Avondale City Zoning Code
ARTICLE V
R-2 Residence District
§ 430-18 District purpose.
This article is created to:
A.
Provide for residential development within the Borough that compliments the established neighborhood character;
B.
Maintain adequate light, air and privacy for the residential community by reasonably controlling the spacing and height of buildings and other structures;
C.
Maintain the traditional Borough development pattern; and
D.
Protect the community from fire, pollution, vibration, noise, and other unacceptable circumstances.
§ 430-19 Use regulations.
A.
Uses permitted by right. A building may be erected or used, and a lot may be used or occupied for any one of the following uses, and no other, by right:
(1)
Single-family detached dwelling.
(2)
Single-family semidetached dwelling (twin).
(3)
Two-family dwelling (duplex).
(4)
Single-family attached dwelling (townhouse), in accordance with the area and bulk regulations established in § 430-30A(3).
(5)
Municipal building and municipal use.
(6)
Any of the following accessory uses shall be permitted on the same lot when in compliance with the provisions of this article and Article XIV:
B.
Uses permitted by conditional use. A building may be erected or used, and a lot may be used or occupied for any one of the following uses, and no other, when approved as a conditional use (see § 430-111, Conditional use procedures):
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
(3)
Bed-and-breakfast.
(4)
Telephone central office; utility lines; electric substation.
(5)
Educational institution.
(6)
Religious use.
(7)
Limited-impact home occupation.
(8)
Townhouse gross density development.
(9)
Commercial uses within a preexisting building with frontage on Pennsylvania Avenue, subject to the following:
(a)
The commercial uses permitted shall only be those uses allowed by right in the TC District, as set forth in §430-34A;
(b)
The commercial use shall only be located upon the first floor of a multistory building;
(c)
If the commercial use is unable to strictly comply with the parking standards of this chapter, sufficient parking spaces (which may be combination of off-street and on-street parking) shall be shown to be available to serve the proposed commercial use; and
§ 430-20 Area and bulk regulations.
[Amended 4-19-2005 by Ord. No. 209]
A.
All uses in the R-2 Residence District, except for townhouse gross density development, shall comply with the following:
(1)
Minimum lot area per unit: 6,000 square feet.
(2)
Minimum lot width at street line: 40 feet.
(3)
Minimum lot width at building line: 40 feet.
(4)
Maximum building coverage: 40%.
(5)
Maximum lot coverage: 50%.
(7)
Minimum rear yard setback: 25 feet.
(8)
Minimum side yard setback: the combined minimum of both side yards shall be no less than 15 feet, but in no case shall either be less than six feet.
(9)
Minimum lot line setback for accessory structures: three feet
B.
The following shall apply to townhouse gross density development:
(1)
The minimum area of a tract to be used for townhouse gross density development, exclusive of existing street rights-of-way, shall be 6 1/2 acres.
(2)
Each townhouse shall:
(a)
Have a minimum width (side to side, not front to back) of 24 feet;
(b)
Have a minimum of one inside garage parking space;
(c)
Have a minimum of one outside parking space, in the driveway to the garage, for the exclusive use of the occupants of the townhouse unit;
(d)
Have a minimum habitable floor area of 1,700 square feet, which area shall be exclusive of all garage and basement areas, areas occupied by heating and/or air conditioning equipment, unfinished attic areas and/or space which is not designed to be heated by the dwelling's heating system.
[Amended 6-16-2009 by Ord. No. 224]
(e)
Shall be set back from the nearest curb and/or sidewalk at least 21 feet;
(f)
Shall be set back from all tract boundary lines and existing street rights-of-way by at least 25 feet.
(3)
The minimum habitable floor area required for each townhouse unit, pursuant to § 430-20B(2)(d), may be reduced to 1,450 square feet, but only when both of the following conditions are met:
[Added 6-16-2009 by Ord. No. 224]
(a)
The townhouse is in a townhouse gross density development with at least 58 townhouse units; and
(b)
Upon the completion of a townhouse gross density development, each separately approved phase of the development and the first and each subsequent group of 29 townhouse units (which groups shall be identified based on the chronological order in which building permits therefor were issued), an average minimum floor area of 1,700 square feet per townhouse unit shall exist for the development as a whole. Such average habitable floor area shall exclude all areas which are excluded from the minimum habitable floor area required for each townhouse unit.
(4)
There shall be no more than six townhouse units in any group of connected townhouses (each group of connected townhouse units shall be referred to as a "townhouse building").
(5)
There shall be a minimum of 2 1/2 parking spaces per townhouse unit including the garage and driveway spaces. Each townhouse shall have the exclusive use of at least two parking spaces (inclusive of interior garage spaces). Each required parking space not for the exclusive use of a townhouse unit shall be separated from the townhouse unit for which it is required by no more than 180 feet.
(6)
The minimum area of any tract to be developed as a townhouse gross density development shall be 6 1/2 acres, exclusive of existing street rights-of-way.
(7)
The maximum density of a townhouse gross density development shall be 6,800 square feet per townhouse unit of total tract area minus only existing street rights-of-way.
(8)
All parking areas shall be set back a minimum of 20 feet from the tract boundary and existing street rights-of-way.
(9)
A landscaping plan shall be provided as part of the conditional use application. The implementation of the landscaping plan shall be a condition of any conditional use approval. The landscaping plan shall show:
(a)
Street trees, at intervals of 40 feet, on both sides of all proposed street rights-of-way within the tract;
(10)
All areas not deeded, in fee title, to owners of individual townhouse units shall be owned by a homeowners' association in which the owners of each townhouse unit are mandatory members.
(11)
Continuous four-foot-wide sidewalks shall be provided along at least one side of each new street, which, at the election of the developer, may abut the curb if the curb is a vertical curb, or be separated from the curb by a grass strip. Sidewalks will be constructed of concrete.
(12)
The length of street between a cul-de-sac bulb and the nearest intersection of the street with another public street shall not exceed 1,000 feet.
(13)
The applicant must establish that the public water supply system serving all proposed townhouse units will have water pressure and supply adequate for firefighting purposes.
§ 430-21 Height regulations.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
No building shall exceed 35 feet in height, provided that such height limit may be exceeded by one foot for each foot by which the width of each side yard is increased beyond minimum side yard requirements up to a maximum height of 45 feet. Accessory structures shall not exceed 16 feet in height.
§ 430-22 Determination of front yard setback.
[Amended 4-19-2005 by Ord. No. 209]
Except for townhouse units in a townhouse gross density development, all front yard setbacks in the R-2 Residence District shall be as follows:
A.
When the location of a structure is proposed on a street where structures exist on the same side of the block of the primary street for the proposed use, the front yard setback shall be determined as follows:
(1)
The minimum front yard setback shall be equal to the smallest front yard setback for those structures on the same block and street as the proposed use, but in no case shall the minimum front yard setback be less than five feet.
(2)
The maximum front yard setback shall be equal to three feet greater than the average of the setbacks of all structures on the same block and street as the proposed use.
B.
When a structure is proposed to be located on a newly constructed street, or on a street that has no existing structures on the same side of the street as the proposed structure, the front yard setbacks shall be determined according to the following:
§ 430-23 Parking.
[Amended 4-19-2005 by Ord. No. 209]
Except for townhouse gross density development, parking shall be provided in accordance with § 430-72, Off-street parking.
§ 430-24 Additional standards.
[Added 4-19-2005 by Ord. No. 209]
Sections 430-61, Carbonate Overlay District, 430-62, Floodplain regulations, 430-63, Wetland Protection Overlay District, 430-64, Steep Slope Overlay District, and 430-65, Woodland Overlay District, shall not apply to townhouse gross density development, provided that it shall be a condition of any conditional use approval for such use that the applicant or the applicant's successors or assigns shall establish, to the Borough's satisfaction, prior to doing any work and/or filling in the Floodplain Hazard Overlay District, that such work and/or filling will be in compliance with all applicable regulations of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and will not compromise, in any way, the Borough regulatory duties in a manner that could affect the availability and/or cost of flood hazard insurance for property and improvements within the Borough.