For the purpose of this chapter, certain terms and words used
herein shall be interpreted or defined as follows:
A.Â
Words used in the present tense shall include the future.
B.Â
Words used in the singular number shall include the plural.
C.Â
Words used in the plural number shall include the singular.
D.Â
The word "person" includes a corporation as well as an individual,
or an association of individuals.
E.Â
The words "shall" and "will" are always mandatory.
F.Â
The word "may" is permissive.
[Amended 9-9-1997 by Ord. No. 59]
For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated, unless otherwise specifically stated. Words
not defined herein shall be observed and applied according to their
generally accepted dictionary definitions.
A minor right-of-way providing secondary vehicular access
to the side or rear of two or more properties.
Every application, whether preliminary, tentative 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 development plan.
An area bounded by streets, utility, railroad, public facility
or other rights-of-way; or easements or other definite barriers.
An independent and detached structure having a roof supported
by columns or walls, or resting on its own foundation including, but
not limited to, mobile homes, garages, greenhouses and other accessory
buildings, and utilized for housing, shelter or enclosure of persons,
animals, chattels or activity sites.
The line of that face of the building nearest the front line
of the lot at the street right-of-way line. This face includes porches,
whether enclosed or not, patios and similar construction, but excludes
steps.
That portion of the total street right-of-way surfaced for
vehicular use. Width is determined from face of curb to face of curb,
or from one edge of driving surface to the other edge of driving surface.
A triangular area of unobstructed vision on corner lots formed
by a fifty-foot sight line along the center line of a local street
and by a line joining these two sight lines at the greatest distance
from their intersection. This entire area is to remain clear of obstructions
to sight above a plane established 3Â 1/2 feet in elevation from
grade level at the intersection of the street center line.
Engaging in a business, enterprise, public service, civic,
religious or other undertaking or activity related to or connected
with, trade, commerce, services or traffic in general. In general,
commercial uses shall be interpreted to be those activities necessary
to meet local and area needs for goods and services. Activities involving
major processing, production or material handling by organizations
which primarily perform conversion and assembly or nontoxic chemical
operations shall be deemed industrial.
The Township of Connoquenessing Planning Commission as duly
appointed by the Board of Supervisors.
A parcel or parcels of land or an area of water, or a combination
of land and water within a development site and designed and intended
for the use or enjoyment of residents of a development, not including
streets, off-street parking areas and areas set aside for public facilities.
Financial security, in a form satisfactory to the Township,
to provide for, and to secure to the public, the completion, within
a specified period of time fixed in the developer's agreement, of
any improvements required for the subdivision plat or land development.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 68]
An obligation defined by law or agreement, the violation
of which can be restrained by court action; these are usually stated
in the deed.
A residential street open to traffic and pedestrian access
with one end permanently terminated by a vehicular turnaround.
The maximum number of dwelling units permitted per acre of
land, in accordance with the minimum required lot size within the
Township.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 68]
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.
The provisions for development including a planned residential
development, a plat of subdivision, all covenants relating to use,
location and bulk of buildings and other structures, intensity of
use or density of development, streets, ways and parking facilities,
common open space and public facilities. The phrase "provisions of
development plan," when used in this chapter, shall mean the written
and graphic materials referred to in this definition.
A building arranged, intended, designed or used, as the living
quarters for one or more families living independently of each other
upon the premises. The term "dwelling" shall not be deemed to include
hotels, motels, tourist homes, boarding or rooming houses, nursing
or institutional homes or residence clubs.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 68]
A structure arranged, designed and intended for and occupied
by three or more families living independently and having no cooking
or sanitary facilities in common with any other dwelling unit; including
apartment houses, apartment hotels, flats and garden apartments.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 68]
A building arranged, designed and intended, for and occupied
exclusively by, one family.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 68]
A building arranged, designed and intended for and occupied
by two families living independently.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 68]
A grant by a property owner for the use of land which is
given to persons, corporations or the public for purposes such as
access, utility placement or similar activities.
A way of departure from an access or entry point or entrance.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 68]
The Engineer of the Township officially designated by the
Board of Supervisors.
The channel of a river, stream or other watercourse and the
adjacent land areas required to carry and discharge water volumes
of a given anticipated magnitude.
The duly elected Board of Township Supervisors of the Township
of Connoquenessing, Butler County, Pennsylvania.
The entire land area of a tract, as distinguished from net
acreage.
A strip of land equal to or less than 1/2 of the required
right-of-way reserved or proposed for street purposes along the property
line. (Half streets are prohibited except to complete another half
street.)
Any hard-surfaced, man-made area that does not readily absorb
or retain water, including but not limited to building roofs, parking
and driveway areas, graveled areas, sidewalks, road surfaces and paved
recreation areas.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 68]
Those physical changes to the land necessary to produce usable
and desirable lots from raw acreage including, but not limited to,
grading, paving, curbs, gutters, storm sewers and drains, improvements
to existing watercourses, sidewalks, crosswalks, street signs, monuments,
water supply facilities and sewage disposal facilities.
Access or entry point or entrance.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 68]
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.
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.
"Land development" does not include development which involves:
The conversion of an existing single-family detached dwelling
or single-family semidetached dwelling into not more than three residential
units, unless such units are intended to be a condominium.
The addition of an accessory building, including farm buildings,
on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing principal building.
The addition or conversion of buildings or rides within the
confines of an enterprise which would be considered an amusement park.
For the purposes of this subsection, an "amusement park" is defined
as a tract or area used principally as a location for permanent amusement
structures or rides. This exclusion shall not apply to newly acquired
acreage by an amusement park until initial plans for the expanded
area have been approved by the proper authorities.
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 if he is
authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the landowner
or other persons having a proprietary interest in land.
A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by
a plat or otherwise as permitted by law and to be used, developed
or built upon as a unit.
The mean horizontal distance between the front lot line and
the rear lot line.
The horizontal distance across the lot, between the side
lot lines, measured at the building line.
A lot, abutting two or more streets at their intersection,
on which the building line for all streets must be observed.
A lot which has access to a public right-of-way from both
the front yard and back yard. Double-frontage lots may be permitted
only as variances due to unnecessary hardship or unique physical circumstances
which are not created by an appellant.
A lot abutting a public right-of-way along both the front
and rear yards, having access to only one of the public rights-of-way.
Financial security, in a form satisfactory to the Township,
to provide for, and secure to the public, the repair or maintenance
of the improvements required by this chapter for a specified period
after their completion and acceptance by the Township.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 68]
A body politic and corporate created pursuant to the Municipality
Authorities Act, 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 5601 et seq.[4]
The Township of Connoquenessing, Butler County, Pennsylvania.
The total acreage of a development site minus the areas utilized
for accessways, on-grade utilities and facilities, lakes, ponds or
similar water surfaces and parking facilities.
A sanitary sewage collection system approved by the Township
in which sewage is carried from an individual lot or dwelling unit
by a system of pipes to a central treatment and disposal plant which
may be publicly or privately owned and operated.
A potable water distribution system approved by the Township
in which water is carried to individual lots or dwelling units by
a system of pipes from a central water source located beyond the limits
of the lot being served which may be publicly or privately owned and
operated.
A system of piping, tanks or other facilities approved by
the Township serving only a single lot and disposing of sewage in
whole or in part into the soil.
A single system of piping, tanks or other facilities serving
only a single lot and obtaining the water either in whole or in part
from a primary source located within the limits of the lot being served.
An unoccupied space open to the sky.
The duly authorized agent, attorney, purchaser, devisee,
fiduciary or any person having vested or equitable interest in the
lot in question.
A contiguous lot or tract of land owned and recorded as the
property of the same persons or controlled by a single entity.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 68]
For purposes of this chapter, off-street parking and loading
areas shall be defined as follows:
An outside surfaced area having no roof and no more than
three sides walled or fenced.
The Comprehensive Plan of the Township.
A complete and exact subdivision plan, prepared by a registered
professional engineer or registered surveyor for official recording
as required by statute, to delineate boundaries, define property rights,
propose streets and all other improvements.
A tentative subdivision plan, in lesser detail than a final
plan, showing approximate street and lot layout, on a topographic
map, as a basis for consideration and review prior to preparation
of a final plan.
The map or plan of a subdivision or land development, whether
preliminary or final.
A covered approach to a doorway.
A person or persons who provide expert or professional advice,
including but not limited to architects, attorneys, certified public
accountants, engineers, geologists, land surveyors, landscape architects
or planners.
[Added 9-6-2006 by Ord. No. 78]
Includes:
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 this chapter.
A forum held pursuant to notice under the Sunshine Act, 65
Pa.C.S.A. § 701 et seq.[5]
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.
Within the terms of this chapter, public utility shall be
defined to include gas, electric, telephone, sewerage, water and communication
cable services.
A parcel of land separating a street from adjacent properties
for the purpose of controlling access to the street from adjacent
property.
The modification of a recorded subdivision in whole or in
part, by a redesign of lots, by change of size, area or by street
layout.
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 Recorder of Deeds Office, Butler County, Pennsylvania. For
purposes 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 minimum distance that a structure can be located from
a right-of-way or property line or another structure, thereby creating
a required open space on a lot.
The designated official of the Township which issues and
reviews sewage permit applications and conducts such investigations
and inspections as are necessary to implement the Pennsylvania Sewage
Facilities Act,[6] as amended, and the rules and regulations hereunder.
A perennial stream, depicted as a solid blue line on the
most recent edition of a United States Geological Survey 7.5-minute
series topographic map or, if not available, a 15-minute series topographic
map, to the point where the body of water becomes a river.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 68]
Includes street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway,
parkway, lane, alley, viaduct or any other ways used or intended to
be used by vehicular traffic or pedestrians, whether public or private.
The following street classifications shall apply to all streets
in the Township:
ARTERIALArterials carry major movements of traffic within or through the community.
COLLECTORCollectors carry the internal traffic movements within the Township and connect developed areas with the arterial system. The collector system simultaneously provides abutting property with road access and accommodates local internal traffic movements.
EXPRESSWAYExpressways are limited access freeways which carry through traffic between major urban centers and to and from points outside of a region with no local interference.
LOCALLocal streets provide access to immediately adjacent land but normally carry a small portion of the total vehicle miles traveled daily.
PRIVATEAny vehicular way which is not dedicated as a public street.
The procedure applied to new or existing streets or streets
under construction including, but not limited to, resurfacing, regrading,
drainage improvement, pothole repair, dust prevention practices and
snow removal.[7]
A structure detached from a primary structure located on
the same lot and which is incidental and subordinate to the primary
structure (e.g., swimming pools, patios, antennas, tennis courts,
garages, utility sheds, etc.).
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 68]
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land, and from
which the primary activity on the lot is conducted.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 68]
The owner, or authorized agent of the owner, of the subdivision.
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 or devisees, 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
dwelling, shall be exempted.
Where in the judgment of the Township Engineer at least 90%
(based on the cost of the required improvements for which financial
security was posted pursuant to the requirements of this chapter)
of those improvements required as a condition for final approval have
been completed in accordance with the approved plan, so that the project
will be able to be used, occupied or operated for its intended use.
A map showing ground elevations by contour lines and the
location of important natural, man-made and other features.
A building or portion thereof providing complete housekeeping
facilities for one individual or one family.
The purpose or activity for which the land or building thereon
is designed, arranged or intended; or for which it is occupied or
maintained.
Within the terms of this chapter, a utility shall be defined
to include public utilities (see "public utilities," above) and stormwater
facilities.
An inventory of the source, quantity, yield and use of groundwater
and surface water resources within the Township.
A yard extending across the full width of the lot, unoccupied
other than by steps, walks, terraces, driveways, lamp posts and similar
improvements, the depth of which is the least distance between the
front lot at the right-of-way line and the building line.
A yard extending across the full width of the lot between
the rear of the principal building and the rear lot line, unoccupied
other than by steps, walks, terraces, driveways, lamp posts and similar
improvements.
A yard between the principal structure and the side lot line,
extending from the front yard, or from the front line where no front
yard is required, to the rear yard. The width of the required side
yard is measured horizontally at 90° with the side lot line, from
the nearest part of the principal building.
