Resource protection land. A residential lot of 15,000 square feet or less shall not include any slopes greater than 20%, wetlands or one-hundred-year floodplain within the area used to meet the required minimum lot size. A residential lot of over 15,000 square feet shall include a minimum of 15,000 square feet of land that does not use any of the following areas to meet the minimum lot size: slopes greater than 20%, wetlands or areas within the one-hundred-year floodplain. See also provisions of Chapter 175, Subdivision and Land Development, regarding average slopes of building areas. See § 200-32B for regulations on buildings in floodplains.

Nonconforming lot. The provisions of this chapter shall not prevent the construction of a structure for a permitted use on an existing lot that was lawful when created and which, prior to the effective date of this chapter, was in single and separate ownership duly recorded by plan or deed; and provided that:

This exception shall not apply to any two or more contiguous lots in a single ownership as of or subsequent to the effective date of the provisions of this chapter that made the lot nonconforming, where a merger or resubdivision could create one or more lots that would be less nonconforming with this chapter.

Off-street parking and fences shall be permitted within required yards.

Front yard exceptions for existing setbacks. If the alignment of existing buildings on either side of a lot within a distance of 200 feet of the proposed building and fronting on the same side of the same street in the same block is nearer to the street than the required front yard depth, the Township may accept the average of such existing alignment within that distance as the required front yard.

Projection into yards. An arbor, open trellis, flagpole, unroofed steps or terrace, or recreational or clothes-drying yard shall be permitted as projections into required yards with no restriction. In addition, a roof of a building may overhang into a yard by up to three feet. No other permanent structure shall project into the required yard.

Accessory building in yards. See § 200-28H. No accessory building shall be permitted within the area of the minimum front yard setback.

Structures and uses in existence at the date of adoption of this chapter shall not be subject to the requirements of this article so long as the kind or extent of use is not changed, provided that any parking facility now serving such structures or uses shall not in the future be reduced below such requirements.

Whenever there is an alteration of a use that increases the parking requirements according to this article, the total additional parking required for the alteration, change, or extension shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of this article.

No parking area shall be used for any use that interferes with its availability for the parking need it is required to serve.

All required facilities shall be provided and maintained as long as the use exists which the facilities were designed to serve. The total extent of off-street parking facilities shall not be reduced after their provision, except upon the approval of the Township and then only after proof that, by reason of diminution in floor area, seating area, or the number of employees or change in other factors controlling the regulation of the number of parking spaces, such reduction is in conformity with the requirements of this article. Reasonable precautions shall be taken by the owner or sponsor of particular uses to assure the availability of required facilities to the employees or other persons whom the facilities are designed to serve. Such facilities shall be designed and used in such a manner that at no time constitutes a nuisance, hazard, or unreasonable impediment to traffic.

For parking areas of six or more vehicles and related driveways, the area that is not landscaped shall be: a) graded and surfaced with bituminous asphalt or concrete or another hard-surface approved by the Township, and b) drained to the satisfaction of the Township Engineer to the extent necessary to prevent dust, erosion, or excessive water flow across streets or adjoining property. All off-street parking areas of three or more spaces shall be marked so as to indicate the spaces' location. Failure to keep parking areas in satisfactory condition (such as free from potholes, clearly delineated, or properly graded) shall be considered a violation of this chapter.

All areas for the storage of six or more motor vehicles shall be adequately buffered from adjacent streets and properties and landscaped in accordance with an overall plan as required in § 200-38.

Within the TC Town Center District, any use existing as of the effective date of this chapter which can be lawfully expanded, or any new use that cannot meet the parking requirements of this chapter within the lot lines of the principal use may meet the parking requirements of this chapter by:

A parking stall is that area specifically designated by pavement markings or some other means for the temporary parking of one motor vehicle.

Design standards for parking stalls shall not apply where the primary purpose is that of vehicle storage related to sales, service, or other use, both commercial and noncommercial.

Unless otherwise specified, each required parking space shall include a rectangle with a minimum width of 10 feet and a minimum length of 20 feet. Parking spaces for storage of vehicles for sale or valet parking are not restricted by this size limitation.

Parking for the persons with disabilities shall meet the requirements of the Township Construction Codes,[1] which reference national ANSI standards.

The minimum width of two-way traffic parking aisles shall be 24 feet.

Drives and parking aisles shall be designed so that each motor vehicle may proceed to and from a parking stall without requiring the moving of any other motor vehicle.

For automobile sales lots (Use E-2) no area for off-street parking or for the display, storage, sale, or movement of motor vehicles shall abut directly a public street or highway unless separated from the street or highway by a raised curb and barrier planting strip, wall or other effective barrier against traffic, except at necessary accessways, and each parking area shall have not more than two accessways to any one public street or highway for each 500 feet of frontage. Where possible, access to parking areas shall be provided by a common service driveway or minor street in order to avoid direct access on a major street or highway. Except for flares and curb returns, no such accessway shall be more than 35 feet clear in width.

In the case of apartments and all industrial uses, the following regulations shall apply:

Internal drives and parking aisles shall be no less than the minimum width specified in § 200-36B and shall be designed so as to prevent blockage of vehicles entering or leaving the site.

Internal drives and parking aisles shall be paved and provided with curbs and drainage in conformance with the requirements of the subdivision and site plan regulations.[2]

Required off-street parking facilities as accessory to uses listed herein shall be solely for the parking of passenger automobiles of patrons, occupants, or employees.

No motor vehicle repair work of any kind other than emergency service shall be permitted in parking lots of nonresidential uses.

In any case where a development abuts a state or municipal highway, all streets in the vicinity of the development shall be adequate to serve probable increases in traffic volume, and adequate deceleration lanes and similar facilities shall be provided as required by the Township.

No off-street parking shall be permitted within a required buffer yard or within a street right-of-way. See also Subsection F(6)(a) below.

Computation:

Additional requirements for parking areas.

The conditional reduction of parking spaces may apply if the minimum number of parking spaces required for a land use is in excess of actual parking needs or if the operating schedule of two or more land uses are such that a parking lot may be shared.

The parking lot design must designate sufficient space to meet the parking requirement. The plan shall also illustrate the layout for the total number of parking spaces, which must be in compliance with the impervious surface and yard requirements of this chapter.

The balance of the parking area conditionally reserved shall not include areas for required buffer yards, setbacks, or areas which would otherwise be unsuitable for parking spaces due to the physical characteristics of the land or other requirements of this chapter. The developer shall provide with the land development plan a landscaping plan for the reserved area.

If required by the Township, the developer or owner shall post a performance bond or other securities to cover the expense of a parking study to be undertaken by a registered traffic engineer of the Township's choosing who shall determine the advisability of providing the full parking requirement. With recommendations of the parking study and the Township Engineer, the Township shall determine if the additional spaces shall be provided by the developer or if the area shall remain as open space.

Blocking or interfering with the use of the accessways, automobile parking facilities, or pedestrianways; or

Backing out into a street.

A buffer yard shall be provided and maintained with a minimum width of 50 feet between the side and rear of any new or expanded principal commercial or industrial use or area used for overnight parking of two or more tractor-trailer trucks and any abutting lot line within a residential district or FP District or any existing principal dwelling. This buffer yard shall be increased to a minimum of 100 feet for a principal manufacturing or warehouse use, or for a commercial use that will be open to the public between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. See also berm requirements in the EC District regulations.

Water towers, storage tanks, processing equipment, fans, skylights, cooling towers, vents, and any other structures or equipment other than radio or television antenna which are above the roofline shall be architecturally compatible or effectively shielded from view from any private or dedicated street by an architecturally sound method which shall be approved by the Board before construction or erection of said structures or equipment.

Where such screening is required, the Township may require the screening be assured by a maintenance guarantee posted with the Township in an amount equal to the estimated cost of trees and shrubs and planting. In addition, the current landowner shall replace within 12 months any required tree or shrub that dies at any time.

Any part or portion of a site which is not used for buildings, other structures, loading and parking spaces and aisles, sidewalks, and designated storage areas shall be landscaped according to an overall landscaping plan. For a lot including more than 10,000 square feet of nonresidential building space, the landscaping plans shall be prepared by a registered landscape architect.

See § 200-38B.

All mechanical and electrical equipment not enclosed in a structure shall be fully and completely screened from view from any point and in a manner compatible with the architectural and landscaping style of the remainder of the lot. Such screening shall be subject to site plan review by the Township and accessibility reviewed by the utility.

Landscaping of outdoor advertising signs shall be in accordance with Article VIII.

No more than 20 consecutive off-street parking spaces shall be placed in a row without being separated by a planting strip not less than 10 feet in width from any other parking spaces. This requirement shall not apply to trucking areas serving industrial uses.

For a lot including six or more off-street parking spaces, no less than 10% of a proposed parking area must consist of buffer areas and islands and must be landscaped and continually maintained. Planting along the perimeter of a parking area, whether for required screening or general beautification, will be considered as part of the required parking area landscaping.

A minimum average of one deciduous shade tree shall be required to be planted for every 10 off-street parking spaces on a lot. Such trees shall meet the same requirements, including but not limited to species and size, as are provided in Chapter 175, Subdivision and Land Development, for street trees.

Plantings shall be shifted in location where needed to avoid interference with clear sight lines at intersections. Low-level shrubbery shall be avoided where traffic lanes intersect.

Streetlighting exempted. This § 200-39 shall not apply to streetlighting that is owned, financed or maintained by the Township or the state.

Diffused. All light sources, including signs, shall be properly diffused as needed with a translucent or similar cover to prevent exposed bulbs from being directly visible from streets, public sidewalks, dwellings or adjacent lots.

Flickering. Flashing, flickering or strobe lighting are prohibited, except for nonadvertising seasonal lights between October 20 and January 10.

Spillover. Exterior lighting on a lot shall not cause a spillover of light onto a residential lot that exceeds 0.5 footcandle measured 10 feet inside a lot line of an existing principal residential use.

Canopies. Light fixtures under commercial canopies (such as over gasoline pumps) shall be placed so that the cover is recessed or flush with the bottom surface of the canopy and/or shielded by the edge of the canopy so that light source is not directly visible from beyond the property.

It is mandatory that the recorded plan and the deeds and/or a conservation easement shall indicate that there shall be no additional development and subdivision of common open space, except for improvements as may be specifically approved by the Township for a preserved agricultural lot, a golf course open to the public, noncommercial recreation or similar approved use. The common open space shall be restricted against any future building, development, or activity that is contrary to the Township-approved use of the land. The approved plans may provide for buildings and improvements for noncommercial recreation, golf course, equestrian or agricultural purposes compatible with the approved use of the common open space.

All documents pertaining to the conveyance, use and maintenance of the common open space shall be subject to the approval of the Board of Supervisors, prior to recording of the final plan, and after review by the Township Solicitor.

Layout.

Areas set aside for open space shall be suitable for the designated purpose and shall be laid out to connect with existing or potential common open space on any adjacent tract. Where structures relating to common open space or recreational activity are located in approved common open space, no more than 5% of that area, or 10,000 square feet, whichever is greater, may be converted to building areas. Structures relating to agricultural uses shall conform to the provisions of Uses A-1 through A-9 in § 200-28.

Any land set aside as common open space must be made subject to a deed restriction or conservation easement in a form acceptable to the Township and duly recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of Northampton County.

Dedication in fee simple to the Township:

Conveyance of title in fee simple to a conservancy organization, entity controlling a golf course, property-owner association, entity controlling agricultural or equestrian land, or other Township-approved legal entity:

Conveyance of restrictive covenants, conservation easements, or other legal device to a municipality or a conservancy, corporation, association-funded community trust, condominium, individual or other legal entity to insure the preservation of the common open space. In such case, the Township may allow the common open space to be lotted off to one or more adjacent fee-simple lots, provided:

Conveyance of title to an individual for agricultural purposes:

No motor vehicle parking shall be permitted in the common open space area except to serve noncommercial recreation and allowed agricultural purposes.

No forestry shall be allowed in the common open space, except as may occur to remove damaged, dead or diseased trees or as may involve active reforestation according to a landscaping plan, or as may be allowed to clear space for an approved use.

No alteration of any stream, pond, or lake shall be permitted within prior approval by the Township.

In the case of land owned by a property-owner association, the agreement shall provide for a process for approval of changes to common open space by the property owners, provided such changes are consistent with the Township-approved plan and any Township-approved revision.

This section is adopted pursuant to the authority conferred by the State Airport Zoning Act, as amended[1] and the State Municipalities Planning Code, as amended.[2]

It is hereby found that an obstruction has the potential for endangering the lives and property of users of Braden Airpark located in Forks Township, and property or occupants of land in its vicinity; that an obstruction may affect existing and future instrument approach minimums of Braden Airpark; and that an obstruction may reduce the size of areas available for the landing, takeoff, and maneuvering of aircraft, thus tending to destroy or impair the utility of Braden Airpark and the public investment therein. Accordingly, it is declared:

It is further declared that the prevention of the creation or establishment of hazards to air navigation, the elimination, removal, alteration or mitigation of hazards to air navigation, or marking and lighting of obstructions are public purposes for which a political subdivision may raise and expend public funds and acquire land or interests in land.

Utility runway visual approach zone. The inner edge of this approach zone coincides with the width of the primary surface and is 250 feet wide. The approach zone expands outward uniformly to a width of 1,250 feet at a horizontal distance 5,000 from the primary surface. Its center line is the continuation of the center line of the runway.

Transitional zones. The transitional zones are the areas beneath the transitional surfaces.

Horizontal zone. The horizontal zone is established by swinging arcs of 5,000 feet radii from the center of each end of the primary surface of each runway and connecting the adjacent arcs by drawing lines tangent to those arcs. The horizontal zones do not include the approach and transitional zones.

Conical zone. The conical zone is established as the area that commences at the periphery of the horizontal zone and extends outward there from a horizontal distance of 4,000 feet.

Utility runway visual approach zone. Slopes 20 feet outward for each foot upward beginning at the end of and at the same elevation as the primary surfaces and extending to a horizontal distance of 5,000 feet along the extending runway center line.

Transitional zones. Slopes seven feet outward for each foot upward beginning at the sides of and at the same elevation as the primary surface and the approach surface, and extending to a height of 150 feet above the airport elevation which is 399 feet above mean sea level. In addition to the foregoing, there are established height limits sloping seven feet outward for each foot upward beginning at the sides of and at the same elevation as the approach surface, and extending to where they intersect the conical surface.

Horizontal zone. Established at 150 feet above the airport elevation or at a height of 549 feet above mean sea level.

Conical zone. Slopes 20 feet outward for each foot upward beginning at the periphery of the horizontal zone and at 150 feet above the airport elevation and extending to a height of 350 feet above the airport elevation.

Excepted height limitations. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as prohibiting the construction or maintenance of any structure, or growth of any tree to a height up to 50 feet above the surface of the land.

Regulations not retroactive. The regulations prescribed by this chapter shall not be construed to require the removal, lowering, or otherwise change or alteration of any structure or tree not conforming to the regulations as of the effective date of this chapter, or otherwise interfere with the continuance of a nonconforming use. Nothing contained herein shall require any change in the construction, alteration, or intended use of any structure, the construction or alteration of which was begun prior to the effective date of this chapter, and is diligently prosecuted.

Marking and lighting. Notwithstanding the preceding provision of this section, the owner of any existing nonconforming structure or tree is hereby required to permit the installation, operation, and maintenance thereon of such markers and lights as shall be deemed necessary to indicate to the operators of aircraft in the vicinity of the airport the presence of such airport obstruction. Such markers and lights shall be installed, operated, and maintained at the expense of Braden Airpark.

Future uses.

Existing uses. No permit shall be granted that would allow the establishment or creation of an obstruction or permit a nonconforming use, structure, or tree to become a greater hazard to air navigation than it was on the effective date of this chapter or any amendments thereto or than it is when the application for a permit is made. Except as indicated, all applications for such a permit shall be granted.

Nonconforming uses abandoned or destroyed. Whenever the Zoning Officer determines that a nonconforming tree or structure has been abandoned or more than 80% torn down, physically deteriorated, or decayed, no permit shall be granted that would allow such structure or tree to exceed the applicable height limit or otherwise deviate from the zoning regulations.

Variances. Any person desiring to erect or increase the height of any structure, or permit the growth of any tree, or use property, not in accordance with the regulations prescribed in this chapter, may apply to the Zoning Hearing Board for a variance from such regulations. The application for variance shall be accompanied by a determination from the Federal Aviation Administration as to the effect of the proposal on the operation of air navigation facilities and the safe, efficient use of navigable airspace. Such variances shall be allowed in accordance with the requirements of Article XII and a further finding that the variance will not create a hazard to air navigation. Additionally, no application for variance to the requirements of this chapter may be considered by the Zoning Hearing Board unless a copy of the application has been furnished to the Airport Manager for advice as to the aeronautical effects of the variance. If the Airport Manager does not respond to the application within 15 days after receipt, the Zoning Hearing Board may act on its own to grant or deny said application.

Obstruction marking and lighting. Any permit or variance may, if such action is deemed advisable to effectuate the purpose of this chapter and be reasonable in the circumstances, be so conditioned as to require the owner of the structure or tree in question to install, and maintain, at the owner's expense, such markings and lights as may be necessary.