§ 184-122. General Commercial (GC) Business District.

A. 

Principal uses and structures. The GC Zone District is intended to encourage retail and wholesale sales, personal and business services, as well as business, administrative and professional offices. The following principal uses and structures shall be permitted in the GC Zone District.

(1) 

Business establishments devoted primarily to the retail sales of goods and personal services on the premises, including restaurants and food establishments intended for food consumption on the premises or for takeout of food;

(2) 

Banks and other financial institutions engaged in the business of accepting deposits from the public and/or extending credit to the public in the form of loans.

(3) 

Business, administrative and professional offices, or other business establishments providing the following services:

(a) 

Finance, insurance or real estate sales or services;

(b) 

Business or professional services;

(c) 

Health services;

(d) 

Social services;

(e) 

Consulting services;

(4) 

Museums, art galleries and indoor motion picture theaters, and theaters for conducting live entertainment or cultural performances;

(5) 

Child-care centers;

(6) 

Municipal parking facilities;

(7) 

Wholesale commercial establishments;

(8) 

Dry cleaner;

(9) 

Fine arts schools.

[Added 12-19-2007 by Ord. No. 07-26R]

B. 

Accessory uses and structures. Accessory uses and structures in the GC Zone District shall be subject to the following requirements:

(1) 

The following accessory uses and structures shall be permitted in the GC Zone District:

(a) 

Parking and parking facilities as regulated in Article XVIII;

(b) 

Signs as regulated in Article XVII;

(c) 

Antennas, as regulated in § 184-138;

(d) 

Mobile storage structures are prohibited except to the extent they are regulated by the definition of "mobile storage structures" in § 184-8;

[Amended 4-11-2001 by Ord. No 01-06R]

(e) 

Apartments located on all floors above the first floor;

[Added 6-19-2012 by Ord. No. 12-08R; amended 9-17-2013 by Ord. No. 13-14R]

Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided for the renumbering of former Subsection B(1)(e) as Subsection B(1)(f).

(f) 

Other accessory uses and structures customarily subordinate and incidental to permitted principal and/or permitted conditional uses.

(2) 

Reference is made to § 184-135 as it relates to accessory uses and structures in nonresidential zones.

C. 

Conditional uses and structures. The following uses and structures shall be permitted in the GC Zone District only if they comply with the appropriate regulations for such uses or structures in this chapter:

(1) 

Public utility facilities;

(2) 

Nonprofit chartered membership organizations;

(3) 

Gasoline filling stations and gasoline service stations which may contain repair facilities; and

(4) 

Automotive service shops, and automotive repair shops including automobile body shops.

(5) 

Any use within the flood area which is also a permitted use with the zone district for that location.

(6) 

Private commercial parking lots as a principal use.

(7) 

Sexually oriented businesses as defined by N.J.S.A. 2C:34-6 and as restricted by Section D hereafter.

(8) 

Apartments located on the second floor.

D. 

Prohibited uses and structures. Any use or structure other than those uses or structures permitted in Subsection A, B or C above are prohibited. In addition, and notwithstanding the above permitted uses, the following uses shall be specifically prohibited:

(1) 

Manufacturing, assembly or fabrication of goods or merchandise;

(2) 

Public or private schools;

(3) 

Any building, structure or use involving the sale of food or beverages to be served or consumed on the premises, but outside the confines of the building except in accordance with Chapter 259, Streets and Sidewalks, Article VIII, Sidewalk Cafes of the Borough Code;

(4) 

All aboveground and underground bulk storage of liquefied petroleum gases, gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, No. 2 fuel, fuel oil, chemicals or similar hazardous, flammable or combustible liquids in any amount. Underground or basement storage of kerosene and No. 2 heating fuel used exclusively for heating purposes on the premises are exempted from the above prohibition. Notwithstanding the above prohibition, aboveground bulk storage of the following materials is permitted at public garages and gasoline service stations, if the use of such materials is accessory to the principal use on the site:

(a) 

Up to 250 gallons of motor oil, transmission fluid or their similar automotive fluids, provided that only such fluids with a flash point at or above 200° F. shall be permitted to be stored above ground in bulk.

(b) 

Up to 250 gallons of waste motor oil, waste transmission fluid or other similar automotive waste fluids, provided that only such waste fluids with a flash point at or above 200° F. shall be permitted to be stored above ground in bulk.

(5) 

Any building, structure or use which would create a undue hazard of fire, explosives or nuisance by reason of odor, noise, dust or smoke, or which in any way would be detrimental to the health, public morals and public safety of the community;

(6) 

Used car sales, unless such sales are accessory to the sale of new cars sold within the confines of a building;

(7) 

Any business conducted outside the confines of a building, except those temporary activities permitted by special permission from the Governing Body;

(8) 

Sexually oriented businesses, as that term is defined by N.J.S.A. 2C:34-6, which are within 1,000 feet of any existing sexually oriented business, or any residence, church, synagogue, temple or other place of public worship, or any elementary or secondary school or any municipal or county playground or place of public resort and recreation, or any hospital or any child-care center;

(9) 

Nail salons.

[Added 12-14-2010 by Ord. No. 10-20R]

E. 

Bulk and lot regulations. The following bulk and lot regulations shall apply to all uses permitted with the GC Zone District, unless more stringent requirements are provided by this chapter:

(1) 

Maximum building height. No principal building shall exceed the maximum of three habitable floors, exclusive of basement, or 40 feet in height, whichever is less.

(2) 

Minimum lot area. Every lot shall contain a minimum lot area of 10,000 square feet.

(3) 

Minimum front yard. There shall be a front yard of not less than 15 feet in depth.

(4) 

Minimum side yard. There shall be at least one side yard not less than 10 feet in width. Notwithstanding the above requirement, when the side yard in the GC Zone District abuts a property in any residential zone said side yard shall be not less than one foot in depth for every two feet of height of the building located in the GC Zone district, but not less than 10 feet. Within this required side yard, there shall be a buffer at least 10 feet deep, within which plant material and/or a fence shall be installed, as required by the Board, to adequately protect the abutting residentially owned property.

(5) 

Minimum rear yard. There shall be a rear yard of a t least one foot in depth for every two feet of height of the principal building on the lot which is the subject of the application, but not less than 10 feet. Notwithstanding the above requirement, the following rear yard regulations shall be a buffer at least 10 feet depth, within which plant material and/or a fence shall be installed, as required by the Board, to adequately protect the abutting residential zone.

(6) 

Maximum building coverage. No more than 40% of the area of any lot shall be covered by above-grade buildings and/or structures. Flood detention basins as defined herein shall not be considered as a building or structure for purposes of computing this coverage.

(7) 

Maximum improvement coverage. No more than 90% of the area of any lot shall be covered by physical improvements, including but not limited to any above-grade buildings and/or structures, as well as at-grade structures, including but not limited to parking and loading areas, sidewalks, driveways, storage areas, etc. It is the intention of this provision that each lot shall have at least 10% of its lot area without any improvements except vegetation. Flood detention basins as defined herein shall not be considered as a building structure or improvement for purposes of computing this coverage.

(8) 

Front yard landscaping. Within the front yard area, there shall be no buildings or paving permitted except for driveways and sidewalks which are necessary to provide access to buildings and access to parking and delivery areas. All areas in the front yard not used for access shall be landscaped, except for any accessory structures permitted by this chapter.

F. 

Other regulations. In addition to the above requirements, any development in the GC Zone District must comply with all applicable regulations of this chapter.