Upper Moreland Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIX
INST Institutional Districts
§ 350-116 Purpose and intent.
In expansion of the statement of community development objectives in Article I, § 350-4, of this chapter, and in furtherance of the goals and policies of the adopted Upper Moreland Township Comprehensive Plan, it is hereby declared to be the general intent of this article with respect to Institutional Districts to:
A.
Provide for the educational, medical, municipal, religious, and recreational needs of the Township.
B.
Encourage the development of institutional or community service uses in accordance with an approved plan of development subject to the requirements of this chapter.
C.
Optimize compatibility of institutional uses with nearby properties by minimizing potentially detrimental impacts, including those caused by traffic, noise, or lighting.
§ 350-117 Use regulations.
A building may be erected, altered, or used, and a lot may be occupied or used, in whole or in part, for any of the uses permitted, as shown in the Use Matrix,[1] and no other, with uses allowed to be mixed within a building or mixed in separate buildings on a property, provided that such uses shall comply with the district regulations established in this article and all other applicable sections of this chapter. Such uses shall comply with the district regulations established in Article IV, Use Regulations (in the event of a conflict between district and use regulations, the more stringent regulation shall be applicable), and all other applicable sections of this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Table of Uses is included as an attachment to this chapter. See also Art. IV, Use Regulations.
§ 350-118 Dimensional regulations.
The regulations for INST Institutional Districts pertaining to lot area, density and the arrangement of buildings on subject lots shall be as specified below:
Table of Dimensional Standards | ||
|---|---|---|
All Other Uses (See § 350-121 for Additional Regulations for Life Care Facility/Continuing Care) | Municipal Complex | |
Minimum Lot Dimensions | ||
Lot area | 80,000 square feet | |
Lot width (at building line) | 200 feet | |
Minimum Yard Dimensions | ||
Front | 100 feet | 20 feet |
Side (2) | 25 feet | 25 feet |
Rear | 50 feet | 25 feet |
Coverage | ||
Maximum building coverage | 30% | |
Maximum impervious coverage | 60% | |
Building | ||
Maximum height | 45 feet | |
Maximum length | 160 feet (320 feet with required offsets) | |
§ 350-119 General regulations.
A.
Building separation interior yards. For all uses, building shall be separated with interior yards, as follows:
(1)
For buildings of three stories or less, but not in excess of 35 feet in height, the minimum distance between any two buildings shall be 35 feet.
(2)
The required distance between any two buildings shall be increased by an amount equal to that portion of the height of each building which exceeds 35 feet or three stories, whichever is lower. Part or all of the additional required distance between buildings may be provided by setbacks in the buildings at the thirty-five-foot or three-story level.
(3)
For a municipal complex use, there shall be an interior yard between any buildings of not less than 25 feet.
B.
Landscape screen buffers. Along any district boundary line, separating the INST Institutional District from any residential district, a buffer yard shall be provided which shall be not less than 50 feet in width measured from such boundary line or from the street line where such street constitutes the district boundary line. Such buffer yard may be coterminous with any required yard in this district, and, in case of conflicts, the larger yard requirements shall apply.
(1)
A buffer yard of not less than 50 feet in width shall be provided in the area separating nonresidential uses from residential uses within the INST Institutional District. Minimum landscaping requirements shall be in accordance with Chapter 300, Article V, § 300-43C, of the Upper Moreland Township Code.
C.
Streets. All access streets shall have minimum right-of-way widths of 60 feet.
(1)
The development site must have direct access to a public street.
D.
Utilities. Each building and use shall be served by public water and sanitary sewer facilities at the time of development. All electrical utilities shall be installed underground.
E.
Trash facilities. A defined location for the collection of solid waste materials and a plan for periodic disposal of the same shall be required. All solid waste shall be stored in covered containers, or in permanent structures designated principally for this use. All waste shall be placed within the building envelope.
§ 350-120 Design regulations.
A.
Front entrances. Principal buildings shall have at least one working front door that faces the street of highest classification.
B.
Parking lots. For buildings located along Old York, Easton Roads, or Moreland Roads, parking lots are not permitted between the building and the aforementioned street.
C.
Rooftop equipment. Rooftop HVAC or other rooftop utilities, elevator equipment, or other mechanical or utilitarian protuberances from adjacent buildings and from ground level using similar building materials and in a manner that is consistent with the architectural design of the building.
D.
Blank walls. Windows shall be located on each story of each wall facing a public street, sidewalk, trail, or parking lot/garage. For each wall facing a public street, minimum glazing area shall be at least 30%.
E.
Facades. Building facades may not be longer than 160 feet without a minimum five-foot-deep building offset. No building may be longer than 300 feet in length, regardless of the number of building offsets.
§ 350-121 Additional regulations for Use C-10, Life care facility.
A.
Area, density and yard requirements. The following area, density and yard requirements shall apply to a life care facility:
(1)
Minimum area. An area of not less than six acres shall be provided for any life care facility.
(2)
Maximum density. The maximum density of 15 dwelling units per acre shall be provided, with two nursing beds being deemed to constitute the equivalent of one dwelling unit. At least 25%, but not more than 35%, of the dwelling units shall be comprised of nursing beds.
(3)
Yard requirements. The following yard setbacks shall be observed:
(4)
Building height. The maximum building height shall be 35 feet.
B.
Buffer and screening requirements. The following minimum buffer standards shall apply to uses in a life care facility:
(1)
General. Along all exterior property boundary lines there shall be a permanent buffer of at least 15 feet in depth. Such buffer, when the proposed life care facility abuts a residential district or use, shall consist of a planting of a double row of evergreen trees (of such species that attain a height at maturity of not less than 20 feet) with a height at planting of not less than six feet, spaced at planting not more than 10 feet apart on center and with the trees in one row offset five feet from the trees in another row and with the rows at least 10 feet apart.
(2)
Maintenance. All plantings shall be maintained permanently and, in the event of death or other destruction, shall be replaced within one year by a replanting of a tree that conforms to the original specifications.
C.
General requirements. All buildings within a life care facility shall be served by public sewage and public water service. The requirements of § 300-34 of Subdivision and Land Development, Chapter 300, Article IV, of the Upper Moreland Township Code shall be complied with by any life care facility, provided that two nursing beds shall be deemed to constitute the equivalent of one dwelling unit for the purpose of the calculations required by such § 300-34.
§ 350-122 Conditions for Use C-8, Hospital.
The development regulations and standards specified below shall supersede the terms of the Township Zoning and Subdivision and Land Development Ordinances inconsistent herewith:
A.
Area and yard requirements.
B.
Building height. The maximum building height shall be 80 feet.
C.
Buffer and screening requirements. Along all exterior property boundary lines there shall be a permanent buffer of at least 20 feet in depth. Buffering and screening shall be provided in accordance with § 300-43C.
E.
Declaration of covenants. The owner shall record a declaration of covenants, acceptable to the Township Solicitor, relating to the use, control, and maintenance of the common areas, including access, green space, and parking areas which shall run with the land and apply to future owners of a subdivided lot within the tract, and further providing that the application of zoning regulations, including, but not limited to, building coverage, impervious coverage, parking, loading, and landscaping, as well as required area, width and yard regulations, shall apply to an overall tract approved as a medical outpatient campus. Individual lots created pursuant to this section need not comply with these zoning requirements.
F.
Special conveyancing. When the development of a tract and uses therein are in accordance with a medical outpatient campus plan, then a conveyance of a lot within the tract shall be permitted upon compliance with the following conditions:
(1)
Irrevocable cross-easements in favor of and duly binding on all title owners within the area of the medical outpatient campus, their successors and assigns, with respect to use, control and maintenance of the common areas, including access, green space, and parking areas, are in effect and recorded. All easements shall be submitted to the Township Solicitor for review prior to recording.
(2)
Application of zoning regulations, including, but not limited to, impervious coverage, parking, loading and landscaping, as well as required area, width and yard regulations, shall apply to an overall tract approved as a medical outpatient campus. Individual lots created pursuant to this section need not comply with these zoning requirements.
(3)
The owner or owners shall designate in writing to the Township, no less frequently than annually, a single agent to be responsible for all issues relative to operation and maintenance of the medical outpatient campus.
G.
Pedestrian circulation design standards.
(1)
There shall be clear grade-separated pedestrian connections between all parking areas and all buildings. The sidewalks required within planting strips by Township Code may be used to meet this requirement.
(2)
Unobstructed sidewalks, no less than five feet in width, shall be provided along the full length of the building along any facade featuring a customer entrance and along any facade abutting public parking areas. Along facades with building entrances, the required five-foot-wide sidewalk area shall be set back from the facade by a three-foot area that either contains planting beds or additional sidewalk width.
(3)
Buildings and sidewalks shall be constructed in accordance with the latest ADA standards for accessible design as required by the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code and Chapter 11 of the International Building Code.
H.
Signs for a medical outpatient campus shall be allowed in accordance with the following standards:
(1)
Monument signs. A medical outpatient campus may have one monument sign per street entrance and one monument sign for each building. The gross surface area for each sign shall not exceed 100 square feet for each exposed face. The maximum height of a monument sign shall be 15 feet. The height of the monument sign shall be measured from the base of the sign or grade of the nearest adjacent roadway, whichever is lower. The monument sign may be positioned along any street behind the ultimate right-of-way, or driveway.
(2)
Wall signs shall be permitted on each building of a medical outpatient campus. The maximum gross surface area of such signs shall be as follows:
(3)
No wall sign shall extend more than three feet above the eaves line of a roof or the building parapet.
(4)
Illumination of signs shall be from interior sources only.
(5)
Directional signs shall be permitted and may include logos. Directional signs shall not exceed 25 square feet and shall not obstruct the sight triangles at internal intersections on the premises.
(6)
For a medical outpatient campus, additional ground signs may be approved by the Board of Commissioners during the conditional use proceedings.