A.
Unless a contrary intention is clearly evident, the following words
and phrases shall have for the purpose of this chapter the meanings
given in the following clauses.
B.
For the purpose of this chapter, words and terms used herein shall
be interpreted as follows:
(1)
Words used in the present tense include the future.
(2)
The singular includes the plural.
(3)
The word "person" includes a corporation, partnership and association
as well as the individual.
(4)
The word "lot" includes the word "plot" or "parcel."
(5)
The term "shall" is mandatory.
(6)
The word "used" or "occupied" as applied to any land or building
shall be construed to include the words "intended, arranged or designed
to be occupied."
(7)
The word "municipal" or "municipality" means Nockamixon Township.
(8)
The words "governing body" refer to the Board of Supervisors of Nockamixon
Township.
(9)
The word "Commission" and the words "Planning Commission" always
mean the Nockamixon Township Planning Commission.
(10)
The word "Engineer" means Nockamixon Township Engineer.
(11)
The word "Board" or the words "Zoning Hearing Board" always
mean the Nockamixon Township Zoning Hearing Board.
C.
Any word or term not defined herein shall be used with a meaning
of standard usage.
[Amended 6-9-1992 by Ord.
No. 70; 11-9-1994 by Ord. No. 79; 10-8-1996 by Ord. No. 88; 5-11-1999 by Ord. No. 97; 12-17-2003 by Ord. No. 111; 2-18-2004 by Ord. No. 112; 1-18-2005 by Ord. No. 120; 1-27-2005 by Ord. No. 121]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A building subordinate to the principal building on a lot,
used for purposes customarily incidental to those of the principal
building.
A use customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal
use of land or of a building.
The cultivating of soil and the raising and harvesting of
products of the soil, including but not limited to nurseries, nursery
sales yards, horticulture, forestry and animal husbandry.
INTENSIVE AGRICULTUREA use, farm building, structure or facility designed, constructed and/or operated for the intensive and accelerated raising of poultry, animal or agricultural produce and/or by-products of the same for commercial sale.
Any change in supporting members of a building such as bearing
walls, columns, beams or girders; any addition to a building; any
change in use from one use classification to another; or removal of
a building from one location to another.
A ground source heat pump, wind energy system, solar energy
system, and/or outdoor solid-fuel-burning appliance.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
A device used to collect or transmit telecommunications or
radio signals including, but not limited to, panels, single poles
known as "whips," "omnis," microwave dishes and the like.
A story partly underground, but having 1/2 or more of its
height (measured from floor to ceiling) above the average level of
the adjoining ground. A basement shall be counted as a story for the
purpose of height measurement or determining square footage only if
the vertical distance between the ceiling and the average level of
the adjoining ground is more than four feet or if used for business
or dwelling purposes.
Any dwelling with less than 10 sleeping rooms in which more
than three persons either individually or as families are housed or
lodged for hire with or without meals. A rooming house or a furnished
rooming house shall be deemed a "boardinghouse."
A strip of land adjacent to the boundary of a property or
district of a width not less than that designated by this chapter
and on which is placed evergreen shrubbery, hedges, evergreens or
other suitable plantings of sufficient height and density to constitute
an effective screen and give maximum protection and immediate screening
to an abutting property or district.
A structure having a roof which is used for the shelter or
enclosure of persons, animals or property. The word "building" shall
include any part thereof.
The total of areas taken on a horizontal plane of the largest
collective perimeter of the principal building and all accessory buildings
exclusive of uncovered porches, terraces and steps.
That percentage of the site or lot area covered by the building
area.
A vertical distance measured from the elevation of the proposed
finished grade to the highest point of the floor for flat roofs, to
the deck lines of mansard roofs and to the mean height between eaves
and ridge for gable, hip and gambrel roofs. Church steeples and silos
shall not be subject to the height limitations of this chapter.
The line which establishes the minimum depth of front, side
and rear yards. The front setback line is a line parallel to the right-of-way
at a distance therefrom equal to the depth of the front yard required
for the district in which the lot is located. The side setback line
is a line parallel to the side property line at a distance therefrom
equal to the depth of the side yard required for the district in which
the lot is located. The rear setback line is a line parallel to the
front building line at a distance from the rear lot line equal to
the depth of the rear yard required for the district in which the
lot is located.
A building in which is conducted, or is intended to be conducted,
the principal use of the lot on which it is located.
The hard or paved surface portion of any street or that portion
of a street customarily used by vehicles in the regular course of
travel over the street.
A story partly underground and having more than 1/2 of its
height (measured from floor to ceiling) below the average level of
the adjoining ground. A cellar shall not be considered in determining
the permissible number of stories or square footage.
Any vertical structure enclosing a flue or flues that carry
off smoke or exhaust from an outdoor solid-fuel-burning appliance.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
Wood that does not have paint, stains, or other types of
coatings, and wood that has not been treated with substances including,
but not limited to, copper arsenate, creosote, or pentachlorophenol,
and wood pellets made from clean wood.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
A system that circulates an approved heat transfer fluid
through pipes or coils buried beneath the land surface or anchored
to the bottom in a body of water.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
An alternative solar energy system designed and intended
to serve the direct energy needs of two or more properties in different
ownership, or an alternative energy system which is the primary use
on a property.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
Any use that is permitted subject to additional conditions,
as specified in this chapter, beyond those contained in the general
provisions of this chapter and the specific provisions of the particular
district in which the lot is located and subject to the approval of
the Board of Supervisors.
A condominium is an ownership arrangement and not a land use,
therefore it is allowed in any district and under the same restrictions
of the land use that comprises it.
A condominium is a unit structure which has all of the following
characteristics:
The unit, the interior and associated exterior areas designated
for private use in the development plan, is owned by the occupant
or his lessor.
The unit may be any permitted type of structure.
All or a portion of the exterior open space and any community
interior spaces are owned and maintained in accordance with the Pennsylvania
Uniform Condominium Act, 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq., and
in accordance with the provisions for open space, private roads or
other development features in the zoning ordinance and subdivision
and land development regulations.
Final adjudication of any board or other body granted jurisdiction
under this chapter, either by reason of the grant of exclusive jurisdiction
or by reason of appeals from determinations. All decisions shall be
appealable to the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County and the judicial
district wherein the Township lies.
Density is a measure of the number of dwelling units per
unit of area. It shall be expressed in dwelling units per acre.
The total number of dwelling units divided by the base site
area of the tract.
The density on the buildable portion of the site, not including
roadways, open space, drainage facilities, recreation areas or other
areas committed to uses other than the principal use of the lot.
Final action by an officer, body or agency charged with the
administration of this chapter or applications thereunder, except
the Board of Supervisors and Zoning Hearing Board. Determinations
shall be appealable only to the board designated as having jurisdiction
for such appeal.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to buildings or other structures, the placement
of mobile homes, streets or other paving, utilities, filling, grading,
excavation, mining, dredging or drilling operations and the subdivision
of land.
A zoning district as laid out on the Zoning Map, along with
the regulations pertaining thereto.
Water for household purposes, such as drinking, food preparation,
bathing, washing clothes and dishes, flushing toilets, and watering
lawns and gardens; also called "residential water use." The water
may be obtained from a public supply or may be self-supplied.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
A building designed for and occupied exclusively for residential
purposes containing one or more dwelling units on a single parcel
of land, excluding hotel, rooming house, institutional home, guest
houses, residential club, motel, motor court and the like.
Any room or group of rooms located within a residential building
and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used
or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating by
one family.
A grant of the use of all or part of a parcel of land to
the use of the public, a corporation or person, for a specified purpose.
An outdoor solid fuel burning appliance that has been EPA
OWHH Phase 2 Program qualified. The model has met the EPA OWHH Phase
2 Program particulate matter emission limits and is identified with
the proper qualifying label and identification.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
One or more persons related by blood, foster relationship,
marriage or adoption who are living together in a single, nonprofit
dwelling unit and maintaining a common household, or any number of
persons, not related by blood, foster relationship, marriage or adoption,
living together in a single dwelling unit and maintaining a common
household, and such other uses related to the occupancy thereof by
persons who suffer from a "handicap" as that term is defined in Section
3602(h) of the Fair Housing Act [42 U.S.C. § 3602(h)] and
who are protected as such from discrimination under the provisions
of Section 3604 thereof [42 U.S.C. § 3604], and uses accessory
thereto, and no other. The word "family," as used herein, shall not
include roomers, boarders, or lodgers (except those protected as suffering
from a "handicap" under the provisions of Sections 3602(h) and 3604
of the Fair Housing Act) or any use otherwise defined, described or
regulated in the chapter.
[Amended 11-20-2012 by Ord. No. 145]
[Amended 2-19-2015 by Ord. No. 154]
Any areas of Nockamixon Township classified as special flood
hazard areas (SFHAs) in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and the accompanying
Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), dated March 16, 2015, and issued
by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), or the most-recent
revision thereof, including all digital data developed as part of
the Flood Insurance Study; and
For areas abutting streams and watercourses where the one-hundred-year
floodplain (one-percent annual chance flood) has not been delineated
by the Flood Insurance Study, the applicant shall submit a floodplain
identification study. The study, prepared by a registered professional
engineer expert in the preparation of hydrologic and hydraulic studies,
shall be used to delineate the one-hundred-year floodplain. The floodplain
study shall be subject to the review and approval of the Township.
All areas inundated by the one-hundred-year flood shall be included
in the floodplain area.
The sum of the areas of the several floors of the building
or structure, including areas used for human occupancy or required
for the conduct of the business or use and basements, attics and penthouses,
as measured from the exterior faces of the walls. It does not include
cellars, unenclosed porches or attics having a height of seven feet
six inches or less nor any floor space in the accessory building not
in the main building intended or designed for the parking requirements
of this chapter, nor any such floor space intended and designed for
accessory heating and ventilating equipment.
The ratio of the floor area to the lot area, as determined
by dividing the floor area by the lot area.
FELLINGThe act of cutting a standing tree so that it falls to the ground.
FOREST COVERA category of forest defined by its species composition and environmental factors.
FOREST MANAGEMENT PLANA written description with a map of a specific forestry operation prepared before the operation commences, which meets the requirements of § 234-17F of this chapter and the provisions herein.
FORESTERA person who is, as a minimum, a graduate of a four-year college or university forestry curriculum accredited by the Society of American Foresters.
FOREST TECHNICIANA person who is, as a minimum, a graduate of a two-year forest technician program accredited by the Society of American Foresters.
FOREST PLAN PREPARERA person who has a minimum of four years' experience in the field of forestry including the preparation of forestry plans.
FORESTRYThe managing and using for human benefit forest lands and natural resources that occur on and in association with forest lands. It includes, but is not limited to, the planting, cultivating, harvesting, transporting and selling of trees for commercial purposes.
HAUL ROADA road used to move forest products from the log landing to a public roadway.
INTERMITTENT STREAMA stream whose water flow normally occurs in the wetter parts of the year (October through April) or following major storm events.
LANDINGA place where logs are assembled for transportation in loads.
LOPPINGTo cut tops and slash into smaller pieces to allow material to settle close to the ground.
OPERATORThe individual, partnership, company, firm, association or corporation engaged in the harvest of timber including his agents or subcontractors or employees.
OWNERThe individual, partnership, company, firm, association or corporation which holds title to standing timber and to the land on which it is situated, including his agents or subcontractor or employees.
PERENNIAL STREAMA stream whose water flow normally occurs year-round.
PERMITWritten permission, warrant or license granted by a governmental authority.
SKID ROADMain route for skidding logs from woods to the landing.
SKID TRAILA temporary trail used for skidding logs from the site of felling to the main skid road.
SKIDDINGDragging trees on the ground, by any means, from the stump to the landing.
SLASHDebris left after logging, including logs, chunks, bark, branches, stumps and broken understory trees or brush.
SNAG— A standing dead tree without branches or the standing
portion of a broken off tree. Snags may provide feeding and/or nesting
sites for wildlife.
STANDA grouping of trees of sufficiently uniform species composition, age and condition to be distinguished from surrounding stands and managed as a single unit.
STAND PRESCRIPTIONThe type of forest management treatment if any, to be applied to a particular stand to achieve the stated management objectives. The stand prescription should include, but not be limited to, detailed instructions on how that treatment is to be carried out on the ground, the desired residual stand and details on any other treatments to be applied.
STAND REGENERATION TREATMENTA selection, shelterwood, seed tree or clearcut that is designed to replace the existing stand with a new stand of young trees.
STREAMAny channel of conveyance of surface water having a defined bed and banks, whether natural or artificial, with perennial or intermittent flow.
TOPSThe upper portion of a felled tree not merchantable because of small size, taper or defect.
WILDLIFE HABITATThe native environment of an animal ideally providing all elements required for life and growth: food, water, cover and space.
A system that uses the relatively constant temperature of
the earth or a body of water to provide heating in the winter and
cooling in the summer. System components include closed loops of pipe,
coils or plates; an approved fluid that absorbs and transfers heat;
a heat pump unit that processes heat for use or disperses heat for
cooling; and an air-distribution system. Open-loop ground source heat
pump systems are not permitted in Nockamixon Township.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
Any substance, including without limitation petroleum, oil
or its by-products, that conveys toxic, lethal or other injurious
effects or which causes sublethal harmful alterations to plant, animal
or aquatic life; or may be injurious to human beings; or persists
in the environment; or poses a present or potential hazard to soil,
groundwater, surface water, atmosphere, wildlife, vegetation or human
health if discharged, disposed or placed into or onto any lands.
Solid waste that is especially harmful or potentially harmful
to public health as defined in the Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management
Act (Act 97).[1] This shall include, but not be limited to, explosives,
toxic materials and medical wastes. For the purposes of this chapter,
"hazardous waste" does not include small quantities of such waste
available on a retail basis to the homeowner (e.g., aerosol cans,
fertilizers, herbicides, household cleaners, paints, pesticides, etc.).
An administrative proceeding conducted by the Board of Supervisors
or the Zoning Hearing Board pursuant to this chapter.
A Township-approved nontoxic and food-grade fluid, such as
potable water, or other fluid approved by the Township for use in
an outdoor solid-fuel-burning appliance.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
An activity for gain customarily carried on in a dwelling
or in a building or structure accessory to a dwelling, clearly incidental
and secondary to the use of the dwelling for residential purposes.
A closed-loop ground source heat pump system where the loops
or coils are installed horizontally in a trench or series of trenches
no more than 20 feet below the land surface.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
Impervious surfaces are those surfaces which do not absorb
precipitation and surface water. All buildings, parking areas, driveways,
roads, sidewalks, swimming pools and any areas in concrete and asphalt
shall be considered impervious surfaces within this definition.
The impervious surface ratio is measured by dividing the
total area of all impervious surfaces within the site by the net site
buildable area.
Gamma rays and x-rays, alpha and beta particles; but not
sound or radio waves, or visible, infrared or ultraviolet light.
An area or land, with or without buildings, used for the
storage outside of a completely enclosed building of used or discarded
materials including, but not limited to, wastepaper, rags, metal,
building materials, house furnishings machinery, vehicles or parts
thereof, with or without the dismantling, processing, salvage, sale
or other use or disposition of the same. The deposit or storage of
two or more motor vehicles not having valid inspection stickers issued
by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation or of two or more
wrecked or broken vehicles or the major parts of two or more such
vehicles shall be deemed to make the lot a junkyard.
See "wellhead compressor."
[Added 2-19-2015 by Ord.
No. 157]
A space, accessible from a street or driveway, in a building
or on a lot, for the temporary use of vehicles while loading or unloading
merchandise or materials, but not to be used for storage.
A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by
a plat or otherwise as permitted by law to be used, developed or built
upon as a unit. The 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 public or private street upon which said lot abuts, even if the
ownership to such right-of-way is in the owner of the lot.
LOT AREAThe area contained within the property lines of the individual parcel of land shown on a subdivision plan or required by this chapter, excluding the following:
Any area within a future street right-of-way.
Any area required as open space under this chapter.
The area of any easements for above ground drainage facilities
including, but not limited to, detention basins; and the area of easements
for utilities such as pipelines and high tension wires.
CORNER LOTA lot which has an interior angle of less than 135° at the intersection of two street lines. A lot abutting upon 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 lines with the street lines intersect at an angle of less than 135°.
THROUGH LOTAn interior lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets.
DEPTH OF LOTThe 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.
LOT WIDTHThe distance measured 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.
LANE LOTA lot that lies behind a frontage lot and gains access to a public right-of-way via a narrow accessway.
LOT LINEAny boundary line of a lot.
LOT LINE, REARAny 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.
LOT LINE, SIDEAny lot line which is not a street line or a rear lot line.
A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent
occupancy, contained in one unit or in two 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. For the purposes
of this chapter, travel trailers, are not considered as mobile homes.
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 mobile home.
A parcel of land or contiguous parcels of land which has
been so designated and improved that it contains two or more mobile
home lots for the placement thereon of mobile homes.
Garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom or office waste and
other material, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous
material resulting from operation of residential, municipal, commercial
or institutional establishments and from community activities.
That part of the base site area remaining after the amount
of open space necessary for resource protection, recreation lands
and to meet open space requirements of this chapter has been calculated
and deducted.
A structure or lot which does not comply with the area, setback, yard, building height, location, size, impervious surface or other dimensional requirements of this chapter or amendments heretofore or hereafter enacted where such structure or lot complied with such regulations at the time the structure was constructed or the lot created. Nonconforming structures or lots may continue but shall be subject to the regulations set forth in Article XI of this chapter.
A use whether of land or of structure which does not comply with the applicable use provisions in this chapter or amendments heretofore or hereafter enacted where such use was lawfully in existence prior to the enactment of such ordinance or amendments. Lawful nonconforming uses in existence at the time of adoption of this chapter may continue but shall be subject to the regulations set forth in Article XI of this chapter.
A pipeline not subject to the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania
Public Utility Commission ("PUC") or of the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission ("FERC") in regard to the location of the lines. This term
includes gathering lines and other pipelines carrying hazardous substances.
The term does not include sewer, drinking water, or stormwater lines.
[Added 2-19-2015 by Ord.
No. 157]
The customary and generally accepted activities, practices
and procedures that farms adopt, use or engage in year in the production
and preparation for market of poultry, livestock and their products;
and in the production, harvesting and preparation for market of agriculture,
agronomic, horticultural, silvicultural and agricultural crops and
commodities, provided that such operations are conducted in compliance
with applicable laws and provided that the use or disposal of these
materials will not pollute the air, water or other natural resources
of the commonwealth. It includes the storage and utilization of agricultural
and food process wastes for animal feed and includes the agricultural
utilization of septic tank cleanings and sewage sludges which are
generated off-site. It includes the management, collection, storage,
transportation, use or disposal of manure, other agricultural waste
and food processing waste on land where such materials will improve
the condition of the soil, the growth of crops or in the restoration
of the land for the same purposes.
Gathers gas from multiple wells and/or boosts pressure along
an oil or gas pipeline; may also process gas for pipeline transportation;
includes line compressor stations and gas-gathering compressor stations;
excludes lift or wellhead compressors.
[Added 2-19-2015 by Ord.
No. 157]
A facility that processes or refines oil or natural gas regardless
of the technology used, including, but not limited to, refineries,
processing facilities, cryogenic processing facilities, fractionation
plants, dew point control facilities, and cracking facilities or "crackers."
[Added 2-19-2015 by Ord.
No. 157]
A system that uses groundwater as a heat transfer fluid by
drawing groundwater from a well to a heat pump and then discharging
the water over land, directly in a water body or into an injection
well. Open-loop ground source heat pump systems are not permitted
in Nockamixon Township.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
That area of land and/or water to be restricted from future
development for the purpose of protecting natural features or for
recreational purposes. Open space does not include land occupied by
structures, roads, road rights-of-way, parking lots, land reserved
for future parking lots, stormwater detention basins or retention
basins, buffer yards or areas of public facilities such as community
septic systems, nor does it include any portion of the required minimum
lot areas as required by this chapter.
PUBLIC OPEN SPACEOpen space in a subdivision which is offered to and accepted by the Township.
The total amount of open space within a site divided by the
base site area.
Also known as "outdoor wood-fired hydronic heaters (OWHH),"
"outdoor wood boilers (OWB)" or "water stoves," etc., and means any
equipment, device or apparatus which is installed, affixed or situated
outdoors, and not situate within a building intended for habitation
by humans or domestic animals, which is used for the primary purpose
of combustion of fuel to produce heat for energy as a heating system,
or component thereof, which provides heat or hot water to the principal
structure on the property, to a structure used for human or animal
habitation on the property, or to any accessory uses or structures,
including, but not limited to, greenhouses, conservatories, and swimming
pools located on the property.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
Any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association,
limited liability company, trust, estate, public or private institution,
group, agency, including Nockamixon Township or any other political
subdivision or agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or United
States, and any legal successor, representative, agent or agency of
the foregoing.
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Board
of Supervisors 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 the Act of July 3,
1986 (P.L. 388, No. 84), known as the "Sunshine Act."[2]
Notice published once each week for two consecutive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township. Such notice
shall state the time and place of 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.
Gamma rays and x-rays, alpha and beta particles, high speed
electrons, protons, neutrons and other nuclear particles and electromagnetic
radiation consisting of associated and interacting electric magnetic
waves including those with frequencies between three times 10 to the
eighth power cycles per second and three times 10 to the twenty-fourth
power cycles per second and wave lengths between one times 10 to the
minus fourteenth power centimeters and 100 centimeters.
Any device designed to produce or which produces radiation
or nuclear particles when the associated control devices of the machine
are operated.
Any solid, liquid or gas which emits ionizing radiation spontaneously.
A recreational vehicle is a portable structure, self-propelled
or towable by a passenger car, of such size and weight as not to require
special highway movement permits, primarily designed or constructed
to provide temporary living quarters for recreational, camping or
travel use or to carry such equipment, not for profit. When used for
recreational purposes, it shall be considered a noncommercial passenger
vehicle.
Those materials which may be processed or refabricated for
reuse and which are specified by the Township for separation from
the regular solid waste. Such material may include, but not be limited
to, aluminum products, cardboard, ferrous containers, bimetal containers,
glass containers, newspaper, magazines, periodicals, other paper products
of various kinds, plastic containers and yard wastes.
The collection, separation, recovery and sale or reuse of
metals, glass, paper, plastics and other materials which would otherwise
be disposed or processed as municipal waste.
Any letter, review, memorandum, compilation or similar writing
made by any body, board, officer or consultant other that 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 cost of reproduction.
Any garbage, refuse, other discarded material or other waste,
including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous materials
resulting from industrial, mining and agricultural operations and
any sludge from an industrial, mining or agricultural water supply
treatment facility, wastewater treatment facility or air pollution
control facility, provided that it is not hazardous.
A strip of land occupied or intended to be occupied by a
street, alley, crosswalk, sanitary or storm sewer, stream, drainage
ditch or for another special use. The usage of the term "right-of-way"
for land plotting purposes in the Township shall mean that every right-of-way
hereafter established or shown on a final record plan is to be separate
and distinct from lots or parcels adjoining such right-of-way and
not included with the dimensions of such lots or parcels.
EXISTING RIGHT-OF-WAYThe legal right-of-way as established by commonwealth or the Township or other government authority and currently in existence.
FUTURE RIGHT-OF-WAYA strip of land required for the widening of existing streets to accommodate anticipated future traffic or to provide future access to or through undeveloped land, as designated by the Township Comprehensive Plan or Chapter 196, Subdivision and Land Development.
High-quality ("HQ") and exceptional-value ("EV") watersheds;
public and private water supplies; and habitats for threatened or
endangered species.
[Added 2-19-2015 by Ord.
No. 157]
A system of sewage collection, conveyance, treatment and
disposal which will prevent the discharge of untreated or inadequately
treated sewage or other waste into waters of the commonwealth and/or
watercourses of the Township or otherwise provide for the safe and
sanitary treatment and disposal of sewage, or other waste. The term
includes individual sewage systems and community sewage systems.
INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE SYSTEMA system of piping, tanks or other facilities serving a single lot or equivalent dwelling unit and collecting and disposing of sewage in whole or in part into the soil or into waters of the commonwealth and/or watercourses of the Township, or by means, of conveyance to another site for final disposal. The term includes the following:
INDIVIDUAL ON-LOT SEWAGE SYSTEMAn individual sewage system which uses a system of piping, tanks or other facilities for collecting, treating and disposing of sewage into a soil absorption area or spray field on the lot, or by retention in a retaining tank.
INDIVIDUAL SEWERAGE SYSTEMAn individual sewage system which uses a method of sewage collection, conveyance, treatment and disposal other than renovation in a soil absorption area, or retention in a retaining tank.
COMMUNITY SEWAGE SYSTEMA sewage facility, whether publicly or privately owned, for the collection of sewage from two or more lots, or two or more equivalent dwelling units and the treatment or disposal, or both, of the sewage on one or more of the lots or at another site.
COMMUNITY ON-LOT SEWAGE SYSTEMA system of piping, tanks or other facilities, serving two or more lots and collecting, treating and disposing of sewage into a soil absorption area or retaining tank located on one or more of the lots.
COMMUNITY SEWERAGE SYSTEMA publicly or privately-owned community sewage system which uses a method of sewage collection, conveyance, treatment and disposal other than renovation in a soil absorption area, or retention in a retaining tank.
Any name, name plate, poster, panel, display, illustration,
structure or device used for visual communication, which is affixed,
painted or represented directly or indirectly upon a building or other
outdoor surface for the purpose of bringing the subject thereof to
the attention of the public or advertising a business, commodity,
service or product or for identifying a business, structure or use
of land.
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 by the deed and
determined by a site survey.
BASE SITE AREAThe site area minus existing roads and their ultimate rights-of-way, utilities rights-of-way, other public easements, land which is restricted due to easements or covenants and land shown on previous subdivisions or land development plans as reserved from development for natural resource reasons, recreation and/or open space preservation.
A device or combination of devices, structure(s), or part
of a device or structure that transforms direct solar energy into
thermal, chemical, or electrical energy and that contributes significantly
to a structure's energy supply.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
Radiant energy (direct, diffuse, and/or reflected) received
from the sun.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
Any solar collector or other solar energy device, or any
structural design feature, 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 space heating or cooling, for
water heating or for electricity.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
A structure containing one or more receptive cells, the purpose
of which is to convert solar energy into usable electrical energy,
heat water, or produce hot air or perform any other similar function
by way of a solar energy system.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
Waste including, but not limited to, municipal, residual
or hazardous wastes, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained
gaseous materials.
Solid waste facilities shall mean one or more of the following:
COMPOSTING PLANTA facility at which composting is done. "Composting" shall mean the process by which organic solid waste is biologically decomposed under controlled anaerobic or aerobic conditions to yield a humus-like product. "Compostable material" shall mean organic waste which is capable of undergoing composting. Composting activities associated with normal farming operations shall not be included in this definition of composting plant.
LANDFILL or MUNICIPAL LANDFILL or SANITARY LANDFILLA Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection-approved facility for disposing of solid waste on land without creating nuisances or hazards to the public health or safety.
RECYCLING CENTERA facility established to receive, process, store, handle and ship recyclable materials.
RESOURCE RECOVERY FACILITYA plant, establishment, set of equipment or other operation which recovers useful materials and/or products, including heat, electricity and/or recyclable materials from otherwise waste materials. A resource recovery facility shall not include a landfill.
TRANSFER STATIONA facility which receives and temporarily stores solid waste at a location other than the generation site and which facilities the bulk transfer of accumulated solid waste to a facility for further processing or disposal.
WASTE-TO-ENERGY PLANTA facility used for the incineration of solid waste and the production of steam and electricity or other useful forms of energy.
A permission or approval granted to use land for a purpose
other than those specified as uses permitted outright within a zoning
district, granted by the Township Zoning Hearing Board in accordance
with the standards contained in this chapter.
That part of a building located between a floor and the floor
or roof next above. The first story of a building is the lowest story
having 1/2 or more of its wall area above grade level. A half-story
is a story under a gable, hip or gambrel roof, the wall plates of
which on at least two opposite exterior walls are not more than two
feet above the floor.
A right-of-way, municipally or privately owned, serving as
a means of vehicular and pedestrian travel, furnishing access to abutting
properties and space for public utilities.
The dividing line between a lot and the outside boundary
of a public street, road or highway legally opened or officially platted
or between a lot and a privately owned street, road or highway over
which the owners or tenants of two or more lots held in single and
separate ownership have the right-of-way.
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationery location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
The building in which electronic receiving, relaying or transmitting
equipment for a telecommunications facility is housed.
The equipment and structures involved in receiving, transmitting
or relaying telecommunications or radio signals including cellular
telecommunications facilities (which consist of the equipment and
structures involved in receiving telecommunication or radio signals
from a mobile communications source and transmitting those signals
to a central switching computer which connects the mobile unit with
the land based telephone line).
A structure that is intended to support equipment used to
transmit and/or receive and/or relay telecommunications or radio signals,
including monopoles and lattice construction steel structures.
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.
A use located on the same lot with a principal use and clearly
incidental or subordinate to and in connection with, the principal
use.
The main use on a lot.
Those services customarily rendered by public utility corporations,
municipalities or municipal authorities, in the nature of electricity,
gas, telephone, water and sewerage, including the appurtenances used
in connection with the supplying of such services such as buildings,
wires, pipes, poles and the like.
Relief granted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter
in accordance with the regulations contained herein for Zoning Hearing
Boards.
A closed-loop ground source heat pump system where the loops
or coils are installed vertically in one or more borings below the
land surface.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
Any private or public well, water works, water source, water,
supply works, water distribution system or any part thereof, designed,
intended or constructed to provide or distribute potable water.
Any intermittent or perennial stream of water, river, brook,
creek or swale; any channel or ditch for water, whether natural or
man-made.
A device that raises the pressure of oil or gas in order
to lift it from the well and into a pipeline, and services only one
wellpad.
[Added 2-19-2015 by Ord.
No. 157]
Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water
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, bog and similar areas. The term also includes, but
is not limited to, wetland areas listed in the State Water Plan, the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service Wetlands Inventory of Pennsylvania,
the Pennsylvania Coastal Zone Management Plan and a wetland area designated
by a river basin commission, or other wetland mapping adopted by the
Township.
[Amended 9-21-2023 by Ord. No. 174]
The process by which wetland limits are determined. Wetlands
must be delineated by a qualified specialist according to the 1989
Federal Manuals (as amended) for the Delineation of Jurisdictional
Wetlands (whichever is greater) or according to any subsequent federal
or state regulation. "Qualified specialist" shall include those persons
being certified professional soil scientists as registered with the
Registry of Certified Professionals in Agronomy Crops and Soils (ARCPACS);
or as contained on a consultant's list of Pennsylvania Association
of Professional Soil Scientists (PAPSS); or as registered with the
Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), or as certified by state and/or
federal certification programs; or by a qualified biologist/ecologist.
[Added 9-21-2023 by Ord. No. 174]
An electric generating system, whose main purpose is to supply
electricity, consisting of one or more wind turbines and other accessory
structures and buildings, including substations, metrological towers,
electrical infrastructure, transmission lines and other appurtenant
structures and facilities.
[Added 12-21-2011 by Ord.
No. 144]
Areas, groves or stands of trees having a diameter greater
than six inches measured at four feet above the ground (diameter breast
height, hereafter "dbh") covering an area of 1/4 acre or greater where
there is at least one mature tree (10 inches or greater dbh) per 1,500
square feet of lot area; or groves of mature trees having a diameter
10 inches or greater dbh and consisting of more than 10 individual
trees with that diameter forming a continuous canopy.
An open space unobstructed from the ground up, 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.
YARD, FRONTA 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.
YARD, REARA yard between a structure and a rear lot line and extending the entire length of the rear lot line.
YARD, SIDEA 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.
