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East Norriton Township
City Zoning Code

ARTICLE XXV

R-R Retirement Residential District

§ 205-150.1 Creation; title.

A new district shall be created which will be entitled "R-R Retirement Residential District."

§ 205-151 Declaration of intent.

The Retirement Residential District is intended to address the housing needs of older persons who do not require the intensive needs of a nursing home but desire the security, safety and special design of a residential environment which can provide protective care and independent living.

§ 205-152 Permitted uses.

The following uses shall be permitted, and a building may be erected, altered or used, and a lot or premises may be used for any of the following purposes:
A. 
A retirement residential community consisting of one or a group of retirement residential structures which shall contain independent residential retirement units for older persons.
B. 
Accessory uses to retirement residential communities and personal care homes will be specifically restricted to serve only residents of the retirement residential community or personal care home, as applicable, and their invited guest and shall be limited to the following:
(1) 
Auditoriums, activity rooms, craft rooms, library, lounges and similar facilities for members of the retirement residential community or personal care home, as applicable, and invited guests.
(2) 
Office and retail facilities designed to serve only the members of the retirement residential community or personal care home, as applicable, such as, but not limited to, a doctor's office, pharmacy, fitness center, gift shop, coffee shop, post office, bank, travel agent, beauty shop and barbershop.
(3) 
Guard station and/or mechanical entrance gate.
(4) 
Off-street automobile parking or parking garage and off-street delivery and loading facilities as may be required for the use of occupants, staff and visitors to the facility.
B1.
Personal care homes, as the sole use of a property or in conjunction with other permitted or special exception uses, subject to the standards in this subsection. Wherever there is a conflict between the standards herein and the general requirements of the R-R District, the standards herein shall apply.
(1)
The minimum lot area devoted to this use shall be three acres.
(2)
The maximum height of a personal care building shall be 35 feet.
(3)
The minimum setback from an abutting street ultimate right-of-way shall be 50 feet. A low-intensity buffer shall be installed in this area in accordance with the requirements of § 175-22.1, Subsection C(4) of Chapter 175, Subdivision and Land Development.
(4)
Property line buffers shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of § 175-22.1, Subsection C, of Chapter 175, Subdivision and Land Development.
(5)
Personal care homes shall be served by public water and sewer.
(6)
Parking shall be provided in accordance with Article XVIII, § 205-102, Subsection B(2)(p) of this chapter.
(7)
The maximum number of beds/residents in a personal care home shall be based upon applicable regulations of the appropriate regulation agencies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as the maximum building area, impervious surface ration and height permitted in this district.
(8)
The maximum number of residents in a single room/unit in a personal care home shall be based upon the maximum number of beds in the room/unit and any applicable regulations of the appropriate regulatory agencies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In no case shall the number of residents in a single room/unit exceed the number of permanent beds in that room/unit.
(9)
The maximum horizontal dimension of a building used as a personal care home shall be 300 feet.
(10)
The provisions of § 205-156, Subsection F, herein shall apply with the understanding that the term "owner of an individual dwelling unit" as used in said section shall be construed to also mean "resident of a personal care home."
(11)
No-impact home-based business as defined in Article II herein.
C. 
Uses permitted by special exception.
(1) 
Adult day care is permitted by special exception.
(2) 
Any uses permitted by right or by conditional use in the RP-Residential and Professional Zoning District are permitted when authorized by special exception, subject to the provisions in the Zoning Code applicable to the RP Zoning District, except that group day-care home(s) and day-care center(s) are prohibited.
(3) 
Special exception uses shall be subject to the applicable parking requirements contained in Article XVIII of this chapter.
(4) 
Buffering along an abutting street shall be provided in accordance with the low-intensity buffer provisions of § 175-22.1, Subsection C(4), of Chapter 175, Subdivision and Land Development.

§ 205-153 Development requirements.

A. 
A Master Plan shall be required for the entire tract and shall include a unified architectural theme.
B. 
Phasing. If constructed in phases, each phase shall be planned so that the regulations shall be fully complied with at the completion of any stage.
C. 
Minimum district size equals seven acres.
D. 
Whenever there is a combination of uses by right and special exception uses on a development tract in this district, the minimum area devoted to permitted uses shall be three acres.

§ 205-154 Area and bulk requirements.

A. 
The maximum number of dwelling units shall be 10 dwelling units per gross acre of lot area. Lot area devoted to uses permitted in § 205-152C above shall not be utilized in the calculation of number of dwelling units.
B. 
Building area shall not exceed 35% of the lot area.
C. 
Impervious surface ratio, including building area, will not exceed 68% of the lot area.
D. 
Minimum building setbacks from streets and property lines shall be as follows:
(1) 
When adjacent to a residential district:
(a) 
In the case of buildings less than two stories, a setback equal to the building height but in no event less than 25 feet.
(b) 
In the case of two or two-and-one-half-story buildings, a setback of not less than 50 feet.
(2) 
When adjacent to a zoning district other than residential, all buildings shall be set back a distance equal to the height of the building but not less than 25 feet.
(3) 
When adjacent to an improved public street, all buildings shall be set back a distance not less than 50 feet from the ultimate right-of-way line, 25 feet of which must be a buffer area.
E. 
Minimum space between buildings shall be 25 feet.
F. 
Unit occupancy.
(1) 
For retirement residential dwellings, no more than three persons shall occupy a dwelling and at least one of whom shall be 55 years of age or older.
(2) 
For all dwellings, principal occupants, if unrelated by blood or marriage, shall be 55 years of age or older.
G. 
Height of building. No building shall exceed a height of 35 feet nor shall it be more than 2 1/2 stories.
H. 
The footprint of a building shall not be longer than six units nor wider than two units.

§ 205-155 Off-street parking requirements.

A. 
There shall be a minimum of two parking spaces for each independent retirement residential dwelling unit.
B. 
Attached garages and driveways may be used in the calculations for off-street parking spaces.
C. 
When submitting a land development plan, the applicant shall provide for the maximum parking that may be expected for the retirement residential community. This shall include the sum of applicable parking requirements outlined in this section.
D. 
Overflow parking shall be provided at the rate of one space for every two units and shall be provided in approved areas accessible by all residents and visitors. One-half of the required overflow parking may be held in reserve and not constructed unless required by the operator of the facility or directed by the Township.
E. 
No parking or loading shall be permitted closer than 25 feet from any R-R District boundary line adjacent to a residential district, 25 feet from the ultimate right-of-way line of an existing street, and 10 feet from any R-R District boundary line adjacent to a zoning district other than residential.
F. 
It shall be illegal to park any commercial vehicles with a manufacturer's specified payload of 2,000 pounds or greater.

§ 205-156 General regulations.

A. 
Utilities. All buildings and units within the retirement residential community shall be served by both public water and public sanitary sewer. All utility lines such as electric, telephone and cable shall be installed underground.
B. 
Signs. Identification signs and directional signs shall be permitted pursuant to § 205-110D or E, as may be applicable, of this chapter. Traffic directional signs and signs indicating direction to delivery and loading areas are permitted and shall not exceed four square feet each.
C. 
Lighting fixtures. External illumination of any retirement residential community as well as the parking lots, driveways, walkways and entrances thereto shall be arranged so as to protect the adjacent highways and neighboring properties, whether or not contiguous thereto, from unreasonable direct glare or hazardous visual interference. No freestanding light fixture shall exceed a height of 16 feet.
D. 
Landscape plan. The developer of a retirement residential community shall provide a separate landscape plan for the perimeters of the tract, as well as any green or open space portions of the tract.
E. 
Buffer area. A permanent landscape buffer of no less than 25 feet in width when adjacent to an existing street right-of-way line or a residential zoning district shall be provided along the perimeter boundaries of a retirement residential community, excluding access points only in accordance with the Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 175, Subdivision and Land Development.
F. 
Declaration of age restriction. At the time of subdivision and land development, as a prerequisite to any final plan approved, the developer shall record a declaration against the entire tract, in a form acceptable to the Township Solicitor, binding all properties and owners to the restriction which shall require that the owner of an individual dwelling unit within the Retirement Residential District shall be age 55 or older.
G. 
In the R-R Zoning District, a one and one-half-story building is defined as a building with two floors of living space above ground and a height less than 25 feet. A two-and-one-half-story building shall have three floors of living space above ground with a height less than 35 feet. The top floor of a one-and-one-half- or two-and-one-half-story building shall have substantially less living space than the floor located immediately beneath the top floor.