[Added 6-7-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-4]
In expansion of the community development objectives contained in Article II of this chapter and in support of the goals and recommendations of the Township's Comprehensive Plan, it is the intent of this article to:
A.
Allow limited office uses as a transition between
intensive commercial/industrial uses located on major roads and existing
residential areas.
B.
Limit the impact of nonresidential development on
residences by requiring a residential character, limiting the scale
of buildings, controlling the location of parking areas and requiring
buffer landscaping.
C.
Control access and limit the impact of development
on the Township's major roads.
D.
Allow residences that are located on smaller lots
and close to other residences to convert to office uses, provided
that the residential character of the neighborhood is not changed.
E.
Allow
greater intensity development to occur on larger tracts that border
existing Mixed-Use or Industrial Zoning Districts.
[Added 6-4-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-6]
F.
Permit
existing nonconforming industrial uses to continue to operate, provided
that the potential negative impact of these uses on abutting residential
properties is adequately mitigated to the satisfaction of the Board
of Supervisors, and encourage redevelopment of those sites with uses
more compatible with the surrounding community.
[Added 6-4-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-6]
G.
Encourage
the development of employment centers and retail services along the
Route 63 corridor between Mainland and Harleysville as an alternative
to highway commercial-type development.
[Added 6-4-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-6]
A lot may be used for one of the following uses:
A lot may be used for one of the following classes of uses, provided that a conditional use is received in accordance with the requirements of § 164-25 of this chapter and all standards of the RO District are met:
A.
Class One conditional uses. On lots which meet the
Class One requirements, one of the following uses is permitted:
(1)
Conversion of an existing home into professional
offices.
(2)
Conversion of an existing home into a professional
office and one apartment.
(3)
Conversion of an existing home into a bed-and-breakfast
facility.
(4)
Construction of a professional office building
on a lot which is vacant and held in single and separate ownership
as of the date of enactment of this article, provided that the building
complies with all other sections of this chapter.
B.
Class Two conditional uses. On lots which meet the
Class Two requirements, one of the following uses is permitted as
a conditional use:
C.
Class Three conditional uses. On lots which meet the Class Three
requirements, the following uses are permitted as a conditional use:
[Added 6-4-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-6]
(1)
All of the uses permitted as Class Two conditional uses.
(2)
Apartments.
(3)
Retail commercial. Shops and stores selling commodities and
goods to the end user and not intended for wholesale sale.
(4)
Service businesses, including barbers, hairdressers, beauticians,
laundry and dry cleaning, shoe repair, tailors, photographers, travel
agents, photocopy centers and similar service uses.
(5)
Restaurants.
(6)
Hotels, motels and bed-and-breakfast establishments.
(7)
Drive-through facilities for nonresidential uses permitted in § 164-62.16C, provided that:
(a)
There shall be no more than one drive-through business on a
tract.
(b)
The drive-through service area shall be an integral part of
the interior circulation pattern and shall be designed in a safe and
efficient manner to minimize vehicle-to-vehicle, and vehicle-to-pedestrian,
conflict. All drive-through areas shall be designed with a separate
escape lane to permit vehicles to leave or pass by the drive-through
area if they wish or need to do so. No direct access to a public road
shall be permitted from any drive-through aisle.
(c)
Where a drive-in window or drive-through aisle is proposed,
a stacking lane for each drive-in window or drive-through aisle shall
be provided to serve a minimum of five cars. The stacking lane shall
not be used for parking lot circulation aisles, nor shall it in any
way conflict with through circulation, parking or deliveries to the
tract.
(d)
Lighting for all drive-through service areas shall be installed
in a manner which, at a minimum:
[1]
Safely, but not excessively, illuminates the drive-through
area;
[2]
Is shielded to prevent any light spillage off the
drive-through lot or parcel; and
[3]
Is timed or switched so that the drive-through
area is not illuminated when drive-through service is not available.
[4]
Landscaping for all drive-through service areas
shall be installed in a manner which safely shields the stacking lanes,
drive-through aisle and drive-in windows from view of neighboring
uses.
(8)
In addition to the regulations contained in Article XVIII (Nonconforming Uses), a single, lawfully existing, nonconforming use shall be permitted to accompany one other Class Three conditional use, provided that:
[Added 4-7-2021 by Ord.
No. 2021-03]
(a)
The lawfully existing nonconforming use is compatible (in the
opinion of the Supervisors) with any other Class Three conditional
use operated on the property;
(b)
The area of the building footprint devoted to the nonconforming
use shall not be used as a part of the five-acre minimum tract area
necessary for the operation of any other Class Three conditional use
on the property, nor for the one-acre minimum lot size required for
each permitted Class Three conditional use;
(c)
The property upon which the nonconforming use is located shall
have frontage on no less than two public roads, but no vehicular access
to the nonconforming use shall be provided from an arterial road;
(d)
Any buildings associated with the nonconforming use shall be
set back from the legal right-of-way of all public streets by no less
than 90 feet;
(e)
In addition to the nonconforming use, no more than one nonresidential
Class Three conditional use may be located and operated on the tract,
and shall be positioned between the street with a higher classification
and the nonconforming use;
[1]
Such nonresidential Class Three conditional use
shall have access only to the adjacent public street of higher classification
and any additional (third or more) street of lesser classification,
provided that it is not the street upon which the nonconforming use
is taking access;
[2]
Parking shall be provided for both the nonconforming
use and the Class Three conditional use adequate to satisfy the minimum
parking requirements of the Lower Salford Township Zoning Ordinance,
and the parking for each respective use shall be solely devoted to
such use;
(f)
No residential uses shall be permitted on the tract, except
that, in its sole discretion, the Board of Supervisors, as a part
of any conditional use approval granted pursuant to this § 164-16C(8),
may permit an existing residential use to be maintained for up to
one year after such approval; and
(g)
The portion of the tract used for the nonconforming use may
be reconfigured, subject to approval by the Board of Supervisors as
a part of the conditional use approval, provided that the overall
tract area used for the nonconforming use is not expanded, except
that:
[1]
In the event that access to the nonconforming use
was provided by a driveway from an arterial road and such access is
discontinued, the portion of the tract used for the nonconforming
use may be expanded for the purpose of providing a new access driveway
to a road of lesser classification, subject to the approval by the
Board of Supervisors of the location, point of intersection with the
public road, design, width, buffering, and other details of such access
drive; and
[2]
Where the portion of a tract used for a nonconforming
use is reconfigured, the parking area appurtenant to the nonconforming
use may be expanded in order to supply sufficient parking, provided
that the parking expansion does not create any new dimensional nonconformities.
[Amended 7-6-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-9; 12-1-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-7; 6-4-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-6]
Proposed uses shall meet the following dimensional
requirements:
|
Uses
Permitted
by Right
|
Class One
Conditional
Uses
|
Class Two
Conditional
Uses
|
Class Three
Conditional
Uses
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Minimum tract area
|
Not applicable
|
Not applicable
|
Not applicable
|
5 acres
|
|
Minimum lot size (square feet)
|
30,000
|
30,000
|
80,000
|
43,560
|
|
Minimum lot width (feet) measured at the street line of a public
street
|
125
|
125
|
150
|
150
|
|
Minimum front yard setback (feet)
|
30
|
30
|
40
|
30
|
|
Minimum side yard setback (feet)
|
20
|
20
|
30
|
20
|
|
Minimum rear yard setback (feet)
|
40
|
40
|
40
|
40
|
|
Minimum setback from abutting residential zoning district other
than RO or MU Districts (feet)
|
Not applicable
|
50
|
70
|
100
|
|
Maximum height when buildings are located at least 200 feet
from an abutting residential zoning district
|
35
|
35
|
35
|
35
|
|
Maximum height when buildings are located within 200 feet of
an abutting residential zoning district
|
25 feet, not to exceed one story
|
25 feet, not to exceed one story, with a 35-foot height permitted when the requirements of § 164-62.18M are met
|
25 feet, not to exceed one story
|
35
|
|
Minimum setback for parking areas from abutting residential
zoning district other than RO or MU Districts (feet)
|
Not applicable
|
25
|
35
|
35
|
|
Minimum setback between buildings on the same lot (feet)
|
Not applicable
|
25
|
25
|
25
|
|
Maximum building footprint (square feet)
|
2,000
|
2,000
|
4,000
|
15,000
|
|
Maximum building coverage
|
8%
|
8%
|
12%
|
20%
|
|
Maximum impervious coverage
|
15%
|
25%, with a bonus of an additional 10% for impervious coverage
for completion of driveway interconnections with adjoining properties;
provided, however, there remains a minimum green area of 75% of the
lot if there are no driveway interconnections with adjoining properties
or a minimum green area of 65% of the lot if there are driveway interconnections
with adjoining properties
|
25%
|
60%
|
[Amended 6-4-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-6]
A.
All conditional uses shall be served by public sewer and public water
facilities.
B.
For Class One conditional uses, the proposed use must preserve, utilize
and maintain any existing principal building, provided that this building
was originally built for residential purposes.
C.
For Class One conditional uses, no new, freestanding, nonresidential
building shall be constructed on any property which has an existing
principal building situated on it as of the date of enactment of this
article, and the existing building shall be expanded by no more than
50% of the residential building floor area that existed at the time
of passage of this article.
D.
For Class One, Class Two and Class Three conditional uses, all new
conditional use buildings with footprints less than or equal to 4,000
square feet and additions must have a residential character and must
include the following features:
(1)
A pitched roof, covering at least 80% of the building or addition,
with a pitch of at least six vertical inches to every 12 horizontal
inches.
(2)
Residential building materials.
(3)
Residentially scaled windows and doors, with a proportion of
windows and doors to solid wall that is similar to proportions commonly
found on residential structures in the Township.
E.
For Class Three conditional uses, all new conditional use buildings
with footprints greater than 4,000 square feet must include the following
features:
(1)
A pitched roof, covering the main portion of the building, or
at least 50% of the building, whichever is greater, with a pitch of
at least five vertical inches to every 12 horizontal inches.
(2)
The greatest overall dimension of any building shall not exceed
150 feet, measured horizontally, parallel to exterior walls.
(3)
All visible façades, shall include a variety of architectural
design elements to avoid monotonous or blank building facades.
F.
For Class Three conditional uses, the tract must abut either a MU-Mixed-Use
District or an I-Industrial District.
G.
Driveway access controls.
(1)
No more than one driveway access shall be permitted per street
frontage.
(2)
Corner lots which front on two streets of different classification
shall take access from the street of lesser classification and shall
have no access from the street of higher classification, unless it
is physically infeasible to provide access to the street of lesser
classification. Any existing driveway to the street of higher classification
shall be eliminated when a driveway is provided to the street of lesser
classification.
(3)
Along Sumneytown Pike, Route 113, and Oak Drive, all conditional uses shall be required to share access with an adjacent RO District property or other nonresidential property. When driveway access is available on an abutting property, the applicant shall use this access, as outlined in § 164-62.18G(3)(a) below. If shared access cannot be provided by an existing driveway on an abutting property, the applicant shall provide access in a way that maximizes the potential for shared access in the future, as outlined in § 164-62.18G(3)(b).
(a)
Shared access via existing driveways.
[1]
When the nearest edge of an existing driveway on
an adjacent nonresidential property having frontage on the same street
is within 30 feet of the applicant's tract, the applicant's tract
shall utilize the driveway on the adjacent tract as a shared access,
provided that an casement granting access to the applicant's tract
has been recorded.
[2]
The shared access shall be the sole access to the
site from Sumneytown Pike, Route 113, or Oak Drive. Any existing driveways
on the site must be eliminated.
[3]
Shared access shall not be required when all possible
interconnections between the two abutting lots would cross wetlands,
floodplains, and/or slopes of 15% or more.
[4]
Shared access may be located entirely on one lot
or may be divided along a common lot line.
(b)
Shared access via new driveways.
[1]
When shared access cannot be provided via an existing driveway consistent with § 164-62.18G(3)(a) above, a maximum of one new driveway intersection shall be permitted per street.
[2]
This new driveway shall be located within 30 feet
of a side lot line bordering a property zoned RO Residential Office,
unless all possible interconnections between the applicant's tract
and abutting lot(s) would cross wetlands, floodplains, or slopes of
15% or more.
[3]
The Board of Supervisors shall choose which side
lot line the new driveway will border, based on the proposed driveway's
ability to minimize the need for future driveways and/or maximize
its distance from existing street and driveway intersections.
[4]
Existing driveways on the applicant's site not
meeting the requirements in this section shall be eliminated.
[5]
Each nonresidential use shall provide an access
easement for the shared driveway guaranteeing access to all abutting
lots zoned RO Residential Office.
[6]
In addition, an access easement guaranteeing access
from the closest adjacent nonresidential property to the shared driveway
shall be recorded. This easement shall have a minimum width of 35
feet and shall be located between 50 and 100 feet from the street
ultimate right-of-way line.
[7]
Parking lot entranceways taking access from existing
or future shared driveways shall be set back from the street ultimate
right-of-way line a minimum of 50 feet. Parking shall not be permitted
along shared driveways between the street ultimate right-of-way line
and the rear edge of the easement granting access to the abutting
lot.
H.
Each nonresidential use shall provide access easements for its parking
aisles and driveways where required by the Board of Supervisors, guaranteeing
access and use to all lots within the RO District, unless all possible
interconnections between two abutting lots must cross wetlands, floodplains,
or slopes of 15% or more. Parking areas on abutting lots shall be
directly connected by a driveway. The applicant shall either construct
these interconnections during the initial land development or provide
an easement to the abutting lot allowing future construction of the
interconnection.
I.
For Class One and Class Two conditional uses, parking is not permitted
in front yards or between buildings and streets.
J.
No outdoor storage is permitted, and trash must be kept inside a
principal building unless a suitable screened area is approved by
the Board of Supervisors until collection.
L.
Lighting shall not shine on abutting residential properties, and
lighting poles shall not exceed 12 feet in height, except that for
Class 3 conditional uses lighting poles shall not exceed 15 feet in
height.
M.
Portions of dwellings which existed at the time of adoption of this
article which are over 25 feet in height or above one story may be
converted to offices, an apartment, or a bed-and-breakfast facility
as a Class One conditional use, provided that no additions or exterior
building improvements exceed one story or 25 feet in height.
