Read the full stored bill text
A4405
ASSEMBLY, No. 4405
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman� JAY WEBBER
District 26 (Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
���� Authorizes installation of automatic standby
generators in certain residences without zoning or planning board approval.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning residential automatic standby
generators and amending and supplementing P.L.1975, c.291.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� Section 3 of P.L.1975,
c.291 (C.40:55D-3) is amended to read as follows:
���� 3.��� For the purposes of this
act, unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
���� The term "shall"
indicates a mandatory requirement, and the term "may" indicates a
permissive action.
���� "Administrative
officer" means the clerk of the municipality, unless a different municipal
official or officials are designated by ordinance or statute.
���� "Agricultural
restriction" means an "agricultural deed restriction for farmland
preservation purposes" as defined in section 3 of P.L.1983, c.32
(C.4:1C-13).
���� "Agricultural land"
means "farmland" as defined pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1999, c.152
(C.13:8C-3).
���� "Applicant" means a
developer submitting an application for development.
���� "Application for
development" means the application form and all accompanying documents
required by ordinance for approval of a subdivision plat, site plan, planned
development, cluster development, conditional use, zoning variance or direction
of the issuance of a permit pursuant to section 25 or section 27 of P.L.1975,
c.291 (C.40:55D-34 or C.40:55D-36).
���� "Approving
authority" means the planning board of the municipality, unless a
different agency is designated by ordinance when acting pursuant to the
authority of P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.).
����
"Automatic standby
generator," as used in section 2 of
P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill), means a natural gas or liquid gas propane
fuel powered generator which is permanently connected to the electrical system
of a one or two-family residential structure and only operates in the event of
a power outage in order to provide backup power to the residential structure.
���� "Board of
adjustment" means the board established pursuant to section 56 of
P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-69).
���� "Building" means a
combination of materials to form a construction adapted to permanent,
temporary, or continuous occupancy and having a roof.
���� "Cable television
company" means a cable television company as defined pursuant to section 3
of P.L.1972, c.186 (C.48:5A-3).
���� "Capital
improvement" means a governmental acquisition of real property or major
construction project.
���� "Circulation" means
systems, structures and physical improvements for the movement of people,
goods, water, air, sewage or power by such means as streets, highways,
railways, waterways, towers, airways, pipes and conduits, and the handling of people
and goods by such means as terminals, stations, warehouses, and other storage
buildings or transshipment points.
���� "Cluster
development" means a contiguous cluster or noncontiguous cluster that is
not a planned development.
���� "Common open space"
means an open space area within or related to a site designated as a
development, and designed and intended for the use or enjoyment of residents
and owners of the development. Common open space may contain such complementary
structures and improvements as are necessary and appropriate for the use or
enjoyment of residents and owners of the development.
���� "Conditional use"
means a use permitted in a particular zoning district only upon a showing that
such use in a specified location will comply with the conditions and standards
for the location or operation of such use as contained in the zoning ordinance,
and upon the issuance of an authorization therefor by the planning board.
���� "Conservation
restriction" means a "conservation restriction" as defined in
section 2 of P.L.1979, c.378 (C.13:8B-2).
���� "Contiguous cluster"
means a contiguous area to be developed as a single entity according to a plan
containing a section or sections to be developed for residential purposes,
nonresidential purposes, or a combination thereof, at a greater concentration
of density or intensity of land use than authorized within the section or
sections under conventional development, in exchange for the permanent
preservation of another section or other sections of the area as common or
public open space, or for historic or agricultural purposes, or a combination
thereof.
���� "Conventional" means
development other than cluster development or planned development.
���� "County agriculture
development board" or "CADB" means a county agriculture
development board established by a county pursuant to the provisions of section
7 of P.L.1983, c.32 (C.4:1C-14).
���� "County master plan"
means a composite of the master plan for the physical development of the county
in which the municipality is located, with the accompanying maps, plats, charts
and descriptive and explanatory matter adopted by the county planning board
pursuant to R.S.40:27-2 and R.S.40:27-4.
���� "County planning
board" means the county planning board, as defined in section 1 of
P.L.1968, c.285 (C.40:27-6.1), of the county in which the land or development
is located.
(cf: P.L.2013, c.106, s.2)
���� 2.��� (New section)��� Notwithstanding
any provision of law or local zoning ordinance to the contrary, the siting of an
automatic standby generator in compliance with the "State Uniform
Construction Code Act," P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.) or
manufacturer clearance specifications, whichever requires a greater distance
from the residential structure, shall be deemed to be essential to the
continuation of an existing residential structure or use of a residential
property, or to the development of a residential property, as authorized in the
zoning ordinance of a municipality.� An automatic standby generator shall
therefore be deemed to be an accessory use or structure to any residential structure
or use authorized by the development regulations of a municipality; shall be a
permitted use in all residential zoning or use districts of a municipality; and
shall not require any variance pursuant to section 57 of P.L.1975, c.291
(C.40:55D-70).� An automatic standby generator shall be subject to the
following requirements:
���� a.���� The siting of an
automatic standby generator shall meet the setback requirements for accessory
structures and uses based on the zoning district in which the property is
located.� If the installation of an automatic standby generator cannot meet the
setback requirements applicable to such property based upon the zoning district
in which it is located and the "State Uniform Construction Code Act,"
P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.) or manufacturer clearance
specifications, whichever requires a greater distance from the residential
structure, a minimum five foot side and five foot rear yard setback shall be
applied, upon the approval of the municipal zoning officer, which approval
shall not be unreasonably withheld.� The proposed siting of an automatic
standby generator that satisfies a minimum five foot side and five foot rear
yard setback shall only require approval of the municipal zoning officer and
shall not require any variance pursuant to section 57 of P.L.1975, c.291
(C.40:55D-70).
���� b.��� An automatic standby
generator shall not be sited in the front yard of a property without the
express approval of the appropriate local authority.� An automatic standby
generator sited in the front yard of a property shall be installed in a manner
that minimizes the visual impact on adjacent properties through the use of
appropriate landscaping and architectural materials, which otherwise comply
with local zoning ordinances.
���� c.���� An automatic standby
generator shall be used in compliance with the "Noise Control Act of 1971,"
P.L.1971, c.418 (C.13:1G-1 et seq.) and any law or local ordinance regulating
noise levels except during a state of emergency declared by the President of
the United States or the Governor.
���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill would permit the
installation of automatic standby generators in certain residences without
making an application to the local planning or zoning board for a variance.�
This bill would streamline the process by which an owner or occupant of a single
or two-family residential property may install an automatic standby generator.�
The installation of such generators is beneficial to both residents and
communities.
���� For the purposes of this bill,
an automatic standby generator is defined as a natural gas or liquid gas
propane fuel powered generator which is permanently connected to the electrical
system of a one or two-family residential structure and only operates in the
event of a power outage in order to provide backup power to the residential
structure.� The bill would classify such generator as an accessory use or
structure to any residential structure or use authorized by the development
regulations of a municipality, and as a permitted use in all residential zoning
or use districts of a municipality.� Such generator would hence not require a variance.
���� The bill would also require
that local setback requirements be followed, if possible, while still
installing the generator in compliance with the State Uniform Construction Code
or manufacturer clearance specifications, whichever requires a greater distance
from the residential structure.� If the generator cannot be sited to meet the
local setback requirements, the bill requires the approval of the municipal
zoning officer subject to five foot side and rear yard setback requirements.�
The municipal zoning officer may not unreasonably withhold such approval.
���� The bill also prohibits siting
an automatic standby generator in a front yard without the approval of the
appropriate local authority, and requires that a front yard generator be sited
in a manner that minimizes the visual impact on adjacent properties through the
use of appropriate landscaping and architectural materials.
���� Lastly, the bill requires that
the use of an automatic standby generator comply with any law or local
ordinance regulating noise levels except during a state of emergency declared
by the President of the United States or the Governor.