Lower Gwynedd Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 1287
F Industrial District
§ 1287.01 Application of chapter.
[Ord. 233A. Passed 6-18-1987]
In an "F" Industrial District, the regulations set forth in this chapter shall apply.
§ 1287.02 Permitted uses.
[Ord. 233A. Passed 6-18-1987; Ord. 382. Passed 4-17-2001; amended 7-26-2016 by Ord. No. 505; 12-9-2025 by Ord. No. 552]
In an "F" Industrial District, a building or combination of buildings may be erected or used, and a lot may be used or occupied, for any of the following purposes and no other:
(a)
Manufacturing.
(b)
Storage or warehousing.
(c)
Industrial uses.
(d)
Municipal uses.
(e)
Administrative offices and research facilities.
(f)
Any use similar to those set forth in Subsections (a) to (e) hereof; when authorized as a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board.
(g)
Any other legitimate use not otherwise permitted expressly or by implication elsewhere in this Zoning Code when authorized as a conditional use by the Board of Supervisors and after the imposition of conditions designed to eliminate (to the extent reasonably possible) adverse affects upon neighboring properties and the general public health, safety and welfare.
(h)
Any accessory use or accessory building or structure that is subordinate to the uses set forth in Subsections (a) to (g) hereof.
(i)
Mixed-Use Campus.
(1)
On a property already partially improved with existing buildings, a development consisting of the following uses, for single and multiple occupancy of property and buildings, shall be permitted when authorized by conditional use.
A.
Office (administrative, professional and/or medical).
B.
Warehouse, research facility (laboratory), industrial/manufacturing.
C.
Self-storage facility.
D.
Apartment houses.
E.
Exterior storage of buses, recreational vehicles, campers, boats, trailers, and similar vehicles and conveyances, and excluding any sales, rentals, repairs, bodywork or painting thereof and also excluding tractor trailers. Areas used for such exterior storage shall not exceed 10% of the total tract area.
F.
The following commercial, retail, and personal service uses when accessory to permitted uses and/or supporting the immediately surrounding community: restaurant, food service, baker, indoor recreation establishment, fitness center, craft breweries/distilleries and/or wineries with retail, wholesale and/or on-site consumption of beer, wine and alcohol sales and food service. Outdoor dining, service, and consumption are permitted; however, these areas shall be counted when considering parking requirements
G.
Special events which shall include, but not be limited to, a farmer's market, food trucks, craft fair, car show, movie night, and beer garden or festival and shall be permitted only Thursdays through Sundays. All special events shall conform to the yard requirements of § 1287.04, shall be located solely in an area designated on the approved Master Plan, shall not be located or conducted on more than 30% of the tract, shall be provided adequate parking and shall be subject to written permission of the Township Manager.
H.
Any accessory use or accessory building or structure that is subordinate to the uses set forth in Subsection (i)(1)A to G hereof.
(2)
Master Plan. For all mixed-use campuses, a master plan shall be submitted as part of the required conditional use application, which adequately depicts where each of the above category of uses and parking shall occur on the property. Material changes to the Master Plan involving more than 15% of the total building area or tract area shall require an amended conditional use approval from the Board of Supervisors Review and approval of the conditional use shall include the approval of the dimensional criteria and parking as shown on the Master Plan.
§ 1287.03 Lot area and width.
[Ord. 233A. Passed 6-18-1987; Ord. 382. Passed 4-17-2001; amended 12-9-2025 by Ord. No. 552]
(a)
Minimum Lot Area. In an "F" Industrial District, a lot area of not less than eight acres shall be provided.
(b)
Minimum Lot Width. A lot width of not less than 200 feet shall be provided.
(c)
Lot Area and Width for Apartment Houses. Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, the minimum lot area and minimum lot width for an apartment house in an "F" Industrial District shall be as follows:
(1)
Minimum Lot Area. For an apartment house, a lot area of not less than one acre shall be provided.
(2)
Minimum Lot Width: For an apartment house, a lot width of not less than 200 feet shall be provided.
§ 1287.04 Yards.
[Ord. 233A. Passed 6-18-1987; Ord. 328. Passed 7-22-1996; amended 12-9-2025 by Ord. No. 552]
(a)
Front Yard. In an "F" Industrial District, there shall be a front yard on each lot which shall not be less than 50 feet.
(b)
Side Yards. There shall be two side yards on each lot, neither of which shall be less than 50 feet.
(c)
Rear Yards. There shall be a rear yard on each lot which shall not be less than 50 feet.
(d)
District Yard. No side or rear yard adjacent to any residential district shall be less than 100 feet in depth.
(e)
Corner Lots. Yards for corner lots are regulated by Section 1298.09.
(f)
Yard requirements for apartment houses. Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, the yard requirements for an apartment house in an "F" Industrial District shall be as follows:
(1)
Front Yard. For an apartment house, there shalt be a front yard on each lot which shall not be less than 30 feet.
(2)
Side Yards. For an apartment house, there shall be a side yard on each lot which shall not be less than five feet.
(3)
Rear Yards. For an apartment house, there shall be a rear yard on each lot which shall not be less than 30 feet.
§ 1287.05 Lot coverage.
[Ord. 233A. Passed 6-18-1987; amended 12-9-2025 by Ord. No. 552]
(a)
Building Coverage. In an "F" Industrial District, the total building coverage shall not exceed 50%.
(b)
Impervious Coverage. The total impervious coverage shall not exceed 75%.
(c)
Lot coverage requirements for apartment houses. Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, the lot coverage requirements for an apartment house in an "F" Industrial District shall be as follows:
(1)
Building coverage: The total building coverage shall not exceed 35%.
(2)
Impervious coverage: The total impervious coverage shall not exceed 75%.
§ 1287.06 Building height.
[Ord. 233A. Passed 6-18-1987]
The maximum height for buildings or other structures erected or enlarged in an "F" Industrial District shall be 45 feet. For purposes of this section, chimneys, spires, towers, elevator penthouses, tanks, solar energy apparatus and similar projections shall be included in the height and shall be permitted to extend not more than 10 feet above the allowable building height only when authorized as a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board.
§ 1287.07 Off-street parking and loading.
[Ord. 233A. Passed 6-18-1987; amended 12-9-2025 by Ord. No. 552]
(a)
Parking and Loading. In an "F" Industrial District, all-weather parking and loading facilities shall be provided in accordance with Chapter 1294. Notwithstanding any provisions in Chapter 1294 to the contrary, the following provisions shall apply for a property developed as a Mixed-Use Campus pursuant to Section 1287.02(i):
(1)
Where a property is developed with a Mixed-Use Campus use, the parking required in Chapter 1294 may be reduced by 10%.
(2)
Where adjacent properties are developed with a Mixed-Use Campus, the required parking and/or driveway access can be accomplished on an adjacent contiguous property, provided that appropriate easements are obtained to ensure access to and from said parking and/or street or way, which easements shall be in form and substance satisfactory to the Township Solicitor and Township Engineer.
(b)
Setbacks.
(1)
For an apartment house in an "F" Industrial District, no setback shall be required for parking, loading areas or driveways where such parking, loading areas or driveways are adjacent to another lot located within the "F" Industrial District.
(2)
For all other uses, no parking, loading or driveway area shall be located closer than 25 feet to any side or rear property line, nor closer than 50 feet to any front property line, except as required for normal ingress and egress.
(3)
In the case of any side or rear line being adjacent to a single-family residential district, no parking loading or driveway area shall be located closer than 50 feet to such property line, except as required for normal ingress and egress.
(4)
No railroad loading area shall be closer than 18 feet to any property line.
§ 1287.08 Special requirements.
[Ord. 233A. Passed 6-18-1987; Ord. 251. Passed 2-16-1988; Ord. 400. Passed 5-21-2002; amended 8-22-2017 by Ord. No. 513; 12-9-2025 by Ord. No. 552]
(a)
Signs. Signs shall be permitted in accordance with Chapter 1292.
(b)
Minimum District Size. The minimum area of any "F" Industrial District shall be 40 acres.
(c)
Landscaping. All development in an "F" Industrial District shall be designed and maintained in accordance with the landscape provisions of the Subdivision Regulations. There shall be a suitable and effective landscape barrier to separate the property from any adjacent public street. Such buffer strip shall be at least 10 feet wide and shall channel motor vehicle ingress and egress from the property. There shall be a maximum of one access road per 200 feet of frontage and in no case more than two access roads per frontage.
(d)
Utilities. All development in an "F" Industrial District shall be served by public sewer and water. All utilities serving a permitted use in this district shall be underground.
(e)
Outdoor Land Use. The outdoor storage of materials and trash shall be designed and maintained to be completely screened from view by a landscape buffer, and such uses shall conform to all building setbacks.
(f)
Hazardous Uses. No building shall be erected, altered or maintained, and no lot shall be used for any purpose, trade or business, that is noxious, offensive or potentially injurious to health by reason of odor, noise, dust, smoke, heat, gas, radiation or vibration.
(g)
Building Spacing. The distance at the closest point between any buildings shall be not less than 30 feet.
(h)
Site Lighting. Exterior lighting provided in conjunction with any building or use shall be placed not higher than 14 feet above grade and shall be screened so as not to permit the source of illumination to be seen from off the premises. Only color-corrected types of illumination shall be used. The hours of illumination of such lights (except security lighting) shall be limited to hours of business operation and shall otherwise be extinguished between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. of the following day, prevailing time.
Exterior security lighting, when set back a minimum of 50 feet from an adjacent district, may exceed the fourteen-foot limitation stated in this subsection, but shall not be placed higher than 25 feet above grade. |
§ 1287.09 (Reserved) [1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Section 1287.09, Application procedure, was repealed 2-21-1995 by Ord. No. 314.
