[Added 10-19-2004 by Ord. No. 4-195]
[Amended 9-15-2009 by Ord. No. 4-227[1]]
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 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; and to encourage
the use of smaller-scale multifamily dwellings to complement existing
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 further the goals of the
stated legislative intent.
A.
Permitted and conditional uses. 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.
[Amended 9-15-2009 by Ord. No. 4-227]
(2)
Conditional
uses. The following use is permitted in this district by conditional
use:
(a)
Townhouses at the maximum density permitted by § 160-48B(7).
B.
Area regulations.
(1)
Area of tract. Not less than five acres shall be provided
for every area to be used in whole or in part as an Low-Intensity
Multifamily District.
[Amended 9-15-2009 by Ord. No. 4-227]
(2)
Building area. No more than 15% of the tract area
of each Low-Intensity Multifamily District may be occupied by buildings.
However, in age-qualified residential developments including accessory
nonresidential buildings (such as clubhouses, fitness centers, detached
garages and carports), the maximum area occupied by buildings permitted
by this section may be increased an additional 5% when the additional
building coverage can be attributed to said accessory nonresidential
buildings; so long as the total area occupied by buildings on the
tract does not exceed 20%.
[Amended 9-15-2009 by Ord. No. 4-227]
(3)
Setback from arterial or collector streets. There
shall be a setback from the ultimate right-of-way of each street on
which the Low-Intensity Multifamily District abuts, which shall not
be less than 175 feet in depth from arterial or collector streets.
[Amended 9-15-2009 by Ord. No. 4-227; 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. The maximum density of single-family detached dwellings permitted by § 160-48A(1)(a) shall be determined by adherence to the minimum lot size requirement of 30,000 square feet per dwelling. The maximum permitted number of townhouse dwelling units permitted by conditional use under § 160-48A(2) shall be 2.5 dwelling units per developable acre.
[Amended 9-15-2009 by Ord. No. 4-227]
(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.
[Amended 9-15-2009 by Ord. No. 4-227]
The general plan for low-intensity multifamily
developments shall include evidence and facts showing that the plan
has considered and made provisions for, and the development shall
be executed in accordance with, the following essential conditions:
A.
If the development of the Low-Intensity Multifamily
District plan 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 contain at least 50% of the
total number of dwelling units proposed under the plan.
B.
All access roads to public streets and 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.
Lighting shall be permitted and installed in compliance with § 160-220 of the Code of the Township of Whitpain.
D.
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 and shall be not less than 20 feet in width and comprised of no less than 50% of evergreen material.
E.
Areas for the deposit, retention and disposal of waste
materials shall be screened from view.
F.
Accessory buildings or structures.
[Amended 8-18-2015 by Ord. No. 4-240]
(1)
No accessory buildings, structures or uses, except parking, 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 buildings or structures, except for those in connection with single-family detached dwellings provided for in Subsection F(3) below, 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 detached 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, except parking. 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.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former §§ 160-50, Unit occupancy,
and 160-51, Declaration of age restriction, were repealed 9-15-2009
by Ord. No. 4-227.
Signs shall be permitted only pursuant to the provisions of Article XXVI, as amended, for residential districts.
