The following words and phrases shall have the particular meaning
specified for the purpose of interpreting this chapter:
ACCESSORY USE OR STRUCTURE
A use or structure located on the same lot with the principal
use or structure that is subordinate and incidental to the principal
structure or use of the property and which may occupy a separate structure
and/or area on or in the ground, including, but not limited to, storage
sheds, garages, swimming pools, decks, fences, patios and similar
structures.
ADULT ARCADE
Any place where the public is permitted or invited wherein
electronically or mechanically controlled still- or motion-picture
machines, projectors or other image-producing devices are maintained
to show images to five or fewer persons per machine at any one time,
and where the images displayed are sexually explicit or depict nudity
or sexual conduct, as defined herein.
ADULT BOOKSTORE OR VIDEO STORE
An establishment having a substantial or significant portion
of its stock-in-trade consist of video cassettes, movies, books, magazines
and other media which are distinguished or characterized by their
emphasis on matters depicting, describing or relating to nudity or
sexual conduct, as defined herein, or an establishment with a segment
or section devoted to the sale or display of such material.
ADULT BUSINESS
An adult arcade, adult bookstore, adult motel, adult mini
motion-picture theater, adult motion-picture theater, adult news rack,
adult nightclub, body painting studio, bathhouse, escort service,
massage parlor or any other business establishment offering adult
entertainment, as defined herein.
ADULT ENTERTAINMENT
Movies, videos, still or motion pictures, photographs, slides,
films or other visual representations, books, magazines or other printed
material or live dramatic, musical or dance performances which are
sexually explicit or depict nudity or sexual conduct, as defined herein.
ADULT MINI MOTION-PICTURE THEATER
An enclosed building with a capacity for accommodating fewer
than 50 persons used for presenting material distinguished or characterized
by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to nudity
or sexual conduct, as defined herein, for observation by patrons therein.
ADULT MOTEL
A hotel or motel presenting adult motion pictures by means
of closed circuit television, the material being presented having
as a dominant theme or presenting material distinguished or characterized
by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to nudity
or sexual conduct, as defined herein, for observation by patrons therein.
ADULT MOTION-PICTURE THEATER
An enclosed building with a capacity for accommodating 50
or more persons used for presenting materials distinguished or characterized
by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to nudity
or sexual conduct, as defined herein, for observation by patrons therein.
ADULT NEWSRACK
Any machine or device, typically coin-operated, which dispenses
printed material substantially devoted to the depiction of nudity
or sexual conduct, as defined herein.
ADULT NIGHTCLUB
Any nightclub, as defined herein, which offers adult entertainment,
as defined herein.
AGRIBUSINESS
The food and fiber system comprising the economic activities
of the farms and the firms that assemble, process, and transform raw
agricultural commodities into final products for distribution to United
States and foreign consumers, including all economic activity that
supports farm production and the conversion of raw farm products to
consumable goods (for example, machinery repair, fertilizer production,
farming itself, food processing and manufacturing, transportation,
wholesale and retail trade, distribution of food and apparel, wineries
and eating establishments).
AGRICULTURE
Any use of land or structures for the purposes of cultivating
the soil or producing crops and livestock (i.e., farming).
ANIMAL HOSPITAL
An establishment for the medical or surgical treatment of
animals, including the boarding of hospitalized animals. An animal
hospital shall not board or treat exotic animals and shall be subject
to all state and federal regulations.
APPLICANT
Any person, partnership, operator, company, owner, corporation
and its subcontractors and agents who have an interest in real estate
for the purpose of exploring or drilling for, producing or transporting
oil or gas.
AUTOMOBILE SERVICE STATION
Any establishment which provides for one or more of the following
activities:
A.
The servicing of motor vehicles and operations incidental thereto
and limited to one or more of the following activities: the retail
sale of petroleum products; retail sales and installation of automobile
accessories; automobile washing by hand; waxing and polishing of automobiles;
tire changing and repair, excluding recapping; battery service, changing
and replacement, excluding repair and rebuilding; radiator cleaning
and flushing, excluding steam clean and repair; installation of accessories;
and state inspection.
B.
The following operations, if conducted within a completely enclosed
building: lubrication of motor vehicles; replacement of exhaust systems;
brake servicing, limited to servicing and replacement of brake cylinders,
lines and brake shoes; wheel balancing; the testing adjusting and
replacement or servicing of carburetors, filters, generators, points,
rotors, spark plugs, voltage regulators, water and fuel pumps, water
hoses and wiring, provided the major repairs authorized only in a
vehicle repair garage, as defined herein, shall not be permitted.
BAR or TAVERN
A business that sells alcoholic beverages for consumption
on the premises as the principal use and that may offer food for consumption
on the premises as an accessory use.
BASEMENT
That portion of a building below ground level but having
at least 1/2 of its height above the average grade of the adjoining
ground. (See also "cellar.")
BED-AND-BREAKFAST
A dwelling that is the principal residence of the operator
where no more than four sleeping rooms are offered to transient overnight
guests for compensation and where the only meal served and included
with the overnight accommodations is breakfast.
BEEKEEPING
The occupation of owning and keeping bees for their honey.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Practices that are designed to prevent or reduce impacts
caused to air, water, soil or biological resources, and to minimize
adverse impacts to public health, safety and welfare, including to
the environment and wildlife resources, utilizing the best available
technology to the maximum extent possible.
BEVERAGE PRODUCTION
See "brewery," "brewery pub/tap room," "storage facility,"
"limited distillery," "limited winery," "brewed beverage manufacturer."
BILLBOARD
Any off-premises sign with a changeable advertising face
that advertises an establishment, person, activity, product or service
that is unrelated to or not available on the premises on which the
sign is located.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
The Board of Supervisors of Mount Pleasant Township, Washington
County, Pennsylvania.
BOARDING HOUSE
A residential use in which individual rooms are rented that
do not meet the definition of a dwelling unit.
BOARDING STABLE
The keeping of horses and ponies and associated facilities
thereof owned by persons other than the owner of the stable, or the
rental of horses owned by the owner of the stable for a fee or other
form of compensation, that may include training of horses, riding
lessons and riding facilities.
BOAT/RV STORAGE
A fully enclosed structure for the use of storing motorized
or non-motorized watercraft and/or recreational vehicles where such
structure meets the applicable requirements of the building code and/or
recommendation of the Fire Chief.
BORE HOLES
See "mine portals, ventilating shafts, bore holes and tipples."
BREWED BEVERAGE MANUFACTURER
An establishment which produces brewed and/or malt beverages
for on-site or off-site sale and/or distribution, and which may include
a brewery pub or tap room on the premises, or as otherwise defined
as "manufacturer" by Title 47, the Pennsylvania Liquor Code, as amended.
See "brewery."
BREWERY
A facility which holds a license to manufacture, store and
distribute brewed or malt beverages and which may include a brewery
pub or tap room, as regulated by Title 47, the Pennsylvania Liquor
Code, as amended.
MICRO BREWERY — A brewery producing brewed or malt beverages
in a quantity of 1,000 barrels (US barrels) or less per year.
|
LARGE BREWERY — A brewery producing brewed or malt beverages
in a quantity greater than 1,000 barrels (US barrels) per year.
|
BREWERY PUB/TAP ROOM
A portion of an establishment which holds a brewery license
as regulated by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, which is open
to the public for the sale of brewed and malt beverages for on-site
and/or off-site consumption and which also offers food to patrons,
as regulated by Title 47, the Pennsylvania Liquor Code, as amended.
BUFFER AREA
A landscaped area of a certain depth specified by this chapter
that shall be planted and maintained in trees, grass, ground cover,
shrubs, bushes or other natural landscaping material and shall consist
of a mix of types and sizes of plant material that, within three years
of planting, meets the standard of providing a compact year-round
visual screen at least six feet in height or an existing natural barrier,
such as vegetation and/or topography, that duplicates the effect of
such a planting.
BUILDING
Any structure having enclosed walls and roofs and a permanent
location on the land. (See also "completely enclosed building.")
BUILDING AREA
The total of areas taken on a horizontal plane at the finished
grade level of the principal building and all accessory buildings,
excluding one-story uncovered porches, bay windows, balconies, terraces
and steps.
BUILDING HEIGHT
The vertical distance measured from the average elevation
of the finished grade at the front of the building to the highest
point of the roof for flat roofs, to the decklines of mansard roofs
and to the mean height between eaves and ridge for gable, hip and
gambrel roofs.
BUILDING LINE, FRONT
A line parallel or tangent to the front lot line, the minimum
measurement of which is the front yard depth required by this chapter.
BUILDING SPACING
The minimum distance between two buildings on the same lot,
measured from the outermost wall or projection, excluding bay windows,
chimneys, flues, columns, ornamental features, cornices and gutters
which project beyond the wall of the building no more than two feet.
BUNK HOUSING/BUNK HOUSE
A residential facility designed and intended to be used for
a temporary period of time to house oil and gas exploration-related
workers. Such facility is not intended to accommodate families or
school-aged children. A bunk house may be a travel trailer, camper,
mobile home or a structure manufactured for this particular use.
BUSINESS OR PROFESSIONAL OFFICES
Any office of recognized professions such as doctors, lawyers,
architects, engineers, real estate brokers, insurance agents and others
who, through training, are qualified to perform services of a professional
nature, and other offices used primarily for accounting, correspondence,
research, editing or other administrative functions, but not including
banks or other financial institutions.
BUSINESS SERVICES
Establishments providing services primarily to business establishments
on a fee or contract basis, such as advertising and public relations,
management and consulting services, security and maintenance services,
equipment rental/leasing, and computer and data processing services.
CAR WASH
A facility, whether automatic, semiautomatic or manual, for
the washing and polishing of vehicles.
CARTWAY
That portion of the street right-of-way that is surfaced
for vehicular use, excluding shoulders and curbs.
CELLAR
That portion of a building having 1/2 or more of its height
below the average grade of the adjoining ground. (See also "basement.")
CEMETERY
Property used for interment of dead persons or domestic pets,
including mausoleums, columbariums, crematoriums and family plots
on private property.
CLINIC
Any establishment, including mobile diagnostic units, where
human patients receive medical, dental, chiropractic, psychological
or surgical diagnosis, treatment and counseling under the care of
licensed medical doctors or dentists and their supporting staff, where
said patients are not provided with board or room or kept overnight
on the premises.
COMMUNICATIONS ANTENNA
Any structure designed for transmitting or receiving wireless
communications of video, voice, data, radio and similar transmissions,
including, but not limited to, omnidirectional or whip antennas, directional
or panel antennas and satellite or microwave dish antennas, which
may be mounted on an existing building, an existing public utility
storage or transmission structure or an existing communications tower,
excluding transmission and receiving devices licensed by the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) exclusively for private use by citizens.
COMMUNICATIONS TOWER
Any structure, whether freestanding or attached to a building,
designed to support multiple communications antennas, including monopole,
self-supporting and guyed towers and one or more of the following
mounts for antennas: rotatable platform, fixed platform, multipoint
or sidearm mounts and pipe mounts for microwave dish antennas.
COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE
A system that connects agricultural producers and consumers
by allowing consumers to subscribe to the harvest of a certain farm
or group of farms.
COMPARABLE USES NOT SPECIFICALLY LISTED
Any land use proposed in a zoning district which is similar
in function, nature and form to a use which is currently permitted
by right or by conditional use in the same district.
COMPLETELY ENCLOSED BUILDING
A building designed and constructed so that all exterior
walls shall be solid from the ground to the roofline and containing
no openings except for windows and doors designed so that they may
be closed and any other small openings required for the ventilation
system.
COMPRESSOR
A device that raises the pressure of oil and natural gas
and/or by-products. Compressors are any devices that create a pressure
differential to move or compress a liquid, vapor or gas. Any such
device used alone or in series to adequately move a liquid, vapor
or gas is considered a compressor.
CONCENTRATED FEED LOT
An agricultural operation where farm animals are kept at
a much higher ratio of animals per acre than animals that are pastured
and where such animals are fed a regimented diet until ready for slaughter.
CONDITIONAL USE
A use authorized by this chapter that may be granted only
by the Board of Supervisors following review by the Planning Commission
and a public hearing subject to express standards and criteria contained
in this chapter.
CONSTRUCTION TRAILER, TEMPORARY
A structure designed, used or constructed to provide temporary
offices for construction supervision on the site of an approved subdivision
or land development during the time that a valid building permit or
grading permit is in effect.
CONTRACTING BUSINESS
The administrative offices of a business that provides landscaping,
construction, remodeling, home improvement, land development and related
services on a contractual basis and that may include the storage of
materials, equipment and vehicles, provided that all materials, equipment
and vehicles are stored within a completely enclosed building.
CONTRACTOR'S YARD
An establishment that may or may not include administrative
offices for a business that provides landscaping, construction, remodeling,
home improvement, land development and related services on a contractual
basis but which involves the storage, either indoor or outdoor, of
materials, equipment and vehicles used in the business.
CONVENIENCE STORE
A retail store selling food products and household supplies
for the convenience of the neighboring population.
CORNER LOT
A lot at the intersection of, and fronting on, two or more
street rights-of-way.
CRAFTSMAN
An artisan who practices a trade or handicraft that may involve
the fabricating of finished products from raw materials on a small
scale and does not involve any automated production or a total floor
area devoted to production of more than 5,000 square feet or the employment
of more than five persons.
CREMATORIUM
An establishment containing a furnace designed to cremate
or reduce to ashes human or animal remains of the deceased.
DAY-CARE CENTER
A facility, licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
located within a building that is not used as a dwelling unit, for
the care, during part of a twenty-four-hour-day and on a regular basis,
of children under the age of 16 or handicapped or elderly persons.
DAY-CARE CENTER, INSTITUTIONAL
Any day-care center licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
that is located within a school, place of assembly or other similar
institutional facility.
DISTRIBUTOR
As defined by Title 47, the Pennsylvania Liquor Code, as
amended.
DOMESTIC PETS
Animals or birds customarily found in a dwelling and kept
for company or pleasure, including dogs and cats, provided that there
is not a sufficient number to constitute a kennel, as defined herein;
hamsters, gerbils, parakeets, canaries, and similar small animals
or birds, but not including any exotic animals such as lions, tigers,
bears, ocelots or other feral cats, large or poisonous snakes, alligators,
monkeys or other animals normally found in a zoo, nor any horses,
pigs, chickens or other fowl or livestock customarily found on a farm.
DRIVE-THROUGH FACILITY
Any principal use or accessory use which involves a window,
service lane, bay or other facility where customers are provided services
either inside or outside their vehicles and where cars may or may
not wait in line to access these services, including, but not limited
to, drive-in or drive-through windows at fast-food restaurants, banks
or other businesses, exterior automated teller machines (ATMs), quick
oil change facilities, car washes and similar automotive services
and other such facilities.
DRIVEWAY
A private vehicular way providing access between a street
and a parking area or garage located on a lot.
DRY CLEANER
An establishment for the receiving, pick-up and cleaning
of clothing with the use of solvents rather than water.
DWELLING
A building designed exclusively as living quarters for one
or more families, including single-family, two-family and multifamily
dwellings, but not including hotels, motels or boardinghouses.
DWELLING TYPES
The following dwelling types are included in this chapter:
A.
SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLINGA detached residential building that is the only principal structure on the lot, designed exclusively for occupancy by one family, as defined herein, and containing one dwelling unit.
B.
TWO-FAMILY DWELLINGA residential building that is the only principal structure on the lot, designed exclusively for occupancy by two families living independently of each other, and containing two dwelling units, each with a separate entrance directly to the outside, including double houses and duplexes.
C.
MULTIFAMILY DWELLINGA residential building designed exclusively for occupancy by three or more families living independently of each other and containing three or more dwelling units, including garden apartments and townhouses.
D.
GARDEN APARTMENTA multifamily residential building no more than three stories in height containing three or more dwelling units that share a common entrance to the outside, usually through a common corridor, and that may have other dwelling units above or below them.
E.
GROUP CARE FACILITYA facility licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that provides room and board and specialized services for any number of permanent residents who are not included in the protected classes covered by the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.) and who are in need of supervision and specialized services on a twenty-four-hour basis, including staff qualified by the sponsoring agency who may or may not reside at the facility and who provide health, social and rehabilitative services to the residents. The services shall be provided only by a governmental agency, its licensed or certified agents or any other responsible nonprofit social services corporation, and the facility shall meet all minimum requirements of the sponsoring agency.
F.
PERSONAL CARE BOARDING HOMEA dwelling licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania where room and board is provided to more than three permanent residents, who are not relatives of the operator, and who are mobile or semimobile and require specialized services for a period exceeding 24 consecutive hours in such matters as bathing, dressing, diet and medication prescribed for self-administration, but who are not in need of hospitalization or skilled nursing care or intermediate nursing care.
G.
TOWNHOUSEA multifamily residential building no more than 2 1/2 stories in height that contains at least three, but no more than eight dwelling units, each of which are separated from the adjoining unit or units by a continuous, unpierced vertical wall extending from the basement to the roof, each unit having independent access directly to the outside and having no other units above or below.
H.
TRANSITIONAL DWELLINGA dwelling unit occupied on a permanent basis by persons of any age or condition who have been adjudicated by the criminal court system or on a short-term basis by persons assigned by a court of law or a public, semipublic or nonprofit agency, and managed by a public, semipublic or nonprofit agency responsible for the occupants' care, safety, conduct, counseling and supervision for a specified period of time, including for the purposes of alcoholic recovery, shelters for battered persons and their children, community reentry services following incarceration, prison assignment, house arrest or other court-ordered treatment and other such short-term supervised assignments.
DWELLING UNIT
Two or more rooms designed for or occupied by one family
only and containing sleeping facilities, cooking and food storage
facilities, and, in a separate room, toilet and tub or shower, with
hot and cold water supply, all for the exclusive use of the family
occupying the dwelling unit.
EASEMENT
A grant of the specified use of a parcel of land to the public,
a corporation or a person in which no permanent structures shall be
permitted without the permission of all parties having rights to the
easement.
EDUCATIONAL STUDIO
An establishment that provides training to individuals or
groups in specialized recreational activities or avocations, including,
but not limited to, dance, gymnastics, martial arts, photography,
music, arts and crafts and similar pursuits.
EROSION
The removal of surface materials by the action of natural
elements.
ESSENTIAL SERVICES
The provision by continuous conduit of distribution and collection
systems by public utilities regulated by the Public Utilities Commission
(PUC) or by any agency, franchisee or authority of Mount Pleasant
Township of underground or overhead gas, electric, telephone, steam
or water lines, sewers, fire alarm boxes, traffic signals, hydrants,
cable television (not including towers) and accessories in connection
therewith, reasonably necessary to furnish adequate services within
Mount Pleasant Township to the general public.
FAMILY
An individual, or two or more persons related by blood, marriage,
adoption or foster child care, including domestic servants or gratuitous
guests thereof; or a group of not more than three unrelated persons
living together without supervision in a dwelling unit; or a group
of not more than eight persons protected by the provisions of the
Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq., as now or hereafter
amended) living together in a group living arrangement with supervision,
provided that those persons do not have a criminal record. "Family"
shall not include persons living together in a group care facility,
personal care boarding home or transitional dwelling, as defined herein,
or any other supervised group living arrangement for persons other
than those protected by the Fair Housing Act, or persons who constitute
a direct threat to others or their physical property.
FAMILY DAY-CARE HOME
A facility licensed or approved by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
as required by the laws of the Commonwealth, located within a dwelling,
for the care on a regular basis during part of a twenty-four-hour-day
of not more than six children under 16 years of age, including care
provided to children who are relatives of the provider where such
use shall be secondary to the use of the dwelling for living purposes.
FAMILY PLOT
Any property used for interring dead persons or domestic
pets, the use of which is restricted to the members of a family, and
which is owned and operated by the members of that family.
FARM
A site of 10 acres or more used for the pursuit of agriculture,
as defined herein.
FARM CAFE
An eating establishment that prepares and serves food grown
on-site and within Region 5 as defined by the Pennsylvania Department
of Agriculture. The principal objective of a farm cafe is to support
local agriculture, to provide alternatives to the conversion of farmland
through sustainable rural economic development and to empower farmers
to undertake entrepreneurial endeavors which augment, support and
highlight local agriculture.
FARM CAMP
The hosting of day and overnight events for students and/or
other guests for farm education.
FARM MARKET
The offering for sale of fresh and packaged agricultural
products directly to the consumer at an open-air market and/or a combination
of enclosed and open-air facilities.
FARM STAND
A temporary structure from which fresh agricultural produce
is sold.
FARM STRUCTURES, TRADITIONAL-SCALE
Buildings and facilities 25,000 square feet or less in area
that are typically used for farm-related activity and found on land
designated for such.
FENCE or WALL
A structure designed for the purpose of enclosing space or
separating parcels of land. The term "fence or wall" shall not include
retaining walls that are designed and approved in accordance with
the Township Grading Ordinance.
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION
A bank, savings and loan association or similar institution
that lends money or is engaged in a finance-related business.
FLOODPLAIN
Areas adjoining any rivers, streams, ponds or lakes subject
to the 100-year recurrence-interval flood as delineated by the United
States Army Corps of Engineers or subject to erosion caused by a 100-year
recurrence-interval flood, as well as any such areas identified in
the future by an expert experienced in the preparation of hydrological
studies and the determination of flood lines, subject to the review
and approval of a professional engineer selected by the Township.
FOOD STORE
A retail establishment that has a gross floor area of no
more than 10,000 square feet and that sells specialty or gourmet food
items or meats and groceries that are packaged and that may or may
not be available for consumption on the premises.
FORESTRY
The management of forests and timberlands when practiced
in accordance with accepted silvicultural principles, through the
development, cultivation, harvest, transport and selling of trees
for commercial purposes, and that does not involve any land development.
FUNERAL HOME
A building used for the embalming of the deceased for burial,
but not including cremation, and for the display of the deceased and
for the holding of ceremonies connected therewith before burial or
cremation.
GARAGE, PRIVATE
An accessory structure or a portion of the principal building,
enclosed on not less than three sides and not accessible to the general
public, designed or used for the shelter or storage of private vehicles
and personal property of the occupants of the principal building.
GARAGE, PUBLIC PARKING
A building other than a private garage containing two or
more parking spaces accessible to the general public, and used for
the storage or parking of motor vehicles, or where such vehicles are
kept for remuneration, hire or sale, but not including the repair
of vehicles or the storage of dismantled or wrecked motor vehicles,
or other such items found in a junkyard, as defined by this chapter.
GARDEN NURSERY
A retail establishment that sells flowers, plants, trees
and other natural flora and products that aid their growth and care
and that may include a greenhouse or the growing of plant material
outside on the lot.
GOLF COURSE
A recreational facility that has a course, with a minimum
of nine regulation-size holes, for playing golf as its principal use
and that may have a clubhouse, locker rooms, restaurant, swimming
pool, pro shop, facilities for racquet sports, maintenance facilities
and other similar facilities as accessory uses.
GOLF OR COUNTRY CLUB
A recreational facility operated by a public or private entity
that has as its principal use a golf course, as defined herein, and
that may include one or more of the following accessory uses: a clubhouse
and/or restaurant, locker rooms, pro shops, a swimming pool and facilities
for racquet sports.
GREENHOUSE
The indoor raising of plants, shrubs and trees for sale and
transplantation.
GROCERY STORE
A retail establishment in excess of 10,000 square feet of
gross floor area that primarily sells meat and food products, but
which may also include as accessory uses a pharmacy, a dry cleaner,
a florist, a travel agency, video rental (excluding an adult video
store), banking and copy/fax services.
GROSS FLOOR AREA
The sum of the gross horizontal areas of the floors of a
building as measured between the exterior faces of the walls.
GROUP CHILD-CARE HOME
The care and supervision, for payment and for a period less
than 24 consecutive hours, of up to 11 children who are unrelated
to the occupant of the dwelling. Such home shall be licensed by the
Department of Public Welfare.
HAZARDOUS WASTE
The definition of hazardous waste contained in Title 25,
Chapter 261a, Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste, of the
Pennsylvania Statutes, is hereby adopted by reference.
HEIGHT OF STRUCTURE
The vertical distance measured from the average elevation
of the finished grade around the structure to the highest point on
the structure.
HOME OCCUPATION
An accessory use of a service character, other than a no-impact
home-based business, in which the business or service is conducted
entirely within a dwelling by the residents thereof, and which is
clearly secondary to the use of the dwelling for living purposes and
does not, in any way, change the character of the dwelling.
HOSPITAL
An establishment licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
for the care of human patients suffering from physical or mental illnesses,
and that may or may not include facilities for major surgery and that
may be publicly or privately operated.
HOTEL, MOTEL or INN
An establishment, other than a bed-and-breakfast, as defined
herein, that offers transient overnight lodging accommodations to
the general public and that also may provide additional supporting
services such as restaurants, meeting rooms, recreation facilities
and living quarters for a resident manager or proprietor.
HOUSE GUEST
A temporary occupant of a short-term-rental living quarter
and/or meeting room(s) within a dwelling unit.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE
Surfaces with a coefficient of runoff greater than 0.85,
including all buildings, parking areas, driveways, streets, sidewalks
and areas paved in concrete and asphalt and any other areas determined
by the Township Engineer to be impervious within the meaning of this
definition.
INDOOR AMUSEMENT
A theater, arena, bowling alley, pool hall, skating rink
or similar cultural or recreational facility located within a completely
enclosed building, excluding those facilities that are accessory to
a place of assembly or school.
JUNKYARD
Any premises devoted wholly or in part to storing, buying
or selling, salvaging, recycling or otherwise handling or dealing
in scrap metals, building materials, scrapped or used appliances or
other household goods, fixtures, vehicles and vehicle parts, machinery
and machinery parts or other forms of discarded materials.
KENNEL
Any premises wherein dogs are kept for the purpose of breeding,
hunting, training, renting, research or vivisection, purchase, boarding,
sale, show or any other similar purpose constructed so that dogs cannot
stray therefrom, subject to regulation by the Pennsylvania Department
of Agriculture under Act No. 1996-151, as now or hereafter amended.
LAKES AND PONDS
Natural or artificial bodies of water that retain water year-round.
Artificial ponds may be created by dams or result from excavation.
The shoreline of such bodies of water shall be measured from the maximum
condition rather than permanent pool if there is any difference. Lakes
are bodies of water two or more acres in surface area; ponds are bodies
of water less than two acres in surface area.
LAND DEVELOPMENT
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots,
tracts or parcels for any purpose involving:
A.
A group of two or more residential or nonresidential buildings,
whether proposed initially or cumulatively; or
B.
A single nonresidential building on a lot or lots regardless
of the number of occupants or tenure, including any change of use
or structural alteration that results in an increase in total lot
coverage by structures and/or paving of 5,000 square feet or more;
or
C.
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.
LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN
A plan prepared in accordance with the application requirements of Chapter
178, Subdivision and Land Development, for approval of a land development, as defined herein.
LANDFILL
Any site licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection (PA DEP) for the disposal of solid waste, other than hazardous
waste, as defined and regulated by federal statute.
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.
LANDSCAPING PLAN
A plan prepared by a person knowledgeable in the characteristics
of plant materials and the proper techniques for installing and maintaining
them, including a registered architect or landscape architect or a
member of the American Nurserymen's Association, identifying
each tree and shrub by size, type and scientific name; the location
of each, including a planting diagram; and such other diagrams or
reports as are necessary to show the method of planting, staking and
mulching, grass seeding specifications and mixtures and existing trees
to be preserved, if any.
LANDSLIDE SUSCEPTIBILITY
Areas of moderate to high susceptibility to land sliding
produced by the influence of natural and/or man-made activity.
LAUNDROMAT
A business establishment equipped with a number of individual
clothes-washing machines and clothes dryers and that may include individual
dry-cleaning machines for use by the general public, excluding laundry
facilities provided as an accessory use in a multifamily residential
building.
LIGHT MANUFACTURING
The processing, fabrication, treatment, or assembly of materials,
raw or otherwise, or the manufacturing of products that may or may
not require additional processing, fabrication, treatment, or assembly
and that may or may not be for ultimate use by the consumer (i.e.,
"light industrial").
LIMITED DISTILLERY
An establishment licensed by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control
Board to operate a distillery that shall not exceed production of
100,000 gallons of distilled liquor per year, or as otherwise defined
by Title 47, the Pennsylvania Liquor Code, as amended.
LIMITED WINERY
An establishment licensed by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control
Board to operate a winery that shall not exceed production of 200,000
gallons of wine per year, or as otherwise defined by Title 47, the
Pennsylvania Liquor Code, as amended.
LIVESTOCK
Any member of the bovine or equine species, including, but
not limited to, cows, steers, horses, ponies, llamas, alpacas, sheep,
goats and pigs, and chickens and other fowl customarily found on a
farm.
LOT
A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by
a plat or otherwise as permitted by law to be used, developed or built
upon as a unit.
LOT AREA
The total area within the lot lines, excluding the area within
any street right-of-way.
LOT COVERAGE
That percentage of the lot area covered by the principal
building or buildings and all accessory buildings and structures,
including, but not limited to, decks, swimming pools, storage sheds,
garages and similar structures.
LOT FRONTAGE
That portion of the lot that adjoins the street right-of-way
or through which access is provided to a public street.
LOT LINE
A line of record bounding a lot that divides one lot from
another lot or from a public or private street or other public space.
LOT LINE, FRONT
That lot line that is contiguous with the street center line
or the street right-of-way line. In the case of a lot that has no
frontage on a street, the front lot line shall be the lot line through
which vehicular access is provided, regardless of which direction
the dwelling faces.
LOT LINE, REAR
That lot line that is generally opposite the front lot line.
LOT LINE, SIDE
Any lot line that is not a front lot line or rear lot line.
LOT OF RECORD
Any lot that, individually, or as part of a subdivision,
has been recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of Washington
County.
LOT WIDTH
The straight line distance between the points of intersection
of the front building line with the side lot lines.
LOT, DEPTH OF
The average distance from the street right-of-way line to
its opposite rear lot line, generally measured parallel to the side
lot lines.
MACHINE SHOP
A work shop where a machinist fabricates, assembles or repairs
parts and/or equipment.
MEDIATION
A voluntary negotiating process in which parties to a dispute
mutually select a neutral mediator to assist them in jointly exploring
and settling their differences, culminating in a written agreement
that the parties themselves create and consider acceptable.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Marijuana for certified medical use as legally permitted
by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with Act 16.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY
A business establishment, corporation, partnership, association,
trust or other entity, or combination thereof, which holds a permit
issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to dispense medical
marijuana.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA GROWER/PROCESSOR
A business establishment, corporation, partnership, association,
trust or other entity, or combination thereof, which holds a permit
issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to grow and process
medical marijuana.
MINE PORTALS, VENTILATING SHAFTS, BORE HOLES AND TIPPLES
Support facility required for and used only in connection
with an underground coal mine to enter an underground coal mine; supply
air or power to the underground coal mine; ventilate air or gas from
the underground coal mine including the use of fans and fan buildings;
remove water from the underground coal mine; and remove coal from
the underground coal mine.
MINE WASTE DISPOSAL AREA
A facility permitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection (PA DEP) to receive materials remaining after underground
mining activities.
MINERAL EXTRACTION
Any extraction of any mineral for sale or other commercial
purpose that involves removal of the surface of the earth or exposure
of the mineral or subsurface of the earth to wind, rain, sun or other
elements of nature, including mining activities carried out beneath
the surface of the earth by means of shafts, tunnels or other underground
mine openings. The term "mineral" includes, but is not limited to,
anthracite and bituminous coal, lignite, limestone and dolomite, sand,
gravel, rock, stone, earth, slag, ore, vermiculite, clay and other
mineral sources.
MINI-WAREHOUSE or SELF-STORAGE FACILITY
A building or group of buildings in a controlled-access and
fenced compound that contains various sizes of individual, compartmentalized
and controlled-access stalls and/or lockers leased to the general
public for a specified period of time for the storage of personal
property.
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, that arrives at a site complete and ready for
occupancy except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembling
operations and that is constructed so that it may be used without
a permanent foundation.
MOBILE HOME LOT
A parcel of land in a mobile home park improved with the
necessary utility connections and other appurtenances necessary for
the erection thereon of a single mobile home.
MOBILE HOME PARK
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land that has been so designated
and improved that it contains two or more mobile home lots for the
placement thereon of mobile homes.
MUNICIPAL FACILITY
Buildings, structures and land uses owned and occupied by
Mount Pleasant Township or any of its agencies and used to provide
services to the residents of the Township. Municipal facilities may
include, but are not limited to, Township administrative offices,
public works buildings, storage yards, libraries, fire company buildings,
senior centers and recreation facilities and buildings.
NIGHTCLUB
A restaurant, or portion thereof, or any other establishment
serving food and/or drink, whether or not the consumption of alcoholic
beverages is permitted or allowed on the premises, that offers on
a monthly or more frequent basis live entertainment on a stage or
bandstand and/or dancing to music, either live or recorded, and that
has a maximum permitted occupancy as authorized by the Township Building
Code of 50 or more persons.
NO-IMPACT HOME-BASED BUSINESS
A business or commercial activity administered or conducted
as an accessory use to a dwelling that is clearly secondary to its
principal use as a residential dwelling and that involves no customer,
client or patient traffic, whether vehicular or pedestrian, or pickup,
delivery or removal functions to or from the premises in excess of
those normally associated with residential use.
NONCONFORMING LOT
Any lot, the area or dimension of which was lawful prior
to the adoption or amendment of this chapter, that fails to conform
to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located
by reasons of such adoption or amendment.
NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE
A structure or part of a structure that does not comply with
the applicable area and bulk provisions of this chapter or any amendment
heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such structure lawfully existed
prior to the enactment of this chapter or an amendment thereto or
prior to the application of this chapter or amendment to its location
by reason of annexation. Such nonconforming structures include, but
are not limited to, nonconforming signs.
NONCONFORMING USE
A use, whether of land or of a structure, that does not comply
with the applicable use provisions in this chapter or any amendment
heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such use was lawfully in existence
prior to the enactment of this chapter or an amendment thereto or
prior to the application of this chapter or amendment to its location
by reason of annexation.
NUDITY
The appearance of a human bare buttock, anus, male or female
genitals or female breast.
NURSING HOME
An institution licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
for the care of human patients requiring skilled nursing or intermediate
nursing care, but not including facilities for major surgery or care
and treatment of drug or alcohol addiction.
OFF-STREET LOADING SPACE
A space not located within any street right-of-way used by
motor vehicles for the temporary storage of trucks and other commercial
vehicles while loading and unloading merchandise or materials.
OFF-STREET PARKING SPACE
A space not located within any street right-of-way used by
motor vehicles for the temporary storage of one motor vehicle.
OFFICES
See "business or professional offices."
OFFICIAL MAP
A map adopted by ordinance according to the procedures outlined in Article
IV of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247, as amended) reserving lands for future taking for public purposes. [Note: See also Official Zoning District Map at Appendix C.]
OIL AND GAS COMPRESSOR STATION
A facility or location that contains a compressor, compressors
and all related components to facilitate the movement of oil and/or
natural gas and/or its by-products through a pipeline.
OIL AND GAS PIPELINES
All parts of those physical facilities through which oil
and/or natural gas moves in transportation, including pipes, valves,
and other appurtenances attached to pipes, compressor units, metering
stations, regulator stations, delivery stations, holders and fabricated
assemblies.
OIL AND GAS PROCESSING FACILITY
A facility that receives oil and/or natural gas and associated
hydrocarbons from a truck, railway car or pipeline system serving
one or more wells, which processes, compresses, condenses, pressurizes,
deals with dew point control or gas-quality-related issues or otherwise
treats oil and/or natural gas to make it suitable for, among other
things, pipeline transmission, or which removes and separates or adds
other materials, products, and impurities to or from the oil or gas,
and which may or may not include compressor stations, cooling facilities,
storage tanks and related equipment and facilities.
OIL AND GAS WELLS
The removal of oil and natural gas resources for sale or
other commercial purposes, including the structures and equipment
necessary to accomplish the removal.
ON-SITE SALES ACCESSORY TO A FARM
The sale of products raised, grown or produced on a farm,
provided that the sales are conducted on the farm property where the
products are raised, grown or produced and that any products sold
that are not raised, grown or produced on the farm shall comprise
less than 50% of the total sales.
OPEN SPACE
An area of land or water on a development site in which no
structures are permitted and which is set aside for the use and enjoyment
of the general public or the owners and tenants of property which
adjoins the open space.
PARKING AREA
A portion of a lot designated for the parking of motor vehicles
in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
PARKING SPACE
A portion of a garage or parking area designated for the
parking of one motor vehicle in accordance with the requirements of
this chapter.
PERSONAL SERVICES
Any enterprise providing services to a person, his apparel
or his personal effects commonly carried on or about his person, including,
but not limited to, shoe repair, tailoring, clothes cleaning, watch
repair, beauty shops, barbershops and the like.
PHARMACY
A retail business establishment which primarily sells prescription
drugs, patent medicines and surgical and sickroom supplies.
PIPELINE CORRIDOR
The pathway in which the pipelines and facilities of a pipeline
operator are located in the jurisdiction of Mount Pleasant Township,
including public rights-of-way and easements over and through public
or private property.
PLACE OF ASSEMBLY
A building and/or lot designed for the assembly or collection
of persons for civic, political, religious, educational or social
purposes and where recreation, amusement or dining may occur as accessory
activities. A place of assembly does not include a private club.
PLANNED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
An area of land controlled by a landowner to be developed
as a single entity for a number of dwelling units or a combination
of residential and nonresidential uses, the development plan for which
does not correspond in lot size, bulk, type of dwelling unit or use,
density or intensity, lot coverage and required open space to the
regulations otherwise applicable in the zoning district in which it
is located.
PLANNING COMMISSION
The Planning Commission of Mount Pleasant Township, Washington
County, Pennsylvania.
POLLUTION
Man-made or man-induced contamination or other degradation
of the physical, chemical, biological or radiological integrity of
air, water, soil or biological resources.
PRESCHOOL FACILITY
An establishment offering private educational services to
children who are under the minimum age for education in public schools.
PRINCIPAL USE
The primary or predominant use to which the property is or
may be devoted, and to which all other uses on the premises are accessory.
PRIVATE
Owned, operated or controlled by an individual, group of
individuals, association or corporation or not-for-profit and restricted
to members and their guests.
PRIVATE CLUB
Any establishment, other than a sportsmen's club, operated
by a legally-chartered organization for social, recreational, educational,
fraternal or sororal purposes, which is open only to members and their
guests and not to the general public.
PRIVATE STABLE
The keeping of horses and/or ponies for the personal use
and enjoyment of the residents of the lot and which does not involve
any profit-making activity.
PRIVATE STREET
A street, including the entire private right-of-way, which
is privately owned and maintained and which is intended for private
rather than public use.
PROTECTED USE or PROTECTED STRUCTURE
Any habitable structure, religious institution, public building,
health care facility, school, camp or public park. This term shall
not apply to accessory buildings, garages, hangars, or storage buildings.
PUBLIC
Owned, operated or controlled by a federal, state, county
or local government agency.
PUBLIC BUILDING
Any building or habitable structure used or designed and
intended to be used for gathering purposes such as deliberation, entertainment,
amusement, or health care. Public buildings include, but shall not
be limited to, theaters, assembly halls, auditoriums, mortuary chapels,
dance halls, exhibition halls, office buildings, government-use facilities,
gymnasiums, libraries, restaurants, stores and health care facilities.
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" (65 P.S. § 271
et seq.).
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice published once each week for two successive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township to advertise
a public hearing. 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.
PUBLIC PARKING LOT
A parking area on the surface of the ground that is the principal
use on the lot and that may be operated by either a public agency
or private entity, whether for profit or not, and that is available
for use by the general public, usually for a fee.
PUBLIC UTILITY INSTALLATION
Any administrative building, maintenance building, garage
or other structure intended for human occupancy or storage of movable
equipment or any part of the essential public utility installations,
as defined herein, provided by public utilities regulated by the Public
Utilities Commission (PUC) or any agency, franchisee or authority
of Mount Pleasant Township, which is reasonably necessary to furnish
adequate services to the general public both within Mount Pleasant
Township and outside the Township, including, but not limited to,
long-distance transmission facilities such as electrical power lines
or high-pressure natural gas or petroleum lines, switching facilities,
substations and similar facilities.
RECREATION, COMMERCIAL
An enterprise operated for profit by other than a public
entity, either indoors or outdoors, for the pursuit of sports, recreation
or leisure activities, including, but not limited to such establishments
as miniature golf, golf or batting practice facilities, bowling alleys,
ice or roller rinks, playing fields, racquet clubs, swimming pools,
theaters, dance halls, amusement parks, amphitheaters and other similar
facilities.
RECREATION, NONCOMMERCIAL
An enterprise operated by an individual, association or corporation,
other than a public entity, whether or not for profit, and whether
or not the facilities are advertised to the general public, for the
pursuit of sports, recreation or leisure activities, the use of which
is limited to members and their guests, including, but not limited
to such establishments as country clubs, golf courses, sportsmen's
clubs, golf practice facilities, playing fields, tennis or racquet
clubs, swimming pools and other similar facilities.
RECREATION, PUBLIC
An enterprise other than a municipal facility, as defined
herein, operated by a public entity and available to the general public,
whether or not an admission fee is charged, including either indoor
or outdoor facilities for the pursuit of sports, recreation or leisure
activities, including, but not limited to, parks, playgrounds, playing
fields, golf courses, golf or batting practice facilities, ice rinks,
tennis courts, swimming pools and other similar facilities.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A single-axle or multiple-axle structure mounted on wheels
or otherwise capable of being made mobile, either with its own motive
power or designed to be mounted on or drawn by an automotive vehicle,
for the purpose of travel, camping, vacation and recreational use,
including, but not limited to, travel trailers, mobile homes, motor
homes, tent trailers, boats, boat trailers, pickup campers, horse
trailers, snowmobiles, motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles.
RENTAL HOUSING EXCHANGE POLICY
A web- or non-web-based application or similar platform,
including real estate agent(s), that mediates the short-term rental
of living quarters and/or meeting rooms within a dwelling unit for
a set or negotiated price.
REPAIR GARAGE
A building, or part thereof, used for the servicing and repair
of motor vehicles, including engine overhaul, body work and recapping/retreading
of tires and where all storage of parts and dismantled vehicles and
all repair work are conducted entirely inside a completely enclosed
building, as defined by this chapter.
REPAIR SHOP
A service establishment providing maintenance and repairs
of items that can be carried in by hand, including personal effects
(such as jewelry, watches and bicycles), small household appliances,
office equipment, small gasoline engines and other similar items,
but not including repair of large appliances, motorized vehicles or
heavy equipment.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Any establishment, including laboratories, that carries on
investigation in the natural, physical or social sciences or engineering
and development as an extension of such investigation, with the objective
of creating end products and which may include supporting storage
and transportation facilities.
RESIDUAL WASTE
Garbage, refuse, other discarded material or other waste,
including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous materials
resulting from industrial, mining, drilling or agricultural operations
and sludge from an industrial, mining or agricultural water supply
treatment facility, wastewater treatment facility or air pollution
control facility, if it is not hazardous.
RESTAURANT
An establishment that offers food and beverages for sale
and consumption either on or off the premises as the principal use
and that may serve alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises
as an accessory use.
RETAIL BUSINESS
The sale on the premises of commodities and/or services directly
to consumers, but not including the manufacturing or processing of
any products.
RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS, AGRICULTURE-SUPPORTED
A commercial enterprise that provides goods and/or services
in which the majority of the customer base consists of non-public
agriculture-business-to-farm or business-to-business relationships.
RIDING ACADEMY
An establishment where instruction in riding, jumping and
showing is offered for a fee and where horses may be hired for riding.
A riding academy may also include a boarding stable, as defined herein.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
An area of land reserved or dedicated for public purposes
to provide access across private property.
SANITARY SEWER, PRIVATE
An on-lot disposal system providing for the disposal of effluent
for one building and its accessory building on a single lot, subject
to the approval of the Washington County Sewage Council.
SANITARY SEWER, PUBLIC
Any municipal or privately-owned sewer system in which sewage
is collected from more than one lot and piped to an approved sewage
disposal plant or approved community treatment system, including capped
sewers which are installed to Township specifications.
SCHOOL, COMMERCIAL
A privately operated, for-profit establishment providing
technical or skilled training or vocational or trade educational courses
and programs.
SCHOOL, PRIVATE OR PUBLIC
An accredited institution of learning which offers elementary-
and secondary-level instruction in the several branches of learning
required by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or which offers associate,
bachelor or higher degrees.
SEASONAL RESIDENCE
A dwelling with a permanent foundation that is occupied by
its owner for no more than six months of the calendar year.
SERVICE STATION
A.
The servicing of motor vehicles and operations incidental thereto
and limited to one or more of the following activities: the retail
sale of petroleum products; retail sales and installation of automotive
accessories; automobile washing by hand; waxing and polishing of automobiles;
tire changing and repairing, excluding recapping; battery service,
changing and replacement, excluding repair and rebuilding; radiator
cleaning and flushing, excluding steam cleaning and repair; installation
of accessories; and state inspection; and/or
B.
The following operations, if conducted within a completely enclosed
building as defined by this chapter: lubrication of motor vehicles;
replacement of exhaust systems; brake servicing limited to servicing
and replacement of brake cylinders, lines and brake shoes; wheel balancing;
testing, adjustment and replacement or servicing of carburetors, filters,
generators, points, rotors, spark plugs, voltage regulators, water
and fuel pumps, water hoses and wiring; and/or
C.
The operation of a convenience food store, provided that retail
sale of petroleum products is a part of the operation.
SEXUAL CONDUCT
Patently offensive representations or descriptions of ultimate
sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, and patently
offensive representations, descriptions or acts of masturbation, excretory
functions, homosexuality, sodomy, sexual intercourse or physical contact
with a person's clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks,
or, if such person be female, breast.
SHOPPING CENTER
A site under one ownership and control which is developed
as a unit for two or more retail businesses in one or more buildings
and designed with shared parking, loading and access facilities.
SHORT-TERM RENTAL
The act of offering temporary living quarters and/or meeting
rooms within a dwelling unit by the owner or lessee for a negotiated
price to a transient person with or without the mediating use of a
rental housing exchange agency.
SIGN
Any structure or device used to attract attention by word
or graphic display.
SIGN, SURFACE AREA OF
The area enclosed by one continuous line connecting the extreme
points or edges of an advertising panel containing letters or the
sum of the areas of each letter, in the case of freestanding letters
that are mounted on a building wall rather than painted on or affixed
to an advertising panel. In the case of freestanding pole or ground
signs, this area shall not include the main supporting sign structure,
but shall include all other ornamental attachments and connecting
features that are not part of the main supports of the sign. In the
case of letters that are painted on or affixed to an awning or canopy
rather than mounted on a wall or affixed to an advertising panel,
the area of the sign shall be the area of the geometric shape formed
by outlining the height and width of all of the letters, including
the space between the individual letters. For two-sided signs, only
one face is counted in computing the surface area.
SILOS
Towers or other structures on a farm used to store grain.
SITE
A tract of land or one or more contiguous lots proposed for
development.
SITE AREA
The total area within the boundary lines of a site proposed
for development, expressed in acres or square feet.
SLAUGHTERHOUSE
An establishment where animals are butchered for human consumption
and where the meat is prepared and packaged for retail or wholesale
sales, including seasonal processing of game animals.
SLOPE
The degree of rise or descent of the land surface calculated
by dividing the number of feet of vertical rise/descent in elevation
by the number of feet of horizontal distance, expressed as a percentage.
SPECIALTY RETAIL
A business located in an existing building that is devoted
to the sale of a small inventory of distinctive, high quality merchandise,
including one or more of the following: apparel and accessory boutique;
art, music or photography studio or gallery; antique or interior design
shop; custom bakery; bookstore; card, gift or stationery store; confectionery;
florist; historic or museum shop; ice cream parlor, jeweler, kitchen
accessory shop; optical shop; newsstand; tobacco shop; travel agency;
wine shop; and other similar specialty shops with small inventories
of distinctive, high quality merchandise.
SPORTS COURT
An accessory use designed for active recreation, including,
but not limited to, basketball and tennis courts, baseball batting
cages, skateboard ramps, trampolines, inflatable structures and other
private recreation structures.
SPORTSMEN'S CLUB
A legally-chartered organization for the pursuit of hunting,
fishing, marksmanship and related activities that may or may not include
a clubhouse and that has a roster of membership and a regular calendar
of activities limited to members and their guests.
STORAGE FACILITY
A portion of a warehouse or a separate structure, owned and
maintained by a person or entity which holds a license that permits
the temporary storage of brewed or malt beverages and which may also
include a brewery pub or tap room, as regulated by Title 47, the Pennsylvania
Liquor Code, as amended.
STORY
That portion of a building included between the surface of
any floor and the surface of the floor next above it, or, if there
is no floor above it, then the space between any floor and the ceiling
next above it, excluding cellars.
STREET
A public or recorded private right-of-way that affords primary
means of vehicular access to abutting property but not including alleys.
STREET LINE
The legal right-of-way line that forms the dividing line
between the street and the lot.
STREET, ARTERIAL
A public street that serves large volumes of high-speed and
long-distance traffic. Streets classified as arterial in the Township
for the purposes of interpreting this chapter are State Route 50,
State Route 18 and State Route 519.
STREET, COLLECTOR
A public street that, in addition to giving access to abutting
lots, intercepts local streets and provides a route for carrying considerable
volumes of local traffic to community facilities and arterial streets.
For the purposes of interpreting this chapter, streets classified
as collector in the Township are Baker Road, Cherry Valley Road, Fort
Cherry Road, Hornhead Road, McCarrell Road, Red Fox Road, Southview
Road, Wabash Road, Walnut Road and Waterdam Road.
STREET, LOCAL
Any public street not defined herein as an arterial or collector
street.
STREET, PUBLIC
A public right-of-way dedicated and open to public use that
has been adopted by the Township, county, commonwealth or other governmental
body.
STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS
A change or rearrangement of the structural parts or in the
exit facilities of a structure, or an enlargement or diminution of
the structure, whether by extending on the side or increasing the
height or depth, or the moving of the structure from one location
or position to another.
STRUCTURE
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or in water, whether or not affixed to the land.
SUBDIVISION
The division of a lot, tract or parcel of land by any means
into two or more lots, tracts or parcels or other division of land,
including any 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.
SWIMMING POOL
Any body of water or receptacle for water having a depth
at any point greater than two feet and a surface area greater than
100 square feet, used or intended to be used for swimming or bathing
and constructed, installed or maintained outside any building.
TANK PAD
An aboveground assembly of fluid storage containers that
are each certified by a nationally recognized testing laboratory or
organization such as the ASA, American Petroleum Institute, ASTM International,
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, or the American Water
Works Association and used to support hydraulic fracturing operations.
Tank pads are permitted as new development or on an existing approved
well pad.
TEMPORARY WATER STORAGE FACILITIES
An aboveground assembly of water storage containers that
are each certified by a nationally recognized testing laboratory or
organization such as the ASA, American Petroleum Institute, ASTM International,
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, or the American Water
Works Association and used intermittently by the Operator (for a period
not to exceed six months in a calendar year) to support water storage
for hydraulic fracturing operations. Temporary water storage facilities
may be permitted as new development or on an existing approved well
pad.
TIPPLES
See "mine portals, ventilating shafts, bore holes and tipples."
TOURISM
An activity or business enterprise not otherwise defined
and regulated by this chapter that attracts and serves people visiting
the area for educational, leisure or vacation purposes directly related
to the available historic, agricultural and recreational resources
of the immediate area, including, but not limited to, bait and tackle
shops, fishing and boating events, campgrounds, demonstration or exhibit
farms, farm stays, nature, game or wildlife preserves, museums, military
or cultural reenactments or encampments, fish hatcheries, worm farms,
seasonal farm festivals, educational activities, country stores, hayrides,
pick-your-own produce and other similar activities or events that
draw people from outside the immediate area. (See also 'bed-and-breakfast', 'sportsmen's
club' and 'commercial recreation' which are not included
in the definition of "tourism" and are regulated separately.)
TOWNHOUSE
See Subsection G under "dwelling types."
TOWNSHIP
Mount Pleasant Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania.
TRAFFIC CONTROL SITES
An area used as a stopping place or assembly point designed
to accommodate trucks during their course of travel to an oil and
gas development. Traffic control sites may be permitted as a new development
or on an existing approved well pad.
TRUCK AND HEAVY EQUIPMENT RENTAL, SALES AND SERVICE
An establishment engaged in the rental, sale and/or service
of vehicles in excess of 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight (GVW)
and/or any other heavy equipment, including but not limited to construction
or farm equipment, whether or not the equipment is classified as a
motor vehicle.
URBAN AGRICULTURE
Small-scale agricultural activities conducted as an accessory
use on a lot in conjunction with an authorized principal use.
USE
The purpose, business or activity for which any land or structure
is utilized.
USE BY SPECIAL EXCEPTION
A use authorized by this chapter that may be granted only
by the Zoning Hearing Board following a public hearing subject to
express standards and criteria contained in this chapter.
VARIANCE
A departure from the specific regulations of this chapter
that may be granted by the Zoning Hearing Board in accordance with
the criteria established by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning
Code [Act 247 of 1968 (53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.), as amended]
for a particular piece of property that, because of special circumstances
applicable to it, cannot be developed in compliance with the literal
terms of this chapter without undue physical hardship.
VEHICLE ACCESSORIES SALES AND INSTALLATION
An establishment engaged in the retail sales and installation
of accessories for trucks, automobiles and motorcycles, including,
but not limited to such items as tires, hubcaps, mirrors, seat covers,
floor mats, tonneau covers, truck caps, windshields, windshield wipers,
trim packages, running boards and the like, but not including any
mechanical parts.
VEHICLE RENTAL, SALES AND SERVICE
The rental, sales and service of automobiles, motorcycles
and trucks under 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight (GVW), but not
including any heavy equipment or any other vehicle or equipment that
is not classified as a "motor vehicle" under the Pennsylvania Motor
Vehicle Code.
VEHICLE REPAIR GARAGE
A building, or part thereof, used for the servicing and repair
of motor vehicles, including engine overhaul, body work and recapping/retreading
of tires and where all storage of parts and dismantled vehicles and
all repair work are conducted entirely inside a completely enclosed
building, as defined by this chapter.
WAREHOUSE
A building used for the storage and handling of freight or
merchandise, but not including the maintenance or fueling of commercial
vehicles. Warehousing that is incidental to retail sales and that
does not constitute in excess of 30% of the total floor area of the
retail establishment shall be excluded from this definition.
WATER IMPOUNDMENT, FRESH
A lined depression, excavation, pit or facility situated
in or upon the ground, whether natural or artificial, used to store
fresh water.
WATER IMPOUNDMENT, WASTE
A lined depression, excavation, pit or facility situated
in or upon the ground, whether natural or artificial, used to store
wastewater, including, but not limited to, brine, fracturing fluid
or residual waste.
WELDING SHOP
A store that sells products from the fabrication or sculptural
process that joins materials by causing fusion.
WHOLESALE BUSINESS
An establishment engaged in selling merchandise to retailers,
other wholesalers or institutional, commercial or professional business
customers rather than to the general public, or acting as a broker
for such merchandise sales.
WIND FARM
An area of land under common ownership and control containing
one or more wind turbines used primarily for generating electricity
to off-site customers, including substations, meteorological towers
to measure wind speed, cables, wires and other accessory structures
and buildings necessary to the operation of the facility.
WIND-ENERGY SYSTEM, SMALL
A wind energy conversion, system consisting of a wind turbine,
a tower and associated control or conversion electronics primarily
for private use to reduce on-site consumption of utility power.
WOODLANDS
Areas, groves or stands of mature or largely mature trees
that are greater than six inches caliper (diameter) at a height of
14 inches above the ground and that cover a land area greater than
0.25 acre; or any grove of more than 10 individual trees that are
mature having a caliper (diameter) greater than 12 inches at a height
of 14 inches above the ground.
YARD
A required open space located on a lot that is unobstructed
by any portion of a principal structure other than certain projections
expressly permitted by this chapter.
YARD, FRONT
A yard extending between side lot lines across the full lot
width from the street right-of-way line to a line parallel to the
front lot line, the minimum horizontal distance between the principal
structure and the front lot line as required by this chapter.
YARD, REAR
A yard extending across the rear of the lot between the required
side yard lines parallel to the rear lot line, the minimum horizontal
distance between the principal structure and the rear lot line as
required by this chapter.
YARD, SIDE
A yard extending from the required front building line to
the rear lot line parallel to the side lot line, the minimum horizontal
distance between the principal structure and the side lot line as
required by this chapter.
ZONING CERTIFICATE
A document signed by the Township Zoning Officer which is
required by this chapter prior to the commencement of a use or the
erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, conversion or
installation of a structure or building.
ZONING DISTRICT
An area accurately defined as to boundaries and location
on the Zoning District Map and within which area only certain types
of land uses are permitted and within which other types of land uses
are excluded, as set forth in this chapter.
ZONING DISTRICT MAP
The official map delineating the zoning districts of Mount
Pleasant Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, together with
all amendments subsequently adopted which is incorporated in and made
a part of this chapter by reference thereto.
ZONING HEARING BOARD
The Zoning Hearing Board of Mount Pleasant Township, Washington
County, Pennsylvania.
ZONING OFFICER
That person appointed by the Mount Pleasant Township Board
of Supervisors and charged with the responsibility of administering
and enforcing this chapter.