In RA Residence Districts, the following regulations
shall apply.
[Amended 4-24-1984 by Ord. No. 3-1984; 12-8-1987 by Ord. No.
4-1987; 6-25-2001 by Ord. No. 4-2001]
A building may be erected, altered or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any one of the principal uses permitted in Subsections A through F of § 139-12 hereof, and for accessory uses, as permitted by § 139-12G hereof, provided that the keeping or raising of livestock, poultry and horses shall be permitted as an accessory use only, unless such use is conducted on a lot not less than four acres in size, and for such other uses when authorized by the Board of Supervisors as a conditional use as set forth in § 139-20.1 below.
[Amended 5-14-2001 by Ord. No. 1-2001; 8-22-2005 by Ord. No.
2-2005; 11-10-2008 by Ord. No. 4-2008]
Every lot on which a principal building is erected, altered or used shall comply with the following area requirements, subject also to the special provisions of § 139-102 relating to cluster development.
A.
Lot area and width. Every lot shall have a lot area
of not less than two acres and a lot width of not less than 200 feet
at the building line.
B.
Building area. Not more than 12% of the lot area may
be occupied by buildings.
C.
Yards. Front, side and rear yards shall be provided
on each lot as follows:
D.
Impervious coverage. Not more than 15% of the lot
area may contain impervious surfaces.
E.
Parcel yield (maximum number of lots or density). For any parcel involving protected land, the maximum number of lots and/or dwelling units shall be determined by applying the natural resource protection and density calculations referenced in § 139-158 of this chapter and § 73-11.1 of the Willistown Township Environmental Protection Ordinance. Density shall be no greater than that which the underlying zoning, subdivision and environmental protection regulations would permit.
No building other than a farm building shall
exceed 35 feet in height.
Each lot must have access to a street as defined in Chapter 123, Subdivision and Land Development, which street may be either publicly or privately owned, such access to be of a minimum, contiguous width of 25 feet at the place of abutment of the lot with the street and at every point from the place of abutment to the remainder of the lot which is to be used for access to and egress therefrom.
[Added 12-8-1987 by Ord. No. 4-1987]
A.
Available uses. A building or buildings may be erected,
altered or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following
uses when authorized by the Board of Supervisors as a conditional
use:
(1)
A physical rehabilitation facility, licensed
as a hospital in Pennsylvania, providing specialized therapy services
for inpatients and outpatients, and the following related uses so
long as they are an integral part of the facility: laboratories, radiology,
training facilities, staff and physicians' offices, residential living
units, skilled nursing care facilities and personal care facilities.
This use shall specifically not include any facility of which a material
portion is dedicated to psychiatric, mental health and/or drug and/or
alcohol rehabilitation, unless the onset of such condition is the
result of physical injury or trauma and the rehabilitative treatment
of such condition is a part of the therapy services for the physical
injury.
(3)
An accessory use on the same tract with, and
customarily incidental to, any of the above permitted uses.
B.
Procedures.
(1)
The applicant shall comply with the procedures governing conditional use applications outlined under § 139-118.1 of this chapter.
(2)
All applications for conditional uses under
this article shall require a public hearing prior to action by the
Board of Supervisors upon the application. The hearing(s) shall be
held in order to receive public input on the project and to estimate
effects of a proposed use.
C.
Minimum requirements. The following minimum requirements
shall apply to all applications for conditional use pursuant to this
section, and no such conditional use shall be approved by the Board
of Supervisors unless the applicant satisfies the following minimum
requirements. The applicant shall have the burden of proving that
the proposed use satisfies the following requirements:
(1)
Tract requirements. The following conditions
shall be satisfied prior to the consideration of any tract for development
under the provisions of this section by the Board of Supervisors.
No tract shall be eligible for development under this section unless
it meets the following conditions:
(a)
The tract(s) shall be entirely within an RA
Residence District.
(b)
The tract(s) to be considered shall contain
a minimum of 75 contiguous acres in the aggregate for physical rehabilitation
facilities and five contiguous acres in the aggregate for mobile home
parks.
[Amended 11-11-2002 by Ord. No. 5-2002]
(c)
The tract(s) shall be located on an arterial
street.
(d)
Adequate public water service shall be available
to the tract(s).
(2)
Master development plan. The applicant shall
submit a master development plan as part of a conditional use application,
which includes the following items, at a minimum:
(a)
Tract data. A plot plan which identifies the
total acreage of the tract, tract boundaries and the ownership of
the tract and all the adjacent properties.
(b)
Environmental data. A plan which identifies
the limits of designated floodplain areas, seasonal wet and alluvial
soil conditions, wetlands, woodland areas and steeply sloped land
in excess of a slope of 15%.
(c)
Means of access. A plan which identifies all
existing access point/curb cuts, including but not limited to public
roads within 500 feet of the tract proposed for development and all
new access points or connections into the existing road system proposed
as part of the development plan.
(d)
Development data. A sketch plan which indicates
the location of any proposed subdivision and proposed development,
including internal roadways, principal buildings and parking areas
and proposed preliminary stormwater management concepts. The plan
shall indicate the general type of uses planned and the location of
each such use within the tract. If the development is proposed to
be constructed in phases, the sketch plan must clearly show the development
to be constructed during each phase. Any proposed subdivision shall
comply with the requirements of the Willistown Township Subdivision
and Land Development Ordinance.[2]
(e)
Development schedule. A development schedule
setting forth the approximate dates for the initiation and conclusion
of construction of the development proposed in the sketch plan and,
if the sketch plan proposes phased construction, the development contemplated
and the proposed dates of initiation and conclusion of construction
for each phase.
(f)
Treatment and disposal of sewage. A written
description of the proposed method of sewage disposal, which shall
include a description of any acid, toxic, radioactive or otherwise
unsafe materials that may be released into the sewage disposal system
and the method by which the treatment thereof is proposed.
(3)
Area, height and other regulations for physical
rehabilitation facilities. The following area, height and other regulations
shall apply:
(a)
Setbacks and buffer planting strips. Setbacks
shall be provided on all sides of the tract(s) (front yard, side yards
and rear yard) of not less than 200 feet and shall not require a buffer
planting strip; provided, however, that the setback may be reduced
to 100 feet upon the provision of a buffer planting strip not less
than 20 feet in width within the 40 feet of the property nearest the
tract boundary. No buildings, structures or parking facilities, except
for a private driveway, may be located or constructed within any required
setback area.
(b)
Height regulations. In the event that any structure
on tract shall exceed 35 feet in height above-grade, the following
restrictions shall apply:
[1]
Only one structure exceeding 35
feet above-grade shall be permitted on any single tract subjected
to this conditional use approval; however, a single contiguous structure
may have more than one section which exceeds 35 feet, provided that
the square footage requirements set forth below are complied with.
[2]
The roofline of any such structure
shall not exceed 70 feet above grade at any point; nor shall the building
exceed five stories, not including basements; nor shall any projection
above the roofline exceed 15 feet.
[3]
The gross square footage of any
such structure shall not exceed 400,000 square feet.
[4]
Any such structure shall be designed
around the existing improvements and topography of the tract so as
to minimize the effect on adjoining properties.
[5]
Any structure exceeding 35 feet
in height shall be set back from the tract boundary an additional
three feet for every foot by which the building height exceeds 35
feet, except that in no event shall any structure have a setback requirement
of more than 200 feet.
(c)
Tract area and width. A tract area of not less
than 75 contiguous acres in the aggregate shall be provided. The tract(s)
shall be at least 500 feet wide at both the building line and the
street line.
(d)
Building and floor area coverage. The maximum
area of each tract occupied by buildings shall be 20%. The total floor
area of all buildings on tract shall not exceed 35% of the tract area.
(e)
Impervious surfaces. The area of the tract covered
by impervious surfaces shall not exceed 50%.
(4)
Area regulations for mobile home parks. The
following regulations shall apply:
[Added 11-11-2002 by Ord. No. 5-2002[3]]
(a)
Density. A mobile home park shall have a maximum density of five mobile home units per net acre pursuant to § 73-11.1.
(b)
Tract width. Every tract to be developed as
a mobile home park shall have a minimum width of 250 feet.
(c)
Front, side and rear yards. No mobile home unit
shall be located within 60 feet of a perimeter street nor within 25
feet of an internal street, common driveway, or common parking area.
No mobile home unit shall be located within 60 feet of the side or
rear boundary of the tract of which it is a part, and no common parking
area shall be located within 30 feet of any such boundary. No mobile
home unit shall be sited closer than 25 feet to another unit.
(d)
Landscaping and buffering. Mobile home parks shall be landscaped and buffered pursuant to § 73-52.
(e)
Accessory structures (including tool or storage sheds). Pursuant to § 139-94, no accessory structures shall be situated within the front yard. Garden equipment, lawn mowers, and other tools necessary for landscape maintenance, bicycles and other outdoor play equipment shall not be stored in the front yard.
(f)
Off-street parking. Off-street parking for two
vehicles shall be provided for each mobile home unit.
(g)
Curbs. Mobile home parks shall provide curbs
for all internal streets or roads.
(h)
Tract coverage. No more than 40% of a tract
may be occupied by mobile home units, driveways, parking areas, internal
roads, accessory structures, or other impervious surface. Not less
than 20% of the tract, exclusive of required setbacks, stormwater
management facilities, and landscape buffers, shall be common open
space usable for active or passive recreation by the residents of
the mobile home park.
(i)
Height regulations. No structure shall exceed
one story in height.
(5)
Design standards. The following design standards
shall apply to any conditional use pursuant to this section, and no
conditional use shall be approved unless the applicant demonstrates
compliance with the following requirements:
(b)
Each use shall comply with the provisions of §§ 139-98, 139-99 and 139-100 of this chapter relating to parking, loading and development of highway frontage. Given the nature and particular characteristics of a physical rehabilitation facility, the maximum distance of 400 feet between proposed parking spaces and buildings prescribed by § 139-98C shall be deemed satisfied if the proposed parking spaces are within 400 feet of the nearest building; provided, however, that, in the opinion of the Board of Supervisors, the proposed parking spaces are nevertheless reasonably convenient to the facilities which they are proposed to serve. All other provisions shalt remain unchanged.
[Amended 11-11-2002 by Ord. No. 5-2002]
(d)
All outside lighting, including sign lighting,
shall be directed in such a way so as not to create a nuisance to
users of adjoining streets and property or subject them to direct
glare or hazardous interference of any kind, especially as regards
to rendering traffic signals inconspicuous. Luminaries shall be approved
by the Township Engineer as to their height and glare-shielding equipment.
(e)
All utilities shall be underground.
[Added 11-11-2002 by Ord. No. 5-2002]
(6)
Duration and scope of conditional use.
(a)
If the development sketch plan and development
schedule required pursuant to this section propose the planned development
to be constructed in one phase, the conditional use granted by the
Board of Supervisors shall lapse at the expiration of 18 months from
the date of the granting of the conditional use, unless:
(b)
If the sketch plan and development schedule
required pursuant to this section propose the planned development
to be constructed in two or more phases, the conditional use granted
by the Board of Supervisors shall lapse as to all uncommenced phases
of construction if the initiation of any phase of construction has
not occurred within 18 months after the initiation date contained
in the development schedule. The Board may extend the conditional
use, and such extension shall apply to each and every uncommenced
phase of construction.
(c)
Deviations between the master development plan
required pursuant to this section and the land development plan required
by the Willistown Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance[5] shall not affect the conditional use as granted, and the
holder of the conditional use shall not be required to apply for a
new conditional use unless the deviations:
