occurs primarily on floodplain soils. Mature trees within this association consist of:
(1) Silver maple/black walnut/sycamore.
(2) Ash and maple/elm.
(3) Red maple/white oak/pin oak.
(4) Silver maple/red birch.
(5) Silver maple/sycamore/elm.
B. MEISIC ASSOCIATION This type of woodland association occurs on poorly drained soils. Over time these woodlands will consist mostly of beech trees. Mature trees within this association consists of:
(1) Sweetgum/red maple.
(2) Red maple/ash/tulip poplar.
(3) Oak/sweetgum/red maple.
(4) Oak/red maple/ash/tulip poplar.
(5) Oak/hickory/beech.
C. UPLAND ASSOCIATION This type of woodland association occurs on slightly drier and more well drained soils. Over time these woodlands will consist mostly of mixed oaks. Mature trees within this association consists of: black locust or oak/hickory.
WOODED LOT A wooded lot is any area with more than 10 trees greater than six inches in caliper, measured at a point four feet above grade on any half acre of a subdivided lot for single-family detached dwelling.
YARD An open space unobstructed from the ground up, on the same lot with a structure, and extending along the lot line or street line inward to the structure. The size of a required yard structure and a lot line or street line.
A. YARD, FRONT A yard between a structure and a street line and extending the entire length of the street line. In the case of a lot that fronts on more than one street, the yards extending along all streets are front yards.
B. YARD, REAR A yard between a structure and a rear lot line and extending the entire length of the rear lot line.
C. YARD, SIDE A yard between a structure and a side lot line, extending from the front yard to the rear yard. In the case of a lot having no street frontage or a lot of odd shape, any yard that is not a front yard or a rear yard shall be considered a side yard.
ZONING PERMIT A document signed by the administrative officer which is required by ordinance as a condition precedent to the commencement of a use or the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, conversion or installation of a structure or building and which acknowledges that such use, structure or building complies with the provisions of the municipal zoning ordinance or variance therefrom duly authorized by a municipal agency pursuant to Sections 47 and 57 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-60 and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70) of the Act.
AGRICULTURE OR HORTICULTURE OR AGRICULTURAL OR HORTICULTURAL USE The use of the land for common farmsite activities, including but not limited to production, harvesting, storage, grading, packaging, processing and the wholesale and retail marketing of crops, plants, animals and other related commodities and the use and application of techniques and methods of soil preparation and management, fertilization, weed, disease and pest control, disposal of farm waste, irrigation, drainage, and water management, and grazing.
AGRICULTURAL OR HORTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT Construction for the purposes of supporting common farmsite activities, including but not limited to the production, harvesting, storage, grading, packaging, processing, and the wholesale and retail marketing of crops, plants, animals, and other related commodities and the use and application of techniques and methods of soil preparation and management, fertilization, weed, disease, and pest control, disposal of farm waste, irrigation, drainage and water management, and grazing.
CATEGORY 1 (C1) WATERS Waters of the state, including unnamed waterways that appear on Soil Survey and USGS Topographic Quadrangle within the same HUC 14 watershed, designated in N.J.A.C. 7:9B-1.15 (c) through (h) for purposes of implementing the antidegradation policies set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:9B-1.5(d) for protection from measurable changes in water quality characteristics because of their clarity, color, scenic setting, other characteristics of aesthetic value, exceptional ecological significance, exceptional recreational significance, exceptional water supply significance, or exceptional fisheries resources(s).
COMPACTION The increase in soil bulk density caused by subjecting soil to greater-than-normal loading. Compaction can also decrease soil infiltration and permeability rates.
CORE A pedestrian-oriented area of commercial and civic uses serving the surrounding municipality, generally including housing and access to public transportation.
COUNTY REVIEW AGENCY The Hunterdon County Planning Board, as designated by the County Board of Chosen Freeholders to review municipal stormwater management plans and implementing ordinance(s).
DEPARTMENT The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
DESIGNATED CENTER A State Development and Redevelopment Plan Center, such as urban, regional, town, village, or hamlet, as designated by the State Planning Commission.
DESIGN ENGINEER A person professionally qualified and duly licensed in New Jersey to perform engineering services that may include, but not necessarily be limited to, development of project requirements, creation and development of project design and preparation of drawings and specifications.
DEVELOPMENT The division of a parcel of land into two or more parcels, the construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation or enlargement of any building or structure, any mining excavation or landfill, and any use or change in the use of any building or other structure, or land or extension of use of land, by any person, for which permission is required under the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. In the case of development of agricultural lands, "development" means any activity that requires a state permit; any activity reviewed by the County Agricultural Board (CAB) and the State Agricultural Development Committee (SADC), and municipal review of any activity not exempted by the Right to Farm Act, N.J.S.A. 4:1C-1 et seq.
DISTURBANCE Any activity including the clearing, excavating, storing, grading, filling or transportation of soil or any other activity that causes soil to be exposed to the danger of erosion.
DRAINAGE AREA A geographic area within which stormwater, sediments, or dissolved materials drain to a particular receiving waterbody or to a particular point along a receiving waterbody.
ENVIRONMENTALLY CRITICAL AREA An area or feature which is of significant environmental value, including but not limited to stream corridors; natural heritage priority sites; habitat of endangered or threatened species; large areas of contiguous open space or upland forest; steep slopes; well head protection areas; and groundwater recharge areas. Habitats of endangered or threatened species are those identified by the Department's Landscape Project as approved by the Department's Endangered and Nongame Species Program, or by the Department pursuant to the Highlands Act at N.J.S.A. 13:20-32k and 13:20-34a(4).
EROSION The detachment and movement of soil or rock fragments by water, wind, ice or gravity.
GROUNDWATER A body of water below the surface of the land in a zone of saturation where the spaces between the soil or geological materials are fully saturated with water.
HIGHLANDS ACT The Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act, P.L. 2004, c.120, codified at N.J.S.A. 13:20-1 et seq., as amended.
HUC-14 A watershed as defined by the United States Geological Survey with a fourteen-digit identifier; a subwatershed.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE A surface that has been covered with a layer of material so that it is highly resistant to infiltration by water relative to natural conditions in the area.
INFILTRATION The process by which water from precipitation seeps into the soil to a level below the normal root soil of plant species.
KARST TERRAIN An area where karst topography, with its characteristic surface and subterranean features, is developed as a result of the dissolution of limestone, dolomite, or other soluble rock. Characteristic physiographic features present in karst terrains include but are not limited to sinkholes, sinking streams, caves, blind valleys, large springs and subterranean drainage. See also "limestone area."
LIMESTONE AREA An area of Hunterdon County underlain by carbonate sedimentary rock consisting chiefly of calcium carbonate. Limestone is commonly used as a general term for the class of rocks that consist of at least 80% calcium or magnesium carbonate. See also "karst terrain."
LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT (LID) Methods incorporating design measures to replicate predevelopment hydrology to reduce the impacts of development at a lot-level basis, treating rainwater where it falls by creating conditions that allow the water to infiltrate back into the ground. LID emphasizes greater infiltration of stormwater on-site rather than regarding the stormwater as a nuisance condition and disposable.
MAINTENANCE PLAN A document required for all major development projects for stormwater management maintenance. The document shall contain specific preventive maintenance tasks and schedules; cost estimates, including estimated cost of sediment, debris, or trash removal; and the name, address, and telephone number of the person or persons responsible for preventive and corrective maintenance (including replacement).
MAJOR DEVELOPMENT Any development that provides for ultimately disturbing one or more acres of land or would create one-quarter acre or more of impervious surface.
MAXIMUM EXTENT PRACTICABLE Compliance with the specific objective to the greatest extent possible taking into account equitable considerations and competing factors, including but not limited to environmental benefits, pollutant removal effectiveness, regulatory compliance, ability to implement given site-specific environmental conditions, cost and technical or engineering feasibility.
MITIGATION An action by an applicant providing compensation or offset actions for on-site stormwater management requirements where the applicant has demonstrated the inability or impracticality of strict compliance with the stormwater management requirements set forth in N.J.A.C. 7:8, in an adopted regional stormwater management plan, or in this article, and has received a waiver from strict compliance from the municipality. "Mitigation," for the purposes of this article, includes both the mitigation plan detailing how the project's failure to strictly comply will be compensated, and the implementation of the approved mitigation plan within the same HUC-14 within which the subject project is proposed (if possible and practical), or a contribution of funding toward a regional stormwater control project, or provision for equivalent treatment at an alternate location, or other equivalent water quality benefit.
MUNICIPALITY Any city, borough, town, township, or village.
NODE An area designated by the State Planning Commission concentrating facilities and activities that are not organized in a compact form.
NONSTRUCTURAL STORMWATER MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES Techniques that control or reduce stormwater runoff in the absence of stormwater structures (e.g., basins and piped conveyances), such as minimizing site disturbance, preserving important site features, including, but not limited to, natural vegetation, reducing and disconnecting impervious cover, minimizing slopes, utilizing native vegetation, minimizing turf grass lawns, increasing time of concentration and maintaining and enhancing natural drainage features and characteristics.
NUTRIENT A chemical element or compound, such as nitrogen or phosphorus, which is essential to and promotes the development of plants, algae and other organisms or vegetation.
NUTRIENT CONCENTRATION The amount of a nutrient in a defined volume of water (such as milligrams of nitrogen per liter). The relationship between nutrient concentration and nutrient load can vary and depends on the surface water flow, the volume of water in the water body or aquifer, and watershed characteristics.
NUTRIENT LOAD The total amount of a nutrient such as nitrogen or phosphorus entering the water during a given time, such as "tons of nitrogen per year" or "pounds of phosphorus per day." Nutrients may enter the water from runoff, groundwater recharge, point source discharges, or the air (in the form of wet deposition such as rain or snow as well as dry deposition).
PERMEABLE A surface or land cover capable of transmitting or percolating a significant amount of precipitation into the underlying soils.
PERSON Any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association. Township, or political subdivision of this state subject to municipal jurisdiction pursuant to the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
POLLUTANT Any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage, garbage, refuse, oil, grease, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, medical wastes, radioactive substance [except those regulated under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. § 2011 et seq.)], thermal waste, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, industrial, municipal, agricultural, and construction waste or runoff, or other residue discharged directly or indirectly to the land, groundwaters or surface waters of the state, or to a domestic treatment works. "Pollutant" includes both hazardous and nonhazardous pollutants.
POLLUTION The man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological integrity of water to the extent that the pollutant concentration or level violates either the Ground Water Quality Standards (N.J.A.C. 7:9-6) or the Surface Water Quality Standards (N.J.A.C. 7:9B) of New Jersey.
RECHARGE The amount of water from precipitation that infiltrates into the ground, and becomes part of a groundwater body.
REVIEW AGENCY (MUNICIPAL) The municipal body or official that is responsible for the review of a major development project for compliance with the stormwater management requirements.
SEDIMENT Solid material, mineral or organic, that is in suspension and is being transported or has been moved from its site of origin by air, water or gravity as a product of erosion.
SITE The lot or lots upon which a major development is to occur or has occurred. SOIL All unconsolidated mineral and organic material of any origin.
SOLID AND FLOATABLE MATERIALS Sediment, debris, trash, and other floating, suspended, or settleable solids.
SOURCE MATERIAL Any material(s) or machinery, located at an industrial facility, that is directly or indirectly related to process, manufacturing, or other industrial activities, that could be a source of pollutants in any industrial stormwater discharge to ground or surface water. "Source materials" include, but are not limited to, raw materials, intermediate products, final products, waste materials, by-products, industrial machinery and fuels, and lubricants, solvents, and detergents that are related to process, manufacturing, or other industrial activities that are exposed to stormwater.
SPECIAL RESOURCE WATERS Water bodies receiving special protections due to their drinking water status or role as high-quality habitat for threatened and endangered species or species of commercial or recreational importance. This includes waterways so designated through the NJ Stormwater Management Rules (N.J.A.C. 7:8) because of exceptional ecological significance, exceptional water supply significance, exceptional recreational significance, exceptional shellfish resource, or exceptional fisheries resource. Waters so designated are protected by a three-hundred-foot buffer extending on either side of the waterway measured perpendicular from top-of-bank or center of channel for waterways lacking a defined top-of-bank.
STATE DEVELOPMENT AND REDEVELOPMENT PLAN METROPOLITAN PLANNING AREA (PA1) An area delineated on the State Plan Policy Map and adopted by the State Planning Commission that is intended to be the focus for much of the state's future redevelopment and revitalization efforts.
STATE PLAN POLICY MAP The geographic application of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan's goals and statewide policies, and the official map of these goals and policies.
STORMWATER Water resulting from precipitation (including rain and snow) that runs off the land's surface, is transmitted to the subsurface, or is captured by separate storm sewers or other sewage or drainage facilities, or conveyed by snow removal equipment.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT BASIN An excavation or embankment and related areas designed to retain stormwater runoff. A stormwater management basin may either be normally dry (that is, a detention basin or infiltration basin), retain water in a permanent pool (a retention basin), or be planted mainly with wetland vegetation (a constructed stormwater wetland).
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT MEASURE Any structural or nonstructural strategy, practice, technology, process, program, or other method intended to control or reduce stormwater runoff and associated pollutants, or to induce or control the infiltration or groundwater recharge of stormwater or to eliminate illicit or illegal nonstormwater discharges into stormwater conveyances.
STORMWATER RUNOFF The flow of stormwater on or across the surface of the ground, in drainage facilities or in storm sewers.
STREAM BUFFER A strip of land located immediately adjacent to a stream channel consisting of natural, undisturbed vegetative cover, which serves as a transition area between uplands and riparian lands. A stream buffer may encompass wetlands, may be contained with a floodplain or floodway or may extend beyond a wetland, floodplain or floodway boundary.
STRUCTURAL STORMWATER TECHNIQUES A stormwater management measure that involves control of concentrated stormwater runoff or infiltration such as stormwater basins, piped conveyance systems and manufactured stormwater devices, and can include various types of basins, filters, surfaces, and devices located on individual lots in a residential development or throughout a commercial, industrial, or institutional development site in areas not typically suited for larger, centralized structural facilities.
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES Endangered species" are those whose prospects for survival in New Jersey are in immediate danger because of a loss or change in habitat, over-exploitation, predation, competition, disease, disturbance or contamination. Assistance is needed to prevent future extinction in New Jersey. "Threatened species" are those who may become endangered if conditions surrounding them begin to or continue to deteriorate. Habitats of endangered or threatened species are those identified by the Department's Landscape Project as approved by the Department's Endangered and Nongame Species Program, or by the Department pursuant to the Highlands Act at N.J.S.A. 13:20-32k and 13:20-34a(4).
TIME OF CONCENTRATION The time it takes for stormwater runoff to travel from the hydraulically most distant point of the watershed to the point of interest within a watershed.
TRANSITION AREA An area of protected upland adjacent to a freshwater wetland that minimizes adverse impacts on the wetland or serves as an integral component of the wetlands ecosystem. Also called "buffer" area.
URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AREA Previously developed portions of areas delineated on the State Plan Policy Map (SPPM) as the Metropolitan Planning Area (PA1); designated centers, cores or nodes.
WATERS OF THE STATE The ocean and its estuaries, all springs, streams, wetlands, and bodies of surface or ground water, whether natural or artificial, within the boundaries of the State of New Jersey or subject to its jurisdiction.
WETLANDS OR WETLAND An area that is inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, commonly known as "hydrophytic vegetation."
APPLICANT - Any applicant who makes application for a permit.
EMERGENCY - Any unforeseen and unexpected circumstance or occurrence which causes a clear and immediate danger to persons or damage to property and which requires immediate opening or repair.
ENGINEER - The licensed professional engineer duly appointed as Township Engineer or authorized engineer, his or her authorized deputy, representative or inspector.
OPENING - Any excavation, removal, repair, construction, reconstruction, drilling or tunneling within the rights-of-way of accepted or unaccepted roads or easements owned, regulated and within the responsibility of the township, and including excavation, drilling or cutting through pavement, curbs, gutters, drainage facilities, sidewalks, shoulders, embankments, utility lines or structures. Test holes of small diameter, whether drilled, driven or cut, shall be considered openings, except that one application, one permit and one fee shall apply to a series or group of such test holes.
PERMITTEE - Any applicant who has been issued a permit and is obliged to fulfill all the terms and conditions of this article.
ROAD - A roadway, alley, highway, way, easement or right-of-way, improved or unimproved, over which there is a public right of passage, provided that the same is part of the municipal road system and accepted for municipal maintenance.
TRAVELED WAY - That portion of a road which, when constructed, is intended to accommodate vehicular passage or travel.
UNIMPROVED ROAD - Any road whose traveled way is surfaced with cinders, dirt, gravel or stone without bituminous or cement binder, and any road that may exist within an approved major subdivision but which is not yet accepted for ownership, maintenance or legal jurisdiction by the township.
MUNICIPALITY - The Township of Alexandria, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, or its authorized agents, servants, employees or officials.
OCCUPANT - The owner, tenant, lessee or person in charge of, in control of or in possession of any building or premises or part thereof.
SIDEWALK - The pavement between the curbline and property line.