As used in this chapter words in the singular
include the plural, and those in the plural include the singular.
The word "person" includes corporation, unincorporated association
and partnership, as well as an individual. The word "building" includes
the meaning of "structure" and shall be construed as if followed by
the phrase "or part thereof." The following words as used in this
chapter shall have the meanings indicated below:
ACCELERATED EROSION
The removal of surface materials by the action of natural
elements caused by man's manipulation of the landscape.
ACCESS DRIVE
An access street or road providing primary access to more
than one dwelling unit or one lot but not more than three dwelling
units and/or lots.
[Added 7-9-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-5]
APPLICANT
A landowner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has
filed an application for development including his heirs, successors
and assigns.
APPLICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT
Every application, whether preliminary, tentative or final,
required to be filed and approved prior to start of construction or
development, including but not limited to an application for a building
permit, for the approval of a subdivision plat or plan or for the
approval of a development plan.
BLOCK
An area bounded by streets or proposed streets.
BOARD
The Board of Supervisors of Greene Township, Franklin County,
Pennsylvania.
BUILDING
Any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls
and intended for the shelter, housing or enclosure of persons, animals
or chattels, and including covered porches or bay windows and chimneys.
CARTWAY
The portion of a street intended for vehicular use.
CENTRALIZED SEWAGE
Any public sewerage system or a private sewerage system designed
for the collection of sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature
from two or more lots and the treatment and disposal of the sewage
or industrial wastes; provided such private sewage system is approved
by the Greene Township Municipal Authority and the Department of Environmental
Protection.
CLEAR-SIGHT TRIANGLE
A triangular-shaped portion of land established at street
intersections (including driveways and rail crossings) in which nothing
is erected, placed, planted or allowed to grow in such a manner as
to limit or obstruct the sight distance of motorists entering or leaving
the intersection. A clear-sight triangle shall be defined by taking
the specified minimum measured distances from the points as indicated
on Figures 1 and 2, respectively, for a driveway intersecting a street
and for a street intersecting another street. These measured distances
shall form the three points of the triangle which will be connected.
COMMON OPEN SPACE
A parcel or parcels of land or an area of water, or a combination
of land and water within a development site and designed and intended
for the use or enjoyment of residents of a development, not including
streets, off-street parking areas and areas set aside for public facilities.
COUNTY
Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
CUL-DE-SAC
A street with access closed at one end and with a vehicular
turnaround at the closed end.
DETENTION STRUCTURE
A vegetated pond, swale, or other structure designed to drain
completely after storing runoff only for a given storm event and release
it at a predetermined rate. Also known as a dry pond.
DEVELOPER
Any landowner, agent of such landowner or tenant with permission
of such landowner, who makes or causes to be made a subdivision of
land or a land development.
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
The provisions for development, including a planned residential
development, a plat of subdivision, all covenants relating to use,
location and bulk of buildings and other structures, intensity of
use or density of development, streets, ways and parking facilities,
common open space and public facilities. The phrase "provisions of
the development plan," when used in this chapter, shall mean written
and graphic materials referred to in this definition.
DRAINAGE
The flow of water or liquid waste and the methods of directing
such flow.
DRIVEWAY
A private means of vehicular access from a public or private
street to a house or garage on a single lot and located entirely on
the lot being served. For purposes of this definition, a driveway
may be used only for an individual residence or a farming activity.
[Added 7-9-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-5]
DWELLING
A building or structure designed for living quarters for
one or more families, including homes which are supported either by
a foundation or by blocks or jacks or are otherwise permanently attached
to the land, but not including hotels, rooming houses or other accommodations
used for transient occupancy.
EARTHMOVING ACTIVITY
Any construction or other activity which disturbs the surface
of the land, including but not limited to excavation, embankments,
land development, subdivision development, mineral extraction and
the moving, depositing, or storing of soil, rock or earth.
EASEMENT
A right granted for the use of private land for certain public
or quasi-public purposes; also the land to which such right pertains.
ENERGY DISSIPATER
A device used to slow the velocity of stormwater, particularly
at points of concentrated discharge such as pipe outlets.
ENGINEER, REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL
An individual licensed and registered as a professional engineer
by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[Amended 6-26-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-7]
ENGINEER, TOWNSHIP
The Township Engineer or any consultant designated by the
Board of Supervisors to review a subdivision plan and perform the
duties of the Township Engineer on behalf of the Township.
EXCAVATION
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar
material is dug into, cut, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced,
relocated or bulldozed and shall include the conditions resulting
therefrom.
FILL
A.
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel or rock,
or any other material is placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported
or moved to a new location above the stripped surface and shall include
the conditions resulting therefrom;
B.
The difference in elevation between a point
on the original ground and a designated point of higher elevation
on the final grade; and
C.
The material used to make a fill.
FREEBOARD
The difference between the design flow elevation in the emergency
spillway and the top of the settled embankment.
GRASSED WATERWAY
A natural or man-made drainage way of parabolic or trapezoidal
cross-section shaped to required dimensions and vegetated for safe
disposal of runoff. (Also known as a swale).
LAND DEVELOPMENT
Any of the following activities:
A.
The improvement of one or two or more contiguous
lots, tracts or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
(1)
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; or
(2)
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.
B.
A subdivision of land. Excluded from the definition
of land development are the following:
(1)
The conversion of an existing single-family
detached dwelling or semidetached dwelling into not more than three
residential units, unless such units are intended to be condominiums.
(2)
The addition of an accessory building, including
farm building on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing principal
building.
LANDOWNER
The legal or beneficial owner or owners of land including
the holder of an option or contract to purchase (whether or not such
option or contract is subject to any condition), a lessee if he is
authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the landowner,
or other person having a proprietary interest in land, shall be deemed
to be a landowner for the purposes of this act.
LANDSCAPING
For this chapter, landscaping is composed primarily of trees,
shrubs and other planting which serve to provide aesthetic appeal,
and to safeguard public health, safety and welfare by serving as a
buffer between uses, controlling erosion, reducing glare, lowering
temperature, softening sound, diverting wind and reducing pollutants
. A landscaping layout may contain other elements, including water,
timber, rocks and street furniture.
LOT
A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by
a plat or otherwise as permitted by law and to be used, developed
or built upon as a unit.
MANUFACTURED HOUSING
Any housing unit constructed within a factory and delivered
wholly or in part (i.e. including modular units and double-wides),
to a site and ready for occupancy with a minimum amount of assembly
or set up. This includes HUD Code manufactured homes and mobile homes.
MOBILE HOME
A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent
occupancy, contained in one unit or in two or more units designed
to be joined into one integral unit capable of again being separated
for repeated towing, which arrives at a site complete and ready for
occupancy except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations,
and constructed so that it may be used without a permanent foundation.
This does not include recreation or travel trailers, unless they are
placed on site and remain for more than 180 days.
MOBILE HOME LOT
A parcel of land in a mobile home park, improved with the
necessary utility connections and other appurtenances necessary for
the erections thereon of a single mobile home.
MOBILE HOME PARK
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which has been so
designated and improved that it contains two or more mobile home lots
for the placement thereon of mobile homes.
[Amended 6-26-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-7]
MULTIPLE USE BUSINESS AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
A land development or subdivision composed of one tract or multiple tracts, whether or not contiguous, all of which are located within the same Heavy Industrial District or the same Light Industrial District, under single ownership or owned by related or successor persons or entities, siting both specifically permitted Heavy Industrial uses and specifically permitted Light Industrial uses or specifically permitted Highway Commercial uses, as such uses are identified in Chapter
105, Zoning, or siting both specifically permitted Light Industrial uses and specifically permitted Highway Commercial uses, as such are identified in Chapter
105, Zoning, which encompasses an area of five acres or more, and which is subject to additional design requirements contained in §
105-13 of Chapter
105, Zoning, and §
85-18J of this chapter in order to create a physical environment that ensures compatibility between the industrial and commercial operations therein and achieve consistency with community goals, efficient business and industrial operations and compatibility with the natural environment.
NET DENSITY
The number of dwelling units per net acre of land devoted
to residential buildings and accessory uses on the same tract within
the site, but excluding land for streets, public parking, playground,
and nonresidential uses.
PANHANDLE LOTS
Lots created in limited circumstances with two distinct parts:
the pan portion of the lot, which constitutes the building site located
behind another lot fronting on a public road right-at-way and the
handle portion of the lot which connects the pan portion of the lot
to the public road right-of-way by a narrow strip of property used
for access and provides the only street frontage but does not comply
at any point along the public road right-of-way with the minimum lot
width requirement in the zoning district.
[Added 7-27-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-7]
PERCOLATION TEST
A procedure to determine the absorption rate of the soil
in an area proposed as the installation site for an on-lot septic
system. Such a test will be carried out according to the requirements
of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
PLAT
The map or plan of a subdivision or land development, whether
preliminary or final.
PRIVATE STREET/ROAD
For purposes of this chapter of the Greene Township Code
relating to subdivision and land development, references to a "private
street" or a "private road" shall be considered to have reference
to any street or road that has not been dedicated to and accepted
by the Township or is not maintained by either Greene Township or
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[Added 12-27-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-8]
PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANTS
The persons who provide expert or professional advice, including,
but not limited to, architects, attorneys, certified public accountants,
engineers, geologists, land surveyors, landscape architects or planners.
[Added 6-26-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-7]
PUBLIC GROUNDS
Includes:
A.
Parks, playgrounds, trails, paths and other
recreational area and other public areas;
B.
Sites for schools, sewage treatment, refuse
disposal and other publicly owned or operated facilities; and
C.
Publicly owned or operated scenic and historic
sites.
PUBLIC HEARING
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Township
Supervisors or Planning Commission, intended to inform and obtain
public comment, prior to taking action in accordance with the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code.
PUBLIC MEETING
A forum held pursuant to notice under the Act of July 3,
1986, (P.L. 388, No. 84), known as the "Sunshine Act."
PUBLIC NOTICE
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 the hearing and the particular nature
of the matter to be considered at the hearing. The first publication
shall not be more than 30 days and the second publication shall not
be less than seven days from the date of the hearing.
RESERVE STRIP
A parcel of ground in separate ownership separating a street
or road from adjacent properties or from another street.
RETENTION STRUCTURE
A pond, swale, or other structure containing a permanent
pool of water designed to store runoff for a given storm event and
release it at a predetermined rate.
RUNOFF
The surface water discharge or rate of discharge of a given
watershed after a fall of rain or snow that does not enter the soil
but runs off the surface of the land.
RUNOFF FROM A FULLY DEVELOPED AREA UPSTREAM
The surface water runoff that can be reasonably anticipated
upon maximum development of that area of the watershed located upstream
from the subject tract, as permitted by prevailing zoning or the Township
comprehensive plan; if such exists.
SCREENING
A well maintained fence, wall, hedge, or vegetative material
at least five feet in height and of a density to conceal from the
view of property owners in adjoining residential districts the structures
and uses on the premises on which the screening is located.
SECRETARY
The Township Secretary of Greene Township.
SEDIMENTATION
The process by which mineral or organic matter is accumulated
or deposited by moving wind, water or gravity. Once this matter is
deposited (or remains suspended in water), it usually is referred
to as "sediment."
SEDIMENT BASIN
A temporary dam or barrier constructed across a water way
or at other suitable locations to intercept the runoff and to trap
and retain the sediment.
SLOPE
Slopes are to be expressed in a percentage based upon vertical
difference in feet per 100 feet of horizontal distance.
SOILS ANALYSIS
A procedure to permit visual inspection of geological formations
and water table level in an area proposed as the installation site
for an on-lot septic system. Such tests will consist of a trench which
shall be as a minimum two feet wide and six feet deep or four feet
below the proposed installation level of the septic field, which ever
is deeper. Such tests may be referred to as a "deep probe" or inspection
trench and shall be open for inspection by the Township and the Department
of Environmental Protection.
SOIL STABILIZATION
Chemical, vegetative or structural treatment of a mass of
soil to increase or maintain its stability or otherwise improve its
engineering properties.
STREET, PUBLIC
A strip of land, including the entire right-of-way, intended
to be dedicated for use as a means of vehicular and pedestrian circulation
by the public at large.
STRUCTURE
Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires
a fixed location on the ground or an attachment to something having
a fixed location to the ground, including but not limited to buildings,
flagpoles, stadiums, platforms, towers, sheds, porches, carports,
storage facilities, fences exceeding four feet in height, signs, sign
posts, billboards, lights and light standards for other than residential
uses and other building features, yet excluding patios (without walls
or enclosed, unenclosed or without walls), driveways, walkways and
parking areas.
SUBDIVIDER
The owner, developer or the authorized agent of the owner
of a subdivision or land development.
SUBDIVISION
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 or any residential
dwelling, shall be exempted.
SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETED
Where in the judgment of the Township Engineer at least 90% of those improvements required as a condition for final subdivision approval have been completed in accordance with an approved plan, so that the project will be able to be used, occupied or operated for its intended use. This shall be based on the cost of the required improvements for which financial security was posted pursuant to §
85-43 of this chapter.
SWALE
A low-lying stretch of land which gathers or carries surface
water runoff.
TOPSOIL
Fertile surface and subsurface soils rich in organic matter
or humus debris.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of Greene, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
WATERCOURSE
A permanent stream, intermittent stream, river, brook, creek,
channel or ditch for water, whether natural or man-made.
WATER SURVEY
An inventory of the source, quantity, yield and use of groundwater
and surface water resources within the Township.