[Amended 6-8-1993 by Ord. No. 864]
A.
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.
B.
For the purpose of this chapter words and terms used
herein shall be interpreted as follows:
(1)
Words used in the present tense include the future.
(2)
The singular includes the plural.
(3)
The word "person" includes a corporation, partnership,
and association as well as the individual.
(4)
The word "lot" includes the word "plot" or "parcel."
(5)
The term "shall" is always mandatory.
(6)
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."
(7)
The word "Council" or the words "Borough Council"
always mean the Morrisville Borough Council.
(8)
The word "Board," unless otherwise indicated, or the
words "Zoning Hearing Board" always mean the Morrisville Borough Zoning
Hearing Board.
(9)
The word "Commission" or the words "Planning Commission"
always mean the Morrisville Borough Planning Commission.
(10)
The word "engineer," unless otherwise indicated, or
the words "Borough Engineer" always mean the registered professional
engineer designated by the Morrisville Borough Council.
C.
Any word or term not defined herein shall be used
with a meaning of standard usage.
[Amended 6-8-1993 by Ord. No. 864; 6-10-1997 by Ord. No.
885]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
See "building, accessory."
See "use, accessory."
An establishment having a substantial or significant portion
exceeding 30% of square footage of floor space of its stock and trade
in, or an establishment which, as one of its principal business purposes
offers for sale, books, films, sexually related paraphernalia, videocassettes
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.
[Added 2-16-1999 by Ord. No. 899]
[Added 2-16-1999 by Ord. No.
899]
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.
A live performance, display or dance of any
type, which has any 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 to
appear unclothed or appearing unclothed; pantomiming, modeling or
any other personal services offered customers of a specified sexual
activity.
[Added 2-16-1999 by Ord. No.
899; amended 5-21-2007 by Ord. No. 958]
The term includes, without limitation, the following
establishments when operated for profit, whether direct or indirect:
Adult bookstores.
Adult motion-picture theaters.
Adult entertainment.
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.
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.
The term "booths, cubicles, rooms, studios,
compartments or stalls," for purposes of defining adult-oriented establishments,
does not mean enclosures which are private offices used by the owner,
manager or persons employed on the premises for attending to the tasks
of their employment, and which are not held out to the public for
the purpose of viewing motion pictures or other entertainment for
a fee, and which are not open to any persons other than employees.
An enclosed building with any size capacity of 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.
[Added 2-16-1999 by Ord. No. 899]
Any and all persons, including independent contractors, who
work in or at or render any service directly related to the operations
of an adult oriented establishment.
[Added 2-16-1999 by Ord. No. 899]
A person, partnership, limited partnership, trust, limited
liability company, unincorporated association, business trust, or
any other association or corporation operating, conducting or maintaining
an adult oriented establishment.
[Added 2-16-1999 by Ord. No. 899]
A right-of-way which provides secondary service access for
vehicles to the side or rear of abutting properties.
As applied to a building or structure, a change or rearrangement
in the structural parts, or an enlargement, whether by extending on
a side or by increasing in height, or the moving from one location
or position to another.
A device used to collect or transmit telecommunication or
radio signals, including panels, microwave dishes and single poles
known as "whips."
ATTICThe space between the ceiling beams of the top habitable story and the roof rafters.
ATTIC, HABITABLEAn attic which has a stairway as a means of access and egress and in which the ceiling area at a height of 7 1/3 feet above the attic floor is no less than 100 square feet. Attic walls shall be no less than 4 1/2 feet high.
[Amended 10-18-2004 by Ord. No. 943]
 |
A story partly underground, but having 1/2 or more of its
height (measured from floor to ceiling) below the average level of
the adjoining ground. See also "cellar," "habitable floor," and "story."
[Amended 10-18-2004 by Ord. No. 943]
A residential structure occupied by a resident innkeeper or manager for the temporary lodging of guests for compensation and providing those guests such lodging services as maid service and accessory eating facilities for the serving of meals, subject to the additional regulations in §§ 465-17 and 465-18.
[Added 10-18-2004 by Ord. No. 943]
Any body granted jurisdiction under a land use ordinance
or under this chapter to render final adjudications.
See "roomer, boarder or lodger."
See "rooming, boarding or lodging house."
An area along the full length of a lot line (except where such would conflict with clear sight triangles as required by § 465-28) landscaped with grass, ground cover, shrubs, trees and/or flowering perennial plants, intended to serve as a visual screen and a barrier to glare and noise.
[Added 10-18-2004 by Ord. No. 943]
A structure having a roof which is used for the shelter or
enclosure of persons, animals or property. The word "building" shall
include any part thereof.
A subordinate building located on the same lot as a principal
building. Any portion of a principal building devoted or intended
to be devoted to an accessory use is not an accessory building. Attached
garages and carports are not accessory buildings.
[Amended 10-18-2004 by Ord. No. 943]
A building in which is conducted, or is intended to be conducted,
the principal use of the lot on which it is located.
BUILDING AREAThe aggregate of the maximum horizontal areas of all buildings on a lot, excluding cornices, unroofed porches, paved terraces, exterior steps, eaves and gutters.
BUILDING AREA COVERAGEThe percentage of the lot area covered by the building area.
A vertical distance measured from the mean elevation of the
proposed finished grade at the street side of the building to the
highest point of the roof for flat roofs, to the deck lines of mansard
and gambrel roofs, and to the mean height between eaves and ridge
for gable and hip roofs.
 |
The rear line of the minimum front yard, as herein designated,
for each district measured from the future right-of-way. On a curved
street the building setback line is a line measured so as to be parallel
at all points to the future right-of-way.
An open or sheltered terminal for loading and unloading bus
passengers.
[Added 11-20-2006 by Ord. No. 954]
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. See "basement," "habitable floor," and "story."[1]
An ownership arrangement and not a land use, therefore it
is allowed in any district and under the same restrictions as the
residential land use that comprises it.
Any combustible or explosive composition or any substance
or combination of substances intended to produce visible and/or audible
effects by combustion and which is suitable for use by the public
that complies with the construction, performance, composition and
labeling requirements promulgated by the Consumer Products Safety
Commission in 16 CFR (relating to commercial practices) or any successor
regulation and which complies with the provisions for consumer fireworks,
as defined in the American Pyrotechnics Association (APA) Standard
87-1, or any successor standard. The term does not include devices
such as ground and handheld sparkling devices, novelties and toy caps.
[Added 11-21-2005 by Ord. No. 948]
A small commercial building that is typically located on
the corner of two intersecting streets, which is typically in the
range of 600 to 800 square feet, in which the sale of retail items
is offered for the convenience of the neighborhood. The corner store
typically serves persons within a 10-minute walk of the facility.
[Added 10-17-2005 by Ord. No. 947]
An amendment to this chapter which, when adopted
by the Borough Council, cures a substantive defect.
An administrative proceeding involving a challenge, on substantive grounds, to the validity of this chapter or map. A curative amendment is a formal proceeding during which the affected landowner petitions the Borough Council by presenting an amendment to this chapter which will cure the alleged defect, together with a written request for a hearing, a short statement outlining the issues and grounds for the challenge, and plans describing the use or development proposed by the landowner. The Borough Council shall hear the arguments and decide the merits of the petition. The proceeding shall be conducted in accordance with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, § 609.1, and this chapter, § 465-72.
Final adjudication of any board or other body granted jurisdiction
under any land use ordinance or this chapter to do so, either by reason
of the grant of exclusive jurisdiction or by reason of appeals from
determinations. All decisions shall be appealable to the court of
common pleas of the county and judicial district wherein the Borough
lies.
A measure of the number of dwelling units per unit of area.
It shall be expressed in dwelling units per acre. There are 43,560
square feet per acre of land.
Final action by an officer, body or agency charged with the
administration of any land use ordinance or applications thereunder,
except the following:
The Borough Council;
The Zoning Hearing Board; or,
The Planning Commission, only if and to the
extent the Planning Commission is charged with final decision on preliminary
or final plans under the subdivision and land development or planned
residential development ordinances. Determinations shall be appealable
only to the boards designated as having jurisdiction for such appeal.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to, buildings or other structures, the placement
of mobile homes, streets, and other paving, utilities, filling, grading,
excavation, mining, dredging, or drilling operations and the subdivision
of land.
Defined as more fully set forth in 27 CFR 555.11 (Meaning
of terms), which is incorporated herein by reference.
[Added 11-21-2005 by Ord. No. 948]
A building occupied by and maintained exclusively for the
residence of faculty, students or other such persons affiliated with
a school, church, recreational or educational facility or other recognized
institution, and regulated by such institution.
A building containing one or more dwelling units.
Any 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.
A grant for the use of a parcel of land by the public, a
corporation, or a person, for a specified purpose.
Any electronically actuated device or inhaler meant to simulate
cigarette smoking that uses a heating element to vaporize a liquid
solution, popularly referred to as "juice," and that causes the user
to exhale any smoke, vapor, or substance other than that produced
by unenhanced human exhalation. The juice used in e-cigarettes typically
contains nicotine, and for this reason, e-cigarettes and their juice
can be classified as both tobacco products and tobacco paraphernalia.
[Added 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1038]
A person who provides entertainment with an adult-oriented
establishment, whether or not a fee is charged or accepted for entertainment
and whether or not entertainment is provided as an employee or an
independent contractor.
[Added 2-16-1999 by Ord. No. 899]
[Amended 3-19-2012 by Ord. No. 992; 11-19-2012 by Ord. No. 994; 10-19-2020 by Ord. No. 1030; 8-16-2021 by Ord. No. 1035]
Any number of individuals related by birth, marriage, adoption
or guardianship or not more than three unrelated individuals living
together on a nontransient basis as a single housekeeping unit and
having the same access to common use areas, without any additional
roomers, boarders, lodgers, tenants or subtenants. The definition
of family shall not apply to the occupants of a club, fraternity house,
lodge or residential club.
Notwithstanding the definition in the preceding subsection,
a family shall also be deemed to include any number of persons with
a disability occupying a dwelling unit as a single, nonprofit housekeeping
unit, if such occupants are persons with a disability as defined in
Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968,[2] as amended by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. Such unrelated individuals shall have the right to occupy a dwelling unit in the same manner and to the same extent as any family unit as defined in Subsection A of this definition.
Any composition or device for the purpose of producing a
visible or an audible effect for entertainment purposes by combustion,
deflagration or detonation that meets the definition of 1.4G fireworks
or 1.3G fireworks as set forth in the 2003 International Fire Code.
[Added 11-21-2005 by Ord. No. 948]
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
A flood that, on the average, has a 1% chance of occurring
in any given year; for the purposes of this chapter, the "regulatory
flood."
The flood which has been selected to serve as the basis upon
which the floodplain management provisions of this and other ordinances
have been prepared; for the purposes of this chapter, the "one-hundred-year
flood."
The one-hundred-year flood elevation.
The line which represents the one-hundred-year flood.
A relatively flat or low-lying area usually adjoining a stream
or watercourse which is subject to partial or complete inundation;
(2) an area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff
of surface waters from any source; and (3) for the purpose of this
chapter the one-hundred-year floodplain as delineated by the most
recent Flood Insurance Study.
The area of land which is likely to be inundated during a
one-hundred-year flood.
The designated area of a floodplain required to carry and
discharge flood waters of a given magnitude. For the purpose of this
chapter, the floodway shall be capable of accommodating a flood of
the one-hundred-year magnitude.
That portion of the floodplain which can be regarded as suitable
to accommodate limited building construction without significant effect
upon one-hundred-year flood elevations.
The line which represents the limits of the floodway.
The sum of the areas of the several floors of a building
structure including areas used for human occupancy, basements, attics,
and penthouses as measured from the exterior faces of the walls. It
does not include cellars, unenclosed porches, attics not used for
human occupancy, or any floor space in accessory buildings or in the
main building intended and designed for the parking of motor vehicles
in order to meet the parking requirements of this chapter, or any
such floor space intended and designed for accessory heating and ventilating
equipment.
The floor area less the total area of all common areas including,
but not limited to, hallways, rest rooms, storage rooms, elevators,
and utility rooms.
A measure of the intensity of land use, as determined by
dividing the floor area by the site area.
A business establishment processing and packaging foods for
human consumption and certain related products, including:
Bakery products, sugar and confectionery products (except facilities
that produce goods only for on-site sales with no wider distribution;
Dairy products processing;
Fats and oil products (not including rendering plants);
Fruit and vegetable canning, preserving, and related processing;
Grain mill products and by-products; and
Meat, poultry, and seafood packaging and by-product processing
(not including facilities that also slaughter animals.
[Added 6-19-2017 by Ord.
No. 1016]
Areas, groves or stands of mature or largely mature trees,
greater than eight inches caliper, consisting of 10 individual trees
covering an area of 1/4 of an acre or more.
[Added 10-18-2004 by Ord. No. 943]
DETACHED GARAGEA subordinate accessory building on the same lot as the principal residential dwelling intended for the purpose of meeting the off-street parking requirements, sheltering vehicles for use by the legal occupant.
ATTACHED GARAGEAttached to and a part of the principal residential dwelling and not considered an accessory building.
The open space to be used for active or passive recreation,
community gardens, or resource protection, all of which shall be deed
restricted against future development, and subject to landscaping
in accordance with a landscape plan. Green space areas shall be usable,
easily identifiable and freely accessible to all residents and inhabitants.
[Added 10-17-2005 by Ord. No. 947]
See "attic, habitable."
Any basement which meets the criteria for habitable space,
which has a stairway as a means of ingress and egress, and in which
the ceiling area at a height of 7-1/3 feet above the basement floor
is no less than 100 square feet.
Any floor usable for living purposes which includes sleeping,
eating, cooking, recreation, or any combination thereof. A floor used
only for storage purposes is not a "habitable floor."
Space in a structure for living, sleeping, eating, or cooking.
Bathrooms, toilet compartments, closets, halls, storage or utility
space, and similar areas are not considered habitable space.
Any establishment that is dedicated, in whole or in part,
to the smoking of a water pipe with a smoke chamber, a bowl, a pipe
and a hose, commonly referred to as a "hookah," and also known as
a "narghile," "argileh," "shisha," "hubble-bubble" and "goza," or
any similar device.
[Added 8-16-2021 by Ord. No. 1035]
Those surfaces that do not absorb rain. All buildings, parking
areas, driveways, roads and sidewalks, whether paved or not, patios,
storage or garden sheds on concrete slabs, and any areas in concrete
and asphalt shall be considered impervious surfaces within this definition.
In addition, other areas determined by the Borough Engineer to be
impervious within the meaning of this definition will also be classified
as impervious surfaces.
[Amended 10-18-2004 by Ord. No. 943]
A measure of the intensity of use of a tract of land. It
is measured by dividing the total area of all impervious surfaces
within the site by the site area.
Of lesser importance, dependent and secondary to primary
structure or use.
[Added 10-18-2004 by Ord. No. 943]
An employee of Morrisville Borough's Department of Inspections
and Permits authorized and designated by the director of the department,
an employee of Morrisville Borough's Police Department authorized
by the commanding officer of the Police Department or other persons
designated by the Council of Morrisville to inspect premises regulated
under this chapter, to cooperate in taking the required actions authorized
by this chapter where violations are found on a premises and to request
correction of unsatisfactory conditions found on a premises.
[Added 2-16-1999 by Ord. No. 899]
Any building, yard, enclosure, premises, lot or grounds used
for the keeping, raising, selling, breeding or boarding of four or
more dogs, more than six months of age, not including household pets.
[Added 10-18-2004 by Ord. No. 943]
An area landscaped with grass, ground cover, shrubs, trees
and/or flowering perennial plants placed where required by this chapter
and permanently maintained.
[Added 10-18-2004 by Ord. No. 943]
See "use."
Natural or artificial bodies of water which retain water
year-round. Artificial ponds and lakes may be created by dams or may
result from excavation. The shoreline of such water bodies shall be
measured from the maximum condition rather than from the permanent
pool if there is any difference. For the purposes of this chapter,
a lake shall be any such water body 2.5 acres or larger and a pond
shall be all other bodies of water. This definition shall not include
industrial waste lagoons.
A combination of a dwelling unit and business space, such
as a shop or office that is open to the public for retail trade or
personal or professional services. Live-work units as provided in
the RN use is a form of the use "dwelling in combination" as otherwise
provided.
[Added 10-17-2005 by Ord. No. 947]
See "roomer, boarder or lodger."
See "rooming," boarding or lodging house."
A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by
a plat or otherwise as permitted by law and to be used, developed
or built upon as a unit.
LOT OF RECORDA lot which has been recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
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 intersects at an angle of less than 135°.
TRIANGULAR LOTA lot having three lot lines, but which does not qualify as a corner lot.
THROUGH LOTAn interior lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets.
DEPTH OF LOTThe mean distance from the right-of-way line of the lot to its opposite rear line measured in a direction parallel to the side lines of the lot. Lot depth for triangular lots shall be the mean distance from the street line to the point of intersection of the side yards.
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 side lot line and the opposite rear lot line or street line.
Any boundary line of a lot.
LOT LINE, STREETThe dividing line between the street and the lot. The street lot line shall be the same as the legal right-of-way; provided, where a future right-of-way width for a road or street has been established, that width shall determine the location of the street lot line.
LOT LINE, SIDEAny lot line which is not a street lot line or a rear lot line. In the case of a triangular lot those lot, lines other than the street lot line shall be considered side lot lines.
LOT LINE, REARAny lot line which is parallel to or within 45° of being parallel to a street lot line, except for a lot line that is itself a street lot 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 not street lot lines is to be considered a rear lot line. In the case of a lot having no street frontage or a lot of an odd shape, only the one lot line farthest from any street shall be considered a rear lot line. Where there is only one lot line other than street lot lines, it shall be considered the rear lot line.
 |
See "wetlands and marshes."
A person under 18 years of age.
[Added 2-16-1999 by Ord. No. 899]
A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent
occupancy, contained in one unit or in two or more units designed
to be joined into one integral unit capable of again being separated
for repeated towing, 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.
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.
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which has been so
designated and improved that it contains two or more mobile home lots
for the placement thereon of mobile homes.
A building or a group of buildings for the accommodation
of transient guests, containing guest rooms for rent.
A body politic and corporate created pursuant to the Act
of May 2, 1945 (P.L. 382, No. 164), known as the "Municipalities Authority
Act of 1945."
Land intended to be left in a natural state. Natural lands
do not include land developed for active recreational uses, such as
parks or playgrounds with play equipment, pavilions, or athletic fields,
nor does it include land occupied by buildings, roads, or road rights-of-way,
building yards or lots, or parking areas.
[Added 6-17-2002 by Ord. No. 920]
Any private or public establishment that allows people to
gather for the purposes of listening to music, dancing or other social
interaction.
[Added 8-16-2021 by Ord. No. 1035]
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.
[Added 10-18-2004 by Ord. No. 943]
The sound level generated by any operation, land use, or
human activity.
CONTINUOUS NOISEAny noise which is steady state, fluctuating, or intermittent with a recurrence greater than one time in any one hour interval.
IMPULSIVE NOISEAny noise of short duration with an abrupt onset and rapid decay and an occurrence of not more than one time in any one hour interval.
A lot the area or dimension of which was lawful prior to
the adoption or amendment of this chapter, but which fails to conform
to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located
by reason of such adoption or amendment.
A structure or part of a structure manifestly not designed
to comply with the use or extent of use provisions of this chapter
or amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such structure
lawfully existed prior to the enactment of this chapter or amendment
or prior to the application of this chapter or amendment to its location
by reason of annexation. Such nonconforming structures include, but
are not limited to, nonconforming signs.
A use, whether of land or of structure, which does not comply
with the applicable use provisions in this chapter or amendment heretofore
or hereafter enacted, where such use was lawfully in existence prior
to the enactment of this chapter or amendment, or prior to the application
of this chapter or amendment to its location by reason of annexation.
Articles of trade having amusement value and whose appeal
is often transitory, excluding consumer fireworks, display fireworks,
fireworks classified as either Class C common fireworks or 1.4G fireworks
or 1.3G fireworks.
[Added 11-21-2005 by Ord. No. 948]
Land used for recreation, resource protection amenity, or buffers, is freely accessible to all residents, and is protected by the provisions of this chapter and Chapter 390, Subdivision and Land Development, to ensure that it remains in such uses. Open space does not include land occupied by buildings, roads, or road rights-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 may 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.
A measure of the intensity of land use. It is arrived at
by dividing the total amount of open space within the site by the
site area.
See "lakes and ponds."
Includes:
Parks, playgrounds, trails, paths and other
recreational areas and other public areas;
Sites for schools, sewage treatment, refuse
disposal and other publicly owned or operated facilities; and,
Publicly owned or operated scenic and historic
sites.
Publicly owned or operated natural lands.
[Added 6-17-2002 by Ord. No. 920]
A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the Borough
Council or Planning Commission, intended to inform and obtain public
comment, prior to taking action in accordance with this chapter.
A forum held pursuant to notice under the Act of July 3,
1986 (P.L. 388, No. 84), known as the "Sunshine Act," 53 P.S. § 271
et seq.
Notice published once each week for two successive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Borough. Such notice
shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature
of the matter to be considered at the hearing. The first publication
shall not be more than 30 days and the second publication shall not
be less than seven days from the date of the hearing.
An open or sheltered terminal for loading and unloading of
train passengers.
[Added 11-20-2006 by Ord. No. 954]
Any letter, review, memorandum, compilation or similar writing
made by any body, board, officer or consultant other than a solicitor
to any other body, board, officer or consultant for the purpose of
assisting the recipient of such report in the rendering of any decision
or determination. All reports shall be deemed recommendatory and advisory
only and shall not be binding upon the recipient, board, officer,
body or agency, nor shall any appeal lie therefrom. Any report used,
received or considered by the body, board, officer or agency rendering
a determination or decision shall be made available for inspection
to the applicant and all other parties to any proceeding upon request,
and copies thereof shall be provided at cost of reproduction.
Land set aside for use as a street, alley, or other means
of travel.
EXISTING RIGHT-OF-WAYThe legal right-of-way as established by the Commonwealth or other appropriate governing authority and currently in existence.
FUTURE RIGHT-OF-WAYThe right-of-way deemed necessary by the Morrisville Borough Comprehensive Plan as appropriate to provide adequate width for future use.
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 a room
or rooms and paying such compensation without prearrangement 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).
A building or part of a building (other than an institutional
building) occupied or intended to be occupied by two or more roomers,
boarders, or lodgers.
The term does not include any of the following:
[Added 2-16-1999 by Ord. No. 899]
Medical publications or films or bona fide educational
publications or films.
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.
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.
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.
The occupancy of a dwelling unit or portion thereof, situated
in a residential district, and not built as a hotel or motel, which
is offered for temporary rental occupancy by transients.
[Added 11-18-2019 by Ord. No. 1026]
The ownership of a parcel or tract of land by one or more
persons, partnerships, or corporations, which ownership is separate
and distinct from that of any adjoining parcel or tract of land.
A parcel or parcels of land intended to have one or more
buildings or intended to be subdivided into one or more lots.
The site area is determined by subtracting from the total
site area the land area of existing and future road and utility rights-of-way,
land area which is not contiguous or cut from the parcel by road or
railroad, or land area shown in previous subdivisions or land development
plans as reserved from development for natural resources reasons such
as floodplain lands.
Any premises having more than 250 square feet dedicated to
the delivery, display, distribution, furnishing, marketing, offering
and/or sale of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco or
other tobacco products and paraphernalia.
[Added 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1038]
[Added 2-16-1999 by Ord. No.
899]
The term includes any of the following:
[Added 2-16-1999 by Ord. No. 899]
That part of a building located between a floor and the floor
or roof next above. The first story of a building is the lowest story
having 50% or more of its height and at least four feet of its wall
area above finished grade level. A basement, as defined, shall be
counted as a story. An attic, as defined, shall be counted as a story
only if it meets the requirements for a habitable attic.
Includes street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, freeway,
parkway, lane, alley, viaduct or any other ways used or intended to
be used by vehicular traffic or pedestrians whether public or private.
Refers to all the elements that constitute the physical makeup
of a street or avenue and that, as a group, delineate its character.
A streetscape includes building frontage, street paving and furniture,
street tree planting, lighting and signage.
[Added 10-17-2005 by Ord. No. 947]
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land
by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions
of land including changes in existing lot lines for the purpose, whether
immediate or future, of lease, partition by the court for distribution
to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership or building or lot development:
Provided, however, that the subdivision by lease of land for agricultural
purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres, not involving any new
street or easement of access or any residential dwelling, shall be
exempted.
Placed in and being secondary and auxiliary to primary structure
or use.
[Added 10-18-2004 by Ord. No. 943]
Any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure,
the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the
structure either (a) before the improvement or repair is started,
or (b) if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before
the damage occurred. For the purposes of this definition, "substantial
improvement" is considered to occur when the first alteration of any
wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of the building commences,
whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of
the structure. The term does not, however, include either (1) any
project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing State
or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which are
solely necessary to assure safe living conditions or (2) any alteration
of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places
or a State Inventory of Historic Places.
The building in which electronic receiving, relay or transmitting
equipment for a telecommunications facility is housed.
The equipment and structures involved in receiving or transmitting
telecommunication or radio signals.
Any preparation of the nicotine-rich leaves of the tobacco
plant, which are cured by a process of drying and fermentation for
use in smoking, chewing, absorbing, dissolving, inhaling, snorting,
sniffing, or ingesting by any other means into the body.
[Added 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1038]
Any paraphernalia, equipment, device, or instrument that
is primarily designed or manufactured for the smoking, chewing, absorbing,
dissolving, inhaling, snorting, sniffing, or ingesting by any other
means into the body of tobacco, tobacco products, or other controlled
substances as defined in the Pennsylvania Controlled Substance, Drug,
Device and Cosmetic Act, 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(33).
[Added 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1038]
Any product in leaf, flake, plug, liquid, or any other form,
containing nicotine derived from the tobacco plant or otherwise derived,
which is intended to enable human consumption of the tobacco or nicotine
in the product, whether smoked, chewed, absorbed, dissolved, inhaled,
snorted, sniffed, or ingested by any other means. For the purposes
of this section, the term "tobacco product" excludes any product that
has been specifically approved by the United States Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) for sale as a tobacco/smoking cessation product
or for other medical purposes, where such product is marketed and
sold solely for such an approved purpose.
[Added 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1038]
See "smoke shop."
[Added 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. 1038]
A structure that is intended to support equipment used to
transmit and/or receive telecommunication or radio signals, including
monopoles and lattice construction steel structures.
A vehicular portable structure built on a chassis designed
as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreation, vacation, and other
short-term uses having a body width and length not exceeding Pennsylvania
State requirements.
An area that is radial to the trunk of a tree in which no
construction activity shall occur. The tree protection zone shall
be 15 feet from the trunk of the tree to be retained, or the distance
from the trunk to the dripline, whichever is greater. 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.
 |
Any 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.
A use located on the same lot with a principal use and clearly
incidental or subordinate to, and customarily in connection with,
the principal use.
Walls opposite to and parallel with one another or wall lines
extending opposite walls which intersect at angles of less than 65°.
Areas where water stands for more than 30 days of the year
and where characteristic vegetation has become established.
An open space unobstructed from the ground up, on the same
lot with a structure, extending along a lot 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 exclusive of overhanging
eaves, gutters or cornices.
A yard between a structure and a street lot line and extending
the entire length of the street lot line. In the case of a corner
lot, the yards extending along all streets are front yards. In the
case of a lot other than a corner lot that fronts on more than one
street, the yards extending along all streets are front yards.
A 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.
A yard between the principal structure and a rear lot line and extending the entire length of the rear lot line. In the case of a corner lot the owner shall have the opportunity to choose which of the two yards (other than the front yards) is the rear yard. In the case of an odd shaped lot where all yards but one are front yards, the remaining yard shall be considered a rear yard. See § 465-31 for alternate rear yard option.
