The purpose of this article is to establish districts wherein compatible uses of land may be located and grouped to create, protect or maintain a living environment for the citizens of Evans City. Three broad categories of uses are established: residential, commercial and industrial. It is the intent of this article to stabilize and protect the uses contained within these districts by excluding mutually interfering uses and to allow a maximum degree of latitude within the regulations to promote residential harmony, to conduct profitable business or to contribute to the economy of the Borough. It is also the purpose of this classification to make it possible to more efficiently and economically design and install all physical public service facilities in terms of size and capacity to adequately and permanently meet needs resulting from a defined intensity of land use and to provide for the health, safety, morals, prosperity and well-being of the community at large.
The Borough is hereby divided into four classes of districts with the designations and general purposes listed herein and the specifically permitted uses set forth in §§ 195-39 through 195-42.
District
Purpose
Single-Family Residential - R-1
Exclusively a single-family residence district with adequate plot areas required and including the customary accessory and secondary uses
Multifamily Residential - R-2
Primarily a multifamily residence district with adequate plot areas required and including some single-family residences and the customary accessory and secondary uses
Commercial - C
Primarily a general commercial district for the conduct of enterprise which depends on proximity to major streets or arterials for trade or transportation
Industrial - I
Primarily for manufacturing, processing, fabrication and assembling of products or materials, warehousing and storage, and transportation facilities and rolling stock, marshaling and storage, and regulated with regard to dis- semination of atmosphere pollutants, noise vibration, odors and the creation of physical hazards to adjacent uses
Within the various use districts as indicated on the Official Zoning Map of the Borough and subject to the requirements of § 195-43, no land, building or structure shall be used and no building or structure shall be erected which is intended or designed to be used, in whole or in part, except for any of the uses permitted herein.
A. 
Permitted principal uses. Permitted principal uses in the R-1 Residential District shall be as follows:
(1) 
Single-family detached dwellings.
(2) 
Churches and other places of worship, including parish houses and Sunday school buildings.
(3) 
Grounds for games or sports, parks, country clubs, recreational and community center buildings, gymnasiums and other similar activities not operated for profit.
(4) 
Schools, public and private.
B. 
Permitted accessory uses. Permitted accessory uses in the R-1 Residential District shall be as follows:
(1) 
Private garages and parking areas.
(2) 
Swimming pools (private) appurtenant to the main dwelling when meeting the yard requirements of depth and width for principal structures, provided that the pool is adequately fenced to prevent free access of small children and meets all applicable health and sanitary requirements.
(3) 
Home occupations conducted within the principal building, provided that not more than 25% of the total floor area in any dwelling unit is devoted to such use, and provided further that an occupancy permit pursuant to § 195-9 is first obtained.
[Amended 5-5-1986 by Ord. No. 391[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 3 of this ordinance, which provided that existing home occupations obtain an occupancy permit within 60 days of its passage, was repealed 8-1-1994 by Ord. No. 455.
(4) 
Home gardening.
(5) 
Signs: a small professional or announcement sign, nonilluminated, not over three square feet in area, mounted flat to the main wall of the building, and an nonilluminated real estate sign not over six square feet in area mounted or displayed behind the building setback line.
(6) 
Domestic pets.
(7) 
Greenhouses (private noncommercial).
C. 
Special exceptions. Special exceptions in the R-1 Residential District shall be as follows:
(1) 
Municipal buildings and necessary public facility buildings and structures.
(2) 
Cemeteries, mausoleums, columbariums and crematories.
(3) 
Nursery schools.
(4) 
Hospitals.
(5) 
Nursery, landscape materials.
(6) 
Public utility installation.
(7) 
Swimming pools, public or semipublic.
(8) 
Temporary buildings or structures.
(9) 
Water and sewage treatment plants and water towers.
A. 
Permitted principal uses. Permitted principal uses in the R-2 Multifamily Residential District shall be as follows:
(1) 
Single-family detached dwellings.
(2) 
Two-family dwellings or duplexes.
(3) 
Apartment houses and other multifamily dwellings.
(4) 
Boarding and lodging houses.
(5) 
Churches and other places of worship, including parish houses and Sunday school buildings.
(6) 
Condominiums.
(7) 
Convalescent homes, nursing homes, rest homes and homes for the aged.
(8) 
Grounds for games or sports, parks, country clubs and recreational and community center buildings, gymnasiums and other similar activities not operated for profit.
(9) 
Libraries, museums and art galleries.
(10) 
Lodges, fraternal and social organizations, provided that any such establishment shall not be conducted primarily for gain.
(11) 
Medical and dental clinics.
(12) 
Orphanage and charitable institutions, all provided that no buildings so used shall be within 100 feet of any lot line.
(13) 
Retirement home.
(14) 
Schools, public and private.
(15) 
Mobile home parks, provided that the following shall apply:
[Amended 8-1-1994 by Ord. No. 455]
(a) 
The minimum site area for a mobile home park shall be not less than five acres;
(b) 
There shall be at least 3,600 square feet of site area per mobile home space; and
(c) 
Sewer and water systems which provide individual service to each unit shall be established, operated and maintained by the landowner or operator. The sewer and water systems shall meet all requirements of and be approved by local and state health authorities.
B. 
Permitted accessory uses. Permitted accessory uses in the R-2 Multifamily Residential District shall be as follows:
(1) 
Private garages and parking areas.
(2) 
Swimming pools (private) appurtenant to the main dwelling when meeting the yard requirements of depth and width for principal structures, provided that the pool is adequately fenced to prevent free access of small children and meets all applicable health and sanitary requirements.
(3) 
Home occupations conducted within the principal building, provided that not more than 25% of the total floor area in any dwelling unit is devoted to such use, and provided further that an occupancy permit pursuant to § 195-9 is first obtained.
[Amended 5-5-1986 by Ord. No. 391]
(4) 
Home gardening.
(5) 
Signs: a small professional or announcement sign, nonilluminated, not over three square feet in area, mounted flat to the main wall of the building, and an nonilluminated real estate sign not over six square feet in area mounted or displayed behind the building setback line.
(6) 
Domestic pets.
(7) 
Greenhouses (private noncommercial).
C. 
Special exceptions. Special exceptions in the R-2 Multifamily Residential District shall be as follows:
(1) 
Municipal office building, police and fire station.
(2) 
Cemeteries, mausoleums, columbariums and crematories.
(3) 
Funeral homes, undertaking establishments, mortuaries.
(4) 
Golf courses, golf driving ranges and putting courses.
(5) 
Hospitals.
(6) 
Public utility installations.
(7) 
Swimming pools, public or semipublic.
(8) 
Temporary buildings or structures.
(9) 
Water and sewage treatment plants and water towers.
A. 
Permitted principal uses. Permitted principal uses in the C Commercial District shall be as follows:
(1) 
Apartment houses and other multifamily residential.
(2) 
Banks, offices and studios.
(3) 
Clubs, lodges and social halls.
(4) 
Commercial recreation facilities, conducted entirely within a building.
(5) 
Eating and drinking establishments, excluding drive-in curb service.
(6) 
Funeral homes, undertaking establishments, mortuaries.
(7) 
Hotels and motels.
(8) 
Medical and dental clinics, veterinary hospitals and animal hospitals.
(9) 
Personal and professional services.
(10) 
Printing establishments.
(11) 
Public buildings.
(12) 
Repair services - minor.
(13) 
Retail businesses.
(14) 
Auction houses, except livestock.
(15) 
Radio and television broadcasting stations.
(16) 
Alcohol beverage distributors and packaged retail sales.
(17) 
Churches and other places of worship, including parish houses and Sunday school buildings.
(18) 
Schools, public and private.
(19) 
Libraries, museums and art galleries.
(20) 
Drugstores, food stores, dairy stores, meat and fish stores and bakery shops.
(21) 
Theaters.
(22) 
Single-family detached dwellings.
(23) 
Grounds for games or sports, parks, country clubs, recreational and community center buildings, gymnasiums and other similar activities not operated for profit.
(24) 
Two-family dwellings or duplexes.
(25) 
Boarding and lodging houses.
(26) 
Condominiums.
(27) 
Convalescent homes, nursing homes, rest homes and homes for the aged.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The former entry listing nonprofit lodges and fraternal and social organizations, which immediately followed this entry, was repealed 8-1-1994 by Ord. No. 455.
(28) 
Orphanage and charitable institutions, all provided that no buildings so used shall be within 100 feet of any lot line.
(29) 
Retirement homes.
B. 
Permitted accessory uses. Permitted accessory uses in the C Commercial District shall be as follows:
(1) 
Public parking garages and parking areas in accordance with Article IX.
(2) 
Signs as regulated under Article X.
(3) 
Accessory uses clearly incidental to a permitted use and which will not create a nuisance or hazard.
C. 
Special exceptions. Special exceptions in the C Commercial District shall be as follows:
(1) 
Drive-in restaurants and drive-in theaters.
(2) 
Public utility installations.
(3) 
Swimming pools, public and private.
(4) 
Temporary buildings or structure.
(5) 
Wholesale businesses, conducted entirely within a building.
(6) 
Automobile service stations, as defined in § 195-7, and auto repair garages.
A. 
Permitted principal uses. Permitted principal uses in the I Industrial District shall be as follows:
(1) 
The processing, cleaning, servicing, testing, repair or storage of material, goods or products of these types: beverages, confections, cream, all food products (exclusive of meat and fish packing), ceramics, clothing, plastics, electrical goods, furniture, hardware, tools, dies, patterns, scientific instruments, jewelry, time pieces, optical goods, musical instruments, toys, cosmetics, drugs and of products from the following previously prepared materials: wood, glass, textiles, cork, leather, bone, horn, shell, fur, feathers, hair, rubber, paper and metal, when conducted wholly within an enclosed structure.
(2) 
Contractor's equipment storage.
(3) 
Industrial offices.
(4) 
Bottling works, cold storage, locker service.
(5) 
Research laboratories.
(6) 
Supply yards, but not including scrap or junk yards.
(7) 
Warehousing, storage and packaging.
(8) 
Wholesale businesses.
(9) 
Shops for custom work, including printing and publishing, and repair shops.
(10) 
Automobile service stations, repair garages and new and used sales, including trailers and motorcycles.
(11) 
Hotels, motels and motor courts.
(12) 
Industry not otherwise listed, provided that the Zoning Hearing Board finds such industry is similar to other industries in the Industrial District.
(13) 
Public utility service and storage yards.
(14) 
Radio and television broadcasting stations and towers.
(15) 
Truck terminals, truck repair shops, truck hauling and storage yards.
(16) 
Veterinary hospitals and animal hospitals.
(17) 
Single-family detached dwellings.
(18) 
Churches and other places of worship, including parish houses and Sunday school buildings.
(19) 
Grounds for games or sports, parks, country clubs, recreational and community center buildings, gymnasiums and other similar activities not operated for profit.
(20) 
Schools, public and private.
(21) 
Two-family dwellings or duplexes.
(22) 
Apartment houses and other multifamily dwellings.
(23) 
Boarding and lodging houses.
(24) 
Condominiums.
(25) 
Convalescent homes, nursing homes, rest homes and homes for the aged.
(26) 
Libraries, museums and art galleries.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The former entry listing nonprofit lodges and fraternal and social organizations, which immediately followed this entry, was repealed 8-1-1994 by Ord. No. 455.
(27) 
Medical and dental clinics.
(28) 
Orphanage and charitable institutions, all provided that no buildings so used shall be within 100 feet of any lot line.
(29) 
Retirement homes.
(30) 
Banks, offices and studios.
(31) 
Clubs, lodges and social halls.
(32) 
Commercial recreation facilities, conducted entirely within a building.
(33) 
Eating and drinking establishments, excluding drive-in curb service.
(34) 
Funeral homes, undertaking establishments, mortuaries.
(35) 
Personal and professional services.
(36) 
Public buildings.
(37) 
Repair services - minor.
(38) 
Retail businesses.
(39) 
Auction houses, except livestock.
(40) 
Alcohol beverage distributors and packaged retail sales.
(41) 
Drugstores, food stores, dairy stores, meat and fish stores and bakery shops.
(42) 
Theaters.
B. 
Permitted accessory uses. Permitted accessory uses in the I Industrial District shall be as follows:
(1) 
Parking and loading areas.
(2) 
Billboards and signs.
(3) 
Other accessory uses and structures customarily appurtenant to a permitted use.
C. 
Special exceptions. Special exceptions in the I Industrial District shall be as follows:
(1) 
Scrap paper or rag storage, sorting or baling when conducted within a building.
(2) 
Asphalt manufacture or refining.
(3) 
Livestock feed yards and livestock auction yards.
(4) 
Poultry killing or dressing, abattoir, slaughterhouse.
(5) 
Rodenticide, insecticide and pesticide mixing plants.
(6) 
Excavations, such as coal and rock extraction, but not including simple foundations.
In recognition of the various topographical conformations and geographic relationships in the Borough and with consideration of the health, safety and general welfare of the citizenry, bulk, dimensional and general requirements for the several districts are herewith established and set down in the Schedule of Bulk, Dimensional and General Requirements, located at the end of this chapter.
[Added 8-1-1994 by Ord. No. 455]
A. 
Front yards.
(1) 
In the case of through lots, unless the prevailing front yard pattern on adjoining lots indicates otherwise, front yards shall be provided on all frontages. Where one of the front yards that would normally be required on a through lot is not in keeping with the prevailing yard pattern, the Code Official may waive the requirement for the normal front yard and substitute therefor a special yard requirement which shall not exceed the average of the yards provided on adjacent lots.
(2) 
In the case of corner lots which do not have reversed frontage, a front yard of the required depth shall be provided in accordance with the prevailing yard pattern and a second front yard of half the depth required generally for front yards in the district shall be provided on the other frontage.
(3) 
In the case of reversed frontage lots, a front yard of the required depth shall be provided on either frontage, and a second front yard of half the depth required generally for front yards in the district shall be provided on the other frontage.
(4) 
In the case of corner lots with more than two frontages, the Code Official shall determine the front yard requirements, subject to the following limitations:
(a) 
At least one front yard shall be provided having the full depth required generally in the district.
(b) 
No other front yard on such lot shall have less than half the full depth required generally.
B. 
Rear yards.
(1) 
In the case of through lots and reversed frontage corner lots, there shall be no rear yard.
(2) 
In the case of corner lots with normal frontage, the rear shall extend from the inner side yard line of the side yard adjacent to the interior lot to the rear line of the half-depth front yard.
C. 
Side yards.
(1) 
In the case of through lots, side yards shall extend from the rear line of the front yards required.
(2) 
In the case of corner lots with normal frontage, there shall be only one side yard adjacent to the interior lot.
(3) 
In the case of corner lots with reversed frontage, the yards remaining after the full and half-depth front yards have been established shall be considered the side yards.
D. 
Yard diagrams. The yard diagrams, located at the end of this chapter, illustrate the location of yards on rectangular lots and nonrectangular lots.
Those permitted uses located in the several zones shall be subject to the following limitations:
A. 
All sites in a C District having a common boundary with an R District classified property shall erect and maintain a view-obscuring fence or dense coniferous hedge to a height of not less than six feet along such common boundary for purposes of controlling access.
B. 
All sites in an I District having a common boundary with an R District classified property shall have planted and maintained along such common boundary a view-obscuring coniferous greenbelt of shrubs, trees and native vegetation not less than eight feet in height nor less than 10 feet in width for screening purposes and controlling access.
C. 
All permitted uses established after the effective date of this chapter or enlargements of a use established prior to the effective date of this chapter shall provide off-street parking and loading areas for each use and enlargement in accordance with the provisions of Article IX.
D. 
Where lighted signs and illuminated areas are permitted, such illuminating devices shall be shaded and directed so as not to be visible from any R District classified property.
E. 
No accessory building shall be constructed upon a lot until the construction of the main building has been actually commenced, and no accessory building shall be used for dwelling purposes unless the main building on the lot is also being used for dwelling purposes.
F. 
Accessory buildings which are not a part of the main building may be built in a rear or side yard within three feet of the rear lot line.
[Amended 8-1-1994 by Ord. No. 455]
Mobile homes, whether the wheels are attached or not, shall be permitted only in mobile home parks in an R-2 Multifamily Residential District. Occupied camping trailers shall meet all of the requirements specified for mobile homes. Mobile home parks shall meet the requirements of § 195-40A(15), the R-2 Multifamily Residential District and the following requirements:
A. 
Each application for a mobile home park shall be accompanied by three copies of a plot plan drawn at a scale of one inch equals 20 feet, prepared by a licensed surveyor or engineer, showing limits and square footage of the proposed mobile home park and location and size of driveways, parking areas, drying areas, playgrounds, service buildings, other buildings and mobile home lots, together with required setbacks from rights-of-way and property lines. All mobile home lots shall be numbered in sequence on the plot plan.
B. 
The minimum width for each mobile home lot shall be 30 feet.
C. 
No trailer shall be placed within 15 feet of another, provided that with respect to trailers parked end-to-end, the distance between trailers so parked shall be not less than 10 feet.
D. 
No trailer shall be placed a lesser distance from the trailer park boundary than the side yard width required in the zoning district which abuts each boundary line. In no case shall a trailer be parked less than 10 feet from the trailer park boundary. All trailers shall be set back from any public street the same distance as buildings are required to be set back in the zoning district in which the trailer park is located.
E. 
Every trailer lot shall be clearly defined on the ground by permanent markers. There shall be posted and maintained in a conspicuous place on each lot a number corresponding to the number of each lot as shown on the plot plan.
F. 
The minimum lane or driveway on which an individual mobile home lot fronts shall be 28 feet in width. In cases where driveways dead-end, there shall be constructed at each such dead end a cul-de-sac with a minimum turning radius of 38 feet. When an entrance to any mobile home park is from a state highway, approval of such entrance from the State Highway Department must be secured before the development is approved.
Where uncertainty exists as to the boundaries of districts as shown on the Official Zoning Map, the following rules apply:
A. 
Boundaries indicated as appearing to follow the center lines of streets, highways or alleys shall be construed to follow such center lines.
B. 
Boundaries indicated as appearing to follow platted lot lines shall be construed as following such lot lines.
C. 
Boundaries indicated as appearing to follow Borough limits shall be construed as following Borough limits.
D. 
Boundaries indicated as following railroad lines shall be construed to be midway between the main tracks.
E. 
Boundaries indicated as approximately following the center lines of streams, rivers or other bodies of water shall be construed to follow such center lines, and in the event of change in the location of streams, rivers and other bodies of water, boundaries shall be construed as approximately following the center lines.
[Amended 8-1-1994 by Ord. No. 455]
F. 
Distances not specifically indicated on the Official Zoning Map shall be determined by the scale of the map.
The regulations set by this chapter within each district shall be minimum regulations and shall apply uniformly to each class or kind of structure or land, and particularly, except as hereinafter provided:
A. 
No building, structure or land shall hereafter be used or occupied and no building or structure or part thereof shall hereafter be erected, constructed, reconstructed, moved or structurally altered unless in conformity with all of the regulations herein specified for the district in which it is located.
B. 
No building or other structure shall hereafter be erected or altered to exceed the height, to accommodate or house a greater number of families, to occupy a greater percentage of lot area or to have narrower or smaller rear yards, front yards, side yards or other open spaces than herein required; or in any other manner contrary to the provisions of this chapter.
C. 
No part of a yard or other open space or off-street parking or loading space required about or in connection with any building for the purpose of complying with this chapter shall be included as part of a yard, open space or off-street parking or loading space similarly required for any other building.
D. 
No yard or lot existing at the time of passage of this chapter (Ordinance No. 323, passed June 1, 1970), shall be reduced in dimension or area below the minimum requirements set forth herein. Yards or lots created after the effective date of this chapter shall meet at least the minimum requirements established by this chapter.
All territory which may hereafter be annexed to the Borough shall, in the interest of protecting property and public interest, be zoned R-1 Residential, until the Planning Commission makes a thorough study of the newly annexed area and reports its recommendations to the Council, and the Council adopts a final district classification. This study and report by the Planning Commission shall be made within three months of the time of annexation.