For the purpose of this chapter:
A.Â
Words
used in the present tense shall include the future.
B.Â
The singular
number shall include the plural and the plural shall include the singular.
C.Â
The masculine
shall include the feminine and the neuter.
D.Â
The word
"shall" is always mandatory.
E.Â
The word
"building" includes "structure" and shall be construed as if followed
by the words "or any part thereof."
F.Â
The phrase
"used for" includes "arranged for," "person" includes an individual,
corporation, partnership, incorporated association, or any other legal
entity.
G.Â
The word
"includes" or "including" shall not limit the term to the specified
example, but is intended to extend its meaning to all other instances
of like kind and character.
H.Â
Except
as defined within this chapter, all words and phrases shall have their
normal meanings and usage.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A subordinate building, incidental to, and located on the
same lot as, the principal building, and used for an accessory use.
A use incidental to, and subordinate to and located on the
same lot occupied by the principal use to which it relates.
Businesses selling goods or services to a substantially agricultural
clientele, including: feed mills, seed sales, feed grinding services,
and agricultural implement dealers.
Any agricultural use, including farming, dairying, pasturage,
agriculture, aquaculture, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture,
horse keeping, animal and poultry husbandry, and forestry (including
the harvesting of timber), but excluding specialized animal raising
and care or dog kennels as defined by this chapter. Agriculture also
includes the home sale of fruits, meats, vegetables and similar agricultural
produce. Animal raising for personal use is permitted in accordance
with the following:
The minimum lot area shall be 1Â 1/2 acres
in size;
One hooved animal shall be allowed per acre
on lots under 10 acres;[1]
The land area used by the animals shall be completely
enclosed by a fence located up to but not on the property line;
Stable facilities must be separate from dwellings
and located not closer than 50 feet from the property line;
Household pets are not included in this definition.
Area of a lot or site shall be calculated from dimensions
derived by horizontal projections of the site.
A floor level completely below grade or floor level in which
more than 2/3 of the perimeter walls are below grade. A wall shall
be considered below grade where the dimension from the first floor
line to the finished grade is five feet or less, and the slope of
the finished grade extending 10 feet from the building walls does
not exceed 30°.
A single-family residence offering, for pay, overnight or
short-term lodging and breakfast for transient guests. This includes
rooming houses.
A sign that identifies or communicates a commercial or noncommercial
message related to an activity conducted, a service rendered, or a
commodity sold at a location other than where the sign is located.
A roofed structure, whether or not enclosed by walls, to
be used for the shelter, enclosure or protection of persons, goods,
materials or animals.
Imaginary line parallel to or concentric with the nearest
road right-of-way line. No portion of a building foundation or wall
may extend nearer the lot line than the required front yard depth.
Any business activity that renders service to other commercial
or industrial enterprises.
A portion of a road street or highway actually intended for
vehicular travel.
An area of land and/or a structure with machine- or hand-operated
facilities used principally for the cleaning, washing, polishing,
or waxing of motor vehicles.
Land used or intended to be used for the burial of the dead
and dedicated for cemetery purposes, including columbariums, crematories,
mausoleums, and mortuaries when operated in conjunction with and within
the boundaries of such cemetery.
A place of religious instruction or public worship.
A facility that offers various indoor recreational opportunities
for its patrons (paying or nonpaying), including such games as pool,
billiards, bowling, video games, and similar pursuits.
A facility which offers various or outdoor recreational or
spectator opportunities for its patrons (paying or nonpaying), including
go-cart raceways, paintball areas, commercial outdoor shooting ranges,
auto raceways, concerts and music parks, and similar pursuits.
A use to be allowed or denied by the Board of Supervisors
pursuant to public notice and hearing and recommendations by the Girard
Township Planning Commission and pursuant to the express standards
and criteria set forth in this chapter. In allowing a conditional
use, the Board of Supervisors may attach such reasonable conditions
and safeguards, in addition to those expressed in this chapter, as
it may deem necessary to implement the purposes of the Planning Code
and of this chapter.
A building or group of buildings in which the floor area
is owned individually and other parts of structures, common areas,
or facilities are owned proportionally or by a separate entity, or
similar arrangements regulated by the Uniform Pennsylvania Condominium
Act (68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq.).[2]
The construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, extension,
expansion, alteration or relocation of a building or structure, including
the placement of mobile homes.
The percentage of a lot covered by buildings, structures,
parking lots, driveways, or similar impervious surfaces, measured
as square feet divided into lot area.
Provides out-of-home care for part of a twenty-four-hour
day to children under 16 years of age, excluding care provided by
relatives and excluding day care furnished in places of worship during
religious services. This chapter identifies three levels of day-care
services for children:
FAMILY DAY-CARE HOMESFacilities in which child day care is provided at any one time to four, five, or six children who are not relatives of the care giver.
GROUP DAY-CARE HOMESFacilities in which care is provided for more than six but less than 12 children, at any one time, where the child-care areas are being used as a family residence. (Care of one to 12 children where the child-care areas are not used as a family residence will be considered a day-care center.)
DAY-CARE CENTERSFacilities in which care is provided for seven or more children, at any one time, where the child-care areas are not used as a family residence.
Child care for less than four children will
not be considered as day-care services. Day care for adults shall
be considered substantially the same use, and shall be classified
based upon the number of persons for whom care is provided.
Any facilities identified and licensed as a kennel by the
laws or regulations of Pennsylvania. Dog kennels shall be considered
by this chapter as a form of specialized animal raising and care.
A building arranged, intended, designed or used as the living
quarters for one or more families living independently of each other
upon the premises The term "dwelling" shall not be deemed to include
"hotel" or "motel." There shall be no more than one dwelling per lot.
SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLINGA building containing only one dwelling unit.
TWO-FAMILY DWELLINGA building containing two dwelling units, collectively defined under this chapter as a duplex, regardless of configuration.
MULTIFAMILY DWELLINGA building containing three or more dwelling units, including apartment houses, townhouses, flats, and garden apartments.
DETACHED DWELLINGA dwelling with yards on all four sides.
A building or portion thereof containing one or more rooms
for living purposes together with separate and exclusive cooking and
sanitary facilities, accessible from the outdoors either directly
or through an entrance hall shared with other dwelling units, and
used or intended to be used by one family.
A business establishment whose principal business is the
selling of unpackaged food to the customer in a ready-to-consume state.
The erection, construction, alteration or maintenance by
public utilities or municipal or other governmental agencies of underground
or overhead gas, electrical, steam or water transmission or distribution
systems, including poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers, pipes conduit
cables, fire alarm boxes, police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants,
and other similar equipment and accessories in connection therewith,
reasonably necessary for the furnishing of adequate services by such
public utilities or municipal or other governmental agencies or for
the public health and safety or general welfare, but not including
buildings.
Businesses involved in the sale, rental, or servicing of
motor vehicles or machinery not necessarily intended for registration,
licensing, and travel on highways, including those used for agriculture,
forestry, and construction.
An individual, or two or more persons related by blood, marriage,
adoption or foster child care, including domestic servants or gratuitous
guests thereof, or a group of not more than four unrelated persons
living together without supervision in a dwelling unit; or any number
of persons protected by the provisions of the Fair Housing Act (42
U.S.C. § 3601 et. seq., as now or hereafter amended) living
together in a group living arrangement with supervision, provided
those persons do not have a criminal record. Family shall not include
persons living together in a group home, assisted living facility,
or nursing home, as defined herein, or any other supervised group
living arrangement for persons other than those protected by the Fair
Housing Act or persons who constitute a direct threat to others or
their physical property.
A business which leases outdoor space to persons who wish
to vend a variety of new and used goods for sale to the general public
by displaying those goods on tables, in or on motor vehicles, or on
the ground.
The sum of the gross area of the several floors of a building
or buildings measured from the face of the exterior walls, or from
the center line of the walls separating two buildings.
An area of land, together with any structure thereon used
for the retail sale of motor fuel and lubricants and incidental services,
such as lubrication and washing of motor vehicles, and the sale, installation
or minor repairs of tires, batteries or other automobile accessories.
Land for playing the sport of golf, consisting of a minimum
of nine holes, but excluding miniature golf, par-three golf, pitch
and putt, and similar golf-associated activities except as accessory
uses on a golf course.
The total floor area for which the tenant pays rent and that
is designed for the tenant's occupancy and exclusive use.
A transitional residential facility, licensed and operated
by a government or social service agency, that provides a supervised
environment to residents who require psychiatric, correctional or
behavioral treatment between periods of institutional and independent
living.
The vertical distance measured from the highest level of
finished grade along all the exterior walls of the building to the
highest point of the roof and to the highest point on any structure
which rises wholly or partly above the roof.
A form of light manufacturing conducted as accessory to a
home or farm by an owner or occupant.
A personal or professional service carried on entirely within
a dwelling, by the owner or occupants thereof, which use is clearly
incidental and subordinate to the use of the dwelling for dwelling
purposes and does not change the residential character thereof. Examples
include, but are not limited to: professional services, such as legal,
financial, accounting or engineers, barbershops and beauty shops,
studios of artists, writers and associations. (See "professional office.")
An institution providing health services primarily for human
in-patient medical or surgical care for the sick or injured and including
related facilities such as laboratories, out-patient departments,
training facilities, central services facilities and staff offices
that are an integral part of the facilities.
The manufacture, storage, processing, and treatment of materials
which are potentially hazardous, or processes which produce significant
amounts of smoke, noise, glare, or dust or odor as a primary or secondary
effect of the principal use of the land or buildings. Heavy industries
include, but are not limited to, foundries, blast furnaces, rolling,
or stamping mills, smelting or ore facilities and similar primary
metal processes; petroleum, gas or natural gas distillation or bulk
storage facilities; power plants for the production of electricity
(whether by wind, natural gas, coal, other combustibles, or cogeneration);
storage facilities for manufacture explosives, acid, and fertilizer;
manufacturing processes involving hides or offal; cement manufacturing
facilities; washing and gravel separation; lime manufacturing, chemical
treatment of wood or production of fiberboard, or plywood, and similar
uses.
Manufacturing in which there are no significant impacts from
noise, dust or odor, and impacts are limited to secondary effects
related to vehicular traffic, incidental noise, movement of materials.
Light industries include, but are not limited to: food processing;
wood products manufacturing (without chemical treatment); production
of machine tools and similar metalworking; manufacturing of plastic
products; laboratories, testing and research facilities; printing;
pharmaceuticals production; and similar facilities for assembling
and fabricating.
Any discarded material or article, and shall include, but
not be limited to, scrap metal, scrapped or abandoned motor vehicles,
machinery, equipment, paper, glass, containers and structures. It
shall not include, however, refuse or garbage kept in a proper container
for the purpose of prompt disposal. For the purpose of this chapter,
a "proper container" shall mean a solid plastic or metal container,
with a sealable lid, specifically designed for the storage of waste
matter.
Any place where any junk is stored, disposed of, or accumulated.
This definition shall include recycling centers, recycling yards,
and salvage businesses and the storage of four vehicles lacking current
inspection or registration for a period exceeding 10 days. However,
it does not include municipal recycling centers where no materials
are stored in an exterior environment.
Small-scale retail enterprises intended to benefit neighborhood
residents or tourists. Limited retail businesses are distinguished
from other retail businesses by smaller size (less than 5,000 square
feet gross floor area).[3]
A tract or parcel of land, regardless of size, held in single
or joint ownership, which is occupied or capable of being occupied
by buildings, structures, and accessory buildings, including such
open spaces as are arranged, designed or required. The term "lot"
shall also mean "parcel," "plot," "site," or similar term.
A lot at the point of intersection of and abutting on two
or more intersecting streets.
Any line dividing a lot from another lot or from an abutting
street or other right-of-way.
A building consisting of individual, small, self-contained
units that are leased or owned for the storage of business and household
goods or contractors supplies.
A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent
occupancy, contained in one 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 of land under single ownership which has been planned
and improved for the placement of mobile homes for nontransient use,
consisting of two or more mobile home lots.
A building or group of detached or connected buildings designed
or used primarily for providing sleeping accommodations for automobile
travelers and having a parking space adjacent to a sleeping room.
The definition includes hotels, motor lodges and similar uses.
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.
The business or commercial activity must satisfy
the following requirements:
The business activity shall be compatible with
the residential use of the property and surrounding residential uses.
The business shall employ no employees other
than family members residing in the dwelling.
There shall be no display or sale of retail
goods and no stockpiling or inventory of a substantial nature.
There shall be no outside appearance of a business
use, including, but not limited to, parking signs or lights.
The business activity may not use any equipment
or process which creates noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors, or
electrical interference, including interference with radio or television
reception, which is detectable in the neighborhood.
The business activity may not generate any solid
waste or sewage discharge, in volume or type, which is not normally
associated with residential use in the neighborhood.
The business activity shall be conducted only
within the dwelling and may not occupy more than 25% of the habitable
floor area.
The business may not involve any illegal activity.
If the business meets all such requirements,
it shall be considered a lawful accessory use to a dwelling.
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 reasons of such adoption or amendment.
A structure or part of a structure manifestly not designed
to comply with the applicable use or extent of use provisions of this
chapter or an amendment 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 structure, which does not comply
with the applicable use provisions of this chapter or amendment 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.
A facility to give long-term skilled care to geriatric or
handicapped patients and licensed as such a facility by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
An open space with a dustless all-weather surface, or space
in a private garage or other structure, with an effective length of
at least 20 feet and a uniform width of at least 10 feet for the storage
of one automobile and accessible from a public way.
A level area at finished grade, surfaced with concrete, stone,
or brick, immediately adjacent to a structure. Patios shall not require
a Township building permit unless they are furnished with an overhead
roof, railings, or are more than three inches above the surrounding
finished grade.
A facility giving geriatric care in a home-like setting and
licensed as such by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Any enterprise conducted for man which primarily offers services
to the general public, such as: shoe repair, valet services, watch
repairing and related activities.
An area of land, controlled by a landowner, to be developed
as a single entity for a number of dwelling units, or combination
of residential and nonresidential uses, the development plan for which
does not correspond in lot size, bulk, type of dwelling, or use, density,
or intensity, lot coverage and required open space to the regulations
established in any one district created, from time to time, under
the provisions of a municipal zoning.
The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247 of
1968, as reenacted and amended by Act No. 170 of 1988 and Acts 67
and 68 of 2000, and as further amended from time to time.[4]
The office or studio of a physician, surgeon, dentist, lawyer,
architect, artist, engineer, certified public accountant, real estate
broker or salesman, insurance broker or agent, musician, teacher,
barber shop, cosmetologist or similar occupation.
Parks and playgrounds that are owned and operated by the
Township of Girard or by an authority created for such purposes by
the Township of Girard or any government agency.
An area or tract of land on which accommodations for temporary
occupancy are located or may be placed, including cabins, tents, and
recreational vehicles.
A building designed and used for the storage, care, repair
or refinishing of motor vehicles or engines, including both minor
and major mechanical overhauling, paint, and body work.
The portion of a road, street or highway that includes the
entire area in which the body granted the right-of-way may conduct
activities to maintain travel.
An accessory to an agricultural business through which products
primarily from that agriculture business are sold to the general public
from a temporary or portable structure, or a permanent structure not
exceeding 1,000 square feet.
A dwelling having five or more sleeping rooms for rent to
persons not related to its other occupants. The term "rooming house"
includes the term "boardinghouse."
A disposal site employing an engineering method of disposing
of solid wastes in a manner that minimizes environmental hazards by
spreading, compacting to the smallest volume, and applying cover material
over all exposed waste at the end of each operating day.
SCREENING
A fence, screen planting, or wall provided in such a way
that it will block a line of sight.
An evergreen hedge at least six feet high at time of planting,
planted in such a way that it will block a line of sight. The screening
may consist of either one or multiple rows of bushes or trees and
shall be at least four feet wide. It shall be the responsibility of
the property owner to maintain a screen planting, replacing trees
as needed. The Zoning Administrator may require replacement of screening
trees.
Buildings and premises where the primary use is the supply
and dispensing at retail of motor fuels, lubricants, batteries, tires
and motor vehicles.
Businesses that require a license and meet the definitions contained in Chapter 67, Adult Uses, of the Code of the Township of Girard.
A commercial facility developed as a mixture of uses, including
retail sales, theaters, personal services and eating and drinking
places, but planned, constructed, managed or promoted as an integral
whole.
Any freestanding structure, or attachment to
a building, wall, or other outdoor surface, or any device or part
thereof, which displays or includes any letter, word, model or other
representations used for announcement, direction, advertisement or
identification. The word "sign" includes the word "billboard," but
does not include the flag, pennant, or insignia of any nation, state,
city or other political unit, nor public traffic or directional signs,
nor religious or devotional displays. (See also "billboard.")[5]
The area of a sign shall be construed to include
all lettering, wording, and accompanying designs and symbols, together
with the background, which is incidental to the display itself. Where
the sign consists of individual letters or symbols attached to or
painted on a surface, the area shall be considered the smallest rectangle
which can be drawn to encompass all of the letters and symbols.
A sign that directs attention to a business, profession or
industry conducted on the premises or to products sold, manufactured
or assembled upon the same premises upon which it is displayed.
Includes:
Feed lots or similar institutions where cattle,
sheep, goats, or swine are maintained in close quarters for the purpose
of fattening such livestock for final shipment to market, when the
density exceeds one animal unit per acre.
Pens or structures for the raising and care
of fur-bearing animals, game birds, or similar operations for profit,
when the density exceeds one animal unit per acre.
Licensed kennels or kennels with five or more
canines per acre of greater than six months of age.
For the purposes of this definition, "animal
unit" shall be defined as one bovine or equine animal, two swine,
four sheep or goats, or 50 birds or small mammals.
A use permitted with special permission granted by the Zoning
Hearing Board to occupy or use land and/or a building for specific
purposes in accordance with the criteria set forth in this chapter,
when such use is not permitted by right.
That portion of a building located between the surface of
any floor and the next floor above, if there is not more than one
floor the space between any floor and the ceiling next above it shall
be considered a story.
A public or private right-of-way, excluding driveways, intended
for use as a means of vehicular and pedestrian circulation, which
provides a means of access to abutting property. The word "street"
includes thoroughfare, avenue, boulevard, court, drive, expressway,
highway, lane, alley and road or similar terms.
A line defining the right-of-way boundaries of a street.
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
The lawfully constituted governing body of Girard Township,
elected at large by the citizens and sworn into office.
A business that stores or maintains stocks of building materials
such as block, brick, stone, plastic pipe, culverts, concrete or wood
in an outdoor setting for sale to contractors or the general public.
Land used for private off-road purposes for recreational
and/or competitive motorized vehicle, ATV, motorcycle, go cart and
mud racer activities. Land use activities of these types shall include
a soil retention plan for each activity by the Erie County Conservation
District as deemed applicable by the Supervisors.[6]
A self-propelled or towed vehicle with sleeping and or cooking
quarters licensed, or intended to be licensed, for travel on the highways
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
See "dwelling."
Land and buildings used as a relay station for the transfer
of a load from one vehicle to another or one party to another. The
terminal cannot be used for permanent or long-term accessory storage
for principal land uses at other locations. The terminal facility
may include storage areas for trucks and buildings or areas for the
repair of trucks associated with the terminal.
A facility used for the treatment of domestic animals for
pay with health treatment provided by a licensed veterinarian.
A use engaged in storage, wholesale, and distribution of
manufactured products, supplies, and equipment, but excluding bulk
storage of materials that are inflammable or explosive or that create
hazardous or commonly recognized offensive conditions. For the purpose
of this chapter, storage of explosive, inflammable, hazardous or community-recognized
offensive conditions shall be considered heavy industry.
That portion of a lot that is unoccupied and open to the
sky and extends from the lot line or right-of-way to the setback line.
A yard between an adjacent right-of-way and the building
line and extending for the full width of the lot.
A yard between the rear lot line and a line drawn parallel
thereto at such distance as may be specified herein for any zoning
district, and extending for the full width of the lot.
An open yard space between the side lot line and parallel
thereto extending from the front lot line to the rear lot line.
The Zoning Officer of the Township of Girard, or his/her
authorized representative.
A permit issued by the Zoning Administrator evidencing that
a structure is in compliance with this chapter.
[4]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
