A3153

An Act concerning municipal land use and supplementing Title 40 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Home Business Jobs Creation Act.”

2. The Legislature finds and declares:

a. Corporate restructuring and the rise of telecommunications have led to an increase in the number of individuals working out of their homes. According to the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, small businesses represent 99.9 percent of all United States employer firms and roughly 15 million small businesses across the country are operated from people’s homes. Additionally, home businesses make up roughly 50 percent of all small businesses. In these economically challenging times, the need for home businesses can be expected to increase;

b. Many of these home businesses are operating in violation of outmoded local ordinances. Many zoning ordinances permit home businesses of recognized professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, and accountants, but prohibit other for-profit home businesses under certain circumstances;

c. Most zoning ordinances enacted in the 1960s and 1970s were based on good intentions and focused on the protection of residential neighborhoods from the negative effects of industry; this occurred at a time when more than 75 percent of the working public then pursued businesses outside of the home;

d. Many people who are downsized from their jobs start their own home businesses, which they thereafter operate for one or more years or until the economy improves. It is in the best interests of the State to provide a safe-haven for the temporarily unemployed, to enable them to provide for their own financial stability and to lessen the load on government to provide for them;

e. Small businesses employ about 46 percent of private sector employees and approximately half of small businesses begin as home businesses;

f. The nation’s changing economic structure and technological development have catalyzed the development of home businesses. Many such businesses do not create the traffic, pollution, noise, or the safety problems of other industries. New approaches in zoning are needed to ensure that this very important segment of the economy, which may lay the groundwork for the expansion of companies that later grow to “Fortune 100” or “Fortune 500” levels, and which generates many jobs and increased revenues to the State economy, is provided the opportunity for growth. Such growth cannot occur unless the State ensures that home businesses that fall within certain prescribed criteria are permitted as accessory uses in residential zones of municipalities; and

g. This act is intended to establish State guidelines for municipalities to follow in their treatment of home businesses, in order to carefully balance the interests of home businesses with the needs of the residential area in which they operate.

3. For the purposes of this act:

“Home business” means any activity operated for pecuniary gain in, or directed from, a residential dwelling or unit by one or more persons residing within that dwelling or unit.

Notwithstanding any municipal ordinance to the contrary, upon the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), a home business within a residential zone shall be permitted as an accessory use, not requiring a use variance pursuant to section 57 of P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-70), provided that:

a. the activity is compatible with the residential use of the property and surrounding residential uses;

b. the volume of employees, invitees, or guests who visit the home business is not in excess of what is compatible with residential use in the neighborhood;

c. there is no outside appearance of a home business including, but not limited to, parking, signs, or lights;

d. the volume of deliveries, or truck and other vehicular traffic, or parking, is not in excess of what is normally associated with residential use in the neighborhood;

e. the activity uses no equipment or process that creates noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors, or electrical or electronic interference, including interference with radio or television reception, detectable by any neighbors;

f. the activity does not generate any solid waste or sewage discharge, in volume or type, that is not normally associated with residential use in the neighborhood;

g. the activity does not involve any illegal activity; and

h. the home business complies with the provisions of P.L.2022, c.92 (C.40A:10A-1 et seq.) and any regulations promulgated thereunder.

In the case of a dwelling unit that is part of a common interest ownership community, which is a community in which at least some of the property is owned in common by all of the residents, the provisions of this section shall not be deemed to supersede any deed restriction, covenant, agreement, master deed, by-laws, or other documents that prohibit a home business within a dwelling unit.

A municipality shall not be required to amend or modify an existing ordinance pertaining to home businesses so long as no portion of the ordinance is in conflict with the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

4. In accordance with the purposes of this act, a municipality may establish, pursuant to ordinance:

a. standards to apply to home businesses within residential districts concerning the volume of invitees or guests;

b. standards for the volume of delivery or truck traffic and parking that will be deemed acceptable for home businesses in residential districts.

Any standards established for home businesses pursuant to this section shall apply to all similar home businesses within the district.

5. The provisions of this act shall not be construed as limiting in any manner the powers of a municipality to protect the health, safety and welfare of its residents, including the investigation and elimination of nuisances.

6. This act shall take effect one year after the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill permits a home business to exist in a residential zone as a permitted accessory use, provided that the following conditions are met:

(1) the activity is compatible with the residential use of the property and surrounding residential uses;

(2) the volume of employees, invitees, or guests who visit the home business is not in excess of what is compatible with residential use in the neighborhood;

(3) there is no outside appearance of a home business including, but not limited to, parking, signs, or lights;

(4) the volume of deliveries, or truck and other vehicular traffic, or parking, is not in excess of what is normally associated with residential use in the neighborhood;

(5) the activity uses no equipment or process that creates noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors, or electrical or electronic interference, including interference with radio or television reception, detectable by any neighbors;

(6) the activity does not generate any solid waste or sewage discharge, in volume or type, which is not normally associated with residential use in the neighborhood;

(7) the activity does not involve any illegal activity; and

(8) the home business complies with certain liability insurance provisions.

The bill does not supersede provisions of the governing documents of a common interest ownership community that prohibit operation of a home business in a dwelling unit within the common interest ownership community.

The bill does not require a municipality to amend an existing ordinance pertaining to home businesses provided that the ordinance does not conflict with the provisions of the bill.

The bill allows a municipality, by ordinance, to establish standards for the customary volume of invitees or guests within residential districts, as well as standards for the volume of delivery or truck traffic and parking that are acceptable within residential districts.

The bill does not limit the power of a municipality to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its residents, including the investigation and elimination of nuisances.