[Ord. 6/20/1979; as amended by Ord. 105-2002, 8/5/2002, § 1]
This chapter as amended from time to time shall be known and may be cited as the "Charlestown Township Zoning Ordinance."
[Ord. 6/20/1979; as amended by Ord. 105-2002, 8/5/2002, § 1]
1.
This chapter is designed and enacted for the purpose of promoting, protecting and facilitating the health, safety, and the general welfare of Charlestown Township, its current and future residents and enterprises, is designed and enacted in accordance with the Comprehensive Plan of which the Sewage Facilities Plan and the Water Resources Plan shall form a part and is designed and enacted:
A.
To promote, protect and facilitate any or all of the following: the public health, safety, morals, and the general welfare; coordinated and practical community development and proper density of population; emergency management preparedness and operations, the provisions of adequate light and air, access to incident solar energy, police protection, vehicle parking and loading space, transportation, water, sewerage, schools, recreational facilities, public grounds, the provision of a safe, reliable and adequate water supply for domestic, commercial, agricultural or industrial use, and other public requirements; as well as preservation of the natural, scenic and historic values in the environment and preservation of forests, wetlands, aquifers and floodplains.
B.
To prevent one or more of the following: overcrowding of land, blight, danger and congestion in travel and transportation, loss of health, life or property from fire, flood, panic and other dangers.
C.
To preserve prime agricultural and farmland considering topography, soil type and classification, and present use.
D.
To protect and preserve natural resources, and to restrict use and structures at or near bodies of water, places of steep slope and other areas of hazardous geological or topographic features.
E.
To ensure a legacy of environmentally selective, sensible and sensitive land use and development.
F.
To provide for the use of land within the Township for residential housing of various dwelling types encompassing all basic forms of housing, including single-family and two-family dwellings, and a reasonable range of multi-family dwellings in various arrangements, mobile homes and mobile home parks.
G.
To accommodate reasonable overall community growth, including population and employment growth, and opportunities for development of a variety of residential dwelling types and nonresidential uses.
[Ord. 6/20/1979; as amended by Ord. 105-2002, 8/5/2002, § 1]
1.
This chapter is enacted upon a finding of the Board of Supervisors that:
A.
The sharply undulating topography of Charlestown Township moves recurrently from steeply and very steeply sloped and ridged woodlands, across the lowlands of the swift flowing Pickering Creek and tributary streams, to steeply sloped ridge land, and then to upland prime agricultural lands. The residential and farm residential areas and agricultural areas of Charlestown Township overlay this topography and are predominantly dependent upon on-site individual wells for water supply.
B.
The residential and farm residential areas and agricultural areas are vulnerable to the ravages of uncontrolled stormwater runoff. They are defenseless from both the contamination and depletion of the groundwater water supply.
C.
For the protection of not only the existing but also the future residents of Charlestown Township, the residential and farm residential areas and agricultural areas require the most environmentally selective, sensitive and protective requirements for land use and development, housing placement, well and septic systems siting and road locations, all of which must be considered on a unified basis with lot area, setback and other like requirements traditionally the subject of land use regulations.
D.
Charlestown Township consists of 8,064 acres of land substantially within the Pickering Creek Watershed of the Schuylkill Sub-basin. Approximately 90% of Charlestown Township is within a zone of low groundwater capability (0-10 gallons per minute). This condition makes it imperative, for the welfare of current and future Township residents, that land use and development and groundwater supply be compatible and that groundwater withdrawal and groundwater recharge be consistent. Further, the northern half of Charlestown Township is dominated by a zone of soils having severe soil limitations for on-site sanitary sewer systems and the southern half of Charlestown Township is dominated by a zone of soils have moderate soils limitations therefor. These conditions underscore the imperative to make land use and development consistent with natural environmental features and conditions, which may not be easily preserved or improved but which may be summarily degraded, depleted or destroyed.
E.
Charlestown Township is located more than 25 miles northwest of Philadelphia; is not served by public transportation facilities; and is predominately dependent upon a rural, narrow, serpentine, sinuous or sharply undulating road system, owned and maintained by the commonwealth, carved decades ago into Charlestown Township's rock and stream constraining topography.
[Ord. 6/20/1979; as amended by Ord. 105-2002, 8/5/2002, § 1; and by Ord. 159-2010, 10/4/2010, § 3]
1.
This chapter shall be presumed to constitute at least good faith action and the bona fide attempt by Charlestown Township to meet the statutory and constitutional requirements for zoning and shall be further presumed to impose limitations reasonably related to Charlestown Township's physical growth pattern, the protection of the commonwealth's natural resources, coordinating development with the provision of public services and protecting the character of the community that is Charlestown Township.
2.
The requirements of the Charlestown Township Stormwater Management Ordinance, the Charlestown Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance [Chapter 22] and this chapter, each amended from time to time, are mutually complementary. They function as a single vehicle to produce the most sensitive, sensible and sagacious requirements for the use and development of the land and the other natural resources with which Charlestown Township is endowed.
3.
In construing, interpreting and applying the provisions of this chapter, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the health, safety, morals and the general welfare of Charlestown Township.
4.
To implement the purpose set forth in § 27-102, the Comprehensive Plan has been formulated. In accordance with the goals, objectives and strategies of the Comprehensive Plan, the construction and interpretation of chapter provisions should be made with a view toward the following community development objectives:
A.
Instilling order in the growth and development of Charlestown Township, and minimizing the sprawling effect of development by regulating the type and locations of development in accordance with environmental resource and land use compatibility, and with the support and service characteristics of existing community facilities and utilities.
B.
Conserving open space and natural features, and preserving natural, scenic and historic values in and resources of the environment and maintaining environmental stability through the control of land use and development in the floodplain, forests, and wetlands and on steep and very steep slopes and in relation to surface, groundwater and aquifer resources susceptible to degradation by wastes, sediments and other pollutants.
C.
Creating the setting for diversified residential, enterprise, civic and community facilities by enabling a variety and range of housing types and intensities within Charlestown Township at a proper overall density of population and securing the community service and recreational facilities which would support and complement the residential, enterprise and community land use.
D.
Encouraging the continuation of agricultural land use by the conservation of prime agricultural soils through the exercise of sound cultivation and grading techniques, and the promotion of existing agricultural practices through the attainment of lower tax assessments for land which is utilized for agricultural purposes.
E.
Economizing on infrastructure investment, and encouraging the use of existing public facilities by promoting a strong relationship between the availability of public utilities including the provision of safe, reliable, and adequate water supply; a safe and convenient road network and an effective stormwater management system, and the type and location of future development.
F.
Preserving historic and cultural resources and maintaining the visual character of the landscape by promoting the preservation of historic sites and areas, and the continuation of farming and discouraging types of and locations for development that will create detrimental changes of the existing character of Charlestown Township, in particular the amenities of light, air and visual enjoyment.
G.
Reducing traffic congestion to minimize adverse effects on existing roads and properties, air quality, and overall environmental quality in Charlestown Township.
5.
The community development objectives of Subsection 4 are expanded further, in accordance with the Charlestown Township Comprehensive Plan of 2001:
A.
Downsize the sprawling effect of development:
(1)
Promote the "open space option" so that lot areas can be reduced in size, and open spaces can be created in perpetuity.
(2)
Keep the Charlestown countryside green and limit the sprawl that could happen, through a transfer of development rights (TDR) program.
(3)
Promote conservation easements and conservation design subdivisions.
B.
Conserve open space and heritage landscape resources:
C.
Conserve water resources and riparian buffers:
D.
Retain agricultural lands and promote agricultural uses:
(1)
Continue to promote the use of open space lands for agricultural use in the open space provisions of this chapter.
E.
Reduce traffic congestion by minimizing off-site vehicular trips.
F.
Improve regional compatibility:
(1)
Consider compatibility of land use with adjoining portions of neighboring municipalities, and identify needed buffers or transitional devices if there are incompatible conditions.
(2)
Maintain the "landscapes" character prescribed in the Chester County 2020 Livable Landscapes Plan, as a primarily "rural" and "natural" landscape type for Charlestown.
G.
Develop needed community and recreational facilities:
(1)
Require civic amenities within the built-up areas, such as parks, day care centers, schools, meeting halls, and community centers.
(2)
Provide limited space in appropriate areas for shops and stores, such as small restaurants, coffee shops, and art and artisan galleries, to encourage a more walkable community arrangement.
(3)
Link community, civic, recreational, and institutional uses through a pedestrian pathway, trail and sidewalk system.
(4)
Maintain existing trails and create needed linkages.
(5)
Promote walking and horseback riding within the scenic countryside of Charlestown as a viable passive recreational activity.
(6)
Require subdivisions and land developments to provide recreational uses on-site, or require a recreational fee in lieu thereof.
H.
Promote Walkability:
(1)
Incentivize a walkability initiative by providing pedestrian paths, trails, and/or sidewalks.
(2)
Require all new subdivisions and land developments to provide pedestrian accessways within and to the edges of properties.
(3)
Create new trail, pathway, sidewalk and bike path locations, and build them.
(4)
Restore the existing trails to a more usable condition.
I.
Provide limited and small scale "village" shopping and workplace opportunities where appropriate:
J.
Economize on infrastructure investment:
(1)
Limit the extension of public sewer and public water lines to appropriate areas in order to control the sprawling affect of development in accordance with the Chester County Landscapes Plan.
(2)
Provide for needed infrastructure in existing neighborhoods and proposed development nodes areas for moderate and higher intensity development.
Such objectives and the purpose set forth in § 27-102, the findings set forth in § 27-103 and the aforesaid presumptions, constructions and minimum requirements therefor being consistent, the provisions of this chapter shall be construed, interpreted, administered and applied in such manner as will facilitate attainment of the said Objectives. |
[Ord. 6/20/1979; as amended by Ord. 105-2002, 8/5/2002, § 1]
It is not intended by this chapter to repeal, abrogate, annul or interfere with any existing ordinance or enactment, or with any rule, regulation or permit adopted or issued thereunder, except insofar as the same may be inconsistent or in conflict with any of the provisions of this chapter, provided that where this chapter imposes greater restrictions upon the use of buildings or land, or upon the height and bulk of buildings, or prescribes larger open spaces than are required by the provisions of such ordinance, enactment, rule, regulation or permit, then the provisions of this chapter shall control.
[Ord. 6/20/1979; as amended by Ord. 105-2002, 8/5/2002, § 1]
This chapter is further enacted upon a finding of the Board of Supervisors that Charlestown Township heed the warnings of and, insofar as it may, fulfill the aspirations, if not the mandates, of not only threshold environmental protection statutes such as the Federal Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act but also the emergent environmental protection statutes such as the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and extant commonwealth counterpart statutes, regulations and programs, including the Environmental Master Plan of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.