[Added 4-7-2003 by Ord. No. 239]
[1]
Editor's Note: This article (originally Part
31 of Ch. 27 of the 1995 Code) was renumbered 12-3-2007 by Ord. No.
276 as Part 24.
Quarrying of minerals, including, but not limited
to, stone, gravel, sand and other materials extracted from the earth,
is a recognized, legitimate land use which supplies materials for
the construction industry that are incorporated into buildings, roads,
parking lot and other construction projects. Bituminous asphalt plants
and ready-mix concrete plants combine these materials with oils, cement
and other materials to generate products for road construction and
similar products. The Q Quarry Zoning District fulfills the community
development objective by providing a zoning district where the above-described
uses as well as uses accessory to these uses are permitted and providing
regulations concerning how they may be conducted.
A new zoning district titled Q Quarry District
is hereby established. The purpose of the Q Quarry District is to
provide for safe and efficient surface mining operations which are
compatible with all surrounding uses, especially residential uses,
and to provide for alternative uses of land within the district which
has either been reclaimed or not yet affected by quarry operations.
[Amended 12-3-2007 by Ord. No. 276]
A building may be erected or altered to be used
either in whole or in part and a lot may be used or occupied for any
of the following uses and no other, provided that such uses shall
comply with such regulations as yard size, lot sizes, lot width, building
area and heights, impervious surfaces, easements, buffer yards, off-street
parking and other provisions as specified in this article.
[Amended 12-3-2007 by Ord. No. 276[1]]
A.
Quarry.
(1)
Minimum lot area: 25 acres.
(2)
Maximum building coverage: 25%.
(3)
Maximum impervious surface ratio: 50%.
(4)
Minimum lot width at building setback line:
300 feet.
(5)
Yards.
(a)
Front: 125 feet. (NOTE: The front yard shall
be measured from the ultimate right-of-way line. No extraction shall
occur within any front yard, and no front yard shall be sloped or
cut in any fashion.)
(b)
Side (each): 125 feet. (See note below.)
(c)
Rear: 125 feet. (NOTE: No extraction shall occur
within any side or rear yards, and the side and rear yard setbacks
may be sloped beginning at a point no closer than 125 feet from any
boundary line and no closer than 125 feet from any ultimate right-of-way
of a public street. The slope shall not exceed a 3:1 slope and shall
be reclaimed by seeding and planting in accordance with a plan and
timetable approved by the Board of Commissioners.)
(6)
Setback from occupied building: 300 feet.
(7)
Maximum building height: 40 feet. (NOTE: Building
height shall be applicable only to those buildings or structures having
a permanent fixed foundation or location on the ground and shall not
include machinery or other temporary structures necessary to the operation
of extraction operations, asphalt plants or ready-mix concrete plants.)
B.
Bituminous asphalt plant and ready-mix concrete plant.
(If a bituminous asphalt plant or a ready-mix concrete plant is combined
with another use permitted in the Q Quarry District, the area and
dimensional requirements of each use must be separately met.)
(1)
Minimum lot area: five acres.
(2)
Maximum building coverage: 35%.
(3)
Maximum impervious surface ratio: 50%.
(4)
Minimum lot width at building setback line:
300 feet.
(5)
Yards.
(a)
Front: 125 feet. (NOTE: The front yard shall
be measured from the ultimate right-of-way line. No extraction shall
occur within any front yard, and no front yard shall be sloped or
cut in any fashion.)
(b)
Side (each): 125 feet. (See note below.)
(c)
Rear: 125 feet. (NOTE: No extraction shall occur
within any side or rear yards, and the side and rear yard setbacks
may be sloped beginning at a point no closer than 125 feet from any
boundary line and no closer than 125 feet from any ultimate right-of-way
of a public street. The slope shall not exceed a 3:1 slope and shall
be reclaimed by seeding and planting in accordance with a plan and
timetable approved by the Board of Commissioners.)
(6)
Maximum building height: 40 feet. (NOTE: Building
height shall be applicable only to those buildings or structures having
a permanent fixed foundation or location on the ground and shall not
include machinery or other temporary structures necessary to the operation
of extraction operations, asphalt plants or ready-mix concrete plants.)
C.
All other uses, subject to above. (NOTE: If minimum
dimensional requirements for a use permitted in the Q Quarry District
are specified in another part of this article, those dimensional requirements
shall be met. If no specific dimensional requirements are specified
in another part of this article, then the minimum lot area in this
section shall apply. If a bituminous asphalt plant or a ready-mix
concrete plant is combined with another use permitted in the Q Quarry
District, the area and dimensional requirements of each use must be
separately met.)
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance renumbered original
§ 3103B as a separate section and directed subsequent sections
in this article to be renumbered consecutively.
A.
Quarry activities (including, but not limited to,
opening, operating, extensions in depth, closure and reclamation)
shall be subject to the Non-Coal Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation
Act[1] and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto, as same
may from time to time be amended; provided, however, that in the event
of a conflict between the provisions of this article and the Act as
to land use matters, the stricter provision shall apply.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 52 P. S. § 3311
et seq.
B.
In addition, the following land use regulations shall
apply to quarry activities:
(1)
Landscaping and screening. There shall be a berm around the perimeter of the quarry, which shall be located within the required side, rear and front yard areas. The toe of the berm shall not be closer than 50 feet from the property boundary or, where a street forms the property boundary, not closer than 50 feet from the ultimate right-of-way of such street. The berm shall have a minimum height of 15 feet and maximum height of 35 feet. The slope of sides of the berm shall not exceed a 3:1 ratio. Berms shall be planted and landscaped in accordance with a plan approved by the Board of Commissioners of Lower Pottsgrove Township in consultation with a licensed landscape architect. Erosion control measures shall be in accordance with the Lower Pottsgrove Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (Chapter 215) and the Montgomery County Conservation District.
(2)
Fencing. A chain link fence at least six feet
in height, surmounted by three strands of barbed wire, shall be provided
around the perimeter of the quarry and maintained in a constant state
of good repair. Appropriate warning signs shall be mounted or posted
along the fence at intervals of not more than 50 feet. The fence shall
be set back at least 15 feet from any property line or street line.
(3)
Slope of excavation. The quarry walls shall
be sloped in accordance with the provisions of the Non-Coal Surface
Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act and the rules and regulations
adopted pursuant thereto. No slope shall be maintained exceeding the
normal limiting angle of repose of the material in which the excavation
or extraction should be made. No undercutting shall be permitted within
any required setback area.
(4)
Setback. Extraction shall not be permitted closer
than 125 feet to a property line nor closer than 125 feet to the ultimate
right-of-way line of any street. Additionally, extraction shall not
be permitted closer than 300 feet to any occupied building. The setback
shall not be used for any other use in conjunction with extraction
except access streets, berm, screening, directional signs, public
notice signs identifying the excavation, business signs identifying
the occupant, and buildings and structures in conformity with the
applicable provisions of this article.
(5)
Lateral support. All operations shall be conducted
with sufficient lateral support to be safe with respect to hazard
to persons, physical damage to adjacent lands or improvements or damage
to any street, sidewalk, parking area or utility by reason of slide,
sinking or collapse.
(6)
Stockpiles. Stockpiles shall not exceed a height
which would make them visible from any abutting street or from the
first-floor elevation of any building on a lot abutting the Quarry
District. In no event shall stockpiles exceed 100 feet in height,
and the toe of the slope shall not be located closer than 125 feet
from any property line nor closer than 125 feet from the ultimate
right-of-way of any street.
(7)
Drainage. All drainage from the site of extractive
operations shall be controlled by dikes, barriers or drainage structures
sufficient to prevent any silt, debris or other loose materials from
filling any existing drainagecourse or encroaching on streets and
adjacent properties.
(8)
Control of vibration. Ground vibration caused
by blasting or machinery shall not exceed the limits established by
the Non-Coal Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act and the
rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, with the exception
that blasting shall not cause a peak particle velocity greater than
one inch per second, measured at any property line or ultimate right-of-way
of any street.
(9)
Internal circulation. An adequate internal circulation
pattern of streets shall be maintained between excavation and processing
areas. The use of public streets shall not be permitted for hauling
between extraction and processing.
(10)
Access and traffic safety. Truck access to the
Quarry District shall not utilize local access routes identified in
the Lower Pottsgrove Comprehensive Plan to include residential and
rural roads, marginal access roads and culs-de-sac. All necessary
precautions must be taken to ensure the safety of motorists traveling
on any public highway intersected by any internal circulation pattern.
These precautions shall include, but not be limited to, the following
items:
(a)
Stop signs shall be placed at the intersection
of all internal roadways with public highways, halting all internal
traffic in any direction before the crossing of the public highway.
(b)
Street signs as permitted by PennDOT on all
public highways intersected by internal roadways, at a point 150 feet
from the intersection of the public highway, indicating that caution
should be observed and that trucks will be crossing 150 feet from
the signs.
(c)
Caution lights as permitted by PennDOT are to
be provided, having at least two blinking yellow lights sufficient
to attract the attention of a passing motorist attached to a sign
advising that caution should be observed due to a truck crossing ahead,
and the signs shall be at a distance of 300 feet from the intersection
of the public highway and internal roadway, or less if necessary,
so that one sign faces each direction of travel upon the public highway.
(11)
Noise. The operation of equipment and machinery,
including, but not limited to, crushers, vibrating screens, equipment
used to haul stone such as trucks, conveyors and other forms of conveyance,
shall not generate noise measured at the property boundary of the
quarry or the ultimate right-of-way of any public street abutting
the quarry exceeding the following limits:
(12)
Tire cleaning facilities. A tire cleaning facility
shall be installed and all trucks exiting the quarry shall pass through
the tire cleaning facility before entering upon any public street
or roadway. The tire cleaning facility shall assure that mud, dust
and debris from the quarry shall be removed prior to the truck entering
a public street or roadway. The specifications for the tire cleaning
facility shall be subject to review and approval by the Township Engineer.
(13)
Permits required. The operator shall, within
six months of the effective date of this article, obtain a use and
occupancy permit in accordance with the following requirements:
(a)
Requirements for such permits. No extraction
shall commence or continue on a site within a district in which the
operation of a quarry is permitted unless a use and occupancy permit
has been duly issued. Therefore, such permits shall be required prior
to any of the following:
[1]
The removal of stone, gravel, sand
and/or other minerals.
[2]
The process of crushing or grading
of stone, gravel, sand and/or other minerals.
[3]
The leaching of minerals from stone
or sand.
[4]
The use of portions of the site
for truck loading and unloading of rock, sand, gravel or other materials.
[5]
The stockpiling of stone, gravel,
sand or other materials.
(b)
Application for such permits. All applications
for such permits shall be made to the Zoning Officer in writing to
ascertain compliance with this article.
(c)
Issuance of such permits. No such permits shall
be issued until the Zoning Officer has received the following:
[1]
A copy of all reports and permits,
except for financial and test bore data, as required by the Pennsylvania
Surface Mining Act to be maintained and renewed by the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Surface Mine Reclamation
on an annual basis. Such reports and permits shall have been submitted
and/or issued within one year of the date of application for such
permit.
[2]
A contour plat, drawn to a scale
of 100 feet to the inch and contour intervals of five feet, showing:
[a]
The legal outbound as described
in the deed and all adjacent tax parcels.
[b]
The zoning district boundary line.
[c]
The existing excavation pit, if
applicable, and proposed location and extent of the pit.
[d]
The location of all existing and
proposed overburden.
[e]
The location of all structures
including all residences on adjacent parcels.
[f]
All setback and yard requirements.
[g]
All existing and proposed access
points and internal circulation.
(d)
Annual renewal of such permits and fees.
[1]
All quarries, whether or not such
quarries have been in operation prior to the adoption of this article,
must obtain the use and occupancy permits for mining extraction and
pay an annual fee to the Township before January 15 beginning with
the year following the year in which the initial permit for the operation
of a quarry has been secured.
[2]
Upon receiving such application,
the Township Engineer shall inspect the site to determine that the
operation is in conformance with the Department of Environmental Protection,
Bureau of Surface Mine Reclamation annual permit and reports and the
required setbacks and all other provisions of this article. The Township
Engineer shall submit his written findings to the governing body.
If the governing body finds that the application for an annual permit
conforms with this article, an annual use and occupancy permit for
mining extraction shall be issued. If the governing body finds that
the application does not conform with the requirements of this article,
the governing body shall authorize the Zoning Officer to issue a cease
and desist order as provided within this article until such violation
is corrected.
(14)
Parking. Off-street parking spaces shall be
provided as the Board of Commissioners determines to be adequate to
serve customers, employees, visitors and vehicles normally parked
on the premises.
In addition to the other regulations provided
herein, the following regulations shall apply to bituminous asphalt
and ready-mix concrete plants.
A.
The use must comply with the front, rear and side
yard, minimum lot area, maximum building height and impervious surface
area requirements of the district in which the use is proposed.
B.
The applicant must demonstrate that the use proposed
will comply with all permit requirements of the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection or any other commonwealth or federal governmental
agency which regulates such use.
C.
A buffer area shall be established sufficient to adequately
screen the operation from other uses in the vicinity. The buffer area
shall be of sufficient width to protect the surrounding area from
the objectionable effects of the proposed use, including, but not
limited to, noise, dust, vibration, odor, illumination, visual effects
and the like.
D.
An applicant for approval for a bituminous asphalt
and/or ready-mix concrete plant may be required by the Zoning Officer
of the Township to submit such additional information as may be necessary
to establish that the use proposed will comply with applicable regulations
of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and United
States Environmental Agency as they relate to air-borne contaminants,
handling of fuel oils used in processing, and the like.
