West Homestead City Zoning Code
PART 6
SPECIAL REGULATIONS
§ 27-601 Purpose.
[Ord. No. 745, 1/13/2026]
The purpose of these special regulations is to promote the public health, safety, and welfare and to establish regulations affecting uses and practices which, were they to be established and maintained without any guidance or restriction or control, tend to result in dangerous situations threatening the safety of citizens, contribute to circumstances undermining the morals of the youth of the community, and/or to generate conflicts in uses or practices upsetting the harmony of the community and impinging upon the property rights of others.
§ 27-602 Dangerous, Uses, Practices, or Conditions.
[Ord. No. 745, 1/13/2026]
1.
Regulations. No land or building in any district shall be occupied or used in any manner which creates or contributes to the existence of conditions which are dangerous, harmful, noxious, or objectionable, or which may otherwise adversely affect surrounding areas or adjoining premises; except that any use permitted under this chapter may be undertaken or maintained if acceptable measures and safeguards to reduce any dangerous or objectionable conditions to acceptable limits, as established in this section, are properly exercised. Specifically, the occupation or use of any land or building in any district shall be in violation of this chapter if one or more of the following conditions is found to exist at any time:
A.
The use or storage of flammable or explosive materials which are not adequately protected by firefighting/fire-protection equipment or by safety devices normally required for such use.
B.
The use or storage of flammable and/or explosive materials which are not set back from adjacent facilities or activities a safe distance compatible with the potential danger involved.
C.
Radioactivity or air pollution is present in violation of regulations established by the DEP or the EPA.
D.
Hazardous wastes are present in violation of regulations established by the DEP or the EPA.
E.
Objectionable noise due to volume, frequency, or beat is present.
F.
Vibration is discernible without instruments on an adjoining lot or property.
G.
Erosion caused by wind or water is carrying objectionable materials or substances onto any adjacent property.
H.
Water pollution or contamination is present in violation of regulations established by the DEP or the EPA.
I.
Direct or reflected glare is present which is visible from any street or from any adjoining property which is not located in an industrial district.
2.
Assurance Requirements and Plans. Prior to the issuance of a zoning permit or a certificate of occupancy, the Zoning Officer may require the submission of written assurances and plans indicating the manner in which dangerous and objectional aspects or elements of processes or operations entailed in certain uses or occupations are to be eliminated or reduced to acceptable limits and tolerances.
3.
Enforcement Provisions. Any occupancy, use, conditions, or circumstances existing in violation of this section of this chapter shall constitute a violation of this chapter and be subject to the enforcement procedures contained elsewhere herein.
§ 27-603 Conversions of Dwellings.
[Ord. No. 745, 1/13/2026]
1.
No residence in any district may be converted to accommodate an increased number of dwelling units unless all of the following conditions are first met:
A.
The conversion is in full compliance with all applicable commonwealth or federal regulations.
B.
The district within which the residence is located is so regulated so as to allow such an increase in the number of dwelling units.
C.
The yard dimensions meet or exceed that required for new structures in the same district.
D.
The lot area per dwelling unit meets or exceeds that required for new structures in the same district.
E.
The floor area per dwelling unit meets or exceeds that required for new structures in the district.
F.
The conversion is otherwise in full compliance with all other relevant codes and ordinances of the Borough.
§ 27-604 In-Fill Development of Vacant Buildable Lot(s).
[Ord. No. 745, 1/13/2026]
1.
In any residential district only, where a vacant buildable in-fill lot exists along an existing block face, where 51% or more the block face has already been developed, and where the principal buildings within that block face have existing front, side, or rear yard setbacks which are either greater than or less than the setbacks established under this chapter, the vacant lot shall be developed with front, side and rear yard setbacks consistent with the already established existing setbacks within the same block face.
2.
The applicability of this section to a given set of circumstances shall be determined by the Zoning Officer.
§ 27-605 One Principal Structure Per Lot.
[Ord. No. 745, 1/13/2026]
Except as may be otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, no more than one principal residential structure may be constructed upon any one lot in any district. Rear dwellings, alley houses, garage apartments, and coach houses shall be prohibited and shall be considered nonconforming uses under this chapter.
§ 27-606 Special Yard Requirements for Multi-Family Dwellings.
[Ord. No. 745, 1/13/2026]
Multi-family dwellings shall be considered as one structural building unit, for the purpose of determining front, side, and rear yard requirements under this chapter; with the entire group of buildings, as a unit, requiring one front, one rear, and two side yards, as specified for dwellings in the appropriate district.
§ 27-607 Parking and Storage of Vehicles and Trailers.
[Ord. No. 745, 1/13/2026]
1.
In residential districts only, commercial vehicles, tractors, trucks, buses, trailers, semi-trailers, or similar vehicles or accessory vehicles shall be parked or stored on any residential property only in a completely enclosed building, except:
A.
Those commercial vehicles conveying the necessary tools, materials, and/or equipment to a premises where labor using such tools, materials, and equipment is to be performed may be temporarily parked at a residence for that period of time during which the work is actually being performed.
B.
Not more than one currently licensed, registered, and operative boats, trailer-mounted or otherwise, and/or not more than one unoccupied, currently licensed, registered, and operative recreational vehicle or trailer per resident-family, owned by an immediate member of the resident-family, may be parked or stored within the allowable building area in the rear yard only, as long as it is parked or stored on surfaces specifically designed for the parking of motor vehicles. Parking on a lawn or landscaped area is prohibited.
§ 27-608 Junk.
[Ord. No. 745, 1/13/2026]
The accumulation of junk, junked, or abandoned vehicles; disabled or inoperative machinery, equipment, vehicle or machinery parts; rags; building materials; or any other discarded object(s), trash, or debris shall be prohibited in any district, outside of an approved salvage or vehicle impounding yard; in order to protect residents from conditions which may threaten their health, safety, and/or welfare.
§ 27-609 Visibility at Intersections.
[Ord. No. 745, 1/13/2026]
1.
In order to insure reasonably safe visibility for motorists at any intersection in the Borough:
A.
On any corner lot at the intersection of two streets in any district, nothing shall be installed, erected, placed, planted, or allowed to grow in such a manner as to impede vision materially with the height of 2 1/2 feet and 10 feet above the center line grades of the intersecting streets; in the area bounded by the right-of-way lines bordering such a corner lot and a line joining a point along each right-of-way line which is 50 feet from their point of intersection.
B.
On a corner lot at the intersection of a street and an alley or on a corner lot at the intersection of two alleys, in any district, nothing shall be installed, erected, placed, planted or allowed to grow in such a manner as to impede vision materially between the height of 2 1/2 feet and 10 feet above the center line grades of the two intersecting thoroughfares; in the area bounded by the right-of-way lines bordering such a corner lot and a line adjoining a point along each right-of-way line which is 25 feet from their point of intersection.
C.
No obstruction shall be installed that obstructs sight distance at street intersections or interferes with the required clear sight triangle.
