This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Hamilton
Township Zoning Ordinance."
The zoning regulations and districts as herein set forth are
made for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals, convenience,
order, prosperity, and general welfare of the community. They have
been designed to lessen congestion in the streets, to secure safety
from fire, panic, and other dangers, to provide adequate light and
air, to prevent the overcrowding of land, to avoid undue concentration
of population, and to facilitate the adequate provision of transportation,
water, sewage, parks, and other public requirements. They have been
made with reasonable consideration, among other things, as to the
character of each district and its peculiar suitability for particular
uses and with a view of conserving the value of buildings and encouraging
the most appropriate use of land throughout the Township.
A.
Agricultural preservation.
(1)
Goal: preserve the agricultural economy and land base in Hamilton
Township by encouraging the continuation of all forms of agriculture
in appropriate areas of the Township while, at the same time, discouraging
nonagricultural development in agricultural areas.
(2)
Objectives:
(a)
Enact an effective agricultural preservation zoning district
designed specifically for those areas of Hamilton Township where agricultural
operations exist, and where agricultural operations should be encouraged
to continue.
(b)
Provide for higher intensity agribusiness uses in appropriate
areas of the Township where impacts on pockets of residential population
and groundwater supplies can be minimized.
(c)
Limit the number of nonagricultural uses that can be developed
in the agricultural area of Hamilton Township while, at the same time,
allow for the development of a reasonable number of uses that are
supportive of the Township's agricultural setting.
(d)
Enact standards that encourage the placement of new, nonagricultural
uses on soils that are least conducive to continued agricultural operations.
B.
Rural area conservation:
(1)
Goal: encourage the protection and conservation of rural areas of
Hamilton Township that remain rural in landscape character but which
have experienced a proportionally higher level of nonagricultural
development than the agricultural areas of the Township.
(2)
Objectives:
(a)
Establish a zoning district which recognizes, and encourages
the continuation of, the low-density residential and small-scale agriculture
land use pattern that has emerged in many areas of the Township.
(b)
Provide for various configurations of rural residential development
that provide property owners some potential for rural lot development
while, at the same time, encouraging to the maximum extent possible
the retention of important landscape features.
(c)
Establish a maximum development density that provides flexibility
in rural subdivision while also reducing the likelihood that public
sewer and water service will need to be extended to areas of Hamilton
Township designated for growth.
(d)
Prohibit the development of higher intensity agribusiness operations
in those rural areas of Hamilton Township where such uses may have
negative impacts on rural property values and private domestic well
water supplies.
C.
Single-family residential areas.
(1)
Goal: encourage the retention and infill of the existing single-family
detached residential area north of the Borough of Abbottstown in the
southeast corner of Hamilton Township.
(2)
Objectives:
(a)
Establish a residential zoning district which focuses on the
retention and reasonable expansion of the residential area north of
the Borough of Abbottstown.
(b)
Allow for "infill" residential development to occur between
the Borough of Abbottstown and the existing residential communities
along Brough Road.
(c)
Where additional single-family detached residential development
in this setting is permitted, encourage the use of innovative residential
design techniques, such as cluster development or open space subdivisions,
which may result in the retention of open space resources.
(d)
Encourage the development of either active or passive recreational
uses in the open space retained through the use of innovative residential
design techniques.
(e)
Encourage residential development at a density sufficient to
allow for the efficient provision of public water and sewer service
in the single-family detached residential growth area.
(f)
Attempt to buffer existing and future residential projects in
the area north of Abbottstown from the active agricultural areas and
their associated uses by applying a low-density rural zoning district
between the residential growth area and the agricultural area of Hamilton
Township.
D.
Primary growth area.
(1)
Goal: enable the development of the Cross Keys area in the southwestern
corner of Hamilton Township as a "primary growth area" within the
Township.
(2)
Objectives:
(a)
Provide for development at density levels which are consistent
with the likely future provision of public sewer in this area of Hamilton
Township, and which would allow for the effective and cost efficient
development and extension of sewer service.
(b)
Enact a zoning district, or a combination of related zoning
districts, that allow for the development of a mixture of commercial,
business, residential, and potentially institutional uses within the
Cross Keys area.
(c)
Encourage commercial uses that primarily serve the needs of
existing and potential future surrounding neighborhoods and residents.
(d)
Provide for business, light manufacturing, and other employment-generating
uses in attractive, well-planned settings.
(e)
Establish design requirements including, but not necessarily
limited to, landscaping, parking lot design, building location, and
internal forms of circulation to ensure functional and attractive
design and layout.
(f)
Encourage the provision of pedestrian and bicycle amenities,
thus potentially reducing the reliance on the automobile for all shopping
and work trips, within and between existing and potential development
projects within the "primary growth area" surrounding Cross Keys.
E.
Secondary growth area.
(1)
Goal: allow for the development of a portion of the area south of
East Berlin Borough along PA Route 194 as a "secondary growth area"
within Hamilton Township.
(2)
Objectives:
(a)
Enact a zoning district, or combination of supportive zoning
districts, that would encourage the development of a land use pattern
which reflects the existing land use pattern and zoning along Hamilton
Township's border with East Berlin Borough.
(b)
Enact zoning standards that reflect the environmental features
and limitations of Conewago Creek and Beaver Creek, and their associated
floodplains and wetlands.
(c)
Allow for the development of an appropriate mixture of commercial,
employment, and other uses that primarily serve the local needs of
the area surrounding East Berlin Borough.
F.
Transportation system considerations.
(1)
Goal: protect and enhance the roadway network, including both state
and Township roadways, within Hamilton Township.
(2)
Objectives:
(a)
Include measures in "growth area" zoning districts to discourage
the placement of large numbers of individual driveways along existing
road corridors.
(b)
Encourage the use of design requirements, such as shared driveways,
shared parking facilities, and internal circulation drives, to consolidate
access to and from development projects into a few, well-designed,
access points.
(c)
Develop and implement zoning districts and standards that will
minimize the use of multiple access points on rural Township roads,
particularly in settings where additional driveways and the associated
increase in rural traffic may negatively impact ongoing agricultural
operations.
(d)
Enhance the overall functionality of the Township's road network,
with particular emphasis on higher-volume state roads, by encouraging
the application of zoning districts in such a manner that prevents
entire sections of roadway from being intensively developed.
G.
Public facilities considerations.
(1)
Goal: effect the efficient and cost-effective provision of public
sewer and/or water service in areas where the development or expansion
of such services is anticipated and expected.
(2)
Objectives:
(a)
Develop "growth area" zoning districts which allow development
at densities which support the forthcoming development and expansion
of sewer systems, where needed, and the potential provision of future
public water service.
(b)
Develop agricultural and rural zoning districts which discourage
the extension of public sewer and water systems into important agricultural
and rural areas of Hamilton Township.
(c)
Apply "growth area" and non-growth area districts in such a
way to define a logical edge to anticipated future growth within Hamilton
Township.
