A.
This chapter shall be entitled "An Ordinance Establishing
Rules, Regulations and Standards Governing the Subdivision of Land
Within the Township of Radnor, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Pursuant
to the Authority Set Forth in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning
Code, Setting Forth the Procedure To Be Followed by the Planning Commission
and the Board of Commissioners in Applying and Administering These
Rules, Regulations and Standards and Providing Penalties for the Violation
Thereof."
B.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
"Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance of the Township of Radnor."
This chapter is established to regulate and
control the subdivision and development of land within Radnor Township
so as to provide sites suitable for human habitation, commercial and
industrial operations and other uses for which land may be developed,
thereby creating conditions favorable to the health, safety and welfare
of the community and consistent with the goals of the Comprehensive
Plan of Radnor Township.
From and after the effective date of this chapter,
any subdivision shall be in conformity with this chapter and all standards
and specifications adopted as a part of such chapter.
In interpreting and applying the provisions
of this chapter, they shall be held to be minimum requirements for
the promotion of the public health, safety, comfort, convenience and
general welfare. When provisions of this chapter and all standards
and specifications adopted under it impose greater restrictions than
those of any statute, other ordinance or regulations, the provisions
of this chapter and its standards and specifications shall be controlling
unless specified to the contrary. The illustrations in this chapter
are not a part of the chapter, but are included herein for purposes
of explanation and clarification only.
[Amended 10-22-1990 by Ord. No. 90-49; 6-28-1993 by Ord. No.
93-15; 9-18-1995 by Ord. No. 95-21; 5-8-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-12]
Notices shall be sent by the applicant to the
owners of properties located within a radius of 1,000 feet from all
sides of the tract in question, except within R-5 Zoning Districts,
where the distance shall be 500 feet. Notices shall be mailed not
less than 10 days prior to the Planning Commission meeting using Radnor
Township return address envelopes and labels provided by the Township.
Proof of said mailing on United States Postal Service Form 3877 shall
be delivered to the Township no less than three days prior to the
meeting. Failure by the owner of any neighboring property to receive
notice when sent in compliance with this section shall not invalidate
any action taken by the Planning Commission.
A.
Unless a contrary intention clearly appears, the following
words and phrases shall have, for the purpose of these regulations,
the meanings given in the following clauses.
B.
For the purpose of this chapter, words and terms used
herein shall be interpreted as follows:
(1)
Words used in the present tense include the future.
(2)
The singular includes the plural.
(3)
The word "person" includes a corporation, partnership,
association or other legal entity, as well as an individual.
(4)
The word "lot" includes the word "plot" or "parcel."
(5)
The term "shall" is mandatory.
(6)
The word "used" or "occupied," as applied to any land
or building, shall be construed to include the words "intended, arranged
or designed to be occupied."
(7)
The word "Commission" and the words "Planning Commission"
shall mean the Radnor Township Planning Commission.
(8)
The word "Commissioners" and the words "Board of Commissioners"
shall mean the Radnor Township Board of Commissioners.
C.
Any word or term not defined herein shall be used
with a meaning of standard usage.
D.
ALLEY
APPLICANT
AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC (ADT)
BERM
BLOCK
BUILDING SETBACK LINE
CALIPER
CARTWAY
CLEAR SIGHT TRIANGLE
CONDOMINIUM
CROSSWALK
CUL-DE-SAC
DENSITY
DESIGN STANDARDS
DEVELOPER
DWELLING
DWELLING UNIT
ENGINEER
FAMILY
FLOODPLAIN
FLOODPLAIN SOILS
FOREST
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE RATIO
IMPROVEMENTS SPECIFICATIONS
LAKES AND PONDS
LAND DEVELOPMENT
(1)
(a)
(b)
(2)
(3)
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
LEVEL OF SERVICE
LOT
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
LOT AREA
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
LOT CONSOLIDATION
MAJOR INTERSECTION
MARKER
MONUMENT
MUNICIPALITIES PLANNING CODE
OPEN SPACE
OPEN SPACE RATIO
PARK
PEAK-HOUR TRAFFIC
PLAN, FINAL
PLAN, IMPROVEMENT CONSTRUCTION
PLANNING MODULE FOR LAND DEVELOPMENT
PLAN, PRELIMINARY
PLAN, RECORD
PLAN, SKETCH
PLAT
PUBLIC NOTICE
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
RESUBDIVISION
REVIEW
RIGHT-OF-WAY
(1)
(2)
SEWER
(1)
(2)
SIGHT DISTANCE
SITE
SITE AMENITY
SITE AREA
SOLICITOR
STEEP SLOPES
STREET
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
STREET LINE
STUDY AREA
SUBDIVIDER
SUBDIVISION
SUBDIVISION, MAJOR
SUBDIVISION, MINOR
SURVEYOR
TOWNSHIP ENGINEER
TRACT
TRIP GENERATION RATES
VOLUME/CAPACITY ANALYSIS
WARRANTS FOR TRAFFIC SIGNAL INSTALLATION
WATER SUPPLY, CENTRAL
WATER SUPPLY, PRIVATE
WETLANDS
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
A right-of-way which provides only secondary service access
for vehicles to the side or rear of abutting properties.
A subdivider or agent authorized thereby requesting the approval
of a proposed subdivision or land development under this chapter.
The actual or calculated total vehicular trips that occur
or are expected to occur on a specific street within a typical weekday.
A linear earth mound with a maximum slope of 33% with grass
cover or 50% when shrubbery or ground cover is used.
An area bounded by three or more streets.
The rear line of the minimum front yards as designated for
each zoning district, measured from the street line.
The diameter of the main trunk of a tree. "Caliper" measurement
shall be taken at a point on the trunk six inches above the natural
ground line for trees up to four inches in "caliper" and at a point
12 inches above the natural ground line for trees over four inches
in "caliper."
The paved portion of a street right-of-way intended for vehicular
use.
An area within a triangle bounded by any two intersecting
street lines and a straight line drawn between points on each such
line 30 feet from the intersection of said lines or extensions thereof.[1]
A dwelling unit which is owned and maintained in accordance
with the Uniform Condominium Act of July 2, 1980, P.L. 286, No. 82.[2]
[Amended 10-22-1990 by Ord. No. 90-49]
A publicly- or privately-owned right-of-way for pedestrian
use which crosses a cartway or cuts across a block so as to furnish
access for pedestrians to adjacent streets or properties.
A street intersecting another street at one end and terminating
at the other in a paved vehicular turnaround.
A measure expressed in dwelling units per acre, calculated
by dividing the total number of dwelling units by the site area.[3]
Regulations, as stated in Article V, imposing standards in the layout by which a subdivision or land development is governed.
See the definition of "subdivider."
A building containing one or more dwelling units.
Any room or group of rooms located within a residential building
and forming a single, habitable unit with facilities used or intended
to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating by one family
exclusively.
A professional engineer registered by the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.
One or more persons occupying the same dwelling unit and
living and cooking as a single housekeeping unit, said unit consisting
only of individuals who are related by blood, marriage or otherwise
by law, except that such unit may also consist of foster children
and one other individual not related to others in the housekeeping
unit. A "family" as herein defined specifically excludes individuals
and groups occupying a boarding- or rooming house, lodging house,
club, fraternity, dormitory, hotel or other similar living environment.
[Added 7-20-1992 by Ord. No. 92-13]
The low area adjoining and including any water or drainage
course or body of water subject to a one-hundred-year-recurrence-interval
flood, as delineated by the Flood Insurance Study for the Township
of Radnor, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, as prepared by the United
States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Insurance
Administration.
Soils in areas subject to periodic overflow and listed in
the Soil Survey of Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania, United
States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, 1959,
as amended, as being subject to flooding. "Floodplain soils" include
but are not limited to:
Areas, groves or stands of mature or largely mature trees
(i.e. greater than six inches in caliper) covering an area greater
than 1/4 acre; or groves of mature trees (greater than 12 inches in
caliper) consisting of more than 10 individual trees.
That portion of a tract where, due to surface coverage, the
water runoff coefficient is 0.85 or more, as determined by the Township
Engineer.[4]
A measurement calculated by dividing the total area of all
impervious surfaces within the site or lot by the site area or lot
area respectively.
Regulations, as stated in Article VI, imposing minimum standards for the construction of required improvements, including but not limited to streets, curbs, sidewalks and sewers.
Natural or artificial bodies of water which retain water
year round. Artificial ponds may be created by dams or result from
excavation. The shoreline of such water bodies shall be measured from
the spillway crest elevation rather than the permanent pool, if there
is any difference. "Lakes" are bodies of water two or more acres in
extent. "Ponds" are any water body less than two acres in extent.
[Amended 5-26-1987 by Ord. No.
87-13; 10-22-1990 by Ord. No. 90-49]
The improvements of one lot or two or more contiguous
lots, tracts or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
A group of two or more residential or nonresidential
buildings, whether proposed initially or cumulatively, or a single
nonresidential building on a lot or lots regardless of the number
of occupants or tenure.
The division or allocation of land or space,
whether initially or cumulatively, between or among two or more existing
or prospective occupants by means of or for the purpose of streets,
common areas, leaseholds, condominiums, building groups or other features.
A subdivision of land.
Those activities described in Section 503(1.1)
of the Municipalities Planning Code[5] shall not be considered land developments for purposes
of this chapter.
A professional landscape architect registered by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
Level of service as described in the 1965 Highway Capacity
Manual, indicating the quality of traffic movement on a particular
street or through a specific intersection.
A parcel of land used or set aside and available for use
as the site of one or more buildings, and any building thereto, or
for any other purpose, in single ownership.[6]
CORNER LOTA 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 tangent to the curve at the points beginning within the lot or at the points of intersection of the side lot lines with the street lines intersect at an angle of less than 135°.
INTERIOR LOTA lot containing a narrow projecting segment which is the sole means of access from a street. Said segment shall have a minimum width of 20 feet.
THROUGH LOTA lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets.
REGULAR LOTA lot rectangular in shape, with a depth approximately 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 times its width, the width of which shall front a street.
DEPTH OF LOTThe mean distance from the street line of the lot to its opposite rear line measured in the general direction of the side lines of the lot.
LOT WIDTHThe distance measured between the side lot lines at the required building setback line. In a case where there is only one side lot line, lot width shall be measured between such side lot line and the opposite rear lot line or street line.
The area contained within the property lines of a lot shown
on a subdivision plan or required by this chapter less the following:
[Amended 7-17-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-20]
Seventy-five percent of the calculated one-hundred-year
floodplain.
Seventy-five percent of the wetlands as defined by § 255-20B(4)(d) of the Code not within the calculated one-hundred-year floodplain.
Seventy-five percent of the slopes equal to
or in excess of 20% of the area not within the one-hundred-year floodplain
and wetlands.
The land area within an existing public right-of-way
located within any R-1, R-1A, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5, and R-6 Residential
Zoning District.
[Added 5-22-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-15]
The joining together of two or more contiguous but separately
deeded parcels of land.
[Added 5-8-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-10]
Any intersection of one or more collector or arterial streets.
A metal pipe or pin of at least 1/2 inch in diameter and
at least 24 inches in length.
A stone or concrete monument with a flat top of at least
four inches square, scored with an X to mark the reference point,
at least 30 inches in length, the bottom sides of which are at least
two inches greater than the top to minimize movements caused by frost.
The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247 of
1968, as amended and reenacted by Act 170 of 1988, 53 P.S. 10101 et
seq., and any subsequent amendments thereto.
[Added 10-22-1990 by Ord. No. 90-49]
A portion of a tract available and accessible for use by
the residents of the tract, unless dedicated to the Township, generally
undeveloped. "Open space" may include areas of steep slopes, floodplains
and other significant features to be preserved. "Open space" shall
not include street or street rights-of-way, parking areas, yards and
lots of individual dwelling units or other public improvements nor
does it include required buffer areas. "Open space" uses may include
active and passive recreation.
The total amount of open space within a site divided by the
site area.[7]
A tract of land for ornament and as a place for the resort
of the public for recreation and amusement.
The highest number of vehicles found or expected to be found,
during the a.m. and p.m. hours, passing over a section of street in
60 consecutive minutes.
A complete and exact subdivision plan, including all required
supplementary data, prepared for official recording as required by
statute, defining property rights and proposed streets and other improvements.
A plan or set of plans and supporting documents prepared
by an engineer detailing the engineering specifications for streets,
sanitary sewers, stormwater drainage facilities and other improvements
required by this chapter.
An application required by the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities
Act, Section 71.15(b) and (c) of Chapter 71, Administration of the
Sewage Facilities Program, as amended.[8]
A tentative, formal subdivision plan, including all required
supplementary data, showing proposed street and lot layout as a basis
for consideration prior to preparation of the final plan.
The copy of the final plan which contains the original required
endorsements of the Township and which is intended to be recorded
with the Delaware County Recorder of Deeds.
An informal plan indicating salient existing features of
a tract and its surroundings and the general layout of a proposed
subdivision.
The map or plan of a subdivision or land development, whether
preliminary or final.
Notice published once each week for two successive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township. Such "notice"
shall state the time and place of any hearing or meeting and the particular
nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing or meeting. The
first publication shall not be more than 30 days and the second publication
shall not be less than seven days prior to the date of the hearing
or meeting.
[Added 10-22-1990 by Ord. No. 90-49]
Transportation service for the general public provided by
a common carrier of passengers, generally on a regular route basis.
Any replatting or new division of land. Replattings shall
be considered as constituting a new subdivision of land. See the definition
of "subdivision."
An examination of the sketch plan, preliminary plan or final plan to determine compliance with Chapter 280, Zoning, this chapter and other pertinent requirements.
Land set aside for passage, such as a utility, street, alley
or other means of travel.
EXISTING RIGHT-OF-WAYThe legal right-of-way as established by the commonwealth or other appropriate governing authority and currently in existence.
ULTIMATE RIGHT-OF-WAYThe right-of-way deemed necessary by the Radnor Township Comprehensive Plan as appropriate to provide adequate width for future street improvements.
A public or private sanitary sewer system.
PUBLIC SEWER SYSTEMAny system, approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources and Radnor Township, which collects sewage and/or industrial wastes of a liquid nature from two or more lots and treats and/or disposes such sewage and/or industrial wastes at a common plant on another site.
PRIVATE SEWER SYSTEMA system of piping, tanks or other facilities serving a single lot which collects or disposes of sewage, in whole or in part, into the soil on the same lot.
The length of roadway visible to the driver of a passenger
vehicle at any given point on the roadway when the view is unobstructed
by traffic. Sight distance measurement shall be made from a point
3.75 feet above the center line of the road surface to a point 0.5
feet above the center line of road surface.[9]
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land intended to have one
or more buildings or intended to be subdivided into two or more lots.
A public space improvement, including but not limited to
landscaping, sidewalks, street lighting and parking.
[Added 10-26-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-27]
All land area within the site, calculated from an actual
site survey rather than from a deed description.
The solicitor of Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
Areas subject to regulations by § 280-112 of the Code of the Township of Radnor, as amended.
A public or private thoroughfare used or intended to be used
for passage or travel by motor vehicles. Streets are further classified
according to the functions they perform.
EXPRESSWAYSLimited access highways, with full grade separation, serving a large volume of high-speed through traffic designed for an operating speed of 70 miles per hour.
ARTERIALSMajor regional highways, with full or partial access control, designed for a large volume of through traffic. An ADT count of 10,000 trips or greater and an intended operating speed of 60 miles per hour is expected.
MAJOR COLLECTORSStreets designed to provide access between local and minor collector streets and arterials and expressways. Access is controlled by limiting curb cuts. An ADT count of 3,501 to 10,000 trips and an intended operating speed of 50 miles per hour is expected.
[Amended 1-2-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-03]
MINOR COLLECTORSStreets which primarily serve to connect local streets with major collectors and arterials. An ADT count of 651 to 3,500 trips and an intended operating speed of 40 miles per hour is expected.
LOCAL STREETSStreets used primarily to provide access to more heavily traveled streets for abutting properties in internally developed areas. An ADT count of up to 650 trips and an intended operating speed of 30 miles per hour is expected.
The existing or proposed right-of-way line.
An area extending 1/2 mile along a street adjacent to the
site in both directions from all proposed or existing access points
or to and including a major intersection with a collector or arterial,
whichever area is greater.
Any individual, partnership, copartnership or corporation,
or agent authorized thereby, which undertakes the development or subdivision
of land as defined by this chapter as the owner, or agent authorized
thereby, of the land being developed or subdivided.
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land
by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions
of land, including changes in existing lot lines, for the purpose,
whether immediate or future, of lease, partition by the court for
distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership or building
or lot development; provided, however, that the subdivision by lease
of land for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres,
not involving any new street or easement of access of any residential
dwelling, shall be exempted.
[Amended 10-22-1990 by Ord. No. 90-49]
The division of a lot or tract of land or part thereof into
two or more lots or tracts for the purpose, whether immediate or future,
of transfer of ownership or of building development not defined as
a minor subdivision.
The division of a lot or tract of land into five or less
lots for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of
ownership or of building development of less than three acres, provided
that the proposed lots thereby created have frontage on an improved
street or streets, and provided further that there is not created
by the subdivision any new street or the extension of an existing
street.
A surveyor registered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
A registered engineer designated by the Board of Commissioners
to perform the duties of engineer as herein specified.
A lot or parcel of land; an area of real estate.
The total count of trips expected to and from a particular
land use.
A procedure, as described in the 1965 Highway Capacity Manual,
Highway Research Board Special Report 87, which compares the volume
of a street or intersection approach to its capacity (maximum number
of vehicles that can pass a given point during a given time period).
A series of justifications which detail the minimum traffic
or pedestrian volumes or other criteria necessary for the installation
of a traffic signal. These warrants are contained in the Manual on
Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, United States
Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, 1971,
Sections 4C-1 through 4C-10.
Any municipal water supply system or any private system franchised
to serve the public. Such systems shall include any existing private
franchise area and the entire system or a water supply capable of
supporting the entire development or a standpipe or water-storage
system meeting Township specifications.
A system for supplying and distributing water to a single
dwelling or other building from a source located on the same lot.
Those areas that are inundated and saturated by surface or
ground water at a frequency or duration sufficient to support, and
that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation
typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, including
swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas; or as further defined by
the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources.
[Amended 6-26-1989 by Ord. No. 89-28; 10-22-1990 by Ord. No.
90-49; 10-15-1991 by Ord. No. 91-41]
[1]
Editor's Note: A diagram illustrating a clear
sight triangle is included at the end of the chapter.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101
et seq.
[3]
Editor's Note: A diagram illustrating density is included at the end of this chapter.
[4]
Editor's Note: A diagram illustrating an impervious
surface is located at the end of this chapter.
[5]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10503(1.1).
[6]
Editor's Note: A diagram illustrating various kinds of lots is included at the end of this chapter.
[7]
Editor's Note: A diagram illustrating the open space ratio is included at the end of this chapter.
[8]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 750.1
et seq.
[9]
Editor's Note: Diagrams illustrating sight
distance are included at the end of this chapter.
[10]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection (7), marginal
access streets, was repealed 1-2-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-03.