Township of Barrett, PA Definitions

A use of a building or land for a business which has obscene materials as a substantial or significant portion of its stock-in-trade.

A use of a building or land for a business which involves the sale, lease, trade, gift, or display of drug paraphernalia as a substantial or significant portion of its stock-in-trade.

Any nightclub, bar, restaurant, arcade, theater, or any other establishment that conducts live performances as a principal part of its business that are characterized by the exposure of specified anatomical areas or by specified sexual activities or films, motion pictures, videocassettes, slides, or other photographic reproductions in which a substantial portion of the total presentation time is devoted to the showing of material that is characterized by an emphasis upon the depiction or description of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas or where any specified sexual activities are conducted for economic gain or any other form of consideration.

AGRICULTURE

The cultivation of the soil and the raising and harvesting of the products of the soil, including, but not limited to, nursery, horticulture, forestry, and animal husbandry.

ALTERATION

Any change or rearrangement in the structural parts or in the existing facilities of a building or structure or any enlargement thereof, whether by extension on any side or by an increase in height, or the moving of such building from one location or position to another, excluding repairs to existing and architectural features.

ANIMAL UNIT

A unit of measurement to compare various animal types. One animal unit equals the following:

One horse, cow or mule;

BUILDING, MAIN OR PRINCIPAL

Two donkeys or ponies;

Four alpacas;

Five sheep or hogs;

Six goats; or

Twenty poultry, rabbits or hares.

ANTENNA

Any exterior device or apparatus designed for cellular, digital, telephonic, radio, pager, commercial mobile radio, television, microwave, or any other wireless communications through sending and/or receiving of electromagnetic waves, including without limitation omnidirectional or whip antennas and directional or panel antennas. This definition shall not include private-residence-mounted satellite dishes or television antennas or amateur radio equipment, including without limitation ham or citizens band radio antennas.

ANTENNA HEIGHT

The vertical distance measured from the base of the antenna support structure at grade to the highest point of the structure, including any antennas attached thereto or forming part thereof. If the support structure is on a sloped grade then the average between the highest and lowest grades shall be used in calculating the antenna height.

APARTMENT HOTEL

A facility offering transient lodging accommodation to the general public and where rooms or suites may include kitchen facilities and sitting rooms in addition to the bedroom, where a typical guest rents rooms or suites for longer periods than a typical hotel stay.

APARTMENT UNIT

One or more rooms with private bath and kitchen facilities comprising an independent, self-contained dwelling unit in a building containing two or more dwelling units.

APPLICANT

A landowner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has filed an application for development, including his heirs, successors and assigns.

ASSISTED-LIVING FACILITY

A residential community, which is planned for development in its entirety under unified control, including a group of apartments, engaged in providing some nursing and/or health-related care to residents or patients who do not require the degree of care and treatment that an intermediate or skilled nursing care facility is designed to provide, or apartments solely for the occupancy of persons age 62 and older who will be provided a program of supportive services to help maintain their independent living status.

BED-AND-BREAKFAST

An owner- or operator-occupied dwelling in which up to a maximum of eight rooms are provided for transient lodging to the general public for compensation, which serves breakfast for lodging guests only, but no other meals and no cooking facilities are provided in any rental room.

[Added 8-12-2020 by Ord. No. 198]

BOARD

The Zoning Hearing Board of Barrett Township.

BOARDINGHOUSE

An owner-occupied dwelling in which not more than six room(s) that do not constitute separate dwelling units are rented for habitation. A boardinghouse may either involve or not involve the providing of meals to residents, but shall not include a restaurant open to the public. A boardinghouse may also be referred to as a "rooming house" or "lodging house." A boardinghouse shall not include a use that meets the definition of a hotel, motel, inn, short-term rental, dormitory, life-care center, personal care center, bed-and-breakfast, group home or nursing home.

[Added 8-12-2020 by Ord. No. 198]

BUILDING

A structure having a roof supported by columns or walls for the housing or enclosure of persons, animals or property.

BUILDING HEIGHT

A vertical distance measured from the elevation of the proposed finished grade at the front of the building to the highest point on the roof for flat roofs, to the decklines of mansard roofs, and to the mean height between the eaves and ridge for gable, hip, or gambrel roofs.

BUILDING, ACCESSORY

See definition for "accessory building."

A building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which it is situated. In any residential district, any dwelling shall be deemed to be the main or principal building.

BULK

A term used to describe the size, volume, area, or shape of buildings or other structures and the physical relationship to each other, to open space, to tracts of land, to lot lines, or to other buildings or structures.

CAMP

A business or organization offering dormitories, cottages, cabins, or similar accommodations, eating facilities, sanitary facilities and recreational or education facilities to the public at large or any segment of the public on other than a transient basis.

[Amended 8-12-2020 by Ord. No. 198]

CAMPGROUND or RECREATIONAL VEHICLE PARK

A plot of ground upon which two or more campsites are located, established or maintained for temporary occupancy by persons using tents or recreational vehicles and which is not to be used for long-term residency of occupants.

[Added 8-12-2020 by Ord. No. 198]

CHILD-CARE FACILITY

A facility operated for the purpose of providing care, protection, and guidance to individuals during only part of a twenty-four-hour day. This term includes nursery schools, preschools, day-care centers, and other similar uses but excludes public and private educational facilities or any facility offering care to individuals for a full twenty-four-hour period.

DAY-CARE CENTERA type of child-care use that provides care for seven or more children at one time who are not relatives of the primary caregiver, does not occur within a dwelling unit, and is registered with the applicable state agency (Pennsylvania Department of Human Services).

FAMILY DAY CARE, HOMEA type of child-care use that is accessory to, and occurs within, a dwelling unit and provides care for four to six children at one time who are not relatives of the primary caregiver.

COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT BUILDING

GROUP DAY CARE, HOMEA type of child-care use that provides care for between seven and twelve children at one time who are not relatives of the primary caregiver, provides care within a dwelling unit, and is registered with the applicable state agency (Pennsylvania Department of Human Services).

COMMON CARRIER

An entity licensed by the FCC or a state agency to supply local and/or long-distance telecommunications services to the general public at established and stated prices.

COMMUNICATIONS TOWER

A guyed, monopole, or self-supporting tower constructed as a freestanding structure or in association with a building or other permanent structure or equipment containing one or more antennas intended for transmitting and/or receiving television, AM/FM radio, digital, microwave, cellular, telephone, or other similar forms of electronic communication. The term includes, but is not limited to, radio and television transmission towers, personal communications service towers (PCS), microwave towers, common-carrier towers, cellular telephone towers, alternative tower structures, and the like. This definition does not include any structure erected solely for a residential, noncommercial individual use, such as television antennas, satellite dishes or amateur radio antennas.

An unmanned building or cabinet containing communications equipment required for the operation of antennas and covering an area on the ground not greater than 250 square feet.

COMMUNITY ROOM

A space to be used as a place of meeting or social activity available to the public.

CONDITIONAL USE

A use in a particular zoning district to be allowed or denied by the Board of Supervisors pursuant to public notice and hearing and recommendation of the Township Planning Commission as authorized by Section 603(c)(2) of the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10603(c)(2).

CONDOMINIUM

A building or group of buildings in which dwelling units, offices, or floor area are owned individually, and the structure, common areas, and facilities are owned by all the owners on a proportional, undivided basis.

CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION

The community association that administers and maintains the common property and common elements of a condominium.

CONDOMINIUM HOTEL

An existing building which is converted or reconstructed, and thereafter maintained, operated, and managed as a hotel in which each room is individually owned and in which some or all of the rooms are available to transients for rent and where the structure, common areas, and facilities are owned by all the owners on a proportional, individual basis.

CONSERVANCY LOT

A large, privately owned lot comprising part of an area of open land. The purpose of the conservancy lot is to provide surrounding residents with visual access to greenway land, while keeping the land under private ownership and maintenance. Only a small portion of such lots may be developed, the remainder must be protected through conservation easements and used in conformance with standards for greenway land. Public access to conservancy lots is not required. The undeveloped portion of a conservancy lot qualifies toward the minimum open space requirement.

CONSTRAINED LAND

The sum of certain physical features, each of which is multiplied by a net-out factor in this chapter.

CONTIGUOUS

Next to, abutting, or touching and having a boundary, or portion thereof, that is coterminus.

CORNER LOT

See definition for "lot, corner."

CURATIVE AMENDMENT

A proposed amendment to this chapter prepared by a landowner who desires to challenge, on substantive grounds, the validity of this chapter or the Zoning Map or any provision thereof, in accordance with Section 609.1 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act of 1968, P.L. 805, No. 247, as reenacted and amended.[1]

DECISION

Final adjudication of any board or other body granted jurisdiction under this chapter to do so, either by reason of the grant of exclusive jurisdiction or by reason of appeals from determinations. All decisions shall be appealable to a court of competent jurisdiction.

DECK

An impervious or semipervious uncovered structure attached to a building with an average elevation above grade greater than six inches.

DENSITY

The proportionate amount of land allocated for each unit permitted use.

DETERMINATION

Final action by an officer, body, or agency charged with the administration of this chapter or applications hereunder, which has that authority as stated in various parts of this chapter. Determinations shall be appealable only to the boards designated as having jurisdiction for such appeal.

DEVELOPER

Any landowner, agent of such landowner, or tenant with the permission of such landowner who makes or causes to be made a subdivision of land or a land development.

DISTRICT

A portion of the Township, within which certain uniform regulations and requirements or combinations thereof apply under the provisions of this chapter.

DORMITORY

A building used as group living quarters for:

[Added 8-12-2020 by Ord. No. 198]

A student body or religious order as an accessory use to a college, university, boarding school, convent, monastery, or similar institutional use, which is owned by and is located on the same parcel as the institution it serves; or

Employees of a resort, which is owned by and located on the same parcel as the resort it serves.

DWELLING

A structure or portion thereof that is used exclusively for human habitation.

DWELLING UNIT

One or more rooms designed, occupied, or intended for occupancy as a separate living quarter with cooking, sleeping, and sanitary facilities provided within the dwelling unit for the exclusive use of a single family maintaining a household.

DWELLING, ATTACHED

A dwelling which is joined to another dwelling at one or more sides by a party wall or walls.

DWELLING, DETACHED

A building containing one dwelling unit that is not attached to any other dwelling by any means and is surrounded by open space or yards.

DWELLING, HIGH-RISE

A residential building of six or more stories.

DWELLING, MID-RISE

A residential building containing from three to six stories.

DWELLING, TOWNHOUSE

A single-family dwelling unit with a private entrance, which is part of a structure whose dwelling units are attached horizontally in a linear arrangement, and having a totally exposed front and rear wall to be used for access, light, and ventilation.

EASEMENT

A right-of-way or restriction granted for limited use of private land within which the owner of the property may be restricted from erecting permanent structures but shall have the right to make any other use of the land which is not inconsistent with the rights of the grantee.

EXISTING

A structure or use in existence as of the date of adoption of this chapter.

EXTERIOR STREET

An existing or new street on the periphery of or outside of a development parcel which is intended primarily for through traffic from one area of the Township to another.

FAMILY

Any group of individuals living together as the functional equivalent of a family where the residents may share living expenses, chores, eat meals together, and are a close group with social, economic, and psychological commitments to each other. A family includes, for example, the residents of residential care facilities and group homes for people with disabilities. A family does not include larger institutional group living situations such as dormitories, fraternities, sororities, monasteries, or nunneries.

FLOOD, 100-YEAR

A standard adopted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to identify areas where there exists a 1% annual chance of a flood occurring.

FLOODPLAIN

The land area susceptible to inundation by water as a result of a flood.

FLOODWAY

The channel of watercourse and those portions of adjoining floodplains which are required to carry and discharge the 100-year flood with no significant increase in the base flood elevation.

FLOOR AREA

The sum of the gross areas of the floors of every story of a building measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls or from the center lines of common or party walls separating two buildings. Regardless of the internal arrangement of a building, it shall be deemed to have at least one story for each 20 feet of height or fraction thereof.

FORESTRY

The management of forests and timberlands when practiced in accordance with accepted silvicultural principles, through developing, cultivating, harvesting, transporting, and selling trees for commercial purposes, which does not involve land development.

FUNERAL HOME

A mortuary, including auditorium, crematorium, funeral equipment sales, laboratory, and temporary storage facilities, but not including cemeteries, columbariums, mausoleums, or any other permanent storage facility.

GARAGE

A building, structure, or part thereof used or designed to be used for the parking and storage of vehicles.

GREENWAY LAND

That portion of a tract that is set aside for the protection of sensitive natural features, farmland, scenic views, and other unique features. Greenway land may be accessible to the residents of the development and/or the Township, or it may contain areas of conservancy lots which are not accessible to the public.

GROSS TRACT AREA

The total area of a lot or tract.

GROUP HOME

A residential structure that is licensed to provide room, board, and supervised care, but not continuous nursing care, for unrelated persons who are unable to provide a home for themselves, including the mentally or physically disabled.

HEARING

An administrative proceeding conducted by the Board of Supervisors or the Zoning Hearing Board pursuant to this chapter.

HISTORIC RESOURCE

Any structure or site that is:

Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register;

Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior to qualify as a registered historic district;

NO-IMPACT HOME-BASED BUSINESS

Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places; or

(4)

Individually listed on the Township's Open Space and Recreation Plan, as amended.

HOME OCCUPATION

A business or commercial activity administered or conducted as an accessory use which is clearly secondary to the use as a residential dwelling and which involves some customer, client, or patient traffic, whether vehicular or pedestrian, pickup, meeting location, delivery, or removal functions to or from the premises in excess of those normally associated with a residential use.

HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION

A community association, other than a condominium association, that is organized in a development in which individual owners share common interests and responsibilities for costs and upkeep of common open space or facilities.

HOTEL

A building or structure offering transient lodging accommodations to the general public and providing additional services such as restaurants, meeting facilities, entertainment, and recreational facilities.

IMPERVIOUS SURFACE

Any surface which does not absorb rain; all buildings, parking areas, driveways, roads, sidewalks, and any areas in concrete, asphalt, packed stone, or other equivalent surfaces.

INTERIOR STREET

An existing or new street which primarily provides vehicular access to an existing developed area or to a new proposed development area and which is not designed or intended to primarily provide through traffic from one area of the Township to another.

JUNKYARD

A lot, land, or structure or part thereof used primarily for the collection, storage, and sale of wastepaper, rags, scrap metal, or discarded material or for the collection, dismantling, storage, or salvaging of machinery or vehicles not in operating condition and for the sale of parts thereof.

KENNEL

Any establishment wherein 10 or more dogs and other domesticated pets four months of age or older are kept for the purpose of breeding, boarding, sale, or show purposes.

LAND DEVELOPMENT

The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts or parcels of land for any purpose involving a group of two or more residential or nonresidential buildings, whether proposed initially or cumulatively, or a single nonresidential building on a lot regardless of the number of occupants or tenants; or the division or allocation of land or space, whether initially or cumulatively, between or among two or more existing or prospective occupants by means of, or for the purpose of streets, common areas, leaseholds, condominiums, building groups, or other features. A subdivision of land.

LEGAL RIGHT-OF-WAY

A right-of-way established and shown on a final record plan on file at the Township Office. The legal right-of-way shall be the future or ultimate right-of-way.

LIVESTOCK

Includes all cattle, horses, ponies, donkeys, mules, hogs, sheep, goats, rabbits, hares, poultry, and any other similar creature raised for human use or profit, but shall not include dogs, cats or similar creatures customarily kept as household pets.

LOT

A piece or parcel of land occupied, or intended to be occupied, by a principal building or a group of such buildings and accessory buildings, or utilized for a principal use and uses accessory or incidental to the operation thereof, together with such open spaces as required by this chapter, and having frontage on a public street, a recorded private road or right-of-way.

LOT AREA

The area contained within the property lines of a lot (as shown on a plan) excluding space within an existing or ultimate street right-of-way and within all permanent drainage easements, but including areas of all other easements assigned to an individual owner or to a given collective use by means of a subdivision of land. Open space required under this chapter shall not be counted as a portion of the lot area for the purposes of measuring lot area per dwelling unit.

LOT LINE

A property boundary line of any lot held in single and separate ownership, except that in the case of any lot abutting a street, the lot line for such portion of the lot as abuts the street shall be deemed to be the same as the street line and shall not be the center line of the street or any other line within the street line even though such may be the property boundary line.

LOT WIDTH

The horizontal distance between the side lines of the lot measured at the building setback line.

LOT, CORNER

A lot which has an interior angle of less than 135° at the intersection of two street lines. A lot fronting upon a curved street or streets shall be considered a corner lot if the tangents to the curve at points within the lot or at the points of intersection of the side lot lines within the street line intersect at an angle of less than 135°. A rear yard is required but such yard may be any yard not facing a public street. A single lot shall not be required to have more than two front yards.

MINERAL EXTRACTION

A use involving on-site extraction of surface or subsurface mineral products or natural resources. Typical uses are quarries, borrow pits, sand and gravel operation, mining, and soil mining. Specifically excluded from this use is grading and removal of dirt associated with an approved site plan or subdivision or excavations associated with, and for the improvement of, a bona fide agricultural use.

MOBILE HOME

A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent occupancy, contained in one unit or in two or more units designed to be joined into one integral unit capable of being again 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 the unit may be used without a permanent foundation.

MOBILE HOME PARK

A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which has been so designated and improved that it contains two or more mobile home lots for the placement thereon of mobile homes.

MOTEL

A building or group of buildings containing rental sleeping rooms for the accommodation of transient guests with each rental room containing private toilet facilities and having an outside entrance adjacent to off-street parking facilities.

NEIGHBORHOOD GREEN

A green space central to a neighborhood and designed for open space or general active or passive recreation for the residents of the neighborhood.

A business or commercial activity administered or conducted as an accessory use which is clearly secondary to the use as a residential dwelling and which involves no customer, client, or patient traffic, whether vehicular or pedestrian, pickup, delivery or removal functions to or from the premises in excess of those normally associated with residential use.

NONCONFORMING LOT

A lot, the area or dimension of which was lawful prior to the adoption or amendment of this chapter but which fails to conform to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located by reasons of such adoption or amendment.

NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE

A structure or part of a structure manifestly not designed to comply with the applicable use or extent of use provisions in this chapter or any amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such structure lawfully existed prior to the enactment of this chapter or any amendment or prior to the application of such chapter or any amendment to its location by reason of annexation. Such nonconforming structures include, but are not limited to, nonconforming signs.

NONCONFORMING USE

A use of a building or lot which does not comply with the applicable use regulations of this chapter or amendments thereto for the district in which it is located but which was in existence at the time the use regulations became effective and was lawful at the time it was established.

NURSING HOME

A licensed establishment which provides full-time convalescent or chronic care for three or more individuals who are not related by blood or marriage to the operator and who, by reason of chronic illness or infirmity, are unable to care for themselves. No care for the acutely ill or surgical or obstetrical services shall be provided in such a home.

OPEN SPACE

That area of land and/or water to be restricted from future development for the purpose of protecting natural features, providing buffers, or for recreational purposes. Open space does not include land occupied by structures, roads, road rights-of-way, parking lots, land reserved for future parking lots, stormwater detention basins or retention basins, or areas of public facilities, such as community septic systems, nor does it include any portion of the minimum lot areas as required by this chapter. Certain public utilities may occupy a portion of the open space if approved by the Board of Supervisors.

PERMIT

A document issued by the proper authority of the municipality authorizing an applicant to undertake certain activities, as further defined below:

ZONING PERMITA permit issued indicating that a proposed use, building, or structure is in accordance with the provisions of this chapter or with an order of the Zoning Hearing Board and authorizing an applicant to proceed with said use, building, or structure.

BUILDING PERMITA permit indicating that a proposed construction, alteration, or reconstruction of a structure is in accordance with the construction provisions of any building code which may be adopted by the Township, which authorizes an applicant to commence with said construction, alteration or reconstruction.

PRIMARY CONSERVATION AREAS

OCCUPANCY PERMITA permit issued upon completion of the construction of a structure or change in use of a structure or parcel of land indicating that the premises comply with the provisions of this chapter and may be used for the purposes set forth in the occupancy permit.

(4)

CONDITIONAL USE PERMITA permit which may be granted under the provisions of this chapter and which, when granted, authorizes a particular use to be made of a particular premises subject to compliance with all the terms and conditions contained in the permit.

PLANNING COMMISSION

The words "commission" or "planning commission" shall always refer to the Barrett Township Planning Commission.

Lands within the 100-year floodplain, wetlands, and slopes in excess of 25%.

PRINCIPAL USE

The primary or main use of a lot, parcel, or structure.

PUBLIC HEARING

A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Board of Supervisors or the Planning Commission, intended to inform and obtain public comment, prior to taking action in accordance with this chapter.

PUBLIC MEETING

A forum held pursuant to notice under the Sunshine Act, 65 Pa.C.S.A. § 701 et seq., as amended.

[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice published once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township. Such notice shall state the date, time, and place of hearing and the particular nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing. The first publication shall not be more than 30 days and the second publication shall not be less than seven days from the date of the hearing.

PUBLIC UTILITY

A private or municipal corporation organized and existing for the distribution and sale of water, electricity, gas, or the collection and disposal of sanitary waste or sewage, provided that the same is regulated in whole or in part by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. A public utility shall not include a corporation or other entity engaged in the wireless communication industry.

RECREATIONAL VEHICLE

A vehicle primarily designed and utilized as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping or travel use, whether self-propelled or mounted on or drawn by another vehicle, and including travel trailers, recreational trailers, camping trailers, truck campers, motor homes and similar types of vehicles.

[Added 8-12-2020 by Ord. No. 198]

RESORT

A facility used as a hotel with additional recreational features or activities and amenities which serve as one of the primary attractions to such facility.

RIGHT-OF-WAY

A strip of land acquired by reservation, dedication, prescription, or condemnation and intended to be occupied by a street, trail, water line, sanitary sewer, and/or other public utilities or facilities.

ROCK OUTCROPPINGS

Areas where bedrock protrudes through the surface of the ground.

SECONDARY CONSERVATION AREAS

Special features of a property that would ordinarily be overlooked or ignored during the design process. Such features include the following, listed in order of significance:

Hydric soils, swales, springs, and lowland areas other than wetlands, including adjacent buffer areas which may be required to insure their protection.

Moderately steep slopes up to 25%, particularly those adjoining watercourses and ponds, where disturbance and resulting soil erosion and sedimentation could be detrimental to water quality.

SENSITIVE AREA DISTURBANCE

Healthy woodlands, particularly those performing important ecological functions such as soil stabilization and protection of streams, wetlands, and wildlife habitats.

(4)

Areas where precipitation is most likely to recharge local groundwater resources because of topographic and soil conditions affording high rates of infiltration and percolation.

(5)

Hedgerows, groups of trees, large individual trees of botanic significance, and other vegetative features.

(6)

Historic structures and sites.

(7)

Visually prominent topographic features such as knolls, hilltops and ridges, and scenic viewsheds as seen from public roads (particularly those with historic features).

(8)

Existing trails connecting the tract to other locations in the Township.

Disturbance of environmentally sensitive areas, such as lands within the 100-year floodplain, wetlands, slopes in excess of 25%, and rock outcroppings.

SETBACK

The minimum distance by which any building or structure must be separated from a street right-of-way or lot line (see also "yard" definitions).

SHADOW FLICKER

The visible flicker effect when rotating turbine blades cast shadows on the ground and nearby structures causing the repeating pattern of light and shadow.

SHOOTING RANGE, INDOOR

A fully enclosed building where firearms and other projectile-type weapons (e.g., guns, rifles, shotguns, pistols, air guns, archery, crossbows, etc.) can be discharged or shot for recreation, competition, skill development and/ or training purposes, which is operated as a commercial enterprise, or which is operated by any government entity, private nonprofit entity, or any sportsman's, recreation or fraternal club or association.

[Added 9-28-2022 by Ord. No. 202]

SHOOTING RANGE, OUTDOOR

Any area not within a fully enclosed building where firearms and other weapons which utilize percussion detonation or explosive charges can be shot for recreation, competition, skill development and/or training, which is operated as a commercial enterprise, or which is operated by any government entity, private nonprofit entity, or any sportsman's, recreation or fraternal club or association. This definition specifically excludes a personal shooting range used by a property owner to engage in target practice on his or her own land.

[Added 9-28-2022 by Ord. No. 202]

SIGN

A name, identification, description, emblem, display or device which is affixed to, printed on, or represented directly or indirectly upon a building, structure, or parcel of land; which is illuminated or nonilluminated; visible or intended to be visible from any public place; and which directs or calls attention to a person, place, product, institution, business, organization, activity, or service. Signs shall also include any permanently installed or situated merchandise, including any banner, pennant, placard, statue, vehicle, or temporary sign.

SLOPE

The face of an embankment or cut section; any ground whose surface makes an angle with the plane of horizon. Slope is expressed as a percentage based upon vertical difference in feet per 100 feet of horizontal distance.

SLOPE, MODERATELY STEEPAreas between 15% and 25% slope as measured over a minimum vertical distance of six feet or three contiguous contour segments at two-foot contour intervals.

SLOPE, STEEPAreas with slopes in excess of 25% slope as measured over a minimum vertical distance of six feet or three contiguous contour segments at two-foot contour intervals.

SOLAR COLLECTOR

A device or combination of devices, structure(s), or part of a device or structure that transforms direct solar energy into thermal, chemical, or electrical energy and that contributes significantly to a structure's energy supply.

SOLAR ENERGY

Radiant energy (direct, diffuse, and/or reflected) received from the sun.

SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM

Any solar collector or other solar energy device, or any structural design feature, mounted on a building or on the ground, whose primary purpose is to provide for the collection, storage, and distribution of solar energy for space heating or cooling, for water heating or for electricity.

SOLAR PANEL

A structure containing one or more receptive cells, the purpose of which is to convert solar energy into usable electrical energy, heat water, or produce hot air or perform any other similar function by way of a solar energy system.

STORY

That part of a building located between the surface of any floor and the floor or roof next above. The first story of a building is the lowest story having 50% or more of its area above grade level or having the floor at the level of the exterior grade on one or more sides.

STREET

A right-of-way, municipally or privately owned, serving as a means of vehicular and pedestrian travel, furnishing access to abutting properties and space for public utilities.

STREET, EXTERIOR

See definition for "exterior street."

STREET, INTERIOR

See definition for "interior street."

STRUCTURE

Any man-made object having an ascertainable location on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.

SUBDIVISION

The division or redivision of a lot, tract, or parcel of land by any other means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels, or divisions of land, including changes in existing lot lines for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, partition by court for distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership or building or lot development.

TRAILER

A vehicle with or without its own motive power equipped for or used for living purposes and mounted on wheels.

TURBINE HEIGHT

The distance measured from the surface of the tower foundation to the highest point of the turbine rotor plane.

USE

The specific purpose, activity, occupation, or business operation carried on or intended to be carried on in a building or other structure or on a tract of land.

USE, ACCESSORY

See definition for "accessory use."

VARIANCE

Permission or approval granted by the Zoning Hearing Board in accordance with this chapter constituting a modification of or deviation from the exact provisions of this chapter as applied to a specific piece of property.

WIND ENERGY FACILITY

An electric generating facility, whose main purpose is to supply electricity, consisting of one or more wind turbines and other accessory structures and buildings, including substations, metrological towers, electrical infrastructure, transmission lines, and other appurtenant structures and facilities.

WIND TURBINE

A wind energy conversion system that converts wind energy into electricity through the use of a wind turbine generator and includes the nacelle, rotor, tower, and pad transformer, if any.

YARD

An open, unoccupied space on the same lot with a building or other structure or use, open and unobstructed from the ground to the sky except for vegetation and accessory uses and/or structures to the extent specifically permitted by this chapter.

FRONT YARDThe open unoccupied space between the front building line and the street right-of-way line for the full width of the lot.

SIDE YARDThe open unoccupied space extending from the front yard to the rear yard between the side building line and the side lot line.