For the purpose of this chapter, the terms and
words listed in this article shall have the meaning herein defined.
Words not herein defined shall have the meanings given in Webster's
Unabridged Dictionary.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following
rules of interpretation shall apply:
A.
Words in the present tense include the future tense.
B.
Words in the singular case include the plural, and
words in the plural case include the singular.
C.
The words "shall" and "will" are mandatory; the word
"may" is permissive.
D.
The word "used" shall be construed to include the
words "or intended, arranged or designed to be used."
E.
The term "such as" shall be considered as introducing
a typical, or illustrative, designation of items, and shall not be
interpreted as constituting a complete list.
F.
The words "person" and "owner" include a corporation,
unincorporated association and a partnership, or other legal entity,
as well as an individual.
G.
The words "building" and "structure" shall be construed
as if followed by the phrase "or part thereof."
H.
The word "lot" includes the words "plot," "tract"
and "parcel."
I.
The word "erect" shall mean to build, construct, alter,
repair, display, relocate, attach, hang, place, suspend, affix or
maintain any structure or building.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The removal of surface materials by the action of natural
elements caused by man's manipulation of the landscape.
The use of a tract of land of more than 10 acres in size
for the purpose of active cultivation or animal husbandry.
A minor right-of-way privately or publicly owned, primarily
for service access to the rear or side of properties.
A landowner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has
filed an application for development of land, including his heirs,
successors and assigns.
An application, whether preliminary or final, required to
be filed and approved prior to start of construction or development,
including but not limited to an application for building permit for
the approval of a subdivision plat or plan or for the approval of
a development plan.
The Township Board of Supervisors.
An area bounded by streets or proposed streets.
The Board of Supervisors of East Manchester Township, York
County, Pennsylvania.
Any structure, either temporary or permanent, having walls
and a roof or other covering, and designed or used for the shelter
or enclosure of any person, animal, or property of any kind, including
tents, awnings, or vehicles situated on private property and used
for purposes stated above.
A line established by law or agreement, usually parallel
to property line, beyond which a structure may not extend. This generally
does not apply to uncovered entrance platforms, terraces and steps.
Front setback line. The line nearest the front
of and across a lot establishing the minimum open space to be provided
between the front line of buildings and structures and the front lot
line unless the lot line is within a street right-of-way, in which
case the setback line shall be measured from the edge of the street
right-of-way.
Side setback line. The line nearest the side
of and across a lot establishing the minimum open space to be provided
between the side line of buildings and structures and the side lot
line unless the lot line is within a street right-of-way, in which
case the setback line shall be measured from the edge of the street
right-of-way.
Rear setback line. The line nearest the rear
of and across a lot establishing the minimum open space to be provided
between the rear line of buildings and structures and the rear lot
line unless the lot line is within a street right-of-way, in which
case the setback line shall be measured from the edge of the street
right-of-way.
The portion of a street intended for vehicular use.
A signed statement appended to a plan or other document whereby
the signer represents that to the best of their knowledge and belief
said plan or document is true and correct and that the Township may
rely upon the accuracy thereof.
A line of unobstructed vision from a point 4 1/2 feet
above the center line of a street to the nearest point on the top
of an object four inches high on the same center line.
An area of unobstructed vision at street intersections defined
by lines of sight between points at a given distance from the intersection
of the street center lines.
The East Manchester Township Planning Commission duly appointed
by the Township Board of Supervisors.
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 comprehensive plan prepared by the Township Planning Commission pursuant to Article III of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code[3] which indicates the general locations recommended for
the various functional classes of public works, places and structures
and for the general physical development of the Township, and includes
any unit or part of such plan separately adopted and any amendment
to such plan or part thereof.
The County of York, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The York County Planning Commission and its professional
staff.
A publicly or privately owned right-of-way for pedestrian
use extending from a street into a block or across a block to another
street.
A street with access closed at one end and with a vehicular
turnaround at the closed end.
The final adjudication of any board or other body granted
jurisdiction under any land use ordinance or the Municipalities Planning
Code[4] to do so, either by reason of the grant of exclusive jurisdiction
or by reason of appeals from determinations. All decisions shall be
appealable to the Court of Common Pleas of the county and judicial
district wherein the municipality lies.
The deliberate appropriation of land by its owner for any
general and public, or limited public use, reserving to himself no
other rights than such as are compatible with the full exercise and
enjoyment of the public uses to which the property has been devoted.
Those floodplain districts specifically designated in Chapter 108, Floodplain Management, of the Code of the Township of East Manchester as being inundated primarily by the one-hundred-year flood. Included are areas identified as the Floodplain Overlay (FP) District, Floodway Area (FW), the Flood-Fringe Area (FF), the Special Floodplain Area (FE), and the General Floodplain Area (FA).
[Amended 11-10-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-3]
The final action by an officer, body or agency
charged with the administration of any land use ordinance or applications
thereunder, except the following:
The Board of Supervisors;
The Zoning Hearing Board;
The Township Planning Commission, only if and
to the extent the Planning Commission is charged with final decision
on preliminary or final plans under the subdivision and land development
ordinance or planned residential development provisions.
Determinations shall be appealable only to the
boards designated as having jurisdiction for such appeal.
Any landowner, agent of such landowner, or tenant with the
permission of such landowner, who makes or causes to be made a subdivision
of land or a land development.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to buildings or structures, the placement
of mobile homes, streets and other paving, utilities, mining, dredging,
filling, grading, excavation, or drilling operations and the subdivision
of land.
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
the development plan" when used in this chapter shall mean the written
and graphic materials referred to in this definition.
Any building or structure designed for living quarters for
one or more families or housekeeping units, including mobile homes
which are supported by a permanent foundation, but not including tents,
cabins, travel trailers, boarding homes, rooming houses, convalescent
homes, motels, hotels or other accommodations used for transient occupancy.
A detached building or a group of attached and semidetached
buildings designed for or used exclusively for residential purposes
by more than two families or housekeeping units.
A building used by one family, and having two party walls
in common with other buildings (such as row house or townhouse).
A building used by one family, having only one dwelling unit,
and having two side yards.
A building used by one family, having one side yard, and
one party wall in common with another building.
A building used by two families, with one unit arranged over
the other and having two side yards.
A structure or entirely self-contained portion thereof designed
to be occupied for living quarters as a single housekeeping unit,
including any domestic servants employed on the premises and having
no enclosed space (other than vestibules, entrance or other hallways
or porches) or cooking or sanitary facilities in common with any other
dwelling unit. A travel trailer, a boarding or rooming house, convalescent
home, fraternity or sorority house, hotel, inn, lodging, nursing,
or other similar home, or other similar structure shall not be deemed
to constitute a dwelling unit.
Any construction or other activity which disturbs the surface
of the land, including but not limited to excavation, embankments,
land development, subdivision development, mineral extraction and
the moving, depositing, or storing of soil, rock, or earth.
The authorization by a property owner or authorized agency
of a right-of-way granted, but not dedicated, for limited use of private
land for a public or quasi-public purpose; and within which the owner
of the property shall not erect any permanent structures, but shall
have the right to make any other use of the land which is not inconsistent
with the rights of the grantee.
A person duly licensed as a professional engineer by the
State of Pennsylvania.
The Township Engineer or any consultant designated by the
Board of Supervisors to review a subdivision plan and perform the
duties of engineer on behalf of the East Manchester Township.
The engineering specifications of the Township regulating
the installation of any required improvement or for any facility installed
by any owner, subject to public use.
The removal of surface materials by the action of natural
elements.
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock, or any other
similar material is dug into, cut, carried, uncovered, removed, displaced,
relocated or bulldozed. It shall include the conditions resulting
therefrom.
Material placed or deposited so as to form an
embankment or raise the surface elevation of the land, including but
not limited to levees, bulkheads, dikes, jetties, embankments, and
causeways.
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or
any other material is placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported
or moved to a new location above the natural surface of the ground
or on top of the stripped surface.
It shall include the conditions resulting therefrom:
the difference in elevation between a point on the original ground
and a designated point of higher elevation of the final grade.
A partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas
from the overflow of a watercourse or other body of surface water,
or from the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters
from any source.[5]
A relatively flat or low land area which is subject to partial
or complete inundation from an adjoining or nearby stream, river or
watercourse; and/or any area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation
of surface waters from any source.
Any combination of structural and nonstructural additions,
changes, or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood
damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary
facilities, structures and their contents.
The Board of Supervisors of East Manchester Township, York
County, Pennsylvania.
Those areas in which commercial and/or industrial development
is permitted or has taken place.
Physical additions and changes to the land that may be necessary
to produce usable and desirable lots.
Any of the following activities:
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, including the expansion of existing buildings;
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.
Excluded from this definition of land development
are the following:
The conversion of an existing single-family
detached dwelling or single-family semidetached dwelling into not
more than three residential units, unless such units are intended
to be a condominium;
The addition of an accessory building, including
farm buildings, on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing principal
building; or
The addition or conversion of buildings or rides
within the confines of an enterprise which would be considered an
amusement park. For the purposes of this subsection, an amusement
park is defined as a tract or area used principally as the location
for permanent amusement structures or rides. This exclusion shall
not apply to newly acquired acreage by an amusement park until initial
plans for the expanded area have been approved by proper authorities.
The legal or beneficial 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/she
is authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the landowner,
or other person having a proprietary interest in land.
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.
The area contained within the property lines of a lot as
shown on a subdivision plan, excluding space within all street and
railroad rights-of-way and within all permanent drainage easements,
but including the area of any other easement.
A lot extending between and having frontage on an arterial
street and a minor street and with vehicular access solely from the
latter.
A lot with front and rear street frontage.
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement).
An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking
of vehicles, building access or storage, in an area other than the
basement area, is not considered a building's lowest floor, provided
that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in
violation of the applicable nonelevation design requirements of this
chapter.
A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which
is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without
a permanent foundation when connected to required utilities. For floodplain
management purposes the term "manufactured home" includes mobile homes,
park trailers, travel trailers, and other similar vehicles placed
on a site for greater than 180 consecutive days. For flood insurance
purposes the term "manufactured home" does not include park trailers,
travel trailers, and other similar vehicles.
A parcel, or contiguous parcels, of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
A voluntary negotiating process in which parties in a dispute
mutually select a neutral mediator to assist in jointly exploring
and settling their differences, culminating in a written agreement
which the parties themselves create and consider acceptable.
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 erections 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.
The Township of East Manchester, York County, Pennsylvania.
Any dam, wall, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment,
projection, excavation, channel rectification, bridge, conduit, culvert,
building, wire, fence, rock, gravel, refuse, fill, structure, or other
matter in, along, across, or projecting into any channel, watercourse,
or floodplain, which may impede, retard, or change the direction of
the flow of water, either in itself or by catching or collecting debris
carried by such water, or that is placed where the flow of water might
carry the same downstream to cause damage to life or property.
SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEMAny septic system or structure designed to biochemically treat sanitary sewage within the boundaries of an individual lot.
WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMA system for supplying and distributing potable water to a single dwelling or other building from a source located on the same lot.[6]
That portion of the land open to the sky and usually reserved
in a natural state or for agricultural or outdoor recreational use.
A procedure to determine the absorption rate of the soil
in an area proposed as the installation site for an on-lot septic
system. Such a test will be carried out according to the requirements
of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and shall
be conducted by the Township Sewage Enforcement Officer.
Walls of masonry or concrete construction, placed upon footers
set to at least a depth of 36 inches below the surface of the ground
and oriented to the perimeter of the dwelling to be placed thereon
so as to provide a weather-tight joint on all sides of the dwelling.
The map or plan of a subdivision or land development, whether
preliminary, tentative or final.
An informal plan, not necessarily to exact scale, indicating
existing features of a tract, its surroundings, and the general layout
of a proposed subdivision or land development.
A tentative subdivision or land development plan, in lesser
detail than the final plan, indicating the approximate proposed layouts
of a subdivision as a basis for consideration prior to preparation
of the final plan.
A complete and exact subdivision or land development plan
prepared for official recording as required by statute.
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 Chapter 255, Zoning.
A person duly qualified by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
as a Planner-in-Charge.
The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act of July
31, 1968, P.L. 805, Act 247, as amended by Act 170 of 1988.[7]
East Manchester Township Planning Commission.
The map or plan of a subdivision or land development whether
preliminary or final.
A procedure to permit visual inspection of geological formations
and water table level in an area proposed as the installation site
for an on-lot septic system. Such tests will consist of a trench which
shall be two feet wide and seven feet deep or four feet below the
proposed installation level of the septic field, whichever is deeper.
Such tests may be referred to as a "deep probe" or inspection trench
and shall be open for inspection by the Township Sewage Enforcement
Officer and the Department of Environmental Protection. No probe hole
shall be left open overnight.
Parks, playgrounds and other public areas and sites for schools,
sewage treatment, refuse disposal and other publicly owned or operated
facilities.
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Board
of Township Supervisors, Zoning Hearing Board 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 65 Pa.C.S.A. Ch. 7
(relating to open meetings).
[Amended 11-10-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-3]
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.[8]
Any letter, review, memorandum, compilation or similar writing
made by any body, board, officer or consultant other than a solicitor
to any other body, board, officer or consultant for the purpose of
assisting the recipient of such report in the rendering of any decision
or determination. All reports shall be deemed recommendatory and advisory
only and shall not be binding upon the recipient, board, officer,
body or agency, nor shall any appeal lie therefrom. Any report used,
received or considered by the body, board, officer or agency rendering
a determination or decision shall be made available for inspection
to the applicant and all other parties to any proceeding upon request,
and copies thereof shall be provided at cost of reproduction.
A parcel of ground in separate ownership separating a street
or road from adjacent properties or from another street.
Any replatting or resubdivision of land limited to change
in lot lines on an approved final plan or recorded plan.
The entire portion of a public street, road, highway, public
or private use, which is dedicated for the particular use. As to a
right-of-way for a public street, road, or highway, the right-of-way
shall be the entire width of any land reserved or dedicated to the
Township or the Commonwealth either by subdivision or land development
plan or by statute, whichever is greater.
The surface water discharge or rate of discharge of a given
watershed after a fall of rain or snow that does not enter the soil
but runs off the surface of the land.
The surface water runoff that can be reasonably anticipated upon maximum development of that area of the watershed located upstream from the subject tract, as permitted by Chapter 255, Zoning.
The Township Secretary of East Manchester Township.
The process by which mineral or organic matter is accumulated
or deposited by moving wind, water, or gravity. Once this matter is
deposited (or remained suspended in water), it is usually referred
to as "sediment."
The length of roadway visible to the driver of a passenger
vehicle at any given point on the roadway when the view is unobstructed
by traffic.
The face of an embankment or cut section; any ground whose
surface makes an angle with the plane of the horizon. Slopes are usually
expressed in a percentage based upon vertical difference in feet per
100 feet of horizontal distance.
Chemical, vegetative, or structural treatment of a mass of
soil to increase or maintain its stability or otherwise improve its
engineering properties.
For floodplain management and flood insurance purposes only,
the "start of construction" means either the first placement of permanent
construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of slab
or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns,
or any work beyond the stage of excavation; or the placement of a
manufactured home on a foundation. Permanent construction as used
in this definition does not include land preparation, such as clearing,
grading and filling; nor does it include the installation of streets
and/or walkways; nor does it include excavation for a basement, footings,
piers, or foundations or the erection of temporary forms; nor does
it include the installation on the property of accessory buildings,
such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part
of the main structure.
Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway, parkway,
lane, alley, viaduct, and any other ways used or intended for use
by vehicular traffic or pedestrians whether public or private. The
word "street" includes the entire right-of-way and is not limited
to the cartway area.
The outer edges of the area of a street right-of-way as laid
out on a subdivision or land development plan, or dedicated to the
Township, or granted to the Township by statute, whichever is greater.
See definition of "right-of-way."
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
See "applicant" and "developer."
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.
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) 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 plan showing all present and proposed grades and facilities
for stormwater drainage.
A person duly registered as a professional surveyor by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
A low-lying stretch of land which gathers or carries surface
water runoff.
Surface soils and subsurface soils which presumably are fertile
soils and soil material ordinarily rich in organic matter or humus
debris. Topsoil usually found in the uppermost soil layer called the
"A" horizon.
East Manchester Township, York County, Pennsylvania.
Any lot, tract or parcel of land which has not been graded
or in any other manner improved or prepared for subdivision or land
development or for construction of any kind.
An unenclosed portion of the ground of a lot which is not
devoted to driveways or parking spaces, which is free of structures
of any kind, of which not more than 25% is roofed for shelter purposes
only, and which is available and accessible to all occupants of the
building or buildings on the said lot for purposes of active or passive
outdoor recreation.
An inventory of the source, quantity, yield and use of groundwater
and surface-water resources within a municipality.
A permanent or intermittent stream, river, brook, run, creek,
channel, swale, pond, lake, or other body of surface water, carrying
or holding surface water, whether natural or man-made.
Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water
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.
The zoning administrative officer or his authorized representative,
including zoning inspector(s), duly appointed by the Township Board
of Supervisors.
The officially adopted East Manchester Township Zoning Ordinance[9] with any and all amendments thereto.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 301 et seq.
[2]
Editor's Note: The former definition of "base flood," which
immediately followed this definition, was deleted 11-10-2009 by Ord.
No. 2009-3.
[3]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10301 et seq.
[4]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
[5]
Editor's Note: The former definition of "flood of record,"
which immediately followed this definition, was deleted 11-10-2009
by Ord. No. 2009-3.
[6]
Editor's Note: The former definitions of "one-hundred-year
flood," "one-hundred-year flood boundary" and "one-hundred-year flood
elevation," which immediately followed this definition, were deleted
11-10-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-3.
[7]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
[8]
Editor's Note: The former definition of "regulatory flood
elevation," which immediately followed this definition, was deleted
11-10-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-3.
