[Ord. 116, 9/7/2011, § 600]
The A-2 - Agricultural District seeks to promote the continuation
and preservation of the existing agricultural activities within those
areas most suitable for such activities. This district is established
to protect these soils and stabilize the Township's viable agricultural
economy by eliminating land uses not compatible with agriculture and
allowing for on-farm occupations to provide supplemental income to
the Township's farmers in residence. This district further recognizes
the limitations of the lesser productive soils by providing for businesses
that meet the needs of agricultural operations. Residential uses are
limited and any future inhabitants in this district may be subject
to some common characteristics of agriculture which are sometimes
regarded as objectionable, including but not limited to odor, dust,
night, holiday, early morning and weekend operations, noise, heavy
vehicle use of roads, the storage and disposal of manure, the application
of fertilizers, herbicides, etc. Residents, owners, and users of property
in this district should accept these factors as normal and unavoidable
characteristics of an agricultural area and are hereby put on official
notice that § 4 of the Pennsylvania Act 133 of 1982, referred
to as the "Right to Farm Law," 3 Pa.C.S.A. § 951 et seq.,
may bar them from obtaining a legal judgement against such normal
agricultural operations. Further, it is the intent of the Township
for these provisions to comply with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's
ACRE (Agriculture, Communities, and Rural Environment) legislation,
3 Pa.C.S.A. § 301 et seq. Should a successful challenge
to this chapter be filed under the ACRE legislation, only that portion
of these provisions found to be in conflict with ACRE will be deleted
and no other part of these provisions will be affected.
[Ord. 116, 9/7/2011, § 601; as amended by Ord. 123, 2/6/2014, § 6]
1.
Land and buildings in the A-2 - Agricultural District shall be used
only for the following purposes:
A.
Agricultural operations that are not CAFOs or CAOs subject to the standards found in Part 23 of this chapter.
B.
Concentrated animal feeding operations and concentrated animal operations located greater than 500 feet from an adjoining residential zoning district subject to the standards found in Part 23 of this chapter.
C.
Municipal uses.
D.
Principal farm dwellings.
E.
Accessory buildings and uses incidental and secondary to the above
permitted uses when located on the same lot.
F.
Display and sale of agricultural products by a person farming land in agricultural districts subject to the standards found in Part 23 of this chapter.
G.
Noncommercial manure storage facilities.
H.
No-impact home-based business.
I.
Day care homes.
K.
Accessory buildings and uses customarily incidental to special exception uses approved under § 27-603 below when located on the same lot.
L.
Accessory solar energy systems, subject to the requirements of § 27-2306.2.
M.
Accessory wind energy systems, subject to the requirements of § 27-2306.4.
N.
Closed-loop geothermal energy systems, subject to the requirements
of § 27-2306.6.
O.
Accessory anaerobic digester systems, subject to the requirements
of § 27-2306.7.
P.
Community anaerobic digester systems, subject to the requirements
of § 27-2306.7.
Q.
Outdoor hydronic heating systems, subject to the requirements of
section 2306.9.
[Ord. 116, 9/7/2011, § 602; as amended by Ord. 123, 2/6/2014, § 7; Ord. No. 132, 6/17/2016; Ord. No. 134, 5/4/2017; Ord.
No. 141, 5/21/2018]
1.
The establishment and/or expansion of the following uses are permitted when special exceptions are granted by the Zoning Hearing Board in conformance with Part 23 and other provisions of this chapter. Wherever possible, said uses shall be located where they will not cause conflicts with normal agricultural operations.
A.
Concentrated animal feeding operations and concentrated animal operations located less than 500 feet from an adjoining residential zoning district, subject to the standards found in Part 23 of this chapter.
B.
Agritainment.
C.
Agri-venue.
D.
Animal laboratory.
E.
Agricultural related business.
F.
Bed and breakfast establishments.
G.
ECHO housing.
H.
Essential services buildings and structures.
I.
Home occupations which do not qualify as no-impact home-based businesses.
J.
Temporary farm employee housing.
K.
Riding school or horse boarding stable.
L.
Accessory farm dwellings.
M.
Noncommercial day care centers accessory to existing churches.
N.
Rural occupations.
O.
Kennels.
P.
Non-farm single-family detached dwellings.
Q.
Principal solar energy systems, subject to the requirements of § 27-2306.3.
R.
Principal anaerobic digester systems, subject to the requirements
of § 27-2306.8.
S.
Beekeeping.
T.
Grain
storage/commercial feed mill.
U.
Horticulture.
V.
Manure
storage facility.
W.
Heliport.
[Ord. 116, 9/7/2011, § 603]
1.
Lot Area.
A.
The minimum lot area required for permitted uses and special exception
uses in the A-2 - Agricultural District shall be no smaller than is
required to meet all applicable setbacks and Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP) requirements for the location of
on-site water supply and sewage disposal facilities, including replacement
system location. The maximum lot area for all non-farm single-family
detached dwellings shall be two acres. The maximum lot area for all
other special exception uses except concentrated animal feeding operations
and concentrated animal operations shall be four acres. There shall
be no maximum lot area for municipal uses, concentrated animal feeding
operations and concentrated animal operations.
B.
Subdivision and Land Development Limitations. It is the intent of
the Supervisors to preserve and protect agriculture and to preserve
prime agricultural soils through limitations on subdivision and land
development.
(1)
Number of Lots, Dwellings or Other Principal Non-agricultural
Buildings Permitted. One principal building or use may be established
for any unimproved lot that is less than 50 acres subject to compliance
with all dimensional and use requirements of this chapter. In every
other instance, for each parent tract there shall be permitted by
special exception the subdivision of one lot, which shall specifically
include, but not be limited to, a subdivision to change lot lines
or a "lot add-on" subdivision unless exempted in Subparagraph (2)
or the establishment of an additional principal building or use on
the parent tract, but not both, with the portion of the existing or
newly created lot used for residential purposes limited to the maximum
lot size set forth in Paragraph A above, for each 50 acres held on
December 24, 1989, or if the parent tract was not classified as A-2
-Agricultural District on December 24, 1989, on the date when such
land was first included in the A-2 - Agricultural District after December
24, 1989. A tabular example of this limitation on the creation of
lots or the erection of dwellings is as follows:
|
Size of Parent Tract in Acres
|
Number of Lots Permitted to Be Subdivided or Additional Permitted
Principal Buildings or Uses*
|
|---|---|
|
Less than 50 acres
|
0
|
|
50.01 — 100.0 acres
|
1
|
|
100.01 — 150.0 acres
|
2
|
|
150.01 + acres
|
3 plus one additional subdivision or permitted principal building
or use for each additional 50 acres after 200 acres
|
|
Notes:
| |
|---|---|
|
*
|
For purposes of this Section, in no case shall parent tracts
qualify for any additional lots permitted to be subdivided or additional
permitted buildings or uses than those allotted to parent tracts held
on December 24, 1989, or if the parent tract was not classified as
A-2 - Agricultural District on December 24, 1989, on the date when
such land was first included in the A-2 - Agricultural District after
December 24, 1989:
|
(a)
Any subdivision or land development plan hereinafter filed with
the applicable approving body for subdivision or land development
or any deed of conveyance of a lot in this district shall specify
which lot or lots shall carry with it a right of further subdivision
or erection of accessory farm or non-farm single-family dwellings
or principal non-agricultural buildings, if any such right remains
from the quota allocated to the parent tract. This right of further
subdivision or erection of accessory farm or non-farm single-family
dwellings or principal non-agricultural buildings, or an indication
that no further subdivision or erection of such dwellings or principal
buildings is permissible, shall also be included in the deed to the
newly-created lot. This restriction shall remain in effect as long
as further subdivision is prohibited under the zoning ordinance then
in effect.
(b)
The number of lots which may be created or accessory farm or
non-farm single-family dwellings or other principal non-agricultural
buildings which may be erected on the parent tract shall be fixed
according to the parent tract. This number shall not be increased
by the subdivision of such parent tract. Any subsequent owner of a
parent tract or land remaining in a parent tract after subdivision
shall be bound by the actions of his predecessor.
(c)
Any land development, the purpose of which is to permit the
erection of a permanent accessory farm or non-farm single-family dwelling
on a parent tract which has previously been improved with a dwelling
which also will remain on the parent tract or to permit the erection
of a structure for an additional principal use on the parent tract
shall be considered a subdivision for the purposes of this section.
It is the purpose and intent of this section to limit the development
of agricultural tracts for non-agricultural purposes regardless of
whether such development is accomplished by subdivision or land development
as those terms are defined in the Municipalities Planning Code, 53
P.S. § 10101 et seq.
(d)
No subdivision shall be permitted which shall increase the lot
size of a lot of record used or to be used for residential purposes
in excess of the maximum lot size as set forth herein. Any lot which
is less than 10 acres in size shall be presumed to be used for non-agricultural
purposes.
(2)
Exemptions from Limitation on Subdivision of Land. The following
types of subdivisions shall not be counted against the subdivision/land
development quota established by Subparagraph (1). In addition, the
below exemptions do not require a special exception approval:
(a)
The transfer of land to increase the size of a tract being used
for agricultural purposes.
(b)
The transfer of non-prime agricultural land to increase the
size of a tract not being used for agricultural purposes.
(c)
A subdivision to create a lot which will be transferred to the
Township or a municipal authority created by the Township.
(3)
Requirements for Plans and Deeds Relating to Lands Within the
A-2 Agricultural District. Any subdivision or land development plan
hereafter filed with the applicable approving body for subdivision
or land development of land or any deed of conveyance in the A-2 -
Agricultural District shall specify on the recorded plan which lot
or lots shall carry a right of further subdivision or erection of
accessory farm or non-farm single-family dwellings or other principal
non-agricultural buildings, if any such right remains from the quota
allocated to the parent tract on December 24, 1989, or on the date
when such land was first included in the A-2 Agricultural District,
whichever is later. The right of further subdivision or erection of
accessory farm or non-farm single farm dwellings or other principal
non-agricultural buildings, or a statement that no further subdivision
or erection of accessory farm or non-farm single-family dwellings
or other principal non-agricultural buildings is permissible, shall
also be included in the deed to the newly-created or conveyed lot.
If the designation of the right of further subdivision or erection
of additional accessory farm or non-farm single-family dwellings or
other principal non-agricultural buildings was not included on a subdivision
or land development plan or deed of conveyance of a parent tract,
it shall be conclusively presumed that the largest lot remaining after
subdivision shall carry the right of further subdivision or erection
of additional accessory farm or non-farm single-family dwellings or
other principal non-agricultural buildings.
2.
Minimum lot width: 150 feet at the building line.
3.
Minimum lot depth: 150 feet.
4.
Yard Requirements. All buildings shall be set back from street rights-of-way
and lot lines in accordance with the following requirements:
A.
Front Yard. The minimum front yard required shall be that distance established in Part 19 of this chapter between the right-of-way line of a public or private road and the building line.
B.
Side Yard. There shall be two side yards each having a minimum width
of 20 feet.
C.
Rear Yard. The rear yard shall be a minimum of 60 feet in depth.
6.
Height Regulations. No principal building shall exceed 35 feet in height except as provided in Part 21 of this chapter.
7.
Minimum Off-Street Vehicle Parking and Loading Requirements. Off-street
parking and loading facilities shall be provided in accordance with
the requirements of Part 18.
