[Ord. 331, 11/17/1999, § 2.200; as amended by Ord.
388, 3/17/2011, § II.A; and by Ord. 390, 12/15/2011, § II.A]
ABUTTING
Touching along a common boundary line including directly
across an intervening street.
ACCESS AISLE
An unobstructed vehicular passage in a parking lot, directly
abutting a row of parking spaces and connecting to other aisles and
to public streets, designed to provide maneuvering space for drivers
entering and leaving the parking spaces.
ACCESSORY USE/BUILDING
An activity or use that is incidental to, and generally found in connection with the principal use on the lot. An accessory building contains an accessory use (see §
27-504).
ALLOWED BY RIGHT
Permitted without review beyond the Zoning Officer because
the proposed use is a permitted use in the zone district where the
property is located, assuming all bulk and dimensional and off-street
parking requirements are complied with.
AMENDMENT
Any addition, deletion or revision of the chapter text or map officially adopted by the Board of Supervisors after public hearing (see §
27-1205).
AMUSEMENT ENTERPRISE
A leisure activity or recreation, usually in a confined area,
for which a charge is assessed for the use of the facility and/or
equipment.
APARTMENT
A dwelling unit within a building containing at least three
similar units, access to which is directly to the outside at grade
or via common hallways and stairs to the outside at grade.
APPEAL
A petition made to the next higher level of authority by
a party wishing to pursue or protest a development issue that has
been denied or approved at a lower level or by a public official,
asking for reversal of the earlier decision.
APPELLANT
A party with the legal standing to file a petition to appeal
an official action of a public body.
ATTACHED DWELLING
A single-family dwelling that abuts directly along one or
two walls of similar dwellings.
ATTIC
The uppermost floor level in a building under a sloped roof
where at least 1/2 the floor area provides a height of six feet from
floor to ceiling or less.
AUTO SERVICE STATION
A business facility that provides fuel and oil for vehicles
and may sell auto accessories and traveler convenience goods and provide
minor auto service and maintenance, but does not offer collision repair
or painting or the storage of damaged or abandoned vehicles. Minor
service shall be limited to spark plug, battery and tire repair and
servicing; replacement of mufflers, tail pipes, hoses, belts, fluids,
bulbs, windshield wipers and minor fittings; radiator cleaning and
flushing; washing, polishing and lubrication, brake adjustment or
installation; carburetor, fuel pump and fuel line replacement or servicing;
minor engine tuning; and emergency starting services.
AWNING
A retractable and flexible covering attached to a wall that
provides shade for doors and windows and that may be removed and replaced
easily.
BACK-OFFICE OPERATIONS
Business activities in an office setting that do not allow
face-to-face contact with clients or customers, usually involving
record keeping, billing, telemarketing, bookkeeping and similar operations.
BALCONY
A platform without enclosing walls attached to a building
along one or more edges, but with no supporting connection to the
ground.
BASEMENT
The story within a building whose elevation is not more than
1/2 the height below the average finished grade of the outside ground
level, and has vertical windows opening into it, not in window wells,
on at least one wall.
BAY WINDOW
A projection from the wall of a building containing windows
and supported only by the wall.
BLIGHTING CONDITIONS
A combination of physical and environmental conditions that
creates deterioration of a property and eventually the neighborhood,
and discourages maintenance.
BUFFERING
Natural plantings, fences and/or walls placed along the perimeter of a property to protect residential development from abutting commercial or other activity that would deteriorate the enjoyment or value of the residential property (see §
27-505, Subsection
2).
BUILDING
Any man-made structure attached to or into the ground and
having a roof supported by columns or walls used for the shelter or
enclosure of persons, businesses or other enterprises and activities
associated with any of them.
BUILDING LOT
A ground surface of sufficient area, width and frontage to
allow development in accord with the requirements for the zone district
in which the lot is located.
BUILDING OR SETBACK LINE
A line, or part of such line, that describes the limits of
building construction within a lot, set back from lot lines the depths
of front, side and rear yards for each property, depending upon which
zone district the lot is located in.
BUILDING PERMIT
A document attesting that a proposal for development has
been reviewed and approved in accordance with the requirements of
this chapter and allowing the construction to commence.
BUILDING, PRINCIPAL
The building in which is conducted the principal use of the
lot on which it is located. A dwelling shall be considered the principal
building on a residential lot. In some business or multifamily dwelling
developments there may be several principal buildings containing the
same use.
CANOPY
A permanent, not retractable device attached only to the
wall of a building to protect and/or mark an entrance, made of lightweight
materials, and capable of supporting only its own weight.
CANOPY TREE
A deciduous tree with umbrella-like upper branch systems
that creates shade on the ground and allows pedestrian circulation
around the trunk of the tree when mature.
CELLAR
The lowest floor in a building where all exterior enclosing
walls are more than 1/2 below finished grade.
CHALLENGE, PROCEDURAL
An appeal challenging the actions taken by elected officials
or appointed bodies of the Township for failing to follow prescribed
procedures in the adoption of an ordinance or amendment, scheduling
or holding a public hearing, or enforcement of the chapter.
CHALLENGE, SUBSTANTIVE
An appeal brought against an ordinance or amendment on the
grounds that such ordinance or amendment unfairly places a heavy burden
on one or more private property interests without compensation or
advance of the public health and safety.
CHURCH
The building, containing as the central room, the sanctuary
and meeting place of a religious congregation, including no dwelling
in the same building.
CLEAR SIGHT AREAS
A visual area kept free of obstructions that allows vehicle
drivers approaching an intersection to see one another and thus avoid
a potential collision.
COMMERCIAL KENNEL OR STABLE
A facility designed to house, care for, breed, show and/or
train dogs or horses as a profit-making business.
COMMERCIAL RECREATION
Leisure activity available to the public at a charge intended
to earn a profit for the owner. Such recreation may include, but is
not limited to, bowling alleys, dance, reception or bingo halls, golf
courses, miniature golf, pitch and putt golf, fishing lakes, video
game arcades, amusement rides and petting zoos.
COMMON HALLWAY
A passage within a building providing the connection between
individual dwelling units and stairs leading to the outside of the
building.
COMMON OPEN SPACE
Areas within a plan that are held and maintained jointly
by all the owners of property in the plan for their mutual benefit.
COMMUNICATIONS TOWER
A structure supporting equipment capable of sending and receiving
telecommunications signals to and from other similarly situated equipment.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES
A series of statements summarizing the recommendations of
the Township's Comprehensive Plan expressing achievable goals for
land development management, population change, and improvement of
roads, utilities, community facilities and environmental protection.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
A document based on an analysis of past trends and current
conditions in a municipality, projecting growth and change in population,
economic conditions and land use, and recommending measures to improve
streets, utilities and community facilities, and allocate land to
cope with such growth and change.
CONDITIONAL USE
A land use that may be approved by the Board of Supervisors
provided that the proposed use is listed as a conditional use for
the zone district containing the property to receive the use, and
the Board finds, after receiving recommendations from the Planning
Commission and holding a public hearing, that the use is appropriate
for the site and will not significantly degrade the neighborhood.
CONDOMINIUM
One of a group of dwelling units in a plan, available for
sale as an individual unit, ownership of which requires financial
support of the maintenance of land and facilities owned in common
by all the dwelling unit owners.
CONFERENCE CENTER
A building or buildings for use as the headquarters, meeting
hall, club or lodge facility for an organization, limited to offices,
meeting rooms, enclosed auditorium facility for cultural, civic, social
and recreational meeting and educational functions, as well as kitchen,
dining and banquet facilities, storage for the organization's private
use and accessory uses.
CONSTITUTIONALITY
The ability of a regulation affecting development to fairly
balance the public health and safety and the rights and opportunities
of private property owners under the First and Fourteenth Amendments
of the Constitution.
CONVALESCENT HOME
A facility that accommodates patients recuperating from injury
or illness when intensive hospital care is not needed.
CONVENIENCE SALES
Retail sales of popular everyday disposable products with
limited choices, and available over a much wider time frame than usual
retail sales outlets, including gasoline sales from pump islands.
CONVENTIONAL GAS AND OIL WELL
Those gas and oil wells drilled to depths shallower than
the base of the Elk Sandstone or its stratigraphic equivalent and
any drilling of a single gas and oil well for no more than seven consecutive
days total in any calendar year.
CORNER LOT
A property abutting two streets which intersect at one corner of the property (see §
27-501, Subsection
4).
COVERAGE
The extent to which a building occupies the lot on which
the building is located, expressed as a percentage of the building's
area on the lot to the total lot area.
CURATIVE AMENDMENT
An amendment proposed by a property owner challenging the validity of zoning regulations as they apply to property in which he has an interest and requiring municipal action on his petition or a municipal curative amendment, in which the Board of Supervisors declares a moratorium on specific parts of the zoning ordinance in order to cure alleged defects (see §
27-1206).
DAY-CARE CENTER
A facility for the daytime care of dependent persons, operated by a qualified staff, and certified by the state (see §
27-508, Subsection
2).
DECK
An open platform without permanent roof or walls raised above
ground level and usually attached along one or more edges to a building.
DENSITY
The minimum number of square feet of lot area required for
each dwelling unit in an apartment or townhouse development.
DEPTH OF YARD
The horizontal distance between a lot or property line and
the parallel setback line, measured at right angles to the property
line, such distance determined by the type of yard (front, side or
rear) and the zone district in which the property is located.
DEVELOPER
An individual landowner, agent of such landowner, or tenant
with the landowner's permission, who or which causes development to
occur upon a lot and who is responsible for compliance of such development
with the terms of this chapter and other Township regulations.
DEVELOPMENT
The erection, expansion or alteration of a building or structure;
the altering of the land surface to receive construction; the subdividing
of land in anticipation of its receiving construction or the offering
of land for such purpose; or any man-made change to improved or unimproved
property within a flood hazard area, including, but not limited to,
paving, placing of utilities, filling, grading, or excavating.
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
The written and graphic provisions describing a proposed
development in sufficient detail so that its compliance with the requirements
of this chapter may be conclusively judged.
DISTRICT REGULATIONS
The group of standards, including lot size, building setback
and coverage, and land use opportunities that govern development in
a particular zone district.
DRAINAGEWAY
A depression across the ground surface that collects water
run-off from surrounding higher land and carries it to a larger stream
or river.
DRIVE-THROUGH SERVICES
An arrangement which permits customers to transact business
without leaving their cars.
DRIVEWAY
The private vehicular entrance to a property connecting to
the adjacent public street.
DWELLING
A group of connecting rooms in a building for the exclusive
residential use of one family, containing its own private cooking,
food storage, bathing and toilet facilities, and connecting either
directly or by a common hall and/or stairs to the outside, but not
including hotels, dormitories, or nursing convalescent homes.
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DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED — A building containing
only one dwelling and no other principal uses, surrounded on all sides
and above by open space.
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DWELLING, TWO-FAMILY OR DUPLEX — A detached building,
surrounded by outside space on all sides and above containing only
two dwellings, situated side by side and separated by a common wall,
or one above the other separated by a common horizontal element serving
as the floor of the upper dwelling and ceiling of the lower dwelling,
such element free of openings except for utility lines, chimney stacks,
and stairways connecting the upper dwelling to the ground level. Each
dwelling shall be independent of the other in terms of access, except
that the two units may have a common foyer entrance, porch, driveway
and/or common utility entrance, and may have common use and access
to a cellar or basement.
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DWELLING, MULTIPLE FAMILY — A building containing at least
three dwelling units with either separate access to the outside from
each unit, or with common access via halls, stairways and/or elevators
to the outside, or with each unit having direct access to the outside.
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DWELLING UNIT — One of a group of dwellings in a building
or group of buildings.
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EASEMENT
A right-of-way granted by the property owner across his/her
land for placing of public utility lines or for drainageways.
ELDERLY APARTMENT RESIDENCE
An apartment building designed for use by independent elderly
residents but including in the same building or building complex common
dining and social facilities and personal services.
EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE
Medical care rendered in a hospital or small-format hospital
in response to the sudden onset of a medical condition that is potentially
life-threatening.
[Added by Ord. No. 427, 4/19/2018]
END WALL
The wall of a residential apartment building that contains
not more than 1/2 the windows opening into any individual apartment.
FAMILY
An individual or two or more persons related by blood, marriage,
adoption or foster placement, or not more than five unrelated individuals,
occupying a dwelling unit. Blood relationship for purposes of this
definition shall not extend beyond first cousins.
FLOOR AREA
The total horizontal interior area that is owned or leased
as a unit except for storage areas, rest rooms, receiving, shipping
and merchandise repair and alteration areas, utility rooms, corridors
not open to the public, and display windows.
FOSTER CARE HOME
A single-family detached dwelling occupied by a family responsible
to, and accredited by a recognized social service agency which places
in the home not more than five minor individuals who are wards of
the courts or who are assigned by the social service agency.
FRONT SETBACK LINE
A line parallel to the property or lot line abutting the
street on which the property or lot fronts that establishes the minimum
distance from the street a building may be erected on the property
or lot.
GARAGE, PRIVATE
An accessory building on a residential lot attached to or
detached from the dwelling, or a room within the dwelling, intended
for the storage and maintenance of vehicles and equipment owned and
operated by the residents of the dwelling and not for repair of vehicles
for profit, or a garage on a business property as an accessory use
to serve only the parking needs of employees and customers. A group
garage provides storage of vehicles owned by the occupants of a number
of dwellings or other units in buildings on the same property as the
garage but not including repair of vehicles for profit.
GENERAL FARMING
The planting and harvesting of field or orchard crops, the
keeping and maintaining of livestock and fowl, but not including cattle
feed lot operations or commercial slaughterhouses.
GROUP HOME
A single-family detached dwelling which provides room and
board, personal care, rehabilitation and twenty-four-hour supervision
in a family environment for not more than five developmentally disabled
or physically handicapped persons who are placed in the home by a
recognized social service agency which has long-term responsibility
for the residents' welfare.
HEALTH CARE FACILITY
An establishment other than a hospital, nursing home or convalescent
home, principally engaged in providing services for health maintenance,
diagnosis or treatment of human diseases, pain, injury or physical
condition that includes the following types of facilities: ambulatory
surgery centers, rehabilitation centers, psychiatric hospitals, long-term
structured residential programs and hospices, which establishment
is licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to provide the services
it offers.
[Added by Ord. No. 427, 4/19/2018]
HOME OCCUPATION
A service type small business conducted within a single-family detached dwelling by the residents of the dwelling, involving no exterior manifestation of the business, except for a sign (see §
27-502, Subsection
1), or expansion of the dwelling to accommodate it, and not creating nuisance or congestion conditions in the neighborhood where it is located (see §
27-508, Subsection
1).
HOSPITAL
An establishment licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
as a hospital, having an organized medical staff and providing health
services primarily for in-patient care.
[Added by Ord. No. 427, 4/19/2018]
HOSPITAL, SMALL-FORMAT[Added by Ord.
No. 427, 4/19/2018]
A.
A facility that:
(1)
Occupies not more than 40,000 square feet; and
(2)
Offers no more than 15 emergency room bays and no more than
15 in-patient beds for medical-related use 24 hours per day by individuals
requiring diagnosis, treatment, or care for illness, injury, deformity,
infirmity, abnormality or disease; and/or
(3)
Regularly makes available clinical laboratory services, diagnostic
radiological services, treatment facilities for medical treatment,
and/or other services associated with hospitals licensed by the Pennsylvania
Department of Health.
B.
Small-format hospitals may be contained within the same building
as medical or dental offices and other uses exclusive of the small-format
hospital's square footage.
INCOMPATIBLE USES
A group of land uses which in close proximity to a second
group of uses is degraded by the proximity and is unable to develop
to full potential or full value.
LAND USE
The principal activity or activities for which a lot or property
and the buildings or structures on it are devoted.
LANDOWNER
The individual, corporation or other entity whose name appears
on the current deed for a property as the owner of record, or the
holder of a contract or option to purchase the property, or a lessee,
if authorized by the owner.
LITERAL MEANING
Interpretation of the contents of this chapter to the letter
without judgment or opinion that would shade or slant the meaning
of any section, clause, phrase or word.
LONG WALL
Wall of a residential apartment building that contains all
the windows of any individual apartment.
LOT
An area of contiguous land surface which abuts a street,
whose ownership and legal description are of record in the office
of the County Recorder of Deeds, and which is intended to contain
one principal use. A lot implies one of a number of similarly sized
properties in a plan, but may include any property, tract or parcel
of land regardless of size or configuration for the purposes of this
chapter.
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LOT AREA — The total horizontal surface area within the
lot boundary lines, measured in square feet or acres and determined
by deed or survey.
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LOT DEPTH — The dimension between the center of the front
lot line and the center of the rear lot line.
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LOT FRONTAGE — The distance across the front of a lot
between side lot lines where they intersect the right-of-way line
of the street to which the lot is oriented and which carries its street
address.
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LOT LINE — Any of the lines describing the perimeter of
a lot.
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LOT LINE, FRONT — The line abutting the street to which
the lot is oriented.
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LOT LINE, REAR — The line most distant from the front
lot line.
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LOT LINE, SIDE — The lines on either side of a lot connecting
the front and rear lot lines, and called an interior lot line when
abutting another lot or a secondary street lot line when abutting
a secondary street in the case of a corner lot.
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LOT OF RECORD — A lot duly recorded in the office of the
Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds.
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LOT, THROUGH OR DOUBLE FRONTAGE — A lot whose front and
rear lines abut street rights-of-way.
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LOT WIDTH — The distance across a lot measured along the
front setback line between the side lot lines.
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MANEUVERING SPACE
The portion of a servicing area set aside to allow trucks
to enter and leave a property moving in a forward direction.
MARQUEE
A permanent structure of rigid materials attached only to
the wall of a building, intended to provide shelter and/or mark the
building entrance.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Marijuana for certified medical use as set forth in Act 16
of 2016.
[Added by Ord. 421, 5/18/2017, § I]
MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY
Use of the premises by a natural person, corporation, partnership,
association, trust or other entity, or any combination thereof, holding
a permit issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of
Health, to dispense medical marijuana.
[Added by Ord. 421, 5/18/2017, § I]
MEDICAL MARIJUANA GROWER/PROCESSOR
The use of the premises by a person, including a natural
person, corporation, partnership, association, trust or other entity,
or any combination thereof, holding a permit from the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania Department of Health, to grow and/or process medical
marijuana where all growing and processing activities are conducted
indoors.
[Added by Ord. 421, 5/18/2017, § I]
MIXED-USE BUILDING
A building that is occupied by business or other nonresidential
uses on the first floor and by apartments on the upper floor or floors.
MOBILE HOME
A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent
occupancy, contained in one integral unit, or in two or more units
designed to be joined into one integral unit capable of later being
separated and towed on its own chassis and wheels to another site.
Such mobile home arrives ready for occupancy except for utility connections
and minor assembly operations and could be used without a foundation
since its chassis is part of its structure.
MOBILE HOME PARK
A property or group of contiguous properties under one ownership
which has been developed for at least two mobile home sites or lots,
each with its own utility connections and off-street parking space,
and each intended for lease and the placement of one mobile home for
non-transient use thereon.
MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES
Any building or structure owned and operated by the Township,
or an authority of which the Township is a member, or by a volunteer
emergency services provider, for the public benefit.
NATURAL GAS COMPRESSOR STATION
A facility designed and constructed to compress natural gas
that originates from an oil or gas well or collection of such wells
operating as a midstream facility for delivery of oil and gas to a
transmission pipeline, distribution pipeline, natural gas processing
plant, or underground storage field, including one or more natural
gas compressors, associated buildings, pipes, valves, tanks and other
equipment.
NATURAL GAS PROCESSING PLANT
A facility used to remove materials such as ethane, butane,
and other constituents or similar substances from natural gas to allow
such natural gas to be of such quality as is required or appropriate
for transmission or distribution to commercial markets but not including
facilities or equipment used primarily to remove water, water vapor,
oil or naturally occurring liquids from natural gas.
NONCONFORMING BUILDING
A building or structure whose height and/or placement on
its lot relative to setback from one or more property lines is in
violation of the minimum setback and/or maximum heights established
by this chapter for the zone district in which the lot is located.
A building or group of buildings that cover more area on their lot
than permitted by this chapter would also be nonconforming buildings.
NONCONFORMING LOT
A lot whose area and/or width are less than the minimum dimensions
established by this chapter for the zone district in which the lot
is located.
NONCONFORMING USE
A use of land or buildings or both which is not listed as a permitted use in Part
4 of this chapter for the zone district in which the lot containing the use is located. Such uses are otherwise lawfully in existence but have become nonconforming either by the initial adoption of this chapter or by subsequent amendments.
NURSING HOME
An establishment where persons are lodged and furnished with
meals and appropriate support, licensed for operation by the commonwealth.
The term "nursing home" includes an extended care facility where skilled
nursing care is provided to bed-ridden or convalescent individuals,
or a hospice, where terminally ill individuals are provided supporting
and specialty skilled care.
OCCUPANCY PERMIT
A certificate issued by the Zoning Officer attesting that
all requirements of this chapter and other applicable regulations
have been met and the building for which the permit applies may be
occupied by its owners.
OIL AND GAS WELLS
The drilling and operation of oil or gas wells, but not including,
"conventional gas and oil wells" as defined herein. The oil and gas
well use shall not be included within the use described in this chapter
as "extraction of minerals and soil." The oil and gas well use shall
be deemed to be located at the wellsite. For the purposes of this
chapter, a "wellsite" shall consist of the graded pad and appurtenant
area occupied by the facilities, structures and equipment necessary
for or incidental to the drilling, production or operation of an oil
or gas well at the site, including well site preparation, well site
construction, drilling, hydraulic fracturing, site restoration, water
and other fluid storage, impoundment and transportation located at
the site and used for such activities and installation of associated
equipment, the site preparation, construction and installation, maintenance
and repair of oil and gas pipelines and associated equipment and other
equipment and activities at the site associated with drilling for,
production and transportation of oil and gas, but excluding any structure,
facility or use constituting a natural gas compressor station or a
natural gas processing plant or any other facility used primarily
to refine or process gas or oil. The underground activities and processes
used and the migration of gas or oil from a subsurface area to a gas
or oil wellsite at the surface shall not in and of themselves constitute
mineral removal and are allowed to occur in all zoning districts.
The term "oil and gas well" may be interchangeably used with the term
"gas and oil well."
OPERATOR
The applicant for a conditional use approval for mineral
removal and also any "well operator" or "operator" as defined in the
Oil and Gas Act.
PARKING LOT, PRIVATE
A group of off-street parking spaces that are not available
for use by the general public, but may be leased by the owner and
usually serve the use on the same property.
PARKING SPACE
An area within a parking lot or garage of sufficient width
and depth to accommodate one vehicle, abutting an access aisle.
PARKING, REQUIRED
The minimum number of parking spaces specified in this chapter
for each of the various land use categories.
PATIO
A paved outdoor area at, or in close proximity to, the surrounding
ground level, which may be protected by a covering but not a permanent
roof.
PAVED SURFACE
Any area on a lot that does not permit passage of water through
it.
PENNSYLVANIA MUNICIPALITIES PLANNING CODE
Legislation adopted by the state in 1968, and amended on
several occasions since, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq., which
provides a uniform procedure enabling municipalities to implement
regulations, such as this chapter, to control the development and
use of land.
PERMITTED USE, PRINCIPAL
A use allowed by right under the terms of this chapter to
occur on a lot because of the lot's location in a particular zoning
district. Principal permitted uses are listed for each zone district
and imply that all other activity on the lot is, or will be secondary
to the principal use. Such uses may be approved directly by the Zoning
Officer without reference to other review bodies.
PERSONAL CARE HOME
A single-family detached dwelling which provides meals, shelter
and personal assistance or supervision for not more than five ambulatory
adults, not relatives of the live-in operator, when such adults require
help with dressing, bathing, diet or dispensing of medication prescribed
for self-administration.
PORCH
An outdoor attachment to a building raised above the surrounding
ground level, which may have a permanent roof but is not enclosed.
An open porch implies no covering.
POSTING
The placement of a notice upon a signboard or upon a building
or structure on a property calling public attention to proposed changes
in the zoning status of the property, or to a request for a variance,
and indicating the date, time and place of the hearing at which the
matter will be heard.
PROPERTY
For purposes of this chapter, land whose boundary is clearly
described and closes on itself, is in one ownership, and may include
structures and buildings thereon. A lot is a property.
PROPERTY LINE
The legal boundary, or a part, that defines the edge of a
property.
PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY, AND GENERAL WELFARE
The protection of these values is the legal basis for zoning
and implies that zoning is needed to prevent the spread of fire, disease
and blighting conditions, and to prevent the encouragement of hazards
and the development of land uses and land use relationships that would
reduce property values and/or interfere with the normal enjoyment
and enhancement of private property.
PUBLIC HEARING
An official meeting, properly advertised in advance, called
by the Board of Supervisors, Planning Commission, or Zoning Hearing
Board, for the purpose of taking testimony on the matter being heard,
as a basis for the calling body to make a later recommendation or
decision.
PUBLIC NOTICE
An announcement published in the legal section of the principal
newspaper serving the Harmar Township area, such announcement appearing
once each week for two consecutive weeks, the first time not more
than 30 days and the second time not less than seven days before the
hearing, stating the date, time, and place of the hearing and a description
of the matter to be heard; also the posting of a notice upon an affected
property with the same information.
PUBLIC STREET
A vehicular and/or pedestrian right-of-way which has been
adopted for maintenance by either the Township, the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania or the Turnpike Authority.
PUBLIC UTILITY
A system providing distribution of potable water, gas, electric,
telecommunications, or cable TV services, or the collection, treatment,
and disposal of wastewater.
REFINERY
A building and equipment for refining or processing oil or
gas or similar products.
RESIDENTIALLY-RELATED USE
A land use that is compatible with, supported by, and generally
found within or in close proximity to residential areas.
RESTRICTIVE COVENANT
An agreement between a developer and purchasers of lots or
units in a plan, such agreement restricting the use of the lots or
units but applying uniformly to all the lots or units, recorded with
the plan, applicable for a specific time period, and modified only
upon approval of the agreement signers, and not enforceable by the
Township.
RETIREMENT HOME
Housing for persons generally aged 65 and over not requiring
constant medical supervision, in a communal setting which may include
dining facilities and meeting rooms, as well as individual apartments.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
A strip of land dedicated to, and usually improved for vehicular
and/or pedestrian travel by the public, as opposed to an easement,
which is a strip of land dedicated for one or more public utilities
or for private access and is not open to the public.
SATELLITE DISH
A parabolic ground-based reflector, together with its pedestal
and any other attachments and parts thereof, to receive radio or electromagnetic
waves from an overhead satellite.
SCHEDULE OF FEES
The list of charges adopted by resolution of the Board of
Supervisors, and not a part of this chapter, to cover the costs of
administering the review, decision and/or appeal processes required
for a development proposal, such costs to be borne by the developer,
paid in advance, and subject to periodic revision by the Board.
SERVICING AREA
An area on a business lot set aside to maneuver and position
trucks to load and unload products required or made by the business.
SETBACK
The minimum distance a building or structure must be removed
from an adjacent lot line, as required by this chapter in the various
zone districts. Distance between lot line and building shall be measured
along a line at right angles to the lot line.
SIGN
Any device, placard or structure affixed to a building, structure
or to the ground that uses any graphics, symbols or writing to visually
communicate a message to the public. An animated sign relies on flashing
lights or movement of some element of the sign to attract attention.
An identification sign carries only the name and address of the property
owner, and the types of home occupation on the premises and phone
number, if applicable.
SITE
The location of a land use, whether an entire lot or property
or a part that is developed for the use.
SOCIAL HALL, CLUB OR LODGE
An establishment operated for social, fraternal, recreational
and/or educational purposes, open only to members and their guests.
SOLAR ENERGY FARM
Is a solar energy system which exists, as the principal use
of the property, to generate energy for transmission into the energy
grid system, or for transmission to property other than on which it
is located.
SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM
Any solar panel, solar collector or other solar energy device,
or collection thereof, or any structural design feature, including,
but not limited to, associated buildings, structures and electrical
or piping infrastructures, mounted on a building or on the ground,
and whose primary purpose is to provide for the collection, storage
and distribution of solar energy for heating water or air or for producing
electricity.
SOLAR PANEL
Is a structure containing one or more receptive cells, the
purpose of which is to convert solar energy into usable electrical
energy by way of a solar energy system.
SPECIAL EXCEPTION USE
A land use that may be approved by the Zoning Hearing Board (see Part
9). Special exception uses are site specific and require added consideration because they have, in the wrong location, the potential to create conditions that could degrade adjoining properties and/or the surrounding neighborhood. Special exception uses are listed in §
27-402, Subsection 1 of this chapter.
STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
A verbatim transcription of testimony taken at a public hearing
by a professional stenographer.
STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS
Revisions to a building or structure that change the dimensions
of the exterior envelope or that change the interior components that
support the building or structure.
STRUCTURE
Any man-made construction in, on, or over the ground and
attached thereto. The term structure includes buildings.
TOWN OR ROW HOUSE
One of at least three but not more than eight attached dwelling
units, each unit with at least two means of egress directly to the
outside, and with no part of one unit above or below another unit.
A townhouse group is the connected units in one building surrounded
by open space.
TOWNSHIP ENGINEER
An individual or firm with expertise in civil engineering
hired by the Township to advise on matters of land development and
represent the Township's interests without conflicts created by other
client relationships.
UNRELATED INDIVIDUAL
A person who is not related by blood, marriage or adoption
to other persons all of whom are occupying the same dwelling unit.
URGENT CARE CENTERS
A medical facility outside of a hospital or small-format
hospital where ambulatory patients can be treated on a walk-in basis,
without an appointment, and receive immediate nonemergency care.
[Added by Ord. No. 427, 4/19/2018]
VARIANCE
A grant by the Zoning Hearing Board allowing an owner to
use a lot for a permitted use but not wholly in accord with the provisions
of this chapter because the Board finds that strict conformance would
result in a hardship not created by the owner but depriving him of
reasonable development of the lot. A variance is a minimum deviation
from the regulations intended to cure the hardship but not cause detrimental
conditions for abutting property owners or the public at large.
WALK-UP APARTMENT
An apartment whose access to the outside is via stairs when
an elevator is generally not available.
WIND FARM
Is a facility containing one or more wind energy conversion
systems that produce electricity through use of a wind driven turbine
generator, including any associated structure, tower, pad, transformer,
electrical transmission lines, or equipment, which facility produces
electricity for commercial purposes and is the principal use of the
property.
WIND TURBINE
Is a wind-driven machine that converts wind energy into electrical
power, including any associated structure, tower, pad, transformer,
electrical transmission lines or equipment.
YARD
The open space along the front, sides and rear of a lot,
between the lot lines and adjacent setback or building lines, the
width of which is specified for each type of yard within each zoning
district by this chapter. Development within yard areas is restricted.
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YARD, FRONT — The area of a lot between the front lot
line and front setback line the full width of the lot between the
side lot lines.
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YARD, REAR — The area of a lot between the rear lot line
and rear setback line the full width of the lot between the side lot
lines.
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YARD, SIDE — The area of a lot between the side lot line
and side setback line extending from the front to the rear yards.
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YARD DEPTH — The distance between the lot line and adjacent
parallel setback line, measured at right angles to the lot line.
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ZONING CLASSIFICATION
The controls imposed by this chapter that define the uses
of land and buildings and the intensity of such uses that may occur
within a zoning district, such controls to be applied uniformly throughout
the district.
ZONING DISTRICT
A contiguous area of land on all parts of which the same
uniform opportunities for development apply.
ZONING HEARING BOARD
A body appointed by the Board of Supervisors to examine and
decide requests for special exception uses and appeals for variances
or from decisions of the Zoning Officer, to hear testimony regarding
the validity of this chapter upon development, and to decide other
issues specified in this chapter.
ZONING MAP
The plan of zoning districts for Harmar Township as initially adopted and subsequently amended. The Official Zoning Map (§
27-301), located in the Township office, shows the current zoning district boundaries and supersedes all other Zoning Maps.
ZONING OFFICER
A person appointed by and responsible to Board of Supervisors to enforce the regulations of this chapter in accordance with its literal terms, and to carry out other duties as specified by this chapter (see §
27-1201).