A. 
For the purpose of this chapter, those words not specifically defined shall have a common meaning as expressed in Webster's New World Dictionary and The Latest Illustrated Book of Development Definitions (New Expanded Edition 2007) on file in the office of the Zoning Officer. Certain terms and words used herein shall be interpreted or defined as follows:
(1) 
Words used in the present tense shall include the future.
(2) 
Words used in the singular include the plural.
(3) 
The word "person" includes an individual, partnership, public or private association or corporation, firm, trust, estate, municipality, governmental unit, public utility or other legal entity which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.
(4) 
The word "lot" includes the words "plot" or "parcel."
(5) 
The term "shall" is always mandatory.
(6) 
The term "may" is always permissive.
(7) 
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."
(8) 
The word "building" includes the word "structure."
(9) 
The words "he" or "his" include the words "she" or "her."
(10) 
Unless otherwise specified, all distances shall be measured horizontally.
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following words shall, for the purpose of this chapter, have the meaning herein indicated. See also definitions in the Fairview Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.[1]
ACCESSORY BUILDING
A building subordinate to the main building and used for purposes customarily incidental to those of the main building.
AGRICULTURAL OPERATION
An enterprise that is actively engaged in the commercial production and preparation for market of crops, livestock and livestock products and 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.
AGRITOURISM
Agricultural uses such as farms, ranches, and vineyards that, through promotion and advertising, facilities, and activities, seek to attract visitors, guests, and vacationers.
AIRPORT
An area of land or water which is used, or intended to be used for the landing and takeoff of aircraft and appurtenant areas which are used, or intended to be used, for airport buildings or air navigation facilities or rights-of-way, together with airport buildings and facilities thereon. The term includes heliports and public airports.
AIRSTRIP, PRIVATE
An airport which is privately owned and which is not open or intended to be open to the public.
ALLEY
A minor right-of-way providing secondary vehicular access to the side or rear of two or more properties.
ALTERATION
As applied to a building or structure, means a change or rearrangement in the structural part or in the exit facilities, or in the enlargement, whether by extending, as a side, or by increasing in height, or the moving from one location to another.
ANIMAL HOSPITAL OR CLINIC
Animal hospital or clinic shall mean a facility for the medical or similar examination and treatment and boarding of animals as inpatients or outpatients. These facilities include all facilities operated by a doctor of veterinary medicine for medical treatment of animals and for private individuals who own or operate a boarding kennel.
APPLICANT
A landowner or developer or one possessing the authorization to act on behalf of the landowner, who has filed an application for development.
AREA, FLOOR
The sum of the gross horizontal areas of all enclosed floors of a building, including cellars, basements, mezzanines, penthouses, corridors, and lobbies from the exterior walls, or from the center line of a common wall separating two buildings, but excluding any space with a floor-to-ceiling height of less than six feet six inches.
ASSISTED LIVING RESIDENCE
A multiple-family dwelling providing residence and specialized services. This category of living includes seniors who through some indication of failing health prefer to live in an environment where service and choice are the key components. The person wishes to eliminate the worrisome issues of home maintenance, lawn care, meal service, housekeeping, laundry, periodic wellness checks and reminders to take prescribed medications. This category is tailored to the specific needs of each resident as determined by their frailty and health assessment.
BED-AND-BREAKFAST INN
An owner-occupied single-family dwelling that contains not more than five guest bedrooms in which short-term lodging not exceeding seven consecutive days or nights is provided. A breakfast meal for inn guests and residents may be provided. Bed-and-breakfast inns shall be considered an accessory use to a single-family dwelling in the R-2 Suburban Single and A-1 Rural Districts. Bed-and-breakfast inns shall be considered an accessory use to a single-family dwelling and an agricultural operation in an A-2 Agrarian District. Bed-and-breakfast inns shall be considered a principal/permitted use in the B-1 Neighborhood Business and the B-2 Highway Commercial Districts. This use shall not include group residence facilities.
BILLBOARD
Advertising structure not directly relating to a use conducted on the premises. See "sign, billboard or pennant."
BLUFF
The edge or crest of the elevated segment of the shoreline above the beach or beach terrace, subject to erosion.
BLUFF RECESSION
The loss of material along the bluff caused by the direct or indirect action by one or a combination of groundwater seepage, wind and/or water currents or high water levels.
BLUFF RECESSION HAZARD AREA
An area or zone where the rate of progressive bluff recession creates a substantial threat to the safety or stability of nearby existing or future structures or utility facilities. Measured horizontally from the edge or crest of the bluff to a point, but in no case less than 100 feet.
BUILDING LINE
An imaginary line located a fixed distance from any lot line and interpreted as being the nearest point that a building may be constructed to the lot line. The building line shall limit the location of structures such as decks, porches, patios and all similar construction, steps excepted, to the face of this line as specified in this chapter. The building line for cul-de-sac lots shall be determined as a minimum where the lot meets the minimum lot width, but in no case, less than 35 feet.
BUILDING or STRUCTURE
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
A. 
RESIDENTIALA place providing habitation for an individual or group of individuals and any accessory structures associated with the residential structure.
B. 
COMMERCIALA place where commodities are exchanged, bought or sold on a retail basis and any accessory structures associated with the commercial structure. This category also includes business and professional offices, retail, and personal services.
C. 
INDUSTRIALA place where materials are refined, produced, or fabricated and stored prior to shipment to commercial establishments on a wholesale basis and any accessory structures associated with the industrial structure.
CARTWAY (ROADWAY)
That portion of the street right-of-way surfaced for vehicular use. Width is determined from face of curb to face of curb or from one edge of driving surface to the other edge of driving surface.
CHICKEN TRACTOR
A portable enclosure for poultry, intended to be frequently moved as a means to build soil or control garden weeds, which may or may not be attached to a henhouse or coop.
COMMERCIAL
Engaging in a business, enterprise, activity or other undertaking ordinarily or actually for profit.
COMMISSION, PLANNING
The legally appointed Planning Commission of the Fairview Township.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
The comprehensive, long-range plan document for the desirable use of land in Fairview Township, the purpose of such plan being, among other things, to serve as a guide for the zoning and progressive rezoning of land to meet changing community needs in the subdividing and use of undeveloped land and in the acquisition of land for such public purposes as streets, parks, schools and other public buildings. This document is known as the "2012 Fairview Township Comprehensive Plan" and shall include any amendments or revisions from time to time.
CONDITIONAL USE
A use permitted in a particular zoning district pursuant to the provisions in Article VI of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code and the provisions of this chapter.
CONSTRUCTION or ERECTION
Includes the building, construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, extension, expansion, alteration, or relocation of a building or structure including the placement of a mobile home. Excavation, fill and the like shall be considered part of the erection.
CONSTRUCTION PERMIT
A permit issued by the building code official under the Pennsylvania Construction Code or ordinance indicating that proposed construction, alteration or reconstruction of a structure or other work regulated by the Pennsylvania Construction Code is in accordance with the Pennsylvania Construction Code as adopted by the Township and authorizing the applicant to proceed with such work or activity. This term shall be deemed to include "building permit" or "construction permit." Construction permit is distinct from "zoning permit" and is not issued, administered or reviewed under this chapter.
COOP or HENHOUSE
A building constructed of permanent materials with four opaque walls and a roof, with ventilation through windows or other protected openings, intended for the shelter and protection of poultry.
CUL-DE-SAC
A minor street with one end open to traffic and pedestrian access and permanently terminated by a vehicular turnaround.
DAY-CARE CENTER
An establishment licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania which provides supervised care for less than 24 hours for four to 12 children, who are not residents of the premises.
DENTAL OR MEDICAL CLINIC
A facility for the medical or similar examination and treatment of persons as outpatients by physicians or licensed medical specialists practicing medicine as a group during normal office hours. Clinics providing twenty-four-hour emergency service within the clinic shall be considered a hospital.
DEVELOPER
Any landowner, agent of such landowner or tenant with permission of such landowner, who makes or causes to be made a subdivision of land or a land development.
DEVELOPMENT
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to building or structures, the placement of streets and other paving, utilities, mining, dredging, filling, grading, clearing, logging, excavation, or drilling operations and the subdivision of land.
DWELLING
A house, apartment building or other structure (including mobile homes and manufactured homes) used primarily for human habitation that is a minimum of 1,000 square feet of living space and located on a permanent foundation. The word "dwelling" shall not include hotels, motels or other structures used for transient residence nor shall it include house trailers unless they are specifically included.
DWELLING, MULTIPLE-FAMILY
A dwelling designed for or occupied exclusively as a residence for two or more families with separate housekeeping and cooking facilities for each family.
DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY
A detached building designed for or occupied exclusively as a residence for only one family. Two portable units designed and built to be towed on their own separate chassis and permanently combined on site with a foundation to form a single immobile dwelling unit shall be regarded as a single-family detached dwelling.
EFFECTIVE DATE
The date on which this chapter is duly adopted by the Township.
ESSENTIAL SERVICE
The erection, construction, alteration or maintenance by public utilities, municipal departments or commissions of facilities, including buildings necessary for the furnishing of adequate services for the public health, safety or general welfare.
EXOTIC ANIMALS
Animals, not household pets, including but not limited to the following:
A. 
All bears, coyotes, lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, cougars, wolves and any crossbreed of these animals which have similar characteristics in appearance or features.
B. 
Any ungulate species not regulated as domestic livestock by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
C. 
Any species of animal that requires a permit for possession issued by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture or the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
EXTENSION
An increase in the area of a building, other structure and/or land.
FACILITY OWNER
The entity or entities having an equity interest in the wind energy facility, including their respective successors and assigns.
FAMILY
Any number of individuals living together, related by blood, marriage or adoption, or not more than eight unrelated individuals who cook together as a single housekeeping unit, as distinguished from a group occupying a boarding house. Also considered are not more than eight unrelated individuals.
FAMILY DAY-CARE HOME
Any family residence other than the child's own home, operated for profit, or not for profit, in which child day care is provided at any time to four, five or six children who are not relatives of the care giver as defined and regulated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
FARM
An area of land and its buildings used for growing crops and rearing animals, typically under the control of one owner or manager.
FLEA MARKET
A market area primarily for the display, sale, or exchange of second-hand articles located in the Commercial Zoning District.
FLOOR AREA, MINIMUM
The sum of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of a building, excluding cellar and basement floor areas not devoted to residential use, porches, patios, breezeways, carports, sun porches or other similar structural additions.
FRONT YARD
The open space extending across the entire width of the lot between the front building line and the street right-of-way line.
GARAGE, PRIVATE
A structure or any portion thereof accessory to a dwelling used for the housing of not more than four private passenger motor vehicles, trucks or boats. This shall not include a garage offering commercial automotive services to the public or a garage where any provision is made for repairing or servicing vehicles for profit.
GARAGE, PUBLIC
A garage other than a private garage where motor vehicles are stored, equipped for operation, repaired or kept for remuneration, hire or sale.
GROUP DAY-CARE HOME
A child day-care facility in which care is provided for more than six but less than 12 children, at any one time, where the child care areas are used as a family residence.
GROUP HOME
A single-family detached dwelling providing residence and specialized services for not more than eight developmentally disabled, mentally handicapped, physically handicapped or dependent children or adults referred by the appropriate Erie County or state agency responsible for placement and qualified staff who provide professional care, supervision and service for such residents and not more than two such personnel shall be residents of the dwelling.
GROUP RESIDENCE FACILITY
An establishment that provides in a family setting or environment room, board and care to persons who are intellectually disabled and/or physically handicapped, dependent children under the age of 18 years or individuals over 62 years of age who are in need of supervision and specialized services limited to health, social and/or rehabilitative services provided by a governmental agency, its licensed or certified agents or a responsible and licensed nonprofit social service corporation. Supervision shall be provided by responsible adults whose number shall be determined and certified by the sponsoring agency, at least one responsible adult to be available for the residents on a twenty-four-hour per day basis while residents are on the premises. Such establishment must inherently function as a single housekeeping unit and not as an institution and shall not bear exterior signage and shall not allow or engage in activity, including extent of parking not customary for other uses in the particular zoning district. This category shall not include facilities for delinquent children, persons 18 or more years of age released from or under the jurisdiction of a criminal court, government bureau of corrections or similar institution or agency, persons suffering from communicable or publicly transmittable diseases or otherwise not within the specific definition set forth above. Under this definition, the number of "residents" shall be deemed to include resident clients, staff residing in the premises or assigned per shift and family of staff who reside in the premises, either temporarily or permanently. Persons receiving treatment under Article IV (determinations affecting those charged with a crime or under sentence) shall not be eligible for residence in a group residence facility. Intellectually disabled individuals shall be certified by Erie County intellectual disability authorities as being capable of residing in such a facility. This definition shall be strictly interpreted.
HEIGHT, BUILDING
The vertical distance from the average grade plane to the height of the highest roof surface.
HELIPORT
An area, either at ground level or elevated on a structure, licensed by the federal government or an appropriate state agency and approved for the loading, landing, and takeoff of helicopters and including auxiliary facilities such as parking, waiting room, fueling and maintenance equipment.
HELISTOP
A heliport without auxiliary facilities.
HOME OCCUPATION
Any uses customarily conducted entirely within a dwelling and carried on by the occupants thereof, which uses are clearly incidental and subordinate to the use of the dwelling purposes and which do not change the residential character thereof, including personal services, barber shops, beauty shops, day-care centers, professional offices, etc.
HORTICULTURE
Any form of growing, cultivation of or raising any fruits, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants, including nurseries, hay and grain crops.
HOSPITAL
A private or public institution, licensed by the State of Pennsylvania, used primarily for inpatient medical, surgical and psychiatric treatment of the ill and disabled.
HOUSEHOLD PET
A domesticated animal that is normally kept or can generally be kept within the immediate living quarters of a residential structure. Any member of the swine, sheep, poultry, bovine or equidae family of quadrupeds, elephants, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, moose, deer, or reptiles having a venomous or constrictor nature or other animals considered dangerous such as exotic animals defined by this chapter does not constitute a household pet under any provision of this chapter.
HUB HEIGHT
The distance measured from the surface of the tower foundation to the height of the wind turbine hub, to which the blades are attached.
INFORMATIONAL SIGNS
A sign adjacent to or within an industrial park that identifies the industrial parks occupant and/or location only.
INTEGRATED CENTER
A combination of commercial uses designed, structured and located so as to result in a shopping plaza, mall or other acceptable configuration in one continuous building or architectural modification thereof, under one roof and including associated common walls.
JUNK
Any worn, castoff, or discarded article or material that is ready for destruction or that has been collected or stored for sale, resale, salvage or conversion to some other use. Any such article or material stored on a farm for exclusive use of the owner or occupant of the farm or any article or material which, unaltered, need not be disassembled or unfastened from, not in need of inspection and/or licensing, or unchanged and without further reconditioning can be used for its original purpose as readily as when new shall not be considered junk.
JUNKYARD
The use of more than 200 square feet of an area on any lot for storage. This may include not more than one unlicensed or unregistered vehicle for the storage, keeping or abandonment of junk, including scrap material for the dismantling, demolition or abandonment of automobiles or other vehicles or machinery or parts thereof.
KENNEL
Any establishment wherein dogs are kept for the purpose of breeding, hunting, training, renting, research or vivisection, buying, boarding, sale, show or any other similar purpose and is so constructed that dogs cannot stray therefrom.
LAND DEVELOPMENT
A. 
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts or parcels of land for any purpose involving the following:
(1) 
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.
(2) 
The division or allocation of land or space, whether initially or cumulatively, between two or among three or more existing or prospective occupants by means of, or for the purpose of streets, common areas, leaseholds, condominiums, building groups or other features.
(3) 
A subdivision of land.
B. 
"Land development" does not include development that involves the following:
(1) 
The conversion of an existing single-family detached dwelling or single-family semidetached dwelling into not more than three residential units, unless such units are intended to be a condominium.
(2) 
The addition of an accessory building, including farm buildings, on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing principal building.
(3) 
The addition or conversion of buildings or rides within the confines of an enterprise which would be considered an amusement park. For the purposes of this subsection, an amusement park is defined as a tract or area used principally as a location for permanent amusement structures or rides. This exclusion shall not apply to newly acquired acreage by an amusement park until initial plans for the expanded area have been approved by the proper authorities.
LANDFILL
A disposal site in which refuse and earth, or other suitable cover material, are deposited and compacted in alternating layers of specified depth in accordance with an approved plan.
LEGISLATIVE BODY
The governing body of Fairview Township.
LOADING UNIT
The area required to accommodate one truck in a space 12 feet wide, 15 feet high and 45 feet long, exclusive of access and turning area.
LOT
A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by a plat or otherwise as permitted by law and to be used, developed or built upon as a unit.
LOT AREA
The area contained within the property lines of the individual parcels of land shown on a subdivision plan.
LOT DEPTH
The horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.
LOT OF RECORD
A piece of ground that existed as an independent lot on the records of Erie County prior to its inclusion by Fairview Township ordinances.
LOT WIDTH
The horizontal distance measured along the street right-of-way or between the two intersections of the street right-of-way of the cul-de-sac and the property line.
LOT, CORNER
A lot abutting two or more streets at their intersection and on which the building line for both streets must be observed.
MANUFACTURED HOME
A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. The term includes park trailers, travel trailers, recreational and other similar vehicles placed on a site for more than 180 consecutive days.
MANUFACTURED HOME PARK
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land that have been planned and improved for placement of two or more manufactured homes.
MARGINAL ACCESS
A street parallel and adjacent to an arterial or expressway providing access to abutting properties and control of intersections with the arterial or expressway.
MINIATURE PONY
An equine animal with an adult weight of less than 350 pounds or having a heart girth of 52 inches or less.
MOBILE HOME LOT
A parcel of land in a mobile home park improved with all utility connections and other necessary appurtenances for the erection thereon of a single mobile home.
MOBILE HOME or MODULAR HOME
A transportable, single-family dwelling of not less than 750 square feet of living space 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 incidental unpacking and assembly operations and construction so that it may be used without a permanent foundation.
MOBILE HOME PARK
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which have been so designated and improved so that it contains two or more mobile home lots for the placement thereon of mobile homes.
MOTEL
A building made of two or more living or sleeping quarters used independently of each other and used principally and commercially for overnight accommodations, which includes all transient lodging establishments.
NO-IMPACT HOME-BASED BUSINESS
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. The business or commercial activity must satisfy the following requirements:
A. 
The business activity shall be compatible with the residential use of the property and surrounding residential uses.
B. 
The business shall employ no employees other than family members residing in the dwelling.
C. 
There shall be no display or sale of retail goods and no stockpiling or inventory of a substantial nature.
D. 
There shall be no outside appearance of a business use, including, but not limited to, parking, signs or lights.
E. 
The business activity may not use any equipment or process which creates noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors or electrical or electronic interference, including interference with radio or television reception, which is detectable in the neighborhood.
F. 
The business activity may not generate any solid waste or sewage discharge, in volume or type, which is not normally associated with residential use in the neighborhood.
G. 
The business activity shall be conducted only within the dwelling and may not occupy more than 25% of the habitable floor area.
H. 
The business may not involve any illegal activity.
NONCONFORMING
There are three separate types of nonconformity recognized by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, and these are listed below. The nonconforming status is granted only to the use, lot, or structure legally existing at the date of the adoption of any valid Fairview Township zoning ordinance or any amendment thereto that created the nonconformity. Nonconformity shall not be extended to additional property subsequently acquired or used.
A. 
NONCONFORMING LOTA lot the area of dimension of which was lawful prior to the adoption or amendment of this 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.
B. 
NONCONFORMING STRUCTUREA structure or part of a structure not designed to comply with the applicable use or extent of use provisions in this zoning ordinance or amendments heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such structure lawfully existed prior to the application of such ordinance or amendment to its location by reason of annexation. Such nonconforming structures include, but are not limited to, nonconforming signs.
C. 
NONCONFORMING USEA use, whether of land or structure, that does not comply with the applicable use provisions in any Fairview Township zoning ordinance or amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such use was lawfully in existence prior to the enactment of such ordinance or amendment, or prior to the application of such ordinance or amendment to its location by reason of annexation.
NORMAL AGRICULTURAL OPERATION
A. 
The activities, practices, equipment and procedures that farmers adopt, use or engage in the production and preparation for market of poultry, livestock and their products and in the production, harvesting and preparation for market or use of agricultural, agronomic, horticultural, silvicultural and aquacultural crops and commodities and is:
(1) 
Not less than 10 contiguous acres in area; or
(2) 
Less than 10 contiguous acres in area but has an anticipated yearly gross income of at least $10,000.
B. 
This term includes new activities, practices, equipment and procedures consistent with technological development within the agricultural industry. Use of equipment shall include machinery designed and used for agricultural operations, including, but not limited to, crop dryers, feed grinders, saw mills, hammer mills, refrigeration equipment, bins and related equipment used to store or prepare crops for marketing and those items of agricultural equipment and machinery defined by the act of December 12, 1994 (P.L. 944, No. 134), known as the Farm Safety and Occupational Health Act.[2] Custom work shall be considered a normal farming practice.
NURSING HOME
A long-term care facility for the elderly, infirm and those who are no longer able to care for themselves. A nursing home shall be licensed as required by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and/or the Erie County Health Department. A nursing home shall at all times meet or exceed the requirements of the Pennsylvania Department of Health and/or the Erie County Health Department for the day to day operations of such a facility.
OBSTRUCTION
Any wall, dam, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile abutment, projection, excavation, channel, culvert, building, fence, planting, stockpile, refuse, fill, structure, or matter in, along, across, or projecting into any channel, watercourse, or designated floodplain district, which may impede, retard, or change the direction of the flow of water either in itself or by catching or collecting debris carried by such water or is placed where the flow of the water might carry the same debris downstream to the damage of life and property.
OCCUPIED BUILDING
A residence, school, hospital, church, public library or other building used for public gathering that is occupied or in use when the permit application is submitted.
OPERATOR
The entity responsible for the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the wind energy facility.
PARKING SPACE
The area required for parking one automobile, measuring no less than nine feet by 18 feet, excluding access or turning area, except as otherwise regulated by the Fairview Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
PERMANENT FOUNDATION
A full-perimeter masonry or poured concrete foundation wall resting upon a continuous concrete footing or footer, a concrete pedestal resting upon an independent concrete spread footing, or an equivalent structural system, each capable of supporting its intended load and transferring that load to the soil below the frost line (minimum depth of 48 inches required).
PERSON
An individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association, joint stock association or government entity, including a trustee, a receiver, an assignee or similar representative of any of the above.
PLAZA
A combination of commercial uses designed, structured and located so as to result in a shopping plaza, mall or other acceptable configuration in one continuous building or architectural modification thereof, under one roof and including associated common walls.
POULTRY
Domestic fowl such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, pheasants, and quail.
PRIVATE COUNTRY CLUB
An organization catering exclusively to members and their guests on premises and buildings for recreational or athletic purposes which are not conducted for gain, providing that any vending stands or commercial activities are conducted only as required generally for the membership of such club.
PROFESSIONAL OFFICE
Any office or business conducted by an individual who or an association that must be licensed under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
PUBLIC
Includes any government owned and/or operated use and/or Public Utility Commission licensed use.
PUBLIC NOTICE
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 a 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.
RIGHT-OF-WAY, STREET
Any public highway, street or road accepted by different levels of government for public use as designated by designated by the Board of Supervisors. All rights-of-way must be recorded in the Recorder of Deeds Office, Erie County, Erie, Pennsylvania.
ROADSIDE STAND
A permanent or temporary structure used for the display, support, protection and sale of products such as vegetables, fruits, poultry and dairy products, etc.
RUMMAGE SALE
A temporary sale conducted by a nonprofit organization such as a church or club where the members of the group bring articles or items to a central structure to be sold to raise money for use by the organization.
SANITARIUM
A facility for the medical or similar examination and treatment of patients as outpatients or residential patients by physicians or licensed psychiatric specialists for mental illness.
SECURITY FENCING
Any electric fencing, spike-topped, barbed-wire topped, etc., that is potentially dangerous with the exception of agriculture/livestock fencing. It shall be located within the yard requirements for the district in which it is located.
SERVICE BUSINESS
Establishments primarily engaged in providing assistance, as opposed to products, to individuals, business, industry, government, and other enterprises.
SERVICE STATIONS
An area of land, including structures, used for the sale of gasoline or other motor vehicle fuel and oil and other lubricating substances and/or the sale of motor vehicle accessories which may include associated facilities for automobile servicing, excluding painting.
SIGN, BILLBOARD or PENNANT
Any writing (including letter, word or numeral); pictorial representation (including illustration or decoration); emblem (including device, symbol or trademark); flag (including banner or pennant); or any other figure of similar character, which is a separate structure or where in any part is attached to, painted on, or in any other manner represented on a building or other structure. An illuminated sign located in a window is a sign. The area of the sign shall include the support material from the bottom of the sign to and beyond the top of the sign. High rise signs shall be considered any sign within 1,000 feet of the intersection of Interstate 90 and Route 98 in a B, I-1, and I-3 Zoning District.
SPECIAL EXCEPTION
A use permitted in a particular zoning district pursuant to the provisions of Articles VI and IX of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.[3]
STREET LINE
The line defining the edge of the legal width of a dedicated or established street right-of-way.
STREETS or ROADS
A. 
PRINCIPAL ARTERIALThis class of highway facility is devoted entirely to the task of moving large volumes of traffic and performs little or no land service function. It is generally characterized by some degree of access control. Normally, this classification should be reserved for multilane, divided roads with few, if any, grade intersections.
B. 
ARTERIALArterials bring traffic to and from the expressway and serve major movements of traffic within or through the areas not served by expressways. They serve primarily to move traffic, but also perform a secondary function of land service.
C. 
MARGINAL ACCESSA street or road parallel and adjacent to an arterial or expressway providing access to abutting properties and control of intersections with the arterial or expressway.
D. 
COLLECTORThis class of road serves as the internal traffic movement within the Township and connects developed areas with the arterial system. The collector system is intended to simultaneously supply abutting property with the same degree of land service as a minor street and accommodate local internal traffic movements.
E. 
MINOR (LOCAL STREET)The minor street's sole function is to provide access to immediately adjacent land. This type represents a fairly large percentage of the total street mileage in most municipalities.
TRAILER
Any licensed or unlicensed piece of mobile equipment designed or constructed to be towed or pulled by a motor vehicle.
TRAILER, CAMPING AND RECREATIONAL EQUIPMENT
This class shall include travel trailers, enclosed box trailers, pickup coaches, motorized homes and recreational equipment as follows:
A. 
TRAVEL TRAILERA vehicular, portable structure built on a chassis, designed to be used as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreational and vacation purposes and is identified as a travel trailer by the manufacturer of the trailer.
B. 
ENCLOSED BOX TRAILERA trailer that may be used for the storage and transportation of recreational vehicles and equipment.
C. 
PICKUP COACHA structure designed primarily to be mounted on a pickup or truck chassis with sufficient equipment to render it suitable for use as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreational and vacation purposes.
D. 
MOTORIZED HOMEA portable dwelling designed and constructed as an integral part of a self-propelled vehicle.
E. 
BOATA vessel designed to travel on water.
F. 
BOAT TRAILERA trailer, as defined above, designed to haul a boat.
TURBINE HEIGHT
The distance measured from the surface of the tower foundation to the highest point of the turbine rotor plane.
USE CERTIFICATE
A certificate issued upon a change in use of a structure or a parcel of land, or upon request, which certifies that the premises complies with the provisions of this chapter and which may be used for the purposes set forth in such permit.
USE, ACCESSORY
A use of land or of a building or portion thereof customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use of the land or building and located on the same lot with or without a principal use.
USE, PRINCIPAL/PERMITTED
The major or dominant use for which land or a building is designed, arranged, intended or for which it is or may be occupied or maintained. The term "permitted use" or "principal use" shall not be construed to include any nonconforming use.
UTILITY
Within the framework of this chapter, utilities shall include public water or public sanitary sewer facilities only.
VARIANCE
Relief granted pursuant to the provisions of Articles VI and IX of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
VILLAGE AREA
The former Fairview Borough area. For purposes of lot and yard requirements in the B-1 and B-2 Business Districts, the Village Area comprises those lots bounded by Chestnut Street and Pfeffer Avenue (and extensions thereof) between Trout Run and Muddy Run. Reference is made to the Overlay District, which is not extended to the entire Village Area.
WIND ENERGY FACILITY or COMMERCIAL WIND ENERGY FACILITY
Those facilities as may be authorized as special exceptions in the districts enumerated in this chapter and further meaning an electric generating facility whose main purpose is to supply electricity, consisting of one or more wind turbines and other accessory structures and buildings, including substations, meteorological towers, electrical infrastructure, transmission lines and other appurtenant structures and facilities.
WIND TURBINE
A wind energy conversion system that converts wind energy into electricity through the use of a wind turbine generator and includes the nacelle, rotor, tower and pad transformer, if any.
A. 
AGRICULTURAL WIND TURBINEA wind energy conversion that converts wind energy into electricity for the use of an agricultural operation.
B. 
INDIVIDUAL WIND TURBINEA wind energy conversion that converts wind energy into electricity for the use of the principal or permitted structure in a specific zoning district.
YARD
A required open space unoccupied and unobstructed by any structure or building or portion of a structure or building above the general ground level of the graded lot upward, allowing for fences and walls that may be permitted in any yard, subject to the limitations as indicated herein.
YARD SALE
A temporary sale including garage sales, driveway sale, home sale and the like. It is an accessory use to the residential dwelling, but is limited to a maximum of four days per sale conducted between sunrise to sunset, and not more than three sales per calendar year.
YARD, FRONT
The minimum open space extending across the entire width of the lot between the front building line and the street right-of-way line. For lots one acre or larger in area, other detached structures may be permitted behind the front yard space subject to limitations as indicated herein.
YARD, REAR
The open space (required and/or additional) extending across the entire width of the lot between the back line of the principal building and the rear lot line (not necessarily a street line), but not less than the required space throughout the entire width of the building or structure for irregular lots.
YARD, SIDE
The open space (required and/or additional) extending from the side of the principal building along the side lot line (not necessarily a street line) throughout the entire width of the principal building.
ZONING
The legal and administrative process of dividing the community into zoning districts and regulating within such districts the use and area requirements of land and the use, height, and area of buildings for the purpose of conserving and promoting the health, safety, morals, convenience and general welfare of the people of the community. Zoning is the instrument for giving effect to that part of the Comprehensive Plan which is concerned with the private uses of and the private development on privately owned land, and with that part which is concerned with public uses and facilities.
ZONING HEARING BOARD
That board assigned the duties of judging various appeals of persons aggrieved by the interpretation of the terms of this chapter.
ZONING OFFICER
That individual authorized by the Board of Supervisors to be the administrator of the day-to-day application of the provisions contained in this chapter.
ZONING PERMIT
A permit issued that indicates that a proposed use, building, structure or activity is in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and other applicable ordinances and regulations of the Township and which authorizes the applicant to proceed with such use, construction or other activity. The zoning permit shall be the means by which the Township regulates user activities other than construction and other actions expressly regulated by the Pennsylvania Construction Code, but which otherwise governs such activities. Action on a zoning permit that relates to regulation of this chapter shall be subject to appeal under this chapter. Action on a zoning permit that relates to regulations of other laws or ordinances shall be subject to review as specified in such laws and other ordinances.
ZOO
A place where animals are kept, often in a combination of indoor and outdoor spaces, and the primary purpose is to be viewed by the public.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 334, Subdivision and Land Development.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 3 P.S. § 1901 et seq.
[3]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10601 et seq. and 53 P.S. § 10901 et seq.