[Ord. 2-2000, 4/5/2000, § 21; as amended by Ord.
2-2005, 7/6/2005]
Unless expressly stated otherwise, the words and phrases defined
in this section will be construed throughout this chapter as having
the meanings indicated herein. The singular will always include the
plural and the plural the singular. Any sentence in the past or present
tense will be construed to apply also in the future tense. The words
"person," "applicant," "subdivider" and "owner" will include any corporation,
unincorporated association, partnership or other legal entity as well
as any individual. The word "building" will include the word "structure."
The word "watercourse" will include channel, creek, ditch, dry run,
spring, stream and river. The words "shall" and "will" are always
mandatory.
[Ord. 2-2000, 4/5/2000, § 22; as amended by Ord.
5-2002, 7/10/2002, § 2; by Ord. 2-2003, 12/17/2003, § I;
and by Ord. 1-2008, 10/1/2008, § III]
1.
ALLEY
APPLICANT
APPLICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT
BLOCK
BUILDINGS
BUILDING SETBACK LINE
CARTWAY (ROADWAY)
CLEAR-CUTTING
CRITICAL AREA
CROSSWALK (INTERIOR WALK)
CUL-DE-SAC
DBH (DBH)
DESIGN STANDARDS
DEVELOPER
DRAINAGE
DRIP LINE
DWELLING UNIT
EASEMENT
ENGINEER
EROSION
FOOTCANDLE
FORESTRY
FULL CUTOFF
GLARE
GLARE, DISABLING
GLARE, NUISANCE
HEDGEROW
HERBACEOUS
IMPROVEMENT SPECIFICATIONS
LAND DEVELOPMENT
(1)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
1)
2)
a)
b)
c)
3)
a)
b)
LANDOWNER
LANDSCAPING
LOT AREA
LUMEN
LUMINAIRE
MONUMENT
NATURAL SUCCESSION
PLAN, COMPREHENSIVE
PLAN, CONSERVATION
PLAN, CONSTRUCTION IMPROVEMENT
PLAN, FINAL
PLAN PRE-APPLICATION
PLAN, PRELIMINARY
PLAN-RECORD
PLANNING COMMISSION
PLAT
PUBLIC NOTICE
REFORESTATION
RESERVE STRIP
RE-SUBDIVISION
REVERSE FRONTAGE LOT
REVIEW
RIGHT-OF-WAY
ROADWAY
SANITARY SEWAGE DISPOSAL, COMMUNITY
SANITARY SEWAGE DISPOSAL, ON-SITE
SANITARY SEWAGE DISPOSAL, PUBLIC
SEDIMENT
SELECTIVE CUTTING
SIGHT DISTANCE
SPECIMEN VEGETATION
STREET, ARTERIAL OR THROUGH HIGHWAY
STREET, COLLECTOR
STREET, CUL-DE-SAC
STREET, HALF (PARTIAL)
STREET, LOCAL
STREET, MARGINAL ACCESS
STREET, MINOR
STREET, RESIDENTIAL
STREET, SERVICE (ALLEY)
STRUCTURE
SUBDIVIDER
SUBDIVISION
SUBDIVISION, MAJOR
SUBDIVISION, MINOR
SURVEYOR
TOTE
TREE PROTECTION ZONE
VEGETATION, PERMANENT
VEGETATION, TEMPORARY
WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, COMMUNITY
WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, ON-SITE
WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, PUBLIC
WOODLAND
WOODLAND DISTURBANCE
(1)
(2)
(3)
WOODLAND MANAGEMENT PLAN
ZONING ORDINANCE
In this chapter, except where context clearly indicates otherwise,
the following words and phrases have the meanings indicated:
A right-of-way providing secondary vehicular access to the
side or rear of a lot or lots.
Any landowner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has
filed an application for development, including his heirs, successors
and assigns, who has filed an application for subdivision of land
or a land development plan.
Every application, whether preliminary 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 plan or for the approval of a development
plan.
An area bounded by streets.
Any man-made object having a roof supported by columns or
enclosing walls or other support and used for the shelter, housing
or enclosure of persons, animals or property. "Building" shall also
include a structure.
The line within a property that defines the minimum required
distance between any building to be erected and an adjacent right-of-way.
That part of a street right-of-way, paved or unpaved, that
is intended for vehicular use.
The felling of all trees on a tract of land or any portion
thereof, at one time.
An area especially subject to erosion, sedimentation or flooding,
such as areas not covered with vegetation due to grading, cutting
or filling, areas containing exposed subsoils or mixtures of soil
horizons, and areas of excessively long slopes or steep grades.
A right-of-way for pedestrians extending from a street into
a block or across a block to another street.
A street terminated at one end by a paved vehicular turnaround.
The diameter of a tree at breast height, measured 4 1/2
feet from the ground surface at the point of highest elevation in
contact with the trunk of such tree. This term shall be the same as
the caliper of the tree at the same point.
Minimum standards for the layout by which a subdivision or
development is developed.
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.
The flow of water or liquid waste and the method, natural
or artificial, of directing such flow.
A generally circular line around a tree, the circumference
of which is determined by the outer reaches of the tree's widest
branch points.
Any structure or part of a structure designed to be occupied
as a single housekeeping unit.
A right-of-way granted, but not dedicated, to use private
land for a specified public or quasi-public purpose, within which
the owner shall erect no permanent structures but may use the land
in any other way that is not inconsistent with the grantee's
rights.
Licensed professional engineer registered by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
Movement of soil by action of wind and/or water.
A unit of light quantity or density when the foot is the
unit of measure. One footcandle equals one lumen per square foot of
area.
The management of forest and timberlands when practiced in
accordance with accepted silvicultural principles, through developing,
cultivating, harvesting, transporting and selling trees for commercial
purposes, which does not involve any land development. Timber or tree
harvesting shall be considered the removal of more than four trees
of six inches or greater DBH per acre from any lot of more than three
acres for the purpose of allowing the natural regeneration or preservation
of a woodland and undertaken in compliance with an approved timber
harvesting plan.
An industry recognized IESNA designation used by the lighting
industry to describe a lighting fixture from which no light output
is emitted at or above a horizontal plane drawn through the bottom
of the fixture and no more than 10% of the lamp's light intensity
is emitted at an angle 10° below that horizontal plane, at all
lateral angles around the fixture. Implicit in the definition is a
fixture that is aimed straight down and has a flat lens.
Brightness in the field of view that is sufficiently greater
than the amount of light to which the eye is adapted, to cause annoyance,
discomfort or loss of visual performance and visibility.
Brightness in the field of view that impairs visibility and
creates a potential hazard to the health, safety, and welfare of the
community.
Brightness in the field of view that creates an annoyance
or aggravation but does not create a potentially hazardous situation.
A linear plant community dominated by trees and/or shrubs.
Hedgerows often occur along roads, fence lines, property lines, or
between fields, and may occur naturally or be specially planted (e.g.,
as a windbreak). For purposes of this chapter, hedgerows are considered
woodlands and regulated as such regardless of area or tree size.
Plants that have no woody parts. Stems and branches remain
green and soft and die down to the ground in winter.
Minimum standards for constructing required improvements,
such as streets, curbs, sidewalks and sewers, and for preserving trees
and tree masses.
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous tracts
or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
A group of two or more residential or nonresidential buildings/structures,
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 fixtures.
A subdivision of land.
Land development, as defined herein, shall exclude:
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 accessory building as hereafter defined, including
farm buildings, on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing principal
building.
The first accessory building on a residential lot containing
no more than 1,000 square feet of floor area.
All accessory buildings on a residential lot containing no more
than 200 square feet of floor area.
Accessory buildings on a nonresidential lot containing no more
than 1,000 square feet of floor space and containing no water supply
and plumbing fixtures.
Additions to existing structures as hereafter defined.
Additions to existing principal residential building.
Additions to an existing nonresidential building containing
no more than 1,000 square feet in floor area; provided, that addition
is no more than 100% of the original building, whether proposed initially
or cumulatively, and the addition is of the same use and/or serves
the attached original 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, shall be deemed
to be a landowner for the purposes of this chapter.
The planting of turf or other appropriate ground cover or
the planting of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubbery, other
than for agricultural purposes, and including the maintenance and
replacement thereof, for control of erosion, retention of precipitation,
protection against elements or promotion of human comfort and welfare.
The area shown on a plan as within the property lines of
a lot, excluding space within all streets and rights-of-way, but including
all other easements. The lot area shall not include any area required
to be provided as buffer space or open space.
A unit used to express the light output of a lamp or fixture.
The number of lumens striking a square foot of area determines the
footcandle level (lumens per square foot).
Complete lighting unit consisting of a lamp(s) together with
the parts required to distribute the light, position, and protect
the lamp and to connect the lamp to the power supply. Used synonymously
with the term "fixture."
A stone or concrete marker with a flat top, at least 24 inches
high (preferably 30 inches to 36 inches), at least four feet square
or in diameter, containing a copper or brass dowel (plug). To minimize
movement caused by frost, it should preferably be tapered so that
its dimensions are at least two inches greater at the bottom than
at the top.
The process by which landscapes are transformed over time
from open, seasonal cover to more permanent vegetation. In this area,
the natural change is from open space to woodland.
The Comprehensive Development Policy Plan (Master Plan) and/or
Future Land Use Plan and/or Ultimate Right-of-Way Plan and/or Official
Map or other such plan or plans, or parts of plans, as may be adopted,
pursuant to statute, for areas of the Township in which subdivision
may be located. Sometimes referred to as the Official Township Plan.
A plan that, accompanying and forming part of a developer's preliminary and final plans, contains all the information required under Article 5 hereof. It details what the developer will do to protect stream channels, major trees and other important natural features, and to prevent erosion and control sedimentation.
A plan prepared by a registered engineer or surveyor showing
construction details of streets, drains, sewers, bridges, culverts
and other improvements as required by this chapter.
A complete and exact subdivision or development plan or plat,
prepared for official recording as required by statute, that provides
all the information required under this chapter.
An informal sketch plan, not necessarily to exact scale,
that shows the salient features of a tract and its surroundings and
the general layout of a proposed subdivision or land development.
A tentative subdivision or development plan, less detailed
than a final plan, that provides all the information required under
this chapter.
The copy of the final plan that contains the original endorsements
of the County Planning Commission, the Township, developer, owner
and applicant and is to be recorded with the County Recorder of Deeds.
The Thornbury Township Planning Commission.
A map or plan, preliminary or final, of a subdivision or
land development.
Notice published once each week for two successive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township. 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 be no more than 30 days and the second publication shall not
be less than seven days from the date of the hearing.
The restocking of an area with forest trees including natural
regeneration as well as tree planting.
A parcel of ground in separate (perhaps public) ownership
that separates a street from other adjacent properties or another
street.
A re-platting or re-subdivision that changes lot lines only on an approved final plan or recorded plan as specified in Article 5 hereof. Any other replatting will be considered a new subdivision.
A lot extending between and fronting on two generally parallel
streets (excluding service streets or alleys), with vehicular access
from one street only.
Examination of a pre-application plan, preliminary plan and/or
final plan by the Township Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors
to determine whether it complies with this chapter and the administrative
regulations, design standards and improvement specifications enacted
pursuant to it.
The total width of any land reserved or dedicated as a street,
alley or crosswalk or for any other public purpose.
See "cartway."
A sanitary sewage-disposal system, meeting all requirements
of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, in which
sewage is carried by pipes from individual lots to a privately-owned
treatment and disposal plant. It generally serves a single neighborhood.
Any structure or combination of structures designed to treat
sanitary sewage within the boundaries of a single lot.
A sanitary sewage disposal system, meeting all requirements
of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, on which
sewage is carried by pipes from individual lots to a publicly-owned
central treatment and disposal plant.
The residue resulting from erosion.
The felling of certain, but not all, trees in an area for
the purposes of: (1) removing dead, diseased, damaged, mature or marketable
timber; (2) improving the quality of a tree stand or species: or (3)
meeting personal domestic needs.
The length of roadway that must be visible to the driver
of a passenger vehicle at any point on the roadway when the view is
not obstructed by traffic as defined by the Pennsylvania Department
of Transportation guidelines.
A tree or plant that has been bred for unusual or rare characteristics,
such as form, leaf color or texture, bloom, bark, being a dwarf variety
of a larger tree species or possessing characteristics different than
customary plants of the species. A tree or plant that is at or near
its maximum size may be considered specimen vegetation.
A street that serves a large volume of relatively high-speed
and long-distance traffic, on which through-traffic gets preference
over cross traffic; any facility classified as a main or secondary
highway by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
A street that, besides providing access to abutting properties,
intercepts minor streets to provide access for at least 50 dwelling
units to community facilities and/or other major streets, or a major
street or highway system. Streets in industrial and commercial subdivisions
will generally be considered collector streets.
One that terminates at one end in a paved vehicular turn-around.
One with a narrower right-of-way than is normally required,
generally parallel with and adjacent to a property line.
One intended chiefly to provide access to a collector street
or streets.
One parallel with and adjacent to a major street but separated
from it by a reserve strip, that provides access to abutting properties
and control of intersections with the major street.
Any street except an arterial or collector street.
One intended chiefly to provide access to abutting properties.
A minor right-of-way providing secondary vehicular access
to the side or rear of two or more properties.
Any man-made object with an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
Any person, partnership, corporation or authorized agent
that undertakes to subdivide or develop land, as defined by these
regulations, as the owner, lessee, equitable owner (or authorized
agent of the equitable owner) of the land or water, whether or not
affixed to the land.
The division or re-division of a lot, tract or parcel of
land by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other
parcels 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; provided, however, that
the division of land for agricultural purposes into parcels of more
than 10 acres, not involving any new street or easement of access,
shall be exempted.
Any subdivision other than a minor subdivision and any land
development that does not involve subdivision.
A subdivision in which:
A licensed surveyor registered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Township of Thornbury, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
An area that is radial to the trunk of a tree within which
no land disturbance shall occur. The tree protection zone shall be
a minimum distance of 15 feet from the tree trunk or the distance
from the tree trunk to the drip line, whichever is greater. Where
a group of trees or woodland is to be protected, the tree protection
zone shall be the aggregate of the tree protection zones of the individual
trees.
Perennial grasses, legumes, or other long-lived plant materials,
such as Crown Vetch, Fescues, and Bluegrasses, etc., depending upon
the degree of refinement desired.
Fast growing grasses, usually annuals, such as rye, oats,
sudan, or other appropriate cover to prevent erosion until permanent
vegetation can be installed.
A privately owned system, meeting all requirements of the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, to supply water
from a common source to two or more dwelling units and/or other buildings.
It generally serves a single neighborhood.
A system to supply water to a single dwelling unit or other
building from a source on the same lot.
A publicly owned system, meeting all requirements of the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, to supply water
from a common source to dwelling units and/or other buildings, typically
in more than one neighborhood.
A tree mass or plant community of 1/4 acre or more in which
tree species are dominant or co-dominant, the branches of the trees
form a complete, or nearly complete, aerial canopy and where the largest
trees measure at least six inches in diameter DBH. A woodland shall
also include 10 individual trees of greater than six inches DBH under
a common canopy. For the purpose of this chapter, the extent of any
woodland plant community or any part thereof shall be measured from
the outermost drip line of all the trees in the community. Woodland
shall include any area where woodland disturbance has occurred within
the previous three years that would have met the definition of woodland
prior to timbering, tree harvesting or disturbance. Woodlands do not
include orchards or old fields.
Any activity that alters the existing structure of a woodland
or hedgerow. Alteration includes the cutting or removal of canopy
trees, sub-canopy trees, under-story shrubs and vines, woody and herbaceous
woodland floor species.
Any activity that constitutes a land disturbance (exposes soils,
alters topography) within a woodland or hedgerow.
Woodland disturbance does not include the selective cutting
or removal of invasive alien trees, shrubs, vines or herbaceous species
including, but not limited to, Rosa multiflora (Multiflora Rose),
Eleagnus umbellate (Autumn Olive), Lonicera japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle),
Celastrus orbiculatus (Oriental Bittersweet), Acer platanoides (Norway
Maple) and Polygonum perfoliatum (Mile-a-Minute Weed).
A description, by means of text and maps, of proposed actions
involving the removal of trees from a tract of land. Such plan shall
be prepared by a person(s) with demonstrable expertise in forest management
and shall document measures to be taken: (1) to protect water quality,
(2) to minimize impacts from skid trails and logging roads, landing
areas and the tree removal process; and (3) to assure site restoration.
The Thornbury Township Zoning Ordinance of 1976, as amended, from time to time [Chapter 27].
