Township of Lehigh, PA General Provisions

The title of this chapter is "An ordinance to limit and restrict to specified districts or zones, and to regulate therein, buildings and structures according to their construction and the nature of and the extent of their use, and the nature and extent of the uses of land, in Lehigh Township, Northampton County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, hereinafter referred to as the Township, and providing for the administration and enforcement of the provisions therein contained and fixing penalties for the violation thereof."

§ 180-2 Short title.

This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the "2002 Lehigh Township Zoning Ordinance."

§ 180-3 Purpose.

This chapter is adopted for the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, and the general welfare of the community and to further the following related and more specific objectives:

To guide and regulate the orderly growth, development, and redevelopment of the Township, in accordance with a comprehensive plan of long-term objectives, principles, and standards deemed beneficial to the interests and welfare of the people;

To protect the established character and the social and economic well-being of both private and public property;

To promote, in the public interest, the utilization of land for the purposes for which it is most appropriate;

To secure safety from fire, panic, and other dangers and to provide adequate light, air, and convenience of access;

To prevent overcrowding of land or buildings and to avoid undue concentration of population;

To lessen and, where possible, to prevent traffic congestion on public streets and highways; and

To conserve the value of buildings and to enhance the value of land throughout the Township.

§ 180-4 Conformity with use regulations.

Except as hereinafter provided, no buildings or structures or part thereof and no lot or land or part thereof shall hereafter be used except in conformity with the use regulations herein prescribed. Any lawful use that does not conform to the use regulations of this chapter shall be deemed a nonconforming use, except that uses granted by the Board of Supervisors as conditional uses pursuant to § 180-128 and uses granted by the Zoning Hearing Board as special exception uses pursuant to § 180-119C shall be deemed conforming uses.

[Amended 11-10-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-7]

Prior to the use of any property, land, building, structure, or part thereof, the owner shall obtain, from the Zoning Officer, a zoning permit, which permit shall be in addition to any other permits which may be required by any governmental agency.

§ 180-5 Conformity with building regulations.

Except as hereinafter provided, no building or structure or part thereof shall hereafter be erected, structurally altered, enlarged, or rebuilt except in conformity with the lot dimensions, yard, court, coverage, height, and density regulations herein prescribed. Any building or structure that does not conform to such regulations, hereinafter referred to as the "building regulations" of this chapter, shall be deemed a nonconforming building or structure, irrespective of the use to which it is put. Building or structure variances granted by the Zoning Hearing Board pursuant to § 180-119D on grounds of practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship, not self-imposed, shall be deemed nonconforming buildings or structures.

§ 180-6 Continuation of existing uses.

Any legally established existing use of a building or structure, lot or land, or part thereof, which use constitutes a conforming use under the provisions of this chapter, may be continued.

§ 180-7 Interpretation.

In interpreting and applying the provisions of this chapter, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the health, safety, and general welfare of the residents of the Township.

In interpreting the language of zoning ordinances to determine the extent of the restriction upon the use of the property, the language shall be interpreted, where doubt exists as to the intended meaning of the language written and enacted by the governing body, in favor of the property owner and against any implied extension of the restriction.

§ 180-8 Effect on other ordinances and regulations.

It is not intended by this chapter to repeal, abrogate, annul, or interfere with any existing ordinances or resolutions or with any rule, regulation, or permit adopted or issued thereunder, except as provided and only to the extent permitted by § 508(4) of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended.[1] Where this chapter imposes greater restrictions upon the use or development of buildings or land, or upon the height and bulk of buildings, or prescribes larger open spaces than the provisions of such other ordinance, resolution, rule, regulation or permit, then the provisions of this chapter shall control. Furthermore, except as provided for in Article V of this chapter, if a discrepancy exists between any regulations contained within this chapter and any other Township regulations, the regulation which imposes the greater restrictions shall apply.

[1]

Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.

§ 180-9 Severability.

[Amended 10-14-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-4]

Should any section or provision of this chapter be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of this chapter as a whole or of any other part thereof. Additionally, to the extent that any provisions of this Zoning Ordinance contravene controlling, inconsistent provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act, or the Fair Housing Amendments Act, such provisions of this chapter shall be interpreted and applied in such a way so as to comport with the same, and the Board of Supervisors has the authority to grant waivers from any ordinance provisions to effectuate reasonable accommodations, or to take other actions, necessary for compliance with such Acts.

§ 180-10 Uses not provided for.

Wherever, under this chapter, a use is neither specifically permitted nor denied and an application is made by an applicant to the Zoning Officer for such use, the Zoning Officer shall refer the application to the Board of Supervisors to hear and decide such request as a conditional use. The Board of Supervisors shall have the authority to permit the use or deny the use in accordance with the standards governing conditional use applications. The use may be permitted if it is similar to and compatible with the permitted uses in the zone in which the subject property is located, is not permitted in any other zone under the terms of this chapter, and in no way is in conflict with the general purposes and intent of this chapter. The burden of proof shall be upon the applicant to demonstrate that the proposed use meets the foregoing criteria and would not be detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood.

§ 180-11 Establishment of zones.

[Amended 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 2015-12]

For the purpose of this chapter, Lehigh Township is hereby divided into zones which shall be designated as follows:

Agriculture/Rural Residential

Village Residential

General Commercial

Neighborhood Commercial

Industrial

Office Business

Blue Mountain Conservation

Resort Commercial

Planned Resort Residential Community

§ 180-12 Zoning Map.

[Amended 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 2015-12]

A revised Official Zoning Map of Lehigh Township, marked as last revised May 13, 2014, a copy of which is included herein as Exhibit 1[1] and, together with any explanatory matter thereon, is hereby declared to be a part of this chapter, as set forth in § 180-12. The original of this new Official Zoning Map shall be filed as part of the permanent records of the Township.

[1]

Editor’s Note: The Zoning Map is on file in the Township offices.

§ 180-13 Zone boundary lines.

The zone boundary lines shall be as shown on the Zoning Map. The zone boundary lines are intended to follow generally the boundary lines of streets and similar rights-of-way or lot lines, or straight line projections of such lines, as they existed at the time of passage of this chapter, or Township boundary lines, all as shown on the Zoning Map. Where a zone boundary line does not follow such a previously defined line, its position is shown on the Zoning Map by a specific dimension expressing its distance in feet from a street center line or another zone boundary line as indicated and included herein.

§ 180-14 Community development objectives.

This chapter is enacted in accordance with the Lehigh Township Comprehensive Plan and has been formulated to implement the purposes set forth in § 180-3 above. This chapter is enacted with regard to the community development objectives listed in the Lehigh Township Comprehensive Plan.

§ 180-15 Word usage and definitions.

General interpretation. For the purpose of this chapter, words and terms used herein shall be interpreted as follows:

(1)

Words in the present tense shall include the future tense unless the context clearly indicates the contrary.

(2)

The word "person" or "applicant" includes a profit or nonprofit corporation, company, partnership, trust, or individual.

(3)

The word "used" or "occupied" as applied to any land or building includes the words "intended, arranged, or designed to be used or occupied."

(4)

The word "should" means that it is strongly encouraged but is not mandatory.

(5)

The word "shall" is always mandatory.

(6)

The word "lot" includes plot or parcel.

(7)

The words "street," "highway" and "road" have the same meaning and are used interchangeably.

(8)

The word "sale" shall also include rental.

(9)

The singular shall include the plural and vice versa unless the context clearly indicates the contrary.

(10)

The masculine gender shall include the feminine and neuter and vice versa.

(11)

If a word is not defined in this chapter but is defined in Chapter 147, Subdivision and Land Development, as amended, the definition in that chapter shall be used.

(12)

Any word or term not defined in this chapter or in Chapter 147, Subdivision and Land Development, as amended, shall be used with the meaning of standard usage within the context of the section.

(13)

The words "such as," "includes," "including" and "specifically" shall provide examples but shall not by themselves limit a provision only to items specifically mentioned, if other items would otherwise comply with the provision.

(14)

If a word is defined in both this chapter and another Township ordinance, each definition shall apply to the provisions of each applicable ordinance.

Specific words and phrases. The following words and phrases shall have the particular meaning assigned by this section in the appropriate sections of this chapter:

ABUT

Areas of contiguous lots which share a common lot line, except not including lots entirely separated by a street or non-intermittent waterway.

ACADEMIC CLINICAL RESEARCH CENTER

An accredited medical school within this commonwealth that operates or partners with an acute care hospital licensed within this commonwealth.

[Added 6-27-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-3]

ACCESS DRIVE

An improved cartway designed and constructed to provide for vehicular movement between a public road and a tract of land containing any use other than one single-family dwelling unit, single-family semidetached (twin), townhouses, multiple-family building or farm.

[Amended 3-28-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-1]

ACCESSORY APARTMENT

A separate dwelling unit that is contained upon the same lot as an owner-occupied single-family detached dwelling and is contained within the principal dwelling building and is inhabited only by a person or persons related by blood or marriage to one or more of the occupants of the principal dwelling. All accessory apartments shall have direct separate means of entrance/exit.

ACCESSORY EQUIPMENT

Any equipment serving or being used in conjunction with a wireless telecommunications facility or wireless support structure. The term includes utility or transmission equipment, power supplies, generators, batteries, cables, equipment buildings, base stations, cabinets and storage sheds, shelters or similar equipment.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

ACCESSORY SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM

A solar collection system consisting of one or more roof- and/or ground-mounted solar collector devices and solar-related equipment, which has a rated capacity of less than or equal to 30 kilowatts (for electricity) or that has a lot coverage collector area of less than or equal to 1,000 square feet, and is intended to primarily reduce and/or supplement on-site consumption of utility power. A system is considered an accessory solar energy system only if it supplies electrical power solely for on-site use, except that when a property upon which the facility is installed also receives electrical power supplied by a utility company, excess electrical power generated and not presently needed for on-site use may be used by the utility company.

[Added 10-23-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-2; amended 8-9-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-2]

ACCESSORY USE OR BUILDING

A subordinate use or building customarily incidental to, and located on the same lot occupied by, the main use or building. The term "accessory building" may include a private garage, garden shed or barn, a private playhouse, a private greenhouse, or a private swimming pool as hereinafter provided.

ACRE

43,560 square feet.

ACREAGE, NET

The total land area contained within a property or proposed site, exclusive of lands within an existing or proposed public or private street right-of-way.

ACT

The latest version of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended.[1]

ADJACENT

Includes contiguous lots which share a common lot line or that are separated only by a street or waterway.

ADULT-RELATED FACILITY

A business or club which engages in one or more of the following areas of sales, services, or entertainment:

(1)

ADULT BATHHOUSEAn establishment or business which provides the services of baths of all kinds, including all forms and methods of hydrotherapy during which specified anatomical areas are displayed or specified sexual activity occurs. This definition shall not apply to hydrotherapy treatment practiced by, or under the supervision of, a medical practitioner. A medical practitioner, for the purpose of this chapter, shall be a medical doctor, physician, chiropractor, or similar professional licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

(2)

ADULT BODY PAINTING STUDIOAny establishment or business which provides the service of applying paint or other substance, whether transparent or nontransparent, to or on the human body when specified anatomical areas are exposed.

(3)

ADULT BOOKSTOREAny establishment which has more than 50% of its stock-in-trade consisting of:

(a)

Books, films, videotapes, magazines or other periodicals or other forms of audio or visual representation which are distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on depiction of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas; and/or

(b)

Instruments, devices or paraphernalia (excluding prophylactics) which are designed for use in connection with specified sexual activities.

(4)

ADULT CABARETA nightclub, theater, bar, or similar establishment which features live or media representations of performances by topless or bottomless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, or similar entertainers, where such performances are distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.

(5)

ADULT MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENTAny establishment or business which provides the services of massage and/or body manipulation, including exercises, heat, and light treatment of the body, and all forms and methods of physiotherapy, unless operated by a medical practitioner, chiropractor, or professional physical therapist licensed by the commonwealth. This definition does not include an athletic club, health club, school, gymnasium, reducing salon, spa or similar establishment where massage or similar manipulation of the human body is offered as an incidental or accessory service.

(6)

ADULT MINI MOTION-PICTURE THEATERAn enclosed or unenclosed building with a capacity of more than five but fewer than 50 persons used for presenting any form of audio or visual material and in which a substantial portion of the total presentation time measured on an annual basis is devoted to the showing of material which is distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on depiction or description of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.

(7)

ADULT MODEL STUDIOAny place where, for any form of consideration or gratuity, figure models who display specified anatomical areas are provided to be observed, sketched, drawn, painted, sculpted, photographed, or similarly depicted by persons paying such consideration or gratuity, except that this provision shall not apply to any figure studio or school of art or similar establishment which meets the requirements established in the Education Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the issuance or conferring of, and which is in fact authorized thereunder to issue or confer, a diploma.

(8)

ADULT MOTELA motel or similar establishment offering public accommodations for any consideration which provides patrons with material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on depiction of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.

(9)

ADULT MOTION-PICTURE ARCADEAny place to which the public is permitted or invited wherein coin- or slug-operated or electronically or mechanically controlled still or motion-picture machines, projectors, or other image-producing devices are maintained to show images to five or fewer persons per machine at any one time and where the images so displayed are distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on depiction of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.

(10)

ADULT MOTION-PICTURE THEATERAn enclosed or unenclosed building with a capacity of 50 or more persons used for presenting any form of audio or visual material and in which a substantial portion of the total presentation time measured on an annual basis is devoted to the showing of material which is distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on depiction or description of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.

(11)

ADULT NEWSRACKAny coin-operated machine or device which dispenses material substantially devoted to the depiction of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.

(12)

ADULT OUT-CALL SERVICE ACTIVITYAny establishment or business which provides an out-call service which consists of individuals leaving the premises upon request or by appointment to visit other premises for a period of time for the purpose of providing any service during which time specified anatomical areas are displayed or specified sexual activity occurs.

(13)

ADULT SEXUAL ENCOUNTER CENTERAny business, agency, or person who or which, for any form of consideration or gratuity, provides a place where two or more persons, not all members of the same family, may congregate, assemble, or associate for the purpose of engaging in specified sexual activity or exposing specified anatomical areas, excluding psychosexual workshops operated by a medical practitioner licensed by the commonwealth to engage in sexual therapy.

(14)

ADULT THEATERA theater, concert hall, auditorium, or similar establishment, either indoor or outdoor in nature, which regularly features live performances which are distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on specified sexual activities or by exposure of specified anatomical areas for observation by patrons.

(15)

Any other business or establishment which offers its patrons services or entertainment characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing, or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.

AGRICULTURAL OPERATION

An enterprise that is actively engages in the commercial production and preparation for market of crops, livestock and livestock products and in the production, harvesting and preparation for market or use of agricultural, agronomic, horticultural, silvicultural and aquacultural crops and commodities. The term includes an enterprise that implements changes in production practices and procedures or types of crops, livestock, livestock products or commodities produced consistent with practices and procedures that are normally engaged in by farmers or are consistent with technological development with the agricultural industries.

AGRICULTURE

The tilling of the soil, the raising of crops, forestry, horticulture and gardening, including the raising of livestock such as cattle, cows, hogs, horses, sheep, goats, poultry, rabbits, birds, fish, bees, and other similar animals. This definition also includes noncommercial greenhouses and mushroom houses. Agriculture can involve the incidental slaughter of livestock which has been raised on the site for no less than 2/3 of its lifespan.

(1)

AGRICULTURE, EXTENSIVEExtensive agriculture shall be deemed to include the customary growing of crops and raising of livestock for production of meat, dairy products, skins and like activities, such as horticulture, excluding intensive agriculture as hereinafter defined. Extensive agriculture envisions a demand for substantial areas of land, and, by reason of disbursed activity, it generally will present few unusual environmental problems, such as runoff, animal waste concentrations and the like.

(2)

AGRICULTURE, INTENSIVEIntensive agriculture is intended to include, but not be limited to, the following activities: raising of poultry, mushroom houses, fattening pens, enclosed feed lots, and pig farms. The hallmarks of intensive agriculture may include one or more of the following: relatively small lot areas, strong offensive odors, substantial runoff, large concentrations of animal waste, noise, and extensive use of chemical, compost and manure piles. In addition to all of the foregoing, the land application of sewage sludge shall not be deemed an accessory use to extensive agriculture but shall be deemed intensive agriculture, subject to all of the terms, conditions and limitations of engaging in intensive agriculture under the terms of this chapter. Intensive and extensive agriculture may coexist upon the same tract of land, and those portions of a farm dedicated to intensive agriculture shall be separately addressed and deemed a separate and distinct use.

ALLEY

A public or private thoroughfare, with a cartway or right-of-way of 20 feet or less which affords only a secondary means of access to abutting property and is not intended for general traffic circulation. An alley is not a street. In the PRRC Zone, an "alley" is defined as a private thoroughfare providing for either one-way or two-way traffic which may afford a primary or secondary means of access to abutting property and is intended for traffic circulation only to and from abutting properties.

[Amended 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 2015-12; 10-27-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-6]

ALTERATION

(1)

Any change in the supporting members of a building or structure, such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders, joists or rafters, or enclosing walls.

(2)

Any renovation of a building which would change its use, location and/or size.

AMBULATORY SURGICAL FACILITY

A facility, not located on the premises of a hospital, which provides outpatient surgical treatment. "Ambulatory surgical facility" does not include individual or group practice offices of private physicians or dentists, unless such offices have a distinct part used solely for outpatient surgical treatment on a regular and organized basis. For the purposes of this definition, "outpatient surgical treatment" means surgical treatment to patients who do not require hospitalization but who require constant medical supervision following the surgical procedure performed. In the event that the Pennsylvania statute defining this term is amended, or further amended, in that event this term shall be redefined as set forth in the statute. (See 35 P.S. § 448.802a, as amended.)

AMUSEMENT ARCADE

A commercial establishment which provides, as a principal use, amusement devices and/or games of skill or chance (e.g., pinball machines, video games, skeeball, electronic or water firing ranges, and other similar devices). This definition does not include the use of two or fewer such devices as an accessory use.

ANIMAL HOSPITAL

Any establishment offering veterinary services. Animal hospitals can treat any or all types of animals and can include outdoor and overnight boarding of animals.

ANTENNA

Telecommunications equipment that transmits and receives electromagnetic radio signals used in the provision of all types of wireless communications services. An antenna shall not include private residence-mounted satellite dishes or television antennas or amateur radio equipment including, without limitation, ham or citizen band radio antennas.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

APPLICANT

A landowner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has an application for development, including his heirs, successors and assigns.

ATTIC

That part of a building which is immediately below and wholly or partly within the roof framing. Within a dwelling unit, an attic shall not be counted as floor area unless it is constructed as or modified into a habitable room by the inclusion of dormer windows, an average ceiling height of five feet or more, and a permanent stationary interior access stairway to a lower building story.

AUTOMOBILE FILLING STATION

Any area of land, including structures thereon, that is used for the sale of gasoline or any other motor vehicle fuel and oil or other lubricating substances, including any retail sales of motor vehicle accessories, which may not include major repairing, body and fender work, painting, vehicular sales or rental, or automatic car washes.

AUTOMOBILE SALES

Any building or land devoted to the retail sales of passenger vehicles, including accessory service and repair facilities if conducted within a wholly enclosed building.

AUTOMOBILE/SALVAGE FACILITY

An area of land, with or without buildings, used for the storage, outside a completely enclosed building, of used and discarded materials, including but not limited to wastepaper, rags, metal, building materials, house furnishings, machinery, vehicles, or parts thereof, with or without the dismantling, processing, salvage, sale, or other use or disposition of the same. The deposit or storage on a lot of one or more unlicensed, wrecked, or disabled vehicles, or the major part thereof, shall be deemed to constitute an automobile/salvage facility. (A disabled vehicle is a vehicle intended to be self-propelled that shall not be operable under its own power for any reason or a vehicle that does not have a valid current registration plate or that has a certificate of inspection which is more than 60 days beyond the expiration date.)

AUTOMOBILE SERVICE

The retail repair, servicing, maintenance or reconstruction of passenger vehicles, but not including car washes, per se.

BASE FLOOD

The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (one-hundred-year flood).

BASE FLOOD ELEVATION

The projected flood height of the base flood.

BASE STATION

A structure or equipment at a fixed location that enables Federal Communications Commission-licensed or authorized wireless communications between user equipment and a communications network. The term does not encompass a tower or any equipment associated with a tower.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

(1)

The term includes, but is not limited to, equipment associated with wireless communications services such as private, broadcast, and public safety services, as well as unlicensed wireless services (i.e., wifi) and fixed wireless services (i.e., point-to-point microwave transmissions) such as microwave backhaul.

(2)

The term includes, but is not limited to, radio transceivers, antennas, coaxial or fiber-optic cable, regular and backup power supplies, and comparable equipment, regardless of technological configuration (including distributed antenna systems and small-cell networks).

(3)

The term includes any structure other than a tower that, at the time the relevant application is filed with Lehigh Township under § 180-71, supports or houses equipment described in Subsections (1) and (2) of this definition that has been reviewed and approved under the applicable zoning or siting process, or under another state or local regulatory review process, even if the structure was not built for the sole or primary purpose of providing such support.

(4)

The term does not include any structure that, at the time the relevant application is filed with Lehigh Township under § 180-71, does not support or house equipment described in Subsections (1) and (2) of this definition.

BED-AND-BREAKFAST

A single-family detached dwelling where one or more, but not more than five, rentable bedrooms are rented to overnight guests on a daily basis for periods not to exceed two weeks and which includes the owner residing on the premises. Breakfast shall only be offered to registered overnight guests.

[Amended 9-8-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-1; 5-11-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-2]

BEDROOM

Any room or space designated to be used or intended to be used for sleeping purposes. Spaces used for eating, cooking, bathrooms, toilet rooms, closets, halls, storage or utility room and similar uses are not considered bedrooms.

[Added 11-10-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-3]

BEEKEEPING

An accessory use to a farm in the A/RR Zone in which bees are raised and/or kept in compliance with § 180-16B(11)(c) of this chapter.

BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Practices that are designed to prevent or reduce impacts caused to air, water, soil, or biological resources, and to minimize the adverse impacts to public health, safety and welfare, including the environment and wildlife resources, utilizing the best available technology to the maximum extent possible.

[Added 8-28-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-6]

BILLBOARD

A sign upon which images and/or messages of any kind are printed, posted, lettered or electronically displayed, whether freestanding or attached, to a surface of a building or other structure. A billboard is used to advertise products, services, or businesses at a location other than the premises on which the sign is placed or to disseminate other messages.

BIRTH CENTER

A facility, not part of a hospital, which provides maternity care to childbearing families not requiring hospitalization. A birth center provides a homelike atmosphere for maternity care, including prenatal, labor, delivery, and postpartum care related to medically uncomplicated pregnancies. In the event that the Pennsylvania statute defining this term is amended, or further amended, then in that event this term shall be redefined as set forth in the statute. (See 35 P.S. § 448.802a, as amended.)

BOARD

The Zoning Hearing Board of Lehigh Township.

BOARDINGHOUSE

A detached building arranged or used for sheltering or feeding, or both, for three or more but not more than 10 individuals that do not constitute a family.

BUILDING

Any structure, either temporary or permanent, having walls and a roof or other covering and designed or used for the shelter or enclosure of any person, animal, or property of any kind, including tents, awnings, or vehicles situated on private property and used for purposes stated above.

(1)

DETACHEDA building which has no party wall.

(2)

SEMIDETACHEDA building which has only one party wall in common.

(3)

ATTACHEDA building which has two or more party walls in common.

BUILDING AREA

The total of areas taken on a horizontal plane at the average grade level of the principal building and all accessory buildings, exclusive or uncovered patios, decks, awnings, terraces, and steps.

BUILDING HEIGHT

A building's vertical measurement from the mean level of the ground abutting the building at its corners to the highest point on the roof.

BUILDING SETBACK LINE

The actual line of that face of the building nearest an adjacent right-of-way or street line. This face includes any structure above grade, except steps.

CAFE

An exterior seating area associated with a restaurant or tavern which is under constant supervision by an employee of the business.

CAMPGROUND

A lot, tract, or parcel of land upon which two or more campsites are located or established, intended and maintained for occupation by transients in recreational vehicles or tents.

CAMPSITE

A plot of ground within a campground intended for occupation by a recreational vehicle or tent.

CAPACITY RATING

The rating given to a PV system by its manufacturer denoting the load the system is able to meet or supply when operating at full capacity. For a solar PV system, this will occur when the system is in direct sunlight with no shade.

[Added 10-23-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-2]

CAREGIVER

The individual designated by a patient to deliver medical marijuana.

[Added 6-27-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-3]

CARPORT

An unenclosed structure for the storage of one or more vehicles in the same manner as a private garage, which may be covered by a roof supported by columns or posts, except that one or more walls may be the walls of the main building to which the carport is accessory.

CARTWAY

The surface of a street, access drive, driveway or alley for vehicular traffic, including travel lanes and parking lanes but not including curbs, sidewalks, or swales.

CAR WASH

A principal or accessory use whereby structures equipped with apparatus for the washing, waxing, and/or vacuuming of vehicles are provided.

(1)

AUTOMATIC CAR WASHA self-serve car wash in which the vehicle enters a washing bay and is cleaned solely by a mechanized process.

(2)

FULL-SERVICE CAR WASHA car wash in which attendants are responsible for some portion of the washing process.

(3)

SELF-SERVICE CAR WASHA car wash in which the vehicle enters a washing bay and is cleaned by the vehicle's occupants using available equipment and cleansers.

CELLAR

A space with less than 1/2 of its floor-to-ceiling height above the average finished grade of the adjoining ground or with a floor-to-ceiling height of less than 6 1/2 feet. Within a dwelling unit, a cellar shall not be counted as floor area or as a story of permissible building height.

CEMETERY

Land used or intended to be used for the burial of the deceased, including columbaria, mausoleums, and mortuaries when operated in conjunction with the cemetery and within the boundaries thereof. This definition shall not include crematoria.

CERTIFICATE OF USE AND OCCUPANCY

A statement signed by the Zoning Officer setting forth that a building, structure or use legally complies with this chapter and other applicable codes and regulations and that the same may be used for the purposes stated therein.

CERTIFIED MEDICAL USE

The acquisition, possession, use or transportation of medical marijuana by a patient, or the acquisition, possession, delivery, transportation or administration of medical marijuana by a caregiver, for use as part of the treatment of the patient's serious medical condition, as authorized by certification by the commonwealth.

[Added 6-27-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-3]

CHANNEL

A natural or artificial watercourse with a definite bed and banks which confine and conduct continuously or periodically flowing water.

CHEMICAL OPERATIONS OR PROCESSING

The manufacturing, processing or storage of chemicals individually or combined for the purpose of sales as part of an overall product manufacturing process.

CHURCH AND RELATED USES

A building, structure, or group of buildings or structures, including accessory uses, designed or intended for public worship. This definition shall include rectories, convents, and church-related educational and/or day-care facilities.

CLINICAL REGISTRANT

An entity that:

[Added 6-27-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-3]

(1)

Holds a permit both as a grower/processor and a dispensary; and

(2)

Has a contractual relationship with an academic clinical research center under which the academic clinical research center or its affiliate provides advice to the entity regarding, among other areas, patient health and safety, medical applications and dispensing and management of controlled substances.

CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT

A development that blends residences with areas of natural sensitivity and/or public park lands. Cluster developments are permitted as a conditional use within the Village Residential Zone.

COLLOCATION

The mounting or installation of transmission equipment on an eligible support structure for the purpose of transmitting and/or receiving radio frequency signals for communications purposes.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

COMMERCIAL FORESTRY

(1)

The harvesting of trees for any purpose involving:

(a)

An area of 10 acres or greater on any lot; or

(b)

An area of 10% or greater of the area of any lot.

(2)

Commercial forestry shall not include the harvesting of trees on a lot of two acres or less.

[Added 11-14-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-6]

COMMERCIAL KEEPING AND HANDLING

Producing and/or maintaining with the express purpose and intent of selling the product.

COMMERCIAL LIVESTOCK OPERATION

An agricultural use involving the commercial keeping and handling of livestock in quantities exceeding any one of the following: five horses; 10 swine; 25 sheep; 25 dairy, beef or veal cattle; 500 poultry, excluding turkeys; or 100 turkeys.

COMMERCIAL RECREATION FACILITY

An activity operated as a business, open to the public, for the purpose of public recreation or entertainment, including but not limited to bowling alleys, drive-in motion-picture facilities, swimming pools, health clubs, miniature golf courses, etc. This definition does not include adult-related uses, shooting ranges, amusement arcades, or off-track betting parlors, as defined herein.

COMMERCIAL TRUCK

A vehicle that exceeds a gross vehicle weight (truck plus rated payload) of 10,000 pounds.

COMMON OPEN SPACE

Any area of land or water, or a combination of land and water, within a development site designed and intended for use by all residents of the development or the general public. Land included within the right-of-way lines of streets and stormwater detention basins shall not be classified as common open space. Common open spaces shall not include required setbacks between buildings and street rights-of-way, driveways, access drives, parking areas, and property lines of the development. No dwelling unit, residential accessory building, or parking or loading area may be located within common open space.

COMMUNITY CENTER

A noncommercial use chartered as a nonprofit organization for use by the residents of the community in which it is located. Such use exists solely to provide educational, cultural, recreational or civic activities and programs open to the general public or certain age groups. The use also may include the noncommercial preparation and/or provision of meals to low-income elderly persons. This use shall not include residential uses, day care, health care facilities, personal care facilities or centers for the treatment of alcohol and/or drug abuse.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

The most recently adopted version of the Official Comprehensive Plan of Lehigh Township, Northampton County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including all amendments.

COMPRESSOR

A device that raises the pressure of oil and natural gas and/or by-products. Compressors are any devices that create a pressure differential to move or compress a liquid, vapor, or a gas. Any such device used alone or in series to adequately move a liquid, vapor or a gas is considered a compressor.

[Added 8-28-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-6]

CONCENTRATED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATION (CAFO)

All land and/or a lot, facility, parcel, or operating location in which animals have been, are or will be stabled or confined and fed or maintained for a total of 45 days or more in any twelve-month period and where a ground cover of vegetation is not sustained over at least 50% of the animal confinement area. A concentrated animal feeding operation shall include any agricultural operation with more than 1,000 animal equivalency units (AEUs); an agricultural operation with animals with a discharge to surface waters during a storm event of less than twenty-five-year/twenty-four-hour storm; or a concentrated animal operation (CAO) as defined below in § 180-15 with greater than 300 animal equivalent units (AEUs). For purposes of this definition, "animal confinement area" includes the buildings or structures, including feedlots, in which animals are confined, but does not include contiguous land used as plant filter areas over which crops or other vegetation are raised independent from the animal feeding operations.

[Added 4-27-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4]

CONCENTRATED ANIMAL OPERATION (CAO)

An agricultural operation where the animal density exceeds two animal equivalent units (AEU) per acre on an annual basis. An AEU is 1,000 pounds of live weight of any animal. Standard animal weights used to determine the AEU calculation are found in Table 1 as follows:

Table 1
Standard Animal Weights Used To Calculate Animal Equivalent Units to Identify Concentrated Animal Operations and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations [Amended 4-27-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4]
Type of Animal		Standard Weight (pounds) During Production (range)
Swine
Nursery pig		30 (15 to 45)
Finishing pig		145 (45 to 245)
Gestating sow		400
Sow and litter		470
Beef
Calf: 0 to 8 months		300 (100 to 500)
Finishing: 8 to 24 months		850 (400 to 1,200)
Cow		1,150
Veal
Calf: 0 to 16 weeks		250 (100 to 400)
Poultry
Layer: 18 to 65 weeks		3.25 (2.75 to 3.75)
Layer: 18 to 105 weeks		3.48 weighted average
Layer, brown egg: 20 to 65 weeks		4.3 (3.6 to 5)
Layer, brown egg: 20 to 105 weeks		4.63 weighted average
Pullet: 0 to 18 weeks		1.42 (0.08 to 2.75)
Broiler, large: 0 to 57 days		3.0 (0.090 to 4.5)
Broiler, medium: 0 to 43 days		2.3 (0.090 to 4.5)
Roaster		3.54 (0.09 to 7)
	Male: 0 to 8 weeks
	Female: 0 to 10 weeks
Turkey, tom: 0 to 18 weeks		14.1 (0.12 to 28)
Turkey, hen: 0 to 14 weeks		7.1 (0.12 to 14)
Duck: 0 to 43 days		3.56 (0.11 to 7)
Guineau: 0 to 14 to 24 weeks		1.9 (0.06 to 3.75)
Pheasant: 0 to 13 to 43 weeks		1.53 (0.05 to 3)
Chukar: 0 to 13 to 43 weeks		0.52 (0.04 to 1)
Quail: 0 to 13 to 43 weeks		0.26 (0.02 to 0.5)
Goose: 0 to 14 weeks		7.1 (0.12 to 14)
Dairy
Holsten/Brown Swiss Cow		1,300
	Heifer: 1 to 2 years	900 (650 to 1,150)
	Calf: 0 to 1 year	375 (100 to 650)
	Bull	1,500
Ayrshire/Guernsey Cow		1,100
	Heifer: 1 to 2 years	800 (575 to 1,025)
	Calf: 0 to 1 year	338 (100 to 575)
	Bull	1,250
Jersey Cow		900
	Heifer 1 to 2 years	600 (400 to 800)
	Calf: 0 to 1 year	225 (50 to 400)
	Bull	1,000
Sheep
Lamb: 0 to 26 weeks		50 (10 to 90)
Ewe		150
Ram		185
Goat
Kid: 0 to 10 months		45 (5 to 85)
Doe		145
Buck		175
Horse
Foal		325 (125 to 625)
Yearling		750 (625 to 875)
Nondraft breeds: mature		1,000
Draft breeds: mature		1,700

CONDITIONAL USE

A use which may be appropriate to a particular zoning district only when specific conditions and criteria prescribed for such use have been complied with. Conditional uses are reviewed by the Board of Supervisors after recommendations by the Planning Commission, in accordance with § 180-128 of this chapter.

CONDOMINIUM

A form of property ownership providing for individual ownership of a specific dwelling unit or other space together with an undivided interest in the land or other parts of the structure in common with other owners.

CONSERVATION PLAN

A plan including map(s) and narrative that, at the very least, outlines an erosion and sedimentation control plan for an identified parcel of land.

CONVALESCENT HOME

A facility for long-term residence of persons infirmed, ill, or of advanced age who are in need of custodial care and attention, but not active treatment, and may include a health care facility, provided that the convalescent home shall be licensed by an appropriate agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

CONVENIENCE STORE

A retail sales business which specializes in providing household products and food.

(1)

Convenience stores may also provide for any or all of the following as an accessory use:

(2)

The rental of videotapes, provided that an adult bookstore is specifically prohibited;

(a)

The preparation and sale of delicatessen sandwiches and foods, provided that no patron seating is provided; and/or

(b)

The use of no more than two amusement devices (e.g., pinball machines, video games, and other similar devices).

(3)

Convenience stores shall not include the dispensing of gasoline or other vehicle fuels, unless the appropriate approvals for an automobile filling station (as defined herein) have been obtained.

CONVENTION CENTER

A group of uses designed and constructed as an integrated development to serve those attending consumer trade shows, association conferences and meetings, sports shows, banquets, receptions, and other similar functions.

CONVERSION APARTMENT

The adaptation of one single-family detached dwelling to two or more dwelling units.

CORRECTIONAL FACILITY (aka PRISON or JAIL)

A publicly or privately operated facility housing persons (either juvenile or adult) awaiting criminal trial or adjudication, serving a sentence after being found guilty of a criminal offense or being adjudicated delinquent for a crime, which may be within the jurisdiction of a federal, state or local probation, parole or corrections agency and/or receiving treatment other than at a hospital while under the jurisdiction of such authority or agency. The term shall include, but not be limited to, jails, prisons, work release centers, pre-release centers and treatment centers. The term shall not include a group home or group institution otherwise approved and regulated by this Zoning Ordinance.

[Added 10-14-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-4]

CUL-DE-SAC

A dead-end street equipped with a vehicular turnaround at its terminus.

DAY CARE

The offering of care or supervision over minors or special needs adults in lieu of care or supervision by family members. This definition does not include the offering of overnight accommodations.

(1)

DAY CARE, ACCESSORYA day-care facility that is operated as an accessory use to a dwelling unit, whereby care and supervision are offered to no more than three nonresidents of the site during any calendar day. These facilities are permitted by right in every zone.

(2)

DAY CARE, FAMILYA day-care facility that is operated as an accessory use to a dwelling unit, in which care and supervision are offered to between four and six nonresidents of the site during any calendar day. Family day-care facilities must be registered by the Department of Public Welfare of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

(3)

DAY CARE, COMMERCIALA day-car facility that offers care and supervision to more than six nonresidents of the site during any calendar day. Commercial day-care facilities can be operated as principal uses or as accessory uses associated with other uses (e.g., schools, churches, industries, residential complex, etc.); however, in no case shall commercial day care be considered an accessory use to one dwelling unit. Commercial day-care facilities shall include group child day-care homes and child day-care centers, as defined and regulated by the Department of Public Welfare of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All commercial day-care centers must obtain a valid certificate of compliance from the Department of Public Welfare of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania prior to operation.

DENSITY, NET

The number of dwelling units permitted in relation to the land area actually in use or proposed to be used for residential purposes, exclusive of public and/or private streets.

DESIGNATED GROWTH AREA

A region within a county or counties described in a municipal or multi-municipal plan that preferably includes and surrounds a city, borough or village and within which residential and mixed-use development is permitted or planned for at densities of one unit to the acre or more; commercial, industrial and institutional uses are permitted or planned for; and public infrastructure services are provided or planned.

DEVELOPER

Any landowner, agent of such landowner, or tenant with the permission of such landowner who makes or causes to be made a subdivision of land or a land development.

DEVELOPMENT

Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, excavating, or drilling operations.

DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY

A disability of a person which has continued or can be expected to continue indefinitely; a disability which is:

(1)

Attributable to mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, injury and/or trauma;

(2)

Found to be attributable to any other conditions found to be closely related to mental retardation because such condition results in similar impairment of general intellectual functioning or adaptive behavior to that of a mentally retarded person(s) or requires treatment and services similar to those required for such persons; or

(3)

Attributable to dyslexia resulting from a disability described in Subsections (1) and (2) of this definition.

DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED PERSON

A person with a developmental disability.

DEVELOPMENT PLAN

The provisions for development, including a planned residential development, a plat of subdivision, all covenants relating to use, location and bulk of buildings and other structures, intensity of use or density of development, streets, ways and parking facilities, common open space and public facilities.

DISPENSARY

A person, including a natural person, corporation, partnership, association, trust or other entity, or any combination thereof, which holds a permit issued by the Department of Health (DOH) of the commonwealth to dispense medical marijuana.

[Added 6-27-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-3]

DISTRIBUTED ANTENNA SYSTEM (DAS)

A small network of antennas that are connected to a common source that provides coverage in a building or a small geographic area.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

DISTRIBUTION

A process whereby materials, goods, or products are imported, stored by one person, and then delivered to another.

DRIVEWAY

Any means for passage of vehicles, whether one combined ingress/egress point or one clearly defined ingress point appropriately separated from another clearly defined egress point, between property abutting on a private or public street serving one single-family dwelling unit, semidetached (twin), townhouse or multiple-family building, farm or public facility. It will also include such drainage structures as may be necessary for the proper construction and maintenance thereof.

[Amended 3-28-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-1]

DWELLING

Any building or portion thereof designed and used exclusively for residential occupancy, including those listed below, but not including hospitals, hotels, boarding-, rooming and lodging houses, institutional houses, tourist courts, and the like, offering overnight accommodations for guests or patients. All dwellings must be permanently affixed to a completely enclosed foundation constructed of currently accepted materials that shall be an entire perimeter wall and extend from below the frost line to the first floor of the building. Such foundation shall be constructed to provide sufficient structural integrity to prevent the building from heaving, shifting, or settling unevenly due to frost action. In addition, all dwellings shall be properly connected to approved and permanently designed sewer, water, electrical and other utility systems.

(1)

SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED (SFD)A freestanding building containing one dwelling unit for one family and having two side yards, one front yard, and one rear yard; in the case of a corner lot, the building will have one front and side yard with street, one side yard and one rear yard. Mobile homes can be considered single-family detached dwellings if, in addition to the requirements listed for all dwellings, they comply with Subsection (2), which follows, the definition of "dwelling" and § 180-36B. Travel trailers, as defined herein,[2] shall not be construed as dwellings. Modular homes can be considered single-family detached dwellings so long as they comply with the general requirements of a dwelling. (Figure 1)

(2)

DUPLEX (TWO-FAMILY; SINGLE-FAMILY SEMIDETACHED)A freestanding building containing two dwelling units for two families, arranged in a side-by-side configuration. Each unit shall be constructed on an individual lot which shall have one front, side and rear yard. (Figure 2)

(3)

MULTIPLE-FAMILYA building containing three or more dwelling units, at least one of which must be located above or below the remaining units. (Figure 3)

(4)

TOWNHOUSEA building containing between three and eight dwelling units arranged in a side-by-side configuration with two or more common party walls. (Figure 4)

(5)

MOBILE HOMEFor the purpose of this chapter, all mobile homes shall be governed by all regulations applicable to single-family detached dwellings and the following:

(a)

All apparatus used to tow or transport the mobile home (including but not limited to the towing hitch) shall be removed; and

(b)

All mobile homes and additions thereto shall be anchored to resist flotation, collapse, or lateral movement by providing over-the-top or frame ties to ground anchors in accordance with the American National Standards, as specified in the Standard for the Installation of Mobile Homes Including Mobile Home Park Requirements [NFPA No. 501A-1974 (ANSI A119.3-1975)], as amended for mobile homes in hurricane zones, or other appropriate standards, such as the following:

[1]

Over-the-top ties shall be provided at each of the four corners of the mobile home, with two additional ties per side at intermediate locations for units 50 feet or more in length and one additional tie per side for units less than 50 feet in length;

[2]

Frame ties shall be provided at each corner of the mobile home, with five additional ties per side at intermediate locations for units 50 feet or more in length and four additional ties per side for units less than 50 feet in length; and

[3]

All components of the anchoring system shall be capable of carrying a force of 4,800 pounds.

(6)

CARRIAGE HOUSEA building within the PRRC Zone containing four dwelling units arranged in a back-to-back configuration with two or more common party walls. (Figure 5).

[Added 10-27-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-6]

(7)

COTTAGEA freestanding building in the PRRC Zone containing one single-family detached dwelling unit for one family and up to three other single-family detached dwelling units which share a single driveway.

[Added 10-27-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-6]

DWELLING UNIT

A building or portion thereof arranged or designed for occupancy by not more than one family and having separate cooking and sanitary facilities.

EARTHMOVING ACTIVITY

Any construction or other activity which disturbs the surface of the land, including but not limited to excavations, embankments, land development, subdivision development, mineral extraction and the moving, depositing or storing of soil, rock or earth, excluding the tilling of the soil.

ELIGIBLE FACILITIES REQUEST

Any request for modification of an existing tower or base station that does not substantially change the physical dimensions of such tower or base station, involving: i) collocation of new transmission equipment; ii) removal of transmission equipment; or iii) replacement of transmission equipment.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

ELIGIBLE SUPPORT STRUCTURE

Any tower or base station, provided that it is existing at the time the relevant application is filed.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

EQUIPMENT COMPOUND

An area surrounding or adjacent to a wireless support structure within which base stations, power supplies or accessory equipment are located.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

FAMILY

An individual or individuals related by blood, marriage, or adoption (including persons receiving foster care) that maintain one common household and live within one dwelling unit. Additionally, up to three unrelated individuals who maintain a common household and live within one dwelling unit may be considered a family. Finally, a family shall also expressly include unrelated persons who reside within a licensed group home, as defined herein.

FARM

Any parcel of land with 10 or more acres which is used in the raising of agricultural products, including but not limited to trees, livestock, poultry or dairy products, including necessary farm structures and the storage of equipment customarily incidental to the primary use.

FARMERS' AND/OR FLEA MARKET

A retail sales use where more than one vendor displays and sells general merchandise that is new or used. Farmers' and/or flea markets can include indoor and outdoor display of merchandise.

FARM OCCUPATION

An accessory use to the primary agricultural use of a property in which residents engage in a secondary occupation conducted on the active farm.

FARM-RELATED BUSINESS

A principal use that may or may not be located upon a farm, at which goods and services are rendered in support of local farming operations.

FENCE

A freestanding, artificially constructed barrier consisting of wood, glass, metal, plastic, wire, wire mesh or masonry or a combination thereof, erected to enclose, screen or separate properties or areas of a property.

FILL

Material placed or deposited so as to form an embankment or raise the surface elevation of the land, including but not limited to levees, bulkheads, dikes, jetties, embankments, and causeways.

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION

A bank, savings and loan association, credit union, finance or loan company, etc.

FLOOD

A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overland flow of watercourses or from the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.

FLOOD ELEVATION

The projected heights, in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD), reached by floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplain areas.

FLOODPLAIN

An area of land adjacent to the channel of a watercourse which has been or is likely to be flooded, or any area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.

FLOODPROOF

Any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood damage to property, structures and their contents.

FLOODWAY

The channel of a watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the base flood elevation more than one foot.

FLOOR AREA, GROSS

The sum of the floor areas of a building as measured to the outside surfaces of exterior walls and including all areas intended and designed for the conduct of a business or use.

FLOOR AREA, GROSS LEASABLE

The total floor area designed for occupancy by an owner or tenant, as measured to the center of interior joint walls and the exterior of outside walls.

FLOOR AREA, HABITABLE

The sum of the floor areas of a dwelling unit as measured to the outside surfaces of exterior walls and including all rooms used for habitation, such as living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, closets, hallways, and stairways, but not including cellars or attics, or service rooms or areas such as utility rooms, or unheated areas such as enclosed porches.

FORESTRY

The management of forest and timberlands when practiced in accordance with accepted silvicultural principals, through developing, cultivating, harvesting, transporting and selling trees for commercial purposes. Forestry shall not include the removal of timberlands for purposes of constructing a residential dwelling on a lot size of two acres or less.

[Amended 11-14-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-6]

FORM OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

The characteristics of the medical marijuana recommended or limited for a particular patient, including the method of consumption and any particular dosage, strain, variety and quantity or percentage of medical marijuana or particular active ingredient.

[Added 6-27-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-3]

FRONTAGE

The linear measurement taken along a property's common boundary with an adjoining street right-of-way, other than that of a limited access highway.

FT. WORTH ATTACHMENT

A nonfreestanding pole which is attached to an electrical transmission tower which is used to support antennas and accessory equipment and which is anchored to the ground and obtains lateral bracing by direct attachment to the electrical transmission tower.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

FUNERAL HOME

A principal use for the preparation and viewing of the dead prior to burial or cremation. Funeral homes shall not include cemeteries, columbaria, mausoleums, or entombments but may include mortuaries and crematoria.

FUTURE GROWTH AREA

An area of a municipal or multi-municipal plan outside of and adjacent to a designated growth area where residential, commercial, industrial and institutional uses and development are permitted or planned at varying densities and public infrastructure services may or may not be provided, but future development at greater densities is planned to accompany the orderly extension and provision of public infrastructure services.

GARAGE, PRIVATE

An accessory building for the storage of one or more automobiles and/or other vehicles accessory and incidental to the primary use of the premises; provided, however, that one commercial vehicle may be stored therein where the use of such vehicle is not incidental to the use of the premises. No business, occupation or service shall be conducted therein, nor shall space therein for more than one vehicle be leased to a nonoccupant of the premises. Where a garage is an attached integral part of a dwelling unit, the garage shall not be counted as floor area unless it is constructed or modified into a habitable room by the removal of all vehicular access doors and provided that adequate off-street parking is still available on the same lot as the dwelling unit.

GENERALLY CONSISTENT

That which exhibits consistency.

GOLF COURSE

A golf course with a minimum of 2,800 yards of play in nine holes.

GROUP HOME

A dwelling operated by a reasonably responsible individual, family, or organization with a program to provide a supportive living arrangement for individuals not necessarily related by blood, marriage, adoption or legal guardianship, where special care is needed by the individual(s) served due to their emotional, mental, or physical handicap. Group homes must be licensed where required by any appropriate government agencies (including the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare), and a copy of any such licenses must be delivered to the Township prior to beginning the use. This definition shall expressly exclude facilities for the supervised care of persons under treatment for alcohol and/or drug abuse and any use related to criminal rehabilitation of adults or juveniles or services related to the treatment of the criminally insane. Facilities which house persons who pose a direct physical threat to the community may not be deemed "group homes" under the provisions of this chapter, noting that such persons include, but are not necessarily limited to, individuals who have violent behavioral disorders or who have been convicted or adjudicated delinquent for violent offenses. The following facilities also do not constitute group homes under this chapter: a group institution; a facility housing juveniles who have been adjudicated delinquent; a facility serving as an alternative to incarceration, confinement or imprisonment; an alcohol or drug treatment facility; a halfway house; a work release facility for individuals convicted or adjudicated delinquent of a crime; a facility providing housing to sexual offenders; or a secured care facility, secure detention or secure treatment center (such as where the residents have been convicted or adjudicated for violent offenses).

[Amended 10-14-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-4]

GROUP INSTITUTION (including and aka JUVENILE DETENTION FACILITY)

A building, other than a group home, constituting a household of not more than 14 persons, not necessarily related by blood, marriage, adoption or legal guardianship, who, because of their physical or emotional condition, or their social or interpretation skills, are limited, inhibited or prevented from functioning as useful or productive members of society. All group institutions shall be licensed and regulated by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare ("DPW") and accredited by an authorized third-party agency such as the Joint Commission [formerly the Joint Commission on Accreditation on Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)]. Group institutions shall include those facilities that serve as an alternative to incarceration, as well as those facilities that provide housing to juveniles adjudicated delinquent of nonviolent offenses. Group institutions shall not provide housing for individuals who have violent behavioral disorders or who have been convicted or adjudicated delinquent for violent offenses. The following facilities also do not constitute group institutions under this chapter: an alcohol or drug treatment facility, a halfway house for adults, a work release facility for individuals convicted of a crime, a facility providing housing to sexual offenders, or a secured care facility, secure detention or secure treatment center (such as where the residents have been convicted or adjudicated for violent offenses). Group institutions shall not provide, nor be licensed to provide, treatment for adjudicated sex offenders, fire setters, murderers, kidnappers, armed robbers or juveniles diagnosed with violent psychiatric disorders.

[Added 10-14-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-4]

GROWER/PROCESSOR

A person, including a natural person, corporation, partnership, association, trust or other entity, or any combination thereof, which holds a permit from the DOH to grow and process medical marijuana.

[Added 6-27-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-3]

HAZARDOUS MATERIAL

Materials which have the potential to damage health, endanger human life or impair safety.

HAZARDOUS WASTE

The definition of hazardous waste contained in Pa. Code Title 25, Chapter 261a, Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste, is hereby adopted by reference.

[Amended 8-28-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-6]

HAZARDOUS WASTE FACILITY

Any structure, group of structures, aboveground or underground storage tanks, or any other area or buildings used for the purpose of permanently housing or temporarily holding hazardous waste for storage or treatment for any time span other than the normal transportation time through the Township.

HEALTH AND FITNESS CLUB

A commercial business that offers active recreational and/or fitness activities. Such activities are provided only to club members and their guests. Such facilities do not include golf courses.

HEALTH CARE FACILITY

A general, chronic disease, or other type of hospital, a home health care agency, a hospice, a long-term care nursing facility, cancer treatment centers using radiation therapy on an ambulatory basis, an ambulatory surgical facility, or a birth center, regardless of whether such health care facility is operated for profit, nonprofit, or by an agency of the commonwealth or local government. The term "health care facility" shall not include an office used primarily for the private practice of a health care practitioner, nor a program which renders treatment or care for drug or alcohol abuse or dependence unless located within a health care facility, nor a facility providing treatment solely on the basis of prayer or spiritual means. A mental retardation facility is not a health care facility, except to the extent that it provides skilled nursing care. The term "health care facility" shall not apply to a facility which is conducted by a religious organization for the purpose of providing health care services exclusively to clergymen, or other persons in a religious profession, who are members of a religious denomination. In the event that the Pennsylvania statute defining this term is amended, or further amended, then in that event this term shall be redefined as set forth in the statute. (See 35 P.S. § 448.802a, as amended.)

HEAVY EQUIPMENT

Machinery, vehicles and other devices that are not normally used for domestic purposes upon a residential dwelling lot. Examples include, but are not limited to, farm machinery, excavation equipment, commercial trucks and trailers, Class II recreational vehicles (as defined herein), yachts, industrial machinery, etc.

HEIGHT, BUILDING

The vertical distance measured from the average elevation of the proposed finished grade at the front of the building to the average top of fascia height of a pitched roof or height of the roof, as applicable, excluding incinerators, vent pipes, antennas, public utility structures, commercial radio and/or television transmission tower, water tank, clock tower, dormer, spire, belfry, enclosure for service equipment, elevator bulkhead, stage tower, scenery loft, chimneys, cupolas, silos, parapets, mansard roofs, gale roofs, hip roofs, solar panels, satellite dishes, stairway enclosures, and other similar structures or mechanical appurtenances that extend not more than 20 feet from the top of the roof.

[Amended 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 2015-12]

HEIGHT, STRUCTURE

The vertical distance measured from the average elevation of the proposed finished grade at the front of the structure to the average top of fascia height of a pitched roof or height of the roof, as applicable, excluding incinerators, vent pipes, antennas, public utility structures, commercial radio and/or television transmission tower, water tank, clock tower, dormer, spire, belfry, enclosure for service equipment, elevator bulkhead, stage tower, scenery loft, chimneys, cupolas, silos, parapets, mansard roofs, gale roofs, hip roofs solar panels, satellite dishes, stairway enclosures, and other similar structures or mechanical appurtenances that extend not more than 20 feet from the top of the roof.

[Amended 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 2015-12]

HELICOPTER PAD (PRIVATE)

An accessory use where no more than one helicopter may land/take off and be stored.

HELIPORT

A principal use where one or more helicopters may land/take off and be stored. Such use may also include support services, such as fueling and maintenance equipment, passenger terminals and storage hangers.

HISTORIC APARTMENT CONVERSION

The conversion of an historic structure into two or more dwelling units.

HISTORIC RESTAURANT CONVERSION

The conversion of an historic structure into a restaurant.

HISTORIC STRUCTURE

A structure that is on the National Register of Historic Places or recognized by the Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission, the Northampton County Historical Society, or any Township-appointed body created for such purposes as being historically significant.

HOME OCCUPATION

A business or commercial activity that is conducted as an accessory use in a detached dwelling unit, except that a limited business or commercial activity which meets all of the following criteria is not considered a home occupation and is permitted by right in any dwelling unit:

(1)

No exterior evidence of the business shall be permitted that is uncharacteristic of a residential setting;

(2)

No retail sale or display of goods, exclusive of telephone solicitation, is permitted;

(3)

No on-site storage of commercial vehicles shall be permitted except as may be provided under the definition of "garage, private";

(4)

Only residents of the site may be engaged in the business or commercial activity;

(5)

The business or commercial activity may be conducted within the dwelling unit or an accessory structure and may not occupy more than 15% of the habitable floor area of the dwelling unit, regardless of the location of the business or commercial activity;

(6)

The use shall not require the delivery of materials and goods by truck larger than standard panel trucks; and

(7)

The use shall not involve regular visitation by customers, clients, salespersons, or suppliers.

(8)

In a residential dwelling any person unrelated, residing on the premises, employed by the owner/occupant of the dwelling for the purpose of property maintenance or living assistance and specifically excluding employees involved in farming tasks or agricultural operations.

HOSPITAL

An institution, licensed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a hospital, having an organized medical staff, established for the purpose of providing to inpatients, by or under the supervision of physicians, diagnostic and therapeutic services for the care of persons who are injured, disabled, pregnant, diseased, sick, or mentally ill, or rehabilitation services for the rehabilitation of persons who are injured, disabled, pregnant, diseased, or sick or mentally ill. The term includes facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of disorders within the scope of specific medical specialties but not facilities caring exclusively for the mentally ill. A hospital use can also include attached and detached accessory uses, provided that all accessory uses are contained upon the hospital property.

HOTEL

A building or group of buildings which has a central office on site and which provides lodging to boarders for compensation, which contains more than eight rooms, with less than 25% of all rooms having direct access to the outside without the necessity of passing through the main lobby of the building, and which may provide meals and other services as a part of the compensation.

[Amended 9-8-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-1]

IDENTIFICATION CARD

A document issued by the DOH that permits access to medical marijuana.

[Added 6-27-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-3]

IMPERVIOUS SURFACE

Any material that covers the land which inhibits the percolation of stormwater directly into the soil, including but not limited to buildings and pavements; provided, however, that this definition shall not include stormwater management facilities.

[Amended 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 2015-12]

IMPORTANT NATURAL HABITAT

Any land area characterized by any or all of the following:

(1)

Wetlands as defined by criteria of the United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service;

(2)

Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory (PNDI) confirmed extant plant and animal species and communities that are listed as Pennsylvania Threatened or Pennsylvania Endangered; and

(3)

PNDI confirmed extant plant and animal species and communities that have a state rank of S1 or S2.

INTERMEDIATE CARE FACILITY

An institution which provides, on a regular basis, health-related care and services to resident individuals who do not require the degree of care and treatment which a hospital or skilled nursing facility is designed to provide but who, because of their mental or physical condition, require health-related care and services above the level of room and board. Intermediate care facilities exclusively for the mentally retarded, commonly called "ICF/MR," shall be considered intermediate care facilities for the purpose of this chapter. In the event that the Pennsylvania statute defining this term is amended, or further amended, then in that event this term shall be redefined as set forth in the statute. (See 35 P.S. § 448.802a, as amended.)

JUNK

Used and/or discarded materials, including but not limited to wastepaper, rags, metal, building materials, house furnishings, machinery, vehicles, or parts thereof.

KENNEL

Any lot on which two or more animals that are older than six months (except relating to a farm) are kept, boarded, raised, bred, treated, or trained for a fee, including but not limited to dog or cat kennels.

KILOWATT (kW)

A unit of electrical power equal to 1,000 watts, which constitutes the basic unit of electrical demand. The watt is a metric measurement of power (not energy) and is the rate (not the duration) at which electricity is used. One thousand kW is equal to one megawatt (MW).

[Added 10-23-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-2]

KILOWATT-HOUR (KWH)

A unit of electrical energy, equivalent to the use of one kilowatt of electricity for one full hour. Utilities measure customers' electric energy usage on the basis of kilowatt-hours, and electricity rates are most commonly expressed in cents per kilowatt-hour.

[Added 10-23-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-2]

LANDOWNER

The legal or beneficial owner or owners of land, including the holder of an option or contract to purchase (whether or not such option or contract is subject to any condition), a lessee if he is authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the landowner, or other person having a proprietary interest in land, shall be deemed to be a landowner for the purposes of this chapter.

LIGHT INDUSTRIAL

The processing, fabrication, treatment, or assembly of materials, raw or otherwise, or manufacturing of products that may or may not require additional processing, fabrication, treatment, or assembly, whether or not for ultimate use by the consumer.

[Added 8-28-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-6]

LOADING SPACE

An off-street paved space suitable for the loading or unloading of goods and having direct usable access to a street or alley.

LONG-TERM CARE NURSING FACILITY

A facility that provides skilled or intermediate nursing care or both levels of care to two or more patients who are unrelated to the nursing home administrator for a period exceeding 24 hours.

LOT

Any parcel or tract of land intended as a single unit for purposes of ownership, transfer of ownership, use, rent, improvement or development. The word "lot" includes the word "plot," "parcel" or "tract." Contiguous nonconforming lots of record under single and separate ownership shall be considered one lot for the purposes of this chapter. A lot as herein defined may or may not coincide with a lot of record.

(1)

LOT, CORNERA lot which has an interior angle of less than 135º at the intersection of two street lines. A lot abutting upon a curved street shall be considered a corner lot if the tangents to the curve at the points of intersection of the side lot lines with the street line intersect at an interior angle of less than 135º. Corner lots shall have two front yards, one side yard, and one rear yard.

(2)

LOT, FLAGA lot whose defined frontage does not satisfy the minimum lot width requirements within the elongated or pole portion of the lot for the respective zone but which does have sufficient width beyond the pole portion of the lot where the principal portion of the lot conforms to the lot requirements of this chapter.

(3)

LOT, INTERIORA lot other than a corner lot, the sides of which do not abut a street.

(4)

LOT, THROUGH OR REVERSE FRONTAGEAn interior lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets.

LOT AREA

The area contained within the property lines of individual parcels of land, excluding any area within a street right-of-way but including the area of any easement.

LOT COVERAGE

A percentage of the lot area which may be covered with an impervious surface (e.g., buildings, driveways, parking area, sidewalks and ground-mounted energy systems).

[Amended 10-23-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-2]

LOT DEPTH

The horizontal average distance measured between the street right-of-way and the rear property line. On corner and reverse frontage lots, the depth shall be an average distance measured from the street right-of-way line of the street of address to the directly opposite property line.

[Amended 8-23-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-3]

LOT OF RECORD

A lot identified on a subdivision plan or on a deed or other instrument of conveyance recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds in and for Northampton County, Pennsylvania.

LOT WIDTH

The horizontal distance measured between side property lines. On corner lots, lot width shall be measured between the right-of-way line for the non-address street and the directly opposite property line. Lot width shall be measured at the building setback.

[Amended 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 2015-12]

MANUFACTURE

A function involving either the processing or production of materials, goods, or products.

MANURE

The fecal and urinary excrement of livestock and poultry, often containing some spilled feed, bedding or litter.

MANURE STORAGE FACILITY

A detached structure or other improvements built to store manure for future use or disposal. Types of storage facilities are as follows: underground storage, in-ground storage, earthen bank, stacking area, and aboveground storage.

MAXIMUM FLOOD ELEVATION

The water surface elevations of a flood which would completely fill the floodplain to the boundaries of the floodplain zone.

MEAN SEA LEVEL

The average height of the sea for all stages of the tide, using the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929.

MEDIATION

A voluntary negotiating process in which parties in a dispute mutually select a neutral mediator to assist them in jointly exploring and settling their differences, culminating in a written agreement which the parties themselves create and consider acceptable.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Marijuana for certified medical use as legally permitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with Act 16.[3]

[Added 6-27-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-3]

MEDICAL MARIJUANA DELIVERY VEHICLE OFFICE

Any facility used to house delivery vehicles for supplying marijuana plants or seeds to one or more marijuana grower/processors and/or dispensaries.

[Added 6-27-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-3]

MEDICAL MARIJUANA ORGANIZATION OR FACILITY

A dispensary or a grower/processor of marijuana for medical purposes.

[Added 6-27-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-3]

MEDICAL OFFICE BUILDING

A building or portion of a building, which building or portion of building is not larger than 45,000 square feet of gross floor area and is occupied by licensed medical practitioners and other health-related personnel for the purpose of providing health and health-related services to people on an outpatient basis.

[Added 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 2015-12]

MEDICAL OR DENTAL CLINIC

Any building or group of buildings occupied by licensed medical practitioners and related services for the purpose of providing health services to people on an outpatient basis.

MEDICAL RESIDENTIAL CAMPUS

A principal use whereby a comprehensive medical and residential environment primarily serves retirement-aged persons and/or those possessing some ailment or disability. Medical residential campuses also offer a variety of residential dwelling types determined by the occupants' respective needs for some level of nursing and/or medical care.

MEGAWATT (MW)

Unit of electric power equal to 1,000 kW, or 1,000,000 watts.

[Added 10-23-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-2]

MEMBERSHIP CLUB

A building, structure, lot, or land area used as a private club or social organization not conducted for profit or gain.

MINERAL

Any aggregate or mass of mineral matter, whether or not coherent. The term includes, but is not limited to, limestone and dolomite, sand and gravel, rock and stone, earth, fill, slag, iron ore, zinc ore, vermiculite and clay, anthracite and bituminous coal, coal refuse, peat and crude oil and natural gas.

MINIMUM FUNCTIONAL HEIGHT

Minimum height necessary for a WCF to function satisfactorily.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

MINI WAREHOUSE

A building and/or series of buildings divided into separate storage units for personal property and/or property associated with some business or other organization. These units shall be used solely for dead storage, and no processing, manufacturing, sales, research and development testing, service and repair, or other nonstorage activities shall be permitted.

MIXED USE MULTIFAMILY BUILDING

A building that contains at least one floor devoted to permitted nonresidential uses and at least one floor devoted to permitted residential uses.

[Added 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 2015-12]

MOBILE HOME

Any structure intended for or capable of permanent human habitation, with or without wheels, and capable of being transported or towed from one place to the next, in one or more pieces, by whatsoever name or title it is colloquially or commercially known, but excluding transport trucks or vans equipped with sleeping space for a driver or drivers, and travel trailers.

MOBILE HOME LOT

A parcel of land in a mobile home park improved with the necessary utility connections and other appurtenances necessary for the erection thereon of a single mobile home.

MOBILE HOME PARK

A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which has been so designated and improved that it contains two or more mobile home lots for the placement thereon of mobile homes.

MODIFICATION

The improvement, upgrade or expansion of existing wireless telecommunications facilities, accessory equipment or base stations on an existing wireless support structure or the improvement, upgrade or expansion of the wireless telecommunication facilities located within an existing equipment compound, if the improvement, upgrade, expansion or replacement does not substantially change the physical dimension of the wireless support structure.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

MONOPOLE

A tower which consists of a single pole structure without any guy wires, designed and erected on the ground or on top of a structure, to support communications antennas and connect appurtenances.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

MOTEL

A facility which provides lodging to boarders for compensation, which contains more than eight rooms, with at least 25% of all rooms having direct access to the outside without the necessity of passing through the main lobby of the building, and which may provide meals and other services as part of the compensation.

NEW CONSTRUCTION

Structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of this chapter.

NIGHTCLUB

Any building used for on-site consumption of alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages where live entertainment is offered. For the purposes of this definition, "live entertainment" is meant to include the use of disc jockeys for the purposes of supplying musical entertainment. Nightclubs may also provide for on-site consumption of food. Additionally, nightclubs can offer the retail sale of carry-out beer and wine as an accessory use. This definition is also meant to include an "under 21" club which features entertainment.

NONCOMMERCIAL KEEPING OF LIVESTOCK

An accessory use to a principal detached single-family dwelling that is not contained upon a farm, whereupon livestock are kept exclusively by the residents of the site.

NONCONFORMING LOT

A lot the area or dimension of which was lawful prior to the adoption or amendment of a zoning ordinance but which fails to conform to the requirements of the zone in which it is located by reasons of such adoption or amendment.

NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE

A structure or part of a structure manifestly not designed to comply with the applicable use or extent of use provisions in the zoning ordinance or amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such structure lawfully existed prior to the enactment of such ordinance or amendment or prior to the application of such ordinance or amendment to its location by reason of annexation. Such nonconforming structures include, but are not limited to, nonconforming signs.

NONCONFORMING USE

A use, whether of land or of a structure, which does not comply with the applicable use provisions in the zoning ordinance or amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted where such use was lawfully in existence prior to the enactment of such ordinance or amendment or prior to the application of such ordinance or amendment to its location by reason of annexation.

NONCONFORMITY, DIMENSIONAL

Any aspect of a land use that does not comply with any size, height, bulk, setback, distance, landscaping, coverage, screening, or any other design or performance standard specified by the zoning ordinance, where such dimensional nonconformity lawfully existed prior to the adoption of this chapter or amendment thereto.

NURSING, REST AND RETIREMENT HOMES

Facilities designed for the housing, boarding, and dining associated with some level of nursing care.

OBSTRUCTION

Any wall, dam, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment, projection, excavation, channel, rectification, culvert, building, fence, stockpile, refuse, fill, structure, or matter in, along, across, or projecting into any channel, watercourse, or flood-prone area which:

(1)

May impede, retard, or change the direction of the flow of water either in itself or by catching or collecting debris carried by such water; or

(2)

Is placed where the flow of the water might carry the same downstream to the damage of life and property.

OCCUPANCY

The purpose for which a building or portion thereof is utilized or occupied.

[Added 11-10-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-3]

OFFICE

A place where the primary use is conducting the affairs of a business, profession, service, or government, including administration, recordkeeping, clerical work, and similar business functions. An office shall not involve manufacturing, fabrication, production, processing, assembling, cleaning, testing, repair, or storage of materials, goods or products or the sale or delivery of any materials, goods, or products which are physically located on the premises. Office supplies used in the office may be stored as an incidental use.

OFF-TRACK BETTING PARLOR

A commercial use at which persons can visit to wager upon, and observe by remote television, the outcomes of events that are taking place elsewhere.

OIL AND GAS COMPRESSOR STATION

A facility or location that contains a compressor, compressors and all related components to facilitate the movement of oil and/or natural gas and/or its by-products through a pipeline.

[Added 8-28-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-6]

OIL AND GAS METERING STATION/ABOVEGROUND GATHERING FACILITY

A system used to measure all oil and/or natural gas entering or exiting the pipeline system to provide accurate and continuous gas measurements and/or regulate gas pressure and delivery volumes.

[Added 8-28-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-6]

OIL AND GAS PIPELINE

All parts of those physical facilities through which oil and/or natural gas moves in transportation, including pipe, valves, and other appurtenances attached to pipes, compressor units, metering stations, regulator stations, delivery stations, holders, and fabricated assemblies.

[Added 8-28-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-6]

OIL AND GAS PROCESSING FACILITY

A facility that receives oil and/or natural gas and associated hydrocarbons from a truck, railway car, or pipeline system serving one or more wells, which processes, compresses, condenses, pressurizes, deals with dew point control or gas quality related issues or otherwise treats oil and/or natural gas making it suitable for, among other things, pipeline transmission, or which removes and separates or adds other materials, products, and impurities to or from the oil or gas, and which may or may not include compressor stations, cooling facilities, storage tanks and related equipment and facilities.

[Added 8-28-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-6]

ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOOD

A flood which is likely to be equaled or exceeded once every 100 years (i.e., that has a one-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year). A study by the Federal Insurance Administration, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service, the United States Geological Survey, or a professional land surveyor or professional engineer, registered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is necessary to define this flood.

ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOOD BOUNDARY

The outer boundary of an area of land that is likely to be flooded once every 100 years (i.e., that has a one-percent chance of being flooded each year). A study by the Federal Insurance Administration, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service, the United States Geological Survey, or a professional land surveyor or professional engineer, registered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is necessary to define this boundary.

ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOOD ELEVATION

The water surface elevations of the one-hundred-year flood.

ON-LOT SEWER SERVICE

The disposal of sewage generated by one principal use with the use of safe and healthful means within the confines of the lot on which the use is located, as approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

ON-LOT WATER SERVICE

The provision of a safe, adequate and healthful supply of water to a single principal use from a private well.

OPEN SPACE

A space unoccupied by buildings or paved surface and open to the sky on the same lot with the building.

OVERLAY DISTRICT

A special use district, defined by special physical characteristics or designated for specific uses, either graphically depicted on a map or described by metes and bounds, whose uses, conditional or by right, are permitted in the underlying or base zoning district.

PADEP

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

PARKING COMPOUND

A primary retail sales business where passenger vehicles may be stored for short-term, daily, or overnight off-street parking and connected to a street by an access drive.

PARKING LOT

An accessory use in which required and, possibly, additional parking spaces are provided subject to the requirements listed in § 180-37.

PARKING SPACE

An off-street space available for the parking of one motor vehicle and having usable access to a street or alley.

PARK, PUBLIC AND/OR NONPROFIT

Those facilities designed and used for recreation purposes by the general public that are owned and operated by a government or governmental agency/authority or are operated on a nonprofit basis. This definition is meant to include the widest range of recreational activities, excluding adult entertainment uses, amusement arcades, off-track betting parlors and shooting ranges.

PennDOT

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

PERSONAL CARE FACILITY

A premises in which food, shelter and personal assistance or supervision are provided for a period exceeding 24 hours for four or more adults who are not relatives of the operator and who do not require the services in or of a licensed long-term care facility but who do require assistance or supervision in matters such as dressing, bathing, diet, financial management, evacuation of a residence in the event of an emergency or medication prescribed for self-administration.

PESTICIDE

Any substance or mixture of substances intended for use in preventing, destroying, repelling, sterilizing, or mitigating any insects, rodents, nematodes, predatory animals, fungi, weeds, or other forms of plant or animal life.

PETROLEUM PRODUCT

Oil petroleum of any kind and in any form, including crude oil and derivatives of crude oil. It may be alone, as a sludge, or oil refuse, or mixed with other wastes.

PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV)

The technology that uses a semiconductor to convert light directly into electricity.

[Added 10-23-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-2]

PIPELINE CORRIDOR

The pathway in which the pipelines and facilities of a pipeline operator are located in the jurisdiction of Lehigh Township including public rights-of-way and easements over and through public or private property.

[Added 8-28-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-6]

PLANNED CENTER

A group of uses planned and designed as an integrated unit with controlled ingress and egress and shared off-street parking provided on the property as an integral part of the unit. Such centers also may include planned center signs as regulated herein.

PLANNED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

An area of land, controlled by a landowner, to be developed as a single entity for a number of dwelling units, or combination of residential and nonresidential uses, the development plan for which does not correspond in lot size, bulk, type of dwelling or use, density, or intensity, lot coverage and required open space to the regulations established in any one district created, from time to time, under the provisions of a municipal zoning ordinance.

PLANNING COMMISSION

The Planning Commission of Lehigh Township.

POLLUTION

Man-made or man-induced contamination or other degradation of the physical, chemical, biological, or radiological integrity of air, water, soil, or biological resource.

[Added 8-28-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-6]

POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS (PPA)

A contract to purchase energy. PPAs are usually established between a power plant and a purchaser of electrical energy, such as a utility. A PPA may be a contract written between a building owner that wants to use solar energy and a third-party developer who will install, maintain and own the PV system used to generate the electricity on the building's structure, then sell the solar energy produced by the system to the building owner at a pre-determined rate.

[Added 10-23-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-2]

PREMISES

The property upon which the activity is conducted as determined by physical facts rather than property lines. It is the land occupied by the buildings or other physical uses that are necessary or customarily incident to the activity, including such open spaces as are arranged and designed to be used in connection with such buildings or uses. The following are not considered to be a part of the premises on which the activity is conducted, and any signs located on such land are to be considered off-premises advertising:

(1)

Any land which is not used as an integral part of the principal activity, including land which is separated from the activity by a roadway, highway, or other obstruction, and not used by the activity, and extensive undeveloped highway frontage contiguous to the land actually used by a commercial facility, even though it might be under the same ownership.

(2)

Any land which is used for, or devoted to, a separate purpose unrelated to the advertised activity.

(3)

Any land which is in closer proximity to the highway than to the principal activity and developed or used only in the area of the sign site or between the sign site and the principal activity and whose purpose is for advertising purposes only. In no event shall a sign site be considered part of the premises on which the advertised activity is conducted if the site is located on a narrow strip of land which is nonbuildable land, or is a common or private roadway, or is held by easement or other lesser interest than the premises where the activity is located.

PRESERVATION or PROTECTION

When used in connection with natural and historic resources, includes means to conserve and safeguard these resources from wasteful or destructive use but shall not be interpreted to authorize the unreasonable restriction of forestry, mining or other lawful uses of natural resources.

PRIME AGRICULTURAL LAND

Land used for agricultural purposes that contains soils of the first, second or third class as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resource and Conservation Services County Soil Survey.

PRINCIPAL SOLAR ENERGY PRODUCTION FACILITY

An area of land or other area used for a solar collection system principally used to capture solar energy and convert it to electrical energy. A principal solar energy production facility is a system which uses solar-related equipment and which has a rated capacity of more than 18 kilowatts or that has a lot coverage collector area of more than 1,000 square feet.

[Added 10-23-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-2]

PRINCIPAL WASTE HANDLING FACILITY

A principal use whereby waste is brought to the site for storage, processing, treatment, transfer, or disposal.

PRIVATE CLUB

An organization catering exclusively to members and their guests, or premises or buildings for social, recreational and administrative purposes which are not conducted for profit, provided there are not conducted any vending stands, merchandising or commercial activities except as required for the membership of such club. Clubs shall include but not be limited to service and political organizations and labor unions, as well as social and athletic clubs. Private clubs shall not include adult-related facilities or off-track betting parlors, as defined herein.

PROCESSING

A function which involves only the cleaning, sorting, sizing and/or packaging of products and materials for sale or profit.

PROFESSIONAL BIOLOGIST

An individual with at least a graduate degree in aquatic and/or terrestrial biology and/or ecology and with a depth of knowledge in organisms and the process of ecological systems.

PROTECTED USE or PROTECTED STRUCTURE

Any habitable structure, religious institution, public building, health care facility, school, camp, or public park. This term shall not apply to accessory buildings, garages, hangars, or storage buildings.

[Added 8-28-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-6]

PUBLIC

Owned and/or operated by the Township, its authority, a Township-supported fire company, or a Township-supported ambulance association.

PUBLIC HEARING

A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the governing body or planning agency intended to inform and obtain public comment prior to taking action on zoning- or planning-related matters.

PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE AREA

A designated growth area and all or any portion of a future growth area described in a county or multi-municipal comprehensive plan where public infrastructure services will be provided and outside of which such public infrastructure services will not be required to be publicly financed.

PUBLIC MEETING

A forum held pursuant to notice under the act of July 3, 1986 (P.L. 388, No. 84), known as the "Sunshine Act," and subsequent amendments.[4]

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice published once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. Such notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing. The first publication shall not be more than 30 days and the second publication shall not be less than seven days from the date of the hearing. Public notice for rezoning, special exception and/or variance requests shall also include the posting of a sign(s) at a conspicuous location(s) upon the subject property to notify potentially interested citizens. This sign(s) shall be posted at least one week prior to the hearing and will exhibit the nature, date, time and location of the hearing.

PUBLIC SEWER

A municipal sanitary sewer or a comparable common or package sanitary facility approved and permitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Such systems are capable of serving multiple users.

PUBLIC UTILITY

A use or extension thereof which is operated, owned or maintained by a public utility corporation, municipality or municipal authority or which is privately owned and approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for the purpose of providing public sewage disposal and/or treatment, or public water supply, storage and/or treatment, or for the purpose of providing the transmission of energy or telephone service.

PUBLIC WATER

A municipal water supply system or a comparable common water facility approved and permitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Such systems are capable of serving multiple users.

RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL

Any natural or artificially produced substance which emits radiation spontaneously.

RECREATIONAL VEHICLE

A portable structure primarily designed to provide temporary living quarters for recreation, camping or travel purposes. In addition to the above, any of the following attributes are characteristic of a travel trailer:

(1)

The unit is of such size or weight as not to require a special highway movement permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation when self-propelled or when hauled by a standard motor vehicle on a highway;

(2)

The unit is mounted or designed to be mounted on wheels;

(3)

The unit is designed to be loaded onto, or affixed to, the bed and/or chassis of a truck;

(4)

The unit contains, or was designed to contain, temporary storage of water and sewage; and

(5)

The unit contains some identification by the manufacturer as a travel trailer.

RECYCLING FACILITY

A use involving the commercial collection, separation, and/or processing of nonhazardous waste materials found in the typical household or office for the purpose of reuse but which does not involve the processing of nonrecycled residential or municipal solid waste, unless the use also meets the applicable requirements for a solid waste transfer facility. Recycling facilities do not include junkyards.

REGISTRY

The registry established by the DOH for all medical marijuana organizations and practitioners.

[Added 6-27-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-3]

REGULATORY FLOOD ELEVATION

The one-hundred-year flood elevation plus a freeboard safety factor of one foot.

RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE

Any method, process or substance whose supply is rejuvenated through natural processes and, subject to those natural processes, remains relatively constant, including but not limited to biomass conversion, geothermal energy, solar and wind energy and hydroelectric energy, and excluding those sources of energy used in the fission and fusion processes.

RENTAL

A procedure by which services or personal property is temporarily transferred to another person for a specific time period for compensation.

REPAIR

A function involved in correcting deficiencies of products that affect its performance and/or appearance.

REPLACEMENT

The replacement of existing wireless telecommunications facilities on an existing wireless support structure or within an existing equipment compound due to maintenance, repair or technological advancement with equipment composed of the same wind loading and structural loading that is substantially similar in size, weight and height as the wireless telecommunications facilities initially installed and that does not substantially change the physical dimensions of the existing wireless support structure.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

RESTAURANT

An establishment that serves prepared food primarily on nondisposable tableware but can provide for incidental carry-out service so long as the area used for carry-out service does not exceed 5% of the total patron seating area or 80 square feet (whichever is less). Caterers shall be included in this definition.

RESTAURANT, DRIVE-THROUGH OR FAST-FOOD

An establishment that serves prepared food generally packaged in paper wrappers and/or disposable plates and containers. Such food can be consumed either on or off the site.

RETAIL

Those businesses whose primary activities involve the display and sales of goods and products to the general public. This term shall not include adult-related uses as defined herein.

RIDING STABLE

A principal use whereby equestrian instruction is offered and horses are kept, bred, trained and/or exercised upon land not occupied by the owner of the horse(s).

RIGHT-OF-WAY

The surface of and space above and below any real property in the municipality in which the federal government, commonwealth, municipality or municipal authority has a regulatory interest, or interest as a trustee for the public, as such interests now or hereafter exist, including, but not limited to, all streets, highways, avenues, roads, alleys, sidewalks, tunnels, viaducts, bridges, skyways, or any other public place, area or property under the control of the federal government, commonwealth, municipality or municipal authority, and any nonexclusive public or utility easements established, dedicated, platted, improved or devoted for utility purposes. Private rights-of-way and other government-owned lands not listed above shall not be considered a right-of-way. The phrase "in the right(s)-of-way" means in, on, over, along, above and/or under the right(s)-of-way.

[Amended 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

ROOFLINE

The highest elevation point of the roof. A roof shall be defined as the outside top covering of a building.

[Added 10-23-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-2]

RURAL RESOURCE AREA

An area described in a municipal or multi-municipal plan within which rural resource uses, including but not limited to agriculture, timbering, mining, quarrying and other extractive industries, forest and game lands and recreation and tourism, are encouraged and enhanced, development that is compatible with or supportive of such uses is permitted, and public infrastructure services are not provided except in villages.

SALDO

The latest version of the Township's Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, as may be amended.[5]

SATELLITE DISH ANTENNA

A device incorporating a reflective surface which is solid, open mesh or bar configured and is in the shape of a shallow dish, cone, horn, or cornucopia. Such device shall be used to transmit and/or receive radio or electromagnetic waves between terrestrially and/or orbitally based uses. This definition is meant to include but not be limited to what are commonly referred to as satellite earth stations, TARO's, and satellite microwave antennas.

SCHOOL

A principal use in which supervised education or instruction is offered according to the following categories:

(1)

COMMERCIAL SCHOOLA school that may offer a wide range of educational or instructional activities (excluding vocational-mechanical trade schools as defined below) that may or may not be operated as a gainful business by some person or organization other than the school district.

(2)

PRIVATE SCHOOLA school that offers elementary, secondary, post-secondary and/or postgraduate education that may or may not be operated as a gainful business.

(3)

PUBLIC SCHOOLA school licensed by the Department of Education for the purpose of providing elementary, secondary, and adult education and operated by the school district.

(4)

VOCATIONAL-MECHANICAL TRADE SCHOOLA school that may or may not be operated as a gainful business that principally offers training in any of the following occupations:

(a)

Building construction and general contracting;

(b)

Electrical contracting;

Engine repairs;

Masonry;

Plumbing;

Truck driving;

Woodworking; and

Other similar trades, as determined by the Zoning Hearing Board pursuant to §§ 180-8 and 180-119E of this chapter.

SCREENING

An assemblage of materials that are arranged so as to block the ground-level views between grade and a height of six feet. Suitable screening materials include trees, shrubs, hedges, berms, walls, sight-tight fences and/or other similar type materials. No wall or fence shall be constructed of plywood, corrugated metal or fiberglass, or sheet metal. Landscape screens must achieve the required visual blockage within two years of installation.

SEASONAL MERCHANDISE

Goods and products that are generally offered for retail sale to the public during specific periods of any calendar year. Examples include, but are not limited to, holiday decorations, nursery and garden stock, home and garden supplies and equipment, outdoor play and recreation equipment, etc.

SEASONAL RESIDENCE

A dwelling, cabin, lodge or summer house which is intended for occupancy less than 182 days of the year.

SETBACK

The required horizontal distance between a setback line and a property or street right-of-way line.

(1)

SETBACK, FRONTThe distance between the street line and the front setback line projected the full width of the lot. Commonly called "required front yard."

(2)

SETBACK, REARThe distance between the rear lot line and the rear setback line projected the full width of the lot. Commonly called "required rear yard."

(3)

SETBACK, SIDEThe distance between the side lot line and the side setback line projected from the front yard to the rear yard. Commonly called "required side yard."

SETBACK LINE

A line within a property and parallel to a property or street line which delineates the required minimum distance between some particular use of property and that property or street line.

SEWAGE SLUDGE

Liquid or solid sludges and other residues from a municipal sewage collection and treatment system and liquid or solid sludges and other residues from septic and holding tank pumpings from private residential septic systems. The term includes materials derived from sewage sludge. The term does not include ash generated during the firing of sewage sludge in a sewage sludge incinerator, grit and screenings generated during preliminary treatment of sewage sludge at a municipal sewage collection and treatment system, or grit, screenings and nonorganic objects from septic and holding tank pumpings from residential systems.

SFD

Single-family detached dwelling.

SHADE TREE

A deciduous tree that shall have a clear trunk at least five feet above the finished grade.

SHOOTING RANGE

A place where firearms and other projectile-type weapons (e.g., guns, rifles, shotguns, pistols, air guns, archery crossbows, etc.) can be shot for recreation, competition, skill development and/or training. Nothing within this definition shall be construed to include hunting when conducted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

SHOPPING CENTER

A group of stores planned and designed for the site on which it is built, functioning as a unit, with shared off-street parking provided on the property as an integral part of the unit.

SHORT-TERM RENTAL

Any dwelling unit owned or managed by a person or entity which is rented or leased to a transient visitor for a period of less than 30 days. This term shall not include "bed-and-breakfast" or a "hotel" as those terms are defined in this chapter.

[Added 11-10-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-3]

SHORT-TERM RENTAL LICENSE

The written grant of right to operate a short-term rental.

[Added 11-10-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-3]

SIGN

A device for visual communication that is used to bring the subject to the attention of the public, but not flags or other insignia of any government, fraternal, or similar organization.

(1)

FLAT WALL SIGNA sign that is displayed and/or mounted upon or generally parallel to the same plane as the face of a wall, such that no portion of the sign extends more than 12 inches from said wall.

(2)

FREESTANDING SIGNA sign erected upon a permanently affixed, independent structure (legs or base).

(3)

PERMANENT SIGNA sign that is expected to be continuously displayed during the presence of a principal land use.

(4)

TEMPORARY SIGNA sign that is only permitted for specified periods of time associated with some temporary event or work conducted on the site.

(5)

UNDER-CANOPY SIGNA sign that identifies one leasable unit within a shopping center and is hung from an overhead canopy of the shopping center or is provided as a wall projecting sign attached to the front wall of the unit where no canopy is provided.

(6)

WALL PROJECTING SIGNA sign that is mounted to a building wall such that its principal display area is not parallel to the building wall. A wall projecting sign can also be attached to a marquee.

SINGLE AND SEPARATE OWNERSHIP

The ownership of a lot by one or more persons, which ownership is separate and distinct from that of any abutting or adjoining lot. Ownership shall be considered separate and distinct where lots have been separately described as such, by metes and bounds, in a recorded deed or conveyance prior to the enactment of this chapter, or an amendment thereto, and have continued since that date to be so separately described in all subsequent recorded deeds of conveyance.

SITE

For towers other than towers in the public rights-of-way, the current boundaries of the leased or owned property surrounding the tower and any access or utility easements currently related to the site, and, for other eligible support structures, further restricted to that area in proximity to the structure and to other transmission equipment already deployed on the ground.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

SKILLED NURSING FACILITY

Any facility, or part of a facility, in which professionally supervised nursing care and related medical and other health services are provided for a period exceeding 24 hours for two or more individuals who are not in need of hospitalization and are not relatives of the nursing home administrator but who, because of age, illness, disease, injury, convalescence, or physical or mental infirmity, need such care. In the event that the Pennsylvania statute defining this term is amended, or further amended, then in that event this term shall be redefined as set forth in the statute. (See 35 P.S. § 448.802a, as amended.)

SLAUGHTERHOUSE

A use involving the killing of animals for the wholesale production of food or other commercial products. A commercial stockyard or similar facility that primarily involves the storage or transferring of animals to be slaughtered shall also be considered a slaughterhouse.

SLOPE

The vertical change of an area of land divided by the horizontal change, measured in a percent.

[Added 8-23-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-3]

SLUDGE DISPOSAL

The discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking or placing of any sewage sludge from a municipal treatment plant or pumpings from a private residential septic system into or on any land in the Township, provided that the spreading of manure generated from conventional agricultural activities and/or mushroom compost on cropland or farmland for agricultural purposes shall not be included within this term and such activity shall be regulated by the Pennsylvania Nutrient Management Act.[6]

SOIL SURVEY

The latest published version of the United States Department of Agriculture's Soil Survey for Northampton County, Pennsylvania.

SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM

Any solar collector or other solar energy device, or any structural design feature, mounted on a building or on the ground, and whose primary purpose is to provide for the collection, storage and distribution of solar energy for space heating or cooling, for water heating or for electricity.

[Added 10-23-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-2]

SOLAR-RELATED EQUIPMENT

Items including a solar photovoltaic cell, panel, or array, or solar hot air or water collector device panels, lines, pumps, batteries, mounting brackets, framing and possibly foundations used for or intended to be used for collection of solar energy.

[Added 10-23-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-2]

SPECIAL EXCEPTION

A use that is generally compatible with a particular zone once specified criteria have been met. Special exception uses are listed by zone and approved by the Zoning Hearing Board in accordance with § 180-119C of this chapter.

SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREAS

Less than completely and opaquely covered human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, anus, or female breasts below a point immediately above the top of areolae and/or human male genitals in a discernible turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered.

SPECIFIED SEXUAL ACTIVITIES

For the purposes of this chapter, this term shall include any of the following: actual or simulated sexual intercourse, oral copulation, anal intercourse, oral anal copulation, bestiality, direct physical stimulation of unclothed genitals, flagellation or torture in the context of a sexual relationship or the use of excretory functions in the context of a sexual relationship, and any of the following depicted sexually oriented acts or conduct:

(1)

Anilingus, buggery, coprophagy, coprophilia, cunnilingus, fellatio, necrophilia, pederasty, pedophilia, piquerism, sapphism, zooerasty;

(2)

Clearly depicted human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation, arousal or tuelecence;

(3)

Use of human or animal masturbation, sodomy, oral copulation, coitus, or ejaculation;

(4)

Fondling or touching of nude human genitals, pubic region, buttocks or female breast;

(5)

Masochism, erotic or sexually oriented torture, beating, or the infliction of pain;

(6)

Erotic or lewd touching, fondling or other contact with an animal by a human being; or

(7)

Human excretion, urination, menstruation, or vaginal or anal irrigation.

STEALTH TECHNOLOGY

State-of-the-art design techniques used to blend objects into the surrounding environment and to minimize the visual impact as much as possible. These design techniques are applied to wireless communications towers, antennas and other facilities which blend the proposed WCF into the existing structure or visual backdrop in such a manner as to render it less visible to the casual observer. Such methods include, but are not limited to, architecturally screened roof-mounted antennas, building-mounted antennas painted to match the existing structure and facilities constructed to resemble trees, shrubs, light poles, utility poles or flag poles.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

STORAGE

A function involving the deposition of materials, goods and/or products for safekeeping.

STOREFRONT

The wall of a unit of occupancy which faces the front yard within a planned center, as defined herein.

STORY

That part of a building located between a floor and the floor or roof next above. The first story of a building is the lowest story, having 75% or more of its wall area above grade level. A half story is a story under a gable, hip or gambrel roof, the wall plate of which on at least two opposite exterior walls is not more than two feet above such story.

STREET

Includes street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway, lane, viaduct and any other dedicated and adopted public right-of-way, or private right-of-way, used or intended to be used by vehicular traffic and/or pedestrians. The definition of "street" specifically excludes driveways.

STREET CENTER LINE

The horizontal line paralleling the street that bisects the street right-of-way into two equal widths. In those instances where the street right-of-way cannot be determined, the street center line shall correspond to the center of the cartway.

STREET LINE (RIGHT-OF-WAY LINE)

A line defining the edge of a street right-of-way and separating the street from abutting property or lots. The street line shall be the same as the legal right-of-way line currently in existence.

STRUCTURE

(1)

Any assembly of materials constructed or erected with a fixed location on the ground, or attached to something having a fixed location on the ground, any portion of which is above the natural surface grade, including but not limited to buildings, sheds, cabins, mobile homes and trailers, dams, culverts, roads, railroads, bridges, storage tanks, and signs.

(a)

STRUCTURE, ACCESSORYA structure associated with an accessory use (e.g., swimming pools, patios, antennas, tennis courts, garages, utility sheds, etc.).

(b)

STRUCTURE, PRINCIPALA structure associated with a primary use.

(2)

Structures shall not include such things as temporary fences, sandboxes, decorative fountains, swing sets, birdhouses, bird feeders, mailboxes, and any other similar nonpermanent improvements.

SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE or SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGE

(Applies only to wireless communication facilities). A modification substantially changes the physical dimensions of an eligible support structure if it meets any of the following criteria:

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

(1)

For towers other than towers in the public rights-of-way, it increases the original height of the tower by more than 10% or by the height of one additional antenna array with separation from the nearest existing antenna not to exceed 20 feet, whichever is greater; for other existing towers or base stations, it increases the original height of the structure by more than 10% or more than 10 feet, whichever is greater. Changes in height should be measured from the original support structure in cases where deployments are or will be separated horizontally, such as on buildings' rooftops; in other circumstances, changes in height should be measured from the dimensions of the tower or base station, inclusive of originally approved appurtenances and any modifications that were approved prior to the passage of the Spectrum Act.

(2)

For towers other than towers in the public rights-of-way, it involves adding an appurtenance to the body of the tower that would protrude from the edge of the tower more than 20 feet, or more than the width of the tower structure at the level of the appurtenance, whichever is greater; for other existing towers or base stations, it involves adding an appurtenance to the body of the structure that would protrude from the edge of the structure by more than six feet.

(3)

For any eligible support structure, it involves installation of more than the standard number of new equipment cabinets for the technology involved, but not to exceed four cabinets; or, for towers in the public rights-of-way and base stations, it involves installation of any new equipment cabinets on the ground if there are no preexisting ground cabinets associated with the structure, or else involves installation of ground cabinets that are more than 10% larger in height or overall volume than any other ground cabinets associated with the structure; it entails any excavation or deployment outside the current site.

SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT

Any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the fair market value of the structure either before the improvement or repair is started or, if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. For the purpose of this definition, "substantial improvement" is considered to occur when the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of the structure commences, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the structure.

SWIMMING POOL

Any pool not located within a completely enclosed building and containing, or normally capable of containing, water to a depth at any point greater than three feet. Farm ponds and/or lakes are not included, provided that swimming was not the primary purpose for their construction.

TAVERN

An establishment which serves primarily alcoholic beverages for mostly on-premises consumption and which is licensed by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, or a successor organization. Taverns may also serve food.

TESTING

A function involving the examination and assessment of qualities, performances and/or capabilities of a product, good or material.

TOWER

Any structure that exceeds 10 feet in height and is built and/or installed for the sole or primary purpose of supporting any Federal Communications Commission-licensed or authorized antennas and their associated facilities, including structures that are constructed for wireless communications services including, but not limited to, private, broadcast, and public safety services, as well as unlicensed wireless services (i.e., wifi) and fixed wireless services (i.e., point-to-point microwave transmission) such as microwave backhaul, and the associated site. A building, water tower, electrical transmission tower, utility pole, light pole, traffic signal pole, flag pole or other similar structure designed and constructed for a sole or primary purpose other than supporting any Federal Communications Commission-licensed or authorized antennas and their associated facilities, as well as a Ft. Worth attachment, shall not be considered a tower.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

TOWER-BASED WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES (TOWER-BASED WCF)

Wireless communications facilities that include the installation of a tower to support the transmission equipment.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

TOWNSHIP

Lehigh Township.

TRADITIONAL NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT

An area of land developed for a compatible mixture of residential units for various income levels and nonresidential commercial and workplace uses, including some structures that provide for a mix of uses within the same building. Residences, shops, offices, workplaces, public buildings, and parks are interwoven within the neighborhood so that all are within relatively close proximity to each other. Traditional neighborhood development is relatively compact, limited in size and oriented toward pedestrian activity. It has an identifiable center and a discernible edge. The center of the neighborhood is in the form of a public park, commons, plaza, square or prominent intersection of two or more major streets. Generally, there is a hierarchy of streets laid out in a rectilinear or grid pattern of interconnecting streets and blocks that provide multiple routes from origins to destinations and are appropriately designed to serve the needs of pedestrians and vehicles equally.

TRANSIENT VISITOR

An occupant of a dwelling unit or bedroom for not more than 30 days, unless the occupant is related to the owner as married spouse, parent or child, grandparent or grandchild, or brother or sister.

[Added 11-10-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-3]

TRANSMISSION EQUIPMENT

Equipment that facilitates transmission for any Federal Communications Commission-licensed or authorized wireless communications service, including, but not limited to, radio transceivers, antennas, coaxial or fiber-optic cable, and regular and backup power supply. The term includes equipment associated with wireless communications services including, but not limited to, private, broadcast, and public safety services, as well as unlicensed wireless services and fixed wireless services such as a microwave backhaul.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

TRUCK STOP

A commercial use that primarily involves providing fuels and other services to commercial trucks. This use may also involve repair services, sale of personal care items and gifts, a restaurant, showers and a motel.

TRUCK TERMINAL

(1)

A use involving commercial freight being transported from one site to another.

(2)

A use that involves short-term storage of materials for transport to an assigned destination.

TWO-FAMILY CONVERSION

The conversion of an existing single-family detached dwelling unit to contain two separate dwelling units.

USE

The specific purpose for which land or a structure is designed, arranged, intended, occupied or maintained.

(1)

USE, ACCESSORYA use customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use or building.

(2)

USE, PRINCIPALThe main or primary use of property or structures.

USE AND OCCUPANCY PERMIT

A permit issued by the Zoning Officer certifying a use's compliance with information reflected on the zoning permit and this chapter.

VARIANCE

A modification of any provision of this chapter granted by the Zoning Hearing Board subject to findings specified by the Act.

VETERINARIAN'S OFFICE

A building used primarily for the treatment, by a veterinarian, of small domestic animals such as dogs, cats, rabbits and birds or fowl. No outdoor boarding of animals is permitted.

WAREHOUSE

A commercial storage building for storage of merchandise or commodities where there is no manufacturing or processing of goods nor is there the retail or wholesale sale of said goods (provided that the same may be sold from the warehouse) to be delivered to another location, and further provided that the warehouse may have an office, the business of which is limited solely to that business of the warehouse, which shall occupy no more than 20% of the floor area of the warehouse.

WASTE

Garbage, refuse and other discarded materials, including but not limited to solid, semisolid, contained gaseous and liquid materials resulting from municipal, industrial, institutional, commercial, agricultural, residential, and other activities. Such wastes shall also include biological excrement and hazardous waste materials, as defined in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40, Chapter 1, Part 261, dated July 1, 1984, or as amended. Waste shall expressly include those materials defined, at any given time, as "waste" by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. For the purposes of this chapter, the difference between waste and junk or recyclables is that waste shall include materials that have entered a reasonably continuous process by which their ultimate disposal is imminent, whereas junk includes materials that may be stored for longer periods of time awaiting potential reuse or ultimate disposal, and whereas recyclables include materials that have entered a reasonably continuous process whereby their reuse is imminent.

WATER COMPANY

Any person or corporation, including a municipal corporation operating beyond its corporate limits, which furnishes water to or for the public for compensation.

WATERCOURSE

A permanent or intermittent stream, river, brook, run, creek, channel, swale, pond, lake or other body of surface water carrying or holding surface water, whether natural or artificial.

WATER IMPOUNDMENT, FRESH

A lined depression, excavation, pit, or facility situated in or upon the ground, whether natural or artificial, used to store fresh water.

[Added 8-28-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-6]

WATER IMPOUNDMENT, WASTE

A lined depression, excavation, pit, or facility situated in or upon the ground, whether natural or artificial, used to store wastewater including but not limited to brine, fracturing fluid or residual waste.

[Added 8-28-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-6]

WATERSHED

All the land from which water drains into a particular watercourse.

WCF ON EXISTING STRUCTURE

Wireless communications facilities located on existing structures such as, but not limited to, buildings, water towers, electrical transmission towers, utility poles, light poles, traffic signal poles, flag poles and other similar structures that do not require the installation of a new tower. This term includes the replacement of an existing structure with a similar structure that is required to support the weight of the proposed WCF.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

WECS UNIT (WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM)

Any device which converts wind energy to mechanical or electrical energy and shall include blades, hubs to which blades are attached, and any device, such as a tower, used to support the hub and/or rotary blades, etc.

WETLAND

Area with the characteristics of wetland, as defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the United States Soil Conservation Service. Wetland areas are not limited to the locations delineated on wetland maps prepared by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

WHOLESALE

Any distribution procedure involving persons who, in the normal course of business, do not engage primarily in sales to the general public.

WHOLESALE TRADE

An establishment or business engaged in selling merchandise to retailers, commercial or industrial institutions, professionals, business users or other wholesalers. "Wholesale trade" may also include agents or brokers and buying or selling merchandise to individuals or companies.

WINDOW

An opening to the outside other than a door which provides all or part of the required natural light, natural ventilation or both to an interior space. The glazed portion of a door in an exterior wall may be construed to be a window in regard to provision of natural light.

WINERY

(1)

A building or property where wine is produced.

(2)

This definition may also include:

(a)

The growing of grapes and other fruits to produce wine;

(b)

An agricultural processing facility used for the fermenting and processing of juice into wine and/or the refermenting of still wine into sparkling wine;

(c)

Bottling, corking and otherwise readying wine for sale and shipping;

(d)

A tasting room;

(e)

Tours and on-site events; and/or

(f)

A retail establishment to sell wine and other related items.

(3)

A winery may not produce in excess of 200,000 gallons of wine per year.

WIRELESS

Transmissions through the airwaves including, but not limited to, infrared line of sight, cellular, personal communications service (PCS), microwave, satellite, or radio signals.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY (WCF)

The set of equipment and network components including antennas, transmitters, receivers, base stations, cabling and accessory equipment, used to provide wireless data and telecommunication services. The term shall not include the wireless support structure.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

WIRELESS SUPPORT STRUCTURE

A freestanding structure, such as a guyed or self-supporting monopole or tower, electrical transmission tower, water tower or other structure not classified as a wireless support structure, including but not limited to buildings, light poles, utility poles, traffic signals and other similar structures that could support the placement or installation of wireless telecommunications facilities if approved by the municipality.

[Added 6-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-2]

YARD

An area between the permitted structures and the property lines.

(1)

YARD, FRONTThe area contained between the street right-of-way line and the principal structure. For flag lots see § 180-31 of this chapter.

(2)

YARD, REARThe area contained between the rear property line and the principal structure. On corner and reverse frontage lots the rear yard shall be considered that area between the principal structure and the property line opposite the designated front yard. For flag lots see § 180-31 of this chapter.

(3)

YARD, SIDEThe area(s) between a principal structure and any side lot line(s). On corner lots the side yard shall be considered those areas between the principal structure and the property lines opposite the designated side yard with street. For flag lots see § 180-31 of this chapter.


NOTES: For lots subdivided after the effective date of this chapter, the person responsible for the subdivision shall specify, for all corner lots, which street frontage is the front yard. The other street frontage shall be considered a side yard with street.
For corner lots of record as of the effective date of this chapter, the orientation of the front, rear and side yards, and side yard with street, shall be determined from the recorded subdivision plan which created the corner lot. Where there is no recorded subdivision plan, the owner of the corner lot may specify which frontage is the front yard.
For through lots, the frontage from which access is gained shall determine the front yard, with the other frontage being a rear yard.

ZONING

The designation of specified districts within the Township reserving them for certain uses, together with limitations on lot size, heights of structures and other stipulated requirements.

ZONING CERTIFICATE

A document signed by the Township Zoning Officer which is required by this chapter prior to the commencement of a use or the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, conversion or installation of a structure or building.

[Added 8-28-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-6]

[1]

Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.

[2]

Editor's Note: See the definition of "recreational vehicle."

[3]

Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 10231.101 et seq.

[4]

Editor's Note: See now 65 Pa.C.S.A. § 701 et seq.

[5]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 147, Subdivision and Land Development.

[6]

Editor's Note: See 3 P.S. § 1701 et seq.