Definitions. The following definitions shall apply to the Conservation
Design Overlay District:
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Units sold or rented to families earning up to 120% of the
area median income, adjusted for family size, as determined by the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
BUILDING HEIGHT
A vertical distance measured from the elevation of the proposed
finished grade at the front of a building to the highest point on
the roof for flat roofs, to the deck lines of mansard roofs, and to
the mean height between the eaves and ridge for gable, hip, or gambrel
roofs.
CALIPER
The diameter of a tree trunk measured at a point six inches
above the ground for a tree measuring up to and including four inches
in diameter and 12 inches above the ground for a tree measuring above
four inches in diameter. The term is usually applied to nursery stock.
COMMON FACILITIES
All the real property and improvements, including without
limitation, landscaped areas, buffers, greenway land not included
within title lines of any privately owned lot, street rights-of-way
not dedicated to the Township owned in common by residents within
the development which is served by the facilities.
COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
A nonprofit organization comprised of homeowners or property
owners, the function of which is to maintain and administer property
owned in common by members of the association or by the association,
to protect and enhance the value of the property owned individually
by each of the members. Homeowners associations and condominium associations
are types of community associations.
CONDOMINIUM
Real estate, portions of which is designated for separate
ownership and the remainder of which is designated for common ownership
solely by the owners of those separate portions, in accordance with
the Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act 1980-82, 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101
et seq., as amended.
CONSERVANCY LOT
A large, privately owned and maintained lot, containing an
existing dwelling, farm complex, or historic structure, comprising
part of the required greenway land in a conservation subdivision.
An area of at least one acre surrounding the dwelling, farm complex
or historic structure is set aside and is not counted toward the required
minimum greenway land. The remainder of the conservancy lot is permanently
protected greenway land. Public access to conservancy lots is not
required.
CONSERVATION AREAS, PRIMARY
Lands within the one-hundred-year floodplain (including the
floodway), wetlands and prohibitive steep slopes (above 25%). All
primary conservation areas are located within greenway lands.
CONSERVATION AREAS, SECONDARY
All landscape elements not included in the primary conservation
areas, which do not create severe limitations for development, but
which should be considered for conservation due to their capacity
for helping to provide, along with the primary conservation areas,
an interconnected system of open space and recreation. In conservation
subdivision design, some secondary conservation areas are located
within greenway lands, and others are not.
CONSTRAINED LAND
The acreage sum of certain features on the land, each of
which is multiplied by a net-out factor set forth in this chapter.
DBH (DIAMETER AT BREAST HEIGHT)
The diameter of a tree trunk measured at a point 4.5 feet
above the ground at the base of the tree. If a tree divides or splits
into multiple trunks below 4.5 feet, the trunk is measured at its
most narrow point beneath the split. The term is usually applied to
trees in the field (not nursery stock).
GREEN, COMMON
An area of greenway land, surrounded by streets on at least
two and often three or four sides, around which dwellings that face
the green are organized. Common greens are often designed as terminal
vistas within a street system.
GREENWAY LAND
A parcel or parcels of land and/or water, within a development
site set aside for the protection of natural and cultural resources.
It is also intended for the use and enjoyment by the residents of
such development and possibly the general public. Greenway land is
substantially free of structures, but may contain such improvements
as are in the finally approved development plan, and does not include
individually owned private yards, except in the case of approved conservancy
lots. Greenway land may be a combination of natural or naturalized
areas (such as the municipal greenway network and rural trails) and
more manicured areas (such as common greens, squares, parks and playing
fields). Greenway land is permanently restricted against further development.
Greenway and greenway land are synonymous.
HEDGEROW
A linear plant community dominated by trees and/or shrubs.
Hedgerows often occur along roads, fence lines, property lines, or
between fields, and may occur naturally or be specially planted (e.g.,
as a windbreak).
HISTORIC RESOURCE
Any structure that is:
A.
Listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places
(a listing maintained by the U.S. Department of the Interior) or preliminarily
determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements
for individual listing on the National Register.
B.
Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the
Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered
historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary
to qualify as a registered historic district.
C.
Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places
in states with historic preservation programs which have been approved
by the Secretary of the Interior.
D.
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation programs that have been
certified either:
(1)
By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary
of the Interior; or
(2)
Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without
an approved program.
E.
Eligible for any of the above listings.
HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION
A nonprofit organization comprised of homeowners or property
owners, planned and operated under negotiated and approved rules and
regulations, for the purpose of administering the needs of residents
through the maintenance of community.
INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES
Predominantly non-native, non-indigenous, alien tree, shrub,
vine, or herbaceous species that grow or reproduce aggressively, usually
because they have few or no natural predators, and which can so dominate
that they kill off or drive out many indigenous plant species.
LAND DISTURBANCE
Any activity, which exposes soils, alters topography and/or
alters woody vegetation, except for removal of a safety hazard, diseased
trees, or invasive vegetation.
LOT AREA
The area contained within the property lines of a lot (as
shown on a plan), excluding space within an existing or ultimate street
right-of-way and within all permanent drainage easements, but including
areas of all other easements assigned to an individual owner or to
a given collective use by means of a subdivision of land. Open space
required under this chapter shall not be counted as a portion of the
lot area for the purposes of measuring lot area per dwelling unit.
LOT AREA, NET
The gross lot area minus the constrained land, according
to this chapter.
ROCK OUTCROPPINGS
Areas where the bedrock protrudes through the surface of
the ground.
SENSITIVE AREA DISTURBANCE
Disturbance of environmentally sensitive areas, such as lands
within the one-hundred-year floodplain, wetlands, slopes in excess
of 25%, rock outcroppings and any other area listings in the Centre
County and/or Gregg Township Comprehensive Plan's Natural Heritage
Section.
SPECIMEN TREE
A unique, rare, or otherwise specifically selected tree or
plan considered worthy of conservation by the municipality, because
of its species, size, age, shape, form historical importance, or any
other significant characteristics, including listing as a species
of special concern by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The following
table provides minimum diameter at breast height (DBH) for determining
specimen size of certain species. Species not listed, with a DBH 20
inches or greater are considered specimen.
Species
|
Minimum Size
(dbh)
|
---|
Ash
|
32 inches
|
Beech
|
32 inches
|
Cherry
|
24 inches
|
Elm
|
30 inches
|
Hemlock
|
30 inches
|
Locust
|
30 inches
|
Maple
|
32 inches
|
Oak
|
32 inches
|
Osage Orange
|
20 inches
|
Pine
|
30 inches
|
Sassafras
|
20 inches
|
Spruce
|
30 inches
|
Sycamore
|
36 inches
|
Tulip Poplar
|
36 inches
|
Walnut
|
30 inches
|
Hickory
|
32 inches
|
STEEP SLOPES
A.
Areas of land where the grade is 15% or greater. Steep slopes
are divided into two categories:
B.
Slope shall be measured as the change in elevation over the
horizontal distance between consecutive contour lines. Slope shall
be measured over three two-foot contour intervals (six cumulative
vertical feet of slope). All slope measurements shall be determined
by a topographic survey signed and sealed by a registered surveyor
or engineer licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
TERMINAL VISTA
The scene terminating the view down a road or street, as
at an intersection or on the outside of a curve.
TOPSOIL
Natural and friable loam containing sufficient nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium to support plant growth and extending in
depth to the extent of penetration of feeder roots of the prevailing
native grasses.
TRACT AREA, GROSS
The total amount of land contained within the limits of the
legally described property lines bounding the tract.
TREE, ANCIENT
The diameter of the trunk is often great, but not always.
The tree shows signs of regression, dead branches, stag headed. The
tree carries dead wood in both branches and trunk. The tree may show
signs of past damage such as pollarding and lightning strike. The
latter often shows scars running down the trunk to the ground. The
tree is hollow although this may not always be obvious as the hollowed-out
center may be encased in living outer tree.
TREE, WITNESS
Trees which bear man-made markings or evidence of non-naturally
occurring reformative growth patterns.
A.
Trees which served as a signpost or communication device.
B.
Trees acting as a message board, boundary marker, warning sign,
or having evidence of domestic usage.
C.
Trees as repositories of vital information or daily recordkeeping.
D.
Trees containing information pertaining to any cultural or historical
event which occurred during the lifespan of the tree.
WATERCOURSE
Natural flow of water that varies in size, depending on the
ground slope and the number of tributaries.
WETLANDS
Areas that are inundated and saturated by surface or groundwater
at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under
normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically
adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, including swamps, marshes,
bogs, and similar areas. Any area meeting the official wetland definition
of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection, as amended, shall be considered a wetland
for the purposes of this chapter. In the event the definition of wetland
accepted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conflicts with the definition
of a wetland accepted by the State Department of Environmental Protection,
the more restrictive definition shall apply.
WOODLAND DISTURBANCE
A.
Any activity that:
(1)
Alters the existing structure of a woodland or hedgerow, including
the cutting or removal of canopy trees, subcanopy trees, understory
shrubs and vines, and herbaceous woodland floor species;
(2)
Constitutes a land disturbance within a woodland or hedgerow.
B.
Woodland disturbance does not include the selective cutting
or removal of invasive plant species. (See "invasive plant species.")
WOODLANDS
A tree mass or plant community in which tree species are
dominant or co-dominant and the branches of the trees form a complete,
or nearly complete, aerial canopy. Any area, grove, or stand of mature
or largely mature trees (larger than six inches dbh) covering an area
of 1/4 acre or more, or consisting of 10 individual trees larger than
six inches dbh, shall be considered a woodland. The extent of any
woodland plant community or any part thereof shall be measured from
the outermost drip line of all the trees in the plant community.