For the purposes of this chapter, words and terms used herein
shall be interpreted as follows:
A.
Words used in the present tense include the future.
B.
The singular includes the plural.
C.
The word "person" includes a corporation, partnership and association
as well as an individual.
D.
The word "lot" includes the word "plot" or "parcel."
E.
The word "Commission" and the words "Planning Commission" always
mean the Falls Township Planning Commission.
F.
The word "Supervisor" and the words "Board of Supervisors" always
mean the Falls Township Board of Supervisors.
G.
The word "secretary" shall include Township Manager or any officer,
clerk or other administrative officer appointed by the Board of Supervisors.
H.
The words "Township Manager" shall also mean his designee.
I.
The word "County" shall always mean Bucks County.
J.
The word "Township" shall always mean Falls Township.
K.
The word "commonwealth" shall always mean the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Unless a contrary intention clearly appears, the following words
and phrases shall have, for the purpose of this chapter, the meanings
in the following clauses:
Any owner of property adjoining the property subject to a
subdivision or land development application, and the owner of any
property which is within 400 feet of any border of the applicant's
property, except that in the case of a minor subdivision, and lot
line change, an adjacent property owner shall be any owner of property
adjoining the subject property or located directly across a common
street.
A land owner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has
filed an application for development and/or subdivision, including
the heirs, successors and assigns of such land owner or developer.
Every application, whether preliminary or final, required
to be filed and approved prior to the start of construction and development,
including but not limited to an application for a building permit,
for the approval of the subdivision plan, for the approval of a development
plan, or request for a waiver from the land development plan process.
The Board of Supervisors of Falls Township.
An area divided into lots and usually bounded by streets.
A structure having a roof which is used or intended to be
used for the shelter or enclosure of persons, animals or property.
The word "building" shall include any part thereof.
A line produced by measuring the required distance from each
property line or street line. The required distance is the same as
the front, side and rear yards as provided by the Zoning Ordinance[1] for each use and district.
The hard or paved surfaced portion of any street where that
portion of the street customarily is used by vehicles in a regular
course of traffic over the street.
A distance along the centerline of each street at an intersection forming a triangle within which no obstructions shall exist higher than two feet above the centerline of each street. The distance along the centerline of each street shall be in accordance with § 191-34D. (See § 191-36 for clear sight triangles for driveways.)
A parcel or parcels of land or 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 or an area set aside for public facilities.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
A street, usually a secondary street, with one end open for
vehicular and pedestrian access and the other end terminating at a
vehicular turnaround.
The Township's standard details and specific construction
design standards required for subdivision and land developments, as
amended from time to time, available at no cost from the Township
Engineer.[2]
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 plan of subdivision, all covenants relating to use,
location and bulk of buildings and other structures, intensity of
use or density of development, streets and parking facilities, common
open space and public facilities. The phrase "provisions of the development
plan" where used in this chapter shall be in the written and graphic
materials referred to in this definition.
Any swale, pipe, culvert, storm sewer, detention basin, retention
basin or structure designed, intended or constructed or actually utilized
for the purpose of diverting surface water from or carrying surface
waters off streets, public rights-of-way, impervious surfaces, parks,
recreational areas or any part of any subdivision or land development.
The line marking the outer edges of the branches of the tree.
A paved surface for vehicular access to a lot.
A room or series of connected rooms containing living, cooking,
sleeping and sanitary facilities for one family. The dwelling unit
shall be self-contained and shall not have common hallways passing
through another dwelling unit nor shall there be shared facilities
with another housekeeping unit.
A grant of the use of a parcel of land to the public, Township,
or person for a specified purpose. Ownership of an easement shall
remain with the land upon which the easement is created.
A registered professional engineer licensed as such by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
For the purpose of clearly identifying the extent of the
Township Engineer's responsibility in the review of subdivisions and
land developments, the following engineering considerations are defined.
The Engineer shall make recommendations indicating approval or disapproval
of the proposed subdivision or land development based upon the various
engineering considerations, similar but not limited to those identified
below as they are reflected in the submitted plans:
Dimensions of lots or parcels.
Soil conditions.
Surface or subsurface drainage and stormwater management conditions
and plans.
Lighting plans.
Utility plans.
Location and design of entrance and exit accessways.
Road specifications, cross sections, profiles and pavement sections.
Grading profiles.
Sanitary sewage and water service.
Conformance of the plans in all respects with the performance
standards in the Falls Township Zoning and Subdivision and Land Development
Ordinances, also known as the "Falls Township Zoning Code[3] and the "Falls Township Subdivision and Land Development
Code."
Improvements required: materials, construction methods, specifications.
The act of granting a relief from a responsibility to which
other developers or owners are subject. This relief shall be granted
only under the conditions so stated in this chapter.
Federal Emergency Management Agency.
A complete and exact subdivision and/or land development
plan of a lot or tract of land prepared for official recording, which
defines property rights and which shows all streets and all other
improvements that have been or that are to be installed, added or
changed thereon in accordance with the approved subdivision and/or
land development plan.
A general but temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of streams,
rivers, stormwater management facilities, and other waters of the
commonwealth.
Any land area susceptible to inundation by water from any natural source and delineated by applicable Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Insurance Administration Flood Hazard Boundary, mapped as being a special flood hazard area. Also included are areas that comprise Group 13 Soils, as listed in Appendix A of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) Technical Manual for Sewage Enforcement Officers (as amended or replaced from time to time by PADEP). See Chapter 131.
Areas subject to periodic flooding and listed in the Soil
Survey of Bucks and Philadelphia Counties, Pennsylvania, U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, July 1975, as being "on
the floodplain" or subject to "flooding." The following soil types
are floodplain soils:
The channel of the watercourse and those portions of the adjoining floodplains that are reasonably required to carry and discharge the one-hundred-year frequency flood. Unless otherwise specified, the boundary of the floodway is as indicated on maps and flood insurance studies provided by FEMA. In an area where no FEMA maps or studies have defined the boundary of the one-hundred-year frequency floodway, it is assumed, absent evidence to the contrary, that the floodway extends from the stream to 50 feet from the top of the bank of the stream. See Chapter 131.
The Board of Supervisors of Falls Township.
The topography or contour of the ground surface prior to
any disturbing of the soil.
The resulting topography or contour of the ground after the
proposed final grading where there is a cut, and after normal settlement
where there is fill.
Surfaces that do not absorb rain. All buildings, parking
areas, driveways, roads, sidewalks and any areas of concrete, asphalt,
compacted gravel and/or brick shall be considered impervious surfaces
within this definition. In addition, other areas determined by the
Township Engineer to be impervious within the meaning of this definition
will also be classified as impervious surfaces.
Any street for which the Township, county or commonwealth
has maintenance responsibilities and which is paved with an approved
hardtop surface.
Those physical additions, installations and changes, such
as streets, curbs, sidewalks, water mains, sewers, drainage facilities,
public utilities, recreational facilities, and other appropriate items,
required to lands suitable for the use approved.
The landside edges of lakes and ponds from established shoreline
to an upland boundary. Lake and pond shorelines shall be measured
100 feet from the spillway crest elevation or the average high water
elevation over a year period.
Natural or artificial bodies of water which retain water
year-round. Artificial ponds may be created by dams, or result from
excavation. Lakes are bodies of water two or more acres in extent.
Ponds are bodies of water less than two acres in extent.
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 contained.
The division or allocation of land or space, whether proposed
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 as that term is hereinafter defined.
The legal or beneficial owner or owners of land, including
the owner 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 registered landscape architect licensed as such by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by
a plat or otherwise as permitted by law, except that for purposes
of this chapter, contiguous undersized lots under one ownership shall
be considered one lot.
The area within the lot lines of a lot, but not including
any portion of a future or dedicated street right-of-way, or a right-of-way
dedicated to the Township for any other purpose. (See "right-of-way.")
Any line forming a portion of the exterior boundary of a
lot and the same line as the street line for that portion of a line
abutting a street.
The redivision of parcels of land by means of relocating one or more lot lines. These lot line relocations shall result in no new lots and are solely for the purpose of transferring from one abutting property owner to another by means of relocating lot lines. This shall be accomplished through the provision for a simplified procedure for a minor subdivision, § 191-20 and following.
A lot at the junction of and abutting two or more streets
where the interior angle of the intersection does not exceed 135°.
A designated parcel, tract or area of land, established by a plan, which has less frontage than required and has a narrow strip of land extending from the street line to a wider portion of land to the rear. A flag lot will only be permitted if the Falls Township Zoning Hearing Board grants the necessary variances from the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 209.
Any subdivision which is not a minor subdivision.
A dwelling unit manufactured in one or more sections and
designed for long-term occupancy, containing living and sleeping accommodations,
a flush toilet, a tub or shower, kitchen facilities, plumbing and
electrical connections provided for attachment to an outside system
and designed to be transported after fabrication on its own wheels
or on a flatbed or other trailer, arriving at the site where it is
to be occupied as a complete dwelling. Usually the major appliances
and furniture are ready for occupancy except for minor and incidental
assembly operations. For purposes of this chapter, travel trailers
and campers are not considered manufactured homes. Manufactured homes
shall be permitted only in areas designated "MHC Manufactured Home
Community."
A parcel of land under single ownership, which has been planned
and improved for the placement of two or more manufactured homes for
nontransient use.
A parcel of land in a manufactured home community, improved
with the necessary utility connections and other appurtenances necessary
for the erection thereon of a single manufactured home.
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land
by any means into no more than two lots, tracts, parcels or other
divisions of land or the division or redivision of more than two lots,
tracts or parcels in such fashion as to create no more than one additional
lot, for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, transfer
of ownership, construction thereon or land development; provided,
however, that the lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions of land
have existing frontage on an improved public street or streets and
provided, further, that no new street or streets are created or proposed.
A building providing separate living quarters for two or
more families.
The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, P.L. 1329,
December 21, 1998, as amended, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
The map or plan of a subdivision or land development, whether
sketch, preliminary or final.
The Falls Township Planning Commission.
A plan of a lot or tract of ground showing all the salient
existing features thereon and all proposed streets and the proposed
lot layout as well as all improvements proposed to be added, installed
or changed thereon. For purposes of a land development submission,
a preliminary plan shall also show all existing and proposed structures.
Includes the following:
As defined in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code,
53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
As defined in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code,
53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
As defined in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code,
53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
An exact copy of an approved final plan on opaque linen or
fixed line Mylar of standard size, prepared for necessary signatures
and recording with the County Recorder of Deeds. The record plan shall
include any variances or special exceptions granted by the Zoning
Hearing Board and any waivers or conditional use approvals granted
by the Falls Township Board of Supervisors and the dates when such
actions were taken.
A lot extending between and having frontage on a major highway
and a secondary street with vehicular access solely from the smaller
street.
A strip of land occupied or intended to be occupied by a
street, alley, crosswalk, sanitary or storm sewer, water main, stream,
drainage swales or for another special use. The usage of the term
"right-of-way" for land plotting purposes in the Township shall mean
that every right-of-way hereafter established and shown on a final
record plan is to be separate and distinct from lots or parcels adjoining
such right-of-way and not included within the dimensions or areas
of such lots or parcels when it is a dedicated street right-of-way.
The right-of-way width required for the expansion of existing
streets to accommodate anticipated future traffic loads. The future
width required for a particular street shall be determined by the
street classification as shown on the Falls Township Street Classification
Map.
Any part of rainfall or precipitation that flows over the
land surface.
Any sewer, sewage system or sewage treatment works or parts
thereof designed, intended or constructed for the collection, treatment
or disposal of sanitary waste, including industrial waste.
The length of street, measured along the centerline, which
is continuously visible from a point 3.5 feet above the centerline.
An informal plan indicating salient existing features of
a lot or tract of land and its surroundings and the general layout
of a proposed subdivision and/or land development.
A clear and unobstructed view above the centerline of a street for both horizontal and vertical alignment. The minimum stopping sight distance is a result of a combination of speed, grade and radius along the centerline of the street. See § 191-32C for the minimum design standards.
A system of pipes and/or other conduits which carries intercepted
surface runoff, street water and other wash waters or drainage, but
excludes domestic sewage and industrial wastes.
Drainage runoff from the surface of the land resulting from
precipitation or snow or ice melt.
The process of managing stormwater runoff from development, the maintenance of existing water quality and quantity of streams, watercourses and impoundment's aquifer recharge, the maintenance of existing hydrological regions and the preservation of natural drainageways and watercourses, all in an effort to promote the public health and safety and welfare of Falls Township by minimizing water damage. All stormwater management systems shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the Falls Township Stormwater Management Ordinance, Chapter 187, a separate ordinance adopted April 12, 2001, or the latest edition, and the Falls Township Design Details and Practices.[4]
All structural and nonstructural appurtenances utilized to
manage or control stormwater runoff, including, but not limited to,
detention facilities, swales, diversion channels, streams, culverts,
bridges, infiltration facilities, cisterns and sediment basins.
Includes streets, avenues, boulevards, roads, highways, freeways,
parkways, lanes, alleys, viaducts and/or any other ways used or intended
to be used by vehicular traffic or pedestrians whether public or private.
The street includes the land between the street lines, whether improved
or unimproved, and may comprise pavement, shoulders, gutters, sidewalks,
parking areas and other areas within the street lines. Streets are
further defined and classified as follows:
MAJOR HIGHWAYS:
INTERSTATE AND LIMITED ACCESSDesigned for very large volumes of traffic with limited access and designated by state and/or federal route numbers.
PRINCIPAL ARTERIAL STREETDesigned for large volumes and high-speed traffic, with access to abutting properties controlled.
MINOR ARTERIAL STREETDesigned to carry a moderate volume of traffic moving at moderate speed from principal arterial streets to collector streets, with access to abutting properties controlled.
COLLECTOR STREETDesigned to carry a limited volume of traffic, to intersect minor arterial streets, local streets, and driveways of high-density residential uses, industrial parks and other high traffic-generated uses, to provide routes to local streets and community facilities and to provide access to abutting properties.
SECONDARY STREETS:
LOCAL STREETDesigned to provide access to the abutting properties, to provide routes to limited residential streets, and to provide routes to collector streets.
LIMITED RESIDENTIAL STREETDesigned to provide access to abutting properties, to intersect with other limited residential streets, and to provide routes between local streets.
MARGINAL ACCESS STREETA local street which is parallel and adjacent to a major highway and which provides access to abutting properties and protection from through traffic.
ALLEYA minor paved surface which is used primarily for vehicular service access to the back or the side of properties otherwise abutting on a street.
An area where two or more streets join.
The dividing line between the street and the lot. The street line shall be the same as the legal right-of-way line, provided that the same street right-of-way shall not be less than as required in § 191-31 and that where a future right-of-way width for a street has been officially established, the street right-of-way line shall be the side line of the future right-of-way so established.
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land, including
but not limited to buildings, fences, tanks, towers, signs, advertising
devices, swimming pools, tennis courts and additions to buildings,
including but not limited to decks and porches.
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 all 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 of lot developments, provided; however, that the subdivisions 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. Subdivisions shall be divided into major
or minor.
Where, in the judgment of the Township Engineer, at least
90% (pursuant to Section 509 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning
Code) 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 registered professional land surveyor licensed as such
by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
An area that is radial to the trunk of a tree in which no
construction activity shall occur. The tree protection zone shall
be 15 feet from the trunk of the tree to be retained, or the distance
from the trunk to the dripline, whichever is greater. Where there
is a group of trees or woodlands, the tree protection zone shall be
the aggregate of the protection zones for the individual trees.
The purpose for which either land or a building is arranged,
designed or intended or for which either land or building is or may
be obtained.
An exemption from meeting the requirements of a specific
section or provision of this chapter.
Any waterworks, water treatment, water supply works, water
distribution system or part thereof designed, intended or constructed
to provide or distribute potable water.
An inventory of the source, quantity, yield and use of groundwater
and surface-water resources within a municipality.
Any natural or artificial stream, river, creek, ditch, channel,
canal, waterway, gully or ravine in which water flows in a definite
direction or course, either continuously or intermittently, and has
defined bed and banks.
Rivers, streams, creeks, rivulets, impoundments, ditches,
watercourses, storm sewers, lakes, damned waters, wetlands, ponds,
springs and other bodies or channels of conveyance of surface and
underground water, or parts thereof, whether natural or artificial,
within or on the boundaries of the commonwealth, or as amended by
35 P.S. § 691.1.
The entire area drained by a river or other body of water,
whether natural or artificial.
Areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or
groundwater at a frequency or 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.
The transitional area extending from the outer limit of the
wetland.
Woodlands are 1/4 acre or more of wooded land where the largest
trees measure at least six inches in diameter at breast height (dbh)
or 4.5 feet from the ground. The woodland shall be measured from the
dripline of the outer trees. Woodlands are also a grove of trees forming
one canopy where 10 or more trees measure at least 10 inches in diameter
at breast height (dbh).
An open area on a lot, unobstructed from the ground up, extending
along a lot line or street line and inward from said lines. The minimum
dimension of a required yard shall be as provided for each district
and shall be measured the shortest distance between the lot line or
street line and a line parallel to such lines.
An open space extending across the width of the lot and lying
between the street line and the required setback of the lot. The yards
extending along any streets are considered front yards, and each yard
shall be the required front yard setback.
A yard between the street line and building setback line
extending the entire length of the street line and building setback
line. In the case of a lot that fronts on more than one street, the
yard extending along each street is a front yard.
An open space extending between the street line or tract
boundary lines forming the outline of the tract or area of land to
be developed and the closest point upon which any principal building
is permitted to be located on the tract. The depth of the perimeter
yard shall be measured horizontally and at right angles to a straight
street line or tract boundary lines or the tangent lines of curved
street or boundary lines.
An open space extending across the full width of the lot
and lying between the rear lot line and the. A yard between the rear
lot line and a line parallel to said rear lot line extending the entire
length of the rear lot line and the width of the lot.
A yard between the side lot line and a line parallel to said
side lot line extending from the front yard to the rear yard, in the
case of a lot having no street frontage or a lot of odd or irregular
shape. Any yard that is not a front yard or a rear yard shall be considered
to be a side yard.
The appointed Township official directed by the Township Manager or the Township Board of Supervisors to administer and interpret and enforce the Township Zoning Code, Chapter 209. The Zoning Officer may be required to act in other Township capacities while serving as the Zoning Officer.
Chapter 209, duly adopted by the Board of Supervisors of Falls Township, as amended from time to time.
