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Ordinances

TOWNSHIP OF VERNON
ORDINANCE #04-09

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ARTICLE 18 OF THE VERNON TOWNSHIP LAND USE SUBCODE WHICH PROVIDES FOR A LOT DEVELOPMENT PLAN

BE IT ORDAINED, by the Township Council of the Township of Vernon, County of Sussex and State of New Jersey as follows.

1. The Township of Vernon hereby amends the Lot Development Plan, which was adopted pursuant to Ordinance #03-12.

2. The revised Article 18 is attached hereto and made a part hereof.

3. The Township Clerk is hereby directed to give notice at least ten days prior to the adoption of this Ordinance to the County Planning Board and to all other persons entitled thereto pursuant to NJSA 40:55D-15 and NJSA 40:55D-63 (if required). Upon the adoption of this ordinance after public hearing thereon, the Township Clerk is further directed to publish notice of the passage thereof and to file a copy of the Ordinance as finally adopted with the Sussex County Planning Board as required by NJSA 40:55D-16. The Clerk shall also forthwith transmit a copy of this Ordinance after final passage to the Township Tax Assessor as required by NJSA 40:49-2.1.

4. All ordinances or parts of ordinances or resolutions that are in conflict with the provisions of this Ordinance are repealed to the extent necessary.

5. If any article, section, subsection, term or condition of this Ordinance is declared invalid or illegal for any reason, the balance of the Ordinance shall be deemed severable and shall remain in full force and effect.

6. This Ordinance shall take effect after publication and passage according to law.

NOTICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the above ordinance was introduced and passed on first reading at the Regular Meeting of the Township Council of the Township of Vernon in the County of Sussex, State of New Jersey held in the Municipal Building on February 9, 2004 and scheduled for public hearing and final adoption at the meeting of March 8, 2004, which meeting was rescheduled to March 11, 2004, at which time, after persons interested were given an opportunity to be heard concerning said ordinance, the same was passed and will be in full force in the Township according to law.

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IRA WEINER, MAYOR

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PATRICIA A. LYCOSKY, R.M.C.
TOWNSHIP CLERK

ARTICLE 18


TOWNSHIP OF VERNON
LOT DEVELOPMENT PERMIT


1801.  LOT DEVELOPMENT PERMIT

Prior to the issuance of a construction permit by the Construction Official for any new structure on any undeveloped residential lot or for an addition or accessory structure larger than 500 square feet on a developed residential lot or any commercial lot not subject to Planning and Zoning approval, a Lot Development Permit (LDP) shall be applied for and issued by the Township Engineer.

1802. DEFINITIONS

"Lot, Undeveloped Residential" means any lot, in a residential zone or lot where a residential structure will be built, upon which no principal structure is located or which a principal structure is located but is to be removed or abandoned as a condition or in furtherance of a plan for development of said lot.  

1803.  SCOPE AND PURPOSES

The requirement for a LDP is to safeguard against adverse consequences of uncontrolled surface water drainage, degradation of freshwater wetlands and transition areas, pollution of streams, watercourses and water bodies and negative impact to surrounding properties by development on private and public lands; and to provide for safe and suitable location of driveways.

1804.  PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING A LOT DEVELOPMENT PERMIT

A. Consideration of issuance of a LDP shall be made upon submittal of an application form and five (5) copies of a LDP, which shall be subject to review by the Township Engineer.

B. Action on the application and LDP shall be taken within twenty (20) business days of receipt of all plan elements.

C. If approved, the Township Engineer shall issue a LDP. If disapproved, the applicant shall be so notified and the Township Engineer shall furnish a written statement for the reasons of disapproval.

D. LDP's shall be good for one (1) full year after the date of issuance, after which such permit shall expire, but may be extended for a period not to exceed one (1) year by the Township Engineer for good cause.

E. A septic system permit shall not be issued until the Township Engineer issues a LDP permit.


1805A.   PLAN DETAILS AND REQUIREMENTS - NEW RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION      AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT

The LDP shall be prepared by a Professional Engineer licensed in the State of New Jersey and drawn to a scale of not less than one (1) inch equals thirty (30) feet.  The LDP shall be prepared in sufficient detail to show the following:

A. Key Map based on the Official Tax Map of the Township of Vernon.

B. A topographic map of the subject lot and adjoining street with 2-foot contour intervals, based upon a field survey, and not USGS maps.

C. To the greatest extent possible, the applicant shall comply with Section 717 of the Land Use Ordinance in regard to environmentally sensitive areas.

D. The location of any existing streams, water courses, ponds, storm sewers, delineated wetlands, delineated wetland transition areas, storm water management facilities, and extent of slopes greater than 15% and environmentally sensitive areas.

E. The location of all existing and proposed new structures, including, but not limited to, buildings, swimming pools, tennis courts, garages, sheds, retaining walls, decks, patios, walkways and stairs.

F. The location, alignment, dimensions and construction details for any existing or proposed driveways, parking and turnaround areas.   Driveways shall be located a minimum of 125 feet from an intersecting street, be 12 feet wide, have a maximum slope of 15%, not exceed 5% within 25 feet of a roadway or dwelling, and contain vertical curves for smooth transitions.  Driveways, which exceed 8% in grade, shall be paved with 2" FABC mix I-5 over a base course consisting of 4" of dense graded aggregate, thoroughly rolled and compacted or an equivalent.

G. A driveway profile shall be submitted for each proposed driveway.

H. The elevation of the finished garage floor, first floor and lowest floor of the proposed structures.

I. Measures to mitigate the increase in runoff from impervious surfaces in accordance with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Best Management Practices, such as swales, natural retention areas and dry wells.  When used, drywells shall be constructed of precast concrete and be sized to store three (3) inches of rainfall over the area of the structure, shall be equipped with overflow piping, and shall be backfilled on all sides and bottom with 12" of 1-1/2" washed gravel, be surrounded with filter fabric and connected to the dwelling with 6" PVC.

J. The location of all roof leader drains, dry wells, water supply wells, overhead and underground utility lines, and any individual subsurface sewage disposal systems.

K. Proposed grading at 2-foot contour intervals.

L. Required building setback lines showing the building envelope and required buffers from environmentally sensitive areas.

M. Proposed retaining walls shall be accompanied by top and bottom of wall elevations and construction details with a note stating that the maximum exposed wall height is 4 feet.   Walls with heights exceeding 4 feet shall be accompanied by stability calculations performed by a New Jersey licensed engineer.

N. Proposed soil erosion and sediment control areas.

1805B.   PLAN DETAILS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR EXISTING RESIDENTIAL LOTS

Submission and approval requirements for improvements on existing residential lots shall be dependent on the extent of the improvement and the physical characteristics of the residential lot.  The Township Engineer shall review the initial documentation submission prepared by the owner or architect and visit the site to determine the complexity of the proposal.   If, in the sole discretion of the Township Engineer, the improvement and/or disturbance caused by the improvement cause minimal impact to the environment or neighboring properties, the Township Engineer can waive the requirement for the submission of a formal LDP application.  Notwithstanding this provision and unless prohibited by site constraints in the sole opinion of the Township Engineer, the Township Engineer may require at least one standard drywell or other infiltration measure to be installed to mitigate the effects of increase in impervious area.  The initial document submission under this Section shall consist of the following:

A.  A survey of the property showing all improvements existing on the property, all proposed improvements and the location of water supply wells, dry wells and subsurface sewerage disposal facilities, to scale.

B.  Any and all documents required for the development of the property by the Construction Official and Health Department, including but not limited to, the building plans and specifications of the architect or contractor who will construct the improvement.

Upon review of the submission as set forth in this provision, the Township Engineer, in their sole discretion, may issue the Lot Development Permit or may require any, or all, of the plan details or requirements set forth in Section 1805A.

1806.   INSPECTION

A. In order to assure compliance with the terms of the LDP, a total of three (3) periodic inspections of the site development operations shall be made by the Township Engineer or his representative as required during the course of the work.  In the event that additional site visits are necessary, the Township will bill the developer for additional fees directly in accordance with the Engineer's hourly rate scheduled approved by the Township.

B. The failure of an owner of property to comply with an approved LDP for such property, including any temporary measures to be taken during the performance of lot development activity or construction work, shall constitute a violation of this chapter and property such owner will be subject to penalties as per Section 1605 of the Vernon Township Comprehensive Land Development Subcode.

1807.  CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY

A. A final zoning approval shall not be issued by the zoning official for any property which is the subject of a LDP until the Township Engineer has inspected the property and has certified in writing that the property conforms to the LDP. The Township Engineer or his representative shall make a final inspection and issue a report within five (5) days after notification from the Construction Official of an application for a Certificate of Occupancy. When field conditions require substantial deviations from the plan submitted, as-built drawings shall be furnished prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy.

B. In the event that the Township Engineer determines that current weather conditions do not permit the completion of the required work to effectuate full compliance with the LDP, the Township Engineer may authorize the zoning official to issue a final zoning approval upon the posting with the Township of a cash deposit in an amount equal to 120% of the estimated cost of the work remaining to be performed.  The Township Engineer shall determine the cost of the remaining work to be performed.  In the event the work is not completed in a timely fashion, the Township of Vernon has the right to have the work performed and the cost thereof paid from the cash deposit pursuant to the terms of the cash deposit agreement.

1808.  EXEMPTIONS.

Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Chapter, the requirement for obtaining a lot development permit shall not apply to:

A. An existing developed lot except as otherwise required in Article 1 herein.
B. Non-residential lots which have already received site plan approval.
C. Activities exempt under the Right to Farm Act.
D. Property owned by the Township of Vernon.

The exemptions provided by this Section 1808 shall not be construed to preclude the obligation for compliance with any other municipal, county and/or state regulations as required by law.

1809.  APPEALS

A. Whenever the Township Engineer disapproves an application for an LDP, the applicant may appeal such action to the Township Manager.  All such appeals shall be filed with the Land Use Administrator in writing. No filing fee shall be required. Unless the appeal is filed within 20 days following the action by the Township Engineer, the disapproval shall be deemed final.

B. For good cause shown, the Township Manager may direct the issuance of an LDP in cases where the Plan details do not conform to the standards established by Section 1805. As used in this section, the term good cause shall mean that the applicant has demonstrated that by reason of the unique shape, shallowness or narrowness of the lot, or by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or physical features uniquely affecting the lot, the strict application of said Plan detail standards would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to or exceptional and undue hardship upon the lot owner. The burden of establishing the existence of good cause shall be upon the applicant who shall also establish to the satisfaction of the Township Manager that the issuance of the LDP will not substantially impair the purposes set forth in Section 1703 and that the LDP may be issued without substantial adverse impact upon the surrounding properties and neighborhood.

C. In the event that the Township Manager feels that the issues relating to an LDP appeal are beyond his or her ability to judge due to technical matters, the Manager may direct the appeal to the Zoning Board.  In such cases, the appeal shall be scheduled for a Zoning Board agenda within 30 days, or as soon thereafter that it can be scheduled, at no cost to the applicant.  The applicant is required to provide written notice to all property owners within 200 feet of the applicant's property by certified mail, stating when and why the hearing will be held.

D. In no case shall the Township Manager or Zoning Board direct the issuance of an LDP where the LDP is inconsistent with the terms of any prior subdivision or site plan approval with regard to protection of critical or environmentally sensitive areas, or in conflict with County, State or Federal regulations.

1810.  FEES

A. Upon submission of a Lot Development Plan to the Township of Vernon, the applicant shall furnish a review and inspection fee in the amount of $700.00 for new residential or commercial development or $250.00 for existing residential lots (unless an LDP is required under Section 1805 A in which case an additional $200.00 fee shall be required), payable to the Township of Vernon.  In the event that more than three (3) plan revisions or three (3) site visits are required by the Engineer or his representative, the Township of Vernon shall bill the developer directly in accordance with the Engineer's hourly rate schedule approved by the Township.  All outstanding fees shall be paid prior to issuance of a final zoning approval.