For the purpose of this chapter, the land contained within the boundaries of the Township of Hamilton is hereby designated into the following districts:
Agricultural Preservation (AP) District
Rural Residential (RR) District
Low Density Residential (R-1) District
Creekside Residential (R-2) District
Moderate Density Residential (R-3) District
Rural Commercial (RC) District
Mixed Use Corridor (MU) District
Commercial (C) District
Employment Industrial (EI) District
Natural Resources Protection Overlay Zones
The boundaries of said districts shall be shown upon the map attached to and made part of the Zoning Ordinance of the Township of Hamilton, which map is dated, and designated as the "Official Zoning Map of the Township of Hamilton." The said map and all notations, references, and other data shown therein are hereby incorporated by reference into this article as if all were fully described herein.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The Zoning Map is included as an attachment to this chapter.
When uncertainty exists as to boundaries of any district as shown on said map, the following rules shall apply:
A. 
District boundary lines are intended to follow or be parallel to the center line of streets, railroad, and lot or property lines as they exist on plans of record at the time of the adoption of the Zoning Ordinance of the Township of Hamilton, unless such district boundary lines are fixed by dimensions as shown on the Zoning Map.
B. 
Where a district boundary is not fixed by dimensions and where said boundary approximately follows a lot line, and where it does not scale more than 10 feet therefrom, such lot line shall be construed to be such boundary line unless specifically shown otherwise.
In case of any uncertainty, the Zoning Hearing Board shall interpret the intent of the map and determine the location of district boundaries.
Following the effective date of this chapter, and except as hereinafter provided:
A. 
No building shall be erected, installed, moved, altered, rebuilt, or enlarged, nor shall any land or building be used, designed, or arranged to be used for any purpose or in any manner except in conformity with all regulations, requirements, and restrictions specified in this chapter for the district in which such building or land is located.
B. 
No yard or open space required in connection with any building or use shall be considered as providing a required open space for any other building on the same or any other lot.
C. 
No lot shall be formed from part of a lot already occupied by a building unless such building, all yards and open spaces connected therewith, and the remaining lot conforms with all requirements prescribed by this chapter for the district in which said lot is located. No zoning permit shall be issued for the erection of a building on any new lot thus created unless such building and lot comply with all the provisions of this chapter.
D. 
Nothing contained in this chapter shall require any change in the plans, construction, or designated use of a building complying with local laws in force prior to this chapter, if the following is found to exist:
(1) 
All applicable Township permits shall have been issued prior to the date of first publication of notice of the public hearing on this chapter.
(2) 
The entire building shall have been constructed in accordance with such plans as have been filed with the Township and shall have been completed within one year from the effective date of this chapter.
E. 
Unless specifically provided for in this chapter, the provisions of this chapter shall be interpreted to allow only one principal use to be established on a single lot.
F. 
Any specific use not allowed as a permitted use or a use permitted by special exception or conditional use in any district may be permitted by special exception in the zone or zones where and to the extent that similar uses are permitted by special exception provided that the uses meet the specific criteria for similar uses in that district, constitute neither a public or a private nuisance, and meet the burden of proof and requirements set forth in Article XIX of this chapter.