A.
As used in this chapter, words expressed in the singular include their plural meanings, and words expressed in the plural include their singular meanings. Words used in the present tense include the future. The word "person" includes a corporation and its responsible officer, an unincorporated association and a copartnership, as well as an individual or other similar entity. The words "building" and "street" are used generically and shall be construed as if followed by the phrase "or part thereof." The term "watercourse" includes "drainage ditch" and "stream." The word "may" is permissive, and the words "shall" and "will" are mandatory, subject to the provisions of Article VII hereof.
B.
The following definitions are frequently cross-referenced with other
words of similar meaning:
(1)
The term "Council" shall always mean the Borough of Chalfont Council.
(2)
The term "Planning Commission" shall always mean the Planning Commission
of the Borough of Chalfont.
(3)
The term "County Planning Commission" shall always mean the Bucks
County Planning Commission.
(4)
The term "municipality" or "Borough" shall always mean the Borough
of Chalfont, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
The following words and phrases, as used in this chapter, shall
have the meanings indicated below, except when such meanings are clearly
out of context:
A paved area providing service access to the side or rear
of lots.
A landowner or developer who has filed an application for
development, including his heirs, successors and assigns.
Every application, whether preliminary or final, required
to be filed and approved prior to the 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 created pursuant to the act
of May 2, 1945 (P.L. 382, No. 164), known as the "Municipalities Authority
Act of 1945," or the statute which repealed it, Act 22 of 2001, 53
Pa.C.S.A. § 5601 et seq.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
An area bounded by streets.
The portion of a street or alley intended for vehicular use.
An area of unobstructed vision at street intersections defined
by the streets and by a line of sight between points on their center
lines.
A right-of-way for pedestrian travel across or within a block.
A minor street intersecting another street at one end and
terminating at the other end in a paved vehicular turnaround.
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.
The provisions for development as presented in written and
graphic form, including a plat of subdivision, all covenants relating
to use, location and bulk of buildings and other structures, intensity
of use or density of development, streets, ways and parking facilities,
common open space and public facilities.
The flow of water or liquid waste and the methods of directing
such flow, whether natural or artificial.
A building, designed and constructed for residential purposes,
in which people live.
A right granted for the use of private land for certain public
or quasi-public purposes; also, the land to which such a right pertains.
A relatively flat or low land area adjoining a stream, river
or watercourse which is subject to partial or complete inundation
or any area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff
of surface waters from any source.
The channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent
land areas required to carry and discharge a flood of the 100-year
magnitude without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation
more than one foot.
One-quarter acre or more of wooded land where the largest
trees measure at least six inches in diameter 1 1/2 feet from
the ground. The forest shall be measured from the dripline of the
outer trees. A forest is also a grove of trees forming one canopy
where 10 or more trees measure at least six inches in diameter at
4 1/2 feet from the ground.
The improvement of one 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; or
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.
The following activities shall not be considered to be land
developments:
The addition of an accessory residential building of less than
1,000 square feet or accessory farm building of less than 1,000 square
feet on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing residential or farm
building; and
The conversion of an existing single-family detached dwelling
or single-family semidetached dwelling into no more than three residential
units which does not involve any external changes or additions to
the structure, unless such units are intended to be a condominium.
A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by
a plat or otherwise permitted by law to be used, developed or built
upon as a unit.
The area contained within a lot, including the area of any
easement, and measured from the curbline (not necessarily the right-of-way
line) to the rear of the lot.
Any area characterized by unstable slopes and land surfaces
whose history, geology, soil, bedrock structure and climate indicate
a potential for mudslides.
A building providing separate living quarters for three or
more families.
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Borough
Council or the Planning Commission, 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. § 701
et seq. (relating to open meetings).
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Notice published once each week for two consecutive 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.
A flood having an average frequency of occurrence on the
order of once in 100 years, although the flood may occur in any year.
The 100-year flood elevation based upon the information contained
in the official Flood Insurance Study.
Any letter, review, memorandum, compilation or similar writing
made by any body, board, officer or consultant, other than a solicitor,
to any 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 the cost of reproduction.
Land set aside for use as a street, alley or crosswalk.
The length of a street, measured along the center line, which
is continuously visible from a point four feet above the center line.
A strip of land which is intended primarily as a means of
vehicular and pedestrian circulation, which may also be used as a
space for sewers, public utilities, shade trees and sidewalks.
HALF-STREETA street of less than the required right-of-way width (prohibited under § 370-29N).
The person or his authorized agent for whom a subdivision
is prepared.
A division of a single lot, tract or parcel of land, or part
thereof, whether on an existing street or otherwise, into two or more
lots, tracts or parcels of land, including changes in street lines
or lot lines, after the effective date of this chapter, for the purpose,
whether immediate or future, of lease, partition by the court for
distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership, or building
or lot development; provided, however, that division by lease of land
for agricultural purposes in parcels of more than 10 acres, not involving
any new street or easement of access or any residential dwelling,
shall be exempted.
Any site plans for the development of a parcel of land which
involves the installation of streets or alleys, or both, and any plans
for the development of land for a shopping center or multiple-dwelling
building.
Resubdivision.
The land subdivided, the process of subdividing it or the plan
thereof.
An area that is radial to the trunk of a tree, in which no
construction activity shall occur. The tree protection zone shall
be measured 20 feet from the trunk of the tree to be retained or the
distance from the trunk of the tree to two feet beyond the outer edges
of the branches of the tree. Where there is a group of trees or woodlands,
the tree protection zone shall be the aggregate of the protection
zones for the individual trees.
Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water
or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support and
which, under normal conditions, do support a prevalence of vegetation
typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands
generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas.
