Unless otherwise stated, the following words shall, for the
purposes of this chapter, have the meaning herein indicated. Words
in the present tense include the future tense. Words in the singular
include the plural, and words in the plural include the singular.
References to codes, ordinances, resolutions, plans, maps, governmental
bodies, commissions or agencies, or officials are to codes, ordinances,
resolutions, plans, maps, governmental bodies, commissions or agencies,
or officials of the Township of West Donegal or such other governmental
entity as in effect or office from time to time, including amendments
thereto or revisions or successors thereof, unless the text indicates
that another reference is intended. All terms defined in the MPC shall
have the meaning set forth in the MPC unless otherwise defined in
this section.
An anaerobic digester used to convert biogas into electricity,
heat, and water and is intended to primarily reduce on-site consumption
of utility power. A system is considered an accessory anaerobic digester
only if it supplies electrical or thermal power for on-site use, except
that when a property upon which the facility is installed also receives
electrical power supplied by a utility company, excess electrical
power generated and not presently needed for on-site use may be used
by the utility company. Accessory anaerobic digesters use livestock
and poultry manure generated on site from one farm, and are designed
and intended solely to generate power to offset utility costs. Accessory
anaerobic digesters may include "co-digestion" in which the livestock
and poultry manure (primary catalyst) may be mixed with other organic
materials (secondary catalysts).
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
A detached, subordinate building, the use of which is customarily
incidental to that of the principal building, and which is located
on the same lot as that occupied by the principal building.
A new dwelling unit created within part of a new or existing single-family detached dwelling meeting the requirements of § 240-115.7.
[Added 12-21-2015 by Ord.
No. 221-2015]
A detached, subordinate building or structure, the use of
which is customarily incidental to that of the principal building
or use and which is located on the same lot as occupied by the principal
building or use, whether fixed or movable and whether intended for
utility or recreation.
A use customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal
use of the land or principal building and located on the same lot
with such principal use or principal building.
Land (and water) subject to open pit mining operations, related
aggregate processing, and other mining activities on an on-going basis,
including but not necessarily limited to all areas of excavation,
spoil, overburden or topsoil deposition, and related aggregate processing,
offices, maintenance garages, and other mining operation structures
and facilities, employee parking areas, scales, laydown areas, staging
areas, haul roads, access roads, and sedimentation ponds. Land lying
in wait of planned mining activities is considered part of the active
area of mining except when such operation is approved subject to a
phasing schedule, and such land lies within an area subject to a later
phase.
Land or water within 1,000 linear feet of an area subject
to a proposed or existing open pit mine.
A business or club which engages in one or more of the following
areas of sales, services or entertainment.
ADULT BOOKSTOREAny establishment or place:
Which has a substantial or significant portion of its stock-in-trade
consisting of the following items:
Books, magazines or other periodicals, films or other forms
of audio or visual representation which are distinguished or characterized
by an emphasis on depiction, description or display of sexual activities
or conduct or uncovered male or female genital areas; and/or
Instruments, devices or paraphernalia which are designed primarily
for use in connection with sexual activities or conduct; and/or
To which the public is permitted or invited wherein coin- or
slug-operated or electronically or mechanically controlled still or
motion picture machines, projectors or other image-producing devices
are maintained to show images, with or without sound, where the images
so displayed are distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on
depiction, description or display of sexual activities or conduct
or uncovered male or female genital areas.
ADULT THEATERAny theater, auditorium, concert hall or other place of assembly:
Presenting any form of audio and/or visual material, and in
which a substantial portion of the total presentation time measured
over any consecutive twelve-month period is or will be devoted to
the showing of material which is distinguished or characterized by
emphasis on depiction, description or display of sexual activities
or uncovered male or female genital areas; or
Featuring live performances on a regular basis which are distinguished
or characterized by emphasis on depiction, description or display
of sexual activities or by exposure of uncovered male or female genital
areas for observation by patrons.
MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENTAny establishment or business which provides the services of massage and body manipulation, including exercises, heat and light treatments of the body, and all forms and methods of physiotherapy, unless operated by a medical practitioner, chiropractor or professional physical therapist licensed by the commonwealth or a massage therapist who is both nationally certified in therapeutic massage by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork and who is a professional member with active status in good standing of the American Massage Therapy Association. This definition does not include an athletic club, health club, school, gymnasium, reducing salon, spa or similar establishment where massage or similar manipulation of the human body is offered as an incidental or accessory service.
OTHER ADULT-ORIENTED RETAIL, COMMERCIAL SERVICE OR ENTERTAINMENT ESTABLISHMENTAny other business or club which primarily offers its patrons or members retail goods, commercial services, or entertainment which is characterized by an emphasis on matter or activities relating to, depicting, describing or displaying sexual activity or conduct or uncovered male or female genital areas.
The customary and generally accepted activities, practices
and procedures that farmers adopt, use or engage in year after year
in the production and preparation for market of poultry, livestock
and their products and in the production and harvesting of agricultural,
agronomic, horticultural, silvicultural, and aquacultural crops and
commodities. The term includes new activities, practices, equipment
and procedures consistent with technological development within the
agricultural industry. Custom work shall be considered a normal farming
practice which is defined in Section 2 of the Act of June 10, 1982
(P.L. 454, No. 133), entitled, "An act protecting agricultural operations
from nuisance suits and ordinances under certain circumstances," commonly
referred to as the "Right to Farm Act," 3 P.S. § 952.[1]
[Amended 12-21-2015 by Ord. No. 221-2015]
A minor right-of-way, privately or publicly owned, primarily
for service access to the back or sides of properties.
Any exterior structural addition to a building, any renovation
to a building which would change its use classification.
That volume and duration of sound which normally and regularly
occurs within a given setting.
A facility, the main purpose of which is to use anaerobic
digestion processes to convert livestock and poultry manure (primary
catalyst) into biogas, which is generally burned on site to produce
electricity, heat, and water; as well as to manage livestock and poultry
manure. Anaerobic digesters may include "co-digestion" in which the
livestock and poultry manure (primary catalyst) may be mixed with
other organic materials (secondary catalysts). Types of anaerobic
digesters include covered anaerobic lagoons, plug flow, and/or complete
mix (or continually stirred tank reactor), along with other appurtenant
sites, structures and buildings, electrical infrastructure, transmission
lines and other appurtenant structures and facilities.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
The process in which microorganisms, in the absence of oxygen,
convert the energy stored in volatile acids in livestock and poultry
manure or other organic materials into biogas.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
Any dog, cat, equine (horse, etc.) animal, bovine (cow, etc.)
animal, sheep, goat, or porcine (swine) animal.
Members of the family Felidae, except those species commonly
called "house cats," and members of the family Canidae except those
licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Exotic animals
shall also include all nonnative animals, but excepting small animals
and birds customarily kept as house pets.
All animals falling into one of the following categories
as defined by Title 34 of the Pennsylvania Game and Wildlife Code:
BIG GAMEElk, deer, bear and wild turkey.
FURBEARERBadger, fisher, mink, muskrat, opossum, otter, pine marten, striped and spotted skunk, beaver, raccoon, all weasels, red and gray foxes, and bobcat.
GAME ANIMALSElk, deer, bear, cottontail, snow shoe hare, red, gray and fox squirrels,
GAME BIRDSGeese, brant, wild ducks, mergansers and swans, coots, gallinules, rails, snipe, woodcock, turkeys, grouse, pheasants, Hungarian partridges, bobwhite quail, and mourning doves.
The American National Standards Institute.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
See "dwelling."
The visible, functional, or ornamental objects accessory
to and part of buildings.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
An owner-occupied single-family detached dwelling where not
more than four bedrooms are rented to overnight guests on a daily
basis for periods not exceeding one week. Meals may be offered by
the bed-and-breakfast establishment only to registered guests.
A fuel consisting of methane, carbon dioxide, and small amounts
of water and other compounds produced as part of anaerobic digestion
processes.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
The Board of Township Supervisors of West Donegal Township,
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
A detached building arranged or used for sheltering or feeding,
or both, for more than five and not more than 10 individuals that
do not constitute a family.
Any structure constructed or used for a residence, business,
industry, or other public or private purpose, or accessory thereto,
and including enclosed porches, swimming pools, mobile homes and similar
structures, whether stationary or movable, but excluding fences, walls,
signs and awnings. All principal buildings shall be permanently erected
on and attached to a foundation, having a fixed location on the ground,
which principal building shall, in the normal frame of reference,
be immobile. All principal buildings which were formerly mobile homes,
as defined herein (or which, if used as a residential dwelling would
be a mobile home), shall have the entire running gear, as contrasted
with just the wheels, removed and the towing hitch shall be removed.
The aggregate of the maximum horizontal cross-section areas
of the main and accessory structures taken at their greatest outside
dimensions on the ground floor, including all attached structures
except steps, chimneys, and uncovered porches not exceeding 10 feet.
A line parallel to and the distance from a public or private
street as specified in this chapter which determines the location
of a future building or structure.
A use involving the killing of animals for the wholesale
production of food or other commercial products.
[Added 12-21-2015 by Ord.
No. 221-2015]
A retail establishment supplying meat and poultry products.
Meat processing shall be limited to making cuts of meat from preprocessed
carcasses.
[Added 12-21-2015 by Ord.
No. 221-2015]
A lot, tract or parcel of land upon which two or more campsites
are provided for occupation by transients in recreational vehicles
or tents.
A plot within a campground intended for occupation by one
recreational vehicle or tent.
An unenclosed structure for the storage of one or more vehicles
in the same manner as a private garage, which may be covered by a
roof supported by columns or posts, except that one or more walls
may be the walls of the main building to which the carport is accessory.
A statement signed by a duly authorized Township officer,
setting forth that a building, structure or use legally complies with
the chapter and other applicable codes and regulations and that the
same may be used for the purposes stated therein.
A form of residential use designed and operated exclusively
for the care of children who do not live with their parents; provided,
however, that a children's home shall not include any residential
use where the majority of the children are placed there by the criminal
or juvenile justice systems.
Natural wood that has been seasoned to reduce its water content
and provide more efficient combustion. The term "clean wood" does
not include wood:
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
Coated with paint, stain, oil, resin or any other preservative,
fire retardant or decorative materials;
Impregnated with preservatives or fire retardants;
Exposed to salt water; or
Manufactured with the use of adhesives, polymers or resins,
such as strand, particle and veneer lumber and recycled lumber.
Commercial communications antennae shall include, but are
not limited to, antennae used for transmitting commercial radio or
television signals for a cable system or for cellular telephone communications.
Not included in this definition are antennae and supportive structures
for private, noncommercial, and amateur purposes, including but not
limited to ham and citizen's band radios and antennae that primarily
serves emergency communications for police, fire, or emergency medical
services.
Producing and/or maintaining animals other than for the personal
use of the occupant(s) of the property on which such animals are produced
and/or maintained. Commercial keeping and handling shall be conclusively
presumed if more than 25 poultry, livestock and other animals, in
the aggregate, are maintained on a tract of land.
A facility containing meeting rooms, lecture halls, offices,
recreational facilities and/or short-term residential facilities,
dining facilities and other customary support facilities which is
used for meetings, seminars and short-term instructional programs.
The Lancaster County Conservation District or any entity
successor thereto.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
A facility which provides a continuum of services for adults,
which may include, but not be limited to, independent living, congregate
care, personal care, adult and child day care, nursing care and medical
and ancillary care services.
A retail sales business which specializes in providing household
products and foods. Convenience stores may also provide for any or
all of the following as an accessory use:
The rental of video tapes, provided that an adult-oriented business
is specifically prohibited;
The preparation and sales of delicatessen sandwiches and foods,
provided that no patron seating is provided;
The use of no more than two amusement devices (e.g., pinball
machines, video games, and other similar devices); and
The dispensing of vehicle fuels and lubricants.
The ratio of the area of all portions of a lot covered by
buildings to the total area of the lot, excluding any portion of the
lot within the street right-of-way.
The ratio of the area of all portions of a lot covered in
any way so as to not allow the ground beneath to absorb water at a
natural rate to the total area of the lot, excluding any portions
of the lot within the street right-of-way.
The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development
or any agency successor thereto.
[Added 3-14-2016 by Ord.
No. 223-2016]
The number of dwelling units permitted in relation to the
land area actually in use or proposed to be used for residential purposes,
exclusive of public and/or private streets.
The Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, or any agency successor thereto.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining,
dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavating, or drilling operations.
A disability of a person which has continued or can be expected
to continue indefinitely; a disability which is:
Attributable to mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy,
or autism.
Found to be attributable to any other conditions found to be
closely related to mental retardation because such condition results
in similar impairment of general intellectual functioning or adaptive
behavior to that of mentally retarded persons or requires treatment
and services similar to those required for such persons.
A person with a developmental disability.
Animals or birds, including but not limited to dogs and cats
that are locally available for purchase as pets and are an accessory
to a residential use. Domestic pets shall not include farm animals
such as cows, sheep, horses, goats, chickens and pigs and shall not
include animals or birds (other than dogs and cats as set forth above)
defined as exotic animals or birds, or defined as wild animals or
wild birds by the Game and Wildlife Code, 34 Pa.C.S.A. § 102.
Domestic pets shall not include reptiles, such as snakes, which are
not indigenous to the Township.
A building permanently erected on and attached to a foundation,
having a fixed location on the ground, and used as the living quarters
for one or more families, which building when so erected and attached
shall, in the normal frame of reference, be immobile. Hospitals, motels,
hotels, boarding, rooming and lodging houses, institutional houses,
and similar facilities, offering overnight accommodations for guests
or patients shall not be considered dwellings for the purposes of
this chapter.
In order to be considered a dwelling for the purposes of this
chapter, the building shall comply with all of the following requirements:
The foundation for the dwelling shall be an entire perimeter
wall, either of concrete or masonry construction, extending from below
the frost line to the underside of the dwelling building;
The dwelling building shall be attached to the foundation wall
by anchor bolts or similar attachments approved by the Zoning Officer
as contrasted with the mere setting of the dwelling building on the
foundation wall system;
In the event the dwelling building was formerly a mobile home,
the entire running gear, as contrasted with just the wheels, shall
be removed; and
Any towing hitch shall be removed from the dwelling building.
Dwellings shall be classified as follows.
SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHEDA freestanding building containing one dwelling unit for one family.
SINGLE-FAMILY SEMIDETACHED (DUPLEX)A freestanding building containing two dwelling units for two families, arranged in a side-by-side configuration.
TWO-FAMILYA freestanding building containing two dwelling units for two families, arranged in an over-and-under configuration.
APARTMENT HOUSEA building containing three or more dwelling units, at least one of which must be located above or below the remaining units.
TOWNHOUSEA building containing between three and six dwelling units arranged in a side-by-side configuration with two or more common party walls.
A building or portion thereof arranged and designed for the
use of one family living as a single housekeeping unit and having
cooking and sanitary facilities which are used solely by the members
of the family. A dwelling unit shall not contain multiple cooking
and sanitary facilities, accessible only by separate entrances, which
such facilities are not shared by all members of the one family.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency or any
entity successor thereto.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
One or more structures operated on one single lot by a single
entity containing meeting rooms, lecture halls, offices, recreational
facilities, short-term residential facilities, and dining facilities,
which are used for conferences and meetings, seminars and instructional
programs, educational sessions and exhibits, exhibitions, receptions
and social gatherings, historical reenactments, agricultural activities
and programs, and other similar events and amusements, and customary
support facilities and functions.
[Added 8-10-2020 by Ord. No. 239-2020]
A single-family detached dwelling held in single and separate
ownership on November 13, 1979.
A structure that was in existence on November 13, 1979.
The Federal Aviation Administration or any entity successor
thereto.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
To construct from diverse and usually standardized parts.
An individual or individuals related by blood, marriage,
or adoption (including persons receiving foster care) that maintain
one common household and live within one dwelling unit. Additionally,
up to three unrelated individuals who maintain a common household
and live within one dwelling unit may be considered a family. Finally,
a family shall also expressly include any number of unrelated persons
who reside within a licensed group home, as defined herein.
Not more than two rooms plus a bathroom and "efficiency" kitchen in a dwelling that is designed, arranged, used or intended for occupancy by either not more than two persons who are relatives of the principal occupant of the dwelling or not more than two persons who may be unrelated to the principal occupant of the dwelling. At least one of the occupants of the family/caregiver suite must provide care for one or more children of the principal occupant of the dwelling or care for or provide assistance to one or more elders or persons with disabilities who are occupants of the main dwelling. The suite shall be designed so that it can function as an integral part of the dwelling although the occupants may live independently of each other. A family/caregiver suite must follow the provisions of § 240-115.6.
[Added 12-21-2015 by Ord.
No. 221-2015]
Any tract of land held in single and separate ownership on
November 13, 1979, with five or more acres, or any lot created after
November 13, 1979, with 25 or more acres, which is used for agriculture
purposes, including the raising of agricultural products, livestock,
poultry, or dairy products, including necessary farm structures, a
single-family detached dwelling and the storage of equipment customarily
incidental to the primary use.
[Amended 12-21-2015 by Ord. No. 221-2015]
An accessory use to the primary agricultural use of a property
in which residents engage in a secondary occupation conducted on the
active farm.
A low-intensity commercial activity that functions as a customary
accessory use to an on-site farm. Farm-related businesses are intended
to provide supplemental income to farmers to encourage the continuation
of farming and to provide needed services to other farmers. Such activities
shall be strictly subordinate and incidental to the primary agricultural
activity on the lot and shall not be permitted to be developed to
an intensity that will cause possible conflict with the purposes of
the Agricultural District.
[Added 12-21-2015 by Ord.
No. 221-2015]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency or any agency successor
thereto.
[Added 3-14-2016 by Ord.
No. 223-2016]
The volunteer fire department which is the designated first
due responder to the lot at issue.
[Added 6-8-2015 by Ord.
No. 215-2015]
The portion of a flag lot which does not meet the required
minimum lot width and which is used to provide access from a public
or private street to the developable area of such lot.
[Added 6-8-2015 by Ord.
No. 215-2015]
An area of land adjacent to the channel of a watercourse
which has been or is likely to be flooded, or any area subject to
the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from
any source.
The total floor area of the building actually used for habitation,
excluding cellars, storage attics, porches, garages, and the like.
The sum of the floor areas of a building as measured to the
outside surfaces of exterior walls intended and designed for the conduct
of business or use.
[Added 12-21-2015 by Ord.
No. 221-2015]
The sum of the floor areas of a dwelling unit as measured
to the outside surfaces of exterior walls and including all rooms
used for habitation, such as living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom,
bathroom, finished basements, closets, hallways, and stairways, but
not including cellars, basements, attics, or service rooms or areas
such as utility rooms, nor unheated areas such as enclosed porches.
[Added 12-21-2015 by Ord.
No. 221-2015]
Managing and using, for human benefit, forestlands and natural
resources that occur on and in association with forestlands, including
trees, other plants, animals, soil and water. This term includes,
but is not limited to, the planting, cultivating, harvesting, transporting,
and selling of trees which does not involve any land development.
[Added 3-13-2023 by Ord.
No. 252-2023]
A building, structure, or any part thereof, in which one
or more motor vehicles are housed, kept, or repaired. Garages are
classed as private garages, or public garages.
PRIVATE GARAGEAn accessory building for the storage of one or more automobiles and/or other vehicles accessory and incidental to the primary use of the premises; provided, however, that one commercial vehicle of not more than one-and-one-half-ton capacity may be stored therein where the use of such vehicle is not incidental to the use of the premises. No business, occupation or service shall be conducted therein, nor shall space therein for more than one vehicle be leased to a nonoccupant of the premises.
PUBLIC GARAGEAny garage not included within the definition of a "private garage."
The indoor raising of plants, shrubs and trees for display,
sale and/or transplantation.
A dwelling operated by a reasonably responsible individual,
family, or organization with a program to provide a supportive living
arrangement for individuals where special care is needed by the individual
served due to age, emotional, mental, or physical handicap. This definition
shall expressly include facilities for the supervised care of developmentally
disabled persons and those under treatment for alcohol and/or drug
abuse. Group homes must be licensed where required by any appropriate
government agencies, and a copy of any such licenses must be delivered
to the Township prior to beginning the use. Group homes shall be subject
to the same limitations and regulation by the Township as single-family
dwellings.
An energy-generating system that uses the Earth's thermal
properties in conjunction with electricity to provide greater efficiency
in the heating and cooling of buildings.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
Roads that are planned, designed, located, constructed, utilized
and maintained for the life of the open pit mining activities for
the transportation of equipment, fuel, personnel, noncoal and other
operating resources from a public highway or common use road to points
within the open pit mine or between principal operations on the mine
site, or both. This term does not include roads within the pit.
The height of a building in all districts shall be measured
from the average ground level at the corners of the building to the
highest point of the roof, provided that chimneys, spires, towers
and elevator penthouses, tanks and other similar projections shall
not be included in calculating the height.
The face of exposed overburden and mineral in an open cut
of an open pit mining operation.
The care for no more than six nonresident children during
the school or workday and six nonresident children from after the
close of school until 7:00 p.m. located only in a dwelling in which
the care giver resides and which does not employ any person who does
not reside in the dwelling.
An occupation, such as a professional office, beauty parlor,
or barber shop, which is customarily conducted within a dwelling as
an accessory use by the residents thereof. Home occupations shall
be clearly incidental and secondary to the residential use of the
dwelling, shall be conducted by the occupants of the dwelling and
shall be conducted within the dwelling only and shall not be permitted
to be conducted within accessory buildings or structures on the lot.
The International Ground Source Heat Pump Association.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
A cartway, at least 20 feet in width, which is improved with
a paved surface constructed to the standards for public streets under
the applicable subdivision and land development ordinance or road
ordinance, to provide access to a lot. If parking shall be permitted
along an improved private road, the minimum cartway width shall be
increased by eight feet for each side of the improved private road
where parking is permitted.
Nonnative, nonindigenous alien trees, shrubs, vines or herbaceous
species that have a tendency to spread and overcome or kill native
or indigenous vegetation. Species include, but are not limited to:
multiflora rose (Rosa Multiflora), autumn olive (Eleagnus umbellata),
Japanese honeysuckle (Locicera iaponica), oriental bittersweet (Celastrus
orbiculatus), Norway maple (Acer platanoides), and mile-a-minute weed
(Polygonum perforliatum).
Any used or discarded article or material not ordinarily
disposed of as rubbish, garbage or refuse, and including but not limited
to scrap metal, scrapped, abandoned or junked automobiles, machinery,
equipment, paper, rags, glass, containers and other salvageable materials.
An area of land with or without buildings used for the storage,
outside a completely enclosed building, of junk, with or without the
dismantling, processing, salvage, sale, or other use or disposition
of such junk. The deposit or storage on a lot of two or more unlicensed,
wrecked, or disabled vehicles, or the major part thereof, shall be
deemed to constitute a junkyard.
Any commercial operation (not customarily associated with
a farm) involving the boarding the boarding, breeding, grooming, or
sales of dogs, cats, or other domestic pets.
An area of land or other area used for a solar collection
system principally used to capture solar energy and convert it to
electrical energy. Large solar energy production facilities consist
of one or more freestanding ground- or roof-mounted solar collector
devices, solar-related equipment and other accessory structures and
buildings, including light reflectors, concentrators, and heat exchangers,
substations, electrical infrastructure, transmission lines and other
appurtenant structures and facilities. A facility is considered a
large solar energy production facility if it supplies electrical or
thermal power solely for off-site use.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
An area of land or other area used for a wind energy conversion
system principally used to capture wind energy and convert it to electrical
energy. Large wind energy production facilities consist of one or
more wind turbines, tower, and associated control or conversion electronics
and other accessory structures and buildings including substations,
electrical infrastructure, transmission lines and other appurtenant
structures and facilities. A facility is considered a large wind energy
production facility if it supplies electrical power solely for off-site
use.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
Any member of the avian, bovine, equine, porcine, ovine,
and piscine species, including but not limited to poultry, fowl, cows,
steers, horses, ponies, pigs, sheep, goats and fish.
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. A lot for zoning purposes may include one
or more lots of record.
[Amended 6-8-2015 by Ord.
No. 215-2015; 12-21-2015 by Ord. No. 221-2015]
CORNER LOTA lot at the point of intersection of and abutting two or more intersecting streets and which has an interior angle of less than 135° at the intersection of the two street lines. Corner lots shall have two front yards, one side yard, and one rear yard.
FLAG LOTA lot whose frontage does not satisfy the minimum lot width requirements for the respective district at the street frontage and at the minimum building setback line but that does have sufficient lot width away from the lot's minimum building setback line.
INTERIOR LOTA lot other than a corner lot, the sides of which do not abut a street.
THROUGH LOTAn interior lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets.
 |
The area contained within the property lines of a lot, excluding
space within any street right-of-way, but including the area of any
easement(s).
The processing and/or converting of raw, unfinished, or finished
materials or products, or any of any combination, into an article
or substance of a different character for use for a different purpose;
industries furnishing labor in the case of manufacturing; or the refinishing
of manufactured products.
Any vessel, natural or man-made, which is used for the storage
of manure and other excrement from farm animals.
A building and/or series of buildings divided into separate
storage units for personal property and/or property associated with
a business or other organization. The storage units within a mini-warehouse
shall be used solely for dead storage and no nonstorage uses shall
be permitted. Outdoor storage of motor vehicles, recreational vehicles,
boats, and other similar items may also be permitted as a part of
a mini-warehouse.
Actions covered under a Township-approved reclamation plan
taken to reclaim or restore the area affected by open pit mining activities.
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 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 erection 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.
Any use by West Donegal Township, the West Donegal Township
Authority or the Elizabethtown Area Regional Authority for public
health, safety, and welfare, which shall include administration, police,
recreation, and public works uses.
The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act of July
31, 1968, P.L. 805, No. 247, as amended and reenacted, 53 P.S. § 10101
et seq., and as may be amended in the future.
A business or commercial activity administered or conducted
as an accessory use which is clearly secondary to the use as a residential
dwelling and which involves no customer, client or patient traffic,
whether vehicular or pedestrian, pickup, delivery or removal functions
to or from the premises, in excess of those normally associated with
residential use.
An accessory use to a principal detached single-family dwelling
that is not contained upon a farm, whereupon livestock are kept exclusively
by the residents of the site.
A lot, the area or dimensions of which was lawful prior to
the enactment of this chapter or any amendment thereto, but which
fails to conform to the requirements of the zoning district in which
it is located by reason of the enactment of this chapter or any amendment
thereto.
A structure or part of a structure manifestly not designed
to comply with the applicable use or extent of use provisions in this
chapter or amendment thereto, where such structure lawfully existed
prior to the enactment of this chapter or such amendment.
A use, whether of land or of a structure, which does not
comply with the applicable use provisions of this chapter or amendment
heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such use was lawfully in existence
prior to the application of such ordinance or amendment to its location
by reason of annexation.
Any use other than single-family or multifamily dwellings.
An institutional use in which persons may reside, such as a dormitory
or nursing home, shall be considered a nonresidential use.
Any plant identified as a noxious plant in Chapter 110 of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture regulations.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
The outdoor raising of plants, shrubs and trees for sale
and transplantation.
A place where the primary use is conducting the affairs of
a business, profession, service, or government, including administration,
recordkeeping, clerical work, and similar business functions. An office
shall not involve manufacturing, fabrication, production, processing,
assembling, cleaning, testing, repair, or storage of materials, goods
or products; or the sale or delivery of any materials, goods, or products
which are physically located on the premises. Office supplies used
in the office may be stored as an incidental use.
The disposal of sewage generated by one principal use within
the use of safe and healthful means within the confines of the lot
on which the use is located, as approved by DEP.
The provision of a safe, adequate and healthful supply of
water to a single principal use from a private well.
The degree to which emissions other than water reduce the
transmission of light and obscure the view of an object in the background
as measured by EPA Method 9.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
Open pit mining shall include all activity which removes
from the surface or beneath the surface, of the land some materials,
mineral, resource, natural resource, or other elements of economic
value, by means of mechanical excavation necessary to separate the
desired material from an undesirable one; or to remove the strata
or material which overlies or is above the desired material in its
natural condition and position. Open pit mining includes, but is not
limited to, the excavation necessary to the extraction of, sand, gravel,
topsoil, limestone, sandstone, coal, clay, shale, and iron ore. Quarries,
surface mining, and borrow or strip mining are considered a form of
open pit mining for the purpose of this chapter.
A space unoccupied by buildings or paved surface and open
to the sky on the same lot with the building.
A parcel or parcels of land, an area of water, or a combination
of land and water, within a cluster development designed and intended
for the use of all residents of the development (common open space)
or the general public (public open space), not including streets and
walkways, off-street parking areas, areas with no public accessibility,
setbacks, and areas at other than ground level. Open space areas may
include floodplains and drainage basins. Common or public open space
shall be substantially free of structures but may contain such improvements
as are appropriate for recreational use by the residents or the general
public.
A fuel-burning device, also known as an "outdoor wood-fired
boiler," "outdoor wood-fired furnace," and "outdoor wood-burning appliance,"
designed:
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
To burn clean wood or other fuels specifically tested and listed
for use by the manufacturer;
By the manufacturer specifically for outdoor installation or
installation in structures not normally intended for habitation by
humans or domestic animals (e.g., garages); and
To heat building space and/or water via distribution, typically
through pipes, of a fluid heated in the device, typically water or
a water/antifreeze mixture.
The strata or material overlying a noncoal deposit or in
between noncoal deposits in its natural state and material before
or after its removal by open pit mining.
An off-street space available for the parking of one motor
vehicle and having usable access to a street or alley.
An individual, corporation, partnership, association, estate,
trust or other legally recognized entity and the officers of such
corporation and the members of such partnership or association.
An outdoor hydronic heater that has been certified or qualified
by the EPA as meeting a particulate matter emission limit of 0.32
pounds per million British thermal units (BTU) output and is labeled
accordingly with a white "hang" tag.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
The Planning Commission of West Donegal Township, Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania.
The Northwest Regional Lancaster County Police Department
or any successor entity whose primary jurisdiction includes the territorial
limits of the Township.
[Added 6-8-2015 by Ord.
No. 215-2015]
Soils of the first, second, and third class as defined by
the United States Department of Agriculture.
[Added 7-8-2013 by Ord. No. 201-2013]
An organization catering exclusively to members and their
guests, or premises or buildings for social, recreational and administrative
purposes which are not conducted for profit, provided there are not
conducted any vending stands, merchandising or commercial activities,
except as required for the membership of such club. Clubs shall include,
but not be limited to, service and political organizations, labor
unions, as well as social and athletic clubs. Private clubs shall
not include adult-related facilities as defined herein.
A series of actions or operations conducing to an end; a
continuous operation or treatment especially in manufacture.
A recorded boundary of a lot. However, any property line
which abuts a street or other public or quasi-public way shall be
measured from the legal right-of-way line of the street.
Owned, operated or controlled by a governmental agency (federal,
state, or local, including a corporation created by law for the performance
of certain specialized governmental functions, and the Board of Education).
A municipal sanitary sewer or a comparable common or package
sanitary facility approved and permitted by DEP. Such systems are
capable of serving multiple users.
Use or extension thereof which is operated, owned or maintained
by a public utility corporation, municipality or municipal authority,
or which is privately owned and approved by the Pennsylvania Public
Utility Commission for the purpose of providing public sewage disposal
and/or treatment; public water supply, storage and/or treatment; or
for the purpose of providing the transmission of energy or telephone
service (but excluding wireless communication service).
A structure used to house, support, or is an integral part
of any transmission, distribution, process, or storage required for
the operation of a public utility.
A piped water system which serves a minimum of 15 dwelling
units with potable water. The water system shall include a centralized
treatment facility and shall be approved by DEP.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission or any entity
successor thereto.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
A portable structure, primarily designed to provide temporary
living quarters for recreation, camping or travel purposes. In addition
to the above, any of the following attributes are characteristic of
a recreational vehicle:
The unit is of such size or weight as to not require a special
highway movement permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
when self-propelled or when hauled by a standard motor vehicle on
a highway.
The unit is mounted or designed to be mounted on wheels.
The unit is designed to be loaded onto or affixed to the bed
or chassis of a truck.
The unit contains or was designed to contain temporary storage
of water and sewage.
The unit contains some identification by the manufacturer as
a recreational vehicle.
An anaerobic digester principally used to convert biogas
into electricity, heat, and water. Regional anaerobic digesters accept
livestock and poultry manure (primary catalyst), generated off site
or from more than one farm. Regional anaerobic digesters may include
"co-digestion" in which the livestock and poultry manure (primary
catalyst) may be mixed with other organic materials (secondary catalysts).
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
The Regional Strategic Plan of Elizabethtown Borough and
the Townships of Conoy, Mount Joy, and West Donegal.
[Added 12-21-2015 by Ord.
No. 221-2015]
Utilization of extracted resources for the production of
various grades or types of stone, or the production of mixed concrete,
or concrete components or asphalt or asphaltic concrete, often consisting
of mechanical rock crushers, sorters, conveyors, storage and dispensing
facilities, storage tanks, and other necessary materials.
Persons who are related by blood, marriage, adoption or formal
foster relationship to result in one of the following relationships:
spouse, brother, sister, parent, child, grandchild, great-grandchild,
grandparent, great-grandparent, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, sister-in-law,
brother-in-law, parent-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law or first
cousin. This term specifically shall not include relationships such
as second, third or more distant cousins.
[Added 12-21-2015 by Ord.
No. 221-2015]
A procedure by which services or personal property are temporarily
transferred to another person for a specific time period for compensation.
A function involved in correcting deficiencies of products
that affect its performance and/or appearance.
The R-1 Low-Density Residential District, R-2 Medium-Density
Residential District, or R-3 High-Density Residential District.
[Added 12-21-2015 by Ord.
No. 221-2015]
An establishment where food and drink are prepared, served,
and consumed primarily within the principal building.
[Amended 12-21-2015 by Ord. No. 221-2015]
An establishment whose principal business is the sale of
prepared or rapidly prepared food directly to the customer in a ready-to-consume
state for consumption either within the restaurant building, in cars
on the premises or off premises.
[Added 12-21-2015 by Ord.
No. 221-2015]
Those businesses whose primary activities involve the display,
rental and sales of goods and products to the general public. This
term shall not include adult-related uses as defined herein.
An establishment where horses are kept, bred, trained and/or
exercised and where equestrian instruction and equestrian competition
may be offered, including but not limited to polo clubs, public show
rings and rodeos.
An establishment where horses are kept, bred, trained, and/or
exercised. A riding stable shall not include equestrian instruction,
competition, or any event or activity which may be attended by persons
other than employees of the riding stable or persons who own horses
boarded at the riding stable.[2]
[Amended 6-8-2015 by Ord.
No. 215-2015]
A nonprofit institution offering a curriculum approved by
the Department of Public Education.
An assemblage of materials that are arranged to block the
ground-level views between grade and a height of six feet from one
property to the next. Suitable materials include vegetation, walls,
berms and/or fences.
A condition of soil in which the naturally occurring water
table reaches a depth of less than six feet from the surface for a
period exceeding at least one month during most years.
A detached dwelling which is occupied less than year round.
A primary sediment control structure, including but not limited
to a barrier, dam or excavated depression which details water runoff
to allow sediment to settle out.
A place where firearms and other projectile-type weapons
(e.g., guns, rifles, shotguns, pistols, air guns, archery cross bows,
etc.) can be shot for recreation, competition, skill development and/or
training. Nothing within this definition shall be construed to include
hunting when conducted in accordance with the rules and regulations
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
One or more stores, offices, or both, which contain more
than 10,000 square feet of gross floor area.
Any advertisement, announcements, direction or communication
produced in whole or in part by constructing, erecting, affixing or
placing a structure on land or any other structure, or produced by
painting, pasting, or otherwise placing any printed, lettered, pictured,
figured or colored material on any building, structure, or surface,
not including lettering or other identification which is part of the
architectural design of a building.
The ownership of a lot by one or more persons, which ownership
is separate and distinct from that of any abutting or adjoining lot.
To be considered in single and separate ownership, a lot must have
been separately described as such, by metes and bounds, in a recorded
deed of conveyance prior to the enactment of this chapter (March 18,
1970), or prior to the date of any amendment thereto from which the
owner or owners of the lot seek nonconforming lot status, and have
continued to be separately described in all subsequent recorded deeds
of conveyance.
A solar collection system consisting of one or more roof-
and/or ground-mounted solar collector devices and solar-related equipment,
and is intended to primarily reduce on-site consumption of utility
power. A system is considered a small solar energy system only if
it supplies electrical or thermal power solely for on-site use, except
that when a property upon which the facility is installed also receives
electrical power supplied by a utility company, excess electrical
power generated and not presently needed for on-site use may be used
by the utility company.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
A wind energy conversion system consisting of a wind turbine,
tower, and associated control or conversion electronics, and is intended
to primarily reduce on-site consumption of utility power. A system
is considered a small wind energy system only if it supplies electrical
power solely for on-site use, except that when a parcel on which the
system is installed also receives electrical power supplied by a utility
company, excess electrical power generated and not presently needed
for on-site use may be used by the utility company.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
A solar photovoltaic cell, panel, or array, or solar hot
air or water collector device, which relies upon solar radiation as
an energy source for collection, inversion, storage, and distribution
of solar energy for electricity generation or transfer of stored heat.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
Items including a solar photovoltaic cell, panel, or array,
or solar hot air or water collector device panels, lines, pumps, batteries,
mounting brackets, framing and possibly foundations used for or intended
to be used for collection of solar energy.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
A use that is generally compatible with a particular zoning
district once specified criteria have been met. Special exception
uses are listed by district and approved by the Zoning Hearing Board
in accordance with Parts 18 and 19 of this chapter.
Overburden and reject material that has been removed during
open pit mining operations.
The overburden and reject materials as piled or deposited
during open pit mining operations.
Any vertical structure enclosing a flue(s) that carries off
smoke or exhaust from a furnace or other fuel-burning device, especially
that part of a structure extending above a roof.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
The maintenance or accumulation of inventory or other materials
for use in connection with a commercial or industrial establishment.
Storage as a principal use does not include sales or services.
The wall(s) of a unit of occupancy which faces the front
yard within a shopping center as defined here.
All lands established by dedication, usage or ordinance of
the Township, or laid out upon a recorded plan as roads. The term
"street" shall be synonymous with road, highway, parkway, and other
terms commonly applied to public highways.
The center of the surveyed street right-of-way, or, where
not surveyed, the center of the traveled cartway.
The line dividing a lot from the dedicated or legal right-of-way.
The street right-of-way line shall not be measured from the edge of
the improved cartway.
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
An establishment which serves alcoholic beverages for mostly
on-premises consumption and which is licensed by the Pennsylvania
Liquor Control Board and may include the sale of food as an accessory
use. Live entertainment is permitted.
[Amended 12-21-2015 by Ord. No. 221-2015]
West Donegal Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, as
represented by the Board of Supervisors, or its duly authorized agents.
When used in determining the permissible number of lots which
may be subdivided or dwellings erected in the Agricultural District,
all contiguous land held in single and separate ownership, regardless
of whether:
Such land is divided into one or more lots, parcels, purparts
or tracts;
Such land was acquired by the landowner at different times or
by different deeds, devise, partition or otherwise; or
Such land is bisected by public or private streets or rights-of-way,
which was held by the landowner or his predecessor in title on November
13, 1979, or, if such land was not classified as Agricultural District
on November 13, 1979, which was held by the landowner or his predecessor
in title on the date such land was first classified as Agricultural
District after November 13, 1979.
The distance measured from the highest point of the wind
turbine rotor plane to the ground level.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
The Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, as adopted by
the Township, and the regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of
Labor and Industry implementing the Uniform Construction Code.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
The specific purpose for which land or a structure is designed,
arranged, intended, occupied, or maintained.
USE, ACCESSORYA use customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use or building and located on the same lot with this principal use or building.
USE, PRINCIPALThe main or primary use of property or structures.
A modification of any provision of this chapter granted by
the Zoning Hearing Board subject to findings specified by the MPC.
Within a rural heritage meeting center, any meeting space
capable of holding 50 or more persons.
[Added 6-8-2015 by Ord.
No. 215-2015]
A principal use which is devoted primarily for the treatment,
by a veterinarian, of small domestic animals, such as dogs, cats,
rabbits and birds or fowl and/or agricultural livestock.
Materials and goods that readily vaporize at normally occurring
ambient temperatures.
A building or group of buildings primarily used for the commercial
storage, transfer and distribution of products and materials.
Establishments engaged in selling merchandise to retailers,
to industrial, commercial, institutional or professional business
user, or to other wholesalers or acting as agents or brokers and buying
merchandise for or selling merchandise to such individuals or companies.
A principal use whereby environments and habitats are provided
for the raising and/or natural livelihood of plant and animal species
native to the region.
A wind-driven direct-current generator used for charging
storage batteries.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
A device such as a wind charger, wind turbine or windmill
and/or other electric generation facility whose main purpose is to
convert wind power into another form of energy such as electricity
or heat, consisting of one or more wind turbines and other structures
and buildings, including substations, meteorological towers, electrical
infrastructure, transmission lines and other appurtenant structures
and facilities.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
A device that runs on the energy generated by a wheel of
adjustable blades or slats rotated by the wind.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
A device that converts wind energy into electricity through
the use of a wind turbine generator, and includes the nacelle, rotor,
tower and pad transformer, if any.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]
The vertical component of a wind energy conversion system
that elevates the wind turbine generator and attached blades above
the ground.
[Added 9-6-2011 by Ord. No. 189-2011]]
An area between the permitted structures and the property
lines.
[Amended 1-5-2015 by Ord.
No. 2011-2015; 12-21-2015 by Ord. No. 221-2015]
FRONT YARDThe area contained between any street right-of-way line(s) and the principal structure and extending the entire way of the right-of-way line, except the lot line to the rear of addressed street shall be considered a rear yard. For flag lots, the front yard shall be that area between the principal structure and that property line which is most parallel to the street that provides access and is not part of the flagpole.
REAR YARDThe area contained between the principal structure and the property line directly opposite the street of address and extending the entire way of the right-of-way line. For flag lots, the rear yard shall be that area between the principal structure and that lot line which is directly opposite the above-described front yard.
SIDE YARDA yard between a structure and a side lot line, extending from the front yard to the rear yard. On corner lots, the side yard shall be considered those areas between the principal structure and the property lines directly opposite the non-address street(s). For flag lots, the side yards shall be the area between the principal structure and that one outermost lot line which forms the flag and pole, plus the area on the opposite side of the principal structure.
 |
The Zoning Hearing Board of West Donegal Township, Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania.
The duly constituted municipal official designated by the
Board of Supervisors of West Donegal Township to administer and enforce
this chapter in accordance with its literal terms.
