[Ord. 2000-03, 9/14/2000, Art. II, § 200; as amended by Ord. 2003-05, 6/12/2003, §§ 1, 2; by Ord. 2004-01, 2/12/2004, § 1; by Ord. 2004-02, 2/12/2004, § 1; by Ord. 2004-07, 6/22/2004, § 4; and by Ord. 2009-02, 3/12/2009]
1. 
Unless a contrary intention clearly appears, the following words and phrases shall have, for the purpose of this chapter, the meanings given in the following clauses.
2. 
For the purpose of this chapter, words and terms used herein shall be interpreted as follows:
A. 
Words in the present tense shall include the future.
B. 
The singular includes the plural.
C. 
The word "person" includes a corporation, partnership, and association as well as the individual.
D. 
The word "lot" includes the word "plot or parcel."
E. 
The term "shall" is always mandatory.
F. 
The word "used" or "occupied," as applied to any land or building, shall be construed to include the words "intended, arranged, or designed to be occupied."
3. 
For the purpose of this chapter, terms referring to various public bodies and officials shall be interpreted as follows:
A. 
Board of Supervisors (the Board): the Board of Township Supervisors of Allen Township; the governing body of Allen Township.
B. 
Zoning Hearing Board: the Zoning Hearing Board appointed in accordance to law by the Board (governing body of Allen Township).
C. 
Zoning Officer: the person appointed by the Board as enforcement officer of this chapter.
D. 
Planning Commission: the Allen Township Planning Commission appointed in accordance to law by the Board.
E. 
Comprehensive Plan: the effective Allen Township Comprehensive Plan as adopted by the Board of Supervisors.
F. 
Official Township Map: the Allen Township Official Map as adopted and revised by the Board of Supervisors.
4. 
Any word or term not defined herein shall be used with a meaning of standard usage.
ACCESSORY
A. 
ACCESSORY BUILDING(see § 27-1411).
B. 
ACCESSORY USE(see § 27-1411).
ADULT BOOKSTORE
An establishment having a substantial or significant portion of its stock and trade in, or an establishment which as one of its principal business purposes, offers for sale, books, films, video cassettes or magazines and other periodicals which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas and, in conjunction therewith, has facilities for the presentation of adult entertainment for observation by patrons.
ADULT ENTERTAINMENT
A. 
An exhibition of any adult-oriented motion pictures, meaning those distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
B. 
A live performance, display or dance of any type which has as a significant or substantial portion of the performance any actual or simulated performance of specified sexual activities or exhibition and viewing of specified anatomical areas, removal of articles of clothing or appearing unclothed, pantomiming, modeling or any other personal services offered customers.
ADULT MINI-MOTION-PICTURE THEATER
An enclosed building with a capacity of less than 50 persons which has a principal business purpose of exhibiting, presenting or selling material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas for observation by patrons.
ADULT MOTION-PICTURE THEATER
An enclosed building with a capacity of 50 or more persons which has a principal business purpose of exhibiting, presenting or selling material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas for observation by patrons.
ADULT-ORIENTED ESTABLISHMENT
The term includes, without limitation, the following establishments when operated for profit, whether direct or indirect:
A. 
Adult bookstore.
B. 
Adult mini-motion-picture theaters.
C. 
Adult motion-picture theaters.
D. 
Massage establishment.
E. 
Any premises to which the public, patrons or members are invited or admitted and which are so physically arranged as to provide booths, cubicles, rooms, studios, compartments or stalls separate from the common areas of the premises for the purpose of viewing adult-oriented motion pictures or where an entertainer provides adult entertainment to a member of the public, a patron or a member.
F. 
An adult entertainment studio or any premises that are physically arranged and used as such, whether advertised or represented as an adult entertainment studio, rap studio, exotic dance studio, encounter studio, sensitivity studio, modeling studio or any other term of like import.
AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS
The management and use of farming resources for the production of crops, livestock, or poultry.
ALLEY
A right-of-way which provides secondary service access for vehicles to the side or rear of abutting properties.
ALLUVIAL SOIL
Areas subject to periodic flooding as defined in the Soil Survey of Northampton County, July 1974, as being "on the floodplain" or subject to "flooding."
ALTERATION
As applied to a building or structure, a change or rearrangement in the structural parts, or an enlargement or diminution, whether by extending on a side or by increasing in height, or the moving from one location or position to another.
ANIMAL EQUIVALENT UNIT (AEU)
One thousand pounds' live weight of livestock or poultry animals (as defined by the Pennsylvania Nutrient Management Act), regardless of the actual number of individual animals comprising the unit.
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
The raising and keeping of livestock and poultry not classified as intensive agriculture. This includes, but is not limited to, cattle, goats, rabbits, fowl, and sheep.
AREA
A. 
LOT AREAThe area contained within the property lines of the individual parcels of land shown on a subdivision plan or required by this chapter, which excludes any area within an existing or designated future street right-of-way. The minimum lot area shall be calculated from the ultimate right-of-way line.
B. 
BUILDING AREAThe total of areas taken on a horizontal plane at the main grade level of the principal building and all accessory buildings exclusive of uncovered porches, terraces, and steps.
C. 
FLOOR AREAThe sum of the areas of the several floors of building structure, including areas used for human occupancy and basements, attics, and penthouses, as measured from the exterior faces of the walls. It does not include cellars, unenclosed porches, or attics not used for human occupancy.
AUTOMOBILE REPAIR
Automobile repair garage, including paint spraying and body and fender work or car washing facility, provided that all repair and paint work is performed within an enclosed building.
AUTOMOTIVE SALES
Sales of automobiles by a new car dealership; used car sales; and car, pickup truck, van, trailer, cycle and boat rental.
BASEMENT
A story partly underground, having 1/2 or more of its height (measured from floor to ceiling) above the average level of the adjoining ground. A basement shall be counted as a story for the purpose of height measurement or determining floor area, only if the vertical distance between the ceiling and the average level of the adjoining ground is more than five feet, or if used for business or dwelling purposes.
BED-AND-BREAKFAST
The use and occupancy of a single-family detached dwelling for accommodating transient guests for rent.
BOARDER
A resident of a boardinghouse.
BOARDINGHOUSE
Any dwelling with fewer than 20 sleeping rooms in which more than three persons, either individually or as families, are commercially housed or lodged, with or without meals. A rooming house or a furnished rooming house shall be deemed a boardinghouse.
BUILDING
A. 
BUILDINGAn erection or structure under roof intended for use and occupancy as a habitation or for some purpose of trade, manufacture, ornament, or other use; any structure affording shelter to persons, animals, or property. The word "building" shall include any part thereof.
B. 
BUILDING, ACCESSORYA subordinate building located on the same lot as a principal building and clearly incidental and subordinate to the principal building. Any portion of a principal building devoted or intended to be devoted to an accessory use is not an accessory building.
C. 
BUILDING, PRINCIPALA building in which is conducted, or is intended to be conducted, the principal use of the lot on which it is located.
BUILDING COVERAGE
That percentage of the plot or lot area covered by the building area.
BUILDING FACADE
The exterior faces or walls of a building exposed to public view or that wall viewed by persons not within the building.
[Added by Ord. 2017-02, 3/28/2017]
BUILDING FACADE, PRIMARY
The face or wall of a building that serves as the principal ingress or egress for personnel or the public.
[Added by Ord. 2017-02, 3/28/2017]
BUILDING HEIGHT
The vertical distance measured from the lowest corner of the proposed finished grade at the building's perimeter walls to the highest point of the roof or the structure, excluding those items listed in § 27-1408. However, in no case shall the elevation of the highest point of the roof or the structure exceed the maximum rooftop elevation.
[Amended by Ord. 2017-02, 3/28/2017]
BUILDING SETBACK LINE
The line parallel to the street at a distance therefrom equal to the depth of the front yard required for the district in which the lot is located.
CAMPGROUND
A lot, tract, or parcel of land upon which operates a business where two or more campsites are located or established, intended and maintained for occupation by transients in recreational vehicles or tents.
CAMPSITE
A plot of ground within a recreational camping park intended for the accommodation of a recreational vehicle, tent, or other individual camping unit on a temporary basis.
CAR WASH
A facility for washing automobiles.
CELLAR
A story partly underground and having more than 1/2 of its height (measured from floor to ceiling) below the average level of the adjoining ground. A cellar shall not be considered in determining the permissible number of stories or square footage, nor shall it be used for separate dwelling purposes.
CEMETERY
A burial place or graveyard including mausoleum, crematory or columbarium.
COLD FRAME
A small, temporary structure covered with glass or some other transparent material used to protect plants. A cold frame which remains on the ground for more than three months in a calendar year shall be considered a greenhouse (see § 265).
COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATIONS ANTENNA
Any device used for the transmission or reception of radio, television, wireless telephone, pager, commercial mobile radio service, 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.
COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATIONS TOWER
A structure other than a building, such as a monopole, self-supporting or guyed tower, designed and used to support commercial communications antennas.
COMMERCIAL FORESTRY
The cutting down of greater than 10 trees from a property within a year's time for the purpose of selling the trees.
COMMERCIAL SCHOOL
Trade, professional school, music or dancing school.[1]
CONCENTRATED ANIMAL OPERATIONS
Those agricultural operations where the animal density exceeds two AEUs per acre on an annualized basis.
CONDOMINIUM
Real estate, portions of which are designated for separate ownership and the remainder of which is designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those portions. Real estate is not a condominium unless the undivided interests in the common elements are vested in the unit owners. A condominium is a unit with all of the following characteristics:
A. 
The unit may be any permitted land use. A condominium is an ownership arrangement, not a land use.
B. 
All or a portion of the exterior open space and any community interior space are owned and maintained in accordance with the Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq., and in accordance with the provisions for open space, roads, or other development features in this chapter and the Allen Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance [Chapter 22].
CONTRACTING
Contractor offices and shops such as building, cement, electrical, heating, plumbing, masonry, painting, roofing, fencing, landscaping, and excavating.
CONVERSION
The conversion of an existing building to a number of dwelling units.
CRAFTS
Carpentry shop, cabinetmaking, furniture making, and similar crafts.
DAY CARE
Day nursery, nursery school, kindergarten, or other agency giving day care to children, or adults or elderly persons.
DENSITY
A measure of the number of dwelling units per unit of area. It shall be expressed in dwelling units per acre. The measure is arrived at by dividing the number of dwelling units by the base site area (excluding existing and proposed road rights-of-way and any required open space).
DEVELOPMENT
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation, or drilling operations or the storage of materials or equipment.
DISTRICT
A zoning district as laid out on the Zoning Map along with the regulations pertaining thereto.
DORMITORY
An accessory building for the residency of students, religious orders, teachers, or others engaged in the primary activity of the institution where individuals need to live on the site.
DRIVE-INS AND OTHER EATING PLACES
Eating place which utilizes an inside window, service area or cafeteria line where customers place their orders and food is served for consumption at seating areas within the building and for customer take-out service. This type of eating place may also have drive-through service.
DWELLING
A building containing one or more dwelling units.
A. 
DWELLING UNITAny room or group of rooms located within a residential building and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking, and eating by one family.
B. 
SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED DWELLINGA dwelling having only one dwelling unit from ground to roof, independent outside access, and open space on all sides.
C. 
Mobile homes can be considered single-family detached dwellings if, in addition to the requirements listed for all dwellings, the mobile home is securely anchored to permanent foundation walls. The mobile home foundation shall be provided with anchors and tie-downs, which shall be placed at least at each corner of the mobile home and each shall be able to withstand a minimum tensile strength of 2,800 pounds. All of the apparatuses used to transport the unit shall be removed, including the towing hitch.
D. 
SINGLE-FAMILY ATTACHED DWELLINGA dwelling containing only one dwelling unit from ground to roof, independent outside access, and a portion of one or two walls in common with adjoining dwellings. Duplexes and townhouses are both single-family attached dwellings, with the distinction that a duplex unit has only one wall in common with another unit.
E. 
MULTIPLE-FAMILY DWELLINGSA dwelling containing two or more dwelling units not having party walls, forming complete separation between individual dwelling units. Single-family attached dwellings are specifically excluded from this definition. Garden apartments and condominiums are included in this definition.
DWELLING IN COMBINATION
Dwelling in combination with an existing or proposed nonresidential use within the same building.
EASEMENT
A grant of the specified use of a parcel of land to the public, a corporation, or a person.
EATING PLACE
Eating place for the sale and consumption of food and beverages without drive-in service and without take-out service. All food and beverages are to be served by waiters and waitresses and consumed inside the building while patrons are seated at counters and tables.
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND SCHOOLS
See § 2-121.
EMERGENCY SERVICES
Fire, ambulance, rescue, and other emergency services of a municipal or volunteer nature.
EMPLOYEE
A person who is employed or is engaged in any type of regular activity. This term is utilized in the parking standards of this chapter as a measure of the number of parking spaces required. It shall refer to the maximum number of employees on duty at any time, at a place of business, whether the employees are full or part time. If shifts are involved in which two shifts overlap, it refers to the total of both shifts.
EXTRACTIVE OPERATION
Extractive operations for sand, clay, shale, gravel, topsoil, or similar operations, including borrowing pits (excavations for removing material for filling operations).
FALL ZONE
The area on the ground within a prescribed radius from the base of a commercial communications tower. The fall zone is the area within which there is a potential hazard from falling debris or the collapsing of the commercial communications tower. The fall zone shall be determined by the applicant's engineer and reviewed by the Township Engineer.
FAMILY
[Amended by Ord. 2017-02, 3/28/2017]
A. 
One or more individuals who are "related" to each other by blood, marriage or adoption (including persons receiving formal foster care) or up to five unrelated individuals who maintain a common household with common cooking facilities and certain rooms in common, and who live within one dwelling unit. A family shall also expressly include the number of unrelated persons that may be allowed by the personal care home provisions of this chapter residing within an approved personal care home.
B. 
A greater number of unrelated persons may also be considered a family, provided the property owners demonstrates to the Zoning Officer that the group is a functional equivalent of a family, shares the entire dwelling, lives and cooks together as a single housekeeping unit, shares expenses for food, rent, utilities and other household expenses and is permanent and stable.
FAMILY DAY CARE
A facility in which care is provided for one or more but fewer than seven children at any one time where the child care areas are being used as a family business. The time of daily operation shall be limited to the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
FARMING
The cultivating of the soil and the raising and harvesting of the products of the soil, (excluding forestry, nursery, and greenhouse) not classified as intensive agriculture.
FENCE
Any structure constructed of wood, metal, wire mesh, or masonry erected for the purpose of screening one property from another either to assure privacy or to protect the property screened; for the purpose of this chapter a masonry wall is considered to be a fence; also for the purpose of this chapter, when the term "lot line" is used in relation to fences, it shall be synonymous with "rear yard," "side yard," and "front yard" line(s). A wall specifically intended to serve as a retaining wall to retain earth or other material is specifically not to be considered a fence.
[Amended by Ord. 2013-07, 11/14/2013]
FINANCIAL ESTABLISHMENT
Bank, savings and loan association, credit union, and other financial establishment.
FLEA MARKET
A periodic sales activity held within a buildings and/or outdoors, where retail merchants offer goods, new or used, for sale to the public. (This use does not include garage or yard sales.)
FLOODPLAIN
(See § 27-1418 for additional definitions.)
A. 
A relatively flat or low land area adjoining a river, stream, or watercourse which is subject to partial or complete inundation.
B. 
An area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface waters from any source.
FLOOR AREA RATIO
The ratio of the floor area to the lot area, as determined by dividing the floor area by the lot area.
FORESTS
Areas identified as "woodlands" and shown on Map 9, Conservation Areas, from the Township Comprehensive Plan as adopted by resolution of the Board of Supervisors on October 27, 1999.
[Amended by Ord. 2013-07, 11/14/2013]
FUNERAL HOME
An establishment for the preparation of the deceased for burial and the display of the deceased and ceremonies connected therewith before burial or cremation.
GREENHOUSE
A building, usually made of glass or some other transparent material, used for the cultivation, storage, or protection of plants. A cold frame which remains on the ground for more than three months in a calendar year shall be considered a greenhouse.
HEIGHT OF TOWER
The overall height of the tower from the base of the tower to the highest point of the tower, including, but not limited to, antennas, transmitters, satellite dishes or any other structures affixed to or otherwise placed on the tower. If the base of the tower is not on ground level, the height of the tower shall include the base of the building or structure to which the tower is attached.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE
Any structure that is:
A. 
Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of the Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register;
B. 
Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;
C. 
Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places with historic preservation programs which have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior; or
D. 
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified either:
(1) 
By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; or
(2) 
Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.
HOME OCCUPATION
An activity for gain customarily carried on in a dwelling, or in a building or structure accessory to a dwelling, clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling for residential purposes.
HOSPITAL
An establishment, licensed by the American Hospital Association, which provides health services primarily for inpatient medical or surgical care of the sick or injured, including such related facilities, such as laboratories, outpatient departments, training facilities, central service facilities, and staff offices as an integral part of the establishment.
HOUSING FOR OLDER PERSONS
A residential development that is age qualified in accordance with federal regulations as provided in § 27-1533, and which involves a unified development operated under common rules with internal streets, landscaped areas along public streets, and on-site recreation facilities.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACES
Those surfaces which are nonvegetated and/or water surfaces. All buildings, parking areas, driveways, roads, sidewalks, and any areas in gravel, stone, concrete and asphalt shall be considered impervious surfaces within this definition. In addition, other areas determined by the Engineer to be impervious within the meaning of this definition will also be classified as impervious surfaces.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE RATIO
A measure of the intensity of use of a parcel of land. It is measured by dividing the total area of all impervious surfaces within the site by the lot area.
INDOOR ENTERTAINMENT
An entertainment or recreational facility operated as a gainful business and taking place within a building, including a bowling alley, skating rink, billiard hall, movie theater, theater or other similar use.
INTENSIVE AGRICULTURAL FACILITY
Any building or structure used in conjunction with an intensive agricultural operation.
INTENSIVE AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS
Specialized agricultural activities, including, but not limited to, mushroom, pig, poultry, and dry lot livestock production which due to the intensity of production, necessitate special control of operation, raw material storage and processing, and the disposal of liquid and solid wastes. Any operation meeting the definition of a "concentrated animal operation," as defined by the State Nutrient Management Act, as may be amended from time to time, is to be considered intensive agriculture.
JUNKYARD
An area of land, with or without buildings, used for the storage of used or discarded materials, including, but not limited to, wastepaper, glass, rags, metal, building materials, house furnishings, machinery, tires, vehicles, or parts thereof. The deposit or storage of two or more motor vehicles not having valid inspection stickers issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, excluding farm vehicles, or of two or more wrecked or broken vehicles, or the major parts of two or more such vehicles, shall only be stored in a licensed junkyard.
KENNEL or STABLE
Any lot on which four or more dogs or horses are kept at any point in time, boarded, bred, or trained for fee or not for fee, whether in special buildings or runways, including but not limited to, dog and cat kennels, horse stables or riding academies.
LAKE
A permanent body of water, naturally occurring or man-made, covering an area of two or more acres.
LARGE RETAIL STORES
Stores having more than 10,000 square feet of floor area, such as, supermarkets or department stores selling commodities and goods to the ultimate consumer.
LIBRARY
Library or museum, open to the public or connected with a permitted educational use, and not conducted as a private gainful business.
LINEAR PARK
A park that is substantially longer than it is wide. It is often formed as part of a "rails to trails" conversion of antiquated railroad beds to recreational use. Other linear parks make use of the strips of public land next to canals, streams, electrical lines, highways and shorelines.
[Added by Ord. 2015-03, 6/11/2015]
LOT or PLOT
A. 
LOTA parcel of land used or set aside and available for use as the site of one or more buildings and buildings accessory thereto or for any other purpose, in one ownership and not divided by a street, nor including any land within the limits of a public or private way upon which said lot abuts, even if the ownership to such way is the owner of the lot. A lot, for the purpose of this chapter, may or may not coincide with a lot of record.
B. 
LOT OF RECORDA description of a lot(s) which has been recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
C. 
CORNER LOTA lot which has an interior angle of less than 135° at the intersection of two street lines. A lot abutting upon a curved street or streets shall be considered a corner lot if the tangent to the curve at the points beginning within the lot or at the points of intersection of the side lot lines with the street lines intersect at an angle of less than 135°.
D. 
THROUGH LOTAn interior lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets.
E. 
DEPTH OF LOTThe mean distance from the street line of the lot to its opposite rear line measured in the general direction of the side lines of the lot.
F. 
LOT WIDTHThe distance measured between the side lot lines at the required building setback line. In a case where there is only one side lot line, lot width shall be measured between such lot line and the opposite rear lot line.
LOT COVERAGE
The maximum percentage of the area of the tract, subtracting the area contained within the ultimate right-of-way of any public roadway, which may be covered with an impervious surface, for example, buildings and driveways, parking lot areas, and/or sidewalks constructed from conventional impervious pavement.
[Amended by Ord. 2013-07, 11/14/2013]
LOT LINES
A. 
LOT LINEAny boundary line of a lot.
B. 
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 lot lines that are now street lines is to be considered a rear lot line. In the case of a lot having no street frontage or a lot of any odd shape, only the one lot line furthest from any street shall be considered a rear lot line. Where two side lot lines of a lot meet at a point, the rear lot line shall be assumed to be a line not less than 10 feet long lying within the lot and parallel to the street line.
C. 
LOT LINE, SIDEAny lot line which is not a street line or a rear lot line.
D. 
STREET LINEThe dividing line between the street and the lot. The street line shall be the same as the legal right-of-way, provided that where an ultimate right-of-way width for a road or street has been established, that width shall determine the location of the street line.
LUMBER YARD
Lumber yard, where lumber products are sold, excluding planing mill.
MANUFACTURING
Manufacturing, including the assembling, production, processing, cleaning, testing, and distribution of materials, goods, foodstuffs, and products.
MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENT
Any establishment or business which provides the services of massage and body manipulation, including exercises, heat and light treatments of the body, and all forms and methods of physiotherapy, unless operated by a medical practitioner, chiropractor, or professional physical therapist licensed by the commonwealth. This definition does not include an athletic club, health club, school gymnasium, reducing salon, spa, or similar establishment where massage or similar manipulation of the human body is offered as an incidental or accessory service.
MAXIMUM ROOFTOP ELEVATION
The maximum building height allowed in each applicable zoning district, as measured using the average predevelopment grade of the ground at the proposed building's or structure's four corners. Average predevelopment grade shall be calculated by determining the average grade above sea level (existing on the effective date of this definition) of the ground, in its natural condition prior to any site alteration or construction activity, measured at the four corners of the proposed building or structure. Site alteration or construction activity includes, but is not limited to, the addition of material (fill) to or the removal of material (cut) from a site or property. The calculation of the average pre-development grade may exclude one corner of the proposed building or structure where the predevelopment grade at that corner differs by at least 10% from the average of the remaining predevelopment grades at the propose building corners. Where the proposed building is not rectangular in shape, the average predevelopment grade shall be determined by drawing a single rectangle, of the smallest size, around the footprint of the proposed building or structure, and using the four corners of that rectangle in the calculation of average predevelopment grade.
[Added by Ord. 2017-02, 3/28/2017]
MEDICAL OFFICE
Office or clinic for medical or dental examination or treatment of persons as outpatients, including laboratories incidental thereto.
MILL
Mill where grain, lumber, and similar products are processed.
MINI-WAREHOUSE
A structure containing separate storage spaces which are leased to the general public for the purpose of storing items generally stored in residential structures.
MOBILE HOME
A transportable, single-family dwelling unit intended for permanent occupancy, office, or place of assembly, contained in one or more sections, designed to be joined into one integral unit capable of again being separated for repeat towing, built on a permanent chassis, 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. The term does not include recreational vehicles or travel trailers, however, for floodplain management purposes, the term "mobile home" also includes park trailers, travel trailers, and other similar vehicles placed on a site for greater than 180 consecutive days.
MOBILE HOME LOT
A parcel of land in a mobile home park, improved with the necessary utility connections and other appurtenances necessary for the erection thereon of a single mobile home, if said parcel is leased or rented by the park owner to the occupants of the mobile home erected on the lot.
MOBILE HOME PARK
A parcel of land under single ownership which has been planned and improved entirely for placement of mobile homes for nontransient use, consisting of two or more mobile home lots for sale or rent.
MODULAR HOME
A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent occupancy contained in two or more units and designed for use with a permanent foundation.
MOTEL or HOTEL
A building or group of buildings for the accommodation of transient guests, chiefly motorists, containing guest rooms for rent.
MUNICIPAL WASTE
Any garbage refuse, industrial lunchroom or office waste and other material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material, resulting from operation of residential, municipal, commercial, or institutional establishments and from community activities and any sludge not meeting the definition of "residual or hazardous waste" in the Solid Waste Management Act from a municipal, commercial, or institutional water supply treatment plant, wastewater treatment plant or air pollution control facility. The term does not include source-separated recyclable materials.
MUNICIPAL WASTE LANDFILL
A facility using land for disposing of municipal waste. The facility includes land affected during the lifetime of the operation, including, but not limited to, areas where disposal or processing activities actually occur, support facilities, borrow areas, offices, equipment sheds, air and water pollution control and treatment systems, access roads, associated on-site and contiguous collection, transportation and storage facilities, closure and post-closure care and maintenance activities and other activities in which the natural land surface has been disturbed as a result of, or incidental to, the operation of the facility. The term does not include a construction/demolition waste landfill or a facility for the land application of sewage sludge. (Pa. Code Title 25, Environmental Resources, Part I, Chapter 271.1, as amended.
NO-IMPACT HOME-BASED BUSINESS
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.
NURSING HOME
Licensed nursing or convalescent home. For the purposes of this chapter, this definition covers any facility with managed care such as assisted living, progressive care facility, etc.
OFFICE
Business, professional, or government office.
OPEN SPACE
Land used for recreation, resource protection, or amenity, and is protected by the provisions of this chapter and the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance to assure that it remains in such uses. The responsibility of maintaining the open space shall fall upon the landowner or the homeowners' association in the manner stipulated in §§ 707(2) and (3) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code. Open space does not include land occupied by buildings, roads, or road right-of-way; nor does it include the yards or lots of single or multifamily dwelling units or parking areas as required by the provisions of this chapter. Open space shall be left in a natural state except in the case of recreation uses which may contain impervious surfaces. Such impervious surfaces shall be included in the calculation of the impervious surface ratio.
OUTDOOR ENTERTAINMENT
Outdoor entertainment or recreational facility, including miniature golf and golf driving ranges, operated as a gainful business and not including an outdoor motion picture establishment or vehicular track or course.
OUTDOOR MOTION-PICTURE ESTABLISHMENT
An open lot used for the showing of motion pictures or theatrical productions on a paid admission basis to patrons seated in automobiles. Such use may include facilities for the sale and consumption of food and nonalcoholic beverages.
OUTDOOR RECREATION FACILITY/COMMERCIAL
A commercial activity conducted entirely outside which is designed to amuse, entertain, or otherwise provide for the recreation of persons, other than the conductors of the activity, and which requires a fee or charge in order for a person to partake in the activity and includes, but is not limited to, tennis, swimming, baseball, basketball, etc. The phrase "outdoor recreation facility" shall specifically be construed to indicate that all activity (recreation) shall occur out of doors. The term "recreation facility" shall not be construed to include amusement parks or off-track betting parlors, adult bookstores, adult entertainment facilities or theaters.
PARKING
The temporary storage of motor vehicles. For purposes of this chapter, parking is provided for in the following forms:
A. 
ON-STREET PARKINGThe parking of motor vehicles on a street, in a line parallel to the moving lanes of a street.
B. 
OFF-STREET PARKINGThe parking of motor vehicles in an area which has direct access to a street via a driveway or accessway, but which is not located on a street.
(1) 
COMMON PARKING AREAAn off-street parking lot or garage designed to serve three or more dwelling units or nonresidential uses.
(a) 
COMMON PARKING LOTAn off-street ground level area for the temporary storage of motor vehicles.
(b) 
COMMON PARKING GARAGEA deck, building or structure, or part thereof, used for the temporary storage of motor vehicles. Where there is ground level parking, it is covered by a roof. Multiple tiers of parking shall be subject to the building height limitations of this chapter.
(2) 
PRIVATE PARKING AREAAn off-street parking lot or garage designed for the temporary storage of a small number of motor vehicles. It is for use by one or two dwelling units only and is located in close proximity to the dwelling unit(s) it serves. A private parking area is located on the fee-simple lot which contains the dwelling unit it serves, or is located on the minimum lot area required by this chapter, whether the lot is deeded or for planning purposes only.
(a) 
PRIVATE PARKING LOTAn open, uncovered area for the temporary storage of motor vehicles, owned and operated by the residents of the nearby dwelling unit(s).
(b) 
PRIVATE PARKING GARAGE OR CARPORTA structure which is accessory to, attached to, or part of a dwelling unit which is used for the temporary storage of motor vehicles and owned and operated by the residents thereof.
(c) 
COMMUNITY GARAGEA structure which is accessory to, attached to, or part of a group of attached dwelling units which is used for the temporary storage of motor vehicles and owned and operated by the residents of those units.
C. 
SPILLOVER PARKINGAn area is intended to accommodate the occasional need for parking beyond the requirements of the resident of the dwelling unit. The need for spillover parking is created by service vehicles and other occasional visitors.
PARKING LOT OR GARAGE
A lot of record upon which the parking or storing of automotive vehicles is the primary use.
PLANING MILL
Where wood products are sold or processed into finished items such as molding, trim, etc.
PLANT NURSERY
The outdoor raising of plants, shrubs, and trees for sale and transportation.
POND
A permanent body of water, naturally occurring or man-made, covering an area of up to two acres.[2]
PRINTING
Printing, publishing, and binding.
PRIVATE RECREATIONAL FACILITY
A recreational facility owned or operated by a private organization and open only to bona fide members and guests.
[Amended by Ord. 2015-03, 6/11/2015]
PUBLIC FACILITY
Government building, operating facility (such as police station, highway department yard, etc.), recreational facility or park owned or operated by the municipality or other governmental agency.
PUBLIC UTILITY TRANSMISSION TOWER
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.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
A vehicle or piece of equipment intended primarily as temporary living quarters for recreational camping or travel use, whether self-powered or designed to be pulled or carried. The basic entities are, but not limited to, the following: travel trailer, truck-mounted camper, motor home, folding tent camper, and autos, buses, or trucks adapted for vacation use.
REPAIR SHOP
Repair shop for appliances, lawn mowers, watches, guns, bicycles, locks, small business machines, but not including motor vehicles, motorcycles, trucks, and heavy equipment.
RESEARCH
Research, testing, or experimental laboratory.
RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICT
The Rural (R), Low Residential (R1), Medium Residential (R2), High Density Residential (R3), and Mobile Home Park (MHP) Zoning Districts.
RETAIL STORE
Retail shops and stores with a gross floor area of 10,000 square feet or less selling apparel, books, confections, drugs, dry goods, flowers, food stuff, furniture, gifts, hardware, toys, household appliances, jewelry, notions, periodicals, shoes, stationery, tobacco, luggage, sporting goods, pets, floor covering, fabrics, garden supplies. Also included within this use shall be the sale of soft drinks and alcoholic beverages in sealed containers not for consumption on the premises.
RESOURCE RECOVERY FACILITY
A facility or land that is used for any one or a combination of the following: composting, incineration, material separation, recycling, or trash transfer as defined below. Municipal waste landfill operations are not included under this use, and open burning of any materials shall specifically be prohibited.
RIFLE, SHOOTING, TARGET RANGES; SHOOTING PRESERVES
A parcel of land used for the purpose of discharging firearms at fixed and/or moving targets or flying targets (i.e., clay pigeons).
RIGHT-OF-WAY
A. 
RIGHT-OF-WAYLand set aside for use as a street, alley, or other means of travel.
B. 
EXISTING RIGHT-OF-WAYThe legal right-of-way as established by the Commonwealth or other appropriate governing authority and currently in existence.
C. 
ULTIMATE RIGHT-OF-WAYThe right-of-way deemed necessary by Allen Township, as appropriate to provide adequate width for ultimate street improvements. Ultimate right-of-way widths are designated on the Township Official Map.
ROOMER, BOARDER, or LODGER
A person occupying any room or group of rooms forming a single, habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and sleeping, but not for cooking or eating purposes, and paying compensation for lodging or board and lodging by prearrangement for a week or more at a time to an owner or operator. Any person occupying such room or rooms and paying such compensation without prearrangement or for less than a week at a time shall be classified for purposes of this chapter not as a roomer, boarder, or lodger, but as a guest of a commercial lodging establishment (motel, hotel, tourist home).
SATELLITE DISH ANTENNA
A device or instrument, designed or used for the reception of television or other electronic communications signal broadcast or relayed from an earth satellite. It may be solid, open mesh, or bar-configured, typically eight to 12 feet in diameter, in the shape of a shallow dish or antenna.
SCHOOL and EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
Religious, sectarian, and nonsectarian, denominational private school or public school which is not conducted as a private gainful business, provided that dormitories or other living accommodations for faculty or students shall meet the minimum requirements of this chapter.
SEWER
A. 
PUBLIC SEWERAny municipal owned sewer system in which sewage is collected from more than one lot and piped to an approved sewage disposal plant or central septic tank disposal system. It may also be referred to as "off-lot" or "off-site" sewer. This shall include capped sewers when installed to Township specifications.
B. 
ON-LOT SEWERAn on-lot septic tank disposal system providing for disposal of effluent for one building and its accessory building on a single lot, meeting the area requirements of the zoning district and/or the requirements of the Department of Environmental Protection, whichever is greater.
C. 
CENTRAL SEWERA sewer system privately owned in which sewage is collected from more than one lot and piped to an approved treatment site.
SERVICE BUSINESS
Service business, including barber, beautician, laundry, and dry cleaning, shoe repair, tailor, photographer, and travel agency, upholsterer.
SERVICE STATION
An establishment for the sale of vehicular fuels and the sale and installation of lubricants, tires, batteries, and similar automotive accessories.
SEXUAL ACTIVITIES
The term does not include any of the following:
A. 
Any art or photography publications which devote at least 25% of the lineage of each issue to articles and advertisements dealing with subjects of art or photography.
B. 
Any news periodical which reports or describes current events and which, from time to time, publishes photographs of nude or seminude persons in connection with the dissemination of the news.
C. 
Any publications or films which describe and report different cultures and which, from time to time, publish or show photographs or depictions of nude or seminude persons when describing cultures in which nudity or seminudity is indigenous to the populations.
SHOPPING CENTER
A neighborhood or regional shopping center which is preplanned and designed as a complex of related structures and circulation patterns containing multiple retail, eating, and/or financial establishments.
SITE
A parcel or parcels of land intended to have one or more buildings or intended to be subdivided into one or more lots.
SITE AREA
All land area within the site as defined in the deed. Actual area shall be from an actual site survey rather than deed description.
SITE AREA, BASE
The area of a tract of land remaining after subtracting land which is not contiguous, land previously subdivided and existing and proposed road and utility rights-of-way from the site area.
SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREAS
A. 
Less than completely and opaquely covered:
(1) 
Human genitals or pubic region;
(2) 
Buttocks; or
(3) 
Female breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areola.
B. 
Human male genitals in a discernible turgid state, even if completely opaquely covered.
SPECIFIED SEXUAL ACTIVITIES
The term includes any of the following:
A. 
Human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal.
B. 
Acts of human masturbation, sexual intercourse or sodomy.
C. 
Fondling or erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttocks or female breasts.
STORY
That part of a building located between a floor and the floor or roof next above. A half-story is a story under a gable, hip, or gambrel roof, the wall plates of which on at least two opposite exterior walls are not more than two feet above the floor. A cellar is not a story.
STREET (INCLUDES PRIVATE ROADWAYS, PARKING, ETC.)
Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, lane, parkway, viaduct, alley, or any other way for the movement of vehicular traffic, which is an existing state, county, or Township roadway, or a street or way shown upon a final drawing, heretofore approved, pursuant to law or approved by official action; and includes the land between street lines, whether improved or unimproved, and may comprise pavement, shoulders, gutters, sidewalks, parking areas, and other areas within the right-of-way.
STREET LINE
The dividing line between the street and the lot. The street line shall be the same as the future right-of-way width as established with the Official Map.
STRUCTURE
A combining of materials assembled, constructed, or erected at a fixed location, including a building, the use of which requires location on the ground or attachment to something having location on the ground.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE
Damage from any cause sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would be equal or exceed 50% or more of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the "start of construction" of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred "substantial damage" regardless of the actual repair work performed. This term does not, however, include either:
A. 
Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or
B. 
Any alteration of an historic structure, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as an historic structure.
TAVERN
Establishment which serves alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption and which is licensed by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
TERMINAL
Railway station, bus station or terminal, or heliport.
TRACT
Contiguous or single properties in single ownership at the time of submission for a zoning permit or subdivision and/or land development plan application. The area of the tract is the area provided for in the deed as verified by field survey. The area may include any non-fee-simple rights-of-way or easements within or adjacent to the "tract."
TRAVEL TRAILER
A vehicle designed for human habitation and designed as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreation, vacation, and other short term uses.
TRAVEL TRAILER CAMP
A lot or part thereof occupied or designed for occupancy by one or more travel trailers or travel units.
TRUCK SALES
Truck and heavy equipment repair and sales.
TRUCK TERMINAL
The use of land and/or structures for the storage of trucks and for the transfer of freight from one truck to another.
USE
A. 
USEAny activity, occupation, business, or operation carried on or intended to be carried on in a building or other structure or on a tract of land.
B. 
USE, ACCESSORYA use located on the same lot with a principal use, and clearly incidental or subordinate to, and customary in connection with, the principal use.
C. 
USE, PRINCIPALThe main use on a lot.
UTILITIES
A. 
Those services customarily rendered by public utility corporations, municipalities, or municipal authorities, in the nature of electricity, gas, telephone, water, and sewage, including the appurtenances used in connection with the supplying of such services (building, wires, pipes, poles, and the like).
B. 
Transformer station, pumping station, relay station, towers (transmission or relay), substations, switching center, sewage treatment plant, and similar or related installation, not including public incinerators and public or private landfills.
VEHICULAR TRACK OR COURSE
A recreational facility that provides a motor powered vehicle to a patron, for a fee, to drive on a track or course that is located on the premises. For the purposes of this use, a motor powered vehicle is a motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle (three- or four-wheeled), go-cart, or other vehicle with two, three, or four wheels of a similar nature. These vehicles are usually designed to accommodate only one person.
VETERINARY
Office of a veterinarian with accessory animal kennel. In no event shall animal kennels be allowed as a primary use.
WATER
A. 
PUBLIC WATERWater brought in pipes from a central water source. It is municipally owned, and may supply either a subdivision, development, or large areas of the Township.
B. 
ON-LOT WATERWater supplied to a building from an individual well on the lot on which the building is located.
C. 
CENTRAL WATERWater brought in pipes from a central water source. It is privately owned.
WHOLESALE BUSINESS, WHOLESALE STORAGE, WAREHOUSING
Wholesale business, wholesale storage or warehousing, excluding retail sales.
YARD
A. 
YARDAn open space unobstructed from the ground up, on the same lot with a structure, extending along a lot line or street line and inward to the structure. The size of a required yard shall be measured as the shortest distance between the structure and a lot line or street line.
B. 
YARD, FRONTA yard between a structure and its fronting street line and extending the entire length of the street line. In the case of a corner lot, the yards extending along all streets are front yards. The front yard is measured to the ultimate right-of-way.
C. 
YARD, REARA yard between a structure and a rear lot line and extending the entire length of the rear lot line.
D. 
YARD, SIDEA yard between a structure and a 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 shape, any yard that is not a front yard or a rear yard shall be considered a side yard.
[1]
Editor’s Note: The former definition of “community/group home,” which immediately followed this definition, was repealed by Ord. 2017-02, 3/28/2017.
[2]
Editor's Note: The former definition of "principal," which immediately followed this definition, was repealed 3/12/2009 by Ord. 2009-02.