This chapter shall be known and may be cited as "The Marlborough
Township Zoning Ordinance of 1994" and shall become effective upon
enactment.
This chapter is enacted for the purpose of promoting the health,
safety and the general welfare of the Township. This chapter is in
accordance with a Comprehensive Plan, and is designed to lessen congestion
on the roads and highways, to secure safety from fire, panic, and
other danger, to provide adequate light and air, to prevent the overcrowding
of land, to avoid undue congestion of population, to protect and preserve
significant natural features, to facilitate the adequate provision
of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, and other public
requirements, to conserve the value of buildings, and to encourage
the most appropriate use of land throughout the Township.
A.
In applying the provisions of this chapter, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the health, safety, and the general welfare of the Township. The Comprehensive Plan in accordance with which this chapter is enacted and which is reflected in the provisions of this chapter has been formulated to implement the purpose set forth in § 275-2, in the respects therein stated and more particularly with a view toward, inter alia, the following statement of community development objectives:
(1)
Guiding and encouraging the future development of the Township in
accordance with comprehensive planning of land use and population
density that represents the most beneficial and convenient relationships
among the residential, commercial, industrial, environmental, and
recreational areas within the Township, having regard to their suitability
for the various uses appropriate to each of them and their potentiality
for such uses as indicated by natural features such as topography
and soil conditions, existing man-made conditions, and trends in population,
in the direction and manner of use of land, in building development,
and in economic activity, considering such conditions and trends both
within the Township and with respect to the relationships of the Township
to surrounding areas.
(2)
Preserving aquifers to maintain the quantity and quality of groundwater.
(3)
Protecting and conserving the integrity of significant natural features,
such as watercourses, floodplains, steep slopes, and wetlands.
(4)
Preserving the unique expanse of contiguous forest which extends
through the Township; an expanse which constitutes the single largest
forest within Bucks and Montgomery Counties, as identified by the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Forestry.
(5)
Preserving woodlands, hedgerows, and other vegetation to moderate
the effects of storms, absorb pollutants and noise, shelter wildlife,
and provide a diverse natural environment.
(6)
Providing performance standards for development which respect the
natural capacity of land and associated features to support it and
which help maintain the desirable benefits of natural resources protection.
(7)
Protecting the character and the social and economic stability of
each of such areas and encouraging their orderly and beneficial growth.
(8)
Maintaining natural and scenic vistas, especially from public areas
such as roads and waterways.
(9)
Protecting and conserving the value of land and buildings throughout
the Township, depending upon necessity or circumstances appropriate
to the various zoning districts established herein.
(10)
Bringing about through proper timing the gradual conformity
of land use to the Comprehensive Plan aforesaid, and minimizing conflicts
among the uses of land and buildings.
(11)
Aiding in bringing about the most beneficial relation between
land use and the circulation of traffic throughout the Township, having
particular regard to traffic to and from the major roads, and to the
avoidance of congestion on the roads and the provision of safe and
convenient access appropriate to the various land uses.
(12)
Aiding in providing a guide for public policy and action in
the efficient provision of public facilities and services, in the
provision of safe and proper sanitary sewage disposal, and for private
enterprise in building development, investment, and other economic
activity relating to land use.
B.
Insofar as such objectives are consistent with the purposes set forth in § 275-2 and with the aforesaid minimum requirements therefor, the provisions of this chapter shall be interpreted, administered and applied in such manner as will facilitate attainment the said objectives and all others permitted by law.
