Township of Middletown, PA Article VII OR Open Recreation District

§ 500-701 Purpose and intent.

The purpose of the OR Open Recreation District is to reinforce public commitment of land to open spaces.

§ 500-702 Applicability.

The OR District is applicable only to those lands which have been committed by public or private action to the conservation, open space, recreational and educational uses permitted herein and is designed to ensure continuation of such uses for the benefit of residents of the Township and County.

§ 500-703 Use regulations.

[Amended 5-25-1993 by Ord. No. 93-09; 6-8-1999 by Ord. No. 99-10; 10-2-2001 by Ord. No. 01-13]

A building may be erected or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following purposes and no other:

A. Recreation uses, including parks, picnic areas, day and overnight camping, hiking, equestrian trails, playfields, facilities for court games, swimming, boating, golf and similar open space recreation activities.

B. Agricultural uses using existing facilities as a continuing interim use of land pending development of other permitted uses or as a demonstration farm when part of an overall recreation or educational area plan.

C. Nature and conservation educational uses such as arboretums, zoological gardens, wildlife preserves, fish hatcheries, forest management areas and natural areas.

D. Accessory uses incidental to the operation and maintenance of the above permitted uses, including parking facilities, shelters, rest rooms, administrative, maintenance and storage buildings, and permanent housing for administrative or supervisory personnel.

E. Emergency services uses, including fire, rescue and other emergency services of a municipal or volunteer nature.

F. Middletown Township municipal buildings, including, but not limited to, administration, police, recreation, library, municipal utilities and public works buildings.

G. Educational uses, including educational tutoring, general education, public schools and others of like kind.

H. Forestry/timber harvesting, pursuant to the regulations set forth in § 500-402M of this chapter.

§ 500-704 Area and dimensional requirements.

[Amended 12-20-1994 by Ord. No. 94-20; 6-7-2005 by Ord. No. 05-04; 5-2-2008 by Ord. No. 08-05]

Unless a greater area or dimensional regulation is stated in § 500-703, Use regulations, for a specific use, all uses in the OR District shall meet the following requirements:

A. Minimum setbacks. Buildings or other permitted structures, except directional signs, shall be set back a minimum of:

(1) One hundred feet from the ultimate right-of-way of any public road, except as provided for in Subsection A(4) below.

(2) Twenty feet from the cartway of any internal road.

(3) Twenty feet from the paved surface of any parking area.

(4) Any existing structure or building which is to be replaced, reconstructed, repaired, rehabilitated or substantially improved and which is accessory to an athletic field must be set back a minimum of 15 feet from any ultimate right-of-way of any public road.

B. Maximum building height. No building or other permitted structure shall exceed 35 feet in height, except that observation structures, water towers, or similar facilities may extend to a maximum height of 100 feet.