Warwick Township Bucks County
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IV
RA Residential-Agricultural Districts
§ 195-17 Applicability.
Within the RA Residential-Agricultural District, a building may be erected, altered, or used and a lot or premises may be used when in conformance with the conditions of this chapter and the specific use, area and design regulations of this district.
§ 195-18 District use regulations.
[Amended 4-20-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-01; 10-18-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-02]
Uses shall be regulated as follows:
A.
Uses permitted by right:
A1 | General Farming | |
A2 | Farm Unit | |
A3 | Agricultural Retail | |
A4 | Intensive Agriculture | |
A5 | Commercial Forestry | |
A6 | Nursery | |
A7 | Farm Support Facility | |
A9 | Riding Academy | |
A10 | Kennel - Noncommercial | |
A11 | Accessory Farm Business | |
B1 | Detached Dwelling* | |
B10a | Professional Offices | |
B10b | Personal Services | |
B10c | Instructional Services | |
B10d | Home Crafts | |
B10h | No-Impact Home-Based Business | |
B11 | Bed-and-Breakfast | |
B12 | Residential Accessory Building | |
C1 | Neighborhood Place of Worship | |
C3 | School | |
C9 | Municipal Use | |
D1 | Recreational Facility | |
I3 | Temporary Use or Structure | |
I4 | Temporary Community Event | |
I7 | Towers/Masts | |
I10 | Geothermal Energy System | |
I12 | Small-Scale Solar Energy System |
* | For tracts in excess of 20 acres in the RA District, Use B2 is mandatory for development of new residential developments, and Use B1 is not permitted. |
B.
Uses permitted by conditional use:
B2 | Cluster Subdivision* | |
E4 | Airport/Heliport | |
I11 | Wind Energy Conversion System |
* | For tracts in excess of 20 acres in the RA District, Use B2 is mandatory for development of new residential developments, and Use B1 is not permitted. |
C.
Uses permitted by special exception:
B8 | Accessory Family Apartment | |
B10e | Trades/Business | |
B10f | Repair Services | |
B10g | Family Day-Care | |
C2 | Community Place of Worship | |
C4 | Library/Museum | |
C6 | Continuing Care Facility/Assisted Living | |
C7 | Skilled-Care/Nursing Home Facility | |
C8 | Cemetery | |
D2 | Private Club | |
D3 | Community Center | |
D4 | Golf Course | |
D5 | Camp | |
D6 | Miscellaneous Golf Uses | |
E1 | Utility | |
F2 | Veterinary Office | |
I13 | Outdoor Furnace |
§ 195-19 Area and dimensional requirements.
A.
Unless a maximum height regulation is stated in § 195-16, General use regulations, for a specific use, no use in the RA Zoning District shall exceed 35 feet in height.
B.
Unless a greater or different area, dimensional, design or other regulation is stated in § 195-16, General use regulations, for a specific use, all uses in the RA Zoning District shall meet the following requirements:
Minimum Yards (feet) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Uses | Minimum Lot Area (acres) | Minimum Lot Width (feet) | Maximum Building Coverage (percent) | Maximum Impervious Surface (percent) | Front | Side | Rear |
All permitted uses where no or incomplete dimensional requirements are set forth in § 195-16 | 2.0 | 200 | 10% | 20% | 40 | 30 | 30 |
§ 195-19.1 Standards for farmland preservation.
All farmland set aside areas as required by the natural resource protection standards in Article XIX of this chapter shall comply with the following standards:
A.
The farmland tract shall consist of a contiguous area which shall not be less than 300 feet in length, width or any other dimensional standards except as permitted below. This dimensional requirement does not apply to land remnants that may be associated with the farmland tract if they are not included in the required farmland preservation calculation.
B.
The farmland tract shall be of such shape so as to be suitable for the convenient use of modern farm equipment and machinery.
C.
The farmland tract shall have suitable access, including frontage on a public street of not less than 175 linear feet. In the case where the farmland tract does not have road frontage due to the location of preserved prime farmland soils, the tract shall be provided with direct access to a public street. Such accessway shall not be less than 25 feet in width or greater than 45 feet in width.
D.
A Class D buffer shall be provided between the farmland tract and the proposed residential lots or development in accordance with § 195-63, unless modified by the Board of Supervisors upon recommendation of the Planning Commission. The required buffer yard and plant material shall be located on the buildable portion of the lot, and not on the farmland tract.
E.
The preserved farmland tract may include the existing farmhouse and accessory farm buildings for the continued use of the individuals and their family members engaged in the agricultural operation on the property, provided the farmland tract consists of at least 10 acres. The existing structures must comply with the required setback provisions of § 195-19B above.
F.
One single-family detached dwelling and accessory farm buildings may be constructed on a vacant farmland tract for the use of individuals and their family members engaged in the agricultural operation on the property, provided the farmland tract consists of at least 20 acres. The proposed structures must comply with the setback requirements of § 195-19B above.
G.
To the greatest extent possible, farmland resulting from subdivisions shall be situated adjacent to one another to form large contiguous farm tracts.