Accessory uses. An accessory use, which is customarily incidental and subordinate to a principal use or building and located on the same lot as the principal use or building, is permitted in all zones. Such use shall comply with all the requirements of this chapter, including special exception and conditional use provisions, if applicable.

Attached structures. A permanent-roofed accessory structure attached to the principal building is considered a part of the principal building for all regulatory purposes.

Nonattached structures. An accessory structure standing apart from the principal structure is permitted between the rear wall of the principal structure and the side or rear setback line.

Fences and walls. No fence or wall (except a retaining wall or a wall of a building permitted under the terms of this chapter) shall be erected to a height of more than four feet in a front yard area and more than six feet in any other yard area. Lighting fixtures, nameplates, mailboxes, and similar attachments to walls and fences are exempted from the height restrictions of this section (§ 240-13). The above fencing height restrictions apply universally, except as modified in Articles VI and VIII of this chapter.

Satellite dish antennas. Television receiver dishes and similar apparatus, regardless of configuration, are subject to the following constraints:

Ornamental ponds, water gardens and wading pools. Ornamental ponds, water gardens and wading pools shall be permitted in any zone, subject to the following:

No-impact home-based business. A business or commercial activity meeting the definition of “no-impact home-based business,” as set forth in this chapter, must satisfy the following requirements to be permitted:

Enclosure. Every outdoor swimming pool must conform to all applicable requirements of state law and, in addition, must be completely surrounded by a fence or wall not less than four feet in height, which shall be so constructed as not to have openings, holes or gaps larger than six inches in any dimension. All gates or doors opening through such enclosure shall be equipped with a self-closing and self-latching device for keeping the gate or door securely closed at all times when not in actual use, except that the door of any dwelling which forms a part of the enclosure need not be so equipped. In the event that any permanent outdoor swimming pool has a part or all of its water-containing wall or barrier above the level of the adjoining ground, if such wall or barrier is less than four feet or is accessible by open stairs or ladders, said wall or barrier shall not be construed to satisfy fencing requirements, and a separate fence meeting the aforementioned height and enclosure requirements must be provided. In said instances, the fence may be affixed to or upon the water-containing wall or barrier of the pool or may be entirely separate from it so long as all other requirements of this section are met.

Setbacks. All swimming pools shall be set back a minimum of 10 feet from all lot lines and shall only be permitted to be located to the rear of the front wall of the principal building.

A building permit shall be required prior to erection of a swimming pool.

Vehicle storage:

Outdoor stockpiling. In a Single-Family Residential Zone, tire stockpiles, metal pipes, automobile parts, and similar objects and materials must be stored in a garage or an enclosed storage structure. In a Mixed-Use Zone, such materials may be stored outdoors as long as no hazards or potential health problems result and said materials are stored in a side or rear yard area outside of required setbacks. In all other zones, such items must be stored in a garage or an enclosed storage structure or must be completely fenced and screened from the view of neighboring properties. All such storage must be accessory to an existing principal building, except as provided in § 240-85 of this chapter.

Trash or junk. Except as provided in § 240-85, the accumulation of trash or junk out-of-doors for a period in excess of 15 days is prohibited in all zones.

Front yard. In all zones, no outdoor stockpiling of any material or outdoor storage of trash is permitted between the front wall of the principal building and the street line.

Front setbacks of buildings on built-up streets. Where at least two buildings are fronting on the same side of a street as the lot in question, within the same block as the lot in question, set back a lesser distance than required, and not more than 100 feet from the lot in question, the average of the lesser setbacks shall become the required minimum front setback for the lot.

Front setbacks from major thoroughfares. Except as otherwise provided in this section, for the purpose of protecting residential uses from adverse influences of traffic and for the purpose of protecting major thoroughfares for their traffic functions, buildings (including residential and nonresidential buildings) along these thoroughfares must be set back at least 50 feet from the right-of-way line of the thoroughfare. Major thoroughfares are or will be any arterial streets and collector streets specified in the Borough Comprehensive Plan.

Sight distance.

Setback on corner lots. In the case of corner lots, two front setbacks shall be provided (the second of which will exist in lieu of the one side setback).

Setback on reverse-frontage or double-frontage lots. In the case of reverse-frontage or double-frontage lots, two front setbacks and two side setbacks shall be provided.

Accessory or appurtenant structures. The setback regulations do not apply to:

Structures such as chimneys, water towers, standpipes, flagpoles, television antennas or radio towers.

Structures on buildings, such as clock towers, cupolas, water tanks, and other technical appurtenances, if such structures, at any level, do not cover more than 25% of the roof on which they are located.

Parapet walls or cornices solely for ornamental purposes if not in excess of five feet in height.

Farm buildings.

Solar collectors shall be exempt from height requirements so long as the collectors and related parts of the solar energy system do not extend more than three feet above the roof of the building upon which the solar system is mounted.

Single-family dwellings: 700 square feet per dwelling unit.

Multifamily dwellings, two-family dwellings, and conversions: 500 square feet per dwelling unit.

General regulations for all signs.

Permitted permanent signs. Only the types of permanent signs listed on Chart A, which follows,[1] shall be permitted throughout the Borough. Permanent signs must conform to the standards set forth in Chart A as well as satisfy the general regulations of Subsection A. Building permits shall be required for all permanent signs.

Permitted temporary signs. Only the types of temporary signs listed on Chart B, which follows,[2] are permitted throughout the Borough. Temporary signs must conform to the standards set forth in Chart B as well as satisfy the general regulations of Subsection A.

Advertising signs. Advertising signs shall be permitted in a Village Center or Mixed-Use Zone, subject to the provisions of Subsection A and the following criteria:

Portable signs. Portable signs shall be permitted in the General Residential and Mixed-Use Zones, subject to the following requirements:

Size of parking space. The parking space must have an area of not less than 200 square feet, exclusive of passageways and driveways appurtenant to the space and giving access to it. Where five or more parking spaces are required, the total parking area, including passageways and driveways, must average 300 square feet per required parking space.

Spaces required.

Location. The parking area must be on the same premises for all residential uses and on the same or nearby premises for all other uses. If on nearby premises:

Layout. Parking areas must be arranged so there will be no need for motorists to back over public rights-of-way, except in the case of single-family residential uses located on local streets.

Parking area adjacent to street. For multifamily and nonresidential uses where a parking area or other area open to movement of vehicles abuts the right-of-way of a public street, sidewalk or walkway, a pipe railing, post-and-chain barricade, raised curbs or equally effective devices satisfactory to the Borough Engineer must line the public right-of-way, sidewalk or walkway, except at access points, so that parked vehicles will not extend into the street right-of-way, sidewalk or walkway.

Paving. For all uses, required parking areas shall be paved with concrete or bituminous paving material or other material of a sort acceptable to the Borough Engineer.

Drainage. All parking areas and lots shall be drained so as to prevent damage to other properties or public streets. All parking lots and areas shall be designed to prevent the collection of standing water on any portion of the parking lot surface.

Lighting. Adequate lighting shall be provided if the parking lot is to be used at night. Such lighting shall be arranged so as not to reflect or glare on adjoining properties or streets.

Marking of parking spaces. Each parking space for a multifamily, commercial, institutional or industrial use in a parking area or lot shall be clearly marked by a permanent, durable, contrasting material.

Spaces required.

Size. The following table lists required minimum loading space sizes:

Surfacing. All loading areas must be surfaced with a bituminous or concrete paving material.

Location. The loading area must be arranged so that there will be no need for vehicles to back over public rights-of-way or cause the stacking of vehicles upon a public street. No loading area shall be located between the front wall of a principal building and the street line. Where possible, off-street loading facilities shall be located on the side of a building which does not face adjoining land in a Single-Family Residential Zone.

Drainage. All loading areas shall be drained so as to prevent damage to other properties or public streets. All loading spaces shall be designed to prevent the collection of standing water on any portion of the loading area surface.

Lighting. Adequate lighting shall be provided if the loading area is to be used at night. Such lighting shall be arranged so as not to reflect or glare on adjoining properties or streets.

General provisions.

The space, i.e., buffer yard, along the side lot line in a Mixed-Use Zone abutting a Single-Family or General Residential Zone for 25 feet in depth may not be used for commercial operations. This area must be naturally landscaped and maintained.

Where an outdoor recreation use, other than a golf course, adjoins a Single-Family Residential Zone or residential use, fencing must be constructed and/or trees and shrubs must be planted on the site of that use so as to form an effective visual barrier between the use and neighboring properties.

Lot drainage. Lots shall be laid out and graded to provide positive drainage away from proposed and existing buildings and on-site sewage disposal facilities and to prevent the collection of stormwater in pools. Topsoil shall be preserved and redistributed as cover and shall be suitably planted with perennial grasses or ground cover.

Nearby existing facilities. Where adequate existing storm sewers are readily accessible, the developer must connect his stormwater facilities to these existing storm sewers.

Open drainageways. When open drainageways are used for the disposal of stormwater, the Borough Engineer shall review the design of such open drainageways in relation to the following:

Drainage upon adjacent properties. In the design of storm drainage facilities, consideration must be given to preventing excess runoff onto adjacent developed or undeveloped properties. In no case may a change be made in the existing topography which would:

Drainage onto streets. In order to minimize improper surface water drainage upon streets, each building erected, structurally altered, or relocated, and its driveway or access drive, must be at a grade in satisfactory relationship:

Obstruction to drainage prohibited. The damming, filling, or otherwise interfering with the natural flow of a surface watercourse is not permitted without approval of the Borough Council and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Drainage facilities. Storm drainage facilities shall be designed to convey the flow of stormwater runoff in a safe and efficient manner. Plans shall be subject to the approval of the Borough Council upon recommendation of the Borough Engineer. Drainage plans shall be consistent with local and regional drainage plans.

Width. Within 10 feet of the street right-of-way, driveways may not exceed 20 feet in width, except where the driveway flares to intersect the street, at a point which shall be no greater than four feet from the roadway, at which point the driveway may be a maximum of 28 feet in width. All driveways shall be no less than 10 feet in width at any point.

Number. The number of driveways may not exceed two per lot on any one street frontage. The Zoning Hearing Board may grant permission by special exception for additional driveways where required to meet exceptional circumstances and where frontage of unusual length exists.

Offsets. No part of a driveway may enter a public street:

Sight distances. A driveway must be located in safe relationship to sight distance and barriers to vision.

Slope. The driveway may not exceed a slope of 10% within 25 feet of the street right-of-way line of the street that the driveway intersects.

Cuts. Where a driveway enters a bank through a cut, unless a retaining wall is used, the shoulders of the cut may not exceed 50% in slope within 25 feet of the point at which the drive intersects the street right-of-way. The height of the bank must not exceed three feet within 10 feet of the roadway.

Location. All lots must have a separate driveway located on the lot which that drive serves, i.e., one driveway may not serve more than one lot, except for preexisting, land-locked lots of record.

Paving. Except for driveways serving a lot on which the principal use is agricultural, the portion of a driveway within a street right-of-way, and for a distance of 25 feet beyond that right-of-way, shall be paved with a concrete or bituminous paving material, unless another suitable paving material is approved by the Borough.

Width. Access drives shall have a twenty-four-foot right-of-way. The minimum pavement width for access drives shall be 24 feet (two twelve-foot traffic lanes).

Number. The number of access drives may not exceed one per lot on any one street frontage. The Zoning Hearing Board may grant permission by special exception for additional access drives where required to meet exceptional circumstances and where frontage of unusual length exists.

Location and design. Access drives shall have the following characteristics:

Paving. All access drives shall be paved for their entire length with concrete or a bituminous paving material or other material acceptable to the Borough Engineer. The minimum specifications shall be an eight-inch-thick compacted, crushed aggregate base and three inches of bituminous concrete or other paving material; however, if special conditions warrant, the Borough may require more-stringent provisions.

Continuance.

Expansion/alteration.

Replacement. A nonconforming building or structure may be replaced only in conformance with the provisions of this chapter. This includes but is not limited to the removal of mobile or modular buildings or structures. If such a nonconforming building or structure is removed, it cannot be replaced unless it conforms with all requirements of this chapter.

Restoration. If any nonconformity is destroyed in whole or in part by reason of windstorm, fire, explosion or other act of God or a public enemy, said nonconformity may be restored to the extent of the nonconformity prior to destruction, provided that restoration is begun within one year following said destruction. Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the strengthening or restoring to a safe condition of any wall, floor or roof which has been declared unsafe.

Discontinuance or abandonment. A nonconforming use shall be deemed to be discontinued or abandoned when there occurs a cessation of any such use or activity by an apparent act or failure to act on the part of the tenant or owner to reinstate such use within a period of six months from the date of cessation or discontinuance. Such use shall not thereafter be reinstated and the structure shall not be reoccupied except in conformance with this chapter.

Reversion. No nonconformity shall, if once changed to conform to the regulations of this chapter, be changed back again to a nonconformity.

Zone changes. Whenever the boundaries of a zone shall be changed so as to transfer an area from one zone to another zone of a different classification, the foregoing provisions shall also apply to any nonconforming uses or dimensional nonconformities existing therein or created thereby.

Identification and registration. Nonconforming uses and nonconforming structures may be identified and registered by the Zoning Officer.

From the time an application for approval of a subdivision or land development plan, whether preliminary or final, is duly filed as provided in Chapter 205, Subdivision and Land Development, and while such application is pending approval or disapproval, no change or amendment of this chapter shall affect the decision on such application adversely to the applicant, and the applicant shall be entitled to a decision in accordance with the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance as it stood at the time the application was duly filed. In addition, when a preliminary application has been duly approved, the applicant shall be entitled to final approval in accordance with the terms of the approved preliminary application as hereinafter provided. However, if an application is properly and finally denied, any subsequent application shall be subject to the intervening changes in this chapter.

When a preliminary or final subdivision or land development plan has been approved or approved subject to conditions acceptable to the application, no subsequent enactment or amendment in this chapter or the plan shall be applied to affect adversely the right of the applicant to commence and to complete any aspect of the approved development in accordance with the terms of such approval within five years from such approval. Where final approval is preceded by preliminary approval, the five-year period shall be counted from the date of the preliminary approval.

Residential uses. Composting is permitted on individual residential lots for the purpose of fertilization of soil and gardens. Such composting shall utilize materials generated and used exclusively on the same lot as the residential use.

Agricultural uses. Composting is permitted in conjunction with agricultural uses. Such composting may utilize materials generated on-site or off-site for agricultural purposes at the lot where utilized.

Commercial uses, such as but not limited to greenhouses and horticultural nurseries. Such uses may utilize and/or sell composted materials generated on-site or off-site so long as the sale, processing, and storage of such substances is clearly accessory to the principal use.

Industrial uses. When composting is the principal use on a lot, or whenever composting is accessory to or a part of any solid waste processing facility, it shall be considered as solid waste processing and shall be regulated as such. See § 240-98.

Other regulations and health hazards. All composing operations must comply with all applicable local, state, and federal regulations and shall not create a health hazard by attracting vectors or by otherwise creating unsanitary conditions.