As used in this chapter, words expressed in their singular include
their plural meanings, and words expressed in plural include their
singular meanings. The word "person" includes a corporation, an unincorporated
association, a partnership, as well as an individual. The words "building"
and "street" are used generally and shall be construed as if followed
by the phrase "or part thereof." The word "may" is permissive; the
words "shall" and "will" are mandatory. Words used in the present
tense include the future tense. The words "used" or "occupied" as
applied to any land or building shall be construed to include the
words "intended, arranged or designed to be used or occupied."
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Sustainable forestry principles and implementation guidelines
published by the American Forest and Paper Association, October 14,
1994.
A paved surface, other than a street, which provides vehicular
access for the public from a street or private road to a lot.
A structure detached from, subordinate to, and on the same
lot with the principle structure, and used for purposes customarily
incidental thereto. Accessory structures shall include car ports,
private garages, gazebos, pet houses, utility or storage buildings,
and swimming pools, as defined herein.
A use on the same lot with and customarily incidental to
any of the permitted uses.
Any property that directly adjoins, is contiguous to or is
located across a public or private street from another property.
Any business function in which there is no regular contact
with the general public and no materials, products, goods, or prepared
foods are stored except for office consumption.
An establishment having, as a primary stock or trade, movies,
shows, books, magazines, and other periodicals, which are distinguished
or characterized by their emphasis on matter depicting, describing,
or relating to sexual activities or specific anatomical areas.
Any person who; acting for a developer, landowner, or lessee
submits plans to the Zoning Officer, the Office of Planning and Development,
Zoning Hearing Board, or the Borough Council for the purpose of obtaining
a permit of any kind.
An enterprise that is actively engaged in the commercial
production and preparation for market of crops, livestock, and livestock
products and/or in the production, harvesting, and preparation for
market or use of agricultural, agronomic, horticultural, silvicultural,
and aquacultural crops and commodities. The term includes an enterprise
that implements changes in production practices and procedures or
types of crops, livestock, livestock products, or commodities produced
consistent with practices and procedures that are normally engaged
by farmers or are consistent with technological development within
the agricultural industry.
Any of the range of crop and livestock commodities grown
or produced as a result of the conduct of an agricultural operation
or farm.
Items sold at a farm market to attract customers and promote
the sale of agricultural products. Such products are associated with
agricultural products either produced on the farm where the farm market
is located or on other farms within Adams or York counties.
The use of a tract of land for the purpose(s) of active cultivation
or animal husbandry.
A structure or group of structures such as a wind turbine
or solar collecting array designed and intended to produce energy
from natural forces such as wind or sunlight.
A revision to the text or Zoning Map of the Abbottstown Borough
Zoning Ordinance, adopted in accordance with the provisions of the
Municipalities Planning Code.[1]
A facility used to house or contain stray, homeless, abandoned,
or unwanted animals and that is owned, operated, or maintained by
a municipality or nonprofit organization devoted to the welfare, protection,
and humane treatment of animals.
A residential building consisting of three or more apartments
where each apartment is accessed from a common internal hallway or
an external walkway and where at least one apartment is located above
another apartment.
A landowner or developer, including his/her heirs, successors,
and assigns, who has filed an application for development, subdivision,
or other process later described in this chapter.
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, the approval of a subdivision plat
or a land development plan.
An area contiguous to a street or plaza that is open and
unobstructed to a height of not less than 12 feet and that is accessible
to the public at all times. The term "arcade" shall not include off-street
loading areas, driveways, or off-street parking areas.
The total area taken on a horizontal plane at the main grade
level of the principal building and all accessory buildings, exclusive
of uncovered porches, terraces and steps.
The sum of the gross area of all floors of a building or
buildings measured from the face of exterior walls or from centerlines
of walls separating two buildings. Floor area includes, but is not
limited to, the following:
Basement space;
Elevator shafts, stairwells, and attic space (whether or not
a floor has been laid) providing structural headroom of eight feet
or more;
Roofed terraces, exterior balconies, breezeways or porches,
provided that over 50% of the perimeter of these is enclosed;
Any other floor space used for dwelling purposes, no matter
where located within the building;
Accessory buildings, excluding space used for accessory off-street
parking or for loading berths, and
Any other floor space not specifically excluded, excluding space
used for air conditioning machinery or cooling towers and similar
mechanical equipment serving the building and cellar space.
A window structure projecting beyond the main wall plane.
An owner-occupied and operated dwelling originally designed
as a residential structure where limited overnight lodging and a breakfast
is provided for compensation to tourist or recreational guests.
An area bounded by three or more streets.
The Borough Council of the Borough of Abbottstown, Adams
County.
A combination of materials to form a permanent structure
having walls and a roof, including, but not limited to, all mobile
homes and trailers.
The vertical distance between the average elevation of the
proposed finished grade along the entire front of the building, and
the highest point of the roof for flat roofs, and the deck lines for
mansard roofs, and the mean height between eaves and ridges for gable,
hip and gambrel roofs, but not including chimneys, towers, spires,
elevator penthouses, tanks, railings and similar projections.
A line, drawn parallel to a front, side, or rear property
line that depicts the closest distance of an existing building to
said front, side, or rear property line.
A line, parallel to the street right-of-way line for front
yards, and parallel to the lot lines for side and rear yards, designating
the minimum distance from the right-of-way and/or lot lines that a
building may be erected under the various land requirements of this
chapter.
A term describing the size of buildings or other structures
and their relationship to each other, to open areas such as yards
and to lot lines and includes: the size, height, and floor area of
buildings or other structures, the relationship of the number of dwelling
units in a residential building to the area of the lot (usually called
density); and all open areas in yard space relating to buildings and
other structures.
A planned development with a unified design of business uses
located in pedestrian scale structures arranged in a campus-like setting
of usable open space providing such passive recreational amenities
as hiking and bicycle paths, nature trails, picnic areas, wooded areas,
and ponds.
The diameter of a tree measured at 12 inches above the ground
surface.
A permanently roofed shelter projecting over a sidewalk,
driveway, entry, window or other similar area, which shelter may be
wholly supported by a building or may be wholly or partially supported
by columns, pole, or braces extending from the ground. Any roof overhang
extending more than two feet from the face of the building shall be
considered a canopy.
A roofed structure for which the sole purpose is protection
of motor vehicles. Such structures may be attached to the principal
structure on no more than two sides but shall not be enclosed on any
other dimension.
The portion of a road intended for vehicular use.
Land used or intended to be used for the burial of the deceased,
including columbariums, crematories, mausoleums, and mortuaries when
operated in conjunction with the cemetery and within the boundaries.
A certificate issued and enforced by the Zoning Officer,
Building Permit Office, or their designee, upon completion of the
construction of a new building or upon a change or conversion of the
structure or use of a building, which certified that all requirements
and regulations as provided herein, as well as all other applicable
requirements, have been satisfied.
An institutional use of land and/or a building within which
is housed an organization that caters exclusively to members and their
guests. They shall include premises or buildings for social, recreation,
and administrative purposes that are not conducted for profit, provided
there are no vending stands, merchandising or commercial activities,
except as required for the membership of such club. Clubs shall include
but not be limited to, fraternal, political, religious, and service
organizations, labor unions, Granges, and social and athletic clubs.
Any commercial use whose main purpose is to provide the general
public with an amusing or entertaining activity, and where tickets
are sold or fees are collected for the activity:
INDOOR COMMERCIAL RECREATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTAn establishment operated as a gainful business, open to the public, for the purpose of leisure time activities, public recreation or entertainment, including, but not limited to, arcade, arena, assembly hall, bingo parlor, bowling alley, gymnasium, miniature golf course, skating rink, swimming pool, tennis courts, or theatre, when operated within a completely enclosed building. For purposes of this chapter, this use excludes a health and fitness club and indoor shooting range.
OUTDOOR COMMERCIAL RECREATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTAn establishment operated as a gainful business and open to the public upon open land, wholly or partially outside of a building, for the purpose of leisure time activities, public recreation or entertainment such as a swimming pool, tennis court, batting and pitching cages, go-cart track, and skating rinks, but also including amusement rides or regular live entertainment. For purposes of this chapter this use excludes a park, golf course and an outdoor shooting range.
A use permitted in a particular zoning district pursuant to the provisions set forth in Article XIV of this chapter.
Real estate, portions of which are designed for separate
ownership and the remainder of which is designated for common use
solely by the owners of those portions. Real estate is not a condominium
unless the undivided interests in the common elements are vested in
the unit owners.
A residential community designed to provide independent and
assisted living arrangements for person(s) aged 55 years and older
as part of a planned community, where said planned community may also
include nursing services, medical services, and other health and lifestyle
related services.
An apartment located within a former single-family detached
dwelling that has been renovated to provide individual and independent
dwellings for three or more families without substantially altering
the exterior of the building.
An occupation or trade conducted entirely within a detached
residential accessory structure which is clearly incidental and secondary
to the use of the lot and dwelling for residential purposes.
A facility with recreational amenities for members, their
families and invited guests. This may also include food service to
members and to the general public, as well as rental facilities for
weddings, receptions and other large gatherings.
The County of Adams, Pennsylvania.
A gable set perpendicularly to the primary gable of a building.
A crosswalk shall be defined as:
That part of a roadway at an intersection included within the
connections of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides
of the highway measured from the curbs or in the absence of curbs,
from the edges of the traversable roadway, and in the absence of a
sidewalk on one side of the roadway, the part of a roadway included
within the extension of the lateral lines of the sidewalk at right
angles to the center line; or
Any portion of a roadway at an intersection or elsewhere distinctly
indicated as a pedestrian crossing by pavement marking lines on the
surface, which might be supplemented by contrasting pavement texture,
style, or color.
Any dwelling, building, or portion thereof which child or
adult day-care services other than babysitting are provided, including
any on-site outdoor play areas.
A woody, perennial tree which loses its foliage at the end
of each growing season.
The number of dwelling units per acre of land.
Any landowner, agent of such landowner, or tenant with the
permission of such landowner, or one authorized and empowered by a
landowner, who makes or causes to be made a subdivision of land or
a land development or a resubdivision.
Any indoor or outdoor place or premises where trucks, tractors
and/or trailers park or are assigned, stationed, fueled, stored, loaded
or unloaded, except when accessory to a manufacturing or commercial
use where said vehicles are used solely for the delivery of supplies
and/or for the transport of items or commercial goods manufactured
solely on the premises.
A landscaped island separating and running the length of
two rows of contiguous parking spaces within a parking lot, and which
provides opportunities for landscaping and traffic circulation control.
A roofed structure housing a vertical window that projects
from a pitched roof.
A service made available by any establishment which, by design,
physical facilities, service, or by packaging procedures encourages
or permits customers to receive services, obtain goods, or be entertained
while remaining in their motor vehicles.
The vehicular entrance and exit for land use.
See Dwelling, Single-Family Semidetached.
Any building which is designed for human living quarters,
but not including hotels, boarding houses, tourist cabins, motels
and other accommodations used for transient occupancy.
An independent housekeeping unit consisting of living quarters
of one or more rooms arranged for use by one or more individuals with
cooking, living, sleeping and sanitary facilities.
A suite, either attached to or detached from the primary dwelling
unit on the lot, for occupation by the following members of the lot
owner's family:
A parent, grandparent, adult child over age 18, and/or a spouse,
partner or sibling of one of those relatives.
A family relative, by blood, marriage, adoption or foster relationship
who requires continuous care due to injury, illness or a serious physical
or mental disability that substantially impairs or restricts one or
more such activities as walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, working,
or learning.
A licensed, permanent caregiver for the occupants of the primary
dwelling unit on the lot.
A detached ADU may take the form of a cottage or similar dwelling,
or may be constructed over a detached accessory building such as a
garage. A camper, travel trailer or other mobile residence shall not
be permitted as a detached ADU. An attached ADU is attached to the
principal dwelling unit on the lot, but must have its own, permanent
provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and full bath, which
are not shared with the residents of the principal dwelling unit on
the lot.
A building containing three or more dwelling units, designed
for rental or condominium ownership of the individual dwelling units,
and where access to individual dwelling units are provided in common
interior hallways.
A building designed for two or more dwelling units attached
by common or party walls, commonly identified as twin homes when two
units are attached or townhouses or row houses when three or more
units are attached together in a structure.
A building containing one dwelling unit, and having no party
wall in common with adjacent property.
A building containing one dwelling unit, and having one vertical
party wall in common with an adjacent property, aka "Duplex."
A building containing two dwelling units, arranged either
in a side-by-side fashion sharing one common party wall or with one
unit arranged over the other.
The right of a person, governmental agency, or public entity
to use public or private land owned by another for a specific purpose.
The projecting overhang at the lower edge of a roof.
Facilities and structures, including fire, ambulance, and
police services.
A professional engineer registered by the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.
The removal of surface materials by the action of natural
elements.
A woody, perennial tree which retains its foliage for more
than one growing season, and which has a mature height exceeding 15
feet.
That portion of any exterior elevation on the building extending
from grade to top of the parapet, wall, or eaves and the entire width
of the building elevation.
The facade parallel or nearly parallel to the public or private
street upon which the building has its primary frontage. The front
facade contains the primary entrance to the building.
The facade parallel or nearly parallel to the side property
line of the building.
A parcel, which may include a residence, farm-related buildings,
and surrounding land, and which is devoted to the production of agricultural
products.
An establishment located on a farm or other property where
agricultural operations are conducted and providing for the sale of
horticultural and agricultural products or agriculturally related
products that are either produced on the farm or are directly related
to agricultural products produced within Adams or York counties.
A bank, savings and loan association, credit union, finance
or loan company, or similar establishment.
A facility providing fitness, health and dietary instruction
and training by certified professionals. Aerobic, cardiovascular and
weight training instruction and equipment may be available as well
as martial arts instruction, aquatic activities, and massage and other
physical therapy.
A measure of light falling on a surface. One footcandle is
equal to the amount of light generated by one candle shining on one
square foot surface located one foot away.
The management of forests and timberlands when practiced
in accordance with accepted silvicultural principles, through developing,
cultivating, harvesting, transporting, and selling trees for commercial
purposes, which does not involve any land development.
A light fixture that, by design of the housing, does not
allow any light dispersion or direct glare to shine above a 90°
angle measured horizontally from the base of the housing.
A building designed for the purpose of the preparation and
viewing of the deceased prior to burial or cremation. Funeral homes
shall not include cemeteries, columbariums, mausoleums, or entombments,
but may include mortuaries and crematoriums.
A permanent structure, either attached to or separate from
a principal building, used primarily for storage of automobiles or
other large motorized vehicles.
Any parcel, and associated structure thereon, used for:
A freestanding, roofed temporary or permanent structure,
usually open-sided, providing a shady resting or gathering place.
A tract of land laid out with at least nine holes for playing
a game of golf and improved with tees, greens, fairways, and hazards.
A golf course may include a club house and shelters as accessory uses
but does not include a miniature golf course.
The Borough Council of Abbottstown.
Any local, county, state or federal government building,
office or facility designed and intended to be occupied by the government
or designed and intended for public use sponsored by such governments
or its designee, including but not limited to administration uses,
post offices, community centers, libraries, offices for public utilities
and other similar uses.
A facility providing shelter, counseling, and other rehabilitative
services in a family-like environment for no more than 10 residents
and such supervisory personnel as required by the licensing agency.
Such facilities may provide supervisory and rehabilitative services,
but medical care or nursing supervision shall not be provided.
The vertical distance measured from ground level to the highest
point on the sign, or its supporting structure.
Any use customarily conducted entirely within a dwelling
or in a building accessory thereto and carried on by the inhabitants
residing therein, provided that the use is clearly incidental and
secondary to the use of the dwelling for residential purposes.
A use conducted entirely within a dwelling and carried on
by the inhabitants residing therein, provided that the use is clearly
incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling for residential
purposes, and that the use generates no customer or delivery traffic.
An institution, licensed in the commonwealth as a hospital,
which renders inpatient and outpatient medical care for a twenty-four-hour-per-day
basis; and provides primary health services and medical/surgical care
to persons suffering from illness, disease, injury, deformity and
other abnormal physical or mental conditions. A hospital use can also
include attached and detached accessory uses, provided that all uses
are contained upon the hospital property. This definition does not
include an animal hospital.
A building containing individual sleeping units or rooms
and used primarily for transient travelers, together with off-street
parking facilities, and where access to individual units is from hallways
internal to the building.
The area of any lot covered by impervious materials. This
shall include pervious surfaces such as porous concrete or pavers
in the impervious lot coverage calculation.
A material that prevents the infiltration of water into the
ground. Impervious materials, surfaces and areas include but are not
limited to roofs, additional indoor living spaces, patios and decks,
garages, storage sheds and similar structures, streets, driveways,
access drives, parking areas, and sidewalks. Any areas designed to
be covered by loose surfacing materials such as gravel, stone and/or
crushed stone, and intended for storage of and/or travel by vehicles,
or pedestrians shall be considered impervious. Any material not specifically
listed in this definition shall be considered pervious.
Old, dilapidated, scrap or abandoned metal, paper, building
material and equipment, bottles, glass, appliances, furniture, beds
and bedding, rags, rubber, unlicensed motor vehicles, and parts thereof.
Any lot, land, structure or part thereof which is used primarily
for the collection, storage or sale of waste paper, rags, scrap metal
or discarded material, or for the collection, dismantling, storage,
salvaging or sale of machinery, vehicles or parts thereof not in running
condition.
The boarding, breeding, raising, grooming, or training of
two or more dogs, cats, or other household pets of any age, primarily
for commercial gain.
Any of the following activities:
The improvement of one lot 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.
Development in accordance with Section 503(1.1) of the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247 of 1968, as amended.[2]
The legal or beneficial owner or owners of land including
the holder of an option or contract to purchase (whether or not such
option or contract is subject to any condition), a lessee if he is
authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the landowner,
or other person having proprietary interest in land.
A professional landscape architect registered by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
A plan prepared to demonstrate the additions of trees, plants,
and other natural and decorative features to the land, as may be required
by this chapter.
The area within the boundaries of a given lot that consists
of planting materials, including, but not limited to, trees, shrubs,
ground covers, grass, flowers, decorative rock, bark, mulch, and other
similar materials. At least 50% of the landscaping area must be covered
by live plant material at the time of plant maturity.
Light from an artificial light source that intrudes into
an area where it is not wanted or does not belong.
Any musical act, theatrical act, comedy act, play, revue,
scene, dance act, or any combination thereof, performed by one or
more persons, whether or not they are compensated for the performance,
in a privately owned premises that is open to the public, whether
or not admission is charged. Live entertainment does not include adult
entertainment uses, as defined herein.
The total floor area within a dwelling unit devoted to occupiable
space. In calculating the living area for a dwelling unit, the floor
area devoted to closets or other storage areas, internal or external
stairwells, and utility rooms shall not be included in the calculations.
A designated parcel, tract, or area of land established by
plat or otherwise as permitted by law, to be used, developed or built
upon as a unit.
The area contained within the property lines of a lot, excluding
any street right-of-way or driveway easement providing access to an
adjoining property, or officially designated floodplain located on
the lot.
That lot line that is described as the front property line
in the deed of said property unless otherwise specified in this chapter.
In the absence of a deed described front property line, said line
shall be the centerline of the street right-of-way.
That lot line which is parallel to and most distant from
the front lot line of the lot. In the case of an irregular-, triangular-
or gore-shaped lot, a line 10 feet in length, entirely within the
lot, parallel to, and at the maximum distance from, the front lot
line shall be considered the "rear lot line."
Any lot line other than a front or rear lot line.
The lines bounding a lot.
A lot abutting on, and at the intersection of, two or more
streets.
The horizontal distance measured between the street right-of-way
line and the closest rear property line measured perpendicular along
straight street rights-of-way and measured radially along curved street
rights-of-way. On corner and reverse frontage lots, the depth shall
be measured from the street right-of-way of the street of address
to the directly opposite property line.
The length of the front lot line measured at the street right-of-way
line.
Any lot which is not a corner lot.
An interior lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately
parallel streets. The lot shall not be considered a through lot if
the street the lot fronts on is an alley/service street, as defined
in this chapter.
The horizontal distance between side lines of a lot measured
at right angles to its depth along a straight line parallel to the
front lot line at the minimum required building setback line. On corner
lots, lot width shall be measured between the right-of-way line for
the nonaddress street and the directly opposite property line along
the minimum building setback line, and at the street right-of-way
line along the street of address.
A complete lighting unit, often referred to as a "light fixture."
A luminaire consists of the light source, optical reflector and housing,
and electrical components for safely starting and operating the source.
A deciduous tree with a mature height exceeding 35 feet.
The manufacture or compounding process of raw materials.
These activities or processes would necessitate the storage of large
volumes of highly flammable, toxic matter or explosive materials needed
for the manufacturing process. These activities may involve outdoor
operations as part of their manufacturing process.
The manufacture, predominately from previously prepared materials,
of finished products or parts, including processing, fabrication,
assembly, treatment and packaging of such products, and incidental
storage, sales and distribution of such products, but excluding basic
industrial processing and custom manufacturing.
The processing and manufacturing of materials or products
predominately from extracted or raw materials. These activities may
include outdoor assembly and storage of products. Outdoor manufacturing
of raw materials into compost, primarily for commercial resale, is
a medium manufacturing activity. These activities do not necessitate
the storage of large volumes of highly flammable, toxic matter or
explosive materials needed for the manufacturing process.
A voluntary negotiating process in which parties in a dispute
mutually select a neutral mediator to assist them in jointly exploring
and settling their differences, culminating in a written agreement
which the parties themselves create and consider acceptable.
A place, building, or portion of a building used exclusively
by physicians, optometrists, chiropractors, dentists, physical therapists,
massage therapists, or other drugless practitioners involving non-surgical
treatment, care, examination and diagnosis, and preventive health
services, including inoculation and educational services to outpatients.
This definition includes medical laboratories used in the taking,
analyzing and testing of physical samples and specimens for the diagnosis
and treatment of patients.
A deciduous tree with a mature height of between 15 feet
and 35 feet.
A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent
occupancy, contained in one unit, or in two or more 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.
A recreation vehicle that can be moved under its own power and without
assistance from another vehicle shall not qualify as a mobile home.
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 or contiguous parcels of land which has been designated
and improved that it contains two or more mobile home lots for the
placement thereon of mobile homes.
A dwelling unit assembled or partially assembled away from
the site on which it will be located and produced as a standardized
unit.
See Hotel.
The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act of 1968,
P.L. 805, No. 247 as reenacted and amended.
The Borough of Abbottstown, Adams County, Pennsylvania.
An establishment operated as a place of entertainment, characterized
by any or all of the following as a principal use:
A business or commercial activity administered or conducted
as an accessory use which is clearly secondary to the use as a residential
dwelling and which involves no customer, client or patient traffic,
whether vehicular or pedestrian, pickup, delivery or removal functions
to or from the premises, in excess of those normally associated with
residential use.
A lot, the area or dimension of which was lawful prior to
the adoption or amendment of the Zoning Ordinance, but which fails
to conform to the requirements of the zoning district in which it
is located by reasons of such adoption or amendment.
A structure or part of a structure manifestly not designed
to comply with the applicable use or extent of use provisions in this
chapter, or an amendment thereto, where such structure lawfully existed
prior to the enactment of this chapter, or an amendment thereto. Such
nonconforming structures include, but are not limited to, nonconforming
signs.
A use, whether of land or of structure, which does not comply
with the applicable provisions of this chapter, or an amendment thereto,
where such use was lawfully in existence prior to the enactment of
this chapter, or an amendment thereto.
A residential community designed to provided assisted living
arrangements including nursing services, medical services and other
health and continuing care services for person(s) aged 55 years and
older.
A building, or portion of a building, in which administrative,
clerical, financial, governmental or professional operations and services
are performed by one or more members of a profession.
Any parcel or area of land or water, or a combination of
land and water, within a development site that is free of nonrecreation-related
improvements and impervious surfaces. Open space may or may not be
designed or intended for the use and enjoyment of, and direct access
by, residents of the development and shall not include areas devoted
to buildings, structures, driveways, access drives, parking lots,
street rights-of-way, and areas set aside for public facilities. Open
space may include both active and passive recreation activities.
OPEN SPACE, ACTIVELand which is set aside for use as active recreational areas, such as playfields, playgrounds, skating rinks, swimming pools, tennis courts, and areas for water management (storm, waste, potable supply).
OPEN SPACE, PASSIVELand used for passive recreation, agriculture, resource protection, amenity, or buffers and protected from future development by the provisions of this chapter to insure that it remains as open space.
That portion of a wall which extends above the roof line.
See Lot.
A tract of land existing, as of the effective date of this
chapter, within a specific setting or location, which could be subjected
to future subdivision or land development proposals and approvals.
A facility designed to serve the recreational needs of the
residents of the community.
The space within a building or on a lot or parking lot for
the parking or storage of one motor vehicle off the right-of-way of
a public street or road.
A buffer area surrounding a parking lot on all sides and
within which required landscaping can be installed.
An individual, partnership, corporation, or other legally
recognized entity.
The Planning Commission of the Borough of Abbottstown, Adams
County, Pennsylvania.
A unit of measure used to determine the quantity of plantings
required in a residential, commercial, industrial, or other development
project. For the purposes of this chapter, one planting unit (PU)
shall equal:
A colonnade or covered ambulatory often found at the entrance
of a building.
The main or primary use of land or structures, as distinguished
from an accessory use, as herein defined.
Any procedure, activity, or use limited to members of an
organization or to persons specifically invited where no advertisement
or inducement has been made to the general public.
A continuous molding between adjoining plane surfaces.
Any procedure, activity, or use in which the general public
is or may be involved.
Public grounds shall include:
Parks, playgrounds, trails, paths and other recreations areas
and other public areas.
Sites for schools, sewage treatment, refuse disposal and other
publicly owned or operated facilities.
Publicly owned or operated scenic and historic sites.
Plazas, squares, courtyards, urban gardens and other public
spaces.
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the governing
body or planning agency, 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. CH. 7 (relating
to open meetings).
Notice published once each week for two successive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. 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.
Transportation service for the general public provided by
a common carrier of passengers on a regular route basis.
A use which is operated, owned or maintained by a public
utility corporation and regulated by the Pennsylvania Public Utility
Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Pennsylvania
Public Utility Code, 66 Pa. C.S. 101 et seq., or which is operated,
owned or maintained by a municipality or a municipal authority organized
under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to provide public
water service, public sewer service, or similar services. A "public
utility" shall not include cellular telephone transmission or receiving
facilities and similar facilities of entities which are not governmentally
owned and operated or are not regulated by the Pennsylvania Public
Utility Commission.
Units of stone or brick used to accentuate the corners of
buildings.
A building, structure, or group of buildings or structures,
designed, intended, and used for the assembly of individuals engaging
in religious practices. This definition shall include, but is not
limited to, churches, temples, chapels, cathedrals, synagogues, and
mosques. This definition does not include educational or day-care
facilities, but may include a rectory for one family.
An establishment, including a cafe, where food is prepared
and available to the general public for a determined compensation.
A commercial enterprise that provides goods directly to the
consumer, where such goods are available for immediate purchase and
removal from the premises by the purchaser.
A continuous groove between adjoining plane surfaces.
A strip of land acquired by reservation, dedication, forced
dedication, prescription, or condemnation and intended to be occupied
by a road, crosswalk, railroad, electric transmission lines, oil or
gas pipelines, water lines, sanitary storm sewer and other similar
uses to allow the right of one person to pass over the property of
another.
EXISTING RIGHT-OF-WAYThe legal right-of-way as established by the Commonwealth, or other appropriate governing authority, and currently in existence.
ULTIMATE RIGHT-OF-WAYThe right-of-way as shown on the Street Classification Map, as appropriate to provide adequate width for future street improvements.
Any building or group of buildings, the use of which meets
state requirements for primary, secondary, or higher education and
which does not secure the major part of its funding from any governmental
agency.
Any building or group of buildings, the use of which meets
state requirements for primary, secondary, or higher education and
which secures the major part of its funding from a governmental agency.
A building or group of buildings in a controlled access and
fenced compound, and that contains individual, compartmentalized,
and controlled access stalls or lockers for the storage of customer's
goods or wares.
Activities including any of the following:
The fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic
region, buttocks, anus, or female breasts.
Sex acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, including
intercourse, oral copulation, or sodomy.
Masturbation, actual or simulated.
Excretory functions, as part of or in connection with any of
the activities set forth in this definition.
A grouping of four or more retail business and/or service
uses planned and designed to function as a unit, and having off-street
parking and a landscaping plan as an integral part of the unit.
A low, multistemmed woody plant, whether evergreen or deciduous,
with a mature height of no more than 15 feet.
Any device, fixture, placard, or structure that uses any
color, form, graphic, illustration, symbol, or writing to advertise,
announce, the purpose of, or to communicate information of any kind
to the public.
Any sign that is painted on, applied to or attached to a
structure made of cloth, canvas, or similar material which is affixed
to and projects from a building on or near the front entryway of a
business. A marquee shall not be considered a canopy.
Any sign that communicates a commercial or noncommercial
message related to an activity conducted, a service rendered, or a
commodity sold at a location other than where the sign is located.
Such signs shall not include off-premises directional signs, as defined
herein.
A sign affixed to the visible vertical surface of an attached
or freestanding canopy.
A sign, or a portion thereof, where the message copy includes
characters, letters or illustrations that can be changed or rearranged
electronically from a remote location without touching or physically
altering the primary surface of the sign.
[Added 7-21-2016 by Ord.
No. 2016-02]
A sign located for the purpose of providing directions towards
or indication of use not readily visible.
A type of freestanding or wall sign designed to identify
the name and location of multiple occupants on the same lot, commercial
or industrial in character, with or without an accompanying map, in
order to aid in the internal pedestrian circulation within the lot.
A permanently installed sign affixed to a pole, post, or
column, or to a wall of a principal building or accessory structure,
consisting of a list of products and/or services offered for sale
and/or pictorial displays of product offered for sale which may include
the price of products and/or services, which list and/or pictorial
display is posted on the premises of a business near the point of
ordering.
A sign attached to, placed upon, or hung from any structure
projecting from and supported by a building and which extends beyond
the facade of the building (such as a canopy, an awning, etc.).
Any sign supported by structures or supports that are placed
on, or anchored in, the ground and that are independent from any building
or other structure.
A sign, not including billboard signs as defined herein,
located for the purpose of providing directions to a use not readily
visible and not located on the lot where the sign is erected.
Any lightweight object made of plastic, fabric or other material,
whether or not containing a message of any kind, designed to move
in the wind. This definition shall not be construed to include government
flags or insignias.
Any sign affixed to a building or wall in such a manner that
its leading edge extends more than six inches beyond the surface of
such building or wall.
A freestanding sign affixed to the ground by a base that
extends, at a minimum, the full width of the sign face.
An A-frame sign that is not permanently attached to the ground
or other permanent structure.
A sign which placed on a lot and used only for a limited
period of time, and including real estate signs advertising the sale
or rental of the premises, contractor signs, yard or garage sale signs,
and political signs.
Any sign attached parallel to, but within six inches of,
a wall painted on the wall surface of, or erected and confined within
the limits of an outside wall of any building or structure, which
is supported by such wall or building, and which displays only one
sign surface. Such signs shall not include roof signs as defined herein.
Any sign, picture, symbol, or combination thereof, designed
to communicate information about an activity, business, commodity,
event, sale, or service, that is placed inside a window or upon the
window panes or glass and is visible from the exterior of the window.
A use permitted in a particular zoning district pursuant to the provisions of Article XIV of the Zoning Ordinance of the Borough of Abbottstown.
Areas including any of the following:
See Utility Building.
That portion of a building, other than the basement (as defined),
including between the surface of any floor and the surface of the
floor next above it, or if there is no floor above it, then the space
between the floor and the ceiling next above it.
An existing or platted way dedicated for the use of the general
public, graded and paved or to be graded and paved, in order that
the general public has the right to pass and to use it at all times,
for the purposes of travel, transportation or parking to which it
is adopted, devoted, and not otherwise restricted. Streets are further
defined and classified as follows:
ARTERIALMajor regional highways, with full or partial access control, designed for a large volume of through traffic.
COLLECTORStreets designed to provide access between residential subcollector streets and arterial street. Access is controlled by limiting curb cuts and providing marginal access areas.
RESIDENTIAL SUBCOLLECTORStreets providing connection between local residential streets and collector street. An average daily traffic (ADT) count of up to 1,000 trips is expected.
LOCAL RESIDENTIALStreets used primarily to provide access to more heavily traveled streets for abutting properties in internally developed areas. An average daily traffic (ADT) count of up to 500 trips is expected.
RESIDENTIAL CUL-DE-SACA local residential street with only one vehicular traffic outlet. An average daily traffic (ADT) count of up to 250 trips is expected.
ALLEY/SERVICE STREETA minor way, whether or not legally dedicated, intended and used primarily for vehicular access to the rear or side of properties which abut on a street, and not intended for the purpose of through vehicular traffic, And be determined as such based on the dimensions of Article V, Section 501.C for right-of-way and cartway no matter the naming convention used and frontage of structures shall be prohibited.
A line defining the edge of a street right-of-way and separating
the street from abutting property or lots, commonly known as the "right-of-way
line."
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land
by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions
of land including changes in existing lot lines for the purpose, whether
immediate or future, of lease partition by the court for distribution
to heirs of devisees, transfer of ownership, or of building or lot
development; provided however, that the subdivision by lease of land
for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres, not
involving any new street or easement of access, or any residential
dwelling, shall be exempt.
Any permanent or temporary structure which is constructed,
used, or maintained to provide recreational facilities for swimming,
bathing, or wading, and including all buildings, equipment, and appurtenances
thereto.
An establishment used primarily for the dispensing or sale
of alcoholic beverages by the drink for on-site consumption.
A landscaped area constructed at the end of a row, or adjoining
rows, or parking spaces within a parking lot.
A series of three or more single-family dwelling units attached
by one or more vertical common walls.
A residential development containing a group of townhouses
developed on a single parcel of land and sharing common parking, recreation,
and landscaping areas.
See Dwelling, Single-Family Semidetached.
A ratio indicating how evenly light is distributed across
a surface.
Any purpose for which a building or other structure or a
tract of land may be designed, arranged, intended, maintained, or
occupied, or any activity, occupation, business, or operation carried
on in a building or other structure on a tract of land.
A temporary or permanent structure used primarily for storage
or personal workshop and which shall not be used for storage of automobiles
or other large motorized vehicles.
Relief granted pursuant to the provisions of Article XIV of this chapter, as amended.
Any building or portion of a building designed or used for
the medical or surgical care and treatment of domestic animals. This
use may exist on the same premises with a commercial kennel use, as
defined in this chapter.
A building, or portion thereof, or buildings used or intended
to be used primarily for the receipt, temporary storage, and redistribution
of goods and/or materials that are to be sold retail or wholesale
from other premises, or wholesale from the same premises; however,
nothing in this definition is meant to exclude purely incidental retail
sales in warehouses.
A stream of water, river, brook, creek; a channel or ditch
for water whether natural or man-made.
A formed concrete or synthetic material block shaped in the
form of a street curb, permanently affixed to the parking lot surface,
and placed to prevent the movement of vehicles beyond the delineated
parking space area.
Any device used for the transmission or reception of radio,
television, wireless telephone, pager, commercial mobile radio service,
or any other wireless communication signals, including without limitation
omnidirectional or whip antennas and directional or panel antennas,
owned and operated by any person or entity licensed by the Federal
Communications Commission to operate such devices. This definition
does not include private-residence-mounted satellite dishes or television
antennas or amateur radio equipment including without limitation ham
or citizen band radio antennas.
A structure, other than a building, but including monopole
towers, self-supporting towers, or guyed towers, designed to be used
to support wireless communications antennas.
A space which is open to the sky and unoccupied by any building,
structure or merchandise for display or sale, and which is located
on the same lot with a building or structure.
A line drawn parallel to the corresponding lot lines at a
distance specified for the required depth of yard in each respective
case.
A yard on the same lot with a main building extending the
full width of the lot, and situated between the lot line and the front
building setback line.
A yard on the same lot with a main building, extending the
full width of the lot and situated between the rear lot line and the
required rear building line.
A yard on the same lot with a main building, situated between
a side line and the corresponding building line, and located between
the front yard and the rear yard.
The map establishing the boundaries of the zoning districts
of the Abbottstown Borough Zoning Ordinance, which map shall be and
is a part of this chapter.
The municipal official duly appointed by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Abbottstown to administer and enforce the Zoning
Ordinance of the Borough of Abbottstown.
The Zoning Ordinance of Abbottstown Borough, as amended.
A permit required by this chapter in a specific circumstance.
