Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following
words and phrases shall be construed throughout this chapter to have
the meanings indicated in this article. The present tense includes
the future; the singular number includes the plural and the plural
the singular: the word "buildings" includes the word "structure" and
shall be construed as if followed by the words "or part thereof;"
the word "occupy" includes the words "designed or intended to be occupied;"
the word "use" includes the words "arranged," "designed" or "intended
to be used;" and the word "shall" is always mandatory.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A building subordinate to the principal building on a lot
and used for purposes customarily incidental to those of the principal
building.
A building or portion thereof providing complete housekeeping
facilities for one family as permitted within a conservation design
subdivision or land development.
[Added 4-6-2006 by Ord. No. 812]
A use subordinate to the principal use of land or a building
or other structure on a lot and customarily a part of or incidental
thereto.
[Amended 10-28-1982 by Ord. No. 444]
Base site area minus constrained lands. (See § 116-273C of this chapter).
[Added 4-6-2006 by Ord. No. 812]
The cultivating of the soil, and the raising and harvesting
of the products of the soil, including but not by way of limitation
nursery, horticulture and forestry, and animal husbandry, but excluding
sod and/or soil removal.
As applied to a building or structure, a change in the structural
parts or an enlargement, or the moving from one location or position
to another.
The American Pyrotechnics Association Standard 87-1: Standard
for Construction and Approval for Transportation of Fireworks, Novelties,
and Theatrical Pyrotechnics, 2001 edition, or any subsequent edition.
[Added 10-25-2018 by Ord.
No. 989]
A building or series of buildings designed exclusively for
multifamily dwelling purposes by three or more families living independently
of one another and requiring that at least one permanent occupant
be age 55 years or older and further requiring that any resident of
an individual dwelling unit under the age of 19 years shall not reside
in that unit for more than three months in any calendar year.
[Added 12-18-2003 by Ord. No. 784]
Calculated as the sum of the lot areas for all dwelling units
of a single type divided by the total number of dwelling units of
a single type.
Average setback is calculated in the following manner:
[Added 12-13-2007 by Ord. No. 845]
|
(Length1 x Setback1) + (Length2 x Setback2)
+ (Length3 x Setback3)...+ (Lengthn x Setbackn)
Length1 + Length2 + Length3...+ Lengthn
|
|---|
|
Where:
|
|
Each “Length” is the length of the
facade of the building segment at the specific setback. “Setback”
is the setback of that segment of the facade from the ultimate right-of-way.
|
The slope of land determined according to the formula:
 | |||||||
|
(S is the average slope in percent; I is the
contour interval in scale feet; L is the combined length of contour
lines in scale feet; A is the area in acres of the site being considered)
|
The flood having a one-percent chance of being equaled or
exceeded in any given year.
An artificial embankment composed of soil which serves as
a form of fence or buffer which is not to be construed to be either
a building or structure.
A portion of a tract designed, constructed and maintained
to separate the elements and uses of lands which abut each side. It
shall function to effectively block the transmission of noise, glare
and dust from one side to another at all times and seasons of the
year.
Any structure having enclosing walls and roof, permanently
located on the land.
The aggregate of the maximum horizontal cross section areas
of all buildings on a lot 18 inches or less above the ground level,
measured at the greatest outside dimensions, excluding cornices, eaves,
gutters or chimneys greater than 18 inches above the ground level
projecting not more than 18 inches out from the building, excluding
bay windows not extending through more than one story and/or 18 inches
or less above the ground level and not projecting more than five feet
out from the building, and excluding steps, unenclosed porches whether
covered or not, decks whether covered or not, and balconies. "Building
area" shall also include the area of covered porches, breezeways,
or covered patios which have impervious floor surfaces and which are
attached to a building.
[Amended 3-28-2013 by Ord. No. 925]
The total building area on a lot divided by the lot area.
[Added 9-9-2004 by Ord. No. 794]
Same as "building area" as herein defined.
[Added 12-13-2007 by Ord. No. 845; amended 3-28-2013 by Ord. No.
925]
A building in which is conducted the principal use of the
lot on which it is situated.
The rear line of the minimum front yard, as herein designated
for each district, measured from the street line; provided, however,
that where an ultimate right-of-way traverses a lot, the building
setback line shall be measured from the ultimate right-of-way.
[Amended 10-25-2018 by Ord. No. 988]
A restaurant, cafe, tearoom, tavern or bar which also provides,
at any time, dancing and/or live entertainment (including but not
limited to disc jockeys), except that live background instrumental
music, while dining, when such background music is performed by a
single musician playing either a piano, organ, violin or accordion,
shall not be considered live entertainment.
[Added 10-24-1985 by Ord. No. 522]
A building or open parking structure used for the parking
or storage of more than four passenger motor vehicles designed to
carry not more than nine persons, wherein provision for the repair
of such vehicles is not made.
[Added 12-18-2003 by Ord. No. 783]
Burial place or graveyard, including mausoleum, crematory
or columbarium.
[Added 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 862]
The act of an electric vehicle being parked at an electric
vehicle charging station and connected to a functioning electric vehicle
supply equipment port and actively being charged.
[Added 12-9-2021 by Ord. No. 1009]
The premises in which care is provided at any one time for
seven or more children unrelated to the operator.
[Added 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 863]
Ambulatory health care facility, generally including a number
of medical, dental and/or mental health specialties, in which examinations,
diagnostic and preventive health services and treatment are provided
for patients on an out patient basis, generally on a walk-in or first-come-first-served
basis; a clinic is characterized by centralized facilities and services,
including patient records storage/management, waiting areas and laboratory
and other diagnostic and testing facilities. It is typically managed
by a single institution or corporation and is distinguished from a
medical office building wherein individual offices or suites are leased
or sold to a health care provider or group of same and wherein the
health care provider(s) in one office or suite does not necessarily
have any corporate, managerial or similar relationship to the health
care provider(s) occupying other offices or suites in the building.
It typically consists of several medical professionals who change
over on a regular basis and none of which have a recurring patient
roster.
[Added 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 862]
A voluntary, nonprofit, incorporated or unincorporated association
for the purpose of social, literary or political nature.
Trade and professional school; arts, music or dancing school.
[Added 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 862]
Adult education center or other similar facility operated
by an educational, philanthropic or religious or governmental institution.[1]
[Added 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 862]
A facility which incorporates, but is not limited to, a railroad
station building, including ticket office, passenger waiting room,
taxi stand and bus shelter, canopies, platforms, parking areas for
the use of commuters, patrons and employees, passenger pickup areas,
bus layover areas and appurtenant features which provide safe, convenient
and amenable boarding, alighting and waiting for a passenger train
or other transportation services.
[Added 1-25-2001 by Ord. No. 734]
The Whitemarsh Township Comprehensive Plan and amendments
thereto, including maps, charts and/or descriptive matter officially
adopted by the Township Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors,
indicating recommendations for the continuing development of the municipality;
and including all elements required by the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code,[2] as last amended.
[Amended 4-6-2006 by Ord. No. 812]
A use permitted in a particular zoning district by the Board
of Supervisors of Whitemarsh Township.
[Added 8-23-1990 by Ord. No. 604]
A dwelling unit as defined in the Unit Property Act of July
3, 1963, P.L. 196 (68 P.S. § 700.101 et seq.).[3]
A building or series of buildings used primarily as a professional
meeting and training facility for 50 or more persons, which shall
include related lodging and dining facilities and may include recreational
facilities, service stores and other similar facilities for use by
conference participants and employees, and which may also include
any of the following as an accessory use:
[Amended 9-23-1993 by Ord. No. 649]
Lodging of persons who are not conference participants,
provided that no centralized reservation system is used to promote
the availability of such lodging:
On Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays
and days immediately following and preceding such public holidays,
provided that such lodging shall not be permitted for more than 75%
of the rooms available or 90 rooms per day, whichever is less, during
the months of May through October, and shall not be permitted for
more than 40% of the rooms available or 50 rooms per day, whichever
is less, during the months of November through April.
On all other days, provided that no mass media
form of advertising is used to promote the availability of such lodging,
and further provided that such weekday lodging shall not be permitted
for more than 35% of the rooms available or 40 rooms on any such weekday,
whichever is less.
Dining for:
Lodgers permitted under Subsection A above; and
Persons who are not conference participants
or lodgers on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and days
immediately following or preceding such public holidays, provided
that not more than 350 seats shall at any one time be made available
for such dining.
Recreation for lodgers permitted under Subsection A above.
Prescheduled and contracted special functions
(e.g., wedding receptions, corporate picnics, Mother's Day brunches,
retirement dinners, charity auctions, etc.), subject to the condition
that any such functions or part of such functions held outdoors shall
be concluded no later than 11:00 p.m. and shall not include the amplification
of music if such amplification would result in the music being audible
from off the premises.
Prohibited uses: cabaret, nightclub, public
trade show, exhibitions, tours, happy hours, religious revivals or
the sale or service of alcoholic beverages later than 1:00 a.m.
One or more principal buildings within a continuing-care
retirement community which contain residential, dining, social, recreational,
assisted living, nursing care, medical, and administrative facilities
designed to serve and support the residents of the community and their
guests.
[Added 5-16-2002 by Ord. No. 755]
Land (including land covered with water, or subject to easements
for community wells) which is the subject of a perpetual, legally
binding conservation easement in favor of the Township or, with Township
consent, a conservation organization qualified to accept charitable
donations of conservation easements. Such easement shall run with
the land and prohibit the construction of structures for residential,
office, commercial, industrial or other use (other than agricultural
accessory structures for agricultural uses existing or permitted in
the zoning district in which the land is located) and shall vest in
the Township or other approved entity the right to enforce the use,
maintenance and management restrictions and obligations upon such
land. Conservation Design Overlay District open space shall hereinafter
be referred to as "common open space."
[Added 4-6-2006 by Ord. No. 812]
A map adopted as part of the Township Comprehensive Plan
depicting primary and secondary conservation features for the purpose
of creating an interconnected system of common open space and recreation
areas.
[Added 4-6-2006 by Ord. No. 812]
Natural features found on the Township’s Conservation
Features Map which have development constraints placed upon them during
development of a tract. These features are floodplain and flood-prone
areas, wetlands, steep slopes over 25% and riparian corridors.
[Added 4-6-2006 by Ord. No. 812]
Natural or man-made features found either on the Township’s
Conservation Features Map (or listed elsewhere in other Township documents)
that the Township desires to preserve during the land development
process. The extent to which these features are preserved on an individual
site will be determined on a case-by-case basis during the land development
process. These features are woodlands, important farmland soils, steep
slopes between 8% and 25%, scenic roads and vistas, and historic or
cultural resources.
[Added 4-6-2006 by Ord. No. 812]
[Added 10-25-2018 by Ord. No. 989]
Any combustible or explosive composition or any substance or
combination of substances which is intended to produce visible or
audible effects by combustion, is suitable for use by the public,
complies with the construction, performance, composition and labeling
requirements promulgated by the Consumer Products Safety Commission
in 16 CFR (relating to commercial practices) or any successor regulation
and complies with the provisions for "consumer fireworks" as defined
in APA 87-1 or any successor standard, the sale, possession and use
of which shall be permitted throughout this commonwealth.
The term does not include the devices "ground and hand-held
sparkling devices," "novelties" or "toy caps" in APA 87-1 or any successor
standard, the sale, possession and use of which shall be permitted
at all times throughout this commonwealth.
A development, licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or other agencies with jurisdiction, consisting of residential dwelling units exclusively for persons who are 62 years of age or older and for couples with one or both of the couple being 62 years of age or older, and containing certain support facilities specifically designed for these individuals. Such developments shall include independent living units, assisted living facilities, and skilled nursing care beds, and may also include the following congregate facilities and services for the exclusive use of residents and their guests: dining facilities; physical therapy facilities; auditoriums; recreation facilities; limited on-site retail and service facilities, as specified in § 116-254A; and other customary ancillary services.
[Added 5-16-2002 by Ord. No. 755]
The distance, in scale feet, between successive contour lines.
A line connecting the points on a land surface that have
the same elevation.
A camp for minor children conducted between 10:00 a.m. and
5:00 p.m., but excluding Saturdays and Sundays.[4]
A measure of the number of dwelling units per acre. It is
calculated by dividing the total number of dwelling units by the site
area.
All land within the lot lines except that located within
existing street rights-of-way, floodplains and land continuously covered
with water.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to buildings or other structures, the placement
of mobile homes, streets and other paving, utilities, filling, grading,
regrading, excavation, mining, dredging or drilling operations.
The provisions for development; a plat of subdivision; all
covenants relating to use, location and bulk of buildings and other
structures; intensity of use or density of development; streets, ways
and parking facilities; common open space and public facilities.
[Amended 8-23-1990 by Ord. No. 604]
The rights of the owner of a parcel of land, under land development
regulations, to configure that parcel and the structures thereon to
a particular intensity for residential uses.
[Added 12-13-2007 by Ord. No. 845]
A building designed for and occupied exclusively for residential
purposes, excluding, however, a hotel, rooming house, tourist home,
institutional home, residential club, motor court and the like.
DETACHED DWELLINGOne with no physical connection to a building on another lot.
SEMIDETACHED DWELLINGOne of two dwellings with a single party wall common to both.
ATTACHED DWELLINGA dwelling having one or more common walls and having independent and separate exterior access in a structure of two or more dwellings. Floors and ceilings shall be considered "walls" hereunder.
SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLINGA building designed for and occupied exclusively as a dwelling for one family, regardless of construction type, and including, without limitation, frame, masonry and mobile homes.
TWO-FAMILY DWELLINGA building designed for and occupied exclusively as a dwelling for two families.
MULTIPLE DWELLINGA building not a single-family dwelling nor a two-family dwelling, designed for and occupied exclusively for dwelling purposes by three or more families living independently of one another; not a row house, but customarily called an apartment house.
ZERO-LOT-LINE SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED DWELLINGA single-family dwelling with no physical connection to a building on another lot which has all or part of one wall constructed on a side property line of the lot on which it is located.
[Added 4-24-2014 by Ord. No. 943]
A building or portion thereof providing complete housekeeping
facilities for one family.
Any vehicle that operates, either partially or exclusively,
on electrical energy that is stored on board for motive purposes.
This may include, but is not limited to, a battery-operated vehicle
or a plug-in hybrid vehicle.
[Added 12-9-2021 by Ord. No. 1009]
Charging station equipment that has, as its primary purpose,
the transfer of electric energy to a battery or other energy storage
device in an electric vehicle.
[Added 12-9-2021 by Ord. No. 1009]
The removal of mineral deposits from the ground by quarrying,
mining, digging, dredging, blasting or any other form of excavation.
[Amended 8-30-1984 by Ord. No. 494; 2-24-1994 by Ord. No.
659; 3-28-2013 by Ord. No. 925]
Any number of individuals living together on a nontransient
basis as a single housekeeping unit and doing their cooking on the
premises, when said individuals are related by blood, marriage or
adoption, including any number of foster children; no more than five
unrelated individuals living together as a single housekeeping unit
and doing their cooking on the premises, except when an application
for a special exception to enable a greater number of unrelated individuals
to occupy a dwelling unit is reviewed and approved by the Zoning Hearing
Board, as provided in this chapter. The definition of "family" shall
not apply to the occupants of a club, fraternity house, lodge or residential
club.
Notwithstanding the definition in Subsection A of this definition, a "family" shall also be deemed to include any number of mentally or physically handicapped persons occupying a dwelling unit as a single, nonprofit housekeeping unit, if such occupants are handicapped persons as defined in Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988.
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 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 863]
A general or temporary inundation, partial or complete, of
normally dry land areas.
The area designated as "floodway" in the "Flood Insurance
Study, Township of Whitemarsh, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania," prepared
by the Delaware River Basin Commission for the United States Department
of Housing and Urban Development, Flood Insurance Administration.
The Floodplain Conservation District, exclusive of the floodway.
The sum of the total horizontal areas of the several floors
devoted to a particular use of a building or structure, including
any space devoted to incidental purposes related thereto, as measured
from the exterior faces of enclosing walls or partitions hallways,
stairs, closets, columns or other features. The terms "floor area"
and "gross floor area" shall be synonymous.
[Added 3-30-1989 by Ord. No. 577]
Unit of light density incident on a plane (assumed to be
horizontal unless otherwise specified), measurable with an illuminance
meter, a.k.a. light meter.
[Added 12-18-2008 by Ord. No. 872]
An accessory building or a part of a principal building used
for the storage of motor vehicles owned and used by the owner or tenant
of the premises, and for the storage of not more than two motor vehicles
owned and used by persons other than the owner or tenant of the premises.
Not more than two commercial vehicles or trucks may be stored in a
private garage.
A building, other than a private or storage garage, one or
more stories in height, used solely for the commercial storage, service
or repair of motor vehicles.
A building, not a private or public garage, one story in
height, used solely for the storage of motor vehicles (other than
trucks) but not for the sale, service or repair thereof, nor for the
sale of fuel, accessories or supplies.
Any area of land, including structures thereon, or any building
or part thereof, which is used for the sale of gasoline or other motor
vehicle fuel or accessories, and which may or may not include facilities
for lubricating, washing or otherwise servicing motor vehicles, but
which shall not include painting or body and fender repairs.
Excessive brightness in the field of view that is sufficiently
greater than that to which the eyes are adapted to cause loss in visual
performance or annoyance, so as to jeopardize health, safety and welfare.
[Added 12-18-2008 by Ord. No. 872]
Any area that is not covered by buildings or paving and is
available and used for retention and maintenance of natural vegetation
and for absorption of stormwater for groundwater discharge, including,
by way of example, landscape features such as planting beds, planted
islands, landscaped buffers and screens, lawn areas, woods and hedgerows.
Decorative stone and mulch ground covers may be included if placed
upon an earth surface.
[Added 9-9-2004 by Ord. No. 794]
A linear park or open space conservation area that provides
passive recreational opportunities, pedestrian and/or bicycle paths,
and the conservation of open space or natural areas.
[Added 4-6-2006 by Ord. No. 812]
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 level who are unrelated
to the operator. The term includes a facility located in a residence
or another premises.
[Added 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 863]
A residential facility used as living quarters by any number
of unrelated persons requiring special care, and their attendant adult
supervisors, specifically designed to create a residential setting
for the mentally and physically handicapped (as a special exception).
The individuals may be either transient or permanent residents. Any
number of handicapped persons, as defined in Title VIII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1968, as amended by the Fair Housing Amendments Act
of 1988, have the right to occupy a dwelling unit in the same manner
and to the same extent as any family unit.
[Added 8-30-1984 by Ord. No. 494; amended 2-24-1994 by Ord. No.
659; 3-28-2013 by Ord. No. 925]
A building’s vertical measurement from the mean level
of the ground surrounding the building to a point midway between the
highest and lowest points of the roof on the highest roof plane. For
buildings with multiple roofs, the point midway between the highest
and lowest points of the roof shall be measured on the highest roof
plane of the highest roof. In no case shall the lowest and highest
points be on different roofs or roof planes. For buildings with flat
roofs, the height shall be measured to the surface of the highest
roof. A flat roof is defined as one having a maximum slope ratio of
1:48 or a maximum slope of 2.1%.
[Amended 3-28-2013 by Ord. No. 925]
For structures that are not buildings, the height is the
structure’s vertical measurement from the mean level of the
ground surrounding the structure to the highest point on the structure
or to the highest point of any antenna or other attachment on the
structure.
[Added 3-28-2013 by Ord. No. 925]
Man-made structures or artifacts, including but not limited
to farmhouses, barns, springhouses, stonewalls or graveyards; may
also include places where historic events occurred (such as battlefields
or campsites, birthplaces of famous persons, dwellings designed by
noted architects, etc.) and abandoned roads, established footpaths
or trails, or scenic vistas. Such resources may or may not be listed
on official registers of historic structures.
[Added 4-6-2006 by Ord. No. 812]
An agreement between a property owner and the Township in
which the property owner indemnifies and holds the Township harmless
for any damages to the Township within a Township-owned right-of-way
or easement, or within the ultimate right-of-way of a road.
[Added 10-25-2018 by Ord.
No. 988]
An occupation for gain or support conducted only by members
of a family residing on the premises and conducted entirely within
the dwelling, provided that no article is sold or offered for sale
except such as may be produced by members of the immediate family
residing on the premises. The conducting of a clinic, hospital, barbershop,
beauty parlor, tearoom, tourist home, animal hospital or any other
similar use shall not be deemed to be a home occupation.
An institution providing primary health services and medical
or surgical care to persons, primarily inpatients, suffering from
illnesses, disease, injury, deformity and other abnormal physical
or mental conditions, and including, as an integral part of the institution,
related facilities, such as laboratories, outpatient facilities, medical
offices and staff residences.
[Added 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 862]
A building used for the purpose of furnishing for compensation
more or less temporary lodging to the public, with or without meals,
and having lodging accommodations for 10 or more persons.
Quantity of light, measured in footcandles.
[Added 12-18-2008 by Ord. No. 872]
That portion of a tract where, due to surface coverage, the
water runoff coefficient is 0.90 or more, as designated by the Township
Engineer.
A lot, land or structure, or part thereof, used primarily
for the collection, storage and sale of wastepaper, rags, scrap metal
or discarded materials or for the collection, dismantling, storage
and salvaging of machinery or vehicles not in running condition, and
for the sale of parts thereof.
Library open to the public or connected with a permitted
educational use.
[Added 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 862]
Light emitted by a lighting fixture or installation, which
is cast beyond the boundaries of the property on which the lighting
installation is sited.
[Added 12-18-2008 by Ord. No. 872]
An off-street space exclusive of access area, accessible
from a street or way, in a building or on a lot, for the temporary
use of vehicles while loading merchandise or materials.
[Amended 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 862]
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.
[Amended 8-23-1990 by Ord. No. 604]
The total horizontal area of the lot lying within the lot
lines, provided that no area of land lying within any street shall
be deemed a portion of any lot area. The area of any lot abutting
a street shall be measured to the street line only. "Lot area" shall
not include any area designated as right-of-way.
[Amended 2-27-2014 by Ord. No. 937]
Any boundary line of a lot.
LOT LINE, REARAny lot line which is parallel to or within 45° of being parallel to a street line, except for a lot line that is itself a street line, and except that in the case of a corner lot the owner shall have the option of choosing which of the two lines that are not street lines is to be considered a rear lot line. In the case of a lot having no street frontage or a lot of an odd shape, only the lot line furthest from any street shall be considered a rear lot line.
LOT LINE, SIDEAny lot line which is not a street line or a rear lot line.
The distance measured between the side lot lines at the required
building setback line. In the case where there is only one side lot
line, lot width shall be measured between such lot line and the opposite
rear lot line or street line.
Any office for medical doctors or other practitioners licensed
or certified by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and associated with
the physical and/or mental well-being of a person, including those
undertaking diagnostic, treatment and counseling services.
[Added 10-25-2018 by Ord.
No. 988]
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.
A mobile home shall not include recreational or travel trailers.
[Amended 8-23-1990 by Ord. No. 604]
A parcel of land in a mobile home park, improved with the
necessary utility connections and other appurtenances necessary for
the erections thereon of a single mobile home.
[Amended 8-23-1990 by Ord. No. 604]
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which have been so
designated and improved that they contain two or more mobile home
lots for the placement thereon of mobile homes.
[Amended 8-23-1990 by Ord. No. 604]
A building or a group of two or more detached or semidetached
buildings containing rooms or apartments having separate ground floor
entrances provided directly or closely in connection with automobile
parking or storage space serving such rooms or apartments, which building
or group of buildings is designed, intended or used principally for
the providing of sleeping accommodations for automobile travelers
and is suitable for occupancy at all seasons of the year.
Museum or gallery open to the public and not conducted as
a private, gainful business.
[Added 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 862]
The National Fire Protection Association Standard 1124, Code
for the Manufacture, Transportation, and Storage of Fireworks and
Pyrotechnic Articles, 2006 edition, or any subsequent edition.
[Added 10-25-2018 by Ord.
No. 989]
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. The business or commercial activity must satisfy
the following requirements:
[Added 3-24-2003 by Ord. No. 770]
The business activity shall be compatible with
the residential use of the property and surrounding residential uses.
The business shall employ no employees other
than family members residing in the dwelling.
There shall be no display or sale of retail
goods and no stockpiling or inventory of a substantial nature.
There shall be no outside appearance of a business
use, including but not limited to parking, signs or lights.
The business activity may not use any equipment
or process which creates noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors or
electrical interference, including interference with radio or television
reception, which is detectable in the neighborhood.
The business activity may not generate any solid
waste or sewage discharge, in volume or type, which is not normally
associated with residential use in the neighborhood.
The business activity shall be conducted only
within the dwelling and may not occupy more than 25% of the habitable
floor area.
A building or other structure, use or lot which, by reason
of design, size or use, does not conform to the requirements of the
district or districts in which it is located.
A lot, the area or dimension of which was lawful prior to
the adoption or amendment of this chapter, but which fails to conform
to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located
by reasons of such adoption or amendment.
[Added 8-23-1990 by Ord. No. 604]
A structure or part of a structure manifestly not designed
to comply with the applicable use or extent of use provisions in this
chapter or 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.
[Added 8-23-1990 by Ord. No. 604]
A use, whether of land or of structure, which does not comply
with the applicable use provisions in this chapter or amendment heretofore
or hereafter enacted, where such use was lawfully in existence prior
to the enactment of this chapter or amendment.
[Added 8-23-1990 by Ord. No. 604]
Articles of trade having amusement value and whose appeal
is often transitory, and which is limited to those items for sale
described in American Pyrotechnics Association (APA) Standard 87-1,
Section *3.2.
[Added 10-25-2018 by Ord.
No. 989]
A building, or part thereof, used for the lodging, boarding
and nursing care, on a twenty-four-hour basis, of four or more persons
who, because of mental or physical incapacity, may be unable to provide
for their own needs and safety without the assistance of another person.
[Added 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 862]
Touchdown and liftoff of rotary-wing aircraft (helicopters)
for the purpose of picking up and discharging passengers or cargo
in conjunction with a special event as approved by the Board of Supervisors
upon seven days' notice; when necessary for emergencies or law enforcement
purposes; or in conjunction with a construction project where a helicopter
is used to lift equipment in connection with such project.
[Added 11-17-1983 by Ord. No. 481]
A freestanding sign which directs attention to a business,
commodity, service or entertainment facility that is not located,
conducted, sold or offered upon the premises where such sign is located,
or which calls attention to a candidate, cause, public issue or any
other kind of paid or unpaid commercial or noncommercial message.
[Added 7-13-1995 by Ord. No. 681; amended 9-25-2008 by Ord. No.
862; 1-14-2010 by Ord. No. 889]
A flood that has one chance in 100 or a one-percent chance
of being equaled or exceeded in any one year. For the purposes of
this chapter, the “one-hundred-year flood” (base flood)
is as defined by the Federal Insurance Administration in the Flood
Insurance Study.
[Added 4-6-2006 by Ord. No. 812]
A portion of a tract available and accessible for use by
the public and/or residents of the tract, generally undeveloped. Open
space may include areas of steep slopes, floodplains and other significant
features to be preserved. Open space shall not include streets or
street rights-of-way, parking areas, yards and lots of individual
dwelling units or other public improvements nor does it include required
buffer areas. Open space uses may include active and passive recreation.
A consumer fireworks building, trailer, semitrailer, metal
shipping container or magazine meeting the specifications of NFPA
1124.
[Added 10-25-2018 by Ord.
No. 989]
The material or strata overlaying mineral deposits.
Required parking spaces that are shown on a recorded development
plan in dashed lines and that are not installed when the development
is initially constructed, but which must be installed if required
by the Township at some future date or at the time when desired by
the applicant.
[Added 12-9-2021 by Ord. No. 1009]
A parking space surfaced to whatever extent necessary to
permit reasonable use under all conditions of weather.
A reasonably level space, available for the parking of one
motor vehicle, not less than nine feet wide and having an area of
not less than 162 square feet exclusive of passageways or other means
of circulation or access, provided that the dimensions of handicapped
(accessible) parking spaces shall be based upon the requirements set
forth in the latest edition of the International Building Code and
ANSI standards, as implemented by the Township in accordance with
the Construction Code Act, 35 P.S. 7210.101 to 7210.1103, as amended,
and the Uniform Construction Code, 34 Pa. Code, Part XIV, as amended.
[Amended 1-28-2010 by Ord. No. 891; 3-28-2013 by Ord. No. 925]
An outdoor park or recreational facility, including day camp,
driving range, swim club, tennis club, stables and athletic fields.
[Added 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 862]
Act 42 of 2017, as amended.
[Added 10-25-2018 by Ord.
No. 989]
Measures and standards by which the suitability of a proposed
use can be measured by the extent of its external effect.
Places of religious worship and their adjunct residential
dwellings for clergy and support staff; adjunct social, recreational
and educational uses directly administered by the religious institution;
and nursery school and kindergarten.
[Added 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 862]
An imaginary line coterminous with the outermost wall or
outermost point on a specified face of the principal building parallel
to its closest lot line.
[Added 3-28-2013 by Ord. No. 925]
FRONT PRINCIPAL BUILDING PLANEThe building plane parallel to the street or front lot line; see Illustrations 1A and 1B.
REAR PRINCIPAL BUILDING PLANEThe building plane parallel to the rear lot line; see Illustrations 1A and 1B.
 |
SIDE PRINCIPAL BUILDING PLANEThe building plane parallel to, and closest to, the respective side lot line; see Illustrations 2A and 2B.
 |
Private social or fraternal club, without lodging facilities,
other than a private recreational facility or country club.
[Added 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 862]
An area of land, water or a structure used or intended to
be used for the landing and takeoff of helicopters, sometimes known
as "helistop," approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
and the Federal Aviation Administration for the purpose of picking
up or discharging passengers or cargo, restricted to use of the owner
or to persons authorized by the owner only. No fueling, helicopter
repair or storage areas or operation of helicopters for hire or for
a fare are permitted in conjunction with the operation of a private
use heliport.
[Added 11-17-1983 by Ord. No. 481]
Any office maintained by professionals licensed or certified
by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including those involving administrative,
clerical, or financial operations and client visits. Such offices
include, but are not limited to, offices for attorneys, engineers,
architects, accountants, insurance agents, and real estate agents
or brokers. The term does not include "medical office," as separately
defined herein.
[Added 10-25-2018 by Ord.
No. 988]
A resource, convenience, facility or benefit available to
the general public for their use and/or enjoyment, with or without
charge (e.g., restrooms, boat launches, scenic overlooks, recreation
facilities, etc.). Access to public amenities shall be provided even
when located on private land.
[Added 12-13-2007 by Ord. No. 845]
A building or structure and its equipment, used for transmission
and exchange of telephone, radio telephone, gas power, sewer and water
facilities; provided, however, that in a residential district these
shall not include public business facilities, storage of materials,
trucks or repair facilities or housing of repair crews.
A place where mineral deposits are being or have been extracted
from the ground.
One or more districts in which the development rights of
parcels in the sending district may be used.
[Added 12-13-2007 by Ord. No. 845]
A parcel of land in the receiving district that is the subject
of a transfer of development rights, where the owner of the parcel
is receiving development rights, directly or by intermediate transfers,
from a sending parcel, and on which increased density and/or intensity
is allowed by reason of the transfer of development rights.
[Added 12-13-2007 by Ord. No. 845]
As applied to a building or structure, a total or partial
replacement or renovation to any exterior wall, foundation or projection
so as to affect the exterior dimensions of said building or structure.
To alter the elevation of the existing ground surface.
AAAA, AAA, AA, A, B and C Residential Districts; Apartment
House District LR and HR; AD Attached Dwelling District; MHP Mobile
Home Park District and CCRC Continuing-Care Retirement Community District.
[Added 1-26-1989 by Ord. No. 569; amended 5-16-2002 by Ord. No.
755]
A temporary structure not exceeding 10 feet in height and
100 square feet in area.
A dwelling, not a single-family or two-family dwelling, apartment
house or hotel, providing lodging, with or without meals, and having
lodging accommodations for less than 10 guests. (See "tourist home.")
A system of sanitary sewage collection, including a sewage
treatment plant, approved by the proper state and Township authorities;
specifically excluded are cesspools, septic tanks, French drains,
tile fields and any other on-site system which does not employ an
approved sewage treatment plant.
Any public, parochial or private place of instruction, including
any adjunct dormitories and other uses customarily incidental to a
school, not including institutions of higher learning, having regular
sessions with regularly employed instructors, which teaches those
academic subjects that are fundamental and essential in general education
and which provide kindergarten, elementary, secondary stages of education,
or a vocational school under the supervision of a state or lawfully
constituted ecclesiastical governing body and with standards of instruction
meeting the requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but
excluding any privately operated schools of trade, vocation, avocations
and business.
[Amended 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 862]
Supervised child day care in a departmentally certified facility
during the hours when a child is not required to attend school.
[Added 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 863]
One or more districts in which the development rights of
parcels in the district may be designated for use in one or more receiving
districts.
[Added 12-13-2007 by Ord. No. 845]
A parcel of land in the sending district that is the subject
of a transfer of development rights, where the owner of the parcel
is conveying development rights of the parcel, and on which those
rights so conveyed are extinguished and may not be used by reason
of the transfer of development rights.
[Added 12-13-2007 by Ord. No. 845]
Any name, nameplate, emblem, painting, banner, pennant, placard,
billboard, poster, panel, display, illustration, structure or other
device, illuminated or nonilluminated, used for visual communication
which is affixed, painted or represented directly or indirectly upon
a building, freestanding structure or other outdoor surface or on
the interior of the building visible from the exterior for the purpose
of bringing the subject thereof to the attention of passersby or advertising
a business, commodity, service or product or for identifying a business,
structure or use of land on which the sign is located.
[Amended 7-21-1994 by Ord. No. 662]
The area of the largest single face of a sign within a perimeter
which encompasses the outside shape, including any form which is an
integral part of the display, subject to the following:
[Added 7-21-1994 by Ord. No. 662]
For double-sided signs or V-type signs, the
interior angle of which does not exceed 45°, only one side shall
be applicable in computing sign area;
For-double-sided signs or V-type signs, the
interior angle of which exceeds 45°, both sides shall be used
in computing sign area; and
The area of all irregularly shaped signs, including
signs consisting of separate modules, figures or letters, shall be
deemed to be the total square footage of the smallest single square
or rectangle into which all the separate modules, figures or letters
which comprise the irregularly shaped and/or modular sign would fit.
A sign attached parallel to and projecting not more than
16 inches from a wall or other building surface.
[Added 7-21-1994 by Ord. No. 662]
A freestanding sign and its supports which is imbedded in
or anchored to the ground.
[Added 7-21-1994 by Ord. No. 662]
Any sign that incorporates a decorative base, often of stone
or masonry, placed upon or supported by the ground. Monument signs
do not include support posts or other column-like structures to raise
the bottom of the sign above the grade surrounding the sign.
[Added 3-28-2013 by Ord. No. 925]
Any sign not permanently attached to the ground or to a building
or building surface.
[Added 7-21-1994 by Ord. No. 662]
A sign attached to and projecting more than 16 inches from
a wall or other building surface.
[Added 7-21-1994 by Ord. No. 662]
A parcel or parcels of land intended to have one or more
buildings or intended to be subdivided into two or more lots.
All land area within the site as defined in the deed. Area
shall be from an actual survey rather than from a deed description.
Radiant energy (direct, diffuse, and reflected) received
from the sun.
[Added 1-28-2010 by Ord. No. 890]
Any solar collector or other solar energy device, or any
structural design feature whose primary purpose is to provide for
the collection, storage and distribution of solar energy for space
heating or cooling, for water heating or for electricity that may
be mounted on a building or on the ground and is not the primary use
of the property.
[Added 1-28-2010 by Ord. No. 890]
A structure containing one or more receptive cells, the purpose
of which is to convert solar energy into usable electrical energy
by way of a solar energy system.
[Added 1-28-2010 by Ord. No. 890]
Permission or approval granted by the Zoning Hearing Board
in accordance with this chapter in situations where provision therefor
is made by the terms of this chapter.
A land grade in excess of 8%.
[Amended 9-18-1986 by Ord. No. 537]
A measurement calculated by dividing the total area of all
steep slopes within the site or lot by the site area or lot area,
respectively.
[Added 9-18-1986 by Ord. No. 537]
An artificial embankment or pile of excavated material, including,
without limitation, topsoil, overburden, stone and similar materials
placed for purposes of storage, processing and/or sale, but excluding
berms.
A right-of-way municipally or privately owned, serving as
a means of vehicular and pedestrian travel, furnishing access to abutting
properties and space for sewers and public utilities. For the purposes
of this chapter, no street shall be considered less than 50 feet in
width.
The dividing line between a lot and the existing boundary
of a public street or between a lot and a privately owned street over
which the owners of two or more lots have the right-of-way; however,
where an ultimate right-of-way traverses a lot, setbacks shall be
computed from such ultimate right-of-way and not from the street's
existing boundary.
Any change in or addition to the supporting or structural
members of a building, such as the bearing walls, partitions, columns,
beams, girders, or enclosing porches or any change which would convert
an existing building into a different structure, or adapt it to a
different use, or which in the case of a nonconforming use would prolong
the life of such use.
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
[Amended 8-23-1990 by Ord. No. 604]
A structure, other than a permanent facility with fixed utility connections, including retail sales stands, tents, and canopies, in use or in place for a temporary period of time, and which is dedicated to the storage and sale of goods, wares, merchandise, or consumer fireworks and related items. Regarding the sale of consumer fireworks, the term also includes membrane structures meeting the specifications of NFPA 1124, but shall not include a facility that is not licensed to sell consumer fireworks pursuant to Chapter 52 of the Whitemarsh Township Code of Ordinances, and any related state or federal laws or regulations.
[Added 10-25-2018 by Ord.
No. 989]
The horizon of land or that layer of soil ordinarily removed
in tillage or its equivalent in uncultivated soil about five to eight
inches in thickness.
A designated play area for the use by children under five
years of age. Where the area is not contained by a fence, the boundary
of a tot-lot area shall be defined by the edge of the resilient surface
of safety material, such as wood or plastic curbing, or any other
material surrounding the tot-lot area.
[Added 4-6-2006 by Ord. No. 812]
A dwelling in which sleeping accommodations for fewer than
10 persons are provided for compensation.
All land area within the site as defined by the deed. The
tract area shall be calculated from an actual survey of the property
rather than from the deed description.
[Added 4-6-2006 by Ord. No. 812]
Any vehicle used for living or sleeping purposes.
Any land used or designated to be used as parking space for
more than one house trailer.
The attaching of development rights to specific lands which
are desired by a municipality to be kept undeveloped, but permitting
those rights to be transferred from those lands so that the development
potential which they represent may occur on other lands where more
intensive development is deemed more appropriate.
[Added 12-13-2007 by Ord. No. 845]
The person or legal entity, including a person or legal entity
that owns property in a receiving district, who purchases the development
rights.
[Added 12-13-2007 by Ord. No. 845]
The landowner of a parcel in a sending district.
[Added 12-13-2007 by Ord. No. 845]
The future or planned width of highway in the public domain
as shown on the Official Ultimate Right-of-Way Map of the Township.
The purpose for which either land or a building is arranged,
designed or intended or for which either land or building is or may
be obtained.
MAIN USEA principal or dominant use.
ACCESSORY USEA use subordinate to the principal use of land or a building or other structure on a lot and customarily incidental thereto. See § 116-24 for uses included in this definition as accessory to agricultural and residential uses.
Permission or approval granted by the Zoning Hearing Board
in accordance with this chapter, constituting a modification of or
deviation from the exact provisions of this chapter as applied to
a specific piece of property.
Plant materials, including but not limited to trees, shrubs,
grasses and flowers.
[Added 9-18-1986 by Ord. No. 537]
Those areas that are inundated and saturated by surface or
groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and
that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation
and wildlife, typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions,
including swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas. Such areas are
also important for recharging groundwater aquifers.
[Added 4-6-2006 by Ord. No. 812]
An open area on a lot, unobstructed from the ground up, extending
along a lot line or street line and inward from said lines. The minimum
dimension of a required yard shall be as provided for each district
and shall be measured the shortest distance between the lot line or
street line and a line parallel to such lines.
YARD, REQUIRED FRONTA yard between the street line and building setback line extending the entire length of the street line and building setback line. In the case of lots which front on more than one street, the yard extending along each street is a required front yard; provided, however, that where an ultimate right-of-way traverses a lot, the required front yard shall be the yard between the ultimate right-of-way line and the building setback line.
[Amended 10-25-2018 by Ord. No. 988]
YARD, REQUIRED REARA yard between the rear lot line and a line parallel to said rear lot line extending the entire length of the rear lot line and the width of the lot.
YARD, REQUIRED SIDEA yard between the side lot line and a line parallel to said side lot line extending from the front yard to the rear yard, in the case of a lot having no street frontage or a lot of odd or irregular shape. Any yard that is not a front yard or a rear yard shall be considered to be a side yard.
An individual appointed to administer, etc., the Zoning Ordinance (this Chapter 116).
[1]
Editor’s Note: The former definition of "community residential
facility," added 8-30-1984 by Ord. No. 494, as amended, which immediately
followed this definition, was repealed 3-28-2013 by Ord. No. 925.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101
et seq.
[3]
Editor's Note: This Act was repealed 7-2-1980
by P.L. 286, No. 82, § 2; see now 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101
et seq, the "Uniform Condominium Act."
[4]
Editor's Note: The former definition of "day nursery," which
immediately followed, was repealed 9-25-2008 by Ord. No. 863.
