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Township of Upper Merion, PA
Montgomery County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (10) Index
[Added 4-11-1977 by Ord. No. 77-371; 6-15-1987 by Ord. No. 87-516; 9-28-1995 by Ord. No. 95-635; 3-25-1999 by Ord. No. 99-681; 12-14-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-759]
A building may be erected, altered or used, and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following uses:
A. 
Single-family detached dwelling unit, single-family semidetached dwelling unit, row house and multiplex dwelling unit.
B. 
Municipal uses.
C. 
Accessory use on the same lot with and customarily incidental to the above permitted uses, including parks, playgrounds, tot-lots, common open space areas, indoor recreation facility, community center or similar use.
D. 
On any lot in any side yard not abutting a street, an accessory structure may be erected and maintained within the rear quarter of the lot if not closer to the side lot line than four feet and if not closer to rear lot line than five feet.
E. 
Personal care facility as a conditional use in accordance with § 165-219.1.
F. 
No-impact home-based businesses in accordance with the standards set forth in § 165-219.2.
[Added 9-18-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-772]
The following minimum tract size and maximum density shall apply:
A. 
Minimum tract. A proposal for a development shall have a minimum tract size of five acres, excluding the existing rights-of-way of all public roads. This Subsection A shall only apply to multiplex and row house dwellings.
[Amended 12-8-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-885]
B. 
Maximum density. The maximum permitted density shall be six dwelling units per developable acre.
The following development regulations shall apply:
A. 
The tract will be developed under single control in accordance with the approved development plan.
[Amended 3-12-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-865]
B. 
Where a proposed R-3A development abuts an existing, improved public street, the uses within the R-3A development along the public street shall be the same land uses as currently exist along the street, if the area is developed at the time of subdivision or land development application (e.g., new single-family detached lots shall abut existing single-family detached lots).
C. 
Development plan agreement. The development of a tract carried out either in a single phase or in stages shall be executed in accordance with a development agreement based upon a development plan. The owner, developer and Township shall enter into said agreement embodying all details regarding compliance with this article to ensure the binding nature thereof on the overall tract and its development, which agreement shall be recorded with the final development plan.
D. 
Height regulations. The maximum height of the buildings or structures erected or enlarged within this district shall be 35 feet. However, where the development plan includes a mix of both townhouses and multiplex dwellings, and where they are set back a minimum of 150 feet from any existing public street and any other residential district, then the townhouse and multiplex buildings may be 55 feet in height.
E. 
Recreation and open space. A minimum of 20% of the total tract area shall be provided as the common open space for use by the residents of the development (or the general public if dedicated to the Township as provided in Subsection F below) for active or passive recreation. This open space requirement shall satisfy the Residential open space dedication requirements of Article VI of the Subdivision Ordinance.[1]
(1) 
The common open space as required herein must be as approved on the development plan and no area of less than one acre of area shall count as part of the recreation and open space requirement. Private yard areas shall not be used to compute open space requirements.
(2) 
The common open space must be usable for recreation, environmental and/or aesthetic purposes. It must be conveniently located for use by residents and, where applicable, shall preserve and protect environmentally sensitive features.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 145, Subdivision of Land.
F. 
Maintenance of common areas and facilities. Provisions satisfactory to the Board of Supervisors must be made for the perpetual maintenance and care of all common facilities and open space. Alternatives include maintenance by the developer or a homeowners' association or similar entity or dedication to the Township. However, the Township need not accept dedication.
G. 
Setback, buffer and size regulations for buildings not subject to subdivision.
(1) 
Building setbacks. No building shall be closer than 35 feet to a dedicated public street right-of-way or 40 feet to the perimeter lines of the tract.
(2) 
Parking setbacks. No parking area of three or more parking spaces shall be located closer than 15 feet to a public street right-of-way or to the perimeter lines of the tract.
(3) 
Buffer. The development shall have a permanent landscaped planting area of at least 15 feet in depth from abutting property lines designed for screening from view any adjacent uses. The required buffer can be waived or reduced by the Supervisors, after review and recommendation by the Planning Commission, if a natural buffer exists or the adjacent use is compatible.
(4) 
Building size. There shall be no more than six dwelling units continuously attached, except that a multiplex dwelling may have 12 units continuously attached.
(5) 
Distance between buildings. The minimum distance between buildings shall be as follows:
(a) 
Row houses. The distance between row house buildings or between a row house building and any other type of building in an R-3A District shall be no less than 30 feet.
(b) 
Single-family semidetached and multiplex dwellings. The minimum distance between buildings shall be 30 feet.
(6) 
Lot regulations. Minimum and average lot area per dwelling unit shall be as follows:
(a) 
Single-family detached dwelling:
Minimum lot area
10,000 square feet
Minimum lot width at the building line
70 feet
Side yards
25 feet aggregate, 10 feet minimum
Front yard
30 feet in depth
Rear yard
25 feet
Building coverage
30% maximum
(b) 
Single-family semidetached dwelling.
Minimum Number of Bedrooms
Average Lot Area
(square feet)
Lot Area
(square feet)
1
3,200
3,600
2
3,600
4,000
3
4,000
4,500
4
4,200
4,700
5
4,500
5,000
(c) 
Row house dwelling:
Minimum Number of Bedrooms
Average Lot Area
(square feet)
Lot Area
(square feet)
1
1,500
1,600
2
1,700
1,800
3
1,900
2,000
4
2,000
2,200
5
2,200
2,400
(d) 
Multiplex dwellings:
Minimum Number of Bedrooms
Average Lot Area
(square feet)
Lot Area
(square feet)
1
1,500
1,700
2
2,200
2,400
3
2,500
2,800
4
2,700
3,000
H. 
Lot area, width and yard regulations when subdividing.
(1) 
The following regulations shall apply where dwelling units are to be subdivided:
Requirements
Semidetached Houses
Row Houses
Lot area (square feet)
4,000
2,100
Minimum lot width (feet)
40
20
Front yard (feet)
30
25
Rear yard (feet)
25
20
Side yard (feet)
20
-
Side yard, corner lot (feet)
30
25
Building coverage (%)
50
65
(2) 
All regulations in Subsection G of this section shall also apply.
(3) 
As to row houses, if parking areas are separate and maintained by a homeowners' association, a minimum lot size of 1,700 square feet is required.
I. 
Setback requirements. For developments in the R-3A Residential District where individual yard requirements are not applicable, no building shall be closer than 20 feet to any common parking area.
J. 
Parking regulations. Required parking shall be computed in accordance with the provisions of Article XXVIII.
In order to accomplish the spirit and purpose of this chapter, a developer of any tract of land shall submit development plans in accordance with Article XXXIII herein.