New Bloomfield City Zoning Code
PART 1
SHORT TITLE, PURPOSE AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES
§ 26-1 Short Title.
[Ord. No. 368, 11/7/2023]
(NOTE: This heading and those of §§ 26-1 to 26-170 of this chapter derive from Ordinance No. 131 as enacted in 1975, and as amended from time to time, to include related items such as an R-3 Zoning District, wireless communications and enforcement.)
This chapter, the Bloomfield Borough Zoning Ordinance, shall be known as Chapter 26, Zoning. Any reference, herein, to "Chapter 26," or "this chapter" shall be interpreted as §§ 26-1 to 26-170 of this chapter.
§ 26-2 Purpose.
[Ord. No. 368, 11/7/2023]
The fundamental purpose of this chapter, is to promote the safety, health, morals, convenience and general welfare; to encourage the most appropriate use of land throughout the Borough; to conserve and stabilize the value of property; to prevent overcrowding of land and buildings; to avoid undue concentration of population; to lessen congestion in the streets; to secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers; to provide adequate open spaces for light and air; to facilitate adequate provision of streets and highways, water, sewerage, drainage and other public facilities; to conserve life, property and natural resources; to protect the historic heritage of the Borough; and to conserve the expenditure of funds earmarked for public improvements.
§ 26-3 Community development objectives.
[Ord. No. 368, 11/7/2023]
A.
This chapter 26, Zoning Ordinance, is to render a legal basis and framework to the Future Land Use Plan established as a result of the planning studies undertaken by the Bloomfield Borough Planning Commission. In order to properly guide future growth, improve existing development, and enable the most economical provision of municipal services within the Borough of Bloomfield, the following development goals are hereby established:
(1)
Eliminate hazardous and detrimental land uses while encouraging beneficial and compatible uses;
(2)
Maintain a desirable residential environment with adequate recreational, commercial, and industrial supporting areas;
(3)
Protect and conserve open spaces; and
(4)
In general, avoid the problems inherent in random and inconsistent development.
B.
While adhering to the original goals from 1975, but facing opportunities and challenges of adopting updated ordinance standards in accordance with the Tri-County Model Zoning Ordinance and other best practices, the governing body shall reserve the right to pass ordinance to implement standards and limitations protecting inhabitants of the municipality from discrimination, restrictive rental practices, perceived price gouging or other landlord abusive practices in any situation, especially where the number of rental dwelling units exceeds 25% of total approved dwellings in a planned residential development or in approximately 35% of total dwellings in the municipality.
C.
As notice, such restrictions and remedies, if passed in response to complaints or concerns of such nature, may be imposed up to six months retroactively from the date of any such new standards and limitations being enacted.
D.
Such enacted protections shall be in accordance with State and Federal law and shall seek to balance the rights and responsibilities of the stakeholders within the community. Where Pennsylvania law is silent on the subject, regulations shall be enacted to encompass best practices from other locations given such regulations are not specifically forbidden by Pennsylvania or Federal statutes.
§ 26-4 Conflicting regulations.
[Ord. No. 368, 11/7/2023]
In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements, adopted for the promotion of the public health, safety, morals or general welfare. Wherever the requirements of this chapter are at variance with the requirements of any other lawfully adopted rules, regulations, ordinances, deed restrictions or covenants, the most restrictive or that imposing the higher standards shall govern.
§ 26-5 Validity.
[Ord. No. 368, 11/7/2023]
A.
If any section, clause, provision or portion of this chapter shall be held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect any other section, clause, provision or portion of this chapter which is not in itself invalid or unconstitutional.
B.
Any inadvertent error in reference numbers to other sections or parts of this chapter or to other ordinance of this municipality or of the State, whether written in the section text or as a footnote, shall not be held as a reason to strike down the validity of the ordinance provisions or stated requirements.
§ 26-6 Effective date of amendments.
[Ord. No. 368, 11/7/2023]
All new amendments to this chapter, (§§ 26-1 to 26-170 of this chapter and the associated Zoning Districts Map), unless otherwise stated, shall become effective on the date of enactment by the governing body of Bloomfield Borough.
