[Amended 12-21-2015 by Ord. No. 221-2015]
The purpose of the Agricultural (A) District is to encourage
the preservation of productive farmland as a finite and valuable natural
resource and therefore protect farmland against incompatible development
and uses that could adversely affect the long-term economic viability
of these lands. Effective agricultural zoning can achieve good growth
management by:
Permitted uses shall be as follows:
A.
Any form of agriculture, sylviculture (excluding sawmills) and/or
horticulture and related buildings and uses (including one single-family
detached dwelling).
B.
Single-family detached dwellings.
C.
Municipal uses.
D.
Accessory buildings and uses customarily incidental to the above
permitted uses, including but not limited to the following:
(1)
Manure storage facilities, if contained upon and accessory to a farm,
subject to the following regulations:
(a)
All manure storage facilities shall be designed in compliance
with the guidelines outlined in the publication Manure Management
for Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Quality Management Publication
No. 43, and any revisions, supplements and replacements thereof, published
by DEP.
(b)
All manure waste storage facilities' designs shall be reviewed
by the County Conservation District. The applicant shall furnish a
letter from the Conservation District attesting to approval of the
design of the proposed facility.
(c)
Construction and subsequent operation of the manure storage
facility shall be in accordance with the permit and the approved design.
Any design changes during construction or subsequent operation will
require the obtainment of another review by the County Conservation
District.
(2)
Beekeeping, subject to the following:
(a)
It shall be the duty of the applicant to maintain each colony
so as to not create a public nuisance.
(b)
Colonies shall be maintained in movable frame hives.
(c)
Hives shall be located only within the rear yard and shall be
situated to maximize sunshine exposure and/or natural wind protection.
(d)
In no case shall hives be located within 25 feet of any property
line.
(e)
All hives shall have access to an on-site water supply. Unless
a natural water supply exists on the subject property, the applicant
shall furnish a water-filled tank with a board or crushed rock for
the bees to land on.
(f)
Hives shall not be oriented to children's play areas or neighboring
properties.
(g)
Adequate techniques in handling bees, such as requeening and
adequate hive space, shall be maintained to prevent unprovoked stinging
75 feet or more from the hive.
(3)
The storage, processing and sale of farm products by a person engaged
in any form of agriculture, subject to the provisions below:
(a)
At least 1/2 of the various types of products must be grown
or raised on the same property on which they are sold or on other
farm property in the Township owned or leased by the person selling
the products. It is the intention of this provision to comply with
the requirements of the Pennsylvania Right to Farm Act, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 3 P.S. § 951 et seq.
(b)
Any structure which is used for the sale or display of farm
products shall contain no more than 300 square feet of floor area
and shall be at least 50 feet from any property line and the legal
right-of-way line of any street.
(c)
Off-street parking must be provided for all employees and customers.
(d)
The processing of farm products must be accessory to the raising
or growing of such products on the same property on which they are
processed.
[Amended 9-6-2011 by Ord.
No. 189-2011; 12-21-2015 by Ord. No. 221-2015]
The following uses are permitted when special exceptions are
granted by written approval of the Zoning Hearing Board. In granting
any special exceptions, the Zoning Hearing Board may attach certain
conditions to its approval which it feels are necessary requirements
in order to preserve and protect the character of the district in
which the proposed use would locate.
K.
Accessory uses customarily incidental to the above permitted uses.
A.
In order to preserve the agricultural tracts, it is the express intent
of the Agricultural District regulations that the subdivision of lots
from farms or the development of nonagricultural uses and structures
on existing farms shall be limited. In addition, it is the express
intent of these provisions that the maximum size of lots created for
any use other than agriculture be limited in order to provide for
the retention of tracts of sufficient size to be used for agricultural
purposes. It is the intent of the Board of Supervisors to implement
the mandate of Section 604(3) of the MPC to preserve prime agricultural
land through the enactment of those regulations.
B.
Each tract existing on November 13, 1979, shall be permitted to subdivide
lots from the tract or erect single-family dwellings or other principal
nonagricultural buildings on the tract based upon the lot area of
the tract as it existed on November 13, 1979, as follows:
|
Lot Area
(acres)
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
At Least
|
Less Than
|
Number of Lots Which May be Subdivided or Number of Dwellings
or Other Principal Nonagricultural Buildings Which May be Erected
| |
|
2
|
50
|
1
| |
|
50
|
100
|
2
| |
|
100
|
150
|
3
| |
|
150
|
200
|
4
| |
|
200
|
250
|
5
| |
|
250
|
300
|
6
| |
C.
It is the purpose and intent of the Agricultural District to limit the development of agricultural tracts regardless of whether such development is accomplished by subdivision or land development as those terms are defined in the MPC. It is the further purpose and intent of this district to limit the number of single-family dwellings or other principal nonagricultural buildings which may be erected on any tract within the Agricultural District. The condition of the tract on November 13, 1979, or on the date on which the tract was first zoned Agricultural District, shall be the basis from which the maximum development set forth in Subsection B above shall be calculated.
D.
No subdivision shall be permitted which shall increase the lot size of a lot used for residential purposes in excess of the maximum lot size as set forth in § 240-21. Any lot which is less than five acres in size shall be presumed to be used for residential purposes and the size of such lot shall not be increased.
E.
A subdivision, the sole purpose of which is to transfer land to increase the size of a tract being used for agricultural purposes, where both the tract from which the land is taken and the tract to which the land is added will be 25 acres or greater after such subdivision, shall not be included when computing the permissible number of lots to be subdivided from a tract as set forth in Subsection B above.
F.
A subdivision to create a lot which will be transferred to the Township, a municipal authority created by the Township, or another governmental body shall not be included when computing the permissible number of lots to be subdivided from a tract as set forth in Subsection B above.
G.
Any subdivision or land development plan hereafter filed with the
applicable approving body for subdivision or land development of a
parent tract shall specify which lot or lots shall carry with it a
right of further subdivision or erection of single-family dwellings
or other principal nonagricultural buildings, if any such right remains
from the quota allocated to the parent tract on November 13, 1979,
or on the date when such land was first included within the Agricultural
District. The right of further subdivision or erection of additional
single-family dwellings or other principal nonagricultural buildings
if permissible shall also be included in the deed for the newly created
lot. If the designation of the right of further subdivision or erection
of additional single-family dwellings or other principal nonagricultural
buildings was not included on a subdivision or land development plan
of a parent tract, it shall be conclusively presumed that the largest
lot remaining after subdivision shall carry the right of further subdivision
or erection of additional single-family dwellings or other principal
nonagricultural buildings.
H.
In the event that a tract which was not classified as part of the
Agricultural District on November 13, 1979, is or was thereafter classified
as part of the Agricultural District, the size and ownership of the
tract and the development existing on the tract on the effective date
of the change in zoning classification shall determine the number
of lots which may be subdivided from or the number of single-family
dwellings or other principal nonagricultural buildings which may be
erected on such tract.
I.
The number of lots which may be created or single-family dwellings
or other principal nonagricultural buildings which may be erected
shall be fixed according to the size of the parent tract. This number
shall not be increased by the subdivision of such parent tract. Any
subsequent owner of a parent tract, land remaining in the parent tract
after subdivision or land which was formerly part of a parent tract
shall be bound by the actions of his predecessor.
The Table of Design Requirements in the Agricultural (A) District
is included at the end of the chapter.
[Amended 12-21-2015 by Ord. No. 221-2015]
Regardless of the above-required setbacks, no structure housing
more than 500 birds and/or more than 25 head of livestock shall be
located within 300 feet of any area of the Mining and Natural Extraction,
Rural, Institutional, R-1 Residential, R-2 Residential, R-3 Residential,
General Commercial, or General Industrial Districts.
All lands within this district are located within an area where
land is used for commercial agricultural production. Owners, residents
and other users of this property may be subjected to inconvenience,
discomfort and the possibility of injury to property and health arising
from normal and accepted agricultural practices and operations, including
but not limited to noise, odors, dust, the operation of machinery
of any kind, including aircraft, the storage and disposal of manure,
the application of fertilizers, soil amendments, herbicides, and pesticides.
Owners, occupants and users of this property should be prepared to
accept such inconveniences, discomfort and possibility of injury from
normal agricultural operations, and are hereby put on official notice
that Section 4 of the Pennsylvania Act 133 of 1982 The Right to Farm
Law may bar them from obtaining a legal judgment against such normal
agricultural operations.
