[Ord. 07-117, 11/13/2007, § 203]
ACCESS DRIVE
A paved or unpaved surface, other than a street, which provides
vehicular access from a street or private road to any lot except a
single-family residence.
ACCESSORY BUILDING/STRUCTURE/USE
A structure or use that: (A) is clearly incidental to and
customarily found in connection with a principal building or use;
(B) is subordinate to and serves a principal building or a principal
use; (C) is subordinate in area, extent, or purpose to the principal
building or principal use served; (D) contributes to the comfort,
convenience, or necessity of occupants, business, or industry in the
principal building or principal use served; and (E) is located in
the same lot as the principal building or use served.
AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES
The use of land for farming, dairying, pasturage, agriculture,
horticulture, floriculture, viticulture, and animal and poultry husbandry
and the necessary accessory uses for packing, treating or storing
the produce and equipment and for housing and feeding livestock and
for housing equipment, The use of land for a dwelling site is not
an agricultural purpose.
ALLEY
A right-of-way providing secondary vehicular access to the
side or rear of two or more lots.
APPLICANT
A landowner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has
filed an application for development including his heirs, successors
and assigns.
APPLICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT
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 development plan, or for the approval
of a subdivision plat or plan.
AUTHORITY
A body politic and corporate created pursuant to the act
of May 2, 1945, P.L. 382, No. 164, known as the "Municipality Authorities
Act of 1945."
BLOCK
An area bounded by streets.
BUILDING SETBACK
A.
FRONT YARD BUILDING SETBACK LINEThe line parallel to the public street right-of-way line at a distance equal to the minimum depth of the front yard designated for each district in this chapter. All yards adjacent to a public or private street rights-of-way shall be considered front yards.
B.
SIDE YARDThe required open space extending along the side lot line from the front yard to the rear yard.
C.
REAR YARDThe required open space extending along the rear lot line (not a street line) throughout the whole width of the lot.
CARTWAY (ROADWAY)
The area of a road or other street, within which vehicles
are permitted, including travel lanes but not including shoulders,
curbs, gutters, sidewalks, or drainage swales.
CLEAR SIGHT TRIANGLE
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.
COUNTY
Adams County, Pennsylvania.
CROSSWALK
A publicly or privately owned right-of-way for pedestrian
use extending from a street into a block or across a block to another
street.
CUL-DE-SAC
A street with access closed at one end, provided with a vehicular
turnaround at the closed end.
DEVELOPER
Any landowner, equitable owner or authorized agent of such
landowner who makes or causes to be made a subdivision of land or
a land development.
DEVELOPMENT
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate
including, but not limited to, the construction, reconstruction, renovation,
repair, expansion, or alteration of buildings or other structures;
the placement of manufactured homes; streets, and other paving; utilities;
filling; grading and excavation; mining; dredging; drilling operations;
storage of equipment or materials; and the subdivision of land.
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
The provisions for the development of a residential, commercial,
or industrial site prepared in accordance with this chapter including,
but not limited to, a plat of subdivision, location of various uses,
all covenants relating to use, location, and bulk of buildings and
other structures, intensity of use or density of development, streets,
parking facilities, common open space, and public facilities. The
phrase "provisions of the development plan" when used in this chapter,
shall mean both the verbal and graphic materials referred to in the
proposal.
DRAINAGE
The flow of surface water runoff and the methods of directing
such flow which include, but are not limited to, (A) the removal of
surface water or groundwater from land by drains, grading, or other
means which includes runoff controls to minimize erosion and sedimentation
during and after construction; and, (B) the means for preserving the
water supply; and, (C) the prevention or alleviation of flooding.
DWELLING
A building or portion thereof that is used exclusively for
residential purposes:
B.
(2)
DUPLEXA building with one unit placed above the other so that they share a common horizontal partition.
C.
SINGLE-FAMILY ATTACHED DWELLINGA building containing not more than six dwelling units separated by parallel party walls, each of which has only one dwelling form ground to roof, independent outside access, not more than two walls in common with adjacent units and open-space exposures to the front and rear (internal units) or front, rear and one side (end units). Such dwellings shall include, but not be limited to, the following types: triplex, quadruplex, townhouses (in rows of no more than six units).
D.
MULTI-FAMILY DWELLINGA building designed for and occupied by more than two families. Such dwellings shall include, but not be limited to, the following types: townhouses (in rows of more than six units), stacked townhouses, multiplex, garden apartments, mid-rise apartments.
EASEMENT, UTILITY
A right-of-way granted for the limited use of land for public
or quasi-public purposes, including the placement or installation
of utilities; also the land to which such right(s) pertain.
ENGINEER
A registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania designated
by the municipality to perform the duties of engineer as herein specified.
ENGINEERING SPECIFICATIONS
The written specifications of the municipality as prepared
by a registered professional engineer, regulating the installation
of any required improvement or for any facility installed by any owner,
subject to public use.
EROSION
The removal of surface material by the action of natural
elements.
EXCAVATION
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar
material is dug into, cut, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced,
relocated, or bulldozed. It shall include the conditions resulting
therefrom.
FILL
(A) any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other
material is placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported or moved to
a new location above the natural surface of the ground or on top of
the stripped surface. It shall include the conditions resulting therefrom;
(B) the difference in elevation between a point on the original ground
and a designated point of higher elevation of the final grade; (C)
the material used to make fill.
FLOOD
A temporary inundation of normally dry land.
A.
FLOODPLAINAn area adjoining a river, stream, or other watercourse, that is subject to partial or complete inundation during a one-hundred-year storm.
B.
FLOOD PRONE AREAA relatively flat or low land area adjoining a stream, river, or watercourse, which is subject to partial or complete inundation; or, area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
C.
FLOODWAYThe channel of the watercourse and those portions of the adjoining floodplains which are reasonably required to carry and discharge the one-hundred-year frequency flood. Unless otherwise specified, the boundary of the floodway is as indicated on maps and flood insurance studies provided by FEMA. In an area where no FEMA maps or studies have defined the boundary of the one-hundred-year frequency floodway, it is assumed absent evidence to the contrary that the floodway extends from the stream to 50 feet from the top of the bank of the stream.
D.
ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOODThe flood magnitude expected to be equaled or exceeded on the average of once in 100 years. It may also be expressed as the flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in a given year.
GREENWAYS
A linear area maintained as open space in order to conserve
natural and cultural resources, and to provide recreational opportunities,
aesthetics, and design benefits, and linkages between open space and
recreational facilities and between these facilities and their users.
HYDRIC SOILS
Soils that formed under conditions of saturation, flooding,
or ponding long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic
conditions in the upper part.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE(S)
Any surface on a lot that blocks the natural percolation
of water. Examples include, but are not limited to, structures, including
eaves, roofs, and roof overhangs; parking areas; driveways; sidewalks;
patios; sport courts; and pools.
IMPROVEMENTS
Physical additions and changes to land, such as grading,
paving, curbing, fire hydrants, water mains, sanitary sewers, capped
sewers, storm sewers, storm drains, catch basins, culverts, sidewalks,
monuments, crosswalks, bridges, earthworks, street lights, street
trees, other plantings, and other structures.
IMPROVEMENT SPECIFICATIONS
Minimum standards for the construction of the required improvements,
such as streets, curbs, sidewalks, water mains, sewers, drainage,
public utilities and other items required to render the land suitable
for the use proposed. For purposes of this chapter the term "improvement
specifications" shall refer to any specifications which shall be adopted
by Cumberland Township or that are referenced from outside agency
sources and incorporated herein.
LAND DEVELOPMENT
Any of the following activities:
A.
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts,
or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
(1)
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.
(2)
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.
LANDOWNER
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 having a
remaining term of not less than 40 years, or other person having a
proprietary interest in land.
LANDSCAPED AREA
That portion of a tract or lot in which plantings are installed
including buffers or landscape screen planting, as well as plantings
which serve as functional and/or aesthetic purpose when located around
and between buildings, streets, parking areas, sidewalks, walkways,
sitting areas, service or maintenance structures, courtyards and the
like.
LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS)
Describes the operating conditions of an intersection and
is derived by comparing traffic volumes with roadway capacity. LOS
A represents the best traffic operation, LOS F represents the worst.
LOOP ROAD
A street with one end open for public vehicular and pedestrian
access and the other end looping around to intersect itself.
LOT
One duly recorded plot or parcel of land on which a permitted
use or building and an accessory use or building may be placed, together
with the required yards and areas required by this chapter, not including
any land within the limits of a street right-of-way upon which said
lot abuts, even if a portion of the right-of-way is maintained by
the owner of the lot.
LOT AREA
The area of land contained within the property lines of a
lot, including the area of any easement, but excluding any area with
an existing or designated future road rights-of way.
LOT, REVERSE FRONTAGE
A lot extending between, and having frontage on, an arterial
street and a minor street, and with vehicular access solely from the
latter.
MEDIATION
A voluntary negotiating process in which parties in a dispute
mutually select a neutral mediator to assist them in jointly exploring
and settling their differences, culminating in a written agreement
which the parties themselves create and consider acceptable.
MOBILE HOME
A transportable single-family detached dwelling intended
for permanent occupancy, contained in one unit, or in two or more
units designed to be joined into one integral unit capable of again
being separated for repeated towing, that 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.
MOBILE HOME LOT
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.
MOBILE HOME PARK
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land that has been so designated
and improved that it contains two or more mobile home lots for the
placement thereon of mobile homes.
MPC
The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247 of
1968, as amended by Act 170 of 1988, 53 P.S. § 10101 et
seq., as amended from time to time.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEER
A professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, duly appointed as the engineer for Cumberland Township,
Adams County.
OPEN SPACE
That portion of the land open to the sky and usually reserved
in a natural state or for outdoor recreational use. The space may
be used for passive or active recreation, or may be reserved to protect
or buffer natural resources. A parcel or parcels of land or an area
of water or a combination of land and water within a development site,
logically interrelated and interconnected, and designed and intended
for the use and enjoyment of the residents of the development and/or
community, not including streets, stormwater management facilities,
required off-street parking areas, and required yards. Open space
shall be substantially free of structures but may contain such improvements
as are in the development plan as finally approved and as are appropriate
for the recreation of the residents served thereby.
PLAN, CONSTRUCTION
A final plan prepared by a registered engineer or surveyor
showing the construction details of streets, drawings, sewers, bridges,
culverts and other improvements as required by this chapter.
PLAN, SKETCH
An informal plan, not necessarily to exact scale, indicating
existing features of a tract, its surroundings, and the general layout
of a proposed subdivision or land development.
PLAN, PRELIMINARY
A tentative subdivision of land development plan, in lesser
detail that the final plan, indicating the approximate proposed layout
of a subdivision as a basis for consideration prior to preparation
of the final plan.
PLAN, FINAL
A complete and exact subdivision or land development plan
prepared for official recording as required by statute.
PLAN, OFFICIAL
The comprehensive plan (master plan) and/or future land use
plan and/or ultimate right-of-way plan and/or official map or other
such plans, or portions thereof, as may be adopted, pursuant to ordinance
or statute, for the area of the Township in which the subdivision
is located.
PLAN, OFFICIAL SEWAGE
The Cumberland Township Comprehensive Plan of Sewage Facilities
adopted in compliance with Pennsylvania Act 537, 35 P.S. § 750.1
et seq.
PLANNING COMMISSION
An agency of Cumberland Township as duly appointed for specified
terms by the Board of Supervisors of Cumberland Township for duties
as prescribed in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, 53
P.S. § 10101 et seq.
PLAT
The map or plan of the subdivision or land development, whether
preliminary or final.
PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANT
Person or firm who may provide expert or professional advice
including, but not limited to, architects, attorneys, certified public
accountants, engineers, geologists, land surveyors, landscape architects
or planners.
PUBLIC GROUND(S)
Parks, playgrounds, trails, paths and other recreational
areas and other public areas and sites for schools, sewage treatment,
refuse disposal, and other publicly owned or operated facilities;
and publicly owned or operated scenic and historic sights.
PUBLIC HEARING
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Board
of Supervisors or Planning Commission, intended to inform and obtain
public comment, prior to taking action in accordance with the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
PUBLIC MEETING
A forum held pursuant to notice under the Act of July 3,
1986, P.L. 388, No. 84, know as the "Sunshine Act," 65 Pa.C.S.A. § 701
et seq.
PUBLIC NOTICE
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 not be more than 30 days and the second publication shall not
be less than seven days from the date of the hearing.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
A strip of land occupied or intended to be occupied by street,
crosswalk, railroad, electric transmission line, oil or gas pipeline,
water main, sanitary or storm sewer main, shade trees, or other special
use.
RIGHT-OF-WAY, ULTIMATE
The expected future right-of-way width for a public street,
computed from the center line of an established right-of-way and delineated
by a line parallel to the center line.
RUNOFF
The surface water discharge or rate of discharge of a given
watershed after a fall of rain or snow that does not enter the soil
but runs off the surface of the land.
SEDIMENTATION
The process by which mineral or organic matter is accumulated
or deposited by moving wind, water, or gravity. Once this matter is
deposited (or remains suspended in water), it is usually referred
to as "sediment."
SETBACK
The required minimum horizontal distance between the building
line and the related front, side, or rear property line.
SIGHT DISTANCE
The length of roadway visible to the driver or a passenger
vehicle at any given point on the roadway when the view is unobstructed
by traffic. The distance necessary at intersections to allow the driver
of a vehicle stopped at the intersection to have sufficient view of
the intersecting roadway to determine when to safely turn onto the
intersecting roadway. Any reference shall be consistent with the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation.
SLOPE
The face of an embankment or cut section; any ground whose
surface makes an angle with the plane of the horizon. Slopes are usually
expressed in a percentage based upon vertical difference in feet per
100 feet of horizontal distance.
STEEP SLOPE
An area of land that is characterized by a change in elevation
of 15% or more over a horizontal distance of two feet or greater.
STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE
The distance necessary along each roadway so that the drivers
have a view of the roadway (including intersecting roadways) that
is sufficient to allow drivers to stop, if necessary, under prescribed
conditions.
STREET
Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway, parkway,
lane, alley, viaduct and any other ways used or intended to be used
by vehicular traffic or pedestrians whether public or private.
STREETS, MAJOR
A.
ARTERIAL STREETA major street or highway with fast or heavy traffic of considerable continuity and used primarily as a traffic artery for intercommunications among large areas.
B.
COLLECTOR STREETA major street or highway which carries traffic from neighborhood collectors and/or minor streets to abutting collectors and/or arterials. For classification purposes, collector streets shall generally have an ADT greater than 1,000.
C.
NEIGHBORHOOD COLLECTORA major street or highway which carries traffic from minor streets and/or other neighborhood collectors to abutting neighborhood collector and/or collector streets. For classification purposes, collector streets shall generally have an ADT greater than 500 but less than 1,000.
STREETS, MINOR
B.
MINOR STREETA street or roadway used primarily for access to abutting properties. For classification purposes, minor streets shall generally have an ADT less than 200.
C.
ALLEYA minor right-of-way privately or publicly owned, used for service to the rear or sides or abutting properties, not intended for general traffic circulation.
STRUCTURE
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
SUBDIVISION
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, of 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 agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres,
not involving any new street or easement of access or any residential
dwelling, shall be exempted.
SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETED
Where, in the judgment of the municipal engineer, at least
90% (based on the cost of the required improvements for which financial
security was posted pursuant to the requirements of this chapter)
of those improvements required as a condition for final approval have
been completed in accordance with the approved plan, so that the project
will be able to be used, occupied, or operated for its intended use.
SURFACE DRAINAGE PLAN
A plan showing all present and proposed grades and facilities
for stormwater drainage.
SURVEYOR
A licensed surveyor registered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
TOP SOIL
Surface soils and subsurface soils which presumably are fertile
soils and soil material ordinarily rich in organic matter or humus
debris. Top soil is usually found in the uppermost soil layer called
the "A" horizon.
TOWNSHIP
Cumberland Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania, or any agency,
Board, Commission or representative thereof.
TOWNSHIP ENGINEER
A professional engineer registered in the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, duly designated by the Supervisors to perform the duties
of Township Engineer.
TREE MASSES
Area in excess of 1,000 square feet of contiguous tree canopy
with predominantly (80% or more) of trees with trunk sizes of six
inches or larger.
UNDEVELOPED LAND
Any lot, tract, or parcel of land that has not been graded
or in any other manner improved.
WATERCOURSE
A natural or constructed channel through which a stream,
river, brook or creek with definite bed and banks, conveys water.
Reference is also made to any and all rules and regulations of the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
WETLAND
Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or
groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and
that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation
typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, including
swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. The term includes but is
not limited to wetland areas listed in the State Water Plan, the United
States Forest Service Wetlands Inventory of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania
Coastal Zone Management Plan, and any wetland area designated by a
river basin commission.