CHAPTER 25

ARTICLE 3

§25-301 DEFINITIONS Amended 8-20-90 by Ord. No. 1095

5-2-91 by Ord. No. 1104;9-3-98 by Ord. No. 1230

5-11-05 by Ord. No. 1363; 5-24-06 by Ord. No. 1388

Any word or term not defined shall be used with a meaning of standard usage for the context in which the word is used, except those words and terms defined in the Municipal Land Use Law, as amended, shall be used in this ordinance as if included in this ordinance.

Accessory Use or Building - A subordinate use or building incidental to the principal use or building on the same lot. An accessory use or building may not be attached to the principal dwelling.

Administrative Officer - The Secretary of the Borough of Seaside Park Planning Board for applications under the jurisdiction of the Planning Board, or the Secretary of the Borough of Seaside Park Zoning Board of Adjustment for applications under the jurisdiction of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, unless a different municipal official is designated by the ordinance to administer certain responsibilities and authorities specified for the administrative officer in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.

Adverse Effect - Designs, situations, or existing features creating or leading to unsafe, unsatisfactory or noncomplying conditions such as a layout inconsistent with the zoning regulations; insufficient off-street parking; inadequate utilities such as water, drainage, shade trees, and sewerage; infringement upon land subject to flooding and not in compliance with the flood plain regulations of this ordinance; and the creation of conditions leading to soil erosion by wind or water from excavation or grading; all as set forth in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-38 and measured against the design and performance standards of this ordinance.

Apartment - A dwelling unit in a building having two (2) or more dwelling units.

Application for Development - The application or appeal forms and all accompanying documents required by this ordinance for the approval of a subdivision plat, site plan, conditional use, zoning variance or direction for the issuance of a permit pursuant to the requisite statutes.

Approving Authority - The planning board unless a different agency is designated in this ordinance pursuant to the Municipal Land Use Law such as the Zoning Board of Adjustment under certain variances and the court for certain exempt subdivisions.

Area of Shallow Flooding - A designated AO or VO Zone on the borough's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with base flood depths from one (1) up to three (3) feet where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate and where velocity flow may be evident.

Area of Special Flood Hazard - The land in the flood plain subject to a one percent (1%) or greater chance of flooding in any given year.

Automobile Service Station - Land and building providing for the sale of fuel, lubricants and automotive accessories and for maintenance and minor repairs for motor vehicles, excluding body repairs and the storage of inoperable and wrecked vehicles.

Base Flood - The flood having a one percent (1%) chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

Breakaway Wall - Any type wall which is not part of the structural support of the building and which is designed to break away under abnormally high tides or wave action without damage to the structural integrity of the building on which it is used or any buildings to which it might be carried by flood waters.

Building - Any structure or extension thereof or addition thereto consisting of a combination of materials to form a construction having a roof, supported by such things as columns, posts, piers or walls and adapted to permanent, temporary, or continuous occupancy intended for the shelter, business, housing or enclosing of persons, animals or property.

Building Coverage - The area of a lot covered by buildings measured around the periphery of the foundation(s).

Building Height - The vertical distance to the highest point of the building measured from the elevation of the top of the curb line along the front of the lot.

Certificate of Occupancy - The permit required prior to occupancy or use of any building or lot to verify that the use and structure comply with the applicable ordinances of the Borough.

Change of Use - Those instances where a new occupant moves into a building or onto a lot and uses the building or lot for a different purpose than the previous occupant.

Coastal High Hazard Area - The area subject to high-velocity waters, including but not limited to hurricane wave wash or tsunamis. The area is designated on the Flood Insurance Rate Map as Zone VI-30.

Common Property - Land or water, or a combination, together with improvements within or related to a development and designed and intended for the use or enjoyment of residents of the development. Common property includes common open space and may contain such complementary structures and improvements as are necessary and appropriate for its use or enjoyment. Water area shall not be included in calculating the number of permitted units.

Complete Application - Submission of an application form and check list, completed by the applicant, together with all accompanying documents required by this ordinance for review by the approving authority.

Conditional Use - A use permitted in a particular zoning district only upon a showing that such use in a specified location will comply with the conditions and standards for the location or operation of such use as specified in this ordinance.

Decks - A structure attached to an existing building or as a stand alone structure supported by columns and not having a roof or foundation. [Added 05-02-91 by Ordinance No. 1104]

Density - The permitted number of dwelling units per gross acre of land developed, or in the case of hotels and motels, density shall mean the permitted number of rooms per square feet of land area. Land area shall not include any portion of a street right-of-way, utility easement, or water surface area. In calculating the permitted number of units for a tract, fractional results shall be rounded to the nearest whole number, e.g. 0.499 or less shall be reduced while 0.50 or more shall be increased.

Dwelling, Single Family - A detached building containing one (1) dwelling unit. A boat or houseboat is not considered a dwelling.

Dwelling Unit - A room or series of connected rooms containing living, cooking, sleeping and sanitary facilities for one (1) housekeeping unit.

Flood - A temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land from the overflow of inland or tidal waters or from the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.

Flood Hazard Area - The floodway and the relatively flat area adjoining the floodway which has been or may be covered by flood water.

Flood Insurance Rate Map - The map on which the Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk of premium zones applicable to the community.

Floodway - The channel of a natural stream and portions of the flood hazard area adjoining the channel which are reasonably required to carry and discharge the flood water or flood flow of any natural stream.

Garden Apartment - A building containing four (4) or more apartments, such building having a maximum height of two (2) stories except as permitted in Article 6.

Gross Floor Area - The total floor area measured around the outside of the building at each story. If sharing a common wall, the area shall be measured from the center of interior walls and the outside of exterior walls. In residential uses the gross floor area shall exclude the areas of the garage, attic, open porch or patio, cellar, unfinished basement, utility areas, heating and cooling rooms. In nonresidential structures the gross floor area shall exclude areas used for utility, heating, cooling and other mechanical equipment but shall include all other areas including cellars, warehousing and storage areas.

Habitable Floor - Any floor usable for living purposes which includes working, sleeping, eating, cooking or recreation, or a combination thereof. A floor used only for storage purposes is not a 'habitable floor'.

Hotel - A building or complex of rooms, all operated as a single business, each room consisting of one (1) bedroom, one (1) bathroom and one (1) closet area, all designed and used exclusively to accommodate transient guests and having no individual cooking and eating facilities.

Housekeeping Unit - One (1) or more persons living together in one (1) dwelling unit on a fairly stable, rather than transient, basis where the occupants share the ordinary tasks of living in a dwelling unit such as, but not limited to, cooking and eating together, sharing inside and outside chores, and performing other functional duties and otherwise exhibiting a kind of stability, permanency and functional lifestyle which is equivalent to that of the traditional family unit.

Impervious Material -any man-made material, including but not limited to, bituminous concrete, Portland cement concrete, asphaltic, metal or wood roofing, sheet plastic, concrete paver blocks; and/or natural materials, including but not limited to clay, slate, and wood, which due to placement prevents the natural absorption and percolation of precipitation and or water from other sources into the ground and soil. Sheet plastic laid below stone, wood mulch or other normally pervious materials shall be considered impervious. The use of pervious geotextile fabrics that permit the absorption and percolation of water through them to the surrounding soils shall not be deemed impervious. For purposes of this ordinance, the water surface area of any pools and decks constructed with wood or composite decking planks spaced a minimum of 1/4" apart and open to exposed soils below same shall not be considered impervious area. [Added 05-24-06 by Ordinance No. 1388]

Loading Space - An off-street berth on the same lot as the building being served for the temporary parking of a vehicle while loading or unloading.

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 of a lot covered by buildings and impervious material.

Lot Coverage - The area of a lot covered by buildings and impervious material. [Amended by Ordinance No. 1388]

Lot Depth - The shortest horizontal distance measured perpendicular from the front lot to the rear lot line.

Lot Frontage - The straight, horizontal distance between the side lot lines measured between the points where the side lot lines intersect the street line. The minimum lot frontage shall be the same as the lot width except that on curved streets with an outside radius of less than five-hundred (500) feet, the lot frontage may be reduced to not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the required minimum lot width.

Lot Line - Any line, including the street line, forming a portion of the boundary of a lot.

Lot Width - The shortest straight line distance between side lot lines measured between the points on each side lot line located at the minimum setback from the street right-of-way.

Lots, Corner - On corner lots, the setback from both streets (or from all three (3) streets if the lot extends through the block to the next street) shall be considered a front yard. The remaining setbacks shall be considered sideyards and dealt with under the definition of "yard, side" and not "yard, rear". [Added 08-02-90 by Ordinance No. 1095]

Major Subdivision - Any subdivision not classified as a "minor" or "exempt" subdivision, or by virtue of Section 25-503, is exempt.

MARINA - A facility for the storing, servicing, fueling, berthing and securing of boats. [Added 9-3-98 by Ord. No. 1230]

Minor Subdivision (See also "Subdivision, Exempt") - A subdivision of land that does not adversely affect the development of the remainder of the tract or any adjoining property, including a resubdivision of property into the same number of lots through an adjustment of existing property lines, provided the subdivision or resubdivision does not involve:

(1) the creation of more than two (2) conforming lots fronting on an existing improved street (including the remainder of the original lot);

(2) planned development;

(3) any new street; or

(4) extension of any off-tract improvement, the cost of which is to be prorated pursuant to Section 25-617.

Approval of a minor subdivision shall be deemed final approval and as such shall be prepared in accordance with the final plat requirements.

Motel - A building or complex of rooms, all operated as a single business, each room consisting of one (1) bedroom, one (1) bathroom and one (1) closet area, all designed and used exclusively to accommodate transient guests and having no individual cooking and eating facilities.

Non-Conforming Lot, Structure or Use - A lot or structure, whose area or size, respectively, or their dimensions or locations, and a use or activity, any or all of which were lawful prior to the adoption of this ordinance or any of its amendments, and does not now conform to the requirements of the district in which it is located.

Office - A place for the transaction of business where reports are prepared and records kept but where no retail sales of goods are offered and where no manufacturing, assembling or fabricating takes place.

Off-Site and Off-Tract Improvements - Improvements to accommodate conditions generated by the proposed development including but not limited to, new improvements and extensions and modifications of existing improvements. "Offsite" means located outside the lot lines of the lot in question but within the property (of which the lot is a part) which is the subject of a development application or contiguous portion of a street or right-of-way. "Off-tract" means 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.

Parking Space - The area required for the temporary or permanent storage of a motor vehicle.

Performance Guarantee - Any security, which may be accepted by the Borough, including cash; provided that the Borough shall not require more than ten percent (10%) of the total performance guarantee in cash.

Permitted Use - Any use of land or buildings permitted by this ordinance.

Plat - The map(s) of a subdivision or site plan.

Plat, Final - The plat of all or a section of the development submitted for final approval. If approved as a subdivision, it shall be filed with the County Recording Officer within the required time, otherwise the approval shall be void. Minor and exempt subdivision and site plan approval shall be deemed final approval and the plats shall be submitted to comply with final plat requirements.

Plat, Informal - The plat submitted for the purposes of discussion.

Plat, Preliminary - The Plat submitted as part of the application for preliminary approval.

Principal Permitted Use - The main purpose for which any lot and/or building is used.

Recreational Vehicle - A trailer, camper, van, motorized vehicle or other type vehicle designed to be towed or to be powered by its own engine and designed and intended for temporary occupancy.

Restaurant - A commercial establishment where food and drink are prepared, served and consumed. Restaurant uses may also provide limited and incidental music and entertainment. As used in this ordinance, a "restaurant" also includes a "fast food restaurant". [Amended 05-11-05 by Ordinance No. 1363]

Right-of-Way - The total width and length of the course of a street, watercourse, utility alignment, or other way and within, under or over which all improvements and rights of access are confined.

Room - The area in a motel, hotel, rooming house or boarding house which is separated from other areas by walls, and is the space used for temporary living quarters by transient guests in which there are associated sanitary facilities and closet area, but in which there shall be no cooking facilities and no eating areas.

Sand Dunes - Naturally occurring accumulations of sand ridges or mounds landward of the beach.

Setback - The horizontal distance away from a lot line or street right-of-way.

Setback Line - A line parallel to a street line or lot line beyond which any part of a structure is not permitted to project. The minimum yard requirements shall be the minimum required setbacks. [Amended 05-02-91 by Ordinance No. 1104]

Sight Triangle - A triangular area at the quadrants of street intersections where unobstructed visibility is maintained along the intersecting streets.

Sign - Any announcement, display, or illustration placed to be seen from any street or public way.

Site Plan Approval - A requirement that the minor and major site plan be approved by the approving authority prior to the issuance of a zoning permit, building permit, or a certificate of occupancy.

Site Plan, Exempt [Amended 05-02-91 by Ordinance No. 1104]

1. Single family and two-family dwellings and their accessory uses are exempt.

2. Upon a review of an application concerning uses other than single family and two-family dwellings and a determination by the approving authority that all of the following conditions are met, said application shall be classified as exempt:

a. A proposal containing not more than one (1) main building having a gross floor area of not more than twenty-five hundred (2,500) square feet.

b. A proposal for a site with a total area of not more than ten thousand (10,000) square feet.

c. A proposal where the estimated cost of structural alteration to exterior walls or appurtenances thereto, including windows and doors of main or accessory buildings, together with outside improvements that are not part of the main or accessory buildings, and all interior alterations shall not exceed nine thousand dollars ($9,000.00). Signs are specifically excluded from the calculation of these costs.

d. A proposal that does not increase the present number of uses or dwelling units located on the property or within any building.

e. Individual commercial uses in the "B", Boardwalk District or, as they are commonly called, amusement stands, that are licensed by either the State or the Borough shall be eligible for exemption without regard to the gross floor area requirements or lot area noted in paragraphs "a" and "b" above, as long as they are a licensed entity and meet the conditions of paragraphs "c" and "d" above, except that where there is a change in the game or type of game in an amusement stand which does not involve any structural alteration to any exterior wall or appurtenance thereto said proposal does not require either a site plan or an exempt site plan review.

Site Plan, Major - All site plans for new developments and those not defined as exempt.

Site Plan Review - The examination of the specific development plans for a lot.

Story - That portion of a building comprised between one (1) floor and another. A half story is the open area between the ceiling of the top floor and a pitched or gabled roof. The half story shall have no more than one-third (1/3) its floor area with a ceiling height of at least seven and one-half (7 1/2) feet. While the area of a half story may be part of the dwelling unit located on the floor immediately below the half story, the floor area of the half story shall not be included in meeting the minimum floor area for the dwelling unit to which it is attached and no half story shall be designed or used as a dwelling unit by itself.

Street Line - The edge of the street right-of-way forming the dividing line between the street and the lot and shall be either the existing or future right-of-way whichever is wider as shown on an adopted master plan or official map, or as required by this ordinance.

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.

Subdivision, Exempt (See Section 25-503)

Substantial Improvement - Any repair, reconstruction, or improvements of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure before the improvement or repair is started or before the damage occurred.

TAVERN - A commercial establishment where alcoholic beverages are served, primarily by the drink for on-premises. Tavern uses may also provide limited and incidental music and entertainment. As used in this ordinance, tavern does not include "nightclub" where dancing and/or entertainment is a principal activity. [Added 05-11-05 by Ordinance No. 1363]

Townhouse - One (1) dwelling unit in a line of three (3) or more attached dwelling units, with each dwelling unit extending from the ground to the roof and having individual outside entrances. No interior rooms or hallways shall be shared with another dwelling unit.

Tract - One (1) or more lots. Existing streets, utility easements, and water surface area shall not be included in calculating the area of the tract for the purposes of determining permitted lot coverage, the maximum floor area of a non-residential use, or the permitted number of dwelling units or motel units.

Yard - An open space extending between the closest point of any building and a lot line or street line. In an apartment, townhouse or other development where more than one (1) building may be erected on a lot, yards shall also be the open space extending between structures, and between structures and interior streets. All yard dimensions shall be measured horizontally and at right angles to either a straight street line, lot line, or building facade, or perpendicular to the point of tangent of curved lines and facades. The minimum distance between buildings in developments where there is more than one (1) building on a lot shall be the sum of the two (2) yards of the structures and in no event shall two (2) structures be closer to one another than the sum of both side yards. Where an interior street or drive passes between buildings, the required yards shall be in addition to the street or drive.

Yard, Front - The area extending across the full width of a lot between the street line and the building and, for apartments, townhouses, or other development where more than one (1) building may be erected on a lot, the front yard shall be measured from the designated front of the building to an imaginary line a designated distance away from the front of the building. [Amended 08-02-90 by Ordinance No. 1095]

Yard, Rear - The open space extending across the full width of the lot between the rear lot line and the building and, for apartments, townhouses, or other developments where more than one (1) building may be erected on a lot, the rear yards shall be measured from the designated rear of the building to an imaginary line a designated distance away from the rear of the building.

Yard, Side - An open space extending from the front yard to the rear yard and lying between each side lot line and the building. The side yard for apartments, townhouses, or other developments where more than one (1) building may be erected on a lot shall be measured from the designated side of the building to an imaginary line a designated distance away from the side of the building.