ADU rules in Sea Girt

Sea Girt's zoning (Chapter 17) has no accessory dwelling unit permission. The 1 East and 1 West residential districts permit as principal uses only a single family dwelling, municipal buildings and facilities, municipal parks and playgrounds and public libraries (17 Attachment 1, Schedule of Limitations), and § 17-5.1h, headed 'Second Dwelling Prohibited,' says 'There shall not be more than one single family residential building on a lot'; § 17-5.15a adds that 'No more than one principal building or structure shall be permitted on one lot.' The accessory rules leave no room for living space: each house gets one garage of 275 to 500 square feet (§ 17-5.1b), the basement under any garage or accessory structure is storage only and 'garage basement dwelling units are not permitted' (§ 17-5.1b.4), and the single additional accessory building is capped at 120 square feet with eight-foot walls and limited to a changing room, bathroom, storage shed or pool equipment shed that 'shall not be heated, shall not have any cooking facilities, and shall not be used for any other activity of daily living' (§ 17-5.1c). Because § 17-4.2 bars any use of land or buildings 'except in compliance with this chapter,' a backyard cottage or garage apartment needs a d(1) use variance from the Planning Board, which holds the Zoning Board of Adjustment's powers.

No district permits a second unit inside or attached to a house. The residential districts allow only a 'Single family dwelling,' which § 17-2 defines as 'a building containing one dwelling unit only and occupied or intended to be occupied exclusively for residence purposes by one family'; a two-family dwelling is defined but listed in no district, and § 17-2 states that 'Definitions of uses not permitted by this chapter are included and intended solely for the purpose of clarification.' § 17-5.15b allows 'No more than one principal use' per lot, and § 17-5.1b.2 says 'No habitable space of any kind shall be permitted above an attached garage.' The only accessory apartment language sits in the affordable-housing article: the § 17-5.26.4.3 definition (Ord. No. 05-2024) and its replacement in Ord. No. 01-2026 (adopted 3-11-2026, DCA's model text reaching units within, attached to or detached from the house, 'also referred to as "accessory dwelling units"'), but that ordinance also states that 'The Borough of Sea Girt does not have an accessory apartment program in its current HESP.' A basement, attic or in-law apartment therefore needs a d(1) use variance.

Because Chapter 17 recognizes no ADU, it sets no accessory-unit size; the binding envelope for anything behind a house is § 17-5.1. Every lot with a single-family dwelling must have one garage 'of no less than 275 square feet nor greater than 500 square feet,' either freestanding or attached at no more than 16 feet or integrated into the house, where space above it is part of the one dwelling (§ 17-5.1b; the Schedule of Limitations adds that it may hold at most three cars and may not be taller than the house), plus at most one more accessory building of 120 square feet with eight-foot walls (§ 17-5.1c). § 17-2 caps 'any garage or any accessory structures' at 16 feet with a 25-degree minimum roof pitch, and detached accessory structures stand at least five feet from side lot lines and other buildings on the lot and three feet from the rear line (§ 17-5.1e). The house itself is limited to 35 feet and 2 1/2 stories (and must be at least 22 feet tall), with principal building coverage between 937.5 square feet and 20 percent of the lot and impervious coverage of everything else capped at 35 percent (Schedule; § 17-5.1i and j), on District 1 lots of at least 50 by 150 feet and 7,500 square feet.

Sea Girt authorizes no ADU, so there is no accessory-unit owner-occupancy rule to report, and nothing in Chapter 17 conditions a dwelling on the owner living there. The nearest residency rules govern other uses: a home office must be run by 'permanent full-time residents of the dwelling unit, and no other person' and may not be served by an entrance separate from the household (§ 17-5.3a.2 and 3), and the rental chapter puts its permit and certificate duties on 'All owners of property in the Borough renting properties' with no residency test (§ 11-2.1a). New Jersey has no ADU statute, so no state rule would preempt an owner-occupancy condition if the borough adopted one, and S1786 as reported (R1) contains no owner-occupancy term.

The Schedule of Limitations requires that 'Single family dwellings shall have not less than two (2) spaces, one of which shall be in a garage,' and § 17-5.1b makes a 275 to 500 square foot garage 'accessible by an automobile from the street' mandatory on every lot with a house. § 17-2 lets the driveway of a one-family dwelling count as 'one off-street parking space per residence' and allows one driveway per lot, no wider than 14 feet, and § 17-5.1d keeps accessory buildings and private parking areas out of the required front yard apart from that driveway. The state Residential Site Improvement Standards govern site improvements tied to residential subdivisions, site plans, variances and other residential development approvals (N.J.A.C. 5:21-1.5(a)) and are 'the maximum that may be required in connection with residential development' (5:21-1.5(b)); Table 4.4 is 'the maximum number of parking spaces planning boards and other local reviewers shall require,' giving a single-family detached house 1.5 spaces for two bedrooms, 2.0 for three, 2.5 for four (also the value when bedrooms are not stated) and 3.0 for five, with each duplex unit at the same values, and a one-car garage with an 18-foot driveway counts as 2.0 spaces (5:21-4.14(c) and (d)). The local two-space rule therefore exceeds the state ceiling for a two-bedroom house (1.5 spaces), and S1786 as reported would bar any added off-street parking for an ADU.

No district lists an accessory dwelling as a permitted or conditional use; the residential districts' only conditional uses are houses of worship, schools and home offices (Schedule of Limitations; § 17-5.3). A second unit on a house lot is 'a use or principal structure in a district restricted against such use or principal structure' under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70(d)(1), decided by the nine-member Planning Board, which has exercised the Zoning Board of Adjustment's powers since Ord. No. 794 dissolved that board (§§ 15-1.1, 15-2.1); the Class I (Mayor) and Class III (council) members may not take part, and the statute requires an 'affirmative vote of at least five members' although § 15-2.11d still prints the older 'at least 2/3 of the full authorized membership' rule (§ 17-10.1 makes state law control in a conflict). The variance application fee is $500 with escrow deposits under § 15-3.4b ($5,000 for variances, $3,000 residential), an approval lapses unless construction starts within one year of publication (§ 15-2.10), and a granted use variance can be appealed to the Borough Council within 10 days of publication (§ 15-4.2). A conforming house or accessory building needs only a zoning permit from the Zoning Officer before the building permit (§ 17-7.1: $0.75 per square foot up to $3,000 for new structures or additions over 750 square feet, $750 for smaller additions including garages and accessory structures) and a certificate of occupancy endorsed by the Zoning Officer (§ 17-7.3).

Rental rules live in Chapter 11, not in zoning. The owner must apply to the Code Official for a rental certificate of occupancy 'not later than four days after' signing a lease, with the lease or an abstract naming each tenant, pay at least $100 per unit ($50 per reinspection) and pass the Code Official's inspection, due within 15 days of filing; the certificate lasts at least a year but must be re-filed 'In the event that a change in tenant occupancy occurs, at any time' (§§ 11-1.1 to 11-1.6). Separately, 'All owners of property in the Borough renting properties shall annually obtain a property rental permit' at $250 'prior to the commencement of any tenancy,' reporting each change in tenancy within 10 days for $25 (§ 11-2.1), with proof that taxes and utility charges are current and signed tenant acknowledgments of the maximum occupancy, which carries a $265 summons per tenant when exceeded (§ 11-2.2). After two substantiated disorderly-conduct convictions within 24 months a landlord can be made to post a $500 to $5,000 bond for four years (§ 11-2.4), and rentals may not use kitchens or nonhabitable spaces for sleeping or let anyone sleep on a front porch from 11:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. (§ 11-2.6). There is no short-term rental license, ban or minimum stay: the former § 4-8 'Seasonal Residential Units' was repealed by Ord. No. 19-2012, and quoted searches for 'short-term rental(s)', 'short term rental(s)', 'Airbnb' and 'summer rental' return nothing in the code or the New Laws bank.