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Environmental
and Land Use Ordinances
Municipal
Ordinances
ANJEC has developed a database of over 700 environmental and land
use ordinances from NJ municipalities. These ordinances are examples
of approaches that have worked in communities throughout the state.
Local governments should modify them to reflect environmental
conditions, current regulations, and state-of-the-art knowledge
in the environmental field. Click on the relevant topic to see
a copy of the ordinance.
Disclaimer.
These ordinances include a model and examples of approaches that
have worked in other municipalities. Municipalities should modify
them to reflect local environmental conditions, current regulations,
and state-of-the-art knowledge in the environmental field.
Aquifer
Recharge - controls uses on lands that provide recharge for
water supply.
Clustering
- designs development to be clustered on a part of a site
in a particular zone with no increase in density over that allowed
under the conventional zone designation.
Impervious
Cover Limits - limits amount of land that can be covered by
buildings, roads and other impervious uses.
Limestone
Protection - offers special protections to groundwater in
limestone areas.
Steep
Slope Protection - protects slopes over 15%, with prohibition
of use above 25% to minimize erosion and sedimentation.
Stormwater
Management - emphasizes infiltration and use of non-structural
best management practices to control stormwater runoff.
Stream
Corridor Protection - protects land along streams as an easier
and more economic way to protect water quality than cleaning up
impacts from degradation.
Tree
Protection - regulates tree removal, sets standards for replacement
and reforestation.
Useable
Area -requires that a minimum area of a lot being created
for subdivision be free of environmentally critical areas- steep
slopes, wetlands, and floodplains.
Wellhead Protection - prohibits
certain activities to protect groundwater quality in an overlay
zone for the land area influencing wells.
Additional
ANJEC Database Ordinances
ANJEC's ordinance database includes examples of a number of other
topics that can help protect water resources. If you're interested
in obtaining any of these ordinances, please contact the Resource
Center so we can learn about your town's character and offer you
examples from municipalities from your general region with similar
population, topography, and other natural resources.
Ordinances
that will help protect water resources include the following.
Board
of Health ordinances cover topics like septic maintenance
and Certificates of Septic System Reuse.
Environmental
Impact Statement ordinances set out requirement that developers
evaluate impacts of a proposal, explore alternatives and ways
to minimize negative impacts.
Floodplain
Protection ordinances prohibit certain uses in the 100-year
floodplain.
Lot
Size Averaging ordinances allow lots to be of variable size
to avoid development of critical environmental areas.
New
Well Drawdown ordinances require drawdown tests to ensure
that new wells will produce sufficient volumes of water to serve
their intended users.
Noncontiguous
Development ordinances allow cluster development on noncontiguous
lands as enabled in the Municipal Land Use Law. For example, density
can be concentrated on one parcel while the required open space
is reserved on another noncontiguous parcel.
Septic
System Design ordinances provide standards that can be stricter
than the state minimum standards. For example, local ordinances
can require greater distances between septic systems and water
courses and/or reserve septic fields to insure replacement if
current fields fail.
Shade
Tree Protection requires shade tree protection and replacement
to maintain the tree's evapotranspiration function so important
to the water cycle and stormwater control.
Site
Plan/Subdivision ordinances list all required submission items
before an application is declared complete. Examples include wetlands
delineations, steep slope analysis.
Soil
Movement ordinances regulate disturbance, removal or fill
to minimize erosion, changes in grade or importation of contaminated
soil.
Stormwater
Control requires structural and non-structural techniques
to control stormwater runoff.
Zoning
Densities ordinances set densities based on natural carrying
capacity to protect critical areas (lower densities reduce impacts)
Model
Ordinances
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's (NJDEP's)
Municipal
Stormwater Regulation Program covers regulations that have
requirements for local laws. To help municipalities meet those
requirements, NJDEP
- Requires
municipal stormwater review for projects that meet the major
development definition (1 acre of disturbance or ¼ acre
impervious surface);
- Incorporates
a stormwater review in NJDEP wetlands, stream encroachment,
CAFRA or waterfront permits applications;
- Enables
the required town ordinance to regulate industrial as well as
residential development projects.
NJDEP
model ordinances include
6/08
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