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or which has been replaced by a new well or public water supply.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.
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, 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.
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. 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.
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 SCALE
The relationship of a particular building, in terms of building
mass, to other nearby and adjacent buildings.
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.
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 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 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 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.
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.
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 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 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.
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, 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.
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.
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.
(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.
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.
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.
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.
(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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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, 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.
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 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.
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 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.