Township of Towamencin, PA Establishment of Districts

Editor's Note: The Official Zoning Map is on file in the Township offices.

Residential districts. The purpose of these districts is to accommodate a variety of residential housing types to include single-family, two-family and multifamily dwellings as may be required to provide for a balance of housing types to meet the current and the anticipated future housing needs of the Township and to support the objectives of the Township Comprehensive Plan. Special districts have been established which are designed to encourage cluster development with open space areas reserved for natural resource protection and recreation as well as to preserve the agricultural activities in the Township. The planning and design of these districts are intended to ensure that appropriate infrastructure and associated facilities are available for these types of uses and that the uses will blend with other uses in surrounding areas.

(1)

R-200 Agricultural/Residential. The purpose of this district is to provide for the continued agricultural use of this portion of the Township and to promote the preservation of same and to provide for large lot single-family detached residential units in a rural setting to preserve the appearance and rural characteristics of the district.

(2)

R-180 Residential. The purpose of this district is to provide for single-family detached residential units on large lots to encourage and preserve the appearance and rural characteristics of the district.

(3)

R-175 Residential. The purpose of this district is to provide for single-family detached dwellings in a suburban-like setting.

(4)

R-125 Residential. The purpose of this district is to provide for single-family detached dwellings in a transitional suburban-like setting.

(5)

R-50 Residential. This district is intended to provide for single-family detached and single-family semidetached dwellings in an urban-like setting. The district provides the opportunity for detached housing which is affordable while promoting a neighborhood environment.

(6)

MH Manufactured Housing. The purpose of this district is to establish standards of performance and to promote the desirable benefits which planned manufactured housing developments will have upon the Township and the residents within them. This district is intended to promote the most recent technology of home building and land development to ensure, to the greatest degree practicable, compatibility with surrounding land uses and essential utilities, and to promote the general welfare by extending greater opportunities for affordable housing and a diversity of housing types.

(7)

MR Multifamily Residential. The purpose of this district is to encourage the development of single-family attached and multifamily/apartment housing within the Township; to encourage the logical and timely development of land for multifamily and garden apartment purposes in accordance with the objectives, policies, and proposals of the Comprehensive Plan; to assure the suitable design of the district in order to protect the surrounding environment of adjacent and nearby neighborhoods; and to ensure that proposed multifamily developments will constitute a residential environment of sustained desirability and stability and not produce a volume of traffic in excess of the capacity for which access streets are designed.

(8)

MRC Mixed Residential Cluster. The purpose of the planned residential cluster district is to encourage a creative approach to the use and development of land while preserving open space and natural features, to promote a more desirable visual character in residential areas and to provide affordable housing and a variety of housing types in the Township within a neighborhood setting with usable open areas designed into the neighborhood and with the creation of, and connection to, open space corridors throughout the district and Township.

Commercial districts. These districts are established and specifically planned to accommodate retail sales, office and service type uses that are considered necessary for the function and convenience of the residents of the Township.

(1)

Village Commercial. This district is intended to provide for small and limited service, commercial and office uses that are in character with the existing mixed-use commercial and residential Village of Kulpsville.

(2)

Planned Business Campus. This district is intended to provide for and to encourage the development of larger scale, modern business campuses in a preplanned arrangement of buildings with a single architectural theme and appropriate landscaping and open spaces which are primarily comprised of office uses with ancillary service, commercial and retail uses as appropriate to service the employee base of the planned business campus. The intent of this district is also to encourage high quality business park development which enhances the employment opportunities in the Township and is designed with adequate road access and public utilities to minimize adverse impacts on the natural systems and residential uses in the surrounding area.

(3)

Shopping Center. This district is intended for larger scale development than is permitted in other commercial districts. These community shopping centers are intended to service the Township residents and those of surrounding communities.

(4)

Commercial. This district is intended to be the Township's general commercial area wherein individual service, commercial and business uses are provided to serve the local commercial service needs of the residents of the Township.

Limited Industrial District. This district is intended to provide for limited and nonoffensive industrial uses. The intent of this district is to encourage limited industrial development which relates to adjacent land uses as a "good neighbor," with appropriate design standards to avoid adverse impacts on neighboring uses.

Institutional districts.

(1)

Institutional District. This district is intended to provide the opportunity for the use and location of a variety of institutional uses including but not necessarily limited to community, group, and senior citizen housing and support facilities, and religious, cultural and educational uses.

(2)

IN-A Institutional-A. This district is intended to provide for a more limited number of uses than permitted in the Institutional District on tracts of at least nine acres considered to be transition zones situated between residential districts and major streets classified as collector or arterial highways in the 1988 Comprehensive Plan, as may be amended.

Floodplain Conservation District.

[Amended 3-23-2016 by Ord. No. 16-06]

(1)

The Floodplain Conservation District is intended to prevent the loss of health, life and property from flood and to regulate, restrict and/or prohibit uses and structures at, along, and near natural and artificial bodies of water and watercourses as provided by Sections 604(2) and 605(2)(iii) of the Pennsylvania MPC, Act 247, as amended.

(2)

In addition to the purpose and statement of community development objectives found in the Zoning Ordinance of Towamencin Township, the specific intent of this district shall be to protect areas of floodplain subject to, and necessary for, the containment of floodwaters, and to permit and encourage the retention of open space land uses which will be so located and utilized as to constitute a harmonious and appropriate aspect of the continuing physical development of Towamencin Township. Furthermore, in light of the Township's certification as eligible for federal flood insurance, it is the intent of this district to provide adequate protection for flood-prone properties within Towamencin Township.

(3)

The specific purpose and intent of the Floodplain Conservation District is provided in Chapter 82, Floodplain Management, of the Towamencin Township Code.

Towamencin Village Overlay District.

(1)

This district is intended to provide the opportunity for the redevelopment of the Village of Kulpsville in accordance with the Towamencin Village Master Plan.

(2)

The implementation of the Towamencin Village Master Plan will require the support, cooperation, and representation of the public, private, business and residential communities within the Township. The role of the Township in this cooperative effort includes the adoption of the Zoning Ordinance amendment which provides for the establishment of the Towamencin Village Overlay District. The purpose of the Towamencin Village Overlay District is to allow and control a variety of uses, established in conformance with performance standards for area, bulk, setback, building heights, parking, and signage, all in furtherance of the implementation of the Plan.

(3)

In order for the Towamencin Village Master Plan to be successfully implemented over time, the Plan must be sensitive to changing market conditions as well as to municipal and community planning and design concerns. Therefore, and in conjunction with the urban design concept and scale of development proposed for the Towamencin Village Overlay District, the following shall be the specific purpose and intent of the district:

(a)

To plan for and develop a coordinated and comprehensive land use and transportation system for the Towamencin Village Master Plan.

(b)

To develop a multimodal transportation system in accordance with new federal highway and environmental regulations while providing for and encouraging a pedestrian oriented environment and providing a trail system that will link the Towamencin Village to the neighborhoods.

(c)

To provide for a mixture of uses and to encourage multimodal transportation.

(d)

To establish and maintain the necessary design and market incentives to attract new corporate, business, retail and residential users.

(e)

To provide design standards and landscaping specifications for site planning, exterior architectural themes for buildings, and a master traffic and circulation plan for vehicles and pedestrians as detailed within the Towamencin Village Land Use and Design Manual.

(f)

To develop design standards that will encourage structure parking facilities in order to maximize the opportunities for a village oriented pedestrian friendly environment while maximizing the open space within the Towamencin Village.

Residential Business and Professional Overlay District.

[Added 7-22-2015 by Ord. No. 15-09]

(1)

The purpose of the Residential Business and Professional Overlay District is to:

(a)

Allow limited business and professional uses as a transition between major roads and existing residential areas.

(b)

Limit the impact of nonresidential development on residences by requiring a residential character, limiting the scale of buildings, controlling the location of parking areas and requiring buffer landscaping.

(c)

Control access and limit the impact of development on the Township's major roads.

(d)

Allow residences that are located on smaller lots and close to other residences to convert to business and professional uses, provided that the residential character of the neighborhood is not changed.

Entertainment Lifestyle Overlay District.

[Added 7-27-2016 by Ord. No. 16-10]

(1)

The purpose of the Entertainment Lifestyle Overlay District is to provide for the consolidation and redevelopment of large commercial properties with adjacent, nonresidentially zoned properties in order to provide sufficient land area to accommodate a redevelopment in the current commercial market, and to allow and control a variety of uses, establish in conformance with performance standards for area, bulk, setback, building heights, parking, and signage, all in furtherance of the plan.

The Zoning Officer in the administration of this chapter shall be responsible for, and shall render determinations regarding, the locations of lots within the Township as indicated on the Official Zoning Map. In determining district boundaries, the following rules shall apply:

Where district boundaries are indicated as approximately coinciding with the center line of streets, highways, railroad lines, streams, power lines or other public utility lines such center line shall be construed to be such boundary.

Where district boundaries are so indicated that they approximately coincide with lot lines, such lot lines shall be construed to be said boundary; or where district boundaries are extensions of lot lines or connect the intersections of lot lines, such lines shall be said district boundary.

Where district boundaries are so indicated that they are approximately parallel to center lines of streets or highways, such district boundary shall be construed as being parallel to, and at such distance from, said center lines as indicated on the Zoning Map.

The Floodplain Conservation District shall be deemed an overlay district applicable to all zoning districts and lots contained therein in accordance with the following provisions:

[Amended 3-23-2016 by Ord. No. 16-06]

(1)

Should the Floodplain Conservation District be declared inapplicable to any tract by reason of action of the Township Supervisors in amending this chapter or Chapter 82, Floodplain Management; or the Zoning Hearing Board, or any court of competent jurisdiction in interpreting the same; the zoning applicable to such lot shall be deemed to be the district in which it is located without consideration of this district.

(2)

Should the zoning of any parcel or any part thereof in which the Floodplain Conservation District is located be changed through any legislative or administrative actions or judicial discretion, such change shall have no effect on the Floodplain Conservation District unless such change was included as part of the original application.

(3)

All changes to the boundaries of the Floodplain Conservation District are subject to review and approval of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

(4)

The Floodplain Conservation District is delineated as those areas of the Township subject to flooding as defined in Chapter 82, Floodplain Management, of the Towamencin Township Code.

	R-200	Agricultural/Residential
	R-180	Residential
	R-175	Residential
	R-125	Residential
	R-50	Residential
	MH	Manufactured Housing
	MR	Multifamily Residential
	MRC	Mixed Residential Cluster

	VC	Village Commercial
	PBC	Planned Business Campus
	SC	Shopping Center
	C	Commercial