As used in this chapter, words expressed in
the singular include their plural meanings and words expressed in
the plural include their singular meanings. The word "person" includes
a corporation, unincorporated association, and a partnership or other
legal entity as well as an individual. The words "building" and "street"
are used generally and shall be construed as if followed by the phrase
"or part thereof." The word "building" includes structure. The word
"shall" and "will" are mandatory.
The following words and phrases, as used in
this chapter, shall have the meaning hereby ascribed thereto, unless
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
A minor right-of-way, publicly or privately owned, primarily
for service access to the back or side of properties and not intended
for general traffic circulation.
A land owner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has
filled an application for the subdivision or development including,
but not limited to, an application for a building permit for the approval
of a development plan.
An area bounded by streets.
A combination of materials to form a permanent structure
having walls and a roof. Included shall be all mobile homes and trailers
used for human habitation.
[Added 12-22-1982 by Ord. No. 1543]
A line parallel to the front, side or rear lot line set so
as to provide the required yard.
The line within a property defining the required minimum
distance between any enclosed structure and the adjacent right-of-way,
and the line defining side and rear yards, where required.
That portion of a street or alley which is improved, designated,
or intended for vehicular use.
The Chairman of the Ridley Township Planning Commission.
An area of unobstructed vision at street intersections. It
is defined by lines of sight between points at a given distance from
the intersection of the street center lines.
The Ridley Township Planning Commission.
Means and includes:
The land on which the building is located and
portions of the building which are not included in a unit.
The foundation, structural parts, supports,
main walks, roofs, basements, halls, corridors, lobbies, stairways,
and entrances and exits of the building.
The yards, parking area and driveways.
Portions of the land and building used exclusively
for the management, operation or maintenance of the common elements.
Installations of all central services and utilities.
All other elements of the building necessary
or convenient to its existence, management, operation or maintenance
and safety, or normally in common use.
Such other facilities as are designated as common
elements.
A parcel or parcels of land or an area of water, or a combination
of land and water, within a development site and designated and intended
for the use or enjoyment of residents of the development, not including
facilities. Common open space shall be substantially free of structures,
but may contain such improvements as are in the development plan as
finally approved and as are appropriate for the recreation of residents.
Ownership in common with others of a parcel of land and certain
parts of a building thereon which would normally be used by all the
occupants, together with individual ownership in fee of a particular
unit or apartment in such building or on such parcel of land and may
include dwellings, offices and other types of space in commercial
buildings or on property.
Ownership in common with others of a parcel of land and of
a building or buildings thereon which would normally be used by all
the occupants, together with individual rights of occupancy of a particular
unit or apartment in such building or buildings or on such parcel
of land, and may include dwellings, offices and other types of space
in commercial buildings of a unit is subject to the agreement of the
group of persons having common ownership.[1]
A right-of-way, publicly or privately owned, intended to
furnish access of pedestrians.
An excavation; the difference between a point on the original
ground and designated point of lower elevation on the final grade;
also, the material removed in excavation.
Any landowner, agent or tenant with permission of such landowner
who makes or causes to be made a subdivision of land or land development.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining,
dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations
or storage of equipment or materials and the subdivision of land.
[Amended 12-22-1982 by Ord. No. 1543; 11-20-1993 by Ord. No.
1714]
The provisions for the development of a tract of land, including
a subdivision plat, all covenants relating to use, location and bulk
of buildings and other structures, intensity of use or density of
development, street ways and parking facilities, common open space
and public facilities. The phrase "provisions of the development plan"
when used in this chapter shall mean written and graphic materials
referred to in this definition.
The flow of water or liquid waste and the method of directing
such flow, whether natural or artificial.
Any ditch, gutter, culvert, storm sewer, or other structure
designed, intended, or constructed for the purpose of diverting surface
waters from or carrying surface water off streets, public rights-of-way,
parks, recreational areas, or any part of any subdivision or contiguous
land areas.
A minor vehicular right-of-way providing access between a
street and a parking area or garage within a lot or property.
A building designed for residential purposes and used as
living quarters for one or more persons.
One or more rooms used for living and sleeping purposes and
having a kitchen with fixed cooking facilities arranged for occupancy
by one family or a single person.
A land area for which the owner grants legal right to others
to use, generally for specific, limited purposes.
A registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania designated
by the governing body to perform the duties of engineer as herein
specified.
The engineering specifications of Ridley Township regulating
the installation of any required improvement or for any facility installed
by any owner, subject to public use.
The removal of surface materials by the action of water or
wind.
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar
material is dug into, cut, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced,
relocated or bulldozed. It shall include the conditions resulting
therefrom.
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other material
is placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported or moved to a new location
above the natural surface of the ground or on top of the stripped
surface. It shall include the conditions resulting therefrom; the
difference in elevation between a point on the original ground and
a designated point of higher elevation of the final grade; the material
used to make fill.
Those floodplain areas specifically designated in Chapter 325, Zoning, as being inundated by the one-hundred-year flood. Included would be areas identified as the Floodway District (FW), Flood Fringe District (FF), and the General Floodplain District (FA).
[Amended 12-22-1982 by Ord. No. 1543]
Includes:
The Township Commissioners of Ridley Township, Delaware County,
Pennsylvania.
A street, generally parallel with and adjacent to a property
line, having a lesser right-of-way width than required for improvement
and used as a street in accordance with this chapter.
Those floodplain areas specifically designated in Chapter 325, Zoning, as being inundated by the one-hundred-year flood. Included would be areas identified as the Floodway District (FW) Flood Fringe District (FF) and the General Floodplain District (FA).
[Added 12-22-1982 by Ord. No. 1543]
Any street for which the Township or commonwealth has maintenance
responsibility and which is paved with an approved hardtop surface.
Those physical additions, installations, and changes required
to render land suitable for the use intended including grading, paving,
curbing, streetlights, signs, fire hydrants, water mains, electric
service, gas service, sanitary sewers, storm drains, sidewalks, crosswalks,
driveways, culverts and street shade trees.
A right-of-way for pedestrian use extending from a street
into a block or across a block to another street.
Includes:
The improvement of one or more contiguous lots,
tracts or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
A division of land into lots for the purpose
of conveying such lots singly or in groups to any person, partnership
or corporation for the purpose of the erection of buildings by such
person, partnership or corporation.
Any new, additional or expanded nonresidential
building, structure or land use.
A subdivision of land, residential or nonresidential.
The legal or beneficial owner or owners of land including
the holder of an option or contract to purchase (whether or not such
option or contract is subject to any conditions), a lessee having
a remaining term of not less than 40 years, or other person having
a proprietary interest in the land, shall be deemed to be a landowner
for the purpose of this chapter.
A plot or parcel of land which is, or in the future may be,
offered for sale, conveyance, transfer, or improvement.
The area contained within the property lines of a lot as
shown on a subdivision plan excluding space within any street, but
including the area of any easement.
A lot extending between, and having frontage on, an arterial
street and minor street, and with vehicular access solely from the
latter.
A lot with front and rear street frontage.
Ridley Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, its governing
body, agencies and agents thereof.
The business office of Ridley Township operated during regular
business hours and otherwise as needed by the Township or its agents,
representatives and staff.
A flood that, on the average, is likely to occur once every
100 years (i.e., that has a one-percent chance of occurring each year,
although the flood may occur in any year).
[Added 12-22-1982 by Ord. No. 1543]
Any person having any title or interest whatsoever in any
land subdivision as the word "subdivision" is hereinafter defined
in this article and section.
Any individual or group of individuals, partnership or corporation.
A plan prepared by a registered engineer or surveyor showing
the construction details of street, drains, sewers, bridges, culverts
and other improvements as required by this chapter.
An area of land controlled by a landowner, to be developed as a single entity for a number of dwelling units, the development plan for which does not correspond in size, bulk or type of dwelling, density, lot coverage and required open space to the regulations established in any one residential district created from time to time under the provisions of Chapter 325, Zoning.
The Comprehensive Plan and/or Development Policy Plan (Master
Plan) and/or Future Land Use Plan and/or Ultimate Right-of-Way Plan
and/or Official Map or other such plans, or portions thereof, as may
be adopted, pursuant to statute, for the area of the municipality
in which the subdivision or land development is located.
An informal plan, not necessarily to exact scale, indicating
salient existing features of a tract and its surroundings and the
general layout of a proposed subdivision.
The map or plan of a land development or subdivision, whether
preliminary or final, including 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.
PRELIMINARY PLATAn initial plan consisting of either of the following:
PRELIMINARY PLAT (REGULAR)An initial plat providing an approximate layout of the proposed development, having less exact detail than a final plat, presented as a basis for review and comment by the Commission and approval by the Board of Commissioners prior to the completion of a final plat; or
DEVELOPMENT MASTER PLATAn initial plan submitted at the preliminary stage, when the developer intends to submit final plats for successive portions of the total development providing the information required for a regular preliminary plat and such additional detailing as necessary to assure that the implementation of the plan will not impose undue problems or degrade conditions in and surrounding the development.
FINAL PLATA complete and exact plan, as required herein, with accompanying data and guaranties or required, duly attested and proposed for public recording by the owner of record or authorized leaseholder of the land.[2]
A legally established right-of-way, other than a street,
which provides the primary pedestrian and vehicular access to one
or more lots.
The profile of the center line of the finished surface of
the street, which shall be midway between the side lines of the street.
Owned, operated or controlled by a government agency, whether
federal, state or local, and including any corporation created by
law for the performance of certain specialized governmental functions,
and any public school district.
Include:
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 not be more than 30 days and the second publication shall not
be less than seven days from the date of the hearing.
The one-hundred-year-flood elevation plus a freeboard safety
factor of 1 1/2 feet.
[Added 12-22-1982 by Ord. No. 1543]
A narrow parcel of ground separating a street from other
adjacent properties.
Any individual maintaining a voting address in the municipality,
within 1,000 feet of the proposed subdivision, owning real estate
in his own or joint names. A tenancy in common or any other means
of joint ownership shall be considered as an individual; however,
the signature of any single joint owner shall be considered as binding
the others.
Any subdivision or transfer of land, laid out on a plan which
has been approved by the Township Commissioners, which changes or
proposes to change property lines and/or public right-of-way not in
strict accordance with approved plan.
A public thoroughfare for vehicular traffic and/or pedestrian
traffic, whether designated as a street, highway, thoroughfare, parkway,
road, avenue, boulevard, lane, alley or however designated.
The surface water discharge or rate of discharge of a given
watershed after a fall of rain or snow that does not enter the soil
but runs off the surface of the land.
The residue which results from erosion, which residue is
deposited or remains suspended in water.
The process by which mineral organic matter is accumulated
or deposited by moving wind, water, or gravity.
A covered pit with open pointed lining through which the
septic tank effluent may seep or leach into the surrounding soil.
A watertight tank in which raw sewage is broken down into
solid, liquid, and gaseous phases to facilitate further treatment
and final disposal.
Any structure designed to eliminate sanitary sewage within
the boundaries of the lot.
A sanitary sewage collection method in which sewage is carried
from the site by a system of pipes to a central treatment and disposal
plant.
The portion of a roadway (cartway) between the curb or gutter
and the travelway, intended for emergency and parking use.
The length of roadway visible to the driver of a passenger
vehicle at any given point of the roadway when the view is unobstructed
by traffic.
The face of an embankment or cut section; any ground whose
surface makes an angle with the plane of the horizon. Slopes are usually
expressed in a percentage based upon vertical difference in feet per
100 feet of horizontal distance.
A field test conducted to determine the absorption capacity
of soil at a specified depth in a given location for the purpose of
determining suitability of soil for on-site sewage disposal.
Chemical or structural treatment designed to increase or
maintain the stability of a mass of soil or otherwise to improve its
engineering properties.
A public right-of-way which affords primary vehicular pedestrian
access to abutting properties, including a street, highway, thoroughfare,
parkway, road, avenue, boulevard, lane, alley or however designated.
Streets in Ridley Township shall be classified according to the following
descriptions:
EXPRESSWAYA street or highway which carries a large volume of traffic at comparatively high speed, having limited access points only at certain public roads or streets, and not from adjoining properties.
ARTERIAL STREETA major street or highway with fast or heavy traffic volumes of considerable continuity and used primarily as a traffic artery for intercommunication among large areas.
COLLECTOR STREETA major street or highway which carries traffic from minor streets to arterial streets including the principal entrance streets of a residential development and streets for circulation within such a development.
MINOR STREETA street used primarily for access to abutting properties.
CUL-DE-SACA street intersecting another street at one end terminating at the other in a vehicular turnaround.
MARGINAL ACCESS STREETA minor street which is parallel and adjacent to limited access highways or arterial streets and which provides access to abutting properties and protection from through traffic.
SERVICE STREET (ALLEY)A right-of-way providing secondary access to one or more lots, intended primarily for vehicular access on the side or rear of nonresidential facilities.
The shortest distance between the lines delineating the right-of-way
of a street.
Anything constructed or erected on the ground or attached
to the ground, including but not limited to buildings, factories,
sheds, cabins, mobile homes and other similar items.
[Added 12-22-1982 by Ord. No. 1543]
The owner or authorized agent of the owner of a lot, tract,
or parcel of land to be subdivided for sale or development under the
terms of this chapter.
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or
parcel of land by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels
or other divisions of land including changes in existing lot lines
for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, transfer of
ownership or building or lot development. The term subdivision includes:
Subdivision. A division of any part, parcel
or area of land by the owner or agent, either by lots or metes and
bounds, into lots or parcels, two or more in number, for the purpose
of conveyance, transfer, improvement, or sale, with appurtenant roads,
streets, lanes, alleys and ways, dedicated or intended to be dedicated
to public use, or the use of purchasers or owners of lots fronting
thereon.
A division of a parcel of land having frontage
on an existing street into two or more lots each having frontage on
the existing street.
A division of a parcel of land into two or more
lots when such subdivision created any new road, roads, street, lane,
alley, alleys, way, ways, easement, easements of access or the need
therefor.
Any development of a parcel of land (for example,
as a shopping center, industrial park, or multiple-dwelling project),
which involves installation of streets, driveways and/or alleys, even
though the streets and alleys may not be dedicated to public use and
the parcel may not be divided immediately for the purpose of conveyance,
transfer or sale.
Resubdivision and, as appropriate in these regulations,
shall refer to the process of subdividing land or to the land subdivided.
A land development as herein defined.
For the purpose of these regulations, division
of land for agricultural purpose into parcels of more than 10 acres,
not involving any new street or easement, shall not be deemed a subdivision.
A plan showing all present and proposed grades and facilities
for stormwater drainage.
A licensed surveyor registered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
A low-lying stretch of land characterized as a depression
used to carry surface water runoff.
A system of open jointed or perforated pipes laid in the
upper strata of the soil for absorption.
Surface soils and subsurface soils which presumably are fertile
soils and soil material ordinarily rich in organic matter of humous
debris. Topsoil is usually found in the uppermost soil layer called
the A Horizon.
The Township of Ridley, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, the
Township Commissioners, its agent or authorized representatives.
The portion of a roadway (cartway) intended for through-travel
use, which may have a heavier base construction and/or additional
top paving, as compared to the roadway shoulder.
Any lot, tract or parcel of land which has not been graded
or in any other manner prepared for the construction of a building.
A part of the property, structure or building designed or
intended for any type of independent use, which has direct exit to
a public street or way or to an easement or right-of-way leading to
a public street or way, and includes a proportionate undivided interest
in the common elements, which is assigned to the property, structure
or building.
A stream of water, river, brook, creek or channel or ditch
for water, whether natural or man-made.
Any water works, water supply works, water distribution system
or part thereof designed, intended or constructed to provide or distribute
potable water.
