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Lansdale City Zoning Code

ARTICLE VII

Residential Apartment District

§ 405-700 Permitted, conditional, and special exception uses.

A building may be erected, altered or used and a lot or premises may be used for any of the following purposes and for no other:
A. 
Permitted uses.
(1) 
Apartment houses.
(2) 
Hotels or motels.
(3) 
Single-family attached dwellings or two-family duplex dwellings.
(4) 
Accessory buildings or uses customarily incidental to any of the above uses when located on the same lot and not involving the conduct of a business or home occupation.
(5) 
Forestry.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
(6) 
No-impact home-based business (according to § 405-1910).[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
B. 
Conditional uses.[3]
(1) 
Family day-care home (in accordance with Article XXIX).
[3]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
C. 
The following uses shall be permitted when authorized by special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board:
(1) 
In the case of any apartment building, hotel or motel containing 50 or more such units, personal service and commercial uses serving only the needs of the residents therein and located only on the ground floor thereof shall be permitted. Such personal service or commercial uses shall be limited to restaurants, personal service shops, retail shops, cultural or recreational facilities or any use of the same general character.

§ 405-701 Height.

The maximum height of any building or structure erected or used as an apartment building or hotel or motel shall be 40 feet. Any extension of height in excess of 40 feet shall be permitted solely for the purpose of safety warning devices. The height of any single-family attached dwelling or two-family duplex dwelling shall not exceed 40 feet.

§ 405-702 Front yard.

A. 
There shall be a front yard with a depth of at least 30 feet.
[Amended 10-16-1996 by Ord. No. 1583]
B. 
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this section, the front yard of an apartment building with more than four units shall be not less than 75 feet.

§ 405-703 Side yards.

[Amended 10-16-1996 by Ord. No. 1585]
There shall be two side yards, one on each side of the main building, neither of which shall be less than 10 feet. In the case of a single-family attached dwelling, a four-foot setback from the common property line shall be provided if the units are extended to the rear of the property.

§ 405-704 Rear yard.

[Amended 10-16-1996 by Ord. No. 1585]
There shall be a rear yard having a depth of not less than 50 feet on each lot as measured from the rear lot line.

§ 405-705 Lot area.

A. 
The minimum lot area for a single-family attached dwelling shall be 3,750 square feet for each end unit and to 2,500 square feet for each center unit.
[Amended 10-16-1996 by Ord. No. 1585]
B. 
The minimum lot area for any two-family duplex dwelling shall be 6,000 square feet.
C. 
The minimum lot area for any apartment house shall be 1,500 square feet per dwelling unit provided therein. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, every apartment house shall have a lot area of at least twice the ground area of the building, exclusive of the building itself, any accessory building, the parking spaces required by this chapter and the driveways required to serve the parking area.
D. 
The minimum lot area for any hotel or motel having no cooking facilities in any room, suite or apartment shall not be less than 800 square feet per room or suite.

§ 405-706 Lot width (frontage).

Every lot used for residential or other permitted purposes shall have a minimum lot width at the street line (or frontage) in accordance with the following standards:
A. 
Two-family duplex dwellings: 60 feet.
B. 
Apartment houses, hotels or motels: 75 feet for buildings up to four units, 90 feet for a building containing five to eight units, and 110 feet of minimum lot width for any building containing more than eight units.
C. 
Single-family attached dwellings: 30 feet for each end unit and 20 feet for any center unit. All units shall have a minimum width of 20 feet.
[Amended 10-16-1996 by Ord. No. 1585]

§ 405-707 Impervious surface coverage.

In no case shall more than 75% of the lot area of any lot be occupied by buildings, parking area, driveways and other impervious coverage.