A.
Unless a contrary intention clearly appears, the following
words and phrases shall have for the purpose of this chapter the meanings
in the following clauses.
B.
For the purpose of this chapter words and terms used
herein shall be interpreted as follows:
(1)
Words used in the present tense include the future.
(2)
The singular includes the plural.
(3)
The word "person" includes a corporation, partnership,
and association as well as the individual.
(4)
The word "lot" includes the word "plot" or "parcel."
(5)
The word "Commission" and the words "Planning Commission"
always mean the Upper Southampton Township Planning Commission.
(6)
The word "Supervisor" and the words "Board of Supervisors"
always mean the Upper Southampton Township Board of Supervisors.
(7)
The word "secretary" shall include the Township Manager,
or any officer or Clerk appointed by the Board of Supervisors or other
administrative officer.
[Amended 2-21-2006 by Ord. No. 375]
[Amended 6-20-1989 by Ord. No. 268; 1-21-1992 by Ord. No.
295; 9-7-1999 by Ord. No. 338]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A landowner, as herein defined, or agent of the landowner,
who has filed the application for a stormwater management permit,
or who submits subdivision and/or land development plans to the Board
of Supervisors for the purpose of obtaining approval thereof.
An area divided into lots and usually bounded by streets.
Any structure, either temporary or permanent, having walls
or a roof and designed or used for a shelter of any person, animal
or property and occupying more than 100 square feet of area. The word
"building" shall include any part thereof.
The rear line of the minimum required front yards. The building
setback line shall be measured from the street line.
The hard or paved surface portion of any street, or that
portion of a street customarily used by vehicles in the regular course
of travel over the street.
A parcel or parcels of land or an area of water, or a combination
of land and water within a development site and designed and intended
for the use or enjoyment of residents of a development, not including
streets, off-street parking areas, and areas set aside for public
facilities.
A secondary street, with one end intersecting another street
which is used for vehicular and pedestrian access and the other end
terminating in a vehicular turnaround.
A pipe, conduit or similar structure including the appurtenant
works which carry surface water.
The deliberate transfer of property by its owner for general
public use.
The magnitude of precipitation from a storm event measured
in probability of occurrence (e.g., fifty-year storm) and duration
(e.g., twenty-four-hour) and used in computing stormwater management
control systems.
A basin designed to retard stormwater runoff by temporarily
storing the runoff and releasing it at a predetermined rate.
A person, partnership, association, corporation or other
entity, or any responsible person therein or agent thereof, that undertakes
any regulated activities of this chapter.
The provisions for development including a planned residential
development, a plat of subdivision, all covenants relating to use,
location and bulk of buildings and other structures, intensity of
use or density of development, streets, ways and parking facilities,
common open space and public facilities. The phrase "provisions of
development plan" when used in this chapter shall mean the written
and graphic materials referred to in this definition.
A specific tract of land for which activity is proposed.
Any ditch, pipe, culvert, storm sewer or structure designed,
intended or constructed for the purpose of diverting surface water
from or carrying surface waters off streets, public rights-of-way,
parks, recreational areas or any part of any subdivision or land development.
Any room or group of rooms located within a building and
forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used or
intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating by one
family.
A grant of the use of a parcel of land to the use of the
public, a corporation or person, for a specified purpose.
For the purpose of clearly identifying the extent of the
Township Engineer's responsibility in the review of subdivisions and
land developments, the following engineering considerations are defined.
The Engineer shall make recommendations indicating approval or disapproval
of the proposed subdivision or land development based solely upon
the various engineering considerations identified below as they are
reflected in the submitted plans:
Dimensions of lots or parcels.
Soil conditions.
Surface/subsurface drainage conditions and plans.
Lighting plans.
Utility plans.
Location and design of entrance and exit accessways.
Road specifications, cross-sections and profiles.
Profiles.
Sewage disposal.
Conformance of the plans in all respects with the performance standards in Chapter 185, Zoning.
Improvements required: materials, construction
methods, workmanship.
The removal of soil particles by the action of water, wind,
ice or other geological agents.
The smallest roots of a tree, which are responsible for most
of the absorption of nutrients into the tree; most are located within
the top 12 inches of the soil.
Replenishment of existing natural underground water supplies.
Any street for which the township, county or commonwealth
has maintenance responsibility and which is paved with an approved
hardtop surface.
Those physical additions, installations, and changes, such
as streets, curbs, sidewalks, water mains, sewers, drainage facilities,
public utilities, automobile parking facilities, streetlights, community
facilities and other appropriate items, required to render land suitable
for the use proposed.
[Amended 2-21-2006 by Ord. No. 375]
A structure designed to direct runoff into the ground, e.g.,
trench drain, seepage pits, seepage trench.
Any of the following activities:
[Amended 10-2-2007 by Ord. No. 388]
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts
or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
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
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.
A subdivision of land.
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 condition), a lessee
(if he is authorized under the lease to exercise the right of the
landowner) or any other person having interest in the land.[1]
A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by
a plat or otherwise as permitted by law and to be used, developed
or built upon as a unit. A lot for the purpose of this chapter may
or may not coincide with a lot of record. A lot for the purpose of
this chapter may or may not coincide with a lot of record.
The area contained within the property lines of the individual
parcels of land as shown on a subdivision. The lot area shall be measured
to the street line and shall include the area of any easement but
shall not include the area of any right-of-way.
A lot which has an interior angle of less than 135° at
the intersection of two street lines. A lot abutting upon a curved
street or streets shall be considered a corner lot if the tangents
to the curve at the points beginning with the lot or at the points
of intersection of the side lot lines with the street right-of-way
lines intersect at an interior angle of less than 135°.
Any boundary line of a lot.
A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent
occupancy, contained in one unit or in two or more units designed
to be joined into one integral unit capable of again being separated
for repeated towing, which arrives at a site complete and ready for
occupancy except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations,
and constructed so that it may be used without a permanent foundation.
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.
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which has been so
designated and improved that it contains two or more mobile home lots
for the placement thereon of mobile homes.
A building providing separate living quarters for two or
more families.
A person selected by the township whose responsibilities
include ensuring that the tree protection standards are followed correctly.
The Municipal Arborist must have a degree in aboriculture, horticulture,
forestry, landscape architecture, silviculture or plant physiology
and have a knowledge of and experience in the methods of tree protection.
A body politic and corporate created pursuant to the Act
of May 2, 1945 (P.L. 382, No. 164), known as the "Municipality Authorities
Act of 1945."[2]
The maximum rate of flow of storm runoff at a given point
in time resulting from a specified storm event.
Removal of branches from a tree using proper tools and approved
cutting techniques.
Includes:
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Board
of Supervisors or Planning Commission, intended to inform and obtain
public comment, prior to taking action in accordance with this chapter.
A forum held pursuant to notice under the Act of July 3,
1986 (P.L. 388, No. 84), as amended, known as the "Sunshine Act,"
65 P.S. § 271 et seq.[3]
Notice published once each week for two successive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township of Upper Southampton.
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.
Actions or proposed actions which impact upon proper management of stormwater runoff and which are governed by the ordinance as specified in § 160-4.
The percentage of the predeveloped peak rate of runoff for
a development site to which the postdeveloped rate of runoff must
be controlled to protect downstream areas.
A lot extending between and having frontage on an arterial
street and a minor street and with vehicular access solely from the
latter.
A strip of land occupied or intended to be occupied by a
street, alley, crosswalk, sanitary or storm sewer, stream, drainage
ditch or for another special use. The usage of the term "right-of-way"
for land plotting purposes in the township shall mean that every right-of-way
hereafter established and shown on a final record plan is to be separate
and distinct from lots or parcels adjoining such right-of-way and
not included with the dimensions or areas of such lots or parcels.
The part of precipitation which flows over the land.
Solid material, both mineral and organic, that is in suspension,
is being transported or has been removed from its site of origin by
water.
The barrier, dam retention or detention basin to retain sediment.
An area of excavated earth which has been filled with loose
stone or similar material for the purpose of directing water from
infiltration into the groundwater.
A method of runoff computation developed by the Soil Conservation
Service which is based upon relating soil types and land use/cover
to a runoff parameter called a curve number.
A system of pipes or other conduits which carries intercepted
surface runoff, street water and other waters or drainage that excludes
the domestic sewage and industrial waste.
Any body of water or watercourse that is recognized and regulated
by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
[Amended 10-2-2007 by Ord. No. 388]
[Amended 2-21-2006 by Ord. No. 375]
A direct-access public or private way used or
intended to be used for passage or travel by vehicles and pedestrians
and to provide access to abutting properties. ("Street" includes:
a street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway, parkway, lane,
alley and viaduct.)
Streets are further defined and classified and
have the following characteristics:
Interstate highways, freeways, expressways,
and other principal arterials:
Provides service for major through movements
and for long trips that bypass urban areas.
Serves long distance intra-city travel.
Includes almost all fully and partially controlled
access facilities.
Provides continuity for all rural arterials
that intercept the urban boundary.
Widely spaced from other principal arterials.
Usually accounts for high volumes.
Minor arterials:
Interconnects with and augments urban principal
arterials.
Provides service to moderate-length trips, although
with lower level of mobility than principal arterials.
Ideally, should not penetrate identifiable neighborhoods.
Ideally, should be spaced no more than one mile
from other minor arterials in urbanized areas.
Places more emphasis on land access than principal
arterials.
Connects to rural major collectors at urban
boundary.
Collectors:
Length is generally shorter than arterials but
longer than local streets.
May penetrate identifiable neighborhoods.
Collects traffic from local streets and channels
it to arterial systems.
Provides service for both land access and for
local traffic movement within neighborhoods, commercial areas, and
industrial areas.
LOCAL STREETS:
PRIMARY RESIDENTIAL STREETDesigned to carry a moderate volume of traffic, to intercept secondary (residential) streets, to provide routes to collector streets and community facilities and to provide access to abutting properties.
SECONDARY RESIDENTIAL STREETDesigned to provide access to the abutting properties and a route to primary residential streets.
MARGINAL ACCESS STREETA secondary street which is parallel to and adjacent to an expressway, arterial or adjacent to an expressway, arterial or collector street, and which provides access to abutting properties and protection from through traffic.
ALLEYA minor way which is used primarily for vehicular service access to the back or the side of properties otherwise abutting on a street.
DRIVEWAYGenerally a private way for use of vehicles and pedestrians, providing access between a public street and a parking area with a lot or property.
The dividing line between the street and the lot. The street
line shall be the same as the legal right-of-way line, provided that:
A combination of materials assembled, constructed or erected
at a fixed location including a building, the use of which requires
location on the ground or attachment to something having location
on the ground.
The smallest unit of watershed breakdown per hydrologic modeling
purposes for which the runoff control criteria has been established.
MAJOR 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 or 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.
MINOR SUBDIVISION- The division of a single lot, tract or parcel of land into two lots, tracts or parcels of land, for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership or of building development, provided that the proposed lots, tracts, or parcels of land thereby created have frontage on an improved public street or streets, and provided further that there is not created by the subdivision any new street or streets, the need for required improvement easement of access or the need therefor.
Where, in the judgment of the Township Engineer, at least
90% (based on the cost of the required improvements for which financial
security was posted pursuant to the requirements of this chapter)
of those improvements required as a condition for final approval have
been completed in accordance with the approved plan, so that the project
will be able to be used, occupied or operated for its intended use.
A low-lying stretch of land that gathers or carries surface
water runoff.
The line marking the outer edges of the branches of the tree.
An area that is radial to the trunk of a tree in which no
construction activity shall occur. The tree protection zone shall
be 15 feet from the trunk of the tree, or the distance from the trunk
to the dripline, whichever is greater. Where there is a group of trees
or woodlands, the tree protection zone shall be the aggregate of the
protection zones for the individual trees.
Any activity, occupation, business or operation carried on
or intended to be carried on in a building or other structure or on
a tract of land.
Any body of water or watercourse that is recognized and regulated
by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
[Amended 10-2-2007 by Ord. No. 388]
An inventory of the source, quality, yield and use of groundwater
and surface water resources within the Township of Upper Southampton.
The area comprising one or more acres of wooded land where
the largest trees measure at least six inches diameter at breast height
(dbh), 41/2 feet from the ground, or a grove of trees forming one
canopy where 10 or more trees measure at least 10 inches dbh.
An open space unobstructed from the ground up, on the same
lot with a structure, extending along a lot line or street line and
inward to the structure. The dimension of a required yard shall be
measured as the shortest distance between the structure and a lot
line or street line.
A yard between a structure and a street line and extending
the entire length of the street line. In the case of a corner lot,
the yards extending along all streets are front yards. In the case
of a lot other than a corner lot that fronts on more than one street,
the yards extending along all streets are front yards.
[1]
Editor's Note: The former definition for “land
redevelopment,” which immediately followed this definition,
was repealed 2-21-2006 by Ord. No. 375.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 5601
et seq.
[3]
Editor's Note: Former 65 P.S. § 271
et seq. was repealed 10-15-1998, P.L. 729, No. 93, § 6(a)(3).
See now 65 Pa.C.S.A. § 701 et seq.
