A.
Unless a contrary intention clearly appears, the following
words and phrases shall have for the purpose of this chapter the meanings
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
and association as well as the individual.
(4)
The word "lot" includes the word "plot" or "parcel."
(5)
The word "Township" shall always mean Lower Makefield
Township.
(6)
The word "may" is permissive; the words "shall" and
"will" are mandatory.
(7)
The words "building," "structure" and "street" are
used generally and shall be construed as if followed by the phrase
"or part thereof."
C.
Any word or term not defined herein shall be used
with a meaning of standard usage.
The following specific definitions apply in
this chapter.
Areas that are contiguous; join at a border or boundary;
or lots that share a common boundary, as where no other land, road,
or street intervenes.
[Added 10-3-2018 by Ord.
No. 413]
Touching or contiguous; to be in contact with; to abut upon.
[Added 10-3-2018 by Ord.
No. 413]
Any person, other than the developer, who, acting for the
developer, submits to the Township subdivision plans for the purpose
of obtaining approval thereof.
Any developer who submits to the Township subdivision or
land development plans for the purpose of obtaining approval thereof,
including his heirs, successors and assigns.
Activities, facilities, designs, measures or procedures used
to manage stormwater impacts from land development activities, to
meet state water quality requirements, to promote groundwater recharge
and to otherwise meet the purposes of this chapter. Best management
practices include but are not limited to infiltration, filter strips,
low-impact design, bioretention, wet ponds, permeable paving, grassed
swales, forested buffers, sand filters and detention basins. Structural
BMPs are permanent appurtenances to the project site.
[Added 12-20-2006 by Ord. No. 363]
Off-street bikeways laid out on private property, public
rights-of-way, open land or recreational areas.
Lanes located on the paved surface of a roadway, street or
highway or on the shoulder of a roadway, street or highway.
The area of a public roadway, street or highway which is
specifically designated and marked as a "bicycle route."
An area bounded by streets.
The word "Supervisors" or the words "Board of Supervisors"
shall always mean the Lower Makefield Township Board of Supervisors.
Any structure having a roof and used or intended to be used
for the shelter or enclosure of persons, animals or property.
FRONTA line parallel to the right-of-way line at a distance therefrom equal to the depth of the minimum front yard required.
SIDEA line parallel to the side lot line at a distance therefrom equal to the depth of the minimum side yard required.
REARA line parallel to the rear lot line at a distance from the rear lot line equal to the depth of the minimum rear yard required.
The portion of a street intended for vehicular use.
A line which is typically midway between and parallel to
the right-of-way lines.
An area of unobstructed vision at street intersections as defined and regulated by § 200-7 of the Township Zoning Ordinance.
Shall always mean Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
A right-of-way or easement for pedestrian travel across or
within a block.
A street intersecting another street at one end and terminating
at the other in a vehicular turnaround.
An area designed to hold stormwater or surface runoff and
discharge the impounded water at a controlled rate. This area may
drain dry or may be normally a wet area with the capacity to act as
a detention basin.
Any landowner, agent of such landowner or tenant with the
permission of such landowner who makes or causes to be made a subdivision
of land or a land development.
Any man-made change or improvement, including but not limited
to buildings or other structures, the placement of mobile homes, streets
and other paving, utilities, filling, grading and clearing of vegetation,
excavation, mining, dredging or drilling operations or demolition.
The provisions for land 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 lands and public facilities.
The phrase "provisions of the development plan" shall mean the written
and graphic materials referred to in this definition.
Any ditch, gutter, pipe, culvert, storm sewer, detention
or retention basin or other structure designed, intended or constructed
for the purpose of diverting surface waters from or carrying surface
waters off streets, rights-of-way, parks, recreational areas, paved
areas or any part of any subdivision.
A plan showing all present and existing surface and subsurface
drainage conditions as described by grades, contours and topography
with proposed methods and facilities to collect and convey said drainage.
A vehicular accessway connecting a street and a parking area
or garage within a lot or property.
A building containing one or more dwelling units designed
or used exclusively as living quarters.
SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED DWELLINGA dwelling on a lot designed and occupied exclusively as a residence for one family, having independent outside access and having yards on all sides, including a manufactured home or mobile home.
SINGLE-FAMILY ATTACHED DWELLINGA dwelling designed and occupied exclusively as a residence for one family, having independent outside access attached to but separated from adjoining dwellings by not more than two party walls, and not a two-family dwelling.
TWO-FAMILY DWELLING (TWIN OR DUPLEX DWELLING)A structure containing two dwelling units, each of which is totally separated from the other by a solid wall extending from ground to roof or a solid ceiling and floor extending from exterior wall to exterior wall, except for a common stairwell.
MULTIPLE-FAMILY DWELLINGA dwelling designed and occupied exclusively as a residence for three or more families.
Any room or group of rooms located within a residential building
and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used
or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating by
one family.
The Township Engineer or other licensed engineer designated
by the Supervisors to perform the duties of engineer as herein specified.
Such engineer shall be registered in accordance with the Pennsylvania
Engineer, Land Surveyor and Geologist Registration Law.[1]
A grant of one or more of the property rights by the property
owner to and/or for the use by the public, a corporation, the Township
or other governmental authority or another person or entity.
The removal of surface materials by the action of natural
elements.
A lot which does not have the minimum lot width required
at the minimum required front building line but which attains the
minimum lot width required at a distance from the right-of-way line
greater than the minimum front yard setback. The lot includes a strip
of land owned in fee simple, which is the lane or flagpole portion
of the lot, connecting the street with the flag portion of the lot.
The elevation of the center line of the streets as officially
established by the Township Engineer.
The completed surfaces of lawns, walks and roads brought
to grade as shown on official plans or designs relating thereto.
The mean elevation of the ground surrounding a building,
calculated as an average of the highest and lowest elevations.
Surfaces which do not absorb water, including all buildings
and paved or hard surfaces. In addition, other areas determined by
the Township Engineer to be impervious within the meaning of this
definition shall also be classified as impervious. For purposes of
this definition, that area of a swimming pool located inside the coping
shall not be classified as impervious.
Those physical additions, installations and changes required,
such as streets, curbs, sidewalks, water mains, sewers, drainage facilities,
public utilities, driveways, parking areas and any other items required
to render land suitable for the use proposed.
An invasive plant is one which grows aggressively, spreads,
displaces other plants and has generally been introduced from other
continents. Lacking natural predators, disease, or other natural controls,
these plants can dominate large areas, diminish and/or limit biodiversity,
are expensive to control and are directly responsible for the extinction
and loss of natural plants that have evolved in communities with other
plants, wildlife, insects and micro organisms. The Pennsylvania Department
of Conservation and Natural Resources maintains a periodically updated
list of invasive plants that is available to the general public.
[Added 4-4-2007 by Ord. No. 368]
The improvement 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 or 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. The addition of an accessory farm building, subordinate to an
existing farm building, on a lot or lots shall not be considered a
land development.
A licensed landscape architect registered in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
A licensed surveyor registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
A parcel of land, set aside from other parcels in one ownership
and not divided by a street and having access to a public street.
The area contained within the property lines of the lot but
excluding any part of a public or private street ultimate right-of-way.
The gross lot area, excluding any area required as resource
protection land or as recreation land under this chapter, and excluding
the area of easements for pipelines or drainage facilities.
A lot which has an interior angle of less than 135° at
the intersection of two street lines. A lot abutting a curved street
shall be considered a corner lot if the tangents to the curve at the
points of intersection of the side lot lines intersect at an interior
angle of less than 135°.
A lot other than a corner lot.
An interior lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately
parallel streets.
The 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.
A lot which has been recorded in the office of the Recorder
of Deeds of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Any division of land for the adjustment or relocation of
one existing boundary line between two adjacent lots or the shifting
of boundary lines to increase the area of an existing lot; provided,
however, that the lot line change results in the same number or fewer
lots as existed prior to the lot line change.
The lines bounding a lot.
LOT LINE, FRONTA line abutting the street at the ultimate right-of-way line.
LOT LINE, SIDEAny lot boundary line which is not a front lot line or a rear lot line.
LOT LINE, REARA lot line which is opposite and most distant from the front lot line . If the rear lot line is less than 20 feet in length, or if the lot forms a point at the rear, the rear lot line shall be deemed to be a line 20 feet in length within the lot, between the side lot lines, parallel to and at the maximum distance from the front lot line. For a corner lot, of the two lot lines opposite the front lot lines, that which is most distant will be the rear lot line.
The horizontal distance between the side lines of the lot
measured at the front building line.
A land use development strategy that emphasizes protection
and use of on-site natural features integrated with engineered, small-scale
hydrologic controls at the parcel and subdivision scale to manage
stormwater and more closely mimic predevelopment watershed hydrologic
functions. Low-impact development techniques may be considered an
alternative to traditional, structural stormwater management solutions.
[Added 12-20-2006 by Ord. No. 363]
Shall always mean Lower Makefield Township.
A native plant is one that occurs naturally in an area without
human intervention and that was growing in the area prior to the time
of European settlement. Such plants are adapted to the local climate
and tend to be more drought-, disease- and insect-resistant than introduced
varieties and they help preserve the balance and beauty of natural
ecosystems. For purposes of this chapter, the range of native plants
shall be the Lower Delaware Valley, Piedmont-Coastal Plain areas;
provided, however, that native plants from outside but close to that
general area will satisfy the requirements of this chapter with the
approval of the Township’s Plant Expert.
[Added 4-4-2007 by Ord. No. 368]
A generally invasive plant that once declared noxious becomes
illegal to sell, transport, plant or otherwise propagate within the
Commonwealth. Lists of noxious weeds are periodically updated and
are available from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and
Natural Resources.
[Added 4-4-2007 by Ord. No. 368]
Resource-protected lands, including farmland which is part
of a farmland preservation conditional use development.
[Amended 11-15-2023 by Ord. No. 442]
An area of land or of water, or a combination of land and
water, within a development site designed and intended for the use
or enjoyment of residents, not including streets, parking areas, or
areas set aside for facilities (such as detention and retention basins).
Open space can include resource-protected land. Open space shall not
include land occupied by commercial, industrial, residential, or other
nonrecreational uses, land reserved for future parking areas for nonrecreational
uses, stormwater management facilities, wastewater management facilities,
and/or the yards or lots of dwelling units. Open space shall not include
leftover areas, remnants of land remaining after lotting out, or other
unusable areas (such as environmentally damaged land that has not
been remediated or has not been reclaimed, or landfills).
[Amended 11-15-2023 by Ord. No. 442]
The owner of record of a parcel of land.
An off-street area on a lot with an all-weather surface available
for the storage of one motor vehicle and having dimensions as required
by this chapter, exclusive of passageways and driveways appurtenant
thereto, and having individual direct access to a street without moving
another vehicle.
A horticulturist registered under the laws of Pennsylvania
and skilled in the use of native vegetation.
[Added 4-4-2007 by Ord. No. 368]
Drawings of all improvements constructed within any subdivision
or land development, showing the precise locations and details of
all such improvements required by this chapter or as required by the
Board of Supervisors prior to dedication of improvements.
A subdivision or land development plan showing all those
items required by this chapter and prepared for formal approval by
the Board of Supervisors.
A subdivision or land development plan showing all those
items required by this chapter and prepared for preliminary consideration
prior to the preparation of a final plan.
An exact copy of the approved final plan on opaque linen,
or other material acceptable to the Bucks County Recorder of Deeds,
of standard size prepared for necessary signatures and recording with
the Bucks County Recorder of Deeds, including a note referencing that
all sheets are part of final plan approval.
An informal plan, to scale, indicating salient existing features
of a tract and its surroundings and the general layout of the proposed
subdivision or land development for discussion purposes only and not
to be presented for approval.
Shall always mean the Lower Makefield Township Planning Commission.
A registered landscape architect (RLA) or Pennsylvania-certified
horticulturist (PCH) registered under the laws of Pennsylvania.
[Added 4-4-2007 by Ord. No. 368]
Notice published once each week for two consecutive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township. Such notice
shall state the time and place of 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.
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Board
of Supervisors or the Planning Commission, intended to inform and
obtain public comment, prior to taking action in accordance with this
chapter.
A forum held pursuant to notice under the act of July 3,
1986 (P.L. 388, No. 84), known as the "Sunshine Act."[3]
RECREATIONA healthful and enjoyable activity, whether indoor or outdoors, in which individuals or groups engage in during their leisure time.
ACTIVE RECREATIONRecreation activities of a more competitive or athletic nature or that involve significant physical exertion by the participant, such as team sports, individual sports, use of playground equipment or swimming.
PASSIVE RECREATIONActivities that do not commonly involve competition or athletic participation by the participant, including arts and crafts, spectating, picnicking, nature study, music, walking and cultural activities.
ACTIVE RECREATION AREAAn area developed to be conductive to active recreation, such as athletic fields, hard-surfaced courts, pools and children's play equipment.
PASSIVE RECREATION AREAAn area maintained to be conducive for passive recreation, such as nature trails, creeks, picnic areas, craft rooms or woods.
CORE RECREATION LANDAn area primarily intended for active recreation, such as team and individual sports and children's play equipment. This also includes certain passive lands that are integrated within the active lands; or include over 5 acres that are immediately adjacent to active areas, that relate directly to the active areas and that at a minimum serve as an important buffer between recreational facilities and homes.
REGIONAL RECREATION LANDAn area intended primarily for passive recreation such as hiking, picnicking and nature study.
A landscape architect registered under the laws of Pennsylvania
and skilled in the use of native vegetation.
[Added 4-4-2007 by Ord. No. 368]
A lake or pond which receives surface runoff and which has
the capacity to detain a quantity of stormwater and discharge it at
a controlled rate.
A lot extending between and having frontage on a collector
or arterial street and a local or minor street with vehicular access
solely from such local or minor street.
Land set aside for use as a street or other means of travel
or for use by a utility.
RIGHT-OF-WAY LINEThe dividing line between a lot and the ultimate right-of-way of street or road or utility line.
RIGHT-OF-WAY, FUTURE OR ULTIMATEThe right-of-way width deemed necessary to provide adequate width for future improvements, as designated by Township ordinances.
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.
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 is referred to as "sediment."
Any sanitary sewer, sewage system, sewage treatment works
or parts thereof designed, intended or constructed for the collection,
treatment and satisfactory disposal of sanitary waste and industrial
sewage.
The ownership of a lot by one or more persons, partnerships
or corporations, which ownership is separate and distinct from that
of any adjoining lot.
An area having specific boundaries and encompassing an existing
or proposed land development, subdivision or residence.
See the Township Zoning Ordinance for definition and method
of calculation.[4]
All land area within the site as determined from an actual
survey.
That part of the base site area remaining for development after the required resource-protected land has been subtracted and, if applicable, required common open space, as defined and calculated in § 200-52 of the Township Zoning Ordinance.
The face of an embankment or cut section; any ground whose
surface makes an angle with the plane of the horizon. Slopes are usually
expressed in a percentage of horizontal distance as compared to vertical
distance.
A public street, road or highway which is legally open or
officially platted by the Township or a private street, road or way
over which the owners or tenants have the right-of-way.
A street parallel and adjacent to a property line having
a lesser right-of-way width than required for satisfactory improvement
and use of the street.
Streets are classified according to their functions. Streets
are ordered from high order streets (starting with arterials) to lower
order streets (ending with local streets).
ARTERIALSProvide minimal land access with high degree of travel mobility; serve major centers of urban activity and travel generation; generally serve the highest traffic volume corridors and the longest trip lengths, thus carrying a significant proportion of the total urban area travel; principal arterial routes should be continuous, both internally and between major rural connections.
COLLECTORSLower travel speeds than on arterial roads; penetrate neighborhoods to distribute or collect trips; serve minor travel generators such as local elementary schools, small individual industrial plants, office, commercial and warehouse locations not served by arterials.
LOCALComprises all remaining roads and streets; primary purpose is to provide direct access to abutting land and access to the higher order systems; through traffic movement is deliberately discouraged; offers the lowest level of mobility. Local streets shall be the same as minor streets identified in other Township documents.
The dividing line between a lot and the ultimate right-of-way
line of a street.
A vehicular way which is owned by a federal, state, county
or local government or governmental agency.
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
See "developer."
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land
by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other division
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 ten acres
not involving any new street or easement of access or any residential
dwelling shall be exempted.
MAJOR SUBDIVISIONThe division of land into more than two lots, tracts or parcels of land.
MINOR SUBDIVISIONThe division of land into no more than two lots, tracts or parcels of land, provided that there is not created by the subdivision any new street or streets, the need for required improvements, easement of access or the need therefor or a lot line change. Only one application for a minor subdivision may be made for any parcel held in single ownership.
The Fire Marshal of Lower Makefield Township as appointed
by the Board of Supervisors for the review of subdivision and land
development plans in Lower Makefield Township in regard to their adequacy
in respect to fire protection, general advice to the Board of Supervisors
in all matters regarding fire protection and liaison between the Township
and all fire companies having jurisdiction in Lower Makefield Township.
The Manager of the Township of Lower Makefield.
The Solicitor to the Lower Makefield Township Board of Supervisors.
See § 178-85C.
Land in parcels sufficiently large for future subdivision
or development which is presently in agriculture, woodland or lying
fallow.
A permanent stream, intermittent stream, river, brook, creek
or a channel or ditch or drain for water, whether natural or manmade.
Any water works, water supply works, water distribution system
or part thereof designed, intended or constructed to provide or distribute
potable water.
Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water
or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support,
and under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation
typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Those areas
or lands defined as wetlands in either the United States Army Corps
of Engineers Technical Report, Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation
Manual, as most recently updated or modified; or the United States
Environmental Protection Agency Wetlands Identification Delineation
Manual, Volume I, Rational, Wetland Parameters and Overview of Jurisdictional
Approach, Volume II, Field Methodology, as most recently updated or
modified; or the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Wetlands Identification and Delineation, Chapter 105, Dam Safety and
Waterways Management Rules and Regulations, as most recently updated
or modified. Where a difference between the foregoing criteria exist,
the most restrictive criteria will be used in any particular case.
For the purposes of this definition and for its application to this
chapter, "most restrictive criteria" shall mean the criteria which
causes the preservation of the most extensive area of wetlands.
Stands of trees averaging greater than 6 inches in caliper
measured four feet above the ground covering an area greater than
one quarter of an acre.
A space open to the sky on the same lot with a building or
structure which is unoccupied except for accessory structures to the
extent specifically permitted by this chapter or the Township Zoning
Ordinance.[5]
YARD, FRONTThe space between the front building line and the right-of-way line for the full width of the lot.
YARD, SIDEThe space between the side building line and the side lot line.
YARD, REARThe space between the rear building line and the rear lot line for the full width of the lot.
The officially enacted Zoning Ordinance of the Township of
Lower Makefield with any and all amendments thereto.[6]
