Township of Halfmoon, PA General Provisions

Editor's Note: Said map is included as an attachment to this chapter.

Language interpretations. For the purpose of this chapter, certain words shall have the meanings assigned to them, as follows:

(1)

Words used in the present tense include the future. The singular number includes the plural and the plural, the singular.

(2)

The word "shall" or "must" is always mandatory.

(3)

The word "building" includes "structure" and any part thereof.

(4)

The phrase "used for" includes "arranged for," "designed for," "intended for," "maintained for" or "occupied for."

(5)

The word "person" includes an individual, corporation, partnership, incorporated association or any other similar entity.

(6)

The word "includes" or "including" shall not limit the term to the specified example, but is intended to extend its meaning to all other instances of like kind and character.

(7)

Terms, phrases and words not defined. When terms, phrases, or words are not specifically defined, they shall have their ordinarily accepted dictionary meanings or such as the contexts may imply.

Definitions. The following words and phrases shall have the meaning given in this section, as follows:

ABANDONED WATER SUPPLY WELL

A water supply well, the regular use of which has been discontinued for a period of one year or more, or which is in such a state of disrepair that continued use for the purpose of obtaining groundwater is impracticable, or which has been replaced by a new well or public water supply.

ABANDONMENT

The relinquishment of property, or a cessation of the use of the property, by the owner or lessee without any intention of transferring the rights to the property to another owner or of resuming the use of the property.

ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT

A second unit either in, added to, or detached from an existing single-family detached dwelling.

ACCESSORY STRUCTURE(S)

A structure detached from a principal building located on the same lot and customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal building or use. This shall include, but not be limited to, garages, storage sheds, decks, swimming pools, patios, cabanas, gazebos and play structures.

ACCESSORY USE

A use of land or of a building or portion thereof customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use of the land or building and located on the same lot with the principal use.

ACREAGE OF PROPERTY

The area contained within the property lines of a lot.

ADULT BUSINESS USE

Any adult bookstore, adult cabaret or adult theater, as defined below, and which, under Chapter 59, Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5901 et seq., must exclude minors or may not knowingly disseminate to minors.

ADULT CABARET

A cabaret, tavern, theater or club which features strippers, male or female impersonators or similar entertainers who exhibit, display or engage in nudity, sexual conduct or sadomasochistic abuse, as defined by Chapter 59, Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, 18 Pa.C.S.A.§ 5901 et seq.

ADULT MINI MOTION-PICTURE THEATER

An enclosed building offering video presentations distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas for observation by patrons within private viewing booths and/or by use of token- or coin-operated viewing booths and/or by use of token- or coin-operated projectors or other video machines.

ADULT THEATER

Any business, indoor or outdoor, which exhibits a motion-picture show or other presentation which, in whole or in part, depicts nudity, sexual conduct, or sadomasochistic abuse as defined in Chapter 59, Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5901 et seq.

AGRIBUSINESS

Any business involved in the processing of farm products.

AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS

Any business related to the processing and/or sale of agricultural products/supplies or the sale and/or repair of agricultural equipment, products or supplies.

AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION EASEMENT

An interest in land which represents the right to prevent development or improvement of land for any purpose, except agricultural purposes.

AGRICULTURAL LAND PRESERVATION

An approved federal, state, county or municipal program for acquiring conservation easements or purchasing development rights on agricultural lands.

AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS

An enterprise that is actively engaged in commercial production and preparation for market 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. The term includes an enterprise that implements changes in productions practices and procedures or types of crops, livestock, livestock products or commodities produced consistent with practices and procedures that are normally engaged in by farmers or are consistent with technological development within the agricultural industry.

AGRICULTURAL SECURITY AREA

An area of land designated by the Township, pursuant to Act 43 of 1981,[1] by ordinance and identified on an official map recorded in the offices of the Centre County Recorder of Deeds.

AGRICULTURAL SERVICES

Establishments primarily engaged in supplying soil preparation services, crop services, landscaping, horticultural services, veterinary and other animal services, and farm labor and management services.

AGRICULTURAL USES

Related to the tilling of the land, the raising of farm products, the raising and keeping of livestock and poultry, including the sale of farm products produced on the premises and maintaining of kennels, silviculture and forestry uses.

AGRICULTURE

The customary and generally accepted activities, practices, and procedures that farmers adopt, use, or engage in year after year in the production and preparation for market crops, livestock, and livestock products and in the production and harvesting of agricultural, agronomic, horticultural, silvicultural, and aquacultural crops and commodities.

AGRITOURISM

The practice of visiting an agribusiness or agricultural operation for the purpose of education, recreation, purchase or involvement in the operation. These operations include those that are for profit and those that are provided free of charge.

AIR RIGHTS

The right to use space above ground level.

ALLEY

A service roadway providing a secondary means of public access to abutting property and not intended for general traffic circulation.

ALTERATION

Any change or rearrangement in the structural parts or in the existing facilities of any 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.

ALTERATION WELL

Any action which necessitates entering a well with drilling tools; treating a well to increase yield, altering the physical structure of depth of the well; blasting; removal or replacement of well casing.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

The raising of animals or livestock, including fowl, but not including dogs, cats or other common household pets, for sale.

ANIMAL OR VETERINARY HOSPITAL

A place where animals are given medical care and the boarding of animals is limited to short-term care incidental to the hospital use.

ANIMALS

Customary household animals shall include dogs, cats, caged birds and animals of similar size and nature, but shall not include customary farm livestock such as horses, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens and similar fowl, cows, donkeys, mules; zoo animals shall be construed as farm livestock.

ANNULAR SPACE

The space between two cylindrical objects, one of which surrounds the other, such as the space between a drill hole and a casing pipe.

ANSI

American National Standards Institute.

APARTMENT

A room or suite of rooms in a multifamily structure which is arranged, designed, used or intended to be used as a housekeeping unit for a single family.

API

American Petroleum Institute.

APPLICANT

A person submitting an application for development.

APPROVED GROUT

Neat cement, cement plus bentonite, bentonite, bentonite plus silica sand, or low-permeability sealing material as approved for use by the municipality. Approved grout is to be mixed and applied according to manufacturer's specifications (e.g., water content and viscosity) for use in grouting wells and/or geothermal boreholes.

AQUACULTURE

The commercial cultivation of aquatic life, such as fish, shellfish and seaweed, or a controlled discharge of nutrients to enhance growth or propagation of harvestable freshwater, estuarine or marine life plant or animal species.

AQUIFER

A geologic formation, group of formations, or part of a formation that contains sufficient saturated permeable material to yield significant quantities of water to wells and springs.

AQUIFER RECHARGE AREA

The outcropping part of the aquifer through which water enters the aquifer.

ASPHALT PLANT

An operation or plant which has as its primary function the mixing of rock materials with asphalt oils or other binders for road building and construction purposes.

ASTM

American Society for Testing and Materials.

ATTIC

That part of a building that is immediately below and wholly or partly within the roof framing.

AVERAGE BUFFER WIDTH

The total area of the riparian buffer in Zone One along the length of the stream or body of water divided by the total linear length of the stream for the case where buffer averaging is permitted.

AVERAGE SETBACK

The mean setback from a street right-of-way of buildings on both sides of a lot.

AVERAGE TOTAL BUFFER WIDTH

The total area of the riparian buffer (Zones One and Two) along the length of a stream or body of water divided by the total linear length of the stream for the case where buffer averaging is permitted.

BACKSIPHONAGE

The flowing back of used, contaminated or polluted water from a plumbing fixture or vessel or other sources into a potable water supply pipe due to negative pressure in such pipe.

BASEMENT

A space having 1/2 or more of its floor-to-ceiling height above the average level of the adjoining ground and with a floor-to-ceiling height of not less than 6 1/2 feet. A basement shall be considered as one story in determining the permissible number of stories.

BED-AND-BREAKFAST

Overnight accommodations and a morning meal in a dwelling unit provided to transients for compensation.

BEDROOM

A room not less than 70 square feet of net floor area which, because of limited access and separation from the living areas, is intended or may be used for sleeping.

BENTONITE

A highly plastic, colloidal clay composed largely of the mineral montmorillonite.

BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

State or local regulatory or nonregulatory guidelines for proper application of forestry operations and conservational agricultural land activities, including protecting water quality as required by federal statutes, including the Clean Water Act and Water Pollution Control Act.[2] BMPs are primarily designed to prevent soil erosion and water pollution and to protect certain wildlife habitat values in riparian and wetland areas.

BILLBOARD

A sign other than one indicating a business conducted on the premises.

BLOCK

A tract of land bounded by streets.

BLOCK

An area bound by streets and usually divided into lots.

BOARDINGHOUSE

See "lodging or rooming house."

BORING/BOREHOLE

A penetration of soil and/or rock that is augured, drilled, cored, bored, washed, driven, dug, jetted, or otherwise constructed, which is generally cylindrical in shape and whose diameter is generally smaller than its depth of penetration.

BRIDGING MATERIAL

Solids added to a drilling fluid to bridge across the pore throat or fractures of an exposed rock thereby building a filter cake to prevent loss of whole mud or excessive filtrate.

BROADCAST TRANSMISSION FACILITY

Any structure designed or intended for use to transmit or relay any digital, electronic, radio, television or microwave signal via the atmosphere.

BUFFER

An area adjacent to a shoreline, wetland or stream where development is restricted or prohibited.

BUFFER WIDTH AVERAGING

A technique for delineating the width of a buffer such that the buffer boundary can be narrower at some points along the stream and wider at others so that its average width meets the minimum criteria.

BUILDABLE AREA

The area of a lot remaining after the minimum yard and setback requirements of this chapter have been met and easements and primary conservation areas have been removed. The minimum buildable lot area is 70 feet by 70 feet.

BUILDING

A combination of materials forming any structure, which is erected on the ground and permanently affixed thereto, designed, intended, or arranged for the shelter, enclosure, housing or structural support of persons, animals, process, equipment, goods or materials of any kind. "Building" shall not include driveways, parking spaces or parking lots.

BUILDING COVERAGE

The ratio of the horizontal area measured from the exterior surface of the exterior walls of the ground floor of all principal and accessory buildings on a lot to the total lot area.

BUILDING HEIGHT

The vertical dimension measured from grade to the highest point of ceiling of the top story in the case of a flat roof; to the deckline of a mansard roof; and to the average height between the plate and ridge of a gable, hip or gambrel roof; and shall not include steeples, smokestacks, flagpoles or belfry, observation towers, barns and silos, and other such structures not intended for human occupation.

BUILDING LINE

A line parallel to the street or right-of-way line touching that part of the building closest to the street.

BUILDING MASS

The height, width and depth of a structure.

BUILDING OFFICIAL or CODE OFFICIAL

The Director of the Centre Region Code Administration or a duly authorized representative.

BUILDING SCALE

The relationship of a particular building, in terms of building mass, to other nearby and adjacent buildings.

BUILDING SEMIDETACHED

A building which has one wall in common with an adjacent building.

BUILDING SETBACK LINE

An established line within a property defining the minimum required distance between any structure to be erected, and an adjacent right-of-way or center line of a street, and parallel to a line connecting the points of intersection of the side lot lines and the front lot line.

BUILDING, DETACHED

A building surrounded by open land on all four sides within the same lot.

BULK REGULATIONS OR REQUIREMENTS

Standards and controls that establish the maximum size of buildings and structures on a lot and the buildable area within which the buildings can be located, including coverage, setbacks, height, floor area ratio and yard requirements.

CALIPER

The diameter of a tree trunk four feet above grade.

CAMPGROUND

A plot of ground upon which two or more campsites are located, established, or maintained for occupancy by camping units as temporary living quarters for recreational education or vacation purposes.

CAMPING UNIT

Any tent, trailer, cabin, lean-to, recreation vehicle, or similar structure established or maintained and operated in a campground as temporary living quarters for recreation, education or vacation purposes.

CAMPSITE

A plot of ground within a campground intended for exclusive occupancy by a camping unit or units.

CAPACITY FACTOR

The ratio of the actual output of a power plant over a period of time and its output if it had operated at full capacity over that time period.

CASING

An impervious durable pipe placed in a well to prevent the walls from caving and to seal off surface drainage or undesirable water, gas or other fluids and prevent their entering the well.

CELLAR

A space with less than 1/2 of its floor-to-ceiling height above the average finished grade of the adjoining ground or with a floor-to-ceiling height of less than 6 1/2 feet. A cellar shall not be considered a story in determining the permissible number of stories.

CENTRAL WATER OR SEWER

A water or sewer distribution system which serves facilities or a community on an areawide or regional basis. The facility company must be approved by and/or licensed by the appropriate state or federal agencies.

CERTIFICATE OF ZONING COMPLIANCE

A document which must be obtained, issued by the Zoning Officer, based upon an inspection, allowing the occupancy or use of a building and certifying that the structure or use has been constructed (and/or will be used) in compliance with all applicable municipal codes (including BOCA and occupancy permit codes) and ordinances.

CHANGE OF USE

Any use that substantially differs from the previous use of a building or land.

CHESAPEAKE BAY TRIBUTARY STRATEGY (CBTS)

Pennsylvania's Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy is a catalog of measures that, if applied to the state's Susquehanna and Potomac Watersheds, will generate appreciable sediment and nutrient reductions in order to provide cleaner water resources in the state and downstream at the Chesapeake Bay.

CHIP BENTONITE GROUT

Composed of dry three-eighths-inch- or half-inch-sized chips of bentonite.

CHURCH (HOUSES OF WORSHIP)

A building or structure, or groups of buildings or structures, that by design and construction is primarily intended for conducting organized religious services and associated accessory uses.

CLEAR SIGHT TRIANGLE

An area of unobstructed vision at street intersections or street and driveway intersections defined by lines of sight between points at a given distance from the intersection of street and/or driveway lines.

CLOSED-LOOP GEOTHERMAL SYSTEM

A type of geothermal heating and/or cooling system that utilizes a pressurized heat exchanger consisting of pipe, a circulating pump, and a water-source heat pump in which the heat transfer fluid is not exposed to the atmosphere. The heat transfer fluid is potable or beneficial reuse water and may have approved antifreeze added.

CLUSTERING

A group or two or more residential units in an area not exceeding more than two acres per dwelling unit with adjoining or abutting areas.

COLIFORM

All of the aerobic and facultative anaerobic, gram negative, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped bacteria which are capable of fermenting lactose with gas formation within 48 hours at 35° C.

COMMERCIAL MODEL HOME

See "model home," below.

COMMERCIAL MOTORIZED SPORTS FACILITIES

Includes but is not limited to snowmobile, motorcycle and all-terrain vehicle tracks and similar types of uses.

COMMERCIAL USE

Activity involving the sale of goods or services carried out for profit.

COMMISSION

The Planning Commission of Halfmoon Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania.

COMMON FACILITIES

All the real property and improvements set aside for the common use and enjoyment of the residents, including, but not limited to, buildings, open land, private roads, parking areas, walkways, recreation areas, landscaped areas, drainage easements and any utilities that service more than one unit, such as sewer and water facilities.

COMMON OPEN SPACE

A parcel or parcels of land or an area of water, or a combination of land and water, within a development site that is designed and intended for the use or enjoyment of residents of a development, not including streets, off-street parking areas, and areas set aside for public facilities. Common open space shall be deeded to an association of property owners or a nature or lands conservancy or to the Township.

COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION or HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION

A homeowners' association organized to own, maintain, and/or operate common facilities and to enhance and protect their common interests.

COMMUNITY LIVING ARRANGEMENT

A dwelling unit that provides a living environment for unrelated residents who operate as the functional equivalent of a family, including supervision and care by supportive staff as may be necessary to meet the emotional, physical and social needs of an aged person, a disabled or handicapped person, a developmentally disabled person, a nondangerous mentally ill person, and/or a child as defined in the appropriate federal or state statutes.

COMMUNITY SEWAGE SYSTEM

Any system for the collection of sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature from two or more lots and the treatment and/or disposal of the sewage or industrial waste on one or more of the lots or at any other site.

COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEM

A water system which serves at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least 20 year-round residents.

CONCENTRATED ANIMAL OPERATION

An agricultural operation where the animal density exceeds two animal equivalent units (AEU) per acre on an annual basis. An AEU is 1,000 lbs. of live weight of any animal.

CONDITIONAL USE

A use which is not appropriate to a particular zoning district as a whole, but which may be suitable in certain locations within the district only when specific conditions and factors prescribed for such cases within this chapter are present. Conditional uses are allowed or denied by the Township Supervisors after recommendation by the Planning Commission.

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 PROJECT

A plan or project consisting of not less than two condominium units.

CONDOMINIUM UNIT

That portion of the condominium project designed and intended for separate ownership and use, as described in the master deed, regardless of whether it is intended for residential, office, recreational use as a timeshare unit, or any other type of use.

CONSERVANCY LOT

A privately owned lot of at least 10 acres comprising part or all 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 this lot may be developed; the remainder must be deed restricted and used in conformance with standards for open land. Public access to conservancy lots is not required.

CONSERVATION AREA, PRIMARY

Environmentally sensitive areas with characteristics such as steep slopes, wetlands, floodplains, high-water tables, forest areas, endangered species habitat, Class I and II agricultural lands or areas of significant biological productivity or uniqueness that have been designated for protection from any activity that would significantly alter their ecological integrity, balance or character.

CONSERVATION AREA, SECONDARY

Areas with historic, cultural, visual or aesthetic characteristics, determined by the Planning Commission to be worthy of protection and/or preservation on a development site.

CONSERVATION EASEMENT

A nonpossessory interest of a holder in real property, whether appurtenant or in gross, imposing limitations or affirmative obligations, the purposes of which include, but are not limited to, retaining or protecting for the public and economic benefit the natural scenic or open space values of real property; assuring its availability for agricultural, forest, recreational or open space use; protecting, conserving or managing the use of natural resources; protecting wildlife; maintaining or enhancing land, air or water quality or preserving the historical, architectural, archeological or cultural aspects of property.

CONSTRUCTION OF WELLS

All acts necessary to obtain groundwater, or artificially recharge groundwater; provided, however, such term does not include an excavation made for the purpose of obtaining or prospecting for oil, natural gas, minerals, or products of mining or quarrying, or for inserting media to repressure oil or natural gas formations or for storing petroleum, natural gas, or other products and services. Construction of wells includes the location and excavation or drilling of the well, but excludes the installation of pumps and pumping equipment.

CONTIGUOUS

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

CONTRACTOR

Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation, group or entity employed, hired, contracted or otherwise engaged by the owner to perform defined services for compensation.

CONVERSION

A change in the use of land or a structure.

COVENANT or RESTRICTIVE COVENANT

A restriction on the use of land usually set forth in the deed or on a recorded plan.

CROP

A harvestable product, planted, grown and cultivated in the soil.

CROPLAND

Land upon which crops are grown.

CROSS-CONNECTION

An arrangement allowing either direct or indirect connection through which backflow, including backsiphonage, can occur between the drinking water in a public water system and a system containing a potential source of contamination.

CULTIVATION OF CROPS

The use of land for raising of harvestable products which are planted, grown or cultivated in the soil and excluding the keeping of animals.

CURB CUT

The opening along the curbline at which point vehicles may enter or leave the roadway.

CURFEW

The predetermined time that any additional outdoor lighting restrictions are imposed under the requirements of this chapter.

CURING TIME

Minimum time required for particular types of cementing or grouting materials to harden or set up before drilling or other construction operations can be resumed.

CUTOFF

The point at which all light rays emitted by a lamp or luminaire are eliminated (cutoff) at a specific cutoff angle above the ground.

CUTOFF ANGLE

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.

CUTOFF-TYPE LUMINAIRE

A luminaire with elements, such as shields, reflectors, or refractors, or refractor panels, which direct and cut off the light at a cutoff angle that is less than 90° and light emitted at the horizontal plane does not exceed 2.5% of the rated lamp lumens.

DCNR

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

DECIDUOUS

Plants that drop their foliage annually before becoming dormant.

DECISION

Final adjudication by the Zoning Hearing Board or Board of Supervisors on matters subject to any land use ordinance either by reason or the grant of exclusive jurisdiction or by reason of appeals from determinations. All decisions shall be appealable to Court of Common Pleas of the county and judicial district wherein Halfmoon Township lies.

DECOMMISSIONED VERTICAL CLOSED-LOOP BOREHOLE

A vertical closed-loop borehole whose original purpose and use have been permanently discontinued or which is in such a state of disrepair that its original purpose cannot be reasonably achieved.

DECOMMISSIONING

The act of rendering a well or borehole to a condition where there is no pathway present for surface or subsurface contaminants to travel down to the water table.

DENSITY

The number of families, individuals, dwelling units, households, or structures per unit of land.

DEP

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

DESIGN STANDARDS

Guidelines defining parameters to be followed in site and/or building design and development.

DETERMINATION

Final action by an officer, body or agency charged with the administration of any land use ordinance or applications thereof. Determinations shall be appealable only to the board(s) designated as having jurisdiction for such appeal.

DEVELOPER

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

DEVELOPMENT

The division of a parcel of land into two or more parcels; the construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation, or enlargement of any structure; any mining, excavation, landfill, or land disturbance; and any use or extension of the use of land.

DIRECT LIGHT

Light actually seen coming straight from the lamp, reflector, or reflector diffuser, in the luminaire.

DIRECT-EXCHANGE (DX) GEOTHERMAL SYSTEM

A type of geothermal heating and/or cooling system where the heat pump refrigerant is circulated through metal piping installed in vertical, inclined, or horizontal boreholes. This type of geothermal system must use a cement-based special grout in the boreholes and must have electronic corrosion protection for the metal piping.

DISTRICT

A part, zone or geographic area within Halfmoon Township within which certain development or zoning regulations apply.

DOMESTIC ANIMAL

Any equine animal or bovine animal, sheep, goat, pig, poultry, bird, fowl, confined hares, rabbits and mink, or any wild or semiwild animal maintained in captivity.

DRILLING MUD

A fluid composed of water and bentonite used in the drilling operation to remove cuttings from the hole, to clean and cool the bit, to reduce friction between the drill stem and the sides of the hole, and to plaster the sides of the hole. Such fluids range from relatively clear water to carefully prepared mixtures of special-purpose compounds.

DRIVE-IN or DRIVE-THROUGH

A structure or use that by design, physical facilities, service or by packaging procedures encourages or permits customers to receive services, obtain goods or be entertained while remaining in their motor vehicles.

DUMP

A lot or parcel used primarily for the disposal, by abandonment, dumping, burial, burning, or any other means, for garbage, sewage, trash, refuse, junk, discarded machinery, vehicles or parts thereof, or waste material of any kind.

DWELLING

A structure or portion thereof that is used exclusively for human habitation. In terms of this article, a dwelling shall not be deemed to include hotel, motel, dormitory, fraternity or sorority house, rooming house, tourist home or bed-and-breakfast establishments.

DWELLING UNIT

A building or portion thereof providing one or more rooms, designed, occupied, or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters, with cooking, sleeping and sanitary facilities provided within the dwelling unit for the exclusive use of the occupants maintaining a household.

DWELLING, MANUFACTURED

A mobile home or manufactured home as defined below:

(1)

DWELLING, MOBILE HOMEA single-family detached manufactured housing unit built on a chassis. A mobile home shall be constructed to remain a mobile home, subject to all regulations applying thereto, whether or not wheels, axles, hitch or other appurtenances of mobility are removed and regardless of the nature of the foundation provided.

(2)

MANUFACTURED HOUSINGFactory built structures that meet the National Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act (42 U.S.C. § 5401), commonly known as the "HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) Code."

DWELLING, MULTIFAMILY

A building arranged, designed, and intended for occupancy by three or more families living independent of each other and doing their own cooking therein.

DWELLING, SEASONAL

A dwelling unit not used as a principal residence that may be occupied weekends and for brief periods during the year.

DWELLING, SEMIDETACHED (SINGLE-FAMILY)

A single-family dwelling attached to one other single-family dwelling by a common vertical wall, with each dwelling located on a separate lot.

DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY

A building designed for or occupied exclusively by one family.

EASEMENT

A grant of one or more of the property rights by the property owner to and/or for use by the public, a corporation, or another person or entity.

EASEMENT CONSERVATION

The grant of a property right stipulating that the described land will preclude any future or additional development.

EFFICIENCY DWELLING UNIT

An apartment dwelling unit which features a combination of certain uses in order to lessen total living area required. An "efficiency unit" shall not include any apartment of three or more rooms.

ENGINEER

A professional engineer registered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER

A facility where interdisciplinary environmental education is provided to the public so they may acquire practical knowledge and awareness in an effort to better understand, appreciate and ultimately respect the environment and make informed decisions about their own role in its protection and preservation.

ESSENTIAL SERVICES

The erection, construction, alteration or maintenance by public utilities or municipal or other governmental agencies of underground or overhead gas, electrical, communication, steam or water transmission, distribution, collection, supply or disposal systems, including poles, wires, mains, drains, sewer pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarm boxes, police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants, and other similar equipment and accessories in connection therewith reasonably necessary for the furnishing of adequate service by such public utilities or municipal or other governmental agencies or for the public health, safety or general welfare, but not including broadcast towers and communications antennas as defined herein and buildings, except telephone control office buildings and telephone booths which shall also be considered as essential service facilities hereunder.

ESTABLISHMENT

An economic unit, generally at a single physical location, where business is conducted or services or industrial operations performed.

EXCAVATION

Removal or recovery by any means whatsoever of soil, rock, minerals, mineral substances, or organic substances, other than vegetation, from water or land, on or beneath the surface thereof, or beneath the land.

EXCEPTIONAL VALUE WATERS

Surface waters designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection as having exceptional value by virtue of criteria established under state law or regulation.

EXCEPTIONAL VALUE WETLANDS

Jurisdictional wetlands designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection as having exceptional value by virtue of criteria established under state law or regulation.

EXISTING GRADE OR ELEVATION

The vertical location above some elevation point of the ground surface prior to excavating or filling.

EXISTING USE

The use of a lot or structure at the time of the enactment of this chapter.

EXTENSION

An increase in the amount of existing floor area beyond the exterior wall.

EXTERIOR WALL

Any wall that defines the exterior boundaries of a building or structure, surface whether exposed or submerged.

FACILITY BOUNDARY

The property lines of the lot, parcel, tract or group of lots, parcels or tracts upon which any nonresidential structure or use is proposed.

FACILITY OWNER

The entity or entities having equity interest in the utility-scale wind energy facility, including their respective successors and/or assigns.

FAIL-SAFE MODE

A device or feature which, in the event of failure, responds in a way that will cause no harm or at least a minimum of harm to other devices or danger.

FAMILY

One or more persons, related by blood, adoption or marriage, living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit, or a number of persons living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit though not related by blood, adoption or marriage.

FAMILY DAY-CARE HOME

A dwelling unit offering child day care and/or adult day-care services to a maximum of six persons, not including the residents of the dwelling unit, unrelated by birth or marriage or occupancy of the resident household.

FARM or FARMLAND

A parcel of land used for agricultural activities.

FARM OPERATION

Normal agricultural pursuits on 10 acres or more.

FARM STAND

A structure for the display and sale of farm products.

FARM STRUCTURE

Any building or structure used exclusively for agricultural purposes.

FENCE

An artificially constructed barrier of any material or combination of materials erected to enclose, screen or separate areas.

FISH HATCHERY

A private or publicly owned parcel/facility where various fish species are raised for the purposes of stocking and/or retail/wholesale sales.

FIXTURE

The assembly that houses a lamp or lamps and can include all or some of the following parts: housing, a mounting bracket or pole socket, a lamp holder, ballast, a reflector or mirror and/or a refractor or lens.

FLICKER

A repeating cycle of changing light intensity.

FLOODLIGHT or SPOTLIGHT

Any tight fixture or lamp that incorporates a reflector or a refractor to concentrate the light into a directed beam in a particular direction.

FLOODPLAIN

Areas adjacent to a stream or river that are subject to flooding or inundation during extreme storm events (often called a "100-year floodplain"). It would include the area or flooding that occurs, on average, once every 100 years. An area subject to frequent flooding.

FLOOR AREA RATIO

The gross floor area of all buildings or structures on a lot divided by the total lot area.

FLOOR AREA, GROSS

The sum of the gross horizontal areas of all the floors of a building or structure from the exterior face of the exterior walls, or from the center line of a wall separating two buildings, but excluding any space where the floor-to-ceiling height is less than six feet.

FLOOR AREA, HABITABLE

The aggregate of the horizontal area of all rooms used for habitation, such as living room, dining room, kitchen, and bedroom(s), but not including hallways, stairways, cellars, service rooms, utility rooms, bathrooms, closets, unheated areas such as enclosed porches nor rooms without at least one window or skylight opening onto an outside yard or court. At least 1/2 of the floor area of every habitable room shall have a ceiling height of not less than seven feet, and the floor area of that part of the room where ceiling height is less than five feet shall not be considered part of the habitable floor area.

FLOOR AREA, NET

Gross floor area minus 15%.

FLOWABLE FILL

A mixture of Portland cement (ASTM C150), potable water, sand, and a fluidizing agent. This mixture is predominately sand. An example mixture of flowable fill contains approximately 85% sand, 9% water, 4% Portland cement, 2% finely ground slag, and a fluidizing agent. Flowable fill and other bridging agents do not meet the permeability requirements to protect groundwater quality and prevent flow between aquifer zones.

FLOWING WELL

A well that yields water by artesian pressure at the ground surface.

FULL CUTOFF LUMINAIRE

A luminaire with elements such as shields, reflectors, or refractors, or refractor panels, which direct and cut off the light at a 90° cutoff angle and no light is emitted at the horizontal plane or above 90°.

FUSE

To make a plastic pipe joint by heat and pressure in accordance with the pipe manufacturer's specifications.

GAME FARM

A private or publicly owned parcel/facility where various game animals and game birds are bred and raised for the purposes of stocking and/or retail/wholesale sales.

GAMELANDS

Publicly owned or leased lands under the control of the Pennsylvania Game Commission open to the public for express purpose of the licensed hunting of birds or mammals, or general use by the public.

GARAGE, PRIVATE

An enclosed structure for the storage of one or more private motor vehicles, provided that no business, occupation or service is conducted therein. Such a structure is accessory to the principal structure on the lot.

GEOTHERMAL HEATING AND/OR COOLING SYSTEM

A system that uses a heat pump to extract heat from the earth in heating mode and/or reject heat into the earth in cooling mode. It is also called a "geothermal heat pump system," a "ground-coupled heat pump system," an "earth-source heat pump system," and a "GeoExchange system."

GLARE

The effect produced by brightness sufficient to cause annoyance, discomfort or loss in visual performance and visibility.

GOVERNING BODY

The Board of Supervisors of Halfmoon Township, Centre County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

GRADE

The average elevation of the land around a building; the percent of rise or descent of a sloping surface.

GRADE, FINISHED

The final elevation of the ground level after development.

GRADE, NATURAL

The elevation of the ground level in its natural state, before construction, filling, or excavation.

GREENWAY

A linear open space established along any natural corridor, such as a watercourse, ridgeline or overland along a scenic road, or other route; any natural or landscaped course for pedestrian or bicycle passage; an open space connector linking parks, natural reserves, historic features, cultural features, scenic views or aesthetic features with each other and with populated areas; and locally, certain strip or linear parks designated as a "parkway" or "greenbelt."

GROUND-COUPLED HEAT PUMP

A geothermal heat pump that uses the earth itself as a heat source and heat sink. It is coupled to the ground by means of a closed-loop heat exchanger installed horizontally or vertically underground.

GROUNDWATER

Water within the earth below the water table within the zone of saturation. Groundwater includes both water under water table conditions and confined within deep aquifers.

GROUP CARE FACILITY

A facility providing food, shelter, and personal guidance, with supervision, to persons who require assistance, temporarily or permanently, in order to live in the community. Such facilities shall include group homes, halfway houses, intermediate care facilities, supervised living arrangements, hostels, domestic abuse shelters, congregate residences or long-term care facilities. Group care facilities shall not house more than 15 residents.

GROUT

A high-solids fluid mixture of cement or bentonite and potable water of a consistency that can be pumped through a tremie pipe and placed as required. Various additives, such as sand or bentonite, may be included in the mixture to meet certain requirements.

GROUTING, POSITIVE EMPLACEMENT

A technique of the installation of grouting materials whereby emplacement is achieved by positive pumping pressure through a tremie pipe from the bottom of the zone upward.

HABITABLE ROOM

A room or enclosed floor space arranged for living, eating or sleeping purposes, not including bath or toilet rooms, laundries, pantries, foyers or communicating corridors.

HAZARDOUS WASTE

A waste or combination of wastes which because of its quantity, concentration or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics may cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness or pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health, safety or welfare or to the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, used or disposed of, or otherwise managed.

HEALTH CARE FACILITY

A facility or institution, whether public or private, principally engaged in providing services for health maintenance and the treatment of mental or physical conditions.

HEAT PUMP

A mechanical device used for heating and/or cooling which operates by pumping heat from a cooler to a warmer location.

HEIGHT OF A BROADCAST TOWER

The vertical distance measured from ground level to the highest point on a broadcast tower, including antennas mounted on the tower.

HEIGHT OF LUMINAIRE

The height of a luminaire shall be the vertical distance from the ground directly below the center line of the luminaire to the direct light emitting part of the luminaire.

HEIGHT OF SIGNS

The vertical distance measured from the average finished grade at the front of the structure to which the sign is affixed or a part of to its highest point, which includes any supporting structure.

HEIGHT, BUILDING

See "building height," above.

HERBICIDES

Chemicals developed to control or eradicate plants.

HISTORIC PROPERTY OR SITE

A structure of outstanding historical and/or cultural significance and identified in a Centre County historic survey document.

HOME OCCUPATION

(1)

The intent of this policy is for the Township not to hinder entrepreneurship, start-up business enterprises, self-employment or other means of income of any resident conducted on their private property while ensuring any home business does not compromise the character of the neighborhood or cause a nuisance to surrounding neighbors. A home occupation is an accessory use of a dwelling for gainful employment. The home occupation must be solely operated or managed completely within the private dwelling of owner of the home occupation, including an attached garage, detached garage, or accessory building to the dwelling. The home occupation shall be subject to the following additional requirements:

(a)

The business activity shall be compatible with the uses primarily allowable in the zoning district in which it is located;

(b)

It shall be carried on only by the members of the family residing in the dwelling plus not more than two additional employees;

(c)

The home occupation must not use or occupy more than 500 square feet of the total available floor area of the building and its accessory structures;

(d)

It must not create noise, glare, smoke, fumes, odor, dust, vibration, electrical/electronic interference, fire hazards, or other nuisance that would be detectable in the neighborhood or that would be detrimental to the health and welfare of the citizens of Halfmoon Township;

(e)

It must not create substantially increased traffic in the neighborhood;

(f)

Any signage must comply with the home occupation signage regulations of the Township;

(g)

It must not generate any sewage discharge in a volume that would exceed the available sewage discharge of the property; and

(h)

It must not involve or create bulk storage of solid waste on the exterior of the lot.

(2)

Any and all individuals desiring to conduct a home occupation must first apply for a Township home occupation permit.

HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION (HOA)

A community association combining individual home ownership with shared use or ownership of common property and facilities. The homeowner owns the lot, including the interior and exterior of the individual home, while the association owns and maintains the common facilities.

HORTICULTURAL USES

Related to the raising, promulgating and selling of trees, shrubs, flowers, and other plant materials.

HORTICULTURE

The cultivation of a garden or orchard.

HOSPITAL

Unless otherwise specified, includes a sanitarium, clinic, rest home, nursing home and/or any other building for the diagnosis, treatment or care of ailments.

HOTEL

A facility offering transient lodging accommodations to the general public and the business conduct of which is licensed under applicable laws.

HOUSEHOLD

A family living together in a single dwelling unit, with common access to and common use of all living and eating areas and all areas for the preparation and serving of food within the dwelling unit.

HYDROLOGIC BALANCE

This term refers to the condition where, in the long term, the rate of local groundwater pumping from an aquifer does not exceed the rate of local groundwater recharge to the aquifer.

IGSHPA

The International Ground Source Heat Pump Association.

IMPERVIOUS AREA

The sum of those surfaces within a tract which reduce the penetration of water. For purposes of this chapter, impervious surfaces shall be those surfaces which have a runoff coefficient of 50 or greater as specified in Chapter 200, Stormwater Management, of the Code of the Township of Halfmoon (Table A-3: Rational Runoff Coefficients), or as determined by the Township Engineer.

IMPERVIOUS COVERAGE

That portion of a lot, expressed as a percentage, that does not absorb precipitation.

IMPERVIOUS SURFACE

Any material that prevents absorption of stormwater into the ground. All buildings, structures, parking areas, roads, sidewalks, any area in concrete, asphalt, or other similar materials shall be considered impervious surface.

INDIRECT LIGHT

Light that is or can be reflected from or has scattered off of other surfaces.

INDIVIDUAL WATER SUPPLY

A system including wells, pumps, and piping equipment, which supplies water to a private home.

INDOOR RECREATION

A structure or building containing facilities for recreational activities, such as tennis, platform games, swimming, exercise rooms, handball, and similar activities.

INDUSTRIAL USE

A use whose field of economic activity includes mining, construction, manufacturing, transportation, communication, electric, natural gas services, sanitary services and wholesale trade.

INN

A dwelling in which no more than six rooms are used to provide overnight accommodations for transient guests for compensation, and in which meals may be provided or offered to the said transient guests.

INSECTICIDES

Chemicals developed to control or eradicate insects.

INSTALLATION OF PUMPS AND PUMPING EQUIPMENT

The procedure employed in the placement and preparation for operation of pumps and pumping equipment, including all construction involved in making entrance to the well and establishing seals, but not including repairs to existing installations.

INSTITUTION

A nonprofit, religious or public use, such as a church, library, public or private school, hospital, or government-owned or -operated building, structure or land used for public purpose.

INTERMITTENT STREAM

Surface water drainage channels with definite bed and banks in which there is not a permanent flow of water. Most intermittent streams are shown on the USDA Soil Conservation Service "Soils Survey of Centre County" mapping or as watercourses shown on a USGS 7.5-minute quadrangle map as dashed lines or as state open waters identified in a letter of interpretation issued by the Pennsylvania DEP. Intermittent streams are shown as thin blue lines on the most recent Streams Within the Centre Region, USGS National Hydrologic Dataset (NHD) mapping noted on attached Appendix A which shows the municipal area of applicability.

JUNK

Any scrap, waste, reclaimable material or debris, whether or not stored, for sale or in the process of being dismantled, destroyed, processed, salvaged, stored, baled, disposed, or other use or disposition. Automobiles in an inoperable condition and not bearing a current motor vehicle registration and/or inspection sticker shall be considered junk.

JUNKYARD

Any area, lot, land, parcel, building or structure, or part thereof, used for the storage, collection, processing, purchase, sale, salvage, or disposal of junk.

KENNEL

A facility for the boarding, breeding, grooming, sale or training of dogs and cats for which a fee is charged.

LAMP

The component of a luminaire that produces the actual light.

LAND DEVELOPMENT

Any of the following activities:

(1)

The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts or parcels of land for any purpose involving:

(a)

A group of two or more residential or nonresidential buildings, whether proposed initially or cumulatively, or a single nonresidential building on a lot or lots regardless of the number of occupants or tenure; or

(b)

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.

(2)

A subdivision of land.

(3)

Development does not include conversion of a single-family dwelling or single-family detached dwelling into not more than three residential units unless they are condominiums, accessory dwellings, including farm buildings, building or rides within an amusement park, etc. [as listed in Section 503(1.1) of the MPC, 53 P.S. § 10503(1.1)].

LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN

A plan, prepared by a licensed surveyor or engineer, providing for:

(1)

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 buildings; three or more residential dwelling units; or a single nonresidential building on said lot or lots.

(2)

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, lease holds, condominiums, building groups or other features.

(3)

A subdivision of land.

LAND USE REGULATIONS

Ordinances duly adopted by Halfmoon Township to applicable commonwealth enabling statutes, including but not limited to this chapter; Chapter 215, Subdivision and Land Development; building codes; property maintenance codes; Chapter 200, Stormwater Management; and Chapter 118, Floodplain Management.

LANDOWNER

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 is authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the landowner, or other person having a proprietary interest in land.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

A landscape architect registered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

LEVEL SPREADER

A device used to disperse concentrated stormwater flow uniformly over the ground surface as sheet flow.

LIGHT TRESPASS

The luminance emitted by a lighting installation, which extends beyond the boundaries of the property on which the lighting installation is sited as measured from any orientation of the measuring device.

LIVESTOCK

See "agriculture."

LOT

A tract or parcel of land, regardless of size, held in single or joint ownership, not necessarily a lot or lots shown on a duly recorded map, which is occupied or capable of being occupied by buildings, structures and accessory buildings, including such open spaces as are arranged, designed or required. The term "lot" shall also mean parcel, plot, site, tract or any similar term.

LOT AREA, GROSS

The area of land contained within the limits of the property lines bounding that area, but not including any street right-of-way.

LOT AREA, NET

The area of land contained within the limits of the property lines bounding that area, exclusive of jurisdictional wetlands, aquifer recharge areas or exceptional value waters as defined in this article.

LOT COVERAGE

A percentage which when multiplied by the lot area will determine the permitted building area for all impervious surfaces.

LOT DEPTH

The main horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.

LOT LINE

A boundary line of a lot; includes property line.

(1)

FRONT LOT LINEThe line separating the lot from the street right-of-way.

(2)

SIDE LOT LINEAny lines which are not front or rear lot lines.

(3)

REAR LOT LINEThe line parallel to or within 45° of being parallel to a street line which defines the rear of the lot.

LOT WIDTH

The mean width measured at the building setback line between side lot lines and parallel to the front lot line but in no case shall the street frontage be less than 1/2 of the required lot width in the particular zoning district.

LOT, CORNER

A lot at the point of intersection of and abutting on two or more intersecting streets, and which has an interior angle of less than 135° at the intersection of the two street lines.

LOT, FLAG

An irregularly-shaped building lot or parcel of land that has a very limited amount of road or street frontage, wide enough to accommodate a driveway but not a building, and a wider rear portion of the lot that is large enough to accommodate buildings.

LOT, RECORD

A lot, the boundaries of which are established by a recorded deed and/or plot plan.

LUMEN

A unit of luminous flux. One footcandle is one lumen per square foot. For the purposes of this chapter, the lumen output values shall be the initial lumen output ratings of a lamp. Sixty watts approximately equals 1000 lumens.

MAJOR ALTERATION OF A WELL AND/OR BOREHOLE

Any alteration of a regulated well or borehole which can increase the potential for rapid vertical flow of water into groundwater or which can otherwise increase the potential to pollute groundwater. Examples of major alterations include, but are not limited to, deepening of an existing well, conversion of a well to another use (such as geothermal heating), etc.

MALL

A shopping center where tenants are located on one or both sides of a covered walkway with direct pedestrian access to all establishments from the walkway.

MAXIMUM PERMITTED ILLUMINATION

The maximum illumination measured in footcandles at the property line.

MEADOW

Uncultivated land, not used for pasture, usually containing wildflowers or grasses.

MEAN

The average of a series of figures computed by adding up all the figures and dividing by the number of figures.

MEMBERSHIP CLUB

A nonprofit social organization with preestablished formal membership requirements, bylaws, and with the objective of promoting the interests of its members.

METHODONE TREATMENT FACILITY

A facility licensed by the Department of Health to use the drug methadone in the treatment, maintenance or detoxification of persons.

MINERALS

Any aggregate or mass of mineral matter, whether or not coherent. The term includes, but is not limited to, limestone and dolomite, sand and gravel, rock and stone, earth, fill, slag, iron ore, zinc ore, vermiculite and clay, anthracite and bituminous coal, lignite, coal refuse, peat and crude oil and natural gas.

MINIMUM AVERAGE BUFFER WIDTH

The minimum value permitted in this article for the average buffer width in Zone One is 35 feet.

MINIMUM AVERAGE TOTAL BUFFER WIDTH

The minimum value permitted in this article for the average total buffer width is 100 feet.

MINING, QUARRYING, MINERAL EXTRACTION and/or EXCAVATION

An excavation site or other place from which stone, including limestone, gravel, sand, clay, shale, slate, topsoil or other minerals or natural resources, is removed by cutting, digging, blasting, or other means, including but not limited to those related operations of crushing, sorting, sizing, stockpiling, or spoil piling of such extracted materials, and including overburden, settlement basins or borrow pits (excavations for removing material for filling operations), equipment maintenance and parking areas. Minor excavation, such as removal of topsoil for construction of buildings or other structures or construction operations and blasting for removal of rock in construction operations not qualifying as a quarry/extraction operation, as defined in this chapter, is excluded. The term does not include the following:

(1)

The extraction of minerals by a landowner for the landowner's noncommercial use from land owned or leased by the landowner.

(2)

The extraction, handling, processing or storing of minerals from a building construction excavation on the site of the construction if the minerals removed are incidental to the building construction excavation, regardless of the commercial value of the minerals. For the purpose of this chapter, the minerals removed are incidental if the excavator demonstrates that:

(a)

Extraction, handling, processing or storing are conducted concurrently with construction;

(b)

The area mined is limited to the area necessary for construction;

(c)

The construction is reasonably related to the use proposed for the site.

(3)

Small shale pits from which less than 10,000 tons of minerals are removed per year.

MINOR ALTERATION

Any alteration that is not otherwise defined as a major alteration.

MIXED-USE STRUCTURE

A building or structure with a variety of complementary and integrated uses, such as but not limited to residential, office, retail, public or entertainment.

MOBILE HOME

See "dwelling, mobile home," above.

MOBILE HOME PARK

A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which have been designed and improved in a manner to site two or more mobile homes.

MODEL HOME

A residential building erected on a lot situated within an approved subdivision which is owned or developed by the owner of said structure and which is intended to serve as a representation of the kind or type of residential building the owner/developer intends to erect within said subdivision. Said building shall be used for demonstration purposes which shall include sales offices only for that period of time which the owner/developer is actively marketing the lots in said subdivision. Said model homes shall be used for demonstration purposes only in connection with the marketing of lots within said subdivision.

MOTEL

A building or group of buildings containing individual rooms or apartment accommodations primarily for transients, each of which is provided with a separate exterior entrance and a parking space, and offered principally for rental and use by motor vehicle travelers. The term shall include but not be limited to auto courts, motor courts, tourist courts, motor inns, motor lodges or roadside hotels.

MPC

Acronym for the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended.[3]

MUNICIPAL

The Township of Halfmoon, unless specifically in reference to another township.

MUNICIPAL BUILDING

Any building owned, leased or used by the Halfmoon Township or any agency or authority created by the Halfmoon Township.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEER

A professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, duly appointed as the engineer for a municipality, planning agency or joint planning commission.

MUNICIPALITY

Halfmoon Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania.

NSF

National Sanitation Foundation.

NACELLE

The structure that houses all of the generating components, gearbox, drive train, etc., of a wind turbine.

NATURAL AREA

A physical and biological area in nearly natural condition that exemplifies an ecological community and its associated vegetation and other biotic, soil, geologic, and aquatic features. Note a natural area is maintained in a natural condition by allowing physical and biological processes to operate, usually without direct human intervention, but treatments such as fire suppression or prescribed burning may be permitted.

NATURALIZED STORMWATER BASIN

Stormwater control facilities that are planted with native vegetation rather than maintained as hardscape or lawn.

NEAT CEMENT GROUT

A fluid mixture of hydraulic cement and water, with or without admixtures in the following proportions; one bag of cement (94 pounds) to not less than five gallons nor more than seven gallons of water.

NONCOMMUNITY WATER SYSTEMS

A public water system which is not a community water system.

NONCONFORMING LOT

A lot whose area or dimension 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 reason of such adoption or amendment.

NONCONFORMING OUTDOOR LIGHTING FIXTURE

An exterior lighting fixture that does not conform to the new Township illumination requirements for either residential or nonresidential lighting as of May 14, 2009. Examples would be higher wattage (> 150 watts incandescent or equivalent, 2000 lumens), unshielded or unshrouded mercury vapor or high-pressure sodium lamps on cobra head type mast arms that direct unnecessary glare or light pollution onto adjacent properties, roads and/or into the night sky.

NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE

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

NONCONFORMING USE

A use, whether of land or of structure, which does not comply with the applicable use provisions in a zoning ordinance or amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such use was lawfully in existence prior to the enactment of such ordinance or amendment, or prior to the application of such ordinance or amendment to its location by reason of annexation.

NONPARTICIPATING LANDOWNERS

Any landowner except those on whose property all or a portion of a commercial wind energy facility is located pursuant to an agreement with the facility owner or operator.

NUISANCE

An interference with the enjoyment and use of property.

NURSING HOME

Any building containing sleeping rooms and used by persons who are lodged and furnished with meals and nursing care.

NUTRIENT

A substance that provides food or nourishment, such as usable proteins, vitamins, minerals or carbohydrates. Fertilizers, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen, are the most common nutrients that contribute to eutrophication.

NUTRIENT LOADING

A quantity of nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, entering an ecosystem in a given period of time.

OCCUPANCY PERMIT

A required permit allowing the use of any building or structure after it has been determined that all the requirements of applicable permits have been met, and issued by the Code Compliance Officer.

OCCUPIED BUILDING

A residence, school, hospital, church, public library or other building used for public gathering that is occupied or in use when the permit application is submitted.

OFF-SITE SANITARY SEWAGE DISPOSAL

A sanitary sewage collection system in which sewage is carried from individual lots by a system of pipes to a temporary or permanent central treatment and disposal plant.

OFFICE

A room or group of rooms used for conducting the affairs of a business, profession, service, industry or government and generally furnished with desks, tables, files, communication equipment, etc.

OFFICE CENTER

A group of office establishments planned, constructed, and managed as a total entity, with customer and employee parking provided on site, provision for goods delivery separated from customer access, aesthetic considerations and protection from the elements, and landscaping and signage in accordance with an approved plan.

OFFICIAL MAP

A map which contains elements or portions of elements of a municipality's comprehensive plan with regard to public lands and facilities which may include but not be limited to public streets, watercourses, public grounds, public parks, playgrounds, open space reservations, pedestrianways and easements, railroads and transit rights-of-way and easements, support facilities, easements and other properties held by public bodies undertaking the elements described in a Comprehensive Plan.

OFFICIAL ZONING MAP

A map adopted by municipal ordinance that clearly delineates the extent of each zoning district or zone within the physical boundary of the municipality established in the municipal zoning ordinance.

ON-SITE SANITARY SEWAGE DISPOSAL

A covered watertight settling tank in which raw sewage is biochemically changed into solid, liquid, and gaseous states to facilitate further treatment and final disposal.

OPEN LAND

That portion of a tract within a development meeting rural preservation design standards that is set aside for the protection of sensitive natural features, farmland, scenic views and other unique features. Open land may be accessible to the residents of the development and/or municipality, or it may contain areas of farmland or a conservancy lot which may not be accessible to the public. If open to the public, it shall be so stated on the recorded plan.

OPEN SPACE

A portion of a development site which is permanently set aside for public or private use and will not be developed with homes. The space may be used for passive or active recreation, or may be reserved to protect or buffer natural areas.

OPEN-LOOP GEOTHERMAL SYSTEM

A type of geothermal heating and/or cooling system that utilizes a water-supply well and a water pump to deliver groundwater to a water-source heat pump. The discharge water from the water-source heat pump may be returned to the subsurface through a recharge well or infiltration bed, or may be discharged into a pond, lake, or stream. A spring may also be the source of the groundwater supply.

OPERATOR

The entity responsible for the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the commercial wind energy facility.

OTHER FILL AND BRIDGING MATERIALS

Under some limited circumstances, borehole completion without grout (below the minimum fifty-foot depth of the approved grout surface formation seal) may be necessary. Acceptable fill materials are site-specific and may include, but may not be limited to, bentonite chips, cuttings removed from the borehole; clean sand, gravel, or a mixture of sand and gravel; and/or cement and water or concrete mixes. Prior to using these materials, the contractor will provide written notification to the Township and will not continue until approved by the municipal official.

OTHER GROUT AND FILL PLACEMENT METHODS

Other methods of grout or fill placement shall be accepted if such methods allow verification of completion. Such methods must ensure that the grout or fill placement provides environmental protection and the intended system performance.

OUTDOOR LIGHTING FIXTURE

An illuminating device, luminous tube, lamp or other similar apparatus located exterior to the building envelope for the purpose of illumination, decoration or advertisement. Such devices shall include but are not limited to luminaires for parking lots, roadways, recreational areas, landscaping, building facades, product displays, building overhangs and open canopies.

OUTDOOR RECREATION

The use of land for leisure time activities, either of a formal, active or inactive nature, such as but not limited to sports fields or courts, playgrounds, trails, bike paths, picnicking, table games, and similar activities not taking place in a building.

OVERBURDEN

The strata or material overlying a noncoal deposit or in between noncoal deposits in its natural state and material before or after its removal by surface mining.

OWNER

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 persons having a proprietary interest in the land, shall be deemed to be an "owner."

PACKER

A mechanical device that is placed in a borehole to prevent the vertical movement of water or grout.

PARENT TRACT

A parcel or parcels of land from which additional lots are created.

PARK

Unless specifically authorized, a park shall be deemed to include all parks, playgrounds, athletic fields, stadiums, tennis courts, band shells, music pavilions, recreation areas and structures and land or property or structures under the jurisdiction of the Parks and Recreation Board and all other land now or hereafter owned or acquired by Halfmoon Township for park and recreation purposes and specifically designed by the Township as subject to the rules and regulations of the Township.

PARKING AREA

Any public or private area, under or outside of a building or structure, designed and used for parking motor vehicles, including parking lots, garages, private driveways and legally designated areas of public streets.

PARKING LOT

Any off-street area or structure designed solely for the parking of motor vehicles, including driveways, passageways and maneuvering space appurtenant thereto.

PARKING SPACE OR STALL

An off-street area available for the parking of one motor vehicle and excluding driveways, passageways, and maneuvering space appurtenant thereto.

PARTICIPATING LANDOWNER

A landowner upon whose property all or a portion of a commercial wind energy facility is located or pursuant to an agreement with the facility owner or operator.

PASTURE

Land used for the grazing of livestock.

PATIO

A surfaced area or courtyard designed for outdoor living purposes as an accessory use to a structure, which shall be unenclosed except for any side which may adjoin a structure or for any fences, walls, shrubs or hedges. Outdoor areas enclosed by a roof or awning shall be considered a building.

PERMEABILITY

A measure of the relative ease with which a porous medium can transmit a liquid under a potential gradient. It is a property of the medium alone and is independent of the nature of the liquid and of the force field causing movement. It is a property of the medium that is dependent upon the shape and size of the pores.

PERMITTED USE

Any use not requiring any special action by the Zoning Hearing Board or Board of Supervisors before a zoning permit may be granted by the Zoning Officer.

PERSON

Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation or other group or legal entity.

PITLESS ADAPTOR

A device or assembly of parts which will permit water to pass through the wall of the well casing or extension thereof, and which provides access to the well and to the parts of the water system within the well in a manner to prevent entrance of pollution into the well and the water produced.

PLANT NURSERY or NURSERY

Land or greenhouses used to raise flowers, shrubs and plants for sale.

POLYMER

A substance consisting of molecules characterized by the repetition of one or more types of monomeric units.

PORCH or DECK

A roofed or unroofed structure projecting from the front, side or rear wall of buildings. A porch becomes a room when the enclosed space is heated or air conditioned and when the percentage of window area to wall area is less than 50%.

PORTLAND CEMENT (NEAT CEMENT) GROUT

A mixture of Portland cement (ASTM C150 Standard Specification for Portland Cement) and not more than six gallons of potable water per bag (one cubic foot or 94 pounds) of cement shall be used according to the manufacturer's specifications.

POTABLE WATER

Water suitable for human consumption.

PRESERVATION EASEMENT

A nonpossessory interest in an historical building.

PRIME LAND

Any land that is part of a contiguous tract of 100 acres or more of Soil Conservation Service Class I or Class II land or combination thereof, the tract being defined independently of whether or not it is under single ownership, and excluding woodland of 20 acres or more in extent, and excluding land within 150 feet of a residential lot of record or boundary line of a farm residence sited on one acre of land as of the effective date of this chapter, from the defined prime land; see supporting map and identification below. Prime croplands are identified by the following SCS numerical designations: 1, 2, 5, 6, 17, 38B2, 41B2, 44B2, 53B2, 57B2, 59B2, 62A, 62B2, 65A, 65B, 71A, 71B2, 71BK2, 77A, 77B2, 81B2, 85B2, 86B, 90B2, 104B2, 105B2, 110B2.

PRINCIPAL STRUCTURE

A structure housing the main or principal use of the lot on which the structure is situated.

PRINCIPAL USE

The primary or predominant use of any lot or parcel.

PROFESSIONAL OFFICE

The office of a practitioner of a calling or occupation which the Township finds to be professional in character by virtue of specialized knowledge, training, education and/or experience required for the practice of said calling or occupation. Said professions shall include but not be limited to law, medicine, chemistry, ministry, architecture, accounting, engineering, writing and education.

PUBLIC GROUNDS OR SPACE

Includes parks, playgrounds, trails, paths, recreational areas, schools, scenic or historic sites which are owned and operated by a governmental body or a nonprofit agency created by a governmental body.

PUBLIC HEARING

A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Board of Supervisors, Planning Commission or the Zoning Hearing Board, 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 Act of July 3, 1986 (P.L. 388, No. 84), known as the "Sunshine Act," 65 Pa.C.S.A. § 701 et seq.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice published once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. Such notice shall state the time and place of a public hearing or meeting and the particular nature of the matter to be considered at said hearing or meeting. 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 said hearing or meeting.

PUBLIC USE

Uses, buildings or structures designed, intended or arranged for the use of or provision of service to the general public by a governmental agency or any agency, authority or organization created by the Board of Supervisors. Fees and conditions for such use may be determined and regulated by the operator thereof, such uses shall include but not be limited to federal, state, county and municipal offices, sewage treatment facilities, water distribution facilities, recreation facilities, public safety facilities, human service facilities and other similar uses. Such uses shall not include privately owned facilities.

PUBLIC UTILITY TRANSMISSION TOWER

A structure, owned and operated by a public utility company regulated by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, designed and used to support electricity transmission lines.

PUMPABLE BENTONITE GROUT

Pumpable bentonite grout is a high-solids mixture of sodium bentonite powder or granules and potable water mixed according to the manufacturer's specifications.

QUASI-PUBLIC OR SEMIPUBLIC USE

A use owned or operated by a nonprofit, religious or educational institution and providing educational, cultural, recreational, religious or other similar public services or programs. This term does not include houses of worship.

READY-MIX CONCRETE PLANT

An operation or plant which has as its primary function the mixing of materials to make concrete. Excluded from the requirements of this chapter is the mixing of concrete on a construction site on a temporary basis or until construction on the site is completed.

REDEVELOPMENT

The reconstruction, reuse or change in use of any developed property, including but not limited to the following: the demolition and clearance of any existing structures, any increase in the intensity of use of already developed land, such as an increase in the number of dwelling units in a structure or change to a commercial or industrial use from a less intensive use; enlargement of a structure; additions to usable interior floor area within residential, commercial and/or industrial buildings.

REPORT

Any letter, review, memorandum, compilation or any other similar written document made by any agency, board, governing body, officer or consultant other than a solicitor to any other agency, board, governing body, officer or consultant for the purpose of assisting the recipient of the report in rendering of any decision or determination. All reports shall be deemed to be recommendatory and advisory only and shall not be binding upon the recipient agency, board, governing body, officer, or consultant, nor shall any appeal lie therein. Any report used, received or considered by the agency, board, governing body, officer or consultant rendering a determination or a decision shall be made available for inspection to any party to any proceeding upon request, and copies thereof shall be provided at cost of reproduction.

RESIDENTIAL DWELLING LOT

A lot upon which a residential unit is located or is to be located.

RESIDENTIAL WIND TURBINE

An electric generation facility whose main purpose is to supply residential electricity, consisting of one or more turbines and other accessory structures and buildings to a primary use located on the same site with a combined rated capacity of 60 KW or less.

RESORT

A building or group of buildings located on a lot, arranged and used for lodging of members and guests, including facilities for service of food to lodgers and/or non-lodgers, and may include retail sale of commodities and services, and facilities for educational activities and recreation for lodgers and/or non-lodgers.

RETURN WELL

A well design and constructed for the return of water to the ground.

RIDING STABLE

The commercial hiring out of horses or ponies, whether with or without instruction in riding, and which may include boarding.

RIGHT-OF-WAY

A strip of land acquired by reservation, dedication, forced dedication, prescription, or condemnation and intended to be occupied by a road, crosswalk, railroad, electric transmission line, oil or gas pipeline, water line, sanitary or storm sewer and other similar uses.

RIPARIAN BUFFER OVERLAY ZONING DISTRICT

That area which borders any body of water on either or all side(s) from defined edges and which is 50 feet perpendicular to those defined edges as shown on the Official Zoning Map and/or, if applicable, the Official Map.

[Amended 7-9-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-03]

ROOMING HOUSE or LODGING HOUSE

A dwelling, other than a membership club, fraternity or sorority, college dormitory, motel or hotel, in which lodging is provided on a weekly or monthly basis without meals for two or more persons in addition to the family occupying said dwelling.

ROTOR

The blades and hub assembly of a wind turbine.

SAND-CEMENT GROUT

A mixture of Portland cement, Type I (ASTM C150), sand and water in the proportion of not more than two parts by weight of sand to one part of cement with not more than six gallons of potable water per bag of cement (one cubic foot or 94 pounds) shall be used according to the manufacturer's specifications.

SANITARY LANDFILL

A site established for the burial of nonhazardous and nonmedical farm, residential, institutional, commercial and industrial wastes.

SCREENING

A method of visually shielding or obscuring one abutting or nearby structure or use from another by means of fencing, walls, berms, or densely planted vegetation.

SEDIMENT

Solid material, both mineral and organic, that is in suspension, is being transported, or has been moved from its site of origin by air, water, gravity, or ice and has come to rest on the earth's surface either above or below sea level.

SEMIPUBLIC WATER SUPPLY

A water supply which services one or several facilities such as industrial or commercial establishments, parks, camps, hotels, motels, schools, institutions, and eating and drinking establishments, or a water supply which services two or more dwelling units and is not a public water system as defined by the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water Act (35 P.S. § 721.1 et seq.).

SHADOW FLICKER

The on-and-off flickering effect of a shadow caused when the sun passes behind the rotor of a wind turbine.

SHARED-USE TRAIL (also MULTIUSE TRAIL)

A combination of harmonious forest recreation uses such as walking, hiking, bicycling, horseback riding and cross-country skiing sharing the trail resources, with avoidance to interest conflict, and with consideration being given to the relative values of the resources.

SHOPPING CENTER

A group of commercial establishments planned, constructed, and managed as a total entity, with customer and employee parking provided on site, provision for goods delivery separated from customer access.

SHORT-TERM RENTAL

A dwelling in which overnight accommodations of less than 30 days are provided or offered for transient guests for compensation.

SIGN

A structure, which consists of any device, light, letter, word, model, banner, pennant, trade flag, logo, insignia, balloons or representation which advertises, directs, or announces the use conducted; goods, products, services or facilities available; or which influences persons or conveys information, or which calls attention to the building or the use located on the lot. The term "sign" includes the word "billboard," but does not include the flag of the United States of America or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or any federal, state or municipal traffic or directional sign or other official federal, state, county or municipal government signs.

SIGN, AWNING

A sign painted on or attached to a removable frame, of the hinged, rolled or folding type, which may have a covering, either combustible or noncombustible.

SIGN, BUSINESS

A sign which directs attention to a use conducted on the premises or to goods, products or services sold or provided, manufactured or assembled upon the same premises upon which it is displayed.

SIGN, COMMERCIAL OR OFFICE CENTER

A directory, on or off premises, used to identify specific enterprises which are located within the commercial or office center.

SIGN, GROSS SURFACE AREA

The entire area within a single continuous perimeter enclosing the extreme limits of a sign and in no case passing through or between any adjacent elements of the same. However, such perimeter shall not include any structural or framing elements lying outside the limits of such sign and not forming any part of the display.

(1)

For either a freestanding sign or an attached sign, the area shall be considered to include all lettering, wording and accompanying designs and symbols, together with the entire background, whether open or enclosed, on which they are displayed.

(2)

For a sign painted upon or applied to a building, the area shall be considered to include all lettering, wording and accompanying designs and symbols together with any background, and shall be the smallest geometric shape that can be drawn to encompass all the lettering and/or symbols.

(3)

For a sign consisting of individual letters or symbols attached to or painted on a surface, building, wall or window, other than those signs described in Subsections (1) and (2) above, the area shall be considered to be that of the smallest common geometric shape that can be drawn to encompass all of the letters and symbols.

SIGN, MARQUEE

A sign painted on, attached to, or consisting of an interchangeable copy reader, on the face of a building, or as part of a freestanding sign.

SILVICULTURE

The art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health and quality of forests and woodlands to meet the diverse needs and values of landowners and society on a sustainable basis.

SLOPE

The angle of the surface of the land to the plane of the horizon. The vertical rise/fall over a horizontal run. For the purpose of this chapter, slope is measured over a minimum distance of 10 feet.

SLOPE AS PERCENT

The vertical rise/fall over a horizontal run times 100.

SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREAS

(1)

Less than completely and opaquely covered human genitals, pubic region, buttock, and female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola; and

(2)

Human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered.

STALL

The increased angle at which the relative wind strikes the blades of a wind turbine or the "angle of attack," and reduces the induced drag associated with lift. Stalling occurs passively by increasing automatically when the winds speed up, but it increases the cross section of the blade(s) face-on to the wind, and thus the ordinary drag. A fully stalled turbine blade, when stopped, has the flat side of the blade facing directly into the wind.

STANDING-COLUMN GEOTHERMAL SYSTEM

A type of open-loop geothermal heating and/or cooling system that circulates groundwater from a water well through a water-source heat pump and returns the discharge water from the water-source heat pump to the same water well it was pumped from. The water withdrawal and return locations within the water well bore are separated as far as is possible. Some standing-column geothermal systems discharge some of the circulating ground water to enhance their heat transfer.

STEEP SLOPES

Steep slopes are slopes which are 25% or greater.

STORY

The portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and surface of the floor next above it or, if there is no floor above it, then the space between any floor and the celling next above it. Each level of a split-level building shall be considered 1/2 story. Cellars shall be excluded from determining the maximum number of stories.

STORY, HALF

Any space immediately below and wholly or partly within the roof framing, with or without a finished floor, where the clear height of not more than 75% of the space has structural headroom of seven feet, six inches or greater.

STREAM

Surface water drainage channels with definite bed and banks in which there is a permanent flow of water. Most streams are shown on the USDA Soil Conservation Service Soils Survey of Centre County mapping or as watercourses shown on a USGS 7.5-minute quadrangle map as solid blue lines or as state open waters identified in a letter of interpretation issued by the Pennsylvania DEP. Streams are also shown as blue lines on the most recent Streams Within the Centre Region, USGS National Hydrologic Dataset (NHD) mapping noted in attached Appendix A[4] which shows the respective municipal area of applicability.

STREAM CROSSING

A bridge, ford or structure installed across a stream or watercourse for temporary and/or permanent use as a means of ingress and egress, livestock, or construction and/or agricultural vehicles.

STREET

A public or private right-of-way built in approved municipal standards, excluding driveways, intended for use as a means of vehicular and pedestrian circulation which provides a means of access to abutting property. The word "street" shall include thoroughfare, avenue, boulevard, court, drive, expressway, highway, lane, alley and road or similar terms. Streets shall not be used for right-angle parking where the Board of Supervisors determines it will interfere with traffic movement.

STREETLIGHT

A luminaire placed in or adjacent to a street right of way for the purpose of illuminating a road, sidewalk and/or intersection.

STRUCTURAL ALTERATION

Any change in the structural members of a building, such as walls, columns, beams or girders, or any addition to any structure.

STRUCTURE

Anything constructed or erected which requires location on the ground or attached to something having location on the ground, including signs and billboards but not including fences or walls used as fences.

SUBDIVISION

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 any residential dwelling, shall be exempted.

SURFACE MINING

Surface mining shall mean the extraction of minerals from the earth or from waste or stockpiles or from pits or banks by removing the strata or material which overlies or is above or between them or otherwise exposing and retrieving from them from the surface, including but not limited to strip, drift, and auger mining, dredging, quarrying, leaching, and activities related thereto, but not including those mining operations carried out beneath the surface by means of shafts, tunnels, or other underground mine openings. "Surface mining" shall not include i) the extraction of minerals (other than anthracite and bituminous coal) by a landowner for his own noncommercial use from land owned or leased by him; nor ii) the extraction of sand, gravel, rock, stone, earth or fill from borrow pits for highway construction purposes, so long as such work is performed under a bond, contract and specifications which substantially provide for and require reclamation of the areas affected in accord with DEP requirements.

SURVEYOR

An individual registered with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as authorized to measure the boundaries of tracts of land, establish locations, and perform the requirements of a survey.

SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY

A forestry concept that incorporates the knowledge that forests play a major role in sustaining human health and welfare. Sustainability concerns the interactions between humans and forests. It includes ecological, economic and social considerations.

THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENT

Any place of business where any person, partnership, firm, association or corporation engages in or carries on or permits to be engaged in or carried on any method of pressure on, friction against, or stroking, kneading, rubbing, tapping, pounding, vibrating or stimulating parts of the body with the hands or with the aid or any mechanical apparatus or electrical apparatus or appliance, with or without such supplementary aids as rubbing alcohol, oil or other such items.

THERMALLY ENHANCED BENTONITE-BASED GROUT

A high-solids mixture of sodium bentonite, inert additives such as sand or rock dust that enhance thermal conductivity, and potable water mixed according to the manufacturer's specifications. The sand must be clean so as to not introduce contaminants into the grout mixture. The use of special additives to alter permeability, increase thermal conductivity, increase fluidity, control grout loss, and/or control time of set, and the composition of the resultant slurry, must be used in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications.

TOTAL BUFFER WIDTH

The sum of the widths of Zone One and Zone Two riparian buffers for the standard case where buffer averaging is not permitted.

TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD (TMDL)

A tool for establishing the allowable loadings of a given pollutant in a surface water resource to meet predetermined water quality standards.

TOURIST HOME

See "short-term rental," above

TOWNHOUSE

A multifamily dwelling consisting of between three and eight attached dwelling units, each separated by an unpierced party wall. Each dwelling unit shall have exposure to light and air and entrances on at least two sides and a semi-enclosed, private rear yard area.

TRADITIONAL NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT (TND)

An area of land developed for a compatible mixture of residential units for various income levels and nonresidential and workplace units, including some structures that provide for a mix of uses within the same building. Traditional neighborhood development is relatively compact in size and oriented toward pedestrian activity. Generally, there is a hierarchy of streets laid out in a rectilinear or grid pattern of interconnecting streets and blocks that provides multiple routes from origins to destinations and are appropriately designed to serve the needs of pedestrians and vehicles equally.

TREE FARM

Land used for the purpose of growing trees for sale.

TREMIE PIPE

A rigid or flexible pipe or a hose that carries the grouting materials to the bottom of the zone being grouted. The tremie pipe is withdrawn as the grout material fills the annular space outside the casing or fills the space between the loop pipes and the borehole wall. The end of the tremie pipe is kept submerged just below the surface of the grout material.

TREMIE PLACEMENT METHOD FOR FILL AND BRIDGING MATERIALS

The tremie pipe shall be lowered to the bottom of the zone being filled, and raised slowly as the fill material is introduced. When using the tremie pipe method to install fills, the bottom of the tremie should be maintained as close as possible to, but not inside of, the emplaced fill.

TREMIE PLACEMENT METHOD FOR GROUT

After water or other drilling fluid has been circulated in the annular space sufficient to clear obstructions, grout shall be placed by pressure pumping through a tremie pipe. The tremie pipe shall be lowered to the bottom of the zone being grouted, and raised slowly as the material is introduced.

TURBINE HEIGHT

The vertical distance measured from average elevation of the existing grade at the proposed tower foundation perimeter to the highest point of the turbine including the turbine rotor blade. The height of turbines located in a commercial wind energy facility shall be established based upon the optimal height for electrical generating capacity, but in no circumstance shall the height exceed 400 feet. The maximum height of residential wind turbines shall not exceed 35 feet without application for a conditional use permit.

UNDERGROUND NONCOAL MINING ACTIVITIES

An operation whereby noncoal minerals are extracted from beneath the surface by means of shafts, tunnels, adits or other mine openings, including underground construction, operation and reclamation of mine openings; underground mining, hauling, pumping and blasting; in situ processing, and other subsurface activities in connection with the mine.

USABLE OPEN SPACE

An unenclosed portion of the area of a lot which is not devoted to driveways, parking spaces, or principal and accessory structures. Usable open space may include common buildings, such as shelters, pavilions, or recreational structures which are centrally located and accessible to the occupants of the building or buildings.

USE

The purpose for which land or a building is arranged, designed or intended, or for which land or a building is or may be occupied or maintained.

UTILITY USE

All lines and facilities related to the provision, distribution, collection, transmission, or disposal of water, storm and sanitary sewage, oil, gas, power, electric generation, information, telecommunication and telephone cable.

VARIANCE

A waiver, granted by the Zoning Hearing Board, from the terms and conditions of this chapter where literal enforcement would create unnecessary hardship as a result of peculiar or unique conditions, or circumstances pertaining only to the lot in question, and when the granting of such waiver would not be contrary to the public interest.

VERTICAL CLOSED-LOOP BOREHOLE

A borehole which is constructed to receive heat-exchanger loop pipes and grout material. Fill material may be used below a minimum depth of 20 feet below grade as the subsurface conditions warrant.

VETERINARY HOSPITAL/CLINIC

An establishment used by a licensed Pennsylvania veterinarian for the diagnosis, treatment or alleviation of disease and injury in animals, including domestic animals and/or farm livestock. Temporary limited boarding of animals, including domestic animals and/or farm livestock, for the purposes of recovery or medical treatment may be included as well as overnight boarding for short-term care. However, no outdoor boarding of animals or domestic animals and/or farm livestock is permitted. Facilities which offer emergency veterinary care are included.

WASTE

Any garbage, refuse or other waste or discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid or gaseous material resulting from the operating of residential, municipal, commercial, industrial, or institutional establishment, including but not limited to sludge/septage, construction/demolition, infectious/chemotherapeutic, leaf/yard, residual, hazardous and/or nuclear wastes as defined by federal and/or state statutes and regulations.

WASTE DISPOSAL

The discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, incineration or placing of any waste onto or on the land or water so that such waste or any constituent or residue thereof may enter the environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters, including groundwaters.

WASTE PROCESSING

Any method, technique or process, including neutralization, incineration, stabilization or solidification, designed to change the physical, chemical or biological character or composition of any waste(s).

WASTE STORAGE

The actual or intended containment of waste on a temporary basis for a period not to exceed 30 calendar days, in a manner which does not constitute disposal or treatment.

WASTE TREATMENT

Any method, technique or process, including neutralization, designed to change the physical, chemical or biological character or composition of a hazardous substance so as to neutralize the hazardous substance or to render the hazardous substance nonhazardous, safer for transport, suitable for recovery, suitable for storage or reduced in volume. The term includes activity or processing designed to change the physical form or chemical composition of a hazardous substance so as to render it neutral or nonhazardous.

WATER SUPPLY WELL

Any well that is constructed to remove or return water to the ground.

WATER TABLE

That surface in an unconfined groundwater body at which the pressure is atmospheric. It is defined by the levels at which water stands in wells that penetrate the water body just far enough to hold standing water.

WATER-SOURCE HEAT PUMP

A heat pump that uses a water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger to extract heat from the heat source.

WATERSHED

All the land area that contributes runoff to a particular point along a waterway.

WELL

Any excavation that is drilled, cored, bored, washed, driven, dug, jetted, or otherwise constructed when the intended use of such excavation is for the location, acquisition, monitoring, or artificial recharge of groundwater. This includes but is not limited to test wells, test borings, and monitoring wells, in addition to wells to be utilized as individual or semipublic water supplies.

WELL DRILLER

An individual or company that is permitted or licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to drill wells in Pennsylvania.

WELL SCREEN

A filtering device that allows groundwater from unconsolidated and semiconsolidated aquifers to enter the well while at the same time keeping the majority of sand and gravel out of the well and out of the pump. A screen also supports the aquifer material and prevents the borehole from collapsing.

WELL SEAL

An approved device or method used to protect a well casing or water system from the entrance of any external pollutant at the point of entrance into the casing of a pipe, electric conduit or water level measuring device.

WETLAND

An area that is regularly saturated by surface water or groundwater and is characterized by a prevalence of vegetation that is adapted for life in saturated soil conditions (e.g., swamps bogs, vernal pools, fens, marshes, and estuaries).

WILD LAND and/or WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

An area in which development is essentially nonexistent and in which plants and animals are permanently protected from threat and/or molestation.

WILDLIFE CORRIDOR

A strip or block of habitat connecting otherwise isolated units of suitable habitats that allow the dispersal of organisms and the consequent mixing of genes. A corridor is also beneficial to plant populations that have been isolated due to fragmentation.

WILDLIFE PRESERVE

Land used exclusively for animal habitat, including fish, birds, reptiles, mammals and insects.

WIND ENERGY FACILITY, ACCESSORY FACILITIES

All structures and buildings associated with the conversion of wind to energy with the exception of the wind turbine. Accessory facilities include, but are not limited to, structures, buildings substations, meteorological towers, electrical transmission lines and access roads.

WIND ENERGY FACILITY, COMMERCIAL

An electric generation facility whose main purpose is to supply electricity, consisting of one or more wind turbines and other accessory structures and buildings, with the primary intention of producing and transmitting of electricity off-site. The term does not include wind turbines constructed primarily for residential use on site as a permitted accessory use.

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 turbine pad, if any.

WINTER SPORTS AREA

An area designated for the use of ice skates, skis, snowboards, snow tubes, sleds, toboggans, snow bikes or any other device for skating, sliding and jumping on ice and/or snow.

YARD

An open space on a lot, unoccupied and unobstructed by other than natural vegetation from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

YARD, FRONT

An open space between the right-of-way line and a line drawn parallel thereto, at such distance therefrom as specified herein, extending the full width of the lot.

YARD, REAR

An open space between the side lot line and a line drawn parallel thereto at such distance therefrom as specified herein, extending the full width of the lot.

YARD, SIDE

An open space between any side lot line and a line drawn parallel thereto at such distance therefrom as specified herein, extending from the front yard line to the rear yard line.

YAWING

The misalignment between the wind and turbine pointing directions. By minimizing the yaw angle, power output is maximized and nonsymmetrical wind loads are minimized.

ZONE OF SATURATION

The zone below the water table in which all interstices are filled with groundwater.

ZONING COMPLIANCE PERMIT

A document issued by the Zoning Officer certifying that the use, building or structure for which a zoning permit was issued has complied with all terms and conditions of said zoning permit.

ZONING MAP

A map approved by the governing body(ies), delineating the various zoning districts in the Township.

ZONING OFFICER

The administrative officer charged with the duty of enforcing the provisions of this chapter.

ZONING ORDINANCE

The Zoning Ordinance of Halfmoon Township.

ZONING PERMIT

A document issued to indicate that a proposed use or structure is in compliance with the provisions of this chapter or with a decision by the Zoning Hearing Board or Board of Supervisors and authorizing the applicant to proceed with establishing, but not occupying, such use, building or structure until such time as a zoning permit shall be obtained.

[1]

Editor's Note: See 3 P.S. § 901 et seq.

[2]

Editor's Note: See 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.

[3]

Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.

[4]

Editor's Note: Said appendix is included as an attachment to this chapter.

Interpretation of regulations. The interpretation of the regulations of this chapter is intended, in addition to the provisions of §§ 255-3A and 255-4, to be such that whenever these requirements are at variance with any other lawfully adopted rules, regulations, ordinances, deed restrictions or covenants, as they particularly refer to area and bulk regulations and impose higher standards, the most restrictive requirement shall govern.

NR1	Natural Area
A-1	Agricultural
R-1	Residential
C-1	General Commercial
M-1	Industrial
L-I	Limited Industrial
V-1	Village Zoning District