The following terms shall have, throughout this chapter, the meanings given herein.
ALLEYA public or private minor right-of-way providing secondary vehicular access to the side or rear of two or more properties.
APPLICANTA landowner or developer, as hereinafter defined, including his heirs, successors and assigns, who has filed an application for development.
APPLICATION FOR SUBDIVISION OR LAND DEVELOPMENTEvery application, whether preliminary or final, required to be filed and approved prior to the start of construction or development, including but not limited to an application for a building permit, for the approval of a subdivision plat or plan or for the approval of a development plan.
APPROVALThe official sanction of plans or documents by the Lower Saucon Township Council.
AUTHORITYThe Lower Saucon Authority, a body politic and corporate created pursuant to the Act of May 2, 1945, P.L. 382, known as the "Municipality Authorities Act of 1945" (53 P.S. §
301 et seq.).
Activities, facilities, measures, or procedures used to manage stormwater quantity and quality impacts from the regulated activities of Chapter
137, Stormwater Management. "Best management practice" is more thoroughly defined with related requirements in Chapter
137, Stormwater Management.
[Added 2-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-02]
A tract of land or a lot or group of lots bounded on one side by a street and on the other three sides by a street, railroad right-of-way, waterway, unsubdivided area, Township boundary or other definite barrier.
BUILDINGAny structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or occupancy.
BUILDING, ACCESSORYA detached subordinate building, the use of which is customarily incidental and subordinate to that of the principal building and which is located on the same lot as that occupied by the principal building.
BUILDING SETBACK LINEA line established by Chapter
180, Zoning, and/or this chapter (whichever is more restrictive), which defines the required minimum distance between any building and the adjacent public right-of-way or lot line.
Rock consisting chiefly of carbonate minerals, such as limestone and dolomite; specifically a sedimentary rock composed of more than 50% by weight of carbonate minerals that underlies soil or other unconsolidated, superficial material.
[Added 2-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-02]
The portion of the street right-of-way, paved or unpaved, intended for normal vehicular movement. The shoulder is not considered part of the cartway.
CISTERNAn underground reservoir or tank for storing rainwater.
CLEAR SIGHT TRIANGLEAn area of unobstructed vision at street intersections defined by lines of sight between points at a given distance from the intersection of the street center lines.
CLOSED DEPRESSIONA distinctive bowl-shaped depression in the land surface. It is characterized by internal drainage, varying magnitude and an unbroken ground surface.
[Added 2-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-02]
A parcel or parcels of land, an area of water or a combination of land and water within a development site designed and intended for the use or enjoyment of residents of a development, not including streets, off-street parking area and areas set aside for public facilities. Common open space shall be substantially free of structures but may contain such improvements as are appropriate for recreational use by the residents.
COMMUNITY SEWAGE SYSTEMAny system, whether publicly or privately owned, for the collection of sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature from two or more lots and the treatment and/or disposal of the sewage or industrial waste on one or more of the lots or at any other site.
CONDITIONAL USEA use for which the Township Council may grant permission following a public meeting and findings of fact consistent with Chapter
180, Zoning. Additional regulation may be imposed by the Township Council to protect public health, safety and welfare to preserve natural features and/or to protect and/or enhance the nature and characteristics of the neighborhood or community.
Lower Saucon Township Council, Northampton County. The council is the appointing authority as defined in the Municipalities Planning Code. The Council is also known as the "governing body."
COUNTYNorthampton County, Pennsylvania.
CROSSWALKA sidewalk or pathway located in a right-of-way or pedestrian easement, municipally or privately owned, at least 20 feet in width, which cuts across a block or furnishes access for pedestrians to adjacent streets and properties.
CUL-DE-SACThe portion of a single access street that provides a vehicular turnaround.
CULVERTA pipe, conduit or similar structure including appurtenant works which carries surface water.
DAMAn artificial barrier, together with its appurtenant works, constructed for the purpose of impounding or storing water or another fluid or semifluid or a refuse bank, fill or structure for highway, railroad or other purposes which does or may impound water or another fluid or semifluid.
DEDICATIONA grant of land and/or improvements for public use made by a developer or property owner.
DEPThe Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (formerly the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources).
DESIGN STORMThe magnitude of precipitation from a storm event, measured in probability of occurrence (e.g., fifty-year storm) and duration (e.g., twenty-four-hour) and used in computing stormwater management control systems.
DETENTION BASINA vegetated pond, swale or other structure designed to drain completely after storing runoff only for a given storm event and releasing it at a predetermined rate. It is also known as a "dry pond."
DEVELOPERAny 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 word "subdivider" is construed to mean the same as "developer" when used herein.
DEVELOPMENT PLANThe provisions for development, including a planned residential development, a plat of subdivision, all covenants relating to use, location and bulk of buildings and other structures, intensity of use or density of development, streets, ways and parking facilities, common open space and public facilities. The phrase "provisions of the development plan," when used in this chapter, shall mean the written and graphic materials referred to in this definition.
DEVELOPMENT SITEThe specific tract of land for which a regulated activity is proposed.
DOUBLE OR REVERSE FRONTAGE LOTA lot extending between and having frontage on two generally parallel streets, with vehicular access from only one street.
DRAINAGE EASEMENTA right granted by a landowner to the Township or other grantee, allowing the use of private land for stormwater management purposes, both on the surface of the ground and/or in underground facilities.
[Amended 2-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-02]
The documentation of the proposed stormwater management controls, to be used for a given development site.
DRIVEWAYA minor vehicular access between a street and a parking area or garage within a lot or property.
DWELLING UNITA single unit providing complete, independent living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation.
EASEMENTA right of use over property of another.
ENGINEERA professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
EQUIVALENT DWELLING UNITA nonresidential land use of buildings, structures or land that generates an estimated average daily flow of sewage of 250 gallons or that uses an estimated average daily flow of water of 250 gallons.
EROSIONThe removal of soil particles by the action of water, wind, ice or other geological agents.
FLAG LOTA lot fronting on or abutting a public road, where access to the public road is by a strip of land that is narrow and long relative to the total lot.
FLOODPLAINA. A relatively flat or low area adjoining a river, stream, or watercourse which is subject to partial or complete inundation of water.
An area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface water from any source. For the purpose of this chapter, the floodplain shall be considered to be the one-hundred-year floodplain which is a floodplain subject to the above conditions on an average of once every 100 years.
FLOODWAYThat portion of the one-hundred-year floodplain including the channel of a river, or other watercourse, and the adjacent land areas which are required to carry and discharge the one-hundred-year flood where the activities permitted elsewhere in the floodplain district will not cumulatively increase the water surface elevation more than one foot at any given point. A detailed study of the regulatory flood provides specific flood profiles and allows for the delineation of both floodway and flood-fringe areas within the bounds of the floodplain.
FREEBOARDThe incremental depth in a stormwater management structure, provided as a safety factor of design, above that required to convey the design runoff event.
GEOLOGISTA professional geologist licensed as such in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACEAny nonvegetated ground cover except lakes and ponds, including but not limited to building roof areas, parking lots or storage areas, whether paved or stoned, and walkways or patios.
IMPROVEMENTSPhysical additions and changes to the land necessary to produce usable and desirable lots.
INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE SYSTEMA system of piping, tanks or other facilities, serving a single lot, that collects and disposes of sewage, in whole or in part, into the soil or into any waters of this commonwealth or by means of conveyance to another site for final disposal.
INDUSTRIAL WASTEAny liquid, gaseous, radioactive, solid or other substance which is not sewage, resulting from any manufacturing or industry or other plant or works, and mine drainage, silt, coal mine solids, rock debris, dirt and clay from collieries, breakers or other coal processing operations. Industrial waste shall include all such substances, whether or not generally characterized as waste. All industrial waste, as defined from time to time by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, shall also be included as industrial waste for the purposes of this chapter.
INFILTRATION PRACTICEA practice designed to direct runoff into the ground, i.e., French drain, seepage pit, seepage trench, or bio-retention area.
[Added 2-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-02]
A type of topography or landscape characterized by depressions, sinkholes, limestone towers and steep-sided hills, underground drainage and caves. Karst is usually formed on carbonate rocks, such as limestone or dolomites and sometimes gypsum.
[Added 2-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-02]
[Amended 2-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-02]
A. Any of the following activities:
(1) The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
(a) A group of two or more residential or nonresidential buildings, whether proposed initially or cumulatively, or a single nonresidential building on a lot or lots, regardless of the number of occupants or tenure; or
The division or allocation of land or space, whether initially or cumulatively, between or among two or more existing or prospective occupants by means of or for the purpose of streets, common areas, leaseholds, condominiums, building groups or other features.
The following activities are excluded from the definition of land development unless the proposal involves the construction described in Subsection A(2) above:
(1) The conversion of an existing single-family detached dwelling or single-family semidetached dwelling into not more than three residential units, unless such units are intended to be a condominium; and
The addition of an accessory building on a lot subordinate to an existing farm or residential principal building.
LANDOWNERThe legal or beneficial owner or owners of land, including the holder of an option or contract to purchase; 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. The word "owner" means the same as landowner and may be used interchangeably.
LOTA designated parcel, tract or area of land not divided by a public street, established by a plat or otherwise as permitted by law and to be used, developed or built upon as a unit.
LOT AREAThe area contained within the lot lines, excluding space within all existing or future road rights-of-way.
LOT LINEThe property lines bounding the lot. Refer to Chapter
180, Zoning, for specific definitions of front, side, and rear lot lines and lot width.
Any stream segment or other conveyance in a Dual Release Rate or Condition No Detention I subarea used as a reach in the Catasauqua Creek study area hydrologic model. In Conditional No Detention II subareas, the main channel is the Lehigh River.
MINOR LAND DEVELOPMENTAny land development occurring outside floodplain or wetland areas, affecting or disturbing 10,000 square feet of ground or less, even if such development is on a larger lot.
MINOR SUBDIVISIONA. Minor subdivision. Any subdivision which meets all of the following requirements:
(1) All lots abut existing state or township dedicated streets (other than Interstate 78).
No prior subdivision plan has been approved or submitted for the land in question within a five-year period.
No new streets or other improvements are required for the property involved to be in conformance with the Township ordinances and standards.
The resulting subdivision does not involve more than three lots.
The developer does not have an option to purchase or have title to or an interest in adjacent undeveloped land.
Minor subdivision. The relocation of lot lines between two adjacent properties meeting all of the following requirements:
(1) Does not result in any new lots.
Does not create any lot that does not conform to the requirements of Chapter
180, Zoning, or that does not increase any lot's nonconformity to the provisions of Chapter
180, Zoning.
MOBILE HOMEA transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent occupancy, in one unit or in two or more units designed to be joined into one integral unit capable of again being separated for repeated towing, which arrives at a site complete and ready for occupancy except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations, and constructed so that it may be used without a permanent foundation.
MOBILE HOME LOTA parcel of land in a mobile home park, improved with the necessary utility connections and other appurtenances necessary for the erection thereon of a single mobile home.
MOBILE HOME PARKA parcel or contiguous parcels of land which has been so designated and improved that it contains two or more mobile home lots for the placement thereon of mobile homes.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERA professional engineer licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and duly appointed as the Engineer for the Lower Saucon Township Council and Planning Commission. For the purposes of this chapter, "Municipal Engineer" and "Township Engineer" can be used interchangeably.
MUNICIPALITYLower Saucon Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
NONRESIDENTIALCommercial, industrial, offices, motels, hotels, restaurants, campgrounds, travel-trailer parks, institutional, including hospitals and nursing homes or any other land use not defined as "residential."
OFFICIAL MAPA map adopted by ordinance pursuant to Article
IV of the Municipalities Planning Code, Act 170, as amended (53 P.S. §
10401 et seq.).
A comprehensive plan for the provision of adequate sewage systems adopted by a municipality or municipalities possessing authority or jurisdiction over the provision of such systems and submitted to and approved by the State Department of Environmental Protection.
OFF-SITE IMPROVEMENTSThose public capital improvements which are not on-site improvements and that serve the needs of more than one development.
ON-SITE IMPROVEMENTSAll improvements constructed on the applicant's property or the improvements constructed on the property abutting the applicant's property and required to be constructed by the applicant pursuant to any municipal ordinance, including but not limited to the municipal building code, this chapter, planned residential development regulations and Chapter
180, Zoning.
Any parcel or area of land or water essentially unimproved and set aside, dedicated, designated or reserved for public or private use or enjoyment or for the use and enjoyment of owners and occupants of land adjoining or neighboring the open space.
PEAK DISCHARGEThe maximum rate of flow of storm runoff at a given point and time, resulting from a specified storm event.
PERSONAny individual, association, public or private corporation for profit or not-for-profit, partnership, firm, trust, estate, department, board, bureau or agency of the commonwealth, political subdivision, municipality, district, authority or any other legal entity whatsoever, recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties. Whenever used in any clause prescribing and imposing a penalty or imposing a fine or imprisonment, the term "person" shall include the members of an association, partnership or firm and the officers of any local agency or municipal, public or private corporation for profit or not for profit.
PERVIOUSA quality of material that permits full absorption of stormwater into unimproved land.
PLAN, FINALA complete and exact subdivision or land development plan prepared for recording as required by statute to define property rights, proposed streets and other improvements; a final plat.
PLAN, PRELIMINARYA subdivision or land development plan showing a proposed street and lot design and/or land development, including other information required by this chapter as a basis for consideration prior to preparation of a final plan.
PLAN, SKETCHAn initial informal submission preceding a preliminary plan that indicates existing features and proposed improvements of a tract, as well as the surrounding area, and that describes the site potential for subdivision or land development in a general way.
PLATThe map or plan of a subdivision or land development, whether preliminary or final.
PUBLIC GROUNDSIncludes:
A. Parks, playgrounds, trails, paths and other recreational and public areas;
Sites for schools, sewage treatment, refuse disposal and other publicly owned or operated facilities;
Publicly owned or operated scenic and historic sites.
PUBLIC HEARINGA formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Township Council or Planning Commission, intended to obtain public comment prior to taking action in accordance with the Municipalities Planning Code.
PUBLIC NOTICEA notice published once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. Such notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing. The first publication shall be not more than 30 days and the second publication shall not be less than seven days from the date of the hearing.
QUALIFIED GEOTECHNICAL PROFESSIONALA licensed professional geologist or a licensed professional engineer who has a background or expertise in geology or hydrogeology.
[Added 2-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-02]
Any of the natural or man-made runoff conveyance channels used for modeling purposes to connect the subareas and transport flows downstream.
REGULATORY FLOOD ELEVATIONThe one-hundred-year-flood elevation, based upon the information contained in the Official Flood Insurance Study of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development or other acceptable sources of floodplain information or as identified by the developer's engineer and approved by the Township.
RESIDENTIALSingle-family, multifamily, mobile home park, apartment, dormitory or similar use.
RESUBDIVISIONAny replatting or resubdivision of land, limited to changes in lot lines on approved final plans or recorded plans as specified in this chapter. Other replatting shall be considered as constituting new subdivision of land.
RETURN PERIODThe average interval, in years, over which an event of a given magnitude can be expected to recur. For example, the twenty-five-year return period rainfall or runoff event would be expected to recur, on the average, once every 25 years.
REVIEWThe official examination of plans of subdivisions and land developments as required by law by appropriate agencies, commissions and bodies and authenticated by the signature of an authorized representative.
RIGHT-OF-WAYThe total width of any land reserved or dedicated for use as a street or for any other public purpose.
RUNOFFThat part of precipitation which flows over the land.
SANITARY SEWAGE DISPOSAL, CENTRALIZEDA sanitary sewage collection system in which sewage is carried from individual lots by a system of pipes to a central treatment and disposal plant, generally serving a large single land development subdivision or neighborhood and generally operated by a governmental agency, governmental authority, public utility company, developer, homeowners' association or other similar legal entity.
SANITARY SEWAGE DISPOSAL, ON-LOTA method of sewage treatment designed to treat sanitary sewage and dispose of the treated sewage within the boundaries of an individual lot.
SANITARY SEWAGE DISPOSAL, PUBLICA sanitary sewage collection system in which sewage is carried from individual lots by a system of pipes to a central treatment and disposal plant, generally serving a major portion of a municipality or municipalities and operated by the Township or a local government authority, or public utility company.
SEEPAGE PIT or SEEPAGE TRENCHAn area of excavated earth filled with loose stone or similar material and into which surface water is directed for infiltration into the ground.
SEMIPERVIOUSA quality of a material that permits partial absorption of stormwater into the land.
SEWAGEAny substance that contains any of the waste products or excrement or other discharge from the bodies of human beings or animals and any noxious or deleterious substances being harmful or inimical to the public health or to animal or aquatic life or to the use of water for domestic water supply or for recreation or which constitutes pollution under the Act of June 22, 1937 (P.L. 1987, No. 394), known as the "Clean Streams Law," as amended (35 P.S. §
691.1 et seq.).
A person certified as a Sewage Enforcement Officer who is the Official appointed by the municipality who reviews and issues certain sewage disposal permits and conducts such inspections and investigations as are necessary to implement the provisions of the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (35 P.S. §
750.1 et seq.).
A method of runoff computation developed by the Soil Conservation Service, which is based upon relating soil type and land use or cover to a runoff parameter called a "curve number."
SOIL SCIENTISTA person certified as an SEO and who has documented two years experience in characterization, classification, mapping and interpretation of soils as they relate to the function of on-lot sewage disposal systems and either has a Bachelors Degree in Soil Science from an accredited college or university or is certified as a Professional Soil Scientist by the Pennsylvania Association of Professional Soil Scientists (PAPSS) or the American Registry of Certified Professionals in Agronomy, Crops and Soils (ARCPACS).
SPECIAL GEOLOGIC FEATURESCarbonate bedrock features, including but not limited to closed depressions, existing sinkholes, fracture traces, lineaments, joints, faults, caves and pinnacles, which may exist and must be identified on a site when stormwater management BMPs infiltration or detention of stormwater is being considered.
[Added 2-7-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-02]
A reservoir routing procedure based on solution of the continuity equation (inflow minus outflow equals the change in storage for a given time interval) and based on outflow being a unique function of storage volume.
STORM DRAINAGE PROBLEM AREASAreas which lack adequate stormwater collection and/or conveyance facilities and which present a hazard to persons or property. These areas are either documented in Appendix C of this chapter or identified by the Township or Township Engineer.
STORM DRAINAGE SYSTEMAll facilities and features such as pipes, catch basins, inlets, culverts, open channels, ditches, swales, stormwater detention facilities, etc., used to transmit or temporarily store surface-water runoff.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PLANThe plan for managing stormwater runoff adopted by Northampton County pursuant to the Act of October 4, 1978, P.L. 864, No. 167, known as the "Stormwater Management Act," as amended (32 P.S. §
680.1 et seq.).
This term includes street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway, parkway, lane, alley, viaduct and any other ways used or intended to be used by vehicular traffic or pedestrians, whether public or private.
STREET, ARTERIALA street serving a large volume of comparatively high-speed and long-distance traffic, including all facilities classified as main and secondary highways by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
STREET, COLLECTORA street which, in addition to providing access to abutting properties, intercepts local streets to provide a route giving access to community facilities and/or other collector and arterial streets (streets in industrial and commercial subdivisions shall be considered collector streets).
STREET, LOCALA street used primarily to provide access to abutting residential properties.
STREET, MARGINAL ACCESSA local street, parallel and adjacent to arterial or collector streets (but separated from it by a strip of land), which provides access to abutting properties and control of intersections with the major street.
STREET, PARTIAL (HALF)A street, generally parallel and adjacent to a property line, having a lesser right-of-way width than normally required for improvement and use of the street.
STREET, PRIVATEA strip of privately owned land providing access to abutting properties and not offered for dedication.
STRUCTUREAny man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land. The term "structure" shall include building, parking lots or parking space, signs, fences, walls, towers, swimming pools, tennis courts, porches, garages and similar structures. "Structure" shall be interpreted as including the words "or part thereof."
SUBAREAThe smallest unit of watershed breakdown for hydrologic modeling purposes for which the runoff control criteria have been established in the Stormwater Management Plan.
SUBDIVISIONThe division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions of land, including changes in existing lot lines for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, partition by the court for distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership or building or lot development; provided, however, that the subdivision by lease of land for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres not involving any new street or easement of access or any residential dwellings shall be exempted.
SURVEYORA licensed surveyor registered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
SWALEA low-lying stretch of natural or man-made land which gathers or carries surface-water runoff.
TOWNSHIPThe Township of Lower Saucon in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, as governed and represented by the Council of Lower Saucon Township.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITYA system of buildings, equipment, pumps, tanks, pipes, basins, chemical feeders, power supplies, backup power supplies and related improvements, such as landscaping, driveways, fences, etc., necessary to treat sewage wastewater and dispose of treated water into the ground or a stream and needed to treat and dispose of resultant sludge.
A. PUBLIC FACILITYA facility owned and maintained by a municipality or a municipal authority.
COMMON FACILITYA facility used by more than one person and owned and maintained by all users of the system, by way of a homeowners association or other similar legal entity.
WATERCOURSEA. A natural or man-made stream, river, brook, creek, channel, swale or ditch for stormwater or other surface water.
Any channel for conveyance of surface water having defined bed and banks, whether natural or artificial, with perennial or intermittent flow.
WATERS OF THIS COMMONWEALTHAll rivers, streams, creeks, rivulets, impoundments, ditches, watercourses, storm sewers, lakes, ponds, springs and all other bodies or channels of conveyance of surface and underground water or any of their parts, whether natural or artificial, within or on the boundaries of this commonwealth.
WATER SUPPLY, CENTRALIZEDA system for supplying and distributing water from a common source to two or more dwellings and/or other buildings, generally serving a single land development, subdivision or neighborhood and generally operated by a governmental agency, governmental authority, public utility company, developer, homeowners' association or other similar legal entity.
WATER SUPPLY, ON-LOTA system for supplying and distributing water to a single dwelling or other building from a source located on the same lot.
WATER SUPPLY, PUBLICA system for supplying and distributing water from a common source to dwellings and other buildings, generally serving a major portion of a municipality or municipalities and operated by a governmental agency, governmental authority or public utility company.
ZONING OFFICERThe duly authorized and designated official of the Township responsible for administering and enforcing Chapter
180, Zoning, of the Township.