Williams Township City Zoning Code
PART 10
"LI/B" LIGHT INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS DISTRICT
§ 27-1001 Purpose.
[Ord. No. 2020-01, 1/6/2020]
To provide sufficient space, in appropriate locations, to meet current and anticipated future regional needs for light industrial uses related and limited to types of commercial development appropriate to the community. To control these types of uses to protect the public health and safety. To maintain an attractive physical environment that will aid in attracting new industry. To encourage development within industrial parks, with deed restriction controls and interior access systems. To encourage development that follows an overall plan with common design and landscaping themes. To encourage buildings that relate in scale and materials to adjacent buildings. The planned business development standards are primarily intended to avoid the eventual placement of a large number of driveways that would enter onto arterial streets, and to provide for unified and coordinated development.
§ 27-1002 Township and Municipal Authority Exemption.
[Ord. No. 2020-01, 1/6/2020]
The requirements of this chapter shall not apply to uses or structures owned by Williams Township, or for municipal authorities created solely by Williams Township.
§ 27-1003 Permitted-by-Right Uses.
[Ord. No. 2020-01, 1/6/2020]
Only the following are permitted-by-right uses in the LI/B District, provided that the requirements for specific uses in Part 14 are met:
A.
The following uses are permitted by right only within a planned business development, or on a lot of five or more acres (see also additional uses permitted by § 27-1004B).
(1)
Academic clinical research center.
(2)
Auto, boat or mobile/manufactured home sales, provided the use is a minimum of 250 feet from the lot line of any existing dwelling or residential district.
(3)
Adult day-care center.*
(4)
Auditorium, commercial.
(5)
Auto service station,* provided the use is a minimum of 250 feet from the lot line of any existing dwelling or residential district. This use shall not include facilities primarily intended to serve tractor-trailer trucks.
(6)
Bus or taxi terminal.
(7)
College, university or trade school.
(8)
Commercial car wash and/or auto detailing facility.*
(9)
Fitness center.
(10)
Finishing, grinding, polishing, stamping or heat treating of product.
(11)
Finishing of previously prepared resin, vinyl, polymer, plastic, or rubber products.
(12)
Forestry activities.
[Added by Ord. No. 2023-2, 8/9/2023[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also redesignated former Subsection A(12) through (37) as Subsection A(13) through (38), respectively.
(13)
Funeral home.
(14)
Healthcare medical marijuana organization.
(15)
Kennel/pet day care.*
(16)
Lumber yard and/or building supply sales (excluding asphalt or cement processing).
(17)
Manufacture, assembly, and/or processing of the following:
(a)
Electrical and electronic machines, supplies, and equipment.
(b)
Jewelry, precision instruments, optical goods, and similar products.
(c)
Products from wood or previously prepared materials, such as glass, leather, cellophane, textiles, rubber, or synthetic rubber.
(d)
Textiles, apparel, shoes, and apparel accessories.
(e)
Food products (excluding a slaughterhouse, meat packing plant, stockyard, animal husbandry, or animal feed mill).
(f)
Transportation equipment.
(g)
Manufactured or modular housing.
(h)
Paper and cardboard products (excluding manufacture of wood pulp).
(i)
Glass and glass products.
(j)
Leather, clay, and pottery products.
(k)
Fabricated metal products (excluding ammunition or explosives).
(l)
Pharmaceuticals.
(m)
Microelectronic components.
(18)
Medical marijuana grower/processor.
(19)
Medical marijuana dispensary.
(20)
Non-tower WCF that do not substantially change the physical dimensions of the wireless support structure to which they are attached, and/or fall under the Pennsylvania Wireless Broadband Collocation Act.
(21)
Offices.
(22)
Outdoor storage as accessory to a permitted use.**
(23)
Packaging and bottling operations, without on-lot retail sales.
(24)
Package delivery services.
(25)
Photofinishing labs.
(26)
Recycling collection center.*
(27)
Research, engineering or testing laboratory.
(28)
Retail sales or personal service uses that are clearly limited to no more than 15% of the floor area of any building.
(29)
Sales and rental of industrial equipment, other than vehicles primarily intended for use on public streets.
(30)
Self-storage development.*
(31)
Small animal hospital.
(32)
Small WCF.
(33)
Standard restaurant.
(34)
Tavern, provided the use is a minimum of 100 feet from the lot line of any existing dwelling or residential district.
(35)
Testing and repair of manufactured products.
(36)
Warehousing* or distribution, but not including a truck terminal as a principal use.
(37)
Welding.
(38)
Wholesale sales.*
NOTES: |
* See additional requirements in § 27-1402. |
** See additional requirements in § 27-1403. |
B.
The following uses are permitted by right, either on a lot of less than five acres that existed as a lot of record at the time of adoption of this chapter, or within a planned business development:
(1)
Accessory uses or structures customarily incidental to an approved permitted by right, special exception or conditional use.**
(2)
Campground.*
(3)
Crop farming.
(4)
Cultural/community center.*
(5)
Essential services.**
(6)
Financial institution.
(7)
Membership club.
(8)
Office building.
(9)
Picnic grove.*
(10)
Place of worship.*
(11)
Publicly owned recreation.
(12)
Plant nursery.*
(13)
Retail sales of agricultural products produced on the premises as an accessory use.**
(14)
Stable, nonhousehold.*
(15)
Swimming pool, public or semipublic.*
(16)
Township-owned use.
(17)
U.S. Postal Service facility.
(18)
Wildlife sanctuary.
NOTES: |
* See additional requirements in § 27-1402. |
** See additional requirements in § 27-1403. |
C.
The following accessory uses, within the requirements of § 27-1403:
(1)
Forestry activities.
[Added by Ord. No. 2023-2, 8/9/2023[2]]
[2]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also redesignated former Subsection C(1) through (3) as Subsection C(2) through (4), respectively.
(2)
Solar energy system, on-site usage.**
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-02, 5/11/2022]
(3)
Geothermal system.**
(4)
Wind turbines.**
NOTES: |
* See additional requirements in § 27-1402. |
** See additional requirements in § 27-1403. |
§ 27-1004 Special Exception Uses.
[Ord. No. 2020-01, 1/6/2020]
The following uses are special exception uses in the LI/B District, provided that all other requirements of this chapter are met, especially the performance standards in Part 15, Environmental Protection.
A.
The following uses, providing that any manufacturing facilities shall be setback a minimum of 250 feet from any existing dwelling or residential district:
(1)
Crematorium.
(2)
Criminal treatment center.
(3)
Manufacture of:
(a)
Soaps, detergents, paints, varnishes, or enamels.
(b)
Natural or synthetic rubber products.
(c)
Plastics, polymers, resins, or vinyl.
(d)
Primary (as opposed to fabricated) metals products.
(e)
Tire retreading.
(4)
Non-tower wireless communications facilities that do substantially change the wireless support structure to which they are attached, or that otherwise do not fall under the Pennsylvania Wireless Broadband Collocation Act
(5)
Small WCF.
(6)
Tower-based wireless communications facilities.
B.
Other industrial activities involving processing, distribution, recycling, cleaning, assembling, packaging, conversion, production, repair, or testing of materials or products if the applicant clearly proves to the satisfaction of the Zoning Hearing Board that the use would have a character similar to permitted by right and special exception uses, and would not have a serious threat of creating conditions that would violate Part 15. No use that is specifically prohibited shall be permitted by this section.
§ 27-1005 Conditional Uses.
[Ord. No. 2020-01, 1/6/2020]
The following are conditional uses in the LI/B District, provided that all other requirements of this chapter are met:
A.
Emergency services station (see additional requirements in § 27-1402).*
B.
Planned business development (see additional requirements in §§ 27-1003, 27-1008 and 27-1009).
§ 27-1006 Prohibited Uses.
[Ord. No. 2020-01, 1/6/2020]
All uses not specifically permitted are prohibited, unless their allowance is implied by a closely similar use. The following uses are very specifically prohibited in the LI District as principal and/or accessory uses.
A.
All uses are prohibited that would have a serious threat of future inability to comply with the performance standards of this chapter, as stated in Part 15, Environmental Protection.
B.
All of the following uses are prohibited:
(1)
Animal feed mill.
(2)
Bulk manufacture of hazardous chemicals, including but not limited to the following acids: hydrochloric, nitric, picric, sulfuric, sulphanous, or carbolic.
(3)
Bulk storage of liquid fuels.
(4)
Coke oven.
(5)
Creosote treatment or manufacture.
(6)
Explosives, fireworks, ammunition, and gunpowder manufacture or bulk storage (except storage within a U.S. military or state-owned facility).
(7)
Incineration, reduction, distillation, storage, or dumping of slaughterhouse refuse, rancid fats, garbage, bones, dead animals, or offal.
(8)
Incinerators, resource recovery, and similar facilities for the processing of solid, liquid or gaseous wastes.
(9)
Manufacture of agricultural chemicals, fertilizers, or pesticides.
(10)
Mineral extraction.
(11)
Manufacture of paving or roofing materials, including asphalt.
(12)
Manufacture of cement, gypsum, concrete, or plaste products.
(13)
Oilcloth manufacture.
(14)
Petroleum or kerosene refining or distillation.
(15)
Potash work.
(16)
Raw paper or pulp mill.
(17)
Retail sales, other than that specifically permitted.
(18)
Petroleum or kerosene refining or distillation.
(19)
Sanitary landfill.
(20)
Stockyard, slaughterhouse, or meat packing plant.
(21)
Tar distillation or manufacture.
(22)
Transfer stations and resource recycling facilities.
(23)
Truck terminal as a principal use.
§ 27-1007 Lot and Setback Regulations.
[Ord. No. 2020-01, 1/6/2020]
The following lot and setback regulations shall apply to uses in the LI/B District, unless a more restrictive requirement is stated in Part 14 (for a particular use) or elsewhere in this chapter.
A.
Minimum lot area: one acre.
B.
Minimum lot width: 200 feet.
C.
Minimum lot depth: 150 feet.
D.
Minimum front yard setback: 35 feet from the future street right-of-way, except as provided for in § 27-1107M.
E.
Maximum building coverage: 40%.
F.
Maximum impervious coverage: 75%, except 85% if an earthen berm around the perimeter of all paved areas (other than accessways) is provided that meets the following requirements:
(1)
Minimum average height of berm: five feet above the average finished ground level (disregarding drainage channels) on the outside side of the berm. Fluctuations in height are encouraged.
(2)
Maximum side slopes of berm: three horizontal to one vertical.
(3)
A fifty-foot-wide yard (which may include vegetated drainage channels) and the berm (which may be within such yard) shall be maintained in an all-season natural ground cover, and with any fence on the inside of any berm or wall.
(4)
The following, together with a minimum ten-foot-wide strip for required landscaping, may be substituted for the earthen berm along portions of the perimeter of a use that do not abut a street, provided that such wall or fence shall be inside of any required landscaping:
(a)
An eight-foot-high chain link fence with screening slats inserted throughout the fence to obstruct vision; or
(b)
A wall that does not have an exterior finish of cinderblock facing the outside of the lot.
G.
Minimum side yard: 25 feet each, except as provided for (for both principal and in § 27-1107M accessory structures and uses).
H.
Minimum rear yard (for both principal and accessory structures and uses): 25 feet, except as provided for in in § 27-1107M.
I.
Maximum height: 35 feet.
J.
Enclosed structures: All manufacturing shall occur within completely enclosed structures. See also § 27-1304D(6).
K.
Minimum setback from expressway or arterial street: 50 feet from the future right-of-way.
L.
Setbacks from the lot line of an existing dwelling or a residential district: 80 feet minimum for any building except as follows:
(1)
Any industrial use or area routinely used for the movement, parking, or storage of tractor-trailer trucks or refrigerator trucks shall be setback a minimum of 150 feet from any residential zoning district boundary or an existing principally residential building unless such uses are separated by an expressway.
(2)
Reduction of Setback. A 150-foot-wide minimum setback under this section may be reduced to 100 feet if the business use provides an earthen berm as a buffer that meets the following conditions:
(a)
Minimum height: an average of 10 feet above the average finished ground level on the residential side of the berm.
(b)
Maximum side slopes: three horizontal to one vertical.
(c)
Evergreen plantings shall be required by § 27-1304 shall be placed on the top or on the residential side of the berm.
§ 27-1008 Additional Requirements.
[Ord. No. 2020-01, 1/6/2020]
A.
Parking. See Part 16.
B.
Signs. See Part 17.
C.
Site Plan Review. See § 27-1311A, which requires site plan review by the Planning Commission for nonresidential building expansions and parking lots.
D.
Buffer Yards and Screening. See § 27-1304C.
E.
Performance Standards. See Part 15, especially § 27-1511, Noise Control.
F.
Uses With On-Lot Sewage. Minimum lot size of 43,560 square feet per EDU.
G.
Multiple-Use Buildings. See § 27-1302C.
H.
More than One Principal Building on a Lot. See § 27-1302B.
I.
Paved Area Setbacks. See § 27-1603F.
