search icon

Jackson Township Butler County
City Zoning Code

PART 1

General Provisions

§ 27-101 Statutory authority.

The Board of Supervisors of Jackson Township hereby adopts this chapter pursuant to the authority contained in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247 of 1968, as amended, and the Aviation Code, Act 164 of 1984, as amended.

§ 27-102 Short title.

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Jackson Township Zoning Ordinance," and the district map shall be known and may be cited as the "Official Zoning Ordinance Map." For purposes of the Code of Jackson Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, this chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Zoning Ordinance."

§ 27-103 Division into districts; regulations.

A. 
For any or all said purposes, the Board of Supervisors hereby divides the Township into districts, of such number, shape, and areas as may be deemed best suited to carry out the purposes of this chapter. Within such districts, the Board of Supervisors hereby regulates and restricts the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair or use of buildings, structures or land.
B. 
All such regulations shall be uniform for each class or kind of construction or development throughout each district, but the regulations in one district may differ from those in another district.

§ 27-104 Purpose; community development objectives.

A. 
The purposes of this chapter are to minimize traffic congestion, secure safety from fire, panic and other danger, promote health and the general welfare, provide adequate light and air, promote the adequate provision of transportation, water, and sewerage, promote the preservation of environmental features by authorizing and encouraging innovative forms of development, and to implement the purposes of this chapter through the regulation of structures, uses, and land within the limits authorized in § 27-101 of this chapter.
B. 
The community development objectives of this chapter aim to implement the purpose of this chapter as set forth in Subsection A, as well as the objectives and policies set forth in the Comprehensive Plan, as follows:
(1) 
Implement access management through incentivizing shared drives, parking, reciprocal access easements, and parallel access roads.
(2) 
Provide for market demands and job growth opportunities through the expansion of areas in which flex or "flexible use development" is authorized. Such areas must accommodate associated trips and can provide for such uses in a manner minimally impacting adjoining residential uses.
(3) 
Ensure availability of land for local service related industries including but not limited to restaurants, small-scale offices, small retail, and grocery stores through an overlay district or other necessary text or map amendments within the corridor designated as commercial on the future land use map.
(4) 
Provide for multi-family and housing alternatives to single family detached housing within areas most suitable such as transitional areas between residential and commercial and areas with a road network capable of handling associated traffic, namely within the mixed use commercial and mixed use residential areas in consideration of the preceding.
(5) 
Encourage pedestrian/bicycle integration between commercial and residential areas, including connections to the business districts of the adjoining boroughs, through zoning and SALDO standards.
(6) 
High impact and high-intensity uses such as, but not limited to, large-scale retail, industrial and dense residential developments, should be managed by performance-based standards that may serve to mitigate associated impacts.
(7) 
Site amenities in commercial and residential developments should be managed through detailed lighting standards and landscape buffering standards that ensure minimal impact on surrounding properties in consideration of the intensity and density of a use to adjoining uses.
(8) 
Utilize incentive zoning in residential areas that lie within designated growth areas, namely the residential corridors indicated on the Future Land Use Map, in a manner that leverages needed public improvements, but considers open space and community character.
(9) 
Provide for a variety of housing types sufficient to meet the needs of existing and expected residents in areas with existing or planned infrastructure capable of accommodating them while considering impacts on adjoining residential uses.
(10) 
Encourage the development and maintenance of streetscapes with appropriate landscaping and pedestrian connections along key commercial and mixed-use corridors.
(11) 
Within residential plans and other applicable developments, provide for and encourage the preservation of interconnected open space for purposes of conservation, active recreation, and trail connections.

§ 27-105 Compliance required; applicability.

A. 
No building, structure or land shall be constructed, altered, used or occupied for any purpose or in any manner unless in conformity with this chapter, the regulations herein specified for the zoning district in which it is located, and all other applicable Township ordinances, including, but not limited to, the Township Construction Code (Chapter 5, Part 1), the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (Chapter 22), the Stormwater Management Ordinance (Chapter 26, Part 1), and the Grading Ordinance (Chapter 9, Part 1).
B. 
No building shall hereafter be erected or altered to exceed the height, to accommodate a greater number of families or to occupy a greater percentage of lot area which by its placement on a lot creates a nonconforming yard or setback.
C. 
No part of a yard or other open space required about any building for the purpose of complying with the provisions of this chapter shall be included as a part of a yard or other open space similarly required for another building.
D. 
No dwelling unit, as defined in this chapter, shall be permitted in any zoning district having a gross floor area less than that required by the Township Construction Code (Chapter 5, Part 1).
E. 
Minimum gross floor area for multifamily and two-family dwellings shall be based on standards established by the Township Construction Code (Chapter 5, Part 1).

§ 27-106 Interpretation.

A. 
In interpreting and applying the provisions of this chapter, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of health, safety, morals, and the general welfare of Jackson Township and its citizens. It is not intended by this chapter to interfere with or abrogate or annul any rules or regulations previously adopted or permits previously issued by the Township which are not in conflict with any provisions of this chapter, nor is it intended by this chapter to interfere with or abrogate or annul any easements, covenants, building restrictions, or other agreements between parties.
B. 
Where this chapter imposes a restriction upon the use of the buildings or premises differing from other ordinances, rules, regulations or permits, or by easements, covenants, building restrictions or agreements, the more restrictive requirement shall control.
C. 
Notwithstanding any definition or any other provision of this chapter, no definition or other provision of this chapter shall be construed, applied or interpreted in a fashion which violates the Federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq., as amended, and as interpreted by any court of competent and binding jurisdiction.