For purposes of these regulations, certain terms or words used
herein are defined as follows:
A. The word "person" or "developer" includes a firm, association, organization,
partnership, trust, company, or corporation as well as an individual.
B. The present tense shall include the future tense.
C. The singular number includes the plural, and the plural number includes
the singular.
D. The word "shall" is mandatory; the word "may" is permissive.
E. Words generally found in legal terminology not otherwise defined
in this chapter or the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code shall have the same meanings as they are generally interpreted
in courts of law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ACCESS LANE
The passage within a parking area allowing traffic to enter
and leave the individual parking spaces.
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE
A building used for an activity in support of, but secondary
to, the principal use of the property, such as a garage on a residential
lot.
ACCESS POINT
A location along the frontage of a property providing connection
between the property and the adjacent highway.
ALIGNMENT
The vertical or horizontal line to which a street, road,
or utility adheres in its passage across, over, or under the land.
AMENDMENT
A change in these regulations, including the addition of
new requirements, revision of existing requirements, or deletion of
obsolete requirements, necessitating public hearings and formal adoption
by the Borough Council before becoming effective.
APPLICATION
A formal request in writing by a developer for consideration
of a proposal to develop land in accordance with the requirements
of these regulations.
BERM
The graded strip, usually filled with crushed stone, along
each side of a street pavement when curbs are not present, designed
to direct stormwater from the pavement to a gutter and to provide
a stable location for disabled or parked vehicles off the pavement.
BLOCK
An area of land, generally in a plan of lots, surrounded
by streets.
BOROUGH ENGINEER
A professional civil engineer registered in Pennsylvania
and retained by the Borough Council to represent the Borough in the
review of proposed public improvements and in the inspection of them
during construction and upon completion.
BOUNDARY
A line that demarcates the edge of a municipality, a development
plan, zoning district property, or other land area.
BUILDING
A permanent man-made structure attached to or in the ground
enclosing a volume of space intended to shelter or contain people,
animals, businesses, and activities associated with any of them.
BUILDING PERMIT
A document issued by the Borough attesting that a proposal
for construction meets all requirements of these regulations and other
applicable development ordinances in force and allowing such proposed
construction to commence.
CENTER LINE
A line running parallel to and equidistant from the edges
or curbs on each side of the street.
CONTOUR
An imaginary line connecting all points with the same elevation
above or below a fixed base point whose elevation is known.
COVENANT
An agreement legally binding successor owners of a property
to certain conditions regarding use of the property stipulated by
the original owner and running with the land.
CROSS SECTION
A cut through a road or utility at right angles to its length
revealing materials and dimensions of components of construction.
CUL-DE-SAC
A street with connection to other streets at only one end
and having a permanent vehicular turnaround at the closed end.
CURB
The raised edge of a street pavement designed to create a
gutter for stormwater removal, to eliminate the need for berms, and
to provide a guide for paving and snow removal.
CURVE
A rounded change of direction of an alignment that can be
described by radii and arc distances.
CUT
An excavation into earth material that has lain dormant for
at least two years.
DEDICATION
The designation of property, formerly privately owned, for
public or semipublic purpose, such designation stipulated in writing
and recorded by the private owner and accepted by the Borough of Indiana.
DEVELOPER
An individual, group or corporation that undertakes to improve
a property or properties in accordance with these regulations and
with concurrence of the Borough.
DWELLING
A building designed exclusively for residential purposes
for one or more families on a permanent basis.
EASEMENT
A right-of-way grant across private property generally for
public utility lines or access to another property.
EROSION
The process of the breaking down and carrying away of exposed
ground surfaces by action of wind, water, or temperature change.
FILL
Earth material excavated elsewhere and deposited upon the
ground surface in the process of grading.
FINAL PLAN
The documentation presented by a developer to the Planning
Commission for consideration under the terms of this chapter after
approval has been granted for a preliminary plan proposal that included
the land area covered by the final plan.
FINISHED GRADE
The condition of the land surface after mechanical rough
and finished grading is completed and topsoil applied.
FRONTAGE
The edge of a property abutting a public street. When a property
abuts two or more streets, frontage shall be considered the edge abutting
the principal street to which the property has access.
GRADE
The percentage that the center line of a street or sewer
line deviates from the level. A change of grade is a change in the
percentage. "To grade" means to mechanically alter the land surface
in the course of property development.
GUTTER
The low points in the cross section of a street designed
to collect and direct stormwater to a planned discharge off the street
surface.
HIGHWAY
A street carrying large traffic volumes between areas of
major traffic generation, usually a state-maintained street, and often
called a "traffic arterial."
IMPOUNDMENT AREA
A natural or man-made concavity in the land surface designed
to accept storm drainage and to hold it for gradual release into a
receiving stream in order to minimize downstream flooding.
IMPROVEMENT BOND
A guarantee, backed by the developer's collateral, that
improvements agreed upon as a condition of final plan approval will
be carried out as specified.
INTERMEDIATE REGIONAL FLOOD
The water level generated by a storm whose frequency can
be anticipated once in every 100 years, using current U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers criteria and determined by detailed stream flow analysis.
LAND DEVELOPMENT
A.
Any of the following activities:
(1)
The improvement of one or more contiguous lots, tracts, or parcels
of land for any purpose involving:
(a)
A group of two or more residential or nonresidential buildings,
whether proposed initially or cumulatively; or
(b)
A single nonresidential building on a lot or lots regardless
of the number of occupants or tenure; or
(c)
The division or allocation of land space, whether initially
or cumulatively, between or among two or more existing or prospective
occupants by means of or for the purpose of streets, common areas,
leaseholds, condominiums, building groups, or other features; or
B.
In accordance with Section 503(1.1) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code, as amended, the following activity shall be excluded from
the definition of land development: the addition of accessory buildings
subordinate to the principal buildings on single-family residential
lots.
LOT
A property within a group of similarly sized properties in
a plan available for development.
LOT AREA
The square foot or acre measurement of all the land surface
within a lot or property, except for street rights-of-way which shall
be considered as not less than 50 feet in width for purposes of calculation,
25 feet on each side of the street center line.
LOT WIDTH
The distance between the side lot lines measured along the
front building line of a lot.
MARKER
A permanent indication, established by a registered surveyor,
of a specified point in a subdivision or planned development, as required
in these regulations.
MINOR STREET
A vehicular street serving the properties abutting it not
intended to carry traffic collected from other streets.
MODIFICATION
A grant by the Planning Commission allowing a developer to
proceed with a deviation of the regulations normally in force on developer's
property because unusual conditions are present not of the developer's
making but creating hardship for the developer, and the deviation
will not be contrary to the public interest and the purpose and intent
of this chapter.
MONUMENT
A permanent indication, established by a registered surveyor,
of points at changes of direction in the boundary of a subdivision
or development plan or at points of crossing street rights-of-way
within a plan.
OWNER OF RECORD
The person whose name appears on the records of the Indiana
County Recorder of Deeds as the current owner of the property.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability
company, or similar entity.
PETITION
An appeal to an elected or appointed public body asking for
review of a condition from which relief is requested and attesting
that the appeal is supported by a consistency of sufficient size.
PLAN
An arrangement for development of property, either for sale
or rental of lots or construction of buildings, including the provision
of improvements as required by this chapter.
PLANNING COMMISSION
Unless indicated specifically as the County Planning Commission,
the term refers to the Indiana Borough Planning Commission.
PRELIMINARY PLAN
The documentation presented by a developer to the Borough
in support of a subdivision or land development plan for consideration
under the terms of this chapter.
PRIVATE ROAD
A vehicular access to a second property as an easement over
the land from which the second property was subdivided, approved in
accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANTS
Persons who provide expert or professional advice, including,
but not limited to, architects, attorneys, certified public accountants,
engineers, geologists, land surveyors, landscape architects, and planners.
PROFILE
A vertical cut along the center line of a street or utility
line indicating the vertical alignment of the street or utility line,
the vertical dimension often exaggerated to clarify the relation between
horizontal and vertical measurements.
PROPERTY LINE
The boundary line surrounding a property or any portion of
such line.
PROPERTY OR PARCEL
An area or tract of land all portions of which are in the
same ownership and the boundary of which closes on itself.
PUBLIC HEARING
An advertised meeting called by the Borough and open to the
public at which testimony is given on a proposal for development or
a revision to these or other development regulations in order to assist
the Borough in reaching a decision on the proposal or revision.
PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS
Those improvements contained in a plan for development of
a property required by the municipality to be built by the developer
as a condition of approval of the developer's plan since the
improvements will ultimately be publicly maintained.
PUBLIC SEWER AND WATER SYSTEM
A system for sewage collection and disposal or water storage
and distribution developed, financed, and operated by a public authority,
public utility, or Indiana Borough.
PUBLIC STREET
A right-of-way dedicated for public vehicular use which may
or may not have been accepted for maintenance by the Borough.
RECORDING
The act of timely filing with the Indiana County Recorder
of Deeds a subdivision or land development plan which has received
final approval by the Borough.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
A strip of land which has been dedicated for public use and
provides access to private property abutting it, connects with other
rights-of-way, or provides an easement across private property for
the passage of public utilities, disposal of stormwater, or restricted
vehicular use.
SEDIMENTATION
Material scoured from the earth's surface by water action
and carried into nearby streams, raising their level and reducing
their water-carrying capacity.
SIGHT DISTANCE
The distance that an automobile driver can see ahead unobstructed
by changes in alignment, roadside structures, or topography, usually
measured between points on a road center line between three feet six
inches and eight feet above the surface.
STOP BARS
Devices attached to a parking area pavement to prevent vehicles
from driving off the edge of the area and to guide motorists in the
proper placement of their cars.
STORMWATER
Precipitation falling upon the ground surface, requiring
structures to direct and contain it to prevent damage to downstream
areas in developed areas.
STREET
An open public vehicular and/or pedestrian passage within
a recorded right-of-way at least 30 feet in width, connecting with
other streets to form the municipal circulation system.
STRUCTURE
Any man-made construction erected on the ground or attached
to the ground directly or indirectly, including buildings, fences,
poles, masts and signs, but excluding vehicles ready for immediate
movement or any paved surfaces at grade level.
SUBDIVISION
The division or redivision of a tract of parcel of land by
any means into two or more lots, tracts, or other divisions of land,
including changes in existing lot lines, for the purpose, whether
immediate or future, of lease, transfer of ownership, or building
or lot development.
SWALE
An elongated indentation in the ground surface which collects
stormwater from higher elevations and directs it to an established
all-weather stream or man-made subsurface drainage system.
TOPOGRAPHIC MAP
A map delineating by contours the surface elevations of a
land area.
TRACT
A property, parcel, or lot to be subdivided or developed.