Irvington, NJ Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)

Chapter 650, the Township's Zoning ordinance, treats a shed as an "accessory building or structure" under Article III's definitions, and Article VI's district-by-district use lists set the size cap. In the R-1L Single-Family Residential, Low-Density District, § 650-13B(3) permits "[s]torage buildings of 100 square feet or less in area" as an accessory structure by right, alongside public garages, signs and off-street parking facilities. The R-1, R-2, R-3 and R-4 Districts all incorporate the same R-1L accessory-building list by cross-reference (§§ 650-14B, 650-15, 650-16, 650-17), so the 100-square-foot storage-building ceiling runs across Irvington's single-family and two-family residential zones.

Placement is controlled separately in Article V's general provisions. Under § 650-11B, a detached accessory building must be located to the rear of the front building line of the principal building, and if it sits in the side yard area it must meet the same side-yard setback that applies to the principal building; a common shed may straddle the side lot line between two contiguous residential lots only if the remaining side-yard dimension still equals the total required for both lots' accessory-building side yards in that zone.

Section 650-11L separately bars any accessory building, a shed included, from a required front yard on a corner or through lot. None of this Article V restriction was touched by the Township's 2026 amending Ordinance No. MC 3951, which revised only subsection G (front-yard parking) and Article VIII's off-street parking standards, so the shed setback and rear-placement rule in § 650-11B stands as codified. A homeowner planning a shed larger than the 100-square-foot cap, or one that will not fit behind the principal building's front line, needs zoning relief rather than a by-right permit.