This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Pennsbury
Township Zoning Ordinance of 2012." This chapter shall become effective
five days after its enactment.
B.
The purposes of this chapter are to achieve the following community
objectives:
(1)
To promote, protect and facilitate the public health, safety,
and general welfare of the inhabitants of the Township of Pennsbury
by coordinated and practical community development and proper density
of population, emergency management preparedness and operations, the
provision of adequate light and air, access to incident solar energy,
police protection, vehicle parking and loading space, transportation,
water, sewerage, schools, recreational facilities, public grounds,
the provision of a safe, reliable and adequate water supply for domestic,
commercial, agricultural or industrial use and other public requirements,
as well as preservation of the natural, scenic and historic values
in the environment and preservation of forests, wetlands, aquifers
and floodplains.
(2)
To prevent one or more of the following: overcrowding of land,
blight, danger and congestion in travel, transportation, loss of health,
life or property from fire, flood, panic or other danger.
(3)
To preserve prime agriculture and farmland considering topography,
soil type and classification, and present use.
(4)
To provide for the use of land within the municipality for residential
housing of various dwelling types encompassing all basic forms of
housing.
(5)
To accommodate reasonable overall community growth, including
population and employment growth, and opportunities for development
of a variety of residential dwelling types and nonresidential uses.
C.
The regulations and districts contained herein represent reasonable
consideration as to the character of the districts and their suitability
for particular uses of land and have been made with a view to preserving
the existing environment and ensuring the development of a future
environment that realizes the greatest possible use and enjoyment
of land on individual properties, balanced against the necessary protection
of the values of buildings and land and the use and enjoyment of land
on adjacent properties, with the objective of promoting and protecting
the public welfare through the regulation of land use and the process
of land development.
A.
Pennsbury Township is rich in historic significance and natural resources
and is located seven miles south of the Borough of West Chester, three
miles east of the Borough of Kennett Square, and has as its eastern
boundary the Brandywine Creek. Among the land uses contained in the
Township are a variety of residential dwelling types, agricultural
land, open space, commercial, and industrial uses.
B.
The development objectives of the Township as set forth in proper
context and detail in the Pennsbury Township Comprehensive Plan, 2006,
as revised 2011, are summarized herein as follows:
(1)
Direct growth toward existing centers of development and areas
with adequate infrastructure while allowing a variety of land uses
compatible with the existing community.
(2)
Protect the character of the Township by preserving open space,
farmland, and historical and natural features.
(3)
Allow for a variety of residential dwelling types and densities
designed to meet a range of housing needs that preserve and enhance
the natural, scenic, and historic landscape and which reflect the
Township's rural-suburban setting.
(4)
Provide for the controlled development of commercial and industrial
areas that are consistent with the resources of the Township.
(5)
Preserve and protect areas which are naturally unsuitable for
development and which provide valuable wildlife habitat including
stream valleys, steep slopes, floodplains, woodlands, wetlands, hydric
soils and hedgerows.
(6)
Protect and preserve the historic, cultural, and scenic resources
of the Township that are essential to defining its heritage.
(7)
Encourage the preservation of prime agricultural land and natural
and historic resources through acquisition of easements, transfer
of development rights and rezoning.
(8)
Develop and maintain efficient and dependable community and
recreational facilities and services for the health, safety, and general
welfare of existing and future residents of the Township.
(9)
On its own authority with regard to Township roads, and with
regard to PennDOT for state-owned roads, develop and maintain a safe,
efficient, convenient, and adequate Township-wide transportation and
circulation system which serves existing and future needs of residents
and pass-through travelers.
Pennsbury Township has enacted this chapter in accordance with
the provisions of the Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended,[1] establishing the following controls:
A.
Uniform regulations. The regulations established by this chapter
within each district shall apply uniformly to each class or type of
structure or land.
B.
Existing and new uses and structures. In all districts, following the effective date of this chapter, except as provided in § 162-104C herein below, all existing and new buildings or other structures or any tract of land shall be constructed, developed and used only in accordance with the regulations of this chapter.
C.
Nonconforming uses, structures, lots or signs. In all districts, following the effective date of this chapter, any existing lawful use, structure, lot or sign which is not in conformity with the regulations for the district in which it is located shall be subject to the regulations of Article XXII, Nonconforming Uses, Buildings and Structures, Lots and Signs.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
In the interpretation and application of the provisions of this chapter, the said provisions shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion and protection of the public health, safety, and general welfare and for the promotion of the purposes of § 162-102 and the community development objectives of § 162-103.
It is not intended by this chapter to repeal, abrogate, annul
or interfere with any existing chapter, ordinance, or any statute,
rule, regulation or permit adopted or issued, provided the same is
not in conflict with any of the provisions of this chapter. Where
this chapter imposes greater restrictions on the use of land or structures,
the provisions of this chapter shall control. Where the provisions
of any other chapter, ordinance, statute, rule, regulation, or permit
imposes greater restrictions on the use of land or structures, the
provisions of that chapter, ordinance, statute, rule, regulation,
or permit shall control.
Should any section or provision of this chapter be declared
by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision
shall not affect the validity of the chapter as a whole or any other
part thereof.
The Pennsbury Township Zoning Ordinance of 1982 and all amendments
thereto are hereby repealed and replaced by the provisions of the
Pennsbury Township Zoning Ordinance of 2012, as amended from time
to time. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any section or provision
of this chapter should be declared by a court or the Township Zoning
Hearing Board to be invalid, the provisions of the Pennsbury Township
Zoning Ordinance of 1982 regulating the same subject matter as the
invalidated provisions shall remain in effect.
