Middletown City Zoning Code
ARTICLE I
Authority, Title, Purpose, and Interpretation
§ 260-1 Authority.
This chapter is enacted and ordained under the grant of powers contained in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq. (the "MPC").
§ 260-2 Title.
This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as "the Zoning Ordinance of the Borough of Middletown."
§ 260-3 Purposes.
This chapter is enacted for the following purposes:
A.
To promote, protect and facilitate one or more of the following: the public health, safety, morals, general welfare, the provision of adequate light and air, and other public requirements.
B.
To prevent one or more of the following: overcrowding, blight, loss of health, life or property from fire, flood or other dangers.
C.
To adopt a Zoning Map dividing the Borough of Middletown into zoning districts with varying regulations.
D.
To permit, prohibit, regulate and determine the uses of land, watercourses and other bodies of water, the size, height, bulk, location, erection, construction, repair, expansion, razing, removal and use of buildings and structures, as well as yards and other open areas to be left unoccupied.
E.
To establish the maximum density and intensity of uses.
F.
To provide for the protection of natural and historic features and resources.
G.
To protect the integrity of existing residential neighborhoods.
H.
To adequately regulate existing industry in the Borough so that it may remain and its noise, odors, or other unwanted features can be minimized.
I.
To provide diverse housing opportunities, including housing that is affordable.
J.
To encourage adaptive reuse and infill development.
K.
To maintain a high standard of air and water quality and the protection of natural resources, including stream valleys, floodplains, and riverbanks, and to improve the appearance of the Borough through appropriate sign regulation, landscaping, and design controls.
L.
To act as an overall plan for the orderly growth and development of the Borough of Middletown and, as such, seek to implement the Middletown Borough Comprehensive Plan.
§ 260-4 Interpretation.
In interpreting and applying this chapter, its provisions shall be held to be the minimum requirements for promotion of health, safety, morals and general welfare of the Borough of Middletown. Any use permitted subject to the regulations prescribed by the provisions of this chapter shall conform with all the regulations of the zoning district in which it is located and with all other pertinent regulations of this and other related ordinances. This chapter is not intended to interfere with, abrogate, annul, supersede, or cancel any easements, covenants, restrictions or reservations contained in deeds or other agreements, but if this chapter imposes more stringent restrictions upon the use of buildings, structures and land than are elsewhere established, the provisions of this chapter shall prevail. Wherever and whenever the requirements of this chapter are at variance with the requirements of any other lawfully adopted laws, rules, regulations or ordinances, the most restrictive or that imposing the higher standards shall govern. In interpreting the language of this chapter to determine the extent of the restriction upon the use of property, the language shall be interpreted, where doubt exists as to the intended meaning of the adopted language, in favor of the property owner and against any implied extension of the restriction.
§ 260-5 Applicability.
A.
Any of the following activities or any other activity regulated by this chapter shall only be carried out in conformity with this chapter:
(1)
Use, occupation, erection, construction, reconstruction, movement, alteration, razing, demolition, removal, placement of extension (vertical or horizontal) of a structure, building or sign, unless relief is granted by the Zoning Hearing Board.
(2)
Change of the type of use or expansion of the use of a structure, building or area of land.
(3)
Creation of a lot or alteration of lot lines.
(4)
Creation of a new use.
B.
This chapter shall not require any change to any building, structure or use legally existing at the effective date of this chapter, nor to any building, structure or use planned and construction started in compliance with existing laws prior to the effective date of this chapter and completed within one year after the effective date of this chapter.
C.
This chapter shall not apply to an existing or proposed building or extension thereof, used or to be used by a public utility corporation, if upon petition of the corporation, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission shall, after a public hearing, decide that the present or proposed situation of the building in question is reasonably necessary for the convenience or welfare of the public. It shall be the responsibility of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to ensure that both the corporation and the Borough of Middletown have notice of the hearing and are granted as opportunity to appear, present witnesses, cross-examine witnesses presented by other parties, and otherwise exercise the rights of a party to the proceedings.
§ 260-6 Municipality liability.
The granting of a zoning permit for the erection and/or use of a structure, building or lot shall not constitute a representation, guarantee or warranty of any kind or nature by the Borough of Middletown, or an official or employee thereof, of the safety of any structure, building, use or other proposed plan from cause whatsoever, and shall create no liability upon or a course of action against such public official or employee for any damage that may be pursuant thereto.
§ 260-7 Disclaimer.
It is recognized that the Act of June 22, 1937 (P.L. 1987, No. 394) known as the "Clean Streams Law," the Act of May 31, 1945 (P.L. 1198, No 418) known as the "Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act," the Act of April 27, 1966 (First Special Session, P.L. 31, No. 1) known as the "Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act," the Act of September 24, 1968 (P.L. 1040, No. 318) known as the "Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act," the Act of December 19, 1984 (P.L. 1140, No. 223) known as the "Noncoal Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act," the Act of June 30, 1981 (P.L. 128, No. 43) known as the "Agricultural Area Security Law," the Act of June 10, 1982 (P.L. 454, No. 133) entitled "An act protecting agricultural operations from nuisance suits and ordinances under certain circumstances," and the Act of May 20, 1993 (P.L. 12, No. 6) known as the "Nutrient Management Act,"[1] preempt zoning ordinances. Therefore, suggestions, recommendations, options or directives contained herein are intended to be implemented only to the extent that they are consistent with and do not exceed the requirements of those Acts. Nothing contrary to those Acts shall be mandated by this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 691.1 et seq., 52 P.S. § 1396.1 et seq., 52 P.S. § 1406.1 et seq., 52 P.S. § 30.51 et seq., 52 P.S. § 3301 et seq., 3 P.S. § 901 et seq., 3 P.S. § 951 et seq., and 3 Pa.C.S.A. § 501 et seq., respectively.
§ 260-8 Severability.
It is hereby declared to be the legislative intent that if a court of competent jurisdiction declares any provisions of this chapter to be invalid or ineffective in whole or in part, the effect of such decision shall be limited to those provisions which are expressly stated in the decision to be invalid or ineffective, and all other provisions of this chapter shall continue to be separately and fully effective.
§ 260-9 Repealer.
The preexisting Borough of Middletown zoning ordinance, as amended, is hereby expressly repealed, provided further that nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect any suit or proceeding pending in any court, or any rights acquired or liability incurred, or any permit issued or approval granted or any cause or causes of action arising prior to the enactment of this chapter. All ordinances or parts of ordinances and all resolutions or parts of resolutions which are inconsistent herewith by virtue of references or incorporation of requirements contained in the preexisting zoning ordinance, as amended, shall, as nearly as possible, be construed to reference this chapter.