A.
Unless a contrary intention clearly appears, the following
words and phrases shall have, for the purpose of this chapter, 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,
and association as well as the 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"
always mean the Tullytown Borough Planning Commission.
(8)
The word "Council" or the words "Borough Council"
always mean the Tullytown Borough Council.
(9)
The word "Board" or the words "Zoning Hearing Board"
always mean the Tullytown Borough Zoning Hearing Board.
C.
Any word or term not defined herein shall be used
with a meaning of standard usage.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Adult business uses shall be those uses specifically defined
and regulated by Ordinance No. 309 adopted August 7, 2007.[1]
[Added 8-7-2007 by Ord. No. 310]
As applied to a building or structure, a change or rearrangement
in the structural parts, or an enlargement, whether by extending on
a side or by increasing in height, or the moving from one location
or position to another.
LOT AREAThe area contained within the property lines of the individual parcels of land shown on a subdivision plan, excluding any area within an existing street right-of-way, and including the area of any easement.
BUILDING AREAThe total of areas taken on a horizontal plane at the main grade level of the principal building and all accessory buildings, exclusive of uncovered porches, terraces, and steps.
FLOOR AREAThe sum of the areas of the several floors of a building structure, including areas used for human occupancy and basements, attics, and penthouses, as measured from the exterior faces of the walls. It does not include cellars, unenclosed porches, attics not used for human occupancy, or any floor space in an accessory building or in the main building intended and designed for the parking of motor vehicles in order to meet the parking requirements of this chapter, or any such floor space intended or designed for accessory heating and ventilating equipment.
A building or part of a building used for the transmission
and exchange of telephone or radio-telephone messages.
A story partly underground, but having 1/2 or more of
its height (measured from floor to ceiling) above the average level
of the adjoining ground. A basement shall be counted as a story for
the purpose of height measurement or determining square footage, only
if the vertical distance between the ceiling and the average level
of the adjoining ground is more than four feet, or if used for business
or dwelling purposes.
Area within the lot lines of a lot but excluding the area
of land within the street right-of-way and excluding the area of land
restricted from development by covenants or easements or other development
restrictions.
A strip of required yard space adjacent to the boundary of
a property or district of a width not less than that designated by
this chapter, and on which is placed shrubbery, hedges, evergreens,
or other suitable plantings of sufficient height and density to constitute
an effective screen and give maximum protection and immediate screening
to an abutting property or district; or to separate one land use from
another land use; or to shield or block lights, noise, or other nuisances.
A structure having a roof which is used for
the shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, or property. The word
"building" shall include any part thereof.
ACCESSORY BUILDING OR STRUCTUREA subordinate building or structure located on the same lot as a principal building clearly detached, incidental, and subordinate to the principal building and used for purposes customarily incidental to those of the main building, including but not limited to private noncommercial greenhouses, swimming pools, toolsheds, playhouses, detached garages, and workshops. Any portion of a principal building devoted or intended to be devoted to an accessory use is not an accessory building. (See "use.")
That percentage of the lot area covered by the building area.
That area of a lot that has no building restrictions. The
building envelope shall not include the area of any required setbacks
(except for driveways which would cross yards), buffer yards, natural
features with 100% protection standard and the portion of those natural
features that may not be developed or intruded upon by the terms of
this chapter.
A vertical distance measured from the mean elevation of the
proposed finished grade at the street side of the building to the
highest point of the roof for flat roofs, to the deck line of mansard
roofs, and to the mean height between eaves and ridge for gable, hip,
and gambrel roofs.
The rear line of the minimum front yards, as herein designated
for each district measured from the right-of-way line.
A story partly underground and having more than 1/2
of its height (measured from floor to ceiling) below the average level
of the adjoining ground. A cellar shall not be considered in determining
the permissible number of stories or square frontage, nor shall it
be used for dwelling purposes.
A certificate stating that all work indicated on a building
permit has been completed in compliance with Borough regulations.
Final adjudication of any board or other body granted jurisdiction
under this chapter or the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code
to do so, either by reason of the grant of exclusive jurisdiction
or by reason of appeals from determinations. All decisions shall be
appealable to the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County and the judicial
district wherein the Borough lies.
The number of dwelling units per acre. It shall be expressed
in dwelling units per acre of base site area.
Final action by an officer, body or agency charged with the
administration of this chapter or applications thereunder, except
the Borough Council and Zoning Hearing Board. Determinations shall
be appealable only to the boards designated as having jurisdiction
for such appeal.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate
including but not limited to buildings; placement of mobile homes
or other structures; mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation,
or drilling operations.
A vehicular accessway connecting a street and a parking area
or garage and located within a lot.
DWELLINGA building containing one or more dwelling units.
DWELLING UNITAny 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.
SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED DWELLINGA dwelling having only one dwelling unit from ground to roof, independent outside access, and open space on all sides.
SINGLE-FAMILY SEMIDETACHED DWELLINGA dwelling having only one dwelling unit from ground to roof, independent outside access, and not more than one wall in common with an adjoining dwelling. (These are not attached at the entire wall. They may also be end units of townhomes.)
SINGLE-FAMILY ATTACHED DWELLINGA dwelling having only one dwelling unit from ground to roof, independent outside access, and not more than two walls in common with adjoining dwellings.
MULTIFAMILY DWELLINGA dwelling having three or more dwelling units that are completely separated by party walls but share outside access.
TWO-FAMILY DUPLEX DWELLINGA dwelling having no more than two dwelling units from ground to roof, independent outside access, and open space on all sides.
A grant of the specified use of a parcel of land by the property
owner to the public, a corporation, or a person.
A form of resource recovery in which the organic portion
of waste is converted to some form of usable energy. Energy recovery
may be achieved through the combustion of processed or raw refuse
to produce steam, through the burning of refuse to produce oil or
gas, through the anaerobic digestion of organic waste to produce methane
gas, and through other similar means.
One or more persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption,
and in addition, any domestic servants or a group of persons who need
not be so related, and in addition, domestic servants who are living
together in a single nonprofit dwelling unit and maintaining a common
household with single cooking facilities. A roomer, boarder, or lodger
shall not be considered a member of the family.
A man-made construction of any material or combination of
materials including a masonry wall erected to enclose or screen areas
of land.
Any combustible or explosive composition or any substance
or combination of substances or, except as hereinafter provided, any
article prepared for the purpose of producing a visible or an audible
effect by combustion, explosion, deflagration or detonation, and shall
include blank cartridges and toy cannons in which explosives are used,
the type of balloons which require fire underneath to propel the same,
firecrackers, torpedoes, skyrockets, Roman candles, aerial fireworks,
or other fireworks of like construction and any fireworks containing
any explosive or flammable compound or any tablets or other device
containing an explosive substance.
[Added 4-4-2006 by Ord. No. 303]
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOODA flood that, on the average has a one-percent chance of occurring each year; for the purposes of this chapter.
REGULATORY FLOOD ELEVATIONBase flood elevation considered to be the basis for the limits of the floodplain.
A relatively flat or low-lying area usually
adjoining a stream or watercourse which is subject to partial or complete
inundation.
An area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation
of runoff of surface waters from any source.
ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOODPLAINThe area of land which is likely to be inundated during a one-hundred-year flood.
FLOODWAYThe channel of a stream or river plus any adjacent floodplain areas that must be kept free of encroachment in order that the one-hundred-year flood can be carried without substantial increases in flood heights. The Floodway District.
FLOODWAY FRINGEThe area between the floodway and the boundary of the one-hundred-year floodplain. The Flood-Fringe District.
APPROXIMATE ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOODPLAINThe one-hundred-year floodplain delineated by approximate engineering methods. The Approximate Floodplain District.
The sum of the areas of the several floors of a building
measured from the outside face of the exterior walls or from the center
lines of walls separating two buildings and including space below
the level of the ground if it is used for dwelling or a specific use
other than storage and utilities; accessory buildings; enclosed porches
or patios, but excluding floor area used for off-street parking and
loading berths.
The ratio of the floor area to the lot area, as determined
by dividing the floor area by the lot area.
An attached or detached building used or designed to be used
for the storage of vehicles.
Garbage, refuse, or sludge from an industrial or other wastewater
treatment plant; sludge from a water supply treatment plant or air
pollution control facility; and other discarded material, including
solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material resulting from
municipal, commercial, industrial, institutional, mining, or agricultural
operations, and from community activities; or a combination of the
above, which because of its quantity, concentration or physical, chemical
or infectious characteristics may do one of the following:
Cause or significantly contribute to an increase
in mortality or increase in morbidity in either an individual or the
total population.
Pose a substantial present or potential hazard
to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored,
transported, disposed of or otherwise managed.
An administrative proceeding conducted by the Borough Council
or the Zoning Hearing Board pursuant to this chapter.
A soil that is saturated, flooded, or ponded long enough
during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions that favor
the growth and regeneration of wetlands vegetation. Wetlands vegetation
are those plant species that have adapted to the saturated soils and
periodic inundations occurring in wetlands. The following soils, classified
in the Soil Survey of Bucks and Philadelphia Counties, Pennsylvania,
An Interim Report, United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation
Service, June 1996, and Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual,
Department of the Army, January 1987, are hydric soils:
Those surfaces that do not absorb water. All buildings, hard-surfaced
parking areas driveways, roads, sidewalks, and any area in concrete,
asphalt, and packed stone shall be considered impervious surfaces
within this definition. In addition, other areas determined by the
Borough Engineer to be impervious within the meaning of this definition
will also be classified as impervious surfaces.
The total area of all impervious surfaces within the site
or lot divided by the base site area.
Natural or artificial bodies of water that retain water year-round.
Artificial ponds may be created by dams, or result from excavation.
Lakes are bodies of water two or more acres in extent. Ponds are bodies
of water less than two acres in extent.
The legal or beneficial owner(s) of land including the holder
of an option or contract to purchase (whether or not such option is
subject to any condition), a lessee if authorized under the lease
to exercise the rights of the landowner, or other person having a
proprietary interest in the land
A liquid waste resulting from the interaction of water or
other liquids with solid waste. Leachate contains dissolved and/or
suspended solid matter.
LOTA parcel of land used or set aside and available for use as the site of one or more buildings and building accessory, or for any other purpose, in one ownership, and not divided by a street, nor including any land within the right-of-way of a public or private street upon which said lot abuts, even if the ownership to such way is in the owner of the lot. A lot for the purpose of this chapter may or may not coincide with a lot of record.
CORNER LOTA lot which has an interior angle of less than 135º at the intersection of two right-of-way 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 right-of-way lines intersect at an angle of less than 135º.
THROUGH LOTAn interior lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets.
DEPTH OF LOTThe mean distance from the right-of-way 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 right-of-way.
LOT LINEAny boundary line of a lot including a public right-of-way line.
REAR LOT LINEAny lot line that is parallel to or within 45º of being parallel to a right-of-way except for a lot line that is itself a legal right-of-way line, and except that in the case of a corner lot the owner shall have the option of choosing which of the two lot lines that are not legal right-of-way lines is to be considered a rear lot line. In the case of a lot having no right-of-way frontage or a lot of an odd shape, only the one lot line farthest from any legal right-of-way shall be considered a rear lot line.
SIDE LOT LINEAny lot line that is not a legal right-of-way line nor a rear lot line.
FRONT LOT LINEOrdinarily the street line except in the circumstances where a lot is bounded by streets on more than one side, in which case all street lines would be regarded as front lot lines.
A factory-built home that is manufactured under the authority
of 42 U.S.C. § 540, of the National Manufactured Home Construction
and Safety Standards Act, is transportable in one or more sections,
is built on a permanent chassis, and is used as a place of human habitation,
but is not constructed with a permanent hitch other than for the purpose
of delivery to a permanent site and does not have wheels or axles
permanently attached to its body or frame.
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 is constructed so that it may be used without a permanent foundation.
For the purposes of this chapter, any mobile home shall be considered
a detached dwelling unit and as such shall be subject to all applicable
regulations in this chapter or other Borough ordinances.
A parcel of land improved with the necessary utility connections
and other appurtenances necessary for the erection thereon of a single
mobile home.
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land under single ownership
which has been so planned and improved for the placement of mobile
homes of nontransient use, consisting of two or more mobile home lots.
Any garbage, refuse, industrial, lunchroom, or office waste
and other material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained
gaseous material, resulting from operation of residential, municipal,
commercial or institutional establishments and from community activities
and any sludge not meeting the definition of "residual waste" or "hazardous
waste" in the Solid Waste Management Act[3] from a municipal, commercial or institutional water supply
treatment plant, wastewater treatment plant, or air pollution control
facility. The term does not include source-separated recyclable materials.
The area remaining within the property lines after the required open space is subtracted from the base site area. The net buildable site area is the area which may be built upon and shall be used to calculate site capacity under the provisions of § 185-44.
A structure or lot that does not conform to a dimensional
regulation prescribed by this chapter for the district in which it
is located or to regulations for signs, off-street parking or buffering,
but which structure or lot:
A use, whether of land or structure that does not comply
to a use regulation prescribed by this chapter for the district in
which it is located but where such use was lawfully in existence prior
to the enactment of this chapter or amendment or its location by reason
of annexation.
(See § 185-29A.)
(See "landowner.")
A portion of a lot area containing three or more off-street
parking spaces and having direct access to a street.
A portion of a lot area designed for the primary use of the
temporary storage of an automobile.
A wall on an interior lot line used or a wall adapted for
joint service between two buildings.
Includes:
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Borough
Council or the Planning Commission, intended to inform and obtain
public comment, prior to taking action in accordance with the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247 of 1968 as amended by Act 170
of 1988).[4]
Notice published once each week for two successive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Borough. 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.[5]
Any portable or mobile vehicle used or designed to be used
for travel, recreation and/or living purposes and with it wheels,
rollers, or skids in place. A camper, sleigh, golf cart, boat, boat
trailer, airplane or other similar vehicle providing partial and usually
temporary living and sleeping quarters that may or may not include
kitchen and bathroom conveniences.
The collection, separation, recovery, and sale as a raw material,
or reuse of metals, glass, paper, plastics, and other materials that
would otherwise be disposed or processed as municipal waste.
Any garbage, refuse, other discarded material or other waste
including solid, semisolid (not greater than 20% liquid), or contained
gaseous materials resulting from industrial, mining, and agricultural
operations and any sludge from an industrial, mining, or agricultural
water supply treatment facility, wastewater treatment facility, or
air pollution control facility, provided that it is not hazardous.
A processing facility that provides for the
extraction and utilization of materials or energy from municipal waste.
The term includes a facility that mechanically
extracts materials from municipal waste, a combustion facility that
converts the organic fraction of municipal waste into a fuel product.
The term includes a facility for the combustion
of municipal waste that is generated off-site, whether or not the
facility is operated to recover energy.
The term includes land affected during the lifetime
of operations, including, but not limited to, areas where processing
activities actually occur, support facilities, borrow areas, offices,
equipment shed, air and water pollution control and treatment system,
access roads, associated on-site or contiguous collection transportation
and storage facilities, closure and post-closure care and maintenance
activities, and other activities in which the natural land surface
has been disturbed as a result of or incidental to operation of the
facility.
The term does not include:
A composting facility;
Methane gas extraction from a municipal waste
landfill;
A separation and collection enter, dropoff point
or collection center for recycling, or a source-separation or collection
center for composting leaf waste; and
A facility, including all units in the facility,
with a total processing capacity of less than 50 tons per day.
RIGHT-OF-WAYLand set aside for use as a street, alley or other means of travel, either existing right-of-way or future right-of-way when established.
EXISTING RIGHT-OF-WAYThe legal right-of-way as established by the commonwealth or other appropriate governing authority and currently in existence.
FUTURE RIGHT-OF-WAYThe right-of-way deemed necessary to provide adequate width for future street improvements.
RIGHT-OF-WAY LINESThe lines that form the boundaries of the right-of-way.
A person occupying any room or group of rooms forming a single
habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and sleeping,
but not for cooking and eating purposes, and paying compensation for
lodging or board and lodging by prearrangement for a week or more
at a time to an owner or operator. Any person occupying such room
or rooms and paying such compensation without prearrangement or for
less than one week at a time shall be classified for purposes of this
chapter not as a roomer, boarder or lodger, but as a guest of a commercial
lodging establishment (motel, hotel, tourist home).
The method by which a view of one site from another adjacent
site is shielded, concealed, or hidden. Screening techniques include
fences, walls, hedges, berms, or other features.
A community center for the elderly offering social and recreational
activities. The center may include facilities for lectures, arts and
crafts, and special events.
The required horizontal distance between a setback line and
a property or street line.
A line within a property and parallel to a property or street
line which delineates the minimum distance that must be provided between
a structure or building and an adjacent street line and/or property
line.
PUBLIC SEWERAny municipal or privately owned sewer system in which sewage is collected from buildings and piped to an approved disposal plant or central septic tank disposal system. It may also be referred to as "off-lot" or "off-site" sewer.
PRIVATE SEWERAn "on-lot" septic tank disposal system generally providing for disposal of effluent for only one building or a group of buildings on a single lot.
The length of a street, measured along the center line, which
is continuously visible from any point 3.75 feet above the center
line to the top of an object six inches high above the pavement.
Any permanent or temporary structure or part thereof, or
any device attached, painted, or represented directly or indirectly
on a structure or other surface that shall display or include any
letter, word, insignia, flag or representation used as, or which is
in the nature of an advertisement, announcement, visual communication,
direction, or which is designed to attract the eye, or bring the subject
to the attention of the public.
Area of signs.
The area of a sign shall be construed to include
all lettering, wording, and accompanying designs and symbols, together
with the background, whether open or enclosed, on which they are displayed
(but not including any supporting framework and bracing which are
incidental to the display itself).
Where the sign consists of individual letters
or symbols attached to a building, wall, or window, the area shall
be considered to be that of the smallest rectangle or other regular
geometric shape which encompass all of the letters and symbols.
In computing square-foot area of a double-face
sign, only one side shall be considered, provided both faces are identical.
If the interior angle formed by the two faces of the double-faced
sign is greater than 45º, then both sides of such sign shall
be considered in calculating the sign area.
Illumination of signs.
DIRECTLY ILLUMINATED SIGNA sign designed to give forth artificial light directly (or through transparent or translucent material) from a source of light within such sign, including but not limited to neon and exposed lamp signs. Festoon lighting is a directly illuminated sign composed of either:
INDIRECTLY ILLUMINATED SIGNA sign illuminated with a light so shielded that no direct rays therefrom are visible elsewhere on the lot where said illumination occurs. If such shielding device is defective, such sign shall be deemed to be a directly illuminated sign.
FLASHING SIGNAn illuminated sign on which the artificial light is not maintained stationary and constant in intensity and color at all times when in use.
NONILLUMINATED SIGNA sign which is not illuminated either directly or indirectly.
Location of signs.
ON-PREMISES SIGNA sign which advertises or otherwise directs attention to an activity conducted on the same lot.
ADVERTISING SIGNAn off-premises sign which advertises or otherwise directs attention to a commodity, business, industry, home occupation, or other similar activity which is sold, offered, or conducted elsewhere than on the lot upon which such sign is located.
BUSINESS SIGNAn on-premises sign which advertises or otherwise directs attention to a business, commodity, service, industry, or other activity which is sold, offered, or conducted other than incidentally on the premises upon which such sign is located, or to which it is affixed.
Types of signs (construction).
FREESTANDING SIGNA self-supporting sign resting on or supported by means of poles or standards either on the ground or on the roof of a building. The height of freestanding signs on the ground shall be measured from the curb level.
PARALLEL SIGNA sign mounted parallel to a wall or other vertical building surface. Parallel signs shall not extend beyond the edge of any wall or other surface to which they are mounted; or shall not project more than eight inches from its surface.
PROJECTING SIGNAny sign mounted to a wall or other vertical building surface other than a parallel sign. Projecting signs shall not project more than four feet from the wall or surface to which they are mounted nor in any way interfere with normal pedestrian or vehicular traffic.
NONSTATIONARY SIGNA sign which, by means of some mechanical device, changes its position constantly or at regular intervals by rotating around an axis or shifting in horizontal or vertical alignment.
Interior property parking and traffic control
signs not visible from the public right-of-way and not exceeding four
square feet;
Special information signs including "men," "women,"
"rest rooms," "credit cards accepted," and "hours of operation" signs
if such signs do not exceed two square feet;
A sign with an area not exceeding one square-foot
bearing only property number, street address, post box numbers of
the names of the occupants in residence;
A sign which is a permanent architectural feature
of a building or structure such as a cornerstone;
Traditional barber poles, defined as poles not
exceeding three feet and height and located on the same premises as
the barbershop advertised;
The legal display of the flag of the United
States of America, the flag of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or
the flag of any recognized governmental authority;
A governmental insignia, public monument, historic
identification sign or plaque, and state or municipal highway safety
signs and identification signs;
Holiday decorations;
Legal notices.
TEMPORARY SIGNA type of nonpermanent sign that is located on private property.
[Added 12-1-2015 by Ord.
No. 373]
A parcel or parcels of land intended to have one or more
buildings or intended to be subdivided into one or more lots.
Any waste, including but not limited to, municipal, residual
or hazardous wastes, including solid, semisolid (not greater than
20% liquid), or contained gaseous materials:
MUNICIPAL WASTEAny garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom or office waste and other material including solid, semisolid (not greater than 20% liquid) or contained gaseous material resulting from the operation of residential, municipal, commercial or institutional establishments and from community activities and any sludge not meeting the definition of residual or hazardous waste hereunder from a municipal, commercial or institutional water supply treatment plant, wastewater treatment plant, or air pollution control facility.
A use to be granted or denied a zoning permit by the Zoning
Hearing Board on the basis of the standards and criteria specified
in this chapter for the use in question and on the general standards
included in this chapter. Special exceptions may not be granted for
uses other than those expressly stated in this chapter.
Areas where the average slope exceeds 15% or greater which
because of slope are subject to high rates of stormwater runoff, and
therefore are subject to erosion and flooding.
That part of a building located between a floor and the floor
or roof above. The first story of a building is the lowest story having
75% or more of its wall area above grade level. A "half-story" is
a story under a gable, hip or gambrel roof, the wall plates of which
on at least two opposite exterior walls are not more than two feet
above such story.
Includes street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway,
parkway, lane, alley, viaduct, and any other ways used or intended
to be used by vehicular traffic or pedestrians whether public or private.
Streets are further classified as follows:
PRINCIPAL ARTERIAL HIGHWAYSProvide 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.
MINOR ARTERIAL STREETSProvide greater emphasis on land access with a lower level of travel mobility than on principal arterials; include most bus routes not on principal arterials; serve larger schools, industries, hospitals, plus small commercial areas not incidentally served by principal arterials.
COLLECTOR STREETSProvide minimal emphasis on travel mobility, low travel speeds, full land access; penetrate neighborhoods to distribute or collect trips that serve minor travel generators such as local elementary schools, small individual industrial plants, office, commercial and warehouse locations not served by principal or minor arterials.
LOCAL STREETSCompose all remaining urban 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.
PAPER STREETA street that has never been built, shown on an approved plan, subdivision plot, tax maps, or official map.
PRIMARY STREETDesigned to provide access to abutting properties and carry traffic from secondary streets to collector streets.
SECONDARY STREETDesigned primarily to provide access to abutting properties.
MARGINAL ACCESS STREETA secondary street that is parallel to and adjacent to an arterial or collector street; and that provides access to abutting properties and protection from through traffic.
ALLEYA serviceway providing a secondary means for public access to abutting property and not intended for general traffic circulation.
The dividing line between the street and the lot. The street
line shall be the same as the existing established legal right-of-way
in the case of existing streets, but in cases involving proposed streets
the street line shall be the same as the future right-of-way line.
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
Any repair, reconstruction, or improvement to
a building or structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of
the market value of the building or structure either:
For the purpose of this definition, "substantial
improvement" is considered to occur when the first alteration of any
wall, ceiling, floor or other structural part of the building commences,
whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of
the structure. The term does not, however, include either:
Any project for improvements to a structure
to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary or safety
code specifications that are solely necessary to ensure safe living
conditions, or
Any alteration of a structure listed on the
National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic
Places, or a local inventory of historical resources.
A structure (including an antenna, monopoles, and lattice
construction steel structures) used for transmitting or receiving
radio, television, microwave, telephone, or telecommunications signals.
A nonmotorized vehicle designed to be hauled, and used for
such purposes as holding materials, goods, or objects.
A vehicular portable structure built on a chassis designed
as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreation, vacation, and other
short-term uses having a body width not exceeding eight feet and a
body length not exceeding 32 feet.
An area that is radial to the trunk of a tree in which no
construction activity shall occur. The tree protection zone shall
be 15 feet from the trunk of the tree to be retained, or the distance
from the trunk to the dripline, whichever is greater. Where there
is a group of trees or woodlands, the tree protection zone shall be
the aggregate of the protection zones for the individual trees.
USEAny activity, occupation, business or operation carried on, or intended to be carried on, in a building or other structure or on a tract of land.
ACCESSORY USEA use located on the same lot with a principal use, and clearly incidental or subordinate to, and customarily in connection with, the principal use of a building. In buildings restricted to residential use, customary home occupations, when approved by the Zoning Hearing Board, and workshops not conducted for compensation shall be deemed accessory uses.
PRINCIPAL USEThe main use on a lot.
Those services customarily rendered by public utility corporations,
municipalities, or municipal authorities, in the nature of electricity,
gas, telephone, water and sewerage, including the appurtenances used
in connection with the supplying of such services (buildings, wires,
pipes, poles and the like).
Any natural or artificial stream, river, creek, ditch, channel,
canal, waterway, gully or ravine in which water flows in a definite
direction or course, either continuously or intermittently, and has
a defined bed and banks.
A system of piping and appurtenances whether municipally
or privately owned, designed for the transmission and distribution
of safe, potable water from a centralized water supply or source to
residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants, or institutions
(not including individual on-lot wells).
Those areas that are inundated and saturated by surface or
groundwater at a frequency and 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.
One-quarter (1/4) acre or more of wooded land where the largest
trees measure at least six inches in diameter at breast height (dbh)
or 4.5 feet from the ground. The woodland shall be measured from the
dripline of the outer trees. Woodlands are also a grove of trees forming
one canopy where 10 or more trees measure at least 10 inches in diameter
at breast height (dbh).
YARDAn open space unobstructed from the ground up, on the same lot with a structure, extending along a lot line or right-of-way line and inward to the structure. The size of a required yard shall be measured as the shortest distance between the structure and a lot line or right-of-way line.
FRONT YARDA yard between a structure and a right-of-way line and extending the entire length of the right-of-way line. In the case of a corner lot, the yards extending along all rights-of-way are front yards. In the case of a lot other than a corner lot that fronts on more than one street, the yards extending along all rights-of-way are front yards.
REAR YARDA yard between a structure and a rear lot line and extending the entire length of the rear lot line.
SIDE YARDA yard between a structure and a side lot line, extending from the front yard to the rear yard. In the case of a lot having no street frontage or a lot of odd shape, any yard that is not a front yard or a rear yard shall be considered a side yard.
