Whitpain Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIV
R-7 Residential District
[Added 8-21-1980 by Ord. No. 4-61]
§ 160-81 Legislative intent.
In expansion of the statement of community development objectives contained in Article III, § 160-6, it is hereby declared to be the intent of this article with respect to the R-7 Residential District to establish reasonable standards of performance and promote the desirable benefits which single-family detached dwellings will have in those areas of the Township that are presently served or planned to be served by public sewer and water. Furthermore, it is the intent of this article to encourage a creative approach to the use of land, a more desirable visual character in residential areas, the creation of usable open space corridors throughout the Township and more efficient development patterns in terms of roads and utilities where applied for as a conditional use to the Board of Supervisors. Specifically, this article is intended to provide for a variation in the normally required lot sizes in the R-7 Residential District so that desirable open space, tree cover, historic sites, recreation areas, scenic vistas, stream valleys or other lands for public purposes are preserved within these developments for the benefit of the residents of the development and in furtherance of the general welfare of Whitpain Township.
§ 160-82 Permitted uses.
[Amended 8-16-1993 by Ord. No. 4-137]
In an R-7 Residential District, a building may be erected, altered or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any one of the following uses:
A.
One single-family detached dwelling.
B.
The following accessory uses:
(1)
Private greenhouse.
(2)
A home occupation, in accordance with the standards set forth in § 160-212.
(3)
No-impact home-based businesses in accordance with the standards set forth in § 160-213.
[Added 11-19-2002 by Ord. No. 4-183]
§ 160-83 Development regulations for single-family detached dwellings.
[Amended 3-15-2011 by Ord. No. 4-231]
The following dimensional requirements shall apply for each lot, except as provided in §§ 160-85 and 160-85.1:
A.
A lot area of not less than 15,000 square feet and a lot width of not less than 100 feet at the building line shall be provided for every building or other structure erected or used in this district.
B.
Yard requirements.
(1)
Front yard (on each street that the lot abuts): 50 feet.
(2)
Minimum aggregate side yards: 45 feet.
(3)
Minimum side yard: 20 feet.
(4)
Minimum rear yard: 50 feet.
(5)
Maximum building coverage: 20%.
(6)
Maximum height: 40 feet.
C.
Accessory uses.
[Amended 8-18-2015 by Ord. No. 4-240]
(1)
An accessory building or structure having a maximum height of 10 feet, but not exceeding 15 feet measured from grade to the highest point of such building or structure may be erected in the rear yard only, but no closer to the side or rear line of the lot than five feet. The height of the accessory building or structure and the maximum dimension from grade to the highest point may be increased an additional one foot for each, additional two feet of required setback from both the side and rear lines of the lot, to a maximum accessory building or structure height of 16 feet, but not to exceed 25 feet measured from grade to the highest point of the building or structure. All measurement from grade to the highest point of the building or structure shall include any chimneys, spires, towers, elevator penthouses, tanks and similar projections.
(2)
Accessory structures are limited to 20% of the area of the rear yard.
§ 160-84 Sanitary facilities.
No dwelling shall be constructed without adequate sanitary facilities, which shall be considered to exclude outdoor toilets.
§ 160-85 Special regulations for lot size reduction as conditional use.
In certain cases, some reduction in lot sizes along with preserved open space may be approved when applied for as a conditional use to the Board of Supervisors and when the following conditions are met:
A.
Prerequisites for development. The following necessary conditions must be satisfied by an applicant seeking to develop under this article before the Board of Supervisors will consider preliminary plan approval under this section:
(1)
Tract size. The tract of land to be developed shall not be less than 25 developable acres in area.
(2)
Ownership. The tract of land to be developed shall be in one ownership or shall be the subject of an application filed jointly by the owners of the entire tract, and it shall be agreed that the tract will be developed under single direction in accordance with an approved plan. Transfer of ownership prior to the commencement of construction shall also render the conditional approval required in Subsection A(4) herein void; provided, however, that if such transfer is to a corporation whose stockholders are the same as the legal or equitable owners of the tract who have requested the conditional approval, such transfer shall not void such conditional approval.
(3)
Natural and man-made amenities. At least 10% of the developable acreage of the tract to be subdivided must contain any one or combination of the following natural and man-made amenities:
(a)
Floodplain, as defined in Article XXV, § 160-167, as the Floodplain Conservation District.
[Amended 12-2-1985 by Ord. No. 4-86]
(b)
Slopes in excess of 15%.
(c)
Mature permanent vegetation considered by the Board of Supervisors to be a natural amenity worthy of preservation.
(d)
Other natural features of irreplaceable value, subject to the concurrence of the Board of Supervisors.
(e)
Historic sites as identified by the Montgomery County Resource Protection Plan, or other sites supported by appropriate documentation or endorsement of local historic societies.
(f)
Land suitable for active or passive recreational use, subject to the concurrence of the Board of Supervisors.
(4)
The tract shall be served by public sewer and water facilities. If the tract is in a designated sewer growth area of Whitpain Township's Sewage Facilities Plan, then conditional zoning and subdivision approval may be granted. However, no building permits will be issued until there is adequate capacity in sewer and water transmission lines, adequate capacity in the sewage treatment plant and adequate water supplies.
B.
Development regulations.
(1)
Density. The total number of dwelling units permitted shall be determined in the following manner:
(a)
Reduce the total developable acreage (excluding existing rights-of-way) by 15% to account for roads within the proposed cluster development.
(b)
Divide the remaining tract area by 15,000 square feet to determine the maximum number of dwelling units permitted on the tract.
(2)
Dimensional standards. It is emphasized that these standards are minimal and that they are intended to permit maximum flexibility in the design of the development plan:
(a)
Minimum lot size: 11,000 square feet.
(b)
Minimum lot width at building setback line: 75 feet.
(c)
Minimum aggregate side yards: 25 feet.
(d)
Minimum side yard: 10 feet.
(e)
Minimum front yard: 35 feet.
(f)
Minimum rear yard: 40 feet.
(g)
Maximum building coverage: 25%.
(h)
Maximum height: 40 feet.
(i)
Accessory uses shall conform to the requirements set forth in § 160-83C herein.
C.
Requirements for deed-restricted open space created by lot size reduction. The following requirements shall govern the characteristics and maintenance of the required deed-restricted open space created by lot size reduction:
(1)
Characteristics of required deed-restricted open space. Deed-restricted open space created by lot size reduction shall have the following minimal requirements:
(a)
The land area to be set aside for permanent preservation as deed-restricted open space shall be so located and so shaped as to be suitable for the purposes intended. Consideration shall be given to contiguous portions of existing and potential deed-restricted open space lands in adjacent tracts.
(b)
The common deed-restricted space to be set aside shall be designed to promote the preservation of that feature(s) a tract is required to contain pursuant to Subsection A(3) herein in order to qualify for development under this article.
(c)
A minimum of 20% of the tract acreage shall be set aside as common deed-restricted land.
(d)
Any land in excess of the minimum percentage of common deed-restricted open land required in Subsection C(1)(c) herein, gained from reducing building lot areas pursuant to Subsection B herein, may not be used for an increase in the number of building lots as permitted in Subsection B but must be incorporated either into the common deed-restricted open space or into the permitted building lots.
(2)
Ownership of required deed-restricted open space. Ownership shall be governed by the provisions contained in § 160-211A of this chapter.
[Amended 2-2-1999 by Ord. No. 4-163]
§ 160-85.1 Open space design option.
[Added 3-15-2011 by Ord. No. 4-231]
A.
For an applicant seeking a lot size reduction, the open space design option may be used after obtaining a conditional use from the Board of Supervisors, which shall be subject to the following criteria:
(1)
Tract size. The tract of land to be developed shall be a minimum of three acres in area.
(2)
Ownership. The tract of land to be developed shall be in single ownership or shall be the subject of an application filed jointly by the owners of the entire tract, and it shall be agreed that the tract will be developed under single direction in accordance with an approved plan.
(3)
Required open space. At least 50% of the area of the tract shall be set aside as preserved, deed-restricted open space. Preserved open space areas shall have access from a public or private right-of-way and shall be contiguous with open space areas on adjacent tracts wherever possible. Ownership of such open areas shall be governed by the provisions contained in § 160-211A of this chapter. Deed-restricted open space may contain the following features:
(a)
Floodplain, as defined in Article XXV, § 160-167, as the Floodplain Conservation District.
(b)
Wetlands.
(c)
Slopes in excess of 15%.
(d)
Mature permanent vegetation considered by the Board of Supervisors to be a natural amenity worthy of preservation.
(e)
Other natural features of irreplaceable value, subject to the concurrence of the Board of Supervisors.
(f)
Historic site as identified by the Montgomery County Resource Protection Plan, or other sites supported by appropriate documentation or endorsement of local historic societies.
(g)
Stormwater management facilities.
(4)
The tract shall be served by public sewer and water facilities. No building permits will be issued until there is adequate capacity in sewer and water transmission lines, adequate capacity in the sewage treatment plant and adequate water supplies.
B.
Development regulations.
(1)
Density. The total number of dwelling units permitted shall be 2.5 dwelling units per developable acre.
(2)
Dimensional standards.
(a)
Minimum lot size: 6,000 square feet (exclusive of areas within utility easements, dedicated rights-of-way, steep slopes, floodplain and wetlands).
(b)
Minimum lot width at building setback line: 50 feet.
(c)
Minimum front yard: 20 feet.
(d)
Minimum rear yard: 20 feet.
(e)
Minimum aggregate side yards: 15 feet.
(f)
Minimum side yard: five feet.
(g)
Maximum building coverage per lot: 45%.
(h)
Maximum impervious coverage per lot: 60%.
(i)
Maximum height: 40 feet.
(j)
Accessory uses shall conform to the requirements of § 160-83C herein.
