Blawnox City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VI
Conditional Uses
§ 550-601 Applicability.
Applications for conditional uses, when listed as permissible by this chapter, shall be approved or denied by Borough Council in accordance with the standards and criteria of this article.
§ 550-602 Application procedure.
A.
Application content. Applications for conditional uses shall be submitted to the Zoning Officer in the form prescribed by the Borough. Such materials shall include site and building plans which clearly identify the location, size, shape, and use of the proposed use/structure, surrounding land uses within 1/4 mile, proposed vehicular and pedestrian accesses, and other information necessary to evaluate the application according to the standards contained in this chapter.
B.
Review procedure.
(1)
The Zoning Officer shall forward the application to Council and the Property and Planning Committee for review. The Property and Planning Committee shall submit its comments, in writing, to Council within 30 days.
(2)
Borough Council shall act to approve or deny the application within 75 days of its filing. Council, at its discretion, may hold a public hearing on the application.
(3)
Within 10 days of its approval or denial of the application, it shall provide the applicant with a written decision, identifying the reasons for its determination and making reference to the facts, ordinance provisions, rules, or regulations upon which Council based its decision. In approving an application, Council may impose reasonable conditions and safeguards, which it determines necessary to accomplish the objectives of this chapter.
(4)
Where Council fails to render a decision within the seventy-five-day period, the application shall be deemed to be approved, unless an extension of time has been agreed to by the applicant.
C.
Revocation of approval. The approval of a conditional use application shall be valid for a period of 12 months from date of approval. If within this period, the building permit has not been applied for and/or construction/development begun, then the conditional use approval shall be revoked, and the applicant must reapply for conditional use approval. One extension of up to six months may be granted by the Zoning Officer where the applicant can show good cause for the delay.
§ 550-603 General standards and criteria.
Before approving a conditional use application, Council shall determine that the proposed use will not alter the established character and use of the neighborhood or district in which it is located, and that it will not substantially impair the use or development of adjacent properties. Council shall use the following general standards, among other things, in its evaluation. These standards shall be in addition to any other requirements in this chapter for a specific type of use or development.
A.
The proposed use complies with all applicable provisions and requirements for that type of use contained in this chapter, unless a variance to any provision has been granted by the Zoning Hearing Board, and with other applicable Borough, County and Commonwealth ordinances, laws and regulations.
B.
The proposed use is compatible with the surrounding land uses, and it does not have a negative impact on the existing neighborhood or development in terms of air and water quality, noise, potential hazards, illumination and glare, and restrictions to natural light and circulation.
C.
The proposed site for the conditional use is suitable in terms of topography and soils conditions and size, based on number of projected users and the frequency of use of the proposed use.
D.
The proposed use and site provide for safe, adequate vehicular and pedestrian access. It has access from a street capable of handling the traffic generated by the proposed use, and it will not result in undue traffic congestion and hazardous conditions on adjacent streets. The use provides for safe, efficient internal circulation and sufficient offstreet parking and loading.
E.
The proposed use complies with all applicable standards and requirements for providing sanitary sewage disposal, water supply, storm drainage, solid and toxic waste storage and disposal.
F.
The proposed use provides screening and/or buffer areas as required by this chapter.
G.
The proposed use/development conforms to the scale, character and exterior appearance of existing structures and uses in the neighborhood in which it is located.
§ 550-604 Special standards and criteria.
A.
For the types of uses identified in this section, Council shall also determine that the proposed use complies with these additional standards.
(1)
Standards for group homes and family boarding homes.
(a)
Group homes and family boarding homes are allowed as conditional uses only in the zoning districts listed in this chapter.
(b)
In order to prevent the concentration of group residences or family boarding homes in a neighborhood and to avoid impacting existing residences, no group home or family boarding home may be located within the same block or within 1,000 feet, whichever is more, of a similar facility, nursing or convalescent home, or institutional facility.
(c)
Offstreet parking requirements for a single-family home shall apply, provided that at least one space is provided per resident-supervisor or full-time staff member, and one space per two residents where the facility includes residents capable of operating a motor vehicle.
(d)
Minimum lot area, yard setback and structural heights shall be as prescribed for single-family dwellings in the district where the property is located, unless otherwise stated in this chapter. Borough Council may reduce these dimensions when the group home or family boarding home is to be located in an existing structure.
(e)
Change of sponsorship or of any other condition contained in the original approval of the group or family boarding facility shall constitute a new use, and the procedure for obtaining conditional use approval of a new facility shall be executed.
(f)
The operator of the group home or family boarding home shall obtain any required licenses or certifications from the appropriate commonwealth or county agency prior to the conditional use approval. In no case shall an occupancy permit be granted for the facility until proof of such licenses or certifications has been filed with the Borough.
(2)
Day-care centers, private schools for preprimary age children.
(a)
The operator of the day-care center or school shall obtain the required licenses and approvals from the appropriate commonwealth agencies prior to approval of the conditional use application and/or the occupancy permit.
(3)
Manufactured (or mobile) home parks.
(a)
A manufactured home park shall have principal access from a street or highway capable of handling the traffic generated by the park and providing adequate access for the individual mobile units without impairing the normal traffic operations of the street or highway.
(b)
Ten percent of the park's gross site area shall be set aside for common open space, including recreation areas, community buildings, storage facilities for park residents, laundry facilities, management offices for the park, and storage of park maintenance equipment.
(c)
All internal roads and parking areas shall be improved with an all-weather, dust-free surface. Internal roads shall be designed to meet anticipated traffic loads and shall have a minimum cartway width of 28 feet.
(d)
Screening around the entire perimeter of the mobile home park shall be provided in accordance with the screening provisions for a planned residential development (see Article V).
(e)
The park operator shall obtain required permits and approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources, Allegheny County and Borough agencies for the sanitary sewer and water supply systems.
(f)
The storm drainage standards for a planned residential development shall apply to a manufactured home park (see Article V). A park shall have an erosion and sedimentation plan in compliance with Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources regulations and reviewed by the Allegheny County Conservation District and approved by the Borough Engineer.
(g)
Landscaping and planting shall be provided throughout the mobile home park at a ratio of at least two deciduous trees and four deciduous and/or evergreen shrubs per mobile home.
(h)
No individual mobile home shall be closer than 20 feet to any street right-of-way or to any property line of the park. Nor shall any unit be located within a 100-year floodplain as designated on the Zoning Map.
(j)
An enclosure of compatible design and material shall be erected around the entire base of each mobile home. Such enclosure shall provide sufficient ventilation to inhibit decay and deterioration of the structure. The hitch which is employed for the normal movement of the unit shall be removed.
(k)
No mobile home shall be erected on a mobile home lot except upon a mobile home pad. Each mobile home unit shall have its own separate pad.
[1]
Each mobile home pad shall be at least equal in length and width to the dimensions of the mobile home to be placed on the pad.
[2]
The pad, at least six inches in thickness, shall be constructed from either concrete, asphalt, or other material adequate to support the mobile home and to prevent abnormal settling or heaving under the weight of the home. In order to prevent wind overturn and rocking, the corners of the mobile homes shall be secured with at least six tie-downs such as concrete "dead men," screw augers, arrowhead anchors, or other devices suitable to withstand a tension of at least 2,800 pounds.
[3]
Each mobile home shall be set level on sturdy and substantial supports.
(l)
Two offstreet parking spaces shall be provided for each mobile home lot. Parking areas shall comply with § 550-408 of this chapter.
(m)
The design, installation and construction, and maintenance of this storage and handling of liquefied petroleum gases shall conform to the Act of Pennsylvania Legislature 1951, December 27, P.L. 1793, as it may be amended, and to all applicable regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.
(4)
Video game and amusement arcades.
(a)
No video game or amusement arcade, as defined by this chapter, shall be located within 500 feet of a public or private school, church, public recreation area, medical building or within 300 feet of the boundary of any R-1 or R-2 Zone. This distance shall be measured from the entrance/exit of the facility in the most direct line or route on, along or across the streets adjacent to the facility, to any school, church, medical building, recreation area or residential zone.
(5)
Adult-oriented business.
(a)
Borough Council shall review conditional use applications for adult-use businesses in light of two major community objectives:
[1]
To prevent a concentration of these uses which, because of their very nature, are recognized as having serious objectional operational characteristics, particularly when several are located in close proximity of one another.
[2]
To prevent such uses from having a deleterious effect upon adjacent uses or from contributing to the blighting or downgrading of surrounding neighborhoods and the loss of property values.
These objectives are especially important due to the Borough's small, compact development pattern where residential areas and public/civic uses are immediately adjacent to, and often intermingled with, commercial and industrial areas.
(b)
No adult use shall be located within, nor closer than, 1,000 feet of any other adult use business. Which shall be measured from the property lines at the closest points.
(c)
No adult use business shall be located within, nor closer than, 500 feet of an existing school, place of worship, public recreational area, public building or facility.
(d)
No adult use business shall be located within, nor closer than, 100 feet of the boundary of any residential district.
(e)
No adult use business shall be located within, nor closer than, 500 feet of any video game or amusement arcade, as defined by this chapter, or any establishment licensed by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
(f)
An adult use business shall be limited to one exterior sign which shall comply with the size and placement standards contained in § 550-407 of this chapter. Said sign shall not include any depiction, description, illustration of or language relating to any "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas," as defined by this chapter. This provision shall apply to any display, advertisement (including vehicle) decoration, sign, show window or other opening, which is observable from a public street or any property that is not used as an adult use business.
B.
For the purposes of this section, distances shall be measured in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the nearest portion of the building or structure used as an adult use business to the nearest property line of a premise (e.g., school, park) to which a distance restriction applies under the terms of this section.