Township of Whitemarsh

Accessory uses and structures

A use subordinate to the principal use of land or a building or other structure on a lot and customarily a part of or incidental thereto.

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:

Authorization. Accessory uses and structures are permitted in any zoning district, unless qualified below, but only in connection with, incidental to, and on the same lot with a principal use or structure which is permitted within such district.

Permitted accessory uses and structures. Accessory uses and structures shall include the following uses and structures, provided that such use or structure shall be in accordance with the definition of "accessory use":

(1) Antenna structures, no greater than 40 feet in height.
(2) Barns and any other structures that are customarily incidental to an agricultural use.
(3) Private carports and garages, provided that no tractor-trailer and not more than one commercial vehicle may be parked in a private carport or enclosed garage in any residential district.
(4) Child's playhouse, not to exceed 100 square feet in gross floor area, and child's play equipment.
(5) Doghouses, pens and other similar structures for the housing of commonly accepted pets, but not including kennels.
(6) Fallout shelters.
(7) Gardening.
(8) Greenhouses.
(9) Guesthouse or rooms for guests in an accessory structure, provided that such house is without kitchen facilities; is used for the occasional housing of guests of the occupants of the principal structure and not as rental units or for permanent occupancy as housekeeping units.
(10) Parking and loading spaces, off-street, as regulated by Article XXVI.
(11) Parking of one commercial vehicle per dwelling unit in a residential district, but not to include any tractor-trailer or vehicle exceeding 1 1/2 tons' capacity, and limited to vehicles which are operated by an occupant of the lot.
(12) Parking of small cargo trailers and major recreational equipment in a residential district, including but not limited to boats, boat trailers, camping trailers, travel trailers, motorized dwellings, tent trailers, houseboats and horse vans, but subject to the following limitations:

(a) Such equipment shall not be used for living, sleeping or other occupancy when parked or stored on a lot or in any other location not approved for such use.
(b) Such equipment six feet or more in average height, not parked or stored in a garage, carport or other structure:

[1] Shall not be located in any required front or side yard.
[2] Shall be located at least three feet from all buildings.

(c) Upon approval of the Board of Supervisors, may be used for temporary emergency shelters.

(13) Porches, gazebos, belvederes, terraces, decks, patios, stoops and similar structures.
(14) Quarters of a household employee, caretaker or watchman.
(15) Residence for a proprietor or storekeeper and his family located in the same building as their place of occupation.
(16) Signs, only as permitted by Article XXVIII.
(17) Statues, arbors, trellises, barbecue stoves, flagpoles, fences, walls and hedges.
(18) Storage structure, incidental to a permitted use, provided that no such structure that is accessory to a single-family detached or attached dwelling shall exceed 200 square feet in gross floor area or 20 feet in height.
(19) Swimming pool, subject to the provisions of § 116-31, and private bathhouse.
(20) Tennis, basketball or volleyball court and other similar private outdoor recreation uses.
(21) Wayside produce stand, subject to the following limitations:

(a) A structure shall not exceed 100 square feet in gross floor area.
(b) A wayside produce stand shall be permitted only during local crop-growing season, and such structures shall be removed except during such season.
(c) A wayside produce stand shall be for the express purpose of sale of agricultural products grown on the same property. For the purpose of this chapter, plants which are balled, burlapped and bedded shall not be considered as growing on the same property.
(d) A wayside produce stand shall be located a minimum distance of 30 feet from the curbline or edge of cartway, but no closer than 10 feet to any side lot line.
(e) A wayside produce stand shall be located so as to provide for adequate off-street parking spaces and safe ingress and egress to the adjacent street.
(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article XXVIII, a wayside stand may have one nonilluminated sign which does not exceed two square feet in area.

(22) Solar energy system in accordance with § 116-33.4 and applicable zoning district regulations.

C. Accessory uses not permitted: outdoor storage or overnight parking of commercial buses, commercial trucks or other commercial vehicles exceeding one and one-half tons' capacity in any residential district.

D. Use limitations.

(1) No accessory structure shall be occupied or utilized unless the principal structure to which it is accessory is occupied or utilized contemporaneously.
(2) All accessory uses and structures shall comply with the use limitations applicable in the zoning district in which it is located.
(3) All accessory uses and structures combined shall cover no more than 30% of the area of the required rear yard or in the case of a principal building set back farther than the minimum depth of the required rear yard, no more than 30% of the area contained between the rear lot line and the rear principal building plane, as defined herein.
(4) All accessory uses and structures shall comply with the maximum height regulations applicable in the zoning district in which they are located, except as may be permitted by § 116-32.

E. Location regulations.

(1) If an accessory-type building is attached to a principal building by any wall or roof construction, it shall be deemed to be a part of the principal building and shall comply in all respects with the requirements of this chapter applicable to a principal building.
(2) Signs shall be located in accordance with the provisions of Article XXVIII.
(3) The following regulations shall apply to the location of all accessory structures or uses except those specifically set forth in Subsection E(1) and (2) above:

(a) No accessory structure or use shall be located in any front yard or in the case where the principal building is set farther back than the minimum depth of the front yard, no accessory structure or use shall be located any farther forward than the front principal building plane as defined herein, except a statue, arbor, trellis, flagpole, residential parking space, garden, unenclosed porch, ground-story bay, chimney, fence, wall, sign or wayside stand, unless explicitly permitted by the regulations in a specific zoning district.
(b) A completely detached accessory building may occupy a required side and rear yard, but shall not be located closer than four feet to any side or rear lot line.
(c) No point on a completely detached accessory building or on a completely detached accessory structure with a roof or partial roof shall be any closer than 15 feet to any point on the nearest principal building.

Some accessory uses listed above may also have independent Land Use entries. Review the land uses for more information. Regulations for specific districts are detailed below.

AAAA, AAA, AA, A, B, C and AD Districts: Includes a home occupation.

LR and HR Districts: The dwelling accessory uses, limited to satisfy principally the needs of the occupants: restaurant; hair dresser; barbershop; newsstand; dry cleaning; pick-up station; retail sales of food; flowers; clothing; sale or repair of watches and jewelry; drugs; optical goods and household supplies; professional office and studio for physician, dentist, musician, artist, teacher, lawyer, architect or other professional person. The total maximum area for such uses shall not exceed 5% of the total floor area of the building or buildings, excluding basements and garages. Parking for such accessory uses shall be in accordance with the requirements of this article of this chapter. No exterior displays or advertising shall be permitted for accessory uses.

MHP Districts:

Office for sale of mobile homes, as well as the sale of fixtures and structures customarily incidental to the use, maintenance, servicing and well-being of mobile homes located on the same site. Retail sales, including sales of bottled gas, are prohibited. The area devoted to such sale shall not exceed one acre of the site area, and any area devoted to such use shall be deducted from the site area for computation of the residential density for the mobile home park.
Accessory uses and structures customarily incidental to the use, maintenance, servicing and well-being of mobile home park residents, including but not limited to storage sheds and enclosed porches.

CLI and CLI-X Districts: Accessory uses incidental to any of the permitted uses, including a cafeteria and other similar services operated by or for the employer for the exclusive use of its employees and business visitors.

LIM and LIM-X Districts:

Warehouse as an accessory use to a manufacturing process.
Accessory uses on the same lot with and customarily incidental to any specific permitted use.
When apartment buildings and condominium, age-restricted, is permitted as a conditional use, the following regulations shall apply: Accessory structures and uses shall be limited to those that are accessory to the apartment buildings and condominiums, age-restricted, development. No other "limited industrial" uses are permitted.

HVY Districts:
The following shall not be permitted except as an accessory use customarily incidental to a permitted use:

Abattoirs	Incineration, reduction, storage or dumping of slaughterhouse refuse, rancid fats, garbage, dead animals or offal
Acetylene gas manufacture	Lampblack manufacture
Ammonia, bleaching powder and chlorine manufacture	Oil cloth or linoleum manufacture
Arsenal	Oiled goods manufacture
Automobile dismantling or junk establishment, unless carried on in an enclosed building	Oil, turpentine or varnish manufacture
Bakery, wholesale	Organic fertilizer manufacture
Beryllium processing	Petroleum or asphalt refining
Blast furnace	Plating works
Brewing	Printing ink manufacture
Celluloid manufacture	Pyroxylin manufacture
Coke oven	Retail commercial
Commercial advertising on billboards, except advertising of a business or industry conducted on the premises	Soda and soda compound manufacture
Creosote treatment or manufacture	Steel mill
Distillation of bones, coal, wood, petroleum, refuse or grain	Stockyard and piggery
Dwellings, except such as are for the residence of a caretaker, watchman or custodian	Sulfuric, nitric or hydrochloric acid manufacture
Dye-stuff manufacture	Tallow, grease or lard manufacture or refining, tanning, curing or storage of leather, rawhide or skins
Fat rendering	Tar distillation or manufacture
Fireworks or explosive manufacture	Vinegar manufacture
Fish smoking and curing	Wool pulling or scouring
Glue, size or gelatin manufacture	Yeast plant
Any other use which is or may be, in comparable degree to any of the foregoing, noxious or offensive by reason of odor, dust, fumes, smoke, gas, vibration, illumination or noise, or which is or may be dangerous to the public health, welfare, safety or which constitutes or may constitute a public nuisance or hazard, whether by fire, explosion or otherwise

VC Districts:
Accessory uses and structures shall be in accordance with the above and shall include the following additional uses and structures by conditional use:

(1) Structured parking.

(a) All parking structures shall be subject to review by appropriate Township officials regarding designs for safety, traffic flow, and aesthetics.
(b) Architectural appearance.

[1] A parking structure must use the dominant exterior materials of the buildings with which it is associated and be of a similar vernacular style.
[2] Exterior materials shall effectively and attractively obscure the view to the interior of all parking decks.
[3] Parking structures shall be designed such that sloping circulation bays are internal to the structure and not expressed in the exterior treatment of the parking structure.
[4] Any use allowed in this district is encouraged to be integrated into any portion of the ground level facing the public street.

(c) Parking structure dimensions.

[1] A freestanding parking structure shall be permitted, provided the structure is considered a building for purposes of computation of building coverage and all other dimensional requirements in accordance with §§ 116-294 and 116-295 of this district; provided, however, parking structures shall be located to the side or rear of principal buildings when not part of the building.
[2] In no event shall the building height be increased beyond what is allowed in this district by the use of structured parking.

Advertising, commercial

Agriculture or horticulture

The cultivating of the soil, and the raising and harvesting of the products of the soil, including but not by way of limitation nursery, horticulture and forestry, and animal husbandry, but excluding sod and/or soil removal.

Antenna structures

Any system of wires, rods, discs, panels, flat panels, dishes, whips, or other similar devices used for the transmission or reception of wireless signals. An antenna may include an omnidirectional antenna (rod), directional antenna (panel), parabolic antenna (disc) or any other wireless antenna. An antenna shall not include tower-based wireless communications facilities defined below.

Antique store

Apartment buildings and condominiums, age-restricted

A building or series of buildings designed exclusively for multifamily dwelling purposes by three or more families living independently of one another and requiring that at least one permanent occupant be age 55 years or older and further requiring that any resident of an individual dwelling unit under the age of 19 years shall not reside in that unit for more than three months in any calendar year.

Vehicle Parking:
A minimum of two off-street parking spaces shall be provided for each dwelling unit and such additional guest parking as established by the conditional use hearing to be appropriate. If ground floor parking beneath residential units is in a building as provided, the provisions of § 116-256J shall govern the design of the underground parking spaces.

Development Requirements:
Apartment buildings and condominiums, age-restricted, when authorized by the Board of Supervisors as a conditional use. The Board of Supervisors may grant approval of such use, provided that the following conditions are satisfied:

(a) Lot size shall not be less than 40 acres.
(b) The lot shall abut, on some portion of its perimeter, land zoned AD, Apartment - LR, Apartment - HR, or MHP.
(c) A minimum of 50% of the site shall be set aside as common open space which shall be owned and maintained by the property owner, if an apartment project, or the condominium association, if a condominium regime is established. For the purposes of open space calculation, open space shall not include public or private streets and driveways, public street rights-of-way, parking area, any areas within 25 feet of any principal building, or other public improvements, nor shall it include the fifty-foot buffer area along the perimeter of the site.
(d) Unit occupancy shall be no more than three persons on a permanent basis, at least one of whom shall be 55 years of age or older. Further, no person under the age of 19 shall occupy a dwelling for more than three months in a calendar year.
(e) Declaration of age restriction. At the time of conditional use approval, the developer shall record a declaration against the entire site area, in a form acceptable to the Township, binding the entire property and all owners and subsequent owners and occupants to adhere to the requirements set forth in Subsection A(24)(d) hereinabove with regard to unit occupancy.
(f) The application for development shall be accompanied by a plan or plans, which shall comply with all requirements of Chapter 105 (Subdivision and Land Development) and Chapter 116 (Zoning) of the Whitemarsh Township Code and any other applicable ordinances and/or chapter of the Whitemarsh Township Code. The plan shall clearly designate the proposed use for each area of the parcel(s).
(g) The parcel(s) of land shall be in single ownership and shall be developed in accordance with the plan.
(h) When apartment buildings and condominium, age-restricted, is permitted as a conditional use, the following regulations shall apply:

[1] Maximum density shall not exceed six dwelling units per acre within the site area.
[2] All interior roads shall be undedicated and have a minimum width of 30 feet.
[3] Building setbacks on interior undedicated roadways or parking areas shall be a minimum of 20 feet measured from the curbline.
[4] No building shall contain more than 30 dwelling units. The maximum length of any building shall not exceed 220 feet, and the maximum depth shall not exceed 140 feet.
[5] The exterior facade shall present sufficient variation in elevation by way of balconies, varied roofline, setbacks and indentation.
[6] Principal and accessory buildings shall not cover more than 15% of the site area.
[7] Impervious coverage shall not exceed 25% of the site area.
[8] No building or structure may be erected closer than 200 feet to any residential zoning district. Setbacks from nonresidential zoning districts shall be in accordance with the provisions of § 116-137.
[9] No two buildings shall be closer than 60 feet to one another at any point along the external walls.
[10] The maximum building height shall be 50 feet with not more than three stories/floors of residential occupancy.
[11] Provisions for walking trails, gardens and public gathering places shall be incorporated into the required open space.
[12] A minimum of two off-street parking spaces shall be provided for each dwelling unit and such additional guest parking as established by the conditional use hearing to be appropriate. If ground floor parking beneath residential units is in a building as provided, the provisions of § 116-256J shall govern the design of the underground parking spaces.
[13] A maximum of one sign identifying the name of the development owner and/or manager to not exceed 16 square feet on one face and 32 square feet total area may be permitted at each regular permanent entrance serving the development.
[14] One sign may be provided for each separate building identifying the building, provided that the area of any one side of such sign shall not exceed eight square feet.
[15] Accessory structures and uses shall be limited to those that are accessory to the apartment buildings and condominiums, age-restricted, development. No other "limited industrial" uses are permitted.

Architects

Artist

Assisted-living facility

Attached dwellings

A dwelling having one or more common walls and having independent and separate exterior access in a structure of two or more dwellings. Floors and ceilings shall be considered "walls" hereunder.

Vehicle Parking:
2 per dwelling unit (single family, townhome, attached square feet); 1.5 per dwelling unit in apartment and multifamily dwellings. See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for complete information.

Development Requirements:
(a) Site shall not be less than 40 acres.
(b) The site shall abut, on some portion of its perimeter, land zoned AD, Apartment – LR, Apartment – HR, or MHP.
(c) Maximum density shall not exceed 3.2 units per acre within the site area.
(d) The following provisions set forth at Article XIII, AD Attached Dwelling District, shall be applicable: § 116-81, 116-82, 116-85, 116-85.1.
(e) The maximum impervious coverage shall be 40% and the minimum open space requirement shall be 20% of the total tract area. The development criteria set forth at § 116-85.2A, B and D shall apply.
(f) The following additional design criteria shall apply:

[1] Height: 35 feet maximum.
[2] Width at building setback line: 20 feet minimum.
[3] Side yard, from adjacent private road or drive or right-of-way of dedicated road: 15 feet.
[4] Distance between buildings where orientation of two buildings is side to side shall be a minimum of 30 feet between two exterior walls.
[5] Distance between buildings where orientation other than side to side shall be a minimum of 40 feet between two exterior walls.
[6] The provisions of § 116-83A shall apply with the exception that a deck or patio affixed to an attached dwelling may encroach to a maximum of 10 feet into the fifty-foot buffer/setback.

Attorney

Bakery

Bank or financial institutions

Barbershops

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
The total maximum area for such uses shall not exceed 5% of the total floor area of the building or buildings, excluding basements and garages. No exterior displays or advertising shall be permitted. Also providing that no flammable liquids are used.

See § 116-291: Conditions of approval for all uses and § 116-292: Conditions of approval for all conditional uses. for more information.

Barns and other agricultural use structures

Beauty parlors

Bed and breakfast

Blacksmith

Boardinghouses or rooming houses

Bottling plants

Buildings for municipal use, police or fire protection

Buildings in excess of maximum building footprint

Building footprint - same as "building area" as herein defined: The aggregate of the maximum horizontal cross section areas of all buildings on a lot 18 inches or less above the ground level, measured at the greatest outside dimensions, excluding cornices, eaves, gutters or chimneys greater than 18 inches above the ground level projecting not more than 18 inches out from the building, excluding bay windows not extending through more than one story and/or 18 inches or less above the ground level and not projecting more than five feet out from the building, and excluding steps, unenclosed porches whether covered or not, decks whether covered or not, and balconies. "Building area" shall also include the area of covered porches, breezeways, or covered patios which have impervious floor surfaces and which are attached to a building.

Business or professional office and insurance agencies

Cabarets

A restaurant, cafe, tearoom, tavern or bar which also provides, at any time, dancing and/or live entertainment (including but not limited to disc jockeys), except that live background instrumental music, while dining, when such background music is performed by a single musician playing either a piano, organ, violin or accordion, shall not be considered live entertainment.

Cafe

Cafeteria

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
Any use of the same general character, including distribution plant for small parcels (capable of being hand-delivered), when such use is authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board, and provided that such use shall be subject to such reasonable restrictions as the Zoning Hearing Board may determine, but excluding use by health-care professionals or use as a truck terminal or general public warehouse; no use shall be permitted which may be noxious or hazardous; no exterior storage of material or equipment shall be permitted, except temporary storage which is not noxious or offensive by reason of odor, dust, fumes, smoke, gas, vibration, noise or risk of fire explosion, and provided that such temporary storage shall not continue for periods of more than 72 hours at any one time; and provided further that said temporary storage shall be fully concealed by fencing or landscaping and shall be within the area which could be utilized for building on the lot.

Other similar services operated by or for the employer for the exclusive use of its employees and business visitors.

Carpentry, cabinetmaking, furniture or upholstery shop

Catering

Cemetery

Burial place or graveyard, including mausoleum, crematory or columbarium.

Certified public accountants

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
Any use of the same general character, including distribution plant for small parcels (capable of being hand-delivered), when such use is authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board, and provided that such use shall be subject to such reasonable restrictions as the Zoning Hearing Board may determine, but excluding use by health-care professionals or use as a truck terminal or general public warehouse; no use shall be permitted which may be noxious or hazardous; no exterior storage of material or equipment shall be permitted, except temporary storage which is not noxious or offensive by reason of odor, dust, fumes, smoke, gas, vibration, noise or risk of fire explosion, and provided that such temporary storage shall not continue for periods of more than 72 hours at any one time; and provided further that said temporary storage shall be fully concealed by fencing or landscaping and shall be within the area which could be utilized for building on the lot. A building may be erected or used and a lot may be used or acquired.

Child day-care center or home

The premises in which care is provided at any one time for seven or more children unrelated to the operator.

Child's playhouse

Chiropractor

Cinema, radio and television productions

Clinic

Ambulatory health care facility, generally including a number of medical, dental and/or mental health specialties, in which examinations, diagnostic and preventive health services and treatment are provided for patients on an out patient basis, generally on a walk-in or first-come-first-served basis; a clinic is characterized by centralized facilities and services, including patient records storage/management, waiting areas and laboratory and other diagnostic and testing facilities. It is typically managed by a single institution or corporation and is distinguished from a medical office building wherein individual offices or suites are leased or sold to a health care provider or group of same and wherein the health care provider(s) in one office or suite does not necessarily have any corporate, managerial or similar relationship to the health care provider(s) occupying other offices or suites in the building. It typically consists of several medical professionals who change over on a regular basis and none of which have a recurring patient roster.

Club, fraternal organization or lodge

A voluntary, nonprofit, incorporated or unincorporated association for the purpose of social, literary or political nature.

Cold storage plants

Commercial school

Trade and professional school; arts, music or dancing school.

Commercial vehicles

Community center

Adult education center or other similar facility operated by an educational, philanthropic or religious or governmental institution.

Commuter rail station (CRS)

A facility which incorporates, but is not limited to, a railroad station building, including ticket office, passenger waiting room, taxi stand and bus shelter, canopies, platforms, parking areas for the use of commuters, patrons and employees, passenger pickup areas, bus layover areas and appurtenant features which provide safe, convenient and amenable boarding, alighting and waiting for a passenger train or other transportation services.

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:

(a) Shall be located at a passenger train stop, authorized by the local passenger rail authority or such entity authorized to provide passenger train service.

(b) If more than one parcel comprises the CRS, the parcels shall be contiguous, adjoining or functionally related by pedestrian or vehicular access as demonstrated through the plan submitted by the applicant.

(c) The combined areas of the parcels of land, on both sides of the track, shall not be less than four acres.

(d) The application for development shall be accompanied by a plan or plans, which shall comply with all requirements of Chapter 105: Subdivision and Land Development, Subdivision and Land Development, and Chapter 116: Zoning, Zoning, of the Whitemarsh Township Code and any other applicable ordinances and/or chapters of the Whitemarsh Township Code. The plan or plans shall clearly designate the proposed use of each area of the parcel(s).

(e) The parcel(s) of land shall be in single ownership and shall be developed in accordance with the plan or plans.

(f) When a commuter rail station is permitted, the following regulations shall apply:

[1] All yard setbacks shall be no less than 20 feet. When adjacent to a residential use, the Board of Supervisors may require buffering in accordance with Chapter 105, the Subdivision and Land Development Regulations of the Whitemarsh Township Code. Any such buffering shall have a maximum width of 20 feet shall be located within required yard areas.

[2] Customary signage for a commuter rail station shall be permitted, including but not limited to the following:

[a] One entrance sign at each entrance, such sign not to exceed 30 square feet.

Confectionery

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
For the production of articles to be sold at retail on the premises, provided that all baking or processing on the premises shall be only incidental or accessory to the retail sale outlet which shall be the principal use. When authorized by a special exception: serving food or beverage within the building on the premises, but excluding establishments that permit eating and drinking on the premises outside of the building.

Conference center

A building or series of buildings used primarily as a professional meeting and training facility for 50 or more persons, which shall include related lodging and dining facilities and may include recreational facilities, service stores and other similar facilities for use by conference participants and employees, and which may also include any of the following as an accessory use:

A. Lodging of persons who are not conference participants, provided that no centralized reservation system is used to promote the availability of such lodging:

(1) On Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and days immediately following and preceding such public holidays, provided that such lodging shall not be permitted for more than 75% of the rooms available or 90 rooms per day, whichever is less, during the months of May through October, and shall not be permitted for more than 40% of the rooms available or 50 rooms per day, whichever is less, during the months of November through April.
(2) On all other days, provided that no mass media form of advertising is used to promote the availability of such lodging, and further provided that such weekday lodging shall not be permitted for more than 35% of the rooms available or 40 rooms on any such weekday, whichever is less.

B. Dining for:

(1) Lodgers permitted under Subsection A above; and
(2) Persons who are not conference participants or lodgers on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and days immediately following or preceding such public holidays, provided that not more than 350 seats shall at any one time be made available for such dining.

C. Recreation for lodgers permitted under Subsection A above.

D. Prescheduled and contracted special functions (e.g., wedding receptions, corporate picnics, Mother's Day brunches, retirement dinners, charity auctions, etc.), subject to the condition that any such functions or part of such functions held outdoors shall be concluded no later than 11:00 p.m. and shall not include the amplification of music if such amplification would result in the music being audible from off the premises.

E. Prohibited uses: cabaret, nightclub, public trade show, exhibitions, tours, happy hours, religious revivals or the sale or service of alcoholic beverages later than 1:00 a.m.

Continuing-care retirement community

A development, licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or other agencies with jurisdiction, consisting of residential dwelling units exclusively for persons who are 62 years of age or older and for couples with one or both of the couple being 62 years of age or older, and containing certain support facilities specifically designed for these individuals. Such developments shall include independent living units, assisted living facilities, and skilled nursing care beds, and may also include the following congregate facilities and services for the exclusive use of residents and their guests: dining facilities; physical therapy facilities; auditoriums; recreation facilities; limited on-site retail and service facilities, as specified in § 116-254A; and other customary ancillary services.

Vehicle Parking:
Continuing care retirement community: 1 per single-family detached, semidetached and attached dwellings and 1 per multifamily unit and 1 per 3 assisted living facility beds and 1 per 3 skilled nursing care facility beds and 1 per employee. See Article XXVI Off-Street Parking and Loading for complete information.

Development Requirements:

Shall consist of a congregate building and independent living units. The congregate building shall contain all of the following components:

(a) Assisted living facilities providing room, board and personal care assistance with activities of daily living (such as bathing, grooming and meal preparation) for individuals able to retain a moderate degree of independence.

(b) Skilled nursing care facilities providing professionally supervised nursing care and related medical or other health services to individuals not in need of hospitalization, but whose needs are above the level of assisted living.

(c) Services for the exclusive use of residents and their guests, limited to the following:

[1] Dining facilities.

[2] Medical treatment facilities.

(2) The congregate building may contain the following additional components, which shall be strictly limited to occupancy in the congregate building:

(a) Independent apartment living units consisting of multiple dwellings.

(b) Services for the exclusive use of residents and their guests, limited to the following:

[1] Rehabilitation and physical therapy facilities, including wellness center, swimming pools and Jacuzzis.

[2] Auditoriums.

[3] Activity rooms, craft rooms, libraries, lounges and similar recreation facilities.

[4] On-site retail and service facilities, limited to barbershop; beauty parlor; convenience store; pharmacy; newsstand; gift shop; bank; postal services; snack bar/coffee shop; bakery; and handicraft shop, staffed solely by residents of the continuing-care retirement community. In the aggregate, such facilities shall be limited to no more than 5,000 square feet of floor area.

[5] Administrative offices used in the management of the continuing-care retirement community.

[6] Not more than four overnight guest rooms.

(3) The independent living units may consist of single-family detached, single-family semidetached, attached and multifamily dwellings.

See § 116-256: Development requirements and § 116-280F(10) for more information.

Day camp

A camp for minor children conducted between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., but excluding Saturdays and Sundays.

Dental office

Distribution plant for small parcels

Doghouses, pens and other similar structures

Drive-through facilities

Drugs, optical goods and household supplies

Dry cleaning

Dwellings

A building designed for and occupied exclusively for residential purposes, excluding, however, a hotel, rooming house, tourist home, institutional home, residential club, motor court and the like.

Vehicle Parking:
2 per dwelling unit (single family, townhome, attached square feet); 1.5 per dwelling unit in apartment and multifamily dwellings. See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for complete information.

Development Requirements:
No more than three adjacent dwelling units in a single-family attached structure shall have the same front or rear building lines. The minimum variation in building line shall be not less than four feet. Each structure shall encompass no more than eight dwelling units.

Except such as are for the residence of a caretaker, watchman or custodian on the same lot and located at least 10 feet from any such building.

Educational, religious, or philanthropic

Vehicle Parking:
Day nursery/kindergarten 1 per faculty member and 1 per 2 classrooms and offices. Elementary school 1 per faculty member and 1 per 2 classrooms and offices. Junior high school 1 per faculty member and 1 per 2 classrooms and offices. Senior high school 1 per faculty member and 1 per 10 students of projected building capacity. College/junior college 1 per faculty member and 1 per 10 classroom seats or 1 per 10 auditorium seats (whichever is greater). Monastery or convent 1 per 2 residents. Place of worship 1 per 4 seats and 1 per full-time employee. See Article XXVI Off-Street Parking and Loading for complete information.

Development Requirements:
See § 116-291: Conditions of approval for all uses and § 116-292: Conditions of approval for all conditional uses. for more information.

Electrician shop

Electric-transforming substations, or other necessary public services

Extraction of mineral deposits and stockpiling

An artificial embankment or pile of excavated material, including, without limitation, topsoil, overburden, stone and similar materials placed for purposes of storage, processing and/or sale, but excluding berms.

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
The processing of the removed materials and on-site operations appurtenant to mineral extraction shall not be permitted uses in an HVY Industrial District. A building may be erected, altered or used and a lot or premises may be used for any lawful purpose.

A. Extraction of mineral deposits, stockpiling, the processing of the removed materials and on-site operations appurtenant to mineral extraction as set forth in Article XXI: HVY Districts, § 116-156A through M.

B. Any use permitted in Article V: Residential Districts Generally, Article V: Residential Districts Generally, following rehabilitation, as defined in § 116-156K through M.

Fallout shelters

Family child day-care home

A home other than the child’s own home, operated for profit or not-for-profit, in which child day care is provided at any one time to four, five or six children unrelated to the operator.

Fitness center, health club, or racquet club

Fraternities

Funeral home

Furniture or upholstery shops

Gardening

Gasoline service station

Any area of land, including structures thereon, or any building or part thereof, which is used for the sale of gasoline or other motor vehicle fuel or accessories, and which may or may not include facilities for lubricating, washing or otherwise servicing motor vehicles, but which shall not include painting or body and fender repairs.

Vehicle Parking:
Auto service: 1 per service bay and 1 per 200 square feet of office space. See Article XXVI Off-Street Parking and Loading for complete information.

Development Requirements:
No vehicles shall be parked within 60 feet of the street or streets upon which the site has frontage, although automobiles may stop in these areas at the service islands to receive gasoline, oil, water, and for minor servicing.

A finding that the proposed gasoline service station is within 500 feet of a church, school, public library, public recreation area or other gasoline service station may alone support a conclusion by the Zoning Hearing Board that the proposed gasoline service station would be contrary to the general welfare of the community. Gasoline service stations authorized pursuant to this provision shall conform to the following additional requirements:

(a) The doors giving access to the service areas or bays of the principal building shall be located to the rear or side of the main building so that, to the extent that it is reasonable, they shall not be visible from the street or streets upon which the site has frontage.

(b) Parallel to and along the entire length of the streets upon which the site has frontage, with the exception of the driveway areas, a planted area of a minimum width of four feet shall be maintained.

Golf use

Greenhouses

Group child day-care home

The premises in which care is provided at one time for more than six but fewer than 16 older school-age-level children or more than six but fewer than 13 children of another level who are unrelated to the operator. The term includes a facility located in a residence or another premises.

Group home

A residential facility used as living quarters by any number of unrelated persons requiring special care, and their attendant adult supervisors, specifically designed to create a residential setting for the mentally and physically handicapped (as a special exception). The individuals may be either transient or permanent residents. Any number of handicapped persons, as defined in Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, have the right to occupy a dwelling unit in the same manner and to the same extent as any family unit.

Vehicle Parking:
One parking space shall be provided for each staff member who will customarily be on premises at the same time as any other staff member or who will overlap shifts with another staff member. One parking space shall be provided for every five residents or fraction thereof; one such space shall be a handicapped (accessible) space, adequate in size for a van.

Development Requirements:
A. Buffering of the side and rear of the property shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, § 105-52.

B. The home will conform to the type and outward appearance of the residences in the area in which it is located. This requirement shall in no way restrict the installation of a ramp or other special features required to serve the residents.

C. Any medical or counseling services provided shall be done for the residents of the group home only.

In all residential districts, with the exception of CCRC Continuing-Care Retirement Community District, and in the VC Village Commercial District, a group home may be authorized as a special exception subject to compliance with the following criteria:

A. One parking space shall be provided for each staff member who will customarily be on premises at the same time as any other staff member or who will overlap shifts with another staff member.
B. One parking space shall be provided for every five residents or fraction thereof; one such space shall be a handicapped (accessible) space, adequate in size for a van.
C. Buffering of the side and rear of the property shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, § 105-52.
D. The home will conform to the type and outward appearance of the residences in the area in which it is located. This requirement shall in no way restrict the installation of a ramp or other special features required to serve the residents.
E. Any medical or counseling services provided shall be done for the residents of the group home only.

Guesthouse or rooms for guests

Hair dresser

Hairdressers

Hazardous wastes disposal

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
A. No materials or wastes shall be deposited upon a lot in such a form or manner that may be transferred off the lot by natural causes or forces.

B. All materials or wastes which might cause fumes or which constitute a fire hazard or which may be edible or otherwise be attractive to rodents or insects shall be stored outdoors only in closed containers.

Home occupations

An occupation for gain or support conducted only by members of a family residing on the premises and conducted entirely within the dwelling, provided that no article is sold or offered for sale except such as may be produced by members of the immediate family residing on the premises. The conducting of a clinic, hospital, barbershop, beauty parlor, tearoom, tourist home, animal hospital or any other similar use shall not be deemed to be a home occupation.

Hospital

An institution providing primary health services and medical or surgical care to persons, primarily inpatients, suffering from illnesses, disease, injury, deformity and other abnormal physical or mental conditions, and including, as an integral part of the institution, related facilities, such as laboratories, outpatient facilities, medical offices and staff residences.

Hotels

A building used for the purpose of furnishing for compensation more or less temporary lodging to the public, with or without meals, and having lodging accommodations for 10 or more persons.

Indoor recreational uses

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
For any parcel with a lot area of five acres or greater. Badminton, basketball, gymnastics, handball, squash and tennis, ice skating rink, provided that any such building shall have a waiting or spectator area which will comfortably accommodate no more than two times the maximum number of participants in any such recreational facilities on the premises, if they are being used to full capacity. See § 116-291: Conditions of approval for all uses and § 116-292: Conditions of approval for all conditional uses. for more information.

Junkyards and salvage yards

A lot, land or structure, or part thereof, used primarily for the collection, storage and sale of wastepaper, rags, scrap metal or discarded materials or for the collection, dismantling, storage and salvaging of machinery or vehicles not in running condition, and for the sale of parts thereof.

The possession of an abandoned automobile or parts thereof other than in a fully enclosed building shall be prohibited except in a junkyard or salvage yard or in an impounding garage or lot authorized by the Board of Supervisors for storage of illegally situated vehicles.

Laboratories

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
For scientific, agricultural or industrial research and development. See § 116-111: Development requirements. for more information.

Any use of the same general character, including distribution plant for small parcels (capable of being hand-delivered), when such use is authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board, and provided that such use shall be subject to such reasonable restrictions as the Zoning Hearing Board may determine, but excluding use by health-care professionals or use as a truck terminal or general public warehouse; no use shall be permitted which may be noxious or hazardous; no exterior storage of material or equipment shall be permitted, except temporary storage which is not noxious or offensive by reason of odor, dust, fumes, smoke, gas, vibration, noise or risk of fire explosion, and provided that such temporary storage shall not continue for periods of more than 72 hours at any one time; and provided further that said temporary storage shall be fully concealed by fencing or landscaping and shall be within the area which could be utilized for building on the lot.

Laboratories, experimental manufacturing and research

Laundry and dry cleaning pick up station

Lawyers

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
Any use of the same general character, including distribution plant for small parcels (capable of being hand-delivered), when such use is authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board, and provided that such use shall be subject to such reasonable restrictions as the Zoning Hearing Board may determine, but excluding use by health-care professionals or use as a truck terminal or general public warehouse; no use shall be permitted which may be noxious or hazardous; no exterior storage of material or equipment shall be permitted, except temporary storage which is not noxious or offensive by reason of odor, dust, fumes, smoke, gas, vibration, noise or risk of fire explosion, and provided that such temporary storage shall not continue for periods of more than 72 hours at any one time; and provided further that said temporary storage shall be fully concealed by fencing or landscaping and shall be within the area which could be utilized for building on the lot.

The total maximum area for such uses shall not exceed 5% of the total floor area of the building or buildings, excluding basements and garages. No exterior displays or advertising shall be permitted.

Library

Library open to the public or connected with a permitted educational use.

Live/work units for artisans, professionals and service providers

Manufacturing, fabricating, compounding, assembling, treatment and/or processing

(1) Manufacture, compounding, assembly or treatment of articles or merchandise from the following previously prepared materials: bone, cellophane, canvas, cloth, cork, rope, cord and twine, plastics, natural and synthetic rubber, feathers, felt, fiber, fur, glass, hair, horn, leather, paper, plaster, metals, precious or semiprecious stones, shell, tobacco, textiles, wood (excluding planing mill), yarns.

(2) Manufacturing, compounding, processing, packaging or treatment of such products as candy, cosmetics, dairy products, drugs, perfume, pharmaceuticals and toiletries.

(3) Manufacture of ceramic products, using only previously pulverized clay.

(4) Manufacture and assembly of electrical or electronic devices; home, commercial and industrial appliances and instruments; including the manufacture of accessory parts or assemblies.

(5) Manufacture of musical instruments, toys and novelties.

(6) Manufacture of textiles or textile products, including spinning and weaving, but not including wool pulling or scouring, or jute or burlap processing or reconditioning.

(7) Manufacture of paper or cardboard boxes, containers and novelties from previously prepared paper or cardboard.

Vehicle Parking:
1 per 1,000 square feet. See Article XXVI Off-Street Parking and Loading for complete information.

Development Requirements:
Scientific and precision instruments and controls; electronic components, including computers, pharmaceutical and optical goods; metallized and coated plastic film, photographic reproduction, film and equipment; jewelry and timepieces; clothing and other textile products (but excluding dyeing and manufacturing of textiles); small electrical appliances and supplies, such as lighting fixtures, wiring, toasters, radios, medical and dental equipment; hand tools; small machine parts; musical instruments; toys; novelties; small products from previously prepared paper, plastic, rubber (excluding the manufacture of rubber or synthetic rubber), wood, tools and hardware.

Any use of the same general character, including distribution plant for small parcels (capable of being hand-delivered), when such use is authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board, and provided that such use shall be subject to such reasonable restrictions as the Zoning Hearing Board may determine, but excluding use by health-care professionals or use as a truck terminal or general public warehouse; no use shall be permitted which may be noxious or hazardous; no exterior storage of material or equipment shall be permitted, except temporary storage which is not noxious or offensive by reason of odor, dust, fumes, smoke, gas, vibration, noise or risk of fire explosion, and provided that such temporary storage shall not continue for periods of more than 72 hours at any one time; and provided further that said temporary storage shall be fully concealed by fencing or landscaping and shall be within the area which could be utilized for building on the lot.

Medical office

Medical/dental office/clinic (maximum 12,000 square feet)

Medical/dental office/clinic (maximum 6,000 square feet)

Metalworking

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
A building may be erected or occupied. Any use of the same general character, including distribution plant for small parcels (capable of being hand-delivered), when such use is authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board, and provided that such use shall be subject to such reasonable restrictions as the Zoning Hearing Board may determine, but excluding use by health-care professionals or use as a truck terminal or general public warehouse; no use shall be permitted which may be noxious or hazardous; no exterior storage of material or equipment shall be permitted, except temporary storage which is not noxious or offensive by reason of odor, dust, fumes, smoke, gas, vibration, noise or risk of fire explosion, and provided that such temporary storage shall not continue for periods of more than 72 hours at any one time; and provided further that said temporary storage shall be fully concealed by fencing or landscaping and shall be within the area which could be utilized for building on the lot.

See § 116-291: Conditions of approval for all uses , § 116-292: Conditions of approval for all conditional uses and § 116-290E(1) for more information.

Mobile home for residential use

A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent occupancy, contained in one unit, or in two or more units designed to be joined into one integral unit capable of again being separated for repeated towing, which arrives at a site complete and ready for occupancy except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations, and constructed so that it may be used without a permanent foundation. A mobile home shall not include recreational or travel trailers.

Mobile home park

A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which have been so designated and improved that they contain two or more mobile home lots for the placement thereon of mobile homes.

Monastery or convent

Multifamily conversion (no more than 4 units)

Multifamily conversion (over 4 units but no more than 8)

Multiple buildings on the same property

Multiple dwelling

A building not a single-family dwelling nor a two-family dwelling, designed for and occupied exclusively for dwelling purposes by three or more families living independently of one another; not a row house, but customarily called an apartment house.

Vehicle Parking:
1.5 per dwelling unit in apartment and multifamily dwellings. See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for complete information.

Development Requirements:
Dimensional regulations for garden-type multiple dwellings. (Apartment House District LR)
In a development of multiple dwellings, the following regulations shall apply in an Apartment House District LR:

A. Area of tract. Not less than 10 acres shall be provided for every area to be used in whole or in part as an Apartment House District LR.
B. Building area. Not more than 15% of the area of each Apartment House District LR may be occupied by buildings.
C. Setback from streets. There shall be a setback from the ultimate right-of-way of each street on which the Apartment House District LR abuts which shall be not less than 75 feet.
D. Setback from property lines. There shall be a setback from any property line other than the street line which the Apartment House District LR abuts of not less than 200 feet.
E. Setback between buildings. The horizontal distance measured in feet at the closest point between any two buildings shall not be less than the height of the taller building, measured in feet. The horizontal distance measured in feet between parallel elements of buildings forming courts and courtyards shall not be less than twice the height of the taller building, measured in feet.
F. Not less than two off-street automobile parking spaces shall be required for each dwelling unit. Such parking area shall be so placed so as not to interfere with any recreation or service area and shall not be less than 25 feet from the property line or ultimate right-of-way lines.
G. Dwelling units per acre. There shall be no more than 10 dwelling units per acre. Not more than 1/2 of the total dwelling units shall have two bedrooms or more; furthermore, not more than 1/10 of the total dwelling units shall have three bedrooms or more.
H. Height regulations. No building in an Apartment House District LR shall exceed 35 feet in height or three stories, exclusive of basements. Appurtenances such as chimneys, flagpoles and mechanical units may be created above the roofline, provided that any structure above the roofline shall be erected within a recession of one foot for each one foot of additional height.
I. Air conditioners may be of the single-unit or central-unit type. If single unit, they must not protrude from the natural wall line and must be designed in accordance with the overall architectural treatment of the building. If of the central-unit type, with the unit on the roof, the unit must be recessed in accordance with Subsection H above of this section and must be designed in accordance with the overall architectural treatment of the building.
J. Impervious ground cover: maximum of 30% of the total lot area.
K. Minimum green space area: 70% of the total lot area.

Dimensional regulations for high-rise multiple dwellings. (Apartment House District HR)
In a development of multiple dwellings, the following regulations shall apply in an Apartment House District HR:

A. Area of tract. Not less than 15 acres shall be provided for every area to be used as an Apartment House District HR.
B. Building area. Not more than 10% of the area of each Apartment House District HR may be occupied by buildings.
C. Setback from streets. There shall be a setback from the ultimate right-of-way of each street on which the Apartment House District HR abuts which shall be not less than 75 feet in depth, provided that buildings in excess of 35 feet in height shall provide an additional one foot of setback for each additional one foot of height.
D. Setback from property lines. There shall be a setback from any property line other than the street line which the Apartment House District HR abuts of not less than 100 feet, except where the adjacent property is zoned residential, in which case the setback shall be 200 feet.
E. Building arrangement. In the case of two or more buildings for any permitted use on one lot, such buildings shall be arranged in a harmonious grouping, and:

(1) The distance between any two buildings or wings and single building, regardless of orientation, shall be not less than the height of the taller of the two buildings, or the height of one building if both are of the same height; provided, however, that in no case shall the distance between buildings or wings of a building court be less than 75 feet.
(2) When courts are created by construction of a single continuous building being built around a central open area, such court must have not more than 75% of its perimeter surrounded by the subject building.

F. Not less than two off-street automobile parking spaces shall be required for each dwelling unit. Such parking areas shall be placed so as not to interfere with any recreation or service area and shall not be less than 50 feet from any property line and 25 feet from any ultimate right-of-way line.
G. Dwelling unit per acre. There shall be no more than 10 dwelling units per acre.
H. Height regulations. No building shall exceed 120 feet in height, nor shall it exceed 12 habitable stories. Appurtenances such as chimneys, flagpoles and mechanical units may be erected above the roofline, provided that any structure above the roofline shall be erected within a recession of one foot for each one foot of additional height.
I. Air conditioners may be of the single-unit or central-unit type. If single unit, they must not protrude from the natural wall line and must be designed in accordance with the overall architectural treatment of the building. If of the central-unit type, with the unit on the roof, the unit must be recessed in accordance with Subsection H above of this section and must be designed in accordance with the overall architectural treatment of the building.
J. Impervious ground cover: maximum of 25% of the total lot area.
K. Minimum green space area: 75% of the total lot area.

Municipal facility

Museum

Museum or gallery open to the public and not conducted as a private, gainful business.

Music, dance, art or martial arts studio or school of similar uses

Newsstand

Nonconforming structures

A structure or part of a structure manifestly not designed to comply with the applicable use or extent of use provisions in this chapter or amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such structure lawfully existed prior to the enactment of this chapter or amendment or prior to the application of this chapter or amendment to its location by reason of annexation. Such nonconforming structures include, but are not limited to, nonconforming signs.

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
May be permitted to be expanded in the VC District without relief from the Zoning Hearing Board from the provisions of Article XXVII: Nonconforming Lot, Structure and Use or from the VC District setback requirements, provided that parking, landscaping, applicable public space requirements, impervious coverage limitations, and all required setbacks from residential uses or districts are met. This exemption from Zoning Hearing Board approval shall not be applicable to parcels with a lot area of five acres or greater. See § 116-291: Conditions of approval for all uses and § 116-292: Conditions of approval for all conditional uses. for more information.

Nursing home

A building, or part thereof, used for the lodging, boarding and nursing care, on a twenty-four-hour basis, of four or more persons who, because of mental or physical incapacity, may be unable to provide for their own needs and safety without the assistance of another person.

Office buildings

Office for sale of mobile homes

Offices and office record storage

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
For administrative, executive, professional, sales and other similar uses, the normal attributes of which do not involve the actual storage, exchange or delivery of merchandise on the premises. See § 116-111: Development requirements. for more information.

Any use of the same general character, including distribution plant for small parcels (capable of being hand-delivered), when such use is authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board, and provided that such use shall be subject to such reasonable restrictions as the Zoning Hearing Board may determine, but excluding use by health-care professionals or use as a truck terminal or general public warehouse; no use shall be permitted which may be noxious or hazardous; no exterior storage of material or equipment shall be permitted, except temporary storage which is not noxious or offensive by reason of odor, dust, fumes, smoke, gas, vibration, noise or risk of fire explosion, and provided that such temporary storage shall not continue for periods of more than 72 hours at any one time; and provided further that said temporary storage shall be fully concealed by fencing or landscaping and shall be within the area which could be utilized for building on the lot.

Offices for administrative, executive, professional, sales and other similar uses

PROFESSIONAL OFFICE
Any office maintained by professionals licensed or certified by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including those involving administrative, clerical, or financial operations and client visits. Such offices include, but are not limited to, offices for attorneys, engineers, architects, accountants, insurance agents, and real estate agents or brokers. The term does not include "medical office," as separately defined herein.

Open space

A portion of a tract available and accessible for use by the public and/or residents of the tract, generally undeveloped. Open space may include areas of steep slopes, floodplains and other significant features to be preserved. Open space shall not include streets or street rights-of-way, parking areas, yards and lots of individual dwelling units or other public improvements nor does it include required buffer areas. Open space uses may include active and passive recreation.

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
The proper maintenance and operation of all open spaces, vehicular areas and community facilities not offered for dedication and accepted by the Township shall be secured by financial security acceptable to the Township Solicitor, from an appropriate organization with the legal responsibility for same, organized in a manner found by the Township Solicitor to be legally effective and able to carry out its maintenance and operation responsibilities.

A minimum of 15% of the total tract area shall be provided for open space. Said requirement does not apply to developments where all dwelling units are any combination of single-family detached dwellings and/or zero-lot-line single-family detached dwellings. A building may be erected or used and a lot may be used or occupied. For the use of the dwelling occupants, their guests and/or the other residents of the Township. Any use of the same general character is permitted when authorized as a conditional use, provided that the applicant can demonstrate that traffic and other impacts are similar to those of permitted uses.

Osteopath

Outdoor dining

Outdoor recreational facilities and play areas

Outdoor storage

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
A. No flammable or explosive liquids, solids or gases shall be stored in bulk above the ground; provided, however, that tanks or drums directly connecting with energy devices, heating devices, or appliances located on the same lot as the tanks or drums are excluded from this provision.

B. All outdoor storage facilities for fuel, raw materials and products stored outdoors, including those permitted in Subsection A hereinabove, shall be enclosed by a fence of a type, construction and size as shall be adequate to protect and conceal the facilities from any adjacent properties. Fencing shall not only encompass the question of safety but also of screening, and the screening may be in the nature of trees, shrubbery, etc.

Paint or paperhanger shop

Parking and loading spaces, off-street

A reasonably level space, available for the parking of one motor vehicle, not less than nine feet wide and having an area of not less than 162 square feet exclusive of passageways or other means of circulation or access, provided that the dimensions of handicapped (accessible) parking spaces shall be based upon the requirements set forth in the latest edition of the International Building Code and ANSI standards, as implemented by the Township in accordance with the Construction Code Act, 35 P.S. 7210.101 to 7210.1103, as amended, and the Uniform Construction Code, 34 Pa. Code, Part XIV, as amended.

An off-street space exclusive of access area, accessible from a street or way, in a building or on a lot, for the temporary use of vehicles while loading merchandise or materials.

Parking or garage for pleasure or commercial vehicles

Parking, cargo trailers and major recreational equipment

Parking of small cargo trailers and major recreational equipment in a residential district, including but not limited to boats, boat trailers, camping trailers, travel trailers, motorized dwellings, tent trailers, houseboats and horse vans

Development Requirements:
Parking of small cargo trailers and major recreational equipment in a residential district, including but not limited to boats, boat trailers, camping trailers, travel trailers, motorized dwellings, tent trailers, houseboats and horse vans, but subject to the following limitations.

(a) Such equipment shall not be used for living, sleeping or other occupancy when parked or stored on a lot or in any other location not approved for such use.
(b) Such equipment six feet or more in average height, not parked or stored in a garage, carport or other structure:

[1] Shall not be located in any required front or side yard.
[2] Shall be located at least three feet from all buildings.

(c) Upon approval of the Board of Supervisors, may be used for temporary emergency shelters.

Parks or recreational facilities

An outdoor park or recreational facility, including day camp, driving range, swim club, tennis club, stables and athletic fields.

Passenger station for public transportation.

Physician

Places of worship

Permitted by special exception. Places of religious worship and their adjunct residential dwellings for clergy and support staff; adjunct social, recreational and educational uses directly administered by the religious institution; and nursery school and kindergarten.

Playgrounds

Plumbing and gas

Podiatrist

Porches, gazebos, belvederes, terraces, decks, patios, stoops and similar structures

Power facilities

Printing, publishing, lithographing, binding, kindred arts

Private carports and garages

Private club

Private social or fraternal club, without lodging facilities, other than a private recreational facility or country club.

Private-use heliport

An area of land, water or a structure used or intended to be used for the landing and takeoff of helicopters, sometimes known as "helistop," approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration for the purpose of picking up or discharging passengers or cargo, restricted to use of the owner or to persons authorized by the owner only. No fueling, helicopter repair or storage areas or operation of helicopters for hire or for a fare are permitted in conjunction with the operation of a private use heliport.

Professional engineers

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
Any use of the same general character, including distribution plant for small parcels (capable of being hand-delivered), when such use is authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board, and provided that such use shall be subject to such reasonable restrictions as the Zoning Hearing Board may determine, but excluding use by health-care professionals or use as a truck terminal or general public warehouse; no use shall be permitted which may be noxious or hazardous; no exterior storage of material or equipment shall be permitted, except temporary storage which is not noxious or offensive by reason of odor, dust, fumes, smoke, gas, vibration, noise or risk of fire explosion, and provided that such temporary storage shall not continue for periods of more than 72 hours at any one time; and provided further that said temporary storage shall be fully concealed by fencing or landscaping and shall be within the area which could be utilized for building on the lot. A building may be erected or used and a lot may be used or acquired.

Public or private golf course

Public utility facility

A building or structure and its equipment, used for transmission and exchange of telephone, radio telephone, gas power, sewer and water facilities; provided, however, that in a residential district these shall not include public business facilities, storage of materials, trucks or repair facilities or housing of repair crews.

Quarters of a household employee, caretaker or watchman

Residence for a proprietor or storekeeper and his family

Restaurants, tearooms, cafes or confectioneries

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
Serving food or beverage within the building on the premises, but excluding establishments that permit eating and drinking on the premises outside of the building.

The total maximum area for such uses shall not exceed 5% of the total floor area of the building or buildings, excluding basements and garages. Provided the floor space devoted to patron use shall not exceed 2,000 square feet. No exterior displays or advertising shall be permitted. See § 116-291: Conditions of approval for all uses for more information.

In the case of VC-2, floor space devoted to patron use shall not exceed 2,000 square feet. For VC-3, see Subsections Article XXXVIII: Village Commercial District (VC) and Article XXXVIII: Village Commercial District (VC) of this section, below.

Retail (10,000 square feet)

Retail commercial

Retail for food and beverage

Retail sales of food, flowers or clothing

Sale or repair of watches and jewelry

School

Any public, parochial or private place of instruction, including any adjunct dormitories and other uses customarily incidental to a school, not including institutions of higher learning, having regular sessions with regularly employed instructors, which teaches those academic subjects that are fundamental and essential in general education and which provide kindergarten, elementary, secondary stages of education, or a vocational school under the supervision of a state or lawfully constituted ecclesiastical governing body and with standards of instruction meeting the requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but excluding any privately operated schools of trade, vocation, avocations and business.

Vehicle Parking:
Day nursery/kindergarten 1 per faculty member and 1 per 2 classrooms and offices. Elementary school 1 per faculty member and 1 per 2 classrooms and offices. Junior high school 1 per faculty member and 1 per 2 classrooms and offices. Senior high school 1 per faculty member and 1 per 10 students of projected building capacity. College/junior college 1 per faculty member and 1 per 10 classroom seats or 1 per 10 auditorium seats (whichever is greater). See Article XXVI Off-Street Parking and Loading for complete information.

Development Requirements:
Minimum lot size is 10 acres with access to major collector or arterial. Outdoor play areas shall be sufficiently screened and insulated so as to protect the neighborhood from inappropriate noise and other disturbances.

School-age care

Supervised child day care in a departmentally certified facility during the hours when a child is not required to attend school.

Self-service automatic laundry

Semidetached dwelling

One of two dwellings with a single party wall common to both.

Signs

Any name, nameplate, emblem, painting, banner, pennant, placard, billboard, poster, panel, display, illustration, structure or other device, illuminated or nonilluminated, used for visual communication which is affixed, painted or represented directly or indirectly upon a building, freestanding structure or other outdoor surface or on the interior of the building visible from the exterior for the purpose of bringing the subject thereof to the attention of passersby or advertising a business, commodity, service or product or for identifying a business, structure or use of land on which the sign is located.

Single-family attached

A dwelling having one or more common walls and having independent and separate exterior access in a structure of two or more dwellings. Floors and ceilings shall be considered "walls" hereunder.

Single-family detached dwelling

A building designed for and occupied exclusively as a dwelling for one family, regardless of construction type, and including, without limitation, frame, masonry and mobile homes.

Solar energy systems

Any solar collector or other solar energy device, or any structural design feature whose primary purpose is to provide for the collection, storage and distribution of solar energy for space heating or cooling, for water heating or for electricity that may be mounted on a building or on the ground and is not the primary use of the property.

Spas

Specialty vehicle service facilities, auto upholstery shop and sound system installation

Statues, arbors, trellises, barbecue stoves, flagpoles, fences, walls and hedges

Steam or hot-water fitting shop

Stockyard and piggery

Storage structure

Structured parking

Swimming pools and artificial bodies of water

Tailor shops

Taproom

Teacher

Telephone exchange

Tennis, basketball or volleyball court and other private outdoor recreation uses

Theater for the performing arts

Tinsmith

Tot-lots

A designated play area for the use by children under five years of age. Where the area is not contained by a fence, the boundary of a tot-lot area shall be defined by the edge of the resilient surface of safety material, such as wood or plastic curbing, or any other material surrounding the tot-lot area.

Townhomes, apartments and condominiums

A dwelling unit as defined in the Unit Property Act of July 3, 1963, P.L. 196 (68 P.S. § 700.101 et seq.).

Two-family residence

Utilities

Utilities, public/private

Includes telecommunication facilities, satellite antennas and similar equipment on proposed buildings and structures.

Warehouses

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
Any use of the same general character, including distribution plant for small parcels (capable of being hand-delivered), when such use is authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board, and provided that such use shall be subject to such reasonable restrictions as the Zoning Hearing Board may determine, but excluding use by health-care professionals or use as a truck terminal or general public warehouse; no use shall be permitted which may be noxious or hazardous; no exterior storage of material or equipment shall be permitted, except temporary storage which is not noxious or offensive by reason of odor, dust, fumes, smoke, gas, vibration, noise or risk of fire explosion, and provided that such temporary storage shall not continue for periods of more than 72 hours at any one time; and provided further that said temporary storage shall be fully concealed by fencing or landscaping and shall be within the area which could be utilized for building on the lot.

Products manufactured on the site or products incidental to the use or manufacturing of the products so manufactured. A building may be erected, altered or used and a lot or premises may be used.

Waste disposal

Wayside produce stand

Vehicle Parking:
See Article XXVI: Off-Street Parking and Loading for more information

Development Requirements:
A wayside produce stand shall be located so as to provide for adequate off-street parking spaces and safe ingress and egress to the adjacent street.

Structure shall be in accordance with the definition of "accessory use" contained in Article II: Definitions and Word Usage and subject to the following limitations:

(a) A structure shall not exceed 100 square feet in gross floor area.

(b) A wayside produce stand shall be permitted only during local crop-growing season, and such structures shall be removed except during such season.

(c) A wayside produce stand shall be for the express purpose of sale of agricultural products grown on the same property. For the purpose of this chapter, plants which are balled, burlapped and bedded shall not be considered as growing on the same property.

(d) A wayside produce stand shall be located a minimum distance of 30 feet from the curbline or edge of cartway, but no closer than 10 feet to any side lot line.

(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article XXVIII: Signs, a wayside stand may have one nonilluminated sign which does not exceed two square feet in area.

Wells

Zero-lot-line single-family detached dwelling

A single-family dwelling with no physical connection to a building on another lot which has all or part of one wall constructed on a side property line of the lot on which it is located.

A. There shall be no exterior door of any kind in a wall built on the property line. A maximum of 10% of the total horizontal area of a wall built on the property line may be devoted to windows. Where a house exists on the adjacent lot or where the location of windows are known for a house to be built on the adjacent lot, windows shall not be placed directly opposite ones on said adjacent lot. Whenever an alternative location is technically feasible and meets applicable building and fire codes, no exhaust vents nor heating, air conditioning, or ventilating units of any kind, shall be incorporated in or adjacent to a wall built on the property line. Exceptions may be made for windows, vents and similar features enumerated herein on a zero lot line when said line is adjacent to open space or the right-of-way of a public or private street.

B. There shall be a perpetual maintenance easement declared by the property owner of the adjacent property to allow for maintenance of any part of the dwelling built on the property line. Alternatively, a blanket maintenance easement shall be included in the homeowners' association declaration, if such an association is being created. Said easement shall be kept free of structures, including walls and fences. Said easement shall be approved by the Township Solicitor; the easement shall be shown on any subdivision plan and included in the deed of any affected lot.

C. Roof overhangs may project up to two feet into the easement on the adjacent lot; provided, however, that any roof drainage shall be confined to the easement area.

D. Notwithstanding the definition of "street" in this chapter, for developments containing a minimum of 50% zero-lot-line single-family detached dwellings, a private street right-of-way of less than 50 feet may be approved by the Board of Supervisors, upon recommendation from the Township Engineer that a lesser proposed right-of-way of a specified width is adequate.

Data for informational use only. Got it!

MapLink™ | Land Uses

Data for informational use only. Got it!

Township of Whitemarsh, PA

MapLink™ | Land Uses