Tinicum Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXIV
Performance Standards
§ 395-169 Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to ensure adequate protection for the residents of the Township against the possible negative effects of certain uses, processes, or activities applicable to all districts but particularly the Special Use District and commercial and industrial districts.
§ 395-170 Administration.
A.
Interpretation and application of standards.
(1)
The performance standards contained herein shall be the minimum standards to be met and maintained by all uses established after the effective date of this chapter. Standards established by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection or the United States Environmental Protection Agency shall apply where those standards are more restrictive than the standards set forth below.
(2)
If any existing use or building or other structure is extended, enlarged, or reconstructed, the performance standards herein shall only apply to such extended, enlarged, or reconstructed portion or portions of such use, building, or other structure.
B.
Application submittal.
(1)
Applications for industrial and airport-dependent uses shall be accompanied by a certification from a professional engineer registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that the proposed use can meet the performance standards set forth in this chapter. All applications shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following informational items:
(a)
Plans of existing and/or proposed construction and development;
(b)
A description of existing or proposed machinery, processes, and products;
(c)
Specifications for the mechanisms and techniques used or proposed to be used in restricting possible dangerous or objectionable conditions as set forth in this chapter; and
(d)
Measurement or estimate of the amount or rate of emission of any dangerous or objectionable elements as set forth in this chapter.
C.
Application review. All applications for industrial uses and airport-dependent uses shall be reviewed by the Township Engineer for compliance with the performance standards listed in § 395-171. No application for an industrial use or airport-dependent use shall be approved until it is certified in writing by the Township Engineer that the proposed use can meet these performance standards.
D.
Enforcement and costs.
(1)
The CEO shall investigate any purported violation of the performance standards noted below. Enforcement procedures shall be in accordance with Article XXV.
(2)
If violations, as alleged, are found, costs of such determinations shall be charged against those responsible for the violations, in addition to such other penalties as may be appropriate. If, however, it is determined that no violation exists, the Township shall pay for the costs of the determination.
§ 395-171 Performance standards.
A.
Air quality.
(1)
There shall be no emission of smoke, ash, dust, fumes, vapors, gases, or other matter, toxic or noxious, to air which violates the Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act of 1959, as amended,[1] including the standards set forth in Chapter 123 (Standards for Contaminants) and Chapter 131 (Ambient Air Quality Standards), Article 111, Title 25, of the Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Code.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 4001 et seq.
(2)
No user shall operate or maintain or be permitted to maintain any equipment, installation or device which, by reason of its operation or maintenance, will discharge contaminants into the air in excess of the limits prescribed herein unless he shall install and maintain in conjunction therewith such control as will prevent the emission into the open air of any air contaminant in a quantity that will violate any provision of this chapter.
B.
Fire and explosive hazards. All activities and all storage of flammable and explosive material at any point shall be provided with adequate safety devices against the hazard of fire and explosion, adequate firefighting and fire suppression equipment, and devices as detailed and specified by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All buildings and structures and activities within such buildings and structures shall conform to the latest adopted International Construction Code, the National Fire Code, and other applicable Township ordinances. Any explosive material shall conform to the requirements of Chapter 211, Title 25, Rules and Regulations, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, for storing, handling, and use of explosives.
C.
Glare and heat. No direct or sky-reflected glare, whether from floodlights or high temperature processes such as combustion, welding, or otherwise, visible at the lot line, shall be permitted. These regulations shall not apply to signs or floodlighting of parking areas. There shall be no emission or transmission of heat or heated air discernible at the lot line.
D.
Liquid and solid waste. There shall be no discharge at any point into any public or private sewerage system or watercourses or into the ground of any materials in such a way as will contaminate or otherwise cause the emission of hazardous materials in violation of the laws of Tinicum Township and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and specifically of Chapters 73, 95, and Article VII, Title 25, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Rules and Regulations.
E.
Noise. No person shall operate or cause to be operated on private or public property any source of continuous sound (any sound which is static, fluctuating or intermittent with a recurrence greater than one time in any fifteen-second interval) in such a manner as to create a sound level which exceeds the limits set forth in the following table when measured at or within the property boundary of the receiving land use.
Receiving Land Use Category | Time | Sound Limit |
|---|---|---|
Residential or Institutional | 1) 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. 2) 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Plus Sundays and legal holidays | 65 dBA 50 dBA |
Commercial or Business | 1) 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. 2) 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Plus Sundays and legal holidays | 65 dBA 60 dBA |
Industrial | All times | 70 dBA |
(1)
For any source of sound which emits a pure tone, the maximum sound level limits set forth in the above table shall be reduced by five dBA. For any source of sound which emits an impulsive sound (a sound of short duration, with an abrupt onset and rapid delay and an occurrence of not more than one time in any fifteen-second interval), the sound pressure level shall not exceed 20 dBA over the ambient sound level, regardless of time of day or night of receiving land use, using the "fast" meter characteristics of a Type II Meter, meeting the ANSI specifications S1.4.-1971.
(2)
The maximum permissible sound levels as listed in the above table shall not apply to any of the following noise sources:
(a)
The emission of sound for the purpose of alerting persons to the existence of an emergency or associated practice drills.
(b)
Emergency work to provide electricity, water or other motor vehicle operations shall not exceed the noise levels established in Chapter 157 of Title 67 of the Pennsylvania Code of Regulations, Subchapter B, Established Sound Levels.
(3)
Motor vehicle operations shall not exceed the noise levels established in Chapter 157 (Established Sound Levels), Article VII, Title 67, Pennsylvania Transportation Code.
F.
Odors. No use shall emit odorous gases or other odorous matter in such quantities so as to be offensive at any point on or beyond its lot lines. The guide for determining such quantities of offensive odors shall be the fifty-percent response level of Table 1 (Odor Thresholds in Air), "Research of Chemical Odors: Part I - Odor Thresholds for 53 Commercial Chemicals," October 1986, Manufacturing Chemists Association, Inc., Washington, D.C.
G.
Vibration. No vibration shall be produced which is transmitted through the ground and exceeds 0.002g peak measured at or beyond the lot line using seismic or electronic vibration measuring equipment, except for repair and construction work.
H.
Radioactivity or electrical disturbances. There shall be no activities that emit dangerous radioactivity at any point. There shall be no radio or electrical disturbances adversely affecting the operation of equipment belonging to someone other than the creator of the disturbance. If any use is proposed which incorporates the use of any radioactive material, equipment, or supplies, such use shall be in strict conformity with Chapters 221, 225, 227 and 229, Title 25, Article V, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Rules and Regulations.
I.
Public health and safety. No use shall create any other objectionable condition in an adjoining area which will endanger public health and safety or be detrimental to the public use of the surrounding area.