The purpose of this zoning district is to preserve existing residential developments of low density and to encourage the future development of designated areas as similar low-density single-family residential areas. Another purpose of this district is to encourage cluster development in accordance with §
210-238 and Article
XXXII in an effort to designate open space within single-family residential areas.
[Amended 3-5-1991 by Ord. No. 177; 6-4-1991 by Ord. No.
180; 10-7-1997 by Ord. No. 218; 3-3-1998 by Ord. No. 222; 1-4-2000 by Ord. No. 245; 1-2-2001 by Ord. No. 255]
A building may be erected, altered or used, and a lot or premises may be used, for any of the purposes set forth in this section and for no other, provided that the demolition of or special exception or conditional use for an historic resource shown on the
Historic Resources Map or any subdivision, land development or construction activity within 300 feet of an historic resource shown on the
Historic Resources Map shall be subject to the provisions of Article XIXA relating to historic preservation.
A. Uses by right.
(1) Single-family detached dwelling, whenever less than
five lots are created.
(2) Single-family detached dwelling, cluster development, in accordance with §
210-12, and the open space provisions of Article
XXXII, excluding agricultural use, on any residential lot.
(3) Agriculture and horticulture, including the keeping
of livestock and animals customarily incidental thereto and permitting;
(b)
On a lot five acres or larger in size, agricultural
uses as permitted below:
[1]
Planting, growing, storing and selling plants
and crops therefrom; and
[2]
Breeding, raising, keeping and selling of animals
and products thereof, provided that such uses shall be conducted on
a lot not less than five acres in size and shall not include a commercial
piggery, poultry hatchery, dog kennel or establishment for slaughtering
or processing poultry or livestock. All structures for animals or
sales shall be located not less than 100 feet from any street right-of-way
and not less than 150 feet from any other property line.
[3]
Temporary roadside stand for the sale of farm
products, provided that:
[a] The stand shall be removed during
seasons when products are not being offered for sale.
[b] Substantially all products sold
are produced on the property.
[c] Such building shall be located
at least 50 feet from the right-of-way of the road.
[d] Parking space shall be provided
behind the highway right-of-way line at a ratio of one space for each
100 square feet of building floor area, but in no case fewer than
three spaces.
(4) Home occupation, as defined in §
210-4, and subject to the following special requirements in addition to all other applicable requirements of this chapter for the residential district in which the use is located:
(a)
Such occupation shall be located in the dwelling
in which the person resides.
(b)
No one shall be engaged or employed in a home
occupation unless he/she is a resident of the dwelling.
(c)
The area used for the home occupation shall
not exceed 25% of the total floor area of the first floor of the principal
permitted dwelling unit or 600 square feet, whichever is less.
(d)
No external alterations inconsistent with the
residential use of the dwelling shall be permitted, and there shall
be no exterior display, sale or storage of materials, products, equipment
or refuse related to the conduct of the home occupation.
(e)
There shall be no sign visible from outside the building except for a name sign as permitted in the sign regulations, outside a dwelling. (See Article
XXIII.)
(f)
No business vehicle shall be parked on the property
with a sign or lettering on such indicating the location of the business.
(g)
No goods or services shall be offered for sale
or lease to the general public on the premises, except that business
conducted primarily by mail, telephone, e-mail, telefax, or Internet
shall be permitted.
(h)
No additional traffic and/or parking demand shall be generated by such home occupation beyond that which would normally occur at the dwelling unit in accordance with Article
XXII.
(i)
No equipment or process shall be used in such
home occupation which creates noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors
or electrical interference detectable to the normal senses off the
lot if the occupation is conducted in a single-family residence. In
the case of electrical interference, no equipment or process shall
be used which creates visual or audible interference in any radio
or television receivers off the premises or causes fluctuations in
line voltage off the premises.
(j)
No sale or storage for sale of chemicals or
biological agents shall be permitted.
(k)
All home occupations shall be registered with
the Zoning Officer and shall be kept on file by the Zoning Officer.
No registration shall be approved until the Zoning Officer has determined
that the proposed home occupation complies with all the regulations
of this chapter. The Zoning Officer shall issue a home occupation
registration if the regulations of this chapter are met.
(l)
Upon the approval of the plans and the proposed
home occupation use by the Zoning Officer, one application shall be
returned to the applicant and one application filed with the Township
by the Zoning Officer.
(m)
If the home occupation shall cease to be conducted
in compliance with these regulations, the home occupation registration
shall be revoked. The Zoning Officer may inspect the premises at any
time upon reasonable notice to determine compliance with this chapter
and the home occupation registration.
(n)
If the occupant moves from and sells the dwelling
and a new home occupation is started, a new home occupation registration
shall be submitted to the Township and obtained prior to the conduct
of any new home occupation.
(5) Accessory use on the same lot with and customarily
incidental to any of the above permitted uses.
B. Conditional uses, subject to the provisions of Article
XXVII.
(3) Single-family detached dwelling, whenever five or more lots are created, in accordance with §
210-238.
(4) Bed-and-breakfast homestay.
C. Uses by special exception, subject to the provisions of §
210-242C.
(3) Recreational club, provided that any such facility used for shooting or archery shall be subject to §
204-4, Target ranges, of Chapter
204, Weapons. The following requirements shall apply:
(a)
All methods to be used for outdoor lighting
shall be shown on the development plan. Such lighting shall not intrude
on the privacy of adjacent residentially zoned properties.
(b)
The location, height and size of all freestanding
signs shall be shown on the development plan.
(c)
Buffer yards shall contain screening materials
which, in the opinion of the Board of Supervisors, are of adequate
type, height and width to properly buffer adjacent residentially zoned
properties from the structures inside or any excessive light or noise
created by the development.
(d)
The hours of operation for all outside activities
and outdoor lighting shall be subject to approval or disapproval by
the Board of Supervisors.
(4) Emergency service facility.
(6) Home professional office, as defined in §
210-4, and subject to the following special requirements in addition to all other applicable requirements of this chapter for the residential district in which the use is located:
(a)
Such office shall be located in the dwelling
in which the professional practitioner resides.
(b)
Not more than one person who resides off the
premises shall be employed by the practitioner of the professional
office, such as a secretary, clerk, professional or technical assistant,
except that two members of a recognized profession related to each
other by blood, marriage or legal adoption shall be permitted to practice
together.
(c)
The area used for the practice of a profession
shall occupy no more than 25% of the total floor area of the first
floor of the principal permitted dwelling, or 600 square feet, whichever
is less.
(d)
The profession shall not change the essential
residential character of a dwelling.
(e)
No external alterations inconsistent with the
residential use of the dwelling shall be permitted, and there shall
be no exterior display, sale or storage of materials, products, equipment
or refuse related to the conduct of such office.
(f)
No more than one sign, nonilluminated, shall
be permitted, which shall be no larger than four square feet in aggregate
area, identifying the name and profession of the practitioner. The
area of any sign on a vehicle or structure which is regularly visible
from the street shall be included in calculating compliance.
(g)
Three off-street parking spaces, located to
the side or rear of the premises and not in the front yard, shall
be required in addition to those otherwise required in this chapter
for a single-family dwelling. The perimeter of such parking area shall
be continuously landscaped with shrubs at least 30 inches in height
at the time when the office begins.
(h)
The home professional office of a physician
shall not include a biological or other medical testing laboratory.
(i)
No more than one business vehicle may be parked
on the property on a regular basis. Any trucks, vans or other business
vehicles shall have loading capacities not exceeding one ton. The
business vehicle shall be parked in an enclosed structure or in an
area screened from view from neighboring properties and streets through
the use of a fence, wall, hedge, or other landscape material.
(j)
Any lot on which a home professional office
is conducted or proposed shall have a minimum lot size as required
in the applicable district. However, the Zoning Hearing Board may
require a greater minimum lot size if it determines that more acreage
is required to maintain the residential character of the property
and/or to provide adequate off-street parking and/or to provide adequate
visual or noise buffers to neighboring residences.
(k)
All home professional offices shall be registered
with the Zoning Officer. The Zoning Officer shall issue an annual
home professional office permit if the regulations of this chapter
are met.
(l)
All applications for home professional office
permits shall be made to the Zoning Officer and shall be kept on file
by the Zoning Officer. No home professional office permit shall be
issued until the Zoning Officer has determined that the proposed home
professional office complies with all the regulations of this chapter.
(m)
Upon the approval of the plans and the proposed
home professional office use by the Zoning Officer, one application
shall be returned to the applicant and one application filed with
the Township by the Zoning Officer.
(n)
An annual use permit for all home professional
offices shall be obtained. The person conducting the home professional
office shall be responsible for applying for the annual use permit,
utilizing forms available from the Township. The fee for the application
shall be set by resolution by the Board of Supervisors.
(o)
If the home professional office shall cease
to be conducted in compliance with these regulations, the home professional
office permit shall be revoked. The Zoning Officer may inspect the
premises at any time to determine compliance with this chapter and
the home professional office permit.
(p)
If the professional moves and sells the dwelling,
and a new home professional office is started, a new home professional
office permit application shall be submitted to the Township and obtained
prior to the conduct of any new home professional office.
(7) Utility installation, subject to the exemptions of §
210-221, provided that:
(a)
No public business office is operated.
(b)
Any storage of parts and equipment is incidental
to the primary use and is enclosed in a building.
(8) Subject to the provisions of Articles XXA and XXVII,
a cellular telecommunications facility with antenna attached to a
nonresidential building or a structure of a permitted church, municipal
or governmental building or facility and a building or structure owned
by a public utility regulated by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
and subject to the provisions of Articles XXA and XXVII.
[Amended 1-4-2000 by Ord. No. 245]
A. Single-family detached dwelling.
(1) Lot area. A lot area not less than one acre, 43,560
square feet, per family shall be provided for every building hereafter
erected, altered or used in whole or in part as a dwelling.
(2) Lot width. The lot for each dwelling hereafter erected
or altered shall have a width at the building line of not less than
150 feet.
(3) Building area. The building area shall not exceed
25% of the lot area.
(4) Minimum structure setback.
(a)
Front yard: 75 feet from each street right-of-way
on which the lot abuts.
(b)
Side yards, either side: 20 feet; total of 50
feet for both.
B. Height regulations. The maximum height of buildings
and other structures shall be 35 feet.
C. Other permitted uses. Yard, area and height regulations
shall be the same as single-family detached dwelling.
D. Fences and walls. Fences and walls shall be an accessory
use by right in all residential districts so long as they comply with
the following requirements:
[Added 9-2-2003 by Ord. No. 273]
(1) Height. In all residential districts, no fence or
wall (except a retaining wall or a wall of a building permitted under
the terms of this chapter) shall be erected to a height of more than
four feet measured from finished grade in the front yard. Such fences
or walls when erected in side or rear yards may not exceed six feet
from finished grade except those fences surrounding tennis courts,
ball fields and swimming pools.
(2) Location. All fences shall be constructed immediately
inside and not directly on the property line, and no fence or wall
shall be located so as to encroach upon a public right-of-way.
(3) Orientation. All fences shall be erected so that the
finished side of the fence shall face the adjacent property or the
public right-of-way.
(4) Materials. No fence or wall shall be of a type or
design so as to be clearly out of character with the architecture
of the surrounding area. All wire chain-link fences shall be made
of green plastic-coated wire, and all cinder-block walls shall be
faced with stone, stucco or a similar finishing.
[Added 1-2-2001 by Ord. No. 255]
A. Single-family detached cluster development.
(1) Objectives. The single-family detached cluster development
concept is intended to permit flexibility in lot layout, lot size
and the efficient and economical placement of single-family detached
dwellings on lots. The purpose of this section is to permit such flexibility
and to apply such criteria as will result in single-family detached
dwellings with:
(a)
A pattern of development that preserves trees,
outstanding natural topographic and geologic features, and historic
and scenic resources, and prevents soil erosion.
(b)
A creative approach to the use of land and related
physical development.
(c)
An environment of a similar character to adjacent
and surrounding developed areas.
(d)
Permanent open space. Open spaces, as approved
by the Township on cluster development site plans, shall not be further
subdivided or used for any other purpose than open space.
(e)
A contiguous network of interconnected open
spaces, which links with open spaces within the tract and to neighboring
tracts of existing or proposed open space.
(2) Plans must meet the following conditions:
(a)
Clustering is confined to single-family detached
dwellings.
(b)
Single-family detached cluster development shall
not involve a tract of land of less than 10 acres of net lot area.
(c)
The tract of land to be developed shall be in
one ownership or, if owned by more than one entity, shall be the subject
of an application filed jointly by the owners of the entire tract,
and it shall be agreed that the tract shall be developed under single
direction and in the manner approved.
(d)
Public water and public sewer shall be provided.
No sewage disposal systems for servicing dwelling units shall be located
in open space areas or floodplains.
(e)
The maximum number of lots shall not exceed
one dwelling unit per acre, provided a minimum of 40% open space is
provided. However, minimum lot areas for single-family detached dwellings
shall be exclusive of the features listed in the definition of "lot
area".
(3) Design standards.
(a)
In addition to the provisions contained in Chapter
160, Subdivision and Land Development, Article
VIII, Design Standards, and the requirements for off-street parking in Article
XXII, the following design standards shall be met:
[1]
The cartway width for all streets in a cluster
development shall be 28 feet along the entire length of the street.
(b)
Area regulations.
[1]
Lot area: 21,780 square feet minimum, subject to the provisions of §
210-12A(2)(e).
[2]
Minimum lot width at building line: 65 feet.
[3]
Yard requirements.
[a] No principal building or structure
shall be located within 16 feet of a side property line or rear property
line in their longest dimensions, except that walkways or decks related
to an in-ground pool may encroach the rear yard not in excess of three
feet.
[b] No building and no part of a building
shall be erected within or shall project into the front yard except
cornices, eaves, gutters or chimneys projecting not more than 18 inches,
bay windows not extending through more than one story and not projecting
more than five feet, one-story open porches projecting not more than
10 feet, steps and balconies.
[c] No building or structure shall
be located within 20 feet of the street right-of-way line.
[4]
The building area shall not exceed 20% of the
net lot area.
(c)
Coordination with environment. In addition to the requirements contained in Chapter
160, Subdivision and Land Development, the site plan shall show a pattern of development which preserves trees, outstanding natural topography and geologic features, and historic and scenic resources, prevents soil erosion, and which provides an interconnected network of open spaces. The Board of Supervisors may request the applicant to provide, in support of the application, surveys and maps concerning the existing and proposed traffic conditions, topographic conditions and grading, other ground features, hydrologic conditions, soils, historic resources and visual resources, and methods to mitigate adverse impacts upon these conditions and resources.
(d)
Open spaces, landscaping and planting. Open spaces with provision
for recreation, landscaping and planting shall be an essential element
of the site plan. In cluster developments of 10 or more acres, the
following shall apply:
[Amended 8-25-2015 by Ord. No. 367]
[1]
A total of 40% of the tract shall be designated and maintained as a permanent open space, in accordance with Article
XXXII.
[2]
Twenty-five percent of the required open space shall be in one
contiguous piece, as determined by allowing a circle with a diameter
of 250 feet to travel freely through it, without touching the boundaries
of the contiguous open space.
[3]
A twenty-five-foot-wide buffer shall be designated and maintained along the tract boundaries which shall not be counted toward the minimum open space requirement. The twenty-five-foot-wide buffer shall conform to the screening and buffering requirements of §
210-193, and §
160-50 of Chapter
160, Subdivision and Land Development.
[4]
Small parklets or greens are encouraged as an organizing space
around which dwellings can front, where such open spaces are at least
6,500 square feet.
(e)
Siting of buildings. The height and placement
of buildings and any variation in setbacks or lot sizes shall create
and result in attractive frontages and lots. Houses shall be grouped
so as to provide direct access to open space. Open space shall be
so distributed as to provide adequate buffering, serving as a screen
between dwellings and arterial and collector roads.
(f)
Street, sidewalk, building and parking relationships.
The arrangement and pattern of the cluster development shall have
parking placed to the side and/or rear of the buildings and sidewalks
installed and maintained on both sides of the street.
(g)
Accessory buildings. No accessory building shall
exceed one story in height, nor shall it contain any indoor plumbing
fixtures not previously approved and inspected by the Plumbing Inspector
of the Township.
(4) Special requirements governing open space.
(a)
The open space provisions of Article
XXXII shall apply.
(b)
Any areas to be set aside or reserved for parks,
recreational areas, woodlands, conservation, or other open space purposes,
such as the preservation of natural features, historical areas or
scenic areas, shall:
[1]
Be suitable for the designated purpose.
[2]
Be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and
the Open Space and Recreation Plan.
[3]
Contain no new structures, paving or other physical improvements, except for natural plantings, necessary underground utilities, pedestrian walkways, fences, walls, gazebos, pergolas, and other features permitted in Article
XXXII.
(c)
The provisions of the public dedication of land for recreational purposes, or the fee-in-lieu thereof shall apply in accordance with Chapter
160, Subdivision and Land Development, §
160-52.
See the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.