Unless expressly stated otherwise, the words
and phrases within quotation marks in this section will be construed
throughout this chapter as having the meanings indicated herein. The
singular will always include the plural and the plural the singular.
Any sentence in the past or present tense will be construed to apply
also in the future tense. The words "person," "applicant," "subdivider"
and "owner" will include any corporation, unincorporated association,
partnership or other legal entity as well as any individual. The word
"building" will include the word "structure." The word "watercourse"
will include channel, creek, ditch, dry run, spring, stream and river.
The words "shall" and "will" are always mandatory.
[Amended 4-16-1990 by Ord. No. 90-02; 9-16-1991 by Ord. No. 91-08; 3-1-1993 by Ord. No. 93-03; 6-5-1995 by Ord. No. 95-01; 7-17-2000 by Ord. No.
00-12; 4-7-2014 by Ord. No. 14-01]
In this chapter, except where context clearly indicates otherwise,
the following words and phrases have the meanings indicated:
Results of land disturbance activities which contribute to
degradation of environmental conditions or amenities, including any
one or more of the following:
Degradation of surface water or groundwater purity by sedimentation
or other biological or chemical pollution.
Degradation of ambient air quality.
Degradation of wildlife habitat.
Degradation of woodland areas.
Degradation of stream valley floodplains and/or wetland areas.
Degradation of visual resources.
A paved cartway within a right-of-way providing secondary
vehicular access to the side or rear of a commercial lot or lots.
A landowner or developer as hereinafter defined who has filed
an application for subdivision or land development, including his
heirs, successors and assigns.
Every application, whether preliminary or final, which is
required to be filed and approved prior to 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.
Stormwater quantity and quality management measures, techniques,
controls, etc., utilized to mitigate and minimize the negative impacts
of stormwater runoff to streams, lakes, wetlands, forests, residential,
business, commercial, or institutional properties, as well as new
land development sites. BMPs can be nonstructural (preventative actions)
and structural (treatment facilities). As used in the context of erosion
and sedimentation control, BMPs are used to minimize accelerated erosion
and sedimentation to protect, maintain, reclaim and restore the quality
of waters within the commonwealth.
An area bounded by streets.
Unless specifically designated to the contrary, the Birmingham
Township Board of Supervisors.
A strip of land, which may include a mound or berm, along the perimeter of a tract to be planted and maintained in accordance with the requirements set forth in Chapter 122, Zoning.
A combination of materials to form a permanent structure
having walls and a roof; included shall be all manufactured homes,
also known as "mobile homes," to be used for human habitation.
Lines to be shown on subdivision and land development plans defining the limits of building placement. The front building setback line shall be drawn in accordance with the definition of "building line" in Chapter 122, Zoning, and the side and rear setback lines shall conform with applicable yard requirements as set forth in Chapter 122, Zoning.
The paved surface of a street or alley available for vehicular
traffic.
An area of unobstructed vision at a street intersection defined
by lines of sight between points at a given distance from the intersection
of the street center line.
Unless specifically designated to the contrary, the Birmingham
Township Planning Commission.
A parcel or parcels of land, an area of water or a combination
of land and water within a development site, not including streets,
off-street parking areas or areas set aside for public facilities
or private yards, designed and intended to be restricted against development
and to be for the use and/or enjoyment of the development's residents.
Unless otherwise approved, common open space will be owned and maintained
by either a homeowners' association, pursuant to the Uniform Planned
Community Act,[1] or a condominium association, pursuant to the Uniform
Condominium Act.[2]
A form of ownership of real property, including an undivided
interest in the common elements of a parcel, together with a separate
ownership interest in a defined space, subject to the provisions of
the Uniform Condominium Act (68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq.).
The management of natural features to prevent their destruction or degradation. Minimum conservation standards are specified at § 103-41 below.
A street with access at one end and terminated at the other
by a paved vehicular turnaround.
The diameter of a tree at breast height, measured 4.5 feet
from the ground surface.
The instrument by which the owner of property submits the
subdivision or development site to the provisions of the Uniform Condominium
Act (68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq.) or the Uniform Planned
Community Act (68 Pa.C.S.A. § 5101 et seq.), and all amendments
thereto, for the purpose of effecting common ownership, and/or a master
deed for imposing common rights and responsibilities, including easements
on multiple lots or units within a subdivision.
Surveys of the property to be submitted to the provisions
of the Uniform Condominium Act (68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq.)
or the Uniform Planned Community Act (68 Pa.C.S.A. § 5101
et seq.), which shall comply with the applicable requirements thereof
and be part of the declaration.
Any landowner, agent of such landowner, or tenant with the
permission of such landowner, who makes or causes to be made a subdivision
or land development.
A generally circular line, the circumference of which is
determined by the outer reaches of a tree's widest branching points.
A private vehicular and pedestrian access between a public street and a parking area within a lot or property, as specified in § 103-28 below.
Rights granted, but not dedicated, to use private land for
a specified purpose, within which the owner as grantor may use the
land in any other way that is not inconsistent with the grantee's
rights. Easements can be categorized as either "easements in gross"
(not directly connected to an adjacent parcel of land) or an "easement
appurtenant" (directly benefitting an adjacent parcel of land). Examples
of easements in gross include conservation easements and façade
easements, and examples of easements appurtenant include access or
driveway easements and utility easements. (A utility easement, however,
can also be an easement in gross, when the grantee is a municipality
or municipal authority.)
A licensed professional engineer registered by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
Those areas of land the disturbance of which poses a substantial risk of creating adverse environmental impacts, including areas with one or more of the following characteristics; such areas are subject to specific regulation, including § 103-41 below:
Slopes in excess of 15%.
Watercourses and their attendant floodplains.
Wetlands.
Soils with high water table characteristics.
Soils with characteristics of high erodibility, shallow depth
to bedrock or other features limiting percolation.
Springs and seeps.
Aquifer recharge areas.
Wildlife habitats.
Rock outcroppings.
Woodland areas.
Tree clusters.
Specimen trees.
The natural process by which the surface of the land is worn
away by water, wind or chemical action.
The removal of the surface of land through the combined action
of human activities and the natural processes at a rate greater than
would occur because of the natural process alone.
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar
material is dug into, cut, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced,
relocated or moved and shall include the conditions resulting therefrom.
That portion of a tract or lot maintained or landscaped with
shrubs, trees, ground cover, soil, mulch, grass, vegetable gardens
and/or flower beds, but not including i) impervious surfaces such
as buildings and pavement; and ii) certain permeable surfaces such
as pervious pavers, and stone or gravel surfaces, which may be semipermeable
to stormwater infiltration, but do not constitute green space.
That portion of a lot or parcel of land covered by materials
that do not absorb water, such as buildings, structures and paved
areas.
Grading, paving, curbing, streetlights and signs, fire hydrants,
wells, water mains, sanitary sewers, sidewalks, parking areas, crosswalks,
street signs, shade trees, monuments, landscaping, recreation areas,
storm drains and other storm runoff control structures, bridges, culverts,
erosion and sediment control measures and other items required by
this chapter.
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots,
tracts or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
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.
A subdivision of land.
Development in accordance with 53 P.S. § 10503(1.1),
being i) 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; or ii)
the addition of an accessory building, including farm buildings, on
a lot or lots subordinate to an existing principal building.
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 condition), a lessee if authorized
under the lease to exercise the rights of the landowner, or other
person having a proprietary interest in land.
A designated parcel, tract or area of land, established by
a plat or otherwise, as permitted by law and to be used, developed
or built upon as a unit.
Either the gross lot area or the net lot area, as defined below and in Chapter 122, Zoning, as the case may be.
The area of land contained within the limits of the property
lines bounding that area.
The area of land contained within the limits of the property lines bounding that area, excluding the portions thereof as may be specified in Chapter 122, Zoning.
A steel or iron pipe or pin of at least one-half-inch diameter and at least 24 inches in length, to be placed as required by § 103-38.
To reduce an environmental traffic or other potentially adverse
impact to the smallest amount possible using best management practices
technically and economically achievable. "Minimize" shall not mean
complete elimination but shall require that the most substantial efforts
possible under the circumstances have been taken to reduce the adverse
effect of the action required to be minimized. With respect to activities,
the conduct of which is adverse to the conservation of environmentally
sensitive areas, the requirement to minimize shall include but not
be limited to the requirement that the placement of dwellings and
other structures and the location of streets, sedimentation and erosion
control devices and earthmoving activities shall be planned and designed
so as to permit the adverse effect of the activity in question to
be reduced to the smallest amount technically and economically achievable
under the circumstances consistent with the otherwise permitted development.
Any action taken to lessen the specified undesirable impacts
of a proposed land use or land disturbance activity, including those
which would adversely affect the health or longevity of a natural
feature, pose a visual intrusion or conflict or otherwise be deemed
incompatible with surrounding properties.
A concrete monument with a flat top at least four inches across and at least 24 inches in length, the top of which is permanently marked by a reference point or indentation, which may include a brass or copper marker, to be placed as required by § 103-38.
A parcel or parcels of land, an area of water or a combination
of land and water, designed and intended to be restricted against
development. Where access to open space is available to all of the
residents of a development or community, it is referred to as "common
open space." Where such access is restricted and/or enforcement of
the restrictions is vested in a land trust or similar entity, the
open space constitutes green space but is not necessarily within the
scope of common open space as herein defined.
AS-BUILT PLANA corrected final plan showing dimensions and locations of all streets and other improvements as actually constructed.
CONSERVATION PLANA plan to accompany preliminary and final plan submissions detailing stream channels, tree masses and other natural features and measures to protect the same and prevent erosion and sedimentation during construction.
FINAL PLANA complete and exact land development or subdivision plan prepared by a registered engineer defining property lines, proposed streets, drainage facilities, easements and other improvements and which is to be recorded upon approval.
IMPROVEMENT CONSTRUCTION PLANA plan prepared by a registered engineer showing the construction details of streets, drains, sewers, bridges, culverts and other improvements as required by these regulations and shall include a horizontal plan, profiles and cross sections.
PRELIMINARY PLANA land development or subdivision plan prepared by a registered engineer, in lesser detail than a final plan, showing approximate property lines, proposed streets, drainage facilities, easements and other improvements for consideration prior to preparation of a final plan.
PROFILE PLANA plan prepared by a registered engineer or surveyor showing the vertical section of the existing grade and proposed grade along the center line of any proposed street and any street appurtenances to be constructed or installed, which must include a typical cross section of the street construction; part of the required submission for an improvement construction plan.
REVISED PLANA plan submitted during or after the pendency of a sketch, preliminary or final plan submission with revisions either addressing comments by the Planning Commission, the Township Engineer and/or a county agency or for other purposes.
SKETCH PLANA plan submitted for review and discussion prior to application for preliminary plan approval, not necessarily to exact scale, indicating the location of stream channels, tree masses and other natural features and a general layout of the proposed subdivision or land development.
The Birmingham Township Planning Commission.
A map or plan, preliminary or final, of a subdivision or
land development; also, the graphic exhibit required as part of a
declaration under the Uniform Condominium Act (68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101
et seq.) or the Uniform Planned Community Act (68 Pa.C.S.A. § 5101
et seq.).
A lot extending between and having frontage on two generally
parallel streets with vehicular access only from one street, generally
that of the least magnitude.
The total width of any land reserved or dedicated as a street,
alley or crosswalk or for any other public purpose; also, sometimes
used in the context of an easement for a private purpose.
Those soils in which the groundwater surface is within one
foot of the ground surface at certain times of the year, according
to the Soil Survey of Chester County, United States Department of
Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service and/or determined by on-site
investigation.
The length of roadway that must be visible to the driver
of a passenger vehicle at any point on the roadway when the view is
not obstructed by traffic. It will be measured between points 4.5
and 0.5 feet above the center line of road surface.
Any activity which causes land on a given site to be exposed
to the danger of erosion, including removal of vegetation, clearing,
grading, filling, plowing and other types of earthmoving.
A field test that measures absorptive capacity of soil, conducted
according to the requirements of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection, to aid in determining whether the soil is suitable for
on-site sewage disposal facilities.
A tree specifically worthy of conservation because of species, size, shape, form, location, age, historical importance or other significant characteristic; a specimen tree may be located in isolation, within a tree cluster or within a woodland with each tree in either an isolated location or within a tree cluster having a caliper in excess of 20 inches DBH presumed worthy of conservation. Specimen trees are regulated by § 103-41C below.
A public (dedicated) or private (undedicated) right-of-way
other than an individual or common access driveway, intended for use
as a means of vehicular and pedestrian circulation to provide access
to more than one lot. The word "street" includes thoroughfare, avenue,
boulevard, court, drive, expressway, highway, lane, alley, service
street and road or similar terms. Streets, except within a planned
residential development, are further classified in Birmingham Township
as follows:
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
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, 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
dwelling, shall be exempted.
MAJOR SUBDIVISIONAny subdivision other than a minor subdivision and any land development that does not involve subdivision.
MINOR SUBDIVISIONA subdivision in which:
No street is to be constructed or widened;
No other improvement that requires a bond or escrow as a performance
guaranty is to be constructed;
No earthmoving activities will take place, except those normal
to construction of a single-family dwelling on each lot; and
No more than three lots are created.
A low-lying stretch or corridor of land, usually vegetated,
which gathers or carries surface water runoff.
The Township of Birmingham, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
An appointed representative of the Township deemed to be qualified by the Board of Supervisors to perform the inspections referenced in § 103-48 of this chapter and who may be the Township Zoning Officer and Building Inspector, the Township Engineer, the Township Engineer's Inspector or other specified appointee.
A designated parcel or area of land established by a plat
or otherwise as permitted by law and to be used, developed or built
upon in a manner which is based upon further subdivision of the tract
into lots.
The conceptual plan entitled "Birmingham Township Trail Network"
prepared by Brandywine Conservancy Environmental Management Center,
dated August 30, 1996, and last revised January 24, 1998, which has
been incorporated into the Birmingham Township Comprehensive Plan
by Resolution No. 99-0701, as the same may be from time to time further
revised by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
A group or row of trees insufficient in size to constitute a woodland area. Tree clusters are regulated by § 103-41.
The total width of land necessary for reservation for or
dedication as a street, alley or crosswalk or for any other public
purpose in order to comply with the requirements of this chapter.
The unbroken field of view from a given vantage point over
a particular range where the vantage point or point of origin is from
points along a public street and the range is measured by the boundaries
of a particular property, unless the "viewshed" terminates at the
closer of:
Viewsheds originating from points along public roads containing
either:
Areas within the Historic Districts of Birmingham Township as
delineated in the Historic District Overlay Map;[4] or
Areas of scenic views, including:
Woodlands, tree clusters or specimen trees;
Hedgerows;
Stream valleys;
Naturally undulating landforms (also known as "rolling hillsides")
and/or isolated structures of historic, cultural or architectural
value, such as vintage farmhouses, barns and structures, including
but not limited to those listed in authoritative sources such as the
National Register of Historic Places.
A channel or conveyance of surface water, including a permanent
stream, intermittent stream, river, brook or creek or a channel or
ditch for water, whether natural or artificial, with perennial or
intermittent flow.
Areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, including swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas, as delineated in accordance with the Federal Manual for Identifying and Delineating Jurisdictional Wetlands. Where a wetland boundary delineation has been approved by either the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection or the Army Corps of Engineers after a field check by either agency, such delineation shall be conclusive for purposes of this chapter. Wetlands are regulated by § 103-41.
Any lot having more than one living tree of a caliper of six inches DBH or greater per 1,500 square feet of lot area. Wooded lots are regulated by § 103-41.
An area of at least 4,000 square feet characterized by trees growing in close proximity to each other, with the average caliper of such trees being not less than four inches DBH. Woodlands are regulated by § 103-41.
