Mount Joy Township, PA Zoning Ordinance

This chapter is enacted to promote, protect and facilitate the public health, safety, morals and general welfare, coordinated and practical community development, proper density of population, civil defense, disaster evacuation, airports and national defense facilities, the provisions of adequate light and air, police protection, vehicle parking and loading space, transportation, water, sewerage, schools, public grounds and other public requirements. The ordinance is also intended to provide for the preservation of natural and historic resources, forests, wetlands, aquifers and floodplains.

This chapter is intended to serve the goals and objectives of the Regional Strategic Plan of Elizabethtown Borough, and Conoy, Mount Joy and West Donegal Townships, as adopted in 2010 by Mount Joy Township. This chapter is enacted with regard to the following community development objectives:

To sustain the existing viable development; encourage infill, redevelopment and replacement; limit residential development outside of the designated growth area: coordinate community services with designated growth areas; preserve the rural characters of the Townships all the while sustaining and enhancing Elizabethtown Borough as the core designated area of the region;

To achieve safe and efficient movement of goods, services, and people via the transportation system of the region;

Maintain a vibrant and sustainable regional economy that will both create growth opportunities for business and industry and enhance the quality of life and experiences for workers, residents, students and visitors;

Maintain and expand housing options with a focus on the region's designated growth areas to meet the needs of the region, consistent with municipal population projections and regardless of age, income, or household size;

Plan, manage, and develop community facilities and services that enhance the health, safety and quality of life for workers, residents, students, and visitors; support local groups and organizations that serve and benefit the community;

For development to take place in harmony with existing natural and cultural resources through the support, protection, preservation, and restoration of those resources;

Preserve, protect, and support farm land and farming activity so that agriculture remains a vibrant part of the local economy and landscape;

To implement the individual objectives of Mount Joy Township that have been identified in the Regional Strategic Plan.