A. Establishment of future rights-of-way widths for streets.
(1) Minimum widths. Minimum rights-of-way widths as specified in Subsection 3A) shall be provided for all new streets.
(2) Street classifications. Streets are classified as follows:
(a) Expressway. Serves inter-regional and through trips with access limited to interchanges.
(b) Arterial street/highway. Serves moderate-to-long-distance travel with moderate to very high traffic volumes.
(c) Collector street. Serves short-to-moderate-distance travel at speeds usually averaging 40 mile per hour to 45 miles per hour and typically intended for 2,000 to 10,000 trips per day. These streets serve a mix of intra-regional, intermunicipal and intramunicipal trips.
(d) Minor or local street. Primarily serves local access for very short-distance travel with typical speeds of 15 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour and with average daily traffic typically of less than 2,000 trips per day.
(3) Minimum widths.
(a) Minimum future street rights-of-way are as follows:
*Unless another width is established by the Board of Supervisors after seeking comment from the County Planning Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
'The Board of Supervisors, considering comments of the Planning Commission, may require additional rights-of-way to promote public safety and convenience and/or to provide for parking in commercial and industrial areas and in areas of high density residential development.
(b) Minor or local streets. The right-of-way width for minor residential streets and cul-de-sac streets serving properties of an acre or more may be reduced to 40 feet by the Board of Supervisors. In exercising its discretion to reduce the right-of-way width, the Board of Supervisors shall apply those standards set forth in the Municipalities Planning Code, including but not limited to ensuring that streets in and bordering a subdivision or land development shall be coordinated and be of such widths necessary to accommodate prospective traffic, facilitate fire protection and provide adequate easements or right-of- way for drainage utilities.
(4) Yard requirements for new lots on existing streets. For all new lots that abut an existing street which has a right-of-way less than that specified in Subsection A(3), the front and/or side street yard requirements shall be increased by the difference between the existing right-of-way and the right-of-way specified in Subsection A(3). It is the intention of this requirement to provide for a reasonable setback to accommodate the potential widening of the existing street.
(5) Dedication of future right-of-way. When it is determined that any existing street must be widened to provide land necessary for the installation and construction of improvements, including but not limited to acceleration and/or deceleration vehicular traffic lanes, sidewalks, utilities and/or similar facilities necessary to serve a subdivision or land development and required to be installed by the developer in connection therewith, the developer/landowner shall offer such land and improvements installed and constructed therein for dedication to the township at no cost or expense to the township. Provided, however, that nothing in this chapter shall otherwise require the forced dedication of land for additional street rights-of-way for future street widening. Provided, further, that nothing specified herein shall preclude the landowner from offering such land for dedication to the township or other governmental entity.
(6) Existing streets shall be classified as follows based upon the West Chester Regional Planning Commission's 1994 Functional Classification Study:
(a) Expressway: Route 202.
(b) Arterial street: Boot Road, Paoli Pike, North Chester Road south of Paoli Pike and Route 3.
(c) Collector street: North Chester Road north of Paoli Pike, Greenhill Road, Airport Road, Ellis Lane and Strasburg Road.
(d) Minor/local street: all other existing streets.
B. Frontage development along arterial highways and collector streets. To encourage the sound development of frontage along arterial highways and collector streets and to minimize traffic congestion and hazard, the following special provisions shall apply:
(1) Off-street parking and loading.
(a) All areas for off-street parking, off-street loading and unloading and the storage or movement of motor vehicles shall be physically separated from the highway or street by a raised curb, planting strip, wall or other suitable barrier against unchanneled motor vehicle entrance or exit, except for necessary accessways or access roads which supply entrance to and egress from such parking, loading or storage area.
(b) All parking areas or lots shall be designed to prohibit vehicles from backing out on the street, and the capacity of each lot shall provide adequate storage area and distribution facilities upon the lot to prevent backup of vehicles on a public street while awaiting entry to the lot.
(c) Parking shall be located along the side and rear of the principal use which it serves.
(2) Access
(a) Each use with less than 100 feet of frontage on an arterial highway or collector street shall have not more than one accessway to each such street, and no business or other use with 100 feet or more of frontage on an arterial highway or collector street shall have more than two accessways to any one street for each 300 feet of frontage.
(b) Where practical in the determination of the Board of Supervisors, access to parking areas shall be provided by a common driveway in order to avoid direct access to an arterial highway or collector street. A common access point for two or more uses is required wherever the Board of Supervisors determines it would be practical to minimize vehicular access points on arterial highways and collector streets.
(3) Large developments. This Subsection B(3) shall apply to each of the following types of development: 25 or more dwelling units, a shopping center of 25,000 square feet or greater floor area, any business or industrial park or subdivision of 20 or more acres and/or in any other case where the Board of Super-visors determines such provisions would be practical.
(a) All buildings shall have vehicle access upon a minor street, service road, common parking lot or similar area, and not directly upon an arterial highway or collector street.
(b) All points of vehicular access to and from a public street shall not be located less than 200 feet from the intersection of any public street lines with each other. A point of vehicular access, which converts a T-intersection into an intersection of two streets which cross one another shall be permitted.
(c) Provisions shall be made for safe and efficient ingress and egress to and from public streets and highways serving the unified development, without undue congestion to or interference with normal traffic flow within the township.
(d) All streets and accessways shall conform to the specifications determined by the Township Engineer and the requirements of Chapter 205, Subdivision and Land Development. Provisions shall be made for adequate signalization, turn, standby and deceleration lanes and similar facilities where desirable
(e) Two or more points of vehicular access to and from public streets serving any large development shall be provided. The internal layout of parking and the distribution of internal circulation shall be designed to minimize adverse effects on external traffic flow, increase vehicular access capacity to and from the lot, permit traffic flow when one entrance is blocked and enhance safety.
(4) Reverse frontage encouraged. Direct vehicular access shall be strongly discouraged onto any arterial highway or collector street. Reverse frontage is encouraged along these types of highways and streets.
C. Design and landscaping controls for all uses within commercial, industrial and BP Districts and for townhouses, apartments and mobile home parks.
(1) Landscaping
(a) Any part or portion of the site which is not used for buildings, structures, loading or parking spaces and aisles, sidewalks and designated storage areas shall be planted with an all- season vegetative cover and shall be landscaped with trees and shrubs in accordance with an overall landscape plan.
(b) To facilitate the processing of subdivision, land development and other site plans, a plant schedule shall be prepared, giving the botanical and common names of plants to be used, the sizes to be planted, the quantity of each and spacing
(c) A minimum of 5% of a parking area shall be landscaped and continually maintained as such. Planting along the perimeter of a parking area, whether for required screening or for general beautification, will not be considered as part of the 5% minimum parking area landscaping.
(d) In complying with the 5% landscaping requirements, the planting beds must be distributed throughout the parking areas as evenly as possible.
(e) The site plan must show a satisfactory method of irrigating all planted areas. This may be either by a permanent water system or by hose. Considerations in laying out these systems should be meter water pressure, pipe size and length and type of heads.
(f) Existing trees that are four inches or larger in caliper shall be marked and, if possible, preserved or transplanted.
(2) Buffer yards. Buffer yards are required to be provided as part of any new or expanded development of a principal commercial use, principal industrial use, townhouse development or apartment development along any lot line that would be contiguous to lot(s) within a residential district. Also, any outside industrial storage area visible from a lot in a residential district shall be separated by a buffer yard from such lot. All buffer yards shall comply with the following:
(a) The buffer yard shall be measured from the applicable district boundary line or lot line. Where a street separates the lots, then the buffer yard shall be measured from the street line. Areas within a street right-of-way shall not count towards the minimum width of a buffer yard.
(b) Width. [Amended 11-16-1999 by Ord. No. 129-I-99]
[1] A fifty-foot-wide buffer yard shall be required, except that the minimum buffer yard width shall be increased to 100 feet for buildings constructed after the effective date of the adoption of this chapter in the I- 1 or BP District when the lot abuts a residential district.
[2] The minimum buffer yard width shall be increased to 100 feet where a I-1 or BP District abuts any residential district whenever a new lot is created or an existing principal building is expanded by more than 10,000 square feet in total floor area.
[3] When approved as a conditional use, the Board of Supervisors may permit a reduction of the one-hundred-foot minimum buffer yard mandated by this §240- 27C(2) to a width of not less than 50 feet if the abutting property in any residential district is either improved with either a school, a place of worship or religious institution or is developed or approved for development as a commercial area of a planned residential development and the Board of Supervisors determines that such reduction shall not constitute or result in a violation of any other applicable design standard of the Zoning Ordinance.
(c) The buffer yard may overlap or be within a required side or rear yard. In case of conflict, the larger yard requirement shall apply.
(d) In all buffer yards, the exterior width beyond the planting screen, as described in Subsection C(3), shall be planted with grass seed, sod or other attractive vegetative ground cover and shall be maintained and kept clear of all debris, rubbish, noxious weeds and grass over 12 inches high.
(e) The buffer yard shall be a landscaped area free of structures, materials and vehicular parking. No driveways or streets shall be permitted in the buffer yards, except for approximately perpendicular crossings necessary for ingress or egress.
(f) All buffer yards shall include a completely planted visual barrier or landscape screen as described in Subsection C(3).
(3) Plant screening.
(a) Landscaped plant screening shall be provided in each buffer yard. This screening shall be composed of mostly evergreen shrubs and trees arranged to form both a low-level and a high-level screen.
(b) The high-level screen shall consist of a combination of evergreen and deciduous trees planted with specimens no less than eight feet in height. The low-level screen shall consist of evergreen shrubs or hedges planted at an initial height of not less than three feet and spaced at intervals of not more than five feet. The planting shall be placed in alternating rows to produce a more effective barrier and to provide space for future growth.
(c) The landowner and his/her successors shall maintain the screen planting and replace any plant material which does not live and which is necessary to form a complete visual screen.
(4) Storage and loading.
(a) All outdoor storage or truck loading areas shall be completely screened from view from any adjacent public street right-of-way and any residential district which is contiguous to or across the street from the storage or loading areas.
(b) All organic rubbish or storage shall be contained in airtight, vermin-proof containers which shall be screened from view from any public right-of-way or abutting residential district.
(c) Screening shall consist of architectural screening with evergreen plantings meeting the requirements for screening within a buffer yard, except that the township may approve an architectural screen between six feet and 10 feet in height with evergreen plantings if the applicant proves that such screen would meet the same purposes as the plant screening, be attractive and be durably constructed.
(d) The storage of trailers, tractor-trailers or tractor-trailer combinations for more than three consecutive days within view of a public street or dwelling shall be prohibited.
(5) Access and traffic control.
(a) All entranceways to any public street shall be located at least 200 feet from the intersection of any street center lines and shall be designed in a manner conducive to safe ingress and egress.
(b) Where practical, exits shall be located on less-heavily traveled streets.
(c) The developer shall be responsible to install and pay for any traffic control devices, widening of abutting streets or construction of acceleration/deceleration lanes or other improvements required by PADOT or determined by the Board of Supervisors to be necessary for the reasonable ingress and egress to the development.
(d) All improvements shall meet PADOT standards.
(6) Interior circulation.
(a) Interior drives and drive-through lanes shall be designed so as to prevent blockage of vehicles entering or leaving the site. Drives may be one-way or two-way, with any one-way drives being clearly marked.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, areas provided for loading and unloading of delivery trucks and other vehicles and for the servicing of shops by refuse collection, fuel and other service vehicles shall be adequate in size and shall be so arranged that they may be used without blockage or interference with the use of accessways or automobile parking facilities.
(7) Lighting.
(a) The parking, loading, ingress and egress areas of any zoning district shall be provided with sufficient lighting for security purposes.
(b) All lighting shall be completely shielded and/or covered by an appropriate translucent cover to prevent the light source from being directly visible from streets and dwellings.
(c) See glare provisions in §240-24.
(8) Shopping cart storage. Any establishment which furnishes carts or mobile baskets as an adjunct to shopping shall provide semi-enclosed areas within parking areas for the storage of said carts. Each storage area shall be clearly marked for the storage of shopping carts.
D. Design and landscaping controls for residential districts.
(1) Landscaping. Any residential subdivision or land, development shall give careful attention to providing attractive landscaping. The developer shall submit an overall landscape plan for all subdivisions or land developments. The landscape plan shall be prepared in accordance with Chapter 205, Subdivision and Land Development.
(2) Access and traffic control.
(a) All streets and driveways entering onto any public street shall be located at least 60 feet from the intersection of any street center line and shall be designed in a manner conducive to safe ingress and egress. Where practical, exits shall be located on less heavily traveled streets (such as minor streets rather than arterial or collector streets).
(b) The developer shall be responsible to install and pay for any traffic control devices, widening of abutting streets or construction of acceleration/deceleration lanes or other improvements required by PADOT or determined by the Board of Supervisors to be necessary for the reasonable ingress and egress to the development.
E. Design controls for industrial and business park districts.
(1) Purpose of this section. The purpose of this section is to recognize the need for well-designed industrial and business park districts that are compatible with the character of existing developments within the township; to recognize the humanistic needs of the users and employees relative to the organization and arrangement of outdoor spaces; and further, to recognize the industrial and business park districts adjacent to residential districts which necessitate design controls to maintain, preserve and protect property values and the character of residential properties and neighborhoods.
(2) A sketch plan submission is very strongly encouraged prior to the submission of formal preliminary plans. The developer, in addition to complying with the requirements of Chapter 205, Subdivision and Land Development, shall file site and architectural design plans reflecting the following criteria:
(a) The proposed development shall be designed and constructed in accordance with building and site plans and elevations of all facades that will produce an overall architectural and landscaping theme. Each building shall be designed to blend with the existing development and architectural character of the neighborhood and community and shall minimize external evidence of the nature of any industrial types of operations conducted therein.
(3) Proposed buildings shall be compatible with adjacent buildings and shall relate in a harmonious manner concerning size, materials and color.
(4) Proposed buildings shall not have large unbroken external walls, but shall vary in plan and in height so as to result in attractive, well-planned and well-designed structures with varying uses on and adjacent to the site these varying building planes shall be required for all walls facing public or private streets and zoning district boundaries.
(5) The exterior facades of all buildings shall be finished in decorative masonry, brick, stone, glass or equivalent construction.
(6) Building accent lighting shall consider the effect of the lighting on building occupants and neighbors. Light sources shall be screened. Landscape accent lighting, including up-lighting for trees and buildings and low down lights, shall be of low intensity and shall be designed to prevent shadows or glare on adjacent public ways.
(7) Pedestrian lighting shall illuminate walkways either from low-level accent lights or uniform height ( 10 feet to 12 feet) light standards which clearly and safely identify the circulation path.
(8) Architectural lighting shall complement the building elements in a functional manner, and the design of street and pedestrian lighting shall be coordinated throughout the site. The quality of lighting, including color, intensity and shielding of sources shall be deemed an integral part of the overall plan design.
(9) All business uses shall be carried on in completely enclosed buildings. Storage may be permitted outdoors only if such storage is effectively screened by a decorative masonry wall or evergreen landscaping as outlined by Subsection C(3). In addition, all applicable general performance standards (§240-24) and environmental protection requirements (§240-25) shall apply.
(10) Buildings and building groups shall be designed, planned and constructed to promote the human use of a site through the provision of integrated pedestrian and vehicle circulation systems and the provision of attractive outdoor areas for the use of employees during their lunchtime and breaks. The provision of child day-care facilities and outdoor recreation facilities such as a ball field, picnic areas, pathways and walkways are strongly encouraged.
(11) Pathways and walkways shall be provided to link building entrances, any open spaces, other pathways and walkways and nearby pedestrian destinations to the maximum extent possible.
(12) Industrial and business parks shall be physically organized to create a campus type of development of buildings and building groups placed in a unified manner to create usable outdoor open spaces for employees, such as courtyards and outdoor lunch areas.
(13) Scenic and natural resources of the tract and historic buildings shall be protected.
(14) Buildings, building groups and related outdoor spaces shall be designed to promote visual interest, usable attractive outdoor spaces, attractive vistas and focal points and architectural and landscape themes. These objectives shall be achieved through the effective siting of structures and plant materials and the careful- integration of grading
(15) Additional submission requirements. All required preliminary and final plans and any accompanying elevations, sections and diagrams shall address the following:
(a) The developer shall submit plans and/or documentation demonstrating compliance with the requirements of Subsection E. This shall include, but not be limited to, how the proposed features will assist in creating a campus style of development and how pedestrian amenities, features to add visual interest and features to ensure compatibility with adjacent development will be used.
(b) All site plans shall be prepared by a registered design professional(s) with demonstrated experience in land development engineering, landscape architecture and the relationship of architecture to the site design.
(c) Such plans shall be offered for review by the Planning Commission and the Township Conservancy Board prior to action by the Board of Supervisors.
(16) All plans of and development within business and industrial parks shall comply with the applicable general performance standards in §240-24, the environmental protection requirements in §240-25 and the design standards in this section.
F. Restrictions and covenants. If the applicant is proposing restrictions, easements and/or covenants for the development, they shall be submitted to the township for review prior to approval of the final development plans.
G. Performance standards for the I-2 District.
(1) Traffic control.
(a) Any change in use on the land or in an existing building or any expansion or modification of an existing building not already depicted in a previously approved land development application that may result in additional peak-hour traffic 20 or any application for land development shall be accompanied by a traffic study prepared in accordance with Chapter 205, Subdivision and Land Development, as amended. Such study may incorporate a plan or narrative which establishes the promotion of flexible employee time requirements, carpooling, and other traffic demand management techniques designed to reduce/control the site entrance trip generation. If an applicant chooses to utilize traffic demand management techniques, the required traffic study must incorporate a plan or narrative establishing how said techniques will be implemented. The narrative shall state the minimum number of years during which the techniques will be used.
(b) The maximum number of a.m. or p.m. peak hour trips from all site entrances shall not exceed 3,500. It shall be demonstrated that, according to the most current edition of the Trip Generation Manual of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and any traffic demand management techniques presented as part of the traffic study, that the maximum combined number of projected trips occurring at all site entrances during the a.m. or p.m. peak hours shall be limited to not more than 3,500 trips. The applicant shall have the option of submitting a trip generation study based upon comparable use(s) at another site(s) mutually agreed upon by the applicant and township if:
[1] The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) trip generation statistics for the Proposed use are not available; or
[2] A facility exists that would more accurately reflect anticipated trip generation for the proposed land development(s).
(c) It is understood that projected trips generated for a use(s) as set forth in the required traffic study are estimates, and all determinations of compliance with the trip limitations contained in this chapter shall be based upon actual traffic counts (subject to mutually accepted adjustment for partially completed land developments) as provided herein above. Therefore, no conditions shall be imposed upon a land development which limit the number of trips to those estimated for a particular use(s) unless the estimate(s) of trips generated for said proposed use(s) would cause a violation of Subsection G(l)(b).
(d) Site entrances, to the extent environmentally and economically feasible, shall be provided directly onto Paoli Pike. Site entrances onto East Boot Road or Line Road shall be limited as follows:
[1] A total of two site entrances shall be permitted on East Boot Road, neither of which may be located east of the intersection of East Boot Road and Thorncroft Drive, and such entrances shall be channeled to direct and receive traffic from North Chester Road.
[2] A total of three site entrances shall be permitted on Line Road. Any site entrance(s) serving more than one lot shall be channeled to direct and receive site traffic from Paoli Pike.
(2) [Amended 11-1-1999 by Ord. No. 129-G-99] Supplemental sign regulations. There shall be no freestanding signs, except as part of a directory sign or unless permitted elsewhere in this chapter; provided, however, that in the 1-2 District one off- premises, freestanding sign shall be permitted at each entrance of an office complex identifying the location of the office complex. Such sign shall be directly illuminated and shall comply with the following regulations:
(a) If located at the Boot Road entrance to an office complex, such sign shall not exceed 15 square feet in area, exclusive of the sign's base, and shall not be more than six feet in height.
(b) If located at the Paoli Pike entrance to the office complex, such sign shall not exceed 32 square feet in area, exclusive of the sign's base, and shall not be more than six feet in height.
(c) The design, materials and construction of each sign shall be contingent upon the approval of the Board of Supervisors.
(3) Environmental hazards. Any use with the potential of creating an environmental or genetic hazard shall be strictly regulated in accordance with applicable state and federal regulations and subject to all provisions set forth in §240-24 herein.
(4) Enclosures. Except for agricultural uses, activities in this district shall be conducted in completely enclosed buildings. Storage may be permitted outside a building, only if such storage is effectively screened from view from outside of the I-2 District by a decorative masonry wall and/or landscape screening. If landscape screening is used, it shall have an initial height, when planted, of six feet and shall in no case be lower than items being stored in the enclosure. If the screen is other than living landscaped materials, its maximum height shall not exceed 10 feet.
(5) Rooftop structures. All rooftop structures, including mechanical devices, except for antennae, shall be in accordance with Subsection C(l) and shall be totally surrounded by a component of the building structure which is compatible in design and materials with the building walls and at least equal in height to the structure or mechanical devices.
(6) Landscaping controls shall be in accordance with Subsection C(l).
(7) Design controls shall be in accordance with Subsection E.
