It is the intent of this article to:
A. 
Permit a reasonable amount of limited industrial development in those areas of the Township that are not suitable for development under Office/Limited Industrial District standards by reason of road access, environmental constraints or available infrastructure.
B. 
Permit low density residential development to continue in such areas, while ensuring adequate buffering from adjacent industrial or office development.
C. 
Provide for compatible low intensity recreational uses as a means of preserving open land and environmentally sensitive areas.
D. 
Provide sufficient land area to meet the Township's anticipated future needs for industrial development, while allowing for a range of choices of sites.
E. 
Provide for industrial development that is free from offensive noise, vibrations, odors and other nuisances through use of strict performance standards.
F. 
Protect industrial uses against congestion by limiting the bulk of buildings in relation to each other and to the land area around them.
G. 
Encourage the development of unified and physically integrated industrial parks to accommodate a variety of individual uses.
H. 
Provide expanded development opportunities on qualifying tracts to take advantage of the unique opportunities afforded by interchanges of the Route 422 Expressway.
[Added 11-7-2001 by Ord. No. 235]
The following uses shall be permitted:
A. 
Scientific or industrial research or engineering facilities.
B. 
Manufacturing, testing, repair and ancillary storage or distribution of materials, goods, foodstuffs or products. Such uses shall not include any of the uses listed as special exceptions in the Heavy Industrial District (§ 184-169).
C. 
Wholesale, warehouse, storage and/or distribution of materials, goods, foodstuffs or products as a primary use, within a roofed structure. Such uses include but are not limited to transportation depot, truck terminal, mini warehouse and self-storage operations.
[Amended 4-13-2006 by Ord. No. 257]
D. 
Outdoor storage as an accessory use, which shall be limited to occupying a maximum of 20% of the lot area, and provided that outdoor storage areas occupying a higher percentage of the lot area and junkyards and salvage yards shall be specifically prohibited in the LLI District. All outdoor storage shall meet the screening requirements in § 155-27.1 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, or the successor section. Under this chapter, such screening shall be provided regardless of the distance between the outdoor storage and any adjacent street or lot line, if the storage will be visible from such street or lot line.
[Amended 11-4-1998 by Ord. No. 198]
E. 
Administrative, business or professional offices not providing services to the general public, if ancillary to another permitted use.
F. 
Printing, publishing, lithography and similar processes, up to 100,000 square feet in size.
G. 
Radio and/or television studios and transmission facilities.
H. 
Motor vehicle storage and maintenance, not including auto wrecking yards.
I. 
Commercial, public or private recreation facilities, primarily for nonmotorized, low-impact recreation, including the following:
(1) 
Golf course (not including miniature golf).
(2) 
Swim club.
(3) 
Equestrian facility; boarding stable for horses.
(4) 
Country club.
(5) 
Ballfield.
J. 
Accessory uses appropriate to the primary permitted uses, including but not limited to a cafeteria or snack bar for employees or recreation facility for employees.
[Amended 8-15-2017 by Ord. No. 379]
K. 
Residential development, in accordance with the area requirements and density and dimensional standards of the R-1 Residential District.
L. 
Agricultural uses and related buildings or structures meeting the requirements of § 184-71A(4).
[Amended 6-2-1998 by Ord. No. 196]
M. 
Outdoor plant nursery or similar use and related buildings or structures.
N. 
Game farm, fish hatchery or hunting and fishing reserve for protection and propagation of wildlife.
O. 
Veterinarian; animal boarding facility.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection P, Private electrical utility facility, added 12-21-1999 by Ord. No. 206, was repealed 4-16-2002 by Ord. No. 238. This ordinance also redesignated former Subsection Q as Subsection P.
P. 
Public utility facility.
[Added 12-21-1999 by Ord. No. 206]
A planned industrial park may be permitted as a conditional use meeting the following standards:
A. 
The tract shall be a minimum of 15 acres in size, with minimum road frontage of 300 feet.
B. 
The tract shall have direct access to an arterial or major collector street, or the applicant shall agree to upgrade the street in question to the standards of a major collector street. Such improvements shall extend as far as the nearest intersection with an arterial or major collector street.
C. 
A traffic impact study shall be required, meeting the requirements of § 184-84 herein. The applicant may be required to make off-site improvements to ensure that the surrounding road system is adequate to serve the proposed development.
D. 
The development shall be designed in accordance with the standards of § 184-158, Planned office and/or industrial parks, regarding design and site plan requirements.
[Added 11-7-2001 by Ord. No. 235]
An interchange overlay may be permitted as a development option pursuant to the requirements of this chapter as a conditional use, and meeting the following standards:
A. 
The tract shall be a minimum of 60 acres of contiguous land area. Tracts divided by a public roadway but owned in common or otherwise developed as a unified development are deemed to be contiguous for the purpose of all area and land mass calculations.
[Amended 4-10-2008 by Ord. No. 295]
B. 
The tract shall have at least one boundary along the right-of-way of Route 422 Expressway and/or its interchange ramps for a minimum distance of 1,000 feet.
[Amended 4-10-2008 by Ord. No. 295]
C. 
At least a portion of the tract is within 1,800 feet of any portion of a state-owned ramp of a limited access expressway.
[Added 11-12-2024 by Ord. No. 431]
A data center Overlay may be permitted as a development option pursuant to a conditional use meeting the following standards:
A. 
At least a portion of the tract is within 3/4 of one mile (3,960 feet) from the physical center of the intersection of Evergreen Road and Lightcap Road.
B. 
Plans and studies shall be submitted with the conditional use application showing compliance with the additional criteria specified in §§ 184-76.7 and 184-43 herein.
[Amended 6-2-1998 by Ord. No. 196; 12-21-1999 by Ord. No. 206; 4-16-2002 by Ord. No. 238; 7-13-2006 by Ord. No. 261; 5-20-2010 by Ord. No. 314; 8-15-2017 by Ord. No. 379]
Two categories of dimensional standards are provided. Class One applies to the industrial park; Class Two applies to the freestanding use.
Standard
Class One
Class Two
Minimum lot size (acres)
2
4
Minimum average lot size (acres)
3
—
Minimum lot width at building line (feet)
200
350
Maximum impervious coverage
70% of net lot area
70% of net lot area
Maximum building coverage (percentage of NBA)
Warehouse/storage uses1
40%
30%
All other uses
30%
25%
Maximum floor area ratio
0.40
0.35
Building setbacks (feet)3
From ultimate right-of-way
50
50
From residential district
100
100
From any other zoning district line
30
50
Parking, loading, driveway setbacks (feet)
From ultimate right-of-way
30
30
From residential district
30
50
From any other zoning district line (no setback required if parking is shared)
15
25
Maximum building height (feet)
35 or 3 stories2
35 or 3 stories2
NOTES:
1 If the nature of the proposed use is subject to change (i.e., "flex space" uses), then the more restrictive standard shall be used.
2 The thirty-five-foot height may be increased to 45 feet or three stories, whichever is less, if such additional height would be located a minimum of 200 feet from a residential district. If any building involves three or more stories, it shall be fully sprinklered, in accordance with the current adopted Building Code of Limerick Township, as amended.
3 A portion of a building or a land area used for manufacturing and/or for tractor-trailer loading and unloading on a daily basis shall be set back a minimum of 200 feet from any lot line of a dwelling in a residential district. Such setback may be reduced to 120 feet if a landscaped earth berm is placed between such activity and the dwelling, with a minimum average height of six feet and maximum side slopes of 3 to 1.
A. 
The industrial performance standards of § 184-83 herein shall apply to all uses in the district.
B. 
No highly flammable or explosive liquids, solids or gases shall be stored in bulk above ground, except tanks or drums of fuel directly connecting with energy devices, heating devices or appliances located and operated on the same lot as the tanks or drums of fuel.
C. 
All outdoor storage areas ancillary to a permitted use shall comply with the setback requirements for parking, driveways and loading areas and shall be enclosed by an opaque fence or hedge of sufficient height to shield it from view from abutting roads or adjacent properties.
D. 
Landscaping. All uses shall provide landscaped buffers and site element screens as required by the landscaping standards of § 155-27.1 of Chapter 155, Subdivision and Land Development.
E. 
The requirements of § 184-157E shall also apply to the LLI District.[1]
[Added 6-2-1998 by Ord. No. 196]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection F, Development standards for private electrical utility facilities, added 12-21-1999 by Ord. No. 206, was repealed 4-16-2002 by Ord. No. 238.
[Added 11-20-2001 by Ord. No. 236]
A. 
An age-qualified residential community may be permitted as a conditional use which may consist of any of the following and no other:
(1) 
Single-family detached, single-family semidetached, and/or single-family attached dwellings shall be permitted with a maximum of four attached dwelling units per building. Any combination of authorized dwelling types shall be permitted.
(2) 
A minimum tract size of 100 acres shall be required. Noncontiguous land which may be separated by only physical rights-of-way but still be under common ownership may be included in minimum tract calculation provided said area(s) shall be included in calculation for required open space and density and subject to preservation for permanent open space.
(3) 
The overall permitted density shall be 1 1/2 dwelling units per net buildable acre. For each acre of open space in excess of the 50% required by Subsection D(1), one additional dwelling unit (bonus unit) shall be permitted. For purposes of calculating the number of bonus units, lands utilized for stormwater management facilities such as retention basins (wet ponds) or wetland basins may be utilized for purposes of calculating density and open space requirements, but lands used as detention basins may not be included. Overall permitted density including the bonus units shall not exceed 1 1/2 dwelling units per gross acre.
(4) 
Common open space which may consist of both active and passive recreation features, which shall include a public or private eighteen-hole regulation golf course and golf course accessory uses permitted in the golf course residential community [§ 184-99J(4)].
(5) 
Accessory uses may include a club house, pool and recreation center, tennis courts, gate house, walking trails, similar types of uses and home occupations which do not involve regular customer visits or delivery of merchandise to the home.
B. 
Density and declaration of age restriction criteria for age-qualified residential community and accessory uses.
[Amended 8-15-2017 by Ord. No. 379]
(1) 
The overall permitted density shall be 1 1/2 dwelling units per net buildable acre plus density bonus when applicable.
(2) 
All residential uses within the age-qualified residential community shall be served by public water and public sewage disposal facilities, in compliance with § 184-55 herein. Well water may be used for the golf course irrigation subject to approval by appropriate regulatory agency.
(3) 
Declaration of age restriction. At the time of subdivision and land development, as a prerequisite to any final plan approved, the developer shall record a declaration against the entire tract, in a form acceptable to the Township Solicitor, binding all properties and owners to the restriction which shall require that at least one principal occupant of an individual dwelling unit within the age-qualified residential community shall be age 55 or older.
C. 
Development standards for golf course facilities, if provided.
(1) 
A proposed golf course if proposed shall have a minimum of 18 holes.
(2) 
A golf course shall be a minimum length of 6,000 yards, measured from the center of the rearmost tee to the center of the green of each hole.
(3) 
The golf course and accessory uses may be held under separate ownership from the residential dwellings.
[Amended 8-15-2017 by Ord. No. 379]
D. 
Dimensional standards.
(1) 
The dimensional standards for residential uses shall be as follows:
Standard
Single-Family Detached Dwelling
Single-Family Semidetached Dwelling
Single-Family Attached Dwelling
Minimum lot area (square feet)
9,000
3,000
2,200
Minimum lot width (at building setback line) (feet)
70
30
26
Minimum front yard (feet)
25*
25*
20*
Minimum side yards (feet)
10 each
10 (one only)
10 (ends only)
Minimum rear yard (feet)
30
30
N.A.
Maximum building coverage (per lot)
35%
50%
60%
Maximum building height (feet)
35
35
35
NOTE:
*For private streets, measured from face of curb to nearest point of dwelling.
(2) 
The dimensional standards for all other accessory uses and facilities shall be as follows:
(a) 
Minimum setback from the perimeter tract boundary: 50 feet.
(b) 
Minimum setback from an internal street: 25 feet.
(c) 
Parking standards shall be in accordance with Article XI, Off-Street Parking Standards, contained herein.
(d) 
Maximum building height: 35 feet.
E. 
Open space standards.
(1) 
A minimum of 50% of the net acreage of the site shall be preserved as open space.
(2) 
A golf course, if proposed, and practice areas shall be counted toward the minimum required open space.
(3) 
Open space standards shall comply with requirements of § 184-82, as amended, of the Limerick Township Zoning Ordinance.
F. 
Required buffer yards.
(1) 
Buffers may contain required yards or land adjacent to golf fairways, greens or tees, walking trails or cart paths, but shall not contain any buildings or parking areas.
(2) 
A minimum fifty-foot buffer is required along all tract boundaries.
(3) 
A minimum seventy-five-foot buffer is required along the rights-of-way of abutting arterial or major collector roads. A minimum fifty-foot buffer is required along the rights-of-way of all other abutting roads.
(4) 
All buffers shall be landscaped according to the standards of the Limerick Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 155, Subdivision and Land Development.
G. 
The applicant shall prepare a covenant running with the land, to the satisfaction of the Township Solicitor, that requires those areas of property identified as common open space in the approved age-qualified residential community shall remain as open space in perpetuity. The covenant shall be recorded in the office of the Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds.