Homestead City Zoning Code
PART 7
Environmental Performance Standards
§ 27-701 General intent.
All uses hereafter established in any zoning district shall comply with the performance standards contained in this section. The performance standards shall apply to an existing use or structure, or portion thereof, 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 location shall be provided with adequate safety devices against the hazards of fire and explosion and adequate fire-fighting equipment as specified by the Department of Labor and Industry, the laws of the commonwealth and Chapter 143, Fire Prevention.[1] All buildings and structures and activities within such buildings and structures shall conform to the Borough building and fire codes and other applicable ordinances.
[1]
Editor's Note: Chapter 143, Fire Prevention, was superseded 4-8-2004 by Ord. No. 1154, which provided for the Borough to administer and enforce the Uniform Construction Codes. See now Ch. 5, Code Enforcement.
2.
Radioactivity and/or electrical disturbances. There shall be no activities which emit radioactivity at any location beyond the most recent threshold limit values adopted by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists and the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements and their reports, Nos. 39 and 22. There shall be no radio or electrical disturbance adversely affecting the operation of equipment belonging to someone other than the creator with no violation of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists standard. The standards are contained in the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists 1990-1991 Threshold Limit Values for Physical Agents in the Work Environment and 1990-1991 Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents and Biological Exposure Indices.
3.
Smoke, ash or dust. There shall be no emission of smoke, ash, dust or volatile organic compounds which violates applicable federal, state or county laws and regulations. In determining compliance with the visible emission standards of the rules and regulations of the Allegheny County Health Department, the following EPA Method 9 shall be used, except that the averaging provisions of Paragraph 2.5 of Method 9 shall not apply. Rather than applying the averaging provisions of Method 9, each momentary observation that is recorded shall be deemed to represent the opacity of emissions for a fifteen-second period. Each observation which is recorded to be equal to or greater than 20% opacity shall be counted in determining the hourly aggregated period.
4.
Liquid and solid wastes. There shall be no discharge at any point into any public or private sewerage system, watercourse or into the ground of any materials, in such a way or of such a nature, as will contaminate or otherwise cause the emission of hazardous materials in violation of any federal, state, county or Borough laws and regulations. All required discharge and disposal permits shall be obtained.
5.
Glare.
A.
No direct or 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. "Glare" shall be defined as direct or indirect light from such activities of greater than 1/2 footcandle on any adjoining property.
B.
All lighting devices located within 100 feet of a property line adjoining residential use or zoning classification shall be designed with shields, reflectors or fractor panels which direct and cut off the light at a cutoff angle that is less than 90°. ("Cutoff angle" is defined as the angle formed by a line drawn from the direction of light rays at the light source and a line perpendicular to the ground from the light source above which no light is emitted).
6.
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. Odor thresholds shall be measured in accordance with ASTM d 1391-57 Standard Method for Measurement of Odor in Atmospheres (Dilution Method).
7.
Noise. No operation or activity shall cause or create noise in excess of the sound levels prescribed below. For the purpose of this chapter, the noise level shall be measured in decibels (dBa) which indicate the sound pressure level obtained from a frequency-weighing network corresponding to the A-scale on a standard sound level meter.
A.
Residential uses. At no point on or beyond the boundary of any lot within these districts shall the exterior noise level resulting from any use or activity located on such lot exceed a maximum of 45 dBa for four hours in any twenty-four-hour period.
B.
Commercial uses. At no point on or beyond the boundary of any lot within these districts shall the exterior noise level resulting from any use or activity located on such lot exceed a maximum of 50 dBa for four hours in any twenty-four-hour period.
C.
Industrial uses. At no point on or beyond the boundary of any lot within these districts shall the exterior noise level resulting from any use or activity located on such lot exceed a maximum of 60 dBa for four hours in any twenty-four-hour period.
D.
Where two different uses for which different noise levels are prescribed share a common boundary, the most restrictive of the noise level standards shall govern.
E.
The following uses or activities shall be exempted from the noise regulations: noises emanating from construction and/or maintenance activities between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.; and noises caused by safety signals, warning devices and other emergency-related activities or uses.
F.
In addition to the above regulations, all uses and activities within the Borough shall conform to any applicable county, state or federal noise regulations. Wherever the regulations contained herein are in variance with any other lawfully adopted rules or requirements, the more restrictive shall govern.
8.
Vibrations.
A.
Vibration shall be measured at or beyond any adjacent lot line or residential district line as indicated in Table A below, and such measurements shall not exceed the particle velocities so designated. The instrument used for these measurements shall be a three-component measuring system capable of simultaneous measurement of vibration in three mutually perpendicular directions. The maximum vibration is given as particle velocity, which may be measured directly with suitable instrumentation or computed on the basis of displacement and frequency. When computed, the following formula shall be used:
P.V. | = | 6.28 F x D |
P.V. | = | Particle velocity, inches per second |
F | = | Vibration frequency, cycles per second |
D | = | Single amplitude displacement of the vibration, in inches |
B.
The maximum particle velocity shall be the vector sum of the three individual components recorded. Such particle velocity shall not exceed the values given in Table A. Where vibration is produced as discrete impulses, and such impulses do not exceed a frequency of 100 per minute, then the values in Table A may be multiplied by two.
Table A Maximum Ground Transmitted Vibration by Zoning District | ||
|---|---|---|
Vibration Measured In | Adjacent Lot Line | Residential Districts |
Residential districts | 0.02 | 0.02 |
Commercial districts | 0.06 | 0.02 |
WDD District | 0.10 | 0.02 |
9.
Storage. All garbage, trash and rubbish shall be stored in covered, vermin-resistant containers and shall be screened from public view.
10.
Determination of compliance.
A.
If during the review of a zoning application it appears that the proposed use or development may violate the performance standards contained in this section, the Borough may initiate an investigation and may require the applicant to submit such data and evidence as is needed to make an objective determination. The evidence may include, but shall not be limited, to such items as:
(1)
Plans of the existing or proposed constructions and development;
(2)
A description of the existing or proposed machinery, processes and products;
(3)
Specifications for the mechanisms and techniques used or proposed to be used in restricting the possible emission of any of the dangerous and objectionable elements as set forth in this Part; and/or
(4)
Measurements of the amount or rate of emission of said dangerous and objectionable elements.
B.
In order to determine compliance, the Borough may seek assistance from any governmental agency having interest in or jurisdiction for the particular environmental issue. The Borough may also require the applicant to submit competent substantial evidence that the proposed use does comply with the performance standard(s). The technical expert(s) providing the evidence shall be a person(s) or firm(s) mutually acceptable to the Borough and applicant; in the event that agreement cannot be reached on the technical expert, the Borough shall make the selection. The cost of the expert's study and report shall be borne by the applicant. A negative report by the technical expert as to the proposed use's compliance with the performance standard(s), and the applicant's refusal or inability to make alterations to ensure compliance, shall be a basis for denying approval of the zoning application.
11.
Continuing enforcement.
A.
If after issuance of a certificate of occupancy, there is an alleged violation of the performed standards of this section, the Zoning Officer shall investigate the alleged violation and, subject to the approval by Borough Council, may require competent substantial evidence to assist in the determination of a violation.
B.
The Zoning Officer shall follow the procedures specified by this chapter for giving a notice of violation. Costs of technical experts employed by the Borough in determining the violation shall be paid by the owner or operator of the use, if the use is found to be in violation. If the use is found not to be in violation, the costs of technical experts shall be paid by the Borough. Any use found in violation of these performance standards shall be further subject to the enforcement provisions of this chapter.
§ 27-702 Stormwater management. [1]
1.
Performance standard. Any landowner or person engaged in the alteration or development of land which may affect stormwater runoff characteristics shall implement such measures as are reasonably necessary to prevent injury to health or property. Such measures shall include such actions as are required to:
A.
Assure that the maximum rate of stormwater runoff is no greater after development than prior to development activities; or
B.
Manage the quantity, velocity and direction of resulting stormwater runoff in a manner which otherwise adequately protects health and property from possible injury.
2.
Stormwater plan requirements.
A.
When required by this chapter, the applicant shall submit a stormwater management plan for the land development prepared and sealed by a registered professional engineer or landscape architect of demonstrated qualifications in stormwater management, along with all calculations and analyses used to prepare the plan. All calculations of pre- and post-development runoff and storage requirements for sites exceeding one acre shall be completed using the United States Soil Conservation Service (SCS) Soil Cover Complex Method (as contained in SCS Technical Release TR-55).[2] These calculations are to be computed by a registered civil engineer or registered soils engineer. The rational method may be used for land development sites less than one acre.
[2]
Editor's Note: The Soil Conservation Service is now known as the "Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)."
B.
If the land development is located within a watershed for which a stormwater management plan has been adopted or is being prepared, pursuant to the State Storm Water Management Act (167 of 1978),[3] then any proposed stormwater control measures shall be consistent with the watershed plan.
[3]
Editor's Note: See 32 P.S. § 680.1 et seq.
C.
If the development is proposing to connect with existing storm sewers, the applicant shall demonstrate that the system has the capacity to handle the additional stormwater flow. All connections shall be approved by the Borough Engineer.
3.
Plan approval. The stormwater management plan for the development site and all proposed control measures shall be reviewed and approved by the Borough Engineer.
[1]
Editor's Note: See also Ch. 19, Stormwater Management.
§ 27-703 Erosion/sedimentation control.
1.
Applicability. Where any excavation, grading or earthmoving activity, including removal of topsoil, trees or other vegetative cover of land, is proposed, a plan for minimizing soil erosion and sedimentation, both during and after construction, is required.
2.
Erosion/sedimentation plan. The erosion/sedimentation plan shall be prepared in accordance with the Pennsylvania Erosion and Sedimentation Regulations (25 Pa. Code, Chapter 102) and the standards and specifications of the Allegheny County Conservation District.
3.
Plan review. The Borough may submit the erosion/sedimentation plan to the County Conservation District for review and comment.
§ 27-704 Hazardous, toxic and radioactive waste management.
Any landowner or person engaged in the alteration or development of land which reasonably may be suspected of containing hazardous, toxic or radioactive waste (HTRW), because of past use or practice, shall provide an environmental assessment by a qualified professional engineer. If the environmental assessment indicates presence of HTRW, a plan completed by a qualified professional engineer for removal and proper disposal of the hazard shall be submitted, along with a description of the rationale for the plan as well as necessary background computations, for review and approval by the Borough Engineer. Costs of review and approval, including any necessary consultants, shall be borne by the developer. All HTRW inspection and handling will be in accordance with the latest United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) or other applicable federal, state, county or municipal guidelines.
§ 27-705 Wetlands review.
1.
If the Zoning Officer, based upon review by the Borough Engineer or the County Conservation District or DEP or the Fish and Wildlife Service or the Army Corps of Engineers, has reason to believe that a portion of a site proposed to be altered may possibly meet the state or federal definitions of a wetland, the Zoning Officer may require the applicant to provide a study by a qualified professional delineating the locations of wetlands. However, the Borough accepts no responsibility to identify all wetlands or to warn all parties of such possibilities.
2.
All permits of the Borough are issued on the condition that the applicant comply with federal and state wetlands regulations, and such permits may be revoked or suspended by the Zoning Officer for noncompliance with the regulations.
