Township of Whitemarsh, PA AD Attached Dwelling District

Each lot shall be subject to the following minimum area, width, yard, and green space requirements and maximum building height, building coverage, and impervious ground cover requirements:

Lot area: 3,000 square feet minimum. Each attached dwelling unit shall have exclusive enjoyment of a private yard, patio or other outdoor area immediately adjacent or contiguous to the dwelling, which area shall contain not less than 400 square feet.

Width at building setback line: 20 feet minimum.

Front yard: 30 feet minimum.

Side yards, where they occur: not less than 15 feet.

Rear yard: 30 feet minimum except where the rear wall is a common wall.

Height: 35 feet maximum.

Building coverage: maximum of 40% of the total lot area.

Impervious ground cover: maximum of 55% of the total lot area.

Minimum required green space area: 45% of the total lot area.

For a subdivision/land development to qualify for the alternative yard requirements in the AD District set forth herein, the subdivision/land development must be comprised of single-family detached dwellings wherein a minimum of 50% of the units are zero-lot-line:

[Added 4-24-2014 by Ord. No. 943]

(1)

Front yard: 20 feet minimum.

(2)

Side yard: 10 feet minimum, one required.

(3)

Rear yard: 20 feet minimum.

§ 116-78 Open space.

[Amended 4-24-2014 by Ord. No. 943]

A minimum of 15% of the total tract area shall be provided for open space. Said requirement does not apply to developments where all dwelling units are any combination of single-family detached dwellings and/or zero-lot-line single-family detached dwellings.

§ 116-79 Distance between buildings.

For any developments where individual lot requirements are not applicable under other sections herein, the horizontal distance between any buildings shall be not less than the following:

Fifty feet between two exterior walls, each containing windows and/or doors, and where said walls are at an angle of less than 90° to each other.

Forty feet between two exterior walls when only one contains windows and/or doors and where said walls are at an angle of less than 90° to each other.

In no case shall any two structures be closer than 30 feet to one another.

§ 116-80 Building arrangement.

No more than three adjacent dwelling units in a single-family attached structure shall have the same front or rear building lines. The minimum variation in building line shall be not less than four feet. Each structure shall encompass no more than eight dwelling units.

§ 116-81 Parking.

All parking shall conform to the requirements of Article XXVI of the Whitemarsh Township Zoning Code.

§ 116-82 Procedural requirements.

Development and/or subdivision shall conform to the requirements of Chapter 105 of the Whitemarsh Township Code.

§ 116-83 Landscaping and screening.

No building, parking or structure in this District shall be situated closer than 50 feet to the boundary of any other zoning district. When the boundary is a street, no building, parking or structure shall be situated closer than 50 feet from the ultimate right-of-way. A permanently landscaped buffer area of at least 50 feet in width shall be provided along all boundary lines except floodplain districts, for which a buffer area of 10 feet in width shall be provided. No combination of buffer strips need exceed 50 feet. However, the requirements of this section shall not apply to developments where all dwelling units are any combination of single-family detached dwellings and/or zero-lot-line single-family detached dwellings except that when the proposed subdivision/land development is adjacent to a nonresidential use or district, there shall be a perimeter buffer comprised of a combination of fencing and vegetation for a width to be approved by the Board of Supervisors while taking into consideration the depth of the rear yard areas of the proposed subdivision/land development.

[Amended 4-24-2014 by Ord. No. 943]

Buffer areas shall not include required setbacks, yards or parking. Only street and traffic signs located at access points shall be allowed in the buffer areas.

In those areas where the boundary line abuts permanent natural features which function as a buffer, including but not limited to ponds, severe grades or mature woodlands, requirements for a buffer area for that portion of the boundary may be reduced in the proportions that the permanent natural features fulfill the buffer requirement.

In those areas where the boundary line abuts a cemetery or public park, the buffer area for that portion of the boundary may be reduced to 30 feet to the boundary of any other residential district.

[Added 11-15-1984 by Ord. No. 498]

§ 116-84 Retention of natural features.

Existing natural features such as clusters of trees, brooks, ponds, drainage channels and steep slopes shall be retained wherever practicable and shall not be altered without first obtaining permits as required.

§ 116-85 Maintenance of open space.

[Amended 1-8-2015 by Ord. No. 948]

The proper maintenance and operation of all open spaces, vehicular areas and community facilities not offered for dedication and accepted by the Township shall be secured by financial security acceptable to the Township Solicitor, from an appropriate organization with the legal responsibility for same, organized in a manner found by the Township Solicitor to be legally effective and able to carry out its maintenance and operation responsibilities.

§ 116-85.1 Fences and walls.

No fence or wall over six feet in height, except a retaining wall or wall of a building permitted under the terms of this chapter, shall be erected within three feet of the rear lot line of any residential lot. In instances where the side lot line does not pass through a common wall, no such fence or wall shall be erected within three feet of said lot line. A fence or wall may be used to enclose tennis courts, playgrounds or other recreational areas, which areas are available to the general public.

§ 116-85.2 Reduced density, reduced impervious coverage and increased open space option.

[Added 7-24-2003 by Ord. No. 774]

For any subdivision/land development providing a maximum density of 4.5 units/acre, a maximum impervious coverage of 40% and a minimum open space of 20% of the total tract area, the following optional dimensional requirements may apply in lieu of the specific requirements of §§ 116-77A, 116-77C, 116-79, 116-80 and 116-83B:

Lot area: 2,200 square feet; provided, however, that property subject to a declaration under the Pennsylvania Uniform Community Act, 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 501,[1] or the Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act, 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 (planned communities), shall not be required to have lot lines and shall not be subject to the minimum lot area requirements provided for in this Subsection A or subject to the width at building setback line requirement provided for in § 116-77B. Each attached dwelling unit shall have the exclusive enjoyment of a private yard, patio and/or deck immediately adjacent or contiguous to the dwelling, which area shall contain not more than 400 square feet.

[1]

Editor's Note: See now 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 3507.

Front yard setback: 30 feet; provided, however, that any dwelling unit constructed adjacent to an access driveway of an off-street parking facility having a minimum width of 30 feet shall be required to have a minimum setback of 45 feet measured from the center line of said access driveway;

Distance between buildings. The horizontal distance between buildings shall be a minimum of 40 feet between two exterior walls.

Landscaping and screening. Buffer areas may include required setbacks, access driveways, private yards, grade level patios or ground level decks, when augmented by a landscaped earthen berm of at least three feet in height, but not include parking areas.

Building arrangements. A minimum variation in building lines shall not be required.

§ 116-85.3 Additional requirements for zero-lot-line single-family detached dwellings.

[Added 4-24-2014 by Ord. No. 943]

For any zero-lot-line single-family detached dwellings, the following additional provisions shall apply:

There shall be no exterior door of any kind in a wall built on the property line. A maximum of 10% of the total horizontal area of a wall built on the property line may be devoted to windows. Where a house exists on the adjacent lot or where the location of windows are known for a house to be built on the adjacent lot, windows shall not be placed directly opposite ones on said adjacent lot. Whenever an alternative location is technically feasible and meets applicable building and fire codes, no exhaust vents nor heating, air conditioning, or ventilating units of any kind, shall be incorporated in or adjacent to a wall built on the property line. Exceptions may be made for windows, vents and similar features enumerated herein on a zero lot line when said line is adjacent to open space or the right-of-way of a public or private street.

There shall be a perpetual maintenance easement declared by the property owner of the adjacent property to allow for maintenance of any part of the dwelling built on the property line. Alternatively, a blanket maintenance easement shall be included in the homeowners' association declaration, if such an association is being created. Said easement shall be kept free of structures, including walls and fences. Said easement shall be approved by the Township Solicitor; the easement shall be shown on any subdivision plan and included in the deed of any affected lot.

Roof overhangs may project up to two feet into the easement on the adjacent lot; provided, however, that any roof drainage shall be confined to the easement area.

Notwithstanding the definition of "street" in this chapter, for developments containing a minimum of 50% zero-lot-line single-family detached dwellings, a private street right-of-way of less than 50 feet may be approved by the Board of Supervisors, upon recommendation from the Township Engineer that a lesser proposed right-of-way of a specified width is adequate.

An unenclosed porch and/or deck or a terrace, platform, patio, stoop or landing place attached to a principal building, with or without a roof, canopy or overhead trellis, not more than 14 feet in height, may be erected to extend into a required rear yard or side yard, provided that any such projection is set back a minimum of eight feet from the associated rear property line and/or side property line and shall not exceed 500 square feet.

[Added 2-22-2018 by Ord. No. 984]