Skippack Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIII
Conditional Use Regulations
§ 200-156 Purpose; intention.
A.
Certain uses are permitted within the Township as conditional uses under the several articles of this chapter. By so providing, the Board of Supervisors recognizes that these uses may or may not be appropriate at every location within any specific district, and where it appears that a conditional use fails to comply with all of the definitional aspects thereof or would be contrary to the public health, safety, morals or welfare of the community at a specific location within a district, then the use would not there be permitted.
B.
It is the intention that these uses shall first be reviewed by the Planning Commission and then shall be subjected to public hearing by the Board of Supervisors, prior to the grant or denial thereof. It is further intended that all standards for conditional uses hereinafter set forth shall, where relevant, apply to all conditional uses within the Township and are deemed definitional in character so that the failure to comply with any standards shall be deemed a failure to bring the applicant within that definitional aspect for which a conditional use may be granted; or in the discretion of the Board of Supervisors, such failure to comply with the standards may be deemed a basis for the imposition of appropriate conditions to such grant. The burden of meeting the standards herein shall rest with the applicant.
C.
It is further the intention of the Board of Supervisors that the standards hereinafter described shall be deemed additional standards and shall in no way impair any other applicable standard described elsewhere in this chapter. Where there is a conflict between the standards set forth in this article and other standards established by this chapter or other applicable ordinances, it is intended that the more stringent thereof shall apply, and it is not the intent of this article to abrogate or impair any other such standards or requirements.
§ 200-157 Lot and yard requirements.
The lot and yard requirements described in the several zoning districts shall be the initial minimum lot and yard standards with respect to the conditional uses sought within the respective districts. However, where owing to the particular nature of the proposed conditional use or the particular conditions and circumstances at the proposed location, more stringent area and yard requirements are necessary in the judgment of the Board of Supervisors in order to properly protect the public health, safety, morals and welfare of the community, the Board of Supervisors may impose reasonable additional area and yard requirements as conditions to the grant of an application for a conditional use or may deny such conditional use on the basis that and to the extent that such use permitted within the area and yard requirements of the application would violate any other specific standard hereinafter or elsewhere enumerated.
§ 200-158 Standards.
A.
Additional standards for conditional uses. In granting or denying a conditional use or establishing conditions with reference to such grants, the following standards, where relevant, shall be applied. The burden of establishing compliance with all of the hereinafter enumerated standards shall be upon the applicant.
(1)
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence that the use intended at the location intended shall not be contrary to the public health.
(2)
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence that the use intended at the location intended shall not be contrary to the public safety.
(3)
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence that the use intended at the location intended shall not be contrary to the public morals.
(4)
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence that the use intended at the location intended shall not be contrary to the public welfare.
(5)
The applicant shall establish by a traffic study prepared by a traffic engineer that the capacity of the road network providing access to the premises in question, when the incremental increase in traffic attributable to the proposed use is superimposed upon the existing use of the road network, shall not result in a level of service of the roads or any portions thereof below level of Service C (Highway Capacity Manual, Highway Research Board, 1965, as revised).
(6)
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence that the interior traffic circulation for the proposed use at the proposed location, including but not limited to acceleration and deceleration lanes where required at the proposed entrances to the location, shall be adequate to provide safe convenient circulation for users of the facility, visitors to the facility, employees of the facility and all emergency vehicles that may require entrance thereon.
(7)
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence that the facility provides safe and convenient pedestrian access and internal circulation within the grounds of the facility and particularly for points of access from the facility to the parking areas.
(8)
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence that adequate screening is provided between the lands in question and the surrounding residential uses and residentially zoned districts to screen the facility from view and preclude any glare from lighting or noise from being ascertainable beyond the boundaries of the property.
(9)
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence, which shall include but not be limited to a certificate from the Chief of a fire company providing services to the facility, that the said company has adequate facilities to reach the highest points of the building with ladders and hoses or, in the alternative, that such facilities satisfactory to the fire company will be provided by the owner or operators of the facility.
(10)
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence that adequate domestic water supply and adequate water storage is available at the facility for fire-fighting purposes, without impairing the uses of the water supply for ordinary purposes on the premises, and shall be in compliance with all applicable governmental regulations. The evidence shall include but not be limited to a water supply plan, a fire plan and a certificate of the adequacy of both, executed by the Chief of the fire company providing services to the facility, and the plans shall be prepared and certified as correct by a registered professional engineer and approved by the Township Engineer.
(11)
Where the facility's operation and purpose, in the opinion of the Board of Supervisors, require supervision and protection, the applicant shall establish by credible evidence, the adequacy of security and supervision, including but not limited to information of an adequate supervisor-inmate, -student or -patient ratio and such other evidence as may be required to establish this condition to the satisfaction of the Board of Supervisors.
(12)
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence the adequacy of public sanitary sewer facilities, the availability of capacity within the public sanitary sewer facility to service the proposed development or construction or lack of actual or planned public sanitary sewer facilities to service the proposed development or construction.
(13)
The applicant shall establish by credible evidence that there will be no increase in surface water runoff at the boundaries of the facility beyond that runoff presently existing. There shall not be a point discharge of water into an adjacent property.
B.
The standards required in this section or elsewhere within this chapter shall be deemed a part of the definitional aspect under which a conditional use may be granted, and the failure of the applicant to establish his compliance with all of the standards shall, in the discretion of the Board of Supervisors, be deemed either a basis for the establishing of conditions or limitations on an approval or the basis for a determination that the applicant has not brought himself within the definitional use for which a conditional use may be granted.
C.
The Board of Supervisors may also require that the applicant for a conditional use clearly establish by credible evidence that:
(1)
The proposed conditional use is not and will not be affected by any floodplain or flood hazard.
(2)
Any easements or rights-of-way required of the conditional use are available.
(3)
The fiscal impact upon Township and School District revenues and service roles will be positive.
(4)
There is no other viable alternative site within Skippack Township for the proposed conditional use.
§ 200-159 Procedures.
A.
The rules of procedure for the filing and processing of conditional use applications, as well as the fees to be charged therefor, shall be established by the Board of Supervisors by resolution and may be amended by the Board of Supervisors by resolution.
B.
The conduct of the public hearing and all related activities shall comply with the provisions of the PA MPC.
C.
Time limitation for conditional uses.
(1)
Time limit. Unless otherwise specified in the decision of the Board of Supervisors or subject to Subsection C(1)(b) below, a conditional use approved by the Board of Supervisors shall be valid for a period of six months after the date of approval. However, if a conditional use approval must be followed by subdivision or land development approvals, the Board of Supervisors may extend this requirement for up to 12 additional months.
(a)
Any conditional use which has not been acted upon by the issuance of a building permit within such time specified above shall lapse and become void and of no effect.
(b)
In those instances where land development or subdivision approval is a necessary prerequisite prior to obtaining a building permit, the conditional use shall expire if the applicant fails to make a diligent effort to obtain such approval within six months following the date of conditional use approval. Upon receipt of land development approval, the conditional use shall expire if a building permit is not obtained within six months of the date of land development approval.
[Amended 1-5-2009 by Ord. No. 325]
(2)
Procedures when conditional use has lapsed. The owner or holder of such conditional use which has lapsed must reapply to the Township in the same manner as new applicants for such relief.