Unless otherwise expressly stated or where the
context clearly indicates otherwise, the following words shall, for
the purpose of this chapter, have the meanings herein indicated:
A.
Words used in the present tense include the future
tense.
B.
The singular includes the plural.
C.
The word "person" includes a corporation, partnership
or similar legal entity as well as an individual.
D.
The word "lot" includes the word "plot" or "parcel."
E.
The term "shall" is always mandatory.
F.
The word "used" or "occupied" as applied to any land
or building shall be construed to include the words "intended, arranged
or designed to be used or occupied."
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A minor right-of-way providing secondary vehicular access
to the side or rear of two or more properties.
A landowner or developer, as defined by this chapter, who
has filed an application for development, including his/her heirs,
successors and assigns.
Every application, whether preliminary or final, required
to be filed and approved prior to start of construction or development,
including but not limited to an application for a building permit,
for the approval of a subdivision plat or plan or for the approval
of a land development plat or plan.
That portion of a street lying on either side of a cartway
between the edge thereof and the adjacent road ditch, intended primarily
for stopping and parking purposes.
The Board of Township Supervisors of West Deer Township,
Allegheny County.
See "structure."
A line parallel to the front, side or rear lot line set so
as to provide the required yard (building setback).
The building or portion thereof housing the main or primary
use of the land.
That portion of a street or alley which is improved, designated,
intended, used or capable of being used for vehicular travel.
A natural stream that conveys water; a ditch or open channel
excavated for the flow of water.
An area of unobstructed vision at street intersections defined
by the center lines of the streets and by a line of sight between
points on their center lines at a given distance from the intersection
of the center lines. (See Exhibit #2.) [1]
A subdivision in which individual lots are designated in
tighter groupings or arrangements than a conventional subdivision
with a significant percentage of the total tract or parcel being dedicated
and held as commonly owned open space.
A parcel or parcels of land or an area of water or a combination
of land and water within the development site, designed and intended
for the common use of the residents of a planned residential development
or clustered subdivision. "Common open space" may be of two types:
Improved: land area of the site containing recreational
structures and facilities, as long as the total impervious surfaces
(paving, roofs, etc.) constitute no more than 5% of the improved common
open space.
Unimproved: land area of the site void of buildings,
structures, parking areas and street rights-of-way.
That use which is permitted in a zoning district only following
the forwarding of a recommendation from the Planning Commission and
the conducting of a public hearing by the Board of Supervisors. Said
use shall be in compliance with standards expressly outlined for such
uses.
The County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
A residential street with one end open to traffic and pedestrian
access and permanently terminated by a vehicular turnaround. (See
Exhibit #6).[2]
An excavation. The difference between a point on the original
ground and designated point of lower elevation on the final grade;
also, the material removed in excavation.
The number of families housed on the lot or group of lots
divided by the net area of the lot or group of lots exclusive of any
portion of any rights-of-way.
The magnitude of precipitation from a storm event measured
in probability of occurrence (e.g., one-hundred-year storm) and duration
(e.g., twenty-four-hour) and used in designing stormwater management
control systems.
The slowing, dampening or attenuating of runoff entering
the natural drainage pattern or storm drainage system by temporarily
holding water in areas such as detention basins, reservoirs, rooftops,
streets, parking lots or within the drainage system itself and releasing
the water at a desired rate of discharge.
A basin designed to retard stormwater runoff by temporarily
storing the runoff and releasing it at a predetermined rate. A detention
basin is designed to drain completely after a storm; also called a
"dry basin."
Any landowner, agent of such landowner or tenant with the
permission of such landowner, who makes or causes to be made a subdivision
of land or a land development.
An agreement between the developer and West Deer Township,
executed by both parties, which contains provisions that are reasonably
required to guarantee, including financial guaranties, the proper
installation of on-site and off-site improvements related to the subdivision
and/or land development. Such agreement shall also contain provisions
necessary to indemnify the Township in connection therewith.
The written and graphic provisions describing a proposed
development in sufficient detail so that its compliance with the requirements
of this chapter may be conclusively judged.
A lot, parcel or tract of land on which development is taking
place or is proposed.
Rate of flow, specifically fluid flow. A volume of fluid
(in this case water) per unit of time flowing in or from a conduit
or channel, usually expressed in cubic feet per second.
A section of the municipality for which uniform regulations
governing the use, height, area and intensity of use of buildings
and land and open spaces about buildings are herein established.
Interception and removal of excess surface water or groundwater
from land by artificial or natural means.
The area which contributes runoff to a designated point of
a drainage system, usually expressed in acres or square miles; also
called a "catchment area," "watershed" or river basin.
A right granted by a landowner to a grantee allowing the
use of private land for stormwater management purposes.
Any structure or part thereof designed to be occupied as
living quarters for a single housekeeping unit, including mobile homes,
cottages, camp trailers, tents or other such facilities, whether or
not occupied or intended to be occupied on a permanent basis.
A grant for the specified use of a parcel of land to the
public, a corporation or a person.
A mound of earth or stone constructed above the natural ground
surface and, in stormwater management, with the specific purpose of
detaining or diverting stormwater runoff.
A professional engineer duly appointed as the engineer for
West Deer Township.
The wearing away of the land surface by running water, wind,
ice or other geologic agents, including such process as gravitational
creep.
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar
material is dug into, cut, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced,
relocated or disturbed, and any conditions resulting therefrom.
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other material
is placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported or moved to a new location
above the natural surface of the ground or on top of the stripped
surface and shall include the condition resulting therefrom; the difference
in elevation between a point on the original ground and a designated
point of higher elevation on the final grade; the material used to
make a fill.
The temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
A normally dry land area adjacent to stream channels that
is susceptible to being inundated by overbank stream flows. For regulatory
purposes, the Pennsylvania Floodplain Management Act (Act of October
4, 1978, P.L. 851, No. 166) [3] and regulations pursuant to the act define the "floodplain"
as the area inundated by the one-hundred-year flood and delineated
on a map by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) or by the applicant
in accordance with municipal ordinance requirements.
Lot boundary lines that are adjacent to a street.
The branch of science concerned with the mechanics of fluids,
especially liquids; as applied in stormwater management, the study
of the characteristics of water flowing in conveyance channels and
from control facilities.
The science dealing with waters of the earth and their distribution
and circulation through the atmosphere.
Resisting the entrance or passing through of water or other
liquids.
Surety, in a form acceptable to the Township Solicitor, in
the form of cash, a certified check or irrevocable letter of credit
from a federal or commonwealth-chartered lending institution, a corporate
performance bond or a labor-and-material payment bond from a surety
company authorized to conduct business in the commonwealth, which
guarantees the satisfactory completion of improvements required by
this chapter.
Those physical changes to the land necessary to produce usable
and desirable lots from raw acreage, including but not limited to
grading, paving, curb, gutter, stormwater sewers, individual sanitary
sewage system, improvements to existing watercourses, sidewalks, crosswalks,
street signs, streetlights, hydrants, shade trees, monuments, water
supply and water distribution systems and facilities, sanitary sewers,
sanitary and stormwater sewerage collection systems and sanitary sewage
treatment plant facilities, recreation facilities, open space improvements
and buffer or screen planting.
Any of the following activities:
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous
lots, tracts or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
A group of two or more residential or nonresidential
buildings, whether proposed initially or cumulatively, or a single
nonresidential building on a lot or lots regardless of the number
of occupants or tenure; or
The division or allocation of land or space,
whether initially or cumulatively, between or among two or more existing
or prospective occupants by means of or for the purpose of streets,
common areas, leaseholds, condominiums, building groups or other features.
A subdivision of land.
Development in accordance with Section 503(1.1)
of the Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247 of 1968, as amended by
Act 170 of 1988, [4] is excluded from this definition and not subject to the
regulations contained herein.
Any activity involving grading, tilling, digging or filling
or stripping of vegetation; or any other activity which causes land
to be exposed to erosion.
The use of land for the disposal of solid, municipal, residual
or hazardous waste as such terms are defined and such use is regulated
by the Solid Waste Management Act, the Act of July 7, 1980, P.L. 380,
No. 97, 35 P.S. § 6018.101 et seq., as amended, or its successor
statute.
The legal or beneficial owner or owners of land, including
the holder of an option or contract to purchase (whether or not such
option or contract is subject to any condition), a lessee to exercise
the rights of the landowner or other person, partnership, corporation
or association having a proprietary interest in land shall be deemed
to be a "landowner" for the purpose of this chapter.
A tract or parcel of land held in single or separate ownership
that is described by reference to a recorded plat or by metes or bounds
and is intended as a unit for transfer of ownership, use, improvement,
dedication or for development.
A voluntary negotiating process in which parties in a dispute
mutually select a neutral mediator to assist them in jointly exploring
and settling their differences, culminating in a written agreement
which the parties themselves create and consider acceptable.
A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent
occupancy, contained in one unit or in two or more units designed
to be joined into one integral unit capable of again being separated
for repeated towing, which arrives at a site complete and ready for
occupancy except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations,
and constructed so that it may be used without a permanent foundation.
A parcel of land in a mobile home park, improved with the
necessary utility connections and other appurtenances necessary for
the erection thereon of a single mobile home, which is leased by the
park owner to the occupants of the mobile home erected on the lot.
A parcel of land under single ownership which has been planned
and improved for the placement of mobile homes for nontransient use,
consisting of two or more mobile home lots.
Relief from the literal provisions of this chapter when the
subdivider can show that a provision of this chapter would cause unnecessary
hardship if strictly adhered to; where because of topographical or
other conditions peculiar to the site or when an alternative standard
can be demonstrated to provide equal or better results, and in the
opinion of the Planning Commission, a modification or waiver may be
made without destroying the intent of such provision, the Planning
Commission recommends such a modification or waiver. The Board of
Supervisors may authorize such relief through the granting of a modification
or waiver from the strict application of the provision causing the
unnecessary hardship. Any relief thus authorized shall be entered
in the minutes of the Board of Supervisors along with the reasons
justifying the modification or waiver.
The Township of West Deer, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
A lot the area or dimension of which was lawful prior to the adoption or amendment of the West Deer Township Zoning Ordinance, as amended, but which fails to conform to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located by reasons of such adoption or amendment (see Article XV, West Deer Township Zoning Ordinance [5]).
A structure or part of a structure not designed to comply with the applicable use provisions of the West Deer Township Zoning Ordinance or amendments thereto, where such structure lawfully existed prior to the application of that ordinance or amendments. Such nonconforming structures include but are not limited to nonconforming signs (see Article XV, West Deer Township Zoning Ordinance[6]).
The adopted map of West Deer Township, identifying existing
and proposed rights-of-way, watercourses, public property, parks,
pedestrianways, utility and drainage easements and floodplains and
stormwater management areas.
A temporary storage area for a motor vehicle that is directly
accessible to an access aisle and that is not located on a dedicated
street right-of-way.
Points or locations at which stormwater leaves a site, which
may include streams, storm sewers, swales or other well-defined natural
or artificial drainage features, as well as areas of dispersed overland
flow.
A structure designed to control the rate of stormwater runoff
released from a detention system.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Any lot, parcel or yard used in whole or in part for the
storage or parking of two or more vehicles where such usage is not
incidental to or in conjunction with a one-family or two-family dwelling.
A standard which establishes an end result or outcome which
is to be achieved, but does not prescribe specific means for achieving
it.
Permitting the passage or entrance of water or other liquid.
An area of land controlled by a landowner, to be developed
as a single entity for a number of dwelling units, the development
plan for which may deviate from the designated standards of this chapter,
when approved pursuant to planned residential development regulations
or the clustered subdivision option contained in this chapter, duly
adopted.
The duly appointed Planning Commission of the Township of
West Deer, Allegheny County.
The map or plan of a subdivision or land development, whether
preliminary or final.
A point of hydraulic concern such as a bridge, culvert or
channel section, for which the rate of runoff is computed or measured.
Includes parks, playgrounds and other public areas; sites
for schools, sewage treatment, refuse disposal and other publicly
owned or operated facilities.
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the governing
body, planning agency or Zoning Hearing Board, intended to inform
and obtain public comment, prior to taking action in accordance with
this chapter.
All roads, streets, walkways, gutters, curbs, sewers, waterlines,
stormwater management facilities, landscaping, streetlighting, traffic
control devices and other facilities to be dedicated to or maintained
by the Township, for which plans and specifications must comply with
the standards and specifications of the Township.
A forum held pursuant to notice under the act of July 3,
1986 (P.L. 388, No. 84, as amended), known as the "Sunshine Act." [8]
A notice published once each week for two successive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. Such notice
shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature
of the matter to be considered at the hearing. The first publication
shall not be more than 30 days and the second publication shall not
be less than seven days from the date of the hearing.
The instantaneous rate of water flow, usually expressed in
cubic feet per second.
Those types of land use classified as recreational as per
the provisions of the West Deer Township Zoning Ordinance, Section
3.1.
The percentage of predevelopment peak rate of runoff from
a watershed subbasin (as delineated in the watershed plan), which
defines the allowable post-development peak discharge from any development
site in that subbasin. The release rate percentage is determined by
computing the following ratio:
|
Subbasin pre-development rate
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
of runoff contributing to
| ||||
|
watershed peak
|
x
|
1006
|
=
|
Release Rate
|
|
Subbasin pre-development
|
Percentage
| |||
|
peak rate of runoff
|
Land reserved for use as a street, alley, interior walk or
other public purpose and dedicated for public use; all must be recorded
in the County Recorder of Deeds office. For purpose of this chapter,
public right-of-way lines shall prevail over private parcel lines
that are designated as falling within the public right-of-way. When
a lot abuts a right-of-way of a public thoroughfare or alley, all
applicable lot area and front, side and rear lot requirements shall
be computed from the public right-of-way line.
The entire right-of-way of a public or private street or
highway.
The surface water discharge or rate of discharge of a given
watershed after a fall of rain or snow that does not enter the soil
but runs off the surface of the land.
The hydrologic, geologic and land cover characteristics of
any watershed which affect the rate, amount and direction of stormwater
runoff. These may include but are not limited to vegetation, soils,
slopes and man-made landscape alterations.
The surface water runoff that can be reasonably anticipated
upon maximum development of that area of the watershed located upstream
from the subject tract, as permitted by prevailing zoning or comprehensive
plan.
Solid material, both mineral and organic, that is in suspension,
is being transported or has been moved from its site or origin by
air, water, gravity or ice and has come to rest on the earth's surface.
The process by which mineral or organic matter is assimilated
or deposited by moving wind, water or gravity. Once this matter is
deposited (or remains suspended in water), it is usually referred
to as "sediment."
The minimum distance that a structure can be located from
a right-of-way or property front, rear and side line or another structure,
thereby creating a required open space on lot.
The degree of deviation of surface from the horizontal, usually
expressed in percent or degrees.
A method of runoff computation developed by the Soil Conservation
Service (SCS) and utilized in its publication Urban Hydrology for
Small Watershed, Technical Release No. 55, SCS, October 1981 (or the
most current edition.)
Natural or mechanical treatment of a mass of soil or ground
area to increase or maintain its stability or otherwise improve its
engineering properties and resistance to erosion.
A sewer that carries intercepted surface runoff, street water
and other drainage, but excluding domestic sewage and domestic wastes.
Natural or engineered structures which collect and transport
stormwater through or from a drainage area to the point of final outlet,
including but not limited to any of the following: conduits and appurtenant
features, canals, channels, ditches, streams, culverts, streets and
pumping stations.
The plan for managing stormwater runoff from a specific development
site.
Water generated in a drainage basin resulting from snow melt
or precipitation events.
The quantity of water resulting from a storm event, usually
expressed in cubic feet, acre feet or inches over acreage of the watershed.
A watercourse.
Includes streets, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway,
parkway, land, alley, viaduct and any other ways used or intended
to be used by vehicular traffic or pedestrians, whether public or
private, and, for the purposes of this chapter, shall be classified
as follows:
Arterial streets are those which are used primarily
for through, fast or heavy traffic at high volumes.
Collector streets are those which carry traffic
at moderate volumes from minor streets to a major system of arterial
streets, including principal entrance streets, of a residential development
and streets for major circulation within such developments.
Minor streets are those which are used primarily
for access to the abutting properties and which accommodate low volumes
of traffic.
Marginal access streets are minor streets which
are parallel to and adjacent to arterial streets and which provide
access to abutting properties and protection from through traffic.
Private drives, including alleys, are minor
ways which are used primarily for vehicular service access to the
back or the side of properties otherwise abutting on a street.
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land. "Structures"
include but are not limited to buildings, sheds, signs and landfills.
A portion of the watershed that has similar hydrologic characteristics
and drains to a common point.
See "developer."
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land
by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions
of land including changes in existing lot lines for the purpose, whether
immediate or future, of lease, partition by the court for distribution
to heirs, transfer of ownership or building or lot development; provided,
however, that the subdivision by lease of land for agricultural purposes
into parcels of more than 10 acres, not involving any new street or
easement of access or any residential dwellings, shall be exempted.
Any subdivision abutting or accessible to a minimum fifty-foot
right-of-way, an existing public street or road involving not more
than four lots, plus residual land area, which may also be a conforming
lot for area and dimensions, parcels of land or other division of
land which does not require a new street, the installation of sanitary
sewers, stormwater sewers, water mains or pipes or other public improvements.
A professional land surveyor, duly registered to provide
land surveying services by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
A low lying stretch of land which gathers or carries surface
water runoff.
The time period necessary for surface runoff to reach the
outlet of a subarea from, hydraulically, the most remote point in
the tributary drainage area.
The Township of West Deer, Allegheny County.
A professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, duly appointed as the engineer for West Deer Township.
A lot or contiguous group of lots in single ownership or
under single control, and usually considered a unit for purposes of
development.
A parcel of land used and/or designed to provide transient
accommodations for two or more recreational vehicles, including camping
trailers, travel trailers, truck campers, motor homes and tents.
The purpose of the activity for which the land or building
thereon is designed, arranged or intended or for which it is occupied
or maintained. The term "permitted use" or "use by right," or its
equivalent, shall not be deemed to include any nonconforming use.
Any channel for conveyance of surface water having a defined
bed and banks, whether natural or artificial, with perennial or intermittent
flow.
The entire area drained by a river, stream or other body
of water, whether natural or man-made. A "designated watershed" is
an area delineated by PADEP and approved by the Environmental Quality
Board as one for which the county is required to prepare a watershed
stormwater management plan in accordance with the Pennsylvania Stormwater
Management Act.[9]
The plan for managing stormwater runoff through a designated
watershed adopted by Allegheny County as required by the Pennsylvania
Stormwater Management Act.[10]
That document enacted by resolution by the Township Supervisors
which describes and illustrates the standards by which construction
of the required improvements for development must comply.
Those areas that are inundated by surface or ground water
with a frequency sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances
do support, a prevalence of vegetative or aquatic life requiring saturated
soil conditions for growth and reproduction. "Wetlands" generally
include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas as defined in Section
404 of the Clean Water Act and applied by the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection.
An unoccupied space open to the sky, on the same lot with
a building or structure.
The official Zoning Map or Maps of West Deer Township, which
are part of the West Deer Township Zoning Ordinance, and all amendments
thereto.
The duly appointed administrative officer designated to administer
the Zoning Ordinance and issue zoning or building permits.
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibits #1 through #6 are included in Appendix A as an attachment to this chapter.
[2]
Editor's Note: Exhibits #1 through #6 are included in Appendix A as an attachment to this chapter.
[3]
Editor's Note: See 32 P.S. § 679.101
et seq.
[4]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10503(1.1).
[8]
Editor's Note: See now 65 Pa.C.S.A. § 701
et seq.
[9]
Editor's Note: See 32 P.S. § 680.1
et seq.
[10]
Editor's Note: See 32 P.S. § 680.1
et seq.
