[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Lower Gwynedd 9-26-2017 by Ord.
No. 515. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Off-street parking and loading — See Ch. 1294.
In a MT Mass Transit District, the following regulations set
forth in this chapter shall apply. No regulations set forth in this
chapter shall, or shall be deemed to, supersede or otherwise impair
the application of any federal or commonwealth statute, rule, regulation
or other applicable law to which the operator of a mass transit system
shall be subject nor shall they be applied retroactively to existing
conditions as of the date of adoption of this chapter. The linear
lands or continuous narrow strips of land on which the transporting
occurs also referred to as the "railroad right-of-way" are exempt
from these regulations.
In a MT Mass Transit Overlay District, a building may be erected
or used, and a lot may be used or occupied, for any of the following
purposes:
(a)
Transporting multiple members of the general public over predetermined
routes as part of the mass transportation activities of a public transportation
authority.
(b)
Support services to the transportation function including parking
lots, signs, platforms, storage, ticket offices or facilities, stations,
traffic control devices and the like.
(c)
When authorized as a conditional use pursuant to Section 1298.07, existing mass transit facilities or buildings hereafter constructed within the MT Mass Transit Overlay District may be repurposed for uses not related to the mass transit operation, provided the proposed use is permitted in the underlying zoning district and parking facilities required pursuant to Chapter 1294 are provided.
(d)
General and professional offices.
(e)
Mixed use - residential and offices.
(f)
Restaurant or cafe, excluding drive through.
(a)
Minimum Lot Area. In a MT Mass Transit Overlay District a lot area
of not less than 15,000 square feet shall be provided.
(a)
Buildings and structures shall be set back from all property lines
a minimum of 30 feet, provided that for purposes of this section:
i) all platforms at which passengers may assemble while waiting to
embark upon a mass transit vehicle; and ii) all enclosures or equipment
necessary for the operation of a mass transit system shall not be
considered buildings or structures, notwithstanding anything to the
contrary set forth in this chapter or this Zoning Ordinance.
(b)
Parking spaces shall be set back from all property lines a minimum
of five feet.
(c)
All equipment enclosures shall be set back from all property lines
a minimum of five feet.
(a)
Building Coverage. In a MT Mass Transit Overlay District the total
building coverage shall not exceed 30% based upon the area of the
occupied parcel, exclusive of any linear lands (continuous narrow
strips of land on which the transporting occurs).
(b)
Impervious Coverage. In a MT Mass Transit Overlay District the total
impervious coverage shall not exceed 85%, exclusive of any linear
lands.
The maximum height for any building erected or enlarged in the
MT Mass Transit Overlay District shall not exceed 34 feet.
(a)
Regulatory, information and identification signs related to the mass
transit operation shall be permitted by right.
(b)
Landscaping. Landscape buffering shall be provided between parking
lots at mass transit regional rail stations or other permitted overlay
uses and immediately adjacent properties used for single-family residential
purposes so as to provide a suitable and effective barrier to separate
such parking lots from immediately adjacent properties used for single-family
residential purposes. Fencing (other than chain-link fencing) may
be used in conjunction with landscaping to provide such a barrier.
Solid barrier fencing may be used in lieu of landscaping.
(c)
Utilities. All new structures erected after the enactment of this
chapter in the MT Mass Transit Overlay District shall be served by
public sewer and public water, if the applicable code or ordinance
otherwise requires that such structures be served by public sewer
and public water and all new utilities shall be underground; provided,
however, that the foregoing shall not require that any structures,
wires, guy wires, cables, catenary poles, or similar equipment associated
with transportation functions be located underground.
(d)
Site Lighting. Exterior lighting fixtures shall be placed not higher
than 20 feet above grade. Unless otherwise permitted by the Board
of Supervisors, lighting shall be controlled by automatic switching
devices to allow for dimming not earlier than one hour following departure
of the last mass transit vehicle on a given day, and not later than
one hour before the scheduled arrival of the first mass transit vehicle
on a given day. Occupancy sensors to control lighting levels are permitted
and allowed without the above-stated restriction on hours. Lighting
shall be appropriately shielded and shall not create a nuisance or
intrusion to the privacy of adjacent property owners or the public.
Illumination shall be shielded so that the source of light shall not
be visible from any point off the premises on which the sign, building
or structure is located.
