The purpose of this article is to identify certain regulations
and standards that are either common to all zoning districts or applicable
to more than one district.
Family-based community residence facilities shall be permitted
by right in the R-1 and R-2 Residential Districts in accordance with
the requirements below:
A. No facility shall be located within 400 feet of an existing facility.
B. There shall not be more than two residents per bedroom, and this
is not to exceed a maximum number of four residents per facility,
not including staff.
C. There must be a twenty-four-hour-a-day on-duty supervisor who possesses
proper qualifications for the position.
D. Parking shall comply with Article
XIII.
E. Any alterations or additions to the exterior of a community residence
facility shall be compatible with the existing structure and in keeping
with the neighborhood character, excluding safety modifications.
F. All other applicable requirements of the Zoning Ordinance, building
code, fire code, and all other applicable Borough codes and ordinances
and state regulations must be met.
G. All community residence facilities will be available for reasonable
periodic inspections by the BCO or ZO and other parties holding jurisdiction.
H. Each facility must receive all pertinent approvals and/or licenses
from the appropriate state agencies.
I. The operator of the facility must register the facility annually
with the BCO or ZO and provide the following information:
(2)
Profit or nonprofit status of the facility.
(3)
The registration of the facility with the Department of Human
Services.
(4)
The name of each resident currently residing on the premises.
(5)
Other information as may be reasonably requested by the Borough.
Family day-care homes, as defined in Article
II, shall be permitted as an accessory use in the R-1 and R-2 Residential Districts, subject to the following requirements:
A. A fence not less than four feet high shall be placed around all outdoor
play areas. The bottom end of such fence must reach the ground to
prevent children from crawling underneath.
B. Outdoor play activities shall be limited to the hours between 9:00
a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
C. Outdoor play shall not be permitted in the front yard or adjacent
to an arterial road.
D. The area for pickup and discharge of children must be free from traffic
hazards.
E. The appearance and exterior design of the facility shall be compatible
with the surrounding dwellings.
F. There shall be screening and planting consistent with the character
of the surrounding uses.
G. The facility shall display no sign that is inconsistent with the residential character of the neighborhood and shall be subject to §
600-93A.
H. No portion of the facility shall be within 200 feet of a gasoline
service station, underground gasoline storage tanks, industrial operations,
truck loading areas, or other hazardous uses or activities.
I. Each facility must have the appropriate certificates as required
by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services that shall be prominently
displayed in the main entrance of the facility. All day-care homes
must meet all current DPW regulations and any applicable federal,
state, or local laws, ordinances, and regulations, including building
and firesafety codes.
Child day-care centers, as defined in Article
II, shall be a permitted use by right in the MC Municipal Center and TOD Transit-Oriented Development Overlay Districts, and as a conditional use in the LIB Light Industrial/Business Park District, subject to the following requirements:
A. Day-care centers shall be permitted as part of a church, school,
or other similar institution or as an independent use.
B. A fence not less than four feet high shall be placed around all outdoor
play areas. The bottom end of such fence must reach the ground to
prevent children from crawling underneath.
C. Outdoor play activities shall be limited to the hours between 9:00
a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
D. Outdoor play shall not be permitted in the front yard or adjacent
to an arterial road.
E. Parking shall be in accordance with Article
XIII.
F. Signs shall be in accordance with Article
XIV.
G. Each facility shall provide for the dropoff and pickup of children
on a driveway, approved parking area, or directly in front of the
facility. This area must be free from traffic hazards to children.
The dropoff area shall be located immediately adjacent to the facility.
H. No part of a facility may be located within 200 feet of gasoline
pumps or underground storage tanks or any other storage area for explosive
or hazardous materials.
I. A planted visual screen shall be provided to protect the day-care center from an adjacent use or to protect a less intense adjacent use from the activity of the day-care center. Planted visual screens, where required and as defined in Article
II, shall comply with regulations in §
600-114. Opaque fences or walls may be used in place of planted visual screens.
J. When streets of different classifications are involved, access shall
be provided to the street of lesser functional classification, if
possible.
K. Each operator of a newly established day-care center shall notify
the Borough in writing at least 30 days prior to the initiation of
a day-care center for the purpose of allowing the Borough to establish
a record of such use.
L. The operator of any child day-care center will allow the BCO or ZO
to enter the property during business hours to inspect for compliance
with the requirements of this section and all other applicable municipal
and state ordinances or regulations.
M. A permit for operation shall be obtained from the BCO or ZO.
N. All facilities must be licensed by the State of Pennsylvania DPW
and any other appropriate agencies.
Senior day-care centers, as defined in Article
II, shall be a use permitted by right in the MC Municipal Center District, subject to the following requirements:
A. Accommodations shall be made for persons with a physical handicap
or impediment to ensure their safety and accessibility for entrance
to, movement within, and exit from the building.
B. The facility shall have at least 50 square feet of indoor space for
each individual served.
C. A specified loading and/or parking area shall be available for arrival
and departure of clients.
D. The facility shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition.
E. Senior day-care centers shall be permitted as part of a church, school,
other similar institution, or as an independent use.
F. Parking shall be in accordance with Article
XIII.
G. Signs shall be in accordance with Article
XIV.
H. All rooms within the center shall be properly ventilated.
I. All rooms, hallways, outside doorways, and porches shall be lighted
to assure safety.
J. Hours of operation shall range from 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.
Decks shall be permitted in all zoning districts, provided that
the BCO or ZO issues a building permit.
A. The deck shall be placed not less than one foot from the party wall
of a twin or row dwelling or building for access and maintenance purposes.
B. Prior to constructing a deck or porch, a sketch shall be provided,
and a permit must be obtained from the BCO or ZO.
C. In an area where motor vehicles may park or drive, decks or porches
shall have support posts constructed of concrete-filled steel columns
which shall be at least four inches wide and are fastened into footings
not less than six inches wide.
D. After a zoning permit is issued for a deck or porch, no change in
plans regarding setbacks, dimensions, or heights is permissible without
first receiving written permission from the BCO or ZO.
E. All materials used in the construction of a deck or porch shall comply
with the most recently adopted Uniform Construction Code.
Private clubs shall be permitted by right only in the GB General
Business District, subject to the following requirements:
A. Private clubs shall be operated for civic, cultural, educational,
social, or recreational purposes.
B. The activity shall be noncommercial, nonprofit, and clearly not one
carried on as a business.
C. Each building or facility shall be devoted to members and their guests
only.
D. No private club shall provide for eating or dining except on an incidental
basis.
Drive-through establishments, as defined in Article
II, shall be permitted by right in the GB General Business District, subject to the following regulations:
A. No drive-through restaurant shall be located within 300 feet of an
abutting residential district, a school, a place of worship, or another
drive-through restaurant.
B. Points of vehicular ingress and egress shall be limited to streets
having business-zoned frontage only.
C. Driveways at the property line shall be not less than 24 or more
than 30 feet in width.
D. No driveway shall be less than 10 feet from a property line, 30 feet
from a right-of-way line of an intersecting street, or within 30 feet
of another driveway serving the same parcel.
E. Outdoor trash receptacles shall be provided in such a location as
to be accessible to customers and shall be emptied whenever filled,
but in no case less than once each day that the restaurant is open
for business.
In the event that multifamily dwellings are converted or developed
as condominiums, such condominiums shall be owned and operated in
accordance with the Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act of 1980,
as amended.
In determining if a proposed use is of the same general character
as the listed uses, Borough Council and the Planning Commission shall
consider the compatibility standards listed below:
A. Type and volume of sales, retail or wholesale activity, size and
type of items sold, and nature of inventory on the premises.
B. Extent of processing, assembly, warehousing, shipping, and distribution
done on the premises of any dangerous, hazardous, toxic, or explosive
materials.
C. The nature and location of storage and outdoor display of merchandise
and the types of items stored.
D. The type, size, and nature of buildings and structures supporting
the use.
E. The number of employees and customers in relation to business hours
and employment shifts.
F. The business hours the use is in operation or open for business.
G. The transportation requirements for people and freight, by volume,
type, and characteristics of traffic generation to and from the site,
trip purposes, and whether trip purposes can be shared with other
uses on the site.
H. Parking characteristics, turnover and generation, ratio of the number
of spaces required per unit area or activity, and potential for shared
parking with other uses.
I. The tendency for attracting or repelling criminal activities to and
from or on the premises.
J. The amount and nature of nuisances generated on the premises, such
as noise, smoke, odor, glare, vibration, radiation, and fumes.
K. Any special public utility requirements for serving the use, such
as water supply, wastewater output, pretreatment of wastes, emissions
recommended or required, and significant power structures and communication
towers or facilities.
No structure shall exceed the maximum height as calculated by
reference to the Height Limitation and Zoning District Map for Folcroft
Borough and the Model Airport Zoning Ordinance to limit the height
of objects around airports. The calculation of maximum heights for
municipalities in airport hazard areas is required by Pennsylvania
Act 164 of 1984. Folcroft Borough falls within the airport hazard area
affected by Philadelphia International Airport.
Cellular communications facilities, as defined in Article
II, shall be a use permitted by right in both LIB Light Industrial/Business Park District and in the MC Municipal Center District. Antenna support structure, as defined in Article
II, shall be a permitted use by right upon rooftops only in the GB General Business District. The following regulations shall control both facilities, where applicable:
A. A sketch and/or landscaping plan shall be provided to the Borough
prior to development of a cellular communications facility or antenna.
B. An antenna that is attached to an existing support structure shall
not exceed the height of the support structure by more than 10 feet.
C. Setbacks from the base of any new antenna support structure to any
property line, street line, or zoning district boundary shall not
be less than 500 feet.
D. The applicant shall demonstrate that the proposed antenna and antenna
support structure are designed and constructed in accordance with
all applicable national building standards for such facilities and
structures, including but not limited to the standards developed by
the Electronics Industry Association, Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, Telecommunications Industry Association, American
National Standards Institute, and the Electrical Industry Association.
E. The applicant shall demonstrate that the proposed antenna and antenna
support structure are safe and that the surrounding properties will
not be negatively affected by support structure failure, falling ice
or other debris, electromagnetic fields, or radio frequency interference.
All support structures shall be fitted with anti-climbing devices,
as approved by the manufacturers.
F. In order to reduce the number of antenna support structures needed
in the Borough in the future, the proposed antenna support structure
shall be required to accommodate, where possible, other users, including
other cellular communications providers and local police, fire, and
ambulance services.
G. The applicant must demonstrate that it is licensed by the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) to provide wireless communications,
cellular communications, and/or personal communications services.
H. A security fence not less than eight feet in height shall be required
around the cell site unless the antenna is mounted on an existing
structure.
I. The cell site shall be fully automated and not require any maintenance
workers to be present on a full-time basis.
J. Not less than two parking spaces shall be provided to serve the cell
site.
K. The cell site shall be kept in good repair as required by Federal
Law H.R. 6180/S. 2882, the Telecommunications Authorization Act of
1992, as amended, and all Borough ordinances not inconsistent therewith.
L. Prior to the construction or installation of an antenna on an existing
structure or the construction or placement of an antenna support structure,
the applicant shall obtain a permit from the BCO or ZO.
M. When the antenna and antenna support structure have ceased to function and/or have been abandoned, such structures shall be removed from the site within 60 days after official abandonment. Also see "abandonment" in Article
II and §
600-156 relating to abandonment of nonconforming uses.
This section shall apply to all structures constructed after
this chapter is adopted and to new additions of 400 square feet or
more:
A. Unless stated otherwise, the following provisions apply to design
considerations in the MC Municipal Center District, RS Retail Service
District, and GB General Business District.
(1)
Unscreened, flat, blank walls shall be avoided to provide a
pleasant pedestrian experience by connecting activities within a structure
to the adjacent sidewalk and/or transit stop.
(2)
At the street level of commercial, institutional, and mixed
use buildings, not less than 50% of the length and 25% of the wall
surface must be in public entranceways, windows, or retail/service
display windows.
(3)
Where practicable, facades over 50 feet long shall be divided
into shorter segments by repeating window patterns, change in materials,
canopies, varying roof lines, or other architectural detailing.
(4)
Buildings must have at least a five-foot offset in all facades
for every 50 feet of continuous facade. Such offsets may be met through
the use of bay windows, porches, porticos, building extensions, towers,
and other architectural treatments.
(5)
The street facade of principal structures shall have at least
one street-oriented entrance and contain the principal windows of
the structure.
(6)
Pitched roofs shall provide overhanging eaves that extend a
minimum of one foot beyond the building wall.
(7)
Buildings shall contain materials, windows, doors, and architectural
details that are generally compatible with those features in nearby
and adjoining buildings.
(8)
Where practicable, utilities shall be placed underground in
new developments.
(9)
Automobile entrances to the site shall be placed in such a way
as to maximize safety and efficient traffic circulation and minimize
impact on the surrounding area.
(10)
Sidewalks or walkways not less than five feet wide shall be
required in front of and/or adjacent to commercial, institutional,
and mixed-use buildings.
(11)
Sidewalks shall be constructed along the frontage of all public
streets and within and along the frontage of all new development and
redevelopment.
(12)
In the RS Retail Service and the MC Municipal Center Districts,
walkways that cross parking, loading, or driveway areas must be clearly
identifiable through the use of elevation change, different paving
material, or other similar method.
(13)
Lighting shall be provided for parking areas and pedestrian
paths to ensure safety and convenience.
(14)
Where feasible, plazas shall be provided in developments greater
than two acres in area. Not less than one seating space for each 250
square feet of plaza area shall be provided.
(15)
Parking garages shall be served by pedestrian walkways and connection
to the sidewalk/pedestrian system. These walkways shall be clearly
marked and continuous in design.
(16)
Pedestrian amenities such as benches, public art, picnic areas,
seating areas, fountains, planters, etc. shall be located in landscaped
areas, open spaces, plazas, or along public streets.
B. Unless stated otherwise, the following provisions apply to design
considerations in the R-1, R-2, and R-3 Residential Districts.
(1)
New residential dwellings shall be generally consistent with
the design of existing neighboring dwellings.
(2)
Sidewalks shall be constructed along the frontage of all new
residential buildings and additions of 400 square feet or more.
(3)
Where practicable, utilities shall be placed underground in
new developments.
(4)
Stairs and ramps consistent with ADA standards shall be provided
where necessary to provide a safe route between the dwelling and the
street and sidewalk.
(5)
The street facade of principal structures shall have at least
one street-oriented entrance and contain the principal windows of
the structure.