Richland Township Allegheny County
City Zoning Code

The minimum area of a lot containing an apartment building shall be 10 acres.

The maximum height of the apartment building shall be 40 feet and shall be no more than three stories, except where the apartment building has a peak roof, in which case the maximum height of the apartment building shall be 45 feet and shall be no more than three stories.

The minimum distance between apartment buildings shall be 30 feet or greater to meet minimum fire-fighting needs.

The length of each apartment building shall be no greater than 150 feet.

The maximum impervious lot coverage shall not exceed 65%, in order to reduce the quantity of stormwater runoff generated and increase the amount of on-site stormwater infiltration.

The use shall only have frontage on an arterial or collector street which is also a state road.

Vehicular access to and from the lot shall be limited to an arterial or collector street which is also a state road, in order to minimize the impact of traffic on surrounding residential uses.

Vehicular and pedestrian access to the proposed development shall be designed and provided to maximum pedestrian and vehicle safety.

Sidewalks and pedestrian elements shall be constructed to Township specifications and be provided between all buildings, common areas, and parking areas.

To ensure public safety and health, the site shall be served by and connected to a public sewer system and public water system at the cost of the landowner and/or developer.

The apartment building shall be accessible for fire-fighting purposes and evacuation at all levels and on all sides.

Dumpsters shall comply with the requirements of § 27-508C(11) of the Zoning Ordinance, and shall be located behind the front facade of an apartment building and no further than 12 feet away from a side or rear facade of the apartment building.

All structures on the lot shall be constructed in conformance with the requirements set forth in § 27-505C(5) of the Zoning Ordinance, in order to maintain and enhance consistency and compatibility of development between residential and nonresidential uses and adjacent residential uses in the Township's NC Zoning District.

Any nonresidential use available within the NC District as listed on Table 1 may be available as an accessory use in an apartment building so long as the nonresidential use is not located above the first floor of said building.

The institution shall be accredited by the commonwealth and shall have direct access to a state or county highway.

The institution shall be the sole occupant of the lot.

Access drives shall be located to take maximum advantage of sight distances for motorists and shall be as remote as possible from street intersections.

Parking areas shall be screened from view of neighboring houses or those directly across the street from the lot.

Buildings shall be set back from one another and residential occupancy shall be in conformance with this chapter.

The institution shall be accredited by the commonwealth and shall have direct access to a state or county highway.

The institution shall be the sole occupant of the lot.

Access drives shall be located to take maximum advantage of sight distances for motorists and shall be as remote as possible from street intersections.

Parking areas shall be screened from view of neighboring houses or those directly across the street from the lot.

Buildings shall be set back from one another and residential occupancy shall be in conformance with this chapter.

Group-care homes with six or more residents shall not be located within 1,000 feet of another group-care home or personal-care home with six or more residents.

Whenever a party or parties seek to occupy a dwelling or other building as a halfway house, the party or parties shall file a detailed statement of intent with the Township describing the proposed use of the dwelling or building; such statement shall detail the proposed number and nature of the anticipated occupants to Richland Township. The party or parties shall obtain a license or certification from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or Allegheny County prior to issuance of an occupancy permit. If an appropriate licensing or certifying agency does not exist, the applicant shall demonstrate to the Zoning Hearing Board that the proposal satisfies a demonstrative need and shall be conducted in a responsible manner without detriment to surrounding properties.

A halfway house shall be initially licensed, where it has met the requirements set forth by the Township, through December 31 of the year in which the license is issued. For each year thereafter, if the adult halfway house intends to continue its business, it must renew its license. The application for renewal is due to Richland Township no later than November 1 of the year preceding the year in which the license renewal is sought. The lack of a license or the failure to seek license renewal on a timely basis shall be a proper basis for the Township to deny or revoke an occupancy permit for the halfway house.

The total site area shall be a minimum of 40,000 square feet.

A landscape screen in conformance with Buffer Yard A, as defined by this chapter, shall be constructed on the lot.

A usable open space area of 100 square feet per bed shall be provided, exclusive of the front yard setback, buffer strip and parking area.

The lot shall be served by frontage on a public street and serviced by public sanitary sewers and public water.

Sidewalk gradients shall be constructed at 5% maximum.

The facility shall be accessible for fire-fighting purposes and evacuation at all levels and on all sides; otherwise the facility shall not be more than two stories.

Safe vehicular access and areas for discharging and picking up guests shall be provided.

The location, orientation and lot circulation shall be coordinated with the Township in order to minimize the disturbance of surrounding land uses.

If the parking area for a life-care community is adjacent to a single-family residential lot or development, for any parking areas that demand greater than 10 automobiles, the following shall apply:

The facility shall meet all state requirements for life-care or nursing/convalescent-care facilities in addition to those defined in this subsection.

The landowner and/or developer shall conduct a traffic analysis to show that adequate traffic controls are in place to minimize potential negative impacts.

Any additional standards that are needed to protect public health, safety and welfare or to address unique characteristics of a particular site defined by the Township Zoning Hearing Board shall be complied with by the landowner and/or developer.

Two-story buildings with second-story dwelling units are permitted. A minimum of 50% of the second-story dwelling units shall have at-grade or elevator access.

A twelve-foot-wide fire/emergency access route shall be provided around the perimeter of each building. Topography or other characteristics of the site or the development that might affect the use of emergency equipment between buildings may dictate a greater separation of structures.

The Township shall review all applications for life-care facilities and approve or disapprove such applications and require such covenants or legal restrictions deemed necessary to ensure the intent of this chapter.

The institution shall be accredited by the commonwealth and shall have direct access to a state or county highway.

The institution shall be the sole occupant of the lot.

Access drives shall be located to take maximum advantage of sight distances for motorists and shall be as remote as possible from street intersections.

Parking areas shall be screened from view of neighboring houses or those directly across the street from the lot.

Buildings shall be set back from one another and residential occupancy shall be in conformance with this chapter.

Buffer areas between a quad-plex development and any other adjacent residential yard shall be increased by 10 feet beyond the Township's standard buffer area width. Landscaping within this additional width shall be provided according to spacing, quantity and type of plants specified by the Township Planning Commission.

Slopes shall be graded at a maximum of a three-foot horizontal to one-foot vertical ratio.

The primary vehicular entrance to the quad-plex shall, at a minimum, have direct access to a collector road.

Any single-family dwelling occupied by a family whose members are related by blood, marriage or adoption may also accommodate not more than two individual boarders, who also take meals in the dwelling, or two individual roomers, who do not take meals there.

One parking space shall be provided on the premises for each guest sleeping room, plus three spaces per dwelling on the premises.

Any single-family dwelling occupied by a family whose members are related by blood, marriage or adoption and containing no boarders or roomers may also accommodate foster persons placed by court order.

The lot shall be inappropriate for any use permitted in a nonresidential district because of peculiar shape, size, access, topography or other physical features.

The minimum width of a lot containing a single-family dwelling shall be 100 feet.

The minimum area of a lot containing a single-family dwelling shall be 20,000 square feet.

The minimum setback requirements of a lot containing a single-family dwelling shall be:

Such dwellings may occur along an arterial road, on the edge of but within a lot plan abutting such a road with no intervening single-family homes between the two-family dwellings and the road, or abutting a commercial or industrial zoned district.

Two-family dwellings shall be located on lots at least 1.5 times larger in area than those required for single-family dwellings in the same zoning district.

All other requirements for single-family dwellings in the same zoning district shall be met.