City of Monessen, PA Article III Districts

§ 375-22 Designation of districts.

A. For the purpose of this chapter, the City of Monessen is hereby divided into the following zoning districts:

	S	Conservancy District
	R1	One-Family Residence District
	R2	Two-Family Residence District
	R3	Multiple-Family Residence District
	C1	Neighborhood Shopping District
	C2	Business District
	M1	Planned Light Industrial District
	M2	Heavy Industrial District

B. For the purposes of this chapter, the zoning districts named in § 375-22A shall be of the number, size, shape and location shown on the Official Zoning Map. Any use of the abbreviations listed in § 375-22A shall mean the district name that is listed beside the abbreviation.

C. Floodplain. The Floodplain Area in Article V of this chapter shall serve as an overlay area to all of the underlying districts.

§ 375-23 Applicability of district regulations.

A. The regulations set by this chapter shall apply uniformly to each class or kind of structure or land, except as provided for in this chapter.

B. No structure or land shall hereafter be erected, used, constructed, reconstructed or structurally altered and no structure or part thereof shall hereafter be used or occupied unless it is in conformity with the regulations herein specified for the use and district in which it is located.

C. No yard or lot existing at the time of passage of this chapter shall be reduced in dimension or area below the minimum requirements set forth herein. Yards or lots created after the effective date of this chapter shall meet at least the minimum requirements established by this chapter.

§ 375-24 Zoning Map.

A. A map entitled "City of Monessen Zoning Map" accompanies this chapter and is declared a part of this chapter.[1] At least one copy of an Official Zoning Map which should bear the adoption date of this chapter and the words "Official Zoning Map" shall be retained in the City Hall.

[1] Editor's Note: Said map is on file in the City offices.

B. Map changes. Changes to the boundaries and districts of the Zoning Map shall only be made in conformity with the amendment procedures specified in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code. All changes should be noted by date with a brief description of the nature of the change, either on the map or within an appendix to this chapter.

§ 375-25 District boundaries.

The following rules shall apply where uncertainty exists as to boundaries of any district as shown on the Zoning Map.

A. District boundary lines are intended to follow or be parallel to the center line of street rights-of-way, waterways and railroads and lot lines as they existed on a recorded deed or plan of record in the County Recorder of Deeds office at the time of the adoption of this chapter, unless such district boundary lines are fixed by dimensions or other specific notations as shown on the Official Zoning Map.

B. Where a district boundary is not fixed by dimensions and where it approximately follows lot lines, such boundary shall be construed to follow such lot lines unless specifically shown otherwise.

C. The location of a district boundary on unsubdivided land or where a district boundary divides a lot shall be determined by the use of the scale appearing on the maps unless the same is indicated by dimensions.

D. Where a municipal boundary divides a lot, the minimum lot area and lot width shall be regulated by the regulations of the municipality in which the principal use is located, unless otherwise provided by applicable case law.

§ 375-26 Setbacks and buffers across municipal boundaries.

A. Intent. To seek compatible land use patterns across municipal boundaries.

B. Where this chapter requires additional setbacks and the provision of buffer yards when certain uses abut an existing dwelling or a residential district, the same additional setback and buffer yard provisions shall be required when these certain uses are proposed with the City of Monessen if they would abut such an existing dwelling or primarily residential zoning district that is located in an abutting municipality.

§ 375-27 Table of Uses by Zoning District. [1]

A. For the purposes of this § 375-27, the following abbreviations shall have the following meanings:

	P	=	Permitted by right (zoning decision by Zoning Officer).
	C	=	Conditional use (decision by the City Council with review by Planning Commission).
	N	=	Not permitted.
	§ 375-30	=	See additional requirements in § 375-30.
	§ 375-31	=	See additional requirements in § 375-31.

B. Unless otherwise provided by law or specifically stated in this chapter, including § 375-6B, any land or structure shall only be used or occupied for a use specifically listed in this chapter as permitted in the zoning district where the land or structure is located.

(1) See provisions for similar uses in § 375-6.

(2) Any use shall only be permitted if the use complies with all other requirements of this chapter, including but not limited to the environmental protection requirements of Article V.

C. In the C1 District, no structure shall exceed a gross floor area of 10,000 square feet, except as provided for in § 375-30 of this chapter.

D. Permitted accessory uses in all districts. An accessory use of a dwelling is only permitted if such use is customarily incidental to the residential use. The following are permitted by right as accessory uses to a lawful principal use in all districts, within the requirements of § 375-31 and all other requirements of this chapter:

(1) Antennas, standard (see definition in Article II) and antenna for emergency services. (See standard for each in § 375-31.)

(2) Day-care center as an accessory use, within the limits on number of children in § 375-31. (See standard for each in § 375-31.)

(3) Fence or wall. (See standard for each in § 375-31.)

(4) Garage sale. (See standard for each in § 375-31.)

(5) Indoor storage that is customarily accessory to a permitted use.

(6) Keeping of pets. (See standard for each in § 375-31.)

(7) Recreational facilities, noncommercial, limited to use by employees of a lot or a development or residents of a development and their occasional invited guests.

(8) Residential accessory structure (see definition in Article II). (See standard for each in § 375-31.)

(9) Satellite antenna. (See standard for each in § 375-31.)

(10) Signs, as permitted by Article VII.

(11) Swimming pool, household. (See standard for each in § 375-31.)

(12) Such other accessory use or structure that the applicant proves to the satisfaction of the Zoning Officer is clearly customary and incidental to a permitted-by-right, special exception or conditional principal use. For a skateboard ramp, see residential accessory structures in § 375-31.

E. Permitted accessory uses to business and institutional uses. The following are permitted-by-right accessory uses only to a lawful principal business or institutional uses, provided that all requirements of this chapter are met:

(1) Amusement machines, coin or token operated as accessory uses.

(2) Food, beverage and toy machines, coin operated.

(3) Newspaper sales machines, coin operated.

(4) The following accessory uses, provided that the use is clearly limited to employees, patients, residents and families of employees of the use and their occasional invited guests:

(a) Standard or fast-food restaurant without drive-through service;

(b) Day-care center;

(c) Noncommercial recreational facilities; or

(d) Meeting facilities.

F. Permitted essential services. The following are essential services that are permitted by right as a principal or as an accessory use in all districts:

(1) Essential services exempt from lot area and setback requirements. The following essential services are not required to meet the accessory or principal structure setback, lot area or other lot requirements of this chapter, except that any newly created lots shall meet the applicable lot requirements if future building or subdivision of the lot would reasonably be possible for a different use.

(a) Oil pipelines and natural gas transmission and distribution lines and accessory compressing stations.

(b) Electrical transformers as an accessory use to dwellings.

(c) Electrical, telephone and streetlight poles.

(d) Electrical transmission and distribution lines and meters.

(e) Shelters and benches for buses that transport school children or that are owned, operated or financed by a public transit authority and that do not include off-premises signs.

(f) Engineered retaining walls that are clearly necessary to hold back slopes.

(g) Ramps primarily intended for handicapped access.

(h) Ground level porches that are not covered by a permanent roof. See § 375-64B.

(i) Steps leading into the entrance of a building. See § 375-64B.

(j) Construction. Temporary storage of vehicles and materials and construction office trailers that are clearly needed and being actively used for current construction on the same or an adjacent lot or within the same subdivision, provided that such items are removed from the site within 30 days of completion of the portion of the construction that they relate to. These vehicles and materials shall only be stored on a lot while the related City construction permit is actively still in effect.

(2) Essential services required to comply with lot area and setback requirements. The following are permitted essential services that are required (except within § 375-7) to meet all of the applicable requirements of this chapter:

(a) Electrical substations and bulk industrial or commercial transformers that are not an accessory use to dwellings. Electric substations involving outdoor structures at least 10 feet in height shall be required to provide evergreen screening within the requirements of § 375-64 on sides that are within 150 feet of a dwelling, undeveloped residentially zoned land or an expressway or an arterial street.[2]

[2] Editor's Note: Former Subsection F(2)(b), (c) and (d), which listed certain permitted essential services, was repealed 8-15-2012 by Ord. No. 5-2012.

[1] Editor's Note: Said table is included at the end of this chapter.

§ 375-28 Table of Lot and Setback Requirements by District. [1]

A. For the purposes of this § 375-28, the following abbreviations shall have the following meanings:

	sq. ft.	=	square feet
	ft.	=	linear feet
	Central Sewer	=	service at the time of occupancy by approved "central sewage service," as defined in Article II
	Central Water	=	service at the time of occupancy by approved "central water service," as defined in Article II
	NA	=	Not applicable

B. The following requirements shall apply for each respective district, unless a more restrictive requirement is listed for a particular use in §§ 375-30 and 375-31 or elsewhere in this chapter. See also the steep slope regulations of § 375-36 which describe when larger lots are required in areas of 15% or greater slope.

C. Exemptions to the side yard requirements for building additions to single-family structures extending into required side yards in all residential zoning districts. In all residential zoning districts, an addition to an existing single family residential structure that has a nonconforming side yard may also extend into the required side yard, provided that all of the following criteria are met:

[Added 10-15-2003 by Ord. No. 12-2003]

(1) The addition does not exceed one story in height.

(2) The addition continues the facade setback line of the existing structure.

(3) The addition does not exceed 15 feet in length, measured parallel to the side property line.

(4) The total square footage of the addition shall not exceed 250 square feet in gross area.

(5) All other yard and setback requirements are met.

[1] Editor's Note: Said table is included at the end of this chapter.