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Lower Makefield Township
City Zoning Code

ARTICLE V

Residential Medium-Density R-2

§ 200-20 Permitted uses.

A building or structure may be erected or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following uses and no other. All uses permitted by right or by special exception are subject to the specific regulations in Article XV for individual uses, in addition to the requirements contained in this and other sections.
A. 
Uses by right. Uses by right are as follows:
(1) 
Agriculture.
(2) 
Dwelling, single-family detached.
(3) 
Nursery/horticulture/greenhouse.
(4) 
Public recreational facility.
(5) 
Uses and structures accessory to permitted uses, limited to the following:
(a) 
Auctions.
(b) 
Garage sales.
(c) 
Home occupation, Class I: home office.
(d) 
Home occupation, Class II: traditional home occupation.
(e) 
Livestock in residential areas.
(f) 
Pools of restrictive size/hot tubs.
(g) 
Private aboveground swimming pool.
(h) 
Private swimming pool.
(i) 
Residential accessory buildings and structures.
(j) 
Temporary structure.
(6) 
Forestry/timber harvesting, pursuant to the regulations set forth in Article XV, § 200-68.
[Added 12-3-2001 by Ord. No. 329]
(7) 
Open space cluster development.
[Added 12-20-2006 by Ord. No. 364]
B. 
Uses by special exception. The following uses may be authorized as special exceptions by the Zoning Hearing Board in accordance with the standards set forth in § 200-98 of this chapter.
(1) 
Cemetery.
(2) 
Library or museum.
(3) 
Nursing home.
(4) 
Place of worship.
(5) 
Public or private school.
(6) 
Utility.
[Amended 8-7-1995 by Ord. No. 297]
(7) 
Bed-and-breakfast.
(8) 
Boarding.
(9) 
Home occupation, Class III: family day care.
(10) 
Home occupation, Class IV: accessory office.
C. 
Conditional uses. The following uses may be authorized as conditional uses by the Board of Supervisors in accordance with the standards and procedures of this chapter.
(1) 
Accessory farm business.
(2) 
Emergency services.

§ 200-21 Table of performance standards.

[Amended 8-2-2023 by Ord. No. 440]
A. 
Open space applicable to tracts of land consisting of 10 acres or more land.
(1) 
Not less than 25% of the total land area shall be designated as open space.
(2) 
No area designated as open space shall be smaller than 20,000 square feet.
(3) 
The open space shall be contiguous to lots within the cluster-designed development in conformity with § 200-75 of this chapter.
(4) 
Consideration shall be given to the arrangement, location and landscaping of the open space so as to address its aesthetic and spatial relationship with the development clusters, the individual lots and the adjacent land uses.
(5) 
Open space should be arranged in such a manner so as to be within easy access and view of the dwelling units while preserving and enhancing the natural features and renewable resource potential of the site.
(6) 
Ownership of open space as required by this chapter shall be held in such form in conformance with § 200-74B of this chapter.
(7) 
All open space designated under this chapter shall be identified by the installation of a freestanding sign in accordance with § 200-83E(12) of this chapter.
B. 
Table of performance standards. Lot area and density for uses other than farmland preservation development. All development shall be in accordance with the site capacity calculations, § 200-52, and the following requirements. These standards may be less strict than other standards in § 200-52; the strictest standards shall apply.
Type
Percent of Base Site Area Classified as Resource Protection Land1
Maximum Density on Net Buildable Site Area without Cluster
(units/acres)
Maximum Density on Net Buildable Site Area with Cluster
(units/acres)2
Minimum Net Lot Area3,4
Residential R-2
Single-family detached4
0% to 24%
1.25
1.50
34,000 square feet
Single-family detached
25% to 45%
2 + 0.0165 x each additional percent of base site area classified as open space
2 + 0.035 x each additional percent of base site area classified as open space
16,000 square feet
Single-family detached
46% +
2.7
2.7
15,000 square feet
Other permitted uses
1 acre5
NOTES:
1
For purposes of determining the percent of base site area classified as resource protection land in § 200-21, open space as defined in § 200-7 and which is offered to the Township shall be considered to be resource protection land.
2
The maximum density on net buildable site area is determined on the basis of the percentage of base site area with resource protection land and open space. The maximum number of dwelling units permitted on a particular tract shall not exceed the number of dwelling units that could be constructed on the site given the development constraints of the physical site and the otherwise applicable Township ordinance requirements. A standard subdivision plan showing sufficient detail to demonstrate the maximum number of dwelling units that could be constructed on the site shall be provided to the Township and approved by the Township engineer.
3
See definition of "net lot area."
4
With on-lot private water and/or on-lot sewage facilities, the minimum lot area permitted shall be 34,000 square feet with a minimum lot width at the building line of 110 feet.
5
These area requirements shall apply unless otherwise specified in Article XV for the specific use, in which case the provisions of Article XV shall apply.

§ 200-22 Lot area and yard requirements for dwellings.

[Amended 12-20-2006 by Ord. No. 364]
Lot area and yard requirements for dwellings shall be as follows:
Minimum Net Lot Area
Minimum Lot Width at Front Building Line
(feet)
Maximum Building Height
(feet)
Front
(feet)
Minimum Yards1
Side (each)
(feet)
Rear2
(feet)
Dwellings
  34,000 sq. ft.
110
35
40
15
50
  16,500 sq. ft.
110
35
40
153
50
  16,000 sq. ft.
100
35
35
15
45
  15,000 sq. ft.
100
35
35
15
45
  12,500 sq. ft.
85
35
30
15
45
All other uses4
  1 acre
160
35
50
25
75
1 Where a yard abuts a major collector or arterial road listed in § 200-63 of this chapter, the building setback shall be increased to 80 feet for collector roads and 100 feet for arterial roads.
2 Rear yard open porches are an exception to the rear yard setback.
3 Where a lot has been approved and recorded on a plan prior to January 1, 1947, and the lot has a width of 100 feet or less at the building line, there shall be two side yards of a combined width of not less than 26 feet and neither side yard shall be less than 10 feet in width.
4 These area requirements shall apply unless otherwise specified in Article XV for the specific use, in which case the provisions of Article XV shall apply.

§ 200-22.1 Requirements for open space cluster development.

[Added 12-20-2006 by Ord. No. 364]
A. 
Table of performance standards: Lot area and density for open space cluster development.
Type
Minimum Percent of Base Site Area Classified as Resource Protection Land1
Maximum Density on Net Buildable Site Area2
(units/acre)
Minimum Net Lot Area3
(square feet)
Minimum Average Net Lot Area
(square feet)
Residential R-2
51%
3.5
10,000
12,500
NOTES:
1 For purposes of determining the percent of base site area classified as resource protection land in § 200-52, open space as defined in § 200-7 and which is offered to the Township shall be considered to be natural resource protection land.
2 Notwithstanding the maximum density on net buildable site area, the maximum number of dwelling units permitted on a particular tract shall in no circumstance be greater than the maximum number of dwelling units that actually could be constructed on the site without open space clustering given the development constraints of the physical site and the otherwise applicable Township ordinance requirements. A plan showing sufficient detail to demonstrate the maximum number of dwelling units that could be constructed on the site shall be provided to the Township.
3 The minimum net lot size and minimum average lot size is permitted only where the resource protection land, including open space as defined in § 200-7, exceeds 51% of the base site.

§ 200-23 Impervious surface requirements.

A. 
The following impervious surface ratios shall apply to all tracts or lots which were subject to final subdivision or land development approval granted after December 14, 1987:1
Maximum Impervious Surface Ratio
Lot Size
Permitted by Developer
Total Permitted by Property Owner Inclusive of that Permitted by Developer
More than 5 acres
.17
.17
40,001 to 5 acres
.15
.18
34,001 to 40,000 square feet
.16
.19
25,001 to 34,000 square feet
.18
.21
20,001 to 25,000 square feet
.21
.24
16,501 to 20,000 square feet
.25
.28
15,001 to 16,500 square feet
.27
.30
13,501 to 15,000 square feet
.30
.33
12,501 to 13,500 square feet
.32
.35
10,001 to 12,500 square feet
.35
.38
6,001 to 10,000 square feet
.45
.48
2,000 to 6,000 (R-3) square feet
.55
.58
2,000 to 6,000 (R-4) square feet
.58
.61
NOTES:
1 Unless the subdivision or land development approval specifies a more restrictive impervious surface ratio, in which case the more restrictive ratio shall apply.
B. 
The following impervious surface ratios shall apply to all tracts or lots to which the regulations in Subsection A above do not apply:
Lot Size
(square feet)
Maximum Impervious Surface Ratio
15,001 or up
.18
13,301 to 15,000
.24
12,501 to 13,500
.26
10,000 to 12,500
.29
Under 10,000
Apply ratios in Subsection A above