This chapter is enacted in accord with Article VI of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code[1] and is intended to implement the policies and recommendation
of the Upper Perkiomen Valley Regional Comprehensive Plan, as well
as of the Upper Hanover Township Open Space and Environmental Resource
Protection Plan Update (2006), or any successor plan thereto, and
to serve the following purposes:
[Amended 12-9-2003 by Ord. No. 03-12; 2-13-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-01]
Provision of adequate light and air, and safe,
reliable and adequate water supply and sewage disposal for domestic,
commercial, agricultural and industrial uses.
To prevent overcrowding of land, blight, danger and
congestion in travel and transportation, loss of health, life or property
from fire, flood, panic or other dangers.
To provide for the use of land within the municipality
for residential housing 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,
mobile homes and mobile home parks.
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.
It is not the intention of this chapter in any way
to condemn or take private property. Rather, it intends to regulate
it in a reasonable and uniform manner, allowing for adjustments to
occur through the zoning hearing procedure or by amendment or otherwise.
The provisions of this chapter reflect the policy goals of Upper Hanover Township identified in the Upper Perkiomen Valley Regional Comprehensive Plan and the Upper Hanover Township Open Space and Environmental Resource Protection Plan Update (2006) or any successor plan thereto, and they are the minimum needed to achieve the legislative intent identified in § 500-101 herein. In addition, the following are specific objectives of this chapter:
[Amended 12-9-2003 by Ord. No. 03-12; 2-13-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-01]
To guide and encourage the future development of the
Township in accordance with comprehensive planning of land use and
population density that represents the most appropriate, beneficial
and convenient relationships among the residential, commercial, industrial,
institutional, environmental and recreational areas within the Township.
To respect the suitability of the various areas of
the Township for the uses appropriate to each of them and their potential
for such uses as indicated by natural features, including topography,
soil conditions, watercourses and existing man-made conditions. Also
to consider trends in population, the direction and manner of land
use, development and economic activity within the Township and in
regard to surrounding areas.
To protect the character and the social and economic
stability of each of such areas and encourage their orderly and beneficial
growth where appropriate.
To protect and conserve the integrity of significant
natural features, such as watercourses, floodplains, steep slopes,
scenic vistas, underground aquifers, and wetlands.
To preserve woodlands and other vegetation to moderate
the effects of storms, absorb pollutants and noise, shelter wildlife,
and provide a diverse natural environment.
To provide standards for development that respect
the natural capacity of land and which help maintain the desirable
benefits of natural resources protection.
To aid in bringing about the most beneficial relationships
between land use and the circulation of traffic throughout the Township,
having particular regard to traffic to and from the major roads and
to the avoidance of congestion on the roads and the provision of safe
and convenient access appropriate to the various land uses.
To aid in providing a guide for public policy
and action in the efficient provision of public facilities and services;
in the provision of safe and proper sanitary sewage disposal; and
for private enterprise in building development, investment and other
economic activity relating to land use.
Insofar as these objectives are consistent with the purposes set forth in § 500-101, the provisions of this chapter shall be interpreted, administered, and applied in a manner that will facilitate attainment of these objectives.
The Upper Hanover Zoning Ordinance of 1987, and as
subsequently amended, is hereby repealed in total; provided, however,
that this repeal shall in no manner be construed as a waiver, release
or relinquishment of the right to initiate, pursue or prosecute, as
the case may be, any proceeding at law or in equity pertaining to
any act done which would have constituted a violation of the Upper
Hanover Township Zoning Ordinance of 1987, as amended.
All provisions of the Upper Hanover Township Zoning
Ordinance of 1987, as amended, shall remain in full force and effect,
and are not repealed hereby, as they pertain to such acts and the
processing of such applications or appeals filed prior to the effective
date of this chapter which are protected from the effect of intervening
ordinances as contemplated by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning
Code.[1]