Salisbury Township Lehigh County
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
PART 10
HEALTH CARE OVERLAY DISTRICT HCO AND TRANSITIONAL OVERLAY DISTRICT TO
§ 27-1001 Purposes.
1.
To consolidate a broad range of resources that individually and collectively contribute to the promotion of wellness and enable the improvement and maximum recovery of health from physical and mental diseases, illnesses and injuries.
2.
To provide opportunities for educational advancement, learning, and research related to wellness and health.
3.
To provide control over uses and heights of buildings in the Transitional Overlay District (TO) and the Health Care Overlay District (HCO), with uses and heights of buildings being less restrictive in the HCO District.
4.
To create a logical transition between existing residential uses and health care uses that will protect and preserve the character of the surrounding residential neighborhood while permitting uses on the land within the HCO District and TO District as permitted hereby.
5.
To create a network of open land and recreation path opportunities for use by the patients, staff, physicians, students, and visitors of a health care campus.
§ 27-1002 Applicability and General Requirements.
1.
The provisions of this Part 10 shall apply to both the HCO District and the TO District, unless a specific provision is stated as only applying to one of those districts. The HCO District and TO District shall authorize development of hospital and health-care-related facilities and other uses allowed in this Part 10 in a health care campus within the land areas designated to be within such districts on the Township Zoning Map. The TO District shall extend a distance of 500 feet from the property lines of the abutting residential properties in Salisbury Township.
The HCO District and TO District serve as overlay zoning districts to the underlying zoning districts. When an applicant proposes development of a health care campus under the HCO and/or TO zoning, the provisions of the underlying zoning districts shall not apply. |
2.
Other provisions of this chapter and the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (SALDO) shall apply, except where provisions of this Part 10 differ from provisions of other sections of the chapter or other Township ordinances regarding the same matter, in which case the Part 10 provisions shall govern. This Part 10 shall not limit the development of health care uses in other districts where such uses are allowed.
3.
Land within the HCO or TO District shall be owned by the entity that owns the hospital or health-care-related buildings or by an industrial development authority or hospital authority formed or employed for the financing of construction of hospital and health-care-related buildings and improvements on the health care campus or other third party related to the hospital as may be permitted under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
4.
New principal buildings developed on a health care campus shall be served by a public water system and public sanitary sewer system, either by direct connection to such systems or by connection to existing campus water and/or sanitary sewerage systems, which systems are served by the public water and sewerage systems.
5.
A health care campus shall be served by at least two driveways, each having a minimum paved width of 28 feet. At least one of these driveways shall be from an arterial or collector street. There shall be no additional driveway connections from a health care campus onto local streets in Salisbury Township.
§ 27-1003 Allowed Uses.
1.
HCO District. The following uses shall be permitted by right in the HCO District, consistent with the other limitations of this Part 10:
A.
HOSPITAL — A facility providing medical testing, diagnosis, and treatment for persons on an inpatient, outpatient, and emergency care basis, to include overnight stays by patients as necessary. A hospital shall meet all relevant licensing requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B.
HEALTH CARE OUTPATIENT FACILITY — A medical office building or other facility, separate from or in conjunction with a hospital, which provides, on an outpatient basis, services such as medical testing, diagnostic testing (including overnight diagnostic testing), and may include drawing and/or testing of laboratory specimens, surgery, treatment, rehabilitation, and/or other health-care-related services. A health care outpatient facility may include overnight stays by patients.
C.
HEALTH CARE EDUCATION FACILITY — A facility which provides education and/or research related to health care, health maintenance, wellness, and/or the business of health care.
D.
HEALTH CARE OFFICE — Office uses may include offices for health-care-related professionals, administrative support offices for uses allowed in the HCO and TO Districts, and offices and laboratories for drawing and testing of specimens, diagnosis, or health care research.
E.
WELLNESS AND FITNESS CENTERS — Facilities that offer educational and/or interactive programs for health care, health maintenance, wellness, and/or other health-related subjects, and/or facilities that may include weight rooms, exercise rooms, exercise equipment, exercise pools, and/or other similar fitness facilities, and may offer rehabilitation, therapy, and/or health maintenance and physical-performance-related training programs.
F.
HEALTH CARE RESIDENTIAL FACILITY — A hospice, nursing home, personal care home, life care center, assisted living facility, family lodging center, residence hall for students studying a health care field, and accessory housing facilities for on-site medical staff. A stand-alone nursing home, personal care home, life care center or assisted living facility shall provide an area no less than 70% of the building surface area proximate to the building suitable and developed for passive recreation. This area shall be in addition to the open land required for the health care campus under § 27-1005. Parking areas for residents, patients and visitors for a stand-alone nursing home, personal care home, life care center or assisted living facility shall be located within 250 feet of the facility.
G.
ADULT AND CHILD DAY-CARE CENTERS — Facilities intended to serve family members of patients, staff, physicians, students and visitors to the health care campus as a priority but may also serve the public when needed to fill vacancies at the facility.
H.
ACCESSORY HEALTH CARE COMMERCIAL USES — Accessory uses intended to serve patients, staff, physicians, students, clients, and visitors to the health care campus, which shall be limited to the following and closely related uses: gift and card shops, flower and plant shops, sale of common health-care-related items, personal care items, convenience items and novelties, sale of items for fundraising, sale of food and beverages, cafeterias/cafes/food courts or similar uses, vendor carts or kiosks for the sale of items listed above, pharmacies/drug stores, stores for medical devices and accessories, automatic transaction machines, and personal care services such as barber shops or beautician shops, and laundry and/or dry-cleaning pickup, or similar uses as approved by the Zoning Officer.
(1)
The sale of gasoline, propane, similar fuels or alcoholic beverages shall not be permitted.
(2)
A drive-through service for one pharmacy shall require special exception review and approval. All other drive-through services shall be prohibited. A drive-through service shall be approved if the applicant demonstrates that:
(a)
The drive-through service is accommodating the needs of the staff, patients and clients of the health care campus;
(b)
There will be adequate stacking capacity for vehicles; and
(c)
Vehicles using the drive-through will be screened from view from abutting residential properties.
The restriction on drive-through facilities shall not prohibit drive-up inoculation services for campus employees, staff, and physicians or for a public health emergency. |
(3)
Accessory health care commercial uses shall be incorporated into buildings that also house other principal uses permitted in the respective HCO or TO District. With the exception of pharmacies, an accessory health care commercial use shall not have its own entrance, other than a service entrance, from the exterior of the building.
I.
HEALTH CARE ACCESSORY FACILITIES — Facilities that support a hospital and health care uses in the HCO and TO Districts, such as transportation-related facilities (including emergency transportation), hospital heliports, driveways, parking lots and loading areas, buildings and facilities for utilities, maintenance, vehicle storage, equipment storage and other support services, temporary mobile treatment units, "surge hospital," tents and/or emergency services trailers or similar facilities to be erected only for the duration required to serve the needs of an emergency or public health occurrence and/or for periodic training, recreation trails and noncommercial recreation facilities, and utilities and stormwater management facilities.
2.
TO District. The following uses shall be permitted by right within the TO District, consistent with the other limitations of this Part 10:
H.
ACCESSORY HEALTH CARE COMMERCIAL USES, as described in § 27-1003, Subsection 1, above. However, such uses shall be limited to 10% of the total gross floor area of the building in which they are placed. Further, conditional use approval shall be required for any accessory health care commercial use that will exceed 2,000 square feet of floor area in a building or cause the total of all accessory health care commercial uses in a building to exceed 2,000 square feet.
I.
HEALTH CARE ACCESSORY FACILITIES, as described in § 27-1003, Subsection 1, above. However, in the TO District, no new freestanding power plant building shall be permitted, and expansion of an existing carpenter shop shall not be permitted. Expansion of a power plant building that existed as of May 31, 2012, in and/or into the TO District shall be permitted. In addition, any proposed health care accessory facility power plant, utility, maintenance, storage, and warehouse buildings shall be similar in aesthetic character to existing clinical buildings on the health care campus. This provision is not intended to address facilities for state-regulated "public utilities."
3.
Health-care-related uses in the HCO District or TO District for which the applicant demonstrates such uses are similar in use and impact to uses permitted by right in the respective overlay district shall be approved by special exception.
4.
Prohibited and Restricted Uses. The following additional restrictions shall apply within the HCO District and/or TO District, as applicable:
A.
A psychiatric inpatient hospital use shall not be permitted in the TO District.
B.
Except for the nonroutine occasional care of persons for nonpsychiatric medical reasons, the housing of the criminally insane shall not occur in the HCO District or TO District.
C.
Hospital heliports shall not be located within the TO District, and hospital heliports in the HCO District shall be limited to use for emergency services, including medical services, and not for general transportation.
D.
An inpatient or outpatient treatment center primarily for the treatment of drug and/or alcohol addictions shall not be permitted in the HCO District or TO District.
E.
Within the TO District, student housing shall be limited to students enrolled in an advanced degree medical program and their families.
F.
Within the TO District, truck deliveries and pickup of trash shall not occur between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
G.
Emergency Department building doors open to the public shall not be permitted in the TO District.
6.
The noise and vibration limitations as included in sections of this chapter or in other Township ordinances shall not apply to vehicles used for emergency transportation, including when such emergency vehicles are not transporting patients.
§ 27-1004 Dimensional, Area and Coverage Requirements.
1.
Unless otherwise stated, all dimensional, area and coverage requirements shall apply to a health care campus as a whole. A health care campus may include contiguous land developed in a coordinated manner with shared access onto public roads and with coordinated internal driveways. A health care campus may then be subdivided into smaller ground leases, or through condominium ownership of offices or buildings. Individual buildings, uses, and interior lease areas shall not be subject to individual parking, area, bulk and yard requirements. Multiple principal and accessory uses shall be permitted on a lot and/or within a building.
2.
Only land areas within the HCO District and TO District within Salisbury Township shall be used to meet the dimensional, area and coverage requirements for a health care campus as permitted in this chapter. However, with respect to a health care campus, the following adjustments shall be allowed:
A.
Parking on a tract that is in an adjacent municipality may be used to meet the parking requirements of uses in the health care campus, provided that if required parking is removed, it shall be replaced with new parking meeting Salisbury Township requirements regarding the number of required parking spaces.
B.
Off-site stormwater management facilities, including facilities in another municipality or zoning district, may be used to support development on a health care campus.
3.
Requirements.
A.
Minimum Tract Area: 30 acres, which may not include land separated by a public street that existed of May 31, 2012;*
B.
Maximum Building Surface Coverage: 45% of the area of the health care campus within the HCO District and 30% of the area of the health care campus within the TO District, which shall be regulated based upon land that is not separated by a public street that existed as of May 31, 2012;*
C.
Maximum Impervious Coverage: 80% of the area of the health care campus, which shall be regulated based upon land within the HCO District and TO District that is not separated by a public street that existed as of May 31, 2012;*
D.
Maximum Building/Structure Height: The maximum height for buildings shall be seven stories for human occupancy on or above grade but not to exceed 105 feet, both as measured on the side of the building closest to an abutting residential property. Rooftop equipment, such as stair towers, elevator towers, equipment penthouses or roof-mounted equipment screens, may extend an additional 25 feet in height. The maximum height of a parking structure shall be six levels on or above grade but not to exceed 65 feet, both as measured on the side of the parking structure closest to an abutting residential property. Elevator towers and stair towers may extend an additional 20 feet in height.
E.
The following additional height restrictions shall apply within the TO District:
(1)
Buildings shall be limited to three stories for human occupancy on or above grade but not to exceed 45 feet, both as measured on the side of the building closest to an abutting residential property. Rooftop equipment, such as stair towers, elevator towers, equipment penthouses or roof-mounted equipment screens, may extend an additional 15 feet in height.
(2)
Parking structures shall be limited to three levels on or above grade but not to exceed 36 feet, both as measured on the side of the parking structure closest to an abutting residential property. Elevator towers and stair towers may extend an additional 20 feet in height.
(3)
Outdoor storage tanks may be expanded, provided they meet the same height requirements that apply to buildings.
4.
Minimum Yard Setbacks. The following minimum setbacks shall be measured from the perimeter of the health care campus. Minimum yards shall not be required for individual lots or lease lines within a health care campus, or from existing structures within a health care campus. Required yard areas along public streets and an expressway shall be maintained with vegetative cover, except where crossed by drives, outfall structures, pedestrian paths, bicycle paths, or walks or unless such area was previously approved for other purposes.
A.
Abutting the right-of-way of a public street other than an expressway: 25 feet;
B.
Abutting the right-of-way of an expressway or an expressway ramp: 10 feet;
C.
Abutting any other perimeter lot line of the health care campus, where a larger setback is not specified: 25 feet; except where land in common ownership continues into another municipality, there shall be no setback requirement;**
D.
Minimum building and parking structure setback from a lot line of an abutting residential lot in Salisbury Township: 300 feet;**
E.
Minimum paving and accessory structure (limited to structures covering no more than 200 square feet of ground surface) setback from an abutting residential lot line in Salisbury Township: 100 feet.**
Notes: | |
* | For the purposes of this Part 10, references to existing public streets include I-78/Route 309, Cedar Crest Boulevard, and Fish Hatchery Road as they existed on May 31, 2012. |
** | For the purpose of this Part 10, setback, berm, buffer, and other requirements, when related to abutting residential lots, shall not apply to existing residential uses on the health care campus and the abutting residential lot. Further, the paving setback shall not apply to streets or driveways providing ingress or egress to the site or to pedestrian or bicycle paths or walks. |
§ 27-1005 Open Land Requirements.
1.
In order to utilize the provisions of this Part 10, the applicant shall submit an open lands plan showing that a minimum of 20% of the health care campus property within Salisbury Township that is not separated by a public street that existed as of May 31, 2012,* will be set aside as open land. Open land may include landscaped buffers, landscaped berms, stormwater management ponds holding a permanent pool of water, vegetated stormwater management facilities, and other vegetated or landscaped nonpaved areas, as well as paved areas such as courtyards, recreation facilities, walkways, bicycle paths, and recreation paths that are part of an open land path system, and paved drives and parking areas that provide access to or parking for recreational facilities within the open land. Except when including a pedestrian, recreation, or bicycle path as part of an open land path system, islands within parking lots less than 18 feet in width shall not be counted as open land.
2.
The open land plan shall show the locations of the open lands, describe proposed landscaping or tree preservation areas, and should propose tentative locations of any recreational facilities, pedestrian paths, bicycle paths, pedestrian easements, and other existing or proposed amenities.
3.
The open land shall be owned and maintained by the owner of the health care campus. The open land plan shall be subject to approval by the Township at the time of subdivision or land development approval of a health care campus under the provisions of this Part 10.
4.
The locations of the open land may be changed over time as part of subdivision or land development approvals, provided the applicant demonstrates that the new area will meet the requirements of this § 27-1005.
5.
The open space and/or recreation area/recreation fee requirements referenced in other sections of this chapter or other Township ordinances shall apply only to residential halls for students studying a health care field and housing facilities for on-site medical staff at a health care campus developed under this Part 10. No open space shall be required to be dedicated to the Township.
6.
In consideration of the requirement to have and maintain an approved and coordinated open land plan which shall include woodland protection (as applicable) and which shall include landscaping and buffering as referenced in § 27-1006, the provisions stated in § 27-516, Subsection 6C, and § 27-516, Subsection 10D, shall not apply.
§ 27-1006 Landscape and Buffering Requirements.
1.
Landscaping, berms, and buffers on a health care campus shall meet the requirements of § 27-1006. The berm, buffer, screening and any related setback requirements referenced in other sections of this chapter or in other Township ordinances shall not apply to a health care campus developed under this Part 10.
2.
If an applicant proves to the satisfaction of the Zoning Officer, after a recommendation by the Planning Commission, that existing healthy trees and other vegetation will be preserved (and/or supplemented if necessary with additional plantings, berms, fences or walls) to provide a visual screen as effective as the berms, fences, walls, and plantings required under this section, then such existing trees and vegetation to be preserved (and/or supplemented if necessary) may be approved to satisfy the landscape, berm and buffer requirements of this § 27-1006.
3.
The berm and landscape buffer requirements as listed below shall not be required where a health care campus is separated from a residential lot by a public street that existed as of May 31, 2012.*
4.
In a health care campus, a berm and landscape buffer shall be constructed, or an existing berm and landscape buffer supplemented as needed to meet this § 27-1006, along abutting residential lots within Salisbury Township as well as between the existing residential use fronting and taking access from Caroline Road and the remainder of the health care campus when a nonresidential building, parking structure, parking area or driveways serving nonresidential buildings will be constructed as part of a health care campus. The berm and landscape buffer may be constructed within the required paved area setback. The berm and landscape buffer shall only be required where the proposed nonresidential building, parking structure, outdoor storage tank, parking area or driveway serving nonresidential buildings will be visible from the abutting residential property, after considering any preserved or newly planted plantings.
A.
The landscaped berm shall be designed to respond to the site's topography and the elevations of the adjacent homes as shown on Exhibits 1006.4.A.1, 1006.4.A.2, 1006.4.A.3, and 1006.4.A.4.[1]
[1]
Said exhibits are included as attachments to this chapter.
B.
Primarily coniferous (evergreen) screening shall be used for the buffer plantings and shall be provided on and/or near the top, and along the residential side of the berm. The berm shall be designed to provide sufficient soil and retain sufficient moisture or provide irrigation to support the plantings. Leafy deciduous plants may be selectively used, provided that their use does not result in significant visual openings during the winter. Plant species shall be from the list in § 27-803, Subsection 2F, of this chapter, unless the applicant provides a letter from a registered landscape architect recommending alternative plant species satisfactory to the Township Zoning Officer. The use of native plant species is encouraged. Following construction of any buildings or structures on a health care campus, upon review of the construction, the Township Zoning Officer may require additional plantings be installed along a berm as may be necessary to supplement the buffer.
C.
The berm and/or planting screen shall be continuous along such boundary, except at approved driveway entrances and exits, including as may be required to provide adequate sight distance for traffic.
D.
The berm and buffer area shall be free of buildings, dumpsters, parking, compactors, and commercial or industrial storage or display.
E.
The berm shall have a maximum side slope of two horizontal to one vertical on the residential side, and the toe of slope shall be a minimum of 25 feet from the residential property line. The 25 feet may be used for utilities and stormwater management swales and facilities. The maximum slope on the nonresidential side of the berm may be two horizontal to one vertical or steeper if a retaining wall or other earth stabilization methods are used. The entire berm shall be well-maintained. All areas not covered by trees, shrubs or mulch shall be covered with an all-season vegetative ground cover and shall be kept free of debris and rubbish. Fences and walls used for screening in combination with berms shall not be regulated in height.
F.
Berm plantings shall be regularly maintained, and the owner shall perform an inspection of the berm and plantings annually and shall replace dead or dying plants with new plants meeting the minimum requirements of this section if such plants are needed to meet the visual screening requirement. In addition, representatives of the Salisbury Township Zoning Office, upon review of the site, may require that trees and other plantings be added where necessary to supplement the visual screen as viewed from the abutting residential dwellings in accordance with the screening requirements of § 27-1006, Subsection 4A, above.
G.
Drainage swales, utility lines, pipe, drainage improvements and structures and pedestrian paths may be constructed along the buffer berm within the one-hundred-foot paved area setback.
§ 27-1007 Signs.
2.
A sign shall not be animated, shall not appear to be moving and shall not change its message more often than once every 30 seconds. Signs with electronic or digital changing messages shall face only an expressway or arterial street. Except as specifically provided below, signs in a health care campus may be continuously externally and/or internally illuminated. The light intensity of electronic or digital message signs shall be automatically controlled to permit the light intensity to be reduced during nondaylight hours.
3.
Wall, Banner and Window Signs.
A.
Wall, banner, and window signs shall be permitted. Wall, banner, and window signs shall be limited in the aggregate to 15% of the area of the faces of buildings on which they are placed when facing an arterial street or expressway. Wall, banner, and window signs facing other than an arterial street or expressway shall be limited in the aggregate to 10% of the area of the faces of buildings on which they are placed. However, within the TO District, wall, banner, and window signs that face an abutting residential lot shall be limited in the aggregate to 5% of the area of the faces of buildings on which they are placed.
B.
The height of wall, banner, and window signs shall not be regulated, except that the tops of such signs shall not be placed at an elevation higher than the highest part of the building, including stair towers, penthouses or roof-mounted equipment screens. However, wall, banner, and window signs that face an abutting residential lot in Salisbury Township shall not exceed a height of 45 feet if the signs are illuminated, and such signs may be illuminated by external light sources only.
C.
Further, within the TO District, wall, banner, and window signs that face an abutting residential lot shall not be illuminated between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
D.
Where a sign consists of individual letters or symbols attached to or painted directly on a building or window, other than an illuminated background that is part of the sign, the sign area shall be the smallest rectangle or circle, or two or three smallest rectangles or circles, that include all of the letters and symbols.
4.
Up to two freestanding identification signs of up to 250 square feet each in area may be placed at the entrance drive to a health care campus from an arterial street. Up to two freestanding signs of up to 150 square feet each in area may be placed at the entrance drive to a health care campus from a collector street in Salisbury Township. In addition, one freestanding sign of up to 250 square feet may be placed at the corner of an intersection of an arterial street and collector street. Freestanding signs shall not exceed a height of 10 feet.
5.
Pole-mounted flag or pennant signs made of fabric or fabric-like polymers shall be permitted along the driveways, walkways, plazas and in parking lots in a health care campus. Such flag or pennant signs shall be kept in good repair and shall be removed promptly if torn, tattered or faded. Pole-mounted flag and pennant signs shall not exceed 24 square feet in area, except that flag or pennant signs within 100 feet of a building entrance may be up to 40 square feet in area.
6.
Signs displaying the names of buildings or structures shall be permitted, including donor names, at a height no greater than the top of the building or structure. Such signs shall utilize letters no greater than 30 inches in height and shall not be internally illuminated. These signs shall be in addition in area to signs permitted in § 27-1007, Subsection 3.
7.
In addition to other signs, one on-premises freestanding electronic or digital message sign shall be permitted. Such sign shall be limited in changeable electronic or digital message area to 300 square feet on each of two sides. The sign may only be used to display the name of the facility/owner and logo, health-care-related messages and advertisements, and non-health-care-related messages limited to community or municipal information and events. A sign face shall not change its message more frequently than once every 30 seconds. The sign shall be positioned to direct its messages to motorists only along an expressway, and not toward abutting residences, and shall be placed within 400 feet of the right-of-way of an expressway. In addition to the electronic or digital message area, the sign may include an area of 200 square feet of fixed (nonchanging) sign area for the display of the name and logo of a health care entity. The sign shall not exceed a height of 45 feet, as measured above the edge of the expressway directly adjacent to the sign. The light intensity of the sign shall be automatically controlled to permit the light intensity to be reduced during nondaylight hours.
8.
Temporary signs or banners similar to the signs permitted above shall also be permitted.
9.
Signs within the health care campus that are not legible from an expressway, public street or residential lot, as well as signs for traffic control and/or direction, shall not be regulated.
§ 27-1008 Off-Street Parking and Loading.
1.
Off-street parking and loading requirements shall be in accordance with Part 6 of this chapter, except as modified below.
2.
Off-street parking spaces and/or loading spaces provided on the campus but within another municipality may be counted toward the required off-street parking and/or loading spaces required for the campus.