[Ord. 275, 2/9/2000, § 101]
An ordinance dividing the Township of Plainfield into districts and regulating the use of land and the location, use and density of buildings within these districts and providing for the administration and enforcement of this Chapter. This Chapter permits, prohibits, regulates, restricts, and determines the uses of land, watercourses and other bodies of water; the size, height, bulk, location, erection, construction, repair, maintenance, alteration, razing, removal and use of structures; the areas and dimensions of land and bodies of water to be occupied by uses and structures, as well as areas, courts, yards and other open spaces and distances to be left unoccupied by uses and structures; and the density of population and intensity of use; and, further, the chapter contains provisions for special exceptions and variances to be administered by a Zoning Hearing Board; provisions for administration and enforcement and such other provisions as may be necessary to implement the requirements of the chapter. Pursuant to the authority conferred by State Act No. 247 (the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code), as amended, the Township Supervisors of the Township of Plainfield do hereby ordain as follows.
[Ord. 275, 2/9/2000, § 102]
This Chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the "Plainfield Township Zoning Ordinance."
[Ord. 275, 2/9/2000, § 103]
1. 
This Chapter is hereby adopted in accordance with:
A. 
The requirements of Act 247, the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
B. 
The community development objectives of the Plainfield Township Comprehensive Plan.
C. 
An overall program.
D. 
With consideration for the character of the Township, its various parts and the suitability of the various parts for particular uses and structures.
2. 
In addition to carrying out the objectives of the Comprehensive Plan, this Chapter is designed:
A. 
To promote, protect and facilitate one or more of the following: the public health, safety, morals, general welfare, coordinated and practical community development, proper density of population, civil defense, disaster evacuation, airports, and national defense facilities, the provisions of adequate light and air, police protection, vehicle parking and loading space, transportation, water, sewage, schools, public grounds and other public requirements.
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 or other dangers.
C. 
To preserve agricultural land and to protect environmentally sensitive areas considering topography, soil type and classification, and present use.
[Ord. 275, 2/9/2000, § 104]
1. 
No building, structure or land shall be used, occupied, erected, moved, enlarged, or structurally altered unless in conformity with the regulations of this Chapter.
2. 
This Chapter regulates:
A. 
The location, height, bulk, and size of buildings and other structures.
B. 
The relation of such buildings or structures to roads and highways, their intersections and interchanges, to steep slopes and natural bodies of water, to public buildings and public grounds, to airports and heliports, to historic buildings and places, and to floodplains.
C. 
Areas and dimensions of land and bodies of water to be occupied by uses and structures; the percentage of a lot that may be occupied, the size and use of yards, courts, and other open spaces.
D. 
The density and distribution of population and intensity of use.
E. 
The uses of land, buildings, and structures for residents, trade, industry, and other purposes.
[Ord. 275, 2/9/2000, § 105]
This Chapter shall not apply to any existing or proposed building or extension thereof which is used or is to be used by a public utility corporation if, upon petition of the corporation, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission decides after a public hearing that the present or proposed situation of the building in question is reasonably necessary for the convenience or welfare of the public.
[Ord. 275, 2/9/2000, § 106]
1. 
Minimum Requirements. The provisions of this Chapter shall be interpreted as the minimum requirements for the promotion of the health, safety, morals and general welfare. Where this Chapter conflicts with any rule, regulation or ordinance, the greater restriction upon the use of buildings or premises, upon the height or bulk of a building or upon requiring larger open spaces shall prevail, regardless of its source.
2. 
Exemplary Lists. Any list of permitted or prohibited uses is not an exhaustive list, but is included to clarify, emphasize and illustrate, by example, uses which are desirable or undesirable.
[Ord. No. 388, 6/13/2018; as amended by Ord. No. 402, 10/22/2020]
Whenever, under this chapter, a use is neither specifically provided for nor similar to any other listed use in any zoning district (whether such listed use is permitted by right, a conditional use, or a special exception use) and a zoning permit application is submitted to the Zoning Officer by an applicant for such use, the Zoning Officer shall refer the application to the Zoning Hearing Board to hear and render a decision on the application request as a special exception use. Said use shall only be processed as a special exception use within the Highway Interchange District (HI) and General Industrial District (GI) zoning districts. The Zoning Hearing Board shall have the authority to permit the use or deny the use in accordance with the standards and provisions governing special exception use applications as contained within §27-317 of this chapter, as amended. The burden of proof shall be upon the applicant to demonstrate that the proposed use meets the foregoing criteria, is in compliance with all other provisions contained within this chapter, and would not be detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood.