West Goshen Township
City Zoning Code

Plan for orderly, coordinated, unified development of the University Main Campus and related uses by developing uniform standards with adjacent municipalities that recognize that university facilities, infrastructure, traffic management, parking facilities, pedestrian circulation and stormwater management cross municipal boundaries.

Strengthen, maintain and preserve neighborhoods and improve existing housing stock in neighborhoods which surround or are immediately outside of the University Main Campus.

Encourage long-range planning for University Main Campus growth and allow for the success of the University in advancing the missions of the University and the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

Establish boundaries and the maximum density for the future development of the University Main Campus.

Establish appropriate area and bulk standards to regulate campus size, building setback, building height, impervious coverage, impacts, buffering and setbacks.

Establish appropriate standards, regulations and conditions for parking facilities, vehicular circulation, and pedestrian circulation which promote safe and efficient movement between the University Main Campus, and the surrounding community.

Simplify the review and approval process for individual buildings and related facilities that conform to an approved University Main Campus Plan.

District Class 1.

District Class 2.

District Class 3.

District Class 4.

Accessory uses in all district classes within the Planned University Main Campus District.

Conditional use in District Class 2. The following use shall be permitted by conditional use in District Class 2 when authorized by the Board of Supervisors.

District Class 1. The following area and bulk regulations shall apply to all uses within District Class 1. When calculating the area and bulk requirements, all lands within District Class 1 which are owned by the University or an entity affiliated with the University shall be used.

District Class 2, District Class 3 and District Class 4. The following area and bulk regulations shall apply to all uses within District Class 2, District Class 3 and District Class 4. When calculating the area and bulk requirements, all lands within the respective District Class which are owned by the University or an entity affiliated with the University shall be used.

After the effective date of the Zoning Ordinance amendment that enacts this Article XXVII, no land development or change in use of an existing building from a use not previously utilized by the University shall occur in the Planned University Main Campus Overlay District except in compliance with this Article XXVII.

In order to assure that development within the PUC District complies with the purpose and intent of this Article XXVII, the University shall prepare and submit to the Township a conditional use application which shall include a comprehensive campus plan, referred to as a "University Campus Plan," which projects, anticipates and accommodates five years of growth and development of the University Campus. Such plan shall be reviewed by the Planning Commission in accordance with the criteria and procedures in this Article XXVII and reviewed and decided by the Board of Supervisors in accordance with this Article XXVII and §§ 84-74 and 84-75 of this chapter.

The University Main Campus Plan shall be submitted with the conditional use application and contain all of the following components.

Current university on-campus enrollment and on-campus census data shall be provided for the following categories:

University enrollment and census data for the three-year period prior to the current year shall be provided.

A university on-campus three-year enrollment projection with reference to the accommodation of any projected enrollment change within the Master Site Plan.

Information provided in the Enrollment Report and Projection Analysis shall be utilized for planning purposes only and shall not be utilized to formulate a condition of approval that regulates or otherwise restricts university growth.

A University Housing Report and Analysis shall be submitted which includes the following.

The University Housing Report and Analysis shall be updated to include three-year on-campus housing need projection, with reference to the accommodation of same within the Master Plan.

A Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan.

The Traffic Study and Analysis shall identify the transportation study area and the transportation systems to be studied. Existing transportation conditions for highway links and intersections serving the PUC must be described and the existing level of use analyzed. Potential transportation impacts of future parking development must be assessed for a three-year projection which is based on the enrollment and census data outlined in § 84-138A(3). Recommendations for potential system or service improvements in order to accommodate the projected transportation impacts of PUC development shall be included. The Traffic Study and Analysis shall identify specific improvements designed to reduce or avoid impacts created by campus development on existing and future residential neighborhoods.

Internal circulation and facilities. The study shall describe existing and proposed internal roads for vehicular traffic; existing and proposed connections to the public street network; plans for street openings and closings, and possible impacts on the adjoining transportation system and adjoining zoning districts; existing and proposed facilities and accommodations for public transportation, pedestrian circulation, bicycle paths and other transportation methods.

All proposed improvements shall be presented with a commitment schedule based on projected university enrollment, as presented per § 84-138A(3).

This report shall inventory the average weekday utilization of all parking facilities between the time periods of 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. when the University is in session. Using the projections developed per § 84-138, the parking study shall detail a parking plan for each of the defined user groups. The projections report shall include a narrative describing the methodology utilized to determine the number of spaces required and a description of the assumptions and methodology for calculating the projected number of required parking spaces.

Parking space requirements. Ninety-five percent of existing, unused off-street parking documented may be credited towards the satisfaction of the University Main Campus Plan's projected parking requirements.

Location. Parking which serves all uses within a PUC shall be permitted at any university parking facility location, even if located within another municipality. However, the location of university parking facilities shall accommodate the needs of users as specified in the parking projections report and University Main Campus Plan Transportation Study.

All proposed improvements shall be presented with a commitment schedule based on projected university enrollment, as presented per § 84-138. The proposed improvement schedule shall include a written description explaining how the improvements satisfy all West Goshen Township parking requirements.

Parking for third-party development. Notwithstanding the parking required for development proposed on the University's Master Plan, independent nonuniversity third-party land development in the PUC shall provide on-site parking in accordance with the off-street parking requirements in § 84-55I of the Zoning Ordinance. An example of such would be when the University leases land to another party.

A Conceptual Stormwater Management Strategy shall be developed based on the projected three-year growth depicted by the University Main Campus Plan.

The Conceptual Stormwater Management Strategy shall be based on the criteria and approach outlined in the Township's Stormwater Management Ordinance.[1]

To the extent the Township's standards deviate from the terms of the University's MS4 permit issued by the Department of Environmental Protection, the terms of the MS4 permit shall govern.

The Master Site Plan shall be prepared utilizing the data, analysis and conclusions of the University Enrollment Report and Analysis, University Housing Report and Analysis, University Main Campus Transportation Study, University Main Campus Parking Study and the Comprehensive Stormwater Management Strategy which are prepared per the requirements of § 84-137C.

The Master Site Plan shall depict all of the existing and proposed development on the University Main Campus within the PUC anticipated within a three-year period. The Master Plan shall show the general location and size of all proposed new development by the University, or for the benefit or use of the University, and shall allocate land and demarcate facilities for the following.

The Master Plan shall include tabular data indicating the existing, proposed and permitted total size of the campus, floor area, building coverage, building height (number of stories), building setbacks, number of parking spaces, impervious coverage, green space and open space.

All proposed buildings and facilities depicted on the University Main Campus Plan shall be designed to improve the sustainability of the University campus.

All proposed buildings shall be designed to meet, at a minimum, the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Silver Certification criteria.

It is assumed that a comprehensive University Campus Plan will utilize infrastructure which is located in more than one municipality. Therefore, a copy of the information specified in § 84-137 shall be submitted to both West Goshen Township and the Borough of West Chester at the time of filing a conditional use application for approval of a University Campus Plan. The Township shall request that the Borough of West Chester review the conditional use application and provide comments to the Township on the proposed University Campus Plan. If the conditional use application and proposed University Campus Plan involves land and development in both West Goshen Township and the Borough, the Township and the Borough shall endeavor to coordinate their reviews of the application such that the University does not have to duplicate its efforts and to ensure that consistent conditions are imposed on the respective municipality's approval.

The University shall provide testimony at the conditional use hearing to demonstrate that the standards and criteria in § 84-75 have been met.

After submission and approval of the initial University Campus Plan, the Master Site Plan which is approved by conditional use by the Board shall be valid for a period of 10 years from the date of approval. The area and bulk regulations (as defined by § 84-136) approved on the Master Site Plan shall be the regulations applicable to the use and development of all new buildings, structures and improvements depicted and approved on the Master Site Plan within the ten-year approval period. Any new building, structure or improvement depicted on the approved Master Site Plan shall not require individual conditional use, special exception and/or variance application and approval, provided that all other applicable permits and approvals are obtained, including but not limited to land development and building code approvals subject to the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. The University and/or an affiliate of the University may proceed to land development for any building and use approved on the Master Site Plan. If the University or an affiliate of the University proposes to build a building or use that was not approved as part of the Master Site Plan, it shall be required to obtain conditional use approval of a revised Master Site Plan. Additionally, if enrollment of students present on the University Main Campus increases by 5% or more than the enrollment projections of students on the University Main Campus included in the University Enrollment Report and Analysis which was submitted with the conditional use application, the University shall be required to seek a modification of the conditional use approval to address the impacts that the increased enrollment above the five-percent threshold has on the Master Site Plan, if any, prior to proceeding with the project under the approved Master Site Plan. The University shall submit an updated enrollment report when it submits any land development application for any building approved on the Master Plan to confirm that the enrollment projection has not increased by 5% or more than the enrollment projections of students on the University Main Campus included in the University Enrollment Report and Analysis which was submitted with the conditional use application.

After conditional use approval of the University Main Campus Plan, a land development plan shall be required for the construction of any building, structure or parking lot with more than 10 spaces.

Notwithstanding § 84-74D(7) of the West Goshen Township Zoning Ordinance or any provision in the Township Zoning Ordinance to the contrary, any conditional use approval granted pursuant to the Planned University Main Campus District regulations shall remain valid for 10 years from the date of the conditional use decision notwithstanding enactment within that time of any amendment of the Township's Zoning Ordinance, such that any land development application or plan or other application may be submitted thereunder within 10 years from the date of the conditional use decision, provided that the ten-year time frame may be extended at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors.