ADU rules in Long Branch

Long Branch's Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 345) has no accessory dwelling unit provision and bars a backyard unit in so many words. The definition of an accessory building says it 'may not be used as or converted to a separate dwelling unit, business or principal use' (§ 345-3), § 345-11P(5) adds that no detached accessory structure 'shall be converted to or used as habitable space or a habitable dwelling unit,' and § 345-11E allows no more than one principal one-family residential building on a lot in a residential zone outside an approved townhouse parcel. § 345-12 then prohibits any use not specifically permitted in a district, so a cottage, garage apartment or pool-house suite can only be reached through a D(1) use variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

No district permits an accessory or second unit inside or attached to a house. R-1 through R-4, R-7, S-1, C-4 and the Transit Village Residential Subdistrict allow houses only as one-family dwellings, which § 345-3 defines as a building 'designed for or occupied exclusively by' one bona fide single housekeeping unit, and § 345-12 prohibits every unlisted use. The only as-of-right way to add a unit is to make the house a two-family dwelling in the R-5 or R-6 district, both of which permit 'Two- to four-family dwellings subject to § 345-49': each unit beyond the first needs another 15 feet of frontage and 2,000 square feet of lot (at least 11,000 sq ft and 90 ft on the schedules' 9,000 sq ft, 75 ft one-family minimums), 2 1/2 on-site parking spaces per unit and complete kitchen and bath facilities. That is a two-family dwelling, not an ADU; anywhere else a basement, attic or addition unit needs a D(1) use variance.

Because Chapter 345 recognizes no ADU, it sets no accessory-unit size cap; the binding envelope for anything built in a back yard is § 345-11P. Under § 345-11P(6) (added 7-28-2009 by Ord. No. 14-09) every accessory building in Residential Zones R-1 through R-8, or on any single-family property in another zone, is limited to 50% of the principal structure's footprint and 700 square feet combined, two per property, and may not be used as office space. The district schedules cap accessory buildings at 1 1/2 stories or 15 feet with a 10-foot setback, and § 345-11P(3)(c) and (d) let a matching roof pitch reach 25 feet (or the height of the house, if lower) only if the extra attic holds the occupant's stored belongings and no finished room. A second unit lawfully created in an R-5 or R-6 two- to four-family dwelling is sized by § 345-49C instead: at least 600 square feet for a one-bedroom or efficiency unit, 800 for two bedrooms, 1,000 for three and 1,500 for four or more.

Long Branch authorizes no ADU, so there is no accessory-unit owner-occupancy rule to report, and nothing in Chapter 345 conditions any dwelling on the owner living there. The nearest owner-related provisions sit in the rental code: § 262-25E(2) exempts from the two-certificate-of-occupancy-per-year cap a 'permanent resident' (defined in § 345-3 as the owner/occupant of a one-family dwelling, or certain long-term tenants) who travels and rents the property seasonally, and an owning family that uses the property seasonally and rents it to a family for the rest of the year. Separately, the state landlord identity registration form posted by the City Clerk (N.J.A.C. 5:29-1.1, under N.J.S.A. 46:8-28) must be filed with the clerk for rented single-unit dwellings and for two-unit dwellings that are not owner-occupied.

§ 345-42D(1)(a) sets two spaces for a one-family detached dwelling, one more for each bedroom over four (§ 345-3 counts dens, offices, lofts and similar rooms as bedrooms), and 2 1/2 spaces per unit for 'Multifamily detached, two, three and four dwellings', a figure § 345-49B repeats for the R-5 and R-6 two-family route while keeping those spaces out of the front yard. § 345-11P(6)(d) also requires an accessory building to 'include at least one parking space if a garage is not present on site', and § 345-42C(7) and (9) cap parking and driveways at 20% of a residential front yard with one driveway per property. The state Residential Site Improvement Standards override the duplex figure: N.J.A.C. 5:21-4.14(c), as amended effective 9-18-2023 (R.2023 d.112), makes Table 4.4 'the maximum number of parking spaces planning boards and other local reviewers shall require', and the table gives each duplex unit the single-family values (1.5 for two bedrooms, 2.0 for three, 2.5 for four, 3.0 for five).

No district lists an accessory dwelling as a permitted or conditional use (Article VII's conditional-use standards cover private schools, churches, beach clubs, public utilities, philanthropic uses, nursing homes, service stations, senior citizen housing, secondhand stores and West End mixed-use projects), so there is no ADU permit path. A second unit on a one-family lot is 'a use not permitted by this chapter', which § 345-13A sends to the Zoning Board of Adjustment as a use variance under § 69-20A(4) and N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70(d)(1), granted 'only by affirmative vote of at least five members'; the Board's March 9, 2026 agenda shows that route in practice (ZB 24-27, a D(1) variance to establish a two-family dwelling in an existing single-family house in R-4, and ZB 25-28, a two-family dwelling in a single-family zone). A single- or two-family use variance carries a $250 administrative fee and a $1,250 initial Zoning Board escrow (§ 69-29C), and § 345-13B waives site plan review for single- or two-family homes. By contrast a conforming two- to four-family dwelling in R-5 or R-6 needs only a zoning permit from the Zoning Officer (§ 345-76A) and a construction permit, since § 345-14A exempts single- and two-family homes from site plan approval.

Rental rules live in the property maintenance chapter, not zoning. § 262-25A bars letting any dwelling unit until the Bureau of Fire Prevention issues a certificate of occupancy that 'shall apply only to the tenant for which it is issued' ($60 inspection fee under § 262-25D; a lease or occupant list and proof of paid taxes under § 262-25G), § 262-25E(1) limits one- to four-family dwellings to two certificates of occupancy per year for the entire premises with no subletting, and § 262-25E(3) and (4) make it unlawful to take consideration for, offer, permit or advertise any occupancy of such a unit shorter than 60 consecutive days (hotels, motels, rooming houses, boardinghouses and bed-and-breakfasts 'otherwise permitted' are excluded). Ord. No. O-16-26, adopted 5-0 on 7-22-2026 after a 90-day version (O-15-26) was tabled on 6-24-2026, wrote the 60-day floor; at the hearing the City Attorney said Code Enforcement would police listings and that advertising a shorter stay is itself a violation. Seasonal rentals (any term under one year touching May 15 to September 15) also fall under Chapter 271 Article II, which can require a landlord to post a $500 to $5,000 bond for four years after two substantiated disorderly-conduct complaints in 12 months, and § 345-12N prohibits boardinghouses, rooming houses and lodging houses (any dwelling housing more than one person for hire) in every zone.