Unless a contrary intention clearly appears, the following words
and phrases shall have, for the purpose of this chapter, the meanings
given in the following clauses:
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE
A structure subordinate to the principal use or structure
on a lot and used for purposes customarily incidental to those of
the principal use or structure.
ACCESSORY USE
A use subordinate to the principal use of land or a building
on the same lot with the principal building or use and customarily
incidental thereto.
ACT
The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code of July 31,
1968, P.L. 53 P.S. (Act 247, as amended).
ADJACENT
Adjacent properties shall mean properties that are contiguous,
as defined herein, as well as properties that are separated only by
a street or alley and not by intervening properties.
ADULT ARCADE
Any place in which the public is permitted or invited wherein
coin-operated, slug-operated, or for any form of consideration, or
electronically, electrically, or mechanically controlled still or
motion-picture machines, projectors, video or laser disc players,
or other image-producing devices are maintained to show images to
five or fewer persons per machine at any one time, and where the images
so displayed are distinguished or characterized by the depicting or
describing of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical
areas.
ADULT BOOKSTORE or ADULT NOVELTY STORE
An establishment having a substantial or significant portion
of its stock and trade in, or an establishment which as one of its
principal business purposes, offers for sale, books, films, videocassettes
or magazines and other periodicals or items which are distinguished
or characterized by their emphasis on matter depicting, describing
or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical
areas and, in conjunction therewith, has facilities for the presentation
of adult entertainment for observation by patrons.
ADULT LIVE ENTERTAINMENT USE OR FACILITY
(1)
A use including live entertainment involving persons (which
may include, but is not limited to, waiters, waitresses, dancers,
clerks, contractors or others) displaying uncovered male or female
genitals or nude or nearly nude female breasts (including but not
limited to the wearing of only pasties) or engaging in simulated or
actual specified sexual activities related to some form of monetary
compensation paid to a person, company or organization operating the
use or to persons involved in such activity.
(2)
A use including live entertainment involving persons (which
may include, but is not limited to, waiters, waitresses, dancers,
clerks, contractors or others), which regularly features persons who
appear in a state of seminudity or live performances which are characterized
by specified sexual activities; provided, however, that it shall be
unlawful to appear in a state of nudity in any such facility.
(3)
"Nudity" means the showing of the human male or female genital,
pubic area or buttocks with less than a fully opaque covering; the
showing of the female breast with less than a fully opaque covering
of any part of the nipple; the exposure of any device, costume, or
covering which gives the appearance of or simulates the genitals,
pubic hair, anal cleft, perineum anal region or pubic hair region;
or the exposure of any device worn as a cover over the nipples and/or
areola of the female breast, which device simulates and gives the
realistic appearance of nipples and/or areola. The prohibition against
nudity set forth herein shall not apply to:
(a)
Any child under 10 years of age; or
(b)
Any individual exposing a breast in the process of breastfeeding
an infant under two years of age.
ADULT MOVIE THEATER
A use involving the presentation typically to three or more
persons at one time of motion pictures, video tapes or similarly reproduced
images distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on depiction
of specified sexual activities for observation by patrons therein
and that is related to some form of monetary compensation by the persons
viewing such matter.
ADULT USE
This shall include only the following: adult arcade, adult
bookstore or adult novelty store, adult movie theater, massage parlor
or adult live entertainment use.
ALLEY
A public or private way permanently reserved as a secondary
means of access to the rear or side of two or more abutting properties.
ALLUVIAL SOILS
See "soils on floodplain."
[Amended 3-16-2015 by Ord. No. 985]
ALTERATIONS
As applied to a building or structure, a change or rearrangement
in the structural parts or an enlargement, whether by extending on
a side or by increasing in height, any change in use from one use
classification to another, or the moving from one location or position
to another.
ANTENNA
A device used to collect or transmit telecommunications or
radio signals. Examples are panels, microwave dishes and single poles
known as "whips."
AUTHORITY
A body politic and corporate created pursuant to the Act
of May 2, 1945 (P.O. 382, No. 164), known as the "Municipality Authorities
Act of 1945." (See 53 P.S. § 301 et seq.)
AWNING or CANOPY
A roof-like cover which extends over doors, entrances, windows,
or outdoor service areas. Any part of a structure which forms an integral
part of the building design or structure shall not, for purposes of
this chapter, be considered an "awning" or "canopy."
BOARD
Any body granted jurisdiction under this chapter or under
the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended
(see 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.) to render final adjudications.
BOARDER
A person occupying a room or rooms used or intended to be
used for living and sleeping but not for cooking or eating purposes,
and paying compensation for lodging or board and lodging by prearrangement
for a week or more at a time to the owner of the room or rooms.
BUFFER YARD
A strip of required yard space adjacent to the boundary of
a property, district, or road of a width not less than that designated
by this chapter, and on which is placed shrubbery, hedges, evergreens,
or other suitable plantings of sufficient height and density to meet
the requirements of Borough ordinances and to constitute an effective
screen and give maximum protection and immediate screening to an abutting
property or district. Structures, parking, stormwater detention facilities,
and storage or display of materials are not permitted within buffer
yards.
BUILDING
A structure having a roof which is used for the shelter or
enclosure of persons, animals or property. The word "building" shall
include any part thereof.
BUILDING, ACCESSORY
A subordinate building located on the same lot as a principal
building and devoted or intended to be devoted to an accessory use.
Any portion of a principal building devoted or intended to be devoted
to an accessory use is not an "accessory building."
BUILDING, PRINCIPAL
A building in which is conducted or is intended to be conducted
the principal use of the lot on which it is located.
BUILDING, SETBACK LINE
The rear line of the minimum required front yards measured
from the right-of-way line. In the event no right-of-way line exists,
said line shall be measured from the front property line.
BUILDING SPACING
The minimum distance between buildings measured from the
outermost wall or projection to the nearest point on another building.
CELLULAR TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITY
A cellular telecommunications facility consists of the equipment
and structures involved in receiving telecommunication or radio signals
from a mobile radio communications source and transmitting those signals
to a central switching computer which connects the mobile unit with
the land-based telephone lines.
CONDOMINIUM
An ownership arrangement and not a land use; therefore, it
is allowed in any district under the same restrictions of the residential
land use that comprises it. A condominium shall not negate lot or
other requirements intended to provide adequate light, air and privacy.
A "condominium" is a dwelling unit having all of the following characteristics:
(1)
The unit, the interior and associated exterior areas designated
for private use in the development plan, is owned by the occupant.
(2)
The unit may be any permitted dwelling type.
(3)
All or a portion of the exterior open space and any community interior spaces are owned and maintained in accordance with Uniform Condominium Act, 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq., and in accordance with the provisions for open space, roads or other development features as specified in this chapter and Chapter
164, Subdivision and Land Development.
DECISION
Final adjudication of any board or other body granted jurisdiction
under this chapter or the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code,
Act 247, as amended (see 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.) to do
so, either by reason of the grant of exclusive jurisdiction or by
reason of appeals from determinations. All decisions shall be appealable
to the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County and the judicial court
wherein the Borough lies.
DECK
An exterior floor system supported on at least two opposing
sides by an adjoining structure and/or posts, piers, or other independent
supports.
DENSITY
A measure of the number of dwelling units per unit area.
The unit area for the R-1A and R-1B Residential Districts is the net
buildable site area. The unit area for all other districts is the
base site area. "Density" shall be expressed in dwelling units per
acre.
DETERMINATION
(1)
Final action by an officer, body or agency charged with the
administration of this chapter or applications thereunder, except
the following:
(b)
The Zoning Hearing Board.
(2)
"Determinations" shall be appealable only to the boards designated
as having jurisdiction for such appeal.
DWELLING
A building designed and occupied for residential purposes containing one or more dwelling units and not including a hotel, motel, boarding house, tourist home, institutional or nursing home, personal care facility, guesthouse, bed and breakfast, or residential club. See §
186-18B for definitions of specific dwelling types.
DWELLING UNIT
Any room or group of rooms located within a building and
forming a single habitable unit with sanitary and other facilities
which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking
and eating by one family.
EASEMENT
A right-of-way granted for limited use of land or a restriction
placed on land for specific purposes. Easement areas will affect the
use of land and calculation of land available for development under
the terms of this chapter.
EAVES
The lowest horizontal line of a sloping (e.g., gable, hip,
gambrel) roof.
EMPLOYEE
An employee, assistant or associate, agent, contractor, or
representative who acts in interest or profits from a business, industry,
home office or occupation, or other enterprise.
ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
The zoning officer, building inspector, or other individual
appointed by the Borough to enforce this chapter within the jurisdiction
of the Borough.
EXPANSION
An addition to the floor area of an existing building, an
increase in size of any other structure, or an increase in that portion
of a tract of land occupied by an existing use.
FACADE
The exterior wall, face, or plane of a building.
FAMILY
One or more persons, related by blood, adoption or marriage,
living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit, or a number
of persons living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit
though not related by blood, adoption, or marriage.
FENCE
A man-made construction of any material or combination of
materials erected to enclose or screen areas of land, including a
wall.
FLOOD
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
FLOODPLAIN (AREA OR DISTRICT)
A relatively flat or low land area which is subject to partial
or complete inundation from an adjoining or nearby stream, river or
watercourse; and/or any area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation
of surface waters from any source.
[Amended 3-16-2015 by Ord. No. 985]
FOREST
See "woodlands" definition.
HEARING
An administrative proceeding conducted by the Borough Council
or the Zoning Hearing Board pursuant to this chapter.
HOME OCCUPATION
A routine, accessory and customary use conducted within or administered from a portion of a dwelling or its permitted accessory building that is clearly incidental and secondary to the principal residential use. See §
186-18H, Accessory uses.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE
Those surfaces that do not absorb water. All buildings, parking
areas, driveways, roads, sidewalks and any areas in concrete, asphalt,
packed gravel or stone, and any other such areas as determined by
the Borough Engineer shall be considered "impervious surfaces" within
this definition. All decks and pools are impervious surfaces.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE RATIO
The "impervious surface ratio" is a measure of the intensity
of use of a piece of land. It is measured by dividing the total area
of all impervious surfaces within the site by the base site area.
[Amended 10-6-2014 by Ord. No. 978]
LOT
A designated parcel, tract, or area of land established by
a plat or subdivision plan approved by Perkasie Borough and recorded
in the Bucks County Recorder of Deeds Office, or by a condominium
plan, planned community, or other plan creating unit ownership and
to be used, developed or built upon as a unit.
LOT, ACCREDITED ZONING
A parcel of land which fronts upon or has private right-of-way
access to a Borough-maintained street as designated on the Official
Map of Public Streets, meets the dimensional requirements of this
chapter and, by documentary evidence acceptable to the Zoning Officer,
is held in separate and distinct ownership from all abutting land.
LOT AREA
The total area of a lot lying within the lot lines and shall
specifically exclude the area of any easement within the aforesaid
lot lines, except for Borough electric department easements.
LOT AREA PER DWELLING UNIT
The amount of lot area, whether occupied by structures or
not, that exists for each dwelling unit located on the lot.
LOT, CORNER
A lot which has an interior angle of less than 135° at
the intersection of two street lines. A lot abutting upon a curved
street or streets shall be considered a "corner lot" if the tangents
to the curve at the points beginning with the lot or at the points
of intersection of the side lot lines with the street right-of-way
lines intersect at an interior angle of less than 135°.
LOT COVERAGE
The proportion of the lot area, expressed as a percentage,
that is covered by the maximum horizontal cross section of all principal
and accessory buildings (including balconies, decks, patios, porches,
breezeways, and carports), and outside storage of materials.
LOT LINE, FRONT
Any lot line which is parallel to or within 45% of being
parallel to a street line, except for a lot line that is itself a
street line, and except that in the case of a corner lot, the owner
shall have the option of choosing which of the two lot lines that
are not street lines is to be considered a "front lot line." In the
case of a lot having no street frontage or a lot of an odd shape,
the lot line nearest a street shall be considered a "front lot line."
LOT LINE, REAR
Any lot line which is parallel to or within 45° of being
parallel to a street line, except for a lot line that is itself a
street line, and except that in the case of a corner lot, the owner
shall have the option of choosing which of the two lot lines that
are not street lines is to be considered a "rear lot line." In the
case of a lot having no street frontage or a lot of an odd shape,
only the one lot line furthest from any street shall be considered
a "rear lot line."
LOT LINE, SIDE
Any lot line which is not a street line or a rear lot line.
LOT WIDTH
The distance at the required minimum front yard line between
the side lot lines or, in a case where there is only one side lot
line, between such side lot line and the opposite rear lot line or
street line. The lot width for a single-family semidetached dwelling
shall be measured from the side lot line to the wall in common with
an adjoining dwelling.
MASSAGE
(1)
The performance of manipulative exercises using the hands and/or
a mechanical or bathing device on a person's skin other than the face
or neck by another person(s) that is related to certain monetary compensation,
and which does not involve persons who are related to each other by
blood, adoption, marriage or official guardianship.
(2)
It shall not be any of the following activities:
(a)
Treatment by a licensed physician, a licensed chiropractor,
a licensed osteopath, a nationally certified masseur or masseuse,
a licensed practical nurse or a registered professional nurse;
(b)
Electrolysis treatment by a licensed operator of electrolysis
equipment;
(c)
Hospitals, nursing homes, medical clinics or medical offices;
(d)
Barbershops or beauty parlors which offer massage to the scalp,
the face, the neck or shoulders only; and
(e)
Athletic facilities of an educational institution including
an alumni club, or a philanthropic or charitable institution.
MASSAGE PARLOR
An establishment that meets all of the following criteria:
(1)
Massages are conducted (see definition).
(2)
The person conducting the massage is not licensed as a health
care professional or a licensed massage therapist by the state.
(3)
The massages are not conducted within a licensed hospital, nursing
home, physical therapist, personal care center or office of a medical
doctor or chiropractor.
(4)
The massages are conducted within private or semiprivate rooms.
(5)
The use is not clearly a customary and incidental accessory
use to a permitted exercise club or to a high school or college athletic
program.
MEDIATION
A voluntary negotiating process in which parties in a dispute
mutually select a neutral mediator to assist them in jointly exploring
and settling their differences, culminating in a written agreement
which the parties themselves create and consider acceptable.
MIXED-USE BUILDING
A building designed to contain a mixture of uses consisting
of commercial, office, retail or service businesses, which are permitted,
as specified, in combination with a residential use.
[Added 6-20-2022 by Ord. No. 1045]
MOBILE HOME
A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent
occupancy, contained in one unit or in two or more units designed
to be joined into one integral unit capable of again being separated
for repeated towing, which arrives at a site complete and ready for
occupancy, except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly
operations, and constructed so that it may be used without a permanent
foundation. For the purposes of this chapter, any inhabited "mobile
home" shall be considered a detached dwelling unit and as such shall
be subject to all applicable regulations in this chapter or other
municipal ordinances.
MOBILE HOME LOT
A parcel of land in a mobile home park improved with the
necessary utility connections and other appurtenances necessary for
the erection thereon of a single mobile home.
MOBILE HOME PARK
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which has been so
designated and improved that it contains two or more mobile home lots
for the placement thereon of mobile homes.
MODULAR HOME
A dwelling unit erected on a foundation and made of one or more sections built in a factory. The unit shall not be constructed or equipped with a permanent hitch or other device allowing it to be moved other than for the purpose of moving to a permanent site. A "modular home" is also known as a prefabricated or manufactured dwelling. The completed unit shall meet the building code in effect. (See Chapter
70, Building Construction, in the Code of the Borough of Perkasie.)
MUNICIPAL ENGINEER
A professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, duly appointed as the engineer for Perkasie Borough.
NONCONFORMING LOT
A lot, the area or dimension of which was lawful prior to
the adoption or amendment of this chapter, but which fails to conform
to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located
by reasons of such adoption or amendment.
NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE
A structure or part of a structure manifestly not designed
to comply with the applicable use provisions of this chapter or amendment
heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such structure lawfully existed
prior to the enactment of this chapter or amendment or prior to the
application of such ordinance or amendment to its location by reason
of annexation. Such "nonconforming structures" include, but are not
limited to, nonconforming signs.
NONCONFORMING USE
A use, whether of land or of a structure, which does not
comply with the applicable use provisions of this chapter or amendment
heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such use was lawfully in existence
prior to the enactment of this chapter or amendment, prior to the
application of this chapter or amendment to its location by reason
of annexation.
OPEN SPACE
Land held in common ownership, protected by easement, dedicated to the public or identified in another suitable manner in accordance with this chapter as "open space." To qualify as "open space," such land shall be used only for "open space" uses, recreation, amenity, buffer or resource protection. "Open space" does not include land occupied by buildings, roads or road rights-of-way, nor does it include the yards or lots of individual or group dwelling units as required by the provisions of this chapter in §§
186-18 and
186-20. "Open space" shall be left in its natural state, except in the case of recreation uses. All impervious surfaces within "open space" areas shall be countable as part of the total impervious surface area in arriving at impervious surface ratio for the development.
OPEN SPACE RATIO
A measure of intensity of land use. It is arrived at by dividing
the total amount of open space within the site by the gross site area.
PATIO
A level, concrete structure adjacent to a principal building
and not covered by a permanent roof.
PERSON
Includes corporation, partnership and association as well
as the individual.
PORCH
A permanently roofed structure which may be glassed or screened,
usually attached to or part of and with direct access to or from a
building and greater than 25 square feet in area.
PREMISES
A separate lot or tax parcel with individual frontage abutting
the street line. A "premises" may include more than one occupant as
in an office complex or shopping center.
PUBLIC HEARING
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the governing
body or planning agency, intended to inform and obtain public comment
prior to taking action in accordance with the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code, Act 247, as amended (See 53 P.S. § 10101
et seq.).
PUBLIC MEETING
A forum held pursuant to notice under 65 Pa.C.S. Chapter
7, as amended (related to open meetings).
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice published once each week for two successive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. Such notice
shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature
of the matter to be considered at the hearing. The first publication
shall not be more than 30 days and the second publication shall not
be less than seven days from the date of the hearing.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A motor vehicle designed as a mobile home for travel or camping
required to be licensed in accordance with the provisions of the Motor
Vehicle Code. See 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 101 et seq.
REPORT
Any letter, review, memorandum, compilation or similar writing
made by any body, board, officer or consultant other than a solicitor
to any other body, board, officer or consultant for the purpose of
assisting the recipient of such report in the rendering of any decision
or determination. All reports shall be deemed recommendatory and advisory
only and shall not be binding upon their recipient, board, officer,
body or agency, nor shall any appeal be therefrom. Any report used,
received or considered by the body, board, officer or agency rendering
a determination or decision shall be made available for inspection
to the applicant and all other parties to any proceeding upon request,
and copies thereof shall be provided at cost of production.
SIGN
Any permanent or temporary structure or part thereof or any device attached, painted or represented, directly or indirectly, on a structure or other outdoor surface that shall display or include any letter, work, insignia, flag or representation used as or which is in the nature of an advertisement, announcement, visual communication, direction or which is designed to attract the eye or bring the subject to the attention of the public. See §
186-74 for definitions of specific sign types.
SITE
A parcel or parcels of land which are intended to have one
or more buildings or intended to be subdivided into one or more lots.
SITE AREA, BASE
The area of a tract of land remaining after subtracting land which is not contiguous, land previously subdivided and existing road and utility rights-of-way from the site area. (See §
186-56, Site capacity calculation.)
SITE AREA, NET BUILDABLE
A calculated area for various districts taking into consideration protected natural resources. It can be determined for a particular tract of land by completing the site capacity calculations found in §
186-56.
[Amended 10-6-2014 by Ord. No. 978]
SOILS ON FLOODPLAIN
Areas subject to periodic flooding and listed in the Official
Soil Survey provided by the US Department of Agriculture Natural Resources
Conservation Service, Web Soil Survey (http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/)
as being on the floodplain or having a flooding frequency other than
none.
[Amended 3-16-2015 by Ord. No. 985]
SPECIAL EXCEPTION
A use permitted in a particular zoning district pursuant to the provisions of §
186-102, Special exceptions, and Articles
VI and
IX of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
SPECIFIED SEXUAL ACTIVITIES
(1)
This term includes any of the following:
(a)
Human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal.
(b)
Acts of human masturbation, sexual intercourse or sodomy.
(c)
Fondling or erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region,
buttocks or female breasts.
(2)
The term does not include any of the following:
(a)
Medical publications or films or bona fide educational publications
or films.
(b)
Any art or photography publications which devote at least 25%
of the content of each issue to articles and advertisements dealing
with subjects of art or photography.
(c)
Any news or periodical which reports or describes current events
and which from time to time published photographs of nude or seminude
persons in connection with the dissemination of the news.
(d)
Any publications or films which describe and report different
cultures and which from time to time publish or show photographs or
depictions of nude or seminude persons when describing cultures in
which nudity or seminudity is indigenous to the populations.
STEEP SLOPES
Areas where the average slope exceeds 8% which are subject,
because of this slope, to higher rates of stormwater runoff and therefore
erosion.
STOOP
A step or landing area providing access to a doorway, a maximum
of 25 square feet in area and not enclosed.
STREET
A public or private way for vehicular use which provides frontage and access to abutting properties. See §
186-45C for street classifications.
STREET LINE
The dividing line between the street and the lot. The "street
line" shall be the same as the legal right-of-way line, provided that
the street right-of-way line shall be not less than 25 feet from the
center line of any road or street, and where a future right-of-way
width for a road or street has been officially established, then the
street right-of-way line shall be the side line of the future right-of-way
so established.
STRUCTURE
A combination of materials assembled, constructed or erected
at a fixed location, including a building, the use of which requires
location on the ground or attachment to something having location
on the ground.
TOWER
A tower is a structure that is intended to support equipment
used to transmit and/or receive telecommunications signals. Examples
of such structures include monopoles and lattice construction steel
structures.
TRAILER
An enclosed structure constructed of metal, wood, plastic
or cloth fabric designed for human occupancy, which now is or ever
was intended to be removed either under its own power or by other
means of locomotion, regardless of its size, composition, design or
general appearance, and which structure, if it were to be moved on
a public highway within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, would be
required to be licensed in accordance with the provisions of the Motor
Vehicle Code. See 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 101 et seq.
TREE PROTECTION ZONE (TPZ)
An area that is radial to the trunk of a tree in which no
construction activity shall occur. The "tree protection zone" shall
be 15 feet from the trunk of the tree to be retained or the distance
from the trunk to the dripline, whichever is greater. Where there
is a group of trees or woodlands, the "tree protection zone" shall
be the aggregate of the protection zones for the individual trees.
USE
Any activity, occupation, business or operation carried on
or intended to be carried on in a building or other structure or on
a tract of land.
USE, ACCESSORY
A use located on the same lot with a principal use and clearly
incidental or subordinate to and customary in connection with the
principal use.
USED OR OCCUPIED
As applied to any land or building, includes the words "intended,
arranged or designed to be used or occupied."
VARIANCE
Relief granted pursuant to the provisions of §
186-101, Variances, and Articles
VI and
IX of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
WATERCOURSE
Any intermittent or perennial, natural or man-made channel,
canal, millrace, creek, stream, ditch, dry run, spring, river, swale
or any other natural or man-made feature conveying water.
WATERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
Any and all rivers, streams, creeks, rivulets, impoundments,
ditches, watercourses, lakes, dammed water, ponds, springs, and all
other bodies or channels of conveyance of surface and underground
water, or parts thereof, whether natural or artificial, within or
on the boundaries of this commonwealth.
WETLANDS
Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water
or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support,
and under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation
typically adapted for life in saturated soils conditions; or those
areas of lands defined as wetlands in either: a) the United States
Army Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual; or b) the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection Wetlands Identification and
Delineation, Chapter 105, Dam Safety and Waterways Management Rules
and Regulations, as most recently updated or modified.
WOODLANDS
Areas, groves or stands of mature or largely mature trees
covering an area greater than 1/4 acre in which the largest trees
measure at least six inches dhb (diameter at breast height or 4 1/2
feet above the ground). "Woodlands" are also 10 or more individual
trees which measure at least 10 inches dbh and form a contiguous canopy.
The "woodlands" shall be measured from the dripline of the outer trees.
YARD
An open space unobstructed from the ground up, on the same
lot with a size of a required "yard" shall be measured as the shortest
distance between the structure and a lot line or street line. (See
illustrations below.)
YARD, FRONT
A yard between a structure and a street line and extending
the entire length of the street line. In the case of a corner lot,
the yards extending along all streets are "front yards." In the case
of a lot other than a corner lot that fronts on more than one street,
the yards extending along all streets are "front yards."
YARD, REAR
A yard between a structure and a rear lot line and extending
the entire length of the rear lot line.
YARD, SIDE
A yard between a structure and a side lot line, extending
from the front yard to the rear yard. In the case of a lot having
no street frontage or a lot of odd shape, any yard that is not a front
yard or a rear yard shall be considered a "side yard."