Piscataway, NJ Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)

Section 21-32.1 of the TC, Towne Center Zone sets a base maximum residential gross density of eight units per acre, excluding any concierge units in the district's existing 13-story tower building. Developers can reach an enhanced bonus density of 12 units per acre, but only by constructing first-floor 'Qualifying Main Street Commercial' space, meaning the retail and personal service uses listed in Section 21-32.1a2(a) such as retail stores, banks, personal service establishments, arts and crafts studios, and sit-down restaurants. The bonus formula awards one residential unit for every 333 square feet of that qualifying commercial space, up to the 12-unit-per-acre ceiling; the ordinance gives its own worked example, that 100,000 square feet of Qualifying Main Street Commercial space earns 300 bonus residential units.

Each block of bonus units carries a rising affordable-housing set-aside: the first 100 bonus units require a 15% set-aside, the next 100 require 10%, and the final 100 require 5%, all of which may be built on-site or off-site elsewhere in the Township. Any affordable-housing obligation tied to redeveloping the existing 13-story tower is instead satisfied through a 2.5% non-residential affordable housing fee on the net increase in the redevelopment's assessed value, rather than through set-aside units. All development, base or bonus, must proceed under a General Development Plan approved by the Township Planning Board under the Municipal Land Use Law.