For the purpose of this chapter, certain terms
and words are defined below. Words used in the present tense shall
include the future tense. Words used in the singular shall include
the plural and words in the plural shall include the singular. Words
in the masculine include the feminine and the neuter. The word "shall"
is mandatory. The word "may" is permissive. The word "person" includes
"individual," "company," "unincorporated association" or other similar
entities. The words "used for" include "designed for," "arranged for,"
"intended for," "maintained for" or "occupied for."
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
An accredited medical school within this commonwealth that
operates or partners with an acute-care hospital licensed within this
commonwealth pursuant to the Act.
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 309-2017]
A building subordinate to the principal building on a lot
and used for purposes customarily incidental to those of the principal
building.
A subordinate use of a portion of a lot which is customarily
incidental to the main or principal use of the land or of a building
on a lot.
Areas which may include but not be limited to tennis courts,
basketball courts, volleyball courts or multipurpose courts, play
lots, swimming pool, baseball fields, softball fields, football fields,
etc. Plans of actual active recreation facilities shall be submitted
to the Township Supervisors or their designated agent for approval
when required.
[Added 7-21-1992 by Ord. No. 123]
Restricted by law to adults only, to include bookstores,
cabarets, movie theaters, etc.
[Amended 5-6-2014 by Ord. No. 291-2014]
A planned development of land consisting of a senior living
community of multiple structures. At least 80% of the units, whether
for purchase or for rent, must have one occupant who is 55 years old
or older. In order to keep the designation of a senior living community,
HUD requires management to conduct an audit of its residents every
two years, and submit the age of each person living in the community
to HUD. This survey requires that each occupant must show identification
such as a driver's license, military ID, state-issued ID, immigration
card, passport or birth certificate. The community must retain a copy
of the survey submitted to HUD.
[Added 8-6-2019 by Ord.
No. 321-2019]
Specialization agricultural activities, including but not
limited to mushroom, pig, poultry and dry lot livestock production,
which due to the intensity of production necessitate special control
of operation, raw material storage and processing and the disposal
of liquid and solid wastes.
Any enlargement of a building or structure; the moving of
a building or structure from one location to another; any change in
or addition to the structural parts of a building or structure; and
change in the means of egress from or access to a building or structure.
Any system of wires, rods, discs, panels, flat panels, dishes,
whips, or other similar devices used for the transmission or reception
of wireless signals. An antenna may include an omnidirectional antenna
(rod), directional antenna (panel), parabolic antenna (disc) or any
other wireless antenna. An antenna shall not include tower-based wireless
communications facilities defined below.
[Added 8-4-2015 by Ord.
No. 298-2015]
A dwelling unit within an apartment building. An apartment
building is a building on a single lot designed for and occupied as
a residence for three or more families and in which the dwelling units
may be separated horizontally and/or vertically.
A landowner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has
filed an application for development including his heirs, successors
and assigns.
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.
A right-of-way which provided the primary vehicular access
to a lot, not dedicated or deeded to the Township, but approved by
the Board of Supervisors and shown on a recorded subdivision plan.
A story partly below the finished grade but having 1/2 or
more of its height (measured from finished floor to finished ceiling)
above the average level of the finished grade where such grade abuts
the exterior walls of the building.
A very specialized operation preserving the general character
and atmosphere conditions of a single-family home that were provided
to the traveler in years past.
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of Bern, Berks County,
Pennsylvania.
A continuous strip of landscaped land which is clear of all
buildings and paved areas.
A structure enclosed within exterior walls or fire walls,
built, erected and framed of component structural parts, designed
for the enclosure and support of individuals, animals or property
of any kind.
The total area taken on a horizontal plane at the main grade
level of all primary and accessory buildings on a lot, excluding unroofed
porches, paved terraces, steps, eaves and gutters, but including all
enclosed extensions.
The percentage of a lot covered by principal and accessory
buildings.
The vertical distance measured from the average elevation
of the finished grade at the two front corners of the building to
a point midway between the highest and lowest points of the roof.
Chimneys, spires, cupolas, antennas and other similar projections
shall not be included in calculating the height of a building.
The measurement of a building in one general direction.
The minimum distance a building or a structure must be set
back from a street right-of-way line (street line), except the right-of-way
of a service street.
The line within a property establishing the minimum required
distance between any building or structure or portions thereof to
be erected or altered and a street right-of-way (street line), except
the right-of-way of a service street. The distance shall be measured
at right angles from the street right-of-way line which abuts the
property, and the building setback line shall be parallel to said
right-of-way line.
Building setback line may be established farther
from a street right-of-way line than the minimum building setback
established for a zoning district.
A parcel of land on which is provided a space or spaces for
travel trailers or tents for camping purposes, regardless of whether
a fee has been charged for the occupancy of such space.
The individual designated by a patient to deliver medical
marijuana pursuant to the provisions of the Act.
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 309-2017]
The portion of a street right-of-way, whether paved or unpaved,
intended for vehicular use.
A story partly below the finished grade, having more than
1/2 of its height (measured from finished floor to finished ceiling)
below the average level of the adjoining finished grade where such
grade abuts the exterior walls of the building.
A statement, based on an inspection signed by the Zoning
Officer, setting forth that a building, structure, sign and/or land
complies with this chapter and that a building, structure, sign and/or
land may be lawfully occupied for a specific use, as provided in this
chapter.
The acquisition, possession, use or transportation of medical
marijuana by a patient, or the acquisition, possession, delivery,
transportation or administration of medical marijuana by a caregiver,
for use as part of the treatment of the patient's serious medical
condition, as authorized by certification by the commonwealth pursuant
to the Act.
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 309-2017]
A building used for public worship by a congregation, excluding
buildings used primarily for residential, educational, burial, recreational
or other uses not normally associated with worship.
A function involving the restoration of materials, goods
or products to a more pure, less contaminated, less adulterated or
less blemished condition.
An entity that:
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 309-2017]
Holds a permit both as a grower/processor and a dispensary pursuant
to the Act; and
Has a contractual relationship with an academic clinical research
center under which the academic clinical research center or its affiliate
provides advice to the entity regarding, among other areas, patient
health and safety, medical applications and dispensing and management
of controlled substances.
The mounting of one or more WCFs, including antennas, on
an existing tower-based WCF or utility or light pole.
[Added 8-4-2015 by Ord.
No. 298-2015]
A parcel or parcels of land or an area of water, or a combination
of land and water, within a development site designed or intended
for use or enjoyment by all residents of the development in which
it is located. Land included within the right-of-way lines of streets
shall not be classified as common open space. Common open space shall
not include required open areas between buildings and between buildings
and street rights-of-way, driveways, parking areas and property lines
of the development. No dwelling unit, residential accessory building
or parking areas may be located within common open spaces. Unusable
mined or quarried areas shall not be included within the common open
space areas.
[Amended 7-21-1992 by Ord. No. 123]
A parking facility other than those provided within the lot
lines of a lot on which one single-family or two-family detached dwelling,
one single-family or two-family semidetached dwelling or one townhouse
is located.
A wall used or adopted for joint service between two buildings
or parts thereof.[2]
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 309-2017]
A nonprofit facility servicing the general public.
A use which shall only be permitted by the Township Supervisors
pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
The total necessary land required for all buildings or uses
within a unified development.[3]
A lot abutting two or more intersecting public or private
streets or at the point of abrupt change of direction of a single
street (an interior angle of less than 135°). Upon presentation
of an application for establishment of a use on a corner lot, the
Township Zoning Officer shall designate which yard abutting a street
will be considered the front yard. The yard opposite that yard shall
meet the rear yard requirements of the applicable zoning district.
Any yard adjoining a street which was not designated the front yard
must meet the front yard requirements of the applicable zoning district,
and the yard opposite that yard shall meet the side yard requirements
of the applicable zoning district. In the case of a building to be
placed on a corner lot such that the front of the building will be
placed closer to a street than the front yard requirement of the applicable
zoning district, no portion of the rear of the building will be placed
closer to a lot line than the rear yard requirements of the applicable
zoning district and no portion of a side of the building will be placed
closer to a lot line than the side yard requirement of the applicable
zoning district.
A child-care facility where parents can place their children
for supervision during daily working hours.
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
the development plan," when used in this chapter, shall mean the written
and graphic materials referred to in this definition.
A person, including a natural person, corporation, partnership,
association, trust or other entity, or any combination thereof, which
holds a current and valid permit issued by the Department of Health
("DOH") of the commonwealth to dispense medical marijuana pursuant
to the provisions of the Act.
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 309-2017]
Any building or structure used to dispense medical marijuana
by a licensed dispensary.
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 309-2017]
This measurement shall be at the closest point.
Network of spatially separated antenna sites connected to
a common source that provides wireless service within a geographic
area or structure.
[Added 8-4-2015 by Ord.
No. 298-2015]
A function of apportionment, division, dispensation, assignment
or relocation of materials, goods or products.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health.
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 309-2017]
Any establishment whose business includes the sale of foods,
frozen desserts or beverages to the customer in a ready-to-consume
state, and whose design, method of operation or any portion of whose
business includes the following characteristics, regardless of whether
or not, in addition thereto, seats or other indoor accommodations
are provided for the patrons.
[Added 4-12-2000 by Ord. No. 186-2000]
Foods, frozen desserts or beverages are served
directly to the customer through an exterior window in the establishment
or by other means which eliminate the need for the customer to enter
the establishment.
A building or structure or portion thereof arranged, intended,
designed or used as a living quarters for one or more families living
independently of each other. Such buildings as hospitals, hotels,
boardinghouses, rooming houses, lodging houses, nursing homes, motels
and institutional residences are not located in the definition of
dwelling.
APARTMENT BUILDINGA building on a single lot arranged, intended or designed to be occupied as a residence for three or more families and in which the dwelling units may be separated horizontally and/or vertically.
SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED DWELLINGA building arranged, intended or designed to be occupied exclusively as a residence for one family and having no common wall with an adjacent building.
SINGLE-FAMILY SEMIDETACHED DWELLINGA building arranged, intended or designed to be occupied exclusively as a residence for two families, one family living on each side of a common wall.
TOWNHOUSEA building arranged, intended or designed to be occupied exclusively as a residence for one family which is one of a group of three or more such buildings, placed side by side and separated by unpierced common walls, each dwelling having at least one separate entrance from the outside.
TWO-FAMILY DETACHED DWELLINGA building arranged, intended or designed to be occupied exclusively as a residence for two families, with one family living wholly or partly over the other and with no common wall with an adjacent building.
TWO-FAMILY SEMIDETACHED DWELLINGA building arranged, intended or designed to be occupied exclusively as a residence for four families with two families living wholly or partly over the other separated by a common wall with an adjacent building.
A building or structure or portion thereof providing one
or more rooms arranged for the use of one or more individuals living
together as a single housekeeping unit and having no cooking or sanitary
facilities in common with any other dwelling unit.
A dwelling unit in which at least one resident shall be at
least 62 years of age.
The erection, construction, alteration or maintenance, by
public utilities or municipal or other governmental agencies, of underground
or overhead gas, electrical, steam or water transmission or distribution
systems, collection, communication, supply or disposal systems and
their essential buildings, excluding communications towers and communications
antennas, as defined herein.
[Added 2-1-2000 by Ord. No. 184]
Inanimate objects of improved realty or personal property
of a person or persons which generally promote the ease of any action,
operation, transaction or conduct of a principal or permitted use
upon the real property.
One or more persons, related by blood, marriage,
adoption or guardianship, with not more than two boarders, roomers
or lodgers, living together as a single housekeeping unit and using
cooking facilities and certain rooms in common.
Not more than three unrelated persons living
together as a single housekeeping unit and using cooking facilities
and certain rooms in common.
An area of land used for agriculture, as defined in this
chapter.
Federal Communications Commission.
[Added 8-4-2015 by Ord.
No. 298-2015]
The low area adjoining and including any watercourse or drainagecourse
or body of water subject to inundation during storms of one-hundred-year
frequency and soils delineated as alluvial soils by the Soil Conservation
Department of Agriculture.
The sum of the gross horizontal areas of every floor of a
building measured to the exterior faces of exterior walls and to the
center line of party walls, including basement space and roofed porches,
roofed breezeways, roofed terraces, roofed garages, carports and accessory
buildings. Cellar area is excluded.
The characteristics of the medical marijuana recommended
or limited for a particular patient, including the method of consumption
and any particular dosage, strain, variant and quantity or percentage
of medical marijuana or particular active ingredient.
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 309-2017]
The distance along and abutting a street line forming the
outer boundary of the front yard.
The Council in cities, boroughs and incorporated towns; the
Board of Commissioners in Townships of the first class; the Board
of Supervisors in Townships of second class; the Board of Commissioners
in counties of the second class A through eighth classes; or as may
be designated in the law providing for the form of government.
The level of the ground adjacent to the exterior walls of
a building or structure or adjacent to the base of a storage pile
or sign.
A household of not more than six members, not necessarily
related by blood, marriage, adoption or legal guardianship, who, because
their physical, emotional or behavioral condition or their social
or interpersonal skills otherwise would limit, inhibit or prevent
their ability to function as useful or productive members of society,
are provided supportive services through a nonprofit social service
agency.
[Added 4-12-2000 by Ord. No. 186-2000]
A person, including a natural person, corporation, partnership,
association, trust or other entity, or any combination thereof, which
holds a current and valid permit from the DOH to grow and process
medical marijuana in the commonwealth, pursuant to the provisions
of the Act.
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 309-2017]
Any building or structure used to grow and process medical
marijuana by a licensed grower/processor that has a current and valid
license from the DOH pursuant to the Act.
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 309-2017]
A place of egress from or access to a street or highway created
by a driveway or another street or highway. Measurement between them
shall be from the termination of one such point to the beginning of
another such point.
The lot dimensions measured along the right-of-way line (street
line) of any one street or highway abutting a lot.
An occupation customarily conducted within a dwelling unit
and as indicated within the home occupation regulations of this chapter.
The definition of "home occupation" shall exclude any activity which
falls within the definition of a no-impact home-based business.
[Amended 6-17-2003 by Ord. No. 204-2003]
An institution designed for the prevention, diagnosis, intervention,
treatment, rehabilitation and care of human injury, illness, pregnancy
or infirmity and providing health services which shall include acute
and surgical care facilities and which may include, as related facilities,
wellness facilities, laboratories, x-ray services, clinical treatment
and therapy services, outpatient service facilities and departments,
pharmacy and hospice services, training facilities, and offices used
primarily for private or group practice by staff health care practitioners.
Accessory uses normally associated with the hospital use are permitted
without additional conditional use approval but are subject to compliance
with the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance of the Township
of Bern.[6]
[Added 12-16-2003 by Ord. No. 210-2003]
A building or group of buildings containing seven or more
individual rooms for rental, primarily for transients, with common
hallways for all rooms on the same floor and where no provision is
made for cooking in any individual room or suite. "Hotel" does not
include institutional or educational uses and buildings where human
beings are housed under legal constraint.
Not easily penetrated by water (i.e., roads, building, sidewalks,
access drives, loading areas, parking areas and paved recreation courts).
Any type of structure or paved section, excluding driveway,
curb, sidewalk, planting strip or barrier to unchanneled motor vehicle
entrance or exit.
The minimum distance on improvement must be set back from
a street right-of-way line.
A line parallel to and measured at right angles from a street
line. No improvements are permitted between the street line and the
improvement setback line.
A subdivision or land development (containing industrial
uses, permitted commercial uses or a combination thereof) of one or
more lots consisting of 50 acres of land or more comprised of:
[Added 10-21-2015 by Ord.
No. 299-2015]
A number of individual, unrelated and separately operated uses
in one building sharing common-site facilities; or
Two or more buildings or proposed buildings containing unrelated
and separately operated uses occupying a common site, which utilize
one or a combination of common-site facilities, such as driveway entrances,
parking areas, driving lanes, signs, maintenance and similar common
services; or
Two or more buildings or proposed buildings containing unrelated
and separately operated uses occupying individual sites, which are
interrelated by the utilization of one or a combination of common
facilities such as driveway entrances, public or private street network,
parking areas, maintenance and other common services.
Sale of goods normally used in the trade business.
Processing and manufacturing of materials or products, including
assembly, fabrication and packaging.
[Added 4-12-2000 by Ord. No. 186-2000]
A living space within a primary residential dwelling unit
that is accessible by its own entrance through the entrances of the
primary residential dwelling unit, having utility services through
the primary residential dwelling unit, consisting of its own living
space and having access to common areas of the primary residential
dwelling unit.
[Added 9-6-2016 by Ord.
No. 306-2016]
An establishment, especially one of an organized society
or corporation, public or private, the operation of which involves
a building and land used partially for human habitation of more than
two unrelated persons who occupy the building for a common purpose
other than housekeeping.
A lot, land or structure or part thereof, used for the buying, trading, collecting, dismantling, storage and/or sale of scrap or discarded material, including but not limited to scrap metal, scrapped, abandoned or junked motor vehicles, machinery, equipment, glass and containers, but not including refuse or garbage kept in a proper container for the purpose of prompt disposal. (Refer to Chapter 114, Nuisances.)
A commercial establishment wherein domesticated pets are
kept for the purpose of breeding, boarding, sale or show purposes.
[Amended 6-7-2005 by Ord. No. 219-2005]
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;
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;
Construction of a nonresidential accessory building
larger than 180 square feet, unless waived by the Board of Supervisors;
The creation of any additional paved area greater
than 6,400 square feet, unless waived by the Board of Supervisors.
A subdivision of land.
A land development plan is not required under
the following conditions:
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 condominiums;
The addition of a residential accessory building,
including farm buildings, 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 purposes of this subclause, 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 proper authorities.
The legal or beneficial owner or owners of land, including
the holder of an option or contract to purchase (whether or not such
option or contract is subject to any condition), a lessee if he is
authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the landowner
or other persons having a proprietary interest in land.
A parcel of land occupied or capable of being occupied by
one or more principal buildings and uses and accessory buildings and
uses, including the open area required under this chapter. The area
and depth of a lot abutting a street shall be determined by measurements
to the street right-of-way line.
The percentage of a lot covered by principal and accessory
buildings.
The average distance from the frontage to the rear of the
lot.
A line separating a lot from a street. The front line is
also the street right-of-way line.
FRONT LOT LINEThe line separating a lot from a street. The front lot line is also the street right-of-way line.
REAR LOT LINEThe lot line which is opposite the front lot line. The rear line of any triangularly or irregularly shaped lot shall be established such that it will be at least 10 feet long.
A lot or parcel recorded in the office of the Recorder of
Deeds of Berks County, Pennsylvania.
The area of a lot, excluding land contained within the street
right-of-way lines.
The distance between side lot lines measured at the minimum
building setback.
An individual licensed by the State Board of Massage Therapy
to practice massage therapy.
[Added 5-6-2014 by Ord. No. 291-2014]
The application of a system of structured touch, pressure,
movement, holding and treatment of the soft-tissue manifestations
of the human body in which the primary intent is to enhance the health
and well-being of the client, without limitation, except as provided
in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Massage Therapy Act, Act 118 of
2008, and amended by Act 45 of 2009.[7] The term includes the external application of water, heat,
cold, lubricants or other topical preparations, lymphatic techniques,
myofascial release techniques and the use of electromechanical devices
which mimic or enhance the action of the massage techniques. The term
does not include the diagnosis or treatment of impairment, illness,
disease or disability, a medical procedure, a chiropractic manipulation
(adjustment, physical therapy mobilization) manual therapy, therapeutic
exercise, electrical stimulation, ultrasound or prescription of medicines
for which a license to practice medicine, chiropractic, physical therapy,
occupational therapy, podiatry or other practice of the healing arts
is required.
[Added 5-6-2014 by Ord. No. 291-2014]
A building or buildings for providing clinical, temporary
and emergency services of a medical or surgical nature to human patients
and injured persons.
[Added 4-12-2000 by Ord. No. 186-2000]
Marijuana for certified medical use as legally permitted
by the commonwealth and the provisions of the Act.
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 309-2017]
Any facility used to house delivery vehicles for supplying
marijuana plants or seeds to one or more grower/processor facilities
and/or dispensary facilities.
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 309-2017]
A dispensary facility or a grower/processor facility.
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 309-2017]
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 WCF or site which consists of a single-pole structure,
designed and erected on the ground or on top of a structure, to support
communications antennas and connecting appurtenances.
[Added 8-4-2015 by Ord.
No. 298-2015]
A facility whose principal business is the rental and leasing
of automobiles, commercial trucks and other motor vehicles, including
storage and incidental maintenance, excluding maintenance requiring
pneumatic lifts or other such similar tools.
[Added 4-1-2008 by Ord. No. 243-2008; amended 4-5-2022 by Ord. No. 336-2022]
Any city of the second class A or third class, borough, incorporated
town, Township of the first or second class, county of the second
class A through eighth class, home rule municipality or any similar
general purpose unit of government which shall hereafter be created
by the General Assembly.
Buildings, structures or land owned and maintained by Bern
Township.
[Added 4-12-2000 by Ord. No. 186-2000]
A business or commercial activity administered or conducted
as an accessory use which is clearly secondary to the use as a residential
dwelling and which involves no customer, client or patient traffic,
whether vehicular or pedestrian, pickup, delivery or removal functions
to or from the premises in excess of those normally associated with
residential use. The business or commercial activity must satisfy
the following requirements:
[Added 6-17-2003 by Ord. No. 204-2003]
The business activity shall be compatible with
the residential use of the property and surrounding residential uses.
The business shall employ no employees other
than family members residing in the dwelling.
There shall be no display or sale of retail
goods and no stockpiling or inventory of a substantial nature.
There shall be no outside appearance of a business
use, including, but not limited to, parking, signs or lights.
The business activity may not use any equipment
or process which creates noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors or
electrical or electronic interference, including interference with
radio or television reception, which is detectable in the neighborhood.
The business activity may not generate any solid
waste or sewage discharge, in volume or type, which is not normally
associated with residential use in the neighborhood.
The business activity shall be conducted only
within the dwelling and may not occupy more than 25% of the habitable
floor area.
The business may not involve any illegal activity.
An industrial use in existence in the Rural Residential Zone
at the time of original adoption of this chapter and located on a
tract of land of a minimum of six acres and a maximum of 10 acres.
[Added 3-4-2008 by Ord. No. 241-2008]
A lot the area or dimension of which was lawful prior to
the adoption or amendment of a zoning ordinance, but which fails to
conform to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is
located by reasons of such adoption or amendment.
A structure or part of a structure manifestly not designed
to comply with the applicable use or extent of use provisions in a
zoning ordinance or amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted, where
such structure lawfully existed prior to the enactment of such ordinance
or amendment or prior to the application of such ordinance or amendment
to its location by reason of annexation. Such nonconforming structures
include, but are not limited to, nonconforming signs.
A use, whether of land or of structure, which does not comply
with the applicable use provisions in this chapter or amendment heretofore
or hereafter enacted, where such use was lawfully in existence prior
to the enactment of this chapter or amendment or prior to the application
of this chapter or amendment to its location by reason of annexation.
All nontower wireless communications facilities, including,
but not limited to, antennas and related equipment. Nontower WCF shall
not include support structures for antennas and related equipment.
[Added 8-4-2015 by Ord.
No. 298-2015]
A state-licensed establishment providing nursing, dietary
and other similar personal services to convalescents, invalids or
aged persons, but excluding mental cases, cases of contagious or communicable
disease, surgery or other treatments which are customarily provided
in sanitariums and hospitals.
[Added 4-12-2000 by Ord. No. 186-2000]
A place for the regular transaction of business in which
there is no regular retail sales of merchandise to the general public
and where no materials, merchandise, products, goods or prepared foods
are stored except for internal consumption.
Free of all buildings, pavement, outside storage and structures
except as permitted by this chapter. Landscaping or screening as permitted
by this chapter may occur within the open area.
[Amended 4-12-2000 by Ord. No. 186-2000; 6-17-2003 by Ord. No. 204-2003]
An area with a minimum dimension of 200 square feet and a
minimum width of 10 feet, designed to delineate the area necessary
to store an operable automobile.
The use of any part or portion of a parcel of land for the
storage of operable automobiles and covered with impervious materials.
A residential setting for the elderly that provides meals,
personal care services and supervision of self-administered medication,
but does not require the level of heath care offered by a hospital
or nursing home.
[Added 4-12-2000 by Ord. No. 186-2000]
Individuals, corporations, companies, associations, joint-stock
companies, firms, partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations
and other entities established pursuant to the statutes of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, provided that "person" does not include or apply
to the Township or to any department or agency of the Township.
[Added 8-4-2015 by Ord.
No. 298-2015]
Foodstuffs and/or drinks which have been cooked, changed,
cleaned or otherwise altered for public consumption.
The main or primary purpose for which any land, structure
or building is designed, arranged or intended and for which they may
be occupied or maintained under the terms of this chapter.
A function involved in the manufacture or treatment of previously
prepared materials, goods or products in which the fundamental nature
or character of the same is not physically changed.
Any item whose appearance and/or composition has been intentionally
changed or altered to achieve a desired or foreseeable result.
A function of the manufacture or creation of materials, goods
or products.
Doctor, surgeon, dentist, psychiatrist, psychologist, chiropractor
and licensed professional people offering similar medical care, architect,
artist, accountant, insurance agent, real estate broker, teacher,
engineer, lawyer, musician, surveyor, landscape architect, land planner,
systems analyst, computer programmer.
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Township
Supervisors or the Township Planning Commission or Zoning Hearing
Board, 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."[8]
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 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.
Any procedure by which the receipt of services and/or the
right of possession and control of real or personal property is temporarily
transferred to another person for a specific time period in exchange
for something of value.
A public thoroughfare, including a street, road, lane, alley,
court or similar terms, which has been dedicated or deeded to the
Township and accepted by it.
A structure, owned and operated by a public utility electric
company regulated by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, designed
and used to support overhead electricity transmission lines.
[Added 2-1-2000 by Ord. No. 184]
A function involved in the correcting of deficiencies affecting
the structural integrity, performance ability or appearance of products
or goods.
A sales transaction directly to the consumer by which services
and/or real or personal property are transferred by small quantities,
in broken lots or parcels, not in bulk, in exchange for something
of value.
A development consisting of a building or group of buildings
designed and used specifically for the residence and care of elderly
persons.
[Added 4-12-2000 by Ord. No. 186-2000]
The surface of and space above and below any real property
in the Township in which the Township or commonwealth has a regulatory
interest, or interest as a trustee for the public, as such interests
now or hereafter exist, including, but not limited to, all streets,
highways, avenues, roads, alleys, sidewalks, tunnels, viaducts, bridges,
skyways, or any other public place, area or property under the control
of the Township or commonwealth, and any unrestricted public or utility
easements established, dedicated, platted, improved or devoted for
utility purposes, but excluding lands other than streets that are
owned by the Township or commonwealth. The phrase "in the right(s)-of-way"
means in, on, over, along, above and/or under the right(s)-of-way.
[Amended 8-4-2015 by Ord.
No. 298-2015]
A sixty-inch-high permanent fence impassable by pets and
children.
[Added 7-21-1992 by Ord. No. 123]
A land site on which engineering principles are utilized
to bury deposits of solid waste without creating public health or
safety hazards or nuisances.
Any structure designed to treat sanitary sewage within the
boundaries of any individual lot.
A sanitary sewage collection system in which sewage from
individual lots is transferred by a system of pipes to a temporary
central treatment and disposal area, generally serving a neighborhood
area.
A sanitary sewage collection system owned and operated by
Bern Township, an Authority created by the Township, an operating
municipal authority or another municipality with Public Utility Commission
approval with agreement of Bern Township in which sewage is carried
from individual lots by a system of pipes to a central treatment and
disposal plant.
[Amended 4-12-2000 by Ord. No. 186-2000]
Landscaping, fencing, earth mounding or combination thereof designed and intended to provide an aesthetic enhancement to the subject property and a visual buffer or obstruction to view of any building(s), structure or use on a lot or parcel by any occupant of any adjoining property or street. If a variation or difference in land elevation between adjoining properties renders impossible or impractical a complete and thorough buffer or obstruction to view of any building(s), structure or use of a given lot or parcel, then the screen or screening shall be constructed and arranged in such a way as to maximize its buffering effect. (See § 184-148, Landscaping.)
[Amended 10-1-1996 by Ord. No. 159]
An act by which skills of one person are utilized or rendered
for the benefit of another, provided that no function involves the
manufacture, cleaning, repair, storage or distribution of products
or goods except for the cleaning and repairing of clothing and personal
accessories.
A minor right-of-way providing secondary vehicular access
to the side or rear of two or more properties, which is not the primary
means of access to the properties.
An area set by an established line measured back from the
street line and parallel to the street line in which buildings are
prohibited.
A dwelling unit, or portion thereof, that is offered or provided
to a guest by a property owner or their agent for a fee for fewer
than 30 consecutive nights. They are commonly referred to as "vacation
rentals." They are a form of tourist or transient accommodations.
Short-term rental units may be whole house rentals, apartments, condominiums,
or individual rooms in homes. For the purpose of administration and
enforcement of this title, the terms "overnight rental," "nightly
rental," and "vacation rental" are interchangeable with short-term
rentals. Subleasing or subletting of units for short-term rental is
prohibited if the zoning in the district in which the dwelling unit
is located does not permit such use.
[Added 5-2-2023 by Ord. No. 342-2023]
An area within which no vision-obstructing object is permitted
above a height of 2 1/2 feet and below a height of 10 feet.
Any structure, wall or other outdoor surface, or any device
or part thereof, which displays or includes any letter, word, model,
banner, flag, pennant, insignia, device or other representations used
for announcement, direction, information, attraction or advertisement.
Waste including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous
materials.
The granting by the Zoning Hearing Board for permission to
conduct a use permitted in a particular district, to undertake certain
activities, to occupy or use land, buildings or structures for a specific
purpose or in a certain manner in accordance with this chapter.
Camouflaging methods applied to wireless communications towers,
antennas and other facilities which render them more visually appealing
or blend the proposed facility into the existing structure or visual
backdrop in such a manner as to render it minimally visible to the
casual observer. Such methods include, but are not limited to, architecturally
screened, roof-mounted antennas, building-mounted antennas painted
to match the existing structure and facilities constructed to resemble
trees, shrubs, flagpoles and light poles.
[Added 8-4-2015 by Ord.
No. 298-2015]
The depository of materials, goods or products for safekeeping.
A public or private right-of-way, excluding driveways, intended
as a means of vehicular and pedestrian travel, furnishing access to
abutting properties. The word "street" includes street, thoroughfare,
avenue, road, freeway, parkway, boulevard, court, drive, expressway,
highway, lane, alley and similar terms.
The lot dimension measured along the street line or right-of-way
line of any one street or highway abutting a lot.
The dividing line between a lot and the outside boundary
of a public street, road or highway right-of-way legally open or officially
mapped by the Township or higher governmental authority, between a
lot and the outside boundary of a street shown on a recorded subdivision
or land development plan or between a lot and a private street, road
or way over which the owners or tenants of two or more lots held in
single and separate ownership have a right-of-way (refer to "right-of-way").
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
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, petition 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.
The extraction of minerals, rocks and other products of the
earth by activities conducted upon the surface of the land which require
the removal of the overburden, strata or material overlying, above
or between the minerals, rocks and other products of the earth or
by otherwise exposing and retrieving the minerals from the surface.
Mining activities carried out beneath the surface by means of shafts,
tunnels or other underground mine openings are not included in this
definition.
A pool used for swimming or bathing which has a depth in
any part of 24 inches or more.
The building or cabinet in which electronic receiving, relay
or transmitting equipment for a telecommunications facility is housed
and covering an area on the ground not greater than 200 square feet.
[Added 8-4-2015 by Ord.
No. 298-2015]
A deliberate procedure involving the examination and/or measurement
of the fitness, qualities, performance or capabilities of a product,
goods or material.
The Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (PA Act 16 of 2016).
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 309-2017]
Any structure that is used for the purpose of supporting
one or more antennas, including, but not limited to, self-supporting
lattice towers and monopoles, utility poles and light poles. DAS hub
facilities are considered to be tower-based WCFs.
[Added 8-4-2015 by Ord.
No. 298-2015]
The Township of Bern, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
The Planning Commission of the Township of Bern, Berks County,
Pennsylvania.
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of Bern, Berks County,
Pennsylvania.
The movement, transfer or relocation of goods or persons
by carrier from one place to another.
A vehicular portable structure built or designed to be mounted
on a chassis or wheels or constructed as an integral part of a self-propelled
vehicle for use as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreation and/or
vacation purposes.
A building, structure or place where trucks or transports
are rented, leased, kept for hire, or stand or park for remuneration,
or from which trucks or transports, stored or parked on the property,
are dispatched for hire as common carriers or where goods are stored
temporarily for further shipment.
[Added 12-7-2021 by Ord. No. 333-2021]
A single use.
A specific purpose for which land, a sign or a structure
or building is designed, arranged, intended or for which it may be
occupied or maintained or any activity, occupation, business or operation
which may be carried on thereon or therein. The term "permitted use"
or its equivalent shall not be deemed to include any nonconforming
use.
A minimum relief granted by the Zoning Hearing Board from
the terms and conditions of this chapter where literal enforcement
would create unnecessary hardship and when granting said relief would
not be contrary to the public interest.
A completely enclosed medical facility for animals.
A building used for the storage of goods and materials in
connection with the day-to-day operation of a wholesale or distribution
business, or a business that is not located in the same building or
on the same property as the warehouse unit. The storage of goods and
materials as an accessory use to a business located on the same property
is not a warehouse unit. A warehouse unit is sometimes referred to
as a "warehouse."
[Added 12-7-2021 by Ord. No. 333-2021]
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 owned and operated by Bern Township, an Authority
created by the Township, an operating municipal authority or another
municipality with Public Utility Commission approval with agreement
of Bern Township for supplying and distributing water from a common
source to dwellings and other buildings, but generally not confined
to one neighborhood.
[Amended 4-12-2000 by Ord. No. 186-2000]
Those areas that are inundated and saturated by surface or
ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and
that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation
typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, including
swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.
[Added 6-7-2005 by Ord. No. 219-2005]
No hunting or shooting of animals permitted unless necessary
for proper wildlife management, but under no circumstances may a commercial
hunting operation be established.
Transmissions through the airwaves, including, but not limited
to, infrared line of sight, cellular, PCS, microwave, satellite, or
radio signals.
[Added 8-4-2015 by Ord.
No. 298-2015]
The antennas, nodes, control boxes, towers, poles, conduits,
ducts, pedestals, electronics and other equipment used for the purpose
of transmitting, receiving, distributing, providing, or accommodating
wireless communications services.
[Added 8-4-2015 by Ord.
No. 298-2015]
Any person that applies for a wireless communication facility
building permit, zoning approval and/or permission to use the public
ROW or other Township owned land or property.
[Added 8-4-2015 by Ord.
No. 298-2015]
A freestanding structure, such as a tower-based wireless
communications facility or any other support structure that could
support the placement or installation of a wireless communications
facility if approved by the Township.
[Added 8-4-2015 by Ord.
No. 298-2015]
A tree mass or plant community in which tree species are
dominant or co-dominant, the branches of the trees form a complete,
or nearly complete, aerial canopy. For the purposes of this chapter,
the extent of any woodland plant community or any part thereof shall
be measured from the outer most dripline of all the trees in the community.
Woodland shall include any area where timber has been harvested within
the previous three years and/or woodland disturbance has occurred
within the previous three years which would have met the definition
of woodland prior to timbering or disturbance. Woodlands do not include
orchards.
[Added 6-7-2005 by Ord. No. 219-2005]
The open space on the same lot with a building. The space
shall be open and unobstructed from the ground upward, except as otherwise
provided in this chapter and not less in depth or width than the minimum
required in each zoning district.
[Amended 6-17-2003 by Ord. No. 204-2003]
An open space between an adjacent street right-of-way line
drawn parallel thereto, at such distance therefrom as may be specified
herein for any zoning district and extending for the full width of
the lot.
[Amended 6-17-2003 by Ord. No. 204-2003]
An open space between the rear lot line and a line drawn
parallel thereto at such distance therefrom as may be specified herein
for any zoning district and extending for the full width of the lot,
except that in the case where the rear lot line is included within
a service street nearest the front yard of the lot and a line drawn
parallel to such right-of-way line of the service street.
[Amended 6-17-2003 by Ord. No. 204-2003]
An open space between the side lot line and a line drawn
parallel thereto at such distance therefrom as may be specified herein
for any zoning district and extending from the front yard to the rear
yard, except that in the case where the side lot line is included
within a service street, the side yard shall be between the right-of-way
line of the service street nearest the principal use or building on
the lot and a line drawn parallel to such right-of-way line of the
service street.
[Amended 6-17-2003 by Ord. No. 204-2003]
The Bern Township Zoning Hearing Board.
The Bern Township Zoning Officer.
[2]
Editor’s Note: The definitions of “communications
antenna,” “communications equipment building,” and
“communications tower,” all added 2-1-2000 by Ord. No.
184 and which immediately followed this definition, were repealed
8-4-2015 by Ord. No. 298-2015.
[3]
Editor's Note: The definition of "CONVALESCENT
HOME," which immediately followed this definition, was repealed 4-12-2000
by Ord. No. 186-2000.
[4]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101
et seq.
[5]
Editor’s Note: The definition of “height of a
communications tower,” added 2-1-2000 by Ord. No. 184, which
immediately followed this definition, was repealed 8-4-2015 by Ord.
No. 298-2015.
[7]
Editor’s Note: See 63 P.S. § 627.1 et seq.
[8]
Editor's Note: See 65 Pa.C.S.A. § 701
et seq.
