Upper Merion Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIIIA
R-3B Residential District
§ 165-66.1 Legislative intent.
In expansion of the statement of community development objectives contained in Article I, § 165-3, of this chapter, it is hereby declared to be the intent of this article with respect to the R-3B Residential District to establish reasonable standards of performance for a selection of permitted uses therein and to maintain and protect the desirable benefits which medium-density development of single-family detached homes, twin homes and townhouses will have when provided for in selected locations within the Township. It is further the intent of this article to:
A.
Permit a variety of housing types available to present and future residents of the Township.
B.
Assure the suitable design of medium-density dwellings which will allow the creation of desirable neighborhoods and at the same time provide adequate protection to existing, established neighborhoods nearby.
C.
Implement the general recommendation contained in the Township's Comprehensive Plan to provide areas for medium-density residential development.
D.
Ensure that the traffic and other impacts of development in accordance with this district are no greater than can be accommodated by the infrastructure of the Township.
§ 165-66.2 Use regulations.
In an R-3B Residential District, a building may be erected, altered or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following purposes and no other; provided, however, that all other requirements of this article are met:
A.
Single-family detached dwelling in accordance with the requirements of § 165-37 (the R-2 Residential District).
B.
Single-family semidetached dwelling (twin houses).
C.
Row house (townhouse), not to exceed six attached dwellings per structural unit.
D.
Playgrounds, parks, tot lots and open spaces.
E.
Accessory use on the same lot with and customarily incidental to any of the foregoing permitted uses.
§ 165-66.3 Height regulations.
No principal building shall exceed the height of 35 feet nor 2 1/2 stories. The maximum height of an accessory building or structure shall not exceed 14 feet nor one story.
§ 165-66.4 Development requirements.
A.
Area of district. A tract area of no less than five developable acres shall be provided for every area to be used in whole or part as an R-3B Residential District.
B.
Utilities. All dwelling units within the R-3B Residential District shall be served by a public sanitary sewage disposal system and by public water supply. All utility lines (electric, telephone, etc.) serving the R-3B Residential District developed subsequent to the enactment of this chapter shall be placed underground.
C.
Density. The development of lots within this district shall be accomplished in such a manner so as to provide a density of not more than nine dwelling units per developable acre.
D.
Development plan agreement. The development of a tract carried out either in a single phase or in stages shall be executed in accordance with a development agreement based upon a development plan. The owner, developer and Township shall enter into said agreement embodying all details regarding compliance with this article to ensure the binding nature thereof on the overall tract and its development, which agreement shall be recorded with the final development plan.
F.
Maintenance of common areas and facilities. Provisions satisfactory to the Board of Supervisors must be made for the perpetual maintenance and care of all common facilities and open space. Alternatives include maintenance by the developer or a homeowners' association or similar entity. Any common open space or recreation area shall be first offered for dedication, in which event provisions satisfactory to the Township or similar entity by the developer for active or passive recreation shall be made. However, the Township need not accept dedication.
G.
Perimeter setback and buffer regulations.
(1)
Building setbacks. No building shall be closer than 35 feet to the ultimate right-of-way or 40 feet to the perimeter lines of the tract.
(2)
Parking setbacks. No parking area of three or more parking spaces shall be located closer than 15 feet to the ultimate right-of-way or 40 feet to the perimeter lines of the tract.
(3)
Buffer. The development shall have a permanent landscaped planting area of at least 15 feet in depth from abutting property lines designed for screening from view any adjacent uses to a minimum height of seven feet. The required buffer can be waived or reduced by the Supervisors, after review and recommendation by the Planning Commission, if a natural buffer exists or the adjacent use is compatible.
(4)
Adjoining single-family detached neighborhoods. When a tract proposed for twin or townhouse dwellings adjoins an existing single-family detached development of two or more dwellings, or abuts any of the following districts: AG, RA, R-1A, R-1, R-2 and R-2A, there shall be provided a one-hundred-foot building setback consisting of open buffer area or single-family detached dwellings in accordance with the R-2 District, in which case neither the one-hundred-foot setback nor the fifteen-foot planted buffer shall be required. For the purpose of this article, a property shall be considered adjoining if the tract or parcel has a common lot line or has a common center line of an existing road right-of-way. The required buffer can be waived or reduced by the Supervisors, after review and recommendation by the Planning Commission, if a natural buffer exists, the adjacent use is compatible or adequate landscape and buffer treatments are provided in the development plan.
H.
Lot and yard regulations. The minimum lot area per dwelling unit and yards shall be as follows, whether or not proposed for subdivision:
(1)
The following regulations shall apply:
Requirement | Semidetached Dwelling | Row House Dwelling | |
|---|---|---|---|
Lot area (square feet) | 4,000 | 2,100 | |
Minimum lot width (feet) | 40 | 20 | |
Front yard (feet) | 30 | 30 | |
Rear yard (feet) | 25 | 25 | |
Side yard (feet) | 20 | 15 (end units only) | |
Side yard, corner lot (feet) | 30 | 30 | |
Building coverage | 50% | 50% |
(2)
As to row houses, if parking areas are separate and maintained by a homeowners' association, a minimum lot size of 1,700 square feet is required.
I.
Setback requirements. For development in the R-3B Residential District where individual yard requirements are not applicable, no building shall be closer than 20 feet to any common parking area.