As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A type of freestanding, portable sign consisting of two faces
connected and hinged at the top and whose message is targeted to pedestrians
(also known as a "sandwich board sign").
A sign which has not identified or advertised a current business,
service, owner, product, or activity for a period of at least six
months.
To be joined at a border, property line, or zoning district
boundary. Abutting properties include properties across a street or
alley, or a railroad right-of-way.
An accredited medical school within this commonwealth that
operates or partners with an acute care hospital licensed within this
commonwealth.
A habitable building, tree house, or playhouse separate from
and subordinate to the principal building on a lot and used for purposes
incidental to those of the principal building, including the storage
of vehicles.
[Amended 7-21-2021 by Ord. No. 4223]
A dwelling unit sharing a lot with a principal building,
that may or may not be in a separate structure, excluding a mobile
home.
A nonhabitable structure separate from and subordinate to
the principal building on a lot and used for purposes incidental to
those of the principal building.
A use subordinate to the principal use of land or of a building
on a lot and customarily incidental thereto.
A formalized path, walkway or other physical connection that
allows pedestrians and cyclists to directly reach destinations.
Rehabilitation or renovation of existing building(s) for
a use other than the originally intended use.
To be joined at a property line. Adjacent properties do not
include properties across a street or alley, or a railroad right-of-way.
Interactive, supervised environment for adults with organic
brain syndromes or other ailments for a portion of a twenty-four-hour
day, and licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Any adult bookstore, adult dancing establishment, adult motion-picture
theater, or commercial physical contact establishment where procedures
are conducted on specified anatomical areas and are viewed by persons
other than the artist and one other person with the consent of the
client.
Housing which is deemed affordable to those with a median
household income, as rated by the national government or a local government
according to a recognized housing affordability index, often specifying
that the gross housing cost, including utilities, does not exceed
30% of the occupant's income.
A measure of the levels of pollution in the air and the potential
for any adverse effects on public health in the environment.
An establishment in which the primary use shall include the
sale of alcoholic beverages, with or without meals; may include but
is not construed to be a private club. Also, "taproom."
A regularly spaced and aligned row of trees usually planted
along a street or pedestrian passage.
A strip of land over which there is a municipal or privately
owned easement, on which no dwellings or stores front, serving as
the secondary means of access to two or more lots. An alley shall
not be utilized for frontage purposes.
A residence for a maximum of three unrelated elderly individuals
or couples that may include household services and assistance with
daily activities, but not including long-term care, clinical or medical
treatment; with or without shared kitchen and dining.
A facility housing ambulances or medical emergency vehicles
and attendant staff, including offices and supply storage.
A place where animals or pets are given medical or surgical
treatment and are cared for during the time of such treatment. Use
as a kennel shall be limited to short-time boarding and shall be only
incidental to such hospital use.
A sign depicting action, motion, or light or color changes
through electrical or mechanical means.
Apparatus capable of transmitting or receiving telecommunications
information or use in operating conventional television sets. This
definition shall include conventional television antennas and satellite
earth stations, more commonly known as "satellite dishes," but only
if such satellite earth stations are more than 24 inches in diameter.
One or more rods, panels, discs or similar devices used for
the transmission or reception of radio frequency signals, which may
include omnidirectional antenna (rod), directional antenna (panel)
and parabolic antenna (disc).
Structure intended for the transmission or reception of radar,
radio, television, or telephone communications, excluding traditional
single-family residential television antennas, amateur radio antennas,
satellite earth stations and microwave antennas.
The legal or equitable owner of the real property being submitted
for development approval. Equitable owner may include a contract purchaser
or lessee.
A covered walkway within a building or attached to a building
and supported on at least one side by columns with enclosed building
space above.
The characteristic form and detail of buildings from a particular
historical period or school of architecture.
The total of the floor area and, for any portions of the
use not conducted in a building, the lot area actually utilized in
connection with the use.
The visible expression of architectural or landscape elements
through form, structure or materials that break up the scale of buildings
and spaces to achieve human scale.
Signs of workmen performing services at or alterations to
a building which shall be removed upon the completion of the work.
A personal care unit within a continuing-care facility for
the elderly, as licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in which
food, shelter and personal assistance or supervision are provided
for a person exceeding 24 consecutive hours and who requires assistance
or supervision in activities of daily living, but does not require
hospitalization or care in a long-term-care or intermediate-care facility.
A place of business serving minor auto-related needs, including,
but not limited to: motor vehicle sales, car rental, minor repairs,
retail sales, such as auto parts, tire store, gas station, electric
vehicle charging station, and car wash.
A place of business serving major auto-related needs, including:
car wash, gas station, and mechanical repairs.
The slope of land determined according to a formula based
on the contour lines on a topography map.
A cloth, canvas, or other nonstructural covering that projects
from a wall for the purpose of shielding a doorway or window, with
or without signage. An awning can fixed in place or can be raised
or retracted to a position against the building when not in use. Awnings,
to be an effective adjunct to a shopfront, must thoroughly overlap
the sidewalk.
A sign painted on, printed on, or applied to an awning.
The measured sound level in the area, exclusive of spontaneous
extraneous sounds, and related to the sound contribution of the specific
source in question.
A platform that projects from the wall of the building and
is surrounded by a railing, wall or balustrade.
A lighter-than-air, gas-filled balloon, tethered in a fixed
location, which contains an advertising message on its surface or
attached to the balloon in any manner.
A sign consisting of cloth, bunting, plastic, paper, or similar
nonrigid material attached to a structure, staff, pole, rope, wire,
or framing which is anchored on two or more edges or at all four corners.
Banners are temporary in nature and do not include flags.
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year; the 100-year flood.
The 100-year flood elevation.
Any area of the building having the greater part of its floor
below ground level on all sides.
An electric vehicle that is powered solely by rechargeable
electric battery, without any internal combustion engine.
A group of lodging units not to exceed five units within
the residence of the proprietor living on site or within a building
accessory thereto, wherein services limited to lodging and meal(s)
are provided by the proprietor to transient tenants.
A unit of land bounded by streets or combination of streets,
railroad right-of-way, waterway, or any other barrier to the continuity
of development.
The Board of Commissioners of the Township of Lower Merion.
A sign fastened to a wall, constructed as a box with enough
internal depth to accommodate internal lighting.
A designated area at the perimeter of a lot, densely landscaped
its full width with trees and shrubs, as a visual and ambient screen
to protect residential property from impacts of other uses.
A line established within a given lot indicating where the
front façade of a structure must be located (also "frontage
line").
The portion of a lot remaining after required setbacks have
been provided. Buildings may be placed in any part of the buildable
area, but other requirements, such as impervious surface requirements
or lot occupation, may limit use of buildable area.
Any structure having a solid roof intended for shelter or
enclosing of persons, animals, personal property, vehicles or equipment,
excluding freestanding tents and awnings.
The building footprint measured by the horizontal cross section
of a building at its greatest outside dimensions at or above the ground
level, excluding cornices, eaves, gutters or chimneys projecting not
more than 18 inches, bay windows not extending through more than one
story and not projecting more than three feet, one-story open porches
projecting not more than 10 feet, steps and balconies.
The form of a building, based on its massing, frontage, and
height.
The footprint of a building or structure measured by the
horizontal cross section at its greatest outside dimensions at or
above the ground level, excluding cornices, eaves, gutters or chimneys
projecting not more than 18 inches, bay windows not extending through
more than one story and not projecting more than five feet, one-story
open porches projecting not more than 10 feet, steps and balconies.
The linear width of a building measured in a single straight
line parallel, or essentially parallel, to the abutting public street(s)
or parking lot(s).
The vertical distance from the mean grade to the highest
part of the building excluding permitted appurtenances (e.g., chimneys)
authorized elsewhere in this chapter.
The line which establishes the minimum depth of the front
yard measured from the right-of-way line.
The three-dimensional bulk of a structure: its height, width
and depth.
The relationship between the mass of a building and its surroundings,
including the width of street, nearby open space, and the mass of
buildings on adjacent properties.
The diameter of a tree measured by the American or U.S.A.
Standard for Nursery Stock (ANSI) or U.S.A.S. Z60.1 of the American
Association of Nurserymen, as amended.
A multisided, overhead structure, architectural projection
supported by attachments to a building on one or more sides and either
cantilevered from such building supported by columns at additional
points, or freestanding, with or without signage.
A sign that is part of, or attached to, a canopy.
A short-term car rental service whereby customers can pick
up and return the car at a designated place.
The individual designated by a patient to deliver medical
marijuana.
The portion of a street or right-of-way, paved or not paved,
which is used or intended for use by vehicular traffic.
A burial ground that may include buildings, such as a mausoleum
or a chapel.
The acquisition, possession, use or transportation of medical
marijuana by a patient, or the acquisition, possession, delivery,
transportation or administration of medical marijuana by a caregiver,
for use as part of the treatment of the patient's serious medical
condition, as authorized by certification by the commonwealth.
A sign, or portion thereof, on which the copy or symbols
change, either automatically through electrical or electronic means
or manually through placement of letters or symbols on a panel mounted
in or on a track system. The two types of changeable copy signs are
manual changeable copy signs and electronic message signs.
A sign consisting of three-dimensional letters and/or logo,
applied to a wall, each letter of which may or may not accommodate
a light source.
See definition of "institutional civic."
All historic resources, including buildings, structures,
sites and objects individually listed as Class 1 Resources on the
Lower Merion Township Historic Resource Inventory.[1]
All historic resources, including buildings, structures,
sites and objects individually listed as Class 2 Resources on the
Lower Merion Township Historic Resource Inventory.[2]
The glass surface of a window that allows visual permeability
without tinting or screening.
The distance above the walkway, or other surface if specified,
to the bottom edge of a sign. This term can also refer to a horizontal
clear distance between two objects.
A facility for post-secondary education that grants associate,
bachelor, master, or doctoral degrees and may include research functions
and professional schools; with a dedicated site that may include several
buildings; or occupying several locations throughout the community.
Any visit or delivery, except regular residential delivery,
by a vehicle to a property on which a home occupation is conducted,
such being made in connection with that home occupation.[4]
Any portion of the driveway on a lot (or lots) not specifically
for the exclusive use of that lot.
A single collective primary building entrance to a multi-tenant
lobby.
A parcel or parcels of land, an area of water or a combination
of land and water, within a subdivision or land development, designed
or intended for use or enjoyment of residents of the subdivision or
land development, including streets, off-street parking areas or areas
set aside for public facilities. Common open space shall be substantially
free of structures except as permitted in Open Space Preservation
Districts, but may contain such improvements as are appropriate for
the recreation of residents and which are set forth in the subdivision
or land development plan as finally approved by the Board of Commissioners.
A facility or structure related to the movement of data and
information.
A community center whose purpose is limited to serving artists
and arts organizations by, for example, providing them with exhibition,
workshop, classroom and office space, and to serving the public.
A facility maintained principally as a multiple-purpose gathering
place for members of the general public, or a limited portion thereof.
The community center may include a management office comprising no
more than 15% of the habitable floor area as an accessory use to manage
the center and related facilities.
An establishment, sometimes referred to as a "community living
arrangement" or a "group home," licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
that provides a home for not more than eight handicapped or elderly
individuals, excluding staff who do not reside on the property, who
live and cook together as a single housekeeping unit. This definition
shall not include a facility housing persons released from or under
the jurisdiction of a government bureau of corrections or similar
institution. "Handicapped," with respect to a person, means a physical
or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such
person's major life activities, a record of having such an impairment
or being regarded as having such an impairment; but such term does
not include current, illegal use of or addiction to a controlled substance
as defined in Section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C.
§ 802).
Two or more materials, typically wood fiber and plastic combined
to create a stronger material.
The plan, consisting of maps, charts and textual matter,
including recommendations for the continuing development of the Township
and adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township.
Real estate, portions of which are designated for separate
ownership and the remainder of which is designated for common ownership
solely by the owners of those portions and organized in accordance
with the Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act, 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101
et seq.
The form of a building based on its massing, frontage and
height.
The planned management of a natural feature to preserve,
protect or restore it.
A legal agreement between a property owner and an appropriate
conservation organization or governmental entity through which the
property owner establishes certain use regulations over all or portions
of the property to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
Surroundings with particular elements that create the specific
character of an area.
Sharing part of a common property or boundary line; not separated
by a street.
A development consisting of independent residential living
units exclusively for persons who are 62 years of age or older and
for married couples with one spouse or both spouses being 62 years
of age or older. Such developments shall provide nursing facilities
containing assisted living and/or memory care/nursing units, health
care services and meals for residents (with or without common dining
facilities). Such developments may also provide the following facilities
and services for the exclusive use of the residents and nonresidents
occupying assisted-living and/or memory care/nursing units: physical
therapy facilities; auditoriums; recreation facilities; on-site service
shops; and other ancillary services.
A building, structure, site, landscape, or object within
the confines of an historic resource that contributes to its historical
significance or to the integrity of the resource. Alterations to such
an element are reviewable by the Historical Commission.
A building, structure, site, landscape, or object located
within an historic district which has been determined to support the
district's historical significance through location, age, design,
setting, materials and workmanship.
A lot abutting on at least two sides streets connected at
an intersection, or two parts of the same curvilinear street.
The molded and projecting horizontal member that crowns an
architectural composition.
A linear geographic system incorporating transportation or
greenways.
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
An open space substantially enclosed on all sides by the
walls of a building.
An open space partly enclosed by the walls of a building.
The manufacturing by hand with or without the aid of tools.
Crafting may include model making, rug weaving, furniture making and
similar small crafts.
The minimum essential setting or context in which an identified
historic resource retains its historic integrity; "resource" being
constituted by either individual object, site or structure or by multiple
objects, sites or structures (historic district); "historic setting"
including both natural (trees, streams, slopes, etc.) and man-made
(bridges and walls, outbuildings, such as spring houses, barns, corn
cribs, railroad tracks, cemetery markers, etc.) features; "historic
integrity" being the unimpaired state which allows the viewer of the
resource to have a better understanding of the materials and culture
of the past.
A facility used for providing to the public instruction in
the performing arts, limited to dance, music and theater, and the
fine arts, including drawing, painting, photography and sculpture.
A facility/structure that houses and cares for art, sculptures,
and objects of cultural importance, provides information and interpretation
of cultural heritage assets and makes them available for the public
to view and experience.
The edge of the vehicular pavement that may be detailed as
a raised concrete or stone element.
The edge of the curb furthest from the street.
A facility where children are cared for, including after-school
care as regulated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The diameter of a tree at breast height, measured 4.5 feet
from the ground surface.
The instrument by which the owner of property submits it
to the provisions of the Unit Property Act.[5]
With respect to transferable development rights, the legal
instrument used by a landowner to transfer ownership of a cleared
and stabilized sending parcel, without its associated development
credits, to Lower Merion Township or its designated agent.
The legal instrument necessary to sever and transfer development
credits currently or previously appurtenant to a sending parcel.
The destruction, dismantling or removal, whether deliberately
or by neglect, of the exterior of a building, structure, object, or
site listed on the Historic Resource Inventory, in whole or in significant
part for any purpose, including additions, alterations, reconstruction
and/or new construction. Demolition regulated by this provision includes
the removal, stripping, concealing or destruction of the facade, exterior
surfaces, or any significant exterior architectural feature(s) and/or
material(s), which contribute to the historic character of the resource.
The number of dwelling units within a standard measure of
land area, usually given as units per acre.
Any person, firm or corporation which performs or undertakes
to perform development.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including the construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, expansion
or alteration of buildings or other structures; the placement of manufactured
homes; streets and other paving; utilities; filling, grading and excavation;
mining; dredging or drilling operations; storage of equipment or materials;
and the subdivision of land.
A sign indicating that the premises on which the sign is
located is in the process of subdivision or land development for residential
and/or nonresidential uses.
A sign designed to provide direction to pedestrian and vehicular
traffic into and out of or within a site.
The placement of a building on its lot.
A zoning category that prescribes intended use and form regulations
for a given area.
The land required for the installation and/or maintenance
of storm sewers, drainage ditches or retention basins.
A generally circular line, the circumference of which is
determined by the outer reaches of a tree's widest branching points.
A place of business allowing transactions for goods or services
without leaving a motor vehicle, including service, retail, and restaurant
uses, but excluding car washes.
A building designed for and occupied exclusively as a permanent
residence for two families, with one family living wholly or partly
over the other, and having no party wall in common with an adjacent
building.
Any structure or part thereof designed for and occupied exclusively
as a residence for a single family to be occupied as living quarters
as a single housekeeping unit.
Any act by which soil or rock is cut into, quarried, displaced
or relocated.
A right to make use of the land of another for a specific
and limited purpose such as right of passage, or placement and maintenance
of a utility.
Boundary of the right-of-way as determined by Township ordinance
for the means of vehicular and or pedestrian travel and utilities.
The effective date of the Lower Merion Zoning Code is April
26, 1927. The effective date of any amendments shall be the date when
the particular amendment became or becomes effective.
Overall term for vehicles that derive all or part of their
power from electricity supplied by the electric grid. They include
AEVs, HEVs and PHEVs.
[Amended 5-18-2022 by Ord. No. 4244]
[Added 5-18-2022 by Ord. No. 4244]
LEVEL 1A method that provides charging for an EV battery using a 120V single-phase electric service with a 15A or 20A circuit breaker. This method is considered slow-speed charging and does not require any special EV charging equipment.
LEVEL 2A method that provides charging for an EV battery using a 240V/208V single-phase or three-phase electric service with a 40A to 100A circuit breaker. This method is considered medium-speed charging and requires the installation of specialized EV charging equipment at the EVCS.
LEVEL 3A method also known as "direct current fast charging (DCFC)" that provides charging for an EV battery using a 480V three-phase electric service. This method is considered high-speed and requires the installation of highly specialized, high-powered EV charging equipment as the EVCS and in the EV.
A public or private parking space that is served by battery-charging
station equipment that has as its primary purpose the transfer of
electric energy (by conductive or inductive means) to a battery or
other energy storage device in an EV.
[Amended 5-18-2022 by Ord. No. 4244[6]]
Any designated parking space that is provided to allow EV
access and use of an EVCS.
[Amended 5-18-2022 by Ord. No. 4244]
Preconstruction installation of dedicated EV charging infrastructure
to minimize the post-construction cost and effort.
[Added 5-18-2022 by Ord. No. 4244]
A type of illuminated, changeable copy sign that consists
of electronically changeable alphanumeric text.
The ambulance services and fire stations that provide a mandated
service on behalf of the Township and maintain a tax-exempt status
under Section 501(C)(3) or (4) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended.
A facility for the care of infants and preschool children
of employees of the principal or accessory uses.
An extension of a building or building component into the
area of the required setback, or any physical action which may jeopardize
the health and longevity of a natural feature.
A person licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to
engage in the practice of engineering and/or land surveying.
The main point of access of pedestrians into a building.
A site set aside for the creation, retention and permanent
protection of natural or historic resources, including floodplains,
wetlands, streams, valleys, woodlands and other natural and scenic
features, historic sites and other historic resources.
An area with one or more of the following characteristics:
slopes in excess of 15%; floodplains; soils classified as having a
high water table; soils classified as highly erodible, subject to
erosion, or having a shallow depth to bedrock; wetlands or other sensitive
estuaries; stream corridors; aquifer recharge areas, springs or other
surface water and groundwater resource areas; prime wildlife habitat;
significant geologic formations; land incapable of meeting percolation
requirements; mature stands of native vegetation.
To build, construct, attach, hang, place, suspend or affix,
including the painting of wall signs, window signs or other graphics.
See "environmental."
The enlargement of the use of property evidenced, for example,
by any of the following: the construction of or addition to a building,
a parking lot or outdoor recreation structure or equipment; the construction
of a new athletic field, a new playground or a new hard-surfaced area
designed or intended to be used for sporting or other physical recreation
activities; the extension of the use of property beyond the permitted
parameters established by the Zoning Hearing Board, or beyond those
parameters established in the record of testimony presented to the
Zoning Hearing Board in support of an approved application; an increase
of five persons or 10%, whichever is greater, in the student and faculty
or participant population associated with the use as it was authorized
by a previously granted special exception or, if not so authorized,
as it had been historically used; an increase of five persons or 10%,
whichever is greater, in the student and faculty or participant population
of driving age associated with the use as it was authorized or, if
unauthorized, as it historically experienced; or a change in the days
or hours of normal operation.
The exterior wall of a building that is set along a frontage
line, at or behind the setback line that faces a public or private
street or pedestrianway. (See "primary front façade.")
The architectural element at the front of a building that
serves as the interface between the private and the public realm and
determines the character of the public space it faces. Includes: porch,
stoop, common entry, arcade and colonnade, gallery, and storefront.
Any number of individuals living and cooking together as
a single housekeeping unit, including not more than three unrelated
individuals. The term "unrelated individual" shall include any individual
who is unrelated by blood, marriage or legal adoption to any other
individual in the unit, but it excludes domestic servants and minor
foster children. The term "family" shall include a community residential
program for not more than three unrelated individuals, but shall not
include a student home.
Day-care provided by a resident of a single-family detached
dwelling for up to six nonresident children (excluding the caretaker's
children).
A producer-only farmers' market where only locally produced
food and agricultural products are sold.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTSVegetables, fruits, eggs, dairy products (milk, cheeses, yogurt, ice cream), meats, grains, baked goods, juices, other edible food stuffs (such as chocolates, honey, jams, salsa and candies), flowers and other fresh or dried plant materials.
LOCALLY PRODUCED FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTSFood and agricultural products raised, grown and/or produced no more than 150 miles from the site of the farmers' market.
PRODUCER-ONLY FARMERS' MARKETThat the entity or person selling the food and agricultural products must raise, grow and/or produce the locally produced food and agricultural products that they are selling.
A person of at least 21 years of age or a legal entity, duly
licensed by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives, engaged in the business of manufacturing, selling or dealing,
shipping, receiving, or importing federally regulated firearms, ammunition,
or destructive devices.
[Added 4-19-2023 by Ord. No. 4267]
A barrier for the purpose of enclosing or defining a space.
A fence, including entrance and exit gates, designed and
constructed so that the surface area of any segment of such fence
contains at least 40% open spaces as compared to solid materials.
[Added 7-21-2021 by Ord. No. 4221]
Height of floor level used to measure building height, as
established in the form standards of each district.
See definition "recreational establishments."
A piece of fabric or other material of distinctive design
that is used as the symbol of a nation, state, city, agency or corporation
and which is usually displayed hanging free from a staff or halyard.
A sign printed or painted on a cloth, plastic, canvas, or
other like material with distinctive colors, patterns, or symbols
attached to a pole or staff and anchored along only one edge or supported
or anchored at only two corners.
A sign whose artificial illumination is not kept constant
in intensity at all times when in use and which exhibits changes in
light, color, direction, or animation. This definition does not include
electronic message signs or digital displays that meet the requirements
set forth herein.
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas by water.
The official map on which the Federal Emergency Management
Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and
the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
The official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency that includes flood profiles, the Flood Insurance Rate Map,
the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map, and the water surface elevation
of the base flood.
The land area susceptible to being inundated by water from
any source and as designated on the Lower Merion Township Floodplain
District Map prepared by the Township of Lower Merion. The Lower Merion
Township Floodplain District Map is based on the Flood Insurance Study
for the Township of Lower Merion, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania,
as prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), dated
March 2, 2016, or the most recent revision thereof, and a floodplain
area as shown on the Lower Merion Township Topographic Map, last revised
to October 1973. The floodplain includes the floodway-fringe area.
Where a conflict in the designation of the floodplain, floodway and
floodway fringe exists between the Federal Flood Insurance Study and
as shown on the Lower Merion Township Topographic Map, that designation
of the floodplain, floodway and floodway fringe which is more restrictive
or prohibitive of development shall be the Floodplain District.
Any combination of structural and nonstructural additions,
changes or adjustments to structures which reduces or eliminates flood
damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary
facilities, structures and their contents.
The channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent
land areas that must be reserved in order to carry and discharge the
base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation
more than one foot.
The areas identified as "floodway" in the AE Zone in the
Flood Insurance Study prepared by the FEMA. The term shall also include
floodway areas which have been identified in other available studies
or sources of information for those floodplain areas where no floodway
has been identified in the Flood Insurance Study.
The remaining portions of the 100-year floodplain in those
areas identified as an AE Zone in the Flood Insurance Study, where
a floodway has been delineated. The flood fringe is also referred
to as the "floodplain" in this chapter. The basis for the outermost
boundary of this area shall be the 100-year flood elevations as shown
in the flood profiles contained in the Flood Insurance Study.
The horizontal floor area within the inside perimeter of
the outside walls of the building, including but not limited to hallways,
stairs, closets, thickness of walls, columns and other features.
The floor area of the building or buildings on any lot divided
by the area of such lot. For the purpose of determining floor area
ratio, any space devoted to required off-street parking, loading,
or vehicular access thereto shall not be included in calculating floor
area.
A retail business operated primarily for the sale of prepared
hot and cold food and drinks, for immediate consumption either on
the premises or to take away, including cafes, restaurants, and fast-food
establishments.
A building or an area within a building with fewer than four
indoor tables (fewer than 12 chairs), used primarily for the purpose
of furnishing to the public food to be consumed off premises.
A unit of incident light (on a surface) stated in lumens
per square foot and measurable with an illuminance meter (also known
as a "footcandle or light meter"). One footcandle is equal to one
lumen per square foot.
A courtyard at the building frontage. A private frontage
where a portion of the building is close to the frontage line and
the central portion is set back.
A single- or double-faced sign that is placed on or anchored
in the ground, and that is independent and detached from any building
or other structure. The following are subtypes of freestanding signs:
GROUND/MONUMENT SIGNA freestanding sign that is permanently supported by an internal structural framework or integrated into landscaping or other solid structural features.
POLE SIGNA freestanding sign that is permanently supported in a fixed location by a structure of one or more poles, posts, uprights, or braces from the ground, and is not supported by a building or a base structure.
See "street, freeway arterial."
A sculptured or richly ornamented band (as on a building).
See "build-to line."
The percentage of the primary frontage that shall be occupied
by a building.
The area between a building facade and the cartway.
The physical element that characterizes the space between
the building and the street or pedestrianway; includes: common yard,
fenced yard, shallow yard, urban yard, pedestrian forecourt, and vehicular
forecourt.
A frontage yard type with a deep setback, remaining unfenced
and visually continuous with abutting yards, supporting a common landscape
that may be densely planted to buffer from high-speed streets.
A frontage yard type wherein the facade is set back from
the lot line. Fences are required and the setbacks are visually continuous
with adjacent yards.
A frontage yard type where the primary facade is located
near the lot line with an area setback to accommodate open space and
the primary entrance of the building.
A frontage yard type where the facade is slightly setback
from the lot line.
A frontage yard type where the facade is at or near the lot
line and the surface is paved.
A frontage yard type where the primary facade is located
near the lot line with an area setback to accommodate a driveway meant
for passenger loading and unloading.
A covered walkway attached to a building and supported on
at least one side by columns with no enclosed building space above.
A building used solely for the storage, sale, service or
repair of motor vehicles.
A building accessory to a single-family or two-family dwelling,
for the storage of motor vehicles owned and used by the owner or tenant
of the lot.
See "parking structure."
An enterprise that is actively engaged in the commercial
production and preparation for markets 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.
Glass in doors and windows or other glass incorporated into
a building facade.
A golf course and associated uses and buildings, including,
but not limited to, clubhouse, dining, banquet, practice, and other
sport and recreation facilities, located on a tract of land containing
a minimum of 150 acres and at a minimum of 18 holes of golf.
Any sign for the control of traffic or for identification
purposes, i.e., street signs, warning signs, railroad crossing signs,
and signs of public service companies indicating danger or construction,
which are erected by or at the order of a public agency, officer,
employee, or agent thereof, in the discharge of official duties.
Those actions, objectives, or goals for which the Township
of Lower Merion has been vested with statutory authority to accomplish,
fulfill or oversee.
An engineered, multilayered roofing system sustaining the
growth of plants on a rooftop while protecting the integrity of the
underlying structure. The components of a green roof consist of a
waterproofing membrane, root barrier, drainage layer, retention layer,
filter fabric, growing medium and plants.
Open space areas within a development which are designed
or intended for the use and enjoyment of the residents of the development.
A retail sales business operated as a food market with more
than 7,500 square feet of floor area.
The replenishment of geologic structures and rock or soil
interstices which have the capacity to store water.
Nonresidential building space with a use that involves human
presence with a direct view through windows and doors of the facing
street or public or private open space, excluding parking garages,
self-service storage facilities, warehouses, buildings with display
windows separated from retail activity.
The man-made features of a lot's landscaping, such as roads,
sidewalks, courtyards, walls, and parking lots.
A facility involving the treatment and examination of patients
and the furnishing of medical, surgical or other services to individuals.
This may include a medical clinic, health clinic, or special medical
treatment facility.
See "building height."
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior
to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
Any complex physical construction and its appurtenances with
historic, and/or cultural, and/or archaeological, and/or scientific
significance, as listed on the Historic Resource Inventory, which
is a combination of materials assembled in an enclosed configuration,
created in whole or in part to shelter primary forms of human activity,
and which is permanently affixed to the land. Examples of historic
buildings include, but are not limited to, those listed under "Building"
in the current version of the National Park Service's National Register
Bulletin 15, Section IV: "How to Define Categories of Historic Properties."
An area that possesses a group of buildings, structures,
objects, sites, or other constructed or naturally occurring features
that have been recognized for their local historical or cultural significance
by the Board of Commissioners having determined that it conforms to
an established set of criteria and having received certification from
the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
An area researched, documented, reviewed by the Pennsylvania
Historic and Museum Commission and determined eligible by that Commission
for inclusion on the National Register. An historic neighborhood includes
all buildings, structures and sites located within it, whether or
not they contribute to the character of the area.
Any simple physical construction or composition, typically
small in scale, with historic, and/or cultural, and/or archaeological,
and/or scientific significance, as listed on the Historic Resource
Inventory, which is typically singular in material combination, created
primarily for informational, functional, or aesthetic purposes, and
which is related to a specific setting or environment, often affixed
to the land, yet may be movable by nature or design. Examples of historic
objects include, but are not limited to, those listed under "Object"
in the current version of the National Park Service's National Register
Bulletin 15, Section IV: "How to Define Categories of Historic Properties."
All historic buildings, structures, sites, and objects which are designated on the Historic Resource Inventory, Chapter A180, including Class I and Class II resources, and contributing resources within historic districts. Unless otherwise specified, the boundaries of an historic resource are that of the parcel, which must contain at least one contributing element and may contain noncontributing elements.
[Amended 1-18-2023 by Ord. No. 4258]
Any location, with or without a building, structure, and/or
object, whether standing, ruined, or vanished, which has historic,
and/or cultural, and/or archaeological significance, as listed on
the Historic Resource Inventory. Examples of historic sites include,
but are not limited to, those listed under "Site" in the current version
of the National Park Service's National Register Bulletin 15, Section
IV: "How to Define Categories of Historic Properties."
Any complex or simple physical construction, with historic,
and/or cultural, and/or archaeological, and/or scientific significance,
as listed on the Historic Resource Inventory, which is a combination
of materials assembled in an open configuration of interdependent
and interrelated parts in a definite pattern of organization, created
in whole or in part to facilitate secondary or indirect forms of human
activity, and which is affixed to the land. Examples of historic structures
include, but are not limited to, those listed under "Structure" in
the current version of the National Park Service's National Register
Bulletin 15, Section IV: "How to Define Categories of Historic Properties."
Any lawful use conducted entirely within a dwelling unit
or accessory dwelling unit or accessory building by a resident of
the dwelling. The use shall not change the character of the property.
Two people sharing a dwelling unit shall each be permitted a home
occupation, provided that it is their principal dwelling. This includes
historic, nontraffic, and minor home occupations.
A facility providing primary physical or mental health services
and medical or surgical care of the sick, handicapped or injured,
including facilities for overnight accommodation of patients. Hospitals
may include various ancillary activities which are customarily incidental
to and in direct support of the primary health care mission of the
hospital, including: emergency and intensive care, clinics, medical
offices, hospital administrative offices, laboratories, pharmacies,
gift shops, teaching facilities, research facilities, rehabilitation
facilities, patient hostels, academic clinical research center, hospital
cafeteria or dining facilities, conference facilities, hospital staff
dormitory, employee day-care, vehicular ambulance service, and diagnostic
or treatment facilities which are integrated with the hospital facilities.
A group of lodging units that may provide space and services
for dining, meeting, and recreation.
A document issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Health
that permits access to medical marijuana.
A sign that is either internally illuminated through its
sign face by a light source contained within the sign, or externally
illuminated by a light source aimed at its surface.
A source of artificial or reflected light. The following
are subtypes of illumination:
EXTERNAL ILLUMINATIONArtificial light, located away from the sign, which lights the sign, the source of which may or may not be visible.
HALO ILLUMINATIONA sign using a three-dimensional message, logo, etc., which is lit in such a way as to produce a halo effect (also known as "backlit illumination").
INTERNAL ILLUMINATIONA light source that is concealed or contained within the sign visible through a translucent surface. Message signs, digital displays, and signs incorporating neon lighting shall not be considered internal illumination for the purposes of this chapter.
Any material which prevents or impedes the natural absorption
of stormwater directly into the ground.
Elements of the physical environment, including: buildings,
grading, paving, restoration of existing paving damaged by construction,
walkways, curbs, gutters, street signs, fire hydrants, water mains,
gas mains, sanitary sewers, on-site sewage disposal facilities, storm
drainage facilities, retention basins, bridges, sidewalks, crosswalks,
monuments, street shade trees, buffer planting and streetlights.
A sign that is an air-inflated object, which may be of various
shapes, made of flexible fabric, resting on the ground or structure
and equipped with a portable blower motor that provides a constant
flow of air into the device.
A facility or structure related to the provision of transportation,
such as roads and railroads, water and sewer lines, electrical power,
telephone and cable transmission, and all other utilities and communication
systems necessary for the functioning of a community.
A group of lodging units, not to exceed 25 units, that may
provide space and services for dining, meeting, and recreation.
A use that is secondary to, subordinate to, customarily incidental
to, or dependent on the existence of the primary institutional use;
does not alter the character of the property in respect to its primary
use; inhabits the structures and facilities of the primary use or
its own facility; and conforms to all regulations applicable to the
primary use. This may include, for example, occasional or seasonal
events such as: vacation-time camps; programming; fairs; conferences;
off-campus user sports events; and multischool competitive sports
and playoffs.
Collectively includes communally beneficial land uses, including
but not limited to organizations dedicated to the arts and culture,
active recreation, social and religious use, senior housing, wellness
and recreation.
Collectively includes sites or buildings operated for the
provision of full-time or part-time educational services for students
of all ages.
Collectively includes sites or buildings operated for the
provision of housing and health and long-term care for the elderly
and people with disabilities.
Collectively includes sites and buildings operated for types
of uses including, but not limited to cemeteries, environmental and
open space preserves, golf clubs, and institutional residential.
A use that inhabits the structures and facilities of the
property; customarily consumes the greater part of the institution's
resources of time and funds in its management; and conforms to institutional
district regulations. This includes related services that support
the primary use, such as residential facilities for faculty, students,
and staff; exhibition, worship, performance, recreational and competitive
sports facilities; food preparation and dining facilities; continuing
care and assisted living for the elderly; day-care; and parking.
A building or site containing living arrangements occupied
by a religious institution and operated as part of that religious
institution for the use of its members.
All public, private or not-for-profit organizations that
serve public benefit and community use, including: continuing-care
facility; museum; community art, education, health, and recreation;
club, lodge, country club; day-care (for more than six children);
public school; private school; college; university; religious institution.
Also included are sites dedicated to open space and historic preservation
that serve community use, including cemeteries. Excluded are properties
in municipal ownership.
An electronic or animated sign that reacts to the behavior
or electronic signals of passersby.
Improvements involving: two or more residential buildings,
or one or more nonresidential structure(s), regardless of number of
occupants; subdivision of land for the use of two or more existing
or prospective occupants with streets, building groups, common areas,
leaseholds, condominiums, or other features. Excluded from land development
are: 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; the additions
of an accessory building, including farm buildings, on a lot with
an existing principal building.
The committee composed of the heads of departments of the
Township or their designees and such other Township employees as appointed
by the Township Manager.
An agreement between the Township and the then-owner(s) of
a property, executed during the subdivision or land development approval
process, which describes conditions of approval. These conditions
shall remain in effect regardless of any transfer of ownership.
See "owner."
The height of a letter from its bottom to its top, including
any shadow lines which are constructed as part of the sign.
A place of business involving craft, light fabrication, assembly,
processing, repair, distribution, warehousing, or bulk storage, such
that, if located close to residential or other sensitive areas, will
not have a detrimental impact on the quality of life of residents
in terms of air pollution, noise, odor, or traffic generation.
Light emitted by a light source which extends beyond the
boundaries of the property on which the light source is located.
A building or part of a building with habitable space, conforming
to its district, specifically designed to face a public space, masking
an inactive use, such as, but not limited to, a parking lot, parking
garage or storage facility.
A dwelling unit that contains ground floor retail, office,
or light industrial use that is limited to a maximum 50% of the total
floor area.
An area in which goods and products are moved on and off
a vehicle, including the stall or berth and the apron or maneuvering
room incidental thereto.
Temporary residential accommodation for tourism and business
purposes which typically includes a furnished room that includes temporary
sleeping arrangements, sanitary facilities, and may include limited
kitchen facilities.
A roofed, but open arcade along the front or side of a building
on an upper story.
A resident care facility for more than six individuals involving
extended stays, including but not limited to: skilled nursing, rehabilitation,
and assisted living; with household services and shared kitchen and
dining.
A tract or parcel of land as defined by the description set
forth in the deed or other instrument vesting title in the owner of
record, or other instrument dividing or allocating land, air rights
or subsurface rights below the surface of the land.
The land area within the lot property lines and between the
rear property line and the nearest street line.
Any construction for which a building permit is required under Chapter 62 of this Code, or any other activity affecting land or modifying land from its natural condition.
The boundary that legally and geometrically demarcates a
lot.
The area of the lot occupied by all buildings, excluding
structures such as decks, pools, and trellises.
The measure of a lot taken on a straight line between two
points on the side lot lines equidistant from the street line.
A roof with a pitch of 5:12 or less.
The lowest floor of the lowest fully enclosed area (including
basement). An unfinished, flood-resistant partially enclosed area,
used solely for parking of vehicles, building access and incidental
storage, in an area other than a basement area is not considered the
lowest floor of a building, provided that such space is not designed
and built so that the structure is in violation of the applicable
nonelevation design requirements of this chapter.
An objective measurement of the brightness of illumination,
including illumination emitted by an electronic sign, measured in
candelas per square meter (cd/m2), or nits.
Any security which may be required of a developer by the
Township after the final acceptance by the Township of improvements
installed by the developer. Such security may include but is not limited
to maintenance bonds, surety agreements or other collateral.
Vehicles including travel trailers, pickup campers, converted
trucks or buses, motorized homes, tent campers, tents, or other short-term
housing or shelter arrangements and devices, boats and boat trailers,
combinations thereof, and other similar equipment, and trailers, cases,
and boxes for transporting recreational equipment, whether occupied
by such equipment or not.
A sign, or portion thereof, on which the copy or symbols
are changed manually through placement or drawing of letters or symbols
on a sign face.
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 attached to the required utilities. The
term includes park trailers, travel trailers, recreational and other
similar vehicles which are placed on a site for more than 180 consecutive
days.
A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two
or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
A permanent roof-like structure supported by a wall of a
structure but having no relationship to the roof structure, generally
designed and constructed for protection against weather, which fully
or partially covers an entrance, sidewalk, or other pedestrianway.
A sign attached to a marquee.
The three-dimensional form of a building or structure.
A sign having parts which physically move, with such movement
being activated electronically or by other means, but shall not include
wind-activated movement of banners or flags.
A facility providing services to physicians to analyze and
test physical samples and specimens for the diagnosis and treatment
of patients.
Marijuana for certified medical use as legally permitted
by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under the Medical Marijuana Act.
The Act of April 17, 2016, P.L. 84, No. 16, as amended from
time to time (53 P.S. § 10231.101 et seq.).
A person, including a natural person, corporation, partnership,
association, trust or other entity, or any combination thereof, which
holds a permit issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to
dispense medical marijuana. The term includes the facility from which
medical marijuana is dispensed.
A person, including a natural person, corporation, partnership,
association, trust or other entity, or any combination thereof, which
holds a permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Health to grow
and process medical marijuana.
The registry established by the Pennsylvania Department of
Health for all medical marijuana organizations and practitioners.
A facility involving the treatment and examination of patients
and the furnishing of medical, surgical or other services to individuals.
This may include a medical clinic, health clinic, or special medical
treatment facility.
The spreading of a single message or advertisement across
more than one successive display phases of a sign, or across more
than one individual sign.
A wireless communication facility consisting of an equipment
facility capable of being mounted onto the attachment or support structure
and antenna that is either:
See "street, minor."
Any action taken to lessen/minimize the specified undesirable
impacts of a proposed land use or land disturbance activity, including
those which would adversely affect the health or longevity of a natural
feature, pose a visual intrusion or conflict or otherwise be deemed
incompatible with surrounding properties and uses.
A multiple-use building with nonresidential uses occupying
the floor level directly accessible from a public street or pedestrianway.
A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent
occupancy, office or place of assembly, contained in one unit or in
two units designed to be joined into one integral unit capable of
again being separated for repeated towing, which arrives at a site
complete and ready for occupancy except for minor and incidental unpacking
and assembly operations and constructed so that it may be used without
a permanent foundation.
A building containing more than six dwelling units, where
each unit has direct access to the outside or to a common hall, and
each unit is designed for and occupied exclusively as a permanent
residence for a single family. Multifamily housing where dwelling
units are available for lease or rent for less than one month shall
be considered lodging.
A building containing a minimum of three residential dwelling
units and a maximum of six units, where each unit has direct access
to the outside or to a common hall, and each unit is designed for
and occupied exclusively as a permanent residence for a single family.
An integrated, complementary development of two or more buildings
on one or more abutting lots that includes both residential and nonresidential
uses, and that may be phased.
Any use conducted by the Township of Lower Merion, or any
local agency of the Township, including administrative offices, equipment
or material storage, public parks, recreational centers, public sewage
and/or water collection, treatment, storage, transmission and/or distribution
facilities, stormwater management facilities, public parking facilities,
public libraries, firehouses, emergency services, or any similar civic
use owned or operated by the Township, or a local agency of the Township.
The definition of "municipal service" expressly excludes any use conducted
by a school district.
Artwork applied to the wall of a building, which covers all
or most of the wall. Where a mural contains a commercial message,
it shall be considered a wall sign.
Any lot abutting a street which has less than the required
width at the street line or at any point between the street line and
a point 25 feet beyond the proposed building.
Any plant that is living or growing naturally in a particular
region and has existed for many years in a region without direct or
indirect human intervention.
A component of a landscape existing or maintained as a part of the natural environment and having ecological value in contributing beneficially to air quality, erosion control, groundwater recharge, noise abatement, visual amenities, growth of wildlife, human recreation, reduction of climatic stress and energy costs. Such features include those which, if disturbed, may cause hazards or stress to life, property and the natural environment. See § 101-3.
An area researched and documented as having a unified architectural
character, style, era of construction, or other factor which contributes
to the neighborhood's unique character.
A sign illuminated by a neon tube, or other visible light-emanating
gas tube, that is bent to form letters, symbols, or other graphics.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced
on or after November 19, 1975, and includes any subsequent improvements
thereto.
[Amended 10-21-2020 by Ord. No. 4196]
A manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction
of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes
are to be affixed (including at a minimum, the installation of utilities,
the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the
pouring of concrete pads) is completed on or after the effective date
of floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
A unit of measurement of brightness, or luminance. One nit
is equal to one candela per square meter (cd/m2).
A building or structure or part thereof not designed to comply
with the applicable provisions in the Zoning Code or amendment heretofore
or hereafter enacted, where such building or structure was lawfully
in existence prior to the enactment of such code or amendment.
A lot the area or dimension of which was lawful prior to
the adoption or amendment of a zoning code, but which fails to conform
to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located
by reasons of such adoption or amendment.
Any sign that was legally erected and maintained prior to
the effective date of this chapter or any subsequent amendment hereto
that does not comply with the provisions.
Any site improvement which has a valid permit or was completed
prior to the effective date of this chapter, or any subsequent amendment
hereto, to the provisions of which such site improvement does not
conform.
A use, whether of land or of structure, which does not comply
with the applicable use provisions in the Zoning Code or amendment
heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such use was lawfully in existence
prior to the enactment of such code or amendment.
A building, structure, site, or object within the confines
of an historic resource that does not contribute to its historical
significance or to the integrity of the resource. Alterations to such
an element are not reviewed by the Historical Commission, unless deemed
impactful to any contributing element.
A building, structure, site, or object located within an
historic district which has been determined not to support the district's
historical significance through location, age, design, setting, materials,
workmanship, feeling, and/or association.
Land and buildings where the breeding, sale, storage, and
display of seedlings, plants, and flowers takes place, including the
production, wholesaling, and distribution of plant materials grown
or cultivated on site; and where mechanical equipment for landscaping,
maintenance of parks and garden, and farming is displayed and sold.
A sign which directs attention to a business, product, commodity,
service, event, facility, or other commercial or noncommercial activity
not located, conducted, sold or offered upon the premises where such
sign is located; also referred to as a "billboard."
An establishment in which administrative, clerical, service,
professional, government or other business is conducted. This excludes
manufacturing activities.
A map depicting the routes of vehicular travel within the Township, which is part of the Township of Lower Merion Comprehensive Plan, adopted by the Board of Commissioners in 2016, which depiction of such routes only is hereby incorporated by reference in this chapter and shall be as much a part of this chapter as if fully described herein; provided, however, that said depiction may be amended from time to time in accordance with the terms of Chapter 107.
The maps designated in Chapter 107 hereof as the Official Map of the Township of Lower Merion.
A retail sales business operated substantially in the open
air including, but not limited to: flea markets, and the like, and
excluding car sales, equipment sales, boat sales, and home and garden
supplies and equipment.
Any parcel or area of land or water essentially unimproved
by permanent buildings.
An outdoor use intended for a limited period of time which
does not involve the construction or alteration of any permanent structure
and which is subordinate to the principal use of land or of a building
on a lot and customarily incidental thereto.
An open-air space related to a food and beverage service
facility that accommodates dining but not food preparation, and is
furnished to preclude wind-blown trash.
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/she
is authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the owner,
or other person having a proprietary interest in land.
A parking space parallel to the roadside.
A low wall extending above the edge of a roof; also called
"parapet wall."
A tract of land owned by the Township or its designee, designated
for and used by the public for active or passive recreation. A natural
preserve available for unstructured or structured recreation programs.
A facility providing either off-street parking and/or parking
in a structure.
Parking located above ground and/or underground consisting
of one or more levels; not surface parking.
A single or multistory parking structure owned, leased or
rented by a federal, state, or local government agency, which is used
for short-term parking of vehicles by the general public.
Spaces provided for vehicles and located outside of the boundaries
of the lot to be served.
Marked or unmarked parking located within a lot and outside
a private or public right-of-way.
Marked or unmarked parking located outside of a lot and within
a private or public right-of-way.
The placement of vehicles one behind the other as opposed
to side by side.
Parking structure in which the roof or ceiling of the top
level does not rise above the first floor elevation of the building,
and does not rise more than three feet above any adjoining sidewalk.
A residential facility for the sole use of patients being
admitted or discharged from the hospital and their immediate families.
The facility may include a shared dining facility which is restricted
to the use of the hostel occupants.
A public open space restricted to pedestrians, bicycles,
and limited vehicular access that connects streets, plazas, alleys,
garages, and other public use spaces.
The size and proportion of physical environmental elements
that closely relate to the human body.
An area, approximately circular, of a one-fourth-mile radius,
about the distance of a five-minute walk, that is centered on a common
destination. The pedestrian shed determines the approximate size of
a neighborhood. A linear pedestrian shed is elongated to follow a
commercial corridor, and may measure 1/2 mile out from the center.
The design of communities, neighborhoods, streetscapes, sites
and buildings that emphasizes pedestrian access, walking comfort and
visual interest.
A street where adjacent uses generate and encourage foot
traffic.
A public or private linear space or an area where the primary
users are pedestrians and that may also accommodate bicyclists.
A triangular or irregular piece of fabric or other material,
commonly attached in strings or strands, or supported on small poles,
intended to flap in wind.
68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq., Pennsylvania Act of
July 2, 1980, P.L. 286, No. 82, and any amendments or successor legislation
thereto.
Any security which may be required of a developer by the
Township in lieu of a requirement that certain improvements be made
before the Township approves the developer's subdivision plan or land
development plan. Such security may include but is not limited to
performance bonds, escrow agreements, surety agreements or other collateral.
An arbor or passageway with a roof or trellis work on which
climbing plants can be trained to grow.
An on-premises sign that expresses an opinion, interest,
position, or other noncommercial message.
A porous surface system with a stabilized base that allows
water from precipitation and other sources to pass directly through,
thereby reducing the runoff from a site, allowing groundwater recharge,
and naturally cooling the surface through evaporation of water from
pavement voids or from beneath.
A facility for public assembly including, but not limited
to: conference facilities, convention centers, exhibition halls, major
sports facilities, theaters, cinemas, performing arts centers, and
the like, excluding adult entertainment.
The Lower Merion Township Planning Commission and the Building
and Planning Department of Lower Merion Township. Each planning agency
shall have those duties assigned to such agency in the Township Code.
An electric vehicle that is powered by a rechargeable electric
battery, as well as an internal combustion engine which delivers power
directly to the vehicle, and/or powers an on-board generator which
can recharge an electric battery.
An open-air space attached to a building, with floor and
roof but no walls on the sides, usually facing frontages.
A covered vehicular arrival area at the entrance of a building.
An area or areas of land and/or water established to preserve
open space and to protect natural features, cultural landscapes and
wildlife habitat. The preservation area shall be free of structures
of any kind, including, but not limited to, playground equipment,
play sets, playhouses, tree houses, netting, sheds or similar appurtenances,
with the exception of historic buildings and their associated paved
areas.
See "streets, primary arterial."
The façade of a building facing onto a public or private
street, or pedestrianway, but shall not include a rear alley.
The frontage of a lot facing onto a public or private street,
but shall not include a rear alley.
A structure used to enclose or house the primary use(s) located
on a lot; the main building on a lot, usually oriented toward the
street.
See "school."
A building-mounted, double-sided sign which is mounted perpendicular
to a building's facade.
Demarcation of property ownership.
Private outdoor space where the public is directly or indirectly
invited to visit or permitted to congregate.
A facility owned, leased or rented by a federal, state or
local government agency, which is available to the general public
for short-term parking of motor vehicles, including parking lots and
garages.
An educational facility operated by or under agreement with
the Lower Merion School District pursuant to the Public School Code
of 1949, as amended.[7]
A sign posted at a site to promote and advertise a service
sponsored by the Township, school district, church, public agency,
civic association or other nonprofit public agency.
An entity regulated by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
An arrangement of two attached buildings connected by a common
party wall extending vertically from the ground or basement level
to the roof of the building designed for and occupied exclusively
as a permanent residence for four families, with each half of the
building having two families living wholly or partly over the other.
The surface, air space above the surface and the area below
the surface of any railroad.
A bioretention area; a shallow surface depression designed
to accept runoff from adjacent surfaces and retain or detain stormwater
before it is infiltrated or discharged downstream, planted with specially
selected native vegetation to capture and treat runoff.
A lot which has less than the required width at the street
line and at the building line but which meets the minimum lot width
at the point of the proposed building closest to the street and extending
the full depth of the building plus 25 feet.
A parcel of land in the Open Space Preservation District
where the landowner/authorized agent may attach development credits,
directly or by intermediate transfers, from a sending parcel, and
on which increased density and/or intensity is allowed by reason of
the transfer of development credits.
Those recreational pursuits which require physical alteration
to the area in which they are performed. Such areas are intensively
used and include, but are not limited to, playgrounds, ball courts,
golf courses and swimming pools.
Recreational pursuits which can be carried out with little
alteration or disruption in the area in which they are performed.
Such uses include, but are not limited to, hiking, biking and picnicking.
A facility providing leisure activities, such as but not
limited to: health and fitness facilities, exercise equipment, swimming
pools, sports courts, skating rinks, exercise classes, spas, and sports
massage and treatment.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Not more than 400 square feet measured at the largest horizontal
projections;
Designated to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a
light-duty truck; and
Not designed for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary
living quarters for recreational, camping, travel or seasonal use.
The improvement of an existing building and/or lot requiring
land development approval.
A sign containing any material or device, including mirrors
or reflective paint, which has the effect of intensifying reflected
light.
A building(s) or facility used for regular organized religious
worship and related activities.
See definition of "institutional use."
A building or an area within a building with four or more
indoor tables (more than 12 chairs), used primarily for the purpose
of furnishing to the public food to be consumed within the building,
but not including a restaurant used primarily for drive-in or take-out
services.
A business providing the sale and display of goods or sale
of services directly to the consumer. Retail goods include: clothing,
food, furniture, pharmaceuticals, books, used goods, and works of
art. General retail services include, but are not limited to: barbershops,
beauty salons, travel agencies, retail banking, real estate agent,
retail dry cleaning, laundromat, and photo studios, and repair service
establishments for small domestic products.
Frontage lines designated on a master plan that require the
ground level to be available for retail use.
A sign which revolves in a circular motion, rather than remaining
stationary on its supporting structure.
A public or private easement for land, air space above the
land, or area below the surface used for vehicular, pedestrian, transit
or other right of passage, including a street, alley or crosswalk.
A sign erected upon, against, or over the roof of a building.
A building containing three or more dwelling units in which
each unit extends vertically from the ground or basement level to
the roof of the building and in which each dwelling unit is attached
only by a party wall to one or more other similar dwelling units.
Row houses in a single row house building need not be in a straight
row.
A dish antenna whose purpose is to receive communication
or other signals from orbiting satellites and other extraterrestrial
sources.
The height of the apparatus measured vertically from the
highest point of the apparatus, when positioned for operation, to
the ground, except for roof-mounted antennas, where it shall be measured
to the point where the antenna is affixed.
The spatial relationship among structures along a street
or block front, including height, bulk and yard relationships. Scale
also refers to the proportional relationship of the size of parts
to one another and to the human figure.
Any public, parochial, private, charitable or nonprofit school,
including preschool, elementary, middle and high school, college and
university, which may include instructional and recreational uses,
living quarters, dining rooms, and other incidental facilities.
A sign contained within an athletic venue and intended solely
to provide information to the attendees of an athletic event.
Method of visually shielding or obscuring one abutting or
nearby structure or use from another.
Temporary signs or displays, including lighting, celebrating
holiday seasons.
See "street, secondary arterial."
Any exterior building wall other than a primary front façade.
The frontage of a secondary frontage lot without vehicular
access.
[Added 7-21-2021 by Ord. No. 4221]
A lot in a residential zoning district with frontage on two
parallel streets with vehicular access from only one of the streets.
[Added 7-21-2021 by Ord. No. 4221]
An on-premises sign regulating the use of the premises, such
as a "no trespassing," "no hunting," or "no soliciting" sign (also
known as a "warning sign").
A parcel of land in the sending zone from which the landowner
may sever development credits, and after which those development credits
that are severed and transferred may only be used for certain limited
activities.
Collectively includes long-term-care facilities and alternative
housing for the elderly.
The distance from the lot line to the point where a building
may be constructed. This area must be maintained clear of structures
with the exception of encroachments described in each district.
A setback extending the full width of the lot along the street
line and not less in depth, measured from the edge of the public or
private right-of-way, than the minimum required in each district unless
otherwise specified in this chapter.
[Amended 7-21-2021 by Ord. No. 4223]
A setback along the perimeter of a lot measured from the
edge of the right-of-way, the side lot line, and/or the rear lot line.
A front setback equal to the median front setback of the
existing principal buildings along a common street frontage.
A setback extending the full width of the lot along the rear
lot line and not less in depth, measured from the rear lot line, than
the minimum required in each district.
A setback extending along the same lot line from the front
setback to the rear setback and not less in width, measured from the
side lot line, than the minimum required in each district.
Parking that is utilized by two or more uses taking into
account the variable peak demand times of each use; the uses can be
located on more than one lot.
A shared residence for up to six elderly or disabled persons
who are capable of self-preservation and desirous of living together
as a family unit.
A light source from which no direct glare is visible at normal
viewing angles by virtue of its being properly aimed, oriented, and
located and properly fitted with devices such as shields, barn doors,
baffles, louvers, skirts, or visors.
Any writing, symbol, figure, representation, logo, emblem,
flag, banner, device, letter, word, street clock or temperature announcement
which shall include any announcement, declaration, demonstration,
display, illustration, name identification, description or insignia,
which is used to advertise or promote the interest of any person or
firm when such representation is placed in view of the general public.
The total dimensions of a sign surface used to display information, messages, advertising, logos, or symbols. See § 155-9.3F for standards for measuring sign area.
The ownership of a lot by one or more persons, partnerships
or corporations, which ownership is separate and distinct from that
of any abutting or adjoining lot. Ownership shall be considered separate
and distinct where lots have been separately described as such, by
metes and bounds, in a recorded deed of conveyance prior to the enactment
of an ordinance rendering one or more of such lots nonconforming and
have continued since that date to be so separately described in all
subsequent recorded deeds of conveyance.
A freestanding building designed for and occupied exclusively
as a permanent residence by a single family, having no party wall
in common with an adjacent building.
A single-use building is occupied predominately by one use.
The building may include other ground floor uses but does not qualify
as a mixed-use building.
A roof with a pitch of 6:12 or greater.
A sign attached to a tree, pole, stake, fence, public bench,
streetlight, or other object, placed on public property, in the public
right-of-way or on private property without the permission of the
property owner (also known as a "bandit sign").
Discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or
contained gaseous material resulting from domestic, industrial, commercial,
mining, agricultural, or governmental operations. Also "garbage,"
"rubbish," "sludge," "special waste."
Approval process pursuant to the requirements of Article XI.
An area in the floodplain subject to a one-percent or greater
chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the FIRM as Zone
A, AO, A1-A30, AE, A99, or AH.
A place of business providing goods and services that are
not usually considered part of a continuous pedestrian retail environment,
including but not limited to animal hospital, pawn shop, marijuana
dispensary, funeral home, storage, and garage.
The date the permit was issued for construction, provided
that the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation,
addition, placement, or other improvement was within 180 days from
the date of the permit and shall be completed within 12 months after
the date of issuance of the permit, unless a time extension is granted
in writing by the floodplain administrator. The actual start of construction,
either the first placement of permanent construction of a structure
on a site, such as the pouring of slab or footings, the installation
of piles, the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage
of excavation; or the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation.
Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as
clearing, grading, and filling; nor does it include the installation
of streets and/or walkways; nor does it include excavation for a basement,
footings, piers, or foundations or the erection of temporary forms;
nor does it include the installation on the property of accessory
buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units
or not part of the main structure. For a substantial improvement,
the actual start of construction begins with the first alteration
of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of a building,
whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of
the building.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
A setback in the façade of the building above the
lower levels.
A frontage wherein the facade is close to the frontage line,
with the first story elevated above the sidewalk sufficiently to secure
privacy for the windows, and a raised entrance with an exterior stair
or ramp and landing.
A facility for: the receipt, storage, handling, and distribution
of materials and merchandise; receiving, dispatching, or consolidating
goods in transit by road, rail, air, or sea; individually leased storage
units.
A building, not a private or public garage, used solely for
the storage of motor vehicles (not trucks) but not for the sale, service
or repair of motor vehicles.
The exterior facade of a commercial building visible from
a street, sidewalk, parking area, or other public way containing an
entrance to an establishment.
A level within a building by which height is measured. The
distance in a structure between the upper surface of a floor and the
upper surface of the floor or roof next above.
A display made of lightweight, flexible materials, consisting
of long, narrow, wavy strips hung individually or in a series, with
or without a logo or advertising message.
A right-of-way, publicly or privately owned, serving as a
means of vehicular and pedestrian travel, furnishing access to abutting
properties, and shown on the Official Highway Map of the Township,
but not including an alley, common driveway, or access easement.
A small sign mounted to the front or side of a building at
pedestrian level, or dimensional letters mounted above the door, conveying
the numerical street address of the building.
The boundary line of a street right-of-way.
A banner suspended above a public sidewalk and attached to a single street pole. See § 133-2.1.
A freestanding visual barrier built along the frontage line
or in line with the façade, often for the purpose of masking
a parking lot from the street.
The lower stories of the building façade which create
a street wall that defines the space of the street corridor and is
visible to the pedestrian.
Regional routes shown on the Official Highway Map serving
as a means of vehicular travel connecting major population centers
and carrying high volumes of traffic for considerable distances at
maximum safe speed.
Local routes shown on the Official Highway Map serving as
a means of vehicular travel primarily to give access to abutting properties
and not intended to carry through traffic.
Through routes shown on the Official Highway Map serving
as a means of vehicular travel linking local regions with each other
and with points of access to expressways, carrying a heavy flow of
traffic but with controlled access from intersecting streets and abutting
properties.
Feeder or collector street shown on the Official Highway
Map serving as means of vehicular travel linking local communities,
connecting neighborhoods to primary arterials and designed to distribute
traffic from local generators to tertiary arterials and minor streets.
Routes shown on the Official Highway Map serving as means
of vehicular travel connecting local neighborhoods and minor roads
to secondary systems, providing access to abutting properties and
not intended to carry through traffic except to the nearest secondary
road.
The physical components of streets, the urban element that
is the major part of the public realm, composed of: the street pavements
for vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians; amenities such as trees and
plantings, and furnishings such as streetlights, bollards and benches;
and the visible fronts of abutting properties, including fences, yards,
porches, and facades.
Any change in or addition to the supporting or structural
members of a building, such as the bearing walls, partitions, columns,
beams or girders, or any change which would convert an existing building
into a different structure or adapt it to a different use or which,
in the case of a nonconforming use, would prolong the life of such
use.
Any form or arrangement of building materials involving the
necessity of providing proper support, bracing, tying and anchoring
to a fixed location on or below the surface of the ground.
Any form or arrangement of building materials involving the
necessity of providing proper support, bracing, tying and anchoring,
including a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground,
and including a manufactured home.
A living arrangement, including a student home, for students
unrelated by blood, marriage or legal adoption, attending or about
to attend a college or university or who are on a semester or summer
break from studies at a college or university, or any combination
of such persons. Student homes shall not include fraternities, sororities
or community residential programs.
A structure containing a living arrangement owned or leased
by an educational institution and operated as an integral part of
that educational institution for the use of its students and faculty.
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 or devisees, transfer of ownership or 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 residential
dwelling, shall be exempted. "Subdivision" shall include the merger
of two or more lots into a lesser number of lots and the mortgage
of less than all of a lot.
Damage from any cause sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% or more of the market value of the structure before
the damage occurred.
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or other improvements
of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market
value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement.
This term includes structures which have incurred substantial damage,
regardless of the actual repair work performed. This term does not,
however, include either:
Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing
violations of state or local health, sanitary or safety code specifications
which have been identified by the Director of Building and Planning
and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions;
or
Any alteration of an historic structure, provided that the alteration
will not preclude the structure's continued designation as an historic
structure.
Where, in the judgment of the Township Engineer, at least
90% (based on the cost of the required improvements for which financial
security has been posted pursuant to § 135-5 of this Code)
of those improvements required as a condition for final approval have
been completed in accordance with the approved plan, so that the project
will be able to be used, occupied or operated for its intended use.
A natural channel or other low-lying stretch of land which
collects or carries surface water runoff.
A structure designed for swimming and/or wading, constructed
or installed either below or above ground and designed to contain
or capable of containing water 24 inches or more in depth.
Two automobiles parked on a driveway or in any other location
on a lot, lined up behind one another.
A place, building or portion of a building involving the
gathering of data and market research and the analysis of same, but
excluding any laboratory research, animal or bench research and human
experimentation.
A type of nonpermanent sign that is located on private property.
A use of property intended for a limited period of time and
does not involve the construction or alteration of any permanent structure.
See "street, tertiary arterial."
A building or part of a building devoted to showing motion
pictures or for dramatic, musical or live performances.
Activity related to the movement of earth in the production
of food crops, trees, flowers, or other flora for agricultural or
commercial purposes.
See "row house."
The Township of Lower Merion.
Include, but are not limited to: acetone, ammonia, benzene,
calcium carbide, carbon disulfide, celluloid, chlorine, hydrochloric
acid, hydrocyanic acid, magnesium, nitric acid and oxides of nitrogen,
petroleum products, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, sulfur, pesticides.
Any premises used as a parking space for more than one house
trailer.
The procedure prescribed by this chapter whereby development
credits may be severed from a sending parcel and utilized for additional
development on a receiving parcel, held for later use or extinguished;
and the procedure whereby owners of development credits, currently
or previously appurtenant to a sending parcel, convey some or all
of those credits to another party, including landowners/assignees
of receiving parcels. The terms "development credits" and "development
rights" are synonymous as used herein.
With respect to transferable development rights, the person
or legal entity who purchases or otherwise receives development credits
and who may apply the development credits to a receiving parcel, hold
them, or subsequently sell or otherwise transfer the development credits.
With respect to transferable development rights, the owner
of development credits and/or the owner of a sending parcel who severs
and then sells, grants or otherwise transfers the development credits
associated with the sending parcel to another person or entity.
A facility providing accommodations for a transportation
system, including: bus terminal and railroad station.
A building designed for and occupied exclusively as a permanent
residence for only one family, and having a party wall in common with
an adjacent building.
A category determined by use, disposition, or configuration,
including size or extent, such as street types, yard types, etc.
A sign which is mounted entirely under a canopy or the roof
of a covered walkway or pedestrian arcade.
An unfinished area that does not provide adequate ceiling
height for occupation per the Building Code.
An unfinished area below a structure that does not provide
adequate ceiling height for occupation per the Building Code.
The intentional formation in terms of both beauty and function
of human settlement, combining elements, among others, of urban planning,
architecture, landscape architecture and traffic engineering.
Satellite signals from the major communications satellites
that, when viewed on a conventional television set, are at least equal
in picture quality to those received from local commercial television
stations or by way of cable television.
The purpose or activity for which land, water or buildings
are designed, arranged, or intended, or for which land or buildings
are occupied or maintained.
Permission or approval granted by the Zoning Hearing Board
constituting a modification of or relief from the exact provisions
of this chapter as applied to a specific piece of property.
An unenclosed skeletal structure without walls designed to
mechanically lift one or more motor vehicles above grade for the purpose
of temporary storage.
A sign affixed to a truck, van, automobile, trailer, or other
vehicle which is parked on, or adjacent to any property and used primarily
as a stationary advertisement to attract attention to a product sold,
or an activity or business located on or off the property.
A passage, hall, or room between the outer door and the interior
of a building; lobby.
A tree capable of surviving and having a reasonable chance
of succeeding.
That portion of the landscape which can be readily viewed
by the observer from one or more vantage points. The extent of area
that can be viewed is commonly delineated by land form, vegetation
and/or distance.
A compact commercial center with a core of mixed-use commercial,
residential and service uses. A village typically has a recognizable
center, identifiable physical boundaries, and a pedestrian scale and
orientation.
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully
compliant with the community's floodplain management regulations.
A structure or other development without the elevation certificate,
other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in
44 CFR § 60.3(b)(5), (c)(4), (c)(10), (d)(3), (e)(2), (e)(4),
or (e)(5) is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation
is provided. Existing structures built prior to the date the Floodplain
District was enacted that have not been substantially improved shall
not be considered in violation of the floodplain provisions.
The ability of vertical surfaces to allow viewers to see
through to the other side, e.g., windows and open fences.
Small pedestrian-oriented information signs that may convey
information, such as hours of operation, or take the form of directories,
menu cases, or convey historical building information.
A sign erected against or painted on the wall of any building,
displayed on windows or doors or displayed with the exposed face thereof
in a plane parallel to the face of said wall.
Any natural or artificial swale, stream, channel, drain or
culvert in which water flows continuously or intermittently.
Those areas inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater
at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under
normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically
adapted for life in saturated soil conditions; or as further defined
and delineated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the United
States Environmental Protection Agency or the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection.
A sign that is applied, painted, or affixed to a window,
or placed inside a window, within three feet of the glass, facing
the outside of the building, and easily seen from the outside. Customary
displays of merchandise or objects and material without lettering
behind a store window are not considered signs.
Any unstaffed facility for the transmission and/or reception
of wireless communication services, usually consisting of an antenna
array or micro facility, connection cables, an equipment facility
and a support structure or attachment structure to achieve the necessary
elevation.
Any personal wireless service as defined by the Telecommunications
Act of 1996, which includes FCC-licensed commercial wireless telecommunications
services, including cellular, personal communication services (PCS),
specialized mobile radio (SMR), enhanced specialized mobile radio
(ESMR), paging and similar services that currently exist or that may
in the future be developed.
An area characterized by a more or less dense and extensive
tree cover; more particularly, a plant community predominantly of
healthy trees and other woody vegetation, well-stocked and growing
more or less closely together.
A plan prepared in accordance with underlying zoning and
subdivision regulations which documents and quantifies permitted density.
A three-member board appointed by the Township of Lower Merion
Board of Commissioners to hear and decide appeals from the Zoning
Officer, variances and special exceptions and to hear challenges to
the validity of this chapter or the Zoning Maps.
[3]
Editor's Note: The Unit Property Act was repealed by the Act
of July 2, 1980, P.L. 286, No. 82. See now the Uniform Condominium
Act, 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq.
[4]
Editor's Note: The former definition of "commercial use,"
which immediately followed this definition, was repealed 1-18-2023 by Ord. No. 4258.
[5]
Editor's Note: The Unit Property Act was repealed by the Act
of July 2, 1980, P.L. 286, No. 82. See now the Uniform Condominium
Act, 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq.
[6]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed the definition
of "electric vehicle charging station infrastructure," which immediately
followed this definition.
[7]
Editor's Note: See 24 P.S. § 1-101 et seq.
