Darby City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIX
Performance Standards
§ 153-147 Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to ensure adequate protection for the residents of the Borough against the possible negative effects of certain uses, processes, or activities applicable to all districts, but particularly to commercial districts.
§ 153-148 Administration.
A.
The interpretation and application of standards.
(1)
The performance standards contained herein shall be the minimum standards to be met and maintained by all uses established after the effective date of this chapter. Standards established by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or other applicable county, state, or federal agencies shall apply where those standards are more restrictive than the standards set forth below.
(2)
If any existing use or building or other structure is extended, enlarged, or reconstructed, the performance standards herein shall only apply to such extended, enlarged, or reconstructed portion or portions of such use, building, or other structure.
B.
Application review. All applications for commercial uses shall be reviewed by the Zoning Officer for compliance with the performance standards listed in § 153-149. No application for a use shall be approved until it is certified in writing by the Zoning Officer that the proposed use can meet these performance standards.
C.
Enforcement and costs.
(1)
The Zoning Officer shall investigate any purported violation of the performance standards noted below. Enforcement procedures shall be in accordance with Article XX, Administration, Enforcement, and Amendment.
(2)
If violations, as alleged, are found, costs of such determinations shall be charged against those responsible for the violations, in addition to such other penalties as may be appropriate. If, however, it is determined that no violation exists, the Borough shall pay for the costs of the determination.
§ 153-149 Performance standards.
A.
Air quality. There shall be no emission of smoke, ash, dust, fumes, vapors, gases, or other matter, toxic or noxious, to air which violates the Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act of 1959, as amended,[1] including the standards set forth in Chapter 123 (Standards for Contaminants) and Chapter 131 (Ambient Air Quality Standards), of Article III (Air Resources), Title 25, Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Code.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 4001 et seq.
B.
Fire and explosive hazards. All activities and all storage of flammable and explosive material at any point shall be provided with adequate safety devices against the hazard of fire and explosion, adequate firefighting, fire-suppression equipment, and devices as detailed and specified by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All buildings, structures, and activities within such facilities shall conform to the most recently adopted Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code,[2] the National Fire Code, and any applicable Borough ordinances. Any explosive material shall conform to the requirements of Chapter 211 (Storage, Handling, and Use of Explosives), Article IV (Occupational Health and Safety) Title 25, Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Code, for storing, handling, and use of explosives.
C.
Glare and heat. No direct or sky-reflected glare, whether from floodlights or high temperature processes such as combustion, welding, or otherwise, visible at the lot line shall be permitted, except for emergency industrial operations and safety purposes. These regulations shall not apply to signs or floodlighting of parking areas. There shall be no emission or transmission of heat or heated air discernible at the lot line.
D.
Liquid and solid waste. There shall be no discharge of materials at any point into any public or private sewage system, watercourse, or into the ground in such a way or nature as will contaminate or otherwise cause the emission of hazardous materials in violation of the ordinances of Darby Borough and the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, specifically of Chapters 73 (Standards for On-Lot Sewage Treatment Facilities), 95 (Wastewater Treatment Requirements), and Article VII (Hazardous Waste Management), Title 25, Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Code.
E.
Noise. No person shall operate or cause to be operated on private or public property any source of continuous sound (any sound which is static, fluctuating, or intermittent with a recurrence greater than one time in any fifteen-second interval) in such a manner as to create a sound level which exceeds the limits set forth in the following table when measured at or within the property boundary of the receiving land use:
Receiving Land Use Category | Time | Sound Level Limit | |
|---|---|---|---|
Residential or institutional | (1) 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. | 60 dBA | |
(2) 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (including Sundays and legal holidays) | 50 dBA | ||
Commercial or business | (1) 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. | 65 dBA | |
(2) 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (including Sundays and legal holidays) | 60 dBA |
(1)
For any source of sound that emits a pure tone, the maximum sound level limits set forth in the above table shall be reduced by five dBA. For any source of sound which emits an impulsive sound (a sound of short duration, with an abrupt onset and rapid delay and an occurrence of not more than one time in any fifteen-second interval), the sound pressure level shall not exceed 20 dBA over the ambient sound level, regardless of time of day or night, of receiving land use, using the "fast" meter characteristics of a Type II Meter, meeting the ANSI specifications S1.4-1971.
(2)
The maximum permissible sound levels as listed in the above table shall not apply to any of the following noise sources:
(a)
The emission of sound for the purpose of alerting persons to the existence of an emergency or associated practice drills.
(b)
Emergency work to provide electricity, water, or other public utilities when public health or safety is involved.
(c)
Public celebrations specifically authorized by the Borough.
F.
Odors. No uses shall emit odorous gases or other odorous matter in such quantities so as to be offensive at any point on or beyond its lot lines. The guide for determining such quantities of offensive odors shall be the 50% response level of Table 1 (Odor Thresholds in Air), "Research of Chemical Odors: Part I - Odor Thresholds for 53 Commercial Chemicals," October, 1986, Manufacturing Chemists Association, Inc., Washington, D.C.
G.
Vibration. No vibration shall be produced that is transmitted through the ground and is discernible without the aid of instruments at or at any point beyond the lot line except for repair and construction work.
H.
Radioactivity or electrical disturbances. There shall be no activities that emit dangerous radioactivity at any point. There shall be no radio or electrical disturbances adversely affecting the operation of equipment belonging to someone other than the creator of the disturbance. If any use is proposed which incorporates the use of any radioactive material, equipment, or supplies, such use shall be in strict conformity with Chapters 221 (X-rays in the Healing Arts), 225 (Radiation Safety Requirements for Industrial Radiographic Operations), and 227 (Radiation Safety Requirements for Analytical X-ray Equipment, X-ray Gauging Equipment, Electron Microscopes, and X-ray Calibration Systems), Article V (Radiological Health), Title 25, Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Code.
I.
Public health and safety. No use shall create any other objectionable condition in an adjoining area that will endanger public health and safety or be detrimental to the public use of the surrounding area.