To cease or discontinue a use or activity without intent to resume, but excluding temporary or short-term interruptions to a use or activity during periods of remodeling, maintaining, or otherwise improving or rearranging a facility, subject to completion of the work within one year of the issuance of a zoning permit and/or building permit.

Having a common border with, or being separated from such a common border by, a right-of-way, alley, or easement.

A way or means of approach to provide physical ingress to and/or egress from a property.

A subordinate structure detached from but located on the same lot as the principal structure, the use of which is incidental and accessory to that of the principal structure. Cargo containers, railroad cars, truck vans, converted mobile homes, trailers, recreational vehicles, bus bodies, vehicles and similar prefabricated items and structures originally built for purposes other than the storage of goods and materials are not accessory structures.

A use incidental to, and on the same lot as, a principal use.

A property having a contiguous property boundary with a separate property, including properties with any amount of opposite front, rear or side yard areas that are separated by a right-of-way, alley, or easement.

An activity or operation that is agriculturally based and brings in visitors to a farm or ranch, including buying produce direct from a farm stand, navigating a corn maze, picking fruit, feeding animals or staying at a bed-and-breakfast on a farm.

The use of land for agricultural purposes, including farming, dairying, pasturage, horticulture, floriculture, and animal and poultry husbandry, and the necessary accessory uses for farm homes and packing, treating or storing the product; provided, however, that the operation of any accessory uses are secondary to that of normal agricultural activities, and provided further that the use does not include commercial hog farms, fur farms, or fertilizer plants.

Any change, addition, or modification in construction or occupancy of an existing structure.

Any change in the supporting members of a building or structure, such as bearing walls, columns, beams, or girders.

A change in the regulations and provisions of this chapter, including changes to boundaries of zoning districts as provided upon the Zoning Map.[1]

A place where three or more animals, either agricultural or domesticated, are buried or cremated. This term includes crematories, mortuaries and mausoleums.

A building or structure used for the treatment of domesticated animals by a veterinarian or other medical practitioner licensed by the state, with short-term boarding incidental to the treatment.

The person or entity filing an application under this chapter.

Construction plans prepared after the completion of construction, by the engineer of record, in such a manner as to accurately identify and depict the location and design of all on-site improvements, which includes but is not limited to streets, structures, parking facilities, stormwater detention/retention areas, curbs, sidewalks and any other facilities approved for the subject development. As-built drawings shall be sealed by the engineer of record.

An industrial facility used for the production of asphalt or concrete, or asphalt or concrete products, used in building or construction, and includes facilities for the administration or management of the business, the stockpiling of bulk materials used in the productions process or of finished products manufactured on the premises and the storage and maintenance of required equipment.

The dismantling or wrecking of junked motor vehicles or trailers, or the storage, sale, or dumping of dismantled of junked vehicles or their parts. The presence on any lot or parcel of land of two or more motor vehicles which, for a period exceeding 30 days, have not been capable of operating under their own power and from which parts have been or are to be removed for reuse or sale shall constitute prima facie evidence of an automobile wrecking yard.

A building where repairs, improvements and installation of parts and accessories for motor vehicles are conducted that involves work that is more intense in character than work permitted under the definition of "gas station, limited-service." An auto repair garage shall include, but not be limited to, any use that involves any of the following work: both minor and major mechanical overhauling, paint, and body work. In addition, any use permitted under the definition of a "gas station, limited-service" is also permitted as part of an automotive repair garage.

The use of any building, structure or land, other than a street, for the display and sale or rental of motor vehicles which are in operable condition. The owner/operator of this business must have a valid state license for the sale or rental of such motor vehicles. Any related repair shall be conducted within an enclosed building and shall be an accessory use.

An owner-occupied dwelling containing units which are rented on a nightly basis for periods of less than a week. Dining and other facilities shall not be open to the public, but shall be exclusively for the use of the residents and registered guests. Breakfast shall be the only meal served. Such rooms shall not have separate utilities, provisions for cooking or dormitories for sleeping and must be located within the principal structure.

A physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain where the building footprint is equal to or greater than 50,000 square feet. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. A big box retail store can generally be broken down into two categories: general merchandise (examples include Wal-Mart and Target) and specialty stores (such as Home Depot, Lowes, Barnes and Noble, or Best Buy), which specialize in goods within a specific range, such as hardware, books, or electronics.

An establishment operated for profit or pecuniary gain which has a capacity for the assemblage of 20 or more persons and in which alcoholic liquors, alcohol or malt or brewed beverages are not legally sold but where alcoholic liquors, alcohol or malt or brewed beverages are either provided by the operator or agents or employees of the operator for consumption on the premises or are brought into or kept at the establishment by the patrons or persons assembling there for use and consumption. The term shall not include a license under the Act of April 12, 1951 (P.L. 90, No. 21), known as the "Liquor Code,"[2] or any organization as set forth in Section 6 of the Act of December 19, 1990 (P.L. 1200, No. 202) known as the "Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act."[3] Said club shall not be operated in a manner in which it could also be classified as either an after-hours club or a sexually oriented business as so defined by this chapter.

A method of improvements designed to separate and substantially obstruct the view of two adjacent land uses or properties from one another. Unless specified otherwise, for the purpose of this chapter, when a buffer area is required, it shall be deemed to represent a solid fence or stone wall with cork fitting, eight feet in height with two staggered rows of evergreen trees planted in front of the fence with the spacing distance between trees not less than eight feet or greater than 10 feet. Said trees shall be not less than eight feet in height at the time of planting. A buffer area shall not be occupied by any building, parking, outdoor storage or any use other than open space and approved vegetative plantings.

Any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls and intended for shelter, housing or enclosure of persons, animals, or property.

A campground with two or more camping unit sites, accessible by vehicular traffic where sites are substantially developed with the provision of tables, refuse containers, flush toilets, bathing facilities, and water.

Any tent, trailer, recreational vehicle, or similar structure established or maintained and operated in a campground as temporary living quarters for recreation or vacation purposes.

Any plot of land within a campground intended for exclusive occupancy by a camping unit or units under the control of a camper.

Any container (refrigerated or nonrefrigerated) that permits the temporary storage and protection of cargo, and which may be transported by ship, rail or truck without intermediate loading and unloading of the contents of the container. The term includes any reusable container originally designed for or used in the packing, shipping, moving, or transporting of freight, articles, goods, products, or commodities, or capable of being mounted or moved by rail, truck, or ship by means of being mounted on a chassis or similar transport device. This definition includes any container having a similar appearance to and similar characteristics of a cargo container.

The principal use of land for the storage of empty cargo containers for resale. This definition does not include the temporary accessory use of cargo containers associated with a permitted warehousing and distribution or trucking facility.

An area of land and/or a structure with machine- or hand-operated facilities used principally for the interior and/or exterior cleaning, washing, polishing, or waxing of motor vehicles.

A roofed structure opened on two or more sides and used for the storage of private motor vehicles. It may be constructed as a separate accessory structure or part of the principal structure.

A space with less than 1/2 of its floor-to-ceiling height above the average finished grade of the adjoining ground or with a floor-to-ceiling height of less than 6 1/2 feet.

Land used or intended to be used for the burial of the dead and dedicated for cemetery purposes, including chapels, crematories, mausoleums, and mortuaries when operated in conjunction with and within the boundaries of such cemetery.

A statement, form or similar written documentation signed by the Zoning Officer, setting forth that a building, structure, or use upon inspection of the property complies with this chapter and the same maybe used for the purposes stated on the approved zoning permit application. Said certificate shall not be construed in any manner to certify or warranty the safety as related to the construction of a building, structure, or use.

Any use which differs from the last previously approved use of a building, structure or land.

See "place of worship."

Any device used for the transmission or reception of radio, television, wireless telephone, pager, commercial mobile radio services, or any wireless communication signals, including without rotation omnidirectional or whip antennas and directional or panel antennas, owned and operated by any person or entity licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to operate such device. This definition shall not include private-residences-mounted satellite dishes or television antennas or amateur radio equipment, including, without limitation, ham or citizen band radio antennas.

An unmanned building or cabinet containing communication equipment for the operation of a commercial communication antenna.

The components normally associated with the use and operation of a commercial communication antenna, including a commercial communication tower and commercial communications equipment building.

A structure other than a building, such as a monopole, self-supporting or guyed tower, designed and used to support a commercial communication antenna.

The vertical distance measured from the ground to the highest point on a communications tower, including antennas mounted on the tower.

Real estate, portions of which are designated for separate ownership and the remainder of which is designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those separate portions, in accordance with the Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act 1980, No. 82, as amended.[4]

A lot, building, or part thereof used to store materials used by a contractor in the construction of a road, highway, structure or building, landscaping or utilities.

Any retail establishment offering for sale prepackaged food products, household items, and other goods commonly associated with same.

Any retail establishment offering for sale prepackaged food products, household items, and other goods commonly associated with same, along with the retail sales of gasoline and related fuel products, but excluding any type of automotive repairs.

A facility organized and operated primarily for social and outdoor recreation purposes, which may also include dining facilities, and providing one or more of the following recreational and social activities: golf, swimming, riding, outdoor recreation, clubhouse, locker room, and pro shop.

An area with one or more of the following characteristics: stream corridors, streams, floodplain areas, wetlands, slopes which equal or exceed 15%, soils classified as highly acidic or highly erodible, soils classified as having a high water table, land and associated soils which display poor percolation, mature stands of native vegetation and aquifer recharge and discharge areas.

A facility providing for display, performance, or enjoyment of heritage, history, or the arts. This use includes, but is not limited to: museums, arts performance venues, cultural centers, or interpretive sites, but does not include commercially operated theaters.

The provision of out-of-home care for children or adults for part of a twenty-four-hour day, excluding the care provided by relatives.

Final adjudication of any board or other body granted jurisdiction under any land use ordinance or this act to do so, either by reason of the grant of exclusive jurisdiction or by reason of appeals from determinations. All decisions shall be subject to appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County.

A publicly or quasi-publicly operated facility used to house and/or rehabilitate individuals detained, sentenced by, or under the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system, including, but not limited to, jails, prisons, penitentiaries, reformatories, halfway houses and similar facilities.

Any man-made improvements to improved or unimproved real estate. The construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation, or enlargement of any building or structure, any mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation, drilling, land disturbance and any use or extension of the use of land shall be deemed to constitute a development.

An establishment licensed Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture where dogs are kept, housed, boarded, bred and/or trained for commercial gain.

An establishment that, by design of physical facilities or by service or packaging procedures, encourages or permits customers to receive a service or obtain a product that may be used or consumed in a motor vehicle on the premises or to be entertained while remaining in an automobile.

A privately owned and constructed vehicular access from an approved private or public road into a lot or parcel having a frontage on the road.

Facilities for the treatment of persons who abuse or are addicted to the use of legal or illegal controlled substances, such as a methadone clinic, where such treatment is designed to cure persons of such addictions, but not including overnight stays.

One or more rooms designed, occupied or intended for occupancy as separated living quarters, with cooking, sleeping and sanitary facilities provided within the dwelling unit for the exclusive use of a single family maintaining a household.

One or more rooms physically arranged so as to create an independent housekeeping establishment for occupancy by one family with separate toilet facilities and separate cooking facilities for exclusive use by the family residing therein.

Any construction or other activity which disturbs the surface of the land, including but not limited to excavations, embankments, land development, subdivision development, mineral extraction and the moving, depositing or storing of soil, rock or earth. Any construction or activity resulting in an earth disturbance shall be subject to the governing regulations of Chapter 192, Stormwater Management, of the Code of the Township of Foster.

A legally recorded grant of one or more of the property rights by the property owner to and/or for the use by the public, a corporation, or another person or entity.

A building owned by the public or a nonprofit corporation used for the housing of fire, emergency medical, or police equipment and related activities.

Commercial establishments engaged in providing indoor entertainment for a fee or an admission charge, including but not necessarily limited to a movie theater, live theater performances, an arcade, bowling alley, billiard hall, roller-skating rink or similar facilities.

A report and/or series of reports on the effect of a proposed development or major action which may significantly affect the environment and associated features thereunder.

Removal or recovery by any means whatsoever of soil, rock, minerals, mineral substances or organic substances other than vegetation, from water or land on or beneath the surface thereof, or beneath the land surface, whether exposed or submerged.

A structure or place which is built, installed, or established to serve a particular purpose.

A structure functioning as a boundary or barrier constructed of materials recognized by the fencing industry. Hedges, shrubbery and/or similar vegetation shall not be deemed or considered to be a fence.

An occasional or periodic market held in an enclosed structure where groups of individual sellers offer goods for sale to the public.

The governing floodplain management ordinance for Foster Township.

Unless specified otherwise, it represent the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of a building measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls or from the center line of walls separating two buildings, but not including attic or basement storage space, mechanical utility equipment areas, or stairs.

The interior floor area of a dwelling, including stairways, halls, and closets, but not including basements, porches, garages, breezeways, or carports.

Manufacturing establishments producing or processing foods for human consumption and certain related products. Includes bakery products, sugar and confectionery products (except facilities that produce goods only for on-site sales with no wider distribution); dairy products processing; fats and oils products; fruit and vegetable canning, preserving, and related processing; grain mill products and by-products; meat, poultry, and seafood canning, curing, and by-product processing (not including facilities that also slaughter animals); and miscellaneous food preparation from raw products, including catering services that are independent from food stores or restaurants.

The management of forests and timberlands when practiced in accordance with accepted silvicultural principles, through developing, cultivating, harvesting, transporting and selling trees for commercial purposes which do not involve any land development.

The length of any one property line of a premises, which property line abuts a legally accessible street right-of-way.

A building for the private use of the owner or occupant for the storage of motor vehicles with no facilities for mechanical service or repair of a commercial or public nature.

A place of business where products and produce are sold to the general public. These centers may include a nursery and/or greenhouses, plants, nursery products and stock, potting soil, hardware, power equipment and machinery, hoes, rakes, shovels, and other garden and farm variety tools and utensils.

A facility limited to retail sales to the public of gasoline, motor oil, lubricants, motor fuels, travel aides, and minor automobile accessories. In addition, such a facility may provide minor vehicle servicing, minor repairs, and maintenance, excluding those services provided under the definition of "automotive repair garage."

Board of Supervisors of Foster Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

The slope of a road, street or other public or private way, specified in percentage (%) terms.

Any stripping, gutting, filling, stockpiling of earth or land, including the land in its cut or filled condition.

A surface that is considered to be impervious when the intended use of the stone is for transportation purposes, parking areas, construction areas, trails, or if the gravel is compacted at any time during or after its placement; landscaping stone is not considered as impervious area.

A building for the growing of flowers, plants, shrubs, trees and similar vegetation which are not necessarily transplanted outdoors on the same lot containing such greenhouse, but are sold directly from such lot at wholesale or retail.

A dwelling unit shared by more than four individuals who are not related by blood, marriage or legal adoption, occupying the premises as their domicile and living together as a single nonprofit housekeeping unit. The term "group home" shall not include:

A state-licensed house for inmates on release from more restrictive custodial confinement or initially placed in lieu of such more restrictive custodial confinement, wherein supervision, rehabilitation, and counseling are provided to mainstream residents back into society, enabling them to live independently.

Any material regulated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection which requires the issuance of a permit by DEP that, by reason of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics, may:

An indoor facility where active exercise and related activities are performed utilizing weight-control or muscle-building equipment or apparatus for the purpose of physical fitness. Said facility may also include game courts, swimming facilities, saunas and massage rooms.

A permit issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation or any other level of government which authorizes access from a parcel of land onto a street or highway which is under its respective jurisdiction.

An occupation, profession, activity, or use that is clearly a customary, incidental, and secondary use of a residential dwelling unit and which does not alter the exterior of the property or affect the residential character of the neighborhood.

Residences of clergymen, architects, landscape architects, professional engineers, professional planners, registered land surveyors, lawyers, real estate agents, financial consultants, artists, teachers, musicians, or persons in other recognized professions used to conduct their professions where the office use is incidental to the residential use of the premises. The following uses and/or services, including those which are similar in nature, are excluded from the classification as a home office: hairstylists, barbers, massage parlors, tanning salons, health spas, beauty spas, nutrition and weight management services, manicure and pedicure services, animal grooming services, and body-piercing and body-painting services.

A water pipe, or a similar single- or multi-stemmed instrument for vaporizing and smoking flavored tobacco products.

An establishment where patrons smoke tobacco products from a hookah.

A facility offering transient lodging accommodations on a daily rate to the general public and providing additional services, such as restaurants, meeting rooms, and recreational facilities.

The distance measured from the surface of the tower foundation to the height of the wind turbine hub, to which the blade is attached.

Areas reserved for public or private hunting of wildlife, fishing, and accessory structures in support of those activities.

A study and/or report, which may be required at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors or Zoning Hearing Board prior to approval of a conditional use or a special exception use, as the case may be, to determine the potential impact of the proposed use on activities, utilities, traffic generation and circulation, surrounding land uses, community facilities, environmental features, and the public health, safety and welfare and other factors which may be directly or potentially affected. The applicant shall be responsible for all costs related to any and all report and/or studies required by the Board of Supervisors or the Zoning Hearing Board, as the case may be, under or within the context of the term "impact analysis."

Any material and/or development that substantially reduces or prevents the infiltration of stormwater into previously undeveloped land as further defined by Chapter 192, Stormwater Management, of the Code of the Township of Foster.

A permanent surface that prevents the infiltration of water into the ground. Impervious surfaces include, but are not limited to, streets, sidewalks, pavements, parking lots, driveways, roofs, and stone patios. See definition of "gravel (crushed stone)" for when gravel classifies as impervious area.

Man-made physical additions, alterations, and/or changes which become part of, placed upon, or affixed to real estate.

A use engaged in the basic processing and manufacturing of materials or products predominantly from extracted or raw materials, or a use engaged in storage of, or manufacturing processes using flammable or explosive materials, or storage or manufacturing processes that potentially involve hazardous or commonly recognized offensive conditions and having potential to produce noise, dust, glare, odors or vibration beyond its property line.

Uses engaged in the manufacture, predominantly from previously prepared materials, of finished products or parts, including processing, fabrication, assembly, treatment, packaging, incidental storage, sales, or distribution of such products. Further, "light industrial" shall mean uses such as the manufacture of electronic instruments, preparation of food products, pharmaceutical manufacturing, research and scientific laboratories, or the like. Light industry must be capable of operation in such a manner to control the external effects of the manufacturing process, such as smoke, noise, soot, dirt, vibration, odor, etc. Light industry shall not include uses such as mining and extracting industries, petrochemical industries, rubber refining, primary metal and/or any form of basic industrial processing, including but not limited to the use of hazardous materials.

A structure or facility which provides medical, health, educational, social and/or rehabilitate services to more than five persons on a continuous and/or regular basis, excluding overnight stays and excluding a facility for persons released from or under the jurisdiction of a governmental bureau of corrections or similar institution.

A facility, as defined under current state licensing requirements, that provides nursing care and related medical or other personal health services to patients on a planned program of care and administrative management, supervised on a continuous, twenty-four-hour basis in an institutional setting.

Any vehicle, including a trailer, which does not bear current license and inspection stickers or is incapable of being moved under its own power, or presents a hazard or danger to the public by virtue of its state or condition of disrepair. The following conditions, which are not exclusive, are examples of what may constitute a state or condition of disrepair to classify a vehicle to be a junked vehicle:

An open area where wastes or used or secondhand materials are bought, sold, exchanged, stored, processed, or handled. Materials shall include but are not limited to scrap iron and other metals, paper, rags, rubber tires, and bottles. An automobile wrecking yard is also considered a junkyard.

Any activity which exposes soils, alters topography and/or alters wooded vegetation, except for removal of a safety hazard, diseased trees, or invasive vegetation.

The legal or beneficial owner or owners of land, including the holder of an option or contract to purchase (whether or not such option or contract is subject to any condition), a lessee if he is authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the landowner, or other person having a propriety interest in land.

A business that provides home-type washing, drying, and/or ironing machines for hire to be used by customers on the premises.

A nonprofit facility open to the general public in which literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials such as but not limited to books, manuscripts, computers, recordings, or films are kept for use by or loaning to patrons of the facility, but are not normally offered for sale.

A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by a plat or otherwise as permitted by law and to be used, developed or built upon as a unit, for principal and accessory buildings or structures.

The total horizontal area within the lot lines of a lot.

The area of land contained within the limits of the legally described property lines bounding the lot.

Determined by dividing that area of a lot which is occupied or covered by the total horizontal projected surface of all buildings, including covered porches and accessory buildings and structures, by the gross area of that lot.

The average horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.

A line dividing one lot from another lot or from a street or alley.

The lot line not intersecting a front lot line that is most distant from and most closely parallel to the front lot line. A lot bounded by only three lines will not have a rear lot line.

Any lot line not a front or rear lot line.

A lot which exists as shown or described upon a plat or deed and duly recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, on the effective date of the adoption of this chapter.

The horizontal distance between side lot lines, measured at the required front setback line.

A lot abutting on and at the intersection of two or more streets.

The length of any one property line of a premises, which property line abuts a legally accessible street right-of-way.

A lot having its front and rear yards each abutting on a street.

Any facility that uses machine tools, including, but not limited to, lathes, milling machines, shapers, planers, hobbers, drill presses, and jig borers for working with metals or other relatively hard materials, such as some polymers. Typically machine shops make and repair all types of metal objects, from machine tools, dies, and molds to mass-produced parts such as screws, pistons, or gears.

A manufactured home (formerly known as a "mobile home") is built to the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (HUD Code) and displays a red certification label on the exterior of each transportable section. Manufactured homes are built in the controlled environment of a manufacturing plant and are transported in one or more sections on a permanent chassis. A manufactured housing unit which is attached and anchored to a permanent foundation shall be deemed to be a single-family dwelling unit.

A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which has been planned and improved for the placement of two or more manufactured homes.

An open lot, used for the outdoor display and/or sales of manufactured housing, that may also include recreation vehicles or travel trailers.

An establishment or business operated by a medical practitioner, chiropractor or professional physical therapist licensed by the commonwealth which provides the services of massage and body manipulation, including exercises, heat and light treatments of the body, and all forms and methods of physiotherapy.

A voluntary negotiating process in which parties in a dispute mutually select a neutral mediator to assist them in jointly exploring and settling their differences, culminating in a written agreement which the parties themselves create and consider acceptable.

A facility comprised of professional offices, for the examination and treatment of persons as outpatients by state-licensed physicians, dentists, chiropractors or other licensed medical specialists, in which said medical practitioners may or may not work in cooperative association. Said clinics may provide medical services customarily available at hospitals, excluding overnight care of patients and twenty-four-hour emergency service. Satellite hospital facilities which do not include facilities for the overnight stay of patients are also included in this use category. Such treatment may include day surgery, outpatient surgery, magnetic resonance imaging centers and similar uses, but they may not include drug rehabilitation facilities or drug treatment centers other than for the medical treatment of persons requiring medical treatment for traumatic conditions resulting from abusing and/or overdosing on legal or illegal controlled substances. This use may involve the testing of tissue, blood or other human materials for medical or dental purposes.

A facility licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to use the drug methadone in the treatment, maintenance or detoxification of persons.

The removal from the surface or beneath the surface of land bulk mineral resources such as culm sand, gravel, topsoil, limestone, sandstone, coal, oil, gas, shale and iron ore using machinery. This use includes stockpiling, but not the movement of and replacement of topsoil as part of construction activities.

Any aggregate or mass of mineral matter, whether or not coherent. The term shall include, but it is not limited to, limestone and dolomite, sand and gravel, rock and stone, earth, fill, slag, iron ore, zinc ore, vermiculite and clay, anthracite and bituminous coal, coal refuse, peat, and crude oil and natural gas.

A structure which contains two or more distinctly separate uses such as a commercial use and a residential use.

A building or group of buildings containing apartments and/or rooming units, each of which maintains a separate outside entrance. Such building or group buildings is designed, intended, or used primarily for the accommodations of automobile travelers and provides automobile parking conveniently located on the premises.

Foster Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

A building having public significance by reason of its architecture or former use or occupancy or a building serving as a repository for a collection of natural, scientific, historic or literary curiosities or objects of interest, or works of art, and arranged, intended, and designed to be used by members of the public for viewing, with or without an admission charge, and which may include as an accessory use the sale of goods to the public as gifts or for their own use.

A commercial establishment dispensing alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises and in which dancing is permitted, including the term "cabaret." This term does not include any adult use.

A business or commercial activity administered or conducted as an accessory use which is clearly secondary to the use as a residential dwelling, and which involves no customer, client or patient traffic, whether vehicular or pedestrian, pickup, delivery, or removal functions to or from the premises in excess with those normally associated with a residential use.

A lot area or dimension of which was lawful prior to the adoption or amendment of a zoning ordinance, but which fails to conform to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located by reasons of such adoption or amendment.

A structure or part of a structure manifestly not designed to comply with the applicable use or extend of use provisions in this chapter or amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such structure lawfully existed prior to the enactment of such ordinance or amendment or prior to the application of such ordinance or amendment to its location by reason of annexation. Such nonconforming structures include, but are not limited to, nonconforming signs.

A use, whether of land or of structure, which does not comply with the applicable use provisions in this chapter or amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such use was lawfully in existence prior to the enactment of such ordinance or amendment to its location by reason of annexation.

Buildings or facilities, normally owned and/or operated by a nonprofit or civic organization used by a recreational, civic, social, fraternal, religious, political or labor union association of persons for meetings and routine socializing and recreation that is limited to bona fide members and their occasional guests, and persons specifically invited to special celebrations, but which is not routinely open to members of the general public and which is not primarily operated as a for-profit business. The club shall involve a meaningful and substantial membership system, as opposed to a token system. Said private club shall not be operated in a manner in which it could also be classified as a bottle club and/or a sexually oriented business as so defined by this chapter.

Relying totally on an individual (stand-alone) system of solar panels, charge controller, batteries, and inverter to generate electricity.

The placing, storing or keeping, in an unenclosed area, goods, materials, merchandise, equipment or vehicles which are related to the operation of a commercial use, excluding the storage of solid waste, hazardous substances, refuse, junk and junked vehicles.

A fuel-burning device designed: to burn clean wood or other approved solid fuels; by the manufacturer specifically for outdoor installation or installation in structures not normally intended for habitation by humans or domestic animals (e.g., garages); and to heat building space and/or water via distribution, typically through pipes of a fluid heated in the device, typically water or a water/antifreeze mixture. Outdoor wood-fired boilers are also known as "outdoor wood-fired furnaces," "outdoor wood-burning appliances," "or outdoor hydronic heaters," etc.

An unobstructed space or area other than a street or alley that is permanently reserved and maintained for the parking of one motor vehicle.

Energy used to convert sunlight into usable heat, cause air movement for ventilation or cooling, or store heat for future use.

A level surfaced area directly adjacent to a principal building constructed above the existing grade which has an average elevation of not more than 30 inches, and without walls or a roof.

A roofed structure which may be attached to the principal structure, open on three or more sides, excluding screening designed for outdoor recreational use. When attached to the principal structure, setback requirements applicable to the principal structure shall apply.

A support for a building or structure, reaching below the frost line, consisting of a full poured concrete or masonry foundation or any other type which is permitted under the design standards of the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, on which the building or structure is anchored and is intended to remain indefinitely.

Any use which is specifically authorized in a particular zoning district.

Any enterprise conducted for gain, which primarily offers services to the general public, such as shoe repair, valet service, watch repairing, hairstylists, barbers, tanning salons, beauty spas, manicure and pedicure services, animal grooming services and similar services.

A facility, as defined under current state licensing requirements, in which food, shelter and personal assistance or supervision are provided for a period exceeding 24 consecutive hours for more than three adults who are not relatives of the operator of the facility and who require assistance or supervision in such matters as dressing, bathing, diet or medication prescribed for self-administration but who do not require hospitalization or care in a skilled nursing or intermediate care facility.

A business that reproduces drawings, plans, maps, or other copy by means of blueprinting or photocopying.

A building or portion thereof used for religious services either on a permanent or periodic basis, including churches, synagogues, mosques and similar edifices.

The Planning Commission of Foster Township.

Includes portable containers or PODS that are used for temporary storage of personal property of occupants on the lot during times of transition such as remodeling, moving, construction, or emergency storage.

The main use of land or structures, as distinguished from a secondary or accessory use.

Anything owned or operated by any department or branch of the federal government, state government, county government or municipal government.

Any building and/or facility held, used or controlled exclusively for public purposes by any department or branch of government; federal, state, county, or municipal.

A forum held pursuant to notice under the Act of July 3, 1986 (P.L. 388, No. 84), known as the "Sunshine Act."[6]

A formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the governing body, Planning Commission or Zoning Hearing Board, which is intended to inform and obtain public comment prior to taking action on a particular subject matter or development.

Notice published once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. Such notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing. The first publication shall not be more than 30 days and the second publication shall not be less than seven days from the date of the hearing.

Telephone, electric and cable television lines, equipment structures; water or gas pipes, mains, valves, or other structures, pumping stations; telephone exchanges and all other facilities, equipment and structures necessary for conducting a service by a public utility, under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, in accordance with Section 619 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended.[7]

A structure, owned and operated by a public utility electric company regulated by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, designed and used to support overhead electricity transmission lines.

Recreational facilities operated as a business and open to the public for a fee.

Recreational facilities other than commercial or public, not operated for a profit, and only open to their members and their guests.

Recreational facilities operated by a governmental entity and open to the general public.

A publicly owned facility which is limited to the collection, separating and processing of used material prior to shipment to others who will use those materials to manufacture new products. Hazardous or toxic substances shall not be accepted, located and or stored at such a facility. This definition shall not include a junkyard.

Any letter, review, memorandum, compilation or similar writing made by any body, board, officer or consultant other than a solicitor to any other body, board, officer or consultant for the purpose of assisting the recipient of such report in the rendering of any decision or determination. All reports shall be deemed recommendatory and advisory only and shall not be binding upon the recipient, board, officer, body or agency, nor shall any appeal lie therefrom. Any report used, received or considered by the body, board, officer or agency rendering a determination or decision shall be made available for inspection to the applicant and all other parties to any proceedings upon request, with copies thereof provided at the cost of reproduction.

A business establishment whose principal business is the selling of unpackaged food to the customer in a ready-to-consume state, in individual servings or in nondisposable containers, and where the customer consumes these foods while seated at tables or counters located within the building.

An establishment selling products as opposed to services or entertainment to the general public, such as antique shop; appliance store; artist, music, and automotive parts store; beverage packaging store; building or plumbing supplies; crafts and hobby supplies; clothing store; dairy products store; dry goods and variety stores; florist; garden supplies; hardware store; newspapers, books and stationary products; office furniture, equipment and supplies; paintings and photography store; pet store; pharmacy; specialty gifts; sporting goods store; and other establishments selling related products.

A defined and designated area for vehicular or pedestrian traffic, whether designated as a street, highway, thoroughfare, parkway, road, avenue, boulevard, lane, alley, which usually include cartways, shoulders, and sidewalks.

Land that is traversed or bounded by a natural watercourse counters located within the building.

A structure thereof which contains rooming units which are rented or leased, with the occupants of said units being nontransient, and utilizing said location as a legal place of residence. The term "rooming house" shall specifically exclude the following:

A room or rooms, in a rooming house and/or boardinghouse, forming a single habitable unit intended for living quarters but lacking separate bathroom and toilet facilities and/or cooking facilities for exclusive use by the occupant or occupants of the rooming unit.

A device incorporating a reflective surface that is solid, open mesh, or bar configured and is in the shape of a shallow dish, cone, horn, or cornucopia. Such device shall be used to transmit and/or receive radio or electromagnetic waves between terrestrial and/or orbital based uses. This definition is meant to include but not be limited to what are commonly referred to as "satellite earth stations," "TVROs" (television reception only satellite dish antennas), and "satellite microwave antennas." A satellite dish antenna that does not exceed three feet in diameter and is attached to a building shall be exempt from securing zoning approval.

A facility that provides a curriculum of elementary and secondary academic instruction, including kindergartens, elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools that are licensed by the state as such.

The method by which a view of one site from another adjacent site is shielded, concealed, or hidden. Screening techniques include fences, wall, hedges, berms, or other features.

The actual seating capacity of an area based upon the number of seats or one seat per 18 inches of bench of pew length. For other areas where seats are not affixed, the seating capacity shall be determined by the applicable standards of the most recent Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code.

A building or group of buildings in a controlled access and fenced compound that contains varying sizes of individual, compartmentalized, and controlled access stalls or lockers for the storage of customers' goods or wares. The units shall be used solely for dead storage of nonhazardous materials, and no processing, manufacturing, sales, research and development, service or repair, or other storage activities shall occur.

The required minimum horizontal distance between the building line and the related front, side or rear property line.

A grouping of retail business and service uses on a single site with common parking facilities.

A structure or device designed or intended to convey information to the public in written or pictorial form.

A plot or parcel of land or combination of contiguous lots or parcels of land.

A plan prepared to scale, showing accurately and with complete dimensions the boundaries of a site and the location of all buildings, structures, uses, and features proposed for a specific parcel of land.

A facility, as defined under current state licensing requirements, that provides nursing care and related medical or other health services for a period of 24 hours or more for individuals not in need of hospitalization, but who because of age, illness or other infirmity, require high-intensity, comprehensive, planned nursing care.

A plan that indicates necessary land treatment designed to effectively minimize soil erosion and sedimentation measures requiring approval by the Luzerne County Conservation District.

A building's ability to receive the benefits of the sun's rays without obstruction from neighboring buildings, structures, plants, and trees.

A ground-mounted solar collection system consisting of a linked series of photovoltaic modules.

A panel or other solar energy device, the primary purpose of which is to provide for the collection, inversion, storage and distribution of solar energy for electricity generation, space heating, space cooling or water heating.

An easement of direct sunlight which may be acquired over the land of another by express grant or covenant.

Radiant energy (direct, diffuse, and reflected) received from the sun.

The equipment and requisite hardware that provide and are used for collecting, transferring, converting, storing, or using incident solar energy for water heating, space heating, cooling, generating electricity, or other applications that would otherwise require the use of conventional source of energy such as petroleum products, natural gas, manufactured gas, or electricity produced from a nonrenewable resource.

Any solar collector or other solar energy device or any structural design feature whose primary purpose is to provide for the collection, storage and distribution of solar energy for space heating or cooling, for water heating or for electricity that may be mounted on a building or on the ground and is not the primary use of the property.

A commercially operated solar energy system that is principally used to convert solar radiation to electricity to supply electricity to off-site customers, including but not limited to a solar farm.

A system for the production of electrical energy that uses as its fuel solar power, is located on the power beneficiary's premises, is intended primarily to offset part or all of the beneficiary's requirements for electricity, and is secondary and accessory to the beneficiary's use of the premises for other lawful purpose(s).

A commercially operated facility or area of land principally used to convert solar radiation to electricity to supply electricity to off-site customer(s).

Electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun.

Situating a building to optimize exposure to the winter sun for passive heating and lighting, while reducing this exposure to the summer sun to minimize overheating.

Using the sun directly to heat water in homes and swimming pools.

Any facility operated pursuant to the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania governing the management, processing, treatment, storage, transfer and/or disposal of solid waste, as so defined by this chapter.

Any garbage, refuse or other material including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained in gaseous material, resulting from the operation of residential, municipal, commercial or institutional establishments and from community activities, excluding "hazardous substances" as so defined by this chapter and "hazardous waste" as so defined by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources, pursuant to Chapter 271.1, under the Solid Waste Management Act, as amended.[8]

A use which may only be permitted in a particular zoning district by special approval, granted by the Zoning Hearing Board in accordance with the applicable provisions of this chapter.

A wind energy conversion system that is incidental and subordinate to another use on the same parcel and supplies electrical power solely for on-site use, which is intended to primarily reduce consumption of utility power at that location and not for resale.

The governing Stormwater Management Ordinance for Foster Township.[9]

That portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it or, if there is no floor above it, the space between such floor and the ceiling above. A basement shall be counted as a story if its ceiling equals or exceeds five feet of the finished ground surface adjoining the exterior walls of such story.

A public (dedicated) or private (undedicated) right-of-way, whether or not improved, intended for use by vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

Any man-made object, having an ascertainable stationary location on or in land or water, whether or not it is affixed to the land.

The division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions of land, including changes in existing lot for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, partition by the court for distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership or building or lot development; provided, however, that the subdivision by lease of land for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres, not involving any new street or easement of access or any residential dwelling, shall be exempted.

The official and most recent version of the Foster Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, as amended.[10]

A water-filled enclosure, having a depth of 24 inches or greater, permanently constructed or portable, designed to be used or intended to be used for swimming purposes by any family or persons residing on the premises or their guests. The use shall not be operated for financial gain and the use shall be considered an accessory use to the dwelling on the lot thereon.

An establishment whose principal business activity is the practice of one or more of the following:

A place where alcoholic beverages are served as a primary or substantial portion of the total trade, which may or may not include the sale of food and/or live entertainment.

A transport vehicle consisting of a semitractor and attached trailer.

A building and/or land used primarily for the maintenance and storage of large commercial vehicles.

A structure, building and/or land consisting of a storage area, management and dispatch office and loading and unloading facilities connected with receipt of delivery of freight shipped by truck.

The distance measured from the surface of the tower's foundation to the highest point of the turbine rotor plane at its furthest vertical extension.

Any purpose for which a lot, building, or other structure or a tract of land may be designated, arranged, intended, maintained, or occupied; or any activity, occupation, business, or operation carried on or intended to be carried on in a building or other structure or on a tract of land.

Any dwelling unit within a residential dwelling structure rented for the purpose of overnight lodging for a period of not less than one day and not more than 30 days.

A waiver granted by the Zoning Hearing Board from the terms and requirements of this chapter in accordance with § 255-1509 of this chapter.

A building used primarily for storage of goods, and materials.

A use engaged in storage, wholesale and distribution of manufactured products, supplies and equipment, excluding the bulk storage of materials that are inflammable, explosive, hazardous, or commonly recognized as offensive. This term does not include trucking facilities.

A permanent or intermittent stream, river, brook, creek, or channel or ditch for collection and conveyance of water, whether natural or man-made.

The use of land, or building, or structure where pieces of metal are welded.

Those areas that are inundated or saturated by the surface water or groundwater at a frequency or duration sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, including swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas. Any area meeting the official wetland definition of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, as amended, shall be considered a wetland for the purposes of this chapter. In the event the definition of wetland accepted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conflicts with the definition of a wetland accepted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the more restrictive definition shall apply.

A machine designed for the purpose of converting wind energy into electrical energy (commonly known as "wind turbine" or "windmill"). The term WECS shall be used interchangeably with the terms "wind turbine" or "windmill," with said terms having the same meaning as a wind energy conversion system ("WECS").

A commercial electric generating facility whose main purpose is to supply electricity to off-site customer(s), consisting of one or more commercial WECS, and other accessory structures and buildings, including substations, meteorological towers, electrical infrastructure, transmission lines and other appurtenant structures and facilities.

A wind energy conversion system that converts wind energy into electricity through the use of wind turbine generator, and includes the nacelle, rotor, tower, and pad transformer, if any.

An open space that lies between the principal building and the nearest lot line. Such yard is unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground up except for accessory buildings or projections which are expressly permitted by this chapter.

A space extending the full width of the lot between the principal building and the front lot line and measured perpendicular to the building at the closest point to the front lot line.

A space extending the full width of the lot between the principal building and the rear lot line and measured perpendicular to the building at the closest point to the rear lot line.

A space extending from the front yard to the rear yard between the principal building and the side lot line measured perpendicular from the side lot line to the closest point of the principal building.

A portion of Foster Township as illustrated upon the Official Zoning Map, within which certain uniform regulations and requirements apply under the provisions of this chapter.

The Zoning Hearing Board of Foster Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

The Official Map which is part of this chapter and indicates and delineates the zoning districts of Foster Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.[11]