[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Harrisburg 7-8-2014 by Ord. No. 5-2014.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
CROSS REFERENCES
Fire Prevention Code — see Title 3, Subchapter
900.
Noise — see Chapter 3-343.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Part Three,
7-300, composed of Ord. Nos. 112-1964, 17-1965, 79-1965, 13-1974,
29-1974, 30-1974, 13-1977, 26-1977, 19-1985, 6-1988, 25-1993, 26-1995,
10-1996, 61-1996 and 3-2012, as amended.
The purpose of this chapter is to provide standards for noise,
lighting, hazardous waste, vibration, and other related items in order
to reduce the impact of these items on adjacent properties and public
health and safety.
A.
All uses and activities in all zoning districts shall comply with
the environmental performance standards in this chapter.
B.
The Zoning Officer may require an applicant to provide written descriptions
of proposed hazardous and toxic substances, operations, and safeguards.
C.
City permits under this Code are issued conditioned upon compliance
with applicable federal and state laws regarding the issuance of permits.
Failure to comply with such federal and state permits on a substantive
matter shall be sufficient reason for suspension or withdrawal of
a City permit under this Code.
A.
No land or structures shall be used in any way that seriously threatens
or causes a significant hazard to public health and safety because
of serious explosive, fire, biological, biogenetic, or toxic hazards.
B.
General types of toxic, biological, electrical, and other significant
hazards involving stationary outdoor machinery and storage shall be
marked with signs.
C.
Fencing or walls that are reasonably adequate to discourage access
by small children shall be used around stationary hazardous outdoor
machinery or storage. However, the City of Harrisburg does not accept
responsibility to identify any such potential hazards.
If a portion of a site is proposed to be altered or drained
and may possibly meet the state or federal definitions of a "wetland,"
the Zoning Officer may require the applicant to provide a study by
a qualified professional delineating the locations of wetlands. However,
the City accepts no responsibility to identify any wetlands or to
warn parties of such possibilities.
A.
Any construction of a new principal building or a new parking lot
on land with an existing natural slope of over 25% over a horizontal
area greater than 1,000 square feet shall require a review by the
Zoning Officer and City Engineer. As part of such review, the applicant
shall:
(1)
Show that existing trees and other vegetation will be preserved
to the maximum reasonable extent, or be immediately replaced by new
trees and other vegetation, while avoiding excessive coverage by impervious
surfaces;
(2)
Submit a plan showing that stormwater runoff will be properly
controlled;
(3)
Submit and carry out a detailed soil erosion and sedimentation
control plan; which shall be submitted in advance for review and acceptance
by the Dauphin County Conservation District and the City; and
(4)
Submit a detailed grading plan.
A.
To minimize noise impacts, commercial, industrial, or institutional
outdoor machinery that could create a noise nuisance shall be placed
towards a side of a building that does not face an abutting existing
dwelling, residential district, school, or other noise sensitive use.
No use shall generate vibration that is perceptible to an average
person through his/her senses, without the use of measuring instruments,
on private property beyond the exterior lot line of the use generating
the vibration. This requirement shall not apply to necessary activities
during on-site construction of streets, structures, and utilities.
No use shall generate odors or dust that are significantly offensive
to persons of average sensitivities beyond the boundaries of the subject
lot, except for dust routinely generated as part of construction of
structures, streets, or other improvements.
A.
This section shall not apply to streetlighting that is owned, financed,
or maintained by the City or the state.
B.
No luminaire, spotlight, or other light source that is within 200
feet of a dwelling or residential district shall be placed at a height
exceeding 25 feet above the average surrounding ground level. This
limitation shall not apply to lights needed for air safety nor lights
intended solely to illuminate an architectural feature of a building
or to light a publicly owned recreation facility.
C.
Any exterior light source shall not cause light spillover onto residential
properties in excess of 0.5 horizontal footcandle when measured by
a hand-held NIST-certified light meter at the property line on the
ground surface.
D.
All light sources, including signs, shall be properly diffused as
needed with a translucent or similar cover to prevent the lighting
element from being directly visible from streets, public sidewalks,
dwellings, or adjacent lots. Three or more bare incandescent light
bulbs of 40 watts or greater shall not be hung along a public street
or an abutting property.
E.
All light sources, including signs, shall be shielded around the
light source and carefully directed and placed to prevent the lighting
from creating a nuisance to residents in adjacent dwellings or undeveloped
residentially zoned areas and to prevent the lighting from shining
into the eyes of passing motorists.
F.
Flashing, flickering, and strobe lighting are prohibited, except
for nonadvertising seasonal holiday lights.
G.
The Zoning Officer may require a lighting study to be performed by
a qualified professional.
A.
Each City permit is granted on the condition that the permit is in
full compliance with state erosion and sedimentation regulations.
The Zoning Officer may require the submittal of an erosion and sedimentation
control plan with review by the Dauphin County Conservation District
wherever soil will be disturbed. Failure to comply with such regulations
or plan shall be cause for suspension of City permits.
B.
Slopes that have the serious threat of instability, in the determination
of the City Engineer, shall not be created. The Zoning Officer may
require applicants to provide certification from a professional engineer
that finished slopes greater than 4:1 will be stable.
C.
Grading, fill, dumping of clean fill, excavation, or movement of
materials shall be completed to avoid an unsightly appearance and
to prevent interference with drainage, streets, or utilities. Any
fill placed on a site shall be leveled off and properly sloped within
three months of placement, except for soil stockpile areas shown on
an approved erosion and sedimentation control plan.
A.
Outdoor storage for commercial and industrial uses shall not occupy
any part of any of the following: the existing or future street right-of-way,
sidewalk, or other area intended or designed for pedestrian use, buffer
yard, required parking area, or required planting strip.
B.
No such storage shall occur on areas with a slope in excess of 25%
or within the one-hundred-year floodplain.
C.
Outdoor storage is prohibited in the Downtown Center, Commercial
Neighborhood, and Riverfront Zoning Districts.
D.
All outdoor storage shall be screened.
E.
Temporary displays of commercial products on public sidewalks must
maintain a minimum clearance of five feet and must be removed at end
of each business day.
F.
The storage of 250 or less used tires on a lot shall only be permitted
as part of an approved solid waste disposal use or junkyard. Each
stack of used tires shall be a maximum of 20 feet high, and cover
a maximum area of 100 square feet. Each stack shall be separated from
other stacks by a minimum of 75 feet. A maximum of 250 tires may be
stored on a lot out of doors. Where tire storage is also regulated
by the state, whichever specific City or state regulations are more
restrictive upon the applicant shall apply.
A.
Any newly placed solid waste dumpster shall be enclosed on three
of four sides (not including the side it is to be emptied from) as
needed to screen the dumpster from view from public streets and primarily
residential uses on abutting lots. The solid waste dumpster shall
be adequately enclosed and covered to prevent the attraction of rodents
and insects.
B.
A solid weather-resistant wooden fence, decorative masonry wall,
or structure designed to be architecturally compatible with the principal
building shall be used for such enclosure. The enclosure shall not
exceed a height of six feet and shall include a self-latching door
or gate. The location of all dumpsters shall be indicated on site
plans and land development plans.
C.
Any solid waste dumpster with a capacity of over 15 cubic feet shall
be kept a minimum of 15 feet from any dwelling unit.
D.
The Zoning Officer may require any use that involves the sale of
ready-to-eat food for consumption outside of a building to provide
at least one outdoor solid waste receptacle at a convenient location
outside of the main exit door of the property for customer use. The
operator of such use shall be responsible for regular emptying and
maintenance of such receptacle as well as the surrounding area.
Any development on land adjacent to parcels zoned as Open Space
Recreation (OSR) will be required to demonstrate that the development
will have no adverse impact on the Open Space Recreation District,
including the public's access to, use, and enjoyment of the OSR
District.
Chapters 7-701 and 1-305 shall apply.
