Limerick Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVII
R-5 Village Residential District
§ 184-116 Intent.
It is the specific intent of this article to:
A.
Encourage development of a range of dwelling types and densities that are compatible with the density, scale and visual character of the existing village setting.
B.
Reinforce the village centers as focal points within the Township by concentrating residential development around them.
C.
Encourage a pedestrian-oriented circulation system within and around the village centers by locating residential development within walking distance of commercial and service centers and providing for open space connectors between them.
D.
Meet the Township's obligations to provide a diversity of housing types for a wide range of income levels and age groups.
§ 184-117 Permitted uses.
On any lot in the R-5 District, any one of the following uses, and no other, is permitted:
D.
Multifamily apartments.
E.
Accessory uses on the same lot with and customarily incidental to the principal use, as specified in § 184-71 herein.
G.
Public or private noncommercial open space, parks, playgrounds, tot-lots and similar recreational facilities, if ancillary to residential development.
H.
Municipal parks, playgrounds and other such municipal buildings and uses deemed appropriate and necessary by the Township Supervisors.
§ 184-118 Conditional uses.
On any lot in the R-5 District, any one of the following uses, and no other, may be permitted by the Board of Supervisors as a conditional use according to the requirements of § 184-68 herein:
§ 184-119 Development requirements.
[Amended 11-4-1998 by Ord. No. 198; 7-17-2001 by Ord. No. 230; 12-15-2020 by Ord. No. 404; 6-3-2025 by Ord. No. 434]
Any tract developed for residential purposes under the development standards of the R-5 District shall meet the following requirements:
A.
Minimum tract area size. Developments under the R-5 District shall have a minimum tract area size of 10 acres. Tracts under 10 acres may be developed in accordance with the requirements of the R-3 Zoning District.
B.
Public sewer and water service shall be provided, except in the case of a lot which contains an existing single-family dwelling unit serviced by either public water or public sewer shall be permitted to utilize the "R-5 District Development Standards" for a traditional, single-family detached unit as permitted in § 184-120. Any tract or lot served by both private on-site water and on-site sewage disposal shall meet the requirements of the R-3 District.
C.
Where buildings front an existing public street, no parking shall be permitted within front yards. The use of alleys is encouraged to provide vehicular access to rear yards and to avoid multiple curb cuts on existing public streets. Where the rear or the side of any proposed buildings face an existing public street, a buffer strip at least 25 feet wide shall be provided and shall be measured from the ultimate right-of-way line of the existing street to the usable rear yard area. The buffer strip shall not overlap with any required yard. The buffer strip shall include a berm and landscaping to obscure the residential yard activities from the existing street and meet the standards of § 155-27.1C(5)(c) of Chapter 155, Subdivision and Land Development.
D.
Where single-family attached units or multifamily apartments abut single-family or two-family dwellings, a screening buffer at least 20 feet wide shall be provided along the property line between them, according to the standards of Chapter 155, Subdivision and Land Development.
E.
Any development containing 100 or more dwelling units shall include at least two of the permitted dwelling types, with each type constituting no less than 15% of the total number of dwelling units.
F.
Single-family attached dwellings (townhouses and multiplexes) shall meet the following additional requirements:
(1)
The maximum density shall be 8 dwelling units per net buildable acre.
(2)
(Reserved)
(3)
Each dwelling unit shall have a minimum building width of 20 feet.
(4)
The minimum front yard shall be 15 feet, which shall be increased to 20 feet if vehicle parking is provided in the front yard.
(5)
Each principal building shall be separated by 30 feet from any other principal building. In cases of rear-to-rear or rear-to-side configuration, the rear of a principal building shall be separated by 45 feet and buffered from the rear or side of any other principal building. The buffer strip shall be a minimum of 15 feet wide, shall not overlap with any required yard, and shall meet the standards of § 155-27.1C(5)(c) of Chapter 155, Subdivision and Land Development.
(6)
Each dwelling unit shall have a usable rear yard area that is not occupied by a garage and that has a minimum depth of 15 feet.
(7)
The development tract, at the time of the completion of the development, shall have a maximum building coverage of 50% and a maximum impervious coverage of 70%.
(8)
A minimum of 30% of the total tract area shall be preserved as permanent open space.
(9)
A maximum of 6 dwelling units shall be attached.
(10)
If mailboxes cannot be placed on the fronts of individual dwelling units, then they should be clustered in an orderly manner.
§ 184-120 Development standards.
See the chart "R-5 District Development Standards" included as an attachment to this chapter.