New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 50 - PINELANDS COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT PLAN › Subchapter 2 - INTERPRETATIONS AND DEFINITIONS › Part II - DEFINITIONS › Section 7:50-2.11 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
When used in this Plan, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them.
"Abandonment" means the voluntary cessation or discontinuation of a use, not including temporary or short-term interruptions to a use during periods of remodeling, maintaining or otherwise improving or rearranging a facility, or during normal periods of vacation or seasonal closure. Cessation or discontinuation of a use for two or more years shall constitute prima facie evidence of abandonment. An applicant may rebut this presumption of abandonment by demonstrating, by a preponderance of the evidence, objective proof of intent to continue a use such that a reasonable person would believe there was no intent to abandon said use. Factors to be considered by the Commission in evaluating such intent may include, but are not limited to:
1. The length of time of cessation or discontinuation of the use;
2. Whether the owner of the use has allowed it to fall into disrepair;
3. Bills of lading, delivery records, phone records or utility bills affirmatively documenting continuation of the use; and
4. Any other record, bill or correspondence affirmatively documenting continuation of the use. "Accessory structure or use" means a structure or use which:
1. Is subordinate to and serves a principal building or a principal use, including but not limited to the production, harvesting, and storage as well as washing, grading and packaging of unprocessed produce grown on-site; and
2. Is subordinate in area, extent and purpose to the principal structure or principal building or a principal use served; and
3. Contributes primarily to the comfort, convenience or necessity of the occupants, business or industry of the principal structure or principal use served; and
4. Is located on the same parcel as the principal structure or principal use served, except as otherwise expressly authorized by the provisions of this Plan.
"Agricultural commercial establishment" means a retail sales establishment primarily intended to sell agricultural products produced in the Pinelands. An agricultural commercial establishment may be seasonal or year round and may or may not be associated directly with a farm; however it does not include supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants and other establishments which coincidentally sell agricultural products, nor does it include agricultural production facilities such as a farm itself, nor facilities which are solely processing facilities.
"Agricultural employee housing" means residential dwellings, for the seasonal use of employees of an agricultural or horticultural use, which because of their character or location are not to be used for permanent housekeeping units and which are otherwise accessory to a principal use of the parcel for agriculture.
"Agricultural or horticultural purpose or use" means any production of plants or animals useful to man, including, but not limited to: forages or sod crops; grains and feed crops; dairy animals and dairy products; poultry and poultry products; livestock, including beef cattle, sheep, swine, horses, ponies, mules or goats, and including the breeding and grazing of any or all such animals; bees and apiary products; fur animals; aquatic organisms as part of aquaculture; trees and forest products; fruits of all kinds, including grapes, nuts and berries; vegetables; nursery, floral, ornamental and greenhouse products; or any land devoted to and meeting the requirements and qualifications for payments or other compensation pursuant to a soil conservation program under an agency of the Federal Government.
"Agricultural products processing facility" means a facility designed, constructed, and operated for the express purpose of processing agricultural products grown in the Pinelands, including washing, grading, and packaging of those products.
"Alternate design pilot program treatment system" means an individual or community on site waste water treatment system that has the capability of providing a high level of treatment, including a significant reduction in the level of total nitrogen in the wastewater, and that has been approved by the Commission for participation in the alternate design wastewater treatment systems pilot program pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:50-10.23(b). Detailed plans and specifications for each authorized technology are available at the principal office of the Commission.
"Amendment" is a means for making changes in this Plan as expressly authorized by the provisions of N.J.A.C. 7:50-7 or any change to a certified local master plan or land use ordinance.
"Ancillary" means a structure or use which:
1. Is located on the same parcel but is not necessarily related to a principal structure or use; and
2. Is subordinate in area, extent and purpose to the principal structure or principal building.
"Animals, threatened or endangered". See: N.J.A.C. 7:50-6.32.
"Application for development" means any application, filed with any permitting agency, for any approval, authorization or permit which is a prerequisite to initiating development in the Pinelands Area, except as provided in N.J.A.C. 7:50-4.1(a).
"Approval, final" means any approval to develop issued by a local permitting agency which represents the final action to be taken on the application for development by that agency, including but not limited to final approval of major subdivisions and site plans, approval of minor subdivisions, and the issuance of zoning or construction permits.
"Approval, preliminary" means any approval to develop issued by a local permitting agency which is a prerequisite to the issuance of a final approval by that agency, including but not limited to preliminary approvals of major subdivisions and site plans.
"Aquaculture" means the propagation, rearing and subsequent harvesting of aquatic organisms in controlled or selected environments, and their subsequent processing, packaging and marketing, including, but not limited to, activities to intervene in the rearing process to increase production such as stocking, feeding, transplanting and providing for protection from predators.
"Aquatic organisms" means and includes, but is not limited to, finfish, mollusks, crustaceans and aquatic plants which are the property of a person engaged in aquaculture.
"Artificial regeneration" means the establishment of tree cover through direct or supplemental seeding or planting.
"Assisted living facility" means a facility licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:36 which is designed and operated to provide apartment style housing and congregate dining while assuring that a coordinated array of supportive personal and health services are available, as needed, to four or more adult persons unrelated to the proprietor. Each unit in an assisted living facility shall offer, at minimum, one unfurnished room, a private bathroom, a kitchenette and a lockable door on the unit entrance. For purposes of this Plan, assisted living facility shall include assisted living residences and assisted living programs as defined at N.J.A.C. 8:36-1.3.
"Bedding" means a silvicultural practice involving the preparation of land before planting in the form of small mounds so as to concentrate topsoil and elevate the root zone of seedlings above temporary standing water.
"Broadcast scarification" means a silvicultural practice involving the dragging of cut trees or other objects across a parcel to remove or reduce above-ground shrub cover, debris, leaf litter and humus without disturbance to mineral soil horizons and associated roots.
"Building" means any structure, either temporary or permanent, having a roof and designed, intended or used for the sheltering or protection of persons, animals, chattel or property of any kind.
"Camper" means a portable structure, which is self propelled or mounted on or towed by another vehicle, designed and used for temporary living for travel, recreation, vacation or other short-term uses. Camper does not include mobile homes or other dwellings.
"Campsite" means a place used or suitable for camping, on which temporary shelter such as a tent or camper may be placed and occupied on a temporary and seasonal basis.
"Certificate of appropriateness". See N.J.A.C. 7:50-6.156.
"Certificate of Completeness". See N.J.A.C. 7:50-4.11 through 4.27.
"Certificate of filing". See N.J.A.C. 7:50-4.34 and 4.82.
"Certified county master plan or regulation" means any county master plan or regulation certified by the Commission pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:50-3, Part II as being in conformance with the minimum standards of this Plan. "Certified municipal master plan or land use ordinance" means any municipal master plan or land use ordinance certified by the Commission pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:50-3, Part IV as being in conformance with the minimum standards of this Plan.
"Clearcutting" means a silvicultural practice involving removal of an entire forest stand in one cutting for purposes of regeneration either obtained artificially, by natural seed or from advanced regeneration. Clearcutting typically results in the removal of all woody vegetation from a parcel in preparation for the establishment of new trees; however, some trees may be left on the parcel.
"Collection facility" means a facility where source-separated or commingled waste is dropped off in a container and temporarily stored before transportation to another waste management facility.
"Commencement of construction" means actual construction on a parcel of land in accordance with a permit issued by the applicable jurisdiction if the cost of the physical improvements completed constitutes at least 25 percent of the projected total cost of the development or the completion of all required foundations, of a form and character such that the foundations are not usable for any other form of development except that authorized by the issued permit.
"Commission" means the Pinelands Commission created pursuant to Section 5 of the Pinelands Protection Act, as amended.
"Composting facility" means a waste management facility which utilizes a controlled biological process of degrading non-hazardous solid waste or sewage sludge. For purposes of this definition, composting facility shall include co-composting facility which utilizes a controlled biological process of degrading mixtures of non-hazardous solid waste, including sewage sludge.
"Comprehensive Management Plan" means the plan adopted by the Commission pursuant to Section 7 of the Pinelands Protection Act, as amended.
"Construction" means the construction, erection, reconstruction, alteration, conversion, demolition, removal or equipping of buildings or structures.
"Construction debris" means non-hazardous solid waste building material and refuse resulting from construction, remodeling, and repair operations on residences, commercial buildings, pavements and other structures.
"Consumer electronics" means any appliance used in the home or business that includes circuitry and contains hazardous substances. It includes the components and sub-assemblies that collectively make up the electronic products and may, when individually broken down, include batteries, mercury switches, capacitors containing PCBs, cadmium plated parts and lead or cadmium containing plastics. Examples include, but are not limited to, computers, printers, copiers, telefacsimiles, VCRs, stereos, televisions, and telecommunication devices.
"Contiguous lands" means land which is connected or adjacent to other land so as to permit the land to be used as a functional unit; provided that separation by lot line, streams, dedicated public roads which are not paved, rights-of-way, and easements shall not affect the contiguity of land unless a substantial physical barrier is created which prevents the land from being used as a functional unit.
"Continuing care retirement community" means a development regulated in accordance with the rules of the Department of Community Affairs pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:19 which provides a continuum of accommodations and care, from independent living to assisted living to long-term bed care in a nursing facility, at the same or another location to an individual pursuant to an agreement effective for the life of the individual or for a period greater than one year.
"Coppicing" means a silvicultural practice involving the production of forest stands from vegetative sprouting by the trees that are harvested (stump sprouts, root suckers, and naturally rooted layers). Coppicing typically involves short rotations with dense stands of short trees.
"County" means the New Jersey counties of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Ocean.
"County master plan" means a composite of the master plan for the physical development of a New Jersey county with the accompanying maps, plats, charts and descriptive and explanatory matter adopted by the county planning board pursuant to 40:27-2 and 40:27-4 or their successor statutes.
"County planning board" means the governing authority responsible for the county planning and organized pursuant to 40:27-6.1, and defined therein.
"Day" means, for purposes of computing time limits, a calendar day; provided, however, that should the last day of a specified time limit be a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, then the time limit shall extend until the next working day following said Saturday, Sunday or holiday.
"Density" means the average number of housing units per unit of land.
"Developer" means the legal or beneficial owner or owners of a lot or of any land proposed to be included in a development including the holder of an option or contract to purchase, or other person having an enforceable proprietary interest in such land.
"Development" means the change of or enlargement of any use or disturbance of any land, the performance of any building or mining operation, the division of land into two or more parcels, and the creation or termination of rights of access or riparian rights including, but not limited to:
1. A change in type of use of a structure or land;
2. A reconstruction, alteration of the size, or material change in the external appearance of a structure or land;
3. A material increase in the intensity of use of land, such as an increase in the number of businesses, manufacturing establishments, offices or dwelling units in a structure or on land;
4. Commencement of resource extraction or drilling or excavation on a parcel of land;
5. Demolition of a structure or removal of trees;
6. Commencement of forestry activities;
7. Deposit of refuse, solid or liquid waste or fill on a parcel of land;
8. In connection with the use of land, the making of any material change in noise levels, thermal conditions, or emissions of waste material; and
9. Alteration, either physically or chemically, of a shore, bank, or flood plain, seacoast, river, stream, lake, pond, wetlands or artificial body of water.
"Development approval" means any approval granted by the Commission pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:50-4, Part II, Part III or Part IV.
"Development, major" means any division of land into five or more lots; any construction or expansion of any housing development of five or more dwelling units; any construction or expansion of any commercial or industrial use or structure on a site of more than three acres; or any grading, clearing or disturbance of an area in excess of 5,000 square feet.
"Development, minor" means all development other than major development.
"Development, public" means any development by a public agency.
"Disking" means a silvicultural practice involving the drawing of one or more heavy, round, concave, sharpened, freely rotating steel disks across a site for the purposes of cutting through soil and roots or cutting and turning a furrow over an area.
"District" means a portion of the territory of the Pinelands Area within which certain regulations and requirements or various combinations thereof apply pursuant to the provisions of this Plan.
"Divert" or "Diversion" means the taking of water from a river, stream, lake, pond, aquifer, well, other underground source, or other waterbody, whether or not the water is returned thereto, consumed, made to flow into another stream or basin, or discharged elsewhere.
"Domestic treatment works" means a public or privately owned treatment works that processes primarily domestic wastewater and pollutants.
"Domestic wastewater" means wastewater which results from the discharge of household, commercial or other wastes from bathrooms, toilet facilities, home laundries and kitchens.
"Drainage" means the removal of surface water or ground water from land by drains, grading or other means including control of runoff to minimize erosion and sedimentation during and after construction or development and means necessary for water supply preservation or prevention or alleviation of flooding.
"Drum chopping" means a silvicultural practice involving the drawing of a large cylindrical drum with cutting blades mounted parallel to its axis across a site to break up slash, crush scrubby vegetation prior to burning or planting or to chop up and disturb the organic turf and roots in the upper foot of soil.
"Dwelling" means any structure or portion thereof which is designed or used for residential purposes.
"Dwelling unit" means any room or group of rooms located within a structure forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking, eating and sanitation by one family. Dwelling unit shall include each separate apartment or unit where one or more individuals reside within an assisted living facility and each room, apartment, cottage or other area within a continuing care retirement community set aside for the exclusive use or control of one or more individuals constituting a household unit.
"Electric distribution lines" means all electric lines other than electric transmission lines.
"Electric transmission lines" means electric lines which are part of an electric company's transmission and subtransmission system, which provide a direct connection between a generating station or substation of the utility company and:
(a) another substation of the utility company;
(b) a substation of or interconnection point with another interconnecting utility company;
(c) a substation of a high-load customer of the utility.