Heidelberg City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VIII
Supplemental Regulations and Performance Standards
§ 112-801 Environmental performance standards.
All uses hereafter established in any zoning district shall comply with the performance standards contained in this section. These standards shall also apply to an existing use or structure when it is extended, enlarged, moved, structurally altered or reconstructed.
1.
Fire and explosive hazards. All activities and all storage of flammable and explosive material at any point shall be provided with adequate safety devices against the hazards of fire and explosion, and adequate fire-fighting equipment as specified by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, and the laws and regulations of Allegheny County. All buildings and structures and activities within such buildings and structures shall conform to all other applicable codes and ordinances of the Borough.
2.
Liquid and solid wastes. There shall be no discharge at any point into any public or private sewerage system, or watercourse, or into the ground, of any materials in such a way or such a nature as will contaminate or otherwise cause the emission of hazardous materials in violation of the laws and regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Allegheny County. All required discharge and disposal permits shall be obtained.
3.
Smoke, ash, dust, fumes, vapors and gases. There shall be no emission of smoke, ash, dust, fumes, vapors or gases which violate applicable federal, state and/or county laws and regulations.
4.
Radioactivity or electrical disturbances. There shall be no activities which emit radioactivity at any point beyond the most recent background limits established by federal and state regulations. There shall be no radio or electrical disturbance adversely affecting the operation of equipment belonging to someone other than the creator of the disturbance.
5.
Glare. No direct reflected glare, whether from any lighting source or production operation, shall be visible from adjoining public streets or adjacent lots when viewed by a person standing on ground level.
6.
Outdoor illumination.
a.
All outdoor lighting shall be directed to avoid glare outside the property line or boundary.
b.
All outdoor lighting which is designed and intended to illuminate buildings or yards shall be arranged so that the lights will not shine into the eyes of any person external to the premises, or cause a nuisance or hazard from glare.
c.
Light standards shall be located so as not to interfere or conflict with traffic movement or parking and shall be shown on the site plan.
7.
Odor. There shall be no emission of odorous gases or other matter in such quantities as to be offensive on adjoining streets or adjacent lots.
8.
Storage. All garbage, trash, and rubbish shall be stored in covered vermin-proof containers. (See Chapter 93, Solid Waste, of the Heidelberg Borough Code of Ordinances.)
9.
Noise. As to unnecessary or excessive noise, no noises or sounds shall be permitted which are annoying to the comfort of any reasonable person or which are so harsh, prolonged, unnatural or unusual in their use, time and place as to occasion physical discomfort or cause unreasonable distraction from normal business operations, quiet enjoyment activities and/or sleep of inhabitants of the Borough.
b.
No person shall operate or cause to be operated on private or public property any source of continuous sound (any sound which is static, fluctuating or intermittent with a recurrence greater than one time in any fifteen-second interval) in such a manner that the sound level exceeds the limits set forth below when measured at any boundary of the property:
i.
All uses in the Borough shall not produce noises that exceed 55 dBA when measured at the property line between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.
ii.
All uses in the Borough shall not produce noises that exceed 45 dBA when measured at the property line between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
c.
Noise levels may be measured according to American National Standards Institute Methods for the Measurement of Sound Pressure levels, ANSI SI.4-1971, or other equivalent method.
d.
The following uses shall be exempted from the noise regulations:
i.
The emission of sound for the purpose of alerting persons to the existence of an emergency.
ii.
Emergency work to provide electricity, water or other public utilities when public health or safety are involved and other emergency related activities or uses.
iii.
Domestic power tools, including power lawn mowers and snowblowers, when operated between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays and between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Saturdays or Sundays.
iv.
Construction or maintenance noises between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.
v.
Agricultural uses when permitted by zoning ordinances enacted by the Borough.
vi.
Public celebrations, specifically authorized by the Borough.
vii.
Surface carriers engaged in commerce by railroad.
viii.
The unamplified human voice.