This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "Birmingham Township Zoning Ordinance of 1978."
A.
This chapter is enacted under and pursuant to the
Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247 of 1968, as amended,[1] for the following purposes: to promote, protect and facilitate
the public health, safety and general welfare of the inhabitants of
the Township of Birmingham by coordinated and practical community
development, by providing for property density of population and assuring
adequate light and air and facilitating the adequate provision of
transportation, police protection, water, sewerage, schools, parks
and public grounds; and to prevent overcrowding of land, blight, danger
and congestion in travel and transportation and loss of health, life
or property from fire, flood, panic or other danger.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101
et seq.
B.
The regulations and districts contained herein represent
reasonable consideration as to the character of the districts and
their peculiar suitability for particular uses of land and have been
made with a view to enhancing the existing environment and assuring
the development of a future environment that realizes the greatest
possible use and enjoyment of land on individual properties, balanced
against the necessary protection of the values of buildings and land
and the use and enjoyment of land on adjacent properties, with the
objective of promoting and protecting the public welfare through the
regulation of land use and the process of land development.
A.
Birmingham Township, located to the southwest of West
Chester and having as its western boundary the Brandywine River, is
rich in natural resources and historic significance. As a member of
the West Chester Regional Planning Commission and an integral part
of the region, Birmingham seeks through this chapter to implement
not only its own Comprehensive Plan but also to be in harmony with
the Open Space, Housing, Commercial and Circulation Plans of the West
Chester Region.
B.
The Township's development objectives, set forth in
proper context and detail in its Comprehensive Plan, are summarized
herein as follows:
(1)
To preserve and enhance the agricultural, rural, scenic,
open space character of Birmingham Township.
(2)
To preserve without reduction those resources within
Birmingham Township which are viewed as unique assets of present and
future generations and which have potential region-wide benefits (e.g.,
open space, agriculture, historic sites, scenic areas and the Brandywine
River Valley), particularly as identified in the West Chester Region
Open Space Plan.
(3)
To focus on and emphasize the conservation of prime
agricultural lands and existing agricultural activities, balanced
and legally strengthened by limited and spatially concentrated residential
development.
(4)
To protect the quality of streams, floodplains and
wet soils.
(5)
To establish priorities among those land uses and
natural resources which the community desires to conserve and to enact
land use control policies for conservation and development compatible
with those priorities.
(6)
To provide opportunities within the Township for a
variety of dwelling unit densities, types and costs consistent with
agricultural preservation, legal mandates and overall Township goals.
(7)
To maintain Township self-sufficiency in waste disposal,
water supply, renewable resources and energy through conservation-oriented
approaches and policies.
C.
In view of the regional and external nature of much
of the growth pressure facing Birmingham, the Township's pace and
pattern of future development should strongly reflect regional relationships.
In the interpretation and application of the provisions of this chapter, said provisions shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion and protection of the public health, welfare and safety. Except as to regulation of development under the Birmingham Township Planned Residential Development Ordinance of 1977, (Article XIV hereof), where the provisions of this chapter impose greater restrictions than those of any other ordinance or regulation, the provisions of this chapter shall be controlling. Where the provisions of any statute, other ordinance or regulation impose greater restrictions than this chapter, the provisions of such statute, ordinance or regulation shall be controlling.
A.
For convenience purposes only, the following appendices are hereby attached to this chapter:
B.
These tables are provided for reference only, and
individual districts and supplemental use regulations must be consulted
for the specific and full set of requirements that apply to each use
and to all area and bulk requirements applicable to such use. If a
conflict exists between the Table of Uses and/or the Table of Area
and Bulk Regulations and the Zoning Ordinance text, the Zoning Ordinance
text shall control.
C.
The Table of Uses appended to this chapter and the
Table of Area and Bulk Regulations appended to this chapter are hereby
adopted as Appendix A and Appendix B of this chapter.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A and B are included as attachments to this chapter.
