Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following terms shall,
for the purpose of this chapter, have the meanings indicated:
A. Words in the singular include the plural, and those in the plural
include the singular.
B. Words used in the present tense include the future tense.
C. The words "person," "subdivider," and "owner" include a corporation,
unincorporated association and a partnership, or other legal entity,
as well as an individual.
D. The word "structure" includes "building" and shall be construed as
if followed by the phrase "or part thereof."
E. The word "watercourse" includes channels, creeks, ditches, dry runs,
springs, and streams.
F. The words "should" and "may" are permissive; the words "shall" and
"will" are mandatory and directive.
Other terms or words used herein shall be interpreted or defined
as follows:
ALLEY
A thoroughfare, publicly or privately owned, other than a
side street, which affords only a secondary means of access to abutting
property and not intended for general traffic circulation.
APPLICANT
A landowner or developer, including his heirs, successors,
or assigns, who has filed an application for development.
APPLICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT
Every application, whether preliminary or final, required
to be filed and approved prior to start of construction or development,
including but not limited to an application for a building permit
and an application for the approval of a development plan.
BLOCK
An area bounded by three or more streets.
BUILDING SETBACK LINE
The line within a property defining the minimum required
distance between any building to be erected and the edge of any required
adjacent right-of-way (front lot line).
CARTWAY (ROADWAY)
The improved or paved portion or portions of a street available
for vehicular or other traffic; the portion or portions between curbs
where curbs are used.
CLEAR SIGHT TRIANGLE
An area of unobstructed vision at intersections defined by
lines of sight between points at a given distance from the intersection
of street center lines. (See Exhibit No. 2.)
COMPLETION BOND/FINANCIAL SECURITY
A bond in cash or with an approved surety company, or other
type of financial security, guaranteeing the satisfactory completion
of the improvements to land in accordance with this chapter.
CONDOMINIUM
Shall be used in accordance with the definition and concept
set forth in the Unit Property Act of Pennsylvania.
COUNTY
The County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
CROSSWALK (INTERIOR WALK)
A publicly or privately owned right-of-way for pedestrian
use extending from a street into a block or across a block to another
street.
CUL-DE-SAC
A dead-end street with a vehicular turnaround at the dead
end.
CUT
B.
The difference in vertical elevation between a point on the
surface of original ground and a point on the final grade.
C.
The material removed in excavation.
DEVELOPER
Any landowner, agent of such landowner, or tenant acting
with the permission of such landowners, who makes or causes to be
made a subdivision of land or a land development.
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
The written and graphic provisions describing a proposed
development in sufficient detail so that its compliance with the requirements
of this chapter may be conclusively judged.
DRIVEWAY
An improved surface for vehicular circulation or access on
a lot or parcel of land.
EASEMENT
A right in one owner of land, by reason of such ownership,
to use the land of another for a special purpose not inconsistent
with the general property rights in the second owner.
ENGINEER
A licensed professional engineer registered as such in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
EROSION
The removal of surface materials by the action of natural
elements.
EXCAVATION
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar
material is dug into, cut, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced,
relocated or bulldozed and shall include the conditions resulting
therefrom.
FILL
A.
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other material
is placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported or moved to a new location
above the natural surface of the ground or on top of the stripped
surface and shall include the conditions resulting therefrom.
B.
The difference in elevation between a point on the original
ground and a designated point of higher elevation on the final grade.
C.
The material used to make a fill.
D.
The term "fill" is also to be used in accordance with the definition set forth in Chapter
208, Grading and Excavation, of the Code of the Township of Aleppo.
FLOODPLAIN
The area along a natural watercourse which is periodically overflowed by water therefrom. The term is also used in accordance with Chapter
200, Floodplain Management, of the Code of the Township of Aleppo.
GOVERNING BODY
The duly elected Board of Commissioners of Aleppo Township,
Allegheny County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
IMPROVEMENTS TO LAND
A construction or installation, including but not limited
to any of the following: streets, gutters, culverts, sidewalks, storm
sewers, water drainage facilities, utilities (gas, electric, telephone
services), water system, fire hydrants, sanitary sewers, septic tanks,
street signs, streetlights and including cuts and/or fills.
LAND DEVELOPMENT
A.
Any one of the following activities:
(1)
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts
or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
(a)
A group of two or more residential or nonresidential buildings,
whether proposed initially or cumulatively, or a single nonresidential
building on a lot or lots regardless of the number of occupants or
tenure; or
(b)
The division or allocation of land or space, whether initially
or cumulatively, between or among two or more existing or prospective
occupants by means of, or for the purpose of, streets, common areas,
leaseholds, condominiums, building groups or other features; or
B.
Excluding the following certain types of land development:
(1)
The conversion of an existing single-family detached dwelling
or single-family semidetached dwelling into not more than three residential
units, unless such units are to be a condominium;
(2)
The addition of an accessory building, including farm buildings,
on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing principal building; or
(3)
The addition or conversion of buildings or rides within the
confines of an enterprise which would be considered an amusement park.
For the purposes of this definition, an "amusement park" is defined
as a tract or area used principally as a location for permanent amusement
structures or rides. This exclusion shall not apply to newly acquired
acreage by an amusement park until initial plans for the expanded
area have been approved by proper authorities.
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 the land.
LOT
The use of the term "lot" herein shall be in accordance with the definition set forth in Chapter
400, Zoning.
LOT AREA
The area contained within the property lines of a lot as
shown on the plat, excluding space within the rights-of-way for streets,
public or private, but including the areas of all easements.
MARKER
A metal pipe or pin of at least one-half-inch diameter (preferred
3/4 inch or 7/8 inch) and at least 24 inches in length (preferred
30 inches to 36 inches).
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.
MINOR SUBDIVISION
A subdivision of land that involves no more than two lots
nor the provision or extension of any street or easement for access.
MONUMENT
A stone or concrete monument with a flat top at least four
inches in diameter or square, containing a copper or brass dowel (plug),
and at least 24 inches in length (preferred 30 inches to 36 inches).
The bottom, sides or radius shall be at least two inches greater than
the top, to minimize movements caused by frost.
OPEN SPACE
"Common open space" is a parcel or parcels of land or an
area of water, or a combination of land and water, within a development
site and designed and intended for the use or enjoyment of residents
of the development, not including streets, off-street parking areas,
driveways and areas set aside as public grounds.
PLAN, MAJOR STREET
That element of the Comprehensive Plan, when and if adopted,
which would show the general location, alignment, and dimensions,
and identification and classification of existing and proposed streets,
highways, and other thoroughfares.
PLAT, FINAL
A complete and exact map or plan of a subdivision or land
development (and including all required supplementary data), prepared
for official recording as required by statute, defining property rights
as well as proposed streets and other improvements.
PLAT OF RECORD
The copy of the final plat which contains the required original
endorsements and which is recorded with the County Recorder of Deeds.
PLAT, PRELIMINARY
A tentative map or plan of a subdivision or land development
(and including all required supplementary data), in lesser detail
than a final plat, showing approximate proposed street and lot layout
as a basis for consideration prior to preparation of a final plat;
said plat shall be prepared by an engineer or surveyor registered
in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
PRIVATE STREET (see "street")
A right-of-way not adopted or otherwise determined to be
a public street by Aleppo Township, or not having otherwise been adopted
as a county, state or Township street.
PUBLIC GROUNDS
Includes:
A.
Parks, playgrounds, trails, paths and other recreational areas
and other public areas; and
B.
Sites for schools, sewage treatment, refuse disposal and other
publicly owned or operated facilities; and
C.
Publicly owned or operated scenic and historic sites.
PUBLIC HEARING
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Board
of Commissioners, Planning Commission or Zoning Hearing Board, intended
to inform and obtain public comment prior to taking action in accordance
with this chapter.
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."
PUBLIC NOTICE
A 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.
RESERVE STRIP
A parcel of ground in separate (sometimes public) ownership
separating a street from other adjacent properties or from another
street.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
The total width of any land reserved or dedicated to use
as a street, alley, crosswalk or other public purpose.
RUNOFF
The surface water discharge or rate of discharge of a given
area or watershed after a fall of rain or snow that does not enter
the soil but runs off the surface of the land.
SANITARY SEWAGE DISPOSAL (PRIVATE)
A sanitary sewage collection system, managed and operated
under private auspices, in which sewage is carried from individual
lots by a system of pipes to a central treatment and disposal plant,
generally serving a neighborhood area.
SANITARY SEWAGE DISPOSAL, PUBLIC
A sanitary sewage collection system, managed and operated
by a public authority, in which sewage is carried from individual
lots by a system of pipes to a central treatment and disposal plant.
SEDIMENTATION
The process by which mineral or organic matter is accumulated
or deposited by moving wind, water or gravity. Once this matter is
deposited (or remains suspended in water), it is considered sediment.
SEPTIC TANK
A covered watertight settling tank in which raw sewage is
biochemically changed into solid, liquid and gaseous states to facilitate
further treatment and final disposal.
SLOPE
The face of an embankment or cut section; any ground whose
surface makes an angle with the plane of the horizon. Slope is expressed
in a percentage based upon vertical difference in feet/100 feet of
horizontal distance.
SOIL STABILIZATION
Chemical or structural treatment of a mass of soil to increase
or maintain its stability or otherwise to improve its engineering
properties.
STREET
Includes a street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway,
parkway, lane, alley, viaduct, and any other ways used or intended
to be used by vehicular traffic or pedestrians, whether public or
private. Streets are further classified according to the functions
they perform:
A.
ARTERIALA two-, three- or four-lane roadway with signalized access with intermediate permissible speeds that functions as an intracommunity link and serves as a feeder to arterial streets.
B.
COLLECTORA wide two-laned roadway with signalized or controlled intersections which functions to facilitate the collection of traffic from local roads.
C.
LOCAL ROADSA two-laned roadway which functions to give access to individual land parcels.
SUBDIVIDER
Shall be synonymous in meaning with "developer" as defined
herein and shall be used interchangeably with same.
SUBDIVISION
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land
by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other division
of land, including changes in existing lot lines for the purpose,
whether immediate or future, of lease, petition by the court for distribution
to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership, building or lot development;
provided, however, that the subdivision by lease of land for agricultural
purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres, not involving any new
street or easement of access or any residential dwelling, shall be
exempted.
SURVEYOR
A licensed surveyor registered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
SWALE
A low-lying stretch of land which gathers, or carries, surface
water runoff.
THROUGH LOT
A lot extending between and having frontage on two generally
parallel streets, excluding service streets.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of Aleppo, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
TOWNSHIP STREET
A street adopted as a public street by the Township or having
become a Township street as legally determined.
WATERCOURSE
A permanent stream, intermittent stream, river, brook, creek
or a channel or ditch for water, whether natural or man-made.
ZONING DISTRICT MAP
A map showing the various zoning districts into which the Township has been divided for the purpose of applying the regulations of Chapter
400, Zoning.