Newtown Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIV
A-O Apartment Office Districts
§ 172-57 Applicability.
In A-O Apartment Office Districts, the regulations contained in this article shall apply.
§ 172-58 Permitted uses.
[Added 11-19-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-04;[1] amended 3-26-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-02;[2] 10-28-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-11]
A building may be erected or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following purposes and no other:
A.
Multifamily dwellings.
B.
Service office building.
C.
Townhouses.
D.
Two-family dwellings.
E.
Accessory uses on the same lot with and customarily incidental to the foregoing permitted uses. The term "accessory use" does not include a business, but may include a recreational use when authorized as a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board, when using, as standards and guides generally, the requirements of this chapter, and specifically, the requirements of this article.
§ 172-59 Frontage, area and height regulations.
[Added 11-19-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-04;[1] amended 3-26-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-02;[2] 10-28-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-11]
A.
Tract area and frontage. The following tract areas shall be provided:
(1)
In locations where there is no access to an operating municipal sewage treatment plant, one or more on-site sewage treatment systems must be provided, subject to the approval of the Board of Supervisors and the requirements of the Sanitary Water Board and/or Department of Health of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
(2)
Where a tract will contain a multifamily dwelling building or a group of multifamily dwelling buildings, there shall be a street frontage of not less than 150 feet on a major highway or a secondary road, having a minimum tract area of two acres and a maximum of 12 living or family units per gross acre.
(3)
Where a tract will contain townhouses, the overall tract shall have a minimum lot area of two acres and a maximum density of 10 dwelling units per gross acre. Each individual townhouse shall have a minimum front yard of 20 feet from the right-of-way along which the townhouse fronts. If the townhouse fronts on a major highway, arterial or collector street, then such townhouse shall have a minimum front yard of 40 feet except that all buildings shall be set back a minimum distance of 200 feet from the current right-of-way of both Route 252 north of Winding Way and along Goshen Road, but in no case shall a building be set back less than 100 feet from any property outside of the tract zoned R1 or R2. Driveways and parking are permitted in the foregoing setback. If there is no right-of-way, each townhouse building shall be set back a minimum of 20 feet to the edge of an adjacent sidewalk or, if there is no sidewalk, then to the edge of the adjacent curb.
(4)
The height of a townhouse shall not exceed 35 feet or three stories, whichever is more. The height of a two-family dwelling building shall not exceed 3 1/2 stories or 45 feet, whichever is greater. The height of a multifamily building shall be no more than five stories or 65 feet, whichever is greater.
(5)
Where a tract will contain two-family dwellings, the overall tract shall have a minimum lot area of two acres and a maximum density of 12 units per gross acre. For each individual two-family dwelling, there shall be a minimum building width of 20 feet.
(6)
Where an overall tract is used for a mixed residential development consisting of townhouses, two-family dwellings and/or multifamily dwellings, the maximum density for the overall development shall be 12 dwelling units per gross acre, regardless of other density provisions contained herein.
B.
Building area. Not more than 25% of the overall tract shall be occupied by multifamily dwelling buildings; townhouse buildings in the aggregate may occupy not more than 25% of the overall tract; and an office building may occupy up to 40% of the overall tract.
C.
Impervious coverage. Maximum impervious coverage shall not exceed 50% of the overall tract.
D.
Side yards. Whether there is one or more separate buildings, there shall be two separate side yards measured from the perimeter of the overall tract boundary lines, neither of which shall be less than 40 feet for multifamily dwelling buildings, 20 feet for townhouse and two-family dwelling buildings or less than 30 feet for office buildings. However, in case of a group of multifamily dwelling buildings, there shall not be less than 50 feet between buildings at any point. When located at the end of a row of townhouses, there shall be a minimum side yard of five feet. Each group or row of attached townhouses and/or two-family dwelling buildings shall have a minimum separation distance of 20 feet from another group or row of attached townhouses and/or two-family dwelling buildings.
E.
Rear yards. With respect to the overall tract, there shall be a rear yard measured from the perimeter of the overall tract rear boundary line, the depth of which shall be at least 30 feet. Each townhouse and two-family dwelling shall have a minimum rear yard of 20 feet, which may include:
F.
Building frontage, depth or length. The greatest dimension in frontage, length or depth of a building erected, altered or used under this article shall not exceed 220 feet, and not more than three such buildings may be attached to each other, and buildings so attached shall be at an angle of 90° under the requirements of this subsection, but may be altered or changed upon application by way of special exception to the Zoning Hearing Board.
G.
Buffer area. There shall be a buffer area along each tract boundary line, the depth of which shall be at least 15 feet measured from the tract boundary line. The buffer area may be included in any tract setback, front, side or rear yard areas required under the provisions of this section. The buffer area shall be planted with trees, shrubbery and ground cover for screening in accordance with an overall landscape plan approved by the Planning Commission and shall be maintained continually in a neat and attractive manner by the property owner. As applied to townhouses and two-family dwelling buildings, the required buffer area shall apply only to the overall tract boundaries.
H.
Total office lot area coverage. Not more than 70% of each tract shall be used for the construction of service office buildings, office parking facilities and/or other commercial improvements of any nature so that not less than 30% of the tract area shall remain as open space.
§ 172-60 General regulations.
B.
There is to be no outside storage of any kind.
C.
A separate toilet room and facilities are to be provided for each separate apartment or housekeeping unit.
D.
In service office buildings, there is to be at least one separate toilet room and facilities on each floor for men, at least one separate toilet room and facilities on each floor for women and in no case fewer than two separate toilet rooms and facilities for each 10 users, tenants and occupiers.
E.
Each apartment house building or service office building shall have a service driveway of at least 12 feet in width, as well as a service entrance not in the front of the building.
F.
All driveways and off-street parking facilities shall be hard-surfaced.
G.
The Zoning Hearing Board may, as a special exception, permit the use of a building containing both apartments and service offices, using, as standards and guides generally, the requirements of this chapter and, specifically, the requirements of this article.
§ 172-61 Pedestrian circulation.
Pedestrian circulation shall be provided as follows:
A.
Exterior walks. Concrete sidewalks, not less than four feet in width, shall be constructed to Township standards along all public streets by which the site is bounded. In townhouse developments, concrete sidewalks not less than four feet in width shall be provided along a minimum of one side of all streets, regardless of whether the streets are public or private.
[Amended 3-26-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-02[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance provided that it would become effective on 3-12-2012.
B.
Interior walks. Concrete walks, not less than four feet in width, shall provide convenient and safe pedestrian access from all apartment and office entrances to other apartment and office entrances and to accessory recreation areas, laundry facilities, parking compounds, carports or garages and to the sidewalks along bounding public streets.
(1)
Such interior walks may be surfaced with brick or flagstone.
(2)
Where interior walks cross vehicular areas, such as parking compounds or driveways, the walkway shall be continued uninterrupted across the vehicular area in such a way that it is permanently and readily distinguishable therefrom. In addition, other appropriate means, such as signs, curbing, wheel blocks, difference in elevation, etc., shall be used to lessen the likelihood of any parked vehicle encroaching on such walk.
§ 172-62 Vehicular circulation.
Vehicular circulation shall be provided as follows:
A.
Interior drives. Hard-surfaced driveways of concrete or bituminous concrete shall provide vehicular access from the public street to all buildings, parking spaces, carports and garages.
B.
Off-street parking and loading.
(1)
Multifamily dwellings shall have not less than 1.75 garage spaces or paved off-street parking spaces for each unit.
[Amended 10-9-1978 by Ord. No. 1978-9; 10-28-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-11]
(2)
Service office buildings shall have one parking or garage space for each 200 square feet of gross floor area, including basement floor area, but in no event fewer than three parking or garage spaces for each separate office, such spaces to be 200 square feet.
(3)
Where angle parking spaces front toward a walk, building or usable open space area, curbing or firmly anchored wheel block devices shall be provided not less than six feet from the far edge of the walk, six feet from the wall of the building or three feet from the near edge of the usable open space area.
(4)
The boundary lines between all adjacent parking spaces shall be embedded or marked upon the pavement in a conspicuous and durable manner.
(5)
Areas of adequate size and number for loading and unloading of delivery trucks, moving vans and other vehicles and for the servicing of refuse collection, fuel and other services shall be provided, so arranged that they may be used without blockage or interference with the use of driveways or automobile parking facilities.
(6)
No part of any required front yard is to be used for parking or loading.
§ 172-63 Usable open space.
Not less than 10% of the lot area shall be devoted to usable open space for the benefit of residents if the lot is used for construction of apartment house buildings. Such usable open space shall be provided in accordance with the following standards: