Newtown Township Bucks
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVI
Appeals and Amendments
§ 1600 Zoning Appeals.
[Readopted effective 6/23/2007 by JMZO Ord. 2007, adopted 6/18/2007.]
All zoning appeals shall be in accordance with the provisions of the PA Municipalities Planning Code.
§ 1601 Municipal Curative Amendments.
[Readopted effective 6/23/2007 by JMZO Ord. 2007, adopted 6/18/2007.]
Procedure upon Municipal Curative Amendment.
A participating municipality, by formal action, may declare the Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance or portions thereof substantially invalid and propose that the participating municipalities prepare a curative amendment to overcome such invalidity. The formal action shall make specific findings setting forth the declared invalidity of the Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance which may include:
The governing bodies of the remaining municipalities shall vote, within 30 days following such declaration by the initiating governing body, by formal action whether or not to declare the Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance or portions thereof substantially invalid. In the event of the failure of a majority of the participating municipalities to declare the Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance or portions thereof substantially invalid within the 30 days following such declaration, the declaration by the first participating municipality shall be deemed null and void.
The declaration by a majority of the participating municipalities of the substantive invalidity of the Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance shall be binding upon all the participating municipalities from the moment the initiating governing body declares the Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance invalid, provided that the majority of all participating municipalities approves of the formal action within 30 days. In the event that a majority of the participating municipalities vote, by formal action, not to declare the Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance invalid in accordance with this Section, subsection 1601.D shall not apply.
Upon the declaration that the Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance is invalid by the majority of the participating municipalities, the participating municipalities shall begin to prepare and consider a curative amendment to the Joint municipal zoning ordinance to correct the declared invalidity.
Within 180 days from the date of the declaration by the first participating municipality, pursuant to subsection 1601.A.1 above, the municipalities shall enact a curative amendment to or reaffirm the validity of this Ordinance pursuant to the provisions required by § 1602, to cure the declared invalidity of this Ordinance.
Upon the initiation of the procedures by the first governing body as set forth in Section 1601.A, any participating governing body shall not be required to entertain or consider any landowner's curative amendment as provided for within the PA Municipalities Planning Code, nor shall the Local Zoning Hearing Board be required to give a report requested under §§ 1507.A and B subsequent to the declaration and proposal based upon the grounds identical to or substantially similar to those specified in the resolution required by subsection 1601.A.1. Upon completion of the procedures as set forth in §§ 1601.A and B, no rights to a cure pursuant to the provisions of the PA Municipalities Planning Code, shall, from the date of the declaration and proposal, accrue to any landowner on the basis of the substantive invalidity of this Ordinance for which there has been a curative amendment pursuant to this Section.
The municipalities having jointly utilized the procedures as set forth in subsections 1601.A and B may not again utilize said procedures for a 36 month period following the date of the enactment of a curative amendment or reaffirmation of the validity of this Ordinance pursuant to subsection 1601.B; provided, however, if after the date of declaration and proposal there is a substantially new duty or obligation imposed upon the municipality by virtue of a change in statute or by virtue of a Pennsylvania Appellate Court decision, the municipalities may utilize the provisions of this Section to prepare a curative amendment to the Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance to fulfill said duty or obligation; provided, however, that the participating municipalities shall not be deemed to have utilized the procedures set forth in subsections 1601.A and B either if the participating municipalities take formal action to not declare the Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance invalid in accordance with subsection 1601.A.3 or if they fail to act in accordance with subsection 1601.A.2 above.
§ 1602 Amendments.
[Readopted effective 6/23/2007 by JMZO Ord. 2007, adopted 6/18/2007.]
Amendment by Governing Bodies. The governing body of each municipality participating in this Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance may supplement, change, modify, or repeal this Ordinance, including the Zoning Map, by proceeding in the manner described below.
Initiating of Amendments.
Upon the proposal to amend, supplement, change, modify, or repeal this Ordinance by a participating governing body, by a municipal planning commission, by the Joint Planning Commission, or by petition by one or more owners of property of a participating municipality, the governing body of each municipality shall separately advertise public hearings by the governing body of each municipality to take place within the municipality in a newspaper of general circulation within the municipality in all respects as required by the PA Municipalities Planning Code. However, the participating municipalities agree that they will coordinate the required hearings and the required advertising so that each ad will appear in the same issue of the same paper and each ad will refer to the same text of the summary of the Ordinance Amendment as is required by the PA Municipalities Planning Code, so that the summary shall only be printed once.
Within the time period prescribed within the PA Municipalities Planning Code, the County, Joint, and municipal planning commissions shall submit to the governing body of each participating municipality a report containing each planning commission's recommendations, including any additions or modifications to the original proposal. The failure of one of the above planning commissions to forward such a report within the above allotted time period shall be interpreted as a recommendation for adoption by the governing bodies of the participating municipalities.
Amendments to the Joint Zoning Ordinance must be approved by all participating municipalities. The effective date of any amendment shall be the date on which all of the participating municipalities have approved the amendment.
Each municipality shall vote on enactment of the amendment within 30 days after the conclusion of the last hearing. Upon such a vote to enact the amendment, the other municipalities shall be notified in writing.
Failure of a majority of the participating municipalities, including the municipalities physically affected, to vote within the allotted time periods shall, for the purpose of this Ordinance, render the proposed amendment null and void.
Application for Amendment. Applications for Amendment of the Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance shall be presented or postmarked to each participating municipality on the same day and shall contain the materials specified in subsections one through eight below, unless the applicant is proceeding for curative amendment or appeal within this Ordinance. In the latter cases, the applicant shall be bound by the requirements contained therein.
The applicant's name and address and his representative and the interest of every person represented in the application;
A fee as specified by the participating municipal fee schedule charged to any person or persons desiring to amend the Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance;
A plan showing the extent of the area to be rezoned; streets bounding and intersecting the area; the land use and zone classifications of abutting districts, and photographs of the area to be rezoned and abutting areas;
A statement of the circumstances in the proposed district and the abutting districts and any other factors on which the applicant relies as reasons for supporting the proposed rezoning;
The approximate time schedule for the beginning and completion of development in the area;
A site plan to scale, indicating the location of structures, uses, and areas for off-street parking and loading;
Information about the market area to be served by the proposed development, if a commercial use, including population, effective demand for proposed business facilities, and any other information describing the relationship of the proposed development needs of the market area as a municipal zoning officer, Joint Planning Commission, local planning commission, or governing body shall prescribe;
An impact statement indicating what such a change of zoning would invariably have upon the community, environment, or taxes. Such a statement shall contain the following as applicable:
Agricultural Impact. What effect will the proposed change have on existing farm operations? The amount and classification of soils to be taken out of production and their percentage of those soils in the agricultural area. Methods of limiting public intrusion on neighboring farmland.
Environmental Impact. Is there any change in existing environmental standards? If so, what is the predicted impact on stormwater run-off, aquifer recharge, erosion wildlife habitats, scenic areas, the general amenity of the community?
Transportation Impact. Analysis of existing road capabilities adjacent to site and from site to bounds of the municipality. Indication of projected destinations of trips and total trip generation based on the following rates:
Trips per Day | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
RESIDENTIAL | ||||
Single-family | 10.0 trips/DU* | |||
Multi-family | 8.1 trips/DU | |||
Apartment | 5.4 | |||
Mobile Home | 5.38 | |||
COMMERCIAL | ||||
Shopping Center | ||||
350,000 square feet + | 40.4 trips/1,000 square feet GFA** | |||
100,000 to 350,000 square feet | 60.4 square feet GFA | |||
100,000 square feet or less | 115.8 square feet GFA | |||
Retail Store | 69.0 trips/1,000 square feet GFA** | |||
Fast Food Restaurant | 553.0 trips/1,000 square feet GFA | |||
Motel | 9.8 trips/unit | |||
OFFICE | ||||
Medical Office | 53.0 trips/1,000 square feet GFA | |||
Business Office | 10.3 trips/1,000 square feet GFA | |||
INSTITUTIONAL | ||||
College | 2.50 trips/student | |||
Junior College | 1.55 trips/student | |||
High School | 1.22 trips/student | |||
Elementary School | 0.51 trips/student | |||
Hospital | 14.00 trips/bed | |||
INDUSTRIAL | ||||
Industrial Park | 9.3 trips/1,000 square feet GFA | |||
Single Building | ||||
500,000 square feet or more | 4.2 trips/1,000 square feet GFA** | |||
Less than 500,000 square feet | 4.9 trips/1,000 square feet GFA | |||
Warehouse | 5.5 trips/1,000 square feet GFA | |||
* | DU = Dwelling Unit | |
|---|---|---|
** | GFA = Gross Floor Area |
Capacities for arterial and collector roads shall be considered to be PennDOT Level C, unless otherwise classified by the municipality as a result of a qualified traffic study. All hazardous or congested areas, existing or to be created, shall be identified. Recommended improvements and their costs shall be listed. |
Services Impact. Define demand for public services, sewer, water, police, schools. Where standards of use are set by other agencies such as the Department of Environmental Protection, these shall be used. For schools, the following school children yields shall be used.
1 Bedroom | 2 Bedroom | 3 Bedroom | 4 Bedrooms or More | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Single-Family, Two-Family | — | — | 0.63 | 1.30 |
Atrium, Townhouse, Multifamily (other than apartments) | — | — | 0.65 | 105 |
Apartments | 0.05 | 0.35 | 0.60 | — |
All capacities of existing facilities shall be identified and compared with demands that would be generated if the proposal were implemented. |
Regional Impact. Regional housing needs shall be examined and municipal performance with respect to these identified.
Amendments - QA District. Any proposed quarrying operation which entails a petition for amendment to extend district boundary lines of the QA District shall include, as part of such petition, the following information:
Required information to accompany petition:
An aerial photograph and a contour plat, drawn to the scale of 100 feet to the inch and contour intervals of 10 feet, showing current field topography, including the location of water courses of the tract intended for the proposed operations and estimated thickness of overburden and mineral-bearing strata in the tract intended for the proposed operation;
A plot plan of the lot showing the location of all present and proposed buildings, drives, parking lots, waste disposal facilities, and other construction on the lot; and all buildings, streets, alleys, highways, streams, and other topographical features of the lot and within 200 feet of any lot line;
Architectural plans for any proposed building and/or addition;
A plan and description of the industrial operations proposed in sufficient detail to indicate the location and effects of those operations in producing traffic congestion, noise, glare, air pollution, water pollution, fire hazards, or safety hazards;
Engineering and architectural plans for the handling and disposal of sewage and industrial waste;
Engineering and architectural plans for the handling of any excess traffic congestion, noise, glare, air pollution, water pollution, fire hazard, or safety hazards;
Designation of the fuel proposed to be used and any necessary architectural and engineering plans for controlling smoke;
The proposed number of shifts to be worked and the maximum number of employees on each shift;
A landscaping plan for all front yards, side yards, and rear yards, which shall show the location, species, and size of trees and shrubs and area to be in lawn; said plan shall be submitted to the local shade tree commission for approval prior to the issuance of any permit;
A reclamation plan indicating the phasing of the extraction operation, stockpiling of the extraction material, stockpiling of topsoil, maximum depth of extraction, proposed bank stabilization, location of lakes where applicable, and revegetation of extraction area;
A master plan indicating the future residential land use after the completion of the operation and reclamation of the quarry. Such a land use plan shall be consistent with the reclamation plan;
Any other data that the participating local municipal planning commission may require.
As a guide for the local municipal planning commission, the following provisions shall be considered in making recommendations:
The plan is consistent with the Joint Municipal Comprehensive Plan for the orderly development of the health, safety, and general welfare of the municipality.
The property adjacent to the area included in the plan will be safeguarded.
The development will consist of harmonious groups of buildings, service and parking area circulation, and open spaces planned as a single unit, in such a manner as to constitute a safe, efficient, and convenient industrial site.
Adequate provision is made for safe and efficient pedestrian and vehicular traffic circulation within the boundaries of the site.
Provision is made for safe and efficient ingress and egress to and from public streets and highways serving the site without undue congestion to or interference with normal traffic flow within the municipality.
Adequate off-street parking and loading space will be provided in accordance with this Ordinance.
All buildings within the development will be served by a central sanitary sewage disposal system.
If the development is to be carried out in progressive stages, each stage shall be so planned that the foregoing requirements and the intent of this Ordinance shall be fully complied with by the development at the completion of any stage.
§ 1603 Modifications.
[Readopted effective 6/23/2007 by JMZO Ord. 2007, adopted 6/18/2007.]
This Article shall be deemed modified by any later changes in the PA Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, applicable to the municipalities participating in the Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance.