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Thornbury Township Chester County
City Zoning Code

ARTICLE IX

MP - Multipurpose District

§ 155-900 Purpose.

It is the purpose of this district to comply to the greatest extent feasible the Township's legal responsibility to provide for uses recognized as discrete uses under the laws of the commonwealth by establishing regulations allowing such uses and designating within the limited land mass of the Township a reasonable area where such uses may be located. Accordingly, in the Multipurpose District, the following regulations shall apply.

§ 155-901 Uses permitted by right.

A. 
Artisan trades.
B. 
Bakeries.
C. 
Bank or other financial institution.
D. 
Building trades.
E. 
Clubs per § 155-1605.
F. 
Day care per § 155-1608.
G. 
Funeral homes per § 155-1610.
H. 
Gasoline service stations per § 155-1611.
I. 
Indoor recreation per § 155-1613.
J. 
Learning center.
K. 
Medical office or clinic.
L. 
Non-tower-based wireless communications facilities per § 155-1615.
M. 
Personal service shop
N. 
Professional office.
O. 
Restaurant per § 155-1620.
P. 
Retail store.
Q. 
Veterinary clinic and dog day care per § 155-1623.

§ 155-902 Uses permitted by special exception.

The following uses shall be permitted by special exception, when authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board, subject to the provisions of § 155-2005 and the specific sections listed below:
A. 
(Reserved)

§ 155-903 Conditional uses.

The following uses shall be permitted by conditional use, when authorized by the Board of Supervisors, subject to the provisions of § 155-2105 and the specific sections listed below:
A. 
Adult-oriented establishments per § 155-1600.
B. 
Billboards per § 155-1707.
C. 
Communication towers per § 155-1606.
D. 
Consumer fireworks per § 155-1607.
E. 
Drive-through services per § 155-1609.
F. 
Light manufacturing, including products requiring light metal processing and/or assembly, pilot studies and prototype development for the production and testing of precision instruments, optical goods, pharmaceuticals, health and personal care products, small electrical and electronic appliances, supplies and equipment, and products from previously prepared nontoxic materials, such as plastic, leather, glass or textiles.
G. 
Production and sales of products, wholesale storage and distribution facilities, but excluding a truck terminal and/or the outdoor storage of trucks, trailers and/or materials.
H. 
Research, engineering or testing laboratories for development, excluding all projects with the potential of creating an environmental or genetic hazard.
I. 
Shopping center development aggregating over 30,000 feet square or more of gross floor area.
J. 
Any other use recognized by law as a discrete use not otherwise provided for in any other zoning district established in this chapter.

§ 155-904 Accessory uses and structures.

Except as otherwise indicated in this chapter, accessory uses customarily incidental to any of the principal uses in this district shall be permitted by right on the same lot as the principal use and subject to the applicable provisions for accessory uses of Article XVI. The following specific accessory uses shall also be permitted by right subject to the applicable provisions of Article XVI:
A. 
Storage within a completely enclosed building in conjunction with a permitted use, unless outdoor storage is approved as a conditional use.
B. 
Cafeteria or recreational facilities for employees only.
C. 
Day-care center for employees only.

§ 155-905 Area and bulk regulations.

Unless specifically stated otherwise or differing for a specific use as authorized by this chapter, the following shall be the minimum area and bulk regulations for the district.
A. 
Uses permitted by right.
(1) 
Lot coverages.
(a) 
Building coverage (less than one acre): 30% maximum.
(b) 
Building coverage (greater than one acre): 25% maximum.
(c) 
Impervious coverage (less than one acre): 75% maximum.
(d) 
Impervious coverage (greater than one acre): 70% maximum.
(2) 
Structure(s).
(a) 
Minimum lot size: 12,000 square feet.
(b) 
Lot frontage: 50 feet.
(c) 
Front yard setback: 35 feet.
(d) 
Side yard setback: 12 feet.
(e) 
Rear yard setback: 25 feet.
(f) 
Building height: three stories or 35 feet.
B. 
Conditional uses.
(1) 
Lot coverages.
(a) 
Building coverage: 30%.
(b) 
Impervious coverage: 50%.
(c) 
Front yard impervious coverage: 10%.
(2) 
Structure(s).
(a) 
Minimum lot size: two acres.
(b) 
Lot frontage: 150 feet.
(c) 
Lot width at building setback line: 200 feet.
(d) 
Front yard setback: 50 feet.
(e) 
Side yard setback: 50 feet.
(f) 
Rear yard setback: 100 feet.
(g) 
Building height: three stories or 35 feet.
(3) 
Bonus regulations.
(a) 
Impervious coverage may be increased an additional 3% for providing any of the following:
[1] 
Pedestrian and vehicular connections with one or more adjacent properties to facilitate circulation;
[2] 
Integration of historic resources into the proposed development;
[3] 
Reduction in the number of existing curb cuts onto existing streets;
[4] 
Submission of plans which depict architectural style of development designed to avoid the massive scale and uniform impersonal appearances of a big box commercial or industrial complex through façade ornamentation, building offsets, window treatments, variation in roof lines, entry treatments and upgrading building materials.
(b) 
Impervious coverage may be increased up to 5% for providing both of the following:
[1] 
In addition to required parking lot trees, each lot shall be planted with a combination of deciduous and coniferous trees complying with the following formula: one such tree for each 500 square feet of building gross floor area; and
[2] 
Each tree planted on the lot shall have a planted caliper of not less than four inches measured four inches measured four feet above finished ground level and a planted height of not less than nine feet.
C. 
Accessory structure(s). See § 155-1500 for lot and bulk standards for various types of accessory structures.

§ 155-906 Design standards.

The following design standards as applicable for permitted uses in this district shall include:
A. 
Supplemental Use Standards, per Article XVI.
B. 
Signs, per Article XVII.
C. 
Natural Resource Protections, per Article XIV.
D. 
Historic Resources Protection, per Article XIII.
E. 
General Standards, per Article XV.
F. 
Off-Street Parking and Loading, per Article XVIII.
G. 
Fences, Walls and Screens, per Chapter 76.
H. 
Floodplain Management, per Chapter 83.
I. 
Stormwater Management, per Chapter 116.
J. 
In addition, new development proposed within this district, as well as the rehabilitation, alteration, or modification of existing structures or uses, shall comply with the following design standards:
(1) 
Landscaping and buffer planting strips shall be required in accordance with § 155-1504.
(2) 
Commercial storage shall be in accordance with § 155-1501.
(3) 
Lighting shall be in accordance with § 155-1505.
(4) 
No outdoor vending machine, self-service station, or similar use shall be allowed in any required yard abutting a street or on a public sidewalk.
(5) 
Rooftop structures. All rooftop structures, including, but not limited to, heat pumps, cooling towers or other mechanical equipment shall be screened from view by a single piece of the building structure which is aesthetically compatible in design and materials and color with the building façade and which is at least equal in height to the highest rooftop structure.
(6) 
No wholesale delivery or pickup shall be permitted in the area between the building and any street line.