Honey Brook City Zoning Code
PART 17
Transferable Development Rights
§ 27-1701 Statement of Intent.
[Ord. No. 247-2018, 9/17/2018]
The Borough, in support of the agricultural, watershed protection, and urban revitalization goals of the 2015 Honey Brook Township and Borough Multi-municipal Comprehensive Plan, establishes its portion of a multi-municipal transferable development rights program under the terms of this part, and offers locations within its municipal boundaries that are deemed appropriate for development at higher densities and intensities through the use of Transferable Development Rights (TDRs). These provisions, and those contained in the Honey Brook Township Zoning Ordinance, enable owners of agricultural and natural resource lands in the Township to benefit from the development value of their land without converting the land to development use, and enable developers of land in the Borough, as well as the Township, to achieve higher densities or intensities of land use than otherwise are available through the base zoning provisions by purchasing the requisite rights to do so.
§ 27-1702 Authorization and Concept.
[Ord. No. 247-2018, 9/17/2018]
A.
The provisions of this Part permit purchasers of Transferable Development Rights (TDRs) originating from lands within Honey Brook Township to use such purchased rights in areas of the Borough proposed for additional development, referred to as receiving areas. The TDR provisions set forth in this Part, as well as those TDR provisions set forth in the Honey Brook Township Zoning Ordinance, are specifically authorized under § § 603(c)(2.2) and 619.1 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, under the terms of which development rights are acknowledged to be severable and separately conveyable from a sending area to a receiving area.
B.
In general, where a tract of land in the A - Agricultural District or RC — Resource Conservation District established in Honey Brook Township has been allocated TDRs in accordance with the terms of its Zoning Ordinance, the owner of such tract may, upon receiving certification of said TDRs by the Honey Brook Township Board of Supervisors, sever some or all of the development rights and thereupon offer them for sale or retain them. The only subsequent use to which the severed development rights may be put is in conjunction with the development of a tract in the Township's or Borough's receiving areas.
C.
Where all development rights allocated to a property in Honey Brook Township's A - Agricultural District or RC — Rural Conservation District are severed, that property is made subject to a conservation easement permanently limiting the use of such land to agriculture, agriculturally related uses, or open space uses, consistent with the terms of the Honey Brook Township Zoning Ordinance.
D.
The transfer of development rights between Honey Brook Township and Honey Brook Borough is subject to the terms of the Agreement for Intermunicipal Transfer of Development Rights.
§ 27-1703 Severance and Sale of Transferable Development Rights.
[Ord. No. 247-2018, 9/17/2018]
Transferable development rights may only be severed from eligible land in Honey Brook Township and may be sold in accordance with the provisions contained in the Honey Brook Township Zoning Ordinance.
§ 27-1704 Receiving Area Qualifications and Calculations.
[Ord. No. 247-2018, 9/17/2018]
Owners of tracts in designated receiving areas in Honey Brook Borough that meet the following requirements may use development rights that have been severed and transferred from sending area properties in Honey Brook Township. Development not utilizing receipt of TDRs shall be limited to the extent provided in the applicable base zoning district(s). Permitted uses, design standards, development approval procedures and other applicable provisions shall be as set forth for the respective zoning districts, except where otherwise specifically provided herein.
A.
Receiving Area Qualifications. Otherwise applicable densities may be increased and area and bulk regulations modified through the use of TDRs as part of a proposed subdivision or land development plan, in accordance with the provisions of this Section and the applicable zoning district, when the receiving area tract of land is located in either of the following two zoning districts:
B.
Use of Transferable Development Rights on Receiving Area Properties.
1.
Increase in Permitted Density or Intensity of Development.
a.
Where TDRs are proposed to be used as part of a subdivision or land development plan in the MUR or MUC Districts, the otherwise applicable maximum number of dwelling units or maximum intensity of nonresidential use on the tract, as authorized in the respective zoning districts, may be expanded or increased in accordance with the limits stipulated in the zoning districts. The expanded limits shall be based upon the number of development rights to be transferred.
b.
Actual increases in the number of dwelling units or intensities of use permissible on any tract shall be determined by the number of development rights being transferred for use on the property, the type or types of uses proposed, and compliance with all other applicable standards of this Chapter.
c.
The incremental increase in density or intensity of use above that otherwise provided without the use of TDRs must be fully accounted for through proof of purchase and transfer of the development rights in accordance with the provisions of this Part.
2.
Development right/dwelling unit or intensity factor equivalency.
a.
Each development right proposed for residential use on a receiving area tract in the MUR or MUC District, under the terms of this Chapter, shall be equivalent to the following number of dwelling units and shall entitle the developer to that number of additional dwellings on the site:
i.
1.1 single-family detached dwelling units per development right.
ii.
1.3 two-family dwelling units per development right.
iii.
1.5 single-family attached (townhouse) dwellings per development right
iv.
1.7 quadraplex dwelling units per development right
v.
2.0 apartment units per development right.
The above ratios may be increased by fifty (50) percent for any dwelling units restricted to persons over fifty-five (55) years of age, and any dwelling units qualifying as workforce housing. |
b.
Each development right proposed for residential or nonresidential use on a receiving area tract in the MUR or MUC District, under the terms of this Chapter, shall be equivalent to the following amount of developed area:
c.
The developer shall be entitled to the additional development area authorized by the number of development rights transferred, up to the maximum residential density (du's/acre), or maximum amounts of impervious surface, floor area, and/or building height established in the applicable zoning district.
3.
Design Requirements and Modification of Area and Bulk Standards. A proposed development in the receiving area using TDRs shall comply with all requirements and design standards applicable in the base zoning district in which it is located, except as specifically provided in this Part. For any development proposing to use at least five (5) TDRs, applicable area and bulk requirements in the base zoning district not otherwise modifiable through the provisions of § 27- 704.B.2 above may be modified by as much as twenty-five (25) percent when such modification is approved as a Conditional Use by Borough Council. Any conditional use approval to permit such modification(s) shall be subject to the following criteria:
c.
If the Council determines that the applicant has met his/her burden of proof, it may grant modification(s) to the otherwise applicable requirements. In approving modifications through the grant of a conditional use, the Council may impose such conditions as will, in its judgement, secure the objectives and purposes of this Chapter.
§ 27-1705 Plan Submittal Process.
[Ord. No. 247-2018, 9/17/2018]
An applicant proposing the use of TDRs shall submit a subdivision or land development plan as required in accordance with the Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance [Chapter 22] for the development to which TDRs will be added. A conditional use application shall be submitted where applicable. Submitted subdivision or land development plans and/or conditional use applications, as applicable, shall, in addition to meeting all other applicable provisions, include submission of the following:
A.
A deed of transferable development rights or an agreement of sale for all development rights proposed to be purchased from the sending area site(s). The applicant must prove ownership or equitable ownership of the requisite number of development right(s) to enable the proposed additional density or intensity increase in the development plan, up to the maximum additional increment permitted by this Part.
B.
A note on the plan showing the total number of dwelling units or increased amount of impervious surface or floor area proposed on the receiving area site, the total number or amount that could be built not using TDR's, and the incremental difference between the two. This difference represents the number of additional dwelling units or square footage of impervious surface or floor area that could be constructed using TDRs.
C.
If the development rights proposed for use in the receiving area have previously been severed from a tract in the sending area, a copy of the recorded deed of transferable development rights shall be submitted. A title search of the rights set forth in the deed of transferable development rights sufficient to determine all of the owners of the development rights and all lienholders also shall be furnished to the Borough.
D.
As a requirement for final plan approval, the applicant shall provide documentation that appropriate conservation easements have been recorded for sending area lands in Honey Brook Township from which development rights are proposed for use by the applicant. The conservation easement restricting the sending area tract must be recorded prior to recording of the deed of transferable development rights, in accordance with the provisions of the Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Code, as amended, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
§ 27-1706 Amendment and/or Extinguishment.
[Ord. No. 247-2018, 9/17/2018]
The Borough reserves the right to amend this Chapter in the future, and the Borough expressly reserves the right to change the manner in which TDRs can be used in the Borough's receiving area, in accord with the Agreement for Intermunicipal Transfer of Development Rights and the Intergovernmental Cooperative Implementation Agreement. The Borough further expressly reserves the right to terminate its participation in the Honey Brook multi-municipal transferable development rights program as provided for in the Agreement for Intermunicipal Transfer of Development Rights, and as an ordinance amendment pursuant to the Intergovernmental Cooperative Implementation Agreement. No owner of the land or owner of development rights shall have any claim against the Borough for damages resulting from a change in this Chapter relating to the regulations governing the calculation, transfer, and use of development rights or the abolition of the TDR program. If the TDR program is abolished by the Borough, no developer may attach development rights to any tract in the receiving area after the effective date of the ordinance abolishing the TDR program unless an application in conformity with the provisions of this Part was filed prior to the effective date of such ordinance and thereafter is continuously processed to approval. Should the Township abolish its TDR program, the Borough may continue to permit the use of TDRs within its receiving areas when such TDRs have been legally severed from Honey Brook Township lands prior to the effective date of the ordinance abolishing the Township's TDR program.