A.Â
For the purpose of this chapter, the words and terms used herein
shall be interpreted as follows:
(1)Â
Words used in the present tense include the future.
(2)Â
The singular includes the plural.
(3)Â
The word "persons" includes a corporation, partnership and association
as well as an individual.
(4)Â
The word "lot" includes the word "plot" or "parcel."
(5)Â
The word "shall" is mandatory.
(6)Â
The word "used" or "occupied" as applied to any land or building
shall be construed to include the words "intended, arranged or designed
to be occupied."
(7)Â
The word "Commission" and the words "Planning Commission" always
mean the Falls Township Planning Commission.
(8)Â
The word "Supervisors" or the words "Township Supervisors" always
mean the Falls Township Board of Supervisors.
(9)Â
The word "Board" or the words "Zoning Hearing Board" always mean
the Falls Township Zoning Hearing Board.
B.Â
Any word or term not defined herein shall be used with a meaning
of standard usage.
Unless a contrary intention clearly appears, the following words
and phrases shall have, for the purposes of this chapter, the meanings
given in the following clauses:
A building, structure or use which is customarily associated
with and is subordinate and incidental to the principal building,
structure or use and which is located on the same lot therewith. An
"accessory building" attached to the principal building shall comply
in all respects with the requirements applicable to the principal
building.
As defined and regulated in § 209-29D of this chapter.
Any change in or additions to supporting members of a building,
such as walls, columns, beams, girders, posts or piers.
A device used to collect or transmit telecommunications or radio signals, including panels, microwave dishes and single poles known as "whips." An antenna is a structure. See also § 209-50.2.
See "dwelling."
[Amended 6-18-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-02]
A residential facility including dwelling units that provide
a residential living environment assisted by congregate meals, housekeeping
and personal services for persons who have permanent disabilities
or temporary or periodic difficulties with one or more essential activities
of daily living, such as feeding, bathing, dressing or mobility. An
assisted living facility shall include accessory uses, including dining
rooms, bathing areas, common areas, offices and other space necessary
to provide the aforesaid services.
A cloth, plastic, or other nonstructural covering that projects
from a wall for the purpose of shielding a doorway or window. An awning
is either permanently attached to a building or can be raised or retracted
to a position against the building when not in use.
That part of a building that is partly or completely below
grade and having at least two means of egress, one of which leads
to the remainder of the building containing the basement.
A room intended for sleeping with a door for privacy and
separation from other rooms along with a closet and a window area
of greater than two square feet.
A facility whose primary purpose is the retail or wholesale
sale and/or distribution of any type of beverage product, including,
but not limited to, beer and other spirits.
A person who rents a room for sleeping and living accommodation
within a dwelling, with or without the provision of meals, who is
not a member of the household occupying the detached dwelling and
who is not the owner of the detached dwelling.
A facility in which beer, wine, or other alcoholic beverages
are brewed, fermented, or distilled for distribution and consumption,
and which possesses the appropriate license from the Pennsylvania
Liquor Control Board. Any outdoor dining area associated with such
use shall be in accordance with outdoor dining standards set forth
in this chapter.
A structure having a roof which is used or intended to be
used for shelter or enclosure of persons or animals or property. The
word "building" shall include any part thereof.
DETACHEDA building which has no party wall.
SEMIDETACHEDA building which has only one party wall in common with an adjacent building.
ATTACHEDA building which has two party walls in common with adjacent buildings.
BUILDING OR STRUCTURE, ACCESSORYA building or structure located on the same lot as a principal building and clearly incidental and subordinate to the principal building. Any portion of a principal building devoted or intended to be devoted to an accessory use is not an accessory building.
BUILDING, PRINCIPALA building in which is conducted, or is intended to be conducted, the principal use of the lot on which it is located.
The total of the areas taken on a horizontal plane at the
main grade level of the principal building and all accessory buildings
exclusive of uncovered porches, terraces and steps and measured from
the exterior of outside walls.
The percentage of the lot area covered by the building area.
Building coverage as a percentage of lot area.
That area of a lot that has no development restrictions.
The building envelope shall not include the area of any required building
setbacks, buffer yards or natural resources within the one-hundred-percent
protection requirement and the portion of those natural resources
that may not be developed or intruded upon as specified in the regulations
which follow hereafter.
FRONTA line parallel to a street line at a distance therefrom equal to the depth of the minimum front yard requirement.
SIDEA line parallel to the side lot line at a distance therefrom equal to the depth of the minimum side yard requirement.
REARA line parallel to the rear lot line at a distance therefrom equal to the depth of the minimum real yard requirement.
The vertical distance measured at the highest point from
the mean elevation of the finished grade five feet away from the foundation
along the side of the building or structure facing the street or to
the street line, whichever is closer to the foundation. On a corner,
the greater height shall govern. Chimneys, church spires, elevator
penthouses and municipal water tanks shall not be included in calculating
height.
The minimum distance between buildings. The building spacing
shall be measured from outermost wall or projection, excluding bay
windows, chimneys, flues, columns, ornamental features, cornices,
and gutters, provided that these exceptions do no encroach more than
two feet.
A structure or land use used for the safekeeping and containment
of a mass or aggregate of fuel which is counted, weighted, or measured
for subsequent sharing, parceling out, allotting, dispensing, or apportioning,
excluding fuel storage for use on-site by the owner or occupant of
the property on which the fuel is stored.
Any dwelling, building or portion thereof in which child
day-care services are provided, including any on-site outdoor play
area. Child day-care facilities shall be further differentiated by
the following three classifications:
FAMILY DAY-CARE HOMEAny premises or dwelling unit other than the child's own home where the child-care areas are being used as a family residence, operated for profit or not for profit, in which child day-care is provided at any one time on a regular basis to no more than six children, who are not relatives of the caregiver.
GROUP DAY-CARE HOMEA facility in which care is provided for more than six but no more than 12 children at any one time, where the child-care areas are being used as a family residence.
DAY-CARE CENTERA facility which is licensed to provide care for seven or more children at any one time, where the child-care areas are not being used as a family residence.
The time at which the sanitary landfill or area permanently
ceases to accept wastes and includes those actions taken by the owner
or operator of the facility to prepare the site for post-closure monitoring
and maintenance or making it suitable for other uses.
A use accessory to a principal use and contained within a
building, providing facilities for members of a community and invited
guests, such as an auditorium, activity rooms, kitchen area, craft
rooms, fitness facilities, lounges and similar facilities, and subject
to the setback requirements for the principal use.
A use which is not appropriate to a particular zoning district as a whole, but which may be suitable in certain localities within the district only when specific conditions and factors prescribed for such cases within this chapter are present. Conditional uses are granted or denied by the Township Board of Supervisors. (See § 209-50.)
A private institution licensed by the state for rest and
recuperation within which infirm or ill persons may receive medical
diagnosis or treatment as well as meals and lodging.
The Department of Health of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Certain areas of a lot that may not be developed, including, but not limited to, required building setbacks, buffer yards, and all natural resources of the environment, including floodplains, lakes, ponds and their shorelines, steep slopes, watercourses, wetlands, wetland margins and woodlands, as set forth by specific definitions and restrictions appearing in the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, Chapter 191, § 191-52.1, Township of Falls, effective October 2001.
See § 209-23E(8).
A minor vehicular way providing access between a street and
parking area or garage within a lot or property.
A building containing one or more dwelling units designed
or used exclusively as living quarters, excluding a hotel, motel,
inn, rooming house, tourist home, institutional home and the like,
but including the following:
SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED DWELLINGA dwelling having only one dwelling unit from ground to roof, designed and occupied exclusively as a residence for one family, having independent outside access and having yards on all sides, including a manufactured home or mobile home.
TWO-FAMILY DWELLING (TWIN OR DUPLEX DWELLING)A structure containing two dwelling units, each of which is totally separated from the other by a solid wall extending from ground to roof or a solid ceiling and floor extending from exterior wall to exterior wall, except for a common stairwell.
SINGLE-FAMILY ATTACHED DWELLING (TOWNHOUSE DWELLING)A dwelling designed and occupied exclusively as a residence for one family, having independent outside access attached to but separated from adjoining dwellings by not more than two party walls and not a two-family dwelling.
MULTIPLE-FAMILY DWELLINGA dwelling having three or more dwelling units that are completely separated by party walls but share outside access. This type of dwelling includes the uses apartment building, garden apartment, and high-rise apartment building, defined as follows:
APARTMENT BUILDINGA building containing a minimum of three dwellings up to three stories in height including a basement or cellar, which may share outside access and common yard areas.
HIGH-RISE APARTMENT BUILDINGA building from four to eight stories in height, where individual dwelling units share a common outside access and yard area and in which elevators serve each story.
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 specified use of a parcel of land by the property
owner to the public, a corporation, or a person.
The lowest horizontal line of a sloping roof.
An assemblage of equipment for purposes other than generation
or utilization through which electric energy in bulk is passed for
the purpose of switching or modifying its characteristics to meet
the needs of the general public. Such use shall not include the storage
of equipment, materials, trucks or repair facilities nor the housing
of repair crews unless otherwise permitted within the district in
which such use is located.
A form of resource recovery in which the organic portion
of waste is converted to some form of usable energy. "Energy recovery"
may be achieved through the combustion of processed raw refuse to
produce steam, through the pyrolysis of refuse to produce oil or gas,
and through the anaerobic digestion of organic waste to produce methane
gas.
A registered professional engineer licensed as such by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Those services necessary to monitor the health status of
the community, investigate and diagnose health problems and hazards,
inform and educate people regarding health issues, mobilize partnerships
to solve community problems, support policies and plans to achieve
health goals, enforce laws and regulations to protect the public health,
safety and welfare, link people to needed personal health services,
ensure a skilled, competent work force, ensure the delivery of public
services, or other services deemed to be of exceptional public benefit.
A chemical or other substance intended for the purpose of
producing an explosion or that contains oxidizing or combustible units
or other ingredients in proportions or quantities that ignition by
fire, by friction, by concussion, by percussion, or by detonator may
produce an explosion capable of causing injury to persons or damage
to property. The term "explosive" includes, but is not limited to,
black powder (all varieties), dry gun cotton, nitroglycerine, dynamite,
chlorates, fulminates, all sensitized ammonium nitrate compositions
and any other of their compounds or mixtures, smokeless powder, wet
gun cotton and wet nitrostarch.
Any number of individuals living together on a nontransient
basis as a single housekeeping unit with single cooking facilities
when said individuals are related by blood, marriage or adoption,
and, in addition, any domestic servants, foster children or gratuitous
guests thereof; or a group of not more than five persons who need
not be so related and, in addition, domestic servants or gratuitous
guests thereof who are living together in a single dwelling and maintaining
a common household with single cooking facilities, including occupants
that are mentally or physically handicapped persons as defined in
Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended by the Fair
Housing Amendments Act of 1988. A roomer, boarder or lodger shall
not be considered a member of a family, nor shall the definition of
"family" apply to the occupants of a club, fraternity house, lodge
or residential club.
A lot used for the growing and harvesting of crops and the
raising and breeding of domesticated animals, including truck farms,
fruit farms, produce nurseries and greenhouses, dairies and livestock,
except that commercial piggeries are prohibited.
See Ordinance No. 2015-01, Chapter 131 of the Code of the Township of Falls.
The sum of the areas of the floors of a building or structure,
including areas used for human occupancy or required for the conduct
of the business or use, and basements, attics, and penthouses, as
measured from the exterior faces of the walls. Floor area does not
include unenclosed porches, attics not used for human occupancy, nor
any floor space in an accessory building nor in the main building
intended or designed for the parking of motor vehicles in order to
meet the parking requirements of this chapter, nor any such floor
space intended and designed for accessory heating and ventilating
equipment.
The ratio of the floor area to the lot area, as determined
by dividing the floor area by the lot area.
A natural gas, manufactured gas, liquefied petroleum gas
or mixtures of these gases.
A structure which is accessory to, attached to, or part of
a dwelling unit which is used for the parking of motor vehicles owned
and operated by the residents thereof.
A building or structure, or part thereof, other than a private
garage, operated as a separate commercial enterprise available to
the general public, used for the temporary parking of motor vehicles.
Areas containing a golf course of at least nine holes in
length, not less than three par each, together with the necessary
accessory uses and structures, such as clubhouses, dining and refreshment
facilities, provided that the operation of such is incidental and
subordinate to the operation of the golf course.
The area measured by using the outside dimension of the building,
excluding townhouses, apartments or other attached structures. Gross
floor area shall be measured from the center of the interior or party
wall(s) and the outside of exterior walls, excluding the area of a
garage, storage attic, open porch or patio.
Total floor area designed for tenant or owner occupancy and
exclusive use in nonresidential building and including basements,
mezzanines and upper floors as measured from outside walls.
An area of land not broken by street rights-of-way and composed
of one or more lots adjacent to another having sufficient dimensions
and area to make one parcel of land meeting the requirements of this
chapter for the uses intended and not including any area within a
public right-of-way or street.
A residential facility used as living quarters by any number
of unrelated persons requiring special care, and any attendant adult
supervisors, specifically designed to create a nontransient residential
setting for the mentally and physically handicapped. Any number of
handicapped persons, as that term is defined in Title VIII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended by the fair Housing Amendments
Act of 1988, have the right to occupy a dwelling unit in the same
manner and to the same extent as any family unit, subject to the Mental
Health Procedures Act, 50 P.S. §§ 7101-7503, and shall
be eligible for such facility.
Garbage, refuse, or sludge from an industrial or other wastewater
treatment plant; sludge from a water supply treatment plant or air
pollution control facility; and other discarded material, including
solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material resulting from
municipal, commercial, industrial, institutional, mining, or agricultural
operations, and from community activities; or a combination of the
above, which because of its quantity, concentration or physical, chemical
or infectious characteristics may do one of the following:
Cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality
or increase in morbidity in either an individual or the total population;
or
Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health
or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed
of or otherwise managed.
An establishment for the conduct of indoor sports and exercise
activities, along with related locker and shower rooms, offices and
classrooms, where use of such establishment is offered on a membership
basis.
Any tract of land on which is located a building or structure
listed on the National Register of Historic Places or the Pennsylvania
Inventory or any tract of land so listed or any tract of land, together
with facilities thereon, owned by the public and held for park, playground
or similar uses by the public.
An occupation or profession conducted wholly or in part from
a residence or residential lot as an accessory use. Such occupation
shall be conducted solely by resident occupants of the residential
building, except that no more than one person not a resident of the
building may be employed, and provided that the following requirements
are met:
The business activity shall occupy no more than 500 square feet,
or the first floor area of the building (or its equivalent), whichever
is smaller.
The livable floor area for the residents will remain at least
as large as that required of residences.
There shall be no display or sale of retail goods and no stockpiling
or inventory of any substantial nature.
The residential character of the building shall not be changed.
The occupation shall be conducted entirely within the dwelling
unit or an accessory building, or both.
There shall be no occupational sounds created which are audible
outside the building.
No machinery or equipment will be used which may cause interference
with the radio or television reception of neighboring residences.
The business use must not reduce the parking or yard requirements
of the principal use.
The business may not involve any illegal activity.
An institution providing primary health services and medical
or surgical care to persons, primarily inpatients, suffering from
illnesses, disease, injury, deformity and other abnormal physical
or mental conditions, and including, as an integral part of the institution,
related facilities, such as laboratories, outpatient facilities, medical
offices and staff residences.
See definition of "swimming pool, private residential."
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.
A measure of the intensity of use of a piece of land, measured
by dividing the area of impervious surface by the lot area.
An area wherein one or more buildings are erected for industrial
purposes in relation to one another as part of an integrated and comprehensively
planned total unit, whether or not the buildings are erected simultaneously
or over a period of time.
Old or discarded scrap, copper, brass, iron, steel or other
metals, or materials including but not limited to tires, household
appliances, furniture, rope, rags, batteries, glass, rubber debris,
waste, trash, construction debris, plumbing fixtures, or any discarded,
dismantled, wrecked, scrapped, or nuisance motor vehicles or parts
thereof.
The keeping of chicken hens, subject to restrictions as set
forth in this chapter.
A liquid waste resulting from the interaction of water or
other liquids with solid waste. "Leachate" contains dissolved and/or
suspended solid matter.
An off-street space or berth not less than 12 feet by 40
feet, exclusive of access area, on the same lot as the building or
group of buildings it serves, for the temporary parking of commercial
vehicles while loading or unloading merchandise or materials, with
15 feet of vertical clearance and located in a manner that permits
all vehicles using the space to enter and leave a public street while
facing forward. A use that does not require a loading space as required
by this definition shall provide sufficient space to accommodate customary
delivery vehicles. A use that includes a drive-through facility may
use the access area for loading and unloading during hours when the
use is not in operation.
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 contained within the lot lines of a lot, but shall
not include any portion of an existing or designated future street
right-of-way.
The shortest horizontal distance between the front yard line
and the line drawn parallel to the front lot line through the midpoint
of the rear lot line.
Horizontal distance between side lot lines measured along the street line. The minimum lot frontage shall be the same as the lot width, except that on curve alignment with an outside radius of less than 500 feet, the minimum distance between the side lot lines measured at the street line shall not be less than 75% of the required minimum lot width, except as permitted under Article IV. In the case of a corner lot, either street frontage which meets the minimum frontage required for that zone may be considered the lot frontage.
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.
Ordinarily the street line except in the circumstance where
a lot is bounded by streets on more than one side, in which case all
street lines shall be regarded as the front lot lines.
Any lot line which is parallel to or within 45° of being
parallel to a street line, except for a lot line that is itself a
street line, and except that in the case of a corner lot the owner
shall have the option of choosing which of the two lines that are
not street lines is to be considered a rear lot line. In the case
of a lot having no street frontage or a lot of an odd shape, only
the lot line farthest from any street shall be considered a rear lot
line.
Any lot line that is not a front lot line or a rear lot line.
The location of a building on a lot in such a manner that
one or more of the building's sides rest directly on a lot line.
The straight and horizontal distance between the side lot
lines and setback points on each side lot line measured an equal distance
back from the street line. The minimum lot width shall be measured
at the minimum required building setback line where side lines are
not parallel. The minimum lot width at the street shall not be less
than 75% of the minimum lot width for the zoning district in which
it is located.
A lot at the junction of and abutting on two or more streets
where the interior angle of the intersection does not exceed 135°.
A lot other than a corner lot.
An interior lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately
parallel streets. May also be referred to as "double frontage lot."
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 waterfront facility containing docks and/or slips and/or
piers at which boats are berthed, and/or a basin for mooring boats.
Such facilities may provide utilities and offer supplies, and perform
minor repairs.
That plan otherwise required in connection with the development
of contiguous parcels located in the OIP Zoning District and which,
when approved in connection with the development of a property located
in the OIP Zoning District, shall have the validity and effect of
the preliminary subdivision and/or land development plan as that term
and those rights are defined in the applicable provisions of the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code,[1] as amended.
Act 16 of 2016, 35 P.S. § 10231.101 et seq.
A person, including a natural person, corporation, partnership, association, trust, or other entity, or any combination thereof, which is registered by the Department of Health under the Medical Marijuana Act to dispense medical marijuana. The term does not include a health care medical marijuana organization under Chapter 19 of the Medical Marijuana Act.
A person, including a natural person, corporation, partnership, association, trust, or other entity, or any combination thereof, which is registered by the Department of Health under the Medical Marijuana Act to grow and process medical marijuana. The term does not include a health care medical marijuana organization under Chapter 19 of the Medical Marijuana Act.
A facility for the examination or treatment of persons as
out-patients including laboratories incidental thereto.
As defined and regulated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
Title 25, Pa. Code, as amended, and by applicable federal regulations,
including the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251-1376,
as amended.
Includes the removal of sand, gravel or other mineral material
and includes crushing, washing, screening, sizing, combining, processing,
storing, selling and distributing of said materials.
A facility for the sale of fuels for motor vehicles, minor
automobile accessories, and sale of food and beverage items, subject
to the limitations of this chapter. Routine automobile service and
inspections may be performed and may include lubricating, repairing
or otherwise servicing motor vehicles but shall not include painting,
body and fender repairs, or vehicular sales. This use is distinguished
from and does not include a "motor vehicle repair garage" where automobile
parts and accessories are sold and installed within the facility but
where there is no fuel sale. Any facility which provides for gasoline
or fuel sales directly to retail customers shall be considered to
be a motor vehicle fueling station and shall meet the requirements
of this use and shall only be permitted in the zoning districts where
this use is permitted.
An establishment where motor vehicle parts and accessories
are sold and facilities where parts may be installed; an automobile
repair garage, including paint spraying and body and fender work.
This use includes an auto body shop.
The use of land or buildings by the Township of Falls for
municipal purposes, including an administration building; Township
police station; Township maintenance facility; Township storage facility,
e.g., salt or cinder; Township park or recreation facility; Township
facilities and/or operations which provide for the care, maintenance,
fueling and storage of municipal vehicles, the Township of Falls Authority,
and other such uses as would customarily be associated with the operations
of Township government.
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:
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 any 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 sewer
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.
A lot, the area or dimensions of which was lawful prior to
the adoption or amendment of this chapter, but which fails to conform
to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located
by reason of such adoption or amendment.
A structure or part of a structure which does not comply
with the applicable area, setback, yard, building height, location,
size, impervious surface and/or other dimensional requirements of
this chapter or amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted where such
structure lawfully existed prior to the enactment of this chapter
or amendment. 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 of this chapter or amendment heretofore
or hereafter enacted, where such use was lawfully in existence 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.
See "child day-care facility."
A permanent roofed-over area properly supported on columns,
having open sides and front and having no bulkheads, screening, windows
or other type of enclosure. The width of the open porch shall not
exceed the width of the house. The height of the open roof shall not
exceed the height of the main house roof.
Land or water area or combination thereof within a development
site, designed and intended for the use and enjoyment of residents
or other users of the development, not including streets, off-street
parking spaces and driveways.
The keeping in an unroofed area of any goods, materials,
merchandise or vehicles, other than those for personal use, in the
same place or on the same lot for more than three days.
A medical facility licensed by the state, providing surgical
procedures not requiring inpatient confinement following such procedures.
That portion of a fascia or wall that extends above the roof.
An off-street area on a lot with an all-weather surface available for the storage of one motor vehicle and having dimensions as required by § 191-37C of the Falls Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, as amended (Chapter 191), exclusive of passageways and driveways appurtenant thereto, and having individual direct access to a street without moving another vehicle.
An unenclosed area of less than 200 square feet designed
to be utilized by passengers waiting for public transportation facilities.
Any use of land or buildings as specifically allowed in each
district and no other.
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind.
Places of religious worship and their adjunct residential
dwellings for clergy and support staff; adjunct social, recreational
and educational uses directly administered by the religious institution;
and nursery school and kindergarten.
The main purpose for which a lot or building is used.
All publicly owned property, including streets, rights-of-way,
easements and everything affixed thereto and thereover.
Use of land by the Township of Falls, Pennsbury School District,
governments of Bucks County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the United
States of America or an officially created agency, authority or commission
thereof.
The process of chemically decomposing an organic substance
by heating it in an oxygen-deficient atmosphere.
A temporary dwelling, either self-contained or designed to
be attached to the body or chassis of a vehicle for travel, recreation,
vacation or other short-term uses, having an outside body length not
exceeding 30 feet; any trailer, other than a mobile home, designed
to be towed by an automobile; any boat exceeding 10 feet in length.
The process of accumulating material no longer useful for
its original purpose, processing it to a raw state that will be used
to manufacture a new product.
A specific area at which recyclable materials are collected
or picked up for recycling or processing at another location, having
no specific zoning district designation.
NCR, LR, LMR, MR, MHR, HR, HR-TH, AQ and MHC Districts.
Lot or premises used exclusively or primarily for dwelling
purposes.
An area for permanent disposal of ash and residue from a
resource recovery facility, solid waste which is not processible by
a resource recovery facility and solid waste otherwise intended for
processing at a resource recovery facility during periods when such
plant is temporarily shut down.
A facility where solid waste material is processed to reduce
its bulk and/or to convert all or part of it for reuse, as energy
and industrial uses, by means including, but not limited to, incineration,
composting, reduction, shredding, compression and transfer.
Any establishment, however designated, at which food is sold
for the consumption within the restaurant building on the premises.
However, a snack bar or refreshment stand at a public community swimming
pool, playground, play field or park operated solely by the Township,
or by an agency or group operating the recreational facility and for
the convenience of the patrons of the facility, shall not be deemed
to be a restaurant.
Any restaurant, refreshment stand, snack bar, dairy bar,
hamburger stand or hot dog stand where food is served for consumption
at counters, stools or bars outside the building or for consumption
in automobiles parked on the premises, whether brought to said automobiles
by the customers or by the employees of the restaurant, or for consumption
at some location other than inside the restaurant building itself,
regardless of whether or not additional seats or other accommodations
are provided for the customers inside the building.
A dwelling, not a single-family or two-family dwelling, apartment
house or hotel, providing lodging for compensation, with or without
meals, and having lodging accommodations for more than three but fewer
than 10 guests.
A nondomestic farm and/or game animal, including, but not
limited to, horses, cattle, pigs, chickens, turkeys, sheep, wild or
semiwild cats, wolves or wolf hybrids, and other animals of like kind
which are not typically kept as domestic pets.
The controlled systematic sorting or preparation of solid
waste for treatment processing or removal.
Discarded material no longer of value for its original purpose
but which has a value if reclaimed.
An engineered facility where municipal solid waste and those
residual wastes specifically designated as acceptable to the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection are delivered for the purpose
of disposal in and on the land. Hazardous waste is specifically excluded
from this definition.
Any public, parochial or private place of instruction, including
any adjunct dormitories and other uses customarily incidental to a
school, not including institutions of higher learning, having regular
sessions with regularly employed instructors, which teaches those
academic subjects that are fundamental and essential in general education
and which provide kindergarten, elementary, secondary stages of education,
or a vocational school under the supervision of a state or lawfully
constituted ecclesiastical governing body and with standards of instruction
meeting the requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but
excluding any privately operated schools of trade, vocation, avocations
and business.
The minimum horizontal distance from the street line or lot
line beyond which part or all of a building is not permitted to extend
toward such street line or lot line. For the purposes of this definition,
the term "building" is not to include architectural projections, canopies
or marquees which project from a building facade, provided that the
copy area of such signs remains parallel to the building facade.
A building with a maximum square footage of 160 square feet
and a maximum height of no more than 10 feet. Any structure or building
exceeding the dimensions of a shed shall be deemed to be an accessory
building.
See § 209-45.
The ownership of a lot by one or more persons, partnerships
or corporations whose ownership is separate and distinct from that
of any adjoining lot.
Residential facilities where six or more individuals reside
together either voluntarily or by court order in order to recover
from drug, alcohol and/or substance abuse, which serve as an interim
environment between rehabilitation facilities and reintegration into
their future lives. This definition shall include recovery houses
and halfway houses. This term does not include roomers, boarders,
lodgers, members of a family [except those protected as suffering
from a "handicap" under the provisions of Sections 3602(h) and 3604
of the Fair Housing Act] or any other use defined, described or regulated
by this chapter.
Waste falling within the definition of the term "solid waste"
as defined by the Solid Waste Management Act, Section 103, now found
at 35 P.S. § 6018.103, but excluding therefrom hazardous
waste as therein defined.
See definition of "swimming pool, private residential."
Slopes exceeding 15%.
That portion of a building included between the surface of
any floor and the surface of the floor above it or, if there is no
floor above it, the space between the floor and the ceiling. For the
purpose of this chapter, the interior of a roof shall not be considered
a ceiling. A "half story" is the area under a pitched roof at the
top of a building, the floor of which is at least four feet and not
more than 5Â 1/2 feet below the plate.
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:
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-generating uses, to provide routes to local streets and community facilities and to provide access to abutting properties.
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.
The dividing line between the street and the lot. The street
line shall be the same as the existing (legal) right-of-way line,
provided that where a future right-of-way width for a road or street
has been established (the ultimate right-of-way), then that width
shall determine the location of the street line.
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
Any structure that contains water and has a depth of more
than 24 inches or a water surface of 100 square feet or more; or a
structure permanently equipped with a water-recirculating system;
or which involves structural materials; and the structure is designed
and maintained for swimming and bathing purposes by an individual
for use by his household and guests or for exclusive use of residents
of an individual development and their guests which is located on
a lot as an accessory use, and includes all buildings, structures
and equipment and appurtenances thereto. This definition includes
in-ground, aboveground and on-ground swimming pools, hot tubs and
spas.
A building designed for the installation and operation of
telephone equipment which is stationary and which requires only infrequent
repair. Such use shall not include the storage of equipment that has
not been installed and is not operating, the storage of materials,
trucks or repair facilities, the housing of repair crews or the provision
of working space for any employees other than employees who work there
for the infrequent repair of equipment which is installed there.
The Township of Falls, Bucks County, a municipal corporation
in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
An area of land composed of one or more contiguous lots adjacent
to one another having sufficient dimensions and area to form one parcel
of land meeting the requirements of this chapter for the use(s) intended.
A site and/or facility which is used for the dispatch, repair,
maintenance and/or storage of tractor trailers or vehicles. Such use
shall not include the dispatch, repair, maintenance, storage or parking
of tractor trailers, trailers, vehicles or containers used for containing,
transporting or carrying solid, municipal, residual or hazardous waste,
as defined in 35 P.S. § 6018.103.
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.
The use of a building for storage of goods or merchandise
(i.e., manufactured products, supplies and equipment) in large quantities
for resale by a retailer. This use does not include the storage and
distribution of flammable, combustible or explosive substances (see
"bulk fuel storage and distribution").
A material whose original purpose has been completed and
which is directed to a disposal or processing facility or is otherwise
disposed of and includes solid, municipal, residual or hazardous waste
as defined in 35 P.S. § 6018.103. The term does not include
source-separated recyclable materials. See also "hazardous waste,"
herein.
See § 209-50.2.
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.
YARD, FRONTA 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.
YARD, REARA 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.
YARD, SIDEA 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.
An open space extending between the street line or tract
boundary lines forming the outline of the tract and the closest point
of a principal building on the tract. The depth of the perimeter yard
shall be measured horizontally and at right angles to either a straight
street line or property line or the tangent lines of curved street
and property lines.
For purposes of § 209-37C(2), where a residential property or where any lot in a residential district has a frontage on two or more streets, that front yard lying between the building setback and the street which provides the lawful address or street number shall be the primary front yard. Any other front yard shall be a secondary front yard.
[Amended 6-18-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-02]
The Township Code Enforcement Officer/Zoning Officer.
