A.
General terms.
(1)
The words "may" and "should" are permissive, indicating
actions which are preferred but not required.
(2)
The words "must," "shall" and "will" are indicative
of mandatory actions.
(3)
The word "occupy" includes the words "designed or
intended to be occupied."
(4)
The words "person," "owner" and "subdivider" include
corporation, unincorporated association, partnership and other similar
legal entities, as well as an individual.
(5)
The word "street" includes thoroughfare, avenue, boulevard,
court, expressway, highway, lane, arterial and road.
(6)
The word "structure" includes "building" and shall
be construed as if followed by the phrase "or part thereof."
(7)
The word "use" includes the words "arranged, designed
or intended to be used."
(8)
The word "watercourse" includes channel, creek, ditch,
drain, dry run, spring and stream.
C.
Terms and words not defined. Where terms or words
are not defined, they shall have their ordinarily accepted meanings
as defined by a generally accepted dictionary of the English language
or such as the context may imply.
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following
words and phrases shall be construed throughout this chapter to have
the meanings assigned to them in this section:
A building subordinate to the principal building on the lot
and used for purposes customarily incidental to those of the principal
building or use of the lot.
Public roads which are used by vehicles to gain access to
landfills or quarries.
That area remaining after the application of density factors shall used to calculate the maximum number of units permitted on a tract. (Reference § 131-113 of this chapter.)
[Added 3-25-1999 by Ord. No. 1999-1]
A business established to be supportive of some other principal
use or a business established which is independent of any other activity
and is carried on by office personnel.
An industry involving the cultivation of the soil and the
harvesting of the products of the soil, including but not necessarily
limited to activities such as animal husbandry, horticulture, forestry,
tree nurseries and Christmas tree farms. Where permitted as a use,
this term shall be interpreted to include those accessory uses and
structures necessary to support such industry, including one dwelling
unit.
Any contrivance used for manned ascent into or flight through
the air; nonmotorized hang gliders and parachutes are specifically
excluded from this term.
Any area of land or water which is used or intended to be
used for the landing and takeoff of aircraft, including any appurtenant
areas which are used or intended to be used for airport buildings,
air navigation facilities, rights-of-way and airport-related facilities.
The highest point of an airport's usable landing area, measured
in feet above sea level.
Any structure or object, natural or man-made, or use of land
which obstructs the airspace required for flight of aircraft in landing
or taking off at an airport or which is otherwise hazardous as defined
under "airport hazard" in 74 Pa.C.S.A. § 5102, as amended.
Any area of land or water upon which an airport hazard might
be established if not prevented as provided for by this chapter and
the Pennsylvania Aviation Code, Act 164 of 1984, 74 Pa.C.S.A. § 5101
et seq.
An airport which is privately owned and which is not open
or intended to be open to the public, as defined in the Pennsylvania
Aviation Code, Act 164 of 1984, 74 Pa.C.S.A. § 5102.
An airport which is either publicly or privately owned and
which is open to the public, as defined in the Pennsylvania Aviation
Code, Act 164 of 1984, 74 Pa.C.S.A. § 5102.
A system which provides alternative methods of generating
energy, including but not limited to electrical energy, which is not
subject to regulation by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
Alternative energy systems shall include but shall not be limited
to: solar energy systems and wind energy systems.
[Added 8-26-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-01]
A building divided into three or more separate, independent
dwellings, each such dwelling designed for occupancy by one housekeeping
unit, not dependent upon the remaining units in the building.
A surface longitudinally centered on the extended center line of an airport runway, extending outward and upward from the surface zone height limitation slope (described in § 131-61 of this chapter). In plan view, the perimeter of the approach surface is coincident with the perimeter of the approach surface zone.
Limited to individuals who practice the graphic or plastic
arts, including painting, serigraphy and sculpture; crafts such as
silk-screening, weaving, pottery, ceramics, small-scale metalworking
and woodworking; and similar handiwork.
A multiresidence housing facility providing rooms, common
facilities and activities, meals, personal care and basic health care
for senior citizens and persons with disabilities who require assistance
with activities of daily living.
[Added 3-3-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-01]
A commercial use of land which is characterized by the repair
of motor vehicles, limited to any one or a combination of the following
activities the care and maintenance of motor vehicles as a retail
service; engine, drivetrain and other mechanical repair of motor vehicles
as a retail service; and the repair and painting of motor vehicle
bodies. The retail sale of parts and accessories for motor vehicles
is permitted only as an accessory to any of the preceding activities,
except that the sale of gasoline is not permitted.
A commercial use of land which is characterized by the provision
of retail services for motorists and their vehicles. This use shall
be limited to any one or a combination of the following activities:
the retail sale of gasoline and other petroleum products; the care
and maintenance of motor vehicles, including cosmetic detailing where
no spray painting is performed; engine, drivetrain and other mechanical
repair of motor vehicles; and a convenience store. The sale of parts
and accessories for motor vehicles is permitted as an accessory to
any of the preceding activities. The sale of new or used motor vehicles
is not permitted, nor is the repair or painting of motor vehicle bodies.
The flood which has been selected to serve as the basis upon
which the floodplain management provisions of this chapter and other
Township ordinances have been prepared.
The one-hundred-year-flood elevation, as referenced in the
Flood Insurance Study, Township of Washington, prepared by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, Federal Insurance Administration. Within
the approximated floodplain, the one-hundred-year-flood elevation
shall be established as a point on the boundary of the approximated
floodplain nearest to the area of construction activity.
A type of tourist home, as hereinafter defined, which is
licensed in accordance with Pennsylvania Act 62 of 1992.[1] No meals shall be provided for compensation to nonguests.
The Board of Supervisors of Washington Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania; however, within Article XVIII of this chapter, this term shall refer to the Zoning Hearing Board of the Township.
A strip of required yard space adjacent to the boundary of
a property or district, not less in width than is designated in this
chapter, and upon which is planted year-round shrubbery, hedges, evergreens
and/or other suitable plantings as a landscaped screen, as defined
herein. The buffer area may include a wall or fence, provided that
such wall or fence shall be designed and constructed in such a manner
that it will not conflict with the character of the abutting district.
A residential, commercial, industrial, or other structure
with walls and a roof, having a permanent fixed location on land or
in water.
[Amended 7-27-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-1]
Any change in or addition to the supporting or structural
members of a building, such as the bearing walls, partitions, columns,
beams or girders, or any change which would convert an existing building
into a different structure, adapt it for a different use or, in the
case of a nonconforming use, prolong the existence of such use.
The aggregate of the maximum horizontal cross-section areas
of all buildings on a lot above the ground level, excluding cornices,
eaves, gutters, chimneys projecting 18 inches or less, bay windows
projecting two feet or less, one-story open porches, porte cocheres
and carports which are open on three sides, outdoor steps and balconies.
That portion of a lot within which a principal building may
be erected. This area is defined by the yard lines and excludes rights-of-way
and the pole area of flag lots.
The vertical dimension of a building measured from the average
elevation of the finished grade of the two front corners of the building
to the highest point of the roof, exclusive of aerials; antennas;
silos; grain elevators; roof-mounted structures for heating, air conditioning,
ventilation, solar energy collection or elevators and similar structures
for the enclosure of building infrastructure; chimneys; spires; and
towers; provided that the aforementioned projection does not exceed
the height limitation of the applicable zoning district by more than
50 feet. The foregoing height exception shall not apply to any communications
antennas or communications towers.
[Amended 8-25-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-10; 3-12-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-2; 7-9-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-6; 4-26-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-01]
The building within which the principal use of the lot is
conducted.
An imaginary line upon a property which is parallel to the
street line (or the front lot line of a flag lot) and is separated
therefrom by a distance equivalent to the minimum front yard required
by the zoning district within which the street line or front lot line
is located. No building or portion of a building may be erected or
extended upon or over the area between the street right-of-way line
(or the front line line) and the building setback line; equivalent
to “front yard line.”
The premises in which care is provided at any one time for
seven or more children unrelated to the operator.
[Amended 7-25-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-6]
The removal or intentional destruction of all vegetation
from an area of land. The removal or cutting of 90% or more of the
total number of individual trees from a wooded area shall be deemed
"clear-cutting," even if brush vegetation is left remaining. The selective
removal or cutting of trees for sale or as may be required as part
of a woodlot management program shall not be deemed "clear-cutting."
A private organization involving the use of land or buildings
gathered for some common purpose.
Any device used for the transmission or reception of radio,
telephone, wireless telephone, pager, commercial mobile radio service,
personal communications systems or any other wireless communications
signals, including, without limitation, omnidirectional or whip antennas
and directional or panel antennas, owned or operated by any person
or entity licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
to operate such device. This definition shall not include private
residence mounted satellite dishes or television antennas or amateur
radio equipment, including, without limitation, ham or citizen band
radio antennas.
[Added 7-9-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-6]
An unmanned building or cabinet containing communications
equipment required for the operation of communications antennas and
covering an area on the ground not greater than 250 square feet.
[Added 7-9-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-6]
A structure other than a building, such as a monopole, self-supporting
or guyed tower, designed and used to support communications antennas.
[Added 7-9-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-6]
A surface extending outward and upward from the periphery
of the horizontal surface (as defined below) of an airport at a slope
of 20:1 (or 5%) for a horizontal distance of 4,000 feet.
Activity associated with the erection, renovation, repair,
extension, expansion, alteration or relocation of a structure, including
the placement of mobile homes.
A type of retail commercial activity characterized by, but
not necessarily limited to, the sale of prepackaged and prepared foods
and sundries. Convenience stores shall have a maximum gross floor
area of 8,000 square feet. The sale of gasoline and other petroleum
products is permitted as an accessory use to a convenience store only
where such sales are specifically permitted by the zoning district
wherein the convenience store is located.
Any man-made change to a tract of land, including the placement
thereon of buildings or other structures (including mobile homes);
the construction of streets or other paved areas; the installation
of utilities; the conduct of activities such as mining, dredging,
filling, grading, excavation and drilling; and the storage of materials
and equipment.[2]
[Amended 10-24-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-10]
A person, including a natural person, corporation, partnership,
association, trust or other entity, or any combination thereof, which
holds a permit issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to
dispense medical marijuana pursuant to the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana
Act, 35 P.S. § 10231.101 et seq.
[Added 7-27-2017 by Ord.
No. 2017-1]
A privately owned area accommodating vehicular access to one nonresidential lot or to one or more residential lots, as limited by Chapter 107, Subdivision and Land Development.
A building which contains three or more separate and distinct
dwelling units. This term specifically includes but is not limited
to townhouses and apartment buildings.
A building used or intended to be used as one dwelling unit
and containing no other uses, except accessory uses to the dwelling
unit.
A building which contains two separate and distinct dwelling
units, each with its own exterior entrance. Such buildings are typically,
but not necessarily, configured as semidetached dwellings (or twin
homes) or with one dwelling wholly above the other (also known as
a "duplex").
A building or portion of a building used or intended to be
used as a permanent or seasonal place of residence. A dwelling unit
shall include such housekeeping facilities as necessary to be independent
from all other dwelling units and shall also be physically discrete
from all other dwelling units.
A commercial activity which features the remunerated furnishing
or serving of food and beverages for consumption on the premises.
This term shall be interpreted to include restaurants and any other
activity or portion of some other activity which includes a restaurant-type
facility, such as hotels, country clubs and social clubs, regardless
of whether or not such facility is open to the general public.
Notice given by Washington Township, Berks County, through
the Internet, of the time and place of a public hearing and the particular
nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing.
[Added 11-19-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-07]
The erection, construction, alteration or maintenance by
public utilities or municipal or other governmental agencies of underground
or overhead gas, electrical, steam or water transmission or distribution
systems, collection, communication, supply or disposal systems and
their essential buildings, excluding communications towers and communications
antennas, as defined herein.
[Added 7-9-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-6]
The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States
Department of Transportation.
A home other than the child's own home, operated for profit
or not-for-profit, in which child day-care is provided at any one
time to four, five or six children unrelated to the operator.
[Added 7-25-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-6]
A lot which is separated from all road rights-of-way by another
lot or lots and which is connected to some right-of-way by a private
access strip narrower than the minimum required lot width for the
applicable zoning district.
A flood that has one chance in 100 of being equaled or exceeded
in any given year. For the purposes of this chapter, the "one-hundred-year
flood" shall be as defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency
of the Federal Insurance Administration in the Washington Township
Flood Insurance Study, most recent version.
The relatively flat or low-lying land area adjoining a river,
stream or watercourse which is subject to partial or complete inundation;
also, an area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff
of surface waters from any source.
The commercial cultivation and subsequent harvesting of trees.
For the purposes of this chapter, forestry shall be performed in accordance
with a woodlot management plan. The removal of trees shall be performed
in such a way as to minimize the effects of erosion and sedimentation,
both during and subsequent to such removal.
An accessory building or part of a principal building used
or intended to be used for the storage of motor vehicles owned or
used by the owner(s) or occupant(s) of the premises. Not more than
one motor vehicle owned or used by persons other than an owner or
occupant of the premises may be stored in a private garage.
A building used solely for the commercial storage, service
or repair of motor vehicles.
A building used solely for the storage of motor vehicles.
Commercial activities, including any sales and commercial services,
shall not be permitted.
A structure, building or area of land or any portion thereof
that is used for the sale of gasoline or other motor vehicle fuels.
For the purposes of this chapter, the term "gas station" shall not
be synonymous with a "service station." Businesses or industries which
have facilities for dispensing gasoline solely for its own use and
not available to the general public shall not be deemed a gas station.
See "open space land."
[Added 3-25-1999 by Ord. No. 1999-1]
The area of the land enclosed by the property lines of an
individual parcel of land, without exclusions.
[Added 3-25-1999 by Ord. No. 1999-1]
The premises in which care is provided at one time for more
than six but fewer than 16 older school-age level children or more
than six but fewer than 13 children of another age level who are unrelated
to the operator. The term includes the facility located in a residence
or another premises.
[Added 7-25-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-6]
A person, including a natural person, corporation, partnership,
association, trust or other entity, or any combination thereof, which
holds a permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Health pursuant
to the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act, 35 P.S. § 10231.101
et seq., to grow and process medical marijuana.
[Added 7-27-2017 by Ord.
No. 2017-1]
A road located upon quarry and industrial tracts which is
used only by vehicles associated with the use upon such tract. A haul
road shall not be a public road and shall be closed to use by the
general public.
Any type of waste, regardless of its form or source, which
is subject to regulation under § 402 of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act, as amended (86 Stat. 880), or the United States
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (68 Stat. 923) or which, by
virtue of its quantity or concentration of its physical, chemical
or infectious characteristics, may cause or significantly contribute
to an increase in mortality or morbidity or may pose a substantial
hazard, either present or future, to human health or the environment
if improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of or otherwise
managed.
The vertical distance measured from the ground level to the
highest point on a communications tower, including antennas mounted
on the tower.
[Added 7-9-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-6]
A for-profit activity conducted within a dwelling unit (or within an accessory structure upon a residential lot) as an accessory use in conformance with § 131-70C of this chapter.
A horizontal plane 150 feet above the established elevation
of an airport, the perimeter of which, in plan view, coincides with
the perimeter of the horizontal surface zone.
A building or group of buildings providing temporary lodging
for the general public for compensation. Uses such as restaurants,
gift shops and recreational facilities shall be deemed customary accessory
uses and shall be permitted as part of a hotel operation, whether
or not such uses are available to the general public.
A building principally used for public worship or religious
assembly by a congregation. This term includes church, synagogue,
temple, mosque, kingdom hall and all similar terms.
A facility where waste products are disposed of by means
of a combustion process.
A multiresidence housing facility providing rooms, common
facilities and activities, and meals, for senior citizens and persons
with disabilities who require little or no assistance with activities
of daily living.
[Added 3-3-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-01]
A business established for the production of goods, assemblage
of parts or packaging of goods, including the storage of products
and materials and ancillary administrative functions.
A property, including any and all buildings thereon, operated
and maintained by a charitable, educational, medical, religious or
eleemosynary organization; also, according to context, such organization
itself.
A facility wherein commingled recyclables, which have been
removed from the municipal waste stream, are delivered and then separated
and processed (washed, crushed or compacted and baled or packaged)
for subsequent delivery for further processing or to a manufacturer
or other user which utilizes such recyclables in its production process.
The use of land, building or structure for the purpose of
breeding, boarding, training or grooming customary household pets
for compensation, or the maintenance of four or more dogs that are
more than six months old on a single lot or contiguous lots under
single ownership or lease.
[Added 5-24-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-02]
An area where solid waste is placed in or on land.
A landfill wherein engineering principles are utilized to
bury solid waste without creating public health or safety hazards,
nuisances, pollution or environmental degradation.
A tract of land upon which a landfill is located, including
all structures and other appurtenances or improvements erected thereon.
An area of planting designed to provide a visual and aural
barrier either between abutting properties or between a property and
an abutting street, as required within this chapter. Such landscaped
area shall be maintained by the owner of the lot whereupon it is located
such that it is of sufficient height and density to perform its barrier
functions. Landscaped buffer strips may include earthen berms with
a maximum height of 48 inches. Unless otherwise required or permitted
by this chapter, a landscaped buffer strip shall:
Have a minimum height upon installation of five
feet and shall achieve a minimum height of eight feet within three
years of planting;
Have a minimum width of 20 feet;
Be sufficient to provide a year-round barrier;
and
Be composed of plant species which is indigenous
to or is otherwise well-adapted to the conditions of this region.
A list of recommended species is found in Appendix C of this chapter.[3]
A space accessible to vehicles from a public street, either
in a building or otherwise on a lot, which is intended for use by
vehicles while in the process of loading or unloading cargo.
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 area contained within the property lines of an individual
parcel of land, including but not limited to a parcel as shown on
a subdivision or development plan, excluding areas within the legal
or ultimate right-of-way (whichever is greater) of a public road and
area within the pole portion of a flag lot.
The area of land enclosed by the property lines of an individual
parcel of land, with no exclusions.
The area contained within the property lines of an individual
parcel of land, excluding area within the legal or ultimate right-of-way
(whichever is greater) of a public road, area within the pole portion
of a flag lot, floodplain areas, lands covered by alluvial soils,
surface waters and freshwater wetlands and lands within public and
private easements. In lieu of a soil survey performed for a specific
tract by a qualified individual, the Soil Survey: Berks County, Pennsylvania
(issued September 1970 by the Soil Conservation Service of the United
States Department of Agriculture), shall be acceptable to the Township
as a source for the location of alluvial soils.
A lot having road frontage on two contiguous sides or having
road frontage upon two or more intersecting roads.
A property boundary line of any lot held in single or joint
ownership.
Any and all lot lines coincident with a street right-of-way
line (or street center line, as may be applicable). For purposes of
application of yard and setback requirements, the front lot line of
a flag lot shall be that lot line of the flag portion which is closest
and most nearly parallel to the nearest street right-of-way line.
That lot line which is most distant from and most nearly
parallel to the front lot line. A rear lot line shall not intersect
any street right-of-way line.
Any and all lot lines which are neither a front lot line
nor a rear lot line.
The distance between side lot lines at the front yard line.
The lot width of a corner lot shall be measured from the point of
intersection of the front yard lines to the nearest side lot line.
The minimum lot width requirement for the applicable zoning district
shall be satisfied at each front yard line individually.
The removal of trees from a wooded tract, excluding such
removal as may be necessary in order to accommodate construction activity.
Lumbering may or may not be in accordance with a woodlot management
plan but shall not be conducted in such a way that the activity may
be properly described as "clear-cutting," as defined herein.
Notice given by Washington Township, Berks County, by first-class
mail, of the time and place of a public hearing and the particular
nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing.
[Added 11-19-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-07]
Marijuana for certified medical use as set forth in the Pennsylvania
Medical Marijuana Act, 35 P.S. § 10231.101 et seq.
[Added 7-27-2017 by Ord.
No. 2017-1]
A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent
occupancy, contained in one unit or in two or more 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.
For floodplain management purposes, the term includes park trailers,
travel trailers, recreational and other similar vehicles which are
placed on a site for more than 180 consecutive days.[4]
[Amended 10-24-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-10]
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.[5]
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which has been so
designated and improved that it contains two or more mobile home lots
for the placement thereon of mobile homes.[6]
A business or commercial activity administered or conducted as an accessory use, in conformance with § 131-70F of this chapter, 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.
[Added 3-27-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-3]
The extracting of minerals other than coal from the earth,
from waste or stockpiles or from pits or banks by removing the strata
or material that overlies or is above or between them (which removal
shall not constitute mining activity) or otherwise exposing and retrieving
them from the surface, including but not limited to strip mining,
auger mining, dredging, quarrying, leaching and all surface activity
connected with surface or underground mining, including but not limited
to exploration; site preparation; entry, tunnel, drift, slope, shaft
and borehole drilling and construction; and activities related thereto,
excluding the extraction, handling, processing or storing of materials
from any building construction excavation on the site of the construction
where the minerals removed are incidental to the building construction
excavation, regardless of the commercial value of the minerals.
A lot, structure upon a lot or an activity performed upon
a lot or in a structure which, by reason of design, size or function,
is not in compliance with the regulations of the zoning district within
which such lot, structure or activity is located.
A multiresidence housing facility providing rooms, common
facilities and activities, meals, personal care and health care, including
nursing and medical care, for senior citizens and persons with disabilities.
[Added 3-3-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-01]
An outdoor living area attached to a dwelling, with or without
a roof, which is open on all sides except where it abuts the exterior
wall of the dwelling. Open porches may have wire screening, but if
glazed with either permanent or removable glass sashes, the porch
shall be deemed an interior space and therefore a part of the building,
subject to all minimum yard requirements.
Common area not built upon within a subdivision, land development
or agricultural area.
[Added 3-25-1999 by Ord. No. 1999-1]
A designated space for the indoor or outdoor storage of one
automobile. Such space shall have a minimum width of 10 feet, a minimum
length of 20 feet and a maximum slope of 5.0% in any direction.
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, institution,
cooperative enterprise, municipality, federal or state agency or any
other legal entity which is recognized by law as the subject of rights
and duties.
A type of retail commercial activity characterized by the
provision of some service exclusively or principally to clients who
are individuals rather than businesses, governmental units or other
organizations. The retail sale of goods related to such service is
included in this term.
A person, including a natural person, corporation, partnership,
association, trust or other entity, or any combination thereof, which
holds a permit issued by the Pennsylvania State Board of Pharmacy
to dispense prescription drugs and medicine.
[Added 7-27-2017 by Ord.
No. 2017-1]
An area of land controlled by a landowner to be developed
as a single entity for a number of dwelling units or combination of
residential and nonresidential uses, the development plan for which
does not correspond in lot size, bulk, type of dwelling or use, density,
or intensity, lot coverage and required open space to the regulations
established in any one district created, from time to time, under
the provisions of this chapter.
[Added 11-13-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-5]
The portion of a flag lot which connects the main bulk of
the lot with the street. The area of the pole is defined by the street
line, the side lot lines tangent to the street line and a line parallel
to the street line at that point on the lot where the minimum lot
width required by the applicable zoning district is achieved.
A surface longitudinally centered upon the center line of
an airport runway. The elevation of any point on the primary surface
is the same as the elevation of the nearest point on the center line
of the runway. The length of the primary surface shall be determined
as follows.
A building or structure housing equipment for the support
of telephone, radio telephone, cable television, gas, power, sewer
or water facilities. In the R-1, R-2 and HDV Districts, this term
shall be limited to exclude public business facilities, areas for
storage of materials, vehicle maintenance and repair facilities and
housing for repair crews.
A structure, owned and operated by a public utility, electric
company regulated by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, designed
and used to support overhead electricity transmission lines.
[Added 7-9-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-6]
Outdoor leisure activities excluded from the definition of
"passive recreation."
Outdoor leisure activities which do not require any type
of playing court, field or other area of land which has obviously
been modified by man, except that an improved trail or path for the
exclusive use of pedestrians, equestrians and/or nonmotorized vehicles
having a width of 10 feet or less may be provided. This term includes
hiking and other trail-oriented activities, bird-watching, picnicking
and similar activities. This term excludes all organized team sports,
downhill skiing, golf and similar activities.
A lot, land, structure or part thereof used for the collection,
storage or sale of wastepaper, plastics, rags, scrap metal or discarded
material; or for the collection, dismantling, storage or salvaging
of machinery, including vehicles, and for the sale of parts thereof.
A recycling center shall not be deemed a type of landfill nor shall
a landfill be deemed a type of recycling center.
A multiresidence housing facility intended for senior citizens
and persons with disabilities. For purposes of this definition, "retirement
home" shall include independent living homes, assisted living homes,
and nursing homes and shall exclude drug and alcohol rehabilitation
facilities, group homes and halfway houses.
[Added 3-3-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-01]
Same as "street."
A defined area of an airport, public or private, prepared
for landing and takeoff of aircraft along its length.
A runway that is constructed for and intended to be used
by propeller-driven aircraft of greater than 12,500 pounds maximum
gross weight and jet-powered aircraft.
A runway having an existing instrument approach procedure
utilizing air navigation facilities with only horizontal guidance
or area-type navigation equipment, for which a straight-in nonprecision
instrument approach procedure has been approved or planned.
A runway having an existing instrument approach procedure
utilizing an instrument landing system (ILS) or a precision approach
radar (PAR). This term shall also include a runway for which a precision
approach system is planned and is so indicated on an approved airport
layout plan or any other adopted or otherwise recognized planning
document.
A runway which is constructed for and intended to be used
by propeller-driven aircraft of 12,500 pounds maximum gross weight
or less.
A runway intended solely for the operation of aircraft using
visual approach procedures.
The uncontrolled removal of material from a landfill site
or recycling center.
A structure or portion thereof used for educational purposes,
including the following: preschools, nursery schools, elementary and
secondary schools, colleges, universities, junior colleges and vocational
and technical schools. A school may be either private or public.
A use of land where secure structures or secure units within
a structure are offered for lease to the general public for the storage
of personal articles. The outdoor storage of recreational vehicles,
boats and noncommercial trailers is permitted as an accessory use
to a self-storage facility.
Any person 55 years of age or older.
[Added 3-3-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-01]
Same as "automobile service station."
A business or commercial enterprise which is defined in and regulated by Chapter 97, Sexually Oriented Businesses, commonly known as the "Obscenity Ordinance." Such enterprises include but are not necessarily limited to adult arcades, adult bookstores and video stores, adult cabarets, adult motels, adult motion-picture theaters, adult theaters, escort agencies, nude model studios and sexual encounter centers, as such terms are defined within the above-cited Township ordinance.
A group of commercial uses designed and constructed as an
integrated unit, sharing common facilities for parking, loading, pedestrian
circulation and sanitary facilities. Uses permitted within a shopping
center include and are hereby limited to the retail sale of goods
and services, financial services and offices, business and professional
offices, eating and drinking establishments and uses customarily accessory
to such uses.
Any name, nameplate, billboard, poster, panel, display, illumination,
structure or other device used for visual communication which is affixed,
painted or represented, directly or indirectly, upon a building or
other outdoor surface for the purpose of bringing the subject thereof
to the attention of the public.
A sign which advertises or announces a business, activity
or other feature which is not provided upon the same lot as said sign.
Outdoor advertising signs (billboards) are a type of off-premises
sign. Signs erected by the Department of Transportation or by any
other public entity are excluded from this definition.
Any vehicle to which a sign is affixed in such a manner that
the carrying of the sign is no longer incidental to the vehicle's
purpose but becomes a primary purpose in itself. An example is a tractor
trailer with advertising painted on or affixed to its side, left for
a period of time along the frontage of a road to serve as an advertising
sign.
[Added 5-24-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-02]
A parcel of land held in single and separate ownership shall
be the whole of any continuous area of land, the title to all of which
rests in the same ownership, irrespective of the fact that parts of
the area may have been acquired at different times or that the area
may have been divided into parts on an earlier plan or plot.
The degree of deviation of a surface from the horizontal,
expressed as a percent and calculated by dividing the amount of vertical
change by the amount of horizontal distance over which such vertical
change is observed.
Solar energy systems, including solar collections, storage
facilities, and distribution components, used for electricity production,
water heating and space heating and cooling.
[Added 8-26-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-01]
A place at which a comprehensive program of solid waste management
is practiced, including resource recovery and reclamation, processing,
storage and final disposal. Full reclamation of all material which
is recyclable shall be practiced, including ferromagnetic and nonferromagnetic
metals, glass, paper, thermoplastics and combustible materials which,
through processing, can be further utilized. Only those materials
for which markets do not exist shall be disposed of in any landfill
located at the facility. This term shall be interpreted to include
all land, structures and other appurtenances or improvements upon
the property.
A right-of-way, including any ultimate right-of-way, whether
publicly or privately owned, used or intended to be used to accommodate
vehicular travel. This term includes "arterial," "avenue," "boulevard,"
"court," "expressway," "highway," "lane," "road," "thoroughfare,"
"way" and similar terms. This term excludes the terms "access road"
and "driveway," as defined in this article.
The dividing line between a street and a lot. The street
line shall be coincident with the legal street right-of-way line or,
where a future right-of-way width for a road has been officially established
which is wider than the legal right-of-way, the street line shall
be coincident with such future right-of-way line.
A man-made object or assemblage of materials having a fixed
location on or in land or water, whether or not actually affixed to
any land. This term shall include buildings, signs, fences, walls,
towers, antennas, swimming pools, porches, garages and similar items.
The term "structure" shall be interpreted to include the phrase "or
part thereof."
An aboveground or in-ground structure, whether permanent
or temporary, designed to accommodate recreational or competitive
swimming. The regulations of this chapter shall be applied only to
such structures which exceed 40 inches in depth at any point and which
have a perimeter of 40 feet or more.
The visibility of external open space as perimeter greenbelt
land.
[Added 3-25-1999 by Ord. No. 1999-1]
A dwelling in which sleeping accommodations for fewer than
10 persons are provided for compensation.
Washington Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania.[7]
A facility for the collection of solid wastes, excluding
sewage, for subsequent removal and ultimate disposal at another site.
Those surfaces extending outward at ninety-degree angles
to the center line of a runway and to the center line extended at
a slope of seven feet horizontally for each one foot vertically (i.e.,
a slope of 14.3%) from the sides of the primary surface and of the
approach surface to where they intersect the horizontal and conical
surfaces. Transitional surfaces for those portions of the precision
approach surfaces, which project through and beyond the limits of
the conical surface, extend a distance of 5,000 feet, measured horizontally
from the edge of the approach surface and at ninety-degree angles
to the extended center line of the runway.
The future or planned width of the right-of-way of a public
street.
An activity occurring on a tract of land or within a structure.
A use subordinate to the principal use of land or a building
or other structure on a lot which is customarily and clearly incidental
thereto.
A use of land or of a structure which the owner of such land
or structure is entitled to enjoy by virtue of ownership. Such uses
vary according to the zoning district wherein such land or structure
is located.
A specific use of land or of a structure which requires the approval of the Zoning Hearing Board in accordance with § 131-105B of this chapter. Such uses vary according to the zoning district wherein such land or structure is located.
A specific use of land or of a structure which requires the approval of the Board of Supervisors in accordance with § 131-100 of this chapter. Such uses vary according to the zoning district wherein such land or structure is located.
A use of land and/or structures which is authorized by this
chapter by right, or approved by condition or special exception in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter or the zoning ordinance
in effect at the time of such approval.
The dominant activity occurring upon a tract of land.
A public utility facility.
Relief granted from the terms of this chapter by the Zoning Hearing Board in accordance with Section 910.2 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (53 P.S. § 10910.2) and § 131-105A of this chapter.
A system which includes a structure and associated mechanisms
and supporting components which are installed above ground for the
purpose of generating electrical energy, and may include but is not
limited to wind-driven driven turbines and windmills.
[Added 8-26-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-01]
A portion of land where trees grow in a sufficient density
to generate a year-round ground cover of leaves.
An open, unoccupied space on the same lot with a building
or other structure or use, open and physically unobstructed from the
ground to the sky, except for public utility lines.
That portion of yard abutting the front lot line(s), lying
between those side lot lines tangent to the front lot line(s) and
extending in depth to the nearest point of the building closest to
the front lot line.
An imaginary line parallel to some specified lot line and
set back from said lot line by the required yard depth.
An imaginary line upon a property which is parallel to the
street line (or the front lot line of a flag lot) and is separated
therefrom by a distance equivalent to the minimum front yard required
by the zoning district within which the street line or front lot line
is located. No building or portion of a building may be erected or
extended upon or over the area between the street right-of-way line
(or the front line line) and the building setback line; equivalent
to "building setback line."
A yard line parallel to the rear lot line, set back therefrom
a distance equivalent to the minimum rear yard of the zoning district
within which the majority of the lot lies.
Those yard lines parallel to the side lot line(s), set back
therefrom a distance equivalent to the minimum side yard of the zoning
district within which the majority of the lot lies.
That portion of yard abutting the rear lot line, lying between
those side lot lines tangent to the rear lot line and extending in
depth to the nearest point of the building closest to the rear lot
line.
The sale of goods to the general public from a residential
property, whether indoors or out of doors, excluding the retail sale
of goods conducted in conjunction with a home occupation and also
excluding the sale of farm products from a roadside stand. This term
shall include "auction," "garage sale," "tag sale" and all similar
terms.
That portion of yard abutting the side lot lines, lying between
the front yard and the rear yard and extending in depth to the nearest
point of the building closest to the rear lot line.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 3 Pa.C.S.A. § 5701
et seq.
[2]
Editor's Note: The former definition of “development
right,” which definition immediately followed this definition,
was repealed 3-25-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-1.
[3]
Editor's Note: Former Appendix C, Landscape
Guide, was repealed 3-25-1999 by Ord. No. 1999-1.
[7]
Editor's Note: The former definition of “transferable
development right or TDR,” which definition immediately followed
this definition, was repealed 3-25-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-1.
The definitions contained in the following acts
and regulations, all as may be amended from time to time, are incorporated
herein by reference as if set forth herein at length:
