This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "East Norriton Township Zoning Ordinance."
The purpose of the East Norriton Township Zoning Ordinance is to:
A. 
Promote, protect and facilitate any or all of the following: the public health, safety, morals and the general welfare; coordinated and practical community development and proper density of population; emergency management preparedness and operations, airports and national defense facilities, the provisions of adequate light and air, access to incident solar energy, police protection, vehicle parking and loading space, transportation, water, sewage, schools, recreational facilities, public grounds, the provision of a safe, reliable and adequate water supply for domestic, commercial, agricultural or industrial use and other public requirements; as well as preservation of the natural, scenic and historic values in the environment and preservation of forests, wetlands, aquifers and floodplains.
B. 
Prevent one or more of the following: overcrowding of land, blight, danger and congestion in travel and transportation, loss of health, life or property from fire, flood, panic or other dangers.
C. 
Preserve prime agriculture and farm land considering topography, soil type and classification, and present use.
D. 
Provide for the use of land within the Township for residential housing of various dwelling types encompassing all basic forms of housing.
E. 
Accommodate reasonable overall community growth, including population and employment growth, and opportunities for development of a variety of residential dwelling types and nonresidential uses.
In interpreting and applying the provisions of this chapter, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the health, safety, morals and the general welfare of the Township. The community development objectives which shall be encompassed in the East Norriton Township Comprehensive Plan shall be stated therein and have been formulated to implement the purposes set forth in § 205-2 hereinabove, with a view toward the following objectives:
A. 
Guiding and encouraging the future development of the Township in accordance with comprehensive planning of land use and population density that represents the most beneficial and convenient relationships among the residential, commercial, industrial and recreational areas within the Township, having regard to their suitability for the various uses appropriate to each of them and their potentiality for such uses, as indicated by topography and soil conditions, existing man-made conditions and the trends in population, in the direction and manner of the use of land in building development and in economic activity, considering such conditions and trends both within the Township and with respect to the relation of the Township to surrounding areas.
B. 
Protecting the character and social and economic stability of each of such areas and encouraging their orderly and beneficial growth.
C. 
Protecting and conserving the value of land and buildings throughout the Township appropriate to the various zoning districts established herein.
D. 
Bringing about, through proper timing, the gradual conformity of land use to the Comprehensive Plan aforesaid, and minimizing conflicts among the uses of land and buildings.
E. 
Aiding in bringing about the most beneficial relation between land use and the circulation of traffic throughout the Township, having particular regard to and from the expressways and to avoidance of congestion in the streets and the provisions of safe and convenient access appropriate to the various land uses.
F. 
Aiding in providing a guide for public safety and action in the efficient provision of public facilities and services, in the provision of safe and proper sanitary sewage disposal and for private enterprise in building, development, investment and other economic activity relating to land use, insofar as such objectives are consistent with the purposes set forth in § 205-2 and with aforesaid minimum requirements therefor. The provisions of this chapter shall be interpreted, administered and applied in such a manner as will facilitate attainment of said objectives.