Lower Pottsgrove Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VIII
R-3 Residential District
§ 250-61 Declaration of legislative intent.
In expansion of the declaration of legislative intent contained in § 250-3 of this chapter and the community development objectives contained in § 250-5 of this chapter, it is hereby declared to be the intent of the R-3 Residential District to provide for a higher density of dwellings, namely single-family detached, two-family and townhouses, in those areas of the Township where the character of existing development would most readily accommodate such uses and where superior highway access and existing facilities permit a higher density of development.
§ 250-62 Use regulations.
In an R-3 Residential District a building may be erected, altered or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following uses and no other:
A.
Single-family detached dwellings.
B.
Two-family dwellings.
C.
Townhouses.
E.
Parks, playgrounds, tot-lots and open spaces.
F.
Mobile home parks, subject to the provisions of Article XII of this chapter.
[Amended 12-3-2007 by Ord. No. 276]
H.
Accessory uses on the same lot with and customarily incidental to any permitted use.
§ 250-63 Development regulations.
[Amended 2-22-1979 by Ord. No. 127-G; 6-3-1974 by Ord. No. 135; 4-8-1996 by Ord. No. 196]
The following density area, width and yard regulations shall apply in the R-3 Residential District:
A.
Minimum acreage. In the R-3 Residential District the following minimum area requirements shall apply.
(1)
For single-family detached dwellings: same as the requirements of R-2 Residential District with the exception that single-family detached dwellings with connections to both the municipal sewer and water system shall have a minimum lot size of 15,000 square feet.
(2)
For two-family dwellings: 8,712 square feet per dwelling unit.
[Amended 12-3-2007 by Ord. No. 274]
(3)
For townhouses, a lot area of 10 acres shall be required before a development proposal can be submitted to the Planning Commission for review.
B.
Calculation of developable area and density. Developable area of any lot shall be calculated using developable area calculations as defined herein,[1] and the following densities shall apply:
[Amended 12-3-2007 by Ord. No. 274]
C.
Area, width, yard and impervious coverage. The following regulations, in addition to those set forth above, shall apply:
[Amended 12-3-2007 by Ord. No. 274; 4-5-2021 by Ord. No. 353]
(1)
The following table should be used to determine the required area, width and yard regulations for all residential lots within the R-3 Residential District:
Single-Family | Twins | Duplexes | Multifamily | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Lot size per dwelling unit (in square feet) | 15,000 square feet if connected to both public water and sewer; otherwise same density as R-2 | 8,712 | 8,712 | 8,712 |
Lot width | 100 feet | 70 feet | 70 feet | 28 feet |
Front yard1 | 20 feet | 20 feet | 20 feet | 12 feet2 |
Side yard | 20 feet | 15 feet3 | 12 feet | None4 |
Rear yard | 40 feet | 40 feet | 40 feet | 40 feet |
NOTES: | |
1 | Measured from the street ultimate right-of-way line. |
2 | Measured from the curb line rather than the street right away line. |
3 | One side only. |
4 | For end units, a side yard of at least 10 feet shall be required and a front yard of at least 12 feet from the paved parking area and/or street shall be required. |
(2)
Impervious coverage. The following table shall be used to determine the maximum impervious coverage permitted per lot:
Less than 10,000 square feet | 35% |
10,001 to 29,999 square feet | 30% |
30,000 or more square feet | 25% |
D.
For townhouses there shall not be more than six dwelling units in a continuous attached row.
E.
Distance between buildings. For developments where the individual lot requirements are not applicable under Subsection C and in the case of two or more buildings, the horizontal distance between any two buildings shall not be less than:
(1)
For any two exterior facing walls, the buildings are oriented front to front, front to rear or rear to rear, the minimum distance apart shall be equal to 1 1/2 times the height of the taller building.
F.
Setbacks. For developments where the individual lot requirements are not applicable under Subsection C above, the following minimum building setbacks shall be applied:
G.
Height of buildings. No building shall exceed the height of 35 feet or two stories (exclusive of basements), whichever is greater.
H.
Parking.
(1)
Not less than two off-street automobile parking spaces shall be required for each dwelling unit. Such parking area may be designed as a court or separate driveway, as deemed suitable by the Township Planning Commission.
(2)
A garage shall be counted as a parking space. No parking area of three or more cars shall be less than 15 feet from the R-3 District boundary line or 25 feet from a street ultimate right-of-way line. For parking areas storing 10 or more cars, not less than 10% of the area devoted to parking facilities shall consist of interior parking lot landscaping.
§ 250-64 General requirements.
In the R-3 Residential District the following general requirements shall apply:
A.
Utilities.
(1)
All two-family dwellings shall be served by a public sanitary sewer system and by public water supply facilities if available.
(2)
All townhouse developments within the R-3 Residential District shall be served by a public sanitary sewage disposal system and by public water supply facilities. All utility lines (electric, telephone, etc.) serving the R-3 Residential District developed subsequent to the enactment of this chapter shall be placed underground. Where public sanitary sewage facilities and/or water facilities are not available, the requirements for single-family detached dwellings as set forth in the R-2 Residential District shall apply.
B.
Access. Provision shall be made for safe and efficient ingress and egress to and from public streets and highways serving the R-3 Residential Development without causing undue confusion or interference with the normal traffic flow. The Planning Commission shall satisfy itself concerning the adequacy of the thoroughfare to carry the additional traffic generated by the R-3 Residential Development, as well as to the street frontage of the proposed development.
C.
Common areas and facilities. The provision of certain facilities serving the entire development, such as parking lots, interior pedestrian ways, driveways or alleys, lighting facilities, landscape planting areas, buffers, open space and recreation facilities, etc., are hereby encouraged and may be located either on individual lots or in common areas. In cases where they are provided in common areas, provisions satisfactory to the Board of Commissioners must be made for their perpetual maintenance and care. Use of these facilities may be restricted to the residents of the development where practical and may be maintained by the developer, a homeowners' association or a similar instrument. Any common area shall be first offered to the Township; however, the Township need not accept dedication to the open space but shall maintain first option to purchase, which may be executed at any time with 12 months' notice.
D.
Lighting facilities. Lighting facilities shall be provided as needed and arranged in a manner which will protect the highway and neighboring properties from unreasonable direct glare or hazardous interference of any kind. Lighting facilities shall be required where deemed necessary for the safety and convenience of the R-3 Residential Development and shall be installed by the developer in areas developed subsequent to the enactment of this chapter.
E.
Landscaped planting. Shade trees shall be provided along street frontage occupied by an R-3 Residential Development developed subsequent to the enactment of this chapter.
F.
Buffer area. An R-3 Residential Development developed subsequent to the enactment of this chapter shall provide a permanent landscaped planting area of at least 15 feet in depth designed for screening from view any residential, commercial and industrial uses which are adjoining and contiguous to the development.