This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Sadsbury Township Zoning Ordinance," as amended. This chapter shall become effective five days following its official adoption date.
Adopted the second day of August, 2022
This chapter is enacted under and pursuant to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247 of 1968 (as amended),[1] and has been modified in accordance with the Sadsbury Township Comprehensive Plan (as revised), Sadsbury Township Open Space, Recreation and Environmental Resources Plan (as revised), the Sadsbury Township Sewage Facilities (Act 537) Plan (1998, as revised) and Chapter 109, Subdivision and Land Development, of this Code (as revised). In addition, this chapter is enacted in accordance with an overall program that seeks to preserve the character of the Township in terms of its suitability for particular uses and structures, and is designed and enacted:
A.
To promote, protect and facilitate one or more of the following:
(1)
The public health, safety and general welfare;
(2)
Coordinated and desired community development;
(3)
Proper density of population and land use intensity;
(4)
Emergency management preparedness and operations, airports, and national defense facilities;
(5)
The provision of adequate light and air, police protection, vehicle parking and loading spaces;
(6)
The provision of transportation, water and sewage disposal facilities, schools, recreational facilities, and public grounds;
(7)
The provision of a safe, reliable, and adequate water supply for domestic commercial, agricultural or industrial use and other public requirements;
(8)
The preservation of natural resources (forests, wetlands, aquifers, steep slopes, floodplains), scenic and historic resources; and
(9)
Provision of necessary retail and service establishments.
C.
To preserve agriculture and conserve prime farmland considering the topography, soil type and classification, and present use.
D.
To provide for the use of land within the Township for residential uses of various dwelling types encompassing all basic forms of housing, including single-family and two-family dwellings, and a reasonable range of multifamily dwellings in various arrangements, and mobile home parks; provided, however, that this chapter shall not be deemed invalid by a court of law with competent jurisdiction for failure to provide for any other specific housing type heretofore not mentioned.
E.
To accommodate reasonable overall community growth, including population and employment growth, and opportunities for development of a variety of residential dwelling types and nonresidential uses.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
Any resolution or ordinance, or parts of an ordinance or resolution, including the Sadsbury Township Zoning Ordinance of 2001 (as amended) inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter are hereby repealed. The adoption of this chapter, however, shall not affect or prevent any pending or future prosecution of or action to abate any existing violation of said Zoning Ordinance of 2001 (as amended) if the violation is also a violation of the provisions of this chapter.
From and after the effective date of this chapter, the use of all land and every building and portion of a building erected or altered with respect to height and area, added to or relocated, and every use within a building or use accessory thereto, in the Township of Sadsbury, shall be in conformity with the provisions of this chapter. In interpreting and applying the provisions of this chapter, the provisions shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the health, safety and general welfare of Township residents.
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the health, safety, and general welfare of Township residents.
B.
This chapter is enacted for the accomplishment of specific goals and objectives which appear to be feasible within the foreseeable future, while remaining within the framework of the Comprehensive Plan, the Open Space, Recreation, and Environmental Resources Plan, and long-range objectives which are summarized as follows:
(1)
Guide the development of the community in the direction of a rural-suburban residential character, with sufficient commercial facilities to satisfy community needs and enough industrial employment to assure fiscal health.
(2)
Implement and maintain standards of construction which protect the health, safety, and general welfare of Township residents, both individually and collectively.
(3)
Promote, through the form and design of new residential construction, a wide range of housing types.
(4)
Encourage variety and efficient land use in residential development through provision by ordinance for flexibility in design, density, and building type.
(5)
Provide for commercial and industrial uses in the Township under appropriate standards of design and construction and at a scale consistent with Township goals and objectives.
(6)
Limit the growth of higher density residential uses and commercial facilities to those locations of the Township where adequate infrastructure is available, and promote greater efficiency and improved appearance in commercial uses through the careful application of design standards. Residential developments of a higher density should have the neighborhood commercial facilities within a close proximity.
(7)
Promote the most beneficial relationship between land use and circulation of traffic throughout the Township, having particular regard for traffic and the avoidance of congestion and the provision of safe and convenient access to and between the various land uses.
(8)
Implement the gradual conformity of land use to the provisions of this chapter and, therefore, minimize conflicts among land uses.
(9)
Establish and or strengthen protection measures for environmental resources, including, but not limited to, prime agricultural soils, wetlands, steep slopes, hydric soils, floodplains, and woodlands.
(10)
Encourage the preservation of open space and natural resources through the open space development options.
(11)
Promote the repurposing of residential properties as necessary to adaptive reuses as deemed appropriate.
This chapter is not intended to repeal, abrogate, annul or interfere with any existing ordinance or enactment, or with any rule, regulation or permit adopted or issued thereunder, except insofar as the same may be inconsistent or in conflict with any of the provisions of this chapter; provided, however, that where this chapter imposes greater restrictions upon larger open spaces than are required by the provisions of such ordinance, enactment, rule, regulation, or permit, then the provisions of this chapter shall prevail.
In the event that any article, part, sentence, paragraph, provision, subsection, section or clause be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of this chapter as a whole or of any other part thereof.