Franconia Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VI
R-130 Residential Districts
§ 145-33 Applicability.
In an R-130 Residential District, the following regulations shall apply.
§ 145-34 By-right use regulations.
[Amended 5-19-2025 by Ord. No. 430]
A building may be erected, altered and used, and a lot may be used and occupied, for any of the following purposes, and no other:
§ 145-34.1 Special exception use regulations.
A building may be erected, altered or used, and a lot or premises may be occupied for any one of the following purposes and no other when authorized as a special exception.
§ 145-34.2 Conditional use regulations.
A building may be erected, altered and used, and a lot or premises may be occupied for any one of the following purposes and no other when authorized as a conditional use:
B.
An NOD Neighborhood Overlay District development in accordance with the regulations set forth in Article XXVIIA of this chapter, provided such lot, premises, or tract is located within the NOD Neighborhood Overlay District and satisfies the eligibility criteria of the NOD Neighborhood Overlay District (§ 145-189.2).
[Added 5-17-2021 by Ord. No. 411]
§ 145-35 Dimensional regulations for by-right uses.
A.
Lot area. A lot area of not less than 35,000 square feet shall be provided for every use or building erected thereon.
B.
Lot width. A lot width of not less than 130 feet shall be provided at the building setback line for every use or building erected thereon.
C.
Front yard. There shall be a front yard on each lot, which shall be not less than 50 feet in depth from the ultimate right-of-way.
D.
Side yards. There shall be two side yards on every lot, each of which shall be not less than 20 feet in width, with a combined width requirement of not less than 50 feet.
E.
Rear yards. There shall be a rear yard on every lot which shall not be less than 40 feet in depth.
F.
Corner lots. There shall be a front yard on every street frontage and all remaining yards shall be treated as rear yards.
H.
Building coverage. The maximum building coverage on a lot shall be 15%.
I.
Impervious coverage. The maximum impervious coverage on a lot shall be 35%.
§ 145-35.1 Dimensional regulations for special exception uses.
A.
Lot area. A lot area of not less than 40,000 square feet shall be provided for every principal building erected or used with the exception of group-day care homes which shall require an area of not less than five acres.
B.
Front yard. There shall be a front yard on every lot which shall not be less than 50 feet in depth and no parking associated with the special exception use shall be permitted in the front yard.
C.
Side yards. There shall be two side yards on every lot each of which shall not be less than 25 feet in width.
D.
Rear yard. There shall be a rear yard on every lot which shall not be less than 40 feet in depth.
E.
Corner lots. There shall be a front yard on every street frontage and all remaining yards shall be treated as rear yards with respect to the required setback distance.
F.
Accessory structures shall not be permitted.
G.
Building coverage. The maximum building coverage shall be 15%.
H.
Impervious coverage. The maximum impervious coverage shall be 35%.
I.
Height regulations. The maximum height for buildings and structures erected or enlarged in the R-130 District shall be 40 feet not exceeding 2 1/2 stories for all dwellings.
§ 145-35.2 Dimensional regulations for conditional uses.
A.
Tract size. A minimum tract size of 80 gross acres shall be provided for any cluster option proposed in the R-130 Residential District.
B.
Tract frontage. Tracts eligible for the cluster option must have 2,000 feet of frontage along the northeast extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (476) and a minimum of 1,500 feet of frontage on another public right-of-way.
C.
Lot area. A lot area of not less than 15,000 square feet, nor more than 20,000 square feet shall be provided for every principal building erected or used.
D.
Lot width. A lot width of not less than 85 feet shall be provided at the building line for every new principal building erected or used.
E.
Front yard. There shall be a front yard on every lot which shall not be less than 30 feet in depth.
F.
Side yards. There shall be two side yards on every lot, each of which shall not be less than 10 feet, with a minimum combined width requirement of not less than 25 feet for both sides.
G.
Rear yard. There shall be a rear yard on every lot which shall not be less than 25 feet in depth.
H.
Corner lots. There shall be a front yard on every street frontage. The remaining yards shall be treated as one rear yard and one side yard with respect to the required setback distance.
I.
Accessory structures; accessory buildings limited to one. A structure accessory to a single-family detached dwelling may be located 10 feet from the side and rear property lines, provided it is 10 feet behind the rearmost portion of the principal building. The number of accessory buildings on a lot is limited to one with a maximum area of 200 square feet.
[Amended 1-2-2018 by Ord. No. 394]
J.
Building coverage. The maximum building coverage on a lot shall be 25%.
K.
Impervious coverage. The maximum impervious coverage on a lot shall be 35%.
L.
Common open space. A minimum of 40% of the gross tract area shall be dedicated as common open space when developed in accordance with the regulations in § 145-35.3.
M.
Density. There shall be a maximum overall density of .96 dwelling unit per one gross acre. Density shall be rounded to the nearest whole number.
N.
Height regulations. The maximum height for buildings and structures erected or enlarged in the cluster option shall be 40 feet not exceeding 2 1/2 stories for all dwellings.
§ 145-35.3 Open space criteria.
A.
Common open space in the R-130 District shall be designed in accordance with the following standards and shall consist of all of the undevelopable land and the developable land not lotted out, used to provide interior road network, or used for storm water detention.
(1)
Common open space shall preserve and enhance the natural environmental features of the site.
(2)
Common open space shall incorporate planted and maintained vegetation, which shall contain a pedestrian trail system that includes provision for school bus pickup and dropoff.
(3)
Common open space areas shall be designed as a continuous system of open space and shall be interconnected with open space areas on abutting parcels whenever possible.
(4)
Common open space shall not be narrow strips of land except when used specifically as a connector element.
(5)
Common open space shall be provided with safe and convenient access to the residentially developed area of the tract. Common open space shall contain all appropriate access improvements and shall be provided with perimeter parking areas as appropriate.
(6)
Detention basins may be located in the common open space, however, the areas devoted to stormwater facilities shall not be counted toward the minimum open space required. The area of a stormwater facility shall be calculated as the maximum surface area of the water as per the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance[1] regulations. Maintenance of all stormwater facilities shall be the responsibility of the homeowners' association.
(7)
Common open space shall be so designated on the plans, and the record plan shall contain a notation stating: "Common open space shall not be separately sold and shall not be further developed or subdivided."
B.
Provision for ownership and maintenance of the common open space shall be made in a manner so as to ensure its preservation. To that end, the Township may accept dedication of the common open space or any interest therein for public use and maintenance, but the Township need not require that the common open space be dedicated nor accept a dedication of the common open space if offered. The developer shall provide for and establish an organization for the ownership and maintenance of the common open space consistent with the requirements for such organizations and maintenance found in the Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act, 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq. If such an organization is created, the deed for the common open space and for all individual lots within the tract shall contain the following requirements in language acceptable to the Township Solicitor:
(1)
Such organization shall not dispose of the common open space by sale or otherwise except to the Township or other governmental body unless the Township has given prior approval. Such transfer shall be made only to another organization, which shall maintain the common open space in accordance with the provision of this chapter.
(2)
The organization and all lot owners within the development shall agree to be bound by the provisions of § 705(d)(2) and (3) of the Municipalities Planning Code, Act of July 31, 1968, P.L. 805, No. 247, as amended, 53 P.S. §§ 10705(d)(2) and (3), relating to Township maintenance of deteriorating open space and providing for the ability of the Township to assess and lien the properties within the development.
(3)
All lot owners shall be required to become members of the organization and pay assessments for the maintenance of the common open space.
(4)
The Township may require the formation of a reserve fund to cover capital improvements to the common space.
§ 145-35.4 Conditional use standards.
Additional standards for conditional uses. In granting or denying a conditional use or establishing conditions with respect to such grants, the following standards shall be applied. The burden of establishing compliance with all of the hereinafter enumerated standards shall be upon the applicant.
A.
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence that the proposed use shall not be contrary to the public health, safety and welfare of the community.
B.
The applicant shall establish by a traffic study prepared by a traffic engineer that the capacity of the road network providing access to the premises in question when the incremental increase in traffic attributable to the proposed use is superimposed upon the existing use of the road network shall not result in a level of service of the roads or any portions thereof below level of service C (Highway Capacity Manual, Highway Research Board, 1965, as revised).
C.
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence that the interior traffic circulation for the proposed use at the proposed location, including but not limited to acceleration and deceleration lanes where required at the proposed entrances to the location, shall be adequate to provide safe convenient circulation for users of the facility, visitors to the facility, employees of the facility and all emergency vehicles that may require entrance thereon.
D.
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence that the facility provides safe and convenient pedestrian access and internal circulation within the grounds of the facility and particularly for points of access from the facility to the parking areas.
E.
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence the adequacy of sanitary sewer facilities for the proposed uses.
F.
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence the adequacy of potable water facilities for the proposed uses.
G.
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence conformance, to the satisfaction of the Board of Supervisors, with the open space criteria and regulations contained herein.
§ 145-36 Additional regulations for all uses.
A.
Public water and public sewerage.
E.
Floodplain regulations: in accordance with Article XVIII.
F.
Natural resource regulations: in accordance with Article XXVI.
[Amended 11-19-2018 by Ord. No. 400]
I.
Detention basin regulations. In accordance with the Land Development and Subdivision Ordinance.
§ 145-36.1 SALDO regulations in R-130 District.
Development in the R-130 District shall conform to the requirements of the Franconia Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance with the following exceptions, which are made in recognition of the fact that the design approach is aimed at creating open space.