[Ord. No. 379,
§ 1, 11-13-1961; Ord. No. 601, § 1, 11-9-1970; Ord.
No. 793, § 1, 3-13-1978; Ord. No. 840, § 1, 9-8-1980; Ord.
No. 890, § 1, 1-10-1983; Ord. No. 935, § 2, 7-8-1985; Ord.
No. 936, § 2, 7-8-1985; Ord. No. 984, §§ 1—4, 1-11-1988; Ord.
No. 1019, § 1(A), (B), 11-13-1989; Ord. No. 1048, §§ 1—3, 11-29-1990; Ord. No. 1088, § 1, 11-18-1991; Ord. No. 1133, § 1, 9-27-1993; Ord. No. 1171, § 1, 4-24-1995; Ord. No. 1195, §§ 1—3, 7-15-1996; Ord.
No. 1233, §§ 1, 2, 6-9-1997; Ord. No. 1241, § 1, 9-22-1997; Ord. No. 1253, §§ 1,
2, 1-26-1998; Ord. No. 1284, § 1, 5-24-1999; Ord. No. 1293, §§ 1, 2, 6-15-1999; Ord. No. 1307, § 1, 10-18-1999; Ord. No. 1320, § 1, 4-10-2000; Ord. No. 1336, §§ 1—3, 11-13-2000; Ord. No. 1344, §§ 1—3, 2-12-2001; Ord.
No. 1355, §§ 1—3, 9-10-2001; Ord. No. 1369, §§ 1—3, 12-10-2001; Ord. No. 1389, § 1, 10-16-2002[1]; Ord. No. 1476, §§ 1-6, 6-11-2007; Ord. No. 1493, § 1, 3-10-2008; Ord.
No. 1527, § 2, 9-14-2009; Ord. No. 1558, § 1, 8-8-2011; Ord. No. 1579, § 2, 11-11-2013; Ord. No. 1584, § 1, 4-21-2014; Ord.
No. 1589, §§ I – II, 10-13-2014]
In the construction and application of this Ordinance, unless
the context otherwise clearly indicates, the present tense includes
the future, the singular number includes the plural, and the plural
the singular, the masculine gender includes the feminine and neuter,
the word "shall" is mandatory, the word "used" includes the words
"designed, arranged or intended to be used," the word "occupied" includes
the words "designed or intended to be occupied," the word "person"
includes any individual, partnership, firm, association, corporation
or other organization, and the following words and phrases shall have
the meaning set forth below:
A building subordinate to the principal building on the lot
and used for purposes customarily incidental to those of the principal
building.
A use subordinate to the principal use of land or a building
or other structure on a lot and customarily incidental thereto.
An establishment having a substantial or significant portion
of its stock and trade in, or an establishment which as one of its
principal business purposes offers for sale, books, films, videocassettes
or magazines or other periodicals which are distinguished or characterized
by their emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified
sexual activities or specified anatomical areas and, in conjunction
therewith, has facilities for the presentation of adult entertainment
for observation by patrons.
An exhibition of any adult-oriented motion pictures, meaning
those distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting,
describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified
anatomical areas; and/or,
A live performance, display or dance or any type which has as a significant or a substantial portion of the performance any actual or simulated performance of specified sexual activities or services offered customers. The term does not include any act of public indecency as defined in the Plymouth Township Code, Chapter 14, Article VII, sec. 14-98.
An enclosed building with a capacity of less than fifty (50)
persons which has a principal business purpose of exhibiting, presenting
or selling material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis
on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities
or specified anatomical areas for observation by patrons.
An enclosed building with a capacity of fifty (50) or more
persons which has the principal business purpose of exhibiting, presenting
or selling material distinguished by an emphasis on matter depicting,
describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified
anatomical areas for observation by patrons.
The term includes, without limitation, the following establishments
when operated for profit, whether direct or indirect:
Adult bookstores.
Adult motion-picture theaters.
Adult mini motion-picture theaters.
Any premises to which the public, patrons or members are invited or admitted and which are so physically arranged as to provide booths, cubicles, rooms, studios, compartments or stalls separate from the common area of the premises for the purpose of viewing adult-oriented motion pictures or where an entertainer provides adult entertainment to a member of the public, a patron or member. The term does not include any act of public indecency as defined in Plymouth Township Code, Chapter 14, Article VII, Sec. 14-98.
An adult entertainment studio or any premises that are physically
arranged and used as such, whether advertised or represented as an
adult entertainment studio, rap studio, exotic dance studio, encounter
studio, sensitivity studio, modeling studio or any other term of like
import.
An agricultural operation, being an enterprise that is actively
engaged in the commercial production and preparation for market of
crops, livestock and livestock products and in the production, harvesting
and preparation for market or use of agricultural, agronomic, horticultural,
silvicultural and aquacultural crops and commodities. The term includes
an enterprise that implements changes in production practices and
procedures or types of crops, livestock, livestock products or commodities
produced consistent with practices and procedures that are normally
engaged by farmers or are consistent with technological development
within the agricultural industry.
An open, unoccupied space on the same lot with a building
or other structure or use, open and unobstructed from the ground to
the sky, except for public utility lines or facilities.
Any system of wires, rods, discs, panels, flat panels, dishes,
whips, or other similar devices used for the transmission or reception
of wireless signals. An antenna may include an omnidirectional antenna
(rod), directional antenna (panel), parabolic antenna (disc) or any
other wireless antenna. An antenna shall not include tower-based wireless
communications facilities defined below.
A dwelling unit in an apartment house arranged, designed,
used, occupied or intended to be used and occupied as a housekeeping
unit for a single-family.
A multiple dwelling with common outside access.
A flood which has a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year (also called the "100-year flood" or "1%
annual chance flood").
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
The elevation shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)
for Zones AE, AH, A1-30 that indicates the water surface elevation
resulting from a flood that has a 1-percent or greater chance of being
equaled or exceeded in any given year. The BFE is also shown on the
FIS profile and can be determined for Zone A floodplains.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
A landscaped area designed and functioning to separate and
visually screen the elements and uses of land which abut it and to
ease the transition between them.
Any structure having enclosing walls and a roof, intended
for supporting or sheltering a use or occupancy and attached to the
land. "Building" includes "structure" and shall be construed as if
followed by the words "or parts thereof." Included shall be all manufactured
homes and trailers to be used for human habitation.
[Amended by Ord. No. 1617, § 2, 2-22-2016]
The area of a lot remaining after the minimum yard and open
space requirements of the zoning ordinance have been met, and easements,
floodplains and wetlands have been excluded.
A building's vertical measurement from the average elevation
of the finished grade within twenty-five (25) feet surrounding the
building at its base to a point midway between the highest and lowest
points of the roof; provided, that chimneys, spires, towers, elevator
penthouses and similar projections may exceed the height of the building
by no more than twenty (20) percent when they are:
A building in which is conducted the principal use of the
lot on which it is situated.
The horizontal area measured within the vertical plane established
by the outermost edge of the exterior walls of any floor of all principal
and accessory buildings on a lot.
The line which establishes the minimum depth of front yard
for the particular district that is measured from the street line.
As to rear lots, the area of any portion of the access between the
street and rear lot that is less than the required lot width shall
not be deemed a portion of the lot for the purpose of determining
whether the lot conforms to the lot width requirements of a zoning
district.
A roofed area attached to a dwelling and open on three (3)
sides.
The mounting of one or more WCFs, including antennas, on
an existing tower-based WCF, or on any structure that already supports
at least one non-tower WCF.
A residential facility used as living quarters by any number
of unrelated persons requiring special care, and any attendant adult
supervisors, specifically designed to create a nontransient residential
setting for the mentally and physically handicapped. Any number of
handicapped persons, as that term is defined in Title VIII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended by the Fair Housing Amendments
Act of 1988, have the right to occupy a dwelling unit in the same
manner and to the same extent as any family unit, subject to the Mental
Health Procedures Act, 50 P.S. §§ 7101 through 7503,
and shall be eligible for such facility.
[Added by Ord. No. 1665, 12-14-2020]
Maps, charts, descriptive matter officially adopted by a
planning agency or governing body showing among other things recommendations
for the most appropriate use of land; for the most desirable density
of population; for a system of thoroughfares; parkways and recreation
areas; for the general location and extent of facilities for water,
sewer, light and power; for the general location, character and extent
of community facilities.
An organized recreational or educational enterprise for day
use only and not overnight lodging except for owner or caretaker.
A licensed use for the purpose of providing custodial care
of persons, for a period of time not to exceed eighteen (18) hours
within a single day, in return for the payment of fees, tuition or
other forms of compensation. For the purposes of this ordinance, "day
care facility" shall include the terms "nursery," "senior day care,"
and "child care," but shall exclude the terms "nursing home," convalescent
home," "congregate care facility," "group home," "community living
arrangement," "educational use" and "life care facility."
The area contained within the property lines of a lot or
tract, excluding that portion of the acreage used for public roads,
the ultimate right-of-way of public roads, overhead and underground
utility lines (except stormwater management systems), wetlands, floodplain
area (as defined in Section 2700.1.), and land areas with slopes of
fifteen (15) percent or greater.
The construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural
alteration, relocation or enlargement of any building or other structure,
and any use or change in the use of any building or structure, or
land, or extension of use of land, for which permission may be required
by this ordinance or other land development regulations of the municipality.
This definition is in addition to and not exclusive of "land development,"
as defined herein.
Network of spatially separated antenna sites connected to
a common source that provides wireless service within a geographic
area or structure.
A contiguous land area that is subject to one (1) zoning
classification and which may contain tracts, parcels or lots.
A private way providing for vehicular and pedestrian access
between a public street and a parking area within a lot or tract.
A building or portion thereof designed for and occupied exclusively
for residential purposes, containing one (1) or more dwelling units
as follows:
Single-Family Detached Dwelling. A detached building of one
(1) dwelling unit constructed on one (1) lot.
Duplex Dwelling. Two (2) dwelling units on one (1) lot, attached
ceiling to floor.
Twin Dwelling. Two (2) dwelling units on one (1) lot or two
(2) dwelling units on two (2) adjacent lots, each of which having
a single party wall in common with the other.
Townhouse Dwelling. Three (3) or more dwelling units arranged
side-by-side such that each dwelling unit has one (1) or two (2) common
party walls.
Triplex Dwelling. A detached building containing three (3) single-family
attached dwellings arranged other than side-by-side or in a row.
Quadraplex Dwelling. A detached residential building containing
four (4) single-family dwellings, with each unit generally located
in one (1) quadrant of the structure, but not stacked or in a row.
Dwelling Unit. A room or group of rooms providing complete housekeeping
facilities for one (1) family, and having private ingress and egress
facilities. Units designed for transient occupancy or for sleeping
and sanitary needs only are not considered dwelling units.
Multiple Dwelling. A building not a single-family, duplex, twin,
townhouse, triplex or quadraplex dwelling, designed for and occupied
primarily for dwelling purposes by three (3) or more families living
independently of one another.
Dwelling, Attached. A building other than a townhouse, designed
for and used exclusively as a residence for one (1) family, having
its own independent outside access and having party walls in common
with a dwelling unit on at least one (1) side and not more than three
(3) sides. The term includes a twin, a duplex, a triplex and a quadraplex.
A grant of one or more property rights by the property owner
to and/or for the use by the public, a corporation or another person
or entity.
A multiple-family structure that shall include, without limitation,
common dining and social and recreation features, special safety and
convenience features designed for the needs of the elderly, such as
emergency call systems, grab bars and handrails, and the provision
of social services for residents which must include at least two of
the following: two meals per day; transportation; housekeeping and
linen service; and/or organized social activities.
[Added by Ord. No. 1633, § 1, 4-10-2017]
An assemblage of equipment for purposes other than generation
or utilization, through which electric energy in bulk is passed for
the purpose of switching or modifying its characteristics to meet
the needs of the general public; provided, that in residential districts
an electric substation shall not include rotating equipment, storage
of materials, trucks or repair facilities or housing of repair crews.
A condition that:
A manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction
of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes
are to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities,
the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the
pouring of concrete pads) is completed before the effective date of
the floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
The preparation of additional sites by the construction of
facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes
are to be affixed (including the installation of utilities, the construction
of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete
pads).
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
The manufacturing from standardized parts of a distinct object
differing from the individual components involving materials of form
and substance.
Any number of individuals living together on a nontransient
basis as a single housekeeping unit with single cooking facilities
when said individuals are related by blood, marriage or adoption,
and, in addition, any domestic servants, foster children or gratuitous
guests thereof; or a group of not more than five persons who need
not be so related and, in addition, domestic servants or gratuitous
guests thereof who are living together in a single dwelling and maintaining
a common household with single cooking facilities, including occupants
that are mentally or physically handicapped persons as defined in
Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended by the Fair
Housing Amendments Act of 1988. A roomer, boarder or lodger shall
not be considered a member of a family, nor shall the definition of
"family" apply to the occupants of a club, fraternity house, lodge
or residential club.
[Amended by Ord. No. 1665, 12-14-2020]
Federal Communications Commission.
A line which:
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
The official map on which the Federal Emergency Management
Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the
areas of special flood hazard and the risk premium zones applicable
to the community.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
The official report provided by the Federal Insurance Administration
that includes flood profiles, the Flood Insurance Rate Map, the Flood
Boundary and Floodway Map, and the water surface elevation of the
base flood.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
That area defined in Article XXVII as the Floodplain Conservation District. The floodplain definition contained in Section 2703 shall be considered the definition for floodplain for all purposes and uses of this Zoning Code.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
A relatively flat or low land area which is subject to partial
or complete inundation from an adjoining or nearby stream, river or
watercourse; and/or any area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation
of surface waters from any source.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
Any combination of structural and nonstructural additions,
changes, or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood
damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary
facilities, structures and their contents.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
The channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent
land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood
without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than
one foot.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
The sum of the gross horizontal areas of all floors of a
building measured from the exterior walls, or from the centerline
of a wall separating two buildings, but not to include interior parking
spaces, loading space for motor vehicles, or any area where the floor-to-ceiling
height is less than 6 1/2 feet.
The total floor area for which the tenant pays rent directly
or indirectly and/or which is designed for the tenant's use and/or
occupancy and exclusively and/or in common with all other tenants
and/or business invitees. For the purposes of this chapter, "gross
leasable floor area" shall include the term "net rentable area."
The floor area of all buildings on a tract divided by tract
area.
A unit of illumination based on a standard whereby one square
foot of uniformly distributed flux of one lumen equals one footcandle.
The management of forests and timberlands when practiced
in accordance with accepted silvicultural principles, through developing,
cultivating, harvesting, transporting and selling trees for commercial
or noncommercial purposes, which does not involve any land development.
In the case of a comer lot, the yard extending along all
streets are "front yards" and the remaining yards shall include a
rear yard, opposite the street to which the principal building is
generally faced, and a side yard opposite to the other street; however
the side yard shall be no less in depth than the minimum rear yard
requirement for the district in which it is located.
An air contaminant of the outdoor atmosphere not emitted
through a flue, including, but not limited to, industrial process
losses, re-entrained dust, and construction and demolition activities.
Private Garage: An accessory building or a part of a principal
building designed primarily for the storage of not more than three
passenger cars (as defined in the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code)
owned and used by the owner or tenant of the premises. A detached
garage designed primarily for the storage of not more than three passenger
cars may be constructed on a premises even though the principal building
contains an attached garage as part of the structure. There shall
be a driveway leading to the garage that meets all applicable setback
and impervious surface coverage requirements.
Public Garage: A building, other than a private or storage garage,
one or more stories in height, used solely for the commercial storage,
service or repair of motor vehicles. There shall be a driveway leading
to the garage that meets all applicable setback and impervious surface
coverage requirements.
Storage Garage: A building, not a private or public garage,
one story in height, used solely for the storage of motor vehicles
(other than trucks), but not for the service or repair thereof, nor
for the sale of fuel, accessories or supplies. There shall be a driveway
leading to the garage that meets all applicable setback and impervious
surface coverage requirements.
Any area of land, including the structures thereon, or any
building or part thereof, used for the sale of gasoline or other motor
vehicle fuel and motor vehicle supplies, which may or may not include
facilities for the lubrication, washing and servicing of motor vehicles.
The term "servicing," as used herein, shall not include body or fender
repairs or painting. Gasoline service stations shall not be permitted
to engage in the storage of motor trucks for others except in connection
with the operation of a truck leasing facility as part of the service
station business.
The effect produced by brightness sufficient to create an
annoyance, discomfort or loss in visual performance and acuity.
Any area that is not covered by buildings or paving and is
available and used for retention and maintenance of natural vegetation
and for absorption of stormwater for groundwater discharge, including,
by way of example, landscape features such as planting beds, planted
islands, landscaped buffers and screens, lawn areas, woods and hedgerows.
Decorative stone not less than three (3) inches in size and mulch
ground covers may be included if placed upon an earth surface.
Substances which are carcinogenic, flammable and which may
be toxic to human beings, and which may contaminate the air, land
or water, and which include, but are not limited to, inorganic mineral
acids of sulfur, fluorine, chlorine, nitrogen, chromium, phosphorus,
selenium, and arsenic and their common salts; asbestos; lead, nickel
and mercury, and their inorganic salts or metallo-organic derivatives;
coal tar acids, including phenol and cresol and their salts; and all
radioactive substances.
The Health Advisory Board of Plymouth Township.
The vertical distance measured from the ground level, including
any base pad, to the highest point on a tower-based WCF, including
antennas mounted on the tower and any other appurtenances.
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
An apartment house containing six or more habitable stories.
Residential units within a high-rise apartment house may be offered
for sale or for rent.
[Added 11-14-2022 by Ord. No. 1686]
An occupation for gain or support conducted only by members
of a family residing on the premises and conducted entirely within
the dwelling, providing that no article is sold or offered for sale
except such as may be produced by members of the immediate family
residing on the premises.
A facility offering transient lodging accommodations to the
general public and providing additional services such as restaurants,
meeting rooms, and recreational facilities.
A trailer designed, constructed and equipped as a dwelling
place, living abode, or sleeping place (either permanently or temporarily),
equipped for use as a conveyance on streets and highways, the dimensions
of which are within the maximum size limitations prescribed by the
Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code.
Any material which prevents the absorption of stormwater
and reduces the percolation rate of previously undeveloped land to
less than one inch in 120 minutes.
A facility at which nonhazardous municipal waste is burned
and from which the residue is transported elsewhere for recycling
or ultimate disposal.
A use that combines laboratory space, office space, storage
space and space for assembly of materials for study, research, development,
experimentation, prototype development, and manufacture. Use may involve
one or more scientific fields, including but not limited to life sciences,
biotechnology, biomedical research, robotics, renewable technology,
sustainable technology, computer science, electronic technology or
medicine in a facility or facilities located on the same tract. Such
facilities shall maintain compliance, where applicable, with standards
of Good Manufacturing Practice to assure proper design, monitoring,
and control of manufacturing processes and facilities and to assure
the identity, strength, quality, and purity of such products by requiring
that manufacturers adequately control operating means and methods.
[Added 8-1-2022 by Ord.
No. 1681]
Any of the following activities:
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts
or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
A group of two or more residential or nonresidential buildings,
whether proposed initially or cumulatively, or a single nonresidential
building on a lot or lots regardless of the number of occupants or
tenure; or
The division or allocation of land or 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.
A subdivision of land.
Development in accordance with the Municipalities Planning Code,
section 503(1.1)(i),(ii) and (iii) shall be included within the definition
of land development.
Development in accordance with Appendix C, "Plymouth Township
Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance of 1980," as it is amended
and adopted.
Any process by which holes, pits, excavations or depressions
in the natural topography are sought to be filled by the deposit therein
of ashes, fly ash, demolition materials, or other similar material,
but excluding garbage, rubbish, residue from incineration processes
and other such refuse.
An age-restricted continuing care development that provides
a continuum of accommodations and care, from independent living units
(assisted living facilities) to personal care and nursing homes, and
enters into contracts to provide extended or life-long care in the
exchange for the payment of periodic fees and/or an entrance fee.
Independent living units are dwelling units located within a life
care facility.
A divided, multilane street for through traffic with controlled
access points and no at-grade crossings, of which the Federal Highway
Administration's Interstate Highway System is an example.
A space, accessible from a street or way, in a building or
on a lot, for the temporary use of vehicles, while loading or unloading
merchandise or materials.
A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by
a plat or otherwise as permitted by law and to be used, developed
or built upon as a unit.
The total horizontal area of the lot lying within the lot
line. No area of land lying within a street line shall be deemed to
be a portion of any lot area, all lots being measured to the street
line only. As to rear lots, the area of any portion of the access
between the street and rear lot that is less than the required lot
width shall not be deemed a portion of any lot area for the purpose
of determining whether a lot conforms to the area requirements of
a zoning district.
A lot that does not provide the minimum required lot width
as frontage along a public street or does not provide the required
lot width at a point equal to the required front yard established
for the district in which the lot is located. Such lots shall be connected
to a public street by an access strip which shall be held in fee-simple
ownership as a part of the flag (or rear) lot. The area of the access
strip, up to a point where the minimum required lot width is achieved,
shall not be included in calculating the minimum lot area required
for the zoning district in which the lot is located.
The length of the front lot line measured at the right-of-way
of a public street, except that in the Mixed Use Planned Development,
Planned Office Park, and Business Park districts said front lot line
may be measured at the perpetual easement line of a private street.
A property boundary line of any lot held in single and separate
ownership, except that, in the case of any lot abutting a street,
the lot line for such portion of the lot as abuts such street shall
be deemed to be the same as the street line, and shall not be the
centerline of the street, or any other line within the street lines
even though such may be the deeded property boundary line.
A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which
is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without
a permanent foundation when attached to the required utilities. The
term includes park trailers, travel trailers, recreational and other
similar vehicles which are placed on a site for more than 180 consecutive
days.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
An apartment house containing three, four, and/or five habitable
stories. Residential units within a mid-rise apartment house may be
offered for sale or for rent.
A transportable structure, not necessarily limited to a single-family
dwelling, intended for permanent occupancy, office or place of assembly,
contained in one (1) unit, or in two (2) or more units designed to
be joined into one (1) integral unit capable of again being separated
for repeated towing, which arrives at a site complete and ready for
occupancy except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations,
and constructed so that it may be used without a permanent foundation.
It does not include recreational vehicles or travel trailers.
A parcel of land in a mobile home park, improved with the
necessary utility connections and other appurtenances necessary for
the erection thereon of a single mobile home, which is leased by the
park owner to the occupants of the mobile home erected on the lot.
A parcel of land under single ownership which has been planned
and improved for the placement of mobile homes for nontransient use,
consisting of two (2) or more mobile home lots.
A WCF or site which consists of a single pole structure,
designed and erected on the ground or on top of a structure, to support
communications antennas and connecting appurtenances.
An establishment providing transient accommodation with at
least 25% of all rooms having direct access to the outside without
the necessity of passing through a main lobby of the building.
A building or a group of two (2) or more detached or semidetached
buildings containing rooms or apartments having separate ground floor
entrances provided directly or closely in connection with automobile
parking or storage space serving such rooms or apartments, which building
or group of buildings is designed, intended or used principally for
the providing of sleeping accommodations for automobile travelers
and is suitable for occupancy at all seasons of the year.
Any garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom or office waste,
and other material including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained
gaseous material resulting from the operation of residential, municipal,
commercial or institutional establishments and from community activities,
and any sludge from a municipal, commercial or institutional water
supply treatment plant, wastewater treatment plant or air pollution
control facility, except materials therefrom defined as "residential
waste" or "hazardous waste" by the Solid Waste Management Act of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Act of July 7, 1980 (Act 97) or subsequent
amendments thereof.
A manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction
of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes
are to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities,
the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the
pouring of concrete pads) is completed on or after the effective date
of floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
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 following requirements:
The business activity shall be compatible with the residential
use of the property and surrounding residential uses.
The business shall employ no employees other than family members
residing in the dwelling.
There shall be no display or sale of retail goods and no stockpiling
or inventory of a substantial nature.
There shall be no outside appearance of a business use, including,
but not limited to, parking, signs or lights.
The business activity may not use any equipment or process which
creates noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors or electrical or electronic
interference, including interference with radio or television reception,
which is detectable in the neighborhood.
The business activity may not generate any solid waste or sewage
discharge in volume or type which is not normally associated with
residential use in the neighborhood.
The business activity shall be conducted only within the dwelling
and may not occupy more than 25% of the habitable floor area.
The business may not involve any illegal activity.
That state or condition of a building or other structure,
use or lot which, by reason of design, size or use, does not conform
with the requirements of the district, or districts, in which it is
located.
All non-tower wireless communications facilities, including,
but not limited to, antennas and related equipment. Non-tower WCF
shall not include support structures for antennas or any related equipment
that is mounted to the ground or at ground level.
An airborne emission that is noxious or that creates a nuisance.
A sign which directs attention to a business, commodity,
service, entertainment or facility not located, conducted, sold, or
offered upon the premises where such sign is located, or which calls
public attention to a candidate, cause, public issue, or any other
kind of paid or unpaid commercial or noncommercial message, and which
shall be freestanding.
The degree to which emissions reduce the transmission of
light and obscure the view of an object in the background.
A reasonably level space, available for the parking of one
motor vehicle, not less than nine feet wide and having an area of
not less than 162 square feet exclusive of passageways, or other means
of circulation or access.
Parking Space, All-Weather, All-Weather Type Paved. A parking
area including parking spaces, aisles, ingress and egress designed
and surfaced as required by the subdivision and land development ordinance.
A structure of more than one level designed for the storage
of vehicles and which may contain access ramps. "Parking structure"
shall include the term "parking garage."
Divided liquid or solid matter that is discharged by intent
or not and is suspended or carried along in the air.
Individuals, corporations, companies, associations, joint-stock
companies, firms, partnerships, limited-liability companies, corporations
and other entities established pursuant to statutes of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania; provided that person does not include, or apply to,
the Township or to any department or agency of the Township.
A part of a land development application that indicates the
stages of a development in the sequence in which they shall be constructed.
The Planning Agency of Plymouth Township.
A structure for which construction or substantial improvement
occurred after 12/31/1974, or on or after the community's initial
FIRM (dated 10/14/1977), whichever is later, and, as such would be
required to be compliant with the regulations of the NFIP.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
A structure for which construction or substantial improvement
occurred on or before 12/31/1974, or before the community's initial
FIRM (dated 10/14/1977), and, as such, would not be required to be
compliant with the regulations of the NFIP.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
Public transportation shelter shall mean a structure providing
shelter for passengers for public licensed transportation operators,
providing not less than two (2) transparent walls, covered by a roof
and erected on or over a graded and improved foundation with illumination
inside permitted by conditional use along and adjacent to a public
street to provide temporary shelter for passengers of publicly licensed
transportation service. Public transportation shelter shall not include
taxicab stands or terminals or any platforms for pickups or delivery
of cargo or freight.
A private or municipal corporation and its facilities organized
and existing for the distribution and sale of water, electricity or
gas in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
or other appropriate governing body. A public utility, public utilities
or public utility facilities does not include a telephone central
office.
A vehicle which is built on a single chassis; not more than
400 square feet, measured at the largest horizontal projections; designed
to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty truck;
not designed for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living
quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
The elevation to which development is regulated for purposes
of elevation and/or dry floodproofing. It is equal to the base flood
elevation (BFE) plus a freeboard of 1 1/2 feet.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
Any piece of equipment related to, incident to, or necessary
for, the operation of a tower-based WCF or non-tower WCF. By way of
illustration, not limitation, "related equipment" includes generators
and base stations.
A facility at which nonhazardous municipal waste is burned
for the purpose of converting waste to energy and at which materials
are separated for processing and for transport elsewhere for recycling
and/or ultimate disposal.
Establishments engaged in selling goods or merchandise to
the general public for personal or household consumption that render
services incidental to the sale of such goods and are engaged in activity
designed to attract the general public to purchase such goods or merchandise.
The term does not include adult bookstores or any adult-oriented establishments.
Establishments providing services or entertainment, as opposed
to products, to the general public, including eating and drinking
places, hotels and motels, finance, real estate, insurance, personal
services, motion pictures, amusement and recreation establishments,
health, educational and social services, museums, galleries and similar
uses. The term does not include adult bookstore, adult entertainment,
adult mini motion-picture theater, adult motion-picture theater or
adult-oriented establishment. The term does include physical therapy,
chiropractic offices, and therapeutic massage practice under the direction
of a physician, but does not include a "massage parlor," being defined
as a commercial enterprise whose primary business emphasis is the
administration of sexually oriented massages to patrons by employees.
Retail services shall not include funeral home and/or crematorium.
[Ord. No. 1600, § 1, 5-11-2015]
The surface of and space above and below any real property
in the Township in which the Township has a regulatory interest, or
interest as a trustee for the public, as such interests now or hereafter
exist, including, but not limited to, all streets, highways, avenues,
roads, alleys, sidewalks, tunnels, viaducts, bridges, skyways, or
any other public place, area or property under the control of the
Township, and any unrestricted public or utility easements established,
dedicated, platted, improved or devoted for utility purposes, but
excluding lands other than streets that are owned by the Township.
The phrase "in the right(s)-of-way" means in, on, over, along, above
and/or under the right(s)-of-way. For the purpose of this ordinance,
ROW shall include streets and roads owned by Montgomery County, the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and any other Pennsylvania state agency.
A dwelling occupied in part by the owner or tenant in which
sleeping accommodations are provided or afforded primarily for automobile
travelers for compensation. This shall include Airbnbs and temporary
transient housing of a similar nature.
[Added by Ord. No. 1665, 12-14-2020]
Any process by which holes, pits, excavations or depressions
in the natural topography are sought to be filled by the deposit therein
of garbage, rubbish, residue from incinerator and/or resource recovery
facility operations, and other such refuse in such a manner as will
not create hazards to public health and safety, nuisances, pollution
or environmental degradation.
A building or buildings containing separate, individual,
and private units of varying sizes, leased or rented on individual
leases for varying periods of time, for the storage of business and
household goods.
The distance between any property line and the nearest line
of a building or projection thereof.
The term does not include any of the following:
Medical publications or films, or bona fide educational publications
or films.
Any art or photography publications which devote at least twenty
five (25%) percent of the lineage of each issue to articles and advertisement
dealing with subjects of art or photography.
Any news periodical which reports or describes current events
and which from time to time publishes photographs of nude or seminude
persons in connection with a dissemination of the news.
Any publications or films which describe and report different
cultures and which from time to time publish or show photographs or
depictions of nude or seminude persons when describing cultures in
which nudity or seminudity is indigenous to the populations.
A triangular-shaped portion of land established at street
intersections or the intersections of entrance drives and public streets
in which nothing is erected, placed, planted or allowed to grow in
such a manner as to limit or obstruct the sight distance of motorists
entering or leaving the intersection. For the purposes of this ordinance,
no object with a cross-section greater than one square foot or higher
than three (3) but less than seven (7) feet above grade shall be permitted
in the sight triangle.
A structure, building wall, including special lighting effects
and lighting devices on buildings, or other outdoor surface, or any
device used for the purpose of bringing the subject thereof to the
attention of the public, or to display, identify and publicize the
name and product or services of any person. It shall be include a
temporary sign, pylon or pole sign, marquee, awning, canopy or street
clock, and shall include any announcement, declaration, demonstration,
display, illustration, insignia or sound used to advertise or promote
the interests or any person when the same is placed indoors for view
of the general public from out-of-doors. A roof sign is a sign erected
upon or supported by the roof of a building. A sign shall not include
a flag of the United States of America, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
the County of Montgomery or any other country.
A sign that is designed so that characters, letters, panels
or illustrations including color and internal illumination can be
changed or rearranged electronically without altering the face or
the surface of the sign at time intervals specifically authorized
by the Township Zoning Ordinance; not a flashing, animated or moving
sign.
The ownership of property by one or more persons, which ownership
is separate and distinct from that of any adjoining property.
The refining or reducing of ore to produce metal.
Residential facilities where six or more individuals reside
together either voluntarily or by court order in order to recover
from drug, alcohol and/or substance abuse, which serve as an interim
environment between rehabilitation facilities and reintegration into
their future lives. This definition shall include recovery houses
and halfway houses.
[Added by Ord. No. 1665, 12-14-2020]
Permission or approval granted by the zoning hearing board
in accordance with section 2101 hereof, in situations where provision
therefor is made by the terms of this ordinance.
An area in the floodplain subject to a 1-percent or greater
chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the FIRM as Zone
A, AO, A1-A30, AE, A99, or AH.
[Added by Ord. No. 1617, § 3, 2-22-2016]
The term includes any of the following:
Camouflaging methods applied to wireless communications towers,
antennas and other facilities which render them more visually appealing
or blend the proposed facility into the existing structure or visual
backdrop in such a manner as to render it minimally visible to the
casual observer. Such methods include, but are not limited to, architecturally
screened roof-mounted antennas, building-mounted antennas painted
to match the existing structure and facilities constructed to resemble
trees, shrubs, and light poles.
A strip of land including the entire ultimate right-of-way,
publicly or privately owned, serving primarily as means of vehicular
and pedestrian travel, furnishing access to abutting properties which
may also be used to provide space for sewers, public utilities, shade
trees and sidewalks.
A street or road with an ultimate right-of-way width of more
than sixty (60) feet and on which large volumes of through traffic
move. These streets are usually under the jurisdiction of the county
or commonwealth, and the development regulations thereof apply.
A street or road used primarily as the means of transportation
between neighborhoods and as a feeder road to through highways.
The length of the street line serving primarily as a means
of vehicular and pedestrian travel, furnishing access to abutting
properties which may also be used to provide space for sewers, public
utilities, shade trees and sidewalks. "Street frontage" shall not
include any portion of a street line which abuts a limited access
highway.
A dividing line between a lot and the outside boundary or
ultimate right-of-way of a public street, road or highway legally
opened or officially plotted; or between a lot and a privately owned
street, road, or way over which the owners or tenants of two (2) or
more lots each hold in single and separate ownership have the right-of-way.
A right-of-way used for the movement of goods, people and
vehicles that is not under the jurisdiction of a government or governmental
agency.
A right-of-way used for the movement of goods, people and
vehicles that is under the jurisdiction of a government or governmental
agency.
A street or road used primarily as the principal means of
access to adjacent residential properties.
Any change in or addition to the supporting or structural
members of a building, such as the bearing walls, partitions, columns,
beams or girders, or any change which would convert an existing building
into a different structure, or adopt it to a different use, or which,
in the case of a nonconforming use, would prolong the life of such
use.
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not attached to the land.
Any increase in the height of a wireless support structure by
more than 10%, or by the height of one additional antenna array with
separation from the nearest existing antenna not to exceed twenty
(20) feet, whichever is greater, except that the mounting of the proposed
wireless communications facility may exceed the size limits set forth
herein if necessary to avoid interference with existing antennas;
or
Any further increase in the height of a wireless support structure
which has already been extended by more than 10% of its originally
approved height or by the height of one additional antenna array.
An establishment used primarily for the serving of liquor
by the drink to the general public and where food or packaged liquors
may be served or sold only as an accessory to the primary use.[2]
Any structure that is used for the purpose of supporting
one or more antennas, including, but not limited to, self-supporting
lattice towers, guy towers and monopoles, utility poles and light
poles. DAS hub facilities are considered to be tower-based WCFs.
Plymouth Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
The Township Council of Plymouth Township.
An area of land consisting of one or more contiguous lots,
including lots separated by a right-of-way or street, which is the
subject of a land development application.
The area contained within the property lines of a tract as
shown on a land development plan, including the areas within any right-of-way
or easement.
Any land used or designated to be used as a parking space
for one (1) or more house trailers.
Any vehicle used for living or sleeping purposes or any conventional
trailer built as a living or sleeping unit, whether or not it is used
for that purpose.
A facility to which deposits of municipal waste was delivered
in order to be compacted for transport elsewhere for ultimate disposal.
Any land used or occupied for the purpose of buying and selling
secondhand motor vehicles and storing said motor vehicles prior to
sale; provided, that such vehicles are in running condition as evidenced
by a current Pennsylvania State inspection sticker, affixed thereto.
Permission or approval granted by the Zoning Hearing Board
in accordance with section 2101 hereof, constituting a modification
of or a derivation from the exact provisions of this ordinance as
applied to the use of a specific piece of property or portion of the
same.
Any space designed or maintained solely for pedestrian use,
without regard to ownership.
A facility to which glass, metals, paper and rags are delivered
for sorting and subsequent transport elsewhere for recycling.
Pennsylvania Wireless Broadband Collocation Act (53 P.S.
§ 11702.1 et seq.).
Establishments or places of business primarily engaged in
selling merchandise to retailers, or to industrial, commercial, institutional,
or professional business users, or to other wholesalers, or acting
as agents or brokers and buying merchandise for, or selling merchandise
to, such individuals or companies.
Transmissions through the airwaves including, but not limited
to, infrared line of sight, cellular, PCS, microwave, satellite, or
radio signals.
The antennas, nodes, control boxes, towers, poles, conduits,
ducts, pedestals, electronics and other equipment used for the purpose
of transmitting, receiving, distributing, providing, or accommodating
wireless communications services.
Any person that applies for a wireless communication facility
building permit, zoning approval and/or permission to use the public
right-of-way (ROW) or other Township-owned land or property.
A freestanding structure, such as a tower-based wireless
communications facility or any other support structure that could
support the placement or installation of a wireless communications
facility if approved by the Township.
An open unoccupied space on the same lot with a building
or other structure or use, open and unobstructed from the ground to
the sky, except for public utility lines or facilities and lighting
facilities.
FRONT YARDA yard extending the full width of the lot along the front lot line and extending in depth from the front lot line to the nearest point of any structure on the lot.
REAR YARDA yard extending the full width of the lot along the rear lot line and extending in depth from the rear lot line to the nearest point of any structure on the lot.
SIDE YARDA yard extending the full depth of the lot along a side lot line and extending in width from such side lot line to the nearest point of any structure on the lot.
The Zoning Hearing Board of Plymouth Township.
