The regulations of the Agricultural Districts are designed to protect and preserve the existing agricultural lands of the Township and those areas where environmental conditions are most conducive to agricultural operations which will produce high crop yields. Principal protection and preservation emphasis is concentrated on prime farm land and conversion to nonfarm usage is discouraged. Where designated for nonprime farm land, limited residential, nonresidential and farm-related commercial uses are permitted to facilitate those individuals who may desire to locate in an agricultural setting.

(Ord. 7/8/1978, § 6.01; as amended by Ord. 1-14-98, 1/14/1998, § 401)

   1.   Single-family dwellings.

   2.    Soil cultivation and crop production, truck farming, nurseries, noncommercial greenhouses, general farms, dairying, breeding of horses, etc., including the nonintensive raising, keeping and breeding of poultry, livestock, etc.

   3.    Intensive raising, breeding and/or keeping of poultry and livestock, including feedlots, poultry houses, etc., for gainful purposes provided that the following conditions are met:

      A.    Feedlots, poultry houses and other buildings, structures, corrals or pens in which poultry or livestock are kept for the above use shall be no closer than one hundred (100) feet to any adjoining lot line or road right-of-way or two hundred (200) feet to any residentially zoned property.

      B.   No storage of manure or odor or dust producing substances or materials shall be permitted within one hundred (100) feet of any adjoining lot line or road right-of-way or within two hundred (200) feet of any residentially zoned property.

      C.   Minimum lot area of ten (10) acres.

      D.    Riding academies, boarding stables and kennels provided that no kennel runway or animal exercise pen or corral shall be located within one hundred (100) feet of any lot line or right-of-way line, exclusive of clearly identified bridle paths.

   4.    Public conservation area and structures for the conservation of open space, water, soil, forest and wildlife resources.

   5.   Public uses identified below and subject to the limitations set forth:

      A.   Governmentally owned park and recreation areas.

      B.   Forest reserves, game refuges, and similar non-intensive uses.

      C.   Schools providing kindergarten through grade 12 education meeting applicable requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania limited in size and intensity to recognize the intent of the Agricultural District. To implement this limitation, a school shall either be limited to a maximum of thirty-five (35) students and twelve (12) staff persons or be limited to a maximum lot area of two (2) acres.

   6.   Municipal buildings and structures.

   7.   Churches and cemeteries.

   8.   Animal hospitals.

   9.   Necessary public utility structures and buildings; and communications antennas on existing structures when meeting the requirements of § 1429.2.

   10.   Customary accessory uses and buildings which are clearly incidental to any of the above permitted uses, including the following:

      A.   Road side stands for the sale of "home-grown" or "home-made" products provided that the following conditions are met:

         (1)    At least one-half (½) of all products sold must be produced on the premises.

         (2)    The structure used to display and sell such products shall be located at least forty (40) feet from any road right-of-way line and any property line.

         (3)   The structure shall not occupy more than two thousand (2,000) square feet of area.

         (4)    All parking for the use shall be off-street. A minimum of three (3) off-street parking spaces shall be provided. Additional off-street parking may be required to adequately handle the parking needs.

      B.   Home occupations as provided for in § 1412 of this Chapter.

      C.   Accessory uses as provided for in Part 14 of this Chapter.

      D.   Accessory dwelling units as provided for in Part 14 of this Chapter.

   12.   The following special exception uses, upon approval by the Zoning Hearing Board, as provided for in Part 19 of this Chapter.

      A.   Agriculturally oriented commercial establishments as follows:

         (1)   Commercial establishments shall bear relationship to the agricultural district and uses permitted therein (i.e., farm implement dealer, feed mill, etc.).

         (2)    On-premises butchering operations, as an accessory use, provided that the following conditions are met:

            (a)    Butchering operations shall be conducted only by an immediate member of the family, owning and residing on the property.

            (b)    Butchering operations shall be limited to the employ of not more than one (1) assistant.

            (c)    Any building(s) or structure(s) which involves this use or in which this use is conducted shall be located at least one hundred (100) feet from any adjoining property line.

            (d)   Any remains, entrails, carcass, etc., resulting from this use shall not be stored on the property.

            (e)   No objectional noise, fumes, odor, dust or electrical interference shall be created through this use.

      B.   Quarrying, including sandpits, gravel pits, removal of topsoil and landfill and the excavation, extraction or removal of any natural resource from the land or ground for any purpose are permitted subject to the following conditions:

         (1)    Removal of forests or timber is prohibited without prior approval of the Zoning Hearing Board.

         (2)    The proposed operation shall not adversely affect soil fertility, drainage and lateral support of abutting land or other properties, nor shall it contribute to soil erosion by water or wind.

         (3)    Where any open excavation will have a depth of ten (10) feet or more and a slope of more than thirty (30) degrees there shall be a substantial fence, approved by the Zoning Hearing Board, with suitable gates where necessary, effectively blocking access to the area in which such extraction is located. Such fence shall be located no less than fifty (50) feet from the edge of the excavation. All operations shall be screened from nearby residential uses as required by the Zoning Hearing Board.

         (4)    That portion of access roads located within one hundred (100) feet of any lot in residential use or lot zoned for residential use shall be provided with a dustless surface. Access roads shall connect to collector or major networks avoiding undue movement through a residential area.

         (5)   At all stage of operations, proper drainage shall be provided to prevent the collection and stagnation of water and to prevent harmful effects upon surrounding properties.

         (6)    A site plan for rehabilitation, showing both existing and proposed final contours, shall be submitted and approved by the Zoning Hearing Board. After any such operations, the site shall be made reusable for a use permitted in the zoning district. Where topsoil is removed, sufficient arable soil shall be set aside for retention of the premises and shall be respread over the premises after the operation is retained, the area shall be brought to final grade by a layer of earth capable of supporting vegetation of at least two (2) feet or to original thickness, whichever is less. Fill shall be suitable material approved by the Zoning Hearing Board.

All principal buildings, structures and uses erected or established after the adoption date of this Part shall comply with the following requirements:

   A.   Existing farms shall be permitted the following number of new lots or principal uses, based upon farm size at the date of adoption of this Part.

 

Existing unsubdivided dwellings and principal, nonresidential uses located on the farm shall not be considered part of the permitted allotment. The maximum permitted number of new lots or uses shall apply whether or not individual lots are subdivided at the time the uses are established. Resubdivision of lots created after the adoption date of this Part shall be subject to the maximum allotment determined for the original farm or property.

   B.   All applications for building and zoning permits to erect a single-family dwelling or principal, nonresidential use structure on unsubdivided land and all applications for subdivision shall be accompanied by an agricultural plan identifying the following:

      (1)    Size, shape and dimensions of the farm, size and location of all existing buildings and size, location and use of all proposed buildings or lots.

      (2)   Lots or uses previously approved under these regulations.

      (3)   Land under active cultivation and land in woodlots or forests.

      (4)    Soil information for the farm, including soil series and soil capability class, subclass and unit as classified within the 1981, Soil Survey of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, and Agricultural Handbook No. 210 of the United States Department of Agricultural Soil Conservation Service.

      (5)    Notation as to which lot or lots carry with it a right of further subdivision or erection of accessory farm or nonfarm single-family dwellings or principal nonagricultural buildings, if any such right remains from the quota allocated to the farm. This right of further subdivision or erection of accessory farm or nonfarm single-family dwellings or principal nonagricultural buildings or an indication that no further subdivision or erection of such dwellings or principal buildings is permissible, shall also be included in the deed to the newly-created lot. This restriction shall remain in effect as long as further subdivision is prohibited under the zoning ordinance then in effect.

   C.   Applications to erect or establish a use or subdivide a farm or property shall be reviewed subject to the following criteria:

      (1)   The least suitable farmland (highest numbered soil capability unit) should be utilized for development, unless the applicant can demonstrate: (a) its suitability for the proposed use or (b) design advantages that support the use of other frontage land (view, location, alignment with farming patterns, proximity to other dwellings, etc.). When a soil has been determined to be unsuitable because of slope, drainage, flooding, sewage disposal deficiencies or other physical characteristics, then the least suitable remaining farmland should be utilized for development.

      (2)   When a farm is comprised entirely of prime farmland (soil capability classes I and II) then the least suitable or least prime land should be utilized for development.

      (3)   Lots and uses shall be grouped, where possible, adjacent to other similar lots and uses to avoid a scattering of development. Lots and uses shall not be located near intensive farming operations. Subdivision or development shall not necessitate any new streets, except that one (1) lot or use may be assessed via an unimproved fifty (50) foot right-of-way.

      (4)   A maximum lot area of two (2) acres for single-family dwellings is established in the district requirement chart in § 404. The maximum lot area applies to subdivisions for new dwellings and subdivision of preexisting dwellings, even though the preexisting dwellings do not count in the lot allotment for the farm. The purpose of the maximum lot size is to prevent the creation of large lots which remove excessive amounts of agricultural land from crop production. The two (2) acre maximum lot size shall not apply to (a) lot additions for agricultural purposes and (b) subdivision of existing parcels of ten (10) acres or less in size. The Zoning Hearing Board may grant a special exception to allow the creation of a lot in excess of the two (2) acre maximum lot size if the applicant demonstrates that physical characteristics of the property (excessive slope, drainage problems, soil limitations, flooding, sewage disposal deficiencies, ground water recharge area, property shape, etc.) dictate that lot design exceeding the two (2) acre standard is desirable; or that the lot size will result in consolidation of residual land after other suitable lots have been removed; or that the lot will contain areas which are unsuitable for farming; or that the existing configuration of the tract will result in lot design and layout which would otherwise unavoidably physically isolate the excess land from the remainder of the farm; or that the landowner demonstrates that the lot size must be increased to insure an acceptable level of nitrate-nitrogen in the groundwater in accordance with the regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and any approved planning module for land development. [Ord. 2/12/2003]

      (5)    Application for the last lot or use permitted within a farm or property shall be accompanied by a proposed deed for the residual farm land or property. Said proposed deed shall contain a restriction to identify that subdivision and development allotments have been used and that no further subdivision, development or establishment of additional principal uses shall be permitted. Said restrictive deed shall be recorded within thirty (30) days of subdivision or permit approval for the last allowable lot or use. Failure to record said deed, subsequent removal of the deed restriction or subsequent subdivision or establishment of additional uses or lots shall constitute a violation of this Part, punishable in accordance with Part 20 of this Chapter.

(Ord. 1-14-98, 1/14/1998, § 403; as amended by Ord. 2/12/2003)

A lot area, lot width, lot coverage, yard depths and building height satisfying the requirements of the following table, unless otherwise specified heretofore in §§ 402 and 403, shall be provided for every dwelling unit and/or principal nonresidential building or use hereafter erected, altered or established in this district.

 

 

1 Maximum lot area shall not apply to lot additions for agricultural purposes and permitted uses specified within §§ 402(3) through 402(11) and § 402(13)(B) of this Part.

No building, with the exception of farm structures, shall exceed two and one-half (2½) stories and thirty-five (35) feet in height unless authorized as a special exception.

(Ord. 1-14-98, 1/14/1998, § 404)

Off-street parking shall be provided in accordance with Part 15 of this Chapter.

(Ord. 1-14-98, 1/14/1998, § 405)