These rules and regulations shall be known and
may be cited as the "Lower Merion Township Natural Features Conservation
Code."
A.
These regulations are intended to protect the rights
of the residents of Lower Merion Township to enjoy clean air, pure
water and the natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic values of the
environment, as set forth in the Pennsylvania Constitution and in
other commonwealth and federal statutes. In particular, it is the
Township's purpose, through this chapter, to conserve the following
natural features:
(1)
Natural features identified as land or water resource
areas, e.g., groundwater recharge zones, springs, streams, wetlands,
woodlands, prime wildlife habitats and areas constituting high recreational
and other amenity value which exist on developed or undeveloped land.
(2)
Natural features performing beneficial ambient air
quality or microclimatic functions, e.g., by abating glare and noise,
entrapping dust and other particulates and contributing to the reduction
of climatic stress and energy costs.
(3)
Natural features which, if disturbed, may cause hazards
or stress to life, property and the natural environment, e.g., steep
slopes and floodplains.
B.
Under the authority of the First Class Township Code,
the Municipalities Planning Code, as amended,[1] the Pennsylvania Constitution and other commonwealth and
federal statutes, and in recognition of the fact that its natural
features contribute to the welfare of its residents, the Township
has enacted these regulations to provide reasonable controls governing
the conservation, disturbance and management of such natural features.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 55101
et seq. and 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq., respectively.
C.
No provision of these regulations shall be construed
to deny the right of any property owner to use his land as may be
permitted by the Township's land use codes. Rather, it is the purpose
of these regulations to ensure that such uses minimize disturbances
to natural features and that reasonable measures are taken to mitigate
any adverse impacts of such uses. Property owners may use their land
as permitted in the Township's land use codes, provided that the regulations
enclosed herein are also adhered to.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A measure of the levels of population in the air and the
potential for any adverse effects on public health in the environment.
A designated area between two uses named incompatible with
each other or along the perimeter of a natural feature to be protected
from an incompatible use or along the perimeter of that use, which
will absorb or otherwise preclude such incompatibility and shall be
permanently maintained.
The planned management of a natural feature to prevent its
exploitation, destruction or neglect.
The diameter of a tree at breast height, measured 4.5 feet
from the ground surface.
A generally circular line, the circumference of which is
determined by the outer reaches of a tree's widest branching points.
A land disturbance not primarily associated with increases
in impervious surface, e.g., agriculture, logging, quarrying.
Any physical action which may jeopardize the health and longevity
of a natural feature.
An area with one or more of the following characteristics:
Slopes in excess of 15%.
Floodplains.
Soils classified as having a high water table.
Soils classified as highly erodible, subject
to erosion, or having a shallow depth to bedrock.
Wetlands or other sensitive estuaries.
Stream corridors, aquifer recharge areas, springs
or other surface and groundwater resource areas.
Prime wildlife habitat.
Significant geologic formations.
Land incapable of meeting percolation requirements.
Mature stands of native vegetation.
Replenishment of geologic structures and rock or soil interstices
which have the capacity to store water.
A line of plants that may occur naturally where seeds collect
and are left undisturbed, such as along fence lines, property lines
or between fields or that is specially planted, e.g., to act as a
windbreak.
Soils which in their natural, undrained state are wet frequently
enough at or near the surface to periodically produce anaerobic conditions,
thereby influencing plant species composition and/or growth on such
soils.
Those plants which are adapted to life in saturated soil
conditions.
The addition of features to the land which enhance a particular
site from the standpoint of, e.g., noise abatement, recreational enjoyment,
wildlife preservation, visual amenity, etc. Such improvements might
include plantings, pathways, patios and fences.
To reduce to the smallest amount possible using best management
practices. "Minimize" shall not mean complete elimination but shall
require the most substantial efforts possible under the circumstances
have been taken to reduce the adverse effect of the action required
to be minimized. With respect to activities, the conduct of which
is adverse to the conservation of the natural features of land, the
requirement to minimize shall include but not be limited to the requirement
that the placement of dwellings and other structures and the location
of roads, sedimentation and erosion control devices and earthmoving
activities shall be planned and designed so as to permit the adverse
effect of the activity in question to be reduced to the smallest amount
possible under circumstances consistent with the otherwise permitted
development.
Any action taken to lessen the specified undesirable impacts
of a proposed land use or land disturbance activity, including those
of which would adversely affect the health or longevity of a natural
feature, pose a visual intrusion or conflict or otherwise be deemed
incompatible with surrounding properties.
A component of a landscape existing or maintained as a part of the natural environment and having ecological value in contributing beneficially to air quality, erosion control, groundwater recharge, noise abatement, visual amenities, growth of wildlife, human recreation, reduction of climatic stress and energy costs. Such features include those which, if disturbed, may cause hazards or stress to life, property and the natural environment. Examples of such components include those identified in § 101-2A(1), (2) and (3).
Any undesired audible sound.
Rights of passage for the public dedicated in a publicly
recorded document.
[Added 4-15-1992 by Ord. No. 3280]
Those soils in which the groundwater surface is within one
foot of the ground surface at certain times of the year, according
to the Soil Survey of Montgomery County, United States Department
of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, and/or determined by on-site
investigation.
The removal of single, scattered, mature trees or other trees
from unevenly aged tree stands to preserve and enhance healthy woodlands.
Any activity which causes land on a given site to be exposed
to the danger of erosion, including removal of vegetation, clearing,
grading, filling, plowing and other types of earthmoving.
A specifically selected plant considered worthy of conservation
by the Township because of species, size, shape, form, historical
importance or any other significant characteristic; particularly as
applied to trees over 20 inches dbh.
A natural channel or other low-lying stretch of land which
collects or carries surface water runoff.
A publicly or privately held right-of-way created or maintained
for nonvehicular passage over private property.
The distance from the trunk to the tree dripline, in which
no construction activity shall occur. Where there is a group of trees
or woodlands, the tree protection zone shall be the aggregate of the
protection zones for the individual trees.
[Added 7-19-2023 by Ord. No. 4276]
Any mechanical device in, upon or by which any person or
property is or may be transported or driven.
The relative ability to see a given object from a designated
location.
UNOBSTRUCTEDThe ability to see most or all of the object, specifically, where more than 80% of the object is visible.
FILTEREDThe ability to see some of the object; specifically, where 20% to 80% of the object is visible.
HIDDENThe ability to see little or none of the object; specifically, where less than 20% of the object is visible.
Any type of visible feature which the observer finds attractive
or pleasing to the eye.
Those areas inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater
at a frequency and duration sufficient to support and that under normal
circumstances do support a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted
for life in saturated soil conditions; or as further defined and delineated
by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Environmental
Protection Agency or the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection.
A community of plants that provide food, water, cover, nesting
and foraging or feeding conditions necessary to maintain population
of animals.
An area characterized by a more or less dense and extensive
tree cover; more particularly, a plant community predominantly of
healthy trees and other woody vegetation, well-stocked and growing
more or less closely together.
Any lot having more than one viable tree of a caliper of
six inches or greater.
[Amended 5-18-2022 by Ord. No. 4245]
