[Added 8-21-2000 by Ord. No. 288; amended 12-17-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-311]
This article shall be known and cited as the
"William Penn Highway Overlay District Regulations." The boundaries
of the overlay district are shown in the exhibit[1].
[1]
Editor's Note: Said exhibit is on file in
the Township offices.
The purpose of the William Penn Highway Overlay
District is to manage growth and development along William Penn Highway
and create a safe and visually unified streetscape. The overlay district
is intended to improve the design standards of the corridor, while
maintaining the base district use standards and respecting the landowners
in and around the William Penn Highway corridor. It aims to facilitate
the development of a safe and viable corridor that links a variety
of uses through streetscape amenities, design standards, and coordinated
signage.
A.
To ensure safe and efficient pedestrian and vehicular
travel along the William Penn Highway corridor by managing land uses
and traffic conflicts, decreasing the number of curb cuts, and establishing
more effective building and parking lot orientations.
B.
To encourage greater interest in design unification.
C.
To proactively manage the streetscape and character
of the corridor through the application of coordinated amenities including
sidewalks, landscaping, and signage.
D.
To build upon and improve the William Penn Highway
corridor by establishing guidelines and standards for future development,
reuse, and expansions.
E.
To design new developments that contribute to and
have a relationship to the community as a whole and avoid uses which
negatively impose upon neighboring residential pockets.
F.
To set standards for home conversions to enable flexibility
while also maintaining basic standards and minimizing land use conflicts.
G.
To keep traffic and the number of curb cuts to a minimum.
H.
To establish backyard buffers which protect adjoining
residential uses from light, noise, and other conflicts that may be
caused by nonresidential uses.
A.
Uses shall be permitted in the William Penn Highway
Overlay District as defined within the respective base zoning districts.
B.
Additional uses permitted by right within the boundaries
of the William Penn Highway Overlay District shall include:
(1)
Buildings containing commercial and/or office
uses on the ground floor and residential and/or office uses on the
upper floors. Ground floor commercial uses shall be limited to 1,500
square feet.
A.
Conditional uses shall be permitted in the William
Penn Highway Overlay District as defined within the respective base
zoning districts.
B.
Regulations in this article must be followed upon
change of use and/or replacement with same use. All conversions under
this article shall be considered land developments, thereby conforming
to the Palmer Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.[1]
C.
Within the boundaries of the William Penn Highway
Overlay District, the following shall be permitted as conditional
uses:
(1)
In residential districts, home conversions from
residential to commercial uses with low traffic volumes, no drive-through
features, and total floor space not to exceed 3,000 square feet. All
"adult uses" are prohibited. Retail uses shall include but are not
limited to the following:
(2)
In residential districts, home conversions from
residential to professional office space with low traffic volumes,
not to exceed 3,000 square feet. Professional offices shall be representative
of but not limited to the following:
(3)
In residential districts, home conversions from
single-family residential to multifamily residential with a limit
of two units per dwelling.
A.
Lot area: shall follow respective base zoning district
regulations.
B.
Lot width: shall follow respective base zoning district
regulations.
C.
Building and impervious coverage: shall follow respective
base zoning district regulations.
D.
Front yard setback: shall follow respective base zoning
district regulations.
E.
Side yard setback: shall follow respective base zoning
district regulations.
F.
Rear yard setback: shall follow respective base zoning
district regulations.
G.
Height: shall follow respective base zoning district
regulations.
H.
Trash dumpsters. Dumpsters and storage bins shall
be screened (to 90% opaqueness) on three sides by evergreen planting,
fencing, and/or walls. Screening shall block view of dumpster from
streets and dwellings.
A.
(1)
Rear yard buffer. All buffer yard vegetation
must be detailed on site plans.
(a)
Rear yard buffer strips shall be provided for
all nonresidential and multifamily residential uses abutting a residential
use or zoning district.
(b)
Rear yard buffers shall include a minimum twenty-foot-wide
landscaping strip to act as a visual screen. The buffer shall be provided
by the developer or property owner along the William Penn Highway
corridor for all new land developments, replacement of the same use
and or changes of uses, and for buildings reconstructed or rehabilitated
over 25% of the assessed tax value or for buildings expanded by 10%
of the square footage or more.
(c)
Per every 40 lineal feet of perimeter, the landscaping strip shall contain a combination of one deciduous tree having a caliper of not less than three inches and a height of 10 feet at the time of planting and two evergreen trees having a height of not less than six feet at time of planting, plus five shrubs, per 40 lineal feet of perimeter. The deciduous trees, evergreen trees, and shrubs shall be chosen from the list of plant types for Palmer Township provided in SALDO § 165-73. Trees and shrubs shall be creatively planted within the ten-foot landscaping strip to include staggered placement and/or clustering.
(d)
In addition to the required landscaped buffer,
rear yards shall include a permanent continuous fence with a minimum
height of six feet and a maximum height of eight feet, maintained
in good repair, and set back from the property line to include trees
placed between the fence and the property line. At least 80% of the
total surface shall be opaque, with exception of the first four inches
between the ground and the fence. For purpose of the buffer yard,
chain-link-type fences are not permitted.
(e)
All building mechanical systems such as air-conditioning
units, exhaust systems, satellite dishes, elevator housing, and dumpsters
shall be integrated into the overall design and character of the building.
Landscaping and other screening devices, including decorative fencing,
shall be used to soften the view of these features from adjoining
properties.
(f)
The rear buffer shall be installed and permanently
maintained by the applicant or his/her successor. Plants that are
needed to form the visual screen, which die or are removed, shall
be replaced by the landowner within five months of notification by
the Township.
(2)
Parking areas.
(a)
Where paved vehicular areas occur in a side
yard that abuts a residential district or use, such paved areas shall
have a permanent continuous row of bushes, four feet high at the time
of planting, with sufficient density to block car lights from shining
into the adjoining property. Upon written approval from the adjoining
(i.e., affected) property owner, a four-foot fence with 90% opaqueness
may be substituted for the continuous row of bushes, provided that
it is not a chain-link-style fence.
(b)
The side yard buffer shall be provided by the
developer or property owner for all new land developments, changes
of uses and/or replacement with same use, and for buildings reconstructed
or rehabilitated over 25% of the assessed tax value or for buildings
expanded by 10% of the square footage or more.
A.
Sidewalks.
(1)
Sidewalks shall be provided for all parcels
within the William Penn Highway Overlay District. Sidewalks shall
be provided by the developer or property owner for all new land developments,
replacement of the same use and/or changes of uses, and for buildings
reconstructed or rehabilitated over 25% of the assessed tax value
or for buildings expanded 10% of the square footage or more.
(2)
Sidewalks shall be constructed in accordance with Township specifications (see Chapter 160, Street and Sidewalks, of the Township Code) and installed to connect to the lot line of adjacent parcels. Sidewalks constructed along William Penn Highway shall begin at the right-of-way and be constructed a minimum of five feet as measured toward the building setback line.
A.
Height. Within the William Penn Highway Overlay District,
ground signs shall be limited to a maximum height of five feet. Freestanding
pole signs are prohibited.
B.
Area. Maximum sign area in the William Penn Highway
Overlay District shall be limited to 15 square feet in residential
districts and 20 square feet in nonresidential districts.
C.
Illumination.
(1)
Illumination of signs beyond what is customary
in a residential area shall be prohibited within the LDR, MDR, HDR,
HDR-2, and C-R Districts. No sign shall be excessively illuminated
beyond which is necessary for the sign to be readable. Internally
illuminated signs shall be prohibited in all residential districts
in the Township. Where permitted in nonresidential districts, internally
illuminated signs shall have a dark background with illuminated text
that accounts for a maximum of 20% total sign area.
(a)
A sign within the William Penn Highway Overlay District shall
not include a digital sign.
[Added 10-24-2017 by Ord.
No. 2017-449]
(b)
A sign within the William Penn Highway Overlay District may
include an electronic message sign only if permitted under the base
zoning district.
[Added 10-24-2017 by Ord.
No. 2017-449]
(2)
Externally illuminated signs shall be illuminated
by a white, steady, stationary light. External light shall be of reasonable
intensity directed at the sign without light spillover and without
causing glare for motorists, pedestrians or neighboring properties.
Signs may be backlighted with a diffused or shielded light source
if deemed necessary by the Township to controlling glare. Backlighting
shall illuminate the letters, characters or graphics on the sign,
but not its background, in order to shine only on the face of the
sign and not spill over into the property.
(3)
Hours of illumination. Signs shall be lit during
office hours or between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., whichever
is less. All existing internally illuminated signs in a residential
zoning district shall be lit during office hours only.
A.
Interconnection of off-street parking areas.
(1)
To reduce traffic congestion and the number
of curb cuts along public streets, parking areas shall be connected
to adjacent parcels through rear or side yard access road. The intent
is to provide a secondary point of access in a grid pattern to uses
within the William Penn Highway Overlay District. Where a parking
area is constructed and is adjacent to an undeveloped nonresidential
parcel, the access drive shall be extended to the lot line for future
connection.
(2)
The use of shared access points is strongly
recommended. Where possible, two adjacent uses may share ingress and
egress points to serve both uses. This model will decrease the number
of curb cuts along William Penn Highway and create a safer and more
efficient road.
B.
Parking area lighting.
(1)
All lights used for parking or in parking areas
must be designed to shine back toward the principal building and shall
not spill any light or glare onto the adjacent property.
(2)
Lighting fixtures shall have hoods or shields
to manage the light from spilling over unnecessarily.
(3)
Lighting shall be coordinated with landscaping
in parking areas.
C.
Parking.
(1)
Off-street parking areas shall be oriented to the rear or side of structures to create a unified streetscape and minimize congestion. Parking and loading shall conform to the standards in § 190-198 of the Township Zoning Ordinance. A limit of three parking spaces may be provided on the side of the building that faces a public street in order to decrease the stacking of vehicles and "back up" on to a public street. For corner lots, the front yard shall be determined by side fronting onto the primary street, and the secondary street frontage shall be considered a side yard.
A.
All buildings in the William Penn Highway corridor
overlay shall provide a prominent and highly visible street-level
doorway or entrance along the front or side of the building that faces
a public street.
B.
In order to maintain the character of the area, blank
walls shall not be permitted to face a public street. The street level
facade of any building facing a public street or access drive shall
be at least 15% transparent. These requirements shall apply to all
new land developments and existing buildings reconstructed over 50%
of tax value.
C.
Exterior wall materials that are not permitted in
the William Penn Highway corridor overlay include: large split face
blocks, tilt-up concrete panels, prefabricated metal panels, and standard
concrete masonry units.
[Amended 10-29-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-325]
A.
For all home conversions to a nonresidential use (permitted
only as a conditional use), a land development plan shall be required.
B.
If a conditional use review will also need approval of the physical layout under the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, then the Zoning Officer may permit an applicant to satisfy the conditional use plan requirement with a plan meeting the sketch plan requirements of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, provided that such plan provided sufficient information to determine compliance with the Zoning Ordinance (see § 190-201C).
