[Ord. No. 82-1, 8/15/1982; as amended by Ord. No. 1988-2,
12/13/1988; Ord. No. 2006-1, 6/20/2006]
1. Any owner of real estate may propose development of his property
under the multifamily/mixed development option, provided the following
requirements can be met:
A. Criteria to be Applied to the Proposal.
(1)
There is no possibility, if the property were developed under
the Township subdivision regulations, that vehicular access could
be provided to every dwelling lot or every residential building from
streets of less than 12% grade.
(2)
The property contains significant areas of steep slopes in excess
of 25%, development of which would cause severe erosion damage, endangering
downhill properties.
(3)
The area of property to receive new construction can be developed
with a minimum of disturbance of land surface.
(4)
The property contains land designated by the Township Flood
Boundary and Floodway Maps as being flood-prone.
(5)
The property contains a significant stand of mature trees of
a species, size and massing appropriate to be preserved.
(6)
The property is adjacent to a public recreation park or an area
designated by the Township as a potential park site to serve the neighborhood
of which the property is a part.
(7)
The property, because of its location in relation to neighboring
properties, its shape or its access to adjacent streets, presents
significant other problems for development within the Township subdivision
regulations.
(8)
Any three of the above criteria may qualify a property for consideration
under this section.
B. Standards to be Applied to the Property.
(1)
Minimum property size shall be 10 acres.
(2)
Maximum density shall be two dwelling units per gross acre.
Gross acreage shall be considered as the total surface area in the
tract prior to development, excluding any existing road rights-of-way,
which shall be considered as 50 feet wide.
(3)
Maximum coverage of the gross site by structures, road rights-of-way,
parking areas, access roads and other permanent improvements shall
be 30%.
(4)
Minimum Setbacks of Development.
(a)
Structures from property boundaries that are not street rights-of-way
shall be 40 feet.
(b)
Structures shall be set a minimum of 50 feet from any street
rights-of-way.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2023-3, 9/12/2023]
(c)
Setback of parking areas, driveways and permanent at-grade recreation
facilities from site boundaries:
1)
From property boundaries not street rights-of-way: 10 feet;
2)
From street rights-of-way: 25 feet.
3)
Parking areas designed to accommodate more than four vehicles
adjacent to a property boundary shall be screened from neighboring
residential lots, whether next door or across the street, by a low
planted hedge, seeded earth mounding, opaque fence or any combination
thereof with a height of not less than three feet above the level
of the parking area.
(5)
Minimum Dimensions Between Residential Buildings Within the
Property or on Lots Created Within the Property (Internal Lots).
(a)
One or two-family dwellings side by side: 20 feet;
(b)
Any two residential buildings back-to-back in relation to each
other or facing one another with no intervening street right-of-way:
50 feet;
(c)
Long walls shall be considered those walls that contain at least
1/2 the area of windows for any one apartment or townhouse;
(d)
End wall of a garden apartment or townhouse building facing
a long wall of an adjacent garden apartment or townhouse building:
35 feet;
(e)
Minimum dimensions shall be considered as the shortest distance
between two buildings, including balconies or other above-grade projections.
A building wall shall be considered parallel to a wall of an adjacent
building if the two walls form an angle of less than 45°. In no
case shall parallel long walls approaching the angles just described
be less than 40 feet apart at any point.
(6)
Minimum Area of Single-Family or Two-Family Dwellings on the
Ground.
(a)
Single-family dwelling: 750 square feet;
(b)
Two-family dwelling: 1,000 square feet.
(7) Sixty-five percent of the total dwelling units shall be single-family
homes. The remaining units can be either duplexes or townhomes having
five or fewer units per building.
[Added by Ord. No. 2022-6, 8/9/2022]
C. Drainage and Grading. The requirements for stormwater management
and erosion and sedimentation control shall be adhered to in developing
a stormwater drainage plan and an erosion and sedimentation control
plan for the property.
D. Public Utilities.
(1)
All structures connected to a water supply shall have a sewage
disposal system approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection.
(2)
Any common sewer and water lines shall be maintained by the
developer or be turned over to the homeowners' association for maintenance
upon acceptance after installation.
E. Recreation Space. Usable recreation space shall be provided on the
property in an amount not less than 5% of the gross site area. Recreation
space shall be sloped not less than to 2% nor more than 5% and may
include permanent recreation facilities. Recreation space may be included
as part of the area of common open space. Recreation space shall be
contiguous space.
F. Homeowners' Associations.
(1)
A homeowners' association shall be required if any or all lots
in a plan are to be sold by the developer. The text of the document
establishing the association shall be acceptable to the Township Solicitor
before final approval of the plan is given. Membership in the association
shall be a condition of purchasing of a dwelling unit in the plan,
and such membership shall move from each seller to each subsequent
buyer. Voting power in the association shall be prorated over the
total number of owned dwelling units in the plan.
(2)
All land not sold to private interests or deeded to a public
body shall be recorded as "common open space" and shall be conveyed
by the developer or his successors to the association when the developer's
interest or a successor interest ceases. Until that time, the developer
shall be responsible for maintenance of common open space or the prorated
portion of the total units in the development owned by him.
(3)
The association shall levy and collect assessments sufficient
to maintain all areas of the plan not held by individual property
owners or by the Township to pay taxes on such areas and to cover
the costs of liability insurance thereon. All permanent recreation
facilities provided by the developer shall be considered a part of
the association's responsibility. Such facilities shall be available
only for use of the residents and their guests. The association shall
also be responsible for maintaining access drives, parking areas,
walkways, landscaping, storm drainage facilities and other improvements
formerly the developer's responsibility.
(4)
If the association fails to maintain the common open space or
any of the improvements for which it is responsible in accordance
with the agreement establishing the association, the Township Board
of Supervisors may serve written notice upon the association indicating
the specific deficiencies, requiring they be corrected within 30 days
or by the time frame established in the covenants between the association
and the Township.
(5)
The common open space shall be indicated specifically as such
on the recording drawings.