Upper Hanover Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVIII
LI Light Industrial District
§ 500-1800 Declaration of legislative intent.
[Amended 2-13-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-01]
In expansion of the declaration of legislative intent and statement of community development objectives found in §§ 500-101 and 500-102 of Article I of this chapter, it is the intent of this article to provide regulations for light industrial development that are generally consistent with the goals and recommendations of the Upper Perkiomen Valley Regional Comprehensive Plan, the Upper Hanover Township Open Space and Environmental Resource Protection Plan Update (2006), or any successor plan thereto, and the following objectives:
A.
Promote development of a broad range of employment-oriented manufacturing, research and development, laboratory and office uses on individual lots and in planned industrial/office centers.
B.
Apply strict performance standards to limit potential pollution and other adverse environmental effects and minimize vehicular, fire and safety hazards resulting from permitted development.
C.
Confine traffic impacts by taking vehicular access only from roads that are capable of responsibly handling the additional traffic generated thereby, as further established herein.
[Amended 6-11-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-04]
D.
Establish flexible lotting standards and operational, dimensional and landscaping standards to minimize adverse impacts on surrounding uses and natural features and to encourage superior site design.
E.
Provide reasonable standards for the height and bulk of all buildings and other industrial, office and other structures and for the dimensions of yards and open spaces to make development more compatible with the rural character of the area.
§ 500-1801 Permitted uses.
The following uses are permitted in the LI Light Industrial District:
A.
Light industrial.
(1)
Manufacturing and processing.
(2)
Scientific or industrial research, product development, or engineering facilities.
(3)
Printing, publishing, lithography and similar processes.
(4)
As a conditional use pursuant to the criteria set forth elsewhere in this chapter, Warehousing, storage or wholesale business located within a building as a principal use and/or distribution of products or materials, including transportation depot and truck terminals.
[Amended 6-11-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-04]
(5)
Recycling facilities, limited to collection, separation, storage, baling and shipping.
(6)
Accessory uses customarily incidental to the uses listed above.
B.
Offices, services and other nonindustrial businesses.
(1)
Corporate headquarters, administrative offices and buildings.
(2)
Business, professional, medical and/or dental offices.
(3)
Veterinary hospitals and adjunct facilities, including kennels.
(4)
Training facilities, technical schools.
(5)
Nursery school, preschool or day-care centers.
(6)
Emergency services (fire, ambulance and police).
(7)
Self-service storage facilities in compliance with § 500-835 of this chapter.
[Amended 9-13-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-10]
(8)
Radio or television studios and transmission facilities.
(9)
Electric, telephone or gas distribution facilities and/or transmission lines.
(11)
Public or private sewer and/or water utilities, including treatment facilities.
(12)
Large-scale indoor commercial recreation facilities, such as bowling alleys, tennis and racket clubs, skating rinks, fitness centers, and/or outdoor nonmotorized sports facilities.
(13)
Small-scale electrical-power-generating facilities, maximum 100 megawatts, by conditional use in compliance with § 500-1806 herein.
(14)
Accessory uses customarily incidental to the uses listed above.
C.
Other uses.
(1)
Agriculture.
(2)
Institutional uses, in compliance with Article XXVI, Institutional Use Regulations, of this chapter.
(3)
Recreational uses, in compliance with Article XXVII, Open Space and Outdoor Recreation Regulations, of this chapter.
(4)
Accessory uses customarily incidental to the uses listed above.
D.
Uses of similar character. Uses of similar character to those listed in Subsections A, B and C may be permitted by conditional use only when evidence is provided to the Board of Supervisors sufficient to prove that the proposed operations, magnitude of development, and effects on the environment and vehicular traffic will be essentially the same as those of uses specifically identified above.
§ 500-1802 Dimensional standards.
The following dimensional standards shall apply to all subdivision and/or land development proposals and other construction and uses classified herein:
A.
Conventional subdivision. For tracts proposed for standard or conventional subdivision, or for development without subdivision, the standards of the table below shall apply.
B.
Planned industrial/office parks. For tracts proposed as integrated or planned industrial and/or office parks or centers, the standards of the table below shall apply. Development proposed under this category shall satisfy the standards for planned industrial/office park of the table below, whether done as part of the original proposal or at a later date.
Table of Standards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Conventional Subdivision | Planned Industrial/Office Park | |||
Minimum lot area | 2 acres | 1 acre; with an average of 1.5 acres | ||
Minimum lot width at the building line: | ||||
On roads internal to a subdivision | 225 feet | 150 feet | ||
On roads external to a subdivision | 350 feet | Not permitted | ||
Minimum building setbacks measured from: | ||||
Ultimate right-of-way line | 65 feet | 50 feet | ||
An abutting residential or institutional district boundary line or a property line of such a use | 100 feet | 75 feet | ||
An abutting commercial or industrial use property line or district boundary line | 50 feet | 30 feet | ||
Minimum parking, driveway and/or loading setbacks measured from: | ||||
Ultimate right-of-way line | 65 feet | 50 feet | ||
An abutting residential or institutional district boundary line or a property line of such a use | 100 feet | 100 feet | ||
An abutting commercial or industrial use property line or district boundary line | 25 feet | 25 feet | ||
Maximum building coverage per lot | 35% | 45% | ||
Maximum impervious coverage per lot | 50% | 65% | ||
C.
Building height.
[Amended 8-8-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-02]
(2)
The maximum height of a building is 40 feet, excluding mechanical penthouses the height of which are determined with reference to the International Building Code. Any building height in excess of 40 feet requires conditional use approval by the Board of Supervisors. In considering an application for conditional use related to building height, the Board of Supervisors shall consider the following factors:
(a)
The nature of the building itself and the extent to which it is consistent or inconsistent with the landscape and structures in the vicinity of it;
(b)
The height of other buildings in the area;
(c)
The proximity of residences and the extent to which the height of the building diminishes the quality of life for those residing in proximity to the building, also considering topography and the extent to which the building is visible from nearby residences;
(d)
Whether the building will include a mechanical penthouse that is excluded from the definition of building height;
(e)
The extent to which the requirements, standards or common practices associated with a particular proposed use require a building that is more than 40 feet tall;
(f)
Whether the increased building height will increase the impact of the use of the building with respect to noise, traffic volume, light spillover, or similar community impacts.
§ 500-1803 Other development regulations.
All development and utilization of property and improvements thereon in the LI District shall comply with all other relevant development regulations in this chapter found in Article VIII, General Regulations; Article IX, Off-Street Parking; Article X, Signs; Article XXVIII, Noise Control; and the following standards:
A.
Performance standards. All development proposed and/or utilized in the LI Light Industrial District shall conform to the performance standards contained in § 500-817 of this chapter.
B.
Parking and loading areas.
(1)
No parking or loading areas shall be permitted to be located between a building permitted by this district and a property line of a lot used for residential or institutional purposes.
(2)
No loading areas shall be permitted to be located between a building permitted by this district and an ultimate right-of-way of a street except for local access streets when both sides of the local access street are zoned LI Light Industrial District.
(3)
When parking is located closer to a road ultimate right-of-way than the front, side or rear of the building, the parking shall occupy no more than 50% of the lot area between the building and the ultimate right-of-way.
C.
Electrical power. Every use shall be so designed and operated so that the service lines, substations, etc. shall conform to the most acceptable safety requirements recognized by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Labor and Industry; shall be so constructed, installed, etc. as to be an integral part of the architectural features of the plant; or if visible from abutting residential properties, shall be concealed in accordance with the landscaping requirements in Chapter 425, Subdivision and Land Development.
D.
Public water service. Industrial uses shall be served by public water where available. Water shall be supplied from on-lot wells only after an approved or accepted geologic study furnished by the applicant, and certified by a professional geologist, that the underground water supply and levels will not be appreciably altered in such a way as to endanger the water level and supply for other properties. All water resources shall be approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and may be subject to review and approval by the Delaware River Basin Authority (DRBA).
E.
Landscaped buffers and screens. Landscaped buffers and/or screens shall be installed and maintained within a strip a minimum of 50 feet wide when a light industrial use abuts a residential or institutional use or district and 25 feet wide when abutting a nonresidential use or district. Landscaped buffers and screens shall comply with standards of Chapter 425, Subdivision and Land Development.
F.
Reservation of trail corridors. When an LI District property contains or abuts a watercourse or utility transmission line, a minimum fifty-foot-wide corridor shall be reserved to permit a potential trail interconnection with other existing or proposed trails in the area consistent with the recommendations of the Upper Hanover Township Open Space and Environmental Resource Protection Plan Update (2006), or any successor plan thereto, and the Upper Perkiomen Valley Regional Comprehensive Plan. The fifty-foot width may include the area comprising the watercourse or utility easement. At the time of preliminary plan approval, the applicant shall show a specific location or add a note regarding a generalized easement on the applicant's plans, subject to approval by the Board of Supervisors.
[Amended 2-13-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-01]
§ 500-1804 Design criteria for planned industrial/office parks.
Subdivision and development of planned office and/or industrial parks shall comply with the following:
A.
External access. The tract must have direct access to an arterial or major collector street, or the applicant shall upgrade the connecting local street to meet major collector street standards.
B.
Internal access. All building lots shall have direct access to interior roads rather than to exterior streets, although emergency access to exterior streets may be permitted where no other alternatives are feasible.
C.
Land development plan required. A land development plan shall be submitted for Township review for each lot that is proposed for development.
D.
Unified standards. The development shall be designed with unified standards for landscaping, lighting and access to interior roads. These standards shall be submitted in the form of restrictive covenants that shall be binding upon developers of individual lots.
E.
Development agreement. A development agreement shall be executed between the applicant and the Township for development of the entire park, including, but not limited to, the following:
F.
Reduction of setback requirements. In order to permit more efficient use of lot areas and improvements built thereon, side yard and rear yard setback requirements may be reduced by the Board of Supervisors by conditional use under the following conditions:
(1)
Where the side or rear lot lines involved are new lot lines totally within the tract being subdivided; this does not apply to the perimeter of a tract being subdivided.
(2)
Where the result is shared parking and/or loading areas and/or attachment of buildings on abutting lots by means of a party wall(s).
(3)
Where the owners of the abutting lots agree in writing to the reduction and provide cross-easements, where appropriate.
(4)
On any lot, only one side yard and/or the rear yard requirements may be reduced, and then only in correspondence with the immediately abutting side and/or rear yard of an abutting lot.
(5)
Access to all sides of buildings so attached must be provided for emergency vehicles, in compliance with applicable Township requirements.
§ 500-1805 Plan submission and review.
Plans for subdivision and/or land development in the LI Light Industrial District shall be submitted for review in compliance with Article III of Chapter 425, Subdivision and Land Development. This shall include submittal of sketch plans for expansion of existing development to determine the level of review required. In addition to the SALDO requirements such plans shall include the following:
A.
Architectural plans and elevations for any proposed buildings.
B.
A description of existing and proposed equipment, processes and products, with engineering and architectural plans in sufficient detail to describe the production and control of effects regulated by the standards of this chapter.
C.
Engineering and architectural plans, including completed DEP planning modules, for the treatment and disposal of sewage and industrial waste.
D.
Designation of any fuels or potentially toxic or hazardous matter to be utilized and measures proposed to control access to, combustion of, and emissions from those materials.
E.
The proposed number of shifts to be worked, and the maximum number of employees on each shift.
F.
An environmental assessment statement in accordance with the provisions of § 500-820 of this chapter, unless deemed unnecessary by the Board of Supervisors and/or Township Planning Commission.
H.
Letters or certificates of approval showing compliance with applicable state and/or federal and other legal requirements.
I.
Any other pertinent data or evidence that the Planning Commission may require.
§ 500-1806 Conditional use standards and criteria for small-scale electrical generation.
The following standards and criteria shall be satisfied to allow a small-scale electrical-power-generating facility to be developed by conditional use within the LI Light Industrial District.
A.
Minimum lot area: 108,900 square feet (2.5 acres).
B.
Minimum lot width and depth: 250 feet each.
C.
Minimum setback for buildings or other structures: 50 feet from all property lines.
D.
Maximum impervious coverage: 65% when needed to allow water storage tanks sufficient to serve both the electrical-generating needs and the public water supplier.
E.
Locational criteria.
(1)
Minimum distance between the buildings, structures and/or equipment used for electrical generation and any dwelling located on a parcel used exclusively or zoned for residential purposes: 500 feet.
(2)
Small-scale electrical-generating facilities shall be located in close proximity to an existing electrical substation where convenient access is available to a natural gas supply pipeline.
F.
Operational criteria.
(1)
Maximum generating capacity: 100 megawatts.
(2)
Type of facility: Peak-time or peaking generation facility, generally operated only during periods of excess demand for electrical power or under emergency circumstances.
(3)
Processing water. A public water supply must be used, designed with the capability of providing storage capacity for the public water supplier.
§ 500-1807 Prohibited uses.
The following uses are specifically prohibited in the LI Light Industrial District and, by reference, prohibited in the LIC Light Industrial and Limited Commercial Districts 1 and 2:
A.
Outdoor storage businesses as defined in § 500-1902B(3). Outdoor storage associated with self-service storage facilities as regulated in this chapter is not included.
[Amended 9-13-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-10]
B.
Solid waste disposal facilities (except recycling facilities limited to collection, separation, storage, baling and shipping).
C.
Adult uses.
E.
Any other use which is or may be noxious or offensive by reason of odor, dust, fumes, smoke, gas, vibration, illumination or noise or harmful radiation, or which is or may be dangerous to the public health, safety or welfare, or which otherwise constitutes a public hazard.
F.
The following uses:
Abbattoirs |
Acetylene gas manufacture |
Acid manufacture |
Ammonia, bleaching powder or chlorine manufacture |
Arsenal |
Asphalt manufacture or refining |
Blast or reverbatory foundry |
Breweries |
Celluloid manufacture |
Cement manufacture, including cement or concrete mixing plant, lime, gypsum, plaster, or plaster of paris manufacture |
Coke ovens |
Cork manufacture |
Creosote treatment or manufacture |
Dead animal and offal reduction |
Disinfectant manufacture |
Emery cloth and sandpaper manufacture |
Fat rendering; manufacturing of vegetable, animal or mineral fats and oils |
Fertilizer manufacture |
Fireworks or explosive manufacture or storage |
Fish smoking or curing |
Flour mill |
Foundry, forge plant |
Glue, size, or gelatin manufacture |
Oil or rubbed goods manufacture |
Ore reduction |
Paint, shellac, varnish, lacquer manufacture |
Plating works |
Potash works |
Power forge (riveting, hammering, punching, chipping, drawing, rolling, or tumbling of iron, steel, brass or copper, except as a necessary and minor incident to other manufacture, and which are conducted without objectionable noise or vibration) |
Pyroxylin manufacture |
Quarrying or removal of soil or mineral deposits in any form, including blasting operations |
Rubber, caoutchouc or gutta-percha manufacture or treatment, tire recapping or vulcanizing |
Sauerkraut manufacture |
Shoeblacking manufacture |
Smelters |
Soap and detergent manufacture |
Soda and compound manufacture |
Steel furnace, blooming or rolling mill |
Stockyards |
Tallow, grease or lard manufacture or refining |
Tanning, curing or storage of leather, rawhides or skins |
Tar distillation or manufacture |
Vinegar manufacture |
Wool pulling or scouring |
§ 500-1808 Conditional use standards and criteria for warehousing and related uses.
[Added 6-11-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-04]
For the uses permitted by conditional use in § 500-1801A(4) of this article, the following criteria apply:
A.
The parcel(s) must front a principal arterial road.
B.
Interior vehicular cartways shall be improved at least to the level of collector roads.
C.
A warehouse can only be situated on a parcel of 10 acres or larger. Immediately contiguous parcels (not separated by any roadway) may be combined for this purpose.
D.
Where the tenant and nature of use is known at the time of land development, plan approval will be based upon a traffic impact study using the ITE Trip Generation Manual then in effect and using the land use code and classification applicable to the plan.
E.
When the plan is developed without a tenant or details of intended use at the time of land development, the traffic impact study shall be developed assuming the highest and most intense use that the submitted plan could reasonably support.
F.
Except where the highest and most intense level of traffic has been assumed, an applicant must demonstrate upon obtaining a tenant that the tenant's use matches the level of use upon which approval was granted, and this is a prerequisite to obtaining a certificate of occupancy. The determination of compliance shall be made by the Township traffic consultant.
G.
Any change in tenant after initial occupancy requires an application for a change in use. A new occupancy permit will be issued if the Township traffic consultant determines that the new occupancy will be of equal or lesser intensity than the prior occupancy. If the Township traffic consultant determines that the new use is of greater intensity, the owner will be required to obtain amended final land development approval showing such improvements as are necessitated by the additional intensity of use.
H.
Plans shall demonstrate available on-site queuing areas for trucks to avoid any queuing on public roads.
I.
Plans shall include electric hookups to minimize truck idling of temperature-controlled loads, where applicable.
J.
All plans shall be accompanied by a community and economic impact study.
K.
The site must include a truck snow/ice scraper system.