[Added 5/22/001
A. In order to achieve these purposes listed in Section 102 of this Ordinance, this Article provides for flexibility in designing new residential subdivisions by allowing four forms of "by-right" development referred to as "options", as summarized below:
1. Option One: Neutral Density and Basic Conservation, providing for residential uses at the density permitted by the underlying zoning. Greenspace Lands comprise at least half the tract (50 % or more). The flexibly designed layouts work well with either individual wells and septic systems located in the open space or with central wells and sewage treatment facilities.
2. Option Two: Enhanced Density with Greater Conservation, providing for higher density residential uses and a larger percentage (60% or more) of Greenspace Land in more flexibly designed layouts with other improvements serving the community such as central wells and sewage treatment facilities. .
3. Option Three: Country Properties, providing for very low densities appropriate to rural situations, with flexible and reduced design standards in instances where a permanent conservation easement is offered to maintain such uses. .
4. Option Four : Conservancy Lot Properties, providing for lower densities appropriate to rural situations and a smaller percentage (40% or more) of Greenspace Land where a permanent conservation easement is offered to maintain such uses. .
In addition, this Article provides for a fifth and sixth option, which will require 70% Greenspace, available through the Conditional Use permitting process, as described below:
5. Option Five: Hamlets and Villages, allowing for higher density development designed according to special guidelines to ensure that the resulting form incorporates the design principles of traditional villages and hamlets. .
6. Option Six:Village Mixed Use / Commercial Areas, allowing for higher density development incorporating commercial ventures designed according to special guidelines to ensure that the resulting form incorporates the design principles of traditional villages and hamlets. .
The design of all new subdivisions in the Conservation Design Residential Overlay District shall be governed by the following minimum standards:
A. Ownership:
The tract of land may be held in single and separate ownership or in multiple ownership. However, when a tract is held in multiple ownership, it shall be planned as a single entity with common authority and common responsibility.
B. Site Suitability:
As evidenced by the Existing Conditions/Site Analysis Map, the conceptual Preliminary Plan, and the detailed Final Plan, the subdivision shall meet all applicable criteria contained herein for the design option(s) utilized.
C. Combining the Design Options:
The various layout and density options described in this Article may be combined at the discretion of the Governing body, based upon demonstration by the applicant that such a combination would better fulfill the intent of this Ordinance, in particular the stated purposes of this Article, as compared with applying a single option to the property.
D. Intersections and Access:
New intersections with existing public roads shall be minimized. Although two access ways into and out of subdivisions containing more than 15 (fifteen) dwellings are generally required for safety, proposals for more than two entrances onto public roads shall be discouraged if they would unnecessarily disrupt traffic flow. New Intersections with existing roads will be designed to handle the increased level of service in accordance with PenDOT Standards.
E. Sensitive Area Disturbance:
The proposed design shall strictly minimize disturbance of environmentally sensitive areas, as shown on the Existing Conditions and Site Analysis Map. Lands within the 100- year floodplain, or having slopes in excess of 20%, and rock outcroppings constitute such environmentally sensitive areas, where disturbance shall be strictly minimized. Demonstration by the applicant that these features will be protected by the proposed application shall be prerequisite to approval of both the Conceptual Preliminary Plan and the Detailed Final Plan.
F. Community Wastewater Systems:
In developments that are proposed to be served by community wastewater disposal systems, the selection of wastewater treatment technique shall be based upon the Township's "Ordered List of Preferred Alternative Types of Community Wastewater Systems" (from Tables V-3 and V-4 of its Act 537 Plan).
G. Fire Protection Water Supply
In proposed developments where structures are to be placed within 35 feet of each other there shall be provided a water supply system meeting NFPA fire fighting requirements.
Land in the Conservation Design Overlay District may be used for the following purposes:
A. Single-family detached dwellings in Options 1, 2, 3 and 4 subdivisions:
1. On all tracts of land proposed for major subdivision detached dwellings are permitted under the standards found in Sections 1304A and 1305A herein.
2. On all tracts of land proposed for minor subdivision single-family detached dwellings are permitted under the standards for Options I and 2 found in Sections 1304A and 1305A. In addition, when the subject property does not contain resources as defined on Maps 1A-IC in the Open Space Plan it may be developed with conventional lots no smaller than 1.75 acres Adjusted Tract Acreage, as described in Section 404. C.1. Conservation design shall be required on any property containing resources defined in the Open Space Plan.
B. Residential buildings for two, three and four households in Option 5 and 6 subdivisions.
Option 5 and 6 subdivisions shall be designed and built according to the standards in Sections 1304G and 1305A.
C. Greenspace Land
Greenspace Land comprising a portion of residential development, as specified above and according to requirements of Section 1306.
D. Home Occupations
Such home occupations as professional office for private practice involving one individual; dressmaking, millinery, antique dealing, and similar handicrafts. (See Section 807).
E. Renting of rooms within a single-family dwelling.
F. Bed and Breakfast Establishments
Bed and Breakfast establishments provided all agricultural/residential criteria are met. Parking shall be in compliance with Section 806.H.
G. The following non-residential uses.
1. Agricultural uses, including horticultural, wholesale nurseries, and the raising of crops, and buildings related to the mine, but specifically excluding mushroom houses.
2. Wood lots, arboreta, and other similar silvicultural uses.
3. Woodland preserve, game preserve, wildlife sanctuary, or other similar conservation use.
4. Agricultural uses, including crop and livestock fanning utilizing such accessory buildings as barns, chicken houses, corn cribs and similar farm outbuildings, but excluding mushroom production.
5. The sale of farm products grown or produced within the Township and of such products of home handicraft produced within the Township and the erection of a roadside stand for such purposes. This shall not include the sale of gasoline and products produced outside of the Township.
6. Municipal or public uses; public park or recreation area owned and operated by a public or private nonprofit agency; governmental or public utility building or use; not to include storage of materials, trucking or repair facilities, the housing of repair crews, private or municipal sanitary landfills.
7. The removal of any top soil in excess of ten (10) percent of the area of any lot or farm existing at the time of passage of this Ordinance shall not be permitted anywhere in the Township. Areas having more than fifteen (15) inches of topsoil shall be exempt from this restriction.
8. Storage of motorized vehicles shall comply with Section 803.A and 811 of this Ordinance.
H. Accessory Uses
Accessory uses shall be permitted on the same lot with and customarily incidental to any permitted use and not conducted as an independent principal use.
1. Private swimming pools. Section 820.A and 8l0.C of this Ordinance shall apply to all existing and proposed pools. Section 810.13 of this Ordinance shall apply to all proposed pools.
2. Shed workshop, or storage building.
3 . Man-made ponds.
4. Fences (Amended 11/8/93)
5. Accessory building units are permitted in Option 3 (Country Properties) subdivisions and Option 4 (Conservancy Lot) subdivisions are subject to the following provisions:
a. Accessory building units in principal residences or in new traditional outbuildings (such as barns, stables, carriage houses, and spring houses) shall be designed to harmonize with vernacular rural buildings in the Township's historic landscape.
b. Three accessory buildings are allowed on lots up to 10 acres. One additional accessory building is allowed for each additional 5 acres of land provided all performance standards are met.
c. The total gross floor area in accessory buildings shall not exceed 50% of the maximum total lot coverage. However, on lots exceeding fifteen (15) acres, one of the accessory buildings may take the form of a tenant house containing up to 2000 sq. ft. of floor space. Under this section, existing historic accessory buildings more than 75 years old that exceed these floor space limits may be permitted by the Board to be used as accessory buildings without having to meet the maximum size or dimensional setback requirements of this ordinance.
d. Building permits for an accessory building shall not be issued until the applicant demonstrates to the board that a restrictive easement has been placed on the subject property prohibiting the creation of additional accessory buildings beyond the limits described above. Issuance of permits for accessory buildings shall be contingent upon Chester County Health Department approval for any on-site septic sewage disposal systems needed.
I. Conditional Uses
1. Mushroom houses in accordance with the provisions of farm regulations, Section 403(B) of this Ordinance.
2. Cemeteries
3. Non-Profit Organizations (Amended 6/10/91)
4. Schools
5 . Places of Worship
6. Telephone Central Office and Electric Substations
7. Dump, landfill or area used for the disposal of sewage, industrial, or like waste, provided that such area or facility is owned and operated only by London Britain Township or a Municipal Authority, of which London Britain Township is a member; and provided further that any such dump, landfill or disposal area, whether operated by the Township or such Municipal Authority, or operated by another entity or person by virtue of any preemptive law or regulation of any governmental body superior to the Township, shall only be located and operated in accordance with the provisions of Section 808 of this Ordinance. (Amended 6/22/81)
8. Subdivisions of land in accordance with the underlying zoning subject to compliance with all requirements of Article IV; and demonstration that development in accordance with any of the other options would subject the owner/developer to significant economic hardship.
Additional Uses in Option 5 Subdivisions: Hamlets and Villages 1. General
a. Residential Diversity: A primary objective of the hamlet and village options is to provide for a diversity of household types, age groups, and income levels, in a manner consistent with the variety of existing homes in the municipality and with traditional village building and site development patterns. Within the overall residential density figures for villages and hamlet, new construction is to be predominantly single-family residential on a variety of compact village-scale lot sizes, which should range in area from 6,000 sq. ft. to 12,000 sq. ft. with an average lot size of 10,000 sq. ft. This component should comprise between 75% and 100% of the residential development allowed in villages, and may constitute 100% of the development in hamlets. However, in both villages and hamlets, the concept of large "Country Properties" of ten acres or more shall be encouraged, in which part of the required open space may be incorporated within lot boundaries, as "mini- farms", consistent with regulations pertaining to active and passive agriculture in other parts of this Ordinance.
b. Housing Types: Within villages and hamlets up to 12% of all new structures may be designed as semidetached (twin) structures, and a further 8% of the structures may be designed as three-or four-family structures. These percentages should be interpreted as guidelines. If an applicant elects to pursue the option for semi-detached and/or multi- family dwellings, such dwellings shall be designed to reflect the County's vernacular building tradition for such building types. When different housing types are proposed in either villages or hamlets, they shall be integrated architecturally and in scale so that they can be physically incorporated within the same streetscape as single-family dwellings and nonresidential buildings, and not isolated from each other in separate areas.
(Note: Provisions for modifying the above percentages are contained in Section 803 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, in Article XIII pertaining to Hamlets and Villages. The Section authorizes the Board, upon a positive recommendation of the Planning Commission, to modify these percentages within the spirit of that Article, when the applicant demonstrates that such waivers would not substantially diminish the traditional character of the proposed development.)
c. Locational Considerations for Hamlet and Village Uses: Residential lots in villages and hamlets shall generally not be located within five hundred (500) feet of any arterial highway having four or more lanes, nor within two hundred fifty (250) feet of any two- lane state-numbered highway, unless effectively screened from the public viewshed by virtue of topography, dense vegetation, or other physical or visual barriers.
d. Commercial/Mixed-Use Areas in villages shall be located so they are easily accessible by pedestrians from as much of the residential areas as possible (preferably within 1500 feet - a five-minute walk). Nonresidential uses that are intended to serve an area beyond the village itself shall be located to permit vehicular access from outside the village without passing through residential streets. This part of the village may be located close to state-numbered highways. (50 feet)
e. Hamlet Uses: Hamlets shall consist of residential uses only, but greater housing variety is permitted, as described above.
f. Village Uses: Villages are intended to provided for a range of complementary uses and may consist of two areas: Residential and Mixed Use/Commercial. These areas are intended to provide for the diversity necessary for traditional village life while maximizing the interactions among related uses while minimizing the adverse impacts of different uses upon each other. The Village Residential Area is intended to contain a variety of housing options and related uses. The Village Mixed Use/Commercial Area is intended primarily to provide uses that meet the retail and service needs of a traditional village center and its vicinity within one- and two-story buildings, restricted as by 1303.J.2.a and may contain other compatible uses such as civic and institutional uses of community wide importance, specifically including second-floor residential uses. The Village Mixed Use/Commercial Area may be located either at the approximate center of the village, or at the edge, near an existing Major or Minor Collector (including all state-numbered highways). If the Village Mixed Use/Commercial Area is located along such a thoroughfare, the provisions of Article V shall apply to this area.
2. Conditional Uses in Both Hamlets and Villages
The following uses are classified as Conditional Uses in the Hamlet Option and in the Village Residential Area of the Village Option.
a. Hamlets and the Village Residential Area:
Single-family detached dwellings (including both site-built and factory-built housing units meeting the minimum width design standards of this ordinance).
Two-family and three-family dwellings designed to resemble traditional multi-family homes built in the boroughs and villages of the county prior to 1930, and sited so they front directly onto streets (rather than parking areas).
Uses accessory to residential uses (including home occupations).
Small neighborhood retail not exceeding 2,000 square foot total floor space if in a single-story building, or 3,500 sq. ft. if located in a two-story building, in which the second story may be in residential use.
Standards setting upper limits on the percentage of dwellings that may be other than single- family detached, and other standards limiting the percentage of the net developable land within the village or hamlet are provided in Section 801 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
3. Conditional Uses in Village Option Subdivisions
The following additional uses are classified as Conditional Uses in the Village Option, according to area:
a. Village Residential Area:
i. Elderly congregate housing;
ii. Home occupations, provided that the proposed use will not generate more vehicular traffic than a typical single-family dwelling (10 vehicle trips/day), that it employ no more than one non-resident full time employee or the equivalent and that its off-street parking areas are effectively screened through landscaping; and iii. Neighborhood retail uses occupying not more than 2000-sq. ft. of floor space.
b. Village Mixed-Use/Commercial Area:
i. Retail uses, professional offices, and personal or professional services in buildings of 2,000 sq. ft. or less (but up to 3,500 sq. ft. if in buildings of two or more stories facing the street);
ii. Bed-and-breakfast establishments;
iii. Schools, day care centers, libraries, churches and other of worship;
iv. Single-family detached dwellings, two-, three-, and four-family dwellings designed to resemble traditional multi-family homes built in the boroughs and villages of the county, and sited so they front directly onto streets (rather than parking areas)
v. Second-story residential uses are encouraged, and shared parking arrangements (according to standards such as those advocated by the Urban Land Institute) shall be allowed.
vi. Artisan living/working uses, public utilities facilities, including substations, pumping stations, and waste treatment facilities, and uses accessory to the above.
vii. Sites for active recreation, such as organized games.
viii. Gasoline stations on the perimeter of village and subject to all Articles V regulations.
ix. Specifically excluded from the category of "retail uses" and service businesses allowed in this subdistrict are flea markets, indoor/outdoor amusement businesses, automotive sales, car washes, betting parlors, building supply stores, adult bookstores, massage parlors, and mini-storage facilities.
