All uses hereafter established in any zoning
district shall comply with the performance standards contained in
this section. The performance standards shall apply to an existing
use or structure, or portion thereof, when it is extended, enlarged,
moved, structurally altered or reconstructed.
1.
Fire and explosive
hazards. All activities and all storage of flammable and explosive
material at any location shall be provided with adequate safety devices
against the hazards of fire and explosion and adequate fire-fighting
equipment as specified by the Department of Labor and Industry, the
laws of the commonwealth and Chapter 143, Fire Prevention.[1] All buildings and structures and activities within such
buildings and structures shall conform to the Borough building and
fire codes and other applicable ordinances.
2.
Radioactivity
and/or electrical disturbances. There shall be no activities which
emit radioactivity at any location beyond the most recent threshold
limit values adopted by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial
Hygienists and the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements
and their reports, Nos. 39 and 22. There shall be no radio or electrical
disturbance adversely affecting the operation of equipment belonging
to someone other than the creator with no violation of the American
Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists standard. The standards
are contained in the American Conference of Governmental Industrial
Hygienists 1990-1991 Threshold Limit Values for Physical Agents in
the Work Environment and 1990-1991 Threshold Limit Values for Chemical
Substances and Physical Agents and Biological Exposure Indices.
3.
Smoke, ash or
dust. There shall be no emission of smoke, ash, dust or volatile organic
compounds which violates applicable federal, state or county laws
and regulations. In determining compliance with the visible emission
standards of the rules and regulations of the Allegheny County Health
Department, the following EPA Method 9 shall be used, except that
the averaging provisions of Paragraph 2.5 of Method 9 shall not apply.
Rather than applying the averaging provisions of Method 9, each momentary
observation that is recorded shall be deemed to represent the opacity
of emissions for a fifteen-second period. Each observation which is
recorded to be equal to or greater than 20% opacity shall be counted
in determining the hourly aggregated period.
4.
Liquid and solid
wastes. There shall be no discharge at any point into any public or
private sewerage system, watercourse or into the ground of any materials,
in such a way or of such a nature, as will contaminate or otherwise
cause the emission of hazardous materials in violation of any federal,
state, county or Borough laws and regulations. All required discharge
and disposal permits shall be obtained.
5.
Glare.
A.
No direct or
reflected glare, whether from any lighting source or production operation,
shall be visible from adjoining public streets or adjacent lots when
viewed by a person standing on ground level. "Glare" shall be defined
as direct or indirect light from such activities of greater than 1/2
footcandle on any adjoining property.
B.
All lighting
devices located within 100 feet of a property line adjoining residential
use or zoning classification shall be designed with shields, reflectors
or fractor panels which direct and cut off the light at a cutoff angle
that is less than 90°. ("Cutoff angle" is defined as the angle
formed by a line drawn from the direction of light rays at the light
source and a line perpendicular to the ground from the light source
above which no light is emitted).
6.
Odor. There shall
be no emission of odorous gases or other matter in such quantities
as to be offensive on adjoining streets or adjacent lots. Odor thresholds
shall be measured in accordance with ASTM d 1391-57 Standard Method
for Measurement of Odor in Atmospheres (Dilution Method).
7.
Noise. No operation
or activity shall cause or create noise in excess of the sound levels
prescribed below. For the purpose of this chapter, the noise level
shall be measured in decibels (dBa) which indicate the sound pressure
level obtained from a frequency-weighing network corresponding to
the A-scale on a standard sound level meter.
A.
Residential
uses. At no point on or beyond the boundary of any lot within these
districts shall the exterior noise level resulting from any use or
activity located on such lot exceed a maximum of 45 dBa for four hours
in any twenty-four-hour period.
B.
Commercial uses.
At no point on or beyond the boundary of any lot within these districts
shall the exterior noise level resulting from any use or activity
located on such lot exceed a maximum of 50 dBa for four hours in any
twenty-four-hour period.
C.
Industrial uses.
At no point on or beyond the boundary of any lot within these districts
shall the exterior noise level resulting from any use or activity
located on such lot exceed a maximum of 60 dBa for four hours in any
twenty-four-hour period.
D.
Where two different
uses for which different noise levels are prescribed share a common
boundary, the most restrictive of the noise level standards shall
govern.
E.
The following
uses or activities shall be exempted from the noise regulations: noises
emanating from construction and/or maintenance activities between
8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.; and noises caused by safety signals, warning
devices and other emergency-related activities or uses.
F.
In addition
to the above regulations, all uses and activities within the Borough
shall conform to any applicable county, state or federal noise regulations.
Wherever the regulations contained herein are in variance with any
other lawfully adopted rules or requirements, the more restrictive
shall govern.
8.
Vibrations.
A.
Vibration shall
be measured at or beyond any adjacent lot line or residential district
line as indicated in Table A below, and such measurements shall not
exceed the particle velocities so designated. The instrument used
for these measurements shall be a three-component measuring system
capable of simultaneous measurement of vibration in three mutually
perpendicular directions. The maximum vibration is given as particle
velocity, which may be measured directly with suitable instrumentation
or computed on the basis of displacement and frequency. When computed,
the following formula shall be used:
|
P.V.
|
=
|
6.28 F x D
|
|
P.V.
|
=
|
Particle velocity, inches per second
|
|
F
|
=
|
Vibration frequency, cycles per second
|
|
D
|
=
|
Single amplitude displacement of the vibration,
in inches
|
B.
The maximum
particle velocity shall be the vector sum of the three individual
components recorded. Such particle velocity shall not exceed the values
given in Table A. Where vibration is produced as discrete impulses,
and such impulses do not exceed a frequency of 100 per minute, then
the values in Table A may be multiplied by two.
|
Table A
Maximum Ground Transmitted Vibration by
Zoning District
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
Vibration Measured In
|
Adjacent Lot Line
|
Residential Districts
|
|
Residential districts
|
0.02
|
0.02
|
|
Commercial districts
|
0.06
|
0.02
|
|
WDD District
|
0.10
|
0.02
|
9.
Storage. All
garbage, trash and rubbish shall be stored in covered, vermin-resistant
containers and shall be screened from public view.
10.
Determination
of compliance.
A.
If during the
review of a zoning application it appears that the proposed use or
development may violate the performance standards contained in this
section, the Borough may initiate an investigation and may require
the applicant to submit such data and evidence as is needed to make
an objective determination. The evidence may include, but shall not
be limited, to such items as:
(1)
Plans
of the existing or proposed constructions and development;
(2)
A description
of the existing or proposed machinery, processes and products;
(3)
Specifications
for the mechanisms and techniques used or proposed to be used in restricting
the possible emission of any of the dangerous and objectionable elements
as set forth in this Part; and/or
(4)
Measurements
of the amount or rate of emission of said dangerous and objectionable
elements.
B.
In order to
determine compliance, the Borough may seek assistance from any governmental
agency having interest in or jurisdiction for the particular environmental
issue. The Borough may also require the applicant to submit competent
substantial evidence that the proposed use does comply with the performance
standard(s). The technical expert(s) providing the evidence shall
be a person(s) or firm(s) mutually acceptable to the Borough and applicant;
in the event that agreement cannot be reached on the technical expert,
the Borough shall make the selection. The cost of the expert's study
and report shall be borne by the applicant. A negative report by the
technical expert as to the proposed use's compliance with the performance
standard(s), and the applicant's refusal or inability to make alterations
to ensure compliance, shall be a basis for denying approval of the
zoning application.
11.
Continuing
enforcement.
A.
If after issuance
of a certificate of occupancy, there is an alleged violation of the
performed standards of this section, the Zoning Officer shall investigate
the alleged violation and, subject to the approval by Borough Council,
may require competent substantial evidence to assist in the determination
of a violation.
B.
The Zoning
Officer shall follow the procedures specified by this chapter for
giving a notice of violation. Costs of technical experts employed
by the Borough in determining the violation shall be paid by the owner
or operator of the use, if the use is found to be in violation. If
the use is found not to be in violation, the costs of technical experts
shall be paid by the Borough. Any use found in violation of these
performance standards shall be further subject to the enforcement
provisions of this chapter.
1.
Performance standard.
Any landowner or person engaged in the alteration or development of
land which may affect stormwater runoff characteristics shall implement
such measures as are reasonably necessary to prevent injury to health
or property. Such measures shall include such actions as are required
to:
2.
Stormwater plan
requirements.
A.
When required
by this chapter, the applicant shall submit a stormwater management
plan for the land development prepared and sealed by a registered
professional engineer or landscape architect of demonstrated qualifications
in stormwater management, along with all calculations and analyses
used to prepare the plan. All calculations of pre- and post-development
runoff and storage requirements for sites exceeding one acre shall
be completed using the United States Soil Conservation Service (SCS)
Soil Cover Complex Method (as contained in SCS Technical Release TR-55).[2] These calculations are to be computed by a registered
civil engineer or registered soils engineer. The rational method may
be used for land development sites less than one acre.
[2]
Editor's Note: The Soil Conservation Service is now known
as the "Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)."
B.
If the land
development is located within a watershed for which a stormwater management
plan has been adopted or is being prepared, pursuant to the State
Storm Water Management Act (167 of 1978),[3] then any proposed stormwater control measures shall be
consistent with the watershed plan.
[3]
Editor's Note: See 32 P.S. § 680.1
et seq.
C.
If the development
is proposing to connect with existing storm sewers, the applicant
shall demonstrate that the system has the capacity to handle the additional
stormwater flow. All connections shall be approved by the Borough
Engineer.
3.
Plan approval.
The stormwater management plan for the development site and all proposed
control measures shall be reviewed and approved by the Borough Engineer.
1.
Applicability.
Where any excavation, grading or earthmoving activity, including removal
of topsoil, trees or other vegetative cover of land, is proposed,
a plan for minimizing soil erosion and sedimentation, both during
and after construction, is required.
2.
Erosion/sedimentation
plan. The erosion/sedimentation plan shall be prepared in accordance
with the Pennsylvania Erosion and Sedimentation Regulations (25 Pa.
Code, Chapter 102) and the standards and specifications of the Allegheny
County Conservation District.
3.
Plan review.
The Borough may submit the erosion/sedimentation plan to the County
Conservation District for review and comment.
Any landowner or person engaged in the alteration
or development of land which reasonably may be suspected of containing
hazardous, toxic or radioactive waste (HTRW), because of past use
or practice, shall provide an environmental assessment by a qualified
professional engineer. If the environmental assessment indicates presence
of HTRW, a plan completed by a qualified professional engineer for
removal and proper disposal of the hazard shall be submitted, along
with a description of the rationale for the plan as well as necessary
background computations, for review and approval by the Borough Engineer.
Costs of review and approval, including any necessary consultants,
shall be borne by the developer. All HTRW inspection and handling
will be in accordance with the latest United States Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA) or other applicable federal, state, county
or municipal guidelines.
1.
If the Zoning
Officer, based upon review by the Borough Engineer or the County Conservation
District or DEP or the Fish and Wildlife Service or the Army Corps
of Engineers, has reason to believe that a portion of a site proposed
to be altered may possibly meet the state or federal definitions of
a wetland, the Zoning Officer may require the applicant to provide
a study by a qualified professional delineating the locations of wetlands.
However, the Borough accepts no responsibility to identify all wetlands
or to warn all parties of such possibilities.
2.
All permits of
the Borough are issued on the condition that the applicant comply
with federal and state wetlands regulations, and such permits may
be revoked or suspended by the Zoning Officer for noncompliance with
the regulations.
