[Ord. 2013-01, 2/11/2013]
An ordinance establishing regulations, specifications, and restrictions
for the uses of land, watercourses and other bodies of water, the
size, height, bulk, location, erection, construction, repair, maintenance,
alteration, razing, removal, and use of structures; the areas and
dimensions of land and bodies of water to be occupied by uses and
structures including areas, courts, yards and other open spaces, and
distances to be left unoccupied by uses and structures; and the density
of population, intensity of land uses, and protection and preservation
of natural resources and agricultural land and activities, in the
Township of Douglass, Berks County, Pennsylvania, and for said purposes
dividing the Township into districts and prescribing certain uniform
regulations for each such district and providing for the administrative
enforcement and amendment provisions in accordance with the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended, 53 P.S. § 10101
et seq.
[Ord. 2013-01, 2/11/2013]
This chapter shall be known as, and may be cited as, the "Douglass
Township Zoning Ordinance of 2013."
[Ord. 2013-01, 2/11/2013]
1.
This chapter has been adopted in accordance with the requirements
of Act 247 (Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code), as amended,
53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.; with the goals, objectives and
policies established within the Douglass Township Comprehensive Plan
Update (1988); and with consideration for the character of the Township
and its capacity to accommodate growth and development. In addition
to implementing the Douglass Township Comprehensive Plan Update, the
purpose of this chapter is designed:
A.
To promote, protect and facilitate one or more of the following:
the public health, safety, morals, general welfare, coordinated and
practical community development, proper density of population, civil
defense, disaster evacuation, airports and national defense facilities,
the provisions of adequate light and air, police protection, vehicle
parking and loading space, transportation, water, sewage, schools,
public grounds, and other public requirements, as well.
B.
To prevent one or more of the following: overcrowding of land, blight,
danger and congestion in travel and transportation, loss of health,
life, or property from fire, flood, panic, or other dangers.
C.
To preserve prime agriculture lands and active farmland considering
topography, soil type and classification, and present land use.
D.
To identify, protect, and preserve the physical and environmental
amenities within the Township.
E.
Encourage aesthetic and innovative residential growth within the
Township that will meet the needs of existing and future residents.
F.
Encourage commercial and industrial development that is adequate
to meet the Township's needs for employment, goods and services.
G.
Ensure through planning that public facilities and controls are adequate
to accommodate future growth.
H.
To provide for a system of open space through the preservation of
floodplains, steep slopes, wooded areas and farmlands, providing areas
for passive and active recreation.
I.
Promote, encourage, and practice energy conservation within the Township.
J.
Provide and establish a transportation network that safely and efficiently
circulates people and goods throughout and within the Township.
K.
Ensure the provision of a safe, reliable, and adequate water supply
for domestic, commercial, agricultural, or industrial use, and other
public requirements.
L.
Ensure the preservation of the natural, scenic, and historic values
in the environment and preservation of forests, wetlands, aquifers,
and floodplains.
M.
To provide for the use of land within the municipality for residential
housing of various dwelling types encompassing all basic forms of
housing, including single-family and two-family dwellings, and a reasonable
range of multifamily dwellings in various arrangements, mobile homes
and mobile home parks; provided, however, that no zoning ordinance
shall be deemed invalid for the failure to provide for any other specific
dwelling type.
[Ord. 2013-01, 2/11/2013]
Except as hereinafter provided, no building, structure, land,
or parts thereof, and or watercourse and other bodies of water in
Douglass Township shall be used or occupied, erected, constructed,
assembled, moved, enlarged, reconstructed, or structurally altered
unless in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.
[Ord. 2013-01, 2/11/2013]
This chapter applies to public utility corporations unless,
as provided by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended
from time to time, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission determines
that a building of the public utility corporation is reasonably necessary
for the convenience or welfare of the public, then such building shall
be exempt from this chapter.
[Ord. 2013-01, 2/11/2013]
In interpreting and applying the provisions of this chapter,
they shall be held to be the minimum requirements adopted for the
promotion of the public health and safety and the general welfare
of the residents and occupants of the Township. Where the provisions
of this chapter impose greater restrictions than those of any other
Township statute, ordinance, or regulation, the provisions of this
chapter the lesser restrictive provision shall prevail. Where the
provisions of any other Township statute, ordinance, or regulations
impose greater restrictions than this chapter, the less restrictive
provisions shall prevail.
[Ord. 2013-01, 2/11/2013]
This chapter attempts to emulate through its regulations the
goals and objectives of the Douglass Township Comprehensive Plan.
These regulations have been established with considerations to the
Township's physical characteristics, population trends, housing
characteristics, existing land use characteristics, community facilities
and services, and existing transportation characteristics. The regulations
established in this chapter reflect and portray the goals, objectives,
and policies of the functional components of the adopted Comprehensive
Plan.
