Thornbury Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE 6
PLANNED APARTMENT DISTRICTS
§ 27-601 PA Planned Apartment Districts.
[Ord. 2-1976, 2/3/1976, § 600]
Planned Apartment Districts are intended to establish residence areas and requirements for high density use convenient to commercial areas and transportation corridors, and the following regulations shall apply.
§ 27-602 Use Regulations.
[Ord. 2-1976, 2/3/1976, § 601; as amended by Ord. 1-2003, 8/6/2003, § III; and by Ord. 1-2004, 3/3/2004, §§ 1, 2]
1.
A building or a unified group of buildings may be erected or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following purposes and for no other:
A.
Apartment house or apartment development, provided that approval of the plan for the specific use has been obtained in accordance with the provisions of § 27-605 of this chapter and, provided further, that the proposed use shall comply with the special area, buffer and other requirements of §§ 27-603 and 27-605 of this article.
C.
Accessory use on the same lot with and customary to the foregoing permitted use. The term "accessory use" shall not include a commercial activity except as is permitted below, provided that such use is located completely within an apartment building. Permitted accessory uses may include:
(1)
Private garage or off-street parking lot or area.
(2)
Internal accessory use, such as laundromat or similar use, for the use of the residents, provided that:
(a)
Each such internal accessory use is conducted entirely within an apartment building and is located in the basement or ground floor.
(b)
The total area devoted to such uses shall not exceed 5% of the gross floor area of the building in which located, excluding basement and garage.
(c)
The gross floor area of any one use shall not exceed 1,000 square feet.
(d)
There shall be no entrance to any internal accessory use except from inside the building.
(e)
There shall be no display of merchandise or other manifestation of commercial use.
(3)
No impact home-based business.
D.
No use shall be permitted which is in violation of prohibited uses and performance standards in Article 21 of this chapter.
§ 27-603 Area, Density, and Regulations.
[Ord. 2-1976, 2/3/1976, § 602]
1.
Lot Area. Every lot on which an apartment house or combination of apartment houses is hereinafter erected or used, shall have an area of not less than five acres. Not more than 60% of this area shall have impervious cover.
2.
Lot Width. Every such lot shall be not less than 325 feet in width at the building line.
3.
Density. The total number of dwelling units shall not exceed seven per acre.
4.
Building and Floor Area. Not more than 15% of the area of each lot, exclusive of garage area, may be occupied by buildings and the total floor area of all buildings on the lot shall not exceed 45% of the lot area.
5.
Building Placement. No building shall be located less than 150 feet from a street line or less than 100 feet from a side or a rear property line and no loading or service area shall be located less than 75 feet from a street right-of-way or other property line.
6.
Height Regulation. No apartment building shall exceed three stories or 35 feet in height.
7.
Length Regulation. No apartment building shall be greater than 150 feet in length and no building shall be located within 50 feet of another structure.
§ 27-604 Area, Density and Regulations for Townhouses.
[Ord. 2-1976, 2/3/1976, § 602; as added by Ord. 1-2004, 3/3/2004, § 3]
1.
Tract Area. Every parcel of land or tract on which a townhouse or combination of townhouses are erected, shall have an area of not less than 20 acres with minimum lot sizes of 24 feet wide by 100 feet in depth. Not more than 40% of the tract area shall have impervious cover. Not more than two contiguous units in a row shall share the same front building line in the same block of townhouses.
2.
Density. Four dwelling units per gross acre.
3.
Open Space. Not less than 20% of the gross tract area shall be designated and devoted to open space, with 10% being devoted to active open space, unless a fee in lieu of active open space is proposed by the applicant and accepted by the Township.
4.
All townhouse developments pursuant to this section shall be served by public water and public sewer.
5.
Site Design.
A.
The maximum height of any structure shall be limited to 35 feet.
B.
No single structure, except as stated hereinafter, shall be less than 100 feet from any tract boundary, except where the property line abuts an existing Township or state road in which event no structure shall be less than 100 feet from the right-of-way line of such road. The one-hundred-foot setback is not applicable when the tract abuts a similar zoning district or similar use. Patios and decks shall be permitted to be located no closer than 75 feet from any tract boundary or Township or state road right-of-way.
C.
There shall be no more than six townhouses in a row and no townhouse structure shall be within 50 feet of any other structure.
6.
General Street Design.
A.
All townhouses dwelling shall have vehicular access to either a local or minor street.
B.
Culs-de-sac shall be designed with a maximum right-of-way radius of 60 feet and a maximum paved radius of 50 feet.
C.
A cartway width of 28 feet shall be provided where vehicle parking is to be provided on one side of the street.
D.
The layout of culs-de-sac, driveways and street planning shall facilitate snow removal and storage by designating snow accumulation zones free of any obstructions. A minimum of two parking spaces shall be provided at all community mailbox locations.
7.
Parking.
A.
Each townhouse in the PA-Planned Apartment Zoning District shall be designed to accommodate, on average, no less than 2 1/2 parking spaces per dwelling unit. One of the 2 1/2 parking spaces per dwelling unit shall be a covered parking space in an attached garage.
B.
Parking spaces shall measure a minimum of 9 1/2 feet by 18 feet. No off-street parking shall be located within any of the required buffer areas.
8.
Buffers. A fifty-foot buffer shall be required for all townhouse projects in the PA-Planned Apartment Zoning District. However, no buffer shall be required where the tract abuts a similar zoning district or similar townhouse use. Storm water management facilities may be located within the limits of the buffer area.
§ 27-605 Special Regulations.
[Ord. 2-1976, 2/3/1976, § 603; as amended by Ord. 2-1983, 3/7/1983, § 1]
1.
The plans and approval procedures for any proposed apartment development shall be in accordance with the applicable requirements of the Thornbury Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance [Chapter 22]. Additionally, application for zoning permit shall be required. Such application must be accompanied by:
A.
A plan or set of plans for the integrated or overall development of the tract of land or district for which the application is made, which shall comply with the requirements of the Thornbury Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance [Chapter 22] as amended.
B.
Sufficient data in all instances to enable the Township to determine that the proposed plans and use comply with the requirements of the district, and any other pertinent requirements of this chapter, as amended.
2.
Compliance with Plan. Following the issuance of the zoning permit and the permit for construction and use as a result of the approval of the building and development plans, no change, deviation, or alteration shall thereafter be permitted except when authorized by the Township upon written application for such a change, deviation or alteration in the plans. If the lot or tract for which the development has been approved is sold, the original conditions, upon which approval was granted, shall be fulfilled by the new owners.
3.
Renewal of Approval. If construction of an approved planned development is not undertaken within 18 months from the time that approval was last granted by the Township, or if construction progress has been stopped for a period of more than six consecutive months, the application for development must be reviewed and a renewal of approval must be obtained before construction can commence or continue.
4.
Along each side and rear property line which directly abuts a residential district in the Township, a buffer planting strip of not less than 20 feet in width shall be provided. Such buffer planting strip shall be landscaped for the full required width and length with plant material of sufficient density not to be seen through and of sufficient width and height to constitute effective screening. In cases where effective screening already exists to protect the privacy of neighboring residents, the requirement for planting of the strips may be altered.
5.
Parking.
A.
There shall be two off-street parking spaces measuring a minimum of nine feet six inches by 20 feet for each dwelling unit. Aisles in parking area shall be at least 20 feet wide. Off-street parking and loading space shall be located immediately contiguous to each apartment building. There shall be no parking between any building and a street right-of-way.
B.
Parking areas shall be arranged so as to prevent through traffic to other parking areas.
C.
Parking areas shall be screened from adjacent structures, access roads and traffic arteries, by hedges, dense planting, earth berms, changes in grade or walls. All parking areas shall be a minimum of 50 feet from all single-family structures, access roads and traffic arterials.
D.
No more than 15 parking spaces shall be permitted in a continuous row without being interrupted by approved landscaping of adequate width and density.
E.
No more than 60 parking spaces shall be accommodated in any single parking area.
F.
All off-street parking and/or loading areas shall be surfaced with an asphaltic or Portland cement pavement.
G.
All off-street parking areas shall be adequately lighted. All outside lighting shall be directed in such a way so as not to create a nuisance in any residential district, and shall be arranged so as to protect the street or highway and adjoining properties from direct glare or hazardous interference of any kind.
6.
A basement shall not contain habitable rooms except for a janitor.
7.
Any apartment development shall be served by community or public water and sewage systems.
8.
Fire hydrants shall be installed by the developer meeting the requirements of the Middle Atlantic Fire Underwriters Association and the area fire marshal.
9.
Signs, as permitted in Article 20 of this chapter.