The following uses are permitted by right in the FCD in compliance
with the requirements of this chapter:
A. Any required yard setback. There is however a requirement that all
buildings be set back a minimum of 10 feet from the limit of the FCD.
B. Open space uses that are primarily passive in character shall be
permitted to extend into the floodplain including:
(1) Wildlife sanctuaries, nature preserves, forest preserves, fishing
areas, passive areas of public and private parklands, and reforestation;
and
(2) Streambank stabilization.
C. Forestry operations approved by the MCCD.
D. Floodplain crossings. The following floodplain crossings are permitted:
(1) Agricultural crossings by farm vehicles and livestock; and
(2) Driveways, roadways, recreational trails, and railroads provided
that the applicant can show no impacts on flood heights. The cross
section of any watercourse shall not be altered to the extent that
there will be any expansion of the floodplain area onto any adjacent
lands, including public rights-of-way, without the grant of easement
from the adjoining owner. These crossings must demonstrate safe passage
of the public. The Township shall consider the quality of any available
or proposed emergency access route when deliberating on the requirements
of safe passage.
(3) Public sewer and/or water lines, public utility transmission lines,
and other similar utilities provided that the applicant can show no
impacts on flood heights. The cross section of any watercourse shall
not be altered to the extent that there will be any expansion of the
floodplain area onto any adjacent lands, including public rights-of-way,
without the grant of easement from the adjoining owner.
E. Agricultural uses conducted in compliance with methods prescribed
in the most recent version of PA DEP's Erosion and Sediment Pollution
Control Manual or riparian corridor or watercourse conservation standards
or similar regulations adopted by the Township.
The following uses are prohibited in the FCD:
A. No new construction, alteration, or improvement of buildings and
any other type of permanent structure, including fences shall be permitted
in the floodway.
B. Placement of fill within any designated floodway.
C. Encroachment into any watercourse, except that permitted as set forth
in this article relating to floodplain crossings.
D. Clearing of any existing vegetation, except where such clearing is
necessary to prepare land for a use permitted as set forth in this
article relating to uses permitted by right or uses permitted by conditional
use, and where the effects of these actions are mitigated by reestablishment
of vegetation.
E. Use of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and/or other chemicals
by nonagricultural uses.
F. Roads or driveways within Zone AE or Zone A, except where permitted
as corridor crossings set forth in this article relating to floodplain
crossings.
G. Motor or wheeled vehicle traffic in any area not designed to accommodate
adequately the type and volume.
H. Subsurface sewage disposal areas.
An applicant seeking approval for a conditional use as set forth and regulated in this chapter shall be required to request and obtain approval of a conditional use according to the provisions for a conditional use set forth in this chapter and Chapter
143, Zoning, of the Code of the Township of Lower Providence.
The provisions of this chapter do not require any changes or improvements to be made to lawfully existing structures. However, when an improvement is made to any existing structure, the provisions set forth in this article and those concerning nonconformities in Chapter
143, Zoning, of the Code of the Township of Lower Providence shall apply.
The following provisions shall apply whenever any improvement
is made to an existing structure located within the FCD:
A. No expansion or enlargement of an existing structure shall be allowed
within any floodway.
B. No expansion or enlargement of an existing structure shall be undertaken
in the direction of the floodway.
C. Any substantial improvement to an existing structure shall be undertaken
only if the entire structure is elevated, or in the case of a nonresidential
structure, floodproofed to one and one-half feet above BFE and there
is no increase in the BFE.
D. Historic structures.
(1) Historic structures undergoing repair or rehabilitation that constitute
a substantial improvement must comply with all of this chapter's
requirements that do not preclude the structure's continued designation
as an historic structure. Documentation that a specific requirement
of this chapter will cause removal of the structure from the National
Register of Historic Places or the State Inventory of Historic Places
must be obtained from the Secretary of the Interior or the State Historic
Preservation Officer. Any exemption from this chapter's requirements
will be the minimum necessary to preserve the historic character and
design of the structure.
(2) Historic structures undergoing repair or rehabilitation shall also
address the requirements of Title 34 of the Pennsylvania Code, the
2009 IBC, and/or the 2009 IRC, or latest revisions thereof.
E. Any modification, alteration, reconstruction, or improvement of any
kind that constitutes a repetitive loss shall be undertaken only in
full compliance with the provisions of this chapter.