Perkiomen Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVII
Elderly Residential District
§ 310-127 Legislative intent.
It is the specific intent of this article:
A.
To provide an area of the Township where the housing interests and needs of elderly persons can and will be accommodated.
B.
To encourage physical fitness among elderly residents by requiring well-designed and usable recreational open space.
C.
To require policies and procedures that demonstrate an intent to provide housing for persons 55 years of age or older.
§ 310-128 Permitted uses.
A.
Age restriction. A building may be erected or used or a lot may be used or occupied for any of the permitted uses set forth in Subsection B, provided that the housing be intended and operated for persons 55 years of age or older; whenever a lot or unit is sold, resold, rented or otherwise occupied, at least one of the occupants shall, at the inception of that occupancy, be 55 years of age or older; at least 90% of the occupied units be occupied by at least one person who is 55 years of age or older; no building, lot or unit be occupied by any person 19 years of age or younger; and the housing facility or community publish and adhere to policies and procedures that demonstrate its intent to operate as housing for persons 55 years of age or older.
B.
Permitted housing options. In a housing facility or community intended for older persons, a building or buildings may be erected, altered or used and a lot or premises may be used or occupied for any of the following uses and not any other:
C.
Permitted ancillary uses.
(1)
A community center for one or more of the following uses is permitted:
(a)
Congregate dining facilities.
(b)
Auditoriums, activity rooms, craft rooms, libraries, lounges and similar recreational or social facilities for members of the community.
(c)
Office and retail service facilities designed to serve only the members of the community, such as, but not necessarily limited to, the following uses: doctor's office, pharmacy, gift shop, coffee shop, post office, beauty shop and barbershop.
(d)
Administrative offices.
(e)
Emergency medical facilities.
(3)
Customary accessory uses and buildings, provided that such are clearly incidental to the permitted use.
§ 310-129 General development standards.
The following regulations shall be applicable to all elderly residential development.
B.
Maximum overall tract impervious coverage: 35%.
C.
Maximum overall tract building coverage: 20%.
D.
Minimum overall tract green area: 65%.
E.
Utilities. All buildings within the Elderly Residential District shall be served by a public sewer and public water. In addition, all utility lines shall be placed underground.
F.
Lighting facilities. Lighting facilities shall be provided as needed and arranged in a manner which shall protect the highway and neighboring properties and streets from unreasonable direct glare and hazardous interferences of any kind. Lighting facilities shall be required where deemed necessary for the safety and convenience of the Elderly Residential District development and shall be installed by the developer.
G.
Height of buildings. The maximum height for any building in the Elderly Residential District shall not exceed 35 feet.
H.
Open space requirements.
(1)
A minimum of 40% of the overall green area must be suitable for passive and/or active recreational activities for all residents.
(2)
The common space shall be designed as a contiguous area unless the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Board of Supervisors that two or more separate areas would be preferable. Whenever possible, the common space should be centralized, with interconnected pedestrian access from all dwelling units.
(3)
Recreation areas and facilities shall be provided to meet the anticipated needs of the residents of the development. Recreation areas shall be improved and equipped in accordance with plans submitted to and approved by the Board of Supervisors.
(4)
Community center. Any elderly residential community containing in excess of 100 units must provide a community center for the use of its residents.
I.
Setbacks.
(1)
No building, parking area or driveway shall be located within 75 feet of a tract boundary when the adjacent property is zoned for single-family residential use, except for the portion of a driveway necessary for normal ingress and egress.
(2)
All buildings shall be located a minimum of 30 feet from any tract boundary.
(3)
Driveways for dependent care facilities or common parking facilities shall be a minimum of 10 feet from any tract boundary, except that portion necessary for normal ingress and egress.
(4)
Under § 310-131A(5), Single-family attached condominium, the front face of the building shall be measured from either the ultimate right-of-way or the equivalent right-of-way and shall be equal to the front yard setback.
§ 310-130 Permitted residential density.
A.
The following is a chart of the type of dwelling and the maximum permitted design density:
Dwelling Type | Maximum Permitted Design Density |
|---|---|
Single-family or semidetached (twin) or townhouses | 4 dwelling units per acre |
Personal care facilities or congregate care facilities or intermediate care or skilled nursing care facilities | 15 beds per acre |
§ 310-131 Dimensional standards.
Table of Area and Bulk Regulations | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Single-Family Detached | Single-Family Semidetached (Twin) | Single-Family Attached Condominium (Townhouse)(5), (6) | Dependent Care Facilities | Single-Family Attached Individually Lotted (Townhouses) | |
Minimum lot area per dwelling unit | 10,000 square feet | 12,000 square feet(1) | — | — | 5,000 square feet |
Minimum lot width at building line | 50 feet | 40 feet (per dwelling unit) | (2) | 150 feet | (2) |
Minimum side yard | 15 feet aggregate, with 1 side at least 10 feet | 15 feet | (3) | 70 feet | 30 feet (end unit only) |
Minimum rear yard | 25 feet | 25 feet | 30 feet | 70 feet | 30 feet |
Minimum front yard | 30 feet | 30 feet | 30 feet | 70 feet | 50 feet |
Distance between buildings | — | — | (3) | 30 feet | — |
Parking area setback from lot line, tract boundary, or street ultimate right-of-way | — | — | 20 feet(4) | 20 feet(4) | 20 feet(4) |
Maximum height | 3 stories or 35 feet | 3 stories or 35 feet | 3 stories or 35 feet | 3 stories or 35 feet | 3 stories or 35 feet |
NOTES: | |
(1) | 6,000 square feet per each individual dwelling unit. |
(2) | Minimum unit width 28 feet. |
(3) | The minimum horizontal distance between groups of townhouses shall be 30 feet. |
(4) | Applies to parking lots and joint parking areas encompassing six or more spaces, not to on-lot parking areas. |
(5) | No group of townhouses shall consist of more than five units. At least 25% of the townhouse units shall be in groups consisting of no more than four dwelling units. |
(6) | Architectural features shall vary between units. Variation may consist of exterior elevations, setbacks, building materials, architectural details, and/or color. |
§ 310-132 Dependent care development standards.
A.
Compliance with state standards. Personal care/congregate care/skilled care facilities shall be in conformance with all applicable regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B.
Circulation. Each building shall be provided with a minimum of one dropoff area for use by personal vehicles and vans.
C.
Parking. No resident parking stall shall be located more than 150 feet from a building entrance.
§ 310-133 Open space buffer requirements.
A.
General requirements. Along all tract boundary lines, except those which abut another Elderly Residential District/Use, shall be a permanent open space buffer at least 20 feet in depth. The design and intensity of this buffer shall be determined by the adjacent zoning district or use in accordance with the screen buffering standards of Chapter 264, Subdivision and Land Development.
B.
Additional requirements.
(1)
Street boundaries. Rather than the buffers required above, the use of a single row of deciduous canopy trees with a caliper of three to 3.5 inches when planted and at least 30 feet in height at maturity, planted at rate equivalent to one tree per 40 feet, may be provided along all property boundaries which abut an existing street, whenever necessary for adequate sight distance or where the governing body determines this to be a sufficient buffer to protect the welfare of the community. Such buffer trees may be informally spaced at varying distances rather than being placed exactly 40 feet apart, as long as the same number of trees is provided.
(2)
Existing buffers. In cases where the border of an elderly residential development occurs along natural features which function as buffers, including but not limited to mature vegetation, significant grade changes or stream valleys, which are likely to be permanently preserved, buffering may be waived upon approval of the Board of Supervisors.
(3)
Maintenance. All vegetation shall be maintained permanently.
(4)
Buffer landscape plan. A landscaping plan prepared by a registered landscape architect shall be submitted with the preliminary plans, showing all pertinent information, including the location, size and species, of all individual trees and shrubs to be preserved or planted, or alternately the general characteristics or existing vegetation masses which are to be preserved.
§ 310-134 General requirements.
A.
Ownership. The tract or tracts of land to be developed shall be in single ownership or shall be the subject of an application filed jointly by the owners of the tract and/or tracts, and the tract or tracts shall be developed under single direction in accordance with one approved plan.
B.
Development stages and permits. The development of a tract and/or tracts carried out in either a single phase or in stages shall be done in accordance with a development (improvements) agreement. The owner and/or the developer and Township shall enter into said agreement embodying all details regarding compliance with this article to assure the binding nature thereof on the overall tract and/or tracts and its development, which agreement shall be recorded with the final development plan.
C.
Intent to operate as housing for older persons. The owner and/or developers of a housing facility or community and the owner and/or occupant of any building, lot or unit in a development intended for older persons, shall:
(1)
Include in any sales, lease, resale or re-lease document, and any advertising, promotional or other marketing or prospective resident solicitation, that said building, lot or unit is part of a housing facility or community intended for older persons.
(2)
Submit written rules, regulations, covenants, deed and other restrictions to the Township for prior approval, which shall include terms generally consistent with the provisions set forth in this article. Upon approval by the Township, said documents shall be recorded and will constitute covenants running with the land, binding on any owner or occupant, their heirs, executors, successors and assigns, in perpetuity. Any approvals required by the Township shall not be unreasonably withheld.
(3)
Provide for the establishment of a homeowners' association, professional management firm, or such mechanism to manage and enforce the provisions of this article, as well as any other document, policy, rule, regulation, covenant or restriction provided for or required by this article. Any declaration, articles, bylaws, operating manuals, information sheets or similar documentation shall be submitted to the Township for prior approval. Any and all such documents shall include a provision prohibiting any change or modification or revision without advance notice to, and the approval of, the Township. Any approval required by the Township shall not be unreasonably withheld.
D.
Occupied unit. For purposes of this article, "occupied unit" means:
(1)
A dwelling unit that is actually occupied by one or more persons; or
(2)
A temporarily vacant unit, if the primary occupant has resided in that unit during the past year and intends to return on a periodic basis. Where application of the 90% rule results in a fraction of a unit, that unit shall be considered to be included in the units that must be occupied by at least one person 55 years of age or older.
E.
Verification of occupancy.
(1)
The owner and/or developer shall develop procedures for routinely determining the occupancy of each unit, including the identification of whether at least one occupant of each unit is 55 years of age or older. Such procedures may be part of a normal leasing or purchasing arrangement. These procedures must provide for regular updates, through surveys or other means, of the initial information supplied by the occupants of the housing facility or community. Such updates must take place at least once every two years. Any of the following documents are considered reliable documents of the age of the occupants of the housing facility or community:
(a)
Driver's license;
(b)
Birth certificate;
(c)
Passport;
(d)
Immigration card;
(e)
Military identification;
(f)
Any other state, local, national or international official documents containing a date of comparable reliability; or
(g)
In the event an occupant does not have any of the above forms of age verification, then the Township shall accept any other form of age verification authorized by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, asserting that at least one person in the unit is 55 years of age or older.
(2)
A summary of occupancy surveys shall be available for inspection upon reasonable notice and request by the Township.
F.
Maintenance/ownership of facilities. Prior to development plan approval, provision acceptable to the Board of Supervisors and Township Solicitor for the maintenance/ownership of all common elements which will not be owned and maintained by a governmental agency shall be established.
(1)
Ownership. Common open space and roadways may be offered for dedication to the Township or public use assured through easements or other appropriate means in any elderly residential development where all lots will be sold or where the Board of Supervisors determines those facilities to be key elements in the open space and/or circulation systems of the Township, in accordance with the Central Perkiomen Valley Regional Comprehensive Plan or Perkiomen Township Comprehensive Plan, whichever is in effect at that time. In all other cases, these and other common elements shall be retained in private ownership or by an association or may be owned jointly be the residents of the development.
(2)
Maintenance. The owner/developer shall assume responsibility for the maintenance, repair and operation of the following facilities: roads, gutters, sidewalks, curbs, drainage systems, water distribution systems, sewage systems, lighting systems, signs, recreational facilities, and any other facilities unnecessarily listed but which would be required and not accepted for dedication by the Township. The owner/developer shall assume responsibility in addition for the provision of the following services: refuse collection, snow removal, street cleaning and the operation and maintenance of the building or buildings, as the case may be. In any and all cases, the owner/developer is also required to submit along with its management plan to the Perkiomen Township Board of Supervisors any and all management plans required by HUD or any other governmental agency relating to the elderly complex. The owner/developer, their grantees, heirs and assigns and successors shall be bound by all provisions of the management agreement and the requirements of any HUD agreement or that of any other governmental agency, and the provisions contained therein shall inure to the benefit of the residents of the elderly residential complex.
§ 310-135 Approval procedure.
A.
General approval conditions. The subject tract to the Elderly Residential District shall be subject to the conditions of this article and this section and any other applicable regulations of the Township's Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances.[1]
(1)
Character of the surrounding area. The impact of the proposed use on the surrounding properties shall be considered. If the proposal is adjacent to a residential district, the scale of the use shall relate to and complement the surrounding area.
(2)
Traffic. The road system must be able to accommodate the peak traffic generated by the use in a safe and sufficient manner. In order to fully evaluate this, the Board of Supervisors shall request a traffic impact statement, as described below:
(a)
The traffic impact study shall present enough information to enable the Township to access the impact of the proposed uses on the roads within the Township. The study must demonstrate that the proposed use will not adversely affect surrounding areas or traffic circulation generally in the Township or else identify any traffic problems that might be caused or aggravated by the proposed use and delineate solutions to those problems. Based upon the findings of the study, the Township may require other improvements both on site and off site which would alleviate hazardous or congested situations directly attributable to the proposed development as a condition of approval.
(b)
The traffic impact study shall include an analysis of all significant intersections within a study area extending a minimum of 1/2 mile from the site boundary on all roads which the traffic generated by the proposed development would reasonably be expected to utilize. Intersections greater than 1/2 mile but not more than one mile away also shall be studied if deemed necessary by the Township Manager.
(c)
The traffic impact study shall be prepared by a qualified traffic engineer who possesses the credentials outlined for a municipal traffic engineer defined in Pennsylvania Code Title 67, Chapter 205, entitled "Municipal Traffic Engineering Certification."
(3)
Parking and loading. Adequate parking and loading areas shall be provided for each activity, either main or accessory, pursuant to Article IX of this chapter.
(4)
Community impact analysis. The Board of Supervisors may require the applicant to submit a community impact analysis, described below, prior to any preliminary plan approval.
(a)
The compatibility of the proposed development with land uses that are adjacent to the site and consistent with the Central Perkiomen Valley Regional Comprehensive Plan or Perkiomen Township Comprehensive Plan, whichever is in effect at the time.
(b)
The impact of the proposed development on sensitive natural areas, including floodplains, steep slopes, woodlands, waterways, recreational areas, and conservation areas.
(c)
The impact of the development on public utilities, including public sewage disposal, public water supply, solid waste disposal, storm drainage and electrical utilities, and the provision of police and fire protection.
(d)
Documentation of on-site or off-site improvements proposed to alleviate any projected negative impacts of the development.
B.
Specific approval conditions. The general plan for an elderly residential development shall include evidence and facts showing that it has considered and made provision for, and the development shall be executed in accordance with, the following essential conditions:
(1)
The proposed development shall be substantially in accordance with the Central Perkiomen Valley Regional Comprehensive Plan and Perkiomen Township Comprehensive Plan, whichever is in effect at the time, shall consider the surrounding land features of the area specifically with regard to the needs and services related to the elderly and handicapped and shall contain appropriate provision for open spaces, width and grade of streets and location and arrangement of parking spaces, again with due consideration for the specific needs and requirements of the elderly and handicapped, all with due regard for the character of the neighborhood and its peculiar suitability for this type of use.