This chapter shall be known as the "Municipality
of Murrysville Zoning Ordinance." This chapter is adopted by virtue
of the authority granted to the Municipality by the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act
247 of 1968, as amended by Act 170 of 1988 (53 P.S. § 10101
et seq., as may be amended from time to time).
This chapter is enacted in consideration of
the following purposes:
A.
To promote, protect and facilitate one or more of
the following: the public health, safety, morals, general welfare,
preservation of environment, coordinated and practical community development,
proper density of population, civil defense, disaster evacuation,
the provisions of adequate light and air, police protection, vehicle
parking and loading space, transportation, water, sewage, schools,
public grounds and other public requirements.
B.
To prevent one or more of the following: overcrowding
of land, blight, danger and congestion in travel and transportation,
loss of health, life or property from fire, flood, panic or other
dangers.
A.
In the event of conflicts between the provisions of
this chapter and any other ordinance or regulation, the more restrictive
provisions shall apply.
B.
In their interpretation and application, the provisions
of this chapter shall be considered minimum requirements adopted for
the promotion of the health, safety and general welfare of the public.
C.
In interpreting the language of this chapter to determine
the extent of the restriction upon the use of property, the language
shall be interpreted, where doubt exists as to the intended meaning
of the language written and enacted by the Council, in favor of the
property owner and against any implied extension of the restriction.
A.
No building or structure shall be enlarged, erected,
converted, moved or altered nor shall any building or land be used
except for a purpose permitted in the district in which the building
or land is located, except as hereinafter provided. No building or
structure shall be erected, enlarged, converted, moved or altered
nor shall land be used except in conformity with the requirements
of this chapter and other ordinances relating to the use of land for
the district in which such building or structure or use is located.
There shall be no land development, as defined herein, except in conformity
with the regulations of this chapter, the Subdivision and Land Development
Ordinance[1] and other ordinances and laws relating to the use of land.
B.
No part of a yard or other space required about any
building or land for the purpose of complying with the provisions
of this chapter shall be included as a part of a yard or other space
similarly required for another building or land.
If any article, section, subsection, paragraph,
sentence or phrase or any other provision of this chapter is for any
reason held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, each
holding shall not affect the validity of or the remaining provisions
of this chapter, it being the legislative intent of the Council that
the same would have been enacted without such article, section, subsection,
paragraph, sentence, phrase or other provision.
This chapter is adopted as a part of a continuing
and comprehensive planning program that has as its goal the increase
in the general health, welfare and well-being of the community. The
following list of objectives establishes a guide for policies to meet
this goal.
A.
To encourage the retention of a residential community
by:
(1)
Encouraging single-family homes, without excluding
other necessary dwelling types, and in consideration of the varying
needs of wide-ranging age and income groups.
(2)
Ensuring that the siting and landscaping of all developments
takes special care to protect and reserve the natural character of
the community and the site and minimize the negative impact on the
environment.
(3)
Regulating the planning of developments to gain the
maximum practical amount of useable open space for the benefit of
residents.
(4)
Confining the more intensive uses of land, including
commercial and high-density residential, to properly designed, logically
situated sites.
(5)
Providing due consideration to the development limitations
of slope, soil type and drainageways that are imposed by natural factors
and are intrinsic conditions to the basic character of the community.
(6)
Encouraging innovation in all development, to the
extent that such proposals operate to achieve the basic goal of maintaining
the natural character without violating other policies herein.
(7)
Controlling the pace of development to maintain fiscal
stability without so severely limiting growth as to endanger the future
well-being of the community.
(8)
Encouraging a sufficient diversity in appearance of
residential development with respect to site planning and home construction
architectural style to prevent a monotony of growth throughout the
community.
B.
To encourage sufficient industrial and commercial
development for a balanced growth of employment, services and tax
base consistent with the overall residential character by:
(1)
Permitting and encouraging industrial and regional
commercial employment centers in appropriate areas of the Municipality
commensurate with the availability of services, the characteristics
of the site and the stated goals and policies of the community.
(2)
Encouraging the design of sites that enhance and protect
the natural beauty and predominant character of the community.
(3)
Encouraging the development of small, aesthetically
designed neighborhood shopping areas.
(4)
Encouraging and actively seeking the expansion of
available health services and local and regional public transportation.
C.
To establish and maintain a community growth pattern
that provides for efficient use of available resources, including
tax income, by developing a municipal capital improvements plan that
will permit orderly development of the community at reasonable cost
to the residents.
D.
To recognize the pledge of the Pennsylvania Constitution,
which states that the people have a right to clean air, pure water
and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic
values of the environment.
E.
To protect, reserve and maintain the integrity of
the steep slopes and floodplains in the Municipality.
F.
To encourage the mix of residential and small commercial
uses in certain areas in the Municipality, particularly to conversion
of existing dwellings into small office or retail space and apartments.
