Township of Lower Providence, PA Article VIII R-3 Residential District

§ 143-47 Declaration of legislative intent; applicability.

[Amended 9-21-2006 by Ord. No. 556]

A. Declaration of legislative intent of an R-3 Zoning District as follows:

(1) To provide for a variety of carefully designed housing types at medium densities.

(2) To make sure that varied housing types are compatible with any existing single-family detached houses.

(3) To make sure that the street system of the Township and other community facilities and services are fully able to handle moderately dense growth in an area.

(4) To work to encourage affordable housing, especially for young families and senior citizens.

B. In an R-3 Residential District, the following regulations shall apply.

§ 143-48 Use regulations.

[Amended 9-19-2002 by Ord. No. 472; 9-21-2006 by Ord. No. 556; 10-20-2011 by Ord. No. 602; 1-16-2020 by Ord. No. 662]

A building or group of buildings may be erected or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any one of the following uses and no other:

A. Uses permitted by right:

(1) Single-family detached, twin, and duplex dwellings; all at a maximum density of 3.0 dwelling units per gross acre.

(2) Telephone utility hub station.

(3) Municipal use, governmental offices, emergency services station, and community center for senior citizens.

(4) Residential accessory uses, buildings, and structures. The following residential accessory uses, buildings, and structures are allowed by right on a lot with a residential principal use in accordance with the applicable requirements of this chapter:

(a) Accessory building/structure, residential.

(b) Backup generator.

(c) Bus shelter.

(d) Carport.

(e) Garage, household. No more than one detached household garage is allowed upon a lot.

(f) Garage/yard sales.

(g) Home occupation.

(h) In-law suite.

(i) Keeping of pets.

(j) Sale of agricultural products.

(k) Shed, household storage. One household storage shed shall be permitted with a five-foot setback from the rear and/or side yard property lines, provided said shed or said structure shall not exceed 120 square feet in overall size and shall not exceed 12 feet in height, as measured from the lowest point in the grade at the entrance to the structure to the highest peak of the roof ridge.

(l) Short-term rental.

(m) Solar system.

(n) Swimming pool, household.

(o) Temporary use or structure.

(5) Nonresidential accessory uses, buildings, and structures. The following nonresidential accessory uses, buildings, and structures are allowed by right on a lot with a nonresidential principal use in accordance with the applicable requirements of this chapter:

(a) Nonresidential accessory building and/or structure.

(b) Backup generator.

(c) Bus shelter.

(d) Solar system.

(e) Temporary use or structure.

B. Uses permitted as a special exception when approved by the Zoning Hearing Board:

(1) Hospital or sanatorium, and religious or philanthropic use, excluding prisons.

(2) Parkland, private recreation, or wildlife sanctuary.

(3) Any public utility use other than an airport, public heliport, railway passenger station, or bus passenger station.

§ 143-49 Area, setback, bulk, and height requirements.

[Amended 11-20-2003 by Ord. No. 500; 9-21-2006 by Ord. No. 556; 10-20-2011 by Ord. No. 602; 1-16-2020 by Ord. No. 662]

A. Dimensional requirements for single-family detached, twin, and duplex dwellings.

(1) Any project requiring land development or subdivision approval from the Township shall meet the following requirements:

(a) The gross site area shall be a minimum of 10 acres.

(b) The site shall be separated from adjacent properties, except those containing single-family detached dwellings, by a buffer strip of 35 feet.

(c) The maximum building coverage shall be 35% of the net site area.

(d) The maximum impervious surface coverage shall be 55% of the net site area.

(e) A portion of the site shall be set aside as open space in accordance with the requirements of this chapter, including, but not limited to, § 143-28H.

(f) Twenty percent of the open space shall be improved as common areas or greens.

(2) The dimensional and area requirements for individual lots shall be as follows:

Requirement	Residential Uses
Minimum lot area	8,000 square feet
Minimum lot width	65 feet
Minimum setbacks:
Front yard	25 feet
Side yard	10 feet
Rear yard	25 feet
Maximum building coverage (percentage of lot area)	20%
Maximum impervious surface coverage (percentage of lot area)	35%

(3) All dwellings shall be served by public water and sanitary sewer systems.

(4) Buildings. Buildings shall be located and constructed so as to provide a minimum setback as follows:

(a) From site internal service roads: 25 feet.

(b) From parking lots and sidewalks: 15 feet.

(c) From the boundary lines of other zoning districts: 50 feet.

B. Dimensional requirements for all other uses. The following requirements apply to all uses other than single-family detached, twin, and duplex dwellings, unless a more-restrictive requirement is set forth elsewhere in this chapter.

Requirement	Institutional, Recreational, Municipal, and Utility Uses
Minimum lot area	2 acres
Minimum lot width	200 feet
Minimum front yard	50 feet
Minimum side yard	50 feet
Minimum rear yard	60 feet
Maximum building coverage (percent of lot area)	30%
Maximum impervious surface coverage (percent of lot area)	40%

C. Building height. All buildings shall not exceed a maximum height of 35 feet, except as otherwise provided herein.

§ 143-50 Design and development standards and requirements.

Site development within an R-3 District shall be in conformance with an overall plan for locating buildings and structures, providing for safe and efficient circulation of vehicles and pedestrians, preservation and extension of the natural amenities of the site and providing for the continued maintenance of the land and improvements thereon. The design and the operation and maintenance of the site and improvements shall meet at least the minimum standards and requirements set out in § 143-28 of this chapter.