[Added 1-22-2002 by Ord. No. 4-178]
The purpose of establishing planned low-intensity
multifamily districts shall be to encourage the logical and timely
development of land for multifamily purposes in accordance with the
objectives, policies and proposals of the Comprehensive Plan for the
community; to permit a variety of housing to the landscape which conforms
to the interest of the Comprehensive Plan and this chapter; to assure
the suitable design of the development in order to protect the surrounding
environment of adjacent and nearby neighborhoods; to encourage the
use of smaller-scale multifamily dwellings to complement existing
surrounding and adjacent developments and to ensure that the proposed
development will constitute a residential environment of sustained
desirability and stability and not produce a volume of traffic in
excess of the capacity for which access streets are designed. The
protective standards contained in this article are intended to minimize
any adverse effect of the development on nearby property value.
A building may be erected, altered or used and
a lot or premises may be used or occupied for any of the following
purposes and no other:
B.
Area regulations.
(1)
Area of tract. Not less than 10 acres shall be provided
for every area to be used in whole or in part as a Low-Intensity Multifamily
District.
(2)
Building area. No more than 15% of the area of each
Multifamily District may be occupied by buildings.
(3)
Setback from arterial or collector streets. There
shall be a setback from the ultimate right-of-way of each street on
which the Multifamily District abuts, which shall not be less than
175 feet in depth from arterial or collector streets. When the subject
property is bound on two sides by Township arterial or collector streets,
then there shall be a setback from the ultimate right-of-way of one
street on which the Multifamily District abuts, which shall not be
less than 50 feet in depth from the arterial or collector street,
and there shall be a setback from the ultimate right-of-way of the
other street on which the Multifamily District abuts, which shall
not be less than 100 feet in depth from the arterial or collector
street. A softening buffer shall be installed along the full length
of the property on the side that abuts the arterial or collector street
with the fifty-foot setback.
[Amended 2-3-2004 by Ord. No. 4-191; 5-1-2018 by Ord. No. 4-249]
(4)
Setback from perimeter property lines. There shall
be a setback from any perimeter property line which the district abuts
of not less than 50 feet.
(5)
Miscellaneous setbacks. The minimum setback from any
interior street, right-of-way, solid waste collection station or common
parking area (or access road thereto) shall be 20 feet except for
courtyards and culs-de-sac, in which event 12 feet shall be the permissible
minimum setback.
(6)
Distance between buildings. The horizontal distance,
measured in feet, at the closest point between any two buildings shall
not be less than 35 feet. The horizontal distance, measured in feet,
between parallel elements of buildings forming courts and courtyards
shall not be less than twice the height of the taller building, measured
in feet.
(7)
Density. Maximum density for dwelling units in the
R-3A District shall be three dwelling units per developable acre.
(8)
Height regulations. No building shall exceed 35 feet
in height or three stories above the ground elevation.
(9)
Building configuration.
(a)
For multifamily townhouse buildings, there shall
be not fewer than three nor more than four dwellings attached in a
group.
(b)
For preservation of existing single-family dwellings,
there shall be a lot planned, whether or not intended for sale, which
shall have a minimum width of 100 feet and a minimum area of 1/2 acre.
(10)
Parking, traveling lane, and pedestrian lane
requirements and regulations.
(11)
If the development of the Low-Intensity Multifamily
District is to be carried out in stages, each stage shall be so planned
that the foregoing requirements and the intent of this article shall
be fully complied with at the completion of any stage. The initial
stage of development shall comprise a total floor area of not less
than 25% of the total area intended to be developed.
(12)
All access roads to public streets or highways
shall be located not less than 200 feet from the intersection of any
street lines and shall be designed in a manner conducive to safe ingress
and egress.
C.
All utilities servicing the development shall be placed
underground.
D.
All buildings shall be served by a public sanitary
sewage disposal system and public water supply.
E.
Lighting. Exterior lighting shall be permitted and constructed in accordance with § 160-220 of the Code of the Township of Whitpain.
F.
Screening.
(1)
Screening materials. In evaluating the design of screening, the landscape material, size and spacing along existing perimeter streets shall be of such quantity and selection as to satisfy the requirements of "softening buffer" as defined in § 160-7B, and the landscape material, size and spacing along existing perimeter property lines abutting a residential district shall be of such quantity and selection as to satisfy the requirements of "screen buffer" as defined in § 160-7B. A buffer strip shall not be less than 20 feet wide and shall be comprised of not less than 50% of evergreen materials
G.
Areas for the deposit, retention and disposal of waste
materials shall be screened from view.
H.
Accessory buildings or structures.
[Amended 8-18-2015 by Ord. No. 4-240]
(1)
No accessory buildings, structures or uses may be located within
areas between the front of a dwelling unit and street lines, within
any perimeter setbacks, or within two-family and townhouse lots. All
permitted accessory structures shall be shown on the land development
plans for the development. An accessory building, structure or use
not shown on the land development plans for the development shall
not thereafter be permitted.
(2)
Except for one cable television antenna, no accessory buildings,
structures or uses may exceed 16 feet in height.
(3)
For single-family dwellings, an accessory building or structure having
a maximum height of 10 feet, but not exceeding 15 feet measured from
grade to the highest point of such building or structure may be erected
in the rear yard only, but no closer to the side or rear line of the
lot than 10 feet. The height of the accessory building or structure
and the maximum dimension from grade to the highest point may be increased
an additional one foot for each additional two feet of required setback
from both the side and rear lines of the lot, to a maximum accessory
building or structure height of 16 feet, but not to exceed 25 feet
measured from grade to the highest point of the building or structure.
All measurement from grade to the highest point of the building or
structure shall include any chimneys, spires, towers, elevator penthouses,
tanks and similar projections.
Signs shall be permitted only pursuant to the provisions of Article XXVI, as amended, for residential districts.
