Mars City Zoning Code

Single-family detached dwellings.

Private recreational and vehicle usages within the lot area. Private recreational uses may not be lit in such a manner that said exterior lighting affects neighboring lots by causing their lots to be brighter, because of said artificial light, than they would be without such artificial light installed. Private recreational uses shall not be used after 10:00 p.m. in the evening or before 9:00 a.m. in the morning. Licensed or unlicensed automobiles may only be operated or parked on the paved driveway or parking areas of each residential lot. Unlicensed motor vehicles, dirt bikes, quads, snowmobiles, or similar vehicles may not be operated in the R-1, R-2 and R-3 Districts, except for the loading or unloading of said vehicles onto a trailer for transport, or for tuning up or testing of said vehicles. Such vehicles may be operated in times of emergency for matters of public safety. (Powered vehicles and equipment used for lawn maintenance, yard work, and construction may be operated without prohibition.) Private recreational usages within the lot are such activities as basketball, biking, trampolines, and swimming pools, conducted on a residential lot for the use of the owners of said residential lot, tenant, guests or invitees. This definition of "private recreational uses" is not to be interpreted to interfere with the conduct of occasional private parties or the use of outdoor facilities that do not create noise or other activities that interfere with the peaceful enjoyment of neighboring properties.

Home gardening without sale of product.

Accessory buildings and uses as defined in Article II, § 270-15, of this chapter. Accessory buildings shall be limited to garages, not to exceed 24 feet by 36 feet in dimension; garden houses, sheds and greenhouses, not to exceed 12 feet by 10 feet in dimension; and playhouses, not to exceed 10 feet by 12 feet in dimension. There shall be no more than three accessory buildings on any lot, and only one garage; a garage large enough to contain a motor home, but not exceeding 16 feet by 30 feet, may be erected as a conditional use on any real property on which there is a dwelling. All accessory buildings must be built in compliance with the Borough Construction Code[1] and, with the exception of playhouses, must be permanently affixed to the surface and may not be of temporary construction or a temporary structure in nature.

The keeping of animals in this district shall be limited to domestic pets, as defined in Article II, § 270-15, of this chapter. Domestic pets shall not be kept outside of the residence between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. Outside animal pens are prohibited.

Home occupations.

All access shall be from a public street.

Day-care services located only in church or public facilities.

Public parks and playgrounds. The lighting restrictions contained in Subsection B(2) shall not apply to public parks and playgrounds, which shall be regulated by separate ordinance or rules and regulations.

Schools and churches as a conditional use.

All structures and uses permitted in R-1 Residential Districts, including restrictions as set forth in § 270-22B(2), (5) and (9).

Duplex housing unit.

Conversion apartments may be established in conjunction with single-family residential use, provided:

Funeral homes.

Public parks, playgrounds, and municipal uses.

All structures and uses permitted in R-1 and R-2 Residential Districts, including restrictions as set forth in § 270-22B(2) and (5).

Townhouses and quad units.

Garden apartments.

Mobile homes.

Recreational area. Recreational area at least equal to 200 square feet per townhouse, garden apartment or mobile home dwelling unit shall be provided for active or passive recreation. Of this area, at least 100 square feet per dwelling unit shall be developed and prepared for a specific use.

All structures and uses permitted in R-1, R-2 and R-3 Residential Districts, including restrictions as set forth in § 270-22B(2).

High-rise apartment buildings.

Essential services.

Accessory uses.

Single-family dwelling.

Two-family dwelling.

Multiple-family dwelling at a maximum density of 15 units per acre.

Recreational facilities to serve the residents of a development.

Health care facilities, including skilled nursing facilities, Alzheimer care facilities, assisted living facilities, and facilities for senior citizens and qualifying disabled persons.

Low-rise or garden apartments.

Townhouses in such proportion that no more than 20% of the building shall have more than eight units per building, no more than 40% of the building shall have six units per building, and the remaining building, 40% or more, shall have four units per building.

Quad housing complexes, consisting of 2 to 4 units per building, each with a separate entrance to each residential unit.

Halfway house: a transitional residential facility, licensed and operated by a government, contractor, or social service agency, that provides a supervised environment to residents who require psychiatric, correctional or behavioral treatment between periods of institutional and independent living.

Road access shall be from an arterial road.

Personal service, such as laundry, shoe repair, dry cleaning, barbershop, beauty salon or tailor shop.

Retail shop with no manufacturing or processing on the premises.

Professional offices.

Financial institution.

Telephone central exchange.

Managerial offices.

Day-care services/family day care/group day care.

Common open space. Common open space shall comprise at least 25% of the gross site area within the R-4 District.[2]

All common areas shall be reserved as permanent open space, except where structures are required to fulfill the educational, cultural, recreational, or civil pursuits of the residents of the R-4 District.[3]

Recreational facilities or structures and their accessory uses located in common open space areas shall be considered improved open space as long as the facilities are appropriate to the natural setting, and the total impervious surface area constitutes no more than 5% of the total common open space.

Minimum distance. The minimum distance between buildings shall be 30 feet for townhouses, 35 feet for low-rise and garden apartments, and 200 feet for high-rise and institutional health care structures. No structure shall be within 25 feet of the cartway of a private street or within 10 feet of any off-street area used for parking of vehicles of occupants or visitors of more than one dwelling. No structure shall be closer than 50 feet to the property line at the perimeter of the R-4 zoning area. A planting strip of at least 20 feet shall be provided along all property lines at the perimeter of the development.[4]

Halfway house: a transitional residential facility, licensed and operated by a government, contractor, or social service agency, that provides a supervised environment to residents who require psychiatric, correctional or behavioral treatment between periods of institutional and independent living.

Stores and shops for the conducting of retail business and personal service activity, banks, theaters, offices, restaurants, hotels and motels, and places of amusement; residences on the first, second and third floor.

Public uses, including municipal buildings, libraries, public and semipublic organizations, assembly halls and indoor recreation establishments, museums, parks, playgrounds, essential services, fire halls, schools and municipal services.

Business or professional offices.

Products for sale may be stored outside of structures in an orderly and neat fashion. Products for sale may be temporarily displayed on the public sidewalks during normal business hours.

General servicing or repair shops for small appliances.

Family day care/group day care/day care.

All uses permitted in the R-1, R-2, and R-3 Zones.

Filling stations, when approved as a conditional use, shall, at a minimum, be based on the following criteria:

All uses permitted in C Commercial Districts.

Automotive sales, service and repair.

Wholesale business, storage in bulk of, or warehouse for, building material, contractors' equipment, lumber and similar operations.

Shops for custom work. Fabrication, processing or light manufacture of articles for sale on the premises or for shipment to external markets.

Truck or rail freight depot for the storage and handling of manufactured or processed products.

Research laboratories.

All uses permitted in the R-1, R-2 and R-3 Zones, subject to the restrictions as set forth in § 270-22B(2) when property located in the commercial zone is located within 100 feet of a structure used for residential purposes.

Uses permitted in the L-I Light Industrial District, except residential purposes.

Activities of a heavy industrial nature are permitted, except uses or industrial processes that may be noxious or injurious by reason of the excessive production or emission of dust, smoke, refuse matter, odor, gas, fumes, noise, vibration or similar substance conditions.

Public parks and playgrounds.

Museums.

Any uses not permitted elsewhere in this chapter and not listed as a conditional use.

Communication towers.

Sexually oriented businesses.

Overlay Zoning District boundaries shall be identified on the Official Overlay Zoning Map, which is hereby adopted by reference as Appendix A and declared to be a part of this chapter.[1]

Determination as to whether a property is situated within one of the designated Overlay Zoning Districts shall be made by the Zoning Officer as per the rules established in Subsection A(3).

A land use or uses permitted in the Overlay Zone or Zones wherein the property is situated may be developed on that portion of the recorded parcel which extends beyond the Overlay Zone boundary line, provided that at least 51% of the gross area of the recorded parcel is located within the Overlay Zone.

Uses listed as permitted on land situated within one of the designated Overlay Zoning Districts shall be reviewed in compliance with the land development provisions of the Borough's Subdivision Ordinance or any future adopted subdivision and land development ordinance.[2]

Uses listed as permitted on land situated within one of the designated Overlay Zoning Districts shall be developed in conformance with the Table of Minimum Dimensional and Site Design Standards in Subsection F of this section.

The purpose of the Commercial Overlay District of the Light Industrial Zone (COLIZ) is to provide for the natural extension of the central business district (commercial zoning) in the Borough, with certain conditions, and as a conditional use. The Overlay District shall allow all uses and restrictions of the C Commercial District (§ 270-26), the L-I Light Industrial District (§ 270-27), and the Heavy Industrial District (§ 270-28), as well as the dimensional requirements under § 270-36.

For location and district boundaries, refer to the Zoning Map.[3]

Planning objective. The establishment of the Commercial Overlay District of the Light Industrial Zone is to provide for a variety of commercial land use options within the district, the purpose of which is to extend the retail and office areas within the Borough, said extensions being contiguous to the existing retail and office areas.

Principal permitted uses. See the Table of Permitted Uses.[4]

Accessory uses.

Minimum dimensional standards. See the Table of Minimum Dimensional and Site Design Standards.[5]

Parking and loading. See the Table of Minimum Parking and off-street loading requirements in Article VII of this chapter.

Applicability. All developed or undeveloped parcels shall be developed in conformance with provisions of this chapter.

Review and approval procedures.

In order to develop the natural extension of the Commercial District, parallel parking along the public streets is encouraged, but not to be located in the road right-of-way, and the balance of required parking placed to the rear of the building. (The Board and Council may take into consideration other public parking that is available immediately adjacent.) Perpendicular parking to any Borough street is strongly discouraged. Parking areas are to be paved and landscaped and shall provide a buffer to other buildings, especially to the existing residential areas. Parking requirements shall be established by use of the property as set forth in § 270-42.

A public sidewalk at least 72 inches wide shall be placed along all public streets and parallel parking spaces. Sidewalks shall be concrete or brick or precast pavers. Walks shall be slip-resistant and free of trip or slip hazards.

Enhanced streetscape, including, but not limited to, street trees and streetlighting to match Mars Borough Commercial District streetlighting fixtures, accessible ramps at all cross walks, street furniture, such as benches, and trash containers are encouraged.

Buildings are to be of a traditional building style, with durable, low-maintenance materials commensurate with the business district. Siding (wood, vinyl or aluminum) shall be used as a feature or accent only, not as a main building material.

Dumpsters or trash containers shall be enclosed.

Signage shall meet the requirements of Article VIII, Signs, of this chapter.

Approval process.

Criteria for approval. A conditional use shall be approved if and only if it is found to meet the following criteria:

Fire protection. Fire-protection and fire-fighting equipment acceptable to the Board of Fire Underwriters shall be readily available when any activity involving the handling or storage of flammable or explosive materials is carried on.

Electrical disturbance. No activity shall cause electrical disturbance adversely affecting radio or other equipment in the vicinity.

Noise. Noise which is determined to be objectionable because of volume, frequency or beat shall be muffled or otherwise controlled, unless required for the protection of the public.

Vibrations. Vibrations detectable without instruments on neighboring property shall be prohibited.

Odors. Odors detectable without instruments on neighboring property shall be prohibited.

Air pollution. No pollution of air by fly ash, dust, smoke, vapors or other substances shall be permitted which is harmful to health, animals, vegetation or other property.

Glare. Lighting devices which produce objectionable direct or reflected glare on adjoining properties or thoroughfares shall not be permitted.

Erosion. No erosion by wind or water shall be permitted which carries objectionable substances onto neighboring properties.

Setbacks. The following minimum setbacks for any principal or accessory buildings are required:

Height. The maximum height of any building shall be the same as the underlying district.

Minimum lot size. The minimum lot size shall be the same as the underlying district.

Minimum lot width. The minimum lot width shall be the same as the underlying district.

All family day-care and group day-care homes must hold an approved Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (PA DPW) registration certificate or license, as appropriate, and meet all current PA DPW regulations, including those standards governing adequate indoor space, accessible outdoor space and any applicable state or local building and fire codes.

Parking. In addition to the particular district's parking requirements, there shall be one additional off-street parking space provided for each nonresident employee and one safe passenger unloading space, measuring 10 feet by 20 feet, for each 10 children that the facility is licensed to accommodate.

Off-premises play area. When an off-premises play area is utilized, it must be located within 1,000 feet and safely accessible without crossing any arterial street or other dangerous area.

Fences. The outdoor play area required by state licensing shall be surrounded by a safety fence.

Hours. Outside play shall be limited to the hours between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., prevailing time.

Concentration. No day-care center shall be established within 500 feet of another day-care center.

Limitations. When day care is provided in a home, the amount of floor area devoted to such purposes shall not exceed 30% of the total floor area of the dwelling.

Setbacks. The following minimum setbacks for any principal or accessory buildings are required:

Height. The maximum height of any building shall be the same as the underlying district.

Minimum lot size. The minimum lot size is one acre.

Minimum lot width. The minimum lot width is 75 feet at the building line.

Minimum building separation. The minimum separation between buildings shall be equal to the height of the taller of the two buildings.

Buffer zone. A minimum buffer zone of 20 feet shall be provided in addition to the required side and rear yard if abutting a residential district or if located within a residential district.

Minimum size for mobile home park. The minimum lot size for a mobile home park shall be 10 acres.

Minimum lot size per mobile home site. The minimum lot size per mobile home site shall be 8,000 square feet.

Setbacks. All mobile homes and other structures shall be set back at least 35 feet from the right-of-way line of any public street or property line and 25 feet from the cartway of any internal access street and any other mobile home.

General standards. All mobile home parks shall meet the general development standards as set forth in the permitted district.

Open space.

The home has a length not exceeding four times its width.

The pitch of the home's roof has a minimum vertical rise of one foot for each five feet of horizontal run, and the roof is finished with a type of shingle that is commonly used in standard residential construction.

The exterior siding consists of wood, hardboard or painted or vinyl-covered aluminum comparable in composition, appearance and durability to the exterior siding commonly used in standard residential construction.

A continuous, permanent masonry foundation, unpierced except for required ventilation and access, is installed under the home.

The tongue, axles, transporting lights, and removable towing apparatus are removed after placement on the lot and before occupancy.

The mobile home shall be anchored permanently to its foundation with aircraft cable or other anchoring means satisfactory to the Zoning Officer.

All mobile homes shall meet the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 24 CFR 3280.1 et seq.

All dimensional standards in the permitted district shall be required.

The minimum lot size. The minimum lot size is two acres.

Minimum building separation. All buildings must be separated by a distance equal to the height of the taller of the two buildings.

All recreational uses shall be indoors.

No air-supported structures are permitted.

All ingress and egress to and from rooms must be made from a hallway or inside lobby area.

A minimum of 10 rooms must be contained in any building used to house rooms for rent.

Setbacks. The following minimum setbacks from any principal or accessory buildings are required:

Height. The maximum height of any building shall be 35 feet.

Minimum lot size. The minimum lot size is one acre.

Minimum lot width. The minimum lot width is 75 feet at the building line.

Minimum building separation. The minimum separation between buildings shall be equal to the height of the taller of the two buildings.

Buffer zone. A minimum buffer zone of 20 feet shall be provided in addition to the required side and rear yard.

All day-care centers must hold an approved Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (PA DPW) registration certificate or license, as appropriate, and meet all current PA DPW regulations, including those standards governing adequate indoor space, accessible outdoor space and any applicable state or local building and fire codes.

Parking. There shall be one off-street parking space provided for each employee and one safe passenger unloading space, measuring 10 feet by 20 feet, for each 10 children that the facility is licensed to accommodate.

Off-premises play area. When an off-premises play area is utilized, it must be located within 1,000 feet and safely accessible without crossing any arterial street or other dangerous area.

Fences. A safety fence shall surround the outdoor play area required by the state licensing.

Play area setback. No portion of the outside play area shall be less than 50 feet from an existing occupied dwelling without the owner's written consent.

Hours. Outside play shall be limited to the hours between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., prevailing time.

Concentration. No day-care center shall be established within 500 feet of another day-care center.