In expansion of the Declaration of Legislative Intent set forth in § 27-102 of this Chapter, it is the intent of this Part with respect to the Institutional District to allow for a residential retirement and life care facility, to encourage the development of retirement uses including single-family detached dwellings, single-family attached dwellings, apartments, personal care boarding facilities, residential rooms, health care facilities and open space together with accessory uses for these institutions, in accordance with approved plans of development subject to the requirements of this Chapter.

(Ord. 379, 7/6/2009, § 1101)

   The regulations of this Part apply to institutional uses permitted in the Borough’s Institutional District.

(Ord. 379, 7/6/2009, § 1102)

   The uses listed in this part have been divided into Class I and Class II institutional uses. A building may be erected or used, and a lot may be used or occupied for the following purposes, and no other, provided the requirements of the following subsections are met:

      A.   Class I Institutional Uses.

         (1)   Library as a principal use (IR2).

         (2)   Religious institutions and their ancillary uses (IR3).

         (3)   Municipal uses (IR7).

         (4)   Cemetery (IR10).

         (5)   Common/required open space and outdoor recreation facilities (IR12).

         (6)   Funeral home or mortuary (C8).

      B.   Class II Institutional Uses.

         (1)   Retirement community, residential life-care facility for the senior population, or similar licensed institution (IR6) for the care of the handicapped, senior population, and/or other persons who require nursing or convalescent care for extended periods of time. Parking shall be per § 27-1105.A(4).

         (2)   The following residential uses shall be permitted:

            (a)   Single-family detached dwellings for a retirement community (R7).

            (b)   Single-family attached dwellings for a retirement community (R8).

            (c)   Apartment buildings for a retirement community (R9).

            (d)   Equivalent dwelling units or residential rooms for a retirement community (R10) occupied primarily by the handicapped, the elderly and other persons who require nursing or convalescent care for extended periods of time.

            (e)   The requirements of this Section concerning dwellings for the elderly are met if at least 80 percent of the dwelling units are occupied by at least one person 55 years of age or older. Parking shall be per § 27-1105.A(4).

         (3)   The following accessory uses incidental to the principal use; such accessory uses shall not remain in operation if operations have ceased in the principal use. All parking for accessory uses shall be in addition to the parking regulations of § 27-1105.A(4) and § 27-1106.I and shall be integral to the parking for the facility when the accessory use is not open to guests of the retirement community.

            (a)   AC5. Congregate dining facilities for residents, employees and guests of the retirement community. In no case shall the total floor area devoted to this use exceed 5 percent of the total gross floor area of the retirement community as defined in § 27-1108.2.

               1)   Parking when the facility is open to guests of the retirement community shall be one space per 10 seats plus one space per employee on the largest shift.

            (b)   AC6. Auditoriums or theaters, activity and craft rooms, exercise areas, and library facilities for residents, employees and guests of the retirement community.

               1)   Parking when the auditorium or theater facility is open to guests of the retirement community shall be one space per 10 seats.

            (c)   AC7. Swimming pools and similar therapeutic and recreational facilities.

               1)   Parking when the facility is open to guests of the retirement community shall be one space for every 200 square feet of the combined total swimming pool and similar therapeutic and recreational/social facility space.

            (d)   AC8. Office and retail service facilities such as, but not limited to, the following uses: doctor’s office, pharmacy, gift shop, coffee shop, post office, laundry, beauty shop and barber shop, and adult and employee daycare facilities. These uses shall be primarily for the residents of the retirement community, must be physically attached to a residential use, and shall not be outside the parameters of the definition outlined in § 27-1108.2. In no case shall the total floor area devoted to these uses exceed 5 percent of the total gross floor area of the retirement community as defined in § 27-1108.2.

   1)   Parking for retail service facilities: when a facility is open to guests of the retirement community parking shall be one space for every 200 square feet of the combined total retail floor space.

   2)   Parking for office facilities: when a facility is open to guests of the retirement community parking shall be one space for every 250 square feet of the combined total office floor space.

            (e)   Parking Garage. Parking in garages or parking lots of automobiles or other vehicles providing transportation services to occupants and guests of the retirement community shall be permitted in connection with the accessory uses described in this Section.

            (f)   Other ancillary uses or services deemed to be appropriate by Borough Council by conditional use.

(Ord. 379, 7/6/2009, § 1103)

   In addition to the general use regulations described in § 27-1106, all Class I Institutional uses shall comply with the following:

      A.   Cemetery (IR10).

         (1)   Minimum Tract Size. Two acres.

         (2)   Parking. No less than one space per 200 square feet of office space and one space per every five seats in any associated chapel or church.

         (3)   Area and Bulk Regulations:

            (a)   Maximum Height. Buildings, 15 feet, not-to-exceed one story.

            (b)   Minimum Setbacks. Graves set back at least 15 feet from property and right-of-way lines, and buildings set back 30 feet from property and right-of-way lines.

      B.   Library as a Principal Use (IR2).

         (1)   Minimum Tract Size. One acre.

         (2)   Parking. No less than one space per 600 square feet of floor space open to the public and one space per employee on the largest shift.

         (3)   Area and Bulk Regulations.

            (a)   Maximum Height. Thirty-five feet. Not exceeding three stories.

            (b)   Minimum Setbacks. Thirty feet from the ultimate right-of-way of any public street and 15 feet from any property line.

(Ord. 379, 7/6/2009, § 1104)

   In addition to the general use regulations described in § 27-1106, all Class II Institutional Uses shall comply with the following:

      A.   Retirement Community (IR6).

         (1)   Minimum Tract Size. The minimum area shall be 10 acres.

         (2)   Density. A combined maximum of 12 dwelling units or equivalent dwelling units per gross acre shall be permitted; however, building areas devoted to health care facilities for persons who require nursing or convalescent care for extended periods of time shall not exceed 25 percent of the gross acreage.

         (3)   Grouping. All buildings shall be arranged in a group or groups of buildings, and the distance at the closest point between buildings or groups of detached buildings shall not be less than 20 feet.

         (4)   Parking. No less than one off-street parking space shall be required for each residential dwelling unit or equivalent dwelling unit, plus an additional 10 percent for visitors, and one parking space for each employee on the largest shift.

         (5)   Area and Bulk Regulations.

            (a)   Maximum Height. Fifty-five feet, not exceeding five stories.

            (b)   Minimum Setbacks. Thirty feet from the ultimate right-of-way of any public street and 40 feet from any property line.

            (c)   Building Size for Single-family Attached Dwellings. No more than six single-family attached dwelling units may be attached in a linear row, and no more than three contiguous single-family attached units shall have a uniform setback from a road right-of-way (public or private), a parking area or driveway in order to create a staggered appearance. Such variation in setback shall be a minimum of 4 feet.

         (6)   Permanent Open Space. No less than 20 percent of the gross acreage of a tract developed as a retirement community shall be retained as permanent open space. Any land designated as common open space shall be restricted to continuous open space, and whenever possible shall be designed as a continuous system of usable areas, which are interspersed among groupings of residential dwelling units. The area shall be located and designed so that it is easily accessible to all people within the retirement community, including the handicapped. Such open space shall include continuous walking areas that extend throughout the development, outdoor seating areas, such as gazebos or picnic areas, and landscaped garden areas.

         (7)   Landscaping. For purposes of traffic channelization, precluding parking of vehicles in unwanted areas, and reduction of visual monotony, a minimum of 10 percent of all parking areas for 20 or more cars, shall be devoted to landscaping islands. The landscaping shall be installed in such a manner that there shall be a minimum total landscaped area of 100 square feet and the minimum horizontal dimension of any individual landscaped area shall be 5 feet. Landscaped islands shall be placed such that the ends of all parking bays are defined and the perimeters of all parking areas shall be edged in landscaping buffers. Perimeter landscaped buffers shall not be included in the required 10 percent of space for landscaped islands.

(Ord. 379, 7/6/2009, § 1105)

   The following regulations shall govern all Institutional development sites and lots within the Institutional District:

      A.   Development Plan. The tract of land to be developed shall be in single ownership, or shall be the subject of an application jointly filed by the owners of the entire site, and it shall be agreed that the tract will be developed under single direction with an overall plan. The plan shall be designed as a single architectural scheme.

      B.   Phased Development. The development of a tract carried out in either a single phase or in stages, shall be executed in accordance with a development agreement. The owner, developer and Borough shall enter into said agreement embodying all details regarding compliance with this Part to assure the binding nature thereof on the overall tract and its development, which agreement shall be recorded with the final development plan.

      C.   Water and Sewer Service. Developments in an Institutional District must be supplied with municipal water and sewer service.

      D.   Facilities Serving Entire Developments. The provision of certain facilities serving the entire development site such as parking lots, interior driveways and pedestrian ways, landscape planting areas, recreation facilities, water and sewer facilities shall conform to the appropriate provisions in the Telford Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance [Chapter 22]. If they are provided in common area, provision must be made for their maintenance and care that is satisfactory to the Borough Council.

      E.   Utilities. All utility lines (electric, telephone, cable TV, etc.) for new installations shall be placed underground.

      F.   Signs. Signs shall be permitted only subject to the requirements of Part 5 of this Chapter.

      G.   Lighting. All spaces between buildings, parking, loading, access and service areas shall be adequately illuminated at night. All lighting, including sign lighting, shall be arranged so as to protect the highway and adjoining property from direct glare or hazardous interference of any kind.

      H.   Refuse Areas. The storage of refuse shall be provided inside the building(s) or within an outdoor area that shall be screened from the view of adjacent streets or residential districts by a 6-foot high opaque fence or wall.

      I.   Parking and Access.

         (1)   Location of Parking. All access ways, parking areas and loading or service areas shall be located within the property lines of any development proposed within the Institutional District.

         (2)   Loading and Deliveries. Areas for loading and deliveries and for refuse collection, fuel and other service vehicles shall be provided and shall be adequate in size and shall be so arranged that they may be used without blocking or interfering with the use of access roads or automobile parking facilities.

         (3)   Drop-Off/Pick-Up Areas. All uses shall provide an on-site drop- off/pick-up area with sufficient capacity for the type of facility proposed, consistent with the following standards:

            (a)   All sites shall provide sufficient turnaround area so that vehicles can exit the site driving forward. On sites with 600 feet or more of street frontage, these areas may exit the site via a second driveway.

            (b)   Minimum dimensions for a drop-off/pick-up area shall be 10 feet by 60 feet, with appropriate tapers from and to the driveway it adjoins, subject to the approval of the Borough Engineer.

(Ord. 379, 7/6/2009, § 1106)

   Any Class I and Class II use in the Institutional District shall comply with the development standards below:

      A.   Traffic and Access. The applicant shall demonstrate to the Borough Engineer and Borough Council that satisfactory provisions are made to prevent traffic congestion and hazards to the surrounding area. Provisions shall be made for safe and efficient ingress and egress to and from the development. Borough Council may require a traffic impact study for any use in this district when they determine, after consulting with the Borough Engineer, that such a study is necessary to demonstrate the adequacy of the access points and streets for accommodating the traffic generated by the proposed use. Existing residential areas shall not be infringed upon by significant volumes of traffic from the proposed use. Whenever a traffic impact study is required, the preliminary plan shall be considered incomplete until the submission of the traffic impact study. The traffic impact study shall be prepared by a professional traffic engineer and shall contain the following:

         (1)   A study impact area agreed to by the Borough Engineer.

         (2)   An inventory of site conditions which shall include:

            (a)   A sketch plan of the proposed development.

            (b)   Existing average daily traffic (ADT) on roads within the study area. This shall include traffic volumes at peak highway hours and at peak development generated hours.

            (c)   Existing levels of service (A through F) as defined in the Highway Capacity Manual of the Institute of Transportation Engineers on roads and intersections within the study area. The level of service for signalized intersections refers to the average stopped delay per vehicle during a 15- minute analysis period.

            (d)   List of pending or proposed development within a reasonable distance of the development and impacted intersections. The Borough Engineer shall prepare this list.

            (e)   Other information requested by the Borough Engineer.

      B.   Neighborhood Impact. When requested by Borough Council, the impact of the proposed use on the surrounding properties and neighborhood shall be considered. The use shall not adversely affect the general welfare and orderly development of the general neighborhood in which it is proposed.

         (1)   The scale, form and appearance of structures and open space shall be compatible with the general character of any adjacent residential area.

         (2)   The applicant shall submit profile drawings showing the views into the proposed development from adjacent properties which are either used for or zoned to permit single-family detached residential uses and which will have a view of any proposed building greater than two stories in height.

            (a)   The views shall be taken from a point on each adjacent property at the minimum rear yard setback (depending upon whether a rear or side lot line abuts the proposed development) where the proposed development will be most visible. The views shall be taken from a height of 5½ feet above grade at the designated point. Depending upon specific circumstances of a proposed development, the Borough reserves the right to request additional profiles or to request the view be considered from a different point or from a different height.

            (b)   The views shall be drawn with identical horizontal and vertical scales. The scale shall be no less than 1 inch equals 20 feet.

            (c)   Views shall show proposed buildings, or portions thereof, which would be seen from the prescribed vantage point. Proposed landscaping and berming which would be installed as part of the proposed development should also be shown so that their impact on the views can be evaluated.

            (d)   Wherever the views indicate that a building, or portion thereof, greater that two stories will be clearly visible, the applicant shall propose mitigating actions. These may include relocating the building, reducing the building’s height, adding landscaping and/ or berms or other appropriate actions to be approved by the Borough.

(Ord. 379, 7/6/2009, § 1107)

   Equivalent dwelling unit–any room, group of rooms or other enclosure occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters by a family or by persons living alone. For the purposes of this Section, four beds for patient, resident and/or staff person use provided within the retirement community shall be deemed the equivalent of one dwelling unit.

      A.   A retirement community shall operate under common management serving the principal purpose of assisting the senior population in maintaining an independent lifestyle. For the independent living portions of such development, the community shall be limited to persons at least one of whom in each household shall have attained the age of 55 years. The program of in-house resident services offered by a retirement community development that includes any combination of congregate housing, and/or assisted living facility(s), and/or restorative care/skilled nursing facility(s) shall be primarily for the benefit of residents of the retirement community and their guests and shall include a majority of the following:

         (1)   Restorative care/skilled nursing.

         (2)   Transportation services.

         (3)   Financial assistance.

         (4)   Barber/beautician.

         (5)   Medical evaluation/health care maintenance.

         (6)   Home health.

         (7)   Assisted care.

         (8)   Adult day care and respite care services.

         (9)   Food services.

         (10)   Cleaning services.

         (11)   Exercise, recreational, educational and social services.

         (12)   Other services, activities and accessory uses incidental to the operation of a retirement community.

(Ord. 379, 7/6/2009, § 1108)

   Applications for development shall be according to the provisions of the Subdivision and Land Development Regulations of the Borough of Telford [Chapter 22].

(Ord. 379, 7/6/2009, § 1109)