A.
Unless a contrary intention clearly appears, the following words
and phrases shall have, for the purposes of this chapter, the meanings
given in the following clauses.
B.
For the purpose of this chapter, words and terms used herein shall
be interpreted as follows:
(1)
Words used in the present tense include the future.
(2)
The singular includes the plural.
(3)
The word "person" includes an individual, firm, partnership,
corporation, company, association or government entity, including
a trustee, a receiver, an assignee or a similar representative.
(4)
The word "lot" includes the word "plot" or "parcel."
(5)
The term "shall" is mandatory.
(6)
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 occupied."
(7)
The word "Supervisors" and the words "Board of Supervisors"
always mean the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors.
(8)
The word "Commission" and the words "Planning Commission" always
mean the Middletown Township Planning Commission.
(9)
The words "Zoning Hearing Board" always mean the Middletown
Township Zoning Hearing Board.
(10)
The words "Zoning Officer" always mean the Middletown Township
Zoning Officer.
(11)
The word "Township" always means Middletown Township.
C.
Any word or term not defined herein shall be used with a meaning
of standard usage.
[Amended 3-23-1999 by Ord. No. 99-03; 3-23-1999 by Ord. No. 99-04; 10-2-2001 by Ord. No. 01-13]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ACCESSORY BUILDINGSee "building, accessory."
ACCESSORY USESee "use, accessory."
As applied to a building or structure, a change or rearrangement
in the structural parts, or an enlargement or diminution, whether
by extending on a side or by increasing in height, or the moving from
one location or position to another.
A renewable source of energy generated from solar, water,
wind, geothermal, or similar sources, which is capable of providing
energy and utility provisions to a permitted use.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
A private system capable of converting solar, water and/or
wind into a viable energy source and utility provisions for a permitted
use. Such systems may include solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal
systems and/or other similar alternative energy systems.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
A person or entity filing an application under this chapter.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
Fitting together and/or attaching by any means, including,
but not limited to, brazing, welding, bonding, riveting, bolting and
screwing.
A system that is physically mounted, attached and/or connected
(except utility and energy transfer connections) to a permitted principal
or accessory building or structure in accordance with all pertinent
zoning, utility and building code requirements.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
A body politic and corporate created pursuant to the Act
of May 2, 1945 (P.L. 382, No. 164), known as the "Municipality Authorities
Act of 1945."[1]
A space having 1/2 or more of its floor-to-ceiling height
above the average level of the adjoining ground and with a floor-to-ceiling
height of not less than 6 1/2 feet. A basement shall be counted
as a story for the purposes of height measurement or the determination
of square footage or floor area.
Organic materials produced in a renewable manner. This includes
woody fuels such as forestry residue, yard waste, or dedicated biomass
crops such as switchgrass.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
Any body granted jurisdiction under this chapter or under
the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code[2] (Act 247, as amended by Act 170) to render final adjudications.
The process of breaching the skin or mucous membrane for
the purpose of insertion of any object, including, but not limited
to, jewelry for cosmetic purposes.
A penetration of soil and/or rock that is augured, drilled,
cored, bored, washed, driven, dug, jetted, or otherwise constructed,
which is generally cylindrical in shape, and whose diameter is generally
smaller than its depth of penetration.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
A structure having a roof which is used or intended to be
used for the shelter or enclosure of persons, animals or property.
The word "building" shall include any part thereof.
BUILDING, ACCESSORYA subordinate building located on the same lot as a principal building and clearly incidental and subordinate to the principal building. Any portion of a principal building devoted or intended to be devoted to an accessory use is not an accessory building.
BUILDING, PRINCIPALA building in which is conducted, or is intended to be conducted, the principal use of the lot on which it is located.
That percentage of the lot area covered by buildings.
The vertical distance of a building or structure measured
from the mean level of the ground abutting the building or structure
to the highest point of the roof or the structure.
A solar energy system that consists of integrating solar
PV modules into the building envelope, where the solar panels themselves
act as a building material (roof shingles) or structural element (i.e.,
facade).
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
The line parallel to the street line at a distance therefrom
equal to the depth of the minimum front yard required for the district
in which the lot is located.
The minimum distance between buildings. The minimum building
spacing shall be measured from the outermost wall or projection, excluding
bay windows, chimneys, flues, columns, ornamental features, cornices
and gutters. These exceptions may encroach no more than two feet.
A cellar is a space with less than 1/2 of its floor-to-ceiling
height above the average finished grade of the adjoining ground or
with a floor-to-ceiling height of less than 6 1/2 feet. A cellar
is not counted as a story for the purposes of height measurement or
the determination of square footage or floor area unless the cellar
is used for dwelling, office or business purposes.
A facility consisting of the equipment and structures involved
in receiving telecommunications or radio signals from a mobile radio
communications source and transmitting those signals to a central
switching computer which connects the mobile unit with the land-based
telephone lines.
TOWERA structure intended to support equipment used to transmit and/or receive telecommunications signals. Examples of such structures include monopoles and lattice construction steel structures.
ANTENNAA device used to collect or transmit telecommunications or radio signals. Examples are panels and single poles known as whip antennas.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT BUILDINGThe structure in which the electronic receiving and relay equipment for a cellular telecommunications facility is housed.
A type of geothermal heating and/or cooling system that utilizes
a pressurized heat exchanger consisting of pipe, a circulating pump,
and a water-source heat pump in which the heat transfer fluid is not
exposed to the atmosphere. The heat transfer fluid is potable or beneficial
reuse water and may have approved antifreeze added.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
A use permitted in a particular zoning district pursuant
to the provisions of § 500-3109.[3]
Real estate, portions of which are designated for separate
ownership and the remainder of which is designated for common ownership
solely by the owners of those portions. Real estate is not a condominium
unless the undivided interests in the common elements are vested in
the unit owners. A condominium is a unit with all of the following
characteristics:
The unit may be any permitted land use. A condominium is an
ownership arrangement, not a land use.
All or a portion of the exterior open space and any community interior spaces are owned and maintained in accordance with the Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act, 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq., and in accordance with the provisions for open space, roads or other development features in this chapter and Chapter 440, Subdivision and Land Development.
One that has been designed to reflect more sunlight and absorb
less heat than a standard roof. Cool roofs can be made of a highly
reflective type of paint, a sheet covering, or highly reflective tiles
or shingles.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
Final adjudication of any board or other body granted jurisdiction
under this chapter or the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code
(Act 247, as amended by Act 170) to do so, either by reason of the
grant of exclusive jurisdiction or by reason of appeals from determinations.
All decisions shall be appealable to the Court of Common Pleas of
the county and judicial district wherein the municipality lies.
Density is a measure of the number of dwelling units per
unit of area. It shall be expressed in dwelling units per acre. The
measure is arrived at by dividing the number of dwelling units by
the base site area.
The Department of Health of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[Added 1-17-2017 by Ord.
No. 17-03]
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, mining,
dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations.
Any room or group of rooms located within a building and
forming a single, habitable unit with facilities used or intended
to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating by one family.
See "family."
A grant of one or more of the property rights by the property
owner to another for the use by the public, a corporation or another
person or entity.
An assemblage of equipment for purposes other than generation
or utilization, through which electric energy in bulk is passed for
the purpose of switching or modifying its characteristics to meet
the needs of the general public.
A source of energy generated from a renewable source, other
than solar, water, wind, or geothermal sources, which is capable of
providing energy and utility provisions to a permitted use.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
A private facility capable of converting renewable energy
sources into a viable energy source and utility provisions for a permitted
use.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
A person who is employed or is engaged in gainful activity.
For the purposes of this chapter, the term shall refer to the maximum
number of employees on duty at any time at a place of business, whether
the employees are full- or part-time. If shifts are involved in which
two shifts overlap, it refers to the total of both shifts.
Any chemical compound or other substance intended for the
purpose of producing an explosion or which contains oxidizing or combustible
units or other ingredients in such proportions or quantities that
ignition by fire, by friction, by concussion, by percussion, by induction
or by detonation may produce an explosion capable of causing injury
to persons or damage to property.
The entity or entities having an interest in the alternative
and/or emerging energy facility, including their successors and assigns.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
One person or two or more persons related by blood, foster
relationship, marriage or adoption, and in addition, any domestic
servants or gratuitous guests thereof, or a group of not more than
five persons who need not be so related, and in addition, domestic
servants or gratuitous guests thereof, who are living together in
a single, nonprofit and nontransient dwelling unit and maintaining
a common household with single cooking facilities. A roomer, boarder,
lodger, or other transient person shall not be considered a member
of the family.
[Amended 6-6-2016 by Ord.
No. 16-01]
Any building used for storing agricultural equipment or farm
produce, housing livestock or poultry, or processing dairy products.
The term "farm building" shall not include dwellings.
The act of cutting a standing tree so that it falls to the
ground.
A barrier or partition having any combination of posts, wire,
lumber, stone, brick or similar materials in which the principal dimensions
are height and length and which does not support and is not attached
to a ceiling or roof.
A projection of the direct, current, public costs and revenues
associated with residential or nonresidential growth to the local
jurisdictions in which the development is proposed.
Areas adjoining streams, ponds or lakes subject to the one-hundred-year
recurrence-interval flood. The areas considered floodplain within
Middletown Township shall include those areas identified as being
subject to the one-hundred-year flood in the Flood Insurance Study
for Middletown Township prepared by the Federal Insurance Administration,
dated June 1979, and the accompanying Flood Boundary and Floodway
Map, dated December 4, 1979.
FLOODWAYThat portion of the floodplain including the watercourse channel and adjacent land areas which must be reserved to carry the one-hundred-year recurrence-interval flood without cumulatively increasing that flood elevation more than one foot.
FLOOD-FRINGEThat portion of the floodplain which is outside the floodway.
APPROXIMATE ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOODPLAINThat portion of the floodplain for which no detailed flood profiles or one-hundred-year flood elevations have been provided.
Areas subject to periodic flooding and listed in the Soil
Survey of Bucks and Philadelphia Counties, Pennsylvania, United States
Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service,
July 1975, as being "on the floodplain" or subject to "flooding."
The following soil types are floodplain soils:
The sum of the areas of the several floors of the building
or structure, including areas used for human occupancy or required
for the conduct of the business or use, and basements, attics and
penthouses, as measured from the exterior faces of the walls. It does
not include cellars, unenclosed porches, attics not used for human
occupancy, nor any floor space in an accessory building nor in the
main building intended or designed for the parking of motor vehicles
in order to meet the parking requirements of this chapter, nor any
such floor space intended and designed for accessory heating and ventilating
equipment.
The ratio of the floor area to the lot area, as determined
by dividing the floor area by the lot area.
The management of forests and timberlands when practiced
in accordance with accepted silvicultural principles, through developing,
cultivating, harvesting, transporting and selling trees for commercial
purposes, which does not involve any land development. Clear cutting
or selective cutting of forestlands for a land use change are excluded
from this definition.
A facility that is not physically mounted, attached and/or
connected (except utility and energy transfer connections) to a permitted
principal building. All such facilities shall be considered a separate
or accessory structure that has the ability to convert and convey
energy to the principal use in accordance with all pertinent zoning,
utility and building code requirements.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
A structure which is accessory to a dwelling unit and which is used for the parking and storage of vehicles owned and operated by the residents thereof, and which is not a separate commercial enterprise available to the general public. See § 500-2402 for applicable regulations.
[Amended 9-22-2014 by Ord. No. 14-05]
A system that uses a heat pump to extract heat from the earth
in heating mode and/or reject heat into the earth in cooling mode.
It is also called a geothermal heat pump system, a ground-coupled
heat pump system, an earth-source heat pump system, and a GeoExchange® system.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
A layer of vegetation planted over a waterproofing system
that is installed on top of a flat or slightly sloped roof. Green
roofs are also known as "vegetative or eco-roofs."
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
A vertical greening typology, where a vertical built structure
is intentionally covered by vegetation. Green walls include a vertically
applied growth medium such as soil, substitute substrate, or hydroculture
felt, as well as an integrated hydration and fertigation delivery
system. Green walls generally fall into one of two categories: soil-less
or modular.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
A geothermal heat pump that uses the earth itself as a heat
source and heat sink. It is coupled to the ground by means of a closed-loop
heat exchanger installed horizontally or vertically underground.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
An administrative proceeding conducted by a board pursuant
to § 500-3111.[4]
An activity for gain customarily carried on in a dwelling,
or in a building or structure accessory to a dwelling, clearly incidental
and secondary to the use of the dwelling for residential purposes.
A soil that is saturated, flooded or ponded long enough during
the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions that favor the
growth and regeneration of wetlands vegetation. Wetlands vegetation
are those plant species that have adapted to the saturated soils and
periodic inundations occurring in wetlands. The following soils, classified
in the Soil Survey of Bucks and Philadelphia Counties, Pennsylvania,
United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation
Service, July 1975, are hydric soils:
Impervious surfaces are those surfaces which do not absorb
rain. All buildings, paving areas, driveways, roads, sidewalks, swimming
pools, and any areas in concrete and asphalt, including porous asphalt
paving, shall be considered impervious surfaces within this definition.
In addition, paved areas and other areas determined by the Township
Engineer to be impervious within the meaning of this definition will
also be classed as impervious surfaces.
The impervious surface ratio is a measure of the intensity
of use of a piece of land. It is measured by dividing the total area
of all impervious surfaces within the site by the base site area.
Natural or artificial bodies of water which retain water
year round. Artificial ponds may be created by dams or result from
excavation. Lakes are bodies of water two or more acres in extent.
Ponds are bodies of water less than two acres in extent.
The landside edges of lakes and ponds from established shoreline
to an upland boundary. Lake and pond shorelines shall be measured
100 feet from the spillway crest elevation.
A place where logs, pulpwood or firewood are assembled for
transportation to processing facilities.
An individual, partnership, company, firm, association or
corporation that is in actual control of forestland, whether such
control is based on legal or equitable title or on any other interest
entitling the holder to sell or otherwise dispose of any or all of
the timber on such land in any manner, and any agents thereof acting
on their behalf, such as forestry consultants, who set up and administer
timber harvesting.
Discarded items not naturally occurring on the site, such
as tires, oil cans, equipment parts and other rubbish.
To cut tops and slash into smaller pieces to allow the material
to settle close to the ground.
A parcel of land, used or set aside and available for use
as the site of one or more buildings and any buildings accessory thereto
or for any other purpose, in one ownership and not divided by a street,
nor including any land within the limits of a public or private street
right-of-way upon which said lot abuts, even if fee to such right-of-way
is in the owner of the lot. A "lot" for the purpose of this chapter
may or may not coincide with a lot of record.
LOT AREAThe area contained within the property lines of the individual parcels of land shown on a subdivision plan, excluding any area within an existing or designated future street right-of-way or any area required as open space under this chapter and including the area of any easements.
CORNER LOTA lot which has an interior angle of less than 135° at the intersection of two street lines. A lot abutting upon a curved street or streets shall be considered a corner lot if the tangent to the curve at the points beginning within the lot or at the points of intersection of the side lot lines with the street lines intersect at an angle of less than 135°.
THROUGH LOTAn interior lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets.
LOT DEPTHThe mean distance from the street line of the lot to its opposite rear line, measured in the general direction of the side lines of the lot.
LOT WIDTHThe distance measured between the side lot lines at the minimum building setback line, as defined in the definition of "building setback line." In a case where there is only one side lot line, lot width shall be measured between such side lot line and the opposite rear lot line or street line.
VACANT LOTA lot on which no permanent building is erected.
Any boundary line of a lot.
LOT LINE, REAR (b)Any lot line which is parallel to or within 45° of being parallel to a street line, except for a lot line that is itself a street line. In the case of a corner lot, the lot line opposite the street line which the front of the principal building faces shall be considered the rear lot line. In the case of a lot having no street frontage or a lot of an odd shape, only the one lot line furthest from any street shall be considered a rear lot line. In the case of a triangular lot, a line 10 feet in length entirely within the lot, parallel to and at a maximum distance from the street line, shall be considered a rear lot line.
LOT LINE, SIDE (c)Any lot line which is not a street line or a rear lot line.
STREET LINE (d)See "street line."
SAMPLE LOT CONFIGURATIONSLetters (in illustration below) correspond to lot line definitions above.
|
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.
Act 16 of 2016 of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 35 P.S.
§ 10231.101 et seq.
[Added 1-17-2017 by Ord.
No. 17-03]
A person, including a natural person, individual, firm, partnership,
corporation, company, association, trust, governmental entity or any
other entity, or any combination thereof, and including a trustee,
receiver, assignee and/or other similar representative of the same,
that is registered by the Department of Health under the Medical Marijuana
Act to dispense medical marijuana. The term does not include a "health
care medical marijuana organization" as defined in Chapter 19 of the
Medical Marijuana Act.[5]
[Added 1-17-2017 by Ord.
No. 17-03]
A person, including a natural person, individual, firm, partnership,
corporation, company, association, trust, governmental entity or any
other entity, or any combination thereof, and including a trustee,
receiver, assignee and/or other similar representative of the same,
that is registered by the Department of Health under the Medical Marijuana
Act to grow and/or process medical marijuana. The term does not include
a "health care medical marijuana organization" as defined in Chapter
19 of the Medical Marijuana Act.[6]
[Added 1-17-2017 by Ord.
No. 17-03]
A structure designed to support the gathering of wind energy
resource data, and includes the tower, base plate, anchors, guy cables
and hardware, anemometers (wind speed indicators), wind direction
vanes, booms to hold equipment anemometers and vanes, data logger,
instrument wiring, and any telemetry devices that are used to monitor
or transmit wind speed and wind flow characteristics over a period
of time for either instantaneous wind information or to characterize
the wind resource at a given location.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent
occupancy, contained in one unit, or in two 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 (accessory attachments)
necessary for the erection thereon of a single mobile home.
That part of a mobile home lot which has been reserved for
the placement of the mobile home, appurtenant structures or additions.
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which has been so
designated and improved that it contains two or more mobile home lots
for the placement thereon of mobile homes.
A professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, duly appointed as the Engineer for Middletown Township.
A lot the area or dimensions of which was lawful prior to
the adoption or amendment of this chapter but which fails to conform
to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located
by reason of such adoption or amendment.
A structure or part of a structure which does not comply
with the applicable area, dimensional, parking, buffer, environmental
or other provisions of this chapter or amendment heretofore or hereafter
enacted, where such structure lawfully existed prior to the enactment
of such ordinance or amendment or prior to the application of such
ordinance or amendment to its location by reason of annexation. Such
nonconforming structures include, but are not limited to, nonconforming
signs.
A use, whether of land or of structure, which does not comply
with the applicable use provisions in this chapter or amendment heretofore
or hereafter enacted, where such use was lawfully in existence prior
to the enactment of such ordinance or amendment or prior to the application
of such ordinance or amendment to its location by reason of annexation.
Any landowner except those on whose property all or a portion
of an alternative and/or emerging energy facility is located pursuant
to the provisions of this chapter.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
A building located on a parcel of land utilized as a permitted
use in accordance with the provisions of Middletown Township.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
Open space is land which shall be kept open in perpetuity
and shall be restricted from future development. Open space shall
be permanent and inviolate. To qualify as open space, such land shall
be used only for open space uses: recreation, amenity, buffer or resource
protection. Open space shall not include land occupied by nonrecreational
buildings or structures, roads or road rights-of-way, easements, paving
lots, land reserved for future parking lots, stormwater detention
basins or retention basins, or the yards or lots of dwelling units.
The open space ratio is a measure of the intensity of land
use. It is arrived at by dividing the total amount of open space within
the site by the base site area.
An individual, partnership, company, firm, association or
corporation responsible for the day-to-day operation and maintenance
of the alternative and/or emerging energy facilities and/or engaged
in timber harvesting, including the agents, subcontractors and employees
thereof.
[Amended 12-6-2021 by Ord. No. 21-07]
A development or subdivision that permits a variety of housing
types subject to a series of performance standards. The performance
standard subdivision requires the provision of open space and limits
density and impervious surfaces.
A forest practice, such as thinning or pruning, which results
in better growth, structure, species composition or health for the
residual stand but which does not yield a net income to the landowner,
usually because any trees cut are of poor quality, too small or otherwise
of limited marketability or value.
One who engages in body piercing or tattooing.
Any premises where a personal service artist/operator does
body piercing or tattooing.
PRINCIPAL BUILDINGSee "building, principal."
PRINCIPAL USESee "use, principal."
A principal use owned, operated and/or maintained by a private
or independent utility company for the purposes of providing energy
within a defined service area or grid system in accordance with the
provisions established by the Public Utility Commission and the Public
Utility Code.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Board
of Supervisors or Planning Commission, intended to inform and obtain
public comment, prior to taking action in accordance with the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247, as amended by Act 170).
A forum held pursuant to notice under the Act of July 3,
1986 (P.L. 388, No. 84), known as the "Sunshine Act."[7]
Notice published once each week for two successive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township. 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.
Any letter, review, memorandum, compilation or similar writing
made by any body, board, officer or consultant other than a solicitor
to any other body, board, officer or consultant for the purpose of
assisting the recipient of such report in the rendering of any decision
or determination. All reports shall be deemed recommendations and
advisory only and shall not be binding upon their recipient, board,
officer, body or agency, nor shall any appeal be therefrom. Any report
used, received or considered by the body, board, officer or agency
rendering a determination or decision shall be made available for
inspection to the applicant and all other parties to any proceeding
upon request, and copies thereof shall be provided at cost of production.
Any shop or store selling commodities and goods to the ultimate
consumer, including, but not limited to, the following: food stores,
drugstores, variety stores, clothing or dry goods stores, stationery
or bookstores, and any other facility dedicated to providing commodities
and goods as provided hereunder.
[Added 7-11-2006 by Ord. No. 06-12; amended 5-20-2008 by Ord. No.
08-05; 12-17-2012 by Ord. No. 12-06]
Land set aside for use as a street, alley or other means
of travel.
EXISTING RIGHT-OF-WAYThe legal right-of-way as established by the commonwealth or other appropriate governing authority and currently in existence.
FUTURE RIGHT-OF-WAYThe right-of-way deemed necessary to provide adequate width for future street improvements.
PUBLIC SEWERA public sewer is any municipal or privately owned sewer system in which sewage is collected from buildings from more than one lot and/or dwelling unit and piped to an approved sewage disposal plant or central septic tank disposal system. It may also be referred to as "off-lot" or "off-site" sewer. This shall include capped sewers.
PRIVATE SEWERAn "on-lot" approved disposal system generally providing for disposal of effluent for only one building or a group of buildings on a single lot.
See § 500-2803.
A single detached dwelling unit on an individual lot with
private yards on all sides of the house.
The site shall be defined as a parcel or parcels of land
intended to have one or more buildings or intended to be subdivided
into one or more lots.
All land area within the site as defined in the deed. This
area shall be determined from an actual site used rather than from
a deed description.
The area of the site remaining after subtracting land which
is not contiguous, land previously subdivided, and road and utility
rights-of-way from the site area.
The buildable site area is the area of the site which may
be altered, disturbed or regraded for development purposes. The buildable
site area could contain buildings, roads, parking areas, sewage systems
and stormwater management facilities. The buildable site area would
not contain required open space, recreation areas and natural resource
protection areas.
Dragging trees on the ground from the stump to the landing
by any means.
Woody debris left in the woods after logging, including logs,
chunks, bark, branches, uprooted stumps and broken or uprooted trees
or shrubs.
Legal agreements that protect access to sunlight on a property.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
Radiant energy (direct, diffuse or reflected) received from
the sun at wavelengths suitable for conversion into thermal, chemical
or electrical energy.
SOLAR ENERGY COLLECTORAny device, structure or part of a device or structure which is used primarily to transform solar energy into thermal, chemical or electrical energy. It includes any space or structural component specifically designed to retain heat derived from solar energy.
SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMAn energy system that consists of one or more solar collection devices, solar-energy-related "balance of system" equipment, and other associated infrastructure, with the primary intention of generating electricity, storing electricity, or otherwise converting solar energy to a different form of energy. Solar energy systems may generate energy in excess of the energy requirements of a property if it is to be sold back to a public utility in accordance with the law.
[Amended 12-6-2021 by Ord. No. 21-07]
ACTIVE SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMA solar system that requires external mechanical power (fans or pumps) to move a conductive medium (water, antifreeze or freon) to the interior of a building for heating or cooling.
PASSIVE SOLAR SYSTEMA solar energy system that uses natural properties of materials and architectural components to collect and store solar energy. In some cases, external mechanical power (fan) may be required to move the collected heat.
SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM, GROUND-MOUNTEDA solar energy system where an array is mounted onto the ground.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
A measure of the constructed surface's ability to reflect
solar heat, as shown by a small temperature rise. It is defined so
that a standard black surface (reflectance 0.05, emittance 0.90) is
0, and a standard white surface (reflectance 0.80, emittance 0.90)
is 100.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
A use permitted in a particular zoning district pursuant
to the provisions of § 500-3108.[8]
[Amended 9-22-2014 by Ord. No. 14-05]
Any area of forest vegetation whose site conditions, past
history and current species composition are sufficiently uniform to
be managed as a unit.
Areas where the average slope exceeds 8% which, because of
this slope, are subject to high rates of stormwater runoff and, therefore,
erosion and flooding.
That portion of a building included between the surface of
any floor and the surface of the floor next above it, or if there
is no floor above it, then the space between the floor and the ceiling
next above it and including those basements used for the principal
use. A half story is a space under a sloping roof which has the line
of intersection of the roof and wall face not more than three feet
above the floor level, and in which space the possible floor area
with headroom of five feet or less occupies at least 40% of the total
floor area of the story directly beneath.
Source: Moskowi & Lindbloom. The Illustrated Book of Development
Definitions (1981, Rutgers University).
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That story with its floor level immediately above the average
finished grade level of the adjoining ground at any particular point
or side of the building.
Any natural or artificial channel of conveyance for surface
water with an annual or intermittent flow within a defined bed and
banks.
A public or private way used or intended to be used for passage
or travel by automotive vehicles and pedestrians and/or to provide
access to abutting properties.
The dividing line between the street and the lot. The street
line shall be the same as the future right-of-way.
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
To mark or color the skin by pricking in, by subcutaneous
introduction, nontoxic dyes or pigments so as to form indelible marks
or figures by production of scars.
A building or part of a building used for the transmission
and exchange of telephone or radio telephone messages.
An accessory building on a lot used in whole or in part as
dwelling quarters for one or more tenant farmers.
Above-grade, exterior building walls that are made of concrete
block, concrete, insulated concrete form, masonry cavity, brick, earth,
adobe, compressed earth block, rammed earth, and solid timber or logs.
The insulation must be at least 50% on the exterior or integral to
the wall, and the wall must exhibit a weight greater than 15 pounds
per square foot.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
The process of cutting down trees and removing logs from
the forest for the primary purpose of sale or commercial processing
into wood products. Clear cutting or selective cutting of forestlands
for a land use change are excluded from this definition.
The upper portion of a felled tree that is unmerchantable
because of small size, taper or defect.
A dwelling in which rooms for overnight sleeping accommodations
are provided for or offered to transient guests for compensation.
A dwelling unit in which between six and 16 persons who are
not considered a family live together and maintain a common household
with single cooking facilities.
[Added 6-6-2016 by Ord.
No. 16-01]
An area that is radial to the trunk of a tree, in which no
construction activity shall occur. The tree protection zone shall
be 15 feet from the trunk of the tree to be retained or the distance
from the trunk to the dripline, whichever is greater. Where there
is a group of trees or woodlands, the tree protection zone shall be
the aggregate of the protection zones for the individual trees.
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Any activity, occupation, business or operation carried on,
or intended to be carried on, in a building or other structure or
on a tract of land.
USE, ACCESSORYA use located on the same lot with a principal use, and clearly incidental or subordinate to, and in connection with the principal use.
USE, PRINCIPALThe main use on a lot.
Those services customarily rendered by public utility corporations,
municipalities or municipal authorities in the nature of electricity,
gas, telephone, water and sewerage, including the appurtenances used
in connection with the supplying of such services (buildings, wires,
pipes, poles and the like).
Walls opposite to and parallel with one another or wall lines
extended off opposite walls intersecting at angles of less than 65°.
Any natural or artificial stream, river, creek, ditch, channel,
canal, waterway, gully or ravine in which water flows in a definite
direction or course, either continuously or intermittently, and has
a defined bed and banks.
Areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or
groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and
that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation
typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, including
swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas.
The transitional area extending from the outer limit of the
wetland.[10]
A device, which includes a tower structure and associated
mechanism(s) and supporting components, which is installed aboveground
for the purpose of generating mechanical or electrical energy, and
may include, but not be limited to, vertical or horizontal plane,
wind-driven turbines, helixes, meteorological towers, and windmills.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
An alternative energy facility designed to burn wood or other
organic biomass fuels, which transfers heated air or liquid through
a piping or ventilation system to a principal use. All such systems
are generally contained within an accessory structure that is not
intended for habitation by humans or animals. Outdoor wood-fired boilers
may also be known as "outdoor wood-fired furnaces," "outdoor wood-burning
appliances," "outdoor hydraulic heaters," and/or "hot-water stoves."
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord.
No. 21-07]
One-quarter acre or more of wooded land where the largest
trees measure at least six inches in diameter at breast height (dbh)
or 4.5 feet from the ground. The woodland shall be measured from the
dripline of the outer trees. Woodlands are also a grove of trees forming
one canopy where 10 or more trees measure at least 10 inches in diameter
at breast height (dbh).
An open space unobstructed from the ground up except for
permitted projections and plantings, on the same lot with a structure,
extending along a lot line or street line and inward to the structure.
The size of a required yard shall be measured as the shortest distance
between the structure and a lot line or street line.
YARD, FRONTA yard between a structure and a street line and extending the entire length of the street line. In the case of a lot that fronts on more than one street, the yards extending along all streets are front yards.
YARD, REARA yard between a structure and rear lot line and extending the entire length of the rear lot line.
YARD, SIDEA yard between a structure and a side lot line, extending from the front yard to the rear yard. In the case of a lot having no street frontage or a lot of odd shape, any yard that is not a front yard or a rear yard shall be considered a side yard.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now the Municipality Authorities Act, 53
Pa.C.S.A. § 5601 et seq.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
[5]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 10231.1901.
[6]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 10231.1901.
[7]
Editor's Note: See now the Sunshine Act, 65 Pa.C.S.A. § 701
et seq.
[10]
Editor's Note: The definition of "wind energy conversion system
(WECS)," which immediately followed this definition, was repealed 12-6-2021 by Ord. No. 21-07.
