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Township of Newtown, PA
Delaware County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
In A Apartment Districts, the regulations contained in this article shall apply.
A building may be erected or used and a lot may be used or occupied for the following purposes and no other:
A. 
Apartment house building.
B. 
Only the following accessory uses are permitted under the condition specified. Unless indicated otherwise, no accessory use is permitted within a rear yard, side yard, front yard or courtyard as required herein:
(1) 
Parking areas and private garages in conformance with § 172-56.
(2) 
Storage garages so that all storage for other than passenger vehicles shall be structurally enclosed.
(3) 
Living accommodations for watchmen and caretakers employed upon the premises, provided that any such accessory living accommodation shall be located within an apartment house.
(4) 
Laundry, provided that it is for the exclusive use of residents of the site.
(5) 
Laundry drying areas, provided that they are screened from adjoining property and public view by a wall, fence or hedge.
(6) 
Recreation building, eating or medical care facility, provided that it is for the exclusive use of residents of the site and their guests.
(7) 
Swimming pools and patios or terraces are permitted, provided that safety and sanitary standards, as specified by the Board of Supervisors, are maintained.
(8) 
Refuse collection centers accessible to the street system, provided they are screened from the adjoining property and public view by a wall, fence or hedge.
(9) 
Any other uses that are similar to those set forth in this subsection and that are customarily incidental to an apartment house, subject to the approval of the Board of Supervisors.
A. 
Lot area and frontage. The following lot areas shall be provided: Where a lot is to be used for an apartment house building or for a group of apartment house buildings, there shall be a street frontage of not less than 150 feet on a major highway (West Chester Pike and Newtown Street Road, where it is known as "State Route 252," only), a minimum lot area of two acres and a maximum of 12 living or family units per acre where public sewerage is available. If public sewerage is not available, the maximum shall be seven living or family units per acre. In locations where there is no available connection to an operating municipal sewage treatment plant, one or more on-site sewage treatment plants shall be provided, excluding septic tanks and cesspools, subject to the approval of the Board of Supervisors and the requirements of the Sanitary Water Board and/or the Department of Health of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B. 
Building area. Not more than 20% of each lot shall be occupied by apartment house buildings.
C. 
Front yard. There shall be a front yard on each street of which the lot abuts, the depth of which shall be at least 75 feet. The area shall be planted with trees, shrubbery and ground cover for screening in accordance with an overall landscape plan approved by the Planning Commission and shall be maintained continually in a neat and attractive manner by the property owner, with existing trees and grades preserved insofar as possible.
D. 
Height regulations. The height of an apartment house building shall not exceed 55 feet, and the height of a building shall not exceed the distance from the adjacent property line as determined as follows: The difference in elevation between the top of any element of a building and the elevation at the property line shall not exceed the horizontal distance from the property line to the building element. This requirement shall be met for all points along the property line and for all elements of the building.
E. 
Side yards. For each building there shall be two separate side yards, neither of which shall be less than 50 feet. Further, in the case of a group of apartment house buildings, there shall be not less than 50 feet between buildings at any point.
F. 
Rear yards. There shall be a rear yard, the depth of which shall be at least 40 feet.
G. 
Buffer area. There shall be a buffer area along each lot boundary line, the depth of which shall be at least 20 feet measured from the lot boundary line. The buffer area may be included in any front, side or rear yard areas required under the provisions of this article. The buffer area shall be planted with trees, shrubbery and ground cover for screening in accordance with an overall landscape plan approved by the Planning Commission and shall be maintained continually in a neat and attractive manner by the property owner. There shall be an immediate dense screen of evergreen trees at a minimum height of six feet in the buffer area of the lot, placed so as to give maximum protection to the residential area against light, noise, dust, visual or other similar nuisances or disturbances and continuously maintained in a neat and attractive manner by the property owner. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued until the Zoning Officer or his or her designee is satisfied that the requirements of this provision have been met. Should the planting of trees not be feasible at the time a certificate of occupancy is sought, a bond or other acceptable security will be required to guarantee the planting. There shall be erected in areas on or adjacent to side and rear of property lines a fence of the type and height approved by the Planning Commission. Existing trees and grades are to be preserved insofar as possible.
[Amended 11-14-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-4]
H. 
Building frontage, depth or length. The greatest dimension in frontage, length or depth of a building section erected, altered or used under this article shall not exceed 150 feet, and not more than three such sections may be attached to each other, and sections so attached shall be at an angle of 90° under the requirements of this Subsection H hereof.
[Amended 10-9-1978 by Ord. No. 1978-9]
Off-street parking facilities shall be provided in accordance with Article XXIV. A parking plan, including exterior lighting and suitable buffer area within the parking area, shall be presented to and approved by the Planning Commission.
A. 
No part of any front yard shall be used for off-street parking purposes, unless the area used for such purposes is beyond 75 feet from the street and the Planning Commission approves such use.
B. 
There shall not be outside storage of any kind.
C. 
A separate toilet room and facilities shall be provided for each separate apartment or housekeeping unit.
D. 
All driveways and off-street parking facilities shall be in accordance with Township standards.
E. 
All exterior lighting shall be properly shielded from traffic on any public right-of-way and from any residential district.