Coopersburg City Zoning Code
ARTICLE V
Dimensional Requirements in Each District
§ 230-20 Dimensional requirements.
The following dimensional requirements shall apply for the specified zoning district, unless a more restrictive requirement for a specific use is required by Article VI or another provision of this Ordinance. All measurements shall be in feet unless otherwise stated. See definitions of terms (such as lot width) in Article XV. Each dwelling unit and each principal building shall be served by both public water and public sewer service.
A.
Dimensional requirements for primarily residential districts:
Zoning District: Type of Use | Minimum Lot Area (square feet) | Minimum Lot Width Measured at Minimum Building Setback Line (feet) [Note A] | Maximum Building Height (feet) (See also § 230-21) | Minimum Front Yard Setback (feet) [Note D] | Minimum Rear Yard Setback (feet) [Note F] | Minimum Side Yard Setback (each) (feet) [Note F] [Note H] | Maximum Percent Building Coverage [Note E] | Maximum Percent Impervious Coverage [Note E] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. R-1 Low Density Residential District and R-1/O Low Density Residential Office or RE Recreation District: a) Single-family detached dwelling b) Other allowed principal use All dwelling units shall have a minimum width of 18 feet If all housing within a development meets the age-qualified housing standards of § 230-19, the minimum lot area shall be reduced to 8,000 square feet and the minimum lot width shall be reduced to 60 feet, and the maximum building coverage may be increased to 40% | a) 12,000 b) 15,000 | a) 80, except 100 for a corner lot | All uses: 40 feet or 3 stories, whichever is more restrictive b) 100 | All uses: 25; on a corner lot, 15 along the second street | All uses: 25 | a) 8 b) 12 | All uses: 30% | All uses: 40% |
2. R-2 Medium Density Residential District: a) Single-family detached dwelling b) Single-family semi-detached dwelling or two-family dwelling c) Townhouses d) Other allowed principal use If all housing within a development meets the age-qualified housing standards of § 230-19, the minimum lot area or minimum average lot area per dwelling unit may be reduced by 2,000 square feet See maximum building setback in § 230-23 | a) 8,000 b) 6,000 per dwelling unit c) Average of 6,000 per dwelling unit [Note C, K] d) 12,000 | a) 80 b) 50 per dwelling unit c) 24 d) 80 | All uses: 40 feet or 3 stories, whichever is more restrictive | All uses: 20 [Note B]; on a corner lot, 15 along the second street | All uses: 25 | a) 8 c) 8 d) 12 | All uses: 40% b) 8 | All uses: 50% |
3. R-3 High Density Residential District: [Note B] a) Allowed dwelling If all housing within a development meets the age-qualified housing standards of § 230-19, the minimum average lot area per dwelling unit may be reduced to 3,000 square feet. If the age-qualified housing development is limited to persons age 62 or older and the physically disabled, the minimum average lot area per dwelling unit may be reduced to 2,000 square feet b) Other allowed principal use | a) Minimum average lot area of 5,000 per dwelling unit [Note C, K, F] b) 10,000 | a) 40 per dwelling unit, except 24 feet per townhouse [Note B], and 60 for apartments b) 60 | All uses: 40 feet or 3 stories, whichever is more restrictive, except 55 feet or 4 stories on a lot of more than one acre, that is age-qualified housing, in compliance with § 230-19 | [Note B] All uses: 20. On a corner lot, 15 along the second street. | All uses: 25 | a) 8, except 15 for a multifamily building from other housing types b) 15 | All uses: 45% | All uses: 60% |
B.
Dimensional requirements for primarily nonresidential districts:
Zoning District: Type of Use | Minimum Lot Area (square feet) | Minimum Lot Width Measured at Minimum Building Setback Line (feet) [Note A] | Maximum Building Height (feet) (See also § 230-21) | Minimum Front Yard Setback (feet) [Note D] | Minimum Rear Yard Setback (feet) [Note F] | Minimum Side Yard Setback (each) (feet) [Note F] [Note H | Maximum Percent Building Coverage [Note E] | Maximum Percent Impervious Coverage [Note E] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. CG General Commercial District: a) Allowed nonresidential uses b) Any allowed residential uses shall meet the requirements of the R-3 District Where an allowed business use(s) is combined with allowed residential uses on the same lot, the 15,000-square-foot lot area shall apply to the business use(s), and then each dwelling shall meet the density requirements of the R-3 district. Therefore, 2 commercial uses and 4 apartments would be required to have a total minimum lot area of 15,000 square feet plus 20,000 square feet, for a total of 35,000 square feet. For such a mixed-use lot, the lot shall meet the height, setbacks and coverages for a nonresidential use | a) 12,000 | a) 120 abutting Route 309, 80 abutting another street | a) 5 stories or 70 feet, whichever is more restrictive, except 3 stories or 45 feet for portions of buildings within 200 feet of an existing principal dwelling, unless waived in writing by the owner of such dwelling | a) 20, except 35 feet if parking spaces are provided between the building and the street curbline | a) 20 [Note I] | a) 10 [Note I] | a) 50% | a) 75% |
2. TC Town Center District: See also maximum building setback in § 230-23 See also limits on conversions of a single family detached dwelling into apartments in § 230-14 | 6,000 for the lot, plus minimum average of 3,000 square feet per dwelling unit [Note C] | 50 | 4 stories or 55 feet, whichever is more restrictive | 0 (see § 230-23); No new off-street parking spaces shall be allowed between the street and the front walls of the nearest building | 20 [Note I] | 3 [Note J] | 60% | 70% |
3. CN Neighborhood Commercial District: a) Allowed nonresidential uses b) Allowed residential uses shall meet the standards for the R-3 District Where an allowed business use(s) is combined with allowed residential uses on the same lot, the 8,000-square-foot lot area shall apply to the business use(s), and then a minimum average of 6,500 square feet shall be required for each dwelling unit. For such a mixed use lot, the lot shall meet the height, setbacks and coverages for a nonresidential use. | a) 8,000 | 50 [Note B] | 3 stories or 45 feet | 15, except 30 if parking spaces are provided in the front yard | 25 [Note I] | 10 [Note I] | 50% | 75% |
4. LIC Light Industrial/Commercial or GI General Industrial Districts: a) Manufactured home park in the GI District b) Other allowed use | a) Minimum average of 9,000 per dwelling unit [Note C] b) 15,000 | a) 100 b) 80 | a) 3 stories or 35 feet, whichever is more restrictive b) 4 stories or 55 feet, whichever is more restrictive | a) 25 b) 25 | a) 25 from the exterior lot line, with 20 feet separation between dwellings with the park b) 25 [Note I] | a) 25 from the exterior lot line, with 20 feet separation between dwellings within the park b) 25 [Note I] | a) 50% b) 60% | a) 70% b) 75% |
Notes for the above tables: | ||
[Note A] | = | The minimum lot width is measured at the part of the lot where the minimum building front yard setback applies. If a building is placed further back from the street, it will not change where the lot width is measured. |
[Note B] | = | If an existing rear or side alley is available or could be feasibly extended, it shall be used for access to parking spaces for the lot instead of a front yard driveway, unless the Borough determines that another access is more appropriate as part of a subdivision or land development approval. If two or more side-by-side off-street parking spaces are located in the front yard of a townhouse or if garage door(s) for two or more vehicles face onto the street in the front of the townhouse, then the minimum building width per dwelling along such street shall be a minimum of 24 feet. A maximum of 60% of the land area between the front of each townhouse or semi-detached dwelling and the street right-of-way line shall be used for vehicle parking and driveways, unless a shared parking court is approved with a twenty-foot paving setback from the dwellings. |
[Note C] | = | The average density provisions are intended to allow flexibility in the placement of individual dwelling units, regardless of whether the homes are condominium or fee-simple, and regardless of whether public streets, private streets or parking courts are used. No minimum lot area applies for each individual dwelling unit, provided that the overall density requirements are met. Each single family, semi-detached or townhouse dwelling shall still be able to meet the minimum front yard, side yard, rear yard and lot width as if each dwelling was on its own fee simple lot. |
The minimum average lot area per dwelling unit establishes the maximum number of units permitted on a tract of land. The total lot area of the tract prior to development is used. The area occupied by existing street right-of-way of existing streets and alleys is then deleted. The following areas are not required to be deleted from the lot area to determine density: right-of-way of proposed streets and alleys and areas of parking courts, common open space and stormwater detention basins. The resulting lot area is then divided by the average lot area per dwelling unit to result in the maximum number of dwelling units allowed on the tract. | ||
[Note D] | = | Setbacks shall be measured from the legal street right-of-way, after any subdivision or land development has been completed. An unenclosed front porch or deck may encroach up to 10 feet into the minimum front yard. This porch or deck may be covered by a roof or awning. Steps, stoops and ramps for persons with disabilities may also encroach into any setback as necessary to provide access, which may be beyond 10 feet. |
[Note E] | = | For townhouses and semi-detached dwellings, the maximum building and impervious coverage requirements may be met as an average across a tract after development, as opposed to regulating each individual lot. |
[Note F] | = | The following exceptions shall apply: |
For accessory structures and uses, see § 230-22 below. | ||
Structures shall not obstruct minimum sight clearance at intersections, as provided in § 230-64C. | ||
See § 230-66C(2)(d) regarding extension of nonconforming setbacks. | ||
See § 230-23C below regarding permitted reductions in setbacks to reflect average setbacks of adjacent buildings. | ||
[Note G] | = | Abutting lots in common ownership may be calculated together to show compliance with the maximum coverages. |
[Note H] | = | Except 0 feet at the shared lot line of lawfully attached dwellings, such as along the lot line of semi-detached dwellings or townhouses, or where a new attached building is constructed that replaces a previous building that was attached to the same adjacent building, or where the Borough approves adjacent business buildings to be constructed on a lot line as part of a subdivision or land development. |
[Note I] | = | Except 20 feet side and 25 feet rear for a principal business from a lot in a residential district that is occupied by a principal dwelling that is not in common ownership. Such side or rear yard shall be increased to 60 feet from such a lot for any building area or land area used for manufacturing, bulk storage of highly hazardous substances, industrial outdoor processing or a tractor-trailer truck loading dock. |
[Note J] | = | A minimum three-foot building setback is required from an approximately parallel door or window of a building on another lot, unless a larger setback is required under the Construction Code. |
[Note K] | = | Individual lots may be approved with smaller condominium parcels as part of a unified subdivision or land development plan, provided the average density is met. |
Abbreviations: sq. ft. = square feet. | ||
C.
Multiuse, multilot development; driveways across zoning districts.
(1)
If two or more adjacent lots or uses are part of the same subdivision or land development application, and this Ordinance would require setbacks or buffer yards between the lots or uses, then as a condition of the subdivision and land development approval, Borough Council shall have the authority to reduce the setbacks or modify the buffer yard widths or standards as a conditional use. In order to receive conditional use approval, the applicant shall prove to the satisfaction of the Borough Council that such reductions or modifications will still result in compatibility between uses. The affected lots shall be in common ownership or common equitable ownership at the time of conditional use application. This provision shall not be used to reduce requirements adjacent to a lot that is not part of the same subdivision or land development application.
(2)
Shared Parking. See § 230-47A(6).
(3)
Where a driveway serves an industrial use, it shall not cross commercially-zoned or residentially-zoned land before accessing a public street. Where a driveway serves a principal commercial use, it shall not cross residentially-zoned land before accessing a public street.
(a)
This requirement shall not apply to a driveway providing access to a lawful nonconforming use where no feasible alternative exists. This requirement shall not limit access to: a) an industrial use that is allowed in the commercial district, or b) a commercial use that is allowed in the residential district.
(b)
A driveway for any lawful use in a commercial district may cross any land in a commercial district, regardless of whether that particular use is allowed in that particular district.
§ 230-21 Height exceptions.
Section 230-20 establishes maximum building heights for each District. The following provisions shall also apply:
A.
Any accessory structure or building shall have a maximum height of one habitable story or 20 feet, unless it meets the minimum setbacks for a principal building, in which case the maximum height for a principal building shall apply.
B.
The maximum height requirements shall not apply to cranes or similar mechanical devices.
C.
A minimum building height of 20 feet shall apply for any new principal building in the TC District.
D.
The maximum structure height specified for each District shall not apply to: antenna and communications towers that meet the requirements of this Ordinance, water towers, clock or bell towers, steeples and religious symbols attached to places of worship, utility lines and poles and towers, elevator shafts, rooftop stairways, wind turbines that comply with this Ordinance, skylights, chimneys, heating/ventilation/air-conditioning equipment, industrial mechanical equipment areas that are not occupied by humans, or other appurtenances usually required to be and customarily placed above the roof level and not intended for human occupancy. See also definition of "height" in Article XV.
E.
Solar energy collection devices may exceed the maximum building height by six feet, provided the devices do not extend more than one foot above the top of the peak of a pitched residential roof.
§ 230-22 Accessory structures and uses.
A.
Accessory structures and uses shall not be placed within a minimum front yard (including both front yards on a corner lot) and shall meet the minimum yard setbacks provided for in § 230-20, unless otherwise provided for in this Ordinance, and except as allowed in the following subsections.
B.
The minimum side and rear yard setback for a permitted one-story detached structure with a height of less than 15 feet that is accessory to a dwelling shall be three feet along a lot line that is not a street right-of-way, except in the following cases:
(1)
A side yard setback is not required for a structure that is accessory to a dwelling from a lot line along which two dwellings are attached (such as a lot line shared by semi-detached dwellings). However, such structure shall still meet the three-foot setback on a lot line where the dwellings are not attached, and shall not be placed less than three feet from an approximately parallel door or window of another dwelling.
(2)
A residential porch or deck that is unenclosed may extend a maximum of 15 feet into the required rear setback. Such porch or deck may be covered by a roof or awning. Space under an unenclosed porch may be used for household storage. See Note D above considering front yard setbacks.
(4)
A vehicle garage that is accessory to a dwelling shall have a sufficient setback along an alley which provide access to the garage, unless a larger setback is established by another section of this Ordinance.
(5)
No accessory building and no swimming pool shall be allowed between the principal building and the front lot line.
C.
The minimum side and rear yard setback for an accessory storage shed that is not accessory to a dwelling shall be 10 feet, except it shall be three feet for a lot line abutting a principal business use. These reduced setbacks shall only apply for storage sheds of less than 15 feet in height that are used to store types of materials, substances and equipment that would be typically found on a residential property, such as lawn mowers.
§ 230-23 Maximum building setback in R-2 and TC Districts; reduction in front setbacks.
A.
In the R-2 or TC Districts, where more than 70% of the lots on the same side of a block are already developed with buildings, and where the Zoning Officer determines that more than 70% of such buildings have a front yard setback of 30 feet or less along such side of the block, then if a new principal building is proposed, then at least a portion of the front building wall of a new principal building shall have a front yard building setback that is not more than five feet larger and not less than five feet smaller than the average front yard setback of the existing buildings that have a setback of less than 30 feet. The maximum front yard setback may be met with an attached front porch or a building wall. A maximum building setback shall not apply where the area between the building and the curb is occupied by an outdoor cafe or pedestrian plaza.
B.
This Subsection B shall apply when Subsection A does not apply. In the R-2 and TC Districts, any new principal building shall have a maximum front building setback along a street of 25 feet. This maximum building setback shall not apply in areas occupied by an outdoor cafe or pedestrian plaza. The intent is to have new parking to the side and rear of the building. This provision shall not prevent the construction of an access driveway in the front. On a corner lot, this provision shall only apply to one of the two abutting public streets.
C.
Where a subject lot has two abutting lots on the same side of the street along the same block, and both of these lots have an existing front yard building setback that is smaller than the setback that would be required on the subject lot, then the subject lot may have a minimum front yard setback that is equal to the average of those two abutting lots.
§ 230-24 Dimensional provisions for solar energy collection devices.
B.
See § 230-21E, which allows solar energy collection devices to exceed the maximum height. Solar screens, awnings, or solar panels that extend over building windows and that do not include any signage may intrude into a building setback area by up to 15 feet. The photo below shows an example of a solar shading extension of a building roof that is intended to provide adjustable screening of the sun, to cool a building on hot days and warm a building on cold days.
 |
C.
Solar energy collection devices that are not located on a building roof shall not: 1) be located in a minimum front yard; and 2) have a total height above the ground of more than 15 feet, unless they meet minimum setbacks for a principal building.
D.
When an applicant owns two or more adjacent lots, and at least one of those lots is proposed to utilize solar energy collection devices, the applicant is requested to consider establishing a solar access easement or a similar legal mechanism to make sure that structures or vegetation on one lot does not unreasonably obstruct solar access for the solar energy collection devices on the adjacent lot.
E.
Where solar energy collection devices are being placed on a building roof, it is requested that they be set back a minimum of three feet from the side and bottom edges of the roof to allow for safer access by and less risk of electrical shock to emergency responders.