[Ord. No. 2022-02, 7/11/2022]
1. 
Title. "An ordinance establishing regulations and restrictions for the location and use of lots, land, buildings, and other structures; provisions pertaining to floodplain identification, management, and permits and standards for structures and uses within floodplains; the height, number of stories, and size or bulk of buildings and structures; the density of population; environmental performance standards; and off-street parking and similar accessory regulations for the Township of Lower Mount Bethel, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, dividing the Township into zoning districts and prescribing certain uniform regulations for each such zoning district, and providing for administrative enforcement and amendment of its provisions in accordance with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended."
2. 
Short Title. This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the "Lower Mount Bethel Township Zoning Ordinance."
[Ord. No. 2022-02, 7/11/2022]
1. 
From and after the effective date of this chapter and except as hereinafter provided, no building, structure, land, signs or portions thereof shall be used, occupied, erected, constructed, assembled, moved, enlarged, or structurally altered unless in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.
2. 
Except as expressly addressed by any specific provision of this chapter, the provisions hereof shall not apply to regulate municipal use on any lands by the Township of Lower Mount Bethel, and any such municipal use shall not be subject to the provisions hereof.
3. 
Any buildings, structures, land, signs, or uses existing prior to the effective date of this chapter and not in conformity with the regulations herein shall be considered nonconforming, but may be continued or changed subject to regulations herein regarding nonconformities, except for developments falling within the provisions of § 508(4) of the Municipalities Planning Code.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10508(4).
4. 
In interpreting and applying the provisions of this chapter, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the purposes of this chapter.
5. 
Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted to prevent the Township from granting such relief from the terms of this chapter or such concessions to applicants under the terms of this chapter when such relief or concessions are in exchange for public improvements or facilities which could not otherwise be required or stipulated. Such reliefs and concessions shall be solely at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors. The granting of such relief or concessions shall not unnecessarily endanger the public health, safety or welfare. The Township shall grant such relief and concessions on a case-by-case basis and shall not be bound by precedent under any conditions.
[Ord. No. 2022-02, 7/11/2022]
1. 
This chapter is enacted under and pursuant to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247 of 1968, as amended,[1] and in accordance with an overall program and with consideration for the character of the Township, its various parts and the suitability of the various parts for particular uses and structures, in order to promote, protect and facilitate the public health, safety, and welfare through:
A. 
Fulfillment of the purposes of Article I, § 27 (the Environmental Amendment) of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which reads: "The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic, and aesthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustees of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all people";
B. 
Provision for the protection and preservation of natural resources, including water resources and agricultural land and related activities;
C. 
Coordinated and practical community development, providing for proper population density and prevention of overcrowding of land;
D. 
Provision for safe and efficient travel by vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians, including adequate parking and loading facilities;
E. 
Provision for adequate water and sewer facilities;
F. 
Provision for schools, public ground, recreation and other public improvements; and
G. 
Facilitation of adequate emergency services.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
[Ord. No. 2022-02, 7/11/2022]
1. 
The development objectives of the Township, as set forth in proper context and detail in the Lower Mount Bethel Township Comprehensive Plan, 2007, are intended to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare and can be summarized as they relate to zoning as follows:
A. 
Preserve and protect the Township's historic rural agricultural character, with particular emphasis on protection of the Township's prime farmland soils, the significant public investment in preservation of farmland, and on agriculture as a viable way of life;
B. 
Preserve and protect the Township's natural resources, especially those areas which are naturally unsuitable for development and which provide valuable wildlife habitat, including stream valleys, riparian buffers, steep slopes, floodplains, woodlands, wetlands and hydric soils;
C. 
Protect and preserve the Township's historic resources, essential to defining its heritage;
D. 
Protect the Township's scenic resources, notably including the Delaware River Valley Scenic Byway;
E. 
Protect the quality and quantity of the Township groundwater and surface water resources, including promotion of use of best management practices (BMPs) for agriculture and land development, notably in regard to stormwater management;
F. 
Provide for appropriate areas for a range of needs for housing, shopping, services, recreation and economic development while protecting landowner values and implementing solutions to public health and safety concerns, particularly water and sewer services; and
G. 
Promote the maintenance of a safe, efficient, convenient, and adequate Township-wide transportation and circulation system which serves existing and future needs of residents and pass-through travelers, including pedestrian and other non-motorvehicular needs.
[Ord. No. 2022-02, 7/11/2022]
1. 
It is not the intent of this chapter to interfere with, abrogate, or annul any rules or regulations previously issued by the Township, provided the same are not in conflict with any provision of this chapter, nor is it the intent of this chapter to interfere with, abrogate, or annul any easement, covenant, building restriction, or any other agreement between or among private parties.
2. 
Where this chapter imposes greater restrictions upon the use of buildings or land, or upon height and bulk of buildings, or prescribes larger open spaces than are required by the provisions of another ordinance, enactment, rule, regulation or permit, then the provisions of this chapter shall control.
3. 
Where the provisions of any statute, other ordinance, or regulation impose greater restrictions than this chapter, the provisions of such statute, ordinance, or regulation shall be controlling.
[Ord. No. 2022-02, 7/11/2022]
All ordinances, resolutions, regulations, or any parts of such, which are inconsistent with the regulations of this Zoning Ordinance, including the Lower Mount Bethel Township Zoning Ordinance of 1973 and amendments thereto, are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
[Ord. No. 2022-02, 7/11/2022]
The provisions of this chapter are severable and if any article, section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, part or provision thereof shall be declared invalid or held unconstitutional for any reason whatsoever, such a decision shall not affect the validity of this chapter as a whole or any part or provisions hereof, other than the part so judged to be invalid or held unconstitutional. The remaining portions of the chapter shall remain in full force and effect, and for this purpose, the provisions of this chapter are hereby declared to be severable. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Board of Supervisors of Lower Mount Bethel Township that this chapter would have been adopted as if such illegal, invalid or unconstitutional section, sentence, clause, part or provision had not been included herein.
[Ord. No. 2022-02, 7/11/2022]
This Zoning Ordinance shall not create liability on the part of Lower Mount Bethel Township or on any officer or employee thereof for any damages that result from reliance on this chapter or any administrative decision lawfully made pursuant to the provisions hereof.