Bristol Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXV
Dimensional Standards
§ 205-123 Public utility corporations.
This chapter shall not apply to any existing building or extension thereof presently used by a public service corporation if upon petition of the corporation of the Public Utility Commission shall, after a public hearing, decide that the present use of the building in question is reasonably necessary for the convenience or welfare of the public.
§ 205-124 Lot area or yard requirements.
The lot or yard requirements for any new building or use shall not include any part of a lot that is required by any other building or use to comply with the requirements of this chapter. No required lot or area shall include any property, the ownership of which has been transferred subsequent to the effective date of this chapter, if such property was a part of the area required for compliance with the dimensional requirements applicable to the lot from which such transfer was made.
§ 205-125 Minimum lot area.
§ 205-126 Minimum lot width.
B.
On lots fronting on the turnaround of a permanent cul-de-sac, Council may permit the minimum lot width to be measured at a greater distance from the street line than the building setback line. The building setback line shall be measured parallel to the street line. However, such lots fronting on the turnaround of a permanent cul-de-sac shall have a minimum straight line distance of 45 feet between the points of intersection of the lot lines and the street line.
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C.
Lane lot.
(1)
A land lot is a parcel of land which does not have the required minimum lot width at the minimum front yard line but has direct access to a public street through a narrow strip of land which is part of the same lot. The lot lines of the narrow portion of the lot (the lane) are parallel or nearly parallel.
(2)
Lane lots may be permitted for tracts of land with limited frontage that would limit the number of lots with the required lot width, but with sufficient area in the rear of the tract for an additional lot or two. Lane lots are not permitted in a subdivision where a street could reasonably be developed to serve the lots with each meeting the minimum lot width requirement.
(a)
A lane lot shall be used for single-family detached dwellings only.
(b)
Each lot shall have a separate lane; however, the use of common driveways shall be permitted.
(c)
If the proposed lane lot is not large enough to further subdivide under the zoning requirements at the time the subdivision is proposed, then the "lane" shall have a minimum width of 25 feet at the street line of a public street and shall not narrow to a lesser dimension. However, if the proposed lot is large enough to further subdivide under the zoning requirements at the time the subdivision is proposed, then the minimum lane width shall be 50 feet at the street line and shall not narrow to a lesser dimension.
(d)
The area of the lane shall not be included in the calculation of the minimum lot area.
(e)
The front yard setback for a lane lot shall be a distance equal to the front yard requirement for the district in which the lot is located and shall be measured from the point where the lot first obtains the minimum lot width measurement.
(f)
No more than two lane lots shall be permitted in the subdivision of a tract of land even if lots are subdivided from the tract at different times.
(g)
Only one tier of lane lots shall be permitted on a tract.
§ 205-127 Access.
A.
Each vehicular accessway shall be not more than 35 feet in width, measured at right angles to the center line of said accessway except as increased by necessary curb return radii.
B.
No dwelling shall hereafter be erected unless there is a direct access to it through an open space on the same lot. Such open space shall be not less than 25 feet in width and shall extend from the dwelling to a street. Every principal building shall be built on a lot with frontage on a public street or road improved to meet the Township's standards.
§ 205-128 Traffic visibility across corners.
A.
In all districts, no structure, fence, planting or other obstruction shall be maintained between a horizontal plane two feet above curb level and a horizontal plane seven feet above curb level so as to interfere with traffic visibility across the corner within that part of the required front or side yard which is within a horizontal clear-sight triangle bounded by the two street lines (rights-of-way) and a straight line drawn between points on each such line 25 feet from the intersection of said lines or extension thereof. When one or both streets which form the intersection are classified as collector or arterial highways, the clear-sight triangle bounded by the two street lines and a straight line drawn between points on such line shall be 50 feet from the intersection of said lines or extension thereof.
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B.
At each point where a private accessway intersects a public street or road, a clear-sight triangle of 10 feet measured from the point of intersection of the street line and the edge of the accessway shall be maintained within which vegetation and other visual obstructions shall be limited to a height of not more than two feet above the street grade.
§ 205-129 Special front yard exception.
A.
The front yard of a proposed building in all residence districts, in C Commercial and CN Neighborhood Commercial Districts; and in M-1 and M-2 Manufacturing Districts may be decreased in depth to not less than 10 feet back from the main wall of an adjacent main building existing within 100 feet of and on the same side of the street or highway as the building to be erected.
B.
Front yard depths shall be measured from a line parallel to and 25 feet from the center lines of all streets which have rights-of-way of less than 50 feet in width.
§ 205-130 Special setbacks.
A.
Special setbacks from designated roadways. The following setback requirements in this subsection shall apply to all uses and structures on lots which abut one of the following roads and shall supersede the yard and setback requirements for the zoning districts within which the lots are located. The special setback shall be measured from the center line of the existing right-of-way, and shall be as follows:
Special Setback (feet) | Street or Highway |
|---|---|
120 | Routes U.S. 13 and Pennsylvania 413 |
100 | Edgley Road Levittown Parkway Oxford Valley Road Newportville-Fallsington Road Mill Creek Road Bath Road from Bristol-Oxford Valley Road to Bristol Borough Boundary Bristol-Oxford Valley Road |
80 | Haines Road Radcliffe Street Emilie Road Green Lane-Bloomsdale Road |
B.
Special setback from the Delaware Canal State Park. A setback of 150 feet for industrial uses and 100 feet for all other uses is established along both sides of the Delaware Canal State Park. This setback shall be measured from the center line of the canal.
C.
Setbacks from resource-protected land. On lots which include lands with resource restriction, the minimum building setbacks shall be measured from the limit of the resource-protected lands rather than from the lot lines so that the required minimum yard is free from resource-protected land.
§ 205-131 Yard exception for private garages or accessory buildings.
[Amended 6-17-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-08]
A private garage or other accessory building which is not an integral structural part of a main building may be located in the required side and/or rear yard but not less than five feet from any property line. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the erection of a common or joint garage which is not an integral structural part of a main building on adjoining lots.
§ 205-132 Yard requirements.
§ 205-133 Projections into yards.
[Amended 11-10-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-17]
A.
Chimney flues, columns, sills, cornices, gutters and similar features, excluding fire escapes, may project into the required front yard not more than two feet.
B.
Chimney flues, fire escapes, columns, sills, cornices, gutters and similar features may project into required side or rear yards up to 1/3 of the width of the projection, but not more than four feet in any case.
C.
Driveways shall be permitted in front, side and rear yards.
D.
The provisions of § 205-132 shall not apply to hedges less than seven feet above the natural grade.
E.
Porches, decks, patios and terraces may project into the required setback from a private street but shall be no closer than 13 feet from the curbline.
§ 205-134 Fences.
[Amended 12-15-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-05; amended 9-18-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-18]
A.
Height.
(1)
The height of fences for residential uses shall be no more than six feet in a rear or side yard or in a special setback. The maximum permitted height of any fence in the front yard for a residential use shall be four feet except as provided in Subsection B(3). These height requirements shall apply except where this chapter or other ordinances, statutes, or other regulations require a greater height.
(2)
The height of fences for nonresidential uses shall be no more than eight feet, except where this chapter or other ordinances, statutes, or other regulations require a greater height and in accordance with Subsection C.
(3)
Required fences for tennis, baseball, or softball backstops and similar fences for similar recreational facilities shall be exempt from the regulations of this section; provided, that such recreational fences are not closer than 50 feet to any abutting residential property.
B.
Location.
(1)
Authorized fences may be erected in side yards, rear yards or other portions of a lot behind the front building setback line.
(2)
In residential and commercial districts, stockade, board-on-board, or other type fencing which have no openings, holes, or gaps larger than four inches in dimension shall be located in the rear and side yards only.
(3)
Where a property fronts on more than one street, a fence otherwise satisfying this chapter may be erected in the front yard which is not the yard in which the front of the dwelling faces; provided, that the height of this fence will be no more than six feet. Any fence shall not obstruct the public sidewalk, encroach within the public right-of-way and shall not obstruct sight distance or sight triangles as otherwise defined or restricted by this Chapter.
C.
No electrified fences, barbed wire fence, or razor wire fences shall be erected maintained with the following exceptions:
§ 205-135 Exceptions to building height.
The height of buildings is regulated to prevent loss of life or excessive property damage through the inability of fire equipment to reach upper stories or roofs. Therefore, no building shall exceed the maximum building heights specified in Article IV and applicable zoning districts, except church spires, belfries, silos, water towers, solar energy systems, antennas, television towers, masts, aerials, flagpoles or other structures necessary for providing water, electricity, heat, cooling, radio or similar facilities, provided that they are not used for human occupancy and are set back 1.5 times their height (from ground level to the top of the structure) from any property lines.
§ 205-136 Lot size minimums of subdivisions.
Whenever land is hereafter subdivided into two or more lots or parcels for the purpose of transfer, sale, or improvement, the following regulations shall apply, notwithstanding the district regulations of this chapter:
A.
In all sections of the Township which are not served by sanitary sewers nor by a public water supply, either existing or officially authorized to be installed, residential lots shall have a minimum frontage and average width of 100 feet and a minimum area of 20,000 square feet for each dwelling unit.
B.
In all sections of the Township which are not served by sanitary sewers, either existing or officially authorized to be installed, but served by public water supply, either existing or officially authorized to be installed, residential lots shall have a minimum frontage and average width of 75 feet and a minimum area of 10,000 square feet for each dwelling unit.