The policy and purpose of this chapter is to:
A. Encourage planning and development in bluff areas which is consistent
with sound land use practices.
B. Protect people and property in bluff areas from danger and damages
associated with the inevitable recession of bluffs.
C. Prevent and eliminate urban and rural blight which results from the
damages of bluff erosion and recession.
D. Minimize the expenditure of public and private funds for shoreline
protection and bluff stabilization structures and activities.
In any designated bluff recession hazard area, no person shall
construct, install or engage in substantial improvement to any structure
or any utility facility, such as but not limited to water, electric,
gas, oil, or telephone facilities, in violation of the bluff setback
requirements established by this chapter.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
BLUFF
A high bank or bold headland with a broad precipitous cliff
face overlooking a lake.
[Amended 12-21-1988 by Ord. No. 81-89-1]
BLUFF RECESSION
The loss of material along the bluff face caused by the direct
or indirect action by one or a combination of groundwater seepage,
water currents, wind generated water waves, or high water levels.
BLUFF RECESSION HAZARD AREA
An area or zone where the rate of progressive bluff recession
creates a substantial threat to the safety or stability of nearby
existing or future structures or utility facilities.
DEPARTMENT
The Department of Environmental Protection of the commonwealth.
DEVELOPMENT
A.
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts,
or parcels of land for any purpose, including but not limited to:
(1)
A group of two or more buildings; and
(2)
The division or allocation of land or space between or among
two or more existing or prospective occupancy by means of or for the
purpose of streets, common areas, leaseholds, condominiums, building
groups, or other features; or
MARKET VALUE
The value of a structure determined by a certified appraisal
or by determining the assessed value of a structure and applying the
assessment ratio of Erie County in which the structure is located.
PARCEL
A piece of ground that existed as an independent tax lot
on the records of the county prior to its conclusion in a municipality's
designated bluff recession hazard areas.
PERSONS
An individual, partnership, public or private association
or corporation, firm, trust estate, municipality, governmental unit,
public utility or other legal entity which is recognized by law as
the subject of right and duties. When used in a section prescribing
or imposing a penalty, the term shall include members of a partnership;
officers, members, servants, and agents of an association; and officers,
agents, or servants of a corporation, but shall exclude any department,
board, bureau or agency of the commonwealth.
PLAT
A map, drawing, or print accurately drawn to scale showing
the proposed or existing location of all structures.
STRUCTURE
A man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land whether or not affixed to the land; structures are classified
into three categories: residential, commercial, and light and heavy
industrial.
A.
RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURESA place providing the habitation for an individual or group of individuals. Structures in this category include but are not limited to single-family homes, duplexes, and summer cottages as well as any secondary structure associated with residential structure.
B.
COMMERCIAL STRUCTURESA place where commodities are exchanged, bought, or sold. Structures in this category include but are not limited to grocery stores, hardware stores, clothing shops, and pharmacies as well as any secondary structure that is associated with the commercial structure.
C.
LIGHT AND HEAVY INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURESA place where materials are refined, produced, or fabricated and stored prior to shipment to commercial establishments. Structures in this category include but are not limited to factories, power plants, and warehouses as well as a secondary structure that is associated with the industrial structure. Hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and other public service facilities (because of the dangers inherent in bluff recession) will for purposes of setback requirements be considered light and heavy industrial structures.
STRUCTURE LIFE SPAN
The useful life of the structure considering both economic
and physical factors.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
A.
A repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure the
cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure
either:
(1)
Before the improvement or repair is started; or
(2)
If the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before
the damage occurred; or
B.
Repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure occurring
over a five-year period, the aggregate cost of which equals or exceeds
50% of the market value of the structure either:
(1)
Before the first improvement or repair is started; or
(2)
If the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before
the damage occurred.
C.
Substantial improvement is considered to occur when the first
alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structure part of
the building commences, whether or not that alteration affects the
external dimensions of the structure. The term does not, however,
include any project for improvement of a structure to comply with
existing State or local health, sanitary, or safety specifications
which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions or any
alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic
Places or a state inventory of historic places.
No person shall construct, install, or engage in substantial
improvement to any structure or utility facility, such as but not
limited to water, sewage, electric, gas, oil, or telephone, in a designated
bluff recession hazard area without first obtaining a written permit
from the Code Enforcement Officer of Harborcreek Township.
A. The location and boundaries of the designated bluff recession hazard area shall be defined in §
149-3 hereof and shall inland a horizontal distance of 100 feet from the bluff line.
B. There is hereby established a minimum bluff setback distance of 50
feet for residential structures, 75 feet for commercial structures,
and 100 feet for industrial structures. It should be noted that the
foregoing are minimum distances and because of variation in local
bluff recession rates cannot guarantee that a structure located in
a bluff recession hazard area will not be endangered by bluff recession
within its useful life span.
C. Except as provided in §
149-5 hereof, no permit shall be granted under this chapter for the construction, installation, or substantial improvement of structures or utility facilities within the minimum bluff setback distance established by §
149-4B hereof. Substantial improvement does not include any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary, or safety specifications which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions or any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a state inventory of historic places.
D. A permit may be transferred only upon application to and written
approval by the Code Enforcement Officer. No permit shall be transferred
if a violation of this chapter exists at the time of application for
transfer unless the transfer will expedite correction of violation.
A request for a variance to the permit requirements of §
149-4 thereof, may be granted only in the following cases:
A. When a parcel established prior to a bluff recession hazard area
designation does not have adequate depth, considering the minimum
bluff setback requirements, to provide for any reasonable use of the
land, the variance may be granted only when each of the following
criteria are met:
(1) The structure and all associated structures and utility facilities
shall be located on the property as far landward of the bluff line
as allowed by other municipal ordinances.
(2) The structure shall be designed and constructed as a moveable structure
with proper engineering standards applicable to the subject area.
Review and approval of the design shall be conducted by the Code Enforcement
Officer and Building Inspector.
(3) All construction materials, including foundations, shall be removed
or disposed of as part of the moving operation. Access to and from
the structure site shall be of sufficient width and acceptable grade
to allow for moving of the structure.
B. When the proposed structure or utility facilities require access
to the body of water and there is no feasible alternative for obtaining
such access, a variance may be granted only for the discharge and
withdrawal lines (infrastructure) that provide lake water for operating
purposes and only when each of the following criteria are met:
(1) During the construction, the applicant or persons engaged in the
actual placement of the infrastructure must utilize sound land use
practices which will reduce disruption of the bluff edge and bluff
face. These sound land use practices include but are limited to methods
to minimize stormwater run-off, increased soil erosion, changes to
local drainage patterns, and changes to protective vegetative cover.
(2) The infrastructure providing the utility facility or structure access
to the lake will be designed and constructed so that it is adequate
protection of the bluff, the construction of the infrastructure will
occur in a manner that minimized potential adverse or long-term disruption
of the bluff face and in conformance with the provisions of Chapter
102 of Title 25 of the Pennsylvania Code, Erosion Control.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall maintain, in a permanent
file, all correspondence, requests for variance, applications for
permits, and issuance or denial of such permits.
This chapter may be amended pursuant to public notice in a manner
provided by the Municipal Planning Code.
This chapter shall take effect October 14, 1981.