The following regulations shall apply when:
A.
An individual townhouse building containing three
or more dwelling units, or a garden apartment building occupies a
lot as the sole occupant; or
B.
A group of several or many dwelling buildings, regardless
of type, or a combination of types, are part of a planned multifamily
residential development.
[Amended 8-9-1989 by Ord. No. 907]
A.
The following dimensional standards shall apply to
all residential buildings, whether on their own lots or within a planned
residential development:
(4)
Off-street parking: not less than 1.5 parking spaces
for each dwelling unit containing fewer than two bedrooms and one
parking space per bedroom for each dwelling unit containing two or
more bedrooms. Parking areas and access to them may occupy any part
of the property but shall not be closer than three feet to any property
line or highway right-of-way line.
[Amended 12-22-2004 by Ord. No. 1001]
B.
The following dimensional standards shall apply, in addition to Subsection A, to planned multifamily residential developments:
(1)
Maximum density: 2,000 square feet of gross property area for each
efficiency or one-bedroom dwelling unit; 2,400 square feet for each
two-bedroom dwelling unit; 2,800 square feet for each dwelling unit
containing three bedrooms; and add 400 square feet per bedroom for
four or more bedrooms. "Gross property area" shall be considered the
total property in the plan less existing and proposed public road
and highway rights-of-way.
[Amended 6-24-2015 by Ord. No. 1066]
(2)
Maximum coverage: 25% of the gross property area by
residential buildings.
(3)
Minimum distance between buildings on the property:
(a)
When the principal walls (those containing at
least 1/2 of the windows opening into dwellings) of two adjacent residential
buildings face each other, they shall be separated by an average of
at least 50 feet. The minimum and maximum shortest distances between
the two structures, or the portions of them that are opposite each
other, shall be divided by two to determine the average.
(b)
In no case shall the walls of two adjacent residential
buildings be less than 20 feet apart.
(5)
Freestanding structures. Land development plans subject to this section shall illustrate the location of all freestanding structures upon the plan submittal. The following subsections must be complied with pursuant to the land development process to ensure adequate sight distance, access to light and air, and minimal uniform standards for proposed improvements. Billboard signs are considered freestanding structures and shall comply with the requirements of Subsection B(6) below.
[Added 10-10-2007 by Ord. No. 1026]
(a)
The site development plan shall show precisely the location
of all freestanding structures relative to the location of ingress/egress
areas, buildings, parking, rights-of-way, utility easements, and neighboring
property lines.
(b)
To protect neighboring properties' access to light and
air, as well as ensuring safe vehicular sight distances, all freestanding
structures shall be set back from public rights-of-way, utility easements,
and property lines at least 10 feet, plus one foot for every foot
of height over four feet. To prevent interference with overhead utility
lines or traffic controls, as well as preventing access to light and
air, no freestanding structure shall be erected pursuant to this section
in excess of 35 feet in height.
(c)
No portion of a freestanding structure pursuant to this section
may be located within 50 feet of a neighboring dwelling unit.
(d)
No part of a freestanding structure, regardless of its height,
may block any vehicular line of sight consistent with street alignment
standards of this chapter.
(e)
All lighting associated with freestanding structures shall be
aimed, located, designed, fitted and maintained so as not to present
a hazard to drivers or pedestrians by impairing their ability to safely
traverse and so as not to create a nuisance by projecting or reflecting
objectionable light onto a neighboring use or property, or onto any
public or private roadway or pedestrianway. Directional fixtures,
such as floodlights and spotlights, shall be so shielded, installed
and aimed that they do not project their output into the windows of
neighboring residences, adjacent uses, past the face of the sign,
skyward or onto a public roadway or pedestrianway. Cutoff fixtures
are to be employed as feasible.
(6)
Billboard
signs. Billboard signs are considered a type of freestanding structure
and are subject to this chapter as a division or allocation of space
pursuant to land development and/or a subdivision by lease. Billboard
signs shall comply with the following:
[Added 10-10-2007 by Ord. No. 1026]
(a)
A plan shall be prepared to show the site, described by bearings
and distances, within the property from which the site will be leased
and dimensions to the nearest boundary line of the property from the
sign. In addition, a scaled site development plan shall be prepared
to show precisely the location of the billboard structure relative
to the lease site, ground level support structures, sign surface dimensions,
access to the site and parking area, and any other structures within
the lease area or within 100 feet of the lease area.
(b)
No other structure shall be permitted within the leased property.
(c)
To protect neighboring properties' access to light and
air, and to avoid interference with overhead utility lines or traffic
controls no billboard shall exceed 35 feet in height. The distance
in any direction from the base of the sign to the boundaries of the
lease area shall be no less than the height of the billboard structure,
and no portion of the billboard sign shall be within 20 feet of any
portion of the lease area boundary or any public right-of-way or utility
easement.
(d)
One parking space, together with adequate right-of-way to access the parking space from a public road, shall be provided for a maintenance vehicle within the lease area. The size of this space shall be consistent with § 275-35D(2).
(e)
No portion of the billboard sign structure may be within 100
feet of a dwelling unit.
(f)
No part of the sign structure may block any vehicular line of
sight consistent with street alignment standards of this chapter.
(g)
All lighting related to a billboard structure shall be aimed,
located, designed, fitted and maintained so as not to present a hazard
to drivers or pedestrians by impairing their ability to safely traverse
and so as not to create a nuisance by projecting or reflecting objectionable
light onto a neighboring use or property, or onto a public roadway
or pedestrianway. Directional fixtures, such as floodlights and spotlights,
shall be so shielded, installed and aimed that they do not project
their output into the windows of neighboring residences, adjacent
uses, past the face of the sign, skyward or onto a public roadway
or pedestrianway. Cutoff fixtures are to be employed as feasible.
(h)
Only one billboard sign or freestanding sign structure shall
be permitted per leased property.
(8)
Garbage
and trash containers. Containers shall be tightly covered and secured
in side or rear yards hidden from public view and from adjacent properties
by means of a solid face fence or wall.
[Added 11-28-2012 by Ord.
No. 1052]
C.
The following dimensional standards shall apply to
individual apartment or townhouse buildings on their own lots.
(1)
Table of dimensions.
|
Single-Family or Two-Family
|
Townhouse Building
|
Apartment Building
| ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Minimum Lot Dimensions
| ||||
|
Area in square feet
|
7,200
|
10,000
|
15,000
| |
|
Width in feet measured at front building line
|
60
|
75
|
80
| |
|
Maximum Lot Coverage
| ||||
|
As percentage of total lot area occupied by
residential buildings
|
35
|
35
|
25
| |
(2)
In a townhouse building, or group of buildings approved
in one plan, the average of all the dwelling units shall be not less
than 1,800 square feet of lot area and 18 feet of frontage, but individual
units may be no less than 1,400 square feet of lot area with 16 feet
of frontage. In the case of buildings in which the units are not to
be sold individually, the average distance between the center line
of common walls separating units shall be not less than 18 feet and
no wall center lines shall be closer together than 16 feet.
D.
Public utilities.
(1)
Every building within a planned multifamily residential
development and every townhouse or apartment building on its own lot
connected to a water supply shall also be connected to a public or
community sewage disposal system.
(2)
If a community sewage disposal system is used, it
shall conform to all requirements of the State Department of Environmental
Protection for such a system, considering the number of dwellings
to be served, future expansion, the capacity of the stream receiving
treated effluent and the program to monitor and maintain the system.
(3)
If water supply is provided by on-site wells, the
source shall be capable of providing sufficient quantity and quality
of water to meet State DEP requirements for the number of dwellings
to be served.
(4)
If water is to be provided by means other than by
private wells owned and maintained by the owner(s) of the multifamily
development, applicants shall present written evidence to the commission
that the multifamily development is to be supplied with water by a
certified public utility or by a municipal authority.
E.
Street and sidewalk construction.
(1)
All roads and sidewalks within a planned multifamily
residential development intended to become public shall be constructed
to meet minimum Township specifications.
F.
Parking lot layout and construction.
(1)
Off-street parking areas serving apartment buildings
and townhouse buildings, where parking is grouped, shall be laid out
and constructed to meet the following criteria.
(2)
Each parking space shall be at least 10 feet wide
and contain 180 square feet of area.
(3)
Parking areas where spaces are at right angles to
the access lane shall be at least 42 feet wide for a single row of
spaces and access lane or 62 feet wide across rows on either side
of the access lane plus the access lane. If parking spaces form a
forty-five-degree angle with the access lane, the dimension across
a single row of spaces and lane shall be at least 30 feet and across
a double row and lane 50 feet.
(4)
Parking should be located so that no required space
is more than 200 feet from the building served.
(5)
Parking areas and drives leading to them shall be
surfaced with a stabilized, dust-free, all-weather material placed
over at least six inches of well-compacted and choked base course
of crushed aggregate.
(6)
Parking areas shall slope not more than 6% nor less
than 1/2%, and shall drain to a stormwater water sewer or recognized
drainageway.
(7)
Where a slope is downhill from the edge of the parking
surface and spaces are at right angles to the edge, stop bars or curbs
shall be placed along the edge of the parking surface.
G.
Grading and drainage.
(2)
Finished graded slopes shall not exceed one-foot vertical
rise for each 1 1/2 feet of horizontal run if created by excavating
into earth that has laid undisturbed for at least two years before
grading. In all other cases grades shall be not greater than one-foot
vertical rise to each two feet of horizontal run unless the developer
can provide an engineering report prepared and signed by a registered
professional engineer indicating steeper grades, up to a maximum grade
recommended by the engineer, will provide permanently stable ground
surfaces considering the soils involved.
(3)
Fill slopes shall be keyed into previously undisturbed
earth and built up in layers not to exceed eight inches in depth.
The toes and tops of slopes shall be drained to a stormwater sewer
or recognized drainageway.
(4)
Graded slopes shall be planted immediately upon completion
with a fast-catching vegetative cover. During construction and until
cover is established proper erosion control measures shall be practiced
as recommended by the Indiana County Soil Conservation Service.
H.
Recreation. In any planned multifamily residential
development containing dwellings with two or more bedrooms, an area
equal to at least 50 square feet for each two-bedroom unit and at
least 100 square feet for each three-bedroom or larger unit shall
be set aside by the developer for recreational purposes only if such
area aggregates to at least 500 square feet. Such area may be an equipped
recreation room or rooms in one or more of the residential buildings,
or an exterior space or spaces on level ground equipped and maintained
for the use of the residents, or a combination of these. If the developer's
interest, or that of a successor owner ceases, the recreation areas
shall pass to a homeowners' association for maintenance.
I.
Commencement of construction. Starting on the date
of final approval of any multifamily residential development, the
developer shall commence construction within five years and continue
in a timely manner. Failure of the developer to start work and/or
to move diligently towards completion within this time limit shall
render the original approval null and void. The developer may reapply
for final approval after the time limit has expired but his project
shall be subject to any amendments to this chapter that may have been
adopted in the meantime.
In evaluating a multifamily residential development
the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors shall consider the
following aspects of the plan before reaching a decision to approve,
disapprove or approve with conditions:
A.
If a developer proposes to sell any or all the dwellings
in his plan individually, he shall establish a homeowners' association,
membership in which shall be a condition of purchasing a dwelling
unit. Membership shall pass from each dwelling owner to each successor
owner. The owner of each dwelling unit shall be entitled to one vote
for acting on association affairs. The text of the bylaws establishing
and governing the association shall be reviewed and found acceptable
by the Township Solicitor as providing adequate safeguards for the
Township and for the plan residents.
B.
All land in the plan that is not sold to individual
dwelling owners or is not developed for dwelling buildings and supporting
facilities to be retained by the developer and his successors, shall
be recorded as common open space with its area, and bearings and distances
of its perimeter noted on the recording plan. The developer shall
be responsible for maintenance of the common open space until and
unless he or a successor liquidates his interest by sale of the remaining
dwelling units. In that case the common open space shall be deeded
to the homeowners' association, which shall assume the responsibilities
that were formerly the developer's or his successor's. Until then
the association shall be responsible for a prorated share of the maintenance
of the common open space. Maintenance may include taxes, liability
insurance, administrative expenses and upkeep. The developer and eventually
the association, if the developer's interest ceases, shall be responsible
for the maintenance of recreation facilities, access to drives if
not public, parking areas, landscaping, stormwater drainage facilities
and other improvements provided originally by the developer.
[Added 8-9-1989 by Ord. No. 907]
A.
"Congregate living facilities" shall be considered
any residential building eligible for approval by the State Department
of Welfare and Department of Labor and Industry that is used or intended
to be used for persons who require assistance with normal living functions
but are otherwise ambulatory (a personal care home), for persons who
are moving from institutional to independent living (a transitional
dwelling) or persons who require continuous medical supervision and
are mostly bed ridden (a nursing home).
B.
Such facilities shall require approval by the Planning
Commission prior to establishing the use or commencement of any construction
or renovation. A condition of approval shall be the submission of
applications by the operator to the appropriate state agencies. Any
proposed transitional dwelling shall, in addition, provide proof that
it is a responsible organization as evidenced by references from supporting
agencies.
C.
The operator shall provide a site plan of the facility
showing buildings, vehicular access, parking areas and signs on the
site. At least one parking space shall be provided for each two persons
or fraction thereof residing in the facility.
