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Township of Bethlehem, PA
Northampton County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (4) Index
The purpose of this district is to:
A. 
Recognize and seek to preserve agricultural lands and to protect environmentally sensitive areas, considering topography, soil type and present use.
B. 
Steer more dense growth away from the AG District and to areas closer to community facilities and services.
C. 
Recognize areas that would be difficult and expensive to extend sewer and water lines and to continue to sewer because of pumping station costs.
D. 
Encourage clustering of homes in the AG District under the optional provisions of Article XXII, especially to provide landscaped buffers between homes and Routes 22 and 33.
Only the following uses are permitted by right in the AG District, provided that the requirements for specific uses of Article XX are met:
A. 
The following residential uses:
(1) 
Single-family detached dwelling.
(a) 
Provided that the dwelling would not be located closer than 150 feet to the outer limits of areas being currently actively used for an animal husbandry use, except for a dwelling owned by the owner of the animal husbandry use.
(b) 
Mobile/manufactured home.[1]
[1]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
B. 
The following agricultural uses:
(1) 
Crop farming.
(2) 
Animal husbandry.[2]
[2]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
(3) 
Plant nursery,[3] including retail sales only of items grown on the premises.
[3]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
(4) 
Commercial and noncommercial crop storage.
C. 
The following miscellaneous uses:
(1) 
Campground.[4]
[4]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
(2) 
Nonhousehold stable.[5]
[5]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
(3) 
Picnic grove.[6]
[6]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
(4) 
Membership club.
(5) 
Animal hospital,[7] small or large.[8]
[7]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
[8]
Editor's Note: Former § 510, Exemption, amended 10-16-1995 by Ord. No. 4-95, which immediately followed this section, was repealed 12-3-2007 by Ord. No. 06-07.
(6) 
Public or private primary or secondary school.[9]
[9]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
(7) 
Group home.[10]
[10]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
(8) 
Swimming pool, public.
(9) 
Kennel.[11]
[11]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
(10) 
Golf course.[12]
[12]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
(11) 
Publicly owned recreation.
(12) 
Wildlife sanctuary.
(13) 
Place of worship.[13]
[13]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
(14) 
Cemetery.[14]
[14]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
(15) 
Township-owned use.
(16) 
Group home.
(17) 
Co-located commercial communications antenna.[15]
[Added 3-19-2001 by Ord. No. 03-01]
[15]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
D. 
The following accessory uses:
(1) 
Retail sales of agricultural products produced on the premises.[16]
[16]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-190.
(2) 
Accessory apartment within an existing single-family detached dwelling.[17]
[17]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-190.
(3) 
No-impact home-based business.[18]
[Amended 12-20-2004 by Ord. No. 10-04]
[18]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-190.
(4) 
Crop storage.
(5) 
Accessory use or structure clearly customary and incidental to a permitted by right, special exception or conditional use.[19]
[19]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-190.
(6) 
Essential services.[20]
[20]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-190.
(7) 
Sale of agricultural fertilizers, seeds or animal feed, not involving manufacture or processing.
(8) 
Swimming pool, private.
(9) 
Recreational facilities limited to use by residents of a development and their occasional guests.
(10) 
Accessory use or structure permitted under § 275-190C.[21]
[21]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-190.
(11) 
Home occupation, minor.[22]
[Added 12-20-2004 by Ord. No. 10-04]
[22]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-190.
Only the following uses are permitted by special exception in the AG District, provided that the requirements for specific uses of Article XX are met:
A. 
Boardinghouse.[1]
[1]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
B. 
Recycling collection center.[2]
[2]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
C. 
Limited office conversion, within the requirements of § 275-41. This use may also be allowed within an existing nonresidential accessory building with a floor area of 300 square feet or larger that is an accessory to a dwelling that would meet the criteria of § 275-41.
D. 
Home occupation, major.[3]
[Amended 12-20-2004 by Ord. No. 10-04]
[3]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-190.
E. 
Bed-and-breakfast use.[4]
[4]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-190.
F. 
Septage or sludge application.[5]
[5]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-190.
G. 
Leaf composting.[6]
[6]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-190.
H. 
Animal cemetery.[7]
[7]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
Only the following uses are permitted conditional uses in the AG District, provided that the requirements for specific uses of Article XX are met:
A. 
Emergency services station.[1]
[1]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
B. 
Public or private airport[2] or heliport.[3]
[2]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
[3]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
C. 
Single-family cluster development, within Article XXII.
D. 
Commercial communications tower. [See § 275-290A(17).]
[Added 3-19-2001 by Ord. No. 03-01]
E. 
Prison.[4]
(1) 
The Board of Commissioners must hold a conditional use hearing on any applications under this section, and the conditional use hearing shall proceed in accordance with Article I, § 275-20, of the Codified Ordinances.
[4]
Note: See additional requirements in § 275-189.
Lot and setback regulations for uses in the AG District shall be as follows, unless a more restrictive requirement is stated in Article XX for a particular use or elsewhere in this chapter. See definitions of these terms in Article II.
A. 
Minimum lot area.
(1) 
With both public water and public sewer service: 43,560 square feet.
(2) 
With either public water or public sewer service: 1 1/2 acres.
(3) 
With neither public water or public sewer service: two acres.
(4) 
See provisions of Article XXII, which allow reductions in the lot area through clustering.
B. 
Minimum lot depth: 150 feet.
C. 
Minimum lot width: 150 feet, except 250 feet for any use with a driveway entering directly onto an arterial or connector street and except 200 feet for any lot required to have a lot area of two acres or larger.
D. 
Maximum lot coverage: 40% for buildings, 50% for total impervious surfaces.
E. 
Minimum front yard setbacks, principal and accessory buildings: 50 feet.
F. 
Minimum side yard setback, principal and accessory buildings: 20 feet for each of two side yards.
G. 
Minimum rear yard setback, principal building: 50 feet; accessory building: 15 feet.
H. 
Minimum setback from expressways and arterial streets: the requirements of § 275-34H shall apply for an expressway. No building shall be constructed within 45 feet of the existing right-of-way line of an arterial street.
I. 
Maximum height: 3 1/2 stories or 35 feet, whichever is less, except a maximum of 120 feet for agricultural buildings.
J. 
Minimum principal building setback from industrial districts, for any dwelling, from any boundary of a GI, LI or OB District: 80 feet.
A. 
Off-street parking. See Article XVII.
B. 
Signs. See Article XVIII.
C. 
Site plan review. See § 275-178, which requires a site plan review by the Planning Commission for nonresidential principal buildings.