Township of Hopewell, PA SHORT TITLE, PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS

[Ord. 1974-3, 6/20/1974; as amended by Ord. 2/3/1977, §§ IV, VIII and X; by Ord. 6/1/1978, § I; by Ord. 3/6/1980B, §§ II, III, IV and V; by Ord. 11/5/1981, §§ III, IV, V and VI; by Ord. 11/3/1983, §§ I, II and III; by Ord. 10/4/1984, § XIII; by Ord. 6/--/1985, § XV; by Ord. 9/3/1992, § I; by Ord. 4/1/1993, § 2; by Ord. 12/2/1993, § 1; by Ord. 1995-7, 9/7/1995, §§ 1 — 5; by Ord. 1995-8, 12/7/1995, §§ 1 — 4; by Ord. 1996-4, 4/4/1996, §§ 1 and 2; by Ord. 1996-6, 7/3/1996, §§ 1 — 3; by Ord. 1997-13, 10/2/1997, § 1; by Ord. 1997-14, 11/6/1997, §§ 2 — 8; by Ord. 1998-7, 8/6/1998, §§ 1 and 2; by Ord. 2000-2, 4/6/2000, § 1; by Ord. 2000-9, 11/9/2000, §§ 1 — 3; by Ord. 2001-4, 5/3/2001, §§ 1 and 2; by Ord. 2001-7, 9/6/2001, § 2; by Ord. 2002-8, 12/9/2002, §§ 1 — 4; by Ord. 2003-3, 5/1/2003, §§ 1 and 2; by Ord. 2003-9, 11/6/2003, § 1; by Ord. 2004-2, 5/6/2004, §§ 1 and 2; by Ord. 2004-9, 9/2/2004, § 2; by Ord. 2004-10, 9/2/2004, §§ 1 and 2; by Ord. 2004-11, 9/2/2004, §§ 1 — 4; by Ord. 2005-3, 2/10/2005; §§ 1 — 3; by Ord. 2005-7, 10/6/2005, §§ 1, 2; by Ord. 2006-4, 5/4/2006, §§ 2, 3; by Ord. 2006-5, 5/4/2006, § 1; by Ord. 2006-7, 9/7/2006, §§ 1, 2; by Ord. 2009-4, 8/6/2009, § 1; and by Ord. 2013-2, 2/7/2013, §§ 1 and 2]

General Interpretation. In this chapter when not inconsistent with the context:

Words in the present tense imply also the future tense.

The singular includes the plural.

The male gender includes the female gender.

The word "person" includes a partnership or corporation as well as an individual.

The term "shall" or "must" is to be interpreted as mandatory; the word "may" as directory and complied with unless waived.

Specific Words and Phrases.

ACCESSORY COMMERCIAL USE

A commercial use designed specifically to provide services to employees of industrial areas including, specifically, industrial parks and uses.

ACCESSORY SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM (ASES)

(Often referred to as residential solar, but does not rule out commercial installations.) An area of land or other area used for a solar collection system principally used to capture solar energy, convert it to electrical energy or thermal power and supply electrical or thermal power the majority of which is for on-site use. An accessory solar energy system consists of one or more freestanding ground- or roof-mounted, solar arrays or modules, or solar-related equipment, and is intended to primarily reduce on-site consumption of utility power or fuels.

[Added by Ord. No. 1-2022, 1/3/2022]

ACCESSORY STRUCTURE

A subordinate structure or a portion of the principal structure on a lot, the use of which is customarily incidental to that of the principal structure. An accessory building is an accessory structure.

ACCESSORY USE

A use customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use or building and located on the same lot with the principal use or building. Where authorized by this chapter, a commercial wireless telecommunications service facility may be considered an accessory use.

ADULT CABARET

A nightclub, bar, restaurant or similar commercial establishment which regularly features persons who appear in a state of nudity; live performances which are characterized by sexual content or sexually explicit nudity; films, motion pictures, videocassettes, slides or other photographic reproductions which are characterized by the depiction or description of sexual content or sexually explicit nudity.

ADULT ENTERTAINMENT FACILITY

Any structure, building or use which is open to the general public in which 20% or more of the occupied sales or display area offers for the sale, for rent, lease, loan or for view upon the premises, pictures, photographs, drawings, prints, images, sculpture, still film, motion picture film, videotape or similar visual representations distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on sexual content or sexually explicit nudity, or books, pamphlets, magazines, printed matter or sound recordings, containing explicit or detailed descriptions or narrative accounts distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on sexual content, or which offers for sale sexual devices. This definition shall also include a building, structure or a portion thereof, or a use open to the general public, used for presenting motion picture film, videotape, live performances or similar visual representation or materials distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on sexual conduct or sexually explicit nudity, and shall also include adult motels, adult cabarets and adult theaters.

ADULT MOTEL

A hotel, motel or similar commercial establishment which:

	(1)	Offers accommodations to the public for any form of consideration; and provides patrons with closed-circuit television transmissions, films, motion pictures, videocassettes, slides or other photographic reproductions which are characterized by the depiction or description of sexual content or sexually explicit nudity; and has a sign visible from the public right-of-way which advertises the availability of this adult type of entertainment.
	(2)	Offers sleeping rooms for rent four or more times in one calendar day during five or more calendar days in any continuous thirty-day period.

ADULT THEATER

A commercial establishment, including a theater, concert hall, auditorium or similar commercial establishment, which regularly features persons who appear in a state of nudity either on film, motion pictures, videocassettes, slides, similar photographic reproductions, or in live performances, which are characterized by the depiction or description of sexual content or sexually explicit nudity.

AEU; ANIMAL EQUIVALENT UNIT

1,000 pounds live weight of livestock or poultry animals, regardless of the actual number of individual animals comprising the unit, as calculated in the Pennsylvania Nutrient Management Act, 3 P.S. § 1701 et seq., and the regulations promulgated there under, found at 25 Pa. Code, Subchapter D, § 83.201 et seq.

AGRARIAN COMMODITIES

Those commodities designed to promote or having the result of promoting agricultural interests or way of life.

AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY

Agricultural, horticultural, viticultural and dairy products, livestock and the products thereof, ranch raised fur-bearing animals and the products thereof, the products of poultry and bee raising, forestry and forestry products, and any and all products raised or produced on farms and intended for human consumption, transported or intended to be transported in commerce.

AGRICULTURAL OPERATION

Same as "normal agricultural operation."

AGRICULTURAL REVIEW COMMITTEE

A committee established by the Board of Supervisors, consisting of one Supervisor, one member of the Township Planning Commission, one Township farmer and the Zoning Officer. The purpose of the Agricultural Review Committee shall be, at the discretion and request of the Board of Supervisors or the Planning Commission in case of a homestead lot, to evaluate the quality of farmland at issue in any subdivision or land development plan that involves subdividing for residential purposes a tract in either the Agricultural or the Conservation Zone, to determine whether or not the conditions set forth in § 27-318, Subsection 4B et seq., have been met.

A use which is accessory to a normal agricultural operation which utilizes a portion of the agricultural operation for leisure, recreation or promotional events.

AGRICULTURE

The use of land for farming, dairying, pasturage, apiculture, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture and animal and poultry husbandry and the necessary accessory uses for packing, treating or storing the produce and equipment and for housing and feeding the animals and housing the equipment. The use of land as a place for the location of a dwelling is not an agricultural use.

ALTERATIONS

As applied to a building or structure, any changes or rearrangement in the total floor area, or an enlargement, whether by extending on a side or by increasing in height or the moving from one location or position to another.

ALTERATIONS, STRUCTURAL

Any change in the supporting members of a building or structure, such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders.

ANIMAL HOSPITAL

A building used primarily for the treatment, by a veterinarian, of small domestic animals such as dogs, cats, rabbits and birds or fowl.

BASEMENT

A story having part but not more than 1/2 of its height below the average level of the adjoining ground.

BED AND BREAKFAST INN

An owner-occupied dwelling unit in which a room or rooms are rented on a nightly basis for limited periods. Meals may or may not be provided, but shall be limited to registered guests.

BUILDING

Any structure or edifice designed or intended for use as an enclosure, a shelter or for protection of persons, animals or property.

BUILDING AREA

The total area of outside dimensions on a horizontal plane at ground level of the principal building and all accessory buildings.

BUILDING HEIGHT

The total overall height of a building measured from the basement floor or grade level (if no basement exists) to the highest point of the roof.

CASINO or GAMING ESTABLISHMENT

A facility which legally operates as a government-licensed enterprise open to the public in which gaming devices and games of chance are offered to the players with food, beverages and retail products normally sold to patrons.

[Added by Ord. No. 2-2018, 6/7/2018]

CELLAR

A story partly underground and having more than 1/2 of its clear height below the average level of the adjoining ground.

CHILD DAY-CARE CENTER

A facility located in a building other than a residence or dwelling which provides supervised care for remuneration to children who are not relatives of the caregiver.

CLEAR SIGHT TRIANGLE

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.

CO-LOCATION

The location of two or more transmission antennae or related equipment on one commercial wireless telecommunications service facility.

COMMERCIAL WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE FACILITY

Also known as cell towers. An unmanned facility consisting of antennae, support structure, equipment and an equipment storage shelter used for the reception, switching and/or transmission of wireless telecommunications including, but not limited to, paging, enhanced specialized wireless telecommunications including personal communication services, cellular telephone and similar technologies. A commercial wireless telecommunications service facility may be either freestanding, guy anchored, roof mounted or building mounted.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

The plan, or parts thereof, which have been adopted by the Hopewell Township Board of Supervisors, showing its recommendations for such systems as: land uses, parks and recreation facilities, water supply, sewerage and sewage disposal, garbage disposal, transportation, highways, civic centers and other public improvements which affect the development of the Township.

CONCENTRATED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATION; CAFO

An operation involving the keeping of livestock of the type listed in the table in § 27-504, Subsection 7BB(2), in excess of the numbers identified in that table confined within a building or other enclosure as set forth in § 27-504, Subsection 7BB(4)(b), of this chapter.

CONVERSION, MULTI-FAMILY

A multi-family dwelling constructed by converting an existing building into apartments for more than one family, without substantially altering the exterior of the building.

CROPLAND

Land in tillage rotation or orchards, and undeveloped land formerly in such uses.

DOMESTIC LIVESTOCK

Animal generally associated with agriculture, including but not limited to: horses (equine), swine, goats, cattle (bovine), sheep, llamas and alpacas (camelid) which are kept for personal use, rather than for commercial or agricultural production purposes.

DOMESTIC LIVESTOCK USE

Any activity involving the keeping and/or raising of domestic livestock for hobby/personal use. A domestic livestock use shall be accessory to a dwelling located at the same lot. This definition excludes all commercial animal operations.

DOMICILIARY CARE UNIT

A building or structure designed for living quarters for one or more families which in addition to providing living quarters for one or more families, provides twenty-four-hour supervised, protective living arrangements by the families residing therein for not more than three persons 18 years of age and above who are disabled physically, mentally, emotionally or as a result of old age, and are unrelated to the family providing the care.

DRIVEWAY

A minor vehicular surface, other than a street, providing access from a street or a private road to a lot.

DWELLING

A building or structure designed for living quarters for one or more families, including mobile homes, but not including rooming houses, convalescent homes, motels, hotels and tourist homes or other accommodations used for transient occupancy.

DWELLING LOT

A lot on which there is located or proposed to be located a dwelling.

DWELLING UNIT

Any structure, or part thereof, designed to be occupied as living quarters as a single housekeeping unit.

DWELLING, MULTI-FAMILY

A building containing three or more dwelling units (such as apartment houses, townhouses on a single lot, and garden apartments) or two dwelling units arranged so that one unit is above the other rather than side by side. All dwelling units are located on a single lot and share with other units a common yard area.

DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY ATTACHED

A portion of a building containing one dwelling unit and having two party walls in common with other dwelling units (such as row houses or townhouses). Each dwelling unit is located on a separate lot. End units which have one party wall in common, are included and are subject to the lot area requirements for other single-family attached units but must meet setback requirements on the open side.

DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED

A building containing only one dwelling unit and having two side yards, or, in the case of a corner lot, one side yard and two front yards, located on its own separate lot.

DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY SEMI-DETACHED

A portion of a building containing one dwelling unit, having one side yard which meets setback requirements, and one party wall in common with another dwelling unit. Each dwelling unit is located on a single lot.

EASEMENT

A right-of-way for a limited purpose; a space within which no structure may be built.

FAMILY

A single person occupying a dwelling unit and maintaining a household; two or more persons related by blood, marriage or adoption occupying a dwelling unit, living together and maintaining a common household; or not more than three unrelated persons occupying a dwelling unit, living together and maintaining a common household. In addition, it may include domestic servants, and gratuitous guests, but not occupants of a club, fraternal lodging, rooming house, boarding house, institutional care facility, personal care facility or in any other arrangement pursuant to which compensation is paid in exchange for the right to reside in such facility, to receive meals, supervision and/or care.

FAMILY DAY-CARE HOME

A facility located in a residence or dwelling which provides supervised care for remuneration to children who are not relatives of the caregiver.

FARM

A tract or contiguous tracts of land held in the same ownership which is used in the raising of agricultural crops, livestock, poultry or dairy products, and the necessary accessory uses for packing, treating or storing the produce, and improved with a single-family dwelling, and with barns, sheds and/or other farm buildings or structures normally utilized for housing and feeding farm animals and storing farm equipment.

[Amended by Ord. No. 2-2018, 6/7/2018]

FARM MARKET

A commercial enterprise consisting of one or more buildings or structures, either permanent or temporary, designed and used for the purpose of the sale at least in part of agricultural or agrarian commodities, as defined herein, which are located on a tract of land on which the agricultural commodities are grown or raised. See § 27-317, Subsection 2. A farm market as defined herein shall not include structures or portions of structures which are devoted to processing of agricultural products in the normal course of agricultural operations, or where some processing occurs to produce an agricultural product, or where agricultural products are inspected, sorted or sized as a normal or incidental part of the principal farming or agricultural use of the underlying tract, which accessory uses are not intended to be regulated as farm markets. A farm market also shall not include a roadside stand, as defined herein.

FLOODPLAIN

Those areas designated and delineated by the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) effective September 25, 2009, or their successors, and regulated by the Hopewell Township Floodplain Management Ordinance of 2009 [Chapter 8] or its successors.

[1]

FRONTAGE

The horizontal or curvilinear distance along the street line upon which a lot abuts.

GREEN AREA

An area of land associated with and located on the same tract of land as a principal building or group of buildings in relation to which it serves to provide light and air, or scenic, recreational or similar purposes. Green areas may include, but not be limited to, lawns, decorative plantings, sidewalks and walkways, active and passive recreational areas including playgrounds, fountains, swimming pools, wooded areas and watercourses; but shall not include loading areas, parking areas or vehicle surfaces or accessory buildings.

HABITABLE FLOOR AREA

The aggregate of the horizontal areas of rooms used for habitation, such as living room, dining room, kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms, but not including hallways, stairways, cellars, basements, attics, service rooms or utility rooms, closets, areas intended for the parking of motor vehicles, areas intended for storage of lawn and garden equipment, areas intended for location of heating or ventilation equipment, or other similar spaces, nor unheated areas such as enclosed porches, nor rooms without at least one window or skylight opening onto an outside yard or court. At least 1/2 of the floor area of every habitable room shall have a ceiling height of not less than seven feet, and the floor area of that part of any room where the ceiling height is less than five feet shall not be considered as part of the habitable floor area. The minimum total window area, measured between stops, shall be 10% of the habitable floor area of such room.

HOME OCCUPATION

A special type of accessory use. It is an occupation or profession which:

	(1)	Is carried on in a dwelling unit or in a structure accessory to a dwelling unit.
	(2)	Is carried on by a member of the family residing in the dwelling unit.
	(3)	Is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling unit for residential purposes.

HOMESTEAD

A portion of a farm, as defined in this chapter, which contains the principal dwelling of the farm. This term shall include all buildings accessory to the principal dwelling, including farm buildings, except as limited by § 27-318, Subsection 3.

HOMESTEAD LOT

A tract of land in common ownership which was, before its creation, part of a farm, and which contains the homestead, as those terms are defined in this chapter. The remainder of the farm, after the homestead lot is created, shall be known and referred to as the residual tract. See § 27-318, Subsection 3.

HOSPITAL

A licensed institution having an organized medical staff which is primarily engaged in providing to in- or out-patients, by or under the supervision of physicians, diagnostic, treatment and therapeutic services for the care of injuries, disabilities, pregnancy, disease, sickness, illness, whether physical or mental, or rehabilitation services for such persons. The term shall not include solely offices of physicians or other health care providers, but such offices can be an ancillary part of such facility.

I-83 CORRIDOR

The area bounded by: I-83 on the west; Wolfe Road on the east; state Route 851 on the south; and the northern boundary of the Industrial Zone on the north.

INDUSTRIAL PARK

An industrial park is an industrial area:

	(1)	Organized and laid out in accordance with an overall plan for a community of industries including the servicing of these industries.
	(2)	Designed to insure compatibility between the industrial operations in the park and the surrounding area through such devices as landscaping, architectural control, setbacks and use requirements.

JUNK

Any discarded material or article including, but not limited to, scrap metal, scrapped, abandoned or junked motor vehicles, machinery, equipment, paper, glass, containers and structures. It shall not include, however, refuse or garbage kept in a proper container for the purpose of prompt disposal.

JUNKYARD

Any establishment or place, on public or private property, where a person stores or accumulates wrecked, abandoned or junked motor vehicles, machinery or equipment, scrap metal or materials, for the propose of salvaging parts therefrom for use or resale, or the destruction of the same for resale as scrap. Any such tract of land regardless of ownership, shall be considered a separate "junkyard."

KENNEL

A facility where more than four adult dogs (over six months of age) reside or where more than five cats or other non-agricultural animals over six months of age reside. Nonagricultural animals exclude cattle, horses, deer, swine, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and sheep.

LANDFILL

A tract or parcel of land which has been or is being used as a landfill for purposes of burial or storage of trash or other waste pursuant to permits from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and/or the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or other state or federal departments or agencies. This definition shall include storage of nuclear or toxic or industrial waste or by-products, as well as the burial of domestic trash, waste or incinerator ash, or any other similar use.

LANDFILL RECLAMATION

The use or reuse of the surface of a landfill after its final closure.

LANDOWNER

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 person having a proprietary interest in land.

LOADING SPACE

An off-street space suitable for the loading or unloading of goods and having direct usable access to a street or alley.

LOT

A plot or parcel of land which is, or in the future may be, offered for sale, lease, conveyance, transfer or improvement as one unit, regardless of the method or methods in which title was acquired. It may be vacant, devoted to a certain use, occupied by a structure or occupied by a group of structures that are united by a common interest or use.

LOT AREA

The area contained within the property lines of individual lots of land, including any area within a street right-of-way, and including the area of any easement.

LOT WIDTH

The width of a lot measured parallel and, in the Residential, Conservation, Commercial, Agricultural and Residential II Zones, 35 feet distant from, and in the Industrial Zone, 50 feet distant from, the right-of-way line of a road or street currently maintained by Hopewell Township, or by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the right-of-way lines of a private road designed and improved in accordance with the provisions of §§ 22-504 through 22-507, 22-602 and 22-603 of the Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance [Chapter 22], or by the right-of-way line of a private road not so improved, excepting that a tract or lot may not have its lot width measured by reference to such unimproved road or street, if such unimproved road or street is utilized by or provides access to any other lot or tract or to the improvements thereon located.

MINI-STORAGE FACILITY

A facility providing for the enclosed storage of items such as commercial business stock or equipment, household items, seasonal equipment and/or classic or antique automobiles, where said items are retained for direct use by their owner, who shall have direct access thereto without intermediate handling by the proprietor of the facility. Said facility may be in a single building, or a group of buildings, which shall contain individual storage units which shall be leased or rented to individuals, and each storage unit of which is separated from all other storage units and capable of being secured by the lessee or the renter of each such unit, except for such external storage as may be permitted by § 27-303, Subsection 5 of this chapter.

MOBILE HOME

A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent occupancy, office or place of assembly 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.

MOBILE HOME LOT

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.

MOBILE HOME PARK

A parcel of land under single ownership which has been planned and improved for the placement of mobile homes for nontransient use, consisting to two or more mobile home lots.

NO-IMPACT HOME-BASED BUSINESS

A business or commercial activity administered or conducted as an accessory use which is clearly secondary to the use as a residential dwelling and which involves no customer, client or patient traffic, whether vehicular or pedestrian, pickup, delivery or removal functions to or from the premises, in excess of those normally associated with residential use. When permitted by this chapter, such permission shall not supersede any deed restriction, covenant or agreement restricting the use of land, nor any master deed, bylaw or other document applicable to a common interest ownership community.

NONCONFORMITY

A use, structure, lot or dimension in conflict with the regulations of this chapter, (1) existing on the effective date of this chapter, or (2) existing at any subsequent amendment of this chapter, or (3) created by variance. Specifically, the following types of nonconformities are distinguished:

	DIMENSIONAL NONCONFORMITY — A lot or structure which is nonconforming because it is not in compliance with the dimensional regulations of this chapter.
	NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE — A structure or part of a structure manifestly not designed to comply with the applicable use provisions in this chapter or any amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such structure lawfully existed prior to the enactment of this chapter or amendment or prior to the application of this chapter or amendment to its location by reason of annexation. Such nonconforming structures include, but are not limited to, nonconforming signs.
	NONCONFORMING USE — A use, whether of land or of a structure, which does not comply with the applicable use provisions in this chapter or any amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such use was lawfully in existence prior to the enactment of this chapter or amendment, or prior to the application of this chapter or amendment to its location by reason of annexation.

NORMAL AGRICULTURAL OPERATION

The customary and generally accepted activities, practices and procedures that farmers adopt, use or engage in year after year in the production and preparation for market of poultry, livestock and their products, and in the production and harvesting of agricultural, agronomic, horticultural, silvicultural and agricultural crops and commodities, and on land which is not less than 10 contiguous acres in area. This includes commercial equine operations such as boarding, riding and racing stables and commercial horse farms, but does not include horses owned and kept by a property owner for personal use or enjoyment.

NPDES PERMIT

National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit or equivalent document or requirements issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, or their designees, pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., also known as the Clean Water Act, and/or the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law, as amended, 35 P.S. § 691.1 et seq.

NUDITY or STATE OF NUDITY

The appearance of a human bare buttock, anus, male genitals, female genitals or female breasts.

NURSERY SCHOOL

A facility located in a building other than a residence or dwelling designed and operated to provide regular instruction for two or more children under the age of elementary school students. It shall not include a facility in which any child is present for more than 3 1/2 hours in any one day.

NURSING HOME or CONVALESCENT HOME

A building or structure in which nursing care and related medical or other health services are provided for a period exceeding 24 hours for two or more individuals who are not relatives of the operator, who are not acutely ill and in need of hospitalization, but who, because of age, illness, disease, disability, injury, convalescence or physical or medical infirmity need such care. Such facility shall be properly licensed by appropriate federal or state agencies. This definition shall not include hospitals or domiciliary care units.

OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL ESTABLISHMENT

A use of open land for leisure not limited to the following: beach, swimming pool, tennis court, riding stable, golf course or a drive-in theater.

OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL USE, AGRICULTURAL-RELATED

See agricultural-related outdoor recreational use.

PARCEL

For purposes of the application of §§ 27-204, Subsection 10, and 27-318, Subsection 2, and 27-318, Subsection 4, a parcel shall mean all contiguous land in common ownership at the date of the proposed transfer. Land shall be considered contiguous even though separated by public or private roads and/or by land adversed from the original tract after June 20, 1974.

PARKING GARAGE

A building where passenger vehicles may be stored for short-term, daily or overnight off-street parking.

PARKING LOT

An open lot where passenger vehicles may be stored for short-term, daily or overnight off-street parking.

PARKING SPACE

An off-street space available for the parking of one motor vehicle and having direct usable access to a street or alley.

PASTURE

Land covered with grass or herbage suitable for grazing by livestock.

PORTABLE STORAGE UNIT

A container that is not affixed to the land that is designed for temporary, short-term storage. Also, sometimes known or referred to as "portage on demand" storage units, or PODs.

PRIME AGRICULTURAL LAND

Land containing soils in Soil Capability Units classified as Class I, II or III as depicted on maps prepared by the York County Planning Commission for Hopewell Township, which maps are based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Survey of York County, dated 2002.

PRINCIPAL BUILDING

The primary building located on a lot or tract, not an accessory building. If a dwelling is located on a lot or tract, the dwelling is the principal building; otherwise, the most valuable building on the tract or lot is the principal building.

PRINCIPAL SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM (PSES)

(Also referred to as solar farms or commercial solar facilities.) An area of land or other area used for a solar collection system principally used to capture solar energy, convert it to electrical energy or thermal power and supply electrical or thermal power primarily for off-site use. Principal solar energy systems consist of one or more freestanding ground- or roof-mounted solar collector devices, solar related equipment and other accessory structures and buildings, including: light reflectors, concentrators, and heat exchangers; substations; electrical inverters; electrical infrastructure; battery storage; on-site transmission lines; and other appurtenant structures. Off-site transmission lines will not be considered part of the PSES for the purposes of zoning applications but must be shown on land development plans submitted for approval.

[Added by Ord. No. 1-2022, 1/3/2022]

PRINCIPAL USE

The main or primary use of property or structures, measured in terms of net floor area.

PROFESSIONAL AND BUSINESS OFFICES

Offices that include accountants, actuaries, advertising agencies, dental services, opticians, attorneys, lending agents, medical services, including doctor's offices and ancillary medical services, including, specifically, rehabilitation services (but excluding hospitals, and nursing and convalescent homes) and executive and administrative offices of business firms.

PUBLIC

Owned, operated or controlled by a governmental agency (federal, state or local including a corporation created by law for the performance of certain specialized governmental functions and the Board of Education).

PUBLIC SEWER

A Township sanitary sewer system approved and permitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

PUBLIC WATER

A Township water supply system or a comparable common water supply system approved and permitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

PUBLIC WELL

A well, which will supply water to a Township water supply system or a comparable common water supply system approved and permitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection or the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission.

RESIDENTIAL LAND DEVELOPMENT

(1) The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts or parcels of land involving (a) a group of two or more buildings to be occupied as dwelling units, or (b) the division or allocation of land or space for dwelling purposes, between or among two or more existing or prospective occupants; (2) a residential subdivision. In determining the number of dwellings and/or lots in a residential land development all lots which on June 20, 1974, were a part of the same parcel and all dwellings located on such lots shall be included.

(1)

MINOR RESIDENTIAL LAND DEVELOPMENT — A residential land development consisting of two or fewer existing or proposed dwelling units.

RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISION

The division or re-division 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, transfer of ownership, or building or lot development where one or more of the lots, tracts, parcels or division will be used immediately or in the future as a place for a dwelling unit to be occupied by human beings. In determining the number of lots in a residential subdivision all lots which, on June 20, 1974, were a part of the same parcel shall be included.

ROADSIDE STAND

A roadside stand shall be defined as a nonpermanent structure set up temporarily along a roadside at which a person or persons sells only agricultural commodities which that person or persons produced on the tract of land on which the roadside stand is set up, or on land owned by the person or persons who produced the agricultural commodities, if those agricultural commodities are produced on other land. No other types of commodities shall be permitted to be sold, other than those produced on the tract by the person or persons selling those commodities. Such roadside stands are not regulated by this chapter, except that such stands shall be required to have a place where vehicles can safely pull off of the travel portion of the road without creating a danger to traffic traveling on the travel portion of the roadway.

ROLL OFF DUMPSTER

A dumpster container which is delivered by, and rolled off the back of, a truck, the design and purpose of which is for temporary placement at construction, renovation or demolition sites for containing and removing waste, trash or debris. This term does not include dumpsters which are permanently placed for normal household trash, such as at commercial, agricultural and industrial locations or apartment complexes.

ROOMING HOUSE

A building containing a single dwelling unit and guest rooms, where lodging is provided, with or without meals, for compensation.

SCHOOL, COMMERCIAL

A school conducted for profit for such special instruction including but not limited to business, art, music, trades, handicraft, dancing or riding.

SCHOOL, NONPUBLIC

A private place of instruction other than a commercial school.

SCHOOL, SMALL

A public or nonpublic primary or secondary school primarily for children between the ages of five and 19, inclusive, that provides state-required or state-funded educational programs.

[Added by Ord. No. 2-2023, 5/4/2023]

SCREEN PLANTING

A vegetative material of sufficient height and density to conceal from the view of property owners in adjoining zones the structures and uses on the premises on which the screen planting is located.

SETBACK

The required horizontal distance between a setback line and a property or street line.

	(1)	SETBACK, FRONT — The distance between the street line and the front setback line projected the full width of the lot.
	(2)	SETBACK, REAR — The distance between the rear lot line and the rear setback line projected the full width of the lot.
	(3)	SETBACK, SIDE — The distance between the side lot line and the side setback line projected from the front yard to the rear yard.

SETBACK LINE

A line within a property and parallel to a property or street line which delineates the required minimum distance that must be provided between a structure or building and an adjacent street line and/or property line.

SEXUAL CONTENT

Any of the following:

	(1)	The fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, anus or female breasts.
	(2)	Sex acts, actual or simulated, including intercourse, oral copulation or sodomy.
	(3)	Masturbation, actual or simulated.
	(4)	Excretory functions as part of or in connection with any of the activities set forth in Subsections (1) through (3) above.

SEXUALLY EXPLICIT NUDITY

The male genitals in a state of sexual arousal and/or the vulva or female genitals, or full exposure of the female breasts.

SHOPPING CENTER

A group of stores planned and designed for the site on which it is built, functioning as a unit, with off-street parking provided on the property as an integral part of the unit.

SIGN

A device for visual communication that is used to bring the subject to the attention of the public, but not including lettering or symbols that are an integral part of another structure, or flags or other insignia of any government, government agency or of any civic, charitable, religious, fraternal or similar organization.

	(1)	SIGN, ADVERTISING — A sign whose major purpose is for directing attention to a business commodity, service or entertainment conducted, sold or offered elsewhere than upon the same lot, such as billboards.
	(2)	SIGN, ATTACHED — A sign attached, painted or otherwise mounted parallel to the surface of that portion of the building or structure to which it is affixed.
	(3)	SIGN, BUSINESS — A sign directing attention to or identifying a business or profession or a group of businesses or professions, conducted on the same lot or in the same commercial or industrial park or complex, including, but not limited to, malls, mini-malls, or strip malls, or to products sold on or within the same lot, park or complex.
	(4)	SIGN, DIRECTIONAL — A sign which is for directing the public to or designating the location of a community or other place or establishment of a public or quasi-public nature but not including signs pertaining to real estate.
	(5)	SIGN, FREE-STANDING — A sign supported by uprights or braces placed upon the ground and not attached to a building.
	(6)	SIGN, I-83 CORRIDOR — A sign located in the I-83 corridor as defined in this section.
	(7)	SIGN, PERMANENT — A sign permanently attached or applied to a building or structure or permanently anchored into the ground and which cannot easily be moved. Permanent signs may have either permanent or replaceable lettering.
	(8)	SIGN, PORTABLE — A temporary sign, of any material, with or without changeable type lettering, illuminated or non-illuminated, mounted or transported on a vehicle, trailer or similar structure, with or without wheels, and not permanently attached to the ground, often referred to as a "mobile sign."
	(9)	SIGN, PROJECTING — A sign which is attached to a building or other structure and extends beyond the line of a building or structure or beyond the surface of that portion of the building or structure to which it is attached.
	(10)	SIGN, TEMPORARY — A sign which is anchored to the ground or attached to a building or structure with weights, cables, pins, braces or stakes and which can easily be moved. Temporary signs are displayed for a limited period of time.

SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLING UNIT

Same as "dwelling unit."

SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL UNIT

A tract of land used solely as a location for a single-family detached dwelling and accessory building such as a garage, yard, garden and other uses commonly accessory to a residence.

SOLAR ENERGY OVERLAY DISTRICT

An overlay district in the Agricultural (A) Zone, Conservation Zone (Cv), Commercial Zone (C) and Industrial Zone (I) of the Township, as set out in the Township's Zoning Map, in which Principal Solar Energy Systems (PSES) are permitted, subject to the terms of this chapter, and Chapter 19 of the Code, the Hopewell Township Solar Energy Ordinance of 2022, as may be amended from time to time.

[Added by Ord. No. 1-2022, 1/3/2022]

STORY

That portion of a building, excluding cellars, included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it, or if there be no floor above it, then the space between any floor and the ceiling next above it.

(1)

STORY, HALF — A story under a gable, hip or gambrel roof, the wall plates of which on at least two opposite exterior walls are not more that two feet above the floor.

STREET

Includes street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway, lane, alley, viaduct and any other ways used or intended to be used by vehicular traffic or pedestrians whether public or private.

STREET GRADE

The officially established grade of the street upon which a lot fronts, or in its absence, the established grade of other streets upon which the lot abuts, at the midway of the frontage of the lot thereon. If there is no officially established grade, the existing grade of the street at such midpoint shall be taken as the street grade.

STREET LINE

A line defining the edge of a street right-of-way and separating the street from abutting property or lots. Commonly known as the "street right-of-way line."

STRUCTURE

Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.

TRACT

All contiguous land in common ownership on June 20, 1974. Land shall be considered contiguous even though separated by public or private roads and/or by land adversed from the original tract after June 20, 1974.

USE

The specific purpose for which land or a structure is designed, arranged, intended, occupied or maintained.

VARIANCE

A modification of any provision of this chapter granted by the Zoning Hearing Board.

YARD

The portions of the lot not occupied by a principal building.

	(1)	FRONT YARD — The open unoccupied space on the same lot with the principal building extending the full width of the principal building projected to the side lines of the lot. The depth of the front yard shall be measured between the front line of the principal building, and for this purpose any porches whether enclosed or unenclosed shall be considered as part of the principal building, and the street line.
	(2)	REAR YARD — The open unoccupied space on the same lot with the principal building extending the full width of the principal building projected to the side lines of the lot. The depth of the rear yard shall be measured between the rear line of the principal building, and for this purpose any porches whether enclosed or unenclosed shall be considered as part of the principal building, and the rear lot line.
	(3)	SIDE YARD — The open unoccupied space on the same lot with the principal building situated between the principal building and the side lot line and extending from the front yard to the rear yard. Any lot line not a rear line or a front line shall be deemed a side line.

[1]

Editor’s Note: The former definition of “forest and wildlife preserve,” which immediately followed this definition, was repealed by Ord. No. 2-2018, 6/7/2018.