The purpose of this district is to:
A. Provide
areas for gaming uses which are subject to licensing by the Pennsylvania
Gaming Control Board, the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission
and/or the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission as set forth in
Act No. 71 of 2004, the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming
Act, 4 Pa.C. S.A. § 1101 et seq.
B. Recognize
the gaming uses are incompatible with certain other uses, in particular,
with residential uses.
There are no permitted-by-right uses in the
GU Gaming Uses Overlay District.
There are no special exception uses in the GU
Gaming Uses Overlay District.
The following are conditional uses in the GU
Gaming Uses Overlay District, provided that all other requirements
of this article are met:
The following are specifically prohibited in
the GU Gaming Uses Overlay District:
The following regulations shall apply to all uses in the GU Gaming Uses Overlay District, unless a more restrictive requirement is stated elsewhere in this article, or for a particular use in Article
XX, or elsewhere in this article:
A. Minimum tract area: 10 acres. See definition of "tract" in Article
II, "Definitions," §
275-24.
B. Minimum lot area: two acres.
C. Minimum lot width: 200 feet, except 300 feet at the
existing right-of-way line of an arterial, connector or collector
street that the use will have a driveway entering onto.
D. Minimum lot depth: 200 feet.
E. Lot coverage: 40% maximum building coverage; 70% maximum
total impervious coverage. A minimum of 30% of the lot area shall
be covered with landscaping and an all-season ground cover.
G. Minimum front yard setback: 40 feet from the existing
right-of-way line.
H. Minimum side yard setback: 20 feet.
I. Minimum rear yard setback: 40 feet, except as provided in §
275-195K and
L.
J. Maximum building height: maximum of 2 1/2 stories
or 35 feet, whichever is more restrictive.
L. Additional building setbacks. All buildings shall
be set back a minimum of 50 feet from the existing right-of-way of
an expressway, arterial, connector or collector street.
M. FAR. The maximum ratio of the total floor area of
all buildings on a lot divided by the lot area of that lot shall be
0.3.
N. Utilities. Utility service lines that serve any use
shall be underground.
In order to determine the impact of a proposed gaming facility or racetrack upon the Township, an analysis of the potential affects of the use upon public facilities, utilities, public schools, transportation systems, housing, police and emergency services, tourism, historical and cultural resources, and other municipal services and/or resources is required. A comparison of the projected costs to the Township and the Bethlehem Area School District versus the revenues to the Township and the Bethlehem Area School District produced by the use shall be included in the analysis. The analysis shall demonstrate compliance with the separation distance requirements of §
275-280. The analysis shall include studies prepared by appropriate qualified professionals as determined by the Township. The Township shall have the right to require the applicant to analyze impacts in addition to those specifically identified above and, pursuant to the conditional use process, to require the applicant to mitigate and/or offset adverse impacts as determined by the Township.
No lot on which a gaming facility or racetrack
is located shall be situated within:
A. Five thousand two hundred eighty lineal feet of any
lot containing an adult use, check-cashing business, or pawn shop.
B. Two thousand six hundred forty lineal feet of any
lot containing a public or private primary or secondary school, or
place of worship.
C. One thousand three hundred twenty lineal feet of the
boundary line of any RR Rural Residential District, LDR Light Residential
District, MDR Medium-Density Residential District, MHDR Medium-Density
Residential District, or AG Agricultural District.
D. Five hundred lineal feet of any lot containing a day-care
center or nursery school, or library, or any public park, or any lot
designated as a future public park on the Township Official Map.
A gaming facility or racetrack shall include
at least one hotel and one standard restaurant within the principal
building of such gaming facility or racetrack.
The following uses are permitted only as supportive uses for the development of a gaming facility or racetrack, and provided that the requirements for such specific uses in Article
XX are met. It is the intention of this section that these uses not be allowed in the GU Gaming Uses Overlay District in the absence of the actual development of a tract for a gaming facility or racetrack. Such uses must be located on the same tract as a gaming facility or racetrack, but may be located on an approved subdivided lot separate from the lot on which the gaming facility or racetrack is located. No final land development approval for any such use shall be granted unless final land development approval has been granted for the gaming facility or racetrack; no final land development plan for any such use shall be recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of Northampton County, Pennsylvania until the final land development plan for the gaming facility or racetrack has been recorded; no building permit shall be issued for the construction of any such use unless a building permit has been issued for the construction of the gaming facility or racetrack; and no certificate of occupancy shall be issued for the occupancy of any such use until a certificate of occupancy has been issued for the occupancy of the gaming facility or racetrack.
B. Financial institution with or without drive-through
service.
F. Commercial indoor or outdoor recreation, including mini-golf course, bowling alley, exercise club,
indoor movie theater, or skating rink.
G. Standard restaurant with or without drive-through
service.
I. Emergency services station.
A copy of all applications for licenses from
the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the Pennsylvania State Horse
Racing Commission and/or the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission,
as applicable, shall be submitted with the application for preliminary
subdivision and land development approval. Amendments to such applications
shall be submitted to the Township at the same time as they are submitted
to the applicable state licensing entity. A copy of all licenses issued
by such entities shall be submitted to the Township prior to the recordation
in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of Northampton County, Pennsylvania
of any approved subdivision and/or land development plan for a gaming
facility or racetrack.