[Ord. 154, 9/3/1985, § 200; as amended by Ord.
189, 9/5/1989, § 3(a)]
[Ord. 154, 9/3/1985, §§ 250 — 266; as
amended by Ord. 189, 9/5/1989; by Ord. 256, 5/24/2004; and by Ord.
264, 6/13/2005, § 1]
The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended,
53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
Any person other than the developer who, acting for the subdivider,
submits to the Borough, subdivision or land development plans for
the purpose of obtaining approval.
An enterprise which is actively engaged in the commercial
production and preparation for market of crops, livestock and livestock
products and in the production, harvesting and preparation for market
or use of agricultural, agronomic, horticultural, silvicultural and
agricultural crops and commodities. The term includes an enterprise
that implements changes in production practices and procedures or
types of crops, livestock, livestock products or commodities produced
consistent with practices or procedures that are normally engaged
by farmers or are consistent with technological development within
the agricultural industry.
As applied to a building or structure, a change or rearrangement
in the structural parts, or an enlargement or diminution, whether
by extending on a side or by increasing in height, or the moving from
one location or position to another.
A landowner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has
filed an application for development including heirs, successors and
assigns.
Every application, whether preliminary, tentative or final,
required to be filed and approved prior to start of construction or
development, including, but not limited to, an application for a building
permit for the approval of a subdivision plat or plan or for the approval
of a development plan.
A body politic and corporate crated pursuant to the Act of
May 2, 1945 (P.L. 382, No. 164), known as the "Municipality Authorities
Act of 1945."
An area bounded by two or more streets.
Any body granted jurisdiction under a land use ordinance
to render final adjudications.
A professional engineer designated by the Council to perform
the duties of a Borough Engineer.
A strip of land established to protect adjacent land uses.
Buffer yards are intended to visually soften the outline of buildings,
to screen glare and noise and to create a visual barrier between adjacent
land uses.
A structure under roof, used for the shelter or enclosure
of persons, animals, or property. The word "building" shall include
any part thereof.
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BUILDING, ACCESSORY — A subordinate building located on
the same lot as a principal building and clearly incidental and subordinate
to the principal building. Any portion of a principal building devoted
or intended to be devoted to an accessory use is not an accessory
building.
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BUILDING, PRINCIPAL — A building in which is conducted,
or is intended to be conducted, the principal use of the lot on which
it is located.
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The total of areas taken on a horizontal plane at the main
grade level of the principal building and all accessory buildings
exclusive of uncovered porches, terraces, and steps.
A line, parallel to the right-of-way line, measured from
side yard to side yard, on which a principal building is actually
placed. The minimum building setback line is the rear line of the
minimum front yard, as herein designated for each district, measured
from the street line.
For measuring trees for buffering or landscaping purposes,
caliper measurements shall be taken at a point on the trunk six inches
above natural groundline. For measuring existing trees to determine
whether they are a forest resource, caliper measurements shall be
taken at a point on the trunk 4Â 1/2 feet above the natural groundline
for trees over six inches in caliper.
The hard or paved surface portions of any street, or that
portion of a street customarily used by vehicles in the regular course
of travel over the street.
A line midway between and parallel to the edges of the cartway,
or as otherwise defined by the Borough Council.
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 right-of-way lines.
Dublin Borough Planning Commission.
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.
A use permitted in a particular zoning district pursuant
to the provisions in Article VI of the Act.
A street which intersects another street at one end and terminating
at the other in a vehicular turnaround.
Final adjudication of any board or other body granted jurisdiction
under any land use ordinance or this chapter to do so, either by reason
of the grant of exclusive jurisdiction or by reason of appeals from
determinations. All decision shall be appealable to the Court of Common
Pleas of Bucks County.
Density is a measure of the number of dwelling units per
unit of area. It shall be expressed in dwelling units per acre.
Regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter imposing standards
in the layout by which a subdivision or land development is developed.
Final action by an officer, body or agency charged with the
administration of any land use ordinance or applications thereunder,
except the following: (1) Dublin Borough; (2) Dublin Borough Zoning
Hearing Board; or (3) the Dublin Borough Planning Commission, only
if and to the extent the Planning Commission is charged with final
decision on preliminary or final plans under this chapter or planned
residential development provisions. Determinations shall be appealable
only to the boards designated as having jurisdiction for such appeal.
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.
A structure or portion thereof which is used exclusively
for human habitation.
One or more rooms, designed, occupied or intended for occupancy
as separate living quarters, with cooking, sleeping and sanitary facilities
provided within the dwelling unit for the exclusive use of a single
family maintaining a household.
A grant of the specified use of a parcel of land to the public,
a corporation, or person.
A professional engineer licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
All engineering responsibilities as herein defined shall be
those of the engineer for the municipality, hereafter referred to
as the "Engineer." The Engineer will review the plan and any accompanying
material for the proposed subdivision or land development and make
his findings known in a report to Dublin Borough Planning Commission
and the Borough Council. The report will be considered by the commission
when reviewing the proposal.
The Engineer's responsibility in the review of subdivision
and land development proposals shall include, but not be limited to,
the following engineering considerations. The engineer shall make
recommendations concerning approval or disapproval of the application
based upon these considerations as they are reflected in the plans
submitted.
Dimensions and areas of lots or parcels.
Existing and proposed contours in relation to the proposed use
and that of adjacent properties.
Soil conditions; proposed erosion controls.
Surface and sub-surface drainage conditions and proposed stormwater
management plan.
Lighting plans.
Utility plan; easement requirements.
Road specifications, widths, cross-sections, alignment, profiles,
and intersections.
Location and design of entrance and existing accessways.
Sewage disposal system.
Conformance to the Dublin Borough Zoning Ordinance [Chapter 27].
Acceptability of materials and construction indicated in final
plans and specifications.
Anticipated traffic generated by the proposal or submitted traffic
impact statement if requested by Council.
Water supply for the proposed use or uses.
Fire protection.
The process by which soil and bedrock are worn away by the
action of wind, water, climate, or chemical action.
Areas subject to periodic flooding and identified as Bowmansville
soils in the Soil Survey of Bucks and Philadelphia Counties, Pennsylvania.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, July 1975,
as being "on the floodplain" or subject to "flooding."
Dublin Borough.
An administrative proceeding conducted by a board pursuant
to § 909.1 of the Act, 53 P.S. § 10909.1.
Impervious surfaces are those surfaces which do not absorb
rain. All buildings, parking areas, driveways, roads, sidewalks, and
any areas in concrete, asphalt, and packed stone shall be considered
impervious surfaces within this definition. In addition, other areas
determined by the Borough Engineer to be impervious within the meaning
of this definition will also be classed as impervious surfaces.
The impervious surface ratio is a measure of the intensity
of use of a piece of land. It is measured by dividing the total area
of all impervious surfaces within the site by the base site area.
Natural or artificial bodies of water which retain water
year round. Artificial ponds may be created by dams, or result from
excavation. The shoreline of such water bodies shall be measured from
the spillway crest elevation rather than permanent pool if there is
any difference. Lakes are bodies of water two or more acres in extent.
Ponds are any water body less than two acres in extent.
Any of the following activities:
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts
or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
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.
The division or allocation of land or space, whether 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.
A subdivision of land.
Development in accordance with § 503(1.1).
Note: the following are not land development.
The conversion of an existing single-family detached dwelling
or a single-family semi-detached dwelling into (not more than) three
residential units (unless such units are intended to be a condominium).
The addition of an accessory building, including farm buildings,
on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing principal building.
The addition or conversion of buildings or rides within the
confines of an enterprise which would be considered an amusement park.
For purposes of this exemption, an amusement park is defined as a
tract or area used principally as a location for permanent amusement
structures or rides. This exclusion shall not apply to newly-acquired
acreage by an amusement park until the initial plans for the expanded
area have been approved by the municipality.
Any ordinance or map adopted pursuant to the authority granted
in Articles IV, V, VI and VII of the Act (this chapter).
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 condition), a lessee if he is
authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the landowner,
or other person having a proprietary interest in land.
A loop street is a street which has two points of intersection
with the same road. In its simplest form a loop street enters a tract,
follows a course through it and returns to the same road at some distance
from the other intersection.
A lot is a parcel of land used, or set aside and available
for use, as the site of one or more buildings and any buildings accessory
thereto or for any other purpose; in one ownership and not divided
by a street, nor including any land within the right-of-way of a pubic
or private street upon which said lot abuts, even if the ownership
to such right-of-way is in the owner of the lot. A lot, for the purpose
of this chapter, may or may not coincide with a lot of record. "Lot,"
as defined in the Act, means 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.
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LOT AREA — The area contained within the property lines
of the individual parcels of land, shown on a subdivision plan, or
required by this chapter, excluding any area within an existing or
designated future street right-of-way, or the area of any easement
which would interfere with the proposed use. When there is no designated
street right-of-way, the street right-of-way or street line for the
purpose of this chapter shall be considered 10 feet from the center
line of the road or the edge of the pavement, whichever is greater.
In addition, the minimum lot area does not include any area designated
as open space. Adjoining lots not held in single and separate ownership
at the enactment of this chapter shall be considered a single lot.
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AVERAGE LOT AREA PER DWELLING UNIT — The average lot area
for all dwelling units of a single type. Individual lots may be smaller
or larger than the average, provided that the average size is maintained
and that all other standards of this chapter are met.
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CORNER LOT — A lot which has an interior angle of less
than 135° at the intersection of two street lines. A lot abutting
a curved street or streets shall be considered a corner lot if the
tangent to the curve at the points beginning within the lot or at
the points of intersection of the side lot line with the street lines
intersect at an angle of less than 135°.
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THROUGH LOT — An interior lot having frontage on two parallel
or approximately parallel streets.
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DEPTH OF LOT — The mean distance from the street line
of the lot to its opposite rear line, measured in the general direction
of the side lines of the lot.
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LOT WIDTH — The distance between the side lot lines at
the required building setback line. In a case where there is only
one side lot line, lot width shall be measured between such side lot
line and the opposite rear lot line or street line.
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LOT LINES — Any boundary line of a lot.
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LOT LINE, REAR — Any lot line which is parallel to or
within 45° of being parallel to a street line, except for a lot
line that is itself a street line, and except that in the case of
a corner lot the owner shall have the option of choosing which of
the two lot lines that are not street lines is to be considered a
rear lot line. In the case of a lot having no street frontage or a
lot of an odd shape, only the one lot line farthest from any street
shall be considered a rear lot line.
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LOT LINE, SIDE — Any lot line which is not a street line
or a rear lot line.
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Any aggregate or mass of mineral matter whether or not coherent.
The term includes, but is not limited to, limestone and dolomite,
sand and gravel, rock and stone, earth, fill, slag, iron ore, zinc
ore, vermiculite and clay, anthracite and bituminous coal, coal refuse,
peat and crude oil and natural gas.
A transportable single-family dwelling intended for permanent
occupancy, contained in one unit, or in two units 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.
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 unit mobile home.
A parcel, or contiguous parcels, of land which has (have)
been so designated and improved that it (they) contain(s) two or more
mobile home lots for the placement thereon of mobile homes.
A stone or concrete monument with a flat top at least four
inch square, containing a copper or brass dowel scored with an "X"
to mark the reference point, and at least 30 inches in length. It
is recommended that the bottom sides be at least two inches greater
than the top, to minimize movements caused by frost. Where a monument
is placed in the roadway, only a copper or brass dowel is necessary.
A body politic and corporate created pursuant to the Act
of May 2, 1945 (P.L. 382, No. 164), known as the "Municipality Authorities
Act of 1945."
A professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, duly appointed as the engineer for Dublin Borough.
Dublin Borough.
A lot, the area or dimension of which was lawful prior to
the adoption or amendment of a zoning ordinance, but which fails to
conform to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is
located by reasons of such adoption or amendment.
A structure or part of a structure manifestly not designed
to comply with the applicable use or extent of use provisions in a
zoning ordinance or amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted, where
such structure lawfully existed prior to the enactment of such ordinance
or amendment or prior to the application of such ordinance or amendment
to its location by reason of annexation. Such nonconforming structures
include, but are not limited to, nonconforming signs.
A use, whether of land or of structure, which does not comply
with the applicable use provisions in a zoning ordinance or amendment
heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such use was lawfully in existence
prior to the enactment of such ordinance or amendment, or prior to
the application of such ordinance or amendment to its location by
reason of annexation.
Includes any land or building presently intended, arranged
or designed to be utilized.
A map adopted by ordinance pursuant to Article IV.
Open space is land used for recreation, resource protection, amenity, or buffers; and is protected by the provisions of this chapter and the Zoning Ordinance [Chapter 27] to ensure that it remains in such uses.
The open space ratio is a measure of the intensity of land
use. It is arrived at by dividing the total amount of open space within
the site by the base site area.
An area on a lot used for parking a vehicle(s), to which
there is access from a street.
The drives or roadways and the maneuvering space required
to service the parking space.
A continuous way designated for pedestrians and separated
from the through lanes for bicycles or motor vehicles by space or
other barrier.
Includes a corporation, partnership, association or individual.
A complete and exact subdivision or land development plan,
including all required supplementary data, prepared for official recording
as required by statute, to define property rights and proposed streets
and other improvements.
A tentative subdivision and/or land development plan showing
the pertinent existing features of a tract and its surroundings and
proposed street and lot layout as a basis for consideration prior
to preparation of a final plan.
An exact copy of the approved final plan on opaque linen
of standard size, prepared for necessary signatures and recording
with the Bucks County Recorder of Deeds.
An informal plan, to scale, indicating salient existing features
of a tract and its surroundings and the general layout of the proposed
subdivision and/or land development for discussion purposes only and
not to be presented for approval.
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 one district created, from time to time, under the provisions of the Dublin Borough Zoning Ordinance [Chapter 27].
A map or plan of a subdivision or land development, whether
preliminary or final.
Persons who provide expert or professional advice, including,
but not limited to, architects, attorneys, certified public accounts,
engineers, geologists, land surveyors, landscape architects or planners.
Includes:
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by Dublin
Borough or planning agency, intended to inform and obtain public comment,
prior to taking action in accordance with this chapter.
A forum held pursuant to notice under 65 Pa.C.S.A., Chapter 7 (relating to open meetings).
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.
Any method, process or substance whose supply is rejuvenated
through natural processes and, subject to those natural processes,
remains relatively constant, including, but not limited to, biomass
conversion, geothermal energy, solar and wind energy and hydroelectric
energy and excluding those sources of energy used in the fission and
fusion process.
Any letter, review, memorandum, compilation or similar writing
made by any body, board, officer or consultant other than a solicitor
to any other body, board, officer or consultant for the purpose of
assisting the recipient of such report in the rendering of any decision
or determination. All reports shall be deemed recommendatory and advisory
only and shall not be binding upon the recipient, board, officer,
body or agency, nor shall any appeal lie therefrom. Any report used,
received or considered by the body, board, officer or agency rendering
a determination or decision shall be made available for inspection
to the applicant and all other parties to any proceeding upon request,
and copies thereof shall be provided at cost of reproduction.
Any change of lot lines within a previously approved subdivision.
An examination of the sketch plan, preliminary plan, and
final plan by the Planning Commission and the Borough Council.
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(1)
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A strip of land acquired by reservation, dedication, forced
dedication, prescription or condemnation and intended to be occupied
or occupied by a road, crosswalk, railroad, electric transmission
lines, oil or gas pipeline, water line, sanitary of storm sewer and
other similar uses.
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(2)
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Generally, the right of one to pass over the property of another.
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EXISTING RIGHT-OF-WAY — The legal right-of-way as established
by the commonwealth or other appropriate governing authority and currently
in existence.
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FUTURE RIGHT-OF-WAY — The right-of-way deemed necessary, to provide adequate width in the Dublin Borough Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance [Chapter 27], for the future street improvements.
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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 the surface of the land.
A sanitary sewer is a sewer system in which sewage is collected
from more than one lot and piped to an approved sewage disposal plant
or central septic tank disposal system. This shall include capped
sewers when installed to Borough specifications.
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.
A mandatory term.
The required 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.
The site shall be defined as a parcel or parcels of land
intended to have one or more buildings or intended to be subdivided
into one or more lots.
All land area within the site as defined in the deed. Area
shall be from an actual site survey rather than a deed description.
A use permitted in a particular zoning district pursuant
to the provisions of Articles VI and IX of the Act, 53 P.S. §§ 10601
et seq., 10901 et seq.
Areas where the average slope exceeds 8% which because of
this slope, are subject to high rates of stormwater run-off and therefore
erosion.
Includes 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, whether public or
private.
Any vehicle way which (1) is an existing state, county or municipal
roadway, or (2) is shown upon a plat approved pursuant to law, or
(3) is approved by other official action or (4) is shown on a plat
duly filed and recorded in the office of the county recording officer
prior to the enactment of this chapter; and includes the land between
the street lines, whether improved or unimproved.
The dividing line between the street and the lot. The street
line shall be the same as the legal right-of-way provided that where
a future right-of-way width for a road or street has been established,
then that width shall determine the location of the street line.
A combination of materials assembled, constructed or erected
at a fixed location, including a building, the use of which requires
location on the ground or attachment to something on the ground.
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 hers or devisees, transfer of ownership or building
or lot development. Provided, however, that the subdivisions 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 exempt.
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MAJOR SUBDIVISION — The division or redivision of a lot,
tract, or parcel of land by any means into three 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, 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 residential dwellings, shall be exempted.
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MINOR SUBDIVISION — The division or redivision of a single
lot, tract, or parcel of land into two lots, tracts, parcels or other
divisions of land including changes in existing lot lines for the
purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, transfer of ownership
or building or lot development provided the proposed lots, tracts,
or parcels of land thereby created have frontage on an improved public
street or streets, and provided further that there is not created
by the subdivision any new street or streets, the need for required
improvements, easement or the need therefore; 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 residential dwellings, shall be exempted.
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Where in the judgment of the Engineer, at least 90% (based
on the cost of the required improvements for which financial security
was posted) of those improvements required as a condition of final
plan 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.
A professional land surveyor registered by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
Any activity, occupation, business or operation carried on,
or intended to be carried on, in a building or other structure or
on a tract of land.
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USE, ACCESSORY — A use located on the same lot with a
principal use, and clearly incidental or subordinate to, and in connection
with, the principal use.
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USE, PRINCIPAL — The main use on a lot.
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Those services customarily rendered by public utility corporations,
municipalities, or municipal authorities, in the nature of electricity,
gas, telephone, water, sewerage, and cable television, including the
appurtenances used in connection with the supplying of such services
(buildings, wires, pipes, poles, and the like).
Relief granted pursuant to the provisions of Articles VI
and IX of the Act, 53 P.S. §§ 10601 et seq., 10901
et seq.
MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLYA "municipal water system" is any water supply system dedicated to the public. Such systems shall include any existing private franchise area and the entire system; or a water supply capable of supporting the entire development, or a standpipe or water storage system meeting Borough specifications.
ON-LOT WATER SUPPLYAn "on-lot water system" supplies water to one building and its accessory buildings on a single lot from an individual well located on the same lot.
An inventory of the source, quantity, yield and use of groundwater
and surface water resources within Dublin Borough.
Any natural or artificial swale, stream or structure in which
water flows continuously or intermittently.
An open area unoccupied, except for permitted projections
and plantings, on the same lot with a structure, extending along a
lot line or street line and inward to the structure. The size of a
required yard shall be measured as the shortest distance between the
structure and a lot line or street line.
A yard between a structure and a street line and extending
the entire length of the street line. In the case of a corner lot,
the yards extending along all streets are front yards. In the case
of a lot other than a corner lot that fronts on more than one street,
the yards extending along all streets are front yards.
A yard between a structure and a rear lot line and extending
the entire length of the rear lot line.
A yard between a structure and a side lot line, extending
from the front yard to the rear yard. In the case of a lot having
no street frontage or a lot of odd shape, any yard that is not a front
yard or a rear yard shall be considered a side yard.
