A.
Conditional uses are listed for each zoning district in this article
of this chapter. Only those uses expressly listed as conditional uses
in a particular district may be considered in that zoning district.
All applications for a conditional use shall demonstrate compliance
with the general criteria and standards, as well as any criteria and
standards specific to the requested use, as set forth in this article.
B.
General criteria and standards: In addition to any express standards
and criteria listed in the following sections, an application for
a conditional use shall demonstrate that:
(1)
The applicant will reduce significant adverse impacts on existing
uses to the maximum extent feasible, including, but not limited to,
adopting measures addressing illumination/glare, noise, hours of operation,
loitering, litter control, and other similar characteristics.
(2)
The use can be accommodated on the site consistent with all dimensional,
site development, design, grading/drainage, performance, and other
standards for the district in which it will be located, with no variances
required.
(3)
Where the use will generate more than 50 average daily p.m. peak
hour vehicle trips, the use shall not cause a deterioration of more
than one level from existing levels of service (LOS) at intersections
and roads within 1/2 mile of the proposed use, as documented by a
traffic impact study submitted in support of the application.
(4)
The use provides adequate off-street parking on the same property as the use, in compliance with standards set forth in § 190-623 of this chapter.
(5)
At a minimum, areas of the property not covered by buildings or paved are landscaped and maintained pursuant to the standards and requirements set forth in § 190-630 of this chapter.
(6)
Unless addressed in the specific criteria and standards set forth herein, buffer yards are provided pursuant to the standards and requirements for buffer yards as set forth in § 190-630 of this chapter.
(7)
Primary access points to the property shall be located as far as
possible from road or street intersections and adequate sight distances
for the posted speed limits shall be met.
A.
A developer requesting a conditional use shall submit three copies
of the following materials, together with a completed application
and appropriate fee, to the Township Secretary for referral to the
Community Development Director. All information submitted shall be
reviewed by the Community Development Director for completeness.
(1)
A written statement supporting the general criteria outlined in this
article and describing in detail the proposed use;
(2)
An accurately scaled illustrative site plan showing the arrangement
of the proposed use on the site, including property lines, uses on
adjacent properties, abutting streets, buildings existing and proposed
on the site by use and height, points of access into the site, internal
driveways, parking area layout with number of spaces noted, signs
to remain or proposed, areas of earthmoving with proposed grade of
finished slopes noted, method of collecting and disposing of stormwater,
proposed landscaping and other pertinent information to illustrate
the proposal.
B.
The Planning Commission shall review such requests and forward its
recommendation on the application to the Board of Commissioners. Within
the prescribed time frame, including any agreed-upon extension, the
Commission may also hold a public hearing pursuant to public notice
to inform the public and obtain comment prior to taking action on
a proposed conditional use.
C.
Within the time period set forth in this section, the Commission
shall take one of the following actions. Failure to take action within
the prescribed period, including any extension, shall be deemed a
recommendation for approval of the application as presented.
All conditional uses shall be subject to the performance standards specified in § 190-635 of this chapter and the applicable district regulations for the district in which the use is proposed. In addition to the performance standards and the applicable district regulations for the authorized conditional uses, the following specific criteria shall be evaluated in reviewing an application for approval of a conditional use.
A.
Adult-oriented businesses shall be permitted as a conditional use
in the IC District, subject to the following:
(1)
Minimum lot area required shall be 25,000 square feet.
(2)
The property shall have frontage on and direct vehicular access to
an arterial or collector street.
(3)
The use shall comply with Ordinance No. 717 of Penn Township, Chapter 135 of the Code of Penn Township.
(4)
No oscillating or flashing lights shall be permitted on the lot or
any of the structures or poles on the lot or on any other portion
of the lot used for the adult-oriented business.
(6)
The applicant shall demonstrate that the granting of the proposed
use shall not negatively affect the levels-of-service at intersections
within 2,640 linear feet of the property boundaries.
(7)
Ingress, egress and internal traffic circulation on the site shall
be designed to ensure safety and minimize congestion.
(8)
No adult-oriented business shall be open for business before 9:00
a.m., Monday through Saturday, or after 12:00 midnight, Monday through
Saturday. Adult-oriented businesses shall be closed at all times on
Sundays and legal holidays.
(9)
All operations shall be conducted within an enclosed building and
doors and windows shall remain closed during hours of normal operation.
(10)
The use shall be subject to the performance standards of § 190-635 of the Code of Penn Township.
(12)
Purpose and intent: It is the purpose of this section to regulate
adult-oriented businesses to promote and preserve the health, safety
and general welfare of the citizens of the Township and to establish
reasonable and uniform regulations to prevent the continued deleterious
location and concentration of adult-oriented businesses within the
Township. The provisions of this section have neither the purpose
nor effect of imposing a limitation or restriction on the content
of any communicative materials, including adult-oriented materials.
Similarly, it is not the intent nor effect of this article to restrict
or deny access by adults to adult-oriented materials protected by
the First Amendment or to deny access by the distributors and exhibitors
of adult-oriented entertainment to their intended market. Neither
is it the intent nor effect of this article to condone or legitimize
the distribution of obscene material.
(13)
Classification: Adult-oriented businesses are classified as
follows:
(a)
Adult arcades;
(b)
Adult entertainment;
(c)
Adult bookstores or adult video stores;
(d)
Adult cabarets;
(e)
Adult motels;
(f)
Adult motion-picture theaters;
(g)
Adult mini-motion-picture theaters;
(h)
Adult-oriented establishment;
(i)
Adult theaters;
(j)
Escort agencies;
(k)
Nude model studios;
(l)
Sexual encounter centers; and
(m)
Sexually oriented businesses.
(14)
Location and use regulation:
(a)
A person is guilty of a violation of this chapter if he operates
or causes to be operated an adult-oriented business outside of the
district in which an adult-oriented business is a permitted use. No
adult-oriented businesses shall be located outside a district in which
an adult-oriented business is a permitted use. Adult-oriented businesses
as defined herein shall be permitted in the IC Industrial Commerce
District as a conditional use.
(b)
A person is guilty of a violation of this chapter if he operates
or causes to be operated an adult-oriented business within 1,500 feet
of:
[1]
A church.
[2]
A public or private pre-elementary, elementary
or secondary school.
[3]
A public library.
[4]
A child-care facility or nursery school.
[5]
A public park adjacent to any residential area.
[6]
A child-oriented business.
[7]
The boundary line of a residentially zoned area
or the property line of a single-family dwelling.
(c)
A person is guilty of a violation of this chapter if he causes
or permits the operation, establishment, substantial enlargement or
transfer of ownership or control of an adult-oriented business within
5,000 feet of another adult-oriented business.
(d)
A person is guilty of a violation of this chapter if he causes
or permits the operation, establishment or maintenance of more than
one adult-oriented business in the same building, structure, or portion
thereof; or the increase of floor areas of any adult-oriented business
in any building, structure, or portion thereof containing another
adult-oriented business.
(e)
For the purpose of this section, measurement shall be made in
a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects,
from the property line of the building or structure used as part of
the premises where an adult-oriented business is conducted to the
nearest property line of the portion of the building or structure
used as a part of the premises where an adult-oriented business is
conducted, to the nearest property line of the premises of a church,
public or private pre-elementary, elementary or secondary school,
public library, child-care facility, child-oriented business or nursery
school; or to the nearest boundary of an affected public park.
(f)
For purposes of Subsection A(14)(e) of this section, the distance between any two adult-oriented businesses shall be measured in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the property line of the premises where an adult-oriented business is conducted to the nearest property line of the premises of another adult-oriented business.
(15)
Any adult-oriented business lawfully operating on the date of enactment of this article that is in violation of Subsection B through D of this section shall be deemed a legal nonconforming use. Such legal nonconforming uses shall not be increased, enlarged, extended or altered, except that the use may be changed to a conforming use. In the event that two or more adult-oriented businesses are within 5,000 feet of one another and otherwise in a permissible location, the adult-oriented business which was first established and continually operating at a particular location is the legal nonconforming use, and the later-established business is nonconforming.
(16)
An adult-oriented business lawfully operating as a conforming
use is not rendered a nonconforming use by the location, subsequent
to the grant or renewal of the adult-oriented business permit, of
a church, public or private pre-elementary, elementary or secondary
school, public library, child-care facility, child-oriented business,
nursery school or public park within 1,500 feet of the adult-oriented
business. This provision applies only to the renewal of a valid permit
and does not apply when an application for a permit is submitted after
a permit has expired or has been revoked.
(17)
Exemptions: It is a defense to prosecution under this section
that a person appearing in a state of nudity did so in a modeling
class operated:
(a)
By a proprietary school, licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
or a college, junior college or university supported entirely or partly
by taxation;
(b)
By a private college or university which maintains and operates
educational programs in which credits are transferable to a college,
junior college or university supported entirely or partly by taxation;
or
(c)
In a structure.
B.
Surface mining, conditional use in IC District, subject to the following:
(1)
The applicant shall comply with all applicable commonwealth acts listed in the Pennsylvania MPC Article VI, Section 603, Subsection (b), and federal regulations, as amended, and shall show evidence of obtaining the required commonwealth or federal permits before initiating any work and of maintaining the required permits throughout the duration of all surface mining operations. Any suspension or revocation of the required commonwealth or federal permits shall constitute a violation of zoning approval and shall result in the suspension or revocation of conditional use approval and/or enforcement of the penalty provisions of this chapter.
(2)
No surface mining operation shall be conducted within 300 feet from
the edge of a well site to a USGS "solid blue lined" stream or waterbody.
(3)
No surface mining operation shall be conducted within 300 feet of
any existing public building, school, church, institutional, commercial
or residential building.
(4)
No surface mining operation shall be conducted within 500 feet of
a private water well.
(5)
No surface mining operation shall be conducted within 300 feet of
a wetlands area in excess of one acre (43,560 square feet).
(6)
No surface mining operation shall be conducted which will adversely
affect any publicly owned park or places included in the National
Register of Historic Sites, unless approved by the governmental agency
with jurisdiction over the park or historic site.
(7)
No surface mining operation shall be conducted within 300 feet of
any occupied dwelling, except as provided for in Section 3215, Act
13 of 2012[1] unless the consent of the owner of the dwelling has been
obtained in advance of the filing of the application for zoning approval.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 58 Pa.C.S.A. § 3201 et seq.
(8)
The applicant shall demonstrate, through compliance with applicable
commonwealth regulations, that the proposed surface mining or drilling
operation shall not be conducted within 1,000 feet of any public water
supply source, reservoir or surface water extraction intake point.
(9)
The applicant shall demonstrate that the proposed surface mining
or drilling operation shall not adversely affect any flood-prone or
landslide-prone areas within the Township.
(10)
The applicant shall demonstrate that the granting of the proposed
conditional use shall not negatively affect levels of service at intersections
on adjacent roads and highways within 2,640 linear feet of the site
boundary.
(11)
The applicant shall demonstrate that the use of explosives,
if proposed, shall not cause injury to any adjacent structures and
shall not substantially diminish underground water resources through
compliance with applicable commonwealth regulations.
(12)
When blasting is performed, the activity shall be monitored
by an independent engineering consultant whose credentials are acceptable
to the Township and whose fee is paid by the applicant.
(13)
The applicant shall demonstrate compliance with all of the performance standards specified in § 190-635 of this chapter.
(14)
The applicant shall identify the proposed routes of all trucks
to be utilized for hauling material and the estimated number of trips
and weights of those trucks. The applicant shall comply with designated
weight limits on Township roads and shall design the hauling routes
for the surface mining operation to minimize the impact on local roads
within the Township.
(15)
Portions of the site boundaries where surface mining operations
are conducted may be required by the Township Commissioners to be
fenced or screened, as necessary, to provide security and protect
adjacent properties.
(16)
Upon approval of an application for conditional use approval
and prior to commencing operations, the applicant shall submit an
escrow deposit to the Township in an amount established by the Board
upon the recommendation of the Township Engineer. The escrow deposit
shall be maintained throughout the duration of the surface mining
operation and shall be used to cover all costs to the Township for
engineering, consultant, legal and inspection fees and other miscellaneous
costs.
(17)
Approval shall expire if work authorized in the application
for conditional use approval is not commenced within 90 days of the
date of the Board's approval of the application, unless the applicant
submits a written request for an extension to the Board prior to the
expiration of the 90 days, explaining the reasons for the delay in
initiating the work, and the Board approves the request.
(18)
Once work is initiated under an approved application, zoning
approval shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of
approval by the Board. An application for renewal of zoning approval
shall be submitted at least 90 days prior to the date of expiration
of zoning approval and can be granted by the Zoning Officer upon demonstration
by the applicant that all conditions of the approval and the required
federal and commonwealth permits remain in full force and effect and
that the applicant is diligently pursuing the completion of the surface
mining operation. Upon expiration or revocation of conditional use
approval for the use, the applicant shall reapply for approval.
C.
Mobile home and recreational vehicle park, as defined by this chapter,
conditional use in RR District, subject to the following:
(2)
The minimum site required shall be 10 acres.
(4)
Ingress, egress and internal traffic circulation shall be designed
to ensure safety and access by emergency vehicles.
(5)
The applicant shall demonstrate through the preparation of a
traffic impact analysis that the granting of the proposed use shall
not negatively impact levels of service on adjacent roads and highways
within 2,640 linear feet of the site boundaries.
E.
Uses not specifically listed in all districts are subject to the
following standards as conditional uses:
(1)
Uses of the same general character as any of the uses authorized
as permitted uses, conditional uses in a specific zoning district
may be authorized if it is determined that the impact of the proposed
use on the environment and the adjacent streets and properties is
equal to or less than any use specifically listed in the zoning district.
In making such determination, the Planning Commission and Board of
Commissioners shall consider the following characteristics of the
proposed use:
(a)
The density of the use in the case of a residential development.
(b)
The floor area of the building and gross area of the lot devoted
to the operation of the proposed use.
(c)
The types of products, materials, equipment and/or processes
involved in the proposed use.
(d)
The trip-generating characteristics and the ability of the street and closest intersection in which the use is located to handle increased trip generation. The environmental impacts and the ability of the proposed use to comply with the performance standards of § 190-635.
(e)
The proposed use shall comply with all applicable area and bulk
regulations and standards and criteria for the most nearly comparable
use in the zoning district.
(f)
The use shall be consistent with the purpose statement of the zoning district and statement of community development objectives contained in § 190-102 of this chapter.
(g)
The use shall be generally consistent with the community goals.
F.
Mini-warehouse/personal storage, conditional use in the NC District,
subject to the following.
G.
Off-premises advertising signs, conditional use in the NC and CC
Districts, subject to the following:
(1)
Such signs shall not be erected within 500 feet of a residential
district boundary line.
(2)
Minimum separation between such signs shall be 1,000 linear
feet measured from the closest vertical edge.
(3)
Minimum setbacks established for the zoning district shall apply.
(4)
Such signs shall have a maximum surface area of 250 square feet
per sign face and shall have a maximum height of 40 feet measured
from the existing ground level.
(5)
The applicant for erection of such sign shall provide a certificate
of insurance for public liability and property damage which holds
the Township harmless.
H.
Hospitals and clinics, conditional use in the NC District, subject
to the following:
I.
Age-restricted
community, as defined by this chapter, conditional use in the RR District,
subject to the following:
[Added 11-16-2022 by Ord. No. 954]
(1)
Age-restricted communities shall comply with all the performance
standards for residential uses contained in the Penn Township Zoning
Ordinance and the Penn Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance
unless specifically exempted by this section.
(2)
The minimum lot area for the entire age-restricted community
shall be 100 acres.
(a)
For the purposes of this section, the area counted for this
section must be under the ownership or control of the applicant, contiguous,
and combined as a single parcel pursuant to the requirements of the
Penn Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
(3)
Each structure shall maintain minimum spacing of 15 feet from
any another structure and a minimum setback of 12 feet from any right-of-way.
The following may encroach upon the minimum separation area by no
more than three feet: bay windows, fireplaces, airconditioning units,
roof overhangs and eves.
(4)
The total number of units on the lot may not exceed the total
number of lots permitted in the underlying zone.
(5)
Notwithstanding the limitations set forth in § 156-21A of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, no block within an age-restricted community shall be longer than 2,100 feet nor less than 500 feet.
(6)
Notwithstanding the limitations set forth in § 156-34.1 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, any age-restricted community providing private recreation facilities accessible to all residents within the community and their guest and invitees, which may include an indoor community center, a swimming pool or spa, or an accessory outdoor recreation area, shall be deemed to satisfy the requirement that 25% of the open and recreational space be suitable for active recreational use. If such private recreation facilities are provided, all requirements and standards for active recreational use shall be inapplicable to the age-restricted community.
(7)
The applicant shall submit the following information to the
Board of Commissioners of the Township of Penn as part of the conditional
use process:
(a)
A recreation plan for the development, with a list of proposed
amenities, facilities, and other recreational items.
(b)
A copy of the proposed homeowners' association (HOA) declarations,
covenants, and any other documents related to the creation or maintenance
of the HOA.
(c)
A narrative description of the HOA, how it is to be formed,
how it will be managed, and what precautions have been taken to ensure
that the HOA remains operational and keeps the property and amenities
in good working condition.
(d)
Information identifying a professional management firm for the
HOA, with a narrative description of said firm's experience and
background in said management.
(e)
The Township review of any declarations or covenants does not
create liability on the part of the Township for the enforcement of
any covenant or declaration therein.
