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City of Coatesville, PA
Chester County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
This Zoning Chapter has been enacted to:
A. 
Promote, protect and facilitate any or all of the following: the public health, safety, morals and the general welfare; coordinated and practical community development and proper density of population; emergency management preparedness and operations; the provisions of adequate light and air; access to incident solar energy; police protection, vehicle parking and loading space, transportation, water, sewerage, schools, recreational facilities, public grounds, the provision of safe, reliable and adequate water supply for domestic, commercial, agricultural or industrial use and other public requirements; as well as preservation of the natural, scenic and historic values in the environment and preservation of forests, wetlands, aquifers and floodplains.
B. 
Prevent 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. 
Provide for the use of land within the City 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.
D. 
Accommodate reasonable overall community growth, including population and employment growth, and opportunities for development of a variety of residential dwelling types and nonresidential uses.
To achieve the purpose set forth in § 224-1 above, the City of Coatesville has established a set of community development objectives. The provisions of this Zoning Chapter are based on these objectives, which are listed below, as well as the goals of the City of Coatesville Comprehensive Plan (1986) and the Open Space, Recreation and Environmental Resources Plan (1993). The objectives are to:
A. 
Provide for the orderly growth and development of the City by regulating the intensity and location of development in accordance with environmental and land use compatibility and the availability of existing and planned utilities and services.
B. 
Encourage the maintenance, enhancement and rehabilitation of existing buildings, neighborhoods and dwellings, especially within the Coatesville Historic District.
C. 
Provide a variety of housing types and intensities, compatible and harmonious with available road access and utilities.
D. 
Promote retail commercial uses in the central business areas.
E. 
Maintain existing institutional uses for various educational, cultural and recreational pursuits.
F. 
Maintain a safe and efficient street system and encourage the improvement of streets, circulation and parking areas.
G. 
Promote the maintenance, development and restoration of the circulation systems for walking and hiking.
H. 
Protect physical and biological resources associated with streams, floodplain areas, steep slopes, woodlands and other related resources.
I. 
Encourage the maintenance of existing community facilities and services to address mass transit, education, safety, health and leisure needs and promote the provision of services to meet recreational, fire, police and other safety and emergency protection needs.
J. 
Encourage the maintenance and conservation of existing utility systems to service present users and the development of additional supplies and capacities to serve future users.
K. 
Promote energy conservation and the effective utilization of renewable energy sources by recycling of discarded materials.
A. 
In interpreting and applying the provisions of this chapter, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety and general welfare.
B. 
Where the provisions of this chapter impose greater restrictions than those of any statute, other ordinance or regulation, the provisions of this chapter shall be controlling. Where the provisions of any statute, other ordinance or regulation impose greater restrictions than this chapter, the provisions of such statute, other ordinance or regulation shall be controlling.
C. 
The goals of the City of Coatesville Comprehensive Plan and the Open Space, Recreation and Environmental Resources Plan as well as the community development objectives in § 224-2 shall guide the interpretation, administration and application of this chapter.
A. 
From and after the effective date of this chapter, the use of all land and every building or portion of a building erected, altered with respect to height or area, added to or relocated and every use hereafter established within a building or use accessory thereto, in the City of Coatesville, shall be in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.
B. 
Any building or structure and any use of building or land existing on the effective date of this chapter which is not in conformity herewith may be continued, extended or changed only in accordance with the regulations herein contained relating to nonconforming buildings and uses.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Coatesville Zoning Ordinance of 1995."
This chapter shall not apply to any existing or proposed building, or extension thereof, used or to be used by a public utility corporation, if, upon petition of the corporation, the Pennsylvania Utility Commission shall, after a public hearing, decide that the present or proposed situation of the building in question is reasonably necessary for the convenience or welfare of the public.