This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Loyalsock Township Zoning Ordinance of 1994."
The Township Supervisors of the Township of Loyalsock under authority granted by Articles VI through X, inclusive, of Act 247, the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code and its subsequent amendments, do hereby ordain that for the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, morals and general welfare of the Township of Loyalsock that the following regulations shall be in full force and effect:
The following regulations shall be in full force and effect and shall be designed:
A. 
To promote, protect and facilitate one or more of the following: the public health, safety, morals, general welfare, coordinated and practical community development, proper density of population, civil defense, disaster evacuation, airports and national defense facilities, the provisions of adequate light and air, police protection, vehicle parking and loading space, transportation, water, sewerage, schools, public grounds and other public requirements.
B. 
To prevent one or more of the following: overcrowding of land, blight, danger and congestion in travel and transportation and loss of health, life or property from fire, flood, panic or other dangers.
C. 
Any recommendations made by any planning agency to the Board of Supervisors shall be advisory only.
The community development objectives for Loyalsock Township include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:
A. 
To achieve the highest and best use of land and offer the greatest economic, social and environmental benefits to the community at large.
B. 
To protect transportation corridors.
C. 
To establish a realistic population density control.
D. 
To effectuate a logical road and street pattern designed to adequately serve business, industry and residence and insofar as possible maintain a separation necessary to protect the neighborhood environment.
E. 
To guide development with a view to providing adequate and economical community facilities and utilities.
F. 
To achieve adequate public protection.
G. 
To permit economical installation of sanitary sewers and treatment facilities and water.
H. 
To effectuate the future land use plan, including the preservation of natural amenities and resources.
I. 
To ultimately eliminate polluting factors and pollutants from water and air.
J. 
To preserve, protect and enhance property values and quality of life for all township residents.
The granting of a zoning permit for the erection and/or use of a building or lot shall not constitute a representation, guarantee or warranty of any kind or nature by the township, or an official or employee thereof, of the safety of any structure, use or other proposed plan from any cause whatsoever, and shall create no liability upon, or a cause of action against such public official or employee for any damage that may result pursuant thereto.
[Added 11-13-2012 by Ord. No. 351; amended 3-11-2014 by Ord. No. 362; 2-24-2015 by Ord. No. 369]
If a court of competent jurisdiction declares any provision of this chapter to be invalid or ineffective in whole or in part, the effect of such decision shall be limited to those provisions which are expressly stated in the decision to be invalid or ineffective, and all other provisions of this chapter shall continue to be separately and fully effective.
[Added 3-11-2014 by Ord. No. 362; amended 2-24-2015 by Ord. No. 369]
Any ordinance or part of any ordinance conflicting with the terms of this chapter is hereby specifically repealed.
The Board of Supervisors shall, by resolution, establish a schedule of fees, charges and expenses and a collection procedure for zoning permits, certificates of zoning compliance, appeals and other matters pertaining to this chapter. The schedule of fees shall be posted in the office of the Zoning Officer and may be altered or amended only by the Board of Supervisors.
The following words are defined in order to facilitate the interpretation of this chapter for administrative purposes and in carrying out of duties by appropriate officers and by the Zoning Hearing Board.
A. 
Word usage.
(1) 
Words used in the present tense include the future tense.
(2) 
The singular includes the plural.
(3) 
The word "person" includes a corporation and/or partnership as well as an individual.
(4) 
The word "lot" includes the word plot or parcel.
(5) 
The term "shall" is always mandatory.
(6) 
The word "used" or "occupied" as applied to any land or building shall be construed to include the words "intended, arranged or designed to be used or occupied."
(7) 
"Municipality" shall mean the Township of Loyalsock
(8) 
"Governing Body" shall mean the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Loyalsock.
(9) 
The word "Board" shall mean the "Zoning Hearing Board" in accordance with Article IX of Act 247 of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B. 
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following words shall, for the purpose of this chapter, have the meaning herein indicated:
ACCESSORY BUILDING
A building subordinate to and detached from the main building on the same lot and used for purposes customarily incidental to the main building.
ACCESSORY USE
A use customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use and located on the same lot with such principal use.
ADULT ARCADE
An establishment or portion thereof, or any place to which the public is permitted or invited wherein coin-operated or slug-operated or electronically, electrically, or mechanically controlled still- or motion-picture machines, projectors, or other image-producing devices are regularly maintained to show images to five or fewer persons per machine at any one time, and where the images so displayed are characterized by their emphasis upon matter exhibiting "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas."
[Added 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 321]
ADULT BOOKSTORE or ADULT VIDEO STORE
An establishment having as a substantial or significant portion of its stock and trade: books, magazines and other periodicals (including edited videotapes, compact discs and audiotapes) which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas," or an establishment with a segment or section devoted to the sale or display of such material.
[Added 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 321]
ADULT CABARET
A club, restaurant, bar, tavern, theater, hall or similar establishment, whether or not alcoholic beverages are served, which features male and/or female entertainers whose performance includes "specified sexual activities" and/or reveals or displays "specified anatomical areas."
[Added 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 321]
ADULT DRIVE-IN PICTURE THEATER
An area open to the air and not enclosed within any building used for presenting material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas" for observation by patrons therein, at which patrons observe such material from a location within automobiles or other motor vehicles, seated in autos or on outdoor seats, or on the ground.
[Added 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 321]
ADULT MINI-MOTION-PICTURE THEATER
An enclosed building with a capacity for less than 50 persons used at any time for presenting material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas" for observation by patrons therein.
[Added 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 321]
ADULT MOTEL
A motel, hotel, or similar commercial establishment which offers accommodations to the public for any form of consideration; provides patrons with closed-circuit television transmissions, films, motion pictures, video cassettes, other photographic reproductions, or live performances which are characterized by the display of "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas"; or offers a sleeping room for rent for a period of time that is less than 10 hours; or allows a tenant or occupant of a sleeping room to sub-rent the room for a period of time that is less than 10 hours.
[Added 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 321]
ADULT MOTION-PICTURE THEATER
An enclosed building with a capacity of 50 or more persons used at any time for presenting material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas" for observation by patrons therein. No motion picture theater shall be classified as a sexually oriented business by virtue of showing, selling, or renting materials rated NC-17 or R by the Motion Picture Association of America.
[Added 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 321]
ADULT WALK-IN PICTURE THEATER
An area neither enclosed nor open to the sky (e.g., a pavilion, tent, etc.) where material presented is distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas" for observation of patrons therein.
[Added 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 321]
AGRICULTURE
The tilling of the soil, the raising of crops, horticulture and gardening.
ALLEY
A secondary means of access to abutting property and not intended for general traffic circulation.
ALLOWABLE DRILLING AREA
The area within the well pad that is approved for wells to be drilled.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
ALTERATIONS
As applied to a building or structure, any change or rearrangement in the total floor area, or an enlargement, whether by extending on a side or by increasing in height or the moving from one location or position to another.
AMENDMENT
A change in use in a district which includes revisions to the zoning text and/or the Official Zoning Map.
ANIMAL HOSPITAL
A building used for the treatment, housing or boarding of small domestic animals such as dogs, cats, rabbits and birds or fowl by a veterinarian.
APARTMENT(S)
A dwelling unit or units constructed or converted for rent or lease.
[Added 8-12-2003 by Ord. No. 299]
APARTMENT, CONVERSION
The conversion of any building in a district, where permitted, to a dwelling for one or more families, without substantially altering the exterior of the building.
BASEMENT
A story partly underground but having 1/2 or more of its height above the average level of the adjoining ground.
BLADE LENGTH
The length measured from the tip of any blade to the hub of the nacelle.
[Added 2-24-2009 by Ord. No. 331]
BOARDER or LODGER
A person, except family, occupying any room or group of rooms forming a single, habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and sleeping, but not for cooking or eating purposes, and paying compensation for lodging or board and lodging for a week or more at a time. Any person occupying such room or rooms and paying such compensation for less than a week at a time shall be classified for purposes of this chapter not as a boarder or lodger, but as a guest of a commercial lodging establishment (motel, hotel, lodge, inn or guest house).
BOARDINGHOUSE
A building where, for compensation, provisions are made for lodging and meals for not more than 15 persons.
BUILDING
A combination of materials to form a permanent structure having walls and a roof.
BUILDING AREA
The total area taken on a horizontal plane at the level of the ground surrounding the main building and all accessory buildings; exclusive of uncovered porches, terraces and steps.
BUILDING COVERAGE
That percentage of the lot area covered by building area.
BUILDING, DETACHED
A building surrounded by open space on the same lot.
BUILDING, HEIGHT
The vertical distance measured from the mean level of the ground surrounding the building to a point midway between the highest and lowest point of the roof, but not including chimneys, towers, spires, elevator penthouses, tanks and similar projections.
BUILDING, LINE
A line parallel to the front, side and rear lot line set so as to provide the required yard restrictions.
BUILDING, MAIN
A building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which it is located.
CARPORT
An accessory building open on at least three sides which is freestanding or attached to the main building and used for parking automobiles.
CELLAR
A story partly underground and having more than one-half of its clear height below the average level of the adjoining ground. A cellar shall not be considered in determining the required number of stories.
COMMERCIAL FORESTRY
The cultivation and/or production of forest products.
COMMUNITY CENTER
A single structure that is open to the public, in which residents of the area may gather for social, educational, religious, cultural, recreational or organizational activities that benefit the Loyalsock Township community. The facility may be a combination of indoor and outdoor areas. The related structure must be a minimum of 10,000 square feet in floor area. Each specific use or group of uses for the proposed community center will require the submission of an application for a conditional use hearing and approval by the Board of Supervisors of Loyalsock Township.
[Added 10-25-2005 by Ord. No. 315]
COMPLETION OF DRILLING, REDRILLING AND REWORKING
The date the work is complete for the drilling, redrilling or reworking and the crew is released by completing their work or contract or by their employer.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
COMPRESSOR STATION/PROCESSING PLANT
A permanent structure with equipment, tanks and site disturbance used to process and/or compress gas that is used as a midstream operation supporting oil and gas production.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
CONDOMINIUM
Real estate, portions of which are designed for separate ownership, and the remainder of which is designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those portions. Real estate is not a condominium unless the undivided interests in the common elements are vested in the unit owners. A condominium is a unit with all of the following characteristics:
(1) 
The unit may be any permitted land use. A condominium is an ownership arrangement, not a land use.
(2) 
All or a portion of the exterior open space and any community interior spaces are owned and maintained in accordance with the Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq. and in accordance with the provisions for open space, roads or other development features in this chapter and Chapter 190, Subdivision and Land Development.
CONTRACTING
Contractor offices and shops such as building, cement, electrical, heating, masonry, painting and roofing.
COURT
An unoccupied open space, other than a yard, on the same lot with a building, which is bounded on two or more sides by the walls of such building.
CRAFTS
Plumbing shop, carpentry shop, cabinetmaking, furniture making and similar crafts.
CROP FARMING
The raising, keeping and sale of field, truck and tree crops, including necessary farm structures within the prescribed limits, and the storage of equipment customarily incidental to the primary use.
DAIRY
A commercial establishment for the manufacture, processing or sale of dairy products.
DAY-CARE CENTER
Any premises in which day care (supervision) is provided simultaneously for six or more persons, regardless of age, who are not relatives of the operator.
DENSITY
Density is a measure of the dwelling units per unit of area. Density shall be expressed in dwelling units per acre.
DERRICK
Any portable framework, tower, mast and/or structure which is required or used in connection with drilling or reworking a well for the production of oil and gas, i.e., rig.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
DEVELOPMENT
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials.
DEVELOPMENT COMMERCIAL CENTER
Retail and consumer uses located within a planned residential development.
DRILLING
The digging or boring of a new well, either vertically or horizontally, for the purpose of exploring for, developing or producing oil and gas or other hydrocarbons or for the purpose of injecting gas, water or any other fluid or substance into the earth.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
DRILLING EQUIPMENT
The derrick or rig, together with all parts of and appurtenances to such a structure, and every piece of apparatus, machinery or equipment used or erected or maintained for use in connection with drilling.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
DRILL SITE
The premises used during the drilling or reworking of a well or wells located there and subsequent life of a well or wells or any associated use.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
DRIVEWAY
A surface, other than a street, which provides vehicular access from a street or private road to a lot.
DUMP
A lot or part thereof used primarily for the disposal by abandonment, dumping, burial, burning or any other means and for whatever purposes of garbage, sewage, trash, refuse, junk, discarded machinery, vehicles, or parts thereof, or waste material of any kind.
DWELLING
A building or structure designed for living quarters for one or more families.
DWELLING, GARDEN APARTMENT
A building used or designed to be used as a residence for three or more families living independently of each other. The individual dwelling units share common elements and a common lot area which is the sum of the required lot areas of all dwelling units within the structure. The structure shall not consist of more than three stories.
DWELLING, GROUP
A residential structure intended for occupancy by handicapped, elderly or disabled persons. This use does not include group homes for ex-convicts or halfway houses.
DWELLING, HIGH-RISE APARTMENT
A building used or designated to be used as a residence for three or more families living independently of each other. The individual dwelling units share common elements and a common lot area which is the sum of the required lot areas of all dwelling units within the structure. The structure shall consist of four or more stories.
DWELLING IN COMBINATION
A dwelling in combination with an existing or permitted office or commercial use.
DWELLING, ONE-FAMILY
A building containing one dwelling unit.
DWELLING, ONE-FAMILY SEMIDETACHED (TWIN)
A building accommodating a single family but attached to one other one-family dwelling by a common vertical wall. Each dwelling is on a separate lot.
DWELLING, TOWNHOUSE
A building constructed so that there are three or more dwelling units attached to one another.
DWELLING, TWO-FAMILY (DUPLEX)
A building designed to accommodate two families living independently of each other regardless of number of stories or arrangement of quarters.
DWELLING UNIT
A single unit providing complete, independent living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation.
EATING PLACE
An establishment for the sale and consumption of food and beverages without drive-in service. The sale and service of alcoholic beverages must be incidental to the sale and consumption of food. Includes take-out food and beverage service.
EATING PLACE, DRIVE-IN
An establishment for the sale and consumption of food and beverage with drive-in or drive-through service.
ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION FACILITIES
Electric public utilities transmission distribution facilities, including substations.
ENTERTAINMENT, INDOOR
Entertainment and recreation facilities operated as a gainful business within the confines of a building.
ENTERTAINMENT, OUTDOOR
Outdoor entertainment and recreation facilities operated as a gainful business, not including an outdoor motion picture establishment.
EXPLORATION
Temporary geologic or geophysical activities, drilling in context with the oil and gas drilling zoning definition in this chapter, and hydraulic fracturing, including seismic surveys, related to the search for natural gas or other subsurface hydrocarbons.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
EXTRACTIVE OPERATION
The excavation of sand, clay, dolomite, shale, gravel, topsoil or other natural mineral deposits or the quarrying of any kind of rock formation.
[Amended 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343; 3-11-2014 by Ord. No. 362]
FAMILY
An individual or married couple and the children thereof with not more than two other persons related directly to the individual or married couple by blood or marriage; or a group of not more than five unrelated persons, excluding servants, living together as a single housekeeping unit in a dwelling unit.
FENCE
Any combination of materials creating an enclosure or barrier.
FINANCIAL ESTABLISHMENT
Bank, savings and loan association, credit union and other similar financial establishment.
FLOOD
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
FLOOD, ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR
A flood that, on the average, is likely to occur once every 100 years (i.e., that has a one-percent chance of occurring each year, although the flood may occur in any year); for purpose of this chapter, the regulatory flood.
FLOOR AREA, HABITABLE
Space in a structure for living, sleeping, eating or cooking. Bathrooms, toilet compartments, closets, halls, storage or utility space and similar areas are not considered habitable floor area.
FLOOR AREA OF A BUILDING
The sum of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of a building, including the area of roofed porches or terraces. All dimensions shall be measured between exterior faces of walls or of party walls when applicable.
FLOOR AREA RATIO
The ratio of floor area of a building to its lot area. When a floor area ratio of .4 is specified, the floor area of a building constructed on a lot of 10,000 square feet is limited to a maximum of 4,000 square feet. The number of stories being optional, the building area may be 4,000 square feet for one story; 2,000 square feet for two stories, etc.
FRACTURE STIMULATION/HYDRAULIC FRACTURING (FRACKING)
The process of injecting water, sand, customized fracking fluid, steam, or gas into a gas well to allow or to improve gas recovery.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
GARAGE SALE
All general sales, open to the public, conducted from or on a residential property for the purpose of disposing of personal property (property which is owned, utilized, and maintained by an individual or member of his or her residence and acquired in the normal course of living in or maintaining a residence). Items purchased for resale or obtained on consignment are not considered to be personal property for the purposes of this chapter.
GARDENING
The cultivation of herbs, fruits, flowers or vegetables not for a profit, and associated with a residential use, excluding the keeping of livestock.
GAS
Any fluid, either combustible or noncombustible, which is produced in a natural state from the earth and which maintains a gaseous or rarefied state at standard temperature and pressure conditions and/or the gaseous components or vapors occurring in or derived from petroleum or natural gas.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
GAS STORAGE WELL
A well located and used in a gas storage reservoir for injection withdrawal purposes or an observation well.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
GAS WELL
Any well drilled for the intent of extracting gas or other hydrocarbon from beneath the surface of the earth.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
GATHERING LINES
The pipelines used to transport gas and/or oil from the drill sites to an interstate or intrastate transmission line.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
GENERAL FARMING
The selling and production of agricultural, horticultural, arboricultural, viticultural and dairy products; the selling and keeping of livestock and poultry, and the sale of products thereof; the raising of fur-bearing animals and the sale of products thereof; the selling and production of poultry and bee-raising products. All buildings (barns, sheds, silos, etc.) associated with this use.
GRADE, FINISHED
The completed surfaces of lawns, walks and roads brought to grades as shown on official plans or designs relating thereto.
GREENHOUSE
The indoor raising of plants, shrubs and trees for sale and transplantation.
GUEST HOUSE
A building or group of buildings for the accommodation of transient guests containing not more than 10 guest rooms for rent.
HEAVY EQUIPMENT AND FARM EQUIPMENT SALES AND REPAIR
Establishments engaged in the sale and/or repair of heavy or farm equipment.
HOME OCCUPATION
A customary home occupation for gain supported and conducted only by members of the family residing on the premises, conducted entirely within the dwelling. Such an occupation shall not alter the residential nature of the structure or the neighborhood nor cause any interference with neighboring properties via odor, noise, electrical or visually.
HOSPITAL
A place for the diagnosis, treatment or other care of humans and having facilities for inpatient care, including such establishments as a sanatorium and prevetorium.
HOTEL/MOTEL
A building or group of buildings for the accommodation of transient guests, containing six or more guest rooms for rent, each of which are provided with running water and toilet facilities.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE
Impervious surfaces are those surfaces which do not absorb water. All structures, buildings, parking areas, driveways, roads, sidewalks and any area in concrete, asphalt and packed stone shall be considered impervious surfaces within this definition. In addition, other areas determined by the Township Engineer to be impervious within the meaning of this definition will also be classified as impervious surfaces.
INDUSTRIAL PARK
A tract of land laid out in accordance with an overall plan for a group of commercial or industrial uses with separate building sites designed and arranged on streets.
JUNKYARD
A lot or structure, or part thereof, used for the collection, storage and/or sale of waste paper, rags, scrap metal or discarded material, or for the collecting, dismantling, storage and salvaging of machinery or vehicles not in operating condition, and/or for the sale of parts thereof.
KENNEL
Any lot on which five or more animals more than six months old are kept, boarded or trained, whether or not they are kept in special buildings or runways.
LANDOWNER
The owner of a fee interest, equitable interest or lease hold interest in real property.
LODGING HOUSE
A building or a portion thereof containing not more than one dwelling unit; where lodging is provided for not more than three persons in addition to the resident family unit.
LOT
A tract or parcel of land, regardless of size, held in single or joint ownership and as described by metes and bounds in the most recent deed for said land, unless shown on an approved and duly recorded subdivision plan as more than one parcel of land. The term lot shall also mean parcel, plot, site or any similar term.
LOT, CORNER
A lot at the junction of and abutting on two or more intersecting streets or private roads where the interior angle is less than 135º.
LOT, INTERIOR
A lot other than a corner lot.
LOT LINES
The lines bounding a lot.
LOT, SEVERED
A lot which was in single ownership at the time of passage of this chapter or amendment thereto which is divided by the boundary line between two distinct zoning districts. For purposes of this chapter, a severed lot shall not include: 1) a lot created by the owner of the lot combining one or more lots of record; or 2) a lot which is bisected by a public street, road or highway. See § 215-21.1 of this chapter. In order to seek relief under § 215-21.1, the portion of the severed lot for which the extension is sought must be more than 50% of the total lot area, and any proposed use for the extended area must be compatible with any existing use of the lot.
[Added 6-14-2016 by Ord. No. 377]
LUMBERYARD
Where lumber products are sold and/or processed.
MAJOR THOROUGHFARE, RESTRICTED ACCESS
A major thoroughfare or part thereof, which when open to public use, access is limited from abutting property and other streets to locations and in the manner approved by the municipality or the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.[1]
MAJOR THOROUGHFARES
A street or highway designated as an existing or planned major thoroughfare in the township's Comprehensive Plan.
MANUFACTURING
Manufacturing, including the production, assembly, processing, cleaning, testing and distribution of materials, goods, foodstuffs and products.
METERING STATION
A permanent structure that is used as a midstream operation for the purpose of metering or measuring the flow and/or volume of gas, and includes associated equipment (dehydrators, line heaters, and meters), tanks and site disturbance.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
MIDSTREAM OPERATION
Compressors, compressor stations, meters and processing plants that support more than one well pad (all operations and facilities constructed or installed between the wellheads and the main product transportation line).
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
MILL
Mill where grain and similar produces are processed.
MINERALS
Any aggregate or mass of mineral matter, whether or not coherent. The term includes, but is not limited to, limestone and dolomite, sand and gravel, rock and stone, earth, fill, slag, iron ore, zinc ore, vermiculite and clay, anthracite and bituminous coal, coal refuse, peat and crude oil and natural gas.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
MOBILE HOME
Same as manufactured home.
MOTOR VEHICLE REPAIR
A motor vehicle repair garage, including paint spraying and body and fender work, provided that all repair and paint work is performed within a building.
MOTOR VEHICLE SALES
The sale and/or rental of motor vehicles, including new automobiles by a duly franchised new car dealership, used car sales, trucks, trailers, cycles, boats and recreation vehicles, including repair work conducted as an accessory use.
NO-IMPACT HOME BASED BUSINESS
A business or commercial activity administered or conducted as an accessory use which is clearly secondary to the use as a residential dwelling and which involves no customer, client or patient traffic, whether vehicular or pedestrian, pickup, delivery or removal functions to or from the premises in excess of those normally associated with residential use.
[Added 3-27-2012 by Ord. No. 347]
NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE
A structure or part of a structure manifestly not designed to comply with the applicable use provisions of this chapter or amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such structure lawfully exists prior to the application of this chapter or amendment to its location by reason of annexation. Such nonconforming structures include, but are not limited to, nonconforming signs.
NONCONFORMING USE
A use, whether of land or of structure, which does not comply with the applicable use provisions of this chapter or amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such use was lawfully in existence prior to the enactment of this chapter or amendment or prior to the application of such chapter or amendment to its location by reason of annexation.
NONPROFIT
An organization registered as a 501C(3) organization with the Internal Revenue Service.
[Added 10-25-2005 by Ord. No. 315]
NONRESIDENTIAL ACCESSORY
A building or use subordinate to, or customarily incidental to, the principal use or main building on property other than a residential property.
NURSERY (HORTICULTURE)
Any lot or parcel of land used to cultivate, propagate and grow trees, shrubs, vines and other plants for sale and transplantation, including the buildings, structures and equipment customarily incidental and accessory to the primary use.
NURSING OR CONVALESCENT HOME
A building designed and used for the full-time care of human beings and which may include housing or lodging, meals and nursing. The home shall not provide for the confinement or care of the insane, incorrigible children, criminals, those confined by court order, those being treated for or recovering from alcohol or drug dependence or other correctional types or any similar use.
OBSERVATION WELL
A well used to monitor the integrity and conditions in a gas storage reservoir, the reservoir protective area or strata above or below the gas storage horizon.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
ODORANT INJECTION
Any manner or method by which odorant is placed into the gas being transported from well sites to an interstate or intrastate gas distribution line.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
OFFICE, BUSINESS AND OTHER
Business, professional, financial, governmental and other related or similar office uses.
OFFICE, MEDICAL
Offices or clinics for medical or dental treatment of persons as outpatients, including laboratories incidental thereto.
OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT
The oil and gas development use includes the process of perforating the earth's surface and rock layers to extract fossil fuels, natural gas or oil, for energy production, and all associated equipment, structures and construction at the drilling site, including the well pad, access roads, hydraulic fracturing, production, pipelines, tanks, meters, gas production units, flares, towers, and temporary crew and supervisor trailers, for exploration and production at a single well pad, including multiple wells at a single well pad, and all subsequent site reclamation activities which follow the production phase.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
OIL AND GAS STAGING FACILITY
A facility or location on a permitted site for the storage of equipment and vehicles used to support gas development activities at other permitted sites.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
OIL AND GAS WELL
A hole or holes, bore or bores, that perforate the earth's surface and rock layers to extract oil, gas or other hydrocarbons from the earth.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
OPEN SPACE
The unoccupied space open to the sky on the same lot with the building.
PARKING SPACE
The space within a building, or on a lot, for the parking of one automobile.
PLANNED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
An area of land, controlled by a landowner, to be developed as a single entity for a number of dwelling units, or combination of residential and nonresidential uses, the development plan for which does not correspond in lot size, bulk, type of dwelling, or use, density or intensity, lot coverage and required open space to the regulations established in any one district created, from time to time, under the provisions of a municipal zoning ordinance.
[Amended 8-25-1998 by Ord. No. 274]
PLAT
A map, plan or layout showing the subdivision of land and indicating the location and boundaries of individual properties.
POND
A body of water contained by earthen banks used for fire protection or aesthetic value and having a depth at any point of more than two feet or more than 250 square feet in surface area.
PREMISES
Any lot, parcel or tract of land and any building constructed thereon.
PRINTING/PUBLISHING
Establishments dedicated to the printing, publishing and binding of paper products and the distribution of these products.
PRISON
Including a jail, a place for the confinement of persons awaiting trial or lawful detention under the supervision of Loyalsock Township, county, state and/or federal officials, especially persons convicted of crimes. A prison may be privately or publicly owned and maintained.
[Added 8-27-2013 by Ord. No. 356]
PRIVATE
Not publicly owned, operated or controlled.
PRIVATE ROAD
A right-of-way not owned by any municipal entity which provides vehicular access to no more than two adjoining lots.
PRODUCTION WELL
Any gas or oil well that has been brought on line to provide the material to market after a successful exploration step.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
PUBLIC
Owned, operated or controlled by a government agency (federal, state or local, including a corporation created by law for the performance of certain specialized governmental functions and including the Board of Public Education).
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice published once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. 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.
[Amended 8-25-1998 by Ord. No. 274]
RECREATION FACILITY (PRIVATE)
A facility or park area intended to be used for recreation purposes, owned or operated by other than a governmental agency.
RECREATION FACILITY (PUBLIC)
A facility or park area intended to be used for recreation purposes, owned or operated by the township or other governmental agency.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A vehicle used for temporary living or sleeping purposes and standing on wheels. Included in this definition are travel trailers, truck campers and motor homes.
REDRILL
Deepening or sidetrack/horizontal drilling extending more than 150 feet from the existing well bore.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
REHABILITATION HOME
A structure for the care or confinement of the insane or any person confined under court order or any person receiving care for present or past alcohol or drug abuse.
REPAIR SHOP
A shop for the repair of items such as appliances, lawn mowers, watches, guns, bicycles, locks and small business machines, but not including automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, trailers and other heavy equipment.
RESEARCH
Research, testing or experimental laboratories.
RESIDENTIAL ACCESSORY
A building or use subordinate to, or customarily incidental to, the principal use or main building on a residential property.
RETAIL DELIVERY BUSINESS
A retail business that has at least 75% of its sales via telephone, internet or fax and such merchandise is delivered to the customers from the retail business location. Said deliveries shall be made on a yearly average of no more than five times in any twenty-four-hour period.
[Added 12-29-2004 by Ord. No. 309]
RETAIL STORE
A shop which sells goods to the ultimate consumer.
REWORK
Reentry of an existing well within the existing bore hole or by deepening or sidetrack/horizontal operations which do not extend more than 150 feet from the existing well bore, or replacement of well liners or casings.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
RIGHT-OF-WAY
Land set aside for use as a street, alley or other means of egress and ingress.
ROOMING HOUSE
See "lodging house."
SATELLITE ANTENNA DISH
A ground satellite receiving station.
SCHOOL
Any place offering instruction in any branch of knowledge under the supervision of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or a lawfully constituted governing body, person, partnership or corporation meeting the requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
SCHOOL (COMMERCIAL)
A trade or professional school intending for training in a particular field.
SCHOOL (NURSERY)
Any place designed and operated to provide regular instruction and daytime care for three or more children under the age of elementary school.
SCHOOL (PRIVATE)
Any school which offers instruction under the supervision of the state or an organization, corporation, partnership or person meeting the requirements of the state, other than a public school.
SCHOOL (PUBLIC)
Educational facilities associated directly with the Loyalsock Township School District.
SCREEN PLANTING
A vegetative material designed to restrict from the view of property owners in adjoining districts the structures and uses on the premises on which the screen planting is located.
SEASONAL ROADSIDE STAND
A nonpermanent structure used for the sale of farm or nursery products on the premises.
SEISMIC TESTING
Testing conducted on the earth's surface or shallow subsurface for the purpose of evaluating subsurface geological conditions.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
SELF-SERVICE GASOLINE SALES
The provision of gasoline diesel fuel or kerosene for motor vehicles or containers without the convenience of an attendant to place the fuel in the motor vehicle or container and not involving the provision of any other services to the vehicle.
SERVICE BUSINESS
Includes such personal service uses as barber, beautician, laundry and dry cleaning, shoe repair, tailor, photographer, travel agency and photocopy center.
SERVICE STATION/CAR WASH FACILITY
The retail sale of vehicular fuels and/or a car washing facility, and including as accessory uses the sale and installation of lubricants, tires, batteries and similar accessories and/or the sale of groceries and other convenience-type products.
SEXUAL DEVICE
Any three-dimensional object designed and marketed for stimulation of the male or female human genital organ or anus or for sadomasochistic use or abuse of oneself or others and shall include devices such as dildos, vibrators, penis pumps, and physical representations of the human genital organs. Nothing in this definition shall be construed to include devices primarily intended for protection against sexually transmitted diseases or for preventing pregnancy.
[Added 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 321]
SEXUAL-DEVICE SHOP
A commercial establishment that regularly features sexual devices. Nothing in this definition shall be construed to include any pharmacy, drugstore, medical clinic, or any establishment primarily dedicated to providing medical or health care products or services; nor shall this definition be construed to include commercial establishments which do not restrict access to any portion of their premises by reason of age.
[Added 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 321]
SEXUAL ENCOUNTER CENTER
A business or commercial enterprise that, as one of its principal business purposes, purports to offer for any form of consideration, physical contact in the form of wrestling or tumbling between persons of the opposite sex when one or more of the persons is seminude.
[Added 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 321]
SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESS
An adult bookstore or adult video store, an adult cabaret, an adult arcade, an adult motel, an adult motion picture theater, an adult drive-in picture theater, an adult mini-motion-picture theater, an adult walk-in picture theater, a sexual device shop or sexual encounter center.
[Added 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 321]
SHOPPING CENTER
A group of retail and other commercial and consumer/service establishments planned and designed to function as a unit and held in a single ownership with off-street parking provided as an integral part of the unit.
SIGN
Any surface, fabric, device or structure (including billboards or poster panel) bearing lettered, pictorial or sculptured matter designed for visual communication and used for the purpose of bringing the subject thereof to the attention of the public, but not including any flag, badge or insignia of any government.
SLOPED LOT
Any parcel containing slopes greater than 15%.
SMALL WIND ENERGY SYSTEM
A single tower, or multiple towers, situated on a lot to provide energy from a wind turbine source to an individual home, multifamily residential use, and agricultural uses located on the same lot. The wind energy is not to be provided to others for sale off-site in the power grid. The small wind energy system may follow the rules of net metering under the state policy.
[Added 2-24-2009 by Ord. No. 331]
SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREAS
Less than completely and opaquely covered human genitals; pubic region; buttock; and female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola; and human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered.
[Added 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 321]
SPECIFIED SEXUAL ACTIVITIES
Sexual stimulation or arousal of human genitals; acts of human intercourse, oral sex, masturbation or sodomy; fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttock or female breast.
[Added 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 321]
STABLE, PRIVATE
An accessory building in which no more than three horses are kept for private use and not for hire, exhibition or sale.
STABLE, PUBLIC
Any lot or building on which horses are kept, boarded, trained or rented for remuneration.
STORY
That portion of a building included between the surfaces of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it; if there is no floor above it, then the space between any floor and the ceiling immediately above it.
STREET
Includes street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway, parkway, lane, alley, viaduct and any other ways used or intended to be used by vehicular traffic or pedestrians whether public or private.
[Amended 8-25-1998 by Ord. No. 274]
STREET GRADE
The officially established grade of the street upon which a lot fronts or in its absence the established grade of other streets upon which the lot abuts, at the midway of the frontage of the lot thereon. If there is no officially established grade, the existing grade of the street at such midpoint shall be taken as the street grade.
STREET LINE
The dividing line between the street and adjoining property. Also known as the "right-of-way line."
STRUCTURE
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
[Amended 8-25-1998 by Ord. No. 274]
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 street or easement of access or any residential dwelling, shall be exempted.
SWIMMING POOL
A body of water in an artificial container, whether located in or above ground, having a depth at any point of more than two feet or a surface area of more than 250 square feet, used or intended to be used for swimming.
TANK
A container, covered or uncovered, used in conjunction with the drilling or production of oil and gas or other hydrocarbons for holding or storing fluids.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
TAVERN
Any establishment licensed by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to serve alcoholic beverages for on-premise consumption.
TRUCK TERMINAL
A structure or parcel used for the storage of trucks and/or the transfer of freight from one truck to another.
TURBINE HEIGHT; TOWER HEIGHT
The distance measured from the surface grade of the tower foundation to highest point in vertical position of the turbine rotor blade.
[Added 2-24-2009 by Ord. No. 331]
USE, CONDITIONAL
A use to be allowed or denied by the Board of Supervisors after recommendations by the Planning Commission, pursuant to express standards and criteria set forth in this chapter.
USE, PERMITTED
The specific purpose for which land or a building may be designed, arranged or intended, or for which it is or may be occupied or maintained. The term "permitted use" or its equivalent shall not be deemed to include any nonconforming use.
UTILITIES (PUBLIC)
Those services customarily rendered by public utility corporations, municipalities or municipal authorities, in the nature of electricity, gas, telephone, water and sewage, including the appurtenances used in connection with the supplying of such services (building, wires, pipes, poles and the like).
VARIANCE
Relief granted pursuant to the provisions of Articles VI and IX of the Municipalities Planning Code, Act 170, as amended.
VEGETATIVE MATERIAL
Shall consist of trees, shrubs, flower grass, ground covers or similar decorative substitute such as bark, stone, etc.
WAREHOUSE, WHOLESALE, STORAGE
Structures or establishments intended for the wholesale sale and/or storage or warehousing of products with no retail sales.
WATER STORAGE FACILITY
A site where tanks of any construction (metal, fiberglass, concrete, etc.) and impoundments are used for the storage of fresh or flow-back water. This does not include temporary water storage facilities at well sites.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
WELL BORE
The surface location of the center of the drill hole.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
WELL PAD
The area used for development and production of oil and gas, including buildings and structures, and all activities associated with an oil and gas well after drilling activities are complete.
[Added 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 343]
WETLANDS
Those areas which are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, including swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas. (40 CFR 230.3)
WINDOW
An opening to the outside, other than a door, which provides all or part of the required natural ventilation, natural light, or both, to an interior space.
WIND TOWER; TOWER
In total a structure for converting wind source into electricity through a system using a wind turbine generator that includes the nacelle, rotor, blades, tower, foundation, and pad transformer with transmission lines sending the electricity to a power substation.
[Added 2-24-2009 by Ord. No. 331]
YARD
A space open to the sky and unoccupied by any building or structure located on the same lot with a building, structure or use.
[Amended 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. 322]
YARD, FRONT
A yard on the same lot with a main building, extending the full width of the lot and situated between the street line and the front building line projected to the side lines of the lot. The depth of the front yard shall be measured between the front building line and the street line. It shall be an unobstructed area from the building line to the street line except for lawn and plantings.
YARD, INTERIOR
An open, unoccupied space between the buildings of a dwelling group or its accessory buildings, not a front, side or rear yard.
YARD, REAR
A yard on the same lot with a main building, extending the full width of the lot and situated between the rear line of the lot and the rear building line projected to the side lines of the lot. The depth of the rear yard shall be measured between the rear line of the lot and the rear building line.
YARD, SIDE
A yard on the same lot with the building, extending the full length of the lot and situated between the side line of the lot and the side building line projected to the front and rear lines of the lot. The depth of the side yard shall be measured between the side line of the lot and the side building line. Any lot line not a rear line or a front line shall be deemed a side line.
[1]
Editor's Note: The former definitions of the terms "manufactured home," "manufactured home lot" and "manufactured home park," which immediately followed this definition, were deleted 8-25-1998 by Ord. No. 274.