Other terms or words used herein shall be interpreted or defined
as follows:
ALLEY
A thoroughfare, publicly or privately owned, other than a
side street, which affords only a secondary means of access to abutting
property and not intended for general traffic circulation.
APPLICANT
A landowner or developer, including his heirs, successors,
or assigns, who has filed an application for development.
APPLICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT
Every application, whether preliminary 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
and an application for the approval of a development plan.
BLOCK
An area bounded by three or more streets.
BOROUGH
The Borough of Mount Oliver, Allegheny County, Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
BOROUGH STREET
A street adopted as a public street by the Borough, or having
become a Borough street as legally determined.
BUILDING
Any permanent structure having a roof supported by columns
or by walls erected permanently and intended for the shelter, housing
and/or enclosure of persons, animals or other property.
BUILDING SETBACK LINE
An established line within a property defining the minimum
required distance between the face of any structure to be erected
and an adjacent right-of-way.
CARTWAY (ROADWAY)
The improved or paved portion or portions of a street available
for vehicular or other traffic; the portion or portions between curbs
where curbs are used.
CLEAR SIGHT TRIANGLE
An area of unobstructed vision at intersections defined by
lines of sight between points at a given distance from the intersection
of street center lines.
CONSTRUCTION
The process, art, or manner of constructing something, usually
a structure.
COUNTY
Allegheny County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
CROSSWALK (INTERIOR WALK)
A publicly or privately owned right-of-way for pedestrian
use extending from a street into a block or across a block to another
street.
CUL-DE-SAC
A dead-end street with a vehicular turnaround at the dead
end.
CUT
The material removed in excavation.
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (DEP)
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection,
its bureaus, divisions, departments and/or agencies, as may from time
to time be established, or such department or departments as may in
the future succeed it.
DETENTION POND
An area in which surface water runoff is temporarily stored
pending its release at a controlled rate.
DEVELOPER
Any landowner, agent of such landowner, or tenant acting
with the permission of such landowner, who makes or causes to be made
a subdivision of land or a land development.
DEVELOPMENT
A tract of land that has been made available or usable; a
developed tract of land with structures, commercial or residential,
built on it.
DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT
An agreement between the Borough and the owners or developers
of property that is subject to an approved land development plan,
detailing the obligations of both parties and specifying the standards
and conditions that will govern development of the property.
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
All of the written and graphic materials which describe provisions
for development, including, but not limited to, 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,
and presented in sufficient detail so that its compliance with this
chapter may be determined.
DRAINAGE
The removal of surface water or groundwater from land by
drains, grading or other means, and includes control of runoff to
minimize erosion and sedimentation during and after construction or
development.
DRAINAGE FACILITY
Any ditch, gutter, culvert, storm sewer or other structure
designed, intended or constructed for the purpose of carrying, diverting
or controlling surface water or groundwater.
DRIVEWAY
A private paved area leading from a street or other thoroughfare
to a building, house, garage, or parking area.
EARTH DISTURBANCE
Any construction or other activity which disturbs the surface
of the land, including, but not limited to, excavations, embankments,
depositing or storing soil, rock or earth, clearing vegetation, tilling
soil, or any other activity which may cause erosion.
EASEMENT
An interest in land owned by another person, consisting in
the right to use or control the land, or an area above or below it,
for a specific limited purpose.
ENGINEER
A licensed professional engineer registered as such in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
EROSION
The removal of surface materials by the action of natural
elements.
EXCAVATION
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar
material is dug into, cut, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced,
relocated or bulldozed, and shall include the conditions resulting
therefrom.
FILL
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other material
is placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported or moved to a new location
above the natural surface of the ground or on top of the stripped
surface, and shall include the conditions resulting therefrom; the
difference in elevation between a point on the original ground and
a designated point of higher elevation on the final grade; the material
used to make a fill.
FINANCIAL SECURITY
A corporate bond, letter of credit, or escrow account from
a surety or a financial institution in a form acceptable to the Borough,
naming the Borough as obligee.
GOVERNING BODY
The duly elected Borough Council of Mount Oliver, Allegheny
County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
IMPROVEMENTS TO LAND
A construction or installation, including, but not limited
to, of any of the following: streets, gutters, culverts, sidewalks,
storm sewers, fiber optic cable, water drainage facilities, utilities
(gas, electric, telephone services), water system, fire hydrants,
sanitary sewers, septic tanks, street signs, or streetlights and including
cuts and/or fills.
LAND DEVELOPMENT
Any one of the following activities:
A.
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts
or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
(1)
A group of two or more residential or nonresidential buildings,
whether proposed initially or cumulatively.
(2)
A single nonresidential building on a lot or lots, regardless
of the number of occupants or tenure.
(3)
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.
C.
The following certain types of land development shall be excluded:
(1)
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 to be a condominium.
(2)
The addition of an accessory building to a residential principal
use, including farm buildings, on a lot or lots subordinate to an
existing principal building.
(3)
The expansion of an existing building footprint such that the
expansion footprint is 1,000 square feet or less and no greater than
25% of the existing building footprint.
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/she
is authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the landowner,
or other person having a proprietary interest in the land.
LOT
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.
LOT AREA
The area of a lot measured on a horizontal plane bounded
by the front, rear and side lot lines of the lot. No part of a lot
which is also part of a public street, road, alley, or legal right-of-way
shall be included in determining the area of a lot.
LOT OF RECORD
A lot described in a deed or shown on a plan of lots which
has been recorded in the office of the Allegheny County Department
of Real Estate.
LOT, CORNER
A lot bounded on at least two sides by streets.
LOT, INTERIOR
A lot having side lot lines which does not abut on a street.
LOT, NONCONFORMING
A lot of record at the time of the adoption of this chapter,
which, by reason of area or dimension, does not conform to the requirements
of this chapter.
MARKER
A metal pipe or pin of at least 1/2 inch diameter (preferred
3/4 inch or 7/8 inch and at least 24 inches in length (preferred 30
inches to 36 inches) which shall be used for survey purposes.
MEDIATION
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.
MOBILE HOME
A structure transportable in one or more sections, which
is built on a chassis, and is designed to be used as a dwelling unit
with or without a permanent foundation, when connected to required
utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning and
electrical systems contained therein. A mobile home is intended to
be occupied as a dwelling complete, including major appliances, and
often furniture, and contains sleeping accommodations, a flush toilet,
an enclosed tub or shower bath, kitchen facilities, and interior plumbing,
heating and electrical systems meeting the requirements of the Borough,
county and state regulations pertaining to building construction for
human habitation.
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 of two or more mobile home lots.
MONUMENT
A stone or concrete monument with a flat top at least four
inches in diameter or square, containing a copper or brass dowel (plug),
and at least 24 inches in length (preferred 30 inches to 36 inches).
The bottom, sides or radius shall be at least two inches greater than
the top, to minimize movements caused by front which shall be used
for survey purposes.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEER
A professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, duly appointed as the engineer for a municipality,
planning agency, or joint planning commission.
NONRESIDENTIAL
Uses or areas which do not include or provide a place for
people to live, but containing areas suitable for commercial premises
rather than private houses.
OPEN SPACE
A parcel or parcels of land or an area of water, or a combination
of land and water within a development site and designed as intended
for the use or enjoyment of residents of the development, not including
streets, off-street parking areas, driveways and areas set aside as
public grounds.
PENNDOT
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
PERSON
An individual, partnership, corporation or other legally
recognized entity.
PLAT, FINAL
A complete and exact map or plan of a subdivision or land
development (and including all required supplementary data), prepared
for official recording as required by statute, defining property rights
as well as proposed streets and other improvements.
PLAT, PRELIMINARY
A tentative map or plan of a subdivision of land development
(and including all required supplementary data), in lesser detail
than a final plat, showing approximate proposed street and lot layout
as a basis for consideration prior to preparation of a final plat.
Said plat shall be prepared by an engineer or surveyor registered
in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
PRIVATE STREET (see STREET)
A street, including the entire right-of-way which is privately
owned and maintained through private agreement, intended for private
use, and not adopted or otherwise determined to be a public street
by the Borough, or not having otherwise been adopted as a county,
state or Borough street. A private street typically provides access
to several lots or parcels which do not have access to a public street
or right-of-way.
PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANTS
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.
PUBLIC GROUNDS
Includes:
A.
Parks, playgrounds, trails, paths and other recreational areas
and other public areas.
B.
Sites for schools, sewage treatment, refuse disposal and other
publicly owned or operated facilities.
C.
Publicly owned or operated scenic and historic sites.
PUBLIC HEARING
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Borough
Planning Commission or Council of the Borough, intended to inform
and obtain public comment, prior to the taking of official action.
PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS
Any improvements (parks, streets, buildings, public utilities)
made, owned and operated by federal, state, county or local government.
PUBLIC MEETING
A forum held pursuant to notice under the Act of July 3,
1986 (P.L. 388, No. 84), known as the "Sunshine Act."
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice published once each week for two successive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. 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.
PUBLIC STREET
A street, including the entire right-of-way, which has been
dedicated to and accepted by the Borough, county, or state, and has
been devoted to public use by legal mapping or use of other means.
RESERVE STRIP
A parcel of ground in separate (sometimes public) ownership
separating a street from the adjacent properties, or from another
street.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
The total width of any land reserved or dedicated to use
as a street, alley, crosswalk or other public purpose.
RUNOFF
The surface water discharge or rate of discharge of a given
area or watershed after a fall of rain or snow that does not enter
the soil but runs off the surface of the land.
SANITARY SEWAGE DISPOSAL (PRIVATE)
A sanitary sewage collection system, managed and operated
under private auspices, in which sewage is carried from individual
lots by a system of pipes to a central treatment and disposal plant,
generally serving a neighborhood area.
SANITARY SEWAGE DISPOSAL, PUBLIC
A sanitary sewage collection system, managed and operated
by the Borough, in which sewage is carried from individual lots by
a system of pipes to a central treatment and disposal plant.
SANITARY SEWER
Any public or privately owned sewer system in which sewage
is collected from more than one lot and piped to an approved sewage
disposal plant or approved community treatment system, including capped
sewers which are installed to Borough specifications.
SEDIMENTATION
The process by which mineral or organic matter is accumulated
or deposited by moving wind, water or gravity. Once this matter is
deposited (or remains suspended in water), it is considered sediment.
SEPTIC TANK
A covered watertight settling tank in which raw sewage is
biochemically changed into solid, liquid and gaseous states to facilitate
further treatment and final disposal.
SEWAGE TREATMENT
The treatment of human or animal waste, either public or
private, by an approved process as permitted by the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection.
SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT
A place where sewage is cleaned and treated so that it is
not harmful or dangerous to the environment.
SHOULDER
The portion of a roadway (cartway) between the curb or gutter
and the travel way intended for emergency and parking use.
SIGHT DISTANCE (PASSING)
The maximum extent of unobstructed vision (in a horizontal
or vertical plane) along a street from a vehicle located at any given
point on the street.
SIMPLE SUBDIVISION
A subdivision of a parcel into three or fewer lots, provided
that such subdivision does not involve a planned development, any
new street, or the extension of a utility or other Borough facility.
SLOPE
The degree of rise or descent of the land surface calculated
by dividing the number of feet of vertical rise or descent in elevation
by the number of feet of horizontal distance, expressed as a percentage.
SOIL PERCOLATION TEST
A field test conducted to determine the absorption capacity
of soil to a specified depth in a given location for the purpose of
determining suitability of soil for on-site sewage disposal.
SOIL STABILIZATION
Chemical or structural treatment of a mass of soil to increase
or maintain its stability or otherwise to improve its engineering
properties.
STORM SEWER
Any public or privately owned sewer system in which nonsanitary
rain or groundwater is collected from streets, on lot impervious areas,
roof drains, parking lots, and driveways and groundwater sump pumps,
including capped sewers, which are installed to Borough specifications.
STREET
Any way, whether public or private, used or intended to be
used by vehicular traffic and pedestrians, including avenue, boulevard,
road, highway, freeway, parkway, lane, alley, thoroughfare or viaduct.
STRUCTURE
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
SUBDIVIDER
The term "subdivider" shall be synonymous in meaning with
"developer," as defined herein, and shall be used interchangeably
with same.
SUBDIVISION
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel, of
and by any means, into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other
division of land, including changes in existing lot lines for the
purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, petition by the court
for distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership, building
or lot development.
SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETED
Where, in the judgment of the Borough 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.
SURVEYOR
A surveyor registered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
SWALE
A low-lying stretch of land which gathers, or carries, surface
water runoff.
TRAILER
A vehicle with its axles/wheels still intact which is designed
to serve, wherever parked, as a temporary dwelling or place of business.
UTILITIES
Services (such as those which provide light, power or water)
provided to commercial or residential users by a public utility or
municipality, including any equipment or a piece of equipment utilized
to provide such service or a comparable service.
WATER LINE
Any public or privately owned pipe system in which potable
water is distributed to more than one lot and piped from an approved
water treatment plant or approved community water source which is
installed to Borough and water company specifications.
WATERCOURSE
A permanent stream; intermittent stream; river; brook; creek;
or a channel or ditch for water, whether natural or man-made.