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Township of Williams, PA
Northampton County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (20) Index
[Ord. No. 2020-01, 1/6/2020]
To provide for a wider range of industries and related uses than the LI/B District. To require compliance with the performance standards of this chapter.
[Ord. No. 2020-01, 1/6/2020]
The requirements of this chapter shall not apply to uses or structures owned by Williams Township, or for municipal authorities created solely by Williams Township.
[Ord. No. 2020-01, 1/6/2020]
Only the following are permitted-by-right uses in the GI District, provided that the requirements for specific uses in Part 14 are met:
A. 
The following uses within the requirements of this district:
(1) 
Academic clinical research center.
(2) 
Auto service station,* provided the use is a minimum of 300 feet from the lot line of any existing dwelling or residential district. This use shall not include facilities primarily intended to serve tractor-trailer trucks.
(3) 
Animal hospital/veterinary office.
(4) 
Betting parlor.
(5) 
College, university or trade school.
(6) 
Crematorium.
(7) 
Exercise club/fitness center.
(8) 
Financial institution.*
(9) 
Finishing, grinding, polishing, stamping, or heat treating of products.
(10) 
Finishing of previously prepared resin, vinyl, polymer, plastic, or rubber products.
(11) 
Forestry activities.
[Added by Ord. No. 2023-2, 8/9/2023[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also redesignated former Subsection A(11) through (46) as Subsection A(12) through (47), respectively.
(12) 
Healthcare medical marijuana organization.
(13) 
Heliport.*
(14) 
Hotel or motel.*
(15) 
Kennel.
(16) 
Lumber yard and/or building supply sales (not including asphalt or cement processing).
(17) 
Manufacture and assembly of electrical and electronic machines, supplies and equipment.
(18) 
Manufacture and assembly of microelectronic components.
(19) 
Manufacture and assembly of products from wood or previously prepared materials, such as glass, leather, cellophane, textiles, rubber, or synthetic rubber.
(20) 
Manufacture of fabricated metal products (except ammunition or explosives).
(21) 
Manufacture of food products (but not including a slaughterhouse, meat packing plant, stockyard, animal husbandry, or animal feed mill).
(22) 
Manufacture of glass and glass product.
(23) 
Manufacture of jewelry, precision instruments, optical goods, and similar products.
(24) 
Manufacture of leather, clay, and pottery products.
(25) 
Manufacture of manufactured or modular housing.
(26) 
Manufacture of paper and cardboard products (but not including paper mill).
(27) 
Manufacture of pharmaceuticals.
(28) 
Manufacture of textiles, apparel, shoes, and apparel accessories.
(29) 
Manufacture of transportation equipment.
(30) 
Medical marijuana grower/processor.
(31) 
Natural gas compressor facility.
(32) 
Non-tower WCF that do not substantially change the physical dimensions of the wireless support structure to which they are attached, and/or fall under the Pennsylvania Wireless Broadband Collocation Act.
(33) 
Offices.
(34) 
Outdoor storage as accessory to a permitted use.**
(35) 
Packaging and bottling operations, without on-lot retail sales.
(36) 
Package delivery services.
(37) 
Photofinishing labs.
(38) 
Recycling collection center.*
(39) 
Research, engineering, or testing laboratory.
(40) 
Sales and rental of industrial equipment, other than vehicles primarily intended for use on public streets.
(41) 
Self-storage development.*
(42) 
Small WCF.
(43) 
Testing and repair of manufactured products.
(44) 
Truck terminal.
(45) 
Warehousing* or distribution.
(46) 
Welding.
(47) 
Wholesale sales.*
NOTES:
* See additional requirements in § 27-1402.
** See additional requirements in § 27-1403.
B. 
The following accessory uses, within the requirements of § 27-1403:
(1) 
Forestry activities.
[Added by Ord. No. 2023-2, 8/9/2023[2]]
[2]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also redesignated former Subsection B(1) through (3) as Subsection B(2) through (4), respectively.
(2) 
Solar energy system, on-site usage.**
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-02, 5/11/2022]
(3) 
Geothermal system.**
(4) 
Wind turbines.**
NOTES:
* See additional requirements in § 27-1402.
** See additional requirements in § 27-1403.
[Ord. No. 2020-01, 1/6/2020]
Only the following are permitted by special exception uses in the GI District, provided that the requirements for specific uses in Part 14 and the performance standards of Part 15 are met:
A. 
The following uses, provided that all manufacturing and storage facilities will be setback a minimum of 400 feet from any residential district boundary or existing dwelling:
(1) 
Abrasive or nonmetallic mineral products.
(2) 
Airport.*
(3) 
Ammunition manufacture.
(4) 
Animal feed mill.
(5) 
Bulk storage of fuel.
(6) 
Criminal treatment center.
(7) 
Junkyard.*
(8) 
Manufacture of soaps, detergents, paints, varnishes, or enamels.
(9) 
Manufacture of natural or synthetic rubber products.
(10) 
Manufacture of plastics, polymers, resins, or vinyl.
(11) 
Manufacture of paving or roofing materials, including asphalt.
(12) 
Manufacture of cement, gypsum, concrete, or plaster products.
(13) 
Mineral extraction.*
(14) 
Non-tower wireless communications facilities that do substantially change the wireless support structure to which they are attached, or that otherwise do not fall under the Pennsylvania Wireless Broadband Collocation Act.
(15) 
Primary (as opposed to fabricated) metal products.
(16) 
Target range.
(17) 
Tire retreading.
(18) 
Tower-based wireless communications facilities.
[Ord. No. 2020-01, 1/6/2020]
The following are conditional uses in the GI District, provided that all other requirements of this chapter are met:
A. 
Emergency services station (see § 27-1402).
B. 
Incinerators, resource recovery, and similar facilities for the processing of solid wastes (see § 27-1402).
C. 
Transfer stations and resource recycling facilities (see § 27-1402).
D. 
Other industrial activities involving processing, distribution, recycling, cleaning, assembling, packaging, conversion, production, repair or testing of materials or products if the applicant clearly proves to the satisfaction of the Board of Supervisors that the use would have a character similar to permitted by right and special exception uses, but not including uses that are specifically prohibited.
[Ord. No. 2020-01, 1/6/2020]
All uses not specifically permitted are prohibited, unless their allowance is implied by a closely similar use. The following uses are very specifically prohibited in the GI District as principal and/or accessory uses:
A. 
All uses are prohibited that would have a serious threat of future inability to comply with the performance standards of this chapter, as stated in Part 15.
B. 
All of the following uses are prohibited:
(1) 
Bulk manufacture of hazardous chemicals, including but not limited to the following acids: hydrochloric, nitric, picric, sulfuric, sulphurous, or carbolic.
(2) 
Coke oven.
(3) 
Creosote treatment or manufacture.
(4) 
Explosives, fireworks and gunpowder manufacture and bulk storage related to the above uses (except storage within a U.S. military or state-owned facility).
(5) 
Oilcloth manufacture.
(6) 
Petroleum or kerosene refining or distillation.
(7) 
Potash work.
(8) 
Raw paper or pulp mill.
(9) 
Residential uses.
(10) 
Stockyard, slaughterhouse, or meat packing plant.
(11) 
Tar distillation or manufacture.
[Ord. No. 2020-01, 1/6/2020]
The following lot and setback regulations shall apply to uses in the GI District, unless a more restrictive requirement is stated in Part 14 (for a particular use) or elsewhere in this chapter. See also the special setback requirements for certain special exception uses.
A. 
Minimum lot area: 43,560 square feet per principal use.
B. 
Minimum lot width: 100 feet, except 200 feet at the existing right-of-way line of any arterial street which an individual lot will have a driveway entering directly onto.
C. 
Minimum lot depth: 120 feet.
D. 
Minimum front yard setback: 35 feet from the future street right-of-way, except as provided for in § 27-1106M.
E. 
Paved area setbacks: See § 27-1603G.
F. 
Maximum building coverage: 40%.
G. 
Maximum impervious coverage: 60%, except 70% if an earthen berm around the perimeter of all paved areas (other than accessways) is provided that meets the following requirements:
(1) 
Minimum average height of berm: five feet above the average finished ground level (disregarding drainage channels) on the outside side of the berm. Fluctuations in height are encouraged.
(2) 
Maximum side slopes of berm: three horizontal to one vertical.
(3) 
A fifty-foot-wide yard (which may include vegetated drainage channels) and the berm (which may be within such yard) shall be maintained in an all-season natural ground cover, and with any fence on the inside of the berm or any wall.
H. 
Minimum side yard: 25 feet, except as provided for in § 27-1106L and § 27-1106M, for both principal and accessory structures and uses.
I. 
Minimum rear yard: 25 feet, for both principal and accessory structures and uses, except as provided for in §§ 27-1106L and 27-1106M.
J. 
Maximum height: 60 feet.
K. 
Enclosed structures: All manufacturing shall occur within completely enclosed structures.
L. 
Setback from expressway and arterial streets: 50 feet minimum from the future right-of-way.
M. 
Setbacks from the lot line of an existing dwelling or residential district: 80 feet minimum for any building, except as follows:
(1) 
Any industrial use or area routinely used for the movement, parking or storage of tractor-trailer trucks or refrigerator trucks shall be setback a minimum of 200 feet from any residential zoning district boundary or an existing principally residential building, unless such areas are separated by an expressway.
(2) 
Reduction of Setback. A 200-foot-wide minimum setback under this section may be reduced to 120 feet if the business use provides an earthen berm as a buffer that meets the following conditions:
(a) 
Minimum height: an average of five feet above the average finished ground level on the residential side of the berm.
(b) 
Maximum side slopes: three horizontal to one vertical.
(c) 
The evergreen plantings required by § 27-1304 shall be placed on the top or on the residential side of the berm.
[Ord. No. 2020-01, 1/6/2020]
A. 
Information. The applicant shall present information on the approximate number of employees and shifts that are expected. Also, the applicant shall present information on the approximate amount of tractor-trailer truck traffic that is expected.
B. 
Parking. See Part 16.
C. 
Signs. See Part 17.
D. 
Site Plan Review. See § 27-1311A, which requires site plan review by the Planning Commission for nonresidential building expansions and parking lots.
E. 
Buffer Yards and Screening. See § 27-1304C.
F. 
Performance Standards. See Part 15, especially § 27-1511, Noise Control.
G. 
Uses With On-Lot Sewage. Two acres per EDU.
H. 
Multiple-Use Buildings. See § 27-1302C.
I. 
More Than One Principal Building on a Lot. See § 27-1302B.
J. 
Utilities. All commercial, industrial and institutional uses shall be served by both public water and public sewer service.