A copy of the Zoning Map is hereby adopted by reference, attached,
and is an integral part of this chapter. The Official Zoning Map shall
be located in the Township Office, and shall be kept current by the
Township Secretary as zoning district boundaries are amended. No changes
of any kind shall be made to the Official Zoning Map except after
amendments have been officially adopted by the Board of Supervisors.
The Zoning Officer shall determine the location of zoning district
boundaries as they relate to property lines that are contested. An
appeal from his decision shall be taken to the Zoning Hearing Board.
Boundaries that appear to follow streets, streams, or lot lines shall
be construed to follow the center lines of such streets, streams or
lot lines, or to be a specific distance therefrom and parallel thereto
as noted specifically on the Map.
The regulations governing development in a zoning district shall
apply uniformly to every proposed development in that zoning district.
No building, structure or land area shall, after the adoption of this
chapter, be erected, used or altered unless to conform with the regulations
in the zoning district within which the property to be developed is
situated, or unless a variance has been granted by the Zoning Hearing
Board allowing specific modification of the regulations.
No yard, lot area, or off-street parking space required by one building,
structure or land use shall be counted toward the requirements of
another building, structure or land use. No yard or lot shall be reduced
in size or dimension so as to be less than the minimums prescribed
for the zoning district. Nor shall off-street parking spaces be reduced
in number to less than the minimum required for the specific land
use.
The Township is hereby divided into five zoning classifications
as shown on the Official Zoning Map. The regulations that apply in
each classification are contained in district articles. The five classifications
are:
Agricultural Residential District. This district includes land that
is predominantly rural farmland and farm fields, woods, vacant, and
other open land in large tracts with access from both local and state
roads. The purpose of the district is to sustain and reinforce the
rural character of the Township, particularly the agricultural community,
by providing for low-impact uses and development practices that will
maintain the open, rural nature of the Township.
Residential District. This district includes developed and undeveloped
land with access to high-volume roadway corridors that have, and continue
to develop, in residential lots and plans because of easy access to
regional employment centers. The purpose of the district is to channel
new housing into the rural residential corridors, where much vacant
and desirable land remains, in order to allow for more efficient provision
of public services, and to create cohesive residential neighborhoods
in the Township.
Highway Commercial District. This district includes properties abutting
an arterial roadway where commercial development has already occurred
and where the land has few topographic constraints. The purpose of
the district is to provide for neighborhood-scaled businesses catering
to the day-to-day needs of local permanent, summer and weekend residents
and travelers. It is recognized that much of the frontage the primary
arterial roadway is not easily developable because of slopes, and
that the amount of land provided is limited, and should be concentrated
rather than haphazardly located throughout the corridor.
Light Industrial District. This includes land already in manufacturing
use or abutting the main line of the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad.
The purpose of the district is to provide an appropriate location
for non-retail businesses that create permanent jobs without interfering
with residential development or the rural character of the Township.
Park Conservation District. This district includes all the land owned
by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania within the Township. Its purpose
is to preserve these public lands as permanent open space and to allow
the Township control over use of any such public lands that might
be sold or leased in the future so that such reuse will be compatible
with and supplement a regional public natural or open space recreational
area.