N.J. Admin. Code § 5:21-3.5 - Special area standards
(a) The Commissioner and
the Site Improvement Advisory Board as a matter of policy recognize the need for
preservation and/or enhancement of community character in New Jersey municipalities.
This section is intended to provide a procedure whereby a municipal approving
authority may develop and recommend to the Board supplementary and/or alternative
standards in the form of municipal ordinances for review and amendment to this
chapter. The Site Improvement Advisory Board shall solicit the input of the
Department of Environmental Protection, the Office of Smart Growth, and the
Department of Transportation, and may solicit input from public or private
organizations and individuals as it deems appropriate during the process of review
of special area standards.
(b) A special
area designation may be applied by ordinance by a municipality or group of
municipalities to an area or areas of a municipality or municipalities exhibiting or
planned to exhibit a distinctive character or environmental feature that the
municipality or municipalities by ordinance have identified and expressed a desire
to preserve and enhance. Examples of a special area may include:
1. Designated redevelopment areas pursuant to
40A:12A-1 et seq.;
2. Designated special improvement districts
pursuant to 40:56-65 et seq.;
3. Designated historic districts pursuant to
40:55D-65.1;
4. Municipalities in the Metropolitan Planning
Area (Planning Area 1), and Regional Centers, villages, hamlets, or other Centers
identified by the State Development and Redevelopment Plan or designated by the
State Planning Commission;
5. Infill
areas in urban settings;
6. Planned unit
and planned unit residential developments, and residential clusters pursuant to
40:55D-39;
7. Areas where environmental systems such as
watersheds may require special environmental controls;
8. Designated scenic corridors, pursuant to the
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act or other similar State or local
initiatives; and
9. Rural preservation
areas including, but not limited to, designated Agricultural Development Areas,
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:1C, and in support of the rural preservation policies of the
State Development and Redevelopment Plan.
(c) The Site Improvement Advisory Board shall
consider at its regular or specially-scheduled public meetings special area
standards submitted for approval by or on behalf of a municipality or
municipalities. The following procedures shall govern the review of special area
standards submitted for approval:
1. Upon receipt
of an application for approval of special area standards conforming to (e) below,
the Department of Community Affairs, on behalf of the Board, shall prepare and file
with the Office of Administrative Law, for publication in the New Jersey Register, a
notice of receipt of the application, including a summary of its contents. Any such
notice shall conform to the requirements applicable to petitions for rules set forth
at N.J.A.C. 5:2-2. The notice shall indicate the time and place of any meeting that
is to be held to consider the application and shall also indicate the address and
telephone number at which persons may contact the Department in order to be placed
on lists that the Department shall use to keep interested persons informed as to the
status of any specific application or of special area standards applications
generally.
i. The application shall be accompanied
by proof of publication by the municipality, in its official newspaper, of either a
copy of the application or a summary of its contents. If the municipality does not
publish the full text of the application, it shall include in the published notice a
statement that interested persons may review a copy of the application that is on
file in the office of the municipal clerk, and may purchase copies of the
application in accordance with the New Jersey Right-to-Know law,
47:1A-1.1 et seq., and that information
concerning the date of any meeting at which the application will be considered will
be available in the office of the municipal clerk once that determination has been
made.
2. Upon receipt of an
application for approval of special area standards, the Department, with the
concurrence of the chairperson of the Board, shall refer the application to the
appropriate Board committee. The committee shall consider the application at a
meeting held at least 15 days following publication of notice of the application in
the New Jersey Register. Notice of such meeting shall be sent to the municipal clerk
and to all known parties in interest. The committee shall recommend such action to
the Board as it may deem appropriate.
3.
A notice of the action recommended by the committee, including the text of any
recommended special area standards, shall be forwarded by the Department to the
Office of Administrative Law for publication in the New Jersey Register as a public
notice. The notice, copies of which shall be sent to the municipal clerk and to all
known parties in interest, shall include the time and place of the meeting of the
Board at which the application and the committee's recommendations thereon shall be
considered.
i. Upon receipt of the notice, the
municipality shall publish a copy of the notice in its official newspaper.
4. Prior to making a decision on any
application for special area standards, the Board shall hold a public hearing at
which all interested persons shall be given an opportunity to testify and to present
their views, both orally and in writing. A taped record shall be made of all
statements made at the hearing, which record shall be made available by the
Department to interested persons upon request. At the conclusion of the hearing, the
Board shall either take action on the application or schedule the matter for further
consideration at its next meeting. Any Board decision shall be by formal resolution.
Notice of any Board decision shall be published in the New Jersey
Register.
5. The Board and any of its
committees shall meet at least monthly when any application for approval of special
area standards is ripe for action before them.
(d) The Site Improvement Advisory Board shall
review special area standards submitted for approval if:
1. The special area is delineated on the zoning
map, adopted redevelopment plan, special improvement district ordinance, Center
designation petition, or other duly authorized ordinance of the municipality or
municipalities;
2. The special area is
incorporated into the municipality's master plan;
3. Site improvement standards for use in the
special area are consistent with the purposes of this chapter, deviations from the
standards are identified, and a rationale is provided for each such deviation;
and
4. Site improvement standards for
use in the special area are set forth in an ordinance or draft ordinance that has
been referred to the Board for approval by resolution of the municipal governing
body. Municipalities may submit their existing codes and plans to satisfy these
requirements; provided, however, that no ordinance setting forth special area
standards shall be effective unless and until it is approved by the Board.
(e) The application of the municipality
for Site Improvement Advisory Board approval of its special area standards shall
consist of:
1. A resolution of the governing body
as described in (b) above;
2. The
standards;
3. A copy of the ordinance,
or of the draft ordinance and supporting resolution, adopting the
standards;
4. An identification and
narrative rationale for the deviations from the standards of this chapter;
and
5. Any maps, exhibits, or supporting
documentation.
(f)
Developers, nonprofit groups, and other agencies may submit applications for special
area status on behalf of the municipalities if duly authorized by the municipal
governing body.
(g) The Site Improvement
Advisory Board's decision on municipal special area standards shall be rendered in
writing.
(h) The Site Improvement
Advisory Board shall incorporate into its annual review of this chapter a review of
approved municipal special area standards and shall recommend to the Commissioner
any appropriate changes in the rules (see
40:55D-40.4(d)
).
(i) The Site Improvement Advisory
Board may approve or deny, in whole or in part, special area standards submitted for
consideration by a municipality or municipalities.
(j) The Site Improvement Advisory Board's review
is limited in scope to those areas within its purview pursuant to
40:55D-40.4, that is streets,
off-street parking, water supply, sanitary sewers, and stormwater management in the
context of residential development.
(k)
The Board's review of a municipal special area standards ordinance shall be based on
the following criteria. Standards set forth in an ordinance submitted for review by
the Board:
1. Shall be consistent with the intent
of the Site Improvement Standards Act,
2. Shall be reasonable and not unduly
burdensome,
3. Shall meet the needs of
public health and safety, and
4. Shall
take into account existing infrastructure and surrounding development
possibility.
(l) A developer whose application
is complete on or before the date of approval of a special area standard shall have
the option of complying with that standard or complying with the standard in effect
prior to the date of approval of the special area standard.
Notes
See: 29 N.J.R. 3900(a).
Amended by R.1998 d.400, effective
See: 30 N.J.R. 755(a), 30 N.J.R. 2861(b).
In (c), rewrote the introductory paragraph and added new 1 through 5; in (d), rewrote 4; in (e), inserted "or of the draft ordinance and supporting resolution" preceding "adopting the standards:" in 3; and added a new ( l).
Amended by R.1999 d.374, effective
See: 31 N.J.R. 477(a), 31 N.J.R. 3259(a).
Rewrote (e)1.
Public Notice: Special area standards.
See: 33 N.J.R. 130(a), 897(a).
Public Notice: Special area standards.
See: 34 N.J.R. 4224(a).
Public Notice: Special area standards.
See: 36 N.J.R. 220(a).
Public Notice: Special area standards.
See: 40 N.J.R. 757(a).
Amended by R.2009 d.185, effective
See: 41 N.J.R. 913(a), 41 N.J.R. 2463(a).
In (a), substituted "Smart Growth" for "State Planning".
Public Notice: Special area standards.
See 47 N.J.R. 2886(b).
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