Zoning & Land Use Regulations Update

Under the draft prepared by the Planning Board's Zoning Subcommittee, the Zoning & Land Use Regulations have been restructured to reduce duplication and cross-referencing as well as to consolidate all land use regulations into one revised Chapter. Five separate chapters of the current Montclair Code have been consolidated into the new Chapter for Zoning & Land Use Regulations.

The draft Chapter 347: Zoning & Land Use Regulations consists of following structure:

• Article I: General Provisions
• Article II: Zoning Districts, Rules and Regulations
• Article III: Supplementary Zoning Regulations
• Article IV: Historic Preservation
• Article V: Inclusionary Zoning
• Article VI: Stormwater Control (formerly Chapter 295)
• Article VII: Site Plan Design Requirements (formerly Chapter 281)
• Article VIII: Subdivision Design Requirements (formerly Chapter 301)
• Article IX: Land Use Procedures (formerly Chapter 202)
• Article X: Administration, Enforcement, Violations and Penalties

Note that aside from changing location within Montclair Code, no other changes to the current text of Articles IV through X listed above are proposed as part of the Zoning & Land Use Procedures Update. Text changes are confined to Articles I through III only.

The draft Chapter 347: Zoning & Land Use Regulations has restructured Article II - Zoning Districts, Rules & Regulations and Article III - Supplementary Zoning Regulations to provide more clarity and consistency.

The restructuring has eliminated the existing "layered" structure of bulk regulations in the current Zoning chapter. Under the current framework, bulk regulations are referred across zone districts, creating a cumbersome reference process to determine regulations. The new Chapter now has unique zone regulations for each zone district, creating a clearer reference for users.

In addition, tables of allowed uses in commercial and residential districts have been added to more clearly display principal, accessory, conditional and not allowed uses. Also, special use standards are provided with code section references.

The proposed update to the Zoning & Land Use Procedures Chapter includes a revision to the naming of existing Zone Districts. The re-naming intends to better communicate permitted development heights, in number of stories, through each commercial district name. Below are the proposed commercial Zone District name revisions:

Beyond renaming of the commercial zones, changes have been made to following zone districts as recommended in the Unified Land Use & Circulation Element of the Township Master Plan:

• CBD-4C & CBD-4E
  • The maximum permitted height in these zones is now 4 stories; previously as the C-1 zone, the maximum permitted height was 6 stories.
  • No maximum residential density for lots under 20,000 square feet that exist as of the date of adoption of this ordinance to promote adaptive re-use.
  • All street-facing facades above the third story shall together be stepped back at least ten (10) feet with respect to the facades of the lower stories.
• CBD-3
  • Maximum building coverage for commercial and multi-family uses is now 75%
• NCD-3
  • Maximum building coverage for commercial and multi-family uses is now 75%
• ORM-2H
  • A new variant of the ORM-2 zone district for the historic properties on the north side of Claremont Avenue between North Mountain Avenue & Valley Road. The zone will permit office uses if the existing residential structure is maintained. Any addition to the existing structure must not be visible from a public street and must adhere to the Design Guidelines adopted by the Historic Preservation Commission.

The draft Zoning and Land Use Regulations incorporate the following changes to uses in some zone districts, detailed below:

• Cemeteries have been added as a conditional use in the R-1 zones.
• Educational or quasi-educational establishments, educational play centers and fitness centers have been changed to a conditional use in the CBD, CI and NCD zones, with the condition that they may be located on the first floor only if the space occupying the use does not front on a public street.
• Funeral homes have been added as a permitted use in the ORM districts.
• Body art studios, limited breweries and brewpubs have been defined and added as a permitted use in the CBD, CI and NCD districts.
• Movie and recording studios are a permitted use on all but the first floor in the CBD and NCD districts and a permitted use on all floors in the CI district.