Bethlehem Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VII
MHDR Medium-High-Density Residential District
§ 275-53 Purpose.
The purpose of this district is to:
A.
Provide for a variety of carefully designed housing types at medium-high densities.
B.
Make sure that varied housing types are compatible with any existing single-family detached houses.
C.
Make sure that the street system of the Township and other community facilities and services are fully able to handle moderately dense growth in an area.
D.
Work to encourage affordable housing, especially for young families and senior citizens.
E.
Provide carefully controlled opportunities for light business uses to serve everyday needs of nearby residents.
§ 275-54 Permitted-by-right uses.
Only the following uses are permitted by right in the MHDR District, provided the requirements for specific uses in Article XX are met:
A.
The following principal uses:
(2)
Crop farming.
(5)
Publicly owned recreation.
(6)
Wildlife sanctuary.
(9)
Township-owned use.
(10)
Plant nursery; provided that a lot of less than five acres shall only include retail sales of items grown on the premises, while a lot of five or more acres may include the retail sale of items listed in the definition in § 275-24.
(12)
Group home, within a lawful dwelling unit.
§ 275-55 Special exception uses.
§ 275-56 Conditional uses.
[Amended 6-18-2007 by Ord. No. 05-07; 11-18-2024 by Ord. No. 05-24]
Only the following uses are permitted conditional uses in the MHDR District, provided that the requirements for specific uses in Article XX are met:
D.
A limited commercial development, which shall meet the following additional requirements:
(2)
All of the establishments shall be limited to a maximum total floor area of 9,000 square feet of floor area accessible to customers. A maximum total of three establishments shall be permitted.
(3)
An adult use and the sale of gasoline and alcoholic beverages shall be prohibited.
(4)
The total area of the limited commercial development, including parking, shall not exceed 5% of the total tract area of a subdivision or land development. Areas within a subdivision or land development granted approval within the previous eight years that was submitted by the same applicant may be included in such calculation provided that the applicant proves that such commercial development is fully coordinated in site design and traffic access within such development plan.
(5)
The development shall be designed in a fully coordinated manner that minimizes impacts upon nearby dwellings. See buffer yard provisions in § 275-171.
(6)
There shall be no direct vehicle access onto an arterial street.
(7)
The same sign, lot, coverage and setback requirements shall apply as apply within the NC District, instead of such provisions of the MHDR District.
(8)
Each commercial use shall be physically connected to all other commercial uses, and shall be located on a single lot of record.
(9)
No commercial use shall operate between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
§ 275-57 Lot and setback regulations common to all uses.
The following regulations shall apply to all uses in the MHDR District, unless a more restrictive requirement is stated in Article XX or elsewhere in this chapter for a particular use.
A.
Maximum lot coverage: 50% for building; 65% for total impervious surfaces.
C.
Maximum height. Maximum of 35 feet, except for mid-rise apartments. In addition, no building except mid-rise apartments may include more than three habitable stories.
D.
Minimum setback from industrial districts. For any new principal residential building from the zoning boundary of a GI, OB, LI(P) or LI District: 80 feet.
F.
Setback from arterial streets. For all principal buildings from the future right-of-way line of an arterial street: 40 feet minimum setback.
§ 275-58 Lot and setback regulations for uses other than townhouses, garden apartments, mobile/manufactured home parks, mid-rise apartments, retirement villages and life-care centers.
Lot and setback regulations for uses in the MHDR District (other than those listed in the title of this section) shall be as follows, unless a more restrictive requirement is stated in Article XX for a particular use or elsewhere in this chapter. See definitions of these terms in Article II.
A.
Lot area, depth and width.
Minimum Lot Area (square feet) | Minimum Lot Width2 (feet) | Minimum Lot Depth (feet) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
With public water and public sewer service: | |||||
a. | Single-family detached dwelling | 7,0001 | 601 | 75 | |
b. | Emergency services station or nursery school/day-care center | 10,0001 | 601 | 75 | |
c. | Single-family semidetached or two-family detached dwelling | 6,000 | 501 | 75 | |
Permitted uses other than those provided above | 43,560 | 150 | 150 | ||
NOTES: | |||
1 | Per dwelling unit. | ||
2 | Minimum lot width is measured at the minimum building setback line, except for the following minimum lot widths measured at the street right-of-way line: | ||
One hundred feet for each use or dwelling unit with a driveway entering directly onto an arterial or connector street; and | |||
Thirty feet for any use or dwelling that does not have a driveway entering directly onto an arterial or connector street. | |||
B.
Minimum front yard building setbacks.
(1)
Principal and accessory buildings: 25 feet.
(2)
Variation. Up to 50% of the principal residential buildings may be located up to five feet forward of the front yard building setback line, provided that an equal number of principal residential buildings in the same stage of construction and abutting onto the same street will be five feet or greater behind the front yard setback line.
§ 275-59 Lot and setback regulations for townhouse, garden apartments, retirement villages and life-care centers.
These requirements are in addition to the requirements of § 275-57 that are common to all uses.
A.
Life-care centers and retirement villages. Life-care centers and retirement villages shall be bound by the same requirements as garden apartments and townhouses, except for differing provisions permitted by § 275-189.
B.
Minimum tract area: one acre, except five acres for a retirement village or life-care center.
D.
Maximum density.
(1)
The maximum density shall be determined after calculating the buildable area of the tract.
(2)
Buildable area. The buildable area is defined as the total square footage of the tract minus the following:
(a)
Existing rights-of-way of preexisting streets.
(b)
Areas with average slopes greater than 15%.
(c)
Areas within the one-hundred-year floodway and flood fringe.
(d)
Areas within rights-of-way intended eventually for overhead electrical transmission of 35 kilovolts or greater capacity.
(f)
Areas of land voluntarily dedicated to and accepted by the Township or state for a street improvement that would not otherwise be required by the Township or state and that is not necessary for providing internal access for the development may be included as buildable area.
(3)
Required minimum average area per dwelling unit. The following square footage of buildable area shall be required within the tract for each type of apartment of townhouse dwelling unit:
(a)
Five thousand five hundred square feet for each efficiency or one -bedroom garden apartment unit.
(b)
Six thousand five hundred square feet for any other garden apartment or townhouse unit.
(c)
For the purposes of this section, any room that could reasonably be expected to be used as a bedroom shall be considered a bedroom, including a den.
(4)
Flexibility in placement. The total number of dwelling units allowed on the tract may be placed at any appropriate locations within the buildable area of the tract within the setback and other provisions of this chapter. However, no single acre of land shall include more than 16 dwelling units, once streets are deleted from the lot area.
(5)
In calculating the allowable overall density, land which is capable of further development or subdivision for additional dwellings shall not be counted unless the possibility of such development or subdivision is precluded by one of the following methods:
(a)
Deed restriction, conservation easement or other agreement in form acceptable to the Township Solicitor and duly recorded in the Office of the County Recorder of Deeds and which is enforceable by the Board of Commissioners.
(b)
Dedication for public purposes or permanent open space to serve the development.
(6)
Condominiums and lots. The division of land into individual lots is not required. This allows the development of condominium garden apartments and townhouses. See § 275-185.
(7)
Condominiums and streets. In any development of or conversion to condominiums, the Board of Commissioners shall require all streets and access drives to be constructed or improved to Township standards. The responsibility of maintaining interior streets and access drives should not be given to a homeowner association, unless there are adequate safeguards.
E.
Resubdivision. No lots that have previously been granted preliminary or final subdivision or land development approval and were subdivided to meet the standards of single-family detached dwellings shall be combined or resubdivided to allow the construction of townhouses or garden apartments.
F.
Roof lines. Variation in roof lines of structures is strongly encouraged for the purpose of variety.
G.
Buffer yard. A twenty-foot-wide buffer yard with screening shall be required, as described in § 275-171D, between any townhouse or garden apartment and any abutting existing single-family detached dwelling that is within 125 feet of the proposed garden apartment or townhouse building. The buffer yard shall be the responsibility of the developer of the townhouses or garden apartments.
H.
Accessory uses and structures.
(2)
Intent: to carefully avoid incompatible structures in a high-density environment.
(3)
The developer of new principal buildings is strongly requested to establish deed restrictions controlling the types and materials of attached decks, fences and accessory structures that may be added or constructed in the future.
I.
Homeowner's and/or condominium agreements. See § 275-185. It is strongly recommended that any such agreements include restrictions requiring any fencing or garages to be compatible with the overall design.
J.
Active recreation area.
(1)
For any garden apartment or townhouse development involving 40 or more dwelling units, a minimum of 12% of the total land area shall be dedicated to and suitable for recreation.
(2)
This required recreation area shall be in addition to any other requirements of this chapter or Chapter 230, Subdivision and Land Development.
(3)
For any development that will not be limited to residents 18 years and older, this land area shall be suitable for active recreation. Suitable for active recreation shall mean well-drained, contiguous, planted in grass and with average slopes of less than 4%. For any development involving more than 200 dwelling units, this area shall include a minimum of two level rectangular fields 300 feet in length and 100 feet in width.
(4)
For any development limited to persons 55 years and older, this recreation area shall be suitable for passive recreation, with appropriate landscaping and paths or trails.
(5)
The process of maintenance for recreation areas shall be acceptable to the Board of Commissioners.
K.
Maximum length of building. The maximum length of a townhouse or garden apartment building shall be 160 feet. As used in this section, "building length" means the horizontal measurement of any building length from any one end to any other end, without regard to offsets but without including diagonal measurements.
L.
Changes in facade. For every attached grouping of townhouses, a minimum of two changes in the front wall plane shall be provided. Such change shall involve a minimum variation or offset of four feet and may be met by placing dwellings so that they are set back farther than attached private garage structures.
M.
Building setback and separation.
(1)
Setback. Townhouse and garden apartment buildings and their permitted accessory structures shall be set back from all exterior lot lines of a tract and all existing rights-of-way of streets a minimum setback of 30 feet, except:
(a)
A minimum setback of 70 feet shall be required for principal and accessory buildings from the lot line of an existing single-family detached residence. This set back may include any required buffer area.
(b)
A minimum setback of 50 feet shall be required from the future right-of-way of any arterial street for any principal building.
(c)
A minimum setback of 20 feet for principal and accessory buildings is permitted from a private street cartway or the future right-of-way of a local street.
(2)
Separation. Each principal building shall be separated by a minimum of 25 feet from any other principal building.
N.
Water and sewer. Public water and public sewer service shall be a requirement for any townhouse or garden apartment.
O.
Minimum width of townhouses. Each townhouse dwelling unit shall have a minimum width of 20 feet, except that a minimum width of 28 feet shall be required if the required front yard of the townhouse would include two or more off-street parking spaces or if garage door(s) for two or more motor vehicles face onto the front of the townhouse lot.
P.
Minimum private area.
(1)
For each townhouse, there shall be a yard, balcony, patio or other outdoor area other than a driveway immediately adjacent to the front, back or side of each dwelling of not less than 200 square feet for the exclusive use of the occupants of that dwelling.
(2)
If townhouses are subdivided into individual lots, the minimum lot area shall be the building footprint plus this 200 square feet.
(3)
Design measures shall be used to seek an appropriate level of privacy in any rear yards. Such measures might include landscaped screening, compatible fencing or earthen berms. The intent is to avoid the placement of incompatible fencing by individual lot owners in the future.
(4)
Storage. If the maintenance of grass yards in front of or behind a townhouse would be the responsibility of an individual homeowner, a storage area suitable for storing lawn maintenance equipment shall be provided with appropriate outside access.
Q.
Private streets. All private and public streets, and access drives serving more than five dwelling units, but not including parking courts, shall be built to Township standards for public streets.
R.
Architectural renderings required. Preliminary architectural renderings, models or photos are requested for any garden apartment or townhouse development of more than 10 units.
S.
Preservation of natural buffers. See § 275-171D(3)(c).
T.
Architectural variety. A variety of complimentary designs and colors among clusters of dwellings are requested to avoid extreme repetition, provided that there are not extreme changes between adjacent facades.
U.
Garages. It is strongly recommended that any townhouses be designed so that garages and/or carports are not an overly prominent part of the view from public streets. For this reason, parking courts, common garage or carport structures or garages at the rear of dwellings are encouraged instead of individual garages opening onto the front of the building, especially for narrow townhouse units.
V.
Mailboxes. Any mailboxes provided within the future street right-of-way shall be clustered together in an orderly and attractive arrangement or structure. Individual freestanding mailboxes of noncoordinated types at the curbside are specifically discouraged.
W.
Trash bins. For any garden apartment or rental townhouse development, common trash receptacles shall be provided in locations that are convenient for residents and for collection. Screening is required by § 275-136.
X.
Access. Vehicular access points onto all arterial and connector streets shall be minimized to the lowest number possible.
Y.
Subdivision ordinance. Any garden apartment or townhouse development shall fully comply with Chapter 230, Subdivision and Land Development. An improvements agreement must be entered into with the Township and recorded with the County Recorder of Deeds.
Z.
Minimum tract width and depth: 150 feet each.
AA.
Paved area setback. All off-street parking spaces, except spaces on driveways immediately in front of carport or garage entrances, shall be set back a minimum of 15 feet from any dwelling.
BB.
Number of units attached. In any building that includes entirely garden apartments, a maximum of 16 dwelling units may be attached or within one building. In any building that includes townhouses, a maximum of eight dwelling units may be attached.
§ 275-60 Lot and setback regulations for mobile/manufactured home parks.
See Article XX.
§ 275-61 Lot and setback regulations for mid-rise apartments.
A.
Maximum height: six stories or 60 feet, whichever is less.
B.
Minimum lot area: five acres.
C.
Minimum building setback: 150 feet from all exterior lot lines.
D.
Maximum density. The buildable area calculation in § 275-59D shall be used. A minimum average buildable area of 6,500 square feet per dwelling unit shall be required.
F.
Fire safety. The applicant shall prove that the proposed height will be safe in terms of fire protection. This shall include showing that adequate fire equipment is available to reach the proposed height or that the building will be equipped with an adequate sprinkler system.
G.
Maximum building length and width: 300 feet.