Montgomery Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIV
BP Business Office and Professional District
§ 230-79 Intent.
The zoning intent of this district is to provide for the highway impact upon adjacent properties, the irregular configuration of property lines of residential subdivisions, highway adjacent property and street intersections and to provide for low-density and low-intensity commercial services and office uses.
§ 230-80 Use regulations.
[Amended 1-28-2002 by Ord. No. 01-140Z]
A.
Any use permitted as indicated in Table 230-A, Table of Permitted Uses.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix Table 230-A, Table of Permitted Uses, is included at the end of this chapter.
B.
A dwelling unit combined with a business or professional office. personal service shop, including tailor, barber, beauty salon, shoe repair or dressmaking shop, but excluding retail or wholesale sales of merchandise and when combined as an integral part of the same structure.
D.
Accessory uses on the same lot with and customarily incidental to any permitted use.
§ 230-81 Height regulations.
[Amended 3-28-2016 by Ord. No. 15-293Z]
The maximum height of any building or structure shall be 35 feet, except a building or structure used for the congregate care/independent senior living use, which building or structure shall have a maximum height of 40 feet and shall not exceed three stories.
§ 230-82 Area, width and yard regulations.
Area, width and yard requirements for residential uses shall comply with the requirements of § 230-33 of this chapter. Commercial uses or residential dwelling units combined with commercial uses shall comply with the following requirements:
A.
Minimum lot size. The minimum lot size permitted shall be 20,000 square feet.
B.
Minimum lot width. The minimum lot width at the building line shall be 60 feet. The minimum lot width at the street line shall be 60 feet.
C.
Building coverage. The maximum building coverage of any lot shall not exceed 15% of the total lot area. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the maximum building coverage of any congregate care/independent senior living use shall not exceed 25% of the total lot area.
[Amended 3-28-2016 by Ord. No. 15-293Z]
D.
Minimum yard setbacks. The minimum yard setbacks shall be:
(1)
Front yard: 60 feet.
(2)
Side yard:
(a)
Interior lots: two side yards each not less than 20 feet.
(b)
Corner lots: shall have two side yards, the street side setback not less than 40 feet and the adjoining lot side not less than 20 feet. Notwithstanding the foregoing, where any congregate care/independent senior living use is located on a corner lot the front yard setback shall be permitted to be reduced to not less than 35 feet.
[Amended 3-28-2016 by Ord. No. 15-293Z]
(3)
Rear yard: 20 feet.
E.
Impervious material coverage. The maximum impervious material coverage, including building and parking area, shall not exceed 75% of the total lot area.
[Added 6-2-1986 by Ord. No. 17-029]
F.
Green area coverage. The minimum land area devoted to green vegetative cover shall not be less than 25% of the total lot area.
[Added 6-2-1986 by Ord. No. 17-029]
G.
Congregate care/independent senior living density. A congregate care/independent senior living use shall be limited to no more than 20 suites per gross acre (and may be proportioned for partial acres), plus two manager dwelling units.
[Added 3-28-2016 by Ord. No. 15-293Z]
§ 230-83 Special regulations.
[Amended 7-27-1981 by Ord. No. 17-015; 11-18-1985 by Ord. No. 17-028; 8-3-1987 by Ord. No. 17-033; 1-28-2002 by Ord. No. 01-140Z; 11-26-2007 by Ord. No. 07-222Z; 5-27-2008 by Ord. No. 08-230Z; 3-28-2016 by Ord. No. 15-293Z; 7-25-2016 by Ord. No. 16-296Z; 1-27-2025 by Ord. No. 25-346Z; 3-24-2025 by Ord. No. 25-347Z]
The following special regulations shall apply as a condition of use:
A.
Landscaping and screening. All landscaping, screening and buffering shall be installed in accordance with the provisions of the Montgomery Township Subdivision Ordinance, No. 18, Chapter 205, Article VI. Lots within this District used for residential dwellings only are excluded from these provisions but will be subject to the provisions of the R-2 Residential District landscaping and screening requirements.
B.
Parking regulations.
(1)
No parking to serve lots for business office or professional use shall be permitted within the area between the street line and any building or in the front yard, including extension of a line from the building to the full width of the lot, nor within 15 feet of the side or rear boundary lines of any property lot, except for a congregate care/independent senior living use, which shall be permitted to have parking: (i) in the front yard, provided that such parking is set back from the street line by no less than 15 feet; (ii) within an area between the building and 15 feet from the street line in a side yard on a corner lot; and/or (iii) at least 15 feet from any side or rear boundary lines. In the event that there is not adequate space for a business office or professional use in the rear of the lot and on either side of the lot to provide all the parking required for the use to occur on the property, then to the extent that there is not adequate space in the rear and side yards, supplemental parking may be allowed in the front yard (no less than 20 feet from the street line), if authorized by special exception granted by the Zoning Hearing Board, after hearing.
(2)
The minimum number of parking spaces shall be equal to one space for each 200 square feet of service area or part thereof or for each patron seat. For medical, dental or similar practitioners or in the case of principal or branch offices of insurance companies, the minimum number of parking spaces shall be one space for each 100 square feet of service area. For animal hospitals, the minimum number of parking spaces shall be one space for each 250 square feet of total floor area. But in all cases, except for a congregate care/independent senior living use, the minimum required parking shall not be less than one parking space for every 250 square feet of total floor area. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the minimum number of parking spaces for a congregate care/independent senior living use shall be no less than 0.6 parking spaces per suite.
C.
Architecture style and facade treatment. Architectural style and facade treatment of any building shall be residential in character and shall be designed and constructed to be consistent and complementary to buildings in the surrounding vicinity.
D.
Hours of operation. Permitted uses involving patron, patient or client visitation shall limit said visitations to the hours between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., prevailing time.
E.
Outdoor lighting. Outdoor lighting shall be of low intensity from a source no higher than 10 feet from ground level and shielded from surrounding residential property. The exception to this requirement is for outdoor lighting for a congregate care/independent senior living use, wherein such lighting shall be of a low intensity from a source no higher than 14 feet from ground level and shielded from surrounding residential property.
F.
Entrance- and accessways. All entrance- and accessways shall be of sufficient width, with widened radii where they meet the sides of the roads and highways, to conveniently and safely accommodate the flow of traffic. The locations of entranceways shall be subject to the approval of the Board of Supervisors. The entrance- and accessways shall be designed, constructed and maintained to provide safe and efficient ingress and egress for traffic without undue congestion or interference with the normal traffic flow on the abutting streets and highways.
G.
If deemed appropriate by the Board of Supervisors and approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation when required, the developer shall be required to widen paved road frontage abutting the site, install curbing along the same and/or build acceleration and deceleration lanes to provide for the safe and efficient ingress and egress of motor vehicles.
H.
Safe and efficient ingress and egress is to be provided to and from public streets serving the site without undue congestion or interference with traffic flow within the Township.
I.
Outdoor storage. No outside storage or display of merchandise, materials, equipment, products, parts or commodities shall be permitted outside of the main or accessory building or structure.
J.
Waste disposal.
(1)
No waste, rubbish and discarded materials shall be stored outside of the building unless it is placed within a completely fenced-in area so as to conceal the materials.
(2)
No materials or wastes should be deposited upon a lot in such form or manner that may be transferred off the lot by natural causes or forces.
(3)
All materials or wastes which might cause fumes or dust or which constitute a fire hazard or which may be edible or otherwise attractive to rodents or insects shall be stored outdoors only in closed containers.
K.
Special regulations where a BP District property shall abut a residential zoning district. In addition to the regulations of this article, the following regulations shall also apply to all properties within the BP District. However, where the proposed BP District use is a congregate care/independent senior living facility, and the adjoining residential land is utilized for a golf course or open space, any conflict between the regulations of this subsection and the regulations governing congregate care/independent senior living use facilities, the regulations governing congregate care/independent senior living facilities shall control. Additionally, Subsection K(1), (2), (3), (4), (7), (8), and (10) of this subsection shall not apply to congregate care/independent senior living facilities that adjoin residential land utilized for a golf course or open space.
(1)
No building shall exceed a height of two stories.
(2)
No building shall exceed a single floor area of 5,000 square feet nor exceed a total floor area of 7,500 square feet. For the purposes of this section, basements limited to the use of storage or accessory heating, ventilating and air-conditioning equipment shall not be counted as a part of the floor area limitation.
(2.1)
The single floor area of a building may be increased to a maximum of 10,000 square feet, provided that:
(a)
The lot to be developed has a minimum gross lot area of at least 70,000 square feet;
(b)
The lot to be developed shall be located wholly within the BP Business Office and Professional Zoning District;
(c)
Vehicular access to the lot shall be adequate for both emergency services and for daily vehicular ingress and egress through provision of acceptable levels of service at the driveways to the public roadways. Satisfaction of these requirements shall be demonstrated during the land development approval process and/or during the PennDOT highway occupancy permit process, as applicable; and
(3)
In the case of more than one building on a single lot, no two buildings shall be separated by a distance less than the height of the taller building.
(4)
The minimum required front yard shall be no less than 40 feet.
(5)
Buildings used for nonresidential purposes situated less than 150 feet from an abutting residential zoning district boundary shall be limited to one story and a building height of not greater than 20 feet. This requirement shall not apply when the common boundary between a residential zoning district and a BP District is at or within the ultimate right-of-way of a public street.
(6)
(Reserved)
(7)
There shall be a permanent landscape buffer area along a residential zoning district boundary of not less than 50 feet. No buildings, parking or driveways, lights, signs or other aboveground structures shall be permitted within the buffer area with the exception of unpaved trails.
(8)
A screen buffer in accordance with § 205-52C of the Montgomery Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance shall be provided at a minimum width of 20 feet where the BP District shall abut a residential district.
(9)
Section 230-83C, "Architectural style and facade treatment," shall apply to all facades of a building.
(10)
Areas of off-street parking may be located between the building and the adjacent public street(s) but in no event shall be located within the minimum required front yard.
(11)
Notwithstanding Article XVIII, Signs, the only business signs permitted shall be as follows:
(a)
Only freestanding monument signs shall be permitted which shall not exceed a maximum sign height of six feet above the mean grade at the base of the sign on which the sign is placed.
(b)
A maximum of one sign shall be permitted at each access drive from an adjoining street which shall be positioned at least five feet behind the ultimate right-of-way line.
(c)
The maximum sign area of each sign shall not exceed 24 square feet for a single business or use or a maximum of 30 square feet for multiple businesses or uses, including those signs which shall serve two or more lots or buildings.
(d)
Changeable copy signs shall be prohibited.
(e)
One parallel sign [as defined by § 230-123, Definitions, under definition of "types of signs," Subsection A(21), "parallel sign"] shall be permitted in accordance with the following regulations:
[1]
The total area for the parallel sign shall be calculated based on either one square foot of sign area for each one foot of distance a building is set back from the curbline or edge of roadway or two square feet of sign area per linear foot of front building wall, whichever is less, with a maximum permitted sign area of 100 square feet. If the above calculation renders the allowable area to be less than 50 square feet, then an area of 50 square feet is allowed.
[2]
The parallel sign shall not be installed on a building wall facing a residential use, property or property line. The maximum sign area on each building wall is limited to 25% of the area of the building wall, including doors and windows, to which the sign is attached.
(f)
Temporary Signs [as defined by § 230-123, Definitions, under definition of "types of signs," Subsection A(29), "temporary sign"] shall be permitted in accordance with the provisions set forth in § 230-127A(5) of the Zoning Ordinance and further provided that:
§ 230-84 Site plan review.
Development of a BP Business Office and Professional District for other than residential uses shall require the submission and approval by the Montgomery Township Board of Supervisors of a site development plan. No permit shall be issued and no use begun unless approved by Board of Supervisors after it has determined compliance with all requirements of this article XIV.