No lot or premises shall be used as a garbage dump or a dead animal rendering plant. No manure, rubbish, or miscellaneous refuse may be stored in the open within any district where the same may be construed as a menace to public health or safety.

Temporary storage containers may only be placed on any lot within the Borough for a period of time of 45 days. Such a storage unit may only be placed on any property once every year for the said forty-five-day period.

No semitrailers or similar wheeled trailers may be installed anywhere in the Borough or placed on any property in the Borough after the adoption of this chapter. Semitrailers which have previously been installed or placed on any property in the Borough, once removed, may not be replaced. Storage of said semitrailers and storage facilities must be maintained in a clean, safe manner, kept painted, and not allowed to deteriorate. If said units become unpainted, unmaintained, derelict, dangerous and hazardous, or their structural integrity becomes impaired because of rust or damage, they must be removed.

Fences, trees, hedges or other plantings shall not be located at street corners so as to interfere with vision clearance across the corner lots. The height of such objects is restricted to three feet from the average street elevation within a triangular area formed by the intersecting street ROW and a line joining points on the street lines and equidistant from the point of intersection. This distance shall be 30 feet from the corner.

The maximum height of an open fence (that is, a fence with at least 10% open area) is six feet and of a solid fence (that is, a fence with less than 80% open area) or wall is four feet, except as set forth in § 270-53.

The only fence permitted in a front yard is an ornamental or decorative fence limited to 36 inches (when not in conflict with Subsection A) and not fences of the chain-link type generally used as containment. Enclosure or containment-type fences may be permitted in the side or rear yards.

Electrified or barbed wire fences are not permitted in the Borough.

Junkyards and storage are required to be fenced by this chapter and shall be opaque and six feet in height.

The extraction or removal of minerals, including coal, limestone and similar substances, oil and gas by deep mine, open pit (strip mining), drilling or similar methods may be permitted by conditional use in industrial districts only, as delineated on the Official Zoning Ordinance Map.[1]

In considering approval of a conditional use of the nature herein referred to, the Planning and Zoning Commissions shall consider the protection of lives, safety and welfare of the residents of the Borough, as well as land deterioration and substantial decrease of the value and enjoyment of surrounding properties.

Following approval of a conditional use allowing use of land for the extraction of minerals, oil and gas under the stipulations and requirements established herewith, all other effective federal, commonwealth, county and local statutes and requirements shall apply.

Temporary trailers or structures used in conjunction with construction work shall be permitted only during the period that construction work is in progress.

Temporary trailers or structures shall be promptly removed once the certificate of occupancy is issued or at the point of substantial completion.

A permit is required for grading.

Exceptions to permit requirement. A grading permit will not be required for any of the following situations:

Standards for grading. Standards for grading are as hereinafter:

Application for permit and plan submission. Every applicant for a grading permit shall file a written application with the Zoning Officer on a prescribed form. The application shall comply with the requirements of the Mars Borough Subdivision and Grading Ordinance[1] and shall:

Hazardous conditions.

Completion and performance guarantee. Before issuance of a grading permit, the applicant may be required to post a bond, if, in the opinion of Council, the scope of work warrants such action. The bond, if required, which shall be posted from a Pennsylvania-approved corporate surety, or the approved security, in the amount of 110% of the estimated cost of the grading work and erosion control facilities proposed for the permit, shall guarantee the work and facilities in a satisfactory manner and that the requirements of this chapter have been met, and, if the work has been completed in a satisfactory manner, the full amount of security shall be returned to the person posting the security.

Expiration of the permit. Every grading permit shall expire by limitation and become null and void if the work authorized by such permit has not been commenced within one year or it is not completed within three years from the date of issue, provided that Council, acting upon the recommendation of the Zoning Officer, may, if the permit holder presents satisfactory evidence that unusual difficulties have prevented work being started or completed within the specified time limits, grant a reasonable extension of time, and provided further that the application for the extension of time is made before the date of expiration of the permit. Any physical changes in the site, such as surface water drainage, soil and bedrock dislocations, alteration of groundwater discharge or any other natural or man-made modification which would cause a doubt to be cast upon the feasibility of the contents of the original permit approval, must be reported to the Zoning Officer in the intervening period between approval of permit and completion of the project.

Denial of permit and appeal.

Supervision of grading.

Maintenance.

Liability. Neither the issuance of a permit under the provisions of this section nor the compliance with the provisions hereto or with any condition imposed by the Zoning Officer hereunder shall relieve any person from any responsibility for damage to persons or property resulting therefrom, or as otherwise imposed by law, nor impose any liability upon the Borough for damages to persons or property.

Schedule of fees.

Compliance; effect of noncompliance.

Any landowner and any person engaged in the alteration or development of land which may affect stormwater runoff characteristics shall implement such measures as are reasonably necessary to prevent injury to health, safety or other property. Such measures shall include such actions as are required:

All such stormwater management measures undertaken by a developer or landowner shall conform with Borough, Butler County and State of Pennsylvania stormwater management criteria.

All unused areas of developed property shall be landscaped with trees, shrubs or ground cover to prevent mud and dust conditions. Any site plan and/or land development plan, except for R-1 and R-2, shall include a comprehensive landscape plan. All landscaping shall be maintained in a living condition.

Landscaping shall not encroach and shall be maintained so as not to encroach into a clear sight triangle and onto adjacent properties, driveways and sidewalks.

Front and rear yard depths and side yard widths are the respective distances from the lot line to the nearest point of the building. Front and rear yard depth and side yard width shall be measured at right angles to the lot line. The rear lot line is that line most parallel to the front lot line. In the case of a triangular lot, the intersection of the side yard lines shall be the midpoint of the rear yard line.

For the purpose of measuring yards, any structure built above the ground line shall be measured. For example, these structures might be carports, decks, porches, balconies, or bay windows. Roof overhangs and external chimneys may protrude into a required yard no more than two feet. Fire escapes, steps, and door landings not over 20 square feet in area may project into a side or rear yard. Patios and terraces and walks on grade may project into any yard.

For the purpose of identifying the various yards, a house on a corner lot shall be considered as fronting on the street from which it derives its address. All houses must have the house number prominently and legibly displayed on the side facing the public street on which it derives its address.