Front setback: 70 feet. (As an alternative, the setback may be reduced to no less than 50 feet upon approval of a site plan which provides a rear yard of sufficient size so that the sum of the setback and rear yards is at least 100 feet.)

Side yards: 15 feet minimum for each. (As an alternative, the Patton Township Planning Commission may recommend and the Patton Township Supervisors may approve the consolidation of side yards for a property located in a C-1 Commercial District so that one side yard is eliminated but the resulting side yard must be a minimum of 30 feet. Such a conditional approval would be based on a certified statement that abutting property owners will develop abutting properties simultaneously, using the same style or types of architecture and the same types of construction materials.)

Rear yards: 30 feet, except upon approval of a site plan as provided in the setback section above. Screening shall be provided at the rear yard, along a ten-foot buffer strip measured from the rear property line.

In all front yard areas, canopy shade trees shall be planted at thirty-foot intervals on average. Shrubs shall be planted between the canopy trees.

Screening in side and rear yards shall be based on the zoning of the adjacent property according to Table 425-16G.

Applicants are encouraged to utilize existing vegetation to meet the screening requirements. Following the completion of a tree inventory, existing woodland areas may be used to address the landscaping/screening requirements for setback areas. All trees that are to be used to meet the requirements of this section (whether planted or preexisting), however, must have a caliper no less than 2.5 inches measured six inches above the root ball. Invasive species, as defined by Appendix B of the I-99 Overlay District regulations (Ordinance No. 2001-388),[1] may not be planted or counted towards meeting any landscaping requirements.

To allow flexibility in the preparation of screening plans, the following exchange ratios may be utilized by the applicant:

Where differing requirements are imposed by this subsection on screening and by other sections requiring landscaping, the requirements of this subsection shall take precedence.

The front yard setback may be reduced to 10 feet where a plan for architectural, landscaping and earth-mounding features acceptable to the Township provides enhanced screening of such and aesthetic improvements to the property as a whole. A property owner shall be authorized to place architectural features and lighting standards, which might otherwise be prohibited structures, in the reduced ten-foot setback as part of the plan for enhanced screening. The Township reserves the right to determine the level and type of architectural enhancements which will be necessary to achieve the reduction in the front setback area.

A property owner shall be authorized to place stormwater management facilities within the front yard setback where a plan for enhanced landscaping and/or architectural features is provided. The plan for enhanced landscaping and/or architectural features shall meet the following standards:

In this zoning district (C-2), in addition to the general prohibition against structures in the yard areas, no development improvements, such as parking lots, lighting standards and stormwater basins, shall be permitted in the rear or side yard areas. This prohibition shall not include driveways and walkways providing ingress and egress to the lot or driveways along a property line when adjacent to a nonresidential district, provided that the driveway is at least five feet from the property line.

If a plan acceptable to the Township is presented which provides a combination of landscaping, mounds and sound attenuation barriers to buffer the adjacent rural or residential district, this setback shall be reduced to 75 feet. The Township reserves the right to determine the level and type of landscaping, mounds and sound attenuation barriers which will be necessary to achieve the reduction in the setbacks. The landscaping requirements shall be as provided in Subsection G(1).

Stormwater facilities shall be permitted in rear or side yards adjacent to nonresidential districts or adjacent to identified nonresidential areas within Planned Community, University and Planned Airport Districts.

The developer of a C-2 property may utilize up to 70% of the property for impervious coverage, provided that an enhanced plan for stormwater management meeting the following standards is provided and approved by the Township.

Enhanced stormwater standards. The following standards shall apply in addition to the standards required under Chapter 310:

A developer shall be entitled to achieve 65% impervious coverage on the property (or 70% as stated above). If the setbacks established in Subsection D(4) make it impossible to achieve this coverage, because of the small size or odd configuration of the property, the setbacks shall be proportionately lessened to permit such impervious coverage at the limits established by this subsection.

In all front yard areas, canopy shade trees shall be planted at thirty-foot intervals on average. Shrubs shall be planted between the canopy trees.

Screening in side and rear yards shall be based on the zoning of the adjacent property according to the following requirements:

A suitable sidewalk shall be provided in front of the entranceway of each retail store. The following scale shall be used to determine the minimum width of the sidewalk between the store front and any area accessible by vehicle (driveway, parking lot, etc.):

The minimum length of this sidewalk across the front of the store shall be the same as the distance across the entranceway plus the amount of the minimum sidewalk width (as determined above) on each side of the entranceway. The sidewalk fronting the remainder of the store shall be a minimum of five feet in width.

Detain the one-year, twenty-four-hour design storm using the NRCS Type II distribution. Provisions shall be made to ensure the one-year storm takes a minimum of 24 hours to drain from the facility from a point where the maximum volume of water from the one-year storm is captured (i.e., the maximum water surface elevation is achieved in the facility). Release of water can begin at the start of the storm (i.e., the invert of the water quality orifice is at the invert of the facility). The design of the facility shall consider and minimize the chances of clogging and sedimentation potential.

To accomplish the above, the land developer may submit original and innovative designs to the Township Engineer for review and approval. Such designs may achieve the water quality objectives through a combination of Best Management Practices (BMPs).

Where appropriate, BMPs should encourage infiltration to reduce detention volumes and recharge groundwater. A geologic evaluation of the project site shall be performed to determine the suitability of recharge facilities. The evaluation shall be performed by a qualified geologist and/or soil scientist, and, at a minimum, address soil permeability, depth to bedrock, susceptibility to sinkhole formation and subgrade stability. The design of all facilities over limestone formations shall include measures to prevent groundwater contamination and sinkhole formation.

In selecting the appropriate BMPs, the land developer shall consider the following:

Loading and unloading space for one vehicle shall be at least 12 feet wide, 45 feet long and shall have at least a fourteen-foot vertical clearance.

Loading and unloading spaces shall have paved surfaces to provide safe and convenient access during all seasons.

Loading spaces shall not be constructed within an area bounded by a triangle 25 feet on each side, measured from the joining point of street lines, in such a manner as to obstruct vision.

Required off-street parking spaces shall not be used for loading and unloading purposes except during hours when business operations are suspended.

Loading and unloading shall occur only between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Nonresidential uses shall only be permitted access from arterial streets or streets of lesser classification which intersect with arterial streets.

Access to parcels shall be provided according to the following hierarchy:

A master plan shall be deemed to have been submitted for review when the applicant has furnished to the Township the following documents:

Upon receipt of the above, the Township Zoning Officer shall forward copies of the master plan and accompanying documentation to the Township Engineer, Centre Regional Planning Commission, Centre County Planning Commission and other appropriate agencies.

Review by the Township Planning Commission.

Review by the Township Board of Supervisors. Upon receipt of the recommendation from the Planning Commission or upon failure to receive said recommendations 70 days after submittal, the Board of Supervisors shall review the application for master plan approval.

Approval or denial. The Board of Supervisors, within 50 days following the Planning Commission action or inaction, shall by official written communication to the applicant either:

Where an Office Buffer District 2 development may occur over a period of years, the Board of Supervisors may authorize development in phases subject to such requirements or guaranties as to improvements in future phases of the development that it finds essential for the protection of any approved phase. In such case, a schedule showing the proposed times within which applications for final approval of land development plans of all phases of the development are intended to be filed shall be included with the master plan. The schedule may be revised by the Board of Supervisors if requested to do so by the landowner or developer.

Failure of the Board of Supervisors to render a decision and communicate it to the applicant within the time and in the manner required herein shall be deemed an approval of the master plan in terms as presented, unless the applicant has agreed, in writing, to an extension of time or change in the prescribed manner of presentation or communication of the decision, in which case failure to meet the extended time or change in manner of presentation of communication shall have like effect.

In the event that approval is granted subject to conditions, the owner may, within 30 days after receiving a copy of the official written communication of the governing body, notify the Board of Supervisors of their refusal to accept all of said conditions, in which case, the Board of Supervisors shall be deemed to have denied approval of the master plan. In the event that the landowner does not, within said period, notify the Board of Supervisors of their acceptance of all of said conditions, approval of the master plan shall be deemed to have been denied.

An approved master plan shall be recorded by the developer in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of Centre County within 90 days of approval.

Approval of a master plan shall not authorize construction or the issuance of any building permit. Such authorization or issuance shall not occur until a land development plan is approved for the applicable area.

General data.

Existing features.

Proposed development.

Narrative statement. The following information should be included with a narrative statement submitted with the master plan:

Development schedule. When it is anticipated that development pursuant to an approved master plan will occur in phases over a period of years, the following shall be included with the application for master plan approval:

Traffic impact analysis. A traffic impact analysis shall be submitted with all master plan submissions and shall be prepared by a qualified professional. Land development plans that deviate from the master plan analysis shall submit a revised traffic impact analysis.

Any decrease in the approved open space area percentage.

A change in the location of external vehicular access points or interior roadway locations.

Any other change determined by the Township to be significant.

Parking lots. In this zoning district (OBD2), structures and parking lots shall be prohibited in setback areas.

Stormwater ponds. Stormwater ponds may be permitted only in the setback area adjacent to right-of-way. Stormwater ponds shall not be permitted in other setback areas.

Driveways and access roads. Driveways or access roads shall be permitted in setback areas only to provide access to or connect to roadways on adjacent parcels.

Businesses within the Office Buffer District 2 may be open for business between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. This requirement is intended to mitigate impacts on adjacent residential neighborhoods. If longer hours of operation are desired, additional enhancements shall be provided. The enhancements shall include two or more developer-selected items from the list of approved enhancements maintained by the Township. At least one enhancement shall be taken from each of the two categories, landscaping and architectural/other, on the list.

All business activity within the Office Buffer District 2 shall be conducted within the building on the site. Any outdoor storage of business materials or supplies is prohibited.

Water supply. Each property shall connect with an approved public water system.

Sanitary sewage disposal.

All other utilities servicing the Office Buffer District 2 shall be provided underground.

Motor vehicle access and parking shall be provided as required in Chapter 350, Subdivision and Land Development. If the number of parking spaces exceeds the minimum required by 110%, additional enhancements shall be required. But in no case shall the number of parking spaces provided be greater than 120% of the minimum number of allowable spaces.

Sidewalks shall be provided along all streets or the developer may provide alternate pedestrian access appropriate to the site at the recommendation of the Planning Commission and the discretion of the Board of Supervisors.

The buffer yard requirements contained in § 425-46A, Table 5,[1] shall apply to all developments within the Office Buffer District 2. Buffer Yard D shall be implemented when the Office Buffer District 2 is adjacent to any residential/agriculture use or zoning district. For all other adjacent uses or zoning districts, Buffer Yard C shall be used. A minimum of Buffer Yard C shall be provided within a single tract along interior lots.

Following completion of a tree inventory, existing vegetation can be used to meet the buffer yard requirements. To allow flexibility in meeting buffer yard requirements the following exchange ratios may be used:

Wooded setback areas designated as open space shall remain in their natural state. Existing trees within other setback areas, particularly adjacent to lands designated for residential or agricultural use, should be preserved.

Access to the tract shall be permitted only from arterial or collector streets.

The minimum distance between access points shall be 300 feet or shall be established based on a traffic impact analysis.

Inter-parcel access to adjacent nonresidential lands and between lots within the tract shall be provided.

All improvements or land disturbances within the district shall be set back at least 100 feet from the top of any stream bank or edge of any wetland in a rural area and 65 feet from the top of any stream bank or edge of any wetland in an urban area. The urban or rural location shall be determined by the location of the Regional Growth Boundary in the Centre Region Comprehensive Plan. This setback shall apply to all streams delineated on the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map for the Township and all streams depicted on the Township's Official Zoning Map with drainage areas greater than 100 acres. Where no well-defined top of bank exists for an intermittent stream, the setback shall be measured from the line defined by the water surface elevation for the two-year storm.

All existing vegetation within the setback established in Subsection F(5)(a) above shall be preserved.

Where stream crossings are approved pursuant to applicable federal and state stream encroachment regulations, the setback established in Subsection F(5)(a) above shall be waived as to the approved crossing; provided, however, the natural channel shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible.

For the purpose of this section, the slope(s) of a site shall be determined by utilizing topographic surveys following written guidelines prepared by the Township Engineer and approved by the Board of Supervisors.

In areas of steep slopes within the district, the following standards shall apply to all grading and development:

For the purpose of this district only, the following definition of open space shall apply:

A minimum of 20% of the tract shall remain in open space. Open space areas shall be set aside as a single lot or an area preserved through conservation easements and shall be a minimum of 100 feet wide. The open space area(s) shall be contiguous to open space on adjoining properties and shall provide for future connections to adjacent properties. The open space area may include wetlands, steep slopes, natural drainageways and floodplains. Setback areas equal to or greater than 100 feet deep may be designated as open space areas if a conservation easement is provided on the setback area.

Minimum 25% of tract.

To be adjacent to residential uses and between residential uses and commercial corridors and/or commercial uses.

Landscaped with trees, shrubs, and/or fences to fully screen residential uses from commercial corridor or uses. Screening may also be accomplished by preservation of existing trees or enhancement of existing tree stands.

To be protected from any future change of use by donation of all of this open space to Patton Township or a qualified conservancy, to be placed under a conservation easement to be held by a qualified conservancy, and to be endowed to provide funds for maintenance and monitoring of the conservation easement in perpetuity.

The front yard setback may be reduced to 10 feet where a plan for architectural, landscaping and earth-mounding features acceptable to the Township provides enhanced screening of such and aesthetic improvements to the property as a whole. A property owner shall be authorized to place architectural features and lighting standards, which might otherwise be prohibited structures, in the reduced ten-foot setback as part of the plan for enhanced screening. The Township reserves the right to determine the level and type of architectural enhancements which will be necessary to achieve the reduction in the front setback area.

A property owner shall be authorized to place stormwater management facilities within the front yard setback where a plan for enhanced landscaping and/or architectural features is provided. The plan for enhanced landscaping and/or architectural features shall meet the following standards:

In this zoning district (C-T), in addition to the general prohibition against structures in the yard areas, no development improvements, such as parking lots, lighting standards and stormwater basins, shall be permitted in the rear or side yard areas, except that stormwater basins may be permitted between the commercial and residential portions of a conditional use development. (See § 425-20H.) This prohibition shall not include driveways and walkways providing ingress and egress to the lot or driveways along a property line when adjacent to a nonresidential district, provided that the driveway is at least five feet from the property line.

If a plan acceptable to the Township is presented which provides a combination of landscaping, mounds and sound attenuation barriers to buffer the adjacent rural or residential district, this setback shall be reduced to 75 feet. The Township reserves the right to determine the level and type of landscaping, mounds and sound attenuation barriers which will be necessary to achieve the reduction in the setbacks. The landscaping requirements shall be as provided in Subsection G(1).

Stormwater facilities shall be permitted in rear or side yards adjacent to nonresidential districts or adjacent to identified nonresidential areas within planned community, university and planned airport districts.

In all front yard areas, canopy shade trees shall be planted at thirty-foot intervals on average. Shrubs shall be planted between the canopy trees.

Screening in side and rear yards shall be based on the zoning of the adjacent property according to the following requirements:

Applicants are encouraged to utilize existing vegetation to meet the screening requirements. Following the completion of a tree inventory, existing woodland areas may be used to address the landscaping/screening requirements for setback areas.

To allow flexibility in the preparation of screening plans, the exchange ratios in the following table may be utilized by the applicant:

Where differing requirements are imposed by this subsection on screening and by other sections requiring landscaping, the requirements of this subsection shall take precedence.

A suitable sidewalk shall be provided in front of the entranceway of each retail store. The following scale shall be used to determine the minimum width of the sidewalk between the storefront and any area accessible by vehicle (driveway, parking lot, etc.):

The minimum length of this sidewalk across the front of the store shall be the same as the distance across the entranceway plus the amount of the minimum sidewalk width (as determined above) on each side of the entranceway. The sidewalk fronting the remainder of the store shall be a minimum of five feet in width.

The number of affordable housing units that will be built.

The type of residential units to be built and the overall layout of the site.

The type of resident groups to live in these units (e.g., income levels, the elderly, special needs groups).

The time frame within which these units will be constructed and occupied.

The initial price range of these units.

How these units will remain affordable in perpetuity.

The screening/buffering that will be provided between the affordable housing units and the commercial portions of the site.

In lieu of concurrent approval of subdivision and/or land development plans for the commercial and the residential portion of the C-T tract, the property owner(s)/developer(s) and the community land trust may jointly request permission from the Board to defer submission for not more than one year from date of conditional approval of the commercial portion of the C-T tract of a plan for the residential portion that is in compliance with the C-T District requirements. Deferral is only available with approval of the Board of Supervisors through approval of the conditional use plan and agreement by the developer and land trust to the following conditions:

Water, sewer and electrical service will be provided by the developer.

Sidewalks will be provided by the developer.

Setbacks for commercial portion.

Setbacks for residential portion as required by Table 425-20H in addition to the following regulations.

Maximum impervious coverage.

The parkland dedication addressed in § 350-35 of the Patton Township Code will be waived where all of the involved affordable housing units will be priced to be affordable to households making less than 80% of the most recently published Centre County AMI.