[Amended 12-16-2013 by Ord. No. 83-2013]

When permitted, low-rise and mid-rise apartments shall conform to the following:

   A.   Any dwelling unit constructed by or subsidized by an agency of the government of the United States or of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and which has restrictions on occupancy by reason of age, income or other unique condition shall meet the minimum habitable floor area standards established by that agency, or, in the absence of such standard, shall meet the standards set forth in Subsection D hereof. Any dwelling unit which, pursuant to this section, is constructed with less habitable floor area than that required by Subsection D shall not thereafter be occupied by persons not having the unique condition upon which the special permit was based unless it is conclusively demonstrated to the Board that the intended change in occupancy will not result in overcrowding or cause an increase in density or traffic congestion.

   B.   Part 16 allows reduced parking for housing limited to older persons. In addition, the Zoning Hearing Board may authorize a reduction in the number of off-street parking spaces required, as follows:

 

 

Units other than those described, whether located within the same building or within a separate building, shall conform to the off-street parking requirements relevant to their use and size, as specified in this Part.

   C.   No dwelling units shall be constructed, erected or established that are 50% below the adjacent grade.

   D.   Each dwelling unit shall:

      (1)   Contain complete kitchen, toilet, bathing and sleeping facilities;

      (2)   Contain at least one separate bathroom;

      (3)   Contain at least one separate bedroom, except that in buildings containing at least four dwelling units, the Zoning Hearing Board may, by special exception, approve up to one-fourth (25%) of the dwelling units to be studio/efficiency apartments upon a finding that the number of units proposed will not adversely affect any adjacent residential neighborhood;

      (4)   Comply with all relevant building and occupancy codes; and

      (5)   Contain a minimum habitable area of:

 

 

[Amended 1-27-2020 by Ord. No. 5-2020]

   F.   The facade of any building or structure shall not exceed 70 feet in length unless making an angle turn or having an offset of at least five feet within each 70 feet of length.

   G.   A strip of land at least five feet in width surrounding each building shall be kept completely open except for foundation plantings and sidewalk and driveway crossings, except within the C-C and C-R Districts. Open space adjacent to, around or between buildings not surfaced as walkways, driveways, parking area or utility areas, shall be graded and landscaped.

   H.   Courtyards bounded on three or more sides by the wings of a single building or by the walls of separate buildings shall have a minimum court width of two feet for each one foot in height of the tallest adjacent on-site building, except within the C-C and C-R Districts.

   I.   Detached vehicle garages that are not part of a dwelling structure, but intended for the use of the residents in addition to all other accessory buildings, shall be located at least 25 feet from the nearest dwelling structure, except within the C-C and C-R Districts.

   J.   Every building shall have a minimum setback of 10 feet from any and all interior roads, driveways and parking areas and 25 feet from any other building, except such setbacks shall not apply within the C-C and C-R Districts.

   K.   Where feasible, a natural or physical buffer strip shall be established within the side and rear yard of a property that is adjacent to a residential use. The height, depth and selected materials shall be subject to the review and approval of the Zoning Office. [Amended 3-10-2025 by Ord. No. 15A-2025]

   M.   Driveways, parking areas, dwelling entrance ways and pedestrian walks shall be provided with sufficient illumination to minimize hazards to pedestrians and motor vehicles utilizing the same. Light sources shall be shielded to avoid glare disturbing to occupants of apartments and of adjacent properties.

   N.   All new on-site electric utility lines shall be installed below ground level.

When permitted, high-rise apartments shall conform to the following:

   A.   Section 600-1101 shall also apply to high-rise apartments, except for § 600-1101F and J.

   B.   The Zoning Hearing Board may permit an increase in the number of stories of a high-rise apartment after review of the proposal by the Planning Commission if it is determined that the overall density of the area, the character of the area, traffic flow and congestion, and the welfare of the community at large will not be adversely impacted.

   C.   (Reserved) 21

   D.   A high-rise apartment shall not be located within 30 feet of any accessory structure or 50 feet of any building on another lot which contains dwelling units, except within the C-C or C-R Districts.

   E.   No high-rise apartment shall be located less than 20 feet from any interior road, driveway or parking area, except within the C-C or C-R Districts.

   F.   Accessways shall be limited to two per development, plus one additional accessway for each 150 feet of street frontage.

   A.   A state-licensed barber or cosmetologist shall be on the premises during all hours that the use is open, and proof of such license is required to be shown to any state or City employee immediately upon request.

   B.   A massage therapy business shall have a person on the premises during all hours that the use is open who meets the requirements to conduct such work as provided in Chapter 364, Massage Therapists. Proof of such certification is required to be shown to any state or City employee immediately upon request.

   C.   A nail salon business shall have a person on the premises during all hours that the use is open who is a state-licensed nail technician, or who holds such successor or equivalent license. Proof of such certification is required to be shown to any state or city employee immediately upon request.

Manufactured (mobile) home parks shall only be allowed as provided in Part 8 and shall conform to the following:

   A.   All manufactured home parks shall contain a minimum of two acres.

   B.   Each dwelling space in an approved manufactured home park shall contain a minimum of 5,000 square feet.

   C.   The maximum density in each manufactured home park shall not exceed five manufactured homes per acre.

   D.   All manufactured home parks shall provide safe and convenient vehicular access from abutting public streets to each manufactured home space.

   E.   All interior streets in the manufactured home park shall be paved with a paving material in accordance with City regulations, shall be of adequate width to accommodate anticipated traffic, and shall meet the following minimum requirements:

      (1)   All internal streets shall have a cartway width of not less than 20 feet.

      (2)   All cul-de-sac streets shall conform to the criteria set forth in Chapter 515, Subdivision and Land Development.

   F.   All water supplied to a manufactured home park shall be obtained from the City water system.

   G.   The sanitary sewage system serving any manufactured home park shall be connected to the City sewage disposal system in a manner approved by the Department of Public Works. All dwellings shall be connected to this system.

   H.   The installation of electrical, telephone and television cable service lines shall be approved underground methods.

   I.   Each manufactured home park shall provide fire hydrants within 400 feet of each building. These hydrants shall be at a capacity and pressure approved by the Department of Public Works and the Reading Area Water Authority.

   J.   All manufactured home parks shall provide screening along all sides abutting public streets or other properties. At least one shade tree (as approved by the Shade Tree Commission) must be planted on each manufactured home lot. Ten percent of all manufactured home parks, exclusive of rights-of-way, shall be provided for recreational use by the residents and open space buffer areas.

   K.   Each manufactured home lot shall be provided with a minimum of two off-street parking spaces.

Where allowed in Part 8, the following standards shall be met:

   A.   The site plan must indicate the number and location of fuel tanks to be installed, the dimensions and capacity of each storage tank, the depth the tanks will be placed below ground, the number and location of pumps to be installed, the type of structure and accessory buildings to be constructed, and the number of autos to be garaged.

   B.   Any repair and servicing of motor vehicles shall be performed in a fully enclosed building and no motor vehicle parts or partially dismantled motor vehicles shall be stored overnight outside of an enclosed building.

   C.   Where such uses abut a residential property in a zone, there shall be a screened buffer strip not less than 10 feet in width. Buffer strips and screening shall be in accordance with § 600-1401 of this chapter.

   D.   The entire area of the site traveled by motor vehicles shall be paved.

   E.   Off-street parking areas shall be provided exclusive of pump areas or travel lanes. For auto service stations and auto repair, two parking spaces shall be provided for each service bay.

   F.   Accessory goods for sale may be displayed on the pump island and the building island only. The outdoor display of oil cans and/or antifreeze and similar products may be displayed on the respective island if provided for in a suitable metal stand or rack.

   G.   No auto service station or auto repair garage shall be located nearer than 300 feet from any school, library or hospital. This is to maintain a safety zone in order to reduce the adverse effects of such activities on the above-mentioned institutions.

[Amended 2-14-2011 by Ord. No. 8-2011]

   A.   Wastewater treatment operations. An application for a wastewater treatment operation shall include a general explanation of the treatment processes, including the technologies involved, noise and odor-mitigating measures, and the receiving water body of the treated effluent. The area of wastewater treatment equipment which is open to precipitation from above need not be counted in the calculation of building and impervious coverage percentages.

   B.   Law enforcement operations. An application for a firing range shall include a description of the design of the berm/backstop, and other safety measures. Designs shall implement the Environmental Protection Agency's Best Management Practices (BMPs) for lead at firing ranges.

   C.   Fire and rescue service operations. An application for a live-fire training facility shall include a description of the different training structures/evolutions designed. Water towers, simulation buildings, and other buildings specifically designed for their height, may exceed the building height maximum, where such increased height is related to the instruction or practice of firefighting and/or rescue techniques.

   D.   Recycling operations. An application for a recycling operation shall include a description of the types and quantities of materials to be collected and the loading areas.

[Added 10-13-2025 by Ord. No. 58-2025]

   A.   A short-term rental unit shall be permitted by right as an accessory use for residential occupancy within the C-C, C-R, C-N or C-H Zoning Districts and by special exception within the R-3 Zoning District. The following base requirements shall apply to all short-term rentals:

      (1)   A short-term rental unit may be permitted within the R-3 Zoning District, provided that that it is contained within a conforming one-family detached dwelling, a one-family semi-detached dwelling and/or one-family attached dwelling (townhouse), which shall be located at least 1,000 feet from another permitted short-term rental unit.

      (2)   A short-term rental unit may be permitted within the C-C, C-R, C-N or C-H Zoning Districts, provided that it is contained within a conforming one-family detached dwelling, one-family semi-detached dwelling and/or one-family attached dwelling (townhouse), which shall be located at least 500 feet from another permitted short-term rental unit.

      (3)   A short-term rental unit may be permitted within the R-3, C-C, C-R, C-N or C-H Zoning Districts, provided that it is contained within one (1) conforming residential apartment unit that is part of a group containing nine (9) or fewer residential apartment units.

      (4)   Short-term rental unit(s) may be permitted within the R-3, C-C, C-R, C-N or C-H Zoning Districts, provided that it is contained within a conforming residential apartment unit that is part of a group of ten (10) or more residential apartment units and provided that no more than twenty (20%) percent of the total number of residential apartment units are designated as short-term rental units.

   B.   The following general provisions shall apply to short-term rental units:

      (1)   The record owner or designated manager, agent or management group shall reside or occupy an office within thirty (30) miles of short-term rental unit.

      (2)   At least one (1) person over twenty-five (25) years of age shall be designated as the principal person or tenant of the short-term rental who shall endorse all relevant agreements and shall assume the responsibilities for the use and occupancy of the short-term rental.

      (3)   Overnight guests at a short-term rental shall be limited to two (2) persons per bedroom. Unless otherwise specified by other code requirements, no more than twelve (12) overnight guests shall be permitted in a short-term rental.

      (4)   The maximum number of day guests allowed at anytime on the property occupied by the short-term rental, in addition to the permitted overnight occupants, shall be fifty (50%) percent for the maximum overnight occupancy in the short-term rental.

      (5)   At least one (1) off-street parking space shall be provided to accommodate overnight and day guests on the short-term rental property. In lieu of the required off-street parking spaces, the use of public parking facilities within seven hundred (700) feet may be considered provided that the parking spaces are available to the short-term rental unit.

      (6)   The short-term rental occupants and/or guests shall not engage in disorderly conduct or disturb the peace and quiet of any nearby neighborhood or person by loud, unusual or excessive noise, by tumultuous or offensive conduct, public indecency, threatening, traducing, quarreling, challenging to fight, or fighting, or creating a dangerous or physically offensive condition.

      (7)   The record owner or designated manager, agent or management group shall be responsible to assure that the occupants or guests of the short-term rental do not create unreasonable noise or disturbances, engage in disorderly conduct, or otherwise violate provisions of the City of Reading Code.

      (8)   Overnight occupancy of recreational vehicles, camper trailers and tents at the property where the short-term rental is located shall be prohibited. Outdoor overnight sleeping of occupants or guests of the short-term rental is prohibited.

      (9)   A Short-Term Rental shall not have any outside appearance indicating a change of use from the surrounding residential uses. A key box may be a permitted option.

      (10)   Sub-leasing or renting space or a portion of the short-term rental property to other persons shall be prohibited.

      (11)   A short-term rental unit or property shall not be utilized and/or occupied as a residential apartment, bed and breakfast establishment, boarding house, rooming house, multi-family dwelling, shelter, social quarters and/or care facility.

      (12)   A list of house rules and regulations shall be maintained at the short-term rental unit.

   C.   The Zoning Permit shall include: the supplemental use and occupancy agreement; property maintenance specifications; nuisance provisions; and other documentation required by the Zoning Office. The general enforcement actions shall be endorsed by the record owner of the short-term rental property.