A.
This chapter is enacted for the following purposes:
to promote the health, safety, morals and general welfare of the inhabitants
of the Borough of Glenolden by lessening congestion in the roads and
streets, securing safety from fire, panic and other dangers, providing
adequate light and air, proper density of population, facilitating
the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools,
parks, flood control and other public requirements, conserving the
value of buildings and encouraging the most appropriate use of land.
B.
Statement of community development objectives. This
chapter, its amendments and supplements is designed to guide the development
of the Borough of Glenolden in a manner consistent with law and the
public interest in achieving and retaining the following general goals:
[Added 12-9-1982 by Ord. No. 867, approved 12-9-1982]
(1)
To encourage innovations in residential development
and renewal so that the growing demand for housing may be met by greater
variety in type, design and layout of dwellings and by the conservation
of open space ancillary to said dwellings so that greater opportunities
for better housing and recreation may extend to all citizens and residents
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
(2)
To promote sound economic development in order to
attain a stable future tax base.
(3)
To minimize the conflict between residential and other
types of land use.
(4)
To develop sound financial planning.
(5)
To recognize that the quality and character of future
residential development, as well as other suburban development, is
directly related to the improvement and extension of various public
utilities.
(6)
To consider the highway system and its effects upon
the Borough.
From and after the effective date of this chapter,
the use of all land and every building or portion of a building erected,
altered with respect to height and area, added to or relocated and
every use within a building or use accessory thereto in the Borough
of Glenolden shall be in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.
Any existing building or structure and any existing use of building
or land not in conformity with the regulations herein prescribed shall
be regarded as nonconforming but may be continued, extended or changed
subject to the special regulations herein provided with respect to
nonconforming buildings or uses.
In interpreting and applying the provisions
of this chapter, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements
for the promotion of the public health, safety, comfort, convenience
and general welfare. Where the provisions of this chapter impose greater
restrictions than those of any statute, other ordinance or regulation,
the provisions of this chapter shall be controlling. Where the provisions
of any statute, other ordinance or regulation impose greater restrictions
than this chapter, the provisions of such statute, ordinance or regulation
shall be controlling.
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following
words shall, for the purpose of this chapter, have the meaning herein
indicated. Words in the singular include the plural, and those in
the plural include the singular.
A subordinate building or structure, the use of which is
customarily incidental to that of the principal building and which
is used for an accessory use and is located on the same lot
[Amended 7-9-1987 by Ord. No. 919, approved 7-9-1987]
See "sign" and "billboard."
The cultivating of the soil and the raising and harvesting
of the products of the soil, including, but not by way of limitation,
nursery, horticulture and forestry.
Includes but is not limited to the following:
All incidental changes or replacements in the
nonstructural parts of a building or other structure.
Minor changes or replacements in the structural
parts of a building or other structure, including but not limited
to the following examples:
Alteration of interior partitions to improve
livability in nonconforming residential buildings, provided no additional
dwelling units are created thereby.
Alteration of interior partitions in all other
types of buildings or other structures.
Making windows or doors in exterior walls.
Strengthening the load-bearing capacity in not
more than 10% of the total floor area to permit the accommodation
of a specialized unit of machinery or equipment.
Any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides.
[Amended 8-12-1993 by Ord. No. 999, approved 8-12-1993]
(Either freestanding or attached to the surface of a building
or other structure):
A tract of land bounded by streets.
Any structure which is permanently affixed to the land and
has enclosing walls and a roof.
An established line within a property defining the minimum
required distance between any structure to be erected and an adjacent
right-of-way or street line.
The term used to describe the size of buildings or other
structures and their relationship to each other, to open areas such
as yards and to lot lines, and therefore includes:
An enclosed building space more than 33 1/3% below grade,
which shall be considered as unhabitable for living purposes.
See "street, center line of."
See "lot, corner."
A house which has yards on all four sides.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining,
dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations.
[Added 5-14-1987 by Ord. No. 916, approved 5-14-1987]
Any structure or part thereof designed to be occupied as
living quarters as a single housekeeping unit.
An addition to the floor area of an existing building, an
increase in size of another structure or an increase in that portion
of a tract of land occupied by an existing use.
A single person occupying a dwelling unit and
maintaining a household.
Two or more persons related by blood or marriage
occupying a dwelling unit, living together and maintaining a common
household.
Not more than three unrelated persons occupying
a dwelling unit, living together and maintaining a common household.
The general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of streams,
creeks, rivers, watercourses or other inland water from any source.
The floodplain or Floodplain Conservation District shall
be any area of the Borough of Glenolden subject to the one-hundred-year
flood which is identified as a Special Flood Hazard Area (Zone A)
on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) as issued by the Federal Insurance
Administration, dated November 18, 1981.
[Amended 5-14-1987 by Ord. No. 916, approved 5-14-1987]
Structural and/or nonstructural additions, changes or adjustments
to buildings, structures or real property in order to reduce or eliminate
flood damage to such buildings, structures or real property or to
the contents of any such building or structure.
[Added 5-14-1987 by Ord. No. 916; approved 5-14-1987]
The channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent
land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood
without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than
a designated height.
[Added 5-14-1987 by Ord. No. 916, approved 5-14-1987; amended 8-12-1993 by Ord. No.
999, approved 8-12-1993]
The sum of the area of the several floors of a building or
buildings measured from the face of the exterior walls or from center
lines of walls separating two buildings. In particular, "floor area"
includes but is not limited to the following:
Basement space, if it meets the requirements
of a building story.
Elevator shafts, stairwells and attic space
(whether or not a floor has been laid) providing structural headroom
of eight feet or more.
Roofed terraces, exterior balconies, breezeways
or porches, provided that over 50% of the perimeter of these is enclosed.
Any other floor space used for dwelling purposes
no matter where located within the building.
Accessory buildings, excluding space used for
accessory off-street parking or used for loading berths.
Any other floor space not specifically excluded,
excluding space used for air-conditioning machinery or cooling towers
and similar mechanical equipment serving the building and cellar space.
The total allowable floor area for a given lot divided by
the area of that lot. (For example, a building containing 15,000 square
feet of floor area on a given lot of 10,000 square feet of lot area
has a floor area ratio of 1.5.)
See "yard."
A garage which is:
An area of land, together with any structure thereon, used
for:
The vertical distance measured from the average level of
finished grade along all the exterior walls of a building to:
The highest point of the roof in the case of
a flat roof.
The mean height between eaves and ridge in the
case of a pitched roof.
The highest point on any structure which rises
wholly or partly above the roofline and whose area equals or exceeds
20% of the ground floor area of the building which supports it.
The vertical distance measured:
An accessory use which:
Is clearly incidental or secondary to the residential
use of the dwelling unit or is customarily carried on within a dwelling
unit by one or more occupants of such dwelling unit (a person not
residing in such dwelling unit may not be employed and occupies not
more than 25% of the total floor area of such dwelling unit or 500
square feet, whichever is less.
Does not permit the following operations:
The conducting of a clinic, hospital, barbershop,
beauty parlor, tearoom, tourist home, animal hospital, animal care
of any kind, animal boarding or any similar use shall not be deemed
to be a "home occupation."
An area of land, with or without buildings, used for the
storage, outside a completely enclosed building, of used and discarded
materials, including but not limited to wastepaper, rags, metal, building
materials, house furnishings, machinery, vehicles or parts thereof,
with or without the dismantling, processing, salvage, sale or other
use or disposition of the same. The deposit or storage on a lot of
two or more unlicensed, wrecked or disabled vehicles or the major
part thereof shall be deemed to make a junkyard.
A tract or parcel of land held in single and separate ownership.
A lot bounded on at least two sides by streets whenever the
lines of such streets, extended, form an interior angle of 135°
or less. The owner or developer of a corner lot may specify which
street line shall be the front lot line; he shall be required to so
specify at the time of filing an application for a zoning permit.
The ratio of the total ground floor area of all buildings
on a lot or of the total ground area of paved off-street parking areas
and driveways thereto to the total area of the lot on which they are
located.
[Amended 2-14-1991 by Ord. No. 965, approved 2-14-1991]
The line separating the lot from the street line.
Any lot line, except a front lot line, which is parallel
to or within 45° of being parallel to and does not intersect any
street line. In the case of a corner lot, the owner or developer may
make a different designation. (See definition of "corner lot" for
requirements.)
Any lot line which is not a front lot line or a rear lot
line. In the case of a corner lot, the owner or developer may make
a different designation. (See definition of "corner lot" for requirements.)
The horizontal distance between side lot lines measured at
right angles to the lot depth.
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area, including the
basement, of any building or structure. An unfinished or flood-resistant
enclosure, usable solely for the parking of vehicles, for building
access or for storage, in an area other than a basement area, is not
to be considered the lowest floor of a building or structure, provided
that such enclosure is not built so as to render the building or structure
in violation of the applicable nonelevation design requirements of
the Floodplain Conservation District Ordinance.[1]
[Added 5-14-1987 by Ord. No. 916, approved 5-14-1987]
A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which
is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without
a permanent foundation when attached to the required utilities. The
term "manufactured home" does not include a recreational vehicle.
[Added 8-12-1993 by Ord. No. 999, approved 8-12-1993]
A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
[Added 8-12-1993 by Ord. No. 999, approved 8-12-1993]
A building or a group of two or more detached or semidetached
buildings containing rooms or apartments having separate entrances
provided directly or closely in connection with automobile parking
or storage space serving such rooms or apartments, which building
or group of buildings is designed, intended or used principally for
the providing of sleeping accommodations for automobile travelers
and is suitable for occupancy at all seasons of the year.
Either:
An apartment building of not more than four
stories in height containing three or more separate dwelling units,
or
A townhouse building consisting of a cluster
of not less than four nor more than eight attached single-family dwellings,
each dwelling having a direct entrance on the ground floor and arranged
in groups or clusters and not in long rows parallel to street lines.
Any lawful building or other structure which does not conform
to one or more of the applicable area and bulk regulations of the
district in which it is located either on the effective date of this
chapter or as a result of a subsequent amendment thereto. Any building
or other structure existing in the Floodplain Conservation District
at the time of the enactment of this chapter shall be considered a
nonconforming building or other structure.
[Amended 5-14-1987 by Ord. No. 916, approved 5-14-1987]
Any lawful lot which does not conform to one or more of the
applicable area regulations of the district in which it is located
either on the effective date of this chapter or as a result of a subsequent
amendment thereto.
Any lawful use, whether of a building or other structure
or of a tract of land, which does not conform to the applicable use
regulations of the district in which it is located either on the effective
date of this chapter or as a result of subsequent amendments thereto.
Except for R-1 and R-2 Districts, no existing use shall be deemed
nonconforming solely because of the existence of less than the required
off-street parking.
The disposal of sewage by use of a sanitary sewer system
served by a central sewage treatment plant approved by the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Resources.
The supply of water to a user from a public water supply
approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources.
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year.
[Added 5-14-1987 by Ord. No. 916, approved 5-14-1987; amended 8-12-1993 by Ord. No.
999, approved 8-12-1993]
Consists of:
Includes an individual, corporation, partnership, incorporated
association or any other similar entity.
See "garage, private."
Any pool located on a residential or other property, the
use of which is limited by the owner to his or her own family and
such guests as shall be admitted to the pool and its accessory facilities.
"Private swimming pool" shall include any hot tub or spa.
[Added 5-13-2003 by Ord. No. 2009, approved 5-13-2003]
Refers to leisure-time activities, including but not limited
to sports and entertainment, that are open to anyone without restriction,
except for rules and standards of conduct and use.
Any pool not defined herein as a private swimming pool, including public pools and semipublic pools as defined in Chapter 47, Bathing Places, of the Code of the Borough of Glenolden.
[Added 5-13-2003 by Ord. No. 2009, approved
5-13-2003]
See "yard, rear."
Refers to land reserved as a street, crosswalk or for other
public purposes.
A dish-shaped or parabolic antenna, together with all attachments
and parts, the purpose of which is to receive communication from orbiting
satellites or other extraterrestrial sources.
[Added 7-9-1987 by Ord. No. 919, approved 7-9-1987]
A house which is:
See "building setback line."
See "yard, side."
Any letter, word, model, device or representation intended
as an announcement, direction or advertisement. It may be:
A sign which offers services or goods produced or available
somewhere other than on the lot on which the sign is located. The
words "advertising sign" include the word "billboard."
A sign which offers services or goods available on the lot
on which the sign is located.
A sign which:
The ownership of a lot by one or more persons, partnerships
or corporations, which ownership is separate and distinct from that
of any abutting or adjoining lot.
That portion of a building located between the surface of
any floor and the next floor above it; if there is not more than one
floor, the space between any floor and the ceiling next above it shall
be considered a "story."
A way intended for general public use to provide means of
approach for vehicles and pedestrians. The word "street" includes
the words "road," "highway," "thoroughfare" and "way."
A line which is an equal distance from both street lines.
A right-of-way line.
Any form or arrangement of building materials involving the
necessity of providing proper support, bracing, tying, anchoring or
other protection against the forces of the elements.
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure, whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the
damage occurred.
[Added 8-12-1993 by Ord. No. 999, amended 8-12-1993]
Any repair, reconstruction or improvement of any kind to
an existing structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of
the market value of the structure either:
[Added 5-14-1987 by Ord. No. 916, approved 5-14-1987]
A satellite signal which, when viewed on a conventional television
set, is at least equal in picture quality to that received from local
commercial television stations or by way of cable television.
[Added 7-9-1987 by Ord. No. 919, approved 7-9-1987]
That portion of the lot which is unoccupied and open to the
sky and extends from the lot line to the structure.
The yard extending along the full length of the front lot
line.
A yard extending the full length of the rear lot line.
A yard extending along the side lot line from the required
front yard to the required rear yard.
[2]
Editor's Note: The former definition of “swimming
pool,” which immediately followed this definition, was repealed
5-13-2003 by Ord. No. 2009, approved 5-13-2003. See now the definitions
of “private swimming pool” and “public swimming
pool.”
