Township of West Manchester, PA Article XXIIB Open Space Residential-2 Zone (OSR-2)

[Added 6-27-1991 by Ord. No. 91-03]

§ 150-228.7 Purpose.

The purpose of the Open Space Zone is to maintain the rural, natural and scenic qualities of West Manchester Township, to provide larger open areas and to maintain the development potential of the zone.

§ 150-228.8 Permitted uses.

Permitted uses shall be as follows:

A. Open space residential development.

B. Single-family detached dwellings on lots of record of less than 15 acres.

C. Public and/or nonprofit parks.

D. Family day care.

E. Public buildings, including firehouses. (See § 150-345.)

[Added 6-28-2001 by Ord. No. 01-03]

F. Forestry.

[Added 6-28-2001 by Ord. No. 01-03]

G. Accessory uses customarily incidental to the above permitted uses.

[Amended 6-28-2001 by Ord. No. 01-03]

§ 150-228.9 Special exception uses.

Special exception uses shall be as follows:

A. Public utilities. (See § 150-346.)

B. Single-family detached development or dwellings on parcels of 15 acres or more in accordance with the design requirements in § 150-228.11. (See § 150-357.1.)

[Added 6-28-2001 by Ord. No. 01-03]

§ 150-228.10 (Reserved) [1]

[1] Editor's Note: Former § 150-228.10, Conditional uses, was repealed 6-28-2001 by Ord. No. 01-03.

§ 150-228.11 Design requirements for development other than open space development.

Design requirements for development other than open space development shall be as follows:

A. Lot area requirements. In the OSR-2 Zone, it shall be unlawful to subdivide a parcel of land 15 acres or greater into a parcel of less than 15 acres, except by variance or special exception.

[Amended 6-28-2001 by Ord. No. 01-03]

B. Minimum lot width shall be as follows:

(1) Single-family detached dwelling: 100 feet at the minimum front yard setback line; 90 feet at the lot frontage and, if along the turnaround of a cul-de-sac, 75 feet at the lot frontage.

(2) Other principal uses: 100 feet.

C. Minimum lot depth shall be 150 feet.

D. Minimum setback requirements shall be as follows:

(1) Principal buildings or structures:

(a) Front yard setback: 40 feet from the street right-of-way line of local roads and 50 feet from the street right-of-way line of collector or arterial roads.

(b) Side yard setbacks: 15 feet on each side (30 feet total).

(c) Rear yard setback: 35 feet.

(2) Accessory buildings or structures:

(a) Front yard setback. No accessory use (except permitted signs) shall be located within the front yard.

(b) Side yard setbacks: 10 feet on each side (20 feet total).

(c) Rear yard setback: 10 feet.

E. Maximum permitted heights shall be as follows:

(1) Principal buildings or structures: 35 feet.

(2) Accessory buildings or structures: 15 feet.

F. Maximum lot coverage shall be 35%.

§ 150-228.12 Open space residential development criteria.

A. General. Within an open space residential development, the following land uses are permitted, provided that the following requirements are met:

(1) The parcel has a minimum size of 15 acres.

(2) The density of the parcel may not exceed the density that would be possible under conventional R-2 development. (A sketch plan is required showing conventional R-2 development potential to determine the density of the open space development.)

(3) Public sewer and water are required to serve an open space development, if available within 1,000 feet of the property. If a sewer is not available within 1,000 feet, capped sewers are required if a sewer will be available within five years of completion of the development.

(4) To the extent practical, all housing types shall be developed simultaneously.

	Type	Maximum Total Units (percent)
	Single-family detached dwellings	100
	Single-family attached dwellings (townhouses)	20

B. Open space requirements.

(1) When the open space development consists of all single-family detached dwellings, a minimum of 25% of the parcel must remain in open space.

(2) When the open space development consists of a mixture of single-family detached dwellings [minimum 80%] and single-family attached dwellings [maximum 20%], a minimum of 30% of the parcel must remain in open space.

C. Design standards for single-family attached dwellings (townhouses) shall be as follows:

(1) Minimum lot area shall be 2,400 square feet per dwelling unit.

(2) Minimum lot width shall be 24 feet per dwelling unit.

(3) Minimum lot depth shall be 100 feet.

(4) Minimum setback requirements:

(a) Front yard setback: 25 feet from the right-of-way of a local road and 50 feet from the street right-of-way of collector and arterial streets; provided, however, that within each townhouse grouping containing four or more units, no more than 60% of such units may have the same front yard setback. Furthermore, no more than two contiguous units may have the same front yard setback. The minimum difference of staggered setbacks must be two feet.

(b) Side yard setbacks. Each end unit shall provide a fifteen-foot side yard setback from interior development property lines and 50 feet from the perimeter property lines of the open space development parcel.

(c) Rear yard setback: 35 feet from interior property lines and 70 feet from perimeter property lines of the open space development parcel.

(5) Maximum length of townhouse grouping. No grouping may contain more than six townhouse units, nor exceed an overall length of 160 feet, except that individual groupings may contain up to eight units and have a maximum length of 200 feet if the grouping complies with any one of the following:

(a) No more than 80% of the grouping shall be visible from adjoining lands zoned for single-family detached dwellings and/or adjoining public streets. Such determination shall be made at the subject property's common property line with the adjoining zone and/or public street.

(b) No portion of the grouping shall be located within 300 feet of any adjoining land zoned for single-family detached dwellings and/or adjoining public streets.

(c) The grouping is arranged in a manner that is substantially perpendicular to any adjoining land zoned for single-family detached dwellings and/or adjoining public streets, and also complies with one of the following:

[1] The grouping is comprised of townhouse units that, in addition to the front yard setback staggering required in Subsection C(4)(a), have varying rooflines of at least 24 inches. No more than town contiguous units shall have identical rooflines that generally parallel the ground along the same horizontal plane.

[2] The grouping contains multiple-story townhouse units that are connected by one-story garages that are only connected to the end unit.

(6) Minimum separation between buildings. In those townhouse developments constructed upon common lands, the following separation distances shall be provided between each townhouse building/grouping:

(a) Front to front, rear to rear, or front to rear parallel buildings shall have 70 feet between the faces of the buildings. If the front or rear faces are obliquely aligned, the above distances may be decreased by as much as 10 feet at one end if increased by similar or greater distance at the other end.

(b) A yard space of 30 feet is required between end walls of buildings for each two-story building, plus five feet for each additional story. If the buildings are at right angles to each other, the distance between the corners of the end walls of buildings may be reduced to a minimum of 20 feet.

(c) A yard space of 30 feet is required between end walls and front or rear faces of the building for each two-story building, plus five feet for each additional story.

(7) Maximum permitted height shall be 35 feet.

(8) Maximum lot coverage shall be 70%.

D. Design criteria for single-family detached units shall be as follows:

(1) Minimum lot area shall be 10,000 square feet.

(2) Minimum lot width shall be 80 feet at the minimum front yard setback line, 70 feet at the lot frontage and, if along the turnaround of a cul-de-sac, 65 feet at the lot frontage.

(3) Minimum lot depth shall be 125 feet.

(4) Minimum setback requirements:

(a) Front yard setback: 25 feet from the right-of-way of a local street and 50 feet from the right-of-way of a collector or arterial streets.

(b) Side yard setbacks: 10 feet on each side, 20 feet total from interior and perimeter property lines.

(c) Rear yard setback: 30 feet from interior property lines and 50 feet from perimeter.

E. Design standards for accessory uses:

(1) Front yard setback. No accessory use (except permitted signs) shall be located within the front yard.

(2) Side yard setbacks: five feet on each side [10 feet total].

(3) Rear yard setback: five feet.

F. Open space.

(1) In general, the required open space to be set aside shall attempt to preserve natural areas such as wetlands, streams, scenic views, woodlands and similar areas.

(2) Required open space areas must be in the form of large contiguous tracts, with linear trails connecting larger tracts or parks adjacent to the open space development parcel; in accordance with an open space master plan which includes the development; or in another suitable configuration approved by the Board of Supervisors.

(3) Maintenance of open space. The developer must submit a detailed statement including covenants, agreements or other specific documents showing the ownership and method of maintenance and utilization of the required open space area within the development. The covenants and agreements shall be perpetual and be recorded prior to or simultaneous with the approved plan.

(4) Future development of open space. Future development, subdivision or sale of the required open space shall be prohibited without prior permission from West Manchester Township. A note to this effect must be placed on the approved development plan. (See Appendix 7 of the Subdivision Ordinance.)[1]

[1] Editor's Note: See Ch. 121, Subdivision and Land Development, Appendix No. 7, Plan Notations.

(5) Required open space may not include streets, private yards, minimum required spacing between buildings or recreation land required for dedication to the Township. All open space must be accessible from a public street or a public pedestrian walkway.

(6) Use of open space may include recreation equipment, pavilions, benches, paths and walkways, athletic fields, farming, passive agricultural activities and similar uses. Residential accessory structures such as sheds, garages, fences, etc., or any commercial use shall not be permitted in the open space area.