NORTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP

1 NORTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP ZONING ORDINANCE 2002 ZONING ORDINANCE NORTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA Adopted by the TOWNSHIP of NORTH WHITEHALL Board of Supervisors ORDINANCE 2002-3 December 4, 2002 NORTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS 2002 Planning Commission Board of Supervisors TOWNSHIP Solicitor William George, Chairperson James Morris, Vice-Chair Bruce Stettler, Secretary Richard Celmer Craig Snyder Ronald J. Heintzelman Brian Horwith Leonard Nuss John Barto, III Ronald E. Stahley, Chairman Terry Stoudt, Vice-Chair Ronald J. Heintzelman TOWNSHIP Secretary/Treasurer Barbara Schwartz Lisa A. Young, Esquire TOWNSHIP Engineers Keystone Consulting Engineers (General Planning and Sewage Facilities Planning) Lehigh Engineering (Traffic) Spotts, Stevens and McCoy (Special Projects) Zoning Hearing Board Richard Benjamin, Chair Michael Basta Dennis Klusaritz Planning Administrator Nancy Zimmerman Sewage Enforcement Officer Scott Bieber Zoning Officer Ken Nicholson Zoning Hearing Board Solicitor Steven Miller, Esquire i CONTENTS PAGE TITLE, SEVERABILITY, vi ARTICLE I ADMINISTRATION 1-1 101.

2 APPLICABILITY OF THIS ORDINANCE .. 1-1 102. PURPOSES AND 1-1 103. PERMITS AND CERTIFICATES .. 1-1 104. GENERAL PROCEDURE FOR PERMITS .. 1-6 105. INTERPRETATION AND SIMILAR USES .. 1-7 106. ENFORCEMENT, VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES .. 1-7 107. FILING FEES, COSTS AND SUBMISSION 1-8 108. AMENDMENTS TO THIS ORDINANCE .. 1-8 109. CURATIVE AMENDMENTS .. 1-10 110. ZONING 1-10 111. ZONING HEARING BOARD ACTIONS AND VARIANCES .. 1-11 112. BOARD HEARINGS AND DECISIONS .. 1-13 113. APPEALS TO COURT .. 1-15 114. LIMITED PUBLIC UTILITY EXEMPTIONS .. 1-15 115. LIMITED TOWNSHIP AND MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY EXEMPTION .. 1-15 116. SITE PLAN REVIEW PROCEDURES FOR PAVED AREAS .. 1-15 117. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN SITE PLANS .. 1-16 118. CONDITIONAL USE PROCESS .. 1-17 119. SPECIAL EXCEPTION USE PROCESS .. 1-18 120. SITE PLANNING 1-20 121. LIABILITY .. 1-21 ARTICLE II DEFINITIONS 2-1 201.

3 GENERAL INTERPRETATION .. 2-1 202. TERMS DEFINED .. 2-1 ARTICLE III DISTRICTS 3-1 301. DESIGNATION OF DISTRICTS AND PURPOSES .. 3-1 302. APPLICATION OF DISTRICT REGULATIONS .. 3-3 303. ZONING 3-4 304. DISTRICT 3-4 305. SETBACKS ACROSS MUNICIPAL BOUNDARIES .. 3-5 306. TABLE OF PERMITTED USES BY 3-5 307. TABLE OF LOT AND SETBACK REQUIREMENTS BY DISTRICT .. 3-21 308. USE, ACCESS AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS WITHIN THE PC 3-27 309. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS WITHIN THE LI/B 3-30 CONTENTS (Contd.) ii PAGE ARTICLE IV ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC USES 4-1 401. APPLICABILITY .. 4-1 402. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC PRINCIPAL USES .. 4-1 403. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESSORY 4-40 ARTICLE V ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 5-1 501. EARTHMOVING, FILLING AND GRADING .. 5-1 502. NUISANCES AND HAZARDS TO PUBLIC SAFETY .. 5-4 503. 5-5 504. SETBACKS AND BUFFERS FROM SURFACE 5-6 505.

4 STEEP SLOPES .. 5-7 506. STORAGE OF HAZARDOUS AND NUISANCE-CAUSING SUBSTANCES .. 5-9 507. SEWAGE DISPOSAL .. 5-9 508. 5-10 509. VIBRATION .. 5-12 510. ODORS, DUST AND AIR AND WATER POLLUTION .. 5-12 511. LIGHT, GLARE AND HEAT 5-12 512. PLACEMENT AND SCREENING OF WASTE CONTAINERS AND OUTDOOR MACHINERY AND FENCING OF STORAGE .. 5-13 513. ELECTRICAL INTERFERENCE .. 5-14 514. PRESERVATION OF TREES AND FORESTS .. 5-14 515. FLOOD-PRONE AREAS .. 5-15 ARTICLE VI OFF-STREET PARKING AND LOADING 6-1 601. REQUIRED NUMBER OF PARKING 6-1 602. GENERAL REGULATIONS FOR OFF-STREET PARKING .. 6-6 603. DESIGN STANDARDS FOR OFF-STREET PARKING .. 6-7 604. PARKING AND STORAGE OF JUNK AND UNREGISTERED VEHICLES .. 6-14 605. OFF-STREET LOADING .. 6-14 ARTICLE VII SIGNS 7-1 701. APPLICABILITY .. 7-1 702. NONCONFORMING 703. MISCELLANEOUS SIGNS NOT REQUIRING 7-2 704. FREESTANDING, WALL AND WINDOW SIGNS.

5 7-6 705. ABANDONED OR OUTDATED SIGNS .. 7-8 706. LOCATION OF 7-8 707. ILLUMINATION OF 7-8 708. VEHICLES FUNCTIONING AS 7-8 709. PROHIBITED SIGNS .. 7-9 710. CONSTRUCTION OF 711. MEASUREMENT AND MAJOR TYPES OF 7-9 712. OFF-PREMISE SIGNS (Including Billboards) .. 7-11 713. SIGNS IDENTIFYING MAJOR RESIDENTIAL OR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTS .. 7-12 CONTENTS (Contd.) iii PAGE ARTICLE VIII GENERAL REGULATIONS 8-1 801. FRONTAGE ONTO IMPROVED STREET; NUMBER OF USES OR BUILDINGS; .. MINIMUM SIZE OF 8-1 802. HEIGHT EXCEPTION; AIRPORT APPROACHES .. 8-1 803. SPECIAL LOT AND YARD REQUIREMENTS, SIGHT DISTANCE AND .. BUFFER YARDS .. 8-2 804. 8-10 805. ESTABLISHMENT OF FUTURE/ULTIMATE RIGHT-OF-WAY WIDTHS FOR STREETS .. 8-10 806. NON-CONFORMITIES .. 8-11 807. TEMPORARY STRUCTURE OR 8-15 808. RECREATION LAND, OPEN SPACE AND FEES REQUIREMENTS.

6 8-15 809. INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL DRIVEWAYS .. 8-15 810. STREET ACCESS; HIGHWAY FRONTAGE 8-16 811. POSTING OF STREET 8-17 812. TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDY .. 8-17 813. COMMON OPEN SPACE; HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS ; CONDOMINIUM OWNERSHIP; .. 8-17 814. CONSTRUCTION OF ATTACHED 8-20 815. WATER 8-20 816. COMPARABLE USES .. 8-23 ARTICLE IX CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT 9-1 901. 9-1 902. APPLICABILITY .. 9-1 903. REDUCTION OF LOT WIDTH AND LOT AREA .. 9-2 904. OTHER REQUIREMENTS .. 9-3 905. CONDITIONS FOR APPROVAL .. 9-3 906. OPEN SPACE .. 9-4 907. USES .. 9-5 908. STEEP SLOPES .. 9-5 909. ACCESS .. 9-5 910. PHASING .. 9-5 ARTICLE X AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING 10-1 1001. AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING .. 10-1 ARTICLE XI BUILDING PERMIT REQUIREMENTS 11-1 1101. BUILDING PERMIT 11-1 INDEX ZONING MAP STREET CLASSIFICATION at end iv USING THIS ORDINANCE: AN OVERVIEW This Ordinance was developed under the authority of the State law entitled the "Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.

7 " These two pages describe the most efficient way to use this Ordinance. These pages are general descriptions, but are not part of the actual Ordinance. Start by using the following parts of the Zoning Ordinance: Turn to the Table of Contents, the General Index and the Index of Uses (at the end of the document) to find the pages and sections that apply to your particular situation. You may wish to photocopy the Table of Contents to highlight the relevant sections. Consult the Zoning Map at the end of this Zoning Ordinance to determine the zoning district your lot is in. Turn to Section 306, the Table of Permitted Uses By Zoning District, which indicates the uses permitted in each zoning district. A use is permitted in three ways: a) by right, b) by special exception (the Zoning Hearing Board must approve the use, as described in Section 119), or c) by condition (the Board of Supervisors must approve the use after review by the Planning Commission as described in Section 118).

8 Turn to Section 307, the Table of Lot and Setback Requirements By Zoning District. This table states the required minimum size of each lot and the required minimum distance that structures must be from streets and other lot lines in each zoning district. Regularly refer to the Definitions in Article II to determine the meaning of specific words. If a lot is already being legally used for a particular purpose and that use is not permitted in the zoning district according to Section 306, that use is called a "Non-Conforming Use". In almost all cases, a lawful Non-Conforming Use can continue, can expand within limits, can change to another use within limits or can be sold. See Section 806 -"Non-Conformities." Certain specific uses must comply with additional requirements. The additional requirements for certain "principal uses" (which are the primary use of a property) are listed in alphabetical order in Section 402.

9 The additional requirements for certain "accessory uses" (which are secondary uses) are listed in alphabetical order in Section 403. For example, additional regulations are listed for garages and other structures typically found on a residential lot under "Residential Accessory Structures" in Section 403. v Turn to the following parts of the Zoning Ordinance if your lot may be flood-prone or steeply sloped: If your lot is low-lying or near a creek or drainage channel, study the Floodplain Map in the TOWNSHIP Building. This map shows areas expected to flood in an average 100-year period (called the "100-Year Floodplain"). If a tract is within the 100-year Floodplain, the regulations of Section 515 need to be met. An applicant also should consult a professional to determine whether any Wetlands are present on the tract. If so, Federal and State wetland regulations must be complied with if the wetlands are to be altered or filled in any manner.

10 If your lot is partly or entirely steeply sloped, see Section 505. Turn to the following sections for regulations concerning parking, signs and buffer yards: Many uses must provide minimum numbers of off-street Parking spaces under Section 601 of this ordinance. The parking standards are listed in a table. If Signs are proposed within public view, Article VII must be met. This article lists the types, heights and sizes of signs that are permitted. Certain uses are required to provide an open Buffer Yard with Evergreen Screening to buffer nearby homes and adjacent residentially zoned land from nuisances. See Section 803. The following two major considerations should be kept in mind when using this Ordinance: An applicant may apply to the TOWNSHIP Zoning Hearing Board for a Zoning Variance if he/she is not able to comply with a provision of this Zoning Ordinance.