Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following terms shall,
for the purpose of these regulations, have the meaning indicated:
A.Â
Words in the singular include the plural and those in the plural
include the singular.
B.Â
Words used in the present tense include the future tense.
C.Â
Words "person," "subdivider," "owner," and "developer" include a
corporation, incorporated association and a partnership, or other
legal entity, as well as an individual.
D.Â
The word "building" includes structures and shall be construed as
if followed by the phrase "or part thereof."
E.Â
The word "watercourse" includes channel, creek, ditch, dry run, spring,
stream and river.
F.Â
The words "should" and "may" are permissive; the words "shall," "must"
and "will" are mandatory and directive.
H.Â
Words in the masculine gender include the feminine and the neuter.
Other terms or words used herein shall be interpreted or defined
as follows:
A privately owned, constructed and maintained vehicular access
from a public or private right-of-way to off-street parking or loading
spaces.
See "service street."
A landowner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has
filed an application for development, including his heirs, successors
and assigns.
Every application, whether preliminary, tentative or final,
required to be filed and approved prior to start of construction or
development, including, but not limited to, an application for a building
permit, for the approval of a subdivision plat or plan or for the
approval of a development plan.
A unit of land bounded by streets or by a combination of
streets, public land, railroad rights-of-way, waterways or any other
barrier to development.
The Borough of Boyertown, Berks County, Pennsylvania. It
shall also mean the representative designated by the Borough Council
to receive and process applications for development.
The agent or official designated by Borough Council to administrate
and enforce the Borough Zoning Ordinance or his duly authorized representative.
The Borough Council of the Borough of Boyertown, Berks County,
Pennsylvania.
A duly registered professional engineer employed by Borough
Council or engaged as a consultant thereto, or his duly authorized
representative.
The Manager employed by Borough Council or his duly authorized
representative.
The Planning Commission of the Borough of Boyertown, Berks
County, Pennsylvania.
The Secretary employed by Borough Council or his duly authorized
representative.
The solicitor appointed by Borough Council or his duly authorized
representative.
The Superintendent employed by Borough Council or his duly
authorized representative.
Any combination of materials forming any structure which
is erected on the ground and permanently affixed thereto, designed,
intended, or arranged for the housing, sheltering, enclosure, or structural
support of persons, animals, or property of any kind.
The line which serves as the rear boundary of the minimum
front yard, defining the minimum required distance between any structure
to be erected and the front lot line.
Land within the Borough which contains soils formed in material
from limestone.
The portion of a street right-of-way, paved or unpaved, intended
for vehicular use.
An area of unobstructed vision at street intersections defined
by lines of sight between points at a given distance from the intersection
of the street center lines.
The Planning Commission of the Borough of Boyertown, Berks
County, Pennsylvania.
A parking facility other than those provided within the lot
lines of a lot on which one single-family detached dwelling, one single-family
semidetached dwelling, one townhouse, one two-family detached dwelling,
or one two-family semidetached dwelling is located.
An ownership arrangement where portions of real estate are
designated for separate ownership and the remainder of which is designated
for common ownership solely by the owners of the separate portions,
created under either the Pennsylvania Unit Property Act of July 3,
1963, or the Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act of 1980.[1]
The Borough Council of the Boyertown of Boyertown, Berks
County, Pennsylvania.
The County of Berks, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Planning Commission of the County of Berks, Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
A right-of-way established for public use to facilitate pedestrian
access through a subdivision block.
The deliberate appropriation of land by its owner for any
general and public use, reserving to himself no other rights than
those that are compatible with the full exercise and enjoyment of
the public uses to which the property has been devoted.
Any landowner, agent of such landowner, or tenant with the
permission of such landowner, who makes or causes to be made a subdivision
of land or a land development.
A building arranged, intended, designed, or used as the living
quarters for one or more families living independently of each other
within the building. The term "dwelling" shall not be deemed to include
hotel, motel or tourist home.
One or more rooms designed or occupied, whether permanently
or seasonally, as separate living quarters, with cooking, sleeping
and sanitary facilities provided within the dwelling unit for the
exclusive use of a single family maintaining a household.
A vested or acquired right to use land other than as tenant,
for a specific purpose, such right being held by someone other than
the owner who holds title to the land.
The application of the signatures of the President and Secretary
of the Borough Council and the Borough Seal to the plan.
A licensed professional engineer registered by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
The person so elected by the Boyertown Fire Companies or
his duly authorized representative.
A land area susceptible to being inundated by water from
any source.
The inclination, with the horizontal, of a road, unimproved
land, etc., which is generally expressed by stating the vertical rise
or fall as a percentage of the horizontal distance.
Those physical additions, installations and changes required
to render land suitable for a proposed use, such as streets, curbs,
sidewalks, utilities and drainage facilities.
An agreement between the Borough of Boyertown and a subdivider
which provides for an improvements guarantee for the completion of
improvements within the subdivision or land development, establishes
responsibilities of the Borough and subdivider regarding the completion
and observation of improvements, and specifies such other items regarding
improvements which are agreed to between the Borough and the subdivider.
Any security which is accepted by the Borough to guarantee
that certain improvements will be made within the subdivision or land
development, including performance bonds, escrow agreements and any
other collateral or surety agreements.
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.
The following are excluded from the definition of land development:
The conversion of an existing single-family detached dwelling
or single-family semidetached dwelling into not more than three residential
units, unless such units are intended to be a condominium;
The addition of an accessory building, including farm buildings,
on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing principal building.
The legal or beneficial owner or owners of land, including
the holder of an option or contract to purchase (whether or not such
option or contract is subject to any condition), a lessee if he is
authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the landowner,
or other person having a proprietary interest in land.
A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by
a plat or otherwise permitted by law and to be used, developed or
built upon as a unit.
Calculated land area contained within the deeded boundaries
of a lot.
A lot of irregular shape that has a narrow access strip (not
meeting the minimum lot widths requirements of the Borough Zoning
Ordinance and thus too narrow for the construction of a principal
building) leading from a street or other right-of-way to a wider portion
of the lot which is intended for construction of a principal building
and which wider portion complies with the minimum lot width requirements
of the Borough Zoning Ordinance.
A guarantee by the developer of the structural integrity
of improvements dedicated to the Borough.
A metal pipe or pin of at least 3/4 inch in diameter and
at least 24 inches in length.
A stone or concrete monument with a flat top at least four
inches in diameter or square, containing a copper or brass dowel (1/4
inch drill hole) and at least 24 inches in length. It is recommended
that the bottom sides or radius be at least two inches greater than
the top, to minimize movements caused by frost.
Borough of Boyertown, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
A complete and exact subdivision or land development plan
(including all required supplementary data), prepared for official
recording to define property rights and proposed streets and other
improvements.
The Comprehensive Development Plan and/or Master Plan and/or
Future Land Use Plan and/or Ultimate Right-of-Way Plan and/or Official
Map and/or Topographical Survey and/or other such plans, or portions
thereof, as may have been adopted pursuant to statute.
A tentative subdivision or land development plan (including
all required supplementary data), in lesser detail than a final plan,
showing, among other things, topographical data and approximate proposed
street and lot layout as a basis for consideration prior to preparation
of a final plan.
The copy of the final plan which contains the original endorsements
of the County Planning Commission and the Borough Council and which
is intended to be recorded with the County Recorder of Deeds.
An informal plan indicating salient existing features of
a tract and the general layout of a proposed subdivision or land development.
The Planning Commission of the Borough of Boyertown, Berks
County, Pennsylvania.
A map or plan of a subdivision or land development, whether
preliminary or final.
Parks, playgrounds, trails, paths and other recreational
areas; sites for schools, sewage treatment, refuse disposal and other
publicly owned or operated facilities; publicly owned or operated
scenic and historic sites.
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Borough
Council or Planning Commission, intended to inform and obtain public
comment, prior to taking action in accordance with this chapter.
Notice published once each week for two successive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Borough. Such notice
shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature
of the matter to be considered at the hearing. The first publication
shall not be more than 30 days and the second publication shall not
be less than seven days from the date of the hearing.
A parcel of ground in separate ownership separating a street
from other adjacent properties, or from another street, either proposed
or existing.
Any replatting of land, including changes to recorded subdivision
or land development plans. See also "subdivision."
A lot extending between and having frontage on two generally
parallel streets, excluding service streets, with vehicular access
solely from one street.
The total width of any land reserved or dedicated as a street,
alley, crosswalk or for other public or semipublic purposes.
A sanitary sewage collection system in which sewage is carried
from individual lots by a system of pipes to a central treatment and
disposal plant, generally not confined to one neighborhood.
The required length of roadway visible to the driver of a
passenger vehicle at any given point on the roadway when the view
is unobstructed by traffic. Sight distance measurement shall be made
from a point 3.5 feet above the center line of the road surface to
a point 0.5 foot above the center line of the road surface.
Garbage, refuse, and other discarded materials.
Includes street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway,
parkway, lane, alley, viaduct and any other ways used by or reserved
for vehicular traffic or pedestrians, whether public or private.
ARTERIAL STREETA street serving a large volume of comparatively high-speed and long-distance traffic.
COLLECTOR STREETA street which intercepts minor streets to provide a route to give access to community facilities and/or other collector and arterial streets. Generally, streets in industrial and commercial subdivisions shall be considered collector streets.
CUL-DE-SAC STREETA minor street intersecting another street at one end and terminating in a vehicular turnaround at the other end, or a minor street which intersects another street at one end, forms a loop and intersects itself. The length of a cul-de-sac street shall be measured from the intersection of street right-of-way lines nearest the turnaround to the farthest portion of the turnaround, along the center line of the cul-de-sac street.
HALF (PARTIAL) STREETA street, generally parallel and adjacent to a property line, having a lesser right-of-way width than normally required for improvement and use of the street.
MARGINAL ACCESS STREETA minor street parallel and adjacent to an arterial street, but separated from it by a reserve strip, which provides access to abutting properties and control of intersections with the arterial street.
MINOR STREETA street used primarily to provide access to abutting properties or buildings.
Service street (alley) — A minor vehicular right-of-way,
public or private, on which no principal structures front, which serves
as the secondary means of access to two or more properties which otherwise
front on a public street.
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
Any landowner, agent of such landowner, or tenant with the
permission of such landowner, who makes or causes to be made a subdivision
or a land development.
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land
by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions
of land, including changes in existing lot lines for the purpose,
whether immediate or future, or lease, partition by the court for
distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership or building
or lot development; provided, however, that the subdivision by lease
of land for agriculture purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres
not involving any new street or easement of access or any residential
dwelling shall be exempted. The term "subdivision" shall refer, as
appropriate in this chapter, to the process of subdividing land or
to the land proposed to be subdivided. The term "subdivision" includes
resubdivision.
The enumerating of lots shall include as a lot that portion
of the original tract remaining after other lots have been subdivided
therefrom.
The combining of two or more recorded lots into one lot via
the creation of a new deed shall not constitute subdivision, provided
no existing lot is divided by any means.
A licensed surveyor registered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
All electric, telephone, television cables, whether overhead
or underground, and gas, oil and other distribution and transmission
pipes. The term shall also apply to electric supply lines to street
and/or tract lighting.
A system for supplying and distributing water from a common
source to dwellings and other buildings, but generally not confined
to one neighborhood.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq.
