This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the "Borough
of West Chester Zoning Ordinance of 2021."
No building or other structure or land shall be used or occupied
and no building or structure or part thereof shall be erected, constructed,
reconstructed, moved, enlarged, or structurally altered unless in
conformity with the regulations of this chapter. However, this chapter
shall not require any change to any building, structure or use legally
existing at the effective date of this chapter or duly approved and/or
under construction in compliance with existing laws prior to the effective
date of this chapter.
A.
This chapter is enacted for the purpose of promoting, protecting
and facilitating the public health, safety, and general welfare of
the Borough. As established in the Comprehensive Plan, this includes
promoting community and economic vitality, ensuring environmental
sustainability, preserving the historic character and pedestrian scale
of the Borough, coordinating development in context with Borough scale
and capacity, and strengthening community partnerships, particularly
with West Chester University. Therefore, this chapter has the following
purposes:
(1)
Accomplish coordinated community and neighborhood development
and planned density of population.
(2)
Provide for the general welfare of residents, businesses, and
property owners by protecting and guiding the development of amenity,
convenience, governmental, economic, and social and cultural facilities.
(3)
Guide the use of type and location of buildings, structures,
streets, public grounds and other facilities.
(4)
Encourage the conservation of energy through the use of planning
and building practices that promote the effective use of renewable
energy sources and sustainable building practices.
(5)
Provide for the use of land as residential housing in the form
of various dwelling types encompassing all basic forms of housing.
(6)
Promote business development and retention, employment opportunities,
and economic growth.
(7)
Promote and facilitate the preservation of the Borough's cultural
and historic sites and structures.
(8)
Promote and facilitate the protection and restoration of the
Borough's streams, wetlands, floodplains, and other natural resources.
(9)
Lessen vehicular congestion and ensure safety on the streets,
including pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
(10)
Promote and facilitate the provision of adequate vehicle parking
and loading space.
(11)
Ensure safety from fire, flood, panic and other hazards to human
health and property.
(12)
Ensure adequate light, clean air, and clean water by protecting
the air, land, and water of the Borough from pollution. Prevent exposure
to noxious fumes, offensive noise, vibration, dust, odor, heat, glare,
and other disturbances that impair the peaceful enjoyment of neighborhoods.
(13)
Prevent the overcrowding of land.
(14)
Facilitate the adequate provision of safe, reliable, and sufficient
water supply, stormwater management, sewage disposal, transportation
and recreational facilities.
(15)
Encourage the most appropriate and compatible use of land and
buildings throughout the Borough.
(16)
Accommodate opportunities for development of a variety of nonresidential
uses.
A.
In interpreting and applying the provisions of this chapter, they
shall be held to the minimum requirements for the promotion of the
health, safety, morals and general welfare of the Borough. The provisions
of any statute, other ordinance or regulation which impose greater
restrictions than this chapter shall be controlling. Conversely, the
provisions of this chapter shall be controlling when such provisions
impose greater restrictions than those of any statute, other ordinance
or regulation.
B.
To implement the purposes set forth in § 112-103, the Comprehensive Plan has been formulated. In accordance with the community development goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Plan, the interpretation of this chapter's provisions shall be made with a view toward the following:
(1)
Promoting community and economic vitality in a manner that maintains
a high quality of life, ensures adequate community facilities and
services, and supports businesses and neighborhoods.
(2)
Enhancing the economic vitality of the Borough by promoting enduring
and sustainable commercial uses, especially in the Town Center District,
that are compatible with the scale and small-town character of the
community.
(3)
Protecting and enhancing the small-town character of the Borough,
through development and redevelopment in scale and proportion with
the pattern of existing streets, streetscapes, blocks, lots and neighborhoods.
(4)
Maintaining and enhancing the quality of life in the Borough by providing
for safe, clean, attractive, and environmentally sustainable streets,
streetscapes, parks, plazas, and public spaces for mobility, recreation,
gathering, and the display of public art.
(5)
Encouraging a sustainable future, including ecosystem restoration,
energy conservation, and renewable energy generation; and utilization
of renewable energy in buildings, developments, and neighborhoods.
(6)
Promoting coordinated and well-planned development and redevelopment
in context with Borough scale and capacity, directed to future enhancement
area.
(7)
Protecting and enhancing the historic and small-town, walkable character
of the Borough. Ensure that development is in scale and in proportion,
including height proportion, to existing buildings within and adjoining
the district where it occurs. Ensure that Town Center District development
contributes to and complements the historic character of the downtown.
(8)
Instilling order and balance in the growth and development of the
Borough by regulating the intensity, location and form of development
in accordance with land use and environmental compatibility, with
the availability of existing and planned utilities, community facilities
and services, and with sound land use and environmental principles,
planned density, and planned transportation.
(9)
Maintaining and enhancing the traditional street grid and streetscape
character of the Borough, through the continuation of interconnected
streets and alleys, overall streetscape widths consistent with existing
conditions, and normative building placement consistent with the predominant
street walls of existing blocks.
(10)
Encouraging the preservation, enhancement, maintenance, and
rehabilitation of existing buildings, streets, streetscapes, blocks,
and neighborhoods, and encouraging the adaptive reuse of existing
viable, structurally sound buildings as an alternative to demolition.
(11)
Promoting a variety of commercial uses in the Town Center District
in order to maintain the economic vitality of the Central Business
District of the Borough, especially on the ground floor of buildings
within the Retail Overlay District.
(12)
Ensuring a mix of uses in the Town Center District that serves
Borough residents and the region, including office, retail, service,
civic, arts, cultural, entertainment and residential. Concentrations
of uses that impose a high demand on public services, affect the small-town
character of the community, or impact the peaceful enjoyment of neighborhoods
shall be avoided.
(13)
Encouraging the transition of the East Market and East Gay Street
corridors to more pedestrian-oriented development that can relieve
development pressure on the Town Center District.
(14)
Encouraging the maintenance and enhancement of existing community
facilities and services to address education, safety, health and leisure
needs and promoting the provision of services to meet recreational,
fire protection, police protection and other safety and emergency
protection needs.
(15)
Providing for modern, environmentally sustainable infrastructure
in support of public services for health and safety, mobility, environmental
protection, and recreation, to include fire and police, emergency
services, transportation, sewage disposal, stormwater management,
and solid waste management.
(16)
Maintaining a safe and efficient street system and encouraging
the improvement and enhancement of streets and alleys, and overall
circulation for both motorized and nonmotorized vehicles.
(17)
Promoting the maintenance, development, preservation and/or
restoration of pedestrian circulation systems, including sidewalks,
crosswalks, paths, multiuse trails, and bicycle routes.
(18)
Maintaining existing on-street and off-street parking areas,
and encouraging innovative approaches for new parking areas and structures,
while promoting shared parking facilities, and accommodating the needs
of residences, businesses, and institutions.
(19)
Encouraging the use of public transportation systems involving
trains, buses, and other mass transit opportunities by providing for
a safe, interconnected, balanced, and sustainable transportation system
for the movement of people and goods. A balanced and sustainable system
includes mobility choices and complete streets, minimizes congestion,
and considers the health, environmental, land use, and place-making
impacts of transportation choices.
(20)
Strengthening partnerships with West Chester University to collectively
address a range of issues related to preserving quality of life in
the Borough.
(21)
Encouraging collaboration and coordination of initiatives pertaining
to planning, development, and redevelopment with the county, adjoining
municipalities, West Chester University, and other stakeholders.
(22)
Maintaining and enhancing existing institutional uses for various
educational, cultural, community service and recreational pursuits.
(23)
Providing a diversity of housing types, forms, and intensities,
that are compatible with existing neighborhoods.
(24)
Promoting housing suitable for all ages, abilities, and incomes
such that the vibrant diversity of the Borough can be maintained.
Promote development of owner-occupied affordable housing through mechanisms
such as community land trusts, density bonuses, and transferable development
rights (TDRs).
(25)
Encouraging a diversity of opportunities for housing, commerce,
community facilities, and recreation.
(26)
Promoting increased owner occupancy.
(27)
Protecting physical, natural, and biological resources associated with streams, wetlands, floodplains, areas of steep slope, woodlands, forests, and other related resources, in accordance with Article I, Section 27, of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which states: "The people have the right to clean air, pure water, and the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic, and esthetic values of the environment."
(28)
Regulating development and disturbance in environmentally sensitive
areas, such as floodplains and steep slopes, and improve management
of sensitive areas to include mitigation measures, such as riparian
buffers and light-imprint stormwater management techniques.
(29)
Assuring the development and maintenance of existing and future
utility systems to service all users and encouraging the development
of additional supplies and/or capacities to serve future users.
(30)
Providing for safe, modern, and environmentally sustainable
public utilities, including water, gas, electric, telecommunications,
sewer, and stormwater, ensuring that they are planned and developed
in consideration of present and future needs while mitigating potentially
adverse land use, aesthetic, and environmental impacts on the community.
(31)
Encouraging local and regional cooperation and collaboration
with the provision, planning and continuity of recreational, library
and police services.
(32)
Promoting the integration of the plans for future land use and
housing; transportation and circulation; community facilities and
utilities; the Urban Center Revitalization Plan; and the Official
Map.
C.
Insofar as such community development objectives are consistent with the purpose set forth in § 112-103 and with the aforesaid minimum requirements therefor, the provisions of this chapter shall be interpreted, administered and applied in such manner as will facilitate attainment of said objectives.
This chapter shall not apply to any existing or proposed building,
or extension thereof, used or to be used by a public utility corporation
if, upon petition of the corporation, the Pennsylvania Public Utility
Commission shall, after a public hearing, decide that the present
or proposed situation of the building in question is reasonably necessary
for the convenience or welfare of the public.
