[Ord. No. 8/28/1974, 8/28/1974; Ord. No. 1991-1, 1/7/1991; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. AO)]
As used in this chapter, words in the singular include the plural and those in the plural include the singular. The word "person" includes a corporation, unincorporated association and a partnership, as well as an individual. The word "building" includes structure and shall be construed as if followed by the phrase "or part thereof." The word "street" includes avenue, boulevard, court, expressway, highway, land and road. The word "watercourse" includes channel, creek, ditch, drain, dry run, spring, and stream. The word "may" is permissive, the words "shall" and "will" are mandatory.
A minor right-of-way providing secondary vehicular access to the side or rear of two or more properties.
Every application, whether preliminary, tentative or final, required to be filed and approved prior to start of construction or development, including but not limited to an application for a building permit, for the approval of a subdivision plat or plan, or for the approval of a development plan.
An area bounded by streets.
The line which establishes the minimum depth of the front yard for a particular zoning district as measured from the right-of-way line.
That portion of a street or alley intended for vehicular use.
Written approval as issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection authorizing a person to operate and maintain a mobile home park.
An area of unobstructed vision at street intersections defined by sight between points at a given distance from the intersection of street center lines.
A parcel or parcels of land or an area of water, or a combination of land and water, within a development site and 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.
A right-of-way for pedestrian use extending from a street into a block or across a block to another street.
A minor street intersecting another street at one end and terminated at the other by a vehicular turn-around.
An excavation. The difference between a point on the original ground and a designated point of lower elevation on the final grade. Also, the material removed in excavation.
Any landowner, agent of such landowner, or tenant with the permission of such landowner, who makes or causes to be made a subdivision of land or a land development.
The provisions for development, including a planned residential development, a plat of subdivision, all covenants relating to use, location and bulk of buildings and other structures, intensity of use or density of development, streets; ways and parking facilities, common open space and public facilities. The phrase "provisions of development plan," when used in this chapter, shall mean the written and graphic materials referred to in this definition.
The flow of water or liquid waste, and the method of directing such flow, whether natural or artificial.
Any ditch, gutter, pipe, culvert, storm sewer, or structure designed, intended or constructed for the purpose of diverting surface waters from or carrying surface waters off, streets public rights-of-way, parks, recreational areas, or any part of any subdivision and contiguous territory.
A right-of-way or other right granted for limited use of private land for a public, or quasi-public purpose.
The Township Engineer or any consulting engineer designated by the Board of Township Supervisors to review subdivision plans and perform the duties of engineer on behalf of the Township.
The removal of surface materials by the action of natural elements.
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar material is dug into, cut, quarried, mined, uncovered, removed, displaced, relocated or bulldozed and shall include the conditions resulting therefrom.
The low area adjoining and including any water or drainage course or body of water subject to periodic flooding or overflow and delineated as "Alluvial Soils" by the U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service in the Soil Survey of the County, as amended.
A street of less than required right-of-way width for a public highway.
Those physical changes to the land necessary to produce usable and desirable lots from raw acreage, including but not limited to: grading, paving, curbing, streetlights, signs, fire hydrants, water mains, sanitary sewers, storm drains, sidewalks, crosswalks, bridges, culverts, and street shade trees.
Any of the following activities:
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 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
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;
A subdivision of land.
"Land development" does not include development which involves:
The conversion of an existing single-family detached dwelling or single-family semidetached dwelling into not more than three residential units, unless such units are intended to be a condominium;
The addition of an accessory building, including farm building, on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing principal building; or
The addition or conversion of buildings or rides within the confines of an enterprise which would be considered an amusement park. For the purposes of this definition, an amusement park is defined as a tract or area used principally as a location for permanent amusement structures or rides. This exclusion shall not apply to newly acquired acreage by an amusement park until initial plans for the expanded area have been approved by the proper authorities.
A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by a plat or otherwise as permitted by law and to be used, developed or built upon as a unit.
The subdivision of a single lot, tract, or parcel of land into six or less lots, tracts or parcels of land, for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership or of building development, providing lots, tracts or parcels of land thereby created have frontage on an improved street or streets and providing further that there is not created by the subdivision any new street, street easement, easements of access or need thereof.
Written approval issued by the Township authorizing a person to operate and maintain a mobile home or mobile home park under the provisions of this chapter.
A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent occupancy, contained in one unit or in two or more units, designed to be joined into one integral unit capable of again being separated for repeated towing, which arrives at a site complete and ready for occupancy except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations, and constructed so that it may be used without a permanent foundation.
A parcel of land in a mobile home park, improved with the necessary utility connections and other appurtenances necessary for the erection thereon of a single mobile home.
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which has been so designated and improved that it contains two or more mobile home lots for the placement thereon of mobile homes.
A body politic and corporate created pursuant to the Act of May 2, 1945 (P.L. 382, No. 164), known as the "Municipalities Authority Act of 1945."[1]
A complete and exact subdivision plan, prepared for official recording as required by statute, to define property rights and proposed streets and other improvements.
A tentative subdivision plan, showing approximate proposed street and lot layout and improvements as a basis for consideration prior to preparation of a final plan.
An informal plan, not necessarily to exact scale, indicating salient existing features of a tract and its surroundings and general layout of the proposed subdivision.
Includes:
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Board of Supervisors or Planning Commission, intended to inform and obtain public comment, prior to taking action in accordance with this chapter.
A forum held pursuant to notice under the Act of July 3, 1986 (P.L. 388, No. 84), known as the "Sunshine Act," 65 P.S. § 271 et seq.[2]
Notice published once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township. Such notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing. 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 the hearing.
A strip of land adjacent to a street intended to control access to the street from an adjacent property.
A lot extending between, and having frontage on, a major street and a minor street and with vehicular access solely from the latter.
That portion of the right-of-way of a road or street which is primarily intended for travel and parking; it includes the paved portion of the cartway and the shoulders; the cartway plus the shoulders.
The surface water discharge or rate of discharge of a given watershed after a fall of rain or snow that does not enter the soil but runs off the surface of land.
The surface water runoff that can be reasonably anticipated upon maximum development of an area of the watershed located upstream from any subject tract, as permitted by prevailing zoning or the Township Comprehensive Plan.
Any structure designed to biochemically treat sanitary sewage within the boundaries of an individual lot or a tract of lots.
A sanitary sewage collection system in which sewage is carried from individual lots by a system in pipes to a central treatment and disposal plant.
The process by which mineral or organic matter is accumulated or deposited by moving wind, water, or gravity. Once this matter is deposited (or remains suspended), it is usually referred to as "sediment."
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.
A structure which contains operational, office, recreational, sanitary, maintenance or other facilities built for the exclusive use of the mobile home park residents or owner.
The line within a property defining the required minimum distance between any enclosed structures and the adjacent right-of-way.
Consists of all pipes, fittings and appurtenances from the drain outlet of the mobile home to the inlet of the corresponding sewer riser pipe.
That portion of the sewer lateral which extends vertically to the ground elevation and terminates at a designated point at each mobile home space.
The extent of unobstructed vision (in a horizontal or vertical plane) three feet above the center line along a street from a vehicle located at any given point along the street.
The face of an embankment or cut section; any ground whose surface makes an angle with the plane of the horizon. Slopes are expressed in a percentage based upon vertical difference in feet per 100 feet of horizontal distance.
A field test conducted to determine the suitability of the soil for on-site sanitary sewage disposal facilities by measuring the absorptive capacity of the soil at a given location and depth, performed in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Chemical or structural treatment of a mass of soil to increase or maintain its stability or otherwise to improve its engineering properties.
Includes street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway, parkway, lane, alley, viaduct or any other ways used or intended to be used by vehicular traffic or pedestrians, whether public or private.
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
The owner or the authorized agent of the owner of a 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.
Where, in the judgment of the Township Engineer, at least 90% (based on the cost of the required improvements for which financial security was posted pursuant to the requirements of this chapter) of those improvements required as a condition for final approval have been completed in accordance with the approved plan, so that the project will be able to be used, occupied or operated for its intended use.
A low-lying stretch of land which gathers or carries surface water runoff.
A system to distribute sewage effluent into the soil for absorption and vaporization through open-jointed or perforated pipes laid in the upper soils strata.
Surface soils and subsurface soils which presumably are fertile soils and soil material, ordinarily rich in organic matter of humus debris. Topsoil is usually found in the uppermost soil layer called the "A horizon."
Consists of all pipes, fittings and appurtenances from the water riser pipe to the water inlet pipe of the distribution system within the mobile home.
A system for supplying and distributing water from a common source to two or more dwellings and/or other buildings within a single neighborhood.
A system for supplying and distributing water to a single dwelling or other building from a source located on the same lot.
A system for supplying and distributing water from a common source to dwellings and other buildings, not necessarily confined to one neighborhood.
That portion of the water service pipe which extends vertically to the ground elevation and terminates at a designated point at each mobile home lot.
Consists of all pipes, fittings, valves, and appurtenances from the water main of the park distribution system to the water outlet of the distribution system within the mobile home.
An inventory of the source, quantity, yield and use of groundwater and surface-water resources within the Township.
A permanent stream, intermittent stream, river, brook, creek, or a channel or ditch for water, whether natural or man-made.