Borough of Honesdale, PA Article III Basic Zoning Regulations

§ 210-5 Official Zoning Map.

The Borough of Honesdale is hereby divided into zoning districts, as shown on the Official Zoning Map, which together with all explanatory matter thereon is hereby adopted by reference and declared to be part of this chapter, together with all future notations, references and amendments.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: The Official Zoning Map is available at the Borough offices. Ordinance No. 609, adopted 11-14-2005, provided that the Official Zoning Map be amended to a color version.

§ 210-6 Zoning Districts.

A. Honesdale Borough shall consist of 11 zoning districts as follows:

	A1	-	Agricultural
	A2	-	Agricultural
	ID	-	Industrial
	C-1	-	Central Commercial
	C-2	-	Highway Commercial
	R-1	-	Low-Density Residential
	R-2	-	Single-Family Residential
	R-3	-	Multifamily Residential
	R-4	-	High-Density Residential
	R-5	-	Residential/Professional
	R-6	-	Residential/Institutional

B. The intent of each district, and regulations which shall apply in each, are given in the Schedule of District Regulations.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: See § 210-10, Development standards.

C. An additional classification is hereby made for the purpose of regulating floodplains as designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

§ 210-6.1 Conservation Design Development Overlay District: developer’s option.

[Added 8-13-2007 by Ord. No. 622]

The Conservation Design Development Overlay District is hereby created to promote the conservation of open lands in the Borough. The overlay district may be applied at the developer’s option in A1, A2, R-1, R-2 and R-4 Districts, and in addition to all the applicable standards of this chapter, the requirements of § 210-15 shall apply.

§ 210-6.2 Downtown Historic Preservation Area.

[Added 11-1-2021 by Ord. No. 709]

There is hereby created a special zoning district, the boundaries of which are as follows:

This district shall be an overlay zone in which the normal provisions of the district indicated on the Official Zoning Map shall apply except that, to the extent practicable, Conditional Use applications shall be subject to the following additional review criteria:

A. Existing buildings.

(1) Important architectural features should be preserved wherever possible.

(2) Window and door openings visible from the street should be maintained.

(3) New materials such as siding should be similar to existing or original materials. Vinyl siding should not be applied over brick or stone, and composite sheet siding such as plywood should not be used.

(4) Additions should be of similar form, scale and materials to existing buildings and those adjacent wherever possible.

(5) The Borough may, at its sole discretion, also apply design guidelines promulgated under downtown improvement programs as may be appropriate given the circumstances of an existing building or block.

B. New buildings.

(1) New structures should be compatible with the architectural style of existing historic buildings.

(2) Setbacks should be in line with existing nearby buildings.

(3) Building heights should be similar to those of existing nearby buildings.

(4) Garages and accessory structures should be located in the rear of buildings wherever possible.

(5) Parking lots should be located in the rear or side of buildings, with rear yards being required wherever feasible. Accesses to parking should be from alley or side streets wherever possible.

(6) The Borough may also apply design guidelines promulgated under downtown improvement programs as may be appropriate given the circumstances of an existing building or block.

§ 210-7 District boundaries.

District boundary lines are intended to follow or be parallel to the center line of streets, streams and railroads, and lot or property lines as they exist on a recorded deed or plan of record in the Wayne County Recorder of Deed's Office and the Wayne County Tax Maps at the time of the enactment of this chapter, unless such district boundary lines are fixed by dimensions as shown on the Zoning Map. In any case of uncertainty the Honesdale Borough Council shall interpret the intent of the map as to location of district boundaries.

§ 210-8 General district regulations.

[Amended 11-1-2021 by Ord. No. 709]

District regulations are of two types: use regulations and development standards which shall apply to any proposed new use, expansion of any existing use, or change of use of land and/or structures in Honesdale Borough. Both are detailed on the Schedule of District Regulations.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: The Schedule of District Regulations is included as an attachment to this chapter.

§ 210-9 Use regulations.

[Amended 11-1-2021 by Ord. No. 709]

A. Permits for principal permitted uses and accessory uses shall be issued as a matter of right, provided the standards contained in this chapter are otherwise met.

B. Conditional uses and special exceptions shall be subject to additional review procedures as specified herein.

C. Whenever any proposed use is neither specifically permitted nor denied under this chapter as presently written, the Zoning Officer shall refer the application to the Borough Council, which shall determine whether the use shall be permitted or denied based on its similarity to other permitted or denied uses which are specifically identified in this chapter. The Borough Council shall, if it determines the use is permitted, classify it as either a principal permitted, conditional use, special exception, or accessory use, and direct the Zoning Officer to proceed accordingly.

D. Minor impact uses.

(1) Minor impact uses shall be processed as principal permitted uses, notwithstanding their classification on the Schedule of District Regulations as conditional uses or special exceptions. A minor impact use shall be one that:

(a) Uses less than 2,000 square feet of building floor area.

(b) Does not involve the outside storage of materials or supplies except for minor incidentals.

(c) Involves the parking of no more than two vehicles on-site.

(d) Complies with landscaping, parking, sign and other performance standards.

(e) Generates no more than 100 vehicle trips per day, based on estimates provided by the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

(2) No minor impact use, having once been permitted or established, shall be added to, expanded, enlarged or otherwise increased or changed substantially in character without complying with this chapter. Any addition or expansion which takes a use above the upper limits established for a minor impact use shall be processed as a conditional use.

§ 210-10 Development standards.

[Amended 12-10-2007 by Ord. No. 625; 12-30-2003 by Ord. No. 598; 1-14-2019 by Ord. No. 693; 11-1-2021 by Ord. No. 709]

The development standards which apply to each district include minimum lot sizes, minimum average widths, yard requirements, maximum lot coverage and maximum building height. These standards vary among districts and detailed in the Schedule of District Regulations.[1] Supplementary regulations (Article IV) may establish additional or differing standards as they apply to specific uses.

[1] Editor's Note: See § 210-8.