Words and phrases shall be presumed to be used
in their ordinary context unless such word or phrase is defined or
interpreted differently within this article.
In this chapter when not inconsistent with the
context:
A. Words in the present tease imply also the future tense.
B. The singular includes the plural.
C. The male gender includes the female gender.
D. The word "person" includes a partnership or corporation
as well as an individual.
E. The term "shall" or "must" is always mandatory.
The following words and phrases shall have the
particular meaning assigned by this section in the appropriate sections
of this chapter.
ACCESS DRIVE
An improved cartway designed and constructed to provide for
vehicular movement between a public road and a tract of land containing
any use other than one single-family dwelling unit.
[Amended 12-9-1992 by Ord. No. 119]
AGENT
Any person other than the developer who, acting for the developer,
submits land development plans to the Township for the purpose of
obtaining approval thereof.
AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES
The use of land for farming, dairying, pasturage, beekeeping,
horticulture, viticulture, or animal or poultry husbandry including
the necessary accessory uses for packing, treating or storing the
produce and equipment or housing and feeding the animals and/or the
use of dwellings for families headed by a full-time farm worker. Includes
land devoted to and meeting the requirements and qualifications for
payments or other compensation pursuant to a soil conservation program
under an agreement with an agency of the federal government.
APPLICANT
A landowner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has
filed an application for development including his heirs, successors
and assigns.
APPLICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT
The application form and all accompanying documents and exhibits
required for a preliminary or final application in accordance with
this chapter.
BLOCK
A tract of land which is entirely bounded by streets, public
parks, cemeteries, railroads, watercourses, or any other barrier to
the continuity to development.
BUILDING
Any structure or edifice designed or intended for use as
an enclosure, a shelter, or for protection of persons, animals, or
property.
A.
BUILDING, ACCESSORYA detached, subordinate building, the use of which is customarily incidental and subordinate to that of the principal building, which is located on the same lot as that occupied by the principal building. Farm buildings not intended for habitation are considered to be accessory buildings.
B.
BUILDING, PRINCIPALA building which is enclosed within exterior walls or fire walls, which is built, erected, and framed of component structural parts, which is designed for housing, shelter, enclosure, and support of individuals, or property of any kind, and which is a main structure on a given lot.
BUILDING SETBACK LINE
A line within a lot, designated on a plan as the minimum
required distance between any structure and the adjacent street right-of-way
or property line.
CARTWAY
The surface of a street, drive, or alley available for vehicular
traffic, including travel lanes and parking lanes but not including
shoulders, curbs, sidewalks or swales.
CLEAR SIGHT TRIANGLE
A triangular-shaped portion of land established at street
intersections in which nothing is erected, placed, planted or allowed
to grow in such a manner as to limit or obstruct the sight distance
of motorists entering or leaving the intersection.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
The plan, or parts thereof, which has been adopted by the
Board of Supervisors showing its recommendations for such systems
as land uses, parks and recreation facilities, water supply, sewerage
and sewage disposal, garbage disposal, transportation, highways, civic
centers and other public improvements which affect the development
of the Township.
CORNER LOT
A lot abutting upon two streets at their intersection.
CURB
The raised edge of a pavement to confine surface water to
the pavement and to protect the abutting land from vehicular traffic.
CURBLINE
The outside edge of the cartway.
DEDICATION
The deliberate appropriation of land by its owner to another
party.
DEED
A written instrument whereby an estate in real property is
conveyed.
DENSITY
The number of dwelling units and/or lots per acre, exclusive
of streets right-of-way, but including the area of any easement.
DEVELOPER
Any landowner, agent of such landowner, equitable owner,
or tenant with the permission of the landowner, for whom subdivision
or land development plans are being or have been made.
DOUBLE FRONTAGE LOT
A lot which fronts upon two parallel streets, or which front
upon two streets which do not intersect at the boundaries of a lot.
DRIVEWAY
An improved cartway designed and constructed to provide vehicular
movement between a public road and a tract of land serving one single-family
dwelling unit.
[Amended 12-9-1992 by Ord. No. 119]
EASEMENT
A right-of-way granted for limited use of private land for
a public or quasi-public or private purpose, and within which the
owner of the property shall not have the right to make use of the
land in a manner that violates the right of the grantee.
ENGINEER
A professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
FLOODPLAIN
The area inundated by the regulatory flood as described in
the Official Floodplain Ordinance of West Lampeter Township.
FRONTAGE
The linear measurement taken along a property's common boundaries
with adjoining street rights-of-way, other than a limited access highway.
FUTURE RIGHT-OF-WAY
A.
The right-of-way width required for the expansion
of existing streets to accommodate anticipated future traffic loads.
B.
A right-of-way established to provide future
access to or through undeveloped land.
GRADE
The slope expressed in a percent which indicates the rate
of change of elevation in feet per hundred feet.
GUTTER
That portion of a right-of-way carrying surface drainage.
IMPORTANT NATURAL HABITAT
Any land area characterized by any or all of the following;
A.
Wetlands as defined by criteria of the United
States Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service;
B.
Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory (PNDI)
confirmed extant plant and animal species and communities that are
listed as "Pennsylvania Threatened or Pennsylvania Endangered"; and
C.
PNDI confirmed extant plant and animal species
and communities that have a state rank of S1 or S2.
IMPROVEMENTS
Physical changes to the land (including but not limited to,
grading, paving, curbs, gutters, storm sewers and drains, improvements
to existing watercourses, sidewalks, street signs, monuments, water
supply facilities, and sewage disposal facilities) that may be necessary
to produce usable and desirable developments.
LAND DEVELOPMENT
A.
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous
lots, tracts, or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
(1)
A group of two or more residential or nonresidential
buildings, whether proposed initially or cumulatively, or a single
nonresidential building on a lot or lots regardless of the number
of occupants or tenure; or
(2)
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.
C.
The following shall not be considered a land
development:
(1)
The conversion of an existing single-family
detached dwelling or single-family semidetached dwelling into not
more than three residential units, unless such units are intended
to be a condominium.
(2)
The addition of an accessory building, including
farm buildings, on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing principal
building.
(3)
The addition or conversion of buildings or rides
within the confines of an enterprise which would be considered an
amusement park. For purposes of this subsection, an "amusement park"
is defined as a tract or area used principally as a location for permanent
amusement structures or rides. This exclusion shall not apply to newly
acquired acreage by an amusement park until initial plans for the
expanded area have been approved by proper authorities.
LANDOWNER
The legal, beneficial, equitable 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 conditions), a lessee
(if he is authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the
landowner), or another person having a proprietary interest in land,
shall be deemed to be a landowner for the purposes of this chapter.
LATERAL
A utility line between a trunk or interceptor line that is
located within a utility easement, and the single building which the
line serves.
LOT
A parcel of land considered as a unit 1) for a principal
use and/or 2) from the standpoint of ownership. It may be vacant,
devoted to a certain use, occupied by a structure or occupied by a
group of structures that are united by a common interest or use.
LOT AREA (NET LOT AREA)
The area contained within the property lines of an individual
lot, excluding any area within a street right-of-way, but including
the area of any easement.
LOT COVERAGE
A percentage of the lot area which may be covered by impervious
surfaces such as, but not limited to, buildings, parking areas, driveways,
sidewalks, etc.
LOT DEPTH
The horizontal distance measured between the street right-of-way
line and the closest rear property line. On corner and reverse frontage
lots, the depth shall be measured from the street right-of-way line
of the street of address to the directly opposite property line.
LOT WIDTH
The horizontal distance measured between side property lines,
parallel to the street line, at the building setback line. On corner
lots, the right-of-way line for the nonaddress street shall be considered
a side property line for the purpose of calculating lot width.
MOBILE HOME
See definition of "mobile home" in §
240-41C of Article
VII, Mobile Homes and Mobile Home Parks, of this chapter.
MOBILE HOME LOT
See definition of "mobile home lot" in §
240-41C of Article
VII, Mobile Homes and Mobile Home Parks, of this chapter.
MOBILE HOME PARK
See definition of "mobile home park" in §
240-41C of Article
VII, Mobile Homes and Mobile Home Parks, of this chapter.
PEDESTRIAN EASEMENT
A right-of-way, municipally or privately owned, at least
10 feet wide, which cuts across a block to furnish access for pedestrians
to adjacent streets or properties.
PLAN
The map representing a tract of land including all supplementary data specified in Article
IV of this chapter. The following are the types of plans specified by this chapter:
A.
AS-BUILTA corrected final plan, showing dimensions and locations of all streets and other public improvements as actually constructed.
B.
FINAL PLANA complete and exact subdivision and/or land development plan prepared for official recording as required by statute to define property rights, propose streets and other public improvements.
C.
PRELIMINARY PLANA complete and exact subdivision and/or land development plan, the purpose of which is to authorize the construction of public improvements and the preparation of final plans.
D.
SKETCH PLANAn informal plan, not necessarily to exact scale, indicating salient existing features of a tract and its surroundings, with the general layout of a proposal for consideration prior to the formal submission of a plan.
PROFESSIONAL BIOLOGIST
An individual with at least a graduate degree in aquatic
and/or terrestrial biology and/or ecology, and with a depth of knowledge
in organisms and the processes of ecological systems.
PUBLIC GROUNDS
Public parks, playgrounds and other public areas; and sites
for school, sewage treatment, refuse disposal and other public-owned
or -operated facilities.
PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT
Any improvement facility or service together with its associated
public site or right-of-way necessary to provide transportation, drainage,
public or private utilities, energy or similar essential services.
REVERSE FRONTAGE LOT
A lot extending between and having frontage on a minor street
and either an arterial street or collector street with vehicular access
solely from the minor street.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
Land opened for use as a street, alley, crosswalk, utilities
or other public or private use.
ROADWAY
The portion of a street right-of-way which is paved, improved,
designated or intended for vehicular traffic. Sometimes referred to
as "cartway."
SCREEN or BUFFER PLANTING
A method of visually shielding or obscuring one abutting
or nearby structure or use from another by fencing, walls, berms,
or densely planted vegetation.
STREET
Includes street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway,
lane, alley, viaduct and any other dedicated and adopted public right-of-way
used or intended to be used by vehicular traffic or pedestrians. Streets
are further classified as follows:
A.
ARTERIAL STREETA street which provides for intercommunity travel connecting population centers and carrying large volumes of traffic at speeds higher than desirable on other types of streets. Existing arterial streets are established by resolution of the Township Board of Supervisors. A list of existing arterial streets is available at the Township Building.
B.
COLLECTOR STREETA street which 1) provides access to a residential land use with a density in excess of four dwelling units per acre, industrial land use, or a commercial land use; and/or 2) carries traffic from minor streets to the major system of arterial streets, including but not limited to the principal entrance streets of a residential development. Existing collector streets are established by resolution of the Township Board of Supervisors. A list of existing collector streets is available at the Township Building.
C.
CUL-DE-SAC STREETA street with a single common ingress and egress with a turnaround at the end.
D.
MARGINAL ACCESS STREETA street, one side of which is parallel and in close proximity to a major street, and the other side of which provides access to abutting properties.
E.
MINOR STREETA street which provides access to a residential land use with a density of four or fewer units per acre or an institutional land use.
F.
SERVICE STREET or ALLEYA minor right-of-way on which no property fronts, which provides the secondary means of access for two or more properties.
STREET GRADE
The elevation of a street along the center line of the existing
or proposed cartway.
STREET LINE (RIGHT-OF-WAY LINE)
A line defining the edge of a street right-of-way and separating
the street from abutting property or lots. The street line shall be
the same as the legal right-of-way line currently in existence. However,
where a future right-of-way width for a Township-owned road or street
has been established by the West Lampeter Township Comprehensive Plan,
then that width shall determine the location of the street line.
STREET, PRIVATE
A street not offered for dedication or whose dedication was
not accepted by the municipality.
SUBDIVISION
The division or redivision of a lot, tract, or parcel of
land by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels, or other
divisions of land, including changes in existing lot lines for the
purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, partition by the court
for distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership, or building,
or lot development; provided, however, that the subdivision by lease
of land for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres,
not involving any new streets or easements of access or residential
dwelling, shall be exempted.
SURVEYOR
A surveyor registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
SWALE
A wide shallow ditch which gathers or carries surface water.
TOWNSHIP
West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
UNDEVELOPED LAND
Land in parcels sufficiently large for future land development
which is presently in agriculture, woodland or lying fallow.
WAIVER
A process for alleviating specific requirements imposed by this chapter and provided under §
240-57.
WATERCOURSE
A permanent or intermittent stream, river, brook, creek,
channel, or swale, whether natural or man-made, for gathering or carrying
surface water.
ZONING ORDINANCE
Chapter
285, Zoning, as amended, of the Code of the Township of West Lampeter.