Where a minimum lot area is specified in this chapter, no primary building or use shall be erected or established on any lot of lesser size.

Any real property within New Britain Township which is the subject of a restriction against reduction of lot area, whether by notation or inclusion on a subdivision plan and/or by a deed restriction, or similar instrument or restriction, shall not be reduced in size, or otherwise modified, when such reduction or modification would violate the restriction regardless of the minimum lot areas established within this chapter.

No lot or site shall be reduced in such a way or to such an extent that the area of the lot or the dimensions of required open spaces become smaller than or nonconforming with the applicable requirements set forth in this chapter.

The lot or yard requirements for any new building or use shall not include any part of a lot that is required by any other building or use to comply with the requirements of this chapter nor include any portion of the lot under separate ownership.

The provisions of this chapter shall not prevent the construction of a single-family detached dwelling on any lot that was lawful when created and which, prior to November 21, 2020 (the effective date of this section), was in single and separate ownership duly recorded by plan or deed, and provided that:

A nonconforming lot which is located in a nonresidential zoning district must obtain the necessary variances to be developed.

As of or subsequent to November 21, 2020 (the effective date of this provision), where two or more adjacent lots, one or more of which is nonconforming based on lot size or lot width, are concurrently owned by the same owner, these adjacent lots shall be merged to minimize the nonconformity. The term "same owner," as used in this subsection, includes, in addition to a single person or entity, multiple persons with familial relationships and multiple parties with common ownership, business, and/or financial interests. Corporations, partnerships, or other for-profit or nonprofit entities organized or used for the purpose of avoiding adjacent lots being owned by the "same owner" are not recognized as separate owners for the purposes of this subsection.

Residential Lane Lots.

Nonresidential Lane Lots.

Driveways shall be permitted to encroach into front, rear and side setback areas, subject to all other township regulations for same.

Single story decks, roofed porches, patios, or other similar single story accessory additions to residential dwelling units, as approved by the zoning officer, may encroach into the required rear setback area by a maximum of 1/3 of the required rear yard setback or 15 feet, whichever is a lesser distance or more restrictive requirement.

There shall be existing buildings on the lots on either side of the lot which would contain the proposed building.

The proposed building would front on the same side of the same street in the same block as the existing buildings on lots on either side.

The existing buildings on the lots on either side would be no greater than 50 feet from the proposed building.

The proposed building may be constructed at a front yard depth that is not less than the average of the front yard setbacks of the existing buildings on the lots on either side.

In no case shall the front yard depth of the proposed building be less than 20 feet.

The developer must comply with the following increased restrictions applicable to the site and every lot within the site when developing the site: the maximum site impervious surface requirement shall be reduced by two percentage points; the maximum building coverage requirement shall be reduced by three percentage points; the maximum lot impervious surface requirement shall be reduced by four percentage points; and the required rear yard setback shall be increased an additional 10 feet.

These increased restrictions do not apply to the purchaser of the new dwelling who subsequently resides within this new dwelling, and the land freed from these additional restrictions may be used to construct further improvements upon the property or lot after the new construction has been completed and the property or lot has been transferred to the purchaser.

The increase in the area of the required rear yard setback does not apply to uses that do not have a minimum rear yard requirement.

These increased restrictions only apply to lots that are one acre in lot area or less, and do not apply to the B6 Multifamily and B7 Apartment uses, if such buildings are owned by a single person or entity and the individual units are rented out to tenants.

The developer shall install stormwater facilities for the site that are designed for the maximum impervious surface coverage permitted for the site without the increased restrictions or the combined maximum impervious surface coverage without the increased restrictions permitted upon all the lots being created out of the site, whichever is greater.

For example, these increased restrictions apply to residential uses as follows:

The provisions of § 27-2105 shall not apply to fences, hedges or walls less than six feet high above the natural grade in the required yard, nor to terraces, steps, or uncovered unenclosed porches, nor to other similar features less than three feet above the level of the floor of the ground story.

Structures such as fences, walls, or signs shall be built, constructed, and/or installed so that the front or "good side" of the structure faces outward from the lot.

The height of buildings shall be regulated to prevent loss of life or excessive property damage through the inability of fire equipment to reach upper stories or roofs. Therefore, no building or structure shall exceed a height of 35 feet, except church spires, belfries, and chimneys, unless a different height is specifically allowed under § 27-305, Use Definitions and Regulations.

Any other building or structure exceeding 35 feet such as silos, water towers, smokestacks, solar panels, wind generator towers, antennas, television towers, masts, aerials or flagpoles shall be permitted by special exception provided they are not used for human occupancy and are set back 1.5 times their height (from ground level to the top of the structure) from a building or property line.

In all districts, no structure, fence, planting or other obstruction shall be maintained between a vertical plane two feet above curb level and a plane seven feet above curb level so as to interfere with traffic visibility across the corner within that part of the required front or side yard which is within a horizontal clear-sight triangle boundary by the two street lines and a straight line drawn between points on each such line 75 feet from the intersection of said lines or extension thereof.

At each point where a private accessway intersects a public street or road, a clear-sight triangle of 50 feet measured from the point of intersection of the street line and the edge of the accessway, shall be maintained, within which vegetation and other visual obstructions shall be limited to a height of not more than two feet above the street grade.

The building envelope for any new lot shall not include any part of a lot that is required to comply with requirements of this chapter.

Where a minimum building envelope is specified in this chapter, no primary building or use shall be erected or established and no lot shall be created where a lesser size envelope will result.

Notwithstanding the front, side or rear yard requirements for the F1 Municipal Building Use or the F2 Emergency Service Center Use, the required setbacks and/or buffer yards for each of these uses may be either increased or decreased in an amount not to exceed 75% upon approval of the Board of Supervisors, provided that any such request for an F2 Use shall be subject to conditional use approval.

The modified setback requirements provided for in this section are permissible provided that the proposed use is either owned or operated by New Britain Township or is located upon land owned and/or leased by New Britain Township to a nonprofit organization.

All declaration of condominiums as of the date of this section which are proposed to be amended shall require the submission of a condominium plan to the Township in order to document existing and/or proposed uses of existing condominium plans of record. In the event that any proposed amended declaration proposes to change the type of use or increase the number of uses currently occurring or shown on the condominium plan of record, the declarant, owner or developer shall provide for sufficient parking spaces to accommodate all present and proposed uses.

All new proposed condominium plans shall file a land development plan with New Britain Township and shall meet all stormwater, parking, and other requirements of this chapter and Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance [Chapter 22], except that front, side and rear yard requirements, and other lot line requirements, shall not be required for the interior individual condominium units or lots created by a proposed new condominium plan.

Minimum Room Widths. A habitable room, other than a kitchen, must have a minimum width of seven feet in any dimension. Kitchens shall have a minimum clear passageway of three feet between counters/cabinets, appliances, and/or walls.

Minimum Ceiling Heights. Habitable spaces, hallways, corridors, laundry areas, bathrooms, and habitable basement areas shall have a minimum clear ceiling height of seven feet, except for the following:

Minimum Room Areas. The following rooms/areas shall contain, at a minimum, the amount of open floor space listed below. These minimum required areas cannot overlap, and every dwelling (other than an efficiency) shall contain a living area, a dining area, and a separate sleeping area. Kitchens and nonhabitable spaces shall not be used as sleeping areas.

Bedroom Accessibility. Except in a dwelling unit with only one bedroom, bedrooms shall not constitute the only means of access to other bedrooms or habitable spaces and shall not serve as the only means of egress from other habitable spaces.

Bathroom Accessibility. Every bedroom shall have access to at least one bathroom without passing through another bedroom. Every bedroom shall have access to at least one bathroom located in the same story or an adjacent story as that bedroom.

Food Preparation. All spaces to be occupied for food preparation purposes shall contain suitable space and equipment to store, prepare, and serve foods in a sanitary manner.

Efficiency Unit. An efficiency living unit shall meet the following requirements: