Unless a contrary intention clearly appears, the following words
and phrases shall have, for the purpose of this chapter, the meanings
given in the following clauses:
ACCESSORY BUILDINGSee "building."
ACCESSORY USESee "use."
As applied to a building or structure, a change or rearrangement
in the structural parts or an enlargement, whether by extending on
a side or by increasing in height, or the moving from one location
or position to another.
LOT AREAThe area contained within the property lines of individual parcels of land shown on a subdivision plan, excluding any area within a street right-of-way, existing or proposed, but including the area of any easement.
BUILDING AREAThe total of areas taken on a horizontal plane at the main grade level of the principal building and all accessory buildings, exclusive of uncovered porches, terraces and steps.
FLOOR AREAThe sum of the areas of the several floors of a building structure, including areas used for human occupancy and basements, attics and penthouses, as measured from the exterior faces of the walls. It does not include cellars, unenclosed porches, attics not used for human occupancy or any floor space in an accessory building or in the main building intended and designed for the parking of motor vehicles in order to meet the parking requirements of this chapter, or any such floor space intended and designed for accessory heating and ventilating equipment.
FLOOR AREA RATIOA measure of intensity of site use. It shall be calculated by dividing the total floor area on the site by the gross site area.
A story partly underground but having 1/2 or more of its
height, measured from floor to ceiling, above the average level of
the adjoining ground. A basement shall be counted as a story, for
the purpose of height measurement or determining square footage, only
if the vertical distance between the ceiling and the average level
of the adjoining ground is more than four feet, or if used for business
or dwelling purposes.
A structure having a roof which is used for the shelter or
enclosure of persons, animals or property. The word "building" shall
include any part thereof.
BUILDING, ACCESSORYA subordinate building located on the same lot as a principal building and clearly incidental and subordinate to the principal building. Any portion of a principal building devoted, or intended to be devoted, to an accessory use is not an accessory building.
BUILDING, PRINCIPALA building in which is conducted, or is intended to be conducted, the principal use of the lot on which it is located.
That percentage of the plot or lot area covered by the building
area.
A vertical distance measured from the front side of the mean
elevation of the proposed finished grade at the street side of the
building to the highest point of the roof for flat roofs, to the decklines
of mansard roofs, and to the mean height between eaves and ridge for
gable, hip and gambrel roofs.
The rear line of the minimum front yards, as herein defined
for each district, measured from the street line.
The portion of a street right-of-way, paved or unpaved, intended
for vehicular use.
[Added 2-7-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-1]
A story partly underground and having more than 1/2 of its
height, measured from floor to ceiling, below the average level of
the adjoining ground. A cellar shall not be considered in determining
the permissible number of stories or square footage, nor shall it
be used for dwelling purposes.
A cellular telecommunications facility consists of the equipment
and structures involved in receiving telecommunications or radio signals
from a mobile radio communications source and transmitting those signals
to a central switching computer which connects the mobile unit with
the land-based telephone lines. A cellular telecommunications facility
may include but is not necessarily limited to towers, antennas, and
telecommunications equipment building.
[Added 1-5-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-1]
See § 405-18A(10).
A measure of the number of dwelling units per unit of area.
It shall be expressed in dwelling units per acre. The measure is arrived
at by dividing the number of dwelling units by the gross site area.
The Department of Health of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[Added 4-15-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-2]
A zoning district as laid out on the Zoning Map[1] along with the regulations pertaining thereto.
A residence hall offered as student or faculty housing to
accommodate a college or university, providing living or sleeping
rooms for individuals or groups of individuals, with or without cooking
facilities and with or without private baths.
[Amended 5-7-2012 by Ord.
No. 2012-4]
A building containing one or more dwelling units.
DWELLING UNITAny room or group of rooms located within a residential building and forming a single habitable unit, with facilities which are used, or intended to be used, for living, sleeping, cooking and eating by one family.
SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED DWELLINGA dwelling having only one dwelling unit from ground to roof, independent outside access and open space on all sides.
SINGLE-FAMILY SEMIDETACHED DWELLING or DUPLEXA dwelling having only one dwelling unit from ground to roof, independent outside access, and not more than one wall in common with an adjoining dwelling.
SINGLE-FAMILY ATTACHED DWELLINGA dwelling having only one dwelling unit from ground to roof, independent outside access, and not more than two walls in common with adjoining dwellings.
MULTIFAMILY DWELLINGA dwelling having three or more dwelling units which are completely separated by party walls but share outside access.
A grant of the use of a parcel of land to the use of the
public, a corporation or a person for a specified purpose.
An assemblage of equipment for purposes other than generation
or utilization, through which electric energy in bulk is passed for
the purposes of switching or modifying its characteristics to meet
the needs of the general public.
Pedestrian-oriented features of buildings, such as one-story
porches, entrance hoods, stoops, awnings, canopies, roof overhangs
and arcades with occupied or unoccupied floor space above, that are
permitted to occupy the sidewalk area.
[Added 2-7-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-1]
[Amended 5-7-2012 by Ord.
No. 2012-4; 4-15-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-1]
One or more persons living together in a single dwelling unit
as a traditional family or the functional equivalent of a traditional
family. Residents residing in a "sober living facility," as this term
is defined herein, shall be considered a "family."
It shall be a rebuttable presumption that four or more persons
living together in a single dwelling unit, who are not related by
blood, adoption or marriage, do not constitute the functional equivalent
of a traditional family. In determining the functional equivalent
of a traditional family, the following criteria shall be present:
The group shares the entire dwelling unit.
The group lives and cooks together as a single housekeeping
unit.
The group shares expenses for food, rent, utilities or other
household expenses.
The group is permanent and stable, and not transient or temporary
in nature.
Any other factor reasonably related to whether the group is
the functional equivalent of a family.
"Protective fences" for use with swimming pools are as defined in § 405-28B(6)(c).
[Amended 5-7-2012 by Ord.
No. 2012-4]
Any premises used for supplying gasoline and oil, tires,
accessories and services for automobiles at retail, direct to the
motorist-consumer, including the making of minor repairs, the rental
of automobiles, trucks not in excess of one-ton or T-tag chassis weight
and U-Haul-type trailers pulled by passenger cars, but excluding:
The integration of landscaping and natural environment with
development projects in a manner that preserves natural resources,
reduces energy demand and water shortages, and is environmentally
friendly.
[Added 4-7-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-2]
All buildings, parking areas, driveways, roads, sidewalks
and other areas in concrete or asphalt. Additional areas may be determined
by the Borough Engineer to be impervious within the meaning of this
definition.
A measure of the intensity of use of a piece of land. It
is measured by dividing the total area of all impervious surfaces
within the site by the gross site area.
The most recent edition of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design Green Building Rating System™, as developed and updated
by the U.S. Green Building Council.
[Added 4-7-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-2]
A parcel of land used or set aside and available for use
as the site of one or more buildings and buildings accessory thereto
or for any other purpose, in one ownership and not divided by a street,
nor including any land within the limits of a public or private way
upon which said lot abuts, even if the ownership to such way is in
the owner of the lot. A lot for the purpose of this chapter may or
may not coincide with a lot of record.
LOT OF RECORDA lot which has been recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
CORNER LOTA lot which has an interior angle of less than 135° at the intersection of two street lines. A lot abutting upon a curved street or streets shall be considered a corner lot if the tangent to the curve at the points beginning within the lot or at the points of intersection of the side lot lines with the street lines intersects at an angle of less than 135°.
THROUGH LOTAn interior lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets.
DEPTH OF LOTThe mean distance from the right-of-way line of the lot to its opposite rear line measured in the general direction of the side lines of the lot.
LOT WIDTHThe distance measured between the side lot lines at the required building setback line. In a case where there is only one side lot line, lot width shall be measured between such side lot line and the opposite rear lot line or street line.
Any boundary line of a lot.
LOT LINE, REAR"b" Any lot line which is parallel to or within 45° of being parallel to a street line, except for a lot line that is itself a street line and except that, in the case of a corner lot, the owner shall have the option of choosing which of the two lot lines that are not street lines is to be considered a rear lot line. In the case of a lot having no street frontage or a lot of an odd shape, only the one lot line farthest from any street shall be considered a rear lot line.
LOT LINE, SIDE"c" Any lot line which is not a street line or a rear lot line.
STREET LINE"d" See also definition of "street line."
 | |
|---|---|
|
Sample lot configurations: letters correspond to the above
definitions.
|
A preservation-based revitalization program administered
nationally by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and in
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Downtown Center.
The Main Street Four-Point Approach™ is a comprehensive strategy
that is tailored to meet local needs and opportunities. It encompasses
work in four distinct areas — Design, Economic Restructuring,
Promotion, and Organization — that are combined to address all
of the commercial districts' needs.
[Added 4-7-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-2]
The Act 16 of 2016, 35 P.S. § 1023.101 et seq.
[Added 4-15-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-2]
A dwelling unit manufactured in one or more sections for
repeated mobility; designed for long-term occupancy; containing sleeping
accommodations, a flush toilet, a tub or shower bath and kitchen facilities,
with plumbing and electric connections provided for attachment to
outside systems; and designed to be transported after fabrication
on its own wheels or on flatbed or other trailers; arriving at the
site where it is to be occupied as a dwelling complete, including
major appliances and furniture, and ready for occupancy except for
minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations. For purposes
of this chapter, travel trailers are not considered as mobile homes.
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. The business or commercial activity must satisfy the requirements in § 405-18I(1).
[Added 5-7-2012 by Ord.
No. 2012-4]
See § 405-47.
See § 405-18B(9).
Land used for recreation, resource protection, amenity or
buffers, freely accessible to all residents and protected by the provisions
of this chapter and the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance[2] to ensure that it remains in such uses. Open space does
not include land occupied by buildings, roads or road rights-of-way,
nor does it include the yards or lots of single-family or multifamily
dwelling units or parking areas as required by the provisions of this
chapter. Open space shall be left in a natural state, except in the
case of recreation uses which may contain impervious surfaces. Such
impervious surfaces shall be included in the calculation of the impervious
surface ratio.
A measure of the intensity of land use. It is arrived at
by dividing total amount of open space within the site by the site
area.[3]
Land set aside for use as a street, alley or other means
of travel.
EXISTING RIGHT-OF-WAYThe legal right-of-way as established by the commonwealth or other appropriate governing authority and currently in existence.
FUTURE RIGHT-OF-WAYThe right-of-way deemed necessary by the Bucks County Comprehensive Plan as appropriate to provide adequate width for future street improvements.
A person occupying any room or group of rooms forming a single
habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and sleeping,
but not for cooking or eating purposes, and paying compensation for
lodging or board and lodging by prearrangement for a week or more
at a time to an owner or operator. Any person occupying such room
or rooms and paying such compensation without prearrangement or for
less than a week at a time shall be classified for purposes of this
chapter not as a roomer, boarder or lodger, but as a guest of a commercial
lodging establishment, such as a motel, hotel or tourist home.
PUBLIC SEWERAny municipal or privately owned sewer system in which sewage is collected from buildings and piped to an approved sewage disposal plant or central septic tank disposal system. It may also be referred to as "off-lot" or "off-site" sewer. This shall include capped sewers when installed to Borough specifications.
PRIVATE SEWERAn on-lot disposal system generally providing for disposal of effluent for only one building or a group of buildings on a single lot.
The area from the edge of the verge to the adjacent property
line, usually four to 10 feet wide, and intended for pedestrian use.
[Added 2-7-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-1]
See § 405-40A.
A parcel or parcels of land which are intended to have one
or more buildings or intended to be subdivided into one or more lots.
The total or gross area of a site, including all parcels
of land to be subdivided or used for multiple uses, less any land
lying within proposed street rights-of-way.
An initiative that seeks to prevent urban sprawl by encouraging
revitalization of older communities and neighborhoods to take advantage
of in-place infrastructure, mass transit, with new and mixed residential,
commercial and retail land uses.
[Added 4-7-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-2]
Any of the following:
[Added 10-2-1978 by Ord. No. 78-4]
Any of the following:
[Added 10-2-1978 by Ord. No. 78-4]
That part of a building located between a floor and the floor
or roof next above. The first story of a building is the lowest story
having 75% or more of its wall area above grade level. A half story
is a story under a gable, hip or gambrel roof, the wall plates of
which on at least two opposite exterior walls are not more than two
feet above such story.
A public or private way used or intended to be used for passage
or travel by vehicles. If private, such way must be used or intended
to be used as the principal means of access to abutting lot or lots
or to more than two dwelling units on a lot on which a private way
is exclusively used.
The dividing line between the street and the lot. The street
line shall be the same as the legal right-of-way, provided that, where
a proposed right-of-way width for a road or street has been established,
that width shall determine the location of the street line.
A combination of materials assembled, constructed or erected
at a fixed location, including a building and fence, the use of which
requires location on the ground or attachment to something having
location on the ground, but excluding driveways and parking lot areas.
Sustainable development design preserves natural resources,
utilizes rainwater collection, provides more open spaces, reduces
energy demand and water shortages, and is environmentally friendly.
[Added 4-7-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-2]
A vehicular portable structure built on a chassis, designed
as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreation, vacation and other
short-term uses, having a body width and length not exceeding Pennsylvania
commonwealth requirements.
Any activity, occupation, business or operation carried on,
or intended to be carried on, in a building or other structure or
on a tract of land.
USE, ACCESSORYA use located on the same lot with a principal use and clearly incidental or subordinate to and customary in connection with the principal use.
USE, PRINCIPALThe main use on a lot.
The area from the edge of the cartway to the edge of the
sidewalk used for street trees, utilities, and landscaping.
[Added 2-7-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-1]
PUBLIC WATERWater brought from off the lot in pipes from a central water source. It may be municipally or privately owned and may supply either a subdivision, development or large area of the Borough.
PRIVATE WATERWater supplied to a building from an individual well on the lot on which the building is located.
An open space unobstructed from the ground up, on the same
lot with a structure, extending along a lot line or street line and
inward to the structure. The size of a required yard shall be measured
as the shortest distance between the structure and a lot line or street
line.
YARD, FRONTA yard between a structure and a street line and extending the entire length of the street line. In the case of a corner lot, the yards extending along all streets are front yards. In the case of a lot other than a corner lot that fronts on more than one street, the yards extending along all streets are front yards.
YARD, REARA yard between the principal structure and a rear lot line and extending the entire length of the rear lot line.
YARD, SIDEA yard between a structure and a side lot line extending from the front yard to the rear yard. In the case of a lot having no street frontage or a lot of odd shape, any yard that is not a front yard or a rear yard shall be considered a side yard.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Zoning Map is included at the end of this chapter.
[3]
Editor's Note: The original definition of "parking,”
which immediately followed this definition, was repealed 5-7-2012
by Ord. No. 2012-4.
For the purpose of this chapter, words and terms used herein
shall be interpreted as follows:
A.
Words used in the present tense include the future.
B.
The singular includes the plural.
C.
The word "person" includes a corporation, partnership and association
as well as the individual.
D.
The word "lot" includes the word "plot" or "parcel."
E.
The term "shall" is mandatory.
F.
The word "used" or "occupied," as applied to any land or building,
shall be construed to include the words "intended, arranged or designed
to be occupied."
G.
The word "Commission" and the words "Planning Commission" always
mean the Bucks County Planning Commission.
H.
The word "Council" or the words "Borough Council" always mean the
Penndel Borough Council.
I.
The word "Board" or the words "Zoning Hearing Board" always mean
the Penndel Borough Zoning Hearing Board.
Any word or term not defined herein shall be used with a meaning
of standard usage.
