A.
Word usage. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the
following words shall, for the purposes of this chapter, have the
meaning herein indicated. The present tense includes the future; the
singular number includes the plural, and the plural the singular;
words used in the masculine gender shall include the feminine and
neuter; the word "building" includes the word "structure"; the word
"occupied" includes the words "designed or intended to be occupied";
the word "used" includes the words "arranged, designed or intended
to be used"; the word "shall" is always mandatory.
B.
ACCESSORY BUILDING
ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT
ACCESSORY USE
ACTIVE ADULT HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
ADULT BOOKSTORE
ADULT ENTERTAINMENT
(1)
(2)
ADULT MATERIAL
ADULT MINI-MOTION-PICTURE THEATER
ADULT MOTION-PICTURE THEATER
ADULT-ORIENTED ESTABLISHMENT
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
ADVERTISING VEHICLE
AIRPORT LAND AREA
AIRPORT OPERATIONS AREA
ALTERATION
ANTENNA
APARTMENT
BASE FLOOD
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION
BED-AND-BREAKFAST INN
BUFFER
(1)
(2)
(3)
BUILDING
(1)
(a)
(2)
(3)
(4)
BUILDING PERMIT
CLUSTER ACCESS DRIVE
CLUSTER OF BUILDINGS
CO-LOCATION
COMMERCIAL VEHICLE
COMMUNITY SHOPPING CENTER:
CONDITIONAL USE
CONSTRUCTION
CONVENIENCE STORE (also known as "MINI-MARKET")
CORPORATE RENTAL SUITES
DAY CARE
DAY-CARE CENTER
DEED-RESTRICTED OPEN SPACE; COMMON OPEN SPACE
DENSITY
DEVELOPABLE ACRE
DEVELOPMENT
DISTRIBUTED ANTENNA SYSTEMS (DAS)
DRIVE-THROUGH FACILITY
DWELLING
(1)
(2)
(3)
DWELLING UNIT
(1)
(2)
EMERGENCY
EXTENDED DAY-CARE CENTER
FAMILY
FARM
FCC
FORESTRY
GARAGE
(1)
(2)
(3)
GOLF COURSE RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY
GREEN AREA
HEIGHT
HEIGHT OF A TOWER-BASED WCF
HOME OCCUPATION
HOSPITAL
HOTEL
INDEPENDENT/ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY/PERSONAL CARE HOME
INDIVIDUAL ESTABLISHMENT
KENNEL, COMMERCIAL
LOADING SPACE
LOT
(1)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(2)
(3)
(4)
MANUFACTURING
METAL COLLECTION CONTAINERS
MINING
MOBILE HOME
MOBILE HOME LOT
MOBILE HOME PARK
MONOPOLE
MOTEL or MOTOR COURT
MOTOR HOME
MULTIFAMILY DWELLINGS
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
NO-IMPACT HOME-BASED BUSINESSES
NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE
NONCONFORMING USE
NON-TOWER WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY (NON-TOWER WCF)
NURSING HOME
OFF-PREMISES ADVERTISING SIGN OR BILLBOARD
ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOOD
PARKING SPACE
PORCH, ENCLOSED
PORCH, OPEN
PRESERVED LAND
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SHELTER
PUBLIC UTILITIES FACILITY
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
RELATED EQUIPMENT
SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING
SHOPPING CENTER
SIGN, OFFICIAL TRAFFIC AND HIGHWAY
SIGN, OUTDOOR ADVERTISING
SIGN, ROOF
SIGNS
SOURCE, LIGHT
SPECIAL EXCEPTION
SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREAS
SPECIFIED SEXUAL ACTIVITIES
STEALTH TECHNOLOGY
STORY
STREET
(1)
(2)
(3)
STREET RIGHT-OF-WAY
STREET ULTIMATE RIGHT-OF-WAY
STRUCTURE
SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGE or SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE
(1)
(2)
SWIMMING POOL
TENURE
TOTAL FLOOR AREA
TOWER-BASED WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY (TOWER-BASED WCF)
TRACT AREA
TREE MASS
TRUCK CAMPER
VARIANCE
WBCA
WIRELESS
WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY (WCF)
WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY APPLICANT (WCF APPLICANT)
WIRELESS SUPPORT STRUCTURE
YARD
(1)
(2)
(3)
ZONING PERMIT
Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following
terms shall have the meanings indicated:
A building subordinate to the principal building on the lot
and used for purposes customarily incidental to those of the principal
building, including but not limited to the following: stables, swimming
pools, bathhouses, toolsheds, and detached garages.
[Amended 8-18-2015 by Ord. No. 4-240]
A dwelling unit providing complete housekeeping facilities
for one family sharing a lot with a principal building that may be
used independently of the use of the principal building.
[Added 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 4-260]
A use subordinate to the principal use of land or a building
or other structure on a lot and customarily incidental thereto.
A multifamily apartment development, the permanent residents
of which are intended to be persons aged 55 years and older, as permitted
under the federal Housing for Older Persons Act,[1] the ownership of which is governed by the Pennsylvania
Uniform Condominium Act,[2] wherein the owner of each multifamily apartment unit holds
fee simple title to that multifamily apartment dwelling unit and a
specified amount of indivisible parts of the structure or land known
as common elements. Eighty percent of the residents shall be 55 years
or older, and no one under the age of 19 shall be permitted to live
in any of the dwellings longer than three months in a calendar year.
[Added 10-17-2023 by Ord. No. 4-263]
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,
magazines, periodicals, or other adult material which is distinguished
or characterized by its emphasis on matter depicting, describing or
relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas
and, in conjunction therewith, may or may not provide facilities for
the presentation of adult entertainment for observation by patrons.
An exhibition of any adult-oriented motion pictures,
meaning those distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter
depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or
specified anatomical areas; and/or
A live performance, display or dance of any
type which has as a significant or a substantial portion of the performance
any actual or simulated performance of specified sexual activities
or services offered customers.
Books, films, videocassettes or magazines and other periodicals,
or photographs, films, motion pictures, videocassettes or video reproductions,
compact discs, slides or other visual representations which are distinguished
or characterized by their emphasis on matter depicting, describing
or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical
areas, and instruments, devices, or paraphernalia which are designed
for use in connection with specified sexual activities.
An enclosed building with a capacity of fewer than 50 persons
which has a principal business purpose of exhibiting, presenting or
selling material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on
matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities
or specified anatomical areas for observation by patrons.
An enclosed building with a capacity of 50 or more persons
which has the principal business purpose of exhibiting, presenting
or selling material distinguished by an emphasis on matter depicting,
describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified
anatomical areas for observation by patrons.
The term includes, without limitation, the following establishments
when operated for profit, whether direct or indirect:
Adult bookstores.
Adult motion-picture theaters.
Adult mini-motion-picture theaters.
Any premises to which the public, patrons or
members are invited or admitted and which are so physically arranged
as to provide booths, cubicles, rooms, studios, compartments or stalls
separate from the common area of the premises for the purpose of viewing
adult-oriented motion pictures or where an entertainer provides adult
entertainment to a member of the public, a patron or member.
An adult entertainment studio or any premises
that are physically arranged and used as such, whether advertised
or represented as an adult entertainment studio, rap studio, exotic
dance studio, encounter studio, sensitivity studio, modeling studio
or any other term of like import.[3]
Any vehicle or trailer which is parked on a public right-of-way
or on public or private property so as to be visible from a public
right-of-way, which has attached thereto or located thereon any sign
or advertising device for the basic purpose of providing advertisement
of products or directing people to a business or activity or service
of any kind.
[Added 11-19-2019 by Ord.
No. 4-255]
The total gross area of one or more contiguous parcels of
land held in single and separate ownership and located within the
Airport Overlay District and used or developed for an airport and
any of the other purposes permitted within the Airport Overlay District.
[Added 5-3-2016 by Ord.
No. 4-239]
The area specifically designated within an Airport Overlay District where all uses permitted under § 160-181.3 shall be located. Except, however, the following uses may also be located within the airport land area: runway, taxiways, aviation control facilities, navigational aids, weather stations, aviation communication facilities, runway and taxiway identification lights, farm, and cluster housing.
[Added 5-3-2016 by Ord.
No. 4-239]
As applied to a building, any change or rearrangement in
the structural parts, or any enlargement, whether by extending on
any side or by increasing in height, or moving from one location or
position to another.
Any system of wires, rods, discs, panels, flat panels, dishes,
whips, or other similar devices used for the transmission or reception
of wireless signals. An antenna may include an omnidirectional antenna
(rod), directional antenna (panel), parabolic antenna (disc) or any
other wireless antenna. An antenna shall not include "tower-based
wireless communications facilities," as defined below.
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-250]
A dwelling unit within a multifamily dwelling or within a
building containing some other principal use.
The flood which has been selected to serve as the basis upon
which the floodplain management provisions of this chapter and other
ordinances have been prepared; for purposes of this chapter, the one-hundred-year
flood as referenced in the current Flood Insurance Study, Whitpain
Township, prepared by the Federal Insurance Administration, United
States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
[Added 12-29-1977 by Ord. No. 4-53]
The one-hundred-year-flood elevation as referenced in the
Flood Insurance Study, Whitpain Township, prepared by the Federal
Insurance Administration, United States Department of Housing and
Urban Development.
[Added 12-29-1977 by Ord. No. 4-53]
A single-family residence where overnight guest accommodations
and a morning meal are provided to transients for compensation. The
owner of the inn shall be required to live on the premises.
[Added 2-19-2002 by Ord. No. 4-176]
An area designed and functioning to separate the elements
and uses of land which abut it and to ease the transition between
them. Unless otherwise specified, buffers may be included as part
of the required setbacks and yard areas. Buffers are divided into
three types:
[Added 7-15-1981 by Ord. No. 4-64]
SCREEN BUFFERA buffer comprised of natural and/or man-made material arranged in a certain specified depth, height and density to effectively block the view from one side to another during all seasons of the year and to reduce the transmittal of noise and odors between the sides.
SOFTENING BUFFERA buffer comprised of natural and/or man-made material arranged in a certain specified depth, height and density to ease and soften, but not essentially block, the view from one side to another and to reduce the transmittal of noise and odors between the sides.
OPEN BUFFERA buffer normally comprised of grass, ground cover and/or possibly other landscaping material having a specified depth, but not necessarily having significant vertical components to achieve a certain height or density, the purpose of which is to achieve adequate spacing and attractive landscaping between two or more actively used areas.
Any structure having a roof supported by columns, piers,
pipes, studs, walls or other building materials located upon the land.
[Amended 11-14-1977 by Ord. No. 4-52; 8-19-1985 by Ord. No. 4-84; 9-6-1988 by Ord. No.
4-111]
Inclusions and exclusions.
"Building" shall include but not be limited
to a shed, garage, parking garage, parking structure, carport, barn,
stable, greenhouse, tent, awning, canopy, breezeway, trailer, mobile
home, travel trailer or recreational vehicle used for habitation and
not registered as a motor vehicle, or any structure, as hereinafter
defined, having support or an unroofed platform, deck, terrace or
porch having a vertical face of greater than 30 inches above ground.
[Amended 7-1-2003 by Ord. No. 4-186; 8-3-2004 by Ord. No. 4-204]
BUILDING AREASThe aggregate of the maximum horizontal cross-section areas of the building on a lot, excluding cornices, eaves, gutters or chimneys projecting not more than 18 inches and bay windows not extending through more than one story and not projecting more than five feet.
BUILDING SETBACK LINEThe rear line of the minimum front yard or at minimum lot width, as herein designated for each district; the distance measured from the ultimate right-of-way line of the street, lane or alley.
BUILDING, PRINCIPALA building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which it is situated.
A document signed by the Building Code Official as required
by the terms of the Building Code of Whitpain Township,[4] as amended, as a condition precedent to the commencement
of the erection, construction, reconstruction, restoration, alteration,
conversion or installation of a building, which is an acknowledgment
that such building complies with the provisions of the Building Code
and the Zoning Ordinance of Whitpain Township or in compliance with
any authorized deviations therefrom.
[Added 6-15-2004 by Ord. No. 4-199]
That drive which connects clusters of buildings with an internal
street which functions as a collector street.
[Added 8-21-1980 by Ord. No. 4-62]
All those dwelling units served by one access drive, not
to exceed 24 dwelling units.
[Added 8-21-1980 by Ord. No. 4-62]
The mounting of one or more WCFs, including antennas, on
an existing tower-based WCF, or on any structure that already supports
at least one non-tower WCF.
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-250]
A light-duty truck, heavy-duty truck, van, trailer, or other
similar vehicle used solely as an instrument of conveyance for business
purposes or use primarily for such purposes and bearing corresponding
graphical representations of such business purposes.
[Added 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 4-260]
A retail commercial shopping center incorporating office,
medical office (provided adequate parking is provided under the provisions
of this chapter), small-scale entertainment, fitness centers, day-care
facilities, and highway-business uses to serve the shopping and service
needs of the immediately surrounding area, and to establish reasonable
standards for the appearance, height and size of buildings, the areas
and dimensions of yards and open spaces, the provision of facilities
to minimize traffic congestion, noise, glare, pollution so as to lessen
the danger to public safety and surrounding building values from traffic
congestion, overcrowding of land, inadequate provisions for water
and sewage facilities and inadequate transportation.
[Added 1-20-2015 by Ord. No. 4-237]
A use permitted in a particular zoning district subject to
specific standards which may be approved or denied by the Board of
Supervisors following recommendations by the Township Planning Commission.
[Added 8-16-1993 by Ord. No. 4-137]
The construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, extension,
expansion, alteration or relocation of a building or structure, including
the placement of mobile homes.
[Added 12-29-1977 by Ord. No. 4-53]
A retail establishment with less than 7,500 square feet of
total floor area offering for sale prepackaged food products, household
items, newspapers and magazines, and sandwiches or other freshly prepared
foods for off-site consumption. The sale of gasoline shall be permitted
in conjunction with a convenience store operation, but does not include
automotive service or vehicle repair.
[Added 7-1-2003 by Ord. No. 4-186]
One or more buildings containing suites/occupancy units available
to the public with or without meals. The suites/occupancy units shall
be contracted for occupancy on a transient and/or transitional basis.
The minimum size of such suites/occupancy units shall be not less
than 550 climate-controlled square feet and shall include facilities
for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation. At least 50%
of the corporate suites provided on any lot shall contain not more
than one bedroom and no corporate rental suite/occupancy unit shall
have more than two bedrooms. Accessory services and amenities offered
by the facility shall include, but not be limited to a) indoor facilities
and services consisting of leasing center, housekeeping services,
furnished and unfurnished suites/units, café, vending facilities,
lobby/lounge/gallery, structures and facilities, maintenance facilities,
and a state of the art business center, which shall contain a business
lounge, computer center/cyber cafe, video conferencing facilities,
telecommunications facilities, multi-media presentation facilities,
copy/production facilities, theater with permanent seating for not
more than 35 people, media screen room, meeting rooms and conference
facilities, breakout rooms, fitness center, yoga room, spa, massage
facilities and other business support areas; and b) outdoor amenities
consisting of pool, cabanas, fire pit, passive recreation seating,
meeting areas with outdoor furniture, and barbeque facilities, all
of which shall be for the exclusive use of occupants and their guests
("amenity space"). Use of facilities by guests shall be accessory
to the occupant's use of such facilities, and no such accessory services
or amenities offered by the facility shall be advertised, operated
or used as a destination for consumers or customers who are not registered
occupants of the facility or their invited guests.
[Amended 6-16-2015 by Ord. No. 4-241]
A facility providing for the care of children unrelated to
the caregiver without overnight provisions, limited to the hours of
7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
[Added 6-19-1989 by Ord. No. 4-115]
Any premises in which child day care is provided for a group
of seven or more children simultaneously, who are not related to the
operator or caregiver, including nursery schools, and which facility
is licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[Added 6-19-1989 by Ord. No. 4-115]
Any area of land and/or water designed for joint use and
recreational enjoyment of tenants and/or owners occupying a development
and/or residents of the Township, excluding common parking areas,
roadways, storage buildings and similar facilities not primarily intended
for recreational benefit. The common open space shall be essentially
free of buildings.
[Added 7-15-1981 by Ord. No. 4-64; amended 4-4-1994 by Ord. No. 4-143]
The number of dwelling units per developable acre.
[Added 7-15-1981 by Ord. No. 4-64]
All land within the lot lines except that located within
existing rights-of-way of public roads and overhead utility lines,
floodplains and land continuously covered with water.
[Added 7-15-1981 by Ord. No. 4-64]
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to buildings or other structures, the placement
of mobile homes, streets and other paving, utilities, mining, dredging,
filling, grading, excavation or drilling operations.
[Added 12-29-1977 by Ord. No. 4-53]
Network of spatially separated antenna sites connected to
a common source that provides wireless service within a geographic
area or structure.
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-250]
A drive-through facility shall consists of an attached or
detached accessory structure and be subordinate to the principal structure
and use. A free-standing kiosk shall not be classified as a drivethrough
facility.
[Added 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 4-260]
A building designed for and occupied exclusively for residential
purposes, excluding hotels, rooming houses, tourist homes, institutional
homes, residential clubs, motor courts and the like.
[Amended 6-19-1989 by Ord. No. 4-115]
SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLINGA building designed for and occupied exclusively as a dwelling for one family.
TWO-FAMILY DWELLINGA building designed for and occupied exclusively as a dwelling for two families.
MULTIFAMILY DWELLINGSTwo-family dwellings and all other types of buildings, other than single-family detached dwellings, designed for and occupied exclusively for dwelling purposes by two or more families living independently of one another.
[Amended 5-5-1975 by Ord. No. 4-44; 12-1-1975 by Ord. No. 4-47; 7-13-1976 by Ord. No.
4-49; 12-15-1983 by Ord. No. 4-74]
A building or portion thereof providing complete housekeeping
facilities for one family.
PERMANENT DWELLING UNITA building or portion thereof providing complete housekeeping facilities for one family for year-round use.
TEMPORARY DWELLING UNITA building or portion thereof providing complete or partial housekeeping facilities for one family for seasonal or summer use. Such dwelling units may not be occupied more than five months out of any 12.
A condition that:
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-250]
Any premises in which child care is provided for a group
of seven or more children simultaneously, who are not related to the
operator or caregiver, which facility is licensed by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania. The hours of operation for an extended day-care center
shall be from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight, seven days a week.
[Added 8-15-2017 by Ord.
No. 4-246]
Any number of individuals living together on a nontransient
basis as a single housekeeping unit with single cooking facilities
when said individuals are related by blood marriage or adoption and,
in addition, any domestic servants or foster children thereof; or
a group of not more than five persons who need not be so related and,
in addition, domestic servants thereof who are living together in
a single dwelling and maintaining a common household with single cooking
facilities, including occupants that are mentally or physically handicapped
persons as defined in Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968,
as amended by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. A roomer, boarder
or lodger shall not be considered a member of a "family," nor shall
the definition of "family" apply to the occupants of a club, fraternity
house, student housing, lodge or residential club.
[Amended 8-5-1974 by Ord. No. 4-42; 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 4-260]
A parcel of land no less than 10 acres in size on which a
principal building and its accessories may be placed and on which
the remaining portions are devoted to the raising of crops, grazing
of animals, cultivation of nursery stock, horticulture, orchards and
other agriculturally related or supportive uses. Stock yards and feed
lot operations shall not be permitted.
[Amended 11-2-1979 by Ord. No. 4-56; 6-16-1998 by Ord. No. 4-160]
Federal Communications Commission.
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-250]
The commercial planting, cultivating and harvesting of lumber
and wood products for sale.
[Added 2-19-2002 by Ord. No. 4-177]
PRIVATE GARAGEA building used for the storage of one or more automobiles owned and used by the owner or tenant of the lot on which it is erected for a purpose accessory to the use of the lot and for the storage of not more than two additional automobiles (not trucks) owned or used by others for a similar purpose if they are stored in the same room in which the automobile or automobiles of the owner or tenant are stored.
PUBLIC GARAGEA building, other than a private or storage garage, one or more stories in height, used solely for the commercial storage, service or repair of motor vehicles.
STORAGE GARAGEA building, not a private or public garage, one story in height, used solely for the storage of motor vehicles (other than trucks) but not for the sale, service or repair thereof nor for the sale of fuel, accessories or supplies.
Any combination of one or more single-family attached or
detached dwellings constructed on or adjacent to a golf course and
which are an integral part of the overall development of the tract
of which a golf course is a part.
[Added 9-28-1987 by Ord. No. 4-100; amended 12-19-1988 by Ord. No. 4-113]
Land area composed of pervious surfaces set aside for the
growing of vegetation, including lawn area, trees, shrubs, grasses,
plants, flowers and also including lakes, ponds, streams and other
natural features.
[Added 6-4-1984 by Ord. No. 4-75]
The height of a building shall be measured from the mean
level of the ground surrounding the building to a point midway between
the highest and lowest points of the roof, provided that chimneys,
spires, towers, elevator penthouses, tanks and similar projections
shall not be included in calculating the height, provided that these
projections shall not extend more than 15 feet above the maximum height
established for the district in which located.
[Amended 7-1-2003 by Ord. No. 4-186]
The vertical distance measured from the ground level, including
any base pad, to the highest point on a tower-based WCF, including
antennas mounted on the tower and any other appurtenances.
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-250]
The professional office or studio of a physician, dentist, teacher, artist, engineer, musician, architect, attorney, outside salesman, accountant, clergyman, business or financial consultant or individual using primarily computer or electronic communication devices; or rooms for occupations such as dressmaking, millinery, custom baking, custom carpentry and furniture making and restoration, or similar handicrafts, provided that such professional office, studio or room is located in the dwelling in which the practitioner resides or in a building accessory thereto, and provided, further, that no goods are publicly displayed on the premises, and provided, further, that beauty parlors, barbershops, animal hospitals, commercial stables and kennels, funeral parlors, antique shops, tourist homes, restaurants, and rooming are specifically prohibited. Day-care facilities shall be authorized as a home occupation, subject to a special exception, only within single-family detached dwellings, provided that home day care shall be for no fewer than three nor more than six children, unrelated to the caregiver, and subject, further, to special exception provisions set forth in § 160-212K.
[Added 11-2-1979 by Ord. No. 4-56; amended 6-19-1989 by Ord. No. 4-115; 12-15-1998 by Ord. No.
4-162]
An institution providing primary health-care services and
medical or surgical care to persons suffering from illness, disease,
injury, deformity and other abnormal physical or mental conditions
and including related facilities such as a helistop, laboratory, outpatient
facility, training facility, emergency medical service facility and
medical office building.
[Added 10-18-2005 by Ord. No. 4-214]
A facility offering transient lodging accommodations to the
general public for periods of stay of fewer than 30 consecutive days
and also providing additional services such as restaurants, meeting
rooms and recreational facilities.
A long-term housing facility exclusively for persons 62 years
of age or older, or persons under 62 years of age with comparable
needs, which facilities include, within the same single structure,
individual sleeping quarters, common dining facilities, recreational
features, special safety and convenience features designed for the
needs of the elderly, and services for residents such as transportation,
housekeeping, linen/laundry, and organized social and recreational
activities. Units designed for "independent living" may contain kitchens.
Units designed for "assisted living" or "memory care" may only contain
kitchenettes.
[Added 2-16-2021 by Ord. No. 4-254]
An individual establishment shall be required to have its
own independent main entrance, its own electrical control panel, its
own toilet facilities and its own heating system.
[Added 11-19-2019 by Ord.
No. 4-255]
An establishment, structure, lot or portion of a lot on which
six or more domestic animals more than one year old, including dogs
and cats, are housed, bred, boarded, trained or sold.
[Added 8-16-1993 by Ord. No. 4-137]
A space, accessible from a street or way, in a building or
on a lot, for the temporary use of vehicles while loading or unloading
merchandise or materials.
A tract or parcel of land held in single or separate ownership
which is occupied or is intended for occupancy by one or more buildings
and other structures, including such accessory buildings or structures
or accessory uses as are customarily incidental to the principal building
or principal use of the lot, together with open space design and buffering
as required by the zoning district requirements in which said lot
is situate, being not less than the minimum requirements of the district:
[Amended 11-2-1979 by Ord. No. 4-56; 8-19-1985 by Ord. No. 4-84; 7-5-1988 by Ord. No.
4-108; 9-6-1988 by Ord. No. 4-111]
LOT AREA:
The total horizontal area of the lot lying within
the lot lines, provided that no area of land lying within any street
ultimate right-of-way line shall be deemed a portion of any lot area.
The area of any lot abutting a street shall be measured to the ultimate
right-of-way line only.
Stormwater management structures excluded. The
area located within a basin constructed for stormwater management
having a depth greater than 1 1/2 feet shall be excluded when
determining the minimum lot size required for each zoning district.
Lot area (flag lot). The area located within
the access strip to a flag (or rear) lot up to a point where the minimum
required lot width is achieved shall be excluded when determining
the minimum lot size required for each zoning district.
LOT LINEA property boundary line of any lot held in single or joint ownership, except that in the case of any lot abutting a street, the lot line for such portion of the lot as abuts the street shall be deemed to be the same as the ultimate right-of-way line and shall not be the center line of the street or any other line within the street side line even though such may be the property boundary line.
LOT, REVERSE-FRONTAGEA lot extending between and having frontage on two generally parallel streets with vehicular access from only one street.
LOT, FLAG (REAR LOT)A lot that does not provide at least 50% of the required lot width as frontage along a public street or does not provide the required lot width at a point equal to the required front yard established for the district in which located. Such lots shall be connected to a public street by an access strip which shall be held in fee-simple ownership as a part of the flag (or rear) lot. The area of the access strip, up to a point where the minimum required lot width is achieved, shall not be included in calculating the minimum lot area required for the zoning district in which located.
The processing of raw and/or recycled materials into parts
and/or finished goods and/or the assembly of preproduced parts into
finished goods through the use of tools, human labor, machinery, and/or
chemical processes, including production, storage, warehousing and/or
distribution of such products. Manufacturing shall not include laboratory
or experimental development activities except those processes intended
for replication or production of products for wide-spread distribution.
[Added 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 4-260]
Portable or stationary containers of a size not to exceed
eight feet in length, by eight feet in width by six feet in height,
designed for deposit by members of the public of items or articles
of clothing, recyclable materials or other nonhazardous materials
or items of personalty.
[Added 8-7-2007 by Ord. No. 4-222]
The extraction of minerals and coal from the subsurface of
grounds located within the Township and shall not include quarrying
or open-face mining.
[Added 2-19-2002 by Ord. No. 4-177]
A single-family detached dwelling intended for permanent
occupancy, which may not meet local building codes but does meet the
standards set by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development and other appropriate federal agencies and is certified
by them, 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 with or without a permanent
foundation, including any roofed addition such as extra rooms, covered
patios, porches, etc.
[Added 11-14-1977 by Ord. No. 4-52; amended 8-18-1980 by Ord. No. 4-60; 7-15-1981 by Ord. No.
4-64]
A parcel of land in a mobile home park, provided with the
necessary utility connections, patio and other appurtenances necessary
for the erection thereon of a single mobile home and the exclusive
use of its occupants.
[Added 8-18-1980 by Ord. No. 4-60; amended 7-15-1981 by Ord. No. 4-64]
A parcel of land under single ownership which has been planned
and improved in compliance with the requirements of the R-9 Residential
District for the placement of mobile homes, consisting of two or more
mobile home lots.
[Added 7-15-1981 by Ord. No. 4-64]
A WCF or site which consists of a single pole structure,
designed and erected on the ground or on top of a structure, to support
communications antennas and connecting appurtenances.
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-250]
A building and/or a group of two or more detached or semidetached
buildings containing rooms having separate ground-floor entrances
provided directly or closely in connection with automobile parking
or storage space serving such rooms, which building or group of buildings
is designed, intended or used principally for the provision of sleeping
accommodations for automobile travelers and is suitable for occupancy
for fewer than 30 consecutive days at all seasons of the year.
A motor vehicle designed or adapted for use as a mobile or
temporary dwelling or office, except a motor vehicle equipped with
a truck camper.
[Added 7-15-1981 by Ord. No. 4-64]
The following definitions of multifamily dwellings are specifically
recognized for purposes of this chapter:
[Added 9-4-1984 by Ord. No. 4-78]
APARTMENTA permanent dwelling unit within a building containing three or more dwellings and being vertically arranged, sharing outside access and having one or more walls as well as a ceiling or floor in common with another dwelling unit; also known as a "flat" or "garden apartment."
ATTACHED SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLINGSA permanent dwelling unit within a building having only one unit from ground to roof and having one or more walls in common with another dwelling unit, but sharing no internal facilities, and having an individual yard area for each unit; not a two-family dwelling.
MULTIPLEXAn attached single-family dwelling arranged in a variety of configurations and which may have only one independent outside yard.
TOWNHOUSEAn attached single-family dwelling having at least two independent outside yards and not more than two walls in common with another dwelling unit.
A business or commercial activity administered or conducted
as an accessory use which is clearly secondary to the use as a residential
dwelling and which involves no customer, client or patient traffic,
whether vehicular or pedestrian, pickup, delivery or removal functions
to or from the premises in excess of those normally associated with
residential use.
[Added 11-19-2002 by Ord. No. 4-183]
A structure or part of a structure manifestly not designed
to comply with the applicable use provisions in a zoning ordinance
or amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted where such structure
lawfully existed prior to the enactment of such ordinance 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.
[Added 3-19-1973 by Ord. No. 4-38]
A use, whether of land or of a structure, which does not
comply with the applicable use provisions in a zoning ordinance or
amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted where such use was lawfully
in existence prior to the enactment of such ordinance or amendment
or prior to the application of such ordinance or amendment to its
location by reason of annexation.
[Amended 3-19-1973 by Ord. No. 4-38]
All non-tower wireless communications facilities, including
but not limited to, antennas and related equipment. Non-tower WCF
shall not include support structures for antennas or any related equipment
that is mounted to the ground or at ground level.
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-250]
Any premises in which nursing care and related medical or
other health-care services are provided for a period of 24 hours for
two or more individuals who are not relatives of the operator and
who are not acutely ill nor are in need of hospitalization, but who,
because of age, illness, disease, injury, convalescence or physical
or mental infirmity, need such care.
[Added 11-2-1979 by Ord. No. 4-56]
A sign which directs attention to a business, commodity,
service, entertainment or facility not located, conducted, sold or
offered upon the premises where such sign is located.
[Added 4-3-2012 by Ord. No. 4-235]
A flood that has one chance in 100 or a one-percent chance
of being equaled or exceeded in any one year. For the purposes of
this chapter, the one-hundred-year flood (base flood) is that which
is defined by the Federal Insurance Administration, United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development, in the Flood Insurance
Study, Whitpain Township.
[Added 12-29-1977 by Ord. No. 4-53]
A reasonably level space available for parking of one motor vehicle not less than 9 1/2 feet in width and having an area of not less than 180 1/2 square feet, exclusive of passageways or other means of circulation or access. Said parking space shall be surfaced with an appropriate all-weather surface material sufficient to enable use thereof in all weather conditions. Parking space dimensions may be altered pursuant to the applicable provisions of Article XXVII of this chapter.
[Added 5-17-1965 by Ord. No. 4-13; amended 9-21-1992 by Ord. No. 4-135; 8-16-1993 by Ord. No.
4-137]
An extension to the main building formerly used as an open
porch which has been enclosed on all sides.
An extension to the main building, with roof supported by
columns one story in height, open on all sides. Railings or open construction,
metal or wood, not exceeding 30 inches in height, are permitted.
[Added 7-2-1962 by Ord. No. 4-6]
An area of land within an Airport Overlay District as defined
by metes and bounds on the Airport Development Plan (Exhibit "A")[5] which shall be open space and undeveloped except as specifically
permitted under § 160-181.4.C. The area shall remain as preserved
land until such time as airport operations cease, at which point the
land shall be subject to development in accordance with the underlying
zoning district.
[Added 5-3-2016 by Ord.
No. 4-239]
A structure providing shelter for passengers for public licensed
transportation operators, providing no fewer than two transparent
walls, covered by a roof and erected on or over a graded and improved
foundation with illumination inside or immediately adjacent thereto,
placed by conditional use along and adjacent to public highways or
public transportation corridors or thoroughfares to provide temporary
shelter for passengers of publicly licensed transportation services.
"Public transportation shelter" shall not include taxicab stands or
terminals or any platforms for pickup or delivery of cargo or freight.
[Added 4-1-1996 by Ord. No. 4-152]
A building or structure and its equipment used for the transmission
and exchange of telephone, radio telephone, gas, power, sewer and
water facilities.
A trailer or motor vehicle designed or adapted for recreational
purposes, which may include living, sleeping, eating and sanitary
facilities but which is designed for transient or vacation occupancy.
[Added 7-15-1981 by Ord. No. 4-64]
Any piece of equipment related to, incidental to, or necessary
for, the operation of a tower-based WCF or non-tower WCF. By way of
illustration, not limitation, related equipment includes generators
and base stations.
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-250]
Institutions, existing independently as such, having a definite
academic curriculum with regular sessions designed to serve as the
medium for imparting to students in attendance a knowledge of those
things broadly covered within the field of education and licensed
by and under the supervision of the Department of Public Instruction
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[Added 3-29-1967 by Ord. No. 4-22]
A group of five or more establishments sharing common parking
and access and providing a total of at least 40,000 square feet of
total floor area in one or more buildings. The uses of the establishments
shall be limited to those uses permitted within the district in which
located.
[Added 7-10-1995 by Ord. No. 4-149]
Official highway route number signs, street name signs, directional
signs and other traffic signs erected and maintained on public highways
and roads in the interest of public safety or for the regulation of
traffic.
[Added 11-19-2019 by Ord.
No. 4-255]
A type of freestanding sign which directs attention to a
business, industry, profession, commodity, service or entertainment
not necessarily sold or offered on the premises where the sign is
located.
[Added 11-19-2019 by Ord.
No. 4-255]
A sign erected upon, against, or over the roof of a building.
[Added 11-19-2019 by Ord.
No. 4-255]
Any letter, number, symbol, figure, character, mark, plane,
design, picture, stroke, stripe, trademark, name, nameplate, identification
sign, billboard, poster panel, display, illustration, structure or
device used for visual communication, or combination of these, electronic
or otherwise, which is constructed, placed, attached, painted, erected,
fastened or manufactured in any manner whatsoever, upon a building,
other outdoor surface, or otherwise, which is used for the purpose
of bringing the subject thereof to the attention or attraction of
the public, including advertising a business commodity, service or
product or for identifying a business or structure, to any place,
subject, person, firm, corporation, public performance, article or
merchandise; and which is displayed in any manner, including, but
not limited to, permanent window signs placed inside windows and on
awnings to attract attention of those outside in the public right-of-way.
The above shall include banners, streamers, whirling or lighting devices
or any other type of attention-attracting device. For the purpose
of this chapter, a sign may be single-face, double-face or a V-type
structure.
[Amended 11-19-2019 by Ord. No. 4-255; 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 4-260]
The artificial point source of luminescence.
[Added 11-19-2019 by Ord.
No. 4-255]
The permission or approval granted by the Zoning Hearing
Board in situations where provision therefor is made by the terms
of this chapter.
Any of the following:
Camouflaging methods applied to wireless communications towers,
antennas and other facilities which render them more visually appealing
or blend the proposed facility into the existing structure or visual
backdrop in such a manner as to render it minimally visible to the
casual observer. Such methods include, but are not limited to, architecturally
screened roof-mounted antennas, building-mounted antennas painted
to match the existing structure and facilities constructed to resemble
trees, shrubs, and light poles.
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-250]
That part of any building comprised between any floor and
the floor or roof next above. The first story of a wall is the lowest
story which is 75% or more above the average level of the ground adjacent
to said wall.
A general term used to describe a right-of-way, public or
privately owned, serving as a means of vehicular and pedestrian travel,
furnishing access to abutting properties, with space for sewers and
public utilities.
[Added 5-1-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-249]
ARTERIALA through street originating outside the Township and carrying large volumes of traffic. It provides the highest level of service at the greatest speed for the longest uninterrupted distance, with some degree of access control. This definition shall include those streets identified as "arterial streets" in Chapter 129, the Subdivision and Land Development Code.
COLLECTORA street collecting the traffic of local streets and delivering to arterial streets. It provides a less highly developed level of service at a lower speed for shorter distances by collecting traffic from local roads and connecting them with arterials. This definition shall include those streets identified as Arterial Streets in Chapter 129, the Subdivision and Land Development Code.
LOCALA minor street serving residential properties. It consists of all roads not defined as arterials or collectors; primarily provides access to land with little or no through movement.
Land opened for use as a street, municipally or privately
owned, serving as a means of vehicular and pedestrian travel, with
space for sewers, public utilities and sidewalks. As a minimum, the
legal right-of-way on each side of a street or highway shall be a
parallel line not less than 25 feet from the center of a street or
highway.
[Amended 8-19-1985 by Ord. No. 4-84]
The expected future street right-of-way width computed from
the center line of an established street right-of-way, as identified
in the Township Land Development and Subdivision Regulations[6] or Official Map adopted by the Township.
Any form or arrangement of building materials, excluding
fences, involving the necessity of providing proper support, bracing,
tying, anchoring or other protection against the forces of the elements.
[Amended 9-6-1988 by Ord. No. 4-111]
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord. No. 4-250]
Any increase in the height of a wireless support structure by
more than 10%, or by the height of one additional antenna array with
separation from the nearest existing antenna not to exceed 20 feet,
whichever is greater, except that the mounting of the proposed wireless
communications facility may exceed the size limits set forth herein
if necessary to avoid interference with existing antennas; or
Any further increase in the height of a wireless support structure
which has already been extended by more than 10% of its originally
approved height or by the height of one additional antenna array.
Any permanent or temporary structure used for swimming or
bathing which has a depth in any part of 24 inches or more. A residential
swimming pool is any swimming pool which is constructed on the same
lot with and used in conjunction with a dwelling and which is available
only to the occupants of the dwelling and their private guests.
The form of occupancy of a unit, i.e., fee simple sale, rental,
condominium, cooperative, etc.
[Added 7-15-1981 by Ord. No. 4-64]
The maximum horizontal floor area of all floors within a
building using outside dimensions of each floor, excepting therefrom
cornices, chimneys, bay windows not extending more than five feet,
one-story open porches, steps, balconies and floor openings above
the first floor to the roof such as an atrium or open court.
[Added 7-5-1988 by Ord. No. 4-108][7]
Any structure that is used for the purpose of supporting
one or more antennas, including, but not limited to, self-supporting
lattice towers, guy towers and monopoles, utility poles and light
poles. DAS hub facilities are considered to be tower-based WCF.
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-250]
All land within the lot lines except that located within
existing rights-of-way of public roads and overhead utility lines,
floodplains and land continuously covered with water.
Areas, groves or stands of mature trees (i.e., greater than
six-inch caliper at a height of five feet from the ground) covering
an area greater than 1/4 acre; or groves of mature trees (i.e., greater
than twelve-inch caliper at a height of five feet from the ground)
consisting of more than 10 individual trees.
[Added 11-2-1979 by Ord. No. 4-56]
A structure designed, used or maintained primarily to be
loaded or affixed to or towed by a motor vehicle to provide a mobile
or temporary dwelling or sleeping place.
Permission or approval granted by the Zoning Hearing Board in accordance with Article XXXI hereof, constituting a modification of or a deviation from the exact provisions of this chapter as applied to the use of a specific piece of property or portion of the same.
Pennsylvania Wireless Broadband Collocation Act (53 P.S.
§ 11702.1 et seq.).
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-250]
Transmissions through the airwaves, including, but not limited
to, infrared line of sight, cellular, PCS, microwave, satellite, or
radio signals.
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-250]
The antennas, nodes, control boxes, towers, poles, conduits,
ducts, pedestals, electronics and other equipment used for the purpose
of transmitting, receiving, distributing, providing, or accommodating
wireless communications services.
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-250]
Any person that applies for a wireless communication facility
building permit, zoning approval and/or permission to use the public
right-of-way (ROW) or other Township-owned land or property.
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-250]
A freestanding structure, such as a tower-based wireless
communications facility or any other support structure that could
support the placement or installation of a wireless communications
facility if approved by the Township.
[Added 8-21-2018 by Ord.
No. 4-250]
The required open, unoccupied space on the same lot with a building, open and unobstructed from the ground to the sky, except for cornices, eaves, gutters, chimneys or fireplaces. See Article XXVIII for exceptions.
[Amended 11-1-1971 by Ord. No. 4-33; 11-2-1979 by Ord. No. 4-56; 8-19-1985 by Ord. No.
4-84; 6-19-1989 by Ord. No. 4-115; 8-16-1993 by Ord. No. 4-137; 10-6-1997 by Ord. No. 4-157]
FRONT YARDA yard extending the full width of the lot along the street ultimate right-of-way line and not less in depth, measured from the street ultimate right-of-way line, than the minimum required in each district. In the case of a corner lot, the yard extending along all streets are front yards, and the remaining yards shall include a rear yard opposite the street to which the principal building is generally faced and a side yard opposite to the other street; and the side shall be no less in depth than the minimum side yard requirement for the district in which it is located. In the case of a reverse frontage yard, the yard extending along the street to which access is provided is the front yard.
SIDE YARDThe yard extending along the side lot line from the front yard to the rear yard and not less in width, measured from the side lot line, than the minimum required in each district.
REAR YARDA yard extending the full width of the lot along the rear lot line and not less than the depth measured from the rear lot line, than the minimum requirement in each district. In the case of irregular lots, a lot which has more than four sides or triangular lots, the rear line shall be measured from a line at least 20 feet in length within the lot which shall be parallel to and at a maximum distance from the front yard opposite the street to which the principal building is faced.
A document signed by the Zoning Officer, as required by the
terms of this chapter, as a condition precedent to the commencement
of a use or the erection, construction, reconstruction, restoration,
alteration, conversion or installation of a building or structure,
which is an acknowledgment that such use, building or structure complies
with the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance or any authorized deviations
therefrom.
[Added 6-15-2004 by Ord. No. 4-199]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq.
[3]
Editor’s Note: The definition of "age-qualified residential
community," added 10-19-2004 by Ord. No. 4-195, which immediately
followed this definition, was repealed 12-2-2011 by Ord. No. 4-234.
[5]
Editor's Note: A copy of Exhibit A is on file in the Township
offices.
[7]
Editor’s Note: The former definition of “tower,
communications,” which immediately followed this definition,
was repealed 8-21-2018 by Ord. No. 4-250.