(a) For the purpose of these regulations certain words shall have the following interpretations assigned to them: (Ord. 19-1991 §1. Passed 7-2-91.)
(1) "Agricultural purposes" means the use of land for farming, dairying, pasturage, apiculture, horticulture, viticulture or animal or poultry husbandry including the necessary accessory uses for packing, treating or storing the produce and equipment or housing and feeding the animals and/or the use of dwellings for families headed by a full-time farm worker. It includes land devoted to and meeting the requirements and qualifications for payment or other compensation pursuant to a soil conservation program under an agreement with an agency of the Federal Government.
(2) "Alley" means a permanent serviceway providing a secondary means of access to abutting lands.
(3) "Applicant" means a landowner or developer, hereinafter defined, who has filed an application for development including his heirs, successors and assigns
(4) "Application for development" means every application, whether preliminary, tentative or final, required to be filed and approved prior to the start of construction or development including, but not limited to, an application for a building permit, for the approval of a subdivision plat or plan or for the approval of a development plan.
(Ord. 19-1991 §1. Passed 7-2-91.)
(5) "Appointing authority" means the Mayor of the City of York.
(6) "Block" means property abutting on one side of a street and situated between the two nearest intersecting or intercepting streets or between the nearest intersecting or intercepting street and railroad right of way, waterway, unsubdivided area or other definite barrier.
(Ord. 12-1982 §2.10. Passed 11-3-82.)
(7) "Building setback" or "building line" means a line within and across a lot defining the required minimum yard between any structure and any adjacent street line. (Ord. 19-1991 §1. Passed 7-2-91.)
(8) "Cartway" means the surface of a street or alley available for vehicular traffic or the area between curbs.
(9) "City" means the City of York, Pennsylvania.
(Ord. 12-1982 §2.10. Passed 11-3-82.)
(10) "Clear sight triangle" means an area of unobstructed vision at street intersections. It is defined by lines of sight between points at a given distance from the intersection of the street lines.
(Ord. 19-1991 §1. Passed 7-2-91.)
(11) "Commission" means the City of York Planning Commission.
(12) "Common open space" means a parcel or parcels of land or an area of water or a combination of land and water within a development site and designed and intended for the use or enjoyment of residents of the development, not including streets, off-street parking areas and areas set aside for public facilities. Common open space shall be substantially free of structures but may contain such improvements as are in the development plan as finally approved and as are appropriate for the recreation of residents. (Ord. 12- 1982 §2.10. Passed 11-3-82.)
(13) "Comprehensive Plan" means the composites of mapped and written proposals for the physical development of the City which has been duly adopted by Council. (Ord. 19-1991 §1. Passed 7-2-91.)
(14) "County" means York County.
(15) "Development" means the same as land development. (See subsection (a) (27) hereof.)
(16) "Development Plan" means the provisions for development, including a plat of subdivision, all covenants relating to use, location and bulk of buildings and other structures, intensity of use or density of development, streets, ways and parking facilities, common open space, and public facilities. The phrase "provisions of the development plan" when used in this Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance shall mean the written and graphic materials referred to in this definition.
(17) "Developer" means any landowner. agent of such landowner or tenant with the permission of such landowner, who makes or causes to be made a subdivision of land or a land development.
(Ord. 12-1982 §2.10. Passed 11-3-82.)
(18) "Director of Economic and Community Development" means the Director of Economic and Community Development of the City of York. (Ord. 19- 1991 §1. Passed 7-2-91.)
(19) "Double-frontage lot" means one which extends from one street to another, with frontage on both streets.
(Ord. 12-1982 §2.10. Passed 11-3-82.)
(20) “Dwelling unit” means one or more rooms arranged for the use of one or more individuals living together as a single housekeeping unit with cooking, living, sanitary and sleeping facilities.
(Ord. 19-1991 §1. Passed 7-2-91.)
(21) “Easement” means a grant by the property owner of the use of a strip of land by the public, a corporation or persons for specified purposes.
(22) “Engineer” means a professional engineer registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for a municipality, planning agency, planning commission, property owner or applicant.
(23) “Flood plain” means a relatively flat or low land area adjoining a river, stream, watercourse, bay or lake, which is subject to partial or complete inundation; an area subject to unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff or surface waters from any source.
(24) “Flood-prone area” means a relatively flat or low land area adjoining a stream, river or watercourse, which is subject to partial or complete inundation; or, any area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.
(25) “Floodway” means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas required to carry and discharge a flood of a given magnitude.
(26) “Governing body” means Council of the City of York.
(Ord. 12-1982 §2.10. Passed 11-3-82.)
(27) “Land Development” means any of the following activities:
A. Improvement. The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
1. Buildings. A group of two or more residential or non- residential buildings, whether proposed initially or cumulatively, or a single non-residential building on a lot or lots regardless of the number of occupants or tenure; or
2. Division, Allocation. The division or allocation of land or space, whether initially or cumulatively, between or among two or more existing or prospective occupants by means of, or for the purpose of streets, common areas, leaseholds, condominiums, building groups or other features; and
B. Subdivision. A subdivision of land; and
C. Exemptions. Development in accordance with Section 503 (1.1) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247, as amended by Act 170 of 1988 as amended). The following activity is excluded from land development requirements:
1. The conversion of an existing single-family detached dwelling or single-family semi-detached dwelling into not more than three residential units, unless such units are intended to be a condominium.
2. The addition of an accessory building, including farm buildings, on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing principal building; or
3. The addition or conversion of buildings or rides within the confines of an enterprise which would be considered an amusement park. For purposes of this subclause, an amusement park is defined as a tract or area used principally as a location for permanent amusement structures or rides. The exclusion shall not apply to newly acquired acreage by an amusement park until initial plans for the expanded area have been approved by proper authorities. (Ord. 9-2000. Passed 6-6-00.)
(28) “Landowner” means the legal or beneficial owner or owners of land including the holder of an option or contract to purchase (whether or not such option or contact is subject to any condition), a lessee if he is authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the landowner, or other persons having a proprietary interest in land.
(29) “Lot” means a designated parcel, tract or area of land established by a plat or otherwise as permitted by law and to be used, developed or built upon as a unit.
(30) “Lot area” means the area contained within the property lines of an individual lot, excluding any area within a street right-of-way, or future right-of-way but including the area of any easement.
(31) “Lot width” means the distance measured between the side lot lines at the required building setback line; in a case where there is only one side lot line, between such lot line and the opposite lot line.
(Ord. 19-1991 §1. Passed 7-2-91.)
(32) “Major Thoroughfare Plan” means that part of the Comprehensive Plan, now or hereafter adopted, which sets forth the general location, alignment and dimensions, and the identification and classification of existing and proposed public streets, highways and other thoroughfares.
(Ord. 12-1982 §2.10. Passed 11-3-82.)
(33) “Mobile home” means a transportable, single family dwelling intended for permanent occupancy, office or place of assembly 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.
(34) “Mobile home lot” means a parcel of land in a mobile home park, necessary for the erections thereon of a single mobile home.
(35) “Mobile home park” means 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.
(Ord. 19-1991 §1. Passed 7-2-91.)
(36) “Plan” means a map indicating the subdivision or resubdivision of land, or a land development, intended to be filed for record.
A. “Final plan” means a map of a proposed plan drawn in accordance with the requirements of Section 1333.07 and submitted to the Commission for final approval and is the plan submitted for recording to the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of York County.
B. “Preliminary plan” means a map showing the layout of a proposed plan submitted for tentative approval by the Commission in accordance with the requirements of Section 1333.04.
C. “Sketch plan” means a map showing the layout of a proposed plan with sufficient accuracy to be used for the purpose of discussion in accordance with the requirements of Section 1333.02.
(Ord. 12-1982 §2.10. Passed 11-3-82.)
(37) “Planned residential development” means 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 the York City Zoning Ordinance.
(Ord. 19-1991 §1. Passed 7-2-91.)
(38) “Planning agency” means the York City Planning Commission and its staff.
(39) “Plat” means the map or plan of a subdivision or land development, whether preliminary or final.
(Ord. 12-1982 §2.10. Passed 11-3-82.)
(40) “Public grounds” includes:
A. Parks, playgrounds, trails, paths and other recreational areas and other public areas.
B. Sites for schools, sewage treatment, refuse disposal and other publicly owned or operated facilities.
C. Publicly owned or operated scenic and historic sites.
(40.2) “Public hearing” means a formal meeting held pursuant to public notice by the governing body or planning agency, intended to inform and obtain public comment, prior to taking action in accordance with ordinance.
(40.3) “Public meeting” means a forum held pursuant to notice under the Act of July 3, 1986, (P.L. 388, No. 84) known as the “Sunshine Act”.
(41) “Public notice” means notice published once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. Such notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing. The first publication shall not be more than thirty days and the second publication shall not be less than seven days from the date of the hearing.
(Ord. 19-1991 §1. Passed 7-2-91.)
(42) “Reserve strip” means a strip of land following the right-of-way line of a street and adjacent to it and is intended to control access to the street from adjacent property.
(43) “Right of way” means the strip of land over or under which facilities such as streets, crosswalks or utility lines are built.
(44) “Setback” means the required horizontal distance between a setback line and a property or street line.
A. “Setback, front” means the distance between the street line and the front setback line projected the full width of the lot, commonly called “front yard”.
B. “Setback, rear” means the distance between the rear lot line and the rear setback line projected the full width of the lot, commonly called “rear yard”.
C. “Setback, side” means the distance between the side lot line and the side setback line projected from the front yard to the rear yard, commonly called “side yard”.
(45) “Setback line” means a line within a property and parallel to a property or street line which delineates the required minimum distance between a structure and that property or street line.
(Ord. 12-1982 §2.10. Passed 11-3-82.)
(46) “Street” means a public or private thoroughfare used, or intended to be used, for passage or travel by pedestrians, bicycles and motor vehicles. Terms may include alley, avenue, boulevard, drive, bypass, expressway, freeway, highway, lane, parkway, road or street. Streets are further classified by the functions they perform and as designated in the Strategic Comprehensive Plan.
A. “Arterial street” means a higher-order street intended for large volumes of traffic movement that connect population and employment centers and whose access is generally limited to controlled intersections. A street that is so designated in the Strategic Comprehensive Plan.
B. “Collector street” means a midde-order street intended to carry medium volumes of traffic that connect lower-order or local streets to higher-order or arterial streets. A collector street serves neighborhood areas and provides access to arterial streets. A street that is so designated in the Strategic Comprehensive Plan.
C. “Local street” means a lower-order street intended for lower levels of traffic used primarily to provide access to abutting properties and generally serving internally developed areas. Designed to carry lower levels of traffic.
D. “Half street” means a street built along a property line and generally parallel to it which has a right of way whose width is less than normally required.
E. “Cul-de-sac” means a local street with only one outlet and having the other end for the reversal of traffic movement.
F. “Marginal access street” means a local street, parallel to an arterial or collector street, providing access to abutting properties and separation from through traffic while directing traffic to improved intersections to reduce curb cuts to a collector or arterial street.
G. “Secondary access street” means a public or private street, alley or right of way primarily designed to serve as secondary access to the side or rear of those properties whose principal frontage is on some other street.
H. “Street line” means the dividing line between the street and a lot; the limit of a right of way.
(Ord. 9-2000. Passed 6-6-00.)
(47) “Storm Water Management Act” means the Storm Water and Erosion Control Code of 1981, Title Six.
(Ord. 19-1991 §1. Passed 7-2-91.)
(48) “Structure” means any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land.
(49) “Subdivider” means any person, co-partnership, or corporation owning land for which a subdivision application is filed and processed under the provisions of these regulations.
(Ord. 12-1982 §2.10. Passed 11-3-82.)
(50) “Subdivision” means the division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions of land including changes in existing lot lines for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, partition by the court for distribution to heirs or devises, transfer of ownership or building or lot development. Provided, however, that the subdivision by lease of land for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than ten acres, not involving any new street or easement of access of any residential dwelling, shall be exempted.
(Ord. 19-1991 §1. Passed 7-2-91.)
(51) “Watercourse” includes creek, stream, channel, ditch, drain, dry run, spring and river.
(Ord. 12-1982 §2.10. Passed 11-3-82.)