Words used in the singular include the plural, and words in
the plural include the singular. The word "person" indicates a corporation,
an incorporated association, and a partnership, as well as an individual.
The word "building" indicates "structure" and shall be construed as
if followed by the words "or part thereof." The word "may" is permissive;
the word "shall" is mandatory.
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following terms shall,
for the purpose of this chapter, have the meanings indicated.
100-YEAR FLOOD
A flood that, on the average, is likely to occur once every
100 years (i.e., that has 1% chance of occurring each year, although
the flood may occur in any year).
[Amended 11-20-1996]
ACCESSORY USE OR STRUCTURE
A use or structure on the same lot with, and of a nature
customarily and subordinate to, the principal use or structure.
[Added 10-11-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-07]
AGRICULTURE
The raising, breeding, and keeping of domestic animals, and
the cultivating of the soil and the raising and harvesting of the
products of the soil, including, but not by way of limitation, nursery,
horticulture and forestry.
ALLEY
A strip of land over which there is a right-of-way, municipally
or privately owned, on which no dwellings or stores front, serving
as the secondary means of access to two or more properties and not
intended for general traffic circulation.
ANAEROBIC
Capable of living or growing in an environment lacking free
oxygen.
APPLICANT
A landowner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has
filed an application for development, including his or her heirs,
successors and assigns.
APPLICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT
Every application, whether preliminary or final, required
to be filed and approved prior to start of construction or development,
including but not limited to the approval of a subdivision plat or
plan or the approval of a land development plan.
AUTHORITY
A body politic and corporate created pursuant to 53 Pa.C.S.A.
§ 5601 et seq., known as the "Municipalities Authorities
Act."
[Amended 1-7-2013 by Ord.
No. 2013-01]
BASEMENT
Any area of a building having its floor below ground level
on all sides.
[Amended 11-20-1996]
BLOCK
A unit of land bounded by streets or by a combination of
streets and public land, railroad rights-of-way, watercourses, or
any other barrier to the continuity of development.
BUILDER
A person, who is not necessarily the owner of the land or
agent of the same, who by contract or other agreement is charged with
the responsibility of construction of buildings or other structures
or of making any construction improvements on any parcel of land.
BUILDING
A combination of materials to form a permanent structure
having walls and a roof. Included shall be all manufactured homes
and trailers to be used for human habitation.
[Amended 11-20-1996]
BUILDING SETBACK LINE
An imaginary line that is the required minimum distance from, and parallel to, the ultimate right-of-way line of the street the lot abuts or from any other lot line that establishes the area within which the principal structure shall be erected or placed, as prescribed by Chapter
370, Zoning, as amended.
CANOPY
The uppermost spreading branch layer of a tree or a group
of trees.
CARTWAY
The portion of a street within which vehicles are permitted,
including travel lanes and parking lanes, but not including shoulders,
curbs, sidewalks, or swales.
COMPLETELY DRY SPACE
A space which will remain totally dry during flooding; the
structure is designed and constructed to prevent the passage of water
and water vapor.
[Amended 11-20-1996]
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
The official public document of current adoption, consisting
of maps, charts and textural matter, that constitutes a policy guide
to decisions about the physical and social development of Schuylkill
Township, also known as the "Schuylkill Township Comprehensive Plan
of 1991," and including the "Schuylkill Township Comprehensive Plan
Addendum of 2005," or the most recent version thereof.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
CONDOMINIUM
An estate in real property consisting of an undivided interest
in a portion of a parcel together with a separate interest in a space
within a structure. This form of ownership may be applied in residential,
professional office, limited industrial, and commercial land uses.
CONSERVATION AREAS, PRIMARY (PCA)
Lands consisting of the Flood Hazard and Wetlands District
and elevated steep slopes (above 25%). In the Conservation Overlay
District, all primary conservation areas are required to be located
within conservation land.
[Added 10-2-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-04]
CONSERVATION AREAS, SECONDARY (SCA)
Lands containing natural or cultural features, outside primary conservation areas, that are worthy of conservation by inclusion in conservation land. See a list of such features in §
320-40.1B(1)(b) of this chapter.
[Added 10-2-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-04]
CONSERVATION LAND
A parcel or parcels of land and/or water, within a conservation
subdivision, set aside for the protection of natural and cultural
resources. Conservation land consists of primary and secondary conservation
areas and is permanently restricted against further development.
[Added 10-2-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-04]
CONSERVATION SUBDIVISION
A residential development, designed in accordance with the standards in §
370-227 of Article
XXIX, Conservation Overlay District, of Chapter
370, Zoning.
[Added 10-2-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-04; amended at time of adoption of Code
(see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
CONSTRUCTION
Any disturbance of the existing surface of the land, including
the cutting of trees or clearing of brush, or the erection of structures
thereon.
CROSSWALK
A right-of-way for pedestrian travel crossing between streets.
CUL-DE-SAC
A street with access at one end and terminated at the other
by paved vehicular turnaround.
DEVELOPABLE AREA
The total area suitable for land development within the titled
lines of a lot, after the following areas are excluded:
[Amended 8-4-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-03; 12-2-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-05]
A.
Areas set aside as the ultimate right-of-way for a public or
private street;
B.
Areas of steep slopes pursuant to Chapter
370, Article
XXVIII, Natural Resources Conservation Overlay District;
C.
Flood hazard districts pursuant to Chapter
370, Article
XI, F Flood Hazard and Wetlands District;
E.
Existing stormwater management facilities pursuant to Chapter
310, Stormwater Management;
F.
Areas comprising rights-of-way and easements for aboveground
utilities and underground utilities other than for local retail service;
G.
Inner riparian buffers pursuant to Chapter
370, Article
XXVIII; and
H.
Outstanding resource waters and associated outstanding resource waters inner buffers pursuant to Chapter
370, Article
XXVIII.
DEVELOPER
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; also "applicant."
DEVELOPMENT
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to the construction, reconstruction, renovation,
repair, expansion, or alteration of buildings or other structures;
the placement of manufactured homes; streets and other paving; utilities;
filling, grading, and excavation; mining; dredging; drilling operations;
storage of equipment or materials; and the subdivision of land.
[Amended 11-20-1996]
DRIVEWAY
A private cartway providing for vehicular and pedestrian
access between a public street and a parking area within a lot or
property.
EASEMENT
A grant of one or more property rights by the property owner
to and/or for the use by the public, a corporation, or another person
or entity.
EROSION
The removal of land surface materials by the action of natural
elements.
ESSENTIALLY DRY SPACE
A space which will remain dry during flooding, except for
the passage of some water vapor or minor seepage; the structure is
substantially impermeable to the passage of water.
[Amended 11-20-1996; 10-11-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-07]
EXCAVATION
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar
material is dug into, cut, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced,
relocated or moved and shall include the conditions resulting therefrom.
FEMA
The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FILL
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 surface of the ground, and shall include the conditions
resulting therefrom. Also, the material used to make up the difference
in elevation between a point on the original ground and a designated
point of higher elevation on the final grade, and the material used
to make a fill.
FLOOD
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
[Added 10-11-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-07]
FLOOD HAZARD AND WETLAND DISTRICT
Land adjacent to a watercourse or water body designated and defined in Chapter
370, Article
XI, F Flood Hazard and Wetlands District.
[Added 12-2-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-05]
FLOODPLAIN
A relatively flat or low land area which is subject to inundation
from an adjoining or nearby stream, river, or watercourse; and/or
any area subject to the accumulation of surface waters from any natural
source; and/or any area delineated by applicable FEMA maps and studies,
or other professional engineering studies, as being a special flood
hazard district.
[Added 12-2-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-05]
FLOODPROOFING
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.
[Amended 11-20-1996]
FLOODWAY
The designated area of a floodplain required to carry and
discharge floodwaters of a given magnitude. For the purposes of this
chapter, the floodway shall be capable of accommodating a flood of
the 100-year magnitude.
[Amended 11-20-1996]
GRADE
A slope of street, or other public way, specified in percent
and shown on plans as specified herein.
GREEN
An area of conservation land, surrounded by streets on at
least two, three or four sides, around which dwellings are organized
such that the dwellings face the conservation land either directly
or across a street.
[Added 10-2-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-04]
HISTORIC RESOURCE
Within the context of this chapter, any building, site, structure, or object designated as a Class I or Class II historic resource and included on the Township Historic Properties Map that is contained in Chapter
370, Zoning.
[Added 12-7-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-12]
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
Any structure that is:
[Amended 11-20-1996; 8-4-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-03]
A.
Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places
(a listing maintained by the Department of the Interior) or preliminarily
determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements
for individual listing on the National Register;
B.
Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the
Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered
historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary
to qualify as a registered historic district;
C.
Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places
in states with historic preservation programs which have been approved
by the Secretary of the Interior; or
D.
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation programs that have been
certified either:
(1)
By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary
of the Interior; or
(2)
Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without
approved programs.
HYDRIC SOIL
A soil that is saturated, flooded, or ponded long enough
during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in accordance
with the criteria specified in the publication Hydric Soils of the
United States (USDA SCS 1991) or any amendments thereto.
IDENTIFIED FLOODPLAIN AREA
The floodplain area specifically identified in this chapter
as being inundated by the 100-year flood.
[Amended 11-20-1996]
IMPROVEMENT
Grading, paving, curbing, streetlights and signs, fire hydrants,
wells, water mains, sanitary sewers and other utilities, sidewalks,
parking areas, crosswalks, street shade trees, monuments, recreation
areas, storm drains and other storm runoff control structures, bridges,
culverts, erosion and sediment control measures, and other items required
by this chapter.
LAND DEVELOPMENT
Any of the following activities:
A.
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts
or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
(1)
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; or
(2)
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.
C.
Development in accordance with Section 503(1.1) of the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code, as amended.
[Added 12-2-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-05]
LANDOWNER
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 or
she is authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the landowner,
or other person having a proprietary interest in the land.
LiDAR
An acronym for "light detection and ranging," is a remote
sensing technology that measures distance by illuminating a target
with a laser and analyzing the reflected light. LiDAR produces mass
point cloud datasets that can be managed, visualized, analyzed, and
shared using a geographic information system, a computer-aided design
and drafting system (CADD) or equivalent software. LiDAR technology
can produce accurate high-resolution maps of land areas, including
contour maps.
[Added 12-2-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-05]
LOT
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.
LOT AREA
The area contained within the property lines of the individual
parcels of land as shown on a subdivision plan, excluding any area
within any right-of-way but including the area of any easement.
LOWEST FLOOR
The lowest floor of the lowest fully enclosed area (including
basement). An unfinished, flood-resistant, partially enclosed area,
used solely for parking of vehicles, building access, and incidental
storage in an area other than a basement area is not considered the
lowest floor of a building, provided that such space is not designed
and built so that the structure is in violation of the applicable
nonelevation design requirements of this chapter.
[Amended 11-20-1996]
MEDIATION
A voluntary negotiating process in which parties in a dispute
mutually select a neutral mediator to assist them in jointly exploring
and settling their differences, culminating in a written agreement
which the parties themselves create and consider acceptable.
MOBILE HOME
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 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,
and constructed with the same, or similar, electrical, plumbing, and
sanitary facilities as immobile housing. No titled or untitled vehicle,
whether containing living quarters or not, shall be considered a mobile
home under this chapter. For purposes of floodplain management only,
the term "mobile home" shall also include park trailers, travel trailers,
recreational and other similar vehicles which are placed on a site
for more than 180 consecutive days.
[Amended 11-20-1996]
MOBILE HOME LOT
A parcel of land in a mobile home park, improved with the
necessary utility connections, and other appurtenances necessary for
the erection thereon of a single mobile home.
MOBILE HOME PARK
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which has been so
designed and improved that it contains two or more mobile home lots
for placement thereon of mobile homes.
NATIVE TREE
A tree inherent and original to the local area.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after October 1, 1975, and including any subsequent improvements
thereto.
[Amended 11-20-1996]
NONCONFORMING LOT
A lot, the area or dimension of which was lawful prior to the adoption of Chapter
370, Zoning, or amendment, but which fails to conform to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located by reason of such adoption or amendment.
NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE
A structure or part of a structure the design of which is inconsistent with the applicable use or extent of use provisions in Chapter
370, Zoning, or amendment, where such structure lawfully existed prior to the application of said chapter or amendment, or prior to the application of said chapter or amendment to its location by reason of annexation.
NOTEWORTHY TREES
A healthy or nonterminally diseased tree with a minimum diameter
of 10 inches DBH.
OFFICIAL MAP SUMMARY
The map of current adoption showing the location of the lines
of existing and proposed public streets, including the ultimate width
of the corridor for such streets, watercourses and public grounds
for the whole of Schuylkill Township, provided that proposed streets,
watercourses or public grounds shall not, in and of itself, constitute
a taking or acceptance of any land by the Township Supervisors.
OUTSTANDING RESOURCE WATER
A surface water feature that has significant water quality
value and requires special protection, specifically, the Pickering
Reservoir, wetlands along and adjacent to the Pickering Reservoir,
any wetlands that have been determined to be exceptional value wetlands
by PADEP per 25 Pa. Code § 105.17, and any waters that have
been determined to be exceptional value (EV) waters by PADEP per 25
Pa. Code § 93.4b.
[Added 12-2-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-05]
PERSON
An individual, partnership, public or private association
or corporation, firm, trust, estate, municipality, government unit,
public utility or any other legal entity whatsoever, which is recognized
by law as the subject of rights and duties.
[Added 10-11-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-07]
PLAN
The map or plan of a subdivision or land development.
A.
AS-BUILT PLANA plan showing actual locations and dimensions of improvements of an approved subdivision or land development.
B.
EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION CONTROL PLANA plan showing the proposed methods of controlling or preventing the destructive removal of topsoil due to stormwater runoff, excessive situation, and other undesirable consequences of earth disturbances according to the requirements in this chapter.
C.
FINAL PLANA complete and exact subdivision or land development plan which has been stamped by a registered professional surveyor or engineer, defining property lines, proposed streets, drainage facilities, easements, and other improvements, and which is to be recorded upon approval. The final plan shall also include an improvement construction plan and a final stormwater management plan.
D.
IMPROVEMENT CONSTRUCTION PLANA plan prepared by a registered professional engineer showing the construction details of streets, drains, sewers, bridges, culverts, and other improvements as required by this chapter, and shall include a horizontal plan, profiles and cross sections.
E.
PRELIMINARY PLANA plan prepared for discussion with the Planning Commission and Township Supervisors by a registered professional engineer or surveyor showing the proposed street and lot layout, the deed restrictions, easements, etc., of the entire tract of land being subdivided or developed.
H.
SUBDIVISION PLANA preliminary or final plan showing an arrangement of lots, streets, and other items required in this chapter which are proposed for a parcel.
I.
SKETCH PLANA rough draft showing proposed streets and lots to be used as the basis for informal discussion between the Planning Commission and the applicant.
POLLUTANT
Any introduced gas, liquid, or solid that degrades a natural
resource.
PUBLIC GROUNDS
Includes:
A.
Parks, playgrounds, trails, paths or other recreational areas
and other public areas;
B.
Sites for schools, sewage treatment, refuse disposal, and other
publicly owned or operated facilities; and
C.
Publicly owned or operated scenic and historic sites.
PUBLIC HEARING
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the governing
body or planning agency, intended to inform and obtain public comment,
prior to taking action in accordance with the provisions of the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code.
PUBLIC MEETING
A forum held pursuant to public notice under 65 Pa.C.S.A.
§ 701 et seq., known as the "Sunshine Act."
[Amended 1-7-2013 by Ord.
No. 2013-01]
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice published each week for two successive weeks in a
newspaper of general circulation in the Township. 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 prior to the date of the hearing.
RECREATION, ACTIVE
Leisure time activities, usually of an organized nature and
performed with others, often requiring equipment and taking place
at prescribed times, places, sites, or fields.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A vehicle which is:
[Amended 11-20-1996]
A.
Built on a single chassis;
B.
Not more than 400 square feet, measured at the largest horizontal
projections;
C.
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty
truck;
D.
Not designed for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary
living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
REGULATORY FLOOD ELEVATION
The 100-year flood elevation plus a freeboard safety factor
of 1 1/2 feet.
[Amended 11-20-1996; 10-11-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-07]
RESERVE STRIP
A parcel of land separating a street from adjacent properties
or from a marginal access street.
RETAINING WALL
A structure erected between lands of different elevation
typically used to prevent the washing down or erosion of earth from
the upper slope level.
RIGHT-OF-WAY LINE
The line establishing a boundary between public right-of-way
(for streets, utilities, etc.) and adjacent private property.
RIPARIAN BUFFER
A protective area of land adjacent to each side of a watercourse,
which is not an outstanding resource water and which is divided into
two separate zones. This area is managed to maintain vegetation to
protect the integrity of stream channels and shorelines, to reduce
the impact of upland sources of pollution by trapping, filtering,
and converting sediments, nutrients, and other chemicals, and to supply
food, cover and thermal protection to fish and other aquatic species
and wildlife.
[Added 12-2-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-05]
RUNOFF
The surface water discharge after a fall of precipitation
that does not enter the soil but runs off the surface of the land.
SEDIMENTATION
The process by which mineral or organic matter is accumulated
or deposited by moving wind, water, or gravity. Once this matter is
deposited it is usually referred to as "sediment."
SLOPE
Inclination of the land with respect to the horizontal, expressed
by stating the vertical rise or fall as a percentage of the horizontal
distance.
[Amended 12-2-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-05]
SOIL STABILIZATION
Chemical or structural treatment of a mass of soil to increase
or maintain its suitability or otherwise improve its engineering properties.
SOIL SURVEY
A report entitled, "Soil Survey-Chester and Delaware Counties,
Pennsylvania," published May 1963, by the Soil Conservation Service,
United States Department of Agriculture, and which is available in
Schuylkill Township or through the Department of Agriculture.
SPECIAL PERMIT
A special approval which is required for hospitals, nursing
homes, jails, and new manufactured home parks and subdivision and
substantial improvements to such existing parks, when such development
is located in all, or a designated portion of a floodplain.
[Added 10-11-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-07]
STEEP SLOPES
Those areas of land where the slope, as measured over a vertical
distance of six feet, is greater than 15%.
[Added 12-2-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-05]
STEEP SLOPES, MAN-MADE
All steep slopes that are not naturally occurring steep slopes.
[Added 12-2-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-05]
STEEP SLOPES, NATURAL
All steep slopes other than those occurring as a result of
grading, trenching, contouring, construction or other man-made processes.
[Added 12-2-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-05]
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FACILITY
Any feature, natural or man-made that, due to its condition,
design, or construction, conveys, stores, or otherwise affects stormwater
runoff quality, rate, or quantity. Typical stormwater management facilities
include, but are not limited to, detention and retention basins, open
channels, storm sewers, pipes, and infiltration facilities.
[Added 12-2-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-05]
STREET
A strip of land, including the entire ultimate right-of-way,
publicly or privately owned, serving primarily as means of vehicular
and pedestrian travel, furnishing access to abutting properties which
may also be used to provide space for sewer, public utilities, and
sidewalks, but which do not include driveways. (Also referred to as
"road.")
[Amended 8-4-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-03]
A.
HALF-STREETA street of less than required right-of-way and cartway width.
B.
MAJOR STREETA street connecting district centers or communities, serving large volumes of fast moving through traffic, preferably located outside or bounding the residential neighborhood.
D.
RESIDENTIAL STREETA street used primarily as the principal means of access to adjacent residential properties.
E.
SINGLE-ACCESS STREETA configuration of one or more streets designed to provide access at only one point of intersection with an existing Township or state road or with a proposed road having more than one access point.
[Added 10-6-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-10]
F.
SECONDARY STREETA street connecting local residential streets to each other or community facilities and to the major streets serving only neighborhood traffic. There are two types of secondary streets:
(1)
Secondary feeder streets serve to connect residential streets
to collector streets and community facilities with light traffic volumes.
(2)
Secondary collector streets serve to connect secondary feeder
streets and residential streets to other feeder streets, community
facilities, and major highways with medium traffic volumes.
STRUCTURE
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land. Anything
constructed or erected on the ground or attached to the ground, including
but not limited to buildings, sheds, manufactured or mobile homes,
and other similar items.
[Amended 11-20-1996]
SUBDIVISION
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. Any subdivision of land for mortgage purposes shall comply with all of the requirements of this chapter and Chapter
370, Zoning.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
Damage from any cause sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the
damage occurred.
[Amended 11-20-1996]
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or other improvement
of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market
value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement.
This term includes structures which have incurred substantial damage,
regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not,
however, include either:
[Amended 11-20-1996]
A.
Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing
violations of state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications
which have been identified by the local Code Enforcement Official
and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions;
or
B.
Any alteration of a historical structure, provided that the
alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designations
as a historic structure.
SWALE
A low-lying stretch of land which gathers and carries surface
water runoff.
TOPSOIL
Surface soils and subsurface soils usually found in the uppermost
soil layer.
TOWNSHIP ENGINEER
A professional engineer licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
and duly appointed as the Engineer for Schuylkill Township.
TREE
A woody plant with a minimum diameter of three inches DBH
for a single-stemmed specimen, or any woody multistemmed plant eight
feet or more in height.
TREE CLUSTER
A group or mass of at least three trees that form a common
canopy.
TREE DRIPLINE
A generally circular line marking the outer edges of the
branches of the tree.
TREE PROTECTION ZONE (TPZ)
An area surrounding a tree or a tree cluster in which no
construction or construction activity shall take place. The tree protection
zone shall extend 15 feet from the trunk of the tree or the distance
from the trunk of the tree to two feet beyond the dripline, whichever
is greater. For noteworthy trees, the TPZ shall extend 20 feet from
the trunk of the tree or the distance from the trunk of the tree to
five feet beyond the dripline, whichever is greater. Where there is
a cluster of trees, the TPZ shall be the congregate of the protection
zones for the individual trees concerned.
TREE, SPECIMEN
A tree with a DBH of 24 inches or greater, or a unique, rare,
or otherwise specifically selected tree which most typically represents
a whole class or group, specifically in shape, form or historical
importance, including, but not limited to, a tree whose growth pattern
has been significantly altered by a natural and/or man-made action,
one which has been historically documented (showing up in written
histories), one on which there are historic plaques, markers, carvings,
or unusual marking in the bark, or one which identifies a particular
location, and which shall be designated as such by the Township during
plan review.
[Added 10-2-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-04]
ULTIMATE RIGHT-OF-WAY
The right-of-way area measured on both sides of the center
line of a street or proposed street, as shown on the Ultimate Right-of-Way
Map of Schuylkill Township, adopted by the Township Supervisors as
part of the Official Map Summary of Schuylkill Township.
ULTIMATE RIGHT-OF-WAY LINE
The line generally parallel to the center line of any public
street which defines the boundary of the ultimate right-of-way as
defined above.
UNIFORM CONSTRUCTION CODE (UCC)
The statewide Building Code adopted by the Pennsylvania General
Assembly in 1999 applicable to new construction in all municipalities,
whether administered by the municipality, a third party or the Department
of Labor and Industry. Applicable to residential and commercial buildings,
the Code adopted the International Residential Code (IRC) and the
International Building Code (IBC), by reference, as the construction
standard applicable with the commonwealth floodplain construction.
For coordination purposes, references to the above are made specifically
to various sections of the IRC and the IBC.
[Added 10-11-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-07]
VEGETATION LAYERS
For the purpose of this chapter, vegetation layers are located
within a tree cluster and are comprised of the following: canopy layer,
understory layer, shrub layer and the grass/herbaceous layer.
WATERCOURSE
A channel or conveyance of surface water having a defined
bed and banks, whether natural or artificial, with perennial or intermittent
flow.
[Amended 12-2-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-05]
WEEP HOLES
Holes which pass through the thickness of the material of
a retaining wall from within to the exterior face of the wall to relieve
water pressure.
WETLAND BUFFER
A protective area extending 50 feet from the edge of a lake
or pond shoreline or from the outer limit of a wetland boundary.
[Added 12-2-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-05]
WETLANDS
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. An area meeting the current,
official wetland definition of the United States Army Corps of Engineers
or the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection shall be
considered a wetland. In the event that there is a conflict between
the definitions of these agencies, the more inclusive definition shall
apply.
[Amended 12-2-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-05]
WETLANDS VEGETATION
Those plant species that have adapted to saturated soils
or periodic inundations; plants that typically occur in wetlands.