The Township of Hilltown is hereby divided into
districts of different types, each type being of such number, shape,
kind and area, and of such common unity of purpose and adaptability
of use, that they are deemed most suitable to carry out the objectives
of this chapter and the Comprehensive Plan.
For the purpose of this chapter, Hilltown Township
is hereby divided into districts which shall be designated as follows:
A.
Development areas.
(1)
CR-1 District: Country Residential I.
(2)
CR-2 District: Country Residential II.
(3)
MHP District: Mobile Home Park.
(4)
VC District: Village Center.
(5)
PC-1 District: Planned Commercial I.
(6)
PC-2 District: Planned Commercial II.
(7)
LI District: Light Industrial.
(8)
HI District: Heavy Industrial.
(9)
AQRC District: Age Qualified Residential Community.
[Added 5-23-2011 by Ord.
No. 2011-6]
[Amended 5-24-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-4]
Districts are bounded and defined as shown in
the map entitled “Official Zoning Map of Hilltown Township”
which accompanies and which, with all explanatory matters thereon,
is hereby made a part of this chapter.[1]
[1]
Editor’s Note: The Zoning Map is included as an attachment to this chapter.
Where uncertainty exists with respect to the
boundaries of the district as indicated on the Zoning Map, and in
the case of airport zones, the following rules shall apply:
A.
Where district boundaries are indicated as approximately
coinciding with the center lines of streets, highways, railroad lines,
or streams, such center lines shall be construed to be such boundaries.
B.
Where district boundaries are so indicated that they
approximately coincide with lot lines, such lot lines shall be construed
to be said boundaries; or where district boundaries are extensions
of lot lines or connect the intersections of lot lines, such lines
shall be said district boundaries.
C.
Where district boundaries are so indicated that they
are approximately parallel to center lines of streets or highways,
such district boundaries shall be construed as being parallel to and
at such distance from said center lines as indicated on the Zoning
Map.
D.
The airport hazard zoning boundaries shall be established
and interpreted as follows:
(1)
AVA Airport Utility Runway and Visual Approach Zone:
the inner edge of the runways approach zone coincides with the width
of the primary surface and is 250 feet wide. The approach zone expands
outward uniformly to a width of 1,250 feet at a horizontal distance
of 5,000 feet from the primary surface. Its center line is the continuation
of the center line of the runway.
(2)
AT Airport Transitional Zone: the transitional zones
are the areas beneath the transitional surfaces.
(3)
AH Airport Horizontal Zone: the horizontal zone is
delineated by swinging arcs of 5,000 feet radii from the center of
each end of the primary surface of each runway and connecting the
adjacent arc by drawing lines tangent to those arcs. The horizontal
zone does not include the approach and transitional zones.
(4)
AC Airport Conical Zone: the conical zone is delineated
as the area that commences at the periphery of the horizontal zone
and extends outward therefrom a horizontal distance of 4,000 feet
and upward from the periphery of the horizontal zone at a slope of
20 to one.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection E, regarding flood hazard
area boundaries, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed
1-26-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-003.
A.
Development areas. The purpose of these areas is to
provide for the orderly growth and development of residential, commercial
and industrial uses within Hilltown Township. The districts herein
are designed to be compatible with the Township’s Comprehensive
Plan.
(1)
Country Residential I. The purpose of this district
is to accommodate a variety of residential housing types to include
single-family and multifamily and to insure a balance of housing types
to meet the current and future housing needs of the Township. This
district encourages conservation design with open space areas reserved
for natural resource protection and recreation. The location of these
districts are intended to insure that appropriate infrastructure and
associated facilities are available for these types of uses and that
the uses will blend well with other uses in the surrounding areas.
This zoning district is intended to be the Township’s short-term
residential development district.
(2)
Country Residential II. A few districts are shown
on the Official Zoning Map as Country Residential II. These areas
were specifically designated because they are served by public sewers
but lie outside of the area which has been planned for public sewers.
The use types permitted in the CR-2 District are the same as those
permitted in the Rural Residential (RR) District, as further described
in the RR section below. It is the intent of this district to contain
the fringe sewer service areas within the CR-2 zone.
(3)
Mobile Home Parks. The purpose of this zoning district
is to provide the opportunity for pleasant, well-planned mobile home
park developments for affordable housing within the Township at an
appropriate density. It is the further intention of this district
to insure that proper facilities are present to service this use type
and that this use will appropriately blend with surrounding land uses.
Since there is sufficient room in these districts to allow for future
expansion for mobile homes, it is not necessary to accommodate additional
land for this use type at this time. The availability of land for
mobile home parks should be reevaluated as these districts become
built out.
(4)
Village Center. The Village Center District deals
primarily with the existing villages within the Township. The intent
of this district is to preserve the character of these historic villages
by allowing limited mixed-use development to include: limited commercial
uses, the construction of single-family dwellings, and the conversion
of existing large structures into multifamily dwellings. New construction
shall have a facade, which fits in with predominate historic architecture
of the area. Only 1/3 of the total structures within Village Center
are permitted to be commercial.
(5)
Planned Commercial I. This district is intended to
provide for a wide range of commercial and service type uses in and
along the Route 309 corridor and the south-western portion of the
Township. The PC-1 District is intended to be the “regional”
service district for the Township and surrounding municipalities.
The uses and standards within the PC-1 zone are intended to be complementary
to the existing commercial development located in the immediate vicinity.
Careful consideration is to be given to access and circulation patterns
in this district with access provided by means of marginal access
roads, reverse frontage roads and/or limiting the number and locations
of access points where deemed appropriate by the Township.
(6)
Planned Commercial II. The primary PC-2 commercial
areas are located along the Route 313 corridor in the vicinity of
Dublin Borough. A wide range of commercial and service type uses are
to be encouraged in this district to serve the needs of the residents
of the Township. The PC-2 District is intended to be the small scale
“neighborhood” commercial zone. Careful consideration
is to be given to access and circulation patterns in this district
with access provided by means of marginal access roads, reverse frontage
roads and/or limiting the number and locations of access points where
deemed appropriate by the Township.
(7)
Light Industrial. This zoning district is intended
to provide for commercial office, and laboratory research facilities.
The intent of this district is to encourage high quality industrial
development which relates to adjacent residential areas as a “good
neighbor,” with appropriate design standards to avoid adverse
impacts on neighboring residential uses.
(8)
Heavy Industrial. This district is also intended to
encourage high quality industrial development, including manufacturing,
and resource recovery uses. Tracts of land designated for these uses
should be serviced by utilizing an internal network of streets and
serviceways.
(9)
Age Qualified Residential Community. The Age Qualified Residential
Community District is intended to provide for private residential
community living and different housing options for older residents.
The district requires both active and passive recreational facilities.
[Added 6-25-2007 by Ord.
No. 2007-6]
B.
Conservation areas.
(1)
The areas shown within the Township’s conservation
area are those portions of the Township which are generally not suited
for, and therefore are not intended to, support intense development
in the short-term. The conservation area includes all those areas
in the Township which presently lack essential sewage disposal capabilities.
These areas are primarily intended to serve low density residential
development.
(2)
The purpose of this zoning district is to discourage
the premature and haphazard development characterized by suburban
sprawl. This district is intended to limit development opportunities
in areas of the Township without public sewers, and by doing so, promoting
the orderly growth of the Township by minimizing the health risks
from potential on-site sewage system failures as provided by 53 P.S.
§ 10501 et seq. of the Municipalities Planning Code, Act
247, as amended.
(3)
The following zoning district is located within the
Township’s conservation area:
(a)
Rural Residential. The Rural Residential areas
are based primarily upon the analysis and availability of a safe and
adequate groundwater supply. Within these areas, the recommended residential
density is one dwelling unit for every three acres of land area. If
public water is provided by a municipal authority within these areas,
then development on fifty-thousand-square-foot lots may be accommodated.
If municipal authority public water and open space are provided in
accordance with requirements of this chapter, a cluster option within
thirty-thousand-square-foot lots is permitted.
C.
Resource extraction areas. The resource extraction
areas are intended to designate appropriate areas within the Township
for the purposes of providing for extractive land uses.
(1)
Intent. The zone is intended to provide for the extraction of sand, clay, shale, topsoil, gravel, stone, and/or similar materials and is intended to include the construction and operation of concrete plants and asphalt plants or other related processing, manufacturing or industrial operations or activities, including, but not limited to, blasting, crushing and sorting as set forth below and as set forth in § 160-44 of Chapter 160 of the Code; provided, however, that in the event there is conflict between the provisions of this section and any provision of § 160-44 or any other provision of Chapter 160 the provisions of this chapter shall prevail and control.
[Amended 8-31-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-2]
(a)
Permitted uses. Permitted uses in the zone created by this chapter
shall include, on any parcel of real property within the zone, any
one or more of the following:
[1]
Quarry and mineral extraction, mineral activities, resource extraction activities as defined in §§ 160-3 and 160-11 of this chapter and as provided in § 160-16C(1), Intent.
[2]
Non-coal surface mining activities as defined herein.
[3]
Retail and wholesale sales of stone and stone-related products.
[4]
Manufacture of stone-related products.
[5]
Concrete plants.
[6]
Manufacture of concrete items.
[7]
The storage, maintenance and repair of construction and quarry
vehicles, equipment, raw materials and finished products.
[8]
Open space.
[9]
Bituminous asphalt plants.
[10]
Construction businesses.
[11]
Accessory uses including offices for any permitted
principal or accessory uses, including, but not limited to, quarry,
construction, concrete, bituminous asphalt business and sales offices
related to the aforesaid permitted uses.
[12]
Any use regulated by the Pennsylvania Public Utility
Commission.
(b)
Uses by special exception. Use by special exception shall include:
agricultural, and recreational subject to other provisions of this
chapter.
(c)
Setback. Except for preexisting uses and quarry and accessory
uses, all uses shall be set back a minimum of 50 feet from any property
line.
(d)
Minimum lot size. Minimum lot size for any one or more of the
uses permitted by this chapter shall be 10 acres.
(e)
Maximum height. Maximum height of any structure permitted by
this chapter (excluding storage piles, chimneys, cupolas, tanks, vents
and like projections) shall be 65 feet measured from original grade.
D.
Special hazard areas.
(1)
Airport hazard zones:
(a)
These zones are intended to effectuate Act 164
of 1984 (Pennsylvania laws relating to aviation), Subchapter B, “Airport
Zoning Act,” § 5912, 74 Pa.C.S.A. § 5912,
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
(b)
Airport zones. In order to carry out the provisions
of the section there are herein created and established certain zones,
which include all of the land lying beneath the approach surfaces,
transitional surfaces, and the conical surfaces as they apply to the
local airports and the land surrounding same. An area located in more
than one of the following zones is considered to be only in the zone
with the more restrictive height limitation.
(2)
Special flood hazard areas. Those areas of the Township classified
as special flood hazard areas in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and
accompanying Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), dated March 16, 2015,
and issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
[Amended 1-26-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-003]
