ORDINANCE NO. 03- O~ AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF TOW AMENSING TOWNSHIP, CARBON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, ENTITLED "TOW AMENSING TOWNSHIP ZONING ORDINANCE OF 1991" ("ZONING ORDINANCE") Be it enacted and ordained by Towamensing Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania,' and it is hereby enacted and ordained by the authority of the same, that the following additions, deletions, and amendments be made a part of the Zoning Ordinance: 1. The following definitions shall be added to the Zoning Ordinance: Section 212.5 Campground - a use that is primarily recreational in nature that involves the use of campsites for tents, travel trailers and recreational vehicles for transient and seasonal occupancy by persons recreating or travelers, but not a mobile home park. Section 234.5 Municipal Use - Any use of land, buildings or structures owned or operated by the Township or a municipal authority organized by the Township, for public purposes including auditoriums, civic and community centers; historical buildings and restorations; fire and police stations; marinas, lakes and ponds, museums, parks, play-fields and playgrounds; municipal buildings including administrative buildings, equipment storage buildings and garages. Section 245.5 Recreational Vehicle - shall include vehicles such as motor homes, pick-up trucks with attached campers and busses when used exclusively for personal pleasure by individuals.
2. Section 405(C) (Institutional & Recreational Uses) shall be amended by eliminating use Class (14) (Travel Trailer Camp) and replacing it with use Class (14) (Campgrounds), which use shall be permitted by special exception only in the RC (Rural Conservation) zoning district. 3. Section 405(C) (Institutional & Recreational Uses) shall be amended by adding use Class (15) (Municipal Use), which use shall be permitted in all ofthe zoning districts. 4. Section 1000 (Zoning Officer-Duties and Powers), Section 1002 (Zoning and Building Permits Required), Section 1004 (Fees) and Section 1005 (Life of a Permit) shall be amended to delete any reference to building permit(s). 5. Section 1002 shall be amended by adding the following: Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing to the contrary, a zoning permit shall not be required for the removal and replacement of a structure when all of the following conditions are met: a. The structure removed and the structure which replaces it are in the nature of inventory for resale; b. The placement of the structure removed and the structure which replaces it is always intended to be temporary; c. A zoning permit was obtained for the placement of the original structure; d. A zoning permit was obtained for any permanent foundation related to either the structure removed or the structure which replaces it; e. Neither the structure removed, nor the structure which replaces it, was ever used for any residential or commercial purpose (other than as inventory for resale); f. The replacement structure shall not be larger than the original structure for which a zoning permit was obtained; g. The time between the removal of a structure and the replacement with another structure shall not exceed ninety (90) days. 2
For example, the foregoing exception would be applicable to the display, inventorying and sale of mobile homes, manufactured homes and sheds, which satisfy all of the foregoing requirements. 6. Section 1003(a) (Application Requirements for Zoning and Building Permits) shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced by the following: replaced by the following: a. All applications for zoning permits shall be made in writing by the owner, tenant, vendee under contract of sale, or other authorized agent on a form supplied by the zoning officer, and shall be filed with the zoning officer. The application shall include an original and one (1) copy of the following information: (1) information regarding the Applicant (e.g. name, address, phone number, etc.). If the application is made by an authorized agent, it shall be accompanied by a written authorization of the owner, tenant, or vendee under contract of sale. (2) location, ownership and present use of the property; (3) proposed use of structure and/or land; (4) location or proposed location of any well or sewage systems existing or proposed on property; (5) such other information as the zoning officer may lawfully require to determine conformance with and provide for enforcement of this Ordinance; and (6) a diagram or plan in sufficient detail to enable the-zoning officer to determine conformance with and provide for enforcement of this Ordinance. 7. Section 406(C14) (Travel Trailer Camp) shall be deleted in its entirety and 3
C14. Campgrounds A campground shall be permitted as a Special Exception m the Rural Conservation zoning district, subject to the following specific conditions: a. All access roads leading from public streets or alleys to the camping area shall comply with the requirements contained in the Towamensing Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance ("SALDO") for a street in a residential subdivision, except the required right-of-way width is no less than forty (40) feet and the required pavement width is no less than twenty (20) feet. b. The internal access drive system (i.e. roads within the camping area) shall have a right-of-way width of no less than thirty (30) feet, and a cartway width of no less than eighteen (18) feet, which cartway shall be constructed in compliance with the requirements contained in the SALDO for a street in a residential subdivision, except that the bituminous surface course shall not be required. c. The minimum lot area for a campground shall be ten (10) acres. d. The maximum density shall be twelve (12) campsites per acre, which shall be calculated by dividing the number of campsites by the number of acres of the lot area (including streets/drives) of the entire campground. e. Each campsite shall have a mmimum width of thirty (30) feet, a minimum length of thirty (30) feet, and a minimum area of two thousand (2,000) square feet. f. All campsites shall have a setback of fifty (50) feet from any side or rear property line and a minimum of one hundred (100) feet from any public street right-of-way line. g. A minimum of one (1) vehicle parking space shall be provided for each site, and such parking space shall not interfere with the vehicular movement along the internal access drives of the campground. Equivalent parking may be provided by a common parking compound. On-drive parallel parking shall not be permitted. h. All playground and recreation areas shall be at least one hundred (100) feet from adjoining residential properties with the usage of these areas being limited to registered campers and their guests. 4
1. All campsites shall have access to a continuing supply of safe and potable water as approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Additionally, all campsites shall have access to public toilets and sanitation facilities in accordance with, and as approved by, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, in such a manner that no campsite in a campground shall be more than one hundred (100) yards from a public toilet and sanitation facility. J. All campgrounds shall furnish centralized garbage collection systems. k. All public toilets, sanitation facilities, and garbage collection systems shall be located at least one hundred (100) feet from adjoining residential properties. 1. Any accessory commercial and/or service facilities shall be located at least one hundred (100) feet from adjoining residential properties and shall be limited to serve only the needs of the registered campers and their guests. Direct access to these facilities from a public street is prohibited. m. All campgrounds shall provide not less than twenty (20) per cent of the lot area (including streets/drives) of the entire campground for open space. n. All lighting facilities shall be designed and located so as not to produce a glare or direct illumination onto abutting properties. o. All set-backs (except the front yard set-backs) shall be landscaped to provide appropriate visual screening and/or buffering in accordance with Section 60l(f) of this Ordinance. p. Campsites shall not be used as permanent residences. Therefore, although a campsite can be leased for a longer period of time, and the tenants' tent, travel trailer or recreational vehicle can remain at a campsite for a longer period of time, the same tenants shall not occupy or reside at the same campsite (or any other campsite in the same campground) for more than one hundred eighty (180) days in any consecutive twelve (12) month period. q. The owner of the campground shall maintain a registration list, or similar record, with sufficient information and detail, to determine conformance with and enable enforcement of the preceding section (P). Such registration list, or similar record, shall be made available to the Township upon request of the Township Supervisors or person 5
authorized by the Supervisors. The owner shall retain such registration list, or similar record, for a period of two (2) years. 8. Section 1004 (Fees) shall be amended by adding the following: The fee schedule may include a greater fee for permits applied for after the conduct requiring the issuance of a permit has begun, but prior to any person or entity instituting a cause of action or enforcement proceeding in any court, applying to the Zoning Hearing Board, or similar action. This provision should not be interpreted in any way to condone such conduct, but rather is for the purpose of covering the extra administration costs involved in processing such "after-the-fact permits." replaced by the following: 9. Section 6l9( c)(2) (regarding flag lots) shall be deleted III its entirety and If the proposed flag lot is not large enough to further subdivide under the zoning requirements at the time the subdivision is proposed, the "access" shall have a minimum width of twenty-five (25') feet at the street line of a public street and shall not narrow to a lesser dimension. Ifthe proposed flag lot is large enough to further subdivide under the zoning requirements at the time the subdivision is proposed, the "access" shall have a minimum width equal to or greater than the minimum width required for a minor street at the street line of a public street and shall not narrow to a lesser dimension. 10. All ordinances or parts of ordinances conflicting with the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed. way. 11. The Towamensing Township Zoning Ordinance of 1991 is amended in no other 12. This Ordinance shall become effective five (5) days after its enactment. 6
13. This Ordinance is enacted and ordained this /j day of :JeFJ-,2003. BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF TOW AMENSING TOWNSHIP fx- jti<~. ~...-.W~ /?~