Catasauqua City Zoning Code

R-1 Low Density Residential District: To provide for low density residential neighborhoods that are primarily composed of single-family detached dwellings; to protect these areas from incompatible uses; to encourage owner-occupancy and neighborhood stability.

R-2 Medium Density Residential District: To provide for medium density residential neighborhoods; to protect these areas from incompatible uses; to encourage "one home on one lot" (which may be attached to another home) in order to promote home ownership and neighborhood stability; to make sure that "infill" development is consistent with neighboring development.

R-3 High Density Residential District: To provide for high density residential neighborhoods with a mix of housing types; to protect these areas from incompatible uses.

DC Downtown Commercial District: To promote pedestrian-friendly commercial activities; to promote an appropriate mix of retail, service, office, public, institutional and residential uses; to avoid heavy auto-related commercial uses that are most likely to conflict with nearby homes and the pedestrian-orientation, and which are most likely to cause demolition of historic buildings.

CG General Commercial District: To provide for a wide range of commercial uses, including heavier commercial uses than are allowed in the Downtown Commercial District.

TC Town Center District: To provide for a wide range of commercial uses, offices, services and light industrial uses; to encourage coordinated exterior and interior traffic access, coordinated signs, and shared parking.

O Office District: To provide for office uses as a transitional use between residential and industrial/airport uses.

IO Industrial/Office District: To provide for industrial uses; to carefully control the types of industrial operations to avoid nuisances (such as excessive noise) and hazards.

A Airport District: To provide for a range of airport uses, related uses and industrial uses, particularly in land areas that can be accessed from the interior road system of the airport or from major highways.

INS-1 Institutional-1 District: To provide for schools, nursing homes and similar institutional uses on a tract of five or more acres in a campus-type setting, in accordance with Attachment 2.[1]

INS-2 Institutional-2 District: To provide for the adaptive reuse of former institutional buildings and grounds on tracts of less than five acres for schools, community centers and other similar institutional uses, dormitories for schools, nursing homes, apartments, live-work units, offices, cafes, conference centers, hotels, exercise club/fitness centers/gymnasiums, green areas, pedestrian plazas and parks, public parking garages, or a combination thereof, in accordance with Attachment 2.[2]

W Waterfront District: To provide for the adaptive reuse and/or demolition of industrial buildings and reuse of industrial land through development which is planned or coordinated in such a manner as to make use of environmentally challenged land in a mixed-use form of development consisting of retail, commercial and residential opportunities, consistent with the goals of downtown and community revitalization. It is intended that development in this zoning district reflect the historical character of the Borough and augment the municipal and public facilities to be constructed by the Borough. To accomplish these goals, a measure of flexibility is provided to an applicant proposing mixed-use development with respect to dimensional standards, unified development standards, design standards and procedures of the Zoning Ordinance, as well as opportunities for bonuses, such as density bonuses and building coverage bonuses, all as deemed appropriate by Borough Council following review and comment by the Planning Commission.

This table is divided into two sections:

See § 280-5B, which generally provides a process for approval of a use that is not listed, based upon similarity to permitted uses and other criteria. Except as provided in such § 280-5B, any other principal use that is not specifically listed as "P," "C" (if conditional uses would be used) or "SE" in the applicable district in this table is prohibited in that district.

For temporary uses, see § 280-3.

Standard antennae, including antennae used by contractors to communicate with their own vehicles. (See standard in § 280-30.)

Fence or wall. (See standard for each in § 280-30.)

Garage, household.

Garage sale. (See standard in § 280-30.)

Pets, keeping of. (See standard in § 280-30.)

Parking or loading, off-street, only to serve a use that is permitted in that district.

Recreational facilities, limited to use by residents of a development, and their occasional invited guests.

Residential accessory structure (see definition in Article II). (See standard in § 280-30.)

Signs, as permitted by Article VII.

Swimming pool, household. (See standard in § 280-30.)

Such other accessory use or structure that the applicant proves to the satisfaction of the Zoning Officer is clearly customary and incidental to a permitted-by-right, special exception or conditional principal use.

Storage of fuels for on-site use or to fuel company vehicles.

The following accessory uses, provided that the use is clearly limited to employees, patients, residents, students and families of employees of the use and their occasional invited guests:

Bus shelters meeting § 280-30.

Automatic transaction machine.

Storage sheds meeting the requirements of § 280-26A.

The maximum height for structures shall be three stories or 35 feet, whichever is more restrictive, except as follows:

A three-foot-wide minimum side and rear yard setback shall apply for a permitted detached structure that is accessory to a dwelling, except:

A residential porch or deck that is open along sides not attached to the principal building may extend into a required side or rear building setback. See Note E in the Table of Dimensional Requirements[2] adopted under § 280-26A above concerning front yard setbacks. However, if a deck or porch is covered by a roof or is raised an average of more than five feet above the ground level, then the deck or porch shall meet the minimum side yard and shall be setback a minimum of 15 feet from a rear lot line. A setback is not required where two buildings are attached to each other along a lot line. Space under an unenclosed porch may be used for household storage.

See § 280-30 for swimming pools. See § 280-30 for fences and walls.

Promote the retention of community character through preservation of the local heritage by recognition and protection of historic and architectural resources;

Establish a clear process to review and approve demolition of designated historic buildings;

Encourage continued use, appropriate rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of historic buildings;

Implement Sections 603(b), 603(g), 604(1) and 605(2) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code,[1] which address protecting and facilitating the preservation of historic values through zoning and using zoning to regulate uses and structures at or near places having unique historic, architectural or patriotic interest or value;

Strengthen the local economy by promoting heritage tourism, improving property values and increasing investment in older buildings;

Utilize the traditional neighborhood development provisions of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code; and

Carry out recommendations of the Borough Comprehensive Plan, including recommendations to preserve historic buildings and community character.

This § 280-27 shall apply to any principal building within a Historic District as shown on the Zoning Map. This § 280-27 shall not apply to a building or building addition that the Zoning Officer knows was built after 1940. The applicant may provide evidence to the Zoning Officer that a building was built after 1940.

For a building regulated by this § 280-27, all of the provisions of the applicable underlying zoning district shall also continue to apply, in addition to the provisions of this § 280-27. In the event there is a direct conflict between the provisions of § 280-27 and the underlying zoning district, the provision that is most restrictive upon development, demolition and uses shall apply.

Any partial or complete demolition of a building regulated by this § 280-27 that is visible from a public street shall only occur in compliance with this § 280-27.

The Historic Districts on the Zoning Map may be revised by Borough Council as a zoning ordinance amendment.

Definitions. In addition to the definitions provided in § 280-19, the following terms shall have the following meanings for the purposes of this § 280-27:

A building regulated by this § 280-27 shall not be demolished, in whole or in part, unless the applicant proves by credible evidence to the satisfaction of the Zoning Hearing Board as a special exception use that one or more of the following conditions exists:

For approval of a demolition, the standards of this § 280-27 shall apply in place of the special exception use standards of Article I. In reviewing the application, the Zoning Hearing Board shall consider the following:

An application for partial or complete demolition of a building regulated by this § 280-27 shall not be approved unless all of the requirements of this § 280-27 have been met. A partial demolition shall include, but not be limited to, removal of an attached porch roof, removal of porch columns and removal of architectural features. See definition of "demolition" above.

A complete application for the demolition shall be submitted by the applicant in writing. This application shall include the following:

Procedures. The demolition application shall be submitted to the Zoning Hearing Board for consideration as a special exception use. The applicant shall be informed of meeting dates where the application is intended to be discussed and encouraged to be present to discuss the proposed demolition.

Evidence. The applicant shall provide sufficient credible evidence to justify any claims that a building cannot feasibly be repaired or reused. The following types of expert testimony and documentation are encouraged to be provided: a property appraisal, income and expense statements for the property, a written estimate of the costs of rehabilitation by a qualified contractor, a written report from a professional engineer regarding the structural soundness of the building, testimony concerning efforts to market the property over time, information regarding the applicant's purchase price of the building, and similar relevant information.

Self-created conditions. The conditions that justify the proposed demolition of a building regulated by this § 280-27 shall not have been self-created by the applicant. These conditions include, but are not limited to:

The Zoning Officer may require any unoccupied building shall be properly sealed and secured to prevent decay from the elements and vandalism.

Emergency. The Zoning Officer may issue a permit for the demolition without compliance with this § 280-27 if the Building Inspector certifies in writing that the building represents a clear and immediate hazard to public safety, and that no other reasonable alternatives exist to demolition.

Exceptions. Special exception use approval shall not be needed for the following:

Every property owner of a building regulated by this § 280-27 shall repair and maintain the building to avoid demolition by neglect.

Every property owner of a building regulated by this § 280-27 shall properly repair and maintain the building to maintain the structural integrity of the building and to protect the building and attached features from damage from the elements. The attached features that shall be protected, repaired and maintained include the roof, cornice, columns, beams, posts and lintels.

If a property owner fails to comply with an order from the Building Inspector to repair a building regulated by this § 280-27 to correct a code violation that threatens the structural integrity of a building, such matter shall be considered a violation of this § 280-27E and the property owner may also be cited for a violation of this chapter.

Vehicle parking and any garage doors should be placed to the rear of buildings as opposed to between buildings and the street. Where rear parking is not practical, then parking should be provided to the side of a building. Where a driveway needs to enter from the front, the garage should be setback further from the street than the house, and the driveway should be as narrow as practical through the front yard.

New construction should have a front yard setback that is similar to adjacent older buildings.

Modern additions and features should be placed towards the rear of the property.

New construction should have rooflines that are similar to adjacent older buildings. Flat roofs should be avoided. Where a pitched roof is not practical, then the roof should at least appear to have angles and a pitch when viewed from the street.

On sides visible from a street, new construction should use building materials that are similar to appearance older buildings, including brick and stone. Modern building materials are available that have a historic appearance, such as artificial stone.

Where existing older buildings have a certain horizontal or vertical orientation, that orientation should be continued in new construction. Where existing older buildings have a certain spacing of windows and doors, similar spacing (and similar sizes of windows and doors) should be continued in new construction. Blank walls without door and window openings should be avoided along a street.

This § 280-27G allows certain additional uses if the use would be within a rehabilitated principal building built before December 31, 1940, that is within a Historic District.

The following additional use shall be allowed within a building regulated by § 280-27 in any zoning district:

To be eligible for these uses, the applicant shall prove the following to the satisfaction of the Zoning Hearing Board that a registered architect with substantial experience in the rehabilitation of historic buildings provides a written certification that the exterior of the building as visible from public streets will be historically rehabilitated in conformance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Historic Rehabilitation, and accompanying guidelines published by the National Park Service, and that any exterior repairs, alterations and additions visible from a public street will be in conformance with such standards and guidelines.

Plans shall be submitted showing the design and materials of any exterior changes to the building that are visible from a public street.

The building shall not be expanded by more than 20% in its floor area for a use under this § 280-27. This limitation on building expansion shall not apply if the proposed use would be allowed in the zoning district without applying under this § 280-27.