1. The following definitions shall constitute the basis for the meaning and interpretation of the following terms in their use throughout this Chapter:
ABANDONED SIGN - a sign structure that has ceased to be used and the owner intends no longer to have used, for the display of sign copy, or as otherwise defined by State law.
ACCESS DRIVE - a privately owned, constructed, and maintained vehicular access from a public or private right-of-way to off-street parking or loading spaces accessory to nonresidential uses and to shared driveways or parking areas accessory to more than one residential unit.
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE - any structure designed to accommodate or used solely to house the occupation of an accessory use.
ACCESSORY USE - secondary or subordinate uses, which exist to serve or are incidental to a principle use, wherein said secondary use could not exist as its own establishment independent of the principle use.
ADJACENT BUILDING - the structure which is most proximate a subject building or structure as cited in this Chapter, that shares frontage and an adjacent front yard on the same street, as measured from the corner of the subject structure to the nearest corner of the structure at the building line.
ADULT DAY SERVICES CENTER - a premises, or part thereof, in which services are provided to assist in meeting the needs of consumers, including personal care, social, nutritional, health and educational needs, simultaneously provided for four or more adults who are not relatives of the operator and who are 60 years of age or older or who have post-stroke dementia, Parkinsonism or a dementia-related disease such as Alzheimer’s or other organic brain syndrome.
ADULT USES - any of the following activities and uses as defined below:
ADULT BUSINESS - any establishment having 25% or more of its stock in trade or service provided any goods or services that are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas. Such uses shall include adult book stores, adult motion-picture theaters, adult entertainment cabaret, adult videocassette rental and sales outlet, adult massage parlors or other adult uses.
ADULT ENTERTAINMENT CENTER AND/OR ADULT CABARET - any public or private establishment that features topless dancers, employees or performers displaying exposed specified anatomical areas, strippers, male or female impersonators or similar entertainers.
ADULT MASSAGE PARLOR - any place of business where any person, partnership, firm, association or corporation engages in or carries on or permits to be engaged in or carried on any method of pressure on, friction against, or stroking, kneading, rubbing, tapping, pounding, vibrating or stimulating parts of the body, relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, with the hands or with the aid or any mechanical apparatus or electrical apparatus or appliance, with or without such supplementary aids as rubbing alcohol, oil or other such items and any place of business offering any type of massage activity between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
ADULT MOTEL - a hotel, motel or similar commercial establishment which offers accommodations to the public for any form of consideration and provides patrons with closed-circuit television transmissions, films, motion pictures, videocassettes, slides or other photographic reproductions which are characterized by the depiction or description of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas and has a sign visible from the public right-of-way which advertises the availability of this adult type of photographic reproductions; or offers any single sleeping room for rent four or more times in one calendar day during five or more calendar days in any continuous 30-day period.
ADULT MOTION-PICTURE THEATER AND/OR ADULT MINI MOTION-PICTURE THEATER - an enclosed building used more than 25% of the time it is open for business for presenting motion-picture, video or similar media distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matters depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas for observation by patrons therein.
ADULT VIDEOCASSETTE RENTAL AND/OR SALES OUTLET - an establishment that has 25% or more of its stock in videocassettes and/or video discs for rental or sale and that excludes minors by virtue of age.
OTHER ADULT USES - any business, activity or use similar to or of the general nature of adult book stores, adult motion-picture theaters, adult entertainment cabarets or adult massage parlors that provides goods or services distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas such as escort bureaus, nude wrestling studios, phone sex services, internet sex services, spas and studios, that exclude minors.
ALLEY - a street which does not exclusively serve any single lot, whether vacant or occupied or a street designed and approved as an alley according to specifications specified in this Chapter or the local subdivision and land development ordinance where exclusive access to any tract of land or building is restricted.
ALTERATION. A physical change to a structure or sign. Alteration does not include normal maintenance and repair. Alteration does include increases or decreases in gross area of the sign or structure or the development of new structures.
ANSI - American National Standards Institute or successor.
ANTENNA - 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 Communications Towers as defined below.
ARCHITECTURAL PROJECTION - any projection that is not intended for occupancy and that extends beyond the face of an exterior wall or a building, but that does not include signs as defined herein. See also “awning”; “backlit awning”; and “canopy, attached and freestanding.”
AWNING - an architectural projection or shelter projecting from and supported by the exterior wall of a building and composed of a covering of rigid or non-rigid materials and/or fabric on a supporting framework that may be either permanent or retractable, including such structures that are internally illuminated by fluorescent or other light sources.
AWNING SIGN - a sign displayed on or attached flat against the surface or surfaces of an awning. See also “wall sign.”
BACKLIT AWNING - an awning with a translucent covering material and a source of illumination contained within its framework.
BANNER - a flexible substrate on which copy or graphics may be displayed.
BANNER SIGN - a sign utilizing a banner as its display surface.
BASEMENT - the space enclosed by the foundation or ground floor walls of a building such that not more than an average of 50% of said walls are exposed above the average grade of the ground in which it is situated.
BLOCK - a unit of land containing one or more lots, bounded by existing or proposed streets which provide direct frontage to the majority of said lots or units thereby served.
BOROUGH - the Borough of East McKeesport, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
BUILDING - any structure arranged and partially or completely enclosed or covered in order to accommodate the storage or occupation of any person or persons, materials, or animals; whether permanent or temporary in nature.
BUILDING LINE - a line that parallels the wall of a structure most parallel to and nearest the front lot line, excepting extensions such as unenclosed porches.
BUILD-TO LINE - a setback line to which the building footprints or extents of newly erected buildings are required to be built or extended
CANOPY - a multi-sided overhead structure or architectural projection supported by attachments to a building on one or more sides and either cantilevered from such building or also supported by columns at additional points.
CANOPY SIGN - a sign affixed to the visible surface(s) of a canopy.
CHANGEABLE COPY SIGN - a sign with the capability of content change by means of manual or remote input, including signs which are:
(1) Electrically Activated. Changeable sign whose message copy or content can be changed by means of remote electrically energized on-off switching combinations of alphabetic or pictographic components arranged on a display surface. Illumination may be integral to the components, such as characterized by lamps or other light-emitting devices: or it may be from an external light source designed to reflect off the changeable component display. See also “electronic message sign or center.”
(2) Manually Activated. Changeable sign whose message copy or content can be changed manually.
CLEAR SIGHT TRIANGLE - an area of unobstructed vision at street intersections, defined by lines of sight between points at a given distance from the intersections of center lines of streets.
CODE OFFICIAL - An appointed representative of the Borough that can be charged with the enforcement of this code by the Zoning Officer or Borough Council.
CO-LOCATION - the mounting of one or more WCFs, including antennae, on an existing communications tower, or on any structure that already supports at least one communications antenna.
COMMERCIAL VEHICLES - any vehicle or combination of vehicles, the operation of which requires a commercial drivers license by the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code.
COMMON OPEN SPACE - any open space accessible to the residents of a residential development or the patrons of nonresidential developments, or the public at large the improvements of which are limited to those contemplated in this Chapter.
COMMUNICATIONS ANTENNA - all non-tower wireless communications facilities, including but not limited to, antennae and related equipment. Communications Antenna shall not include support structures for antennae or any related equipment that is mounted to the ground or at ground-level.
COMMUNICATIONS TOWER - any structure that is used for the purpose of supporting one or more antennae, including, but not limited to, self-supporting lattice towers, guy towers and monopoles, utility poles and light poles. DAS hub facilities are considered to be communications tower.
COMPLETELY ENCLOSED BUILDING - a building designed and constructed so that all exterior walls shall be solid from the ground to the roofline, containing no openings except for windows and doors which are designed so that they may be closed and any other small openings required for the ventilation system.
COPY - those letters, numerals, figures, symbols, logos and graphic elements comprising the content or message of a sign, excluding numerals identifying a street address only.
DAY CARE CENTERS - the following centers as defined and regulated by the Department of Public Welfare:
DAY CARE CENTER - a state-certified facility providing care for seven or more children.
FAMILY DAY CARE HOME - a state-certified family residence with one caregiver providing care for four, five or six children unrelated to the caregiver.
GROUP DAY CARE HOME - a state-certified facility providing care for no more than 12 children.
NURSERY SCHOOL - a part-time preschool facility licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
DECIBEL - a unit of sound level which is a division of a logarithmic scale used to express the ratio of the sound pressure of the source to the pressure of an arbitrarily chosen reference pressure; the ratio is expressed on the decibel scale by multiplying its base ten logarithm by 20.
DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT - any land development that, because of its character, magnitude, or location will have substantial effect upon the health, safety, or welfare of citizens in the Borough which are:
1. On parcels within 500 lineal feet of the municipal border.
2. On parcels within 2,000 lineal feet of the municipal border and create more than 500 trips per day as defined by the Trip Generation Manual published by the Institute of Transportation Engineer.
3. Any development which generates more than 1,000 peak hour trips as defined by Trip Generation Manual published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
DIRECTIONAL SIGN - any sign that is designed and erected for the purpose of providing direction and/or orientation for pedestrian or vehicular traffic, provided that such signs contain no advertising of any kind.
DISTRIBUTED ANTENNA SYSTEMS (DAS) - network of spatially separated antenna sites connected to a common source that provides wireless service within a geographic area or structure.
DOMESTIC PET - a domesticated animal such as a cat or dog or a small domestic animal such as a rabbit, hare, guinea pig, rat, or mouse, that is normally or can generally be kept within the immediate living quarters of a residential structure in a manner that constitutes neither a nuisance nor a principal use in and of itself.
DRIVE-THROUGH MENU READER BOARD - a sign that provides information concerning the menu of a food service or restaurant establishment, intended to provide information and advertising to drive-through patrons of the establishment, and which contains no advertising or print of a scale intended to bear advertising to the general public.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT CENTER - a premises or part thereof in which the provision of psychiatric, psychological, social and other therapies are provided on a planned and regularly scheduled basis. Intensive outpatient provides time-limited structured therapies, primarily in group sessions designed to address the specific objectives on the treatment plan leading to stability for those individuals with a substance use disorder. Intensive outpatient is designed for individuals who do not require the structure and intensity of partial hospitalization but do require more intensity and structure than outpatient as determined by the Pennsylvania Client Placement Criteria or other Department of Health approved criteria. The individual resides outside the center in the community.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL OUTPATIENT CENTER - a premises or part thereof in which the provision of psychiatric, psychological, social and other therapies are provided on a planned and regularly scheduled basis. Outpatient provides structured therapies, primarily face-to-face one-on-one interactions between the individual and the counselor designed to implement the specific objectives on the treatment plan leading to stability for those individuals with a substance use disorder. Participation in a specific group can occur on an as needed basis. Outpatient is designed for individuals who do not require the structure and intensity of partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient as determined by the Pennsylvania Client Placement Criteria or other Department of Health approved placement criteria. The individual resides outside the center in the community.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL PARTIAL HOSPITALIZATION CENTER - a premises or part thereof in which the provision of psychiatric, psychological, social, and other therapies are provided on a planned and regularly scheduled basis. Partial hospitalization provides multiple behavioral interventions through intensive group and individual therapy and skill development in a structured milieu. Partial hospitalization is designed for those individuals with a substance use disorder who would benefit from more intensive services than are offered in intensive or outpatient treatment, but who do not require 24-hour inpatient care as determined by the Pennsylvania Client Placement Criteria or other Department of Health approved criteria. The individual resides outside the center in the community.
DWELLING UNIT - a building or portion thereof which contains sleeping, eating, and living facilities designed for residential use or any portion thereof employed as a residence by one family. Dwelling unit types are defined as follows:
1. SINGLE-FAMILY - a dwelling unit, which constitutes the sole dwelling unit and only principle use of a single building, occupied by one family.
2. DUPLEX - a use where two dwelling units are contained in and constitute the sole principle uses of one building and which are arranged such that the uses possess separate exterior entrances and where the stories occupied are arranged adjacent to and not above or below the other dwelling unit.
3. TOWNHOUSE - any number of dwelling units arranged wherein one or two of the exterior walls of any of the units constitute party walls shared by an abutting unit in a manner in which the abutting unit is horizontally adjacent and does not occupy space above or below a separate dwelling unit or more than one duplex on one lot.
4. PATIO HOME - an arrangement of three or more units wherein each unit bear at least two walls, perpendicular to one another, that are exposed exterior walls that do not function as party walls.
5. MULTI-FAMILY - dwelling unit where a building or portion thereof contains two or more dwelling units that do not constitute a duplex, patio home, or townhouse arrangement as defined herein.
EMERGENCY -a condition that (1) constitutes a clear and immediate danger to the health, welfare, or safety of the public, or (2) has caused or is likely to cause facilities in the rights-of-way to be unusable and result in loss of the services provided.
ESSENTIAL SERVICES - the erection, construction, alteration or maintenance by public utilities or municipal or other governmental agencies or authorities, of underground or overhead gas, electrical, communication, steam or water transmission, distribution, collection, supply or disposal systems, including poles, wires, mains, drains, sewer pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarm boxes, police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants, and other similar equipment, or structures accessory to the consistent and efficient delivery of the aforementioned transmissions, fuels, resources, and products between residential and nonresidential units and source of production, refinement, or treatment of said items excepting communications towers and buildings.
ESSENTIAL SERVICES BUILDING - any building that serves as the location for storage, distribution, maintenance and/or repair of facilities and/or equipment associated with the operation of an essential service, including pump stations.
ESTABLISHMENT - a place that comprises an economic unit, generally at a single physical location, where business is conducted or services or industrial operations performed.
EXTERIOR SIGN - any sign placed outside a building.
FAMILY - an individual, a group of two to three individuals unrelated by blood or marriage which may be in addition to a group of individuals related by blood or marriage, or a group of individuals related by blood or marriage; which occupy one dwelling unit.
FCC - Federal Communications Commission.
FENCE - a structure designed, intended or utilized to circumscribe, designate, delineate, define or in some manner enclose an area or some feature or element thereon including retaining walls greater than four feet in height.
FORESTRY - the management of forests and timberlands when practiced in accordance with accepted silvicultural principles, through developing, cultivating, harvesting, transporting and selling trees for commercial purposes that does not involve any land development.
FRONTAGE - the linear footage of a lot line directly abutting a street.
GAS WELL - a bore hole drilled or being drilled for the purpose of or to be used for producing, extracting or injecting any gas, petroleum or other liquid related to oil or gas production or storage as regulated by the Act of December of 1984, known as the Oil and Gas Act, including brine disposal, but excluding bore holes drilled to produce potable water to be used as such.
GROSS FLOOR AREA - the square footage of floor space within a completely enclosed building occupied by all elements of an establishment including, but not limited to, public and semi-public areas, storage, offices, and garage space utilized for the storage of vehicles commercially utilized for any particular establishment.
GROUND SIGN - a sign that is directly affixed to the ground and not supported by or attached to any building.
HALF STORY - a story which is entirely housed within a hip, gable, mansard, or similar type of roof structure.
HANDICAP - a physical or mental impairment which limits one or more of a person’s major life activities, a record of having such impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment.
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS - any of the following materials or substances: acetone, ammonia, benzene, calcium carbide, carbon disulfide, celluloid, chlorine, hydrochloric acid, hydrocyanic acid, magnesium, nitric acid, nitric oxides, petroleum products, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, sulphur, sulphur products, pesticides, insecticides, fungicides and all poisons, flammable gases and radioactive substances.
HAZARDOUS WASTE - garbage, refuse or sludge from an industrial or other wastewater treatment plant; sludge from a water supply treatment plant or air pollution control facility; and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material, resulting from municipal, commercial, industrial, institutional, or mining activities, or combination of the above, which because of its quantity, concentration or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics may do one of the following: Cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or increase in morbidity in either an individual or total population; (b) Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of or otherwise managed. The term does not include coal refuse as defined in the Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act (52 P.S. §§30.51-30.101). The term does not include treatment sludges from coal mine drainage treatment plants, disposal of which is being carried on under and in compliance with a valid permit issued under the Clean Streams Law (35 P.S. §§691.1-691.1001). The term does not include solid or dissolved material in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which are point sources subject to permits under §402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.A. §1341) or source, special nuclear or by product material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C.A. §§2011-2284).
HEIGHT OF COMMUNICATIONS TOWER - the vertical distance measured from the ground level, including any base pad, to the highest point on a communications tower, including antennae mounted on the tower and any other appurtenances.
HIGH LEVEL LANDSCAPING - consists of trees of a deciduous nature with a minimum height of six feet at planting and a caliper of one and one-half inches at planting and trees of an evergreen nature with a minimum height of six feet at planting. All measurements and plant quality shall be consistent with the American Standards for Nursery Stock published by the American Association of Nurserymen, Inc., Washington, D.C. which will bear an ultimate height exceeding 25 feet.
HOME OCCUPATIONS - any low impact or home based business which does not constitute a separate principal use as defined and regulated within this Chapter.
ILLUMINATED SIGN - a sign characterized by the use of artificial light, either projecting through its surface(s) (internally illuminated); or reflecting off its surface(s) (externally illuminated).
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE - materials that are impenetrable and thus unable to absorb stormwater or other liquids; areas such as buildings, structures and paved areas.
INTERIOR SIGN - any sign placed within a building, but not including ‘’window signs” as defined by this Part. Interior signs, with the exception of window signs as defined, are not regulated by this Part.
LOCAL PUBLIC USE - building structures and land owned and occupied by the Borough, the East Allegheny School District, or any of either’s agencies and used to provide services to the residents of the Borough. Such municipal or school district facilities may include, but not be limited to, schools, administrative offices, public works buildings, storage yards, libraries, fire company building and grounds, ambulance service buildings and grounds, senior centers, recreation facilities and fields, and parks and buildings. Bus garages shall not be included within this definition.
LONG-TERM CARE NURSING FACILITY - a facility licensed by the Department of Health pursuant to the Act of July 19, 1979 (35 P. S. §§448.101-448.904), known as the Health Care Facilities Act that provides skilled or intermediate nursing care or both levels of care to two or more patients, who are unrelated to the nursing home administrator, for a period exceeding 24 hours.
LOT - a parcel or a tract of land defined by deed, recorded plat, or a land lease.
LOT AREA - the area, in square feet or acreage, of the polygon that a lot comprises, bounded by all lot lines and excluding rights-of-way.
LOT, CORNER - any lot situated at the intersection of two or more streets, except alleys, having an angle of intersection of not more than 135 degrees and when abutting a curved street possess tangents to the curve at its points of beginning within the lot or at the point of intersection of the side lot lines with the street line where the intersection at an interior angle is not more than 135 degrees.
LOT COVERAGE - the area of a lot, as a percentage, covered by buildings.
LOT, FLAG - any lot approved after the adoption of this Chapter, the sole access of which is provided by a strip of land under the same fee simple ownership as the remainder of the lot, where the strip of land accessed provides less than the required street frontage in the district in which the lot is situated.
LOT LINE - the bounding lines of a lot.
LOT LINE, FRONT - the lot line that directly abuts a street except an alley, whether in whole or in part; or where rear lots or flag lots exist, that which most nearly parallels the street through which access is provided.
LOT, REAR - any lot approved after the effective date of this Chapter, which is accessed from a street only by an access easement over another separate lot.
LOT, THROUGH - any lot having frontage on two streets such that the streets are either parallel or where continuing at the same angle would not intersect at any point abutting said lot.
LOW LEVEL LANDSCAPING - consists of shrubs and any other plant species that is greater than two feet in height at planting and less than six feet in height at planting. All measurements and plant quality shall be consistent with the American Standards for Nursery Stock published by the American Association of Nurserymen, Inc., Washington, D.C.
MARQUEE - see “canopy (attached).”
MARQUEE SIGN - see “canopy sign.”
MENTAL HEALTH PARTIAL HOSPITALIZATION CENTER - a premises or part thereof in which mental health treatment is provided including psychiatric, psychological, and other related therapies. This is designed for children/adults with serious mental illness or children/adolescents with a serious emotional disturbance who would benefit from more intensive services than are offered in mental health outpatient treatment centers, but who do not require 24-hour inpatient care. Partial hospitalization is provided on a planned and regularly scheduled basis.
MENU BOARD - a free-standing sign orientated to the drive-through lane for a restaurant that advertises the menu items available from the drive-through window, and which has no more than 20% of the total area for such a sign utilized for business identification.
METHADONE CLINIC OR METHADONE TREATMENT FACILITY - a facility licensed by the Department of Health to use the drug methadone in the treatment, maintenance or detoxification of persons.
MINERAL REMOVAL OR MINING - the development or extraction of mineral deposits including, but not limited to, limestone, coal, sand, rock, clay, dirt, gravel, and other materials, and quarry aggregate from their natural occurrences on affected land. The term includes, but is not limited to, open pit mining and surface operations, strip mining, quarrying, dredging, pumping and the disposal of refuse there from, excepting mining of previously mined sites for the purpose of reclaiming the land and the extraction of crude oil and/or natural gas.
MIXED USE BUILDING - a building in which contains one or more principal nonresidential uses permitted within the respective zoning district, and one dwelling unit.
MOBILE HOME - 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 such that it is used without a permanent foundation as otherwise required by this Chapter and applicable building codes.
MOBILE HOME LOT - a parcel of land in a mobile home park, improved with the necessary utility connections and other appurtenances necessary for the erections thereon of a single mobile home.
MOBILE HOME PARK - a parcel or contiguous parcels of land which has been so designated and improved that it contains two or more mobile home lots for the placement thereon of mobile homes.
MONOPOLY - a WCF or site which consists of a single pole structure, designed and erected on the ground or on top of a structure, to support communications antennae and connecting appurtenances.
MONUMENT SIGN - A detached sign mounted on or incorporated into a solid base, and shall be a self-supporting structure.
MPC - the Municipalities Planning Code,(Act of 1968, P.L. 805, No.247, as reenacted and amended).
NAICS - the North American Industrial Classification System, 2002, as published by the Office of Management and Budget.
NO-IMPACT HOME-BASED BUSINESS - a business or commercial activity administered or conducted as an accessory use which is clearly secondary to the use as a residential dwelling and which involves no customer, client or patient traffic, whether vehicular or pedestrian, pickup, delivery or removal functions to or from the premises, in excess of those normally associated with residential use where the business or commercial activity satisfies the following requirements:
1. The business activity shall be compatible with the residential use of the property and surrounding residential uses.
2. The business shall employ no employees other than family members residing in the dwelling.
3. There shall be no display or sale of retail goods and no stockpiling or inventory of a substantial nature.
4. There shall be no outside appearance of a business use including, but not limited to, parking, signs or lights.
5. The business activity may not use any equipment or process which creates noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors or electrical or electronic interference, including interference with radio or television reception, which is detectable in the neighborhood.
6. The business activity may not generate any solid waste or sewage discharge, in volume or type, which is not normally associated with residential use in the neighborhood.
7. The business activity shall be conducted only within the dwelling and may not occupy more than 25% of the habitable floor area.
8. The business may not involve any illegal activity.
NOISE LEVEL - airborne sound levels expressed in dB or decibel and obtained by the use of certain frequency-dependent weighting networks, as specified in the reference standards and indicated by proper notation; where A-weighting is employed, and the sound level is indicated as dB(A).
NONCONFORMING LOTS OF RECORD - any lot that is defined by deed prior to the adoption of this Chapter, and any lot shown on an approved preliminary or final subdivision plat as approved within five years prior to the adoption of this Chapter.
NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE - a structure or part of a structure manifestly not designed to comply with the applicable use or extent of use provisions in a zoning ordinance or amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such structure lawfully existed prior to the enactment of such ordinance or amendment or prior to the application of such ordinance or amendment to its location by reason of annexation. Such nonconforming structures include, but are not limited to, nonconforming signs.
NONCONFORMING USE - a use, whether of land or of structure, which does not comply with the applicable use provisions in a zoning ordinance or amendment heretofore or hereafter enacted, where such use was lawfully in existence prior to the enactment of such ordinance or amendment, or prior to the application of such ordinance or amendment to its location by reason of annexation.
NONRESIDENTIAL OR NONRESIDENTIAL USE - any principal use which does not constitute a dwelling unit as defined in this Chapter.
NORMAL AGRICULTURAL OPERATION - the customary and generally accepted activities, practices and procedures that farmers adopt, use or engage in year after year in the production and preparation and processing for market of any and all plant and animal products and is for market of poultry, livestock and their products and in the production and harvesting of agricultural, agronomic, horticultural, silvicultural and aquicultural crops and commodities, which for purposes of this Chapter shall include NAICS Sector 115210, Support Activities for Animal Production.
OBSOLETE SIGN - a sign which serves to draw attention to or commercially advertise for an establishment which is no longer actively operating.
OFFICE - any establishment principally engaged in management, professional service, or administrative activities as defined by the NAICS.
OPEN SPACE, ACTIVE - common open space which may include recreational fields, play equipment, tennis courts, basketball courts, and similar facilities constructed in accordance with National Recreation and Parks Administration Standards or locally recognized standards; wherein structures are limited to those accessory to the aforesaid structures.
OPEN SPACE, PASSIVE - common open space which may include walking trails, pedestrian amenities such as park benches, picnic areas and pavilions accessory thereto; that acts to preserve existing or proposed woodlands and natural areas and topography.
ORNAMENTAL TREES - trees at least four feet in height at planting, with a minimum caliper of one and one-half inches, the ultimate height of which will not exceed 25 feet.
PARTY WALL - a wall separating independently accessed structures and containing the proper fire rating as required by the Uniform Construction Code such that the adjoined units function independently in terms of access and utilities.
PERSONAL CARE HOME (HOME) - a premises in which food, shelter, and personal assistance or supervision are provided for a period exceeding 24 hours, for four or more adults who are not relatives of the operator, who do not require the services in or of a licensed long-term care facility, but who do require assistance or supervision in such matters as dressing, bathing, diet, financial management, evacuation of a home in the event of an emergency, or medication prescribed for self administration.
PLANNED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT - an area of land, controlled by a landowner, to be developed as a single entity for a number of dwelling units, or combination of residential and nonresidential uses, the development plan for which does not correspond in lot size, bulk, type of dwelling, or use, density, or intensity, lot coverage and required open space to the regulations established in any one district created, from time to time, under the provisions of a municipal zoning ordinance.
POLE SIGN - a sign principally supported by a structure affixed to the ground, and not supported by a building, including signs supported by one or more columns, poles or braces placed in or upon the ground.
POLITICAL SIGNS - signs announcing political candidates seeking public office, political parties and/or political and public issues contained on an upcoming ballot.
PORTABLE SIGN - any sign not permanently attached to the ground or to a building, or building surface.
PRINCIPAL STRUCTURE - any structure designed for or hosting the operation of a principal use.
PRINCIPAL USE - the primary use or uses operating or existing on a lot such that any such use may function as its own establishment in contrast with uses which exist only as subordinate or accessory uses to another use.
PROJECTING SIGN - a sign that is directly affixed to the wall of a building, excluding wall signs, which faces in a direction perpendicular to the wall to which it is affixed.
PSYCHIATRIC OUTPATIENT CLINIC - a premises or part thereof in which mental health evaluation or treatment, including psychiatric, psychological, and other related services, are provided under medical supervision. It is designed for children/adolescents with emotional disturbance and adults with mental illness on a planned and regularly scheduled basis.
REAL ESTATE SIGNS - a temporary sign advertising the sale, lease or rental of the property or premises upon which it is located.
RELATED EQUIPMENT - any piece of equipment related to, incidental to, or necessary for, the operation of a communications tower or communications antenna. By way of illustration, not limitation, related equipment includes generators and base stations.
RELIGIOUS USES - a use involving religious exercise where any exercise of religion, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief takes place, wherein such use constitutes the principal use or function of the establishment specified. Uses separately defined, including but not limited to day care, clinics as otherwise defined herein, or any other use, the function of which customarily exists apart from a religious congregation or regular assembly shall be classified and authorized a manner consistent with the said use specified.
RETAIL - any use generally classified as retail by the NAICS, also to include food services.
ROOF LINE - the top edge of a peaked roof or, in the case of an extended facade or parapet, the uppermost point of said facade or parapet.
SETBACK - the area of land in which building activity is restricted in accordance with the bulk regulations of this Chapter located within a specified yard, as regulated in the bulk regulations of this Chapter and expressed in number of feet from a specified lot line.
SHED - a building constructed for permitted accessory uses, primarily storage, which does not rest upon a footer or foundation and which occupies no more than 200 square feet of land area and is no more than ten feet in height.
SHOPPING CENTER - a parcel or parcels on which permitted nonresidential uses, including at least one retail or anchor retail establishment share parking and access drives, excluding out-parcels bearing a freestanding unit with independent parking.
SIGN - any text, display, or illustration which is affixed to, painted on, or represented upon any surface or building.
SIGN AREA - the sign area shall be measured by the smallest rectangle or other regular geometric shape which encompasses all of the letters, symbols and accompanying designs, together with the background on which they are displayed, but not including any supporting structures. If a sign is comprised of more than two sides, such as cylindrical signs, signs in the shape of cubes or other signs, 50% of the sum of the area of all faces of the sign shall be considered in calculating the sign area.
SIGN COPY - those letters, numerals, figures, symbols, logos and graphic elements comprising the content or message of a sign, exclusive of numerals identifying a street address only.
SIGN FACE - the surface upon, against or through which the sign copy is displayed or illustrated, not including structural supports, architectural features of a building or sign structure, nonstructural or decorative trim, or any areas that are separated from the background surface upon which the sign copy is displayed by a distinct delineation, such as a reveal or border.
1. In the case of panel or cabinet type signs, the sign face shall include the entire area of the sign panel, cabinet or face substrate upon which the sign copy is displayed or illustrated, but not open space between separate panels or cabinets.
2. In the case of sign structures with routed areas of sign copy, the sign face shall include the entire area of the surface that is routed, except where interrupted by a reveal, border, or a contrasting surface or color.
3. In the case of signs painted on a building, or individual letters or graphic elements affixed to a building or structure, the sign face shall comprise the sum of the geometric figures or combination of regular geometric figures drawn closest to the edge of the letters or separate graphic elements comprising the sign copy, but not the open space between separate groupings of sign copy on the same building or structure.
4. In the case of sign copy enclosed within a painted or illuminated border, or displayed on a background contrasting in color with the color of the building or structure, the sign face shall comprise the area within the contrasting background, or within the painted or illuminated border.
SIGN STRUCTURE - any structure supporting a sign.
SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREAS - the male genitals in a state of sexual arousal and/or the vulva or more intimate parts of the female genitals or breasts, including the female breast below the top of the areola, or any portion of the male or female pubic hair, anus or cleft of the buttocks.
SPECIFIED SEXUAL ACTIVITIES - includes any of the following: The fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, anus or female breasts; sex acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, including intercourse, oral copulation or sodomy; masturbation, actual or simulated; or excretory functions as part of or in connection with any of the activities set forth in the preceding statements.
STEALTH TECHNOLOGY - camouflaging methods applied to wireless communications towers, antennae and other facilities which render them more visually appealing or blend the proposed facility into the existing structure or visual backdrop in such a manner as to render it minimally visible to the casual observer. Such methods include, but are not limited to, architecturally screened roof-mounted antennae, building-mounted antennae painted to match the existing structure and facilities constructed to resemble trees, shrubs, and light poles.
STEEP SLOPES - areas of existing topography where, in over a 100-foot horizontal distance, or where the difference in elevation is over 20 feet, the slope equals or exceeds 25% from the top to bottom of the break in grade.
STORY - that portion of a building, other than a basement, included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it, or if there is no floor above it, then the space between the floor and the ceiling next above it.
STREET - any corridor, excepting access drives, improved to a mud free and permanently passable condition, or for which the governing body holds financial security for the construction of the aforesaid in accordance with the local subdivision ordinance, in a manner accommodating the movement of vehicular traffic including cartway of improved area and additional rights-of-way abutting said cartway; where said right-of-way is dedicated to public use or when private, provides legal access to abutting lots, easements, or rights-of-way (excepting easements or rights-of-way which serve or potentially serve no more than one dwelling unit).
STRUCTURE - a combination of materials to form a construction for use, occupancy, or ornamentation whether installed on, above, or below the surface of the land.
SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGE OR SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE - a modification, replacement, or substitution to an existing wireless communications facility that changes the size and/or dimensions of such facility, pursuant to the Pennsylvania Wireless Broadband Collocation Act and the FCC’s October 2014 Report and Order.
TEMPORARY SIGN - a sign intended to display either commercial or noncommercial messages of a transitory or temporary nature. Portable signs or any sign not permanently embedded in the ground, or not permanently affixed to a building or sign structure that is permanently embedded in the ground, are considered temporary signs.
UNDER CANOPY SIGN OR UNDER MARQUEE SIGN - a sign attached to the underside of a canopy or marquee.
USE - any purpose for which a building, structure, or lot is designed or modified including any activity, operation, or business operating within a building, structure, or on a lot.
WALL SIGN - a sign mounted or attached against a building having only one sign face visible from outside the building that projects not more than six inches from the building or structure wall and faces in the same direction as said wall.
WBCA - Pennsylvania Wireless Broadband Collocation Act (53 P.S. §11702.1 et. seq.)
WINDOW SIGN - a sign affixed to the surface of a window with its message intended to be visible to and readable from the public way or from adjacent property.
WIRELESS- transmissions through the airwaves including, but not limited to, infrared line of sight, cellular, PCS, microwave, satellite, or radio signals.
WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY - the antennae, nodes, control boxes, towers, poles, conduits, ducts, pedestals, electronics and other equipment used for the purpose of transmitting, receiving, distributing, providing, or accommodating wireless communications services.
WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY APPLICANT (WCF APPLICANT) - any person that applies for a wireless communication facility building permit, zoning approval and/or permission to use the public right-of-way (ROW) or other Borough owned land or property.
WIRELESS SUPPORT STRUCTURE - a freestanding structure, such as a communications tower or any other support structure that could support the placement or installation of a wireless communications facility if approved by the Borough.
YARD - any portion of a lot extending from a lot line to a line parallel or tangent to the wall or walls of the principle structure, not including an unenclosed porch, closest to the respective lot line, which bisects the lot in manner where no other portion of the building is traversed.
YARD, FRONT - any yard which directly abuts a street except an alley; or where rear lots or flag lots exist, that which most nearly parallels the street through which access is provided, extending from the walls of the principal structure directly facing said street to the entirety of the property line which wholly or partially abuts said street.
YARD, REAR - the yard abutting the lot line or lines most nearly parallel to or opposite from the front yard lot line or lines except that such lines on corner lots shall be considered side yards.
YARD, SIDE - the yards abutting lot lines that are most nearly perpendicular to the front yard and those abutting all remaining lot lines, aside from front yard lot lines, on corner lots extending to the abutting walls of the principle structure.
ZONING OFFICER - The official who is charged with the administration and enforcement of this code, or any duly authorized representative.
(Ord. 935, 5/10/2018, §27-301)