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Borough of Manor, PA
Westmoreland County
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[Ord. 428, 12/11/1991, § 201; as amended by A.O.]
For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meaning as given in this part, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Words in the present tense include the future. The masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter. The singular includes the plural. The word "shall" is mandatory, the word "may" is optional. The word "person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association, company, or any other similar entity.
ACCESS DRIVE
Non-public road, street, alley or cartway with right-of-way connecting with a public road, street or alley, which is used by vehicular traffic as a means of entrance or egress to the public road, street or alley.
AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES
The use of a tract of land of more than 10 acres in size for the purpose of active cultivation or animal husbandry.
ALLEY
A right-of-way privately or publicly owned, primarily for service access to the rear or side of properties.
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 of a structure, or development including, but not limited to, an application for a building permit or for the approval of a development plan.
APPOINTING AUTHORITY
Borough.
AUTHORITY
A political or corporate body created pursuant to the act of May 2, 1945, P.L. 382, No. 164, known as "Municipalities Authorities Act of 1945 or its successor, the Municipality Authorities Act, Act of June 19, 2001, P.L. 287, No. 22, 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 5601 et seq."
BLOCK
An area bounded by streets.
BODY OF WATER
A natural or artificial lake, pond, reservoir, swamp, marsh, or wetland.
BOROUGH
Borough of Manor, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
BUILDING SETBACK LINES
Lines parallel to and set back from a street right-of-way line or the lot line if there is no street which lines delineate the required minimum distance between a structure and that property or street right-of-way.
CARTWAY
The paved surface of a street or road available for vehicular traffic.
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.
COMMON OPEN SPACE
A parcel or parcels of land or an area of water, or a combination of land and water within a development site and designed and intended for the use or enjoyment of residents of a development, not including streets, off-street parking areas, and areas set aside for public facilities.
COUNCIL
The Council of the Borough of Manor, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
COUNTY
The County of Westmoreland, Commonwealth of 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.
DEVELOPER
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 or a resubdivision.
DEVELOPMENT
A subdivision of land or land development.
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
The provisions for development, including a planned residential development, a plat of subdivision, all covenants relating to use, location and bulk of buildings and other structures, intensity of use or density of development, streets, ways and parking facilities, common open space and public facilities. The phrase "provisions of the development plan" when used in this chapter shall mean the written and graphic materials referred to in this definition.
DWELLING
A building or a portion thereof designed for and used exclusively for residential occupancy.
(1) 
DWELLING UNITOne or more rooms having cooking and sanitary facilities and access directly outdoors or through a common entrance hall.
(2) 
SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED UNITA residential structure containing only one dwelling unit.
(3) 
CONVERSION UNITExisting residential structure which has been modified structurally in such a way as to convert it from one dwelling unit to multiple dwelling units.
(4) 
SEMI-DETACHED UNITA residential structure containing two single dwelling units having one common wall.
(5) 
ATTACHED, ROW OR TOWNHOUSE UNITA residential structure containing three or more dwelling units which are separated from each other by two common walls, except for the end units.
(6) 
MULTIPLE-DWELLING OR APARTMENT UNITA residential structure of two or more stories containing three or more dwelling units. (Not attached, row or townhouse units.)
(7) 
CONDOMINIUMSA given set of dwelling units, each of which is owned by an individual person or persons in fee simple, and which is assigned a proportionate interest in all common elements, as set forth in the Uniform Condominium Act, 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq., of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
EASEMENT
A right-of-way granted for the limited use of land for public or quasi-public purposes or for the purpose of the transmission or provision of utility services.
ENGINEER, BOROUGH
A registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania designated by the Borough to perform the duties of engineer as herein specified.
ENGINEERING SPECIFICATIONS
The engineering specifications of the Borough regulating the construction and installation of any required improvement or for any facility installed by any owner, subject to public use.
EROSION
The removal of surface materials by the action of natural elements.
EXCAVATION
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or other similar material is dug into, cut, carried, uncovered, removed, displaced, relocated or bulldozed. It shall include the conditions resulting therefrom.
FILL
(1) 
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar 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 also include the conditions resulting therefrom.
(2) 
The difference in elevation between a point on the original ground and a designated point of higher elevation of the final grade.
(3) 
The material used to make fill.
FLOOD
A general and temporary inundation of normally dry land areas from the over-flow of inland waters, or the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source, or mudslides which are proximately caused or precipitated by accumulations of water on or under the ground.
(1) 
FLOOD PRONE AREAA relatively flat or low land area adjoining a stream, river or watercourse, which is subject to partial or complete inundation; or, any area subject to partial or complete inundation; or, any area subject to the unusual rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
(2) 
FLOODWAYThe channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas required to carry and discharge a flood of the one-hundred-year magnitude.
(3) 
ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOODA flood having an average frequency of once in 100 years.
(4) 
REGULATORY FLOOD ELEVATIONThe one-hundred-year flood elevation plus a freeboard safety factor of 1 1/2 feet.
GOVERNING BODY
The Borough Council.
IMPROVEMENTS
Physical additions and changes to the land that may be necessary to produce usable and desirable lots or development.
LAND DEVELOPMENT
Any of the following activities:
(1) 
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
(a) 
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.
(b) 
The division or allocation of land or space, whether proposed 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.
(2) 
A subdivision of land.
(3) 
Development in accordance with § 503(1.1) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10503(1.1).
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 conditions); a lessee if he is authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the landowner; or other person having proprietary interest in the land.
LOT
A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by a plat or otherwise as permitted by law and to be used, developed or built upon as a unit.
LOT AREA
The area contained within the property lines of a lot as shown on a subdivision plan, excluding space within any street right-of-way, but including the area of any other easement.
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.
LOT, THROUGH OR DOUBLE FRONTAGE
A lot with front and rear street frontage.
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 dwelling designed 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, which 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 which has been so designated and improved that it contains two or more mobile home lots for the placement thereon of mobile homes.
MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
A body politic and corporate created pursuant to the Act of May 2, 1945, P.L. 382, No. 164, known as the "Municipalities Authority Act of 1945," or the Act of June 19, 2001, P.S. 287, No. 22, § 1, the "Municipality Authorities Act," 53 Pa.C.S.A § 5601 et seq.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEER
A professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, duly appointed as the engineer for a municipality, planning agency or joint planning commission.
PLAN
The map or plan of a subdivision or land development, whether preliminary or final.
PLAN, FINAL
A complete and exact subdivision or land development plan prepared for official recording as required by statute.
PLAN, PRELIMINARY
A tentative subdivision or land development plan, in lesser detail than the final plan, indicating the approximate proposed layouts of a subdivision or land development as a basis for consideration prior to preparation of the final plan.
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.
PLANNED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
An area of land, controlled by a landowner, to be developed as a single entity for a number of dwelling units, or combination of residential and nonresidential uses, the development plan for which does not correspond in lot size, bulk type of dwelling, or use, density, or intensity, lot coverage and required open space to the regulations established in any one district created, from time to time, under the provisions of the Borough's Zoning Ordinance [Chapter 27].
PLANNING COMMISSION
The Borough of Manor, Westmoreland County, Planning Commission.
PLAT
See "plan."
PUBLIC GROUNDS
Includes:
(1) 
Parks, playgrounds, trails, paths and other recreational areas and other public areas.
(2) 
Sites for schools, sewage treatment, refuse disposal and other publicly owned or operated facilities.
(3) 
Publicly owned or operated scenic and historic sites.
PUBLIC HEARING
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Borough Council or planning agency, intended to inform and obtain public comment, prior to taking action in accordance with this chapter.
PUBLIC MEETING
A forum held pursuant to notice under the "Sunshine Act" 65 Pa.C.S.A. § 701.
PUBLIC NOTICE
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.
RESUBDIVISION
Any replatting or resubdivision of land limited to change in lot lines on an approved final plan or recorded plan.
RIGHT-OF-WAY, STREET
A public thoroughfare for vehicular traffic and/or pedestrian traffic, whether designated as a street, highway, thoroughfare, parkway, road, avenue, boulevard, lane, alley, or however designated.
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 of 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."
SIGHT DISTANCE
The 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.
SLOPE
The face of an embankment or cut section; any ground whose surface makes an angle with the line of the horizon. Slopes are usually expressed in a percentage based upon vertical difference in feet per 100 feet of horizontal distance.
STREETS
Includes a public or private 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.
(1) 
ARTERIAL STREETA major street or highway with fast or heavy traffic volumes of considerable continuity, and used primarily as a traffic artery for travel between high density living areas over long distances.
(2) 
COLLECTOR STREETA street or highway which carries traffic from minor streets to arterial streets including the principal entrance streets of a residential development and streets for circulation within such a development.
(3) 
MINOR STREETA street used primarily for access to abutting properties.
(4) 
CUL-DE-SACA street intersecting another street at one end and terminating at the other in a vehicular turn-around.
(5) 
MARGINAL ACCESS STREETA minor street which is parallel and adjacent to limited access highways or arterial streets and which provides access to abutting properties and protection from traffic.
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.
(1) 
MINOR SUBDIVISIONThe subdivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land into two or three lots, tracts or parcels and containing not more than six acres of total land area.
(2) 
MAJOR SUBDIVISIONThe subdivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land into more than three lots, tracts or parcels or containing more than six acres of total land area.
SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETED
Where, in the judgment of the Borough Engineer, at least 90% (based on the cost of the required improvements for which financial security was posted pursuant to § 22-509) 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.
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 usually found in the uppermost soil layer called the "A" Horizon.
UNDERDEVELOPED LAND
Any lot, tract or parcel of land which has not been graded or in any other manner improved or prepared for subdivision or land development or for construction of any kind.
WATERCOURSE
A stream of water, river, brook, creek, or a channel of a perceptible extent, with definite bed and banks to confine and conduct continuously or periodically flowing water.
WETLANDS
Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface ground water 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.