Allentown City Zoning Code
§ 28-10.8
Supplementary Zoning Provisions.
[Added 4-20-2021 by Ord. No. 03-2021; amended 7-6-2021 by Ord. No. 06-2021]
a.
One Principal Building Permitted. No lot shall have erected upon it more than one principal residential building with the exception of the Historic Business District (HB-D) zone. No yard or other open space provided around any building for the purpose of complying with the provisions of this chapter shall be considered to provide a yard or open space for any other building.
b.
Accessory Buildings. An accessory building attached to a principal building shall comply in all respects with the yard requirements of this chapter for the principal building. Detached accessory buildings shall be located to the rear of the front building line of the principal building and if located in a side yard area, shall conform to the side yard requirements of the schedule.
c.
Frontage on Public Street Required. Every principal building shall be built upon a lot with frontage on a public street improved to meet the Borough of Allentown or Monmouth County requirements or for which such improvements have been insured by the posting of a performance guarantee pursuant to the land subdivision ordinance unless relief has been granted by the Planning Board.
d.
Obstruction of Intersections Prohibited. At the intersection of two or more streets, no hedge, fence or wall, other than a single post or tree with branches trimmed to a height of seven feet above grade or which is not higher than 30 inches above curb level, nor any other obstructions to vision shall be permitted in the triangular area formed by the intersecting street lines and a line joining each 50 feet distance from the intersections along the street lines.
e.
Yards Facing Public Streets. All yards facing on a public street shall be considered front yards and shall conform to the minimum front yard requirements for the zone in which located. Corner lots shall provide the minimum front yard requirements for the respective zone for both intersection streets, for both principal and accessory buildings.
f.
Storage in Front Yards Prohibited. No front yard shall be used for open storage of boats, vehicles or any other equipment except for vehicular parking on driveways.
g.
Display of Goods Regulated.
1.
Temporary, special or seasonal sales and displays may be permitted in accordance with a permit issued by the Zoning Officer and in compliance with the following:
2.
Outdoor displays and temporary sales shall be limited to those materials and goods that are connected with the principal use on the premises.
3.
Goods that are displayed or sold outdoors shall not be located closer than 20 feet from any street or 10 feet from a rear or side property line.
4.
Goods that are sold or displayed outdoors shall be located on a paved surface and shall not interfere with off-street parking areas, vehicular circulation or fire protection accessibility. Sidewalk sales shall be permitted, provided that the goods displayed and sold outdoors do not interfere with pedestrian circulation.
5.
Temporary sales and outdoor displays shall be limited to one week in duration. Not more than six such sales and special displays shall be allowed per year.
h.
All yards, parking, etc., to be contained in one zone. In any zone all yards, open space, off-street parking and landscaping must be contained within that zone.
i.
Essential Public Services. Essential public services shall be permitted as authorized and regulated by law and other ordinances of the Borough of Allentown in any district.
j.
Street Vacation. Whenever any street, alley or other public way is vacated by official action of the Governing Body, the zoning district shall be automatically extended to the center of the vacated public way and all area included in the vacated area in question shall be subject to all appropriate regulations of the extended districts.
k.
Corner Lot Accessory Buildings. For the purpose of regulating the locations of accessory buildings on corner lots, all portions of a corner lot or a through lot which fronts on a public street shall be subject to the front yard requirements of the zone district in which the corner lot or through lot is located, provided further that no accessory building shall be permitted in any required front yard.
l.
Prohibited Uses. Any use not specifically permitted in a zoning district established by this chapter is hereby specifically prohibited from that district, and further provided that the following uses and activities shall be specifically prohibited in any zone in the Borough of Allentown.
1.
All carports.
2.
Boardinghouses.
3.
All billboards, sign boards, advertising signs or devices not expressly related to the business being conducted on the premises or otherwise specifically permitted in this chapter.
4.
Auction markets.
5.
Miniature commercial golf courses, golf driving ranges and similar outdoor commercial recreation facilities.
6.
Junkyards, automobile wrecking or disassembly yards, the sorting or baling of scrap metal, paper, rags or other scrap or waste material, asphalt plants, concrete plants, asphalt batching plants, concrete batching plants, asphalt mixing plants, concrete manufacturing plants, auto racetracks, commercial horse or dog racetracks, secondhand or used car lots, except as an accessory use to a new car agency.
7.
Keeping or raising chickens, roosters, donkeys, goats, mink, foxes or similar fur-bearing animals.
8.
Trailer courts, trailer coaches used as dwellings, offices or storage facilities or commercial activities related to the outdoor storage or display of trailer coaches, except that during periods of construction, transportable or wheeled offices may be permitted specifically limited as to the extent of time of such use.
9.
Privately operated dumps for the disposal of garbage, trash, junk, refuse and similar materials.
10.
Open-air drive-in moving picture theaters.
11.
Seasonal resort cottages or migrant farm labor housing.
12.
Any use of any building or premises in such a manner that the health, morals, safety or general welfare of the community may be endangered.
13.
Any use which emits excessive and objectionable amounts of dust, fumes, noise, odor, smoke, light, vibration, glare or waste products.
14.
Slaughtering of fowl or animals.
15.
Hotels and motels.
16.
Laundries or dyeing and cleaning works employing more than five persons in these processes.
17.
Milk bottling and distribution plants and other bottling works.
18.
The storage of explosives and the storage of crude oil or any of its volatile products or other flammable liquids in aboveground tanks with capacity greater than 550 gallons.
19.
Lumber and coal yards, building material yards, storage warehouses, except to serve a local retail business, hay presses and handling or processing such bulk flammable farm products as hay and straw.
20.
Outdoor vending machines other than for the sale of newspapers.
21.
The operation of Cannabis Cultivators, Cannabis Distributers, Cannabis Manufacturers, Cannabis Wholesalers, Cannabis Retailers, Medical Cannabis Alternative Treatment Centers, Medical Cannabis Cultivators, Medical Cannabis Dispensaries, and Medical Cannabis Manufacturers.
[Added 7-6-2021 by Ord. No. 06-2021]
m.
Garages and Driveways. All one-family dwellings constructed shall have an attached or detached garage having a minimum area of 250 square feet and shall provide a driveway connecting the garage to a street on which the lot abuts. Driveways shall be a minimum of 12 feet in width and provide parking for a minimum of two cars. Two-family dwellings shall have adequate driveway or garage space to house or contain off-street parking for at least three cars.
n.
Houses of Worship. Houses of Worship and religious instruction shall have a minimum lot area of two acres. No building or accessory building shall be within 50 feet of any lot or street line. Such uses must comply with all other requirements of the zone in which located.
o.
Charitable Activities. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as limiting local temporary charitable and civic activities, such as firemen's fairs and the like, provided such use shall not exceed 10 days and shall comply with all other ordinances and regulations of the Borough of Allentown.
p.
Disabled or Unregistered Vehicles. No more than one temporarily disabled motor vehicle shall be permitted for more than 30 days except at locations licensed by the Borough of Allentown as being in the automotive repair business.
q.
In all residential zones, decks may be installed and constructed within the rear yard set-back area provided the following conditions are met:
1.
Attached to principal structure: on lots less than 10,000 square feet the rear yard setback is 10 feet and for lots 10,000 square feet or greater the rear yard setback is 15 feet.
2.
Side yard setbacks shall be that of the principal structure per the zone.
3.
"Attached" is defined as being connected, adjacent or touching in anyway. Any bridge attachment from the house to the deck will deem the deck connected.
4.
Residential deck detached from principal structure: the rear yard setback shall be 15 feet and the side yard setback shall be either 10 feet or the minimum side yard setback for the principal structure, whichever is less.
r.
Residential concrete slab patios, stamped concrete patios, paver patios and permeable paver patios - rear and side yard setback shall be 10 feet.
s.
Height. The height of a building shall be measured from the top of the curb at the center of the front of the building on which the main entrance is located. If there is no curb in front of the building, the building height shall be measured from the heights of the crown of the center of the road at the center of the front of the building on which the main entrance is located.
t.
Flag Lots.
1.
A "flag lot" shall be defined as:
"A lot not satisfying the conventional minimum lot frontage requirements of the zone district, generally configured in the shape of a flag, with its road frontage provided by a strip of land referred to as the 'flag staff' portion of the lot."
2.
Flag lots as defined in paragraph t1 above shall not be permitted in any residential zoning district.