The RD, Residential Development District is designated to provide opportunities for higher density residential development through a full variety of housing types, served by public sewer and public water in close proximity to the Borough of New Hope and accessible from the principal highway through the Township, U.S. Route 202.
A.building may be erected, altered or used, and land may be used or occupied, subject to the provisions of Articles 14, 15 and 19, for any of the following uses and for no other:
A. Permitted Principal Uses
1. Single-family detached dwellings.
2. Single-family attached dwellings.
3. Multi-family dwellings.
4. Mobile Home Park.
5. Municipal Use.
6. Forestry/Timber Harvesting.'
B. Permitted Accessory Uses
Except as provided in Section 701 C. 1., the following shall apply:
1. Accessory uses on the same lot and customarily incidental to the principal residential uses permitted in Section 701 A.
2. Parking space in accordance with Article 16.
3. Signs in accordance with Article 17.
4. No-Impact Home-Based Business
C. Conditional Uses (Refer to Article 19 for Special Provisions and Article 21 for Standards and Criteria)
1. Home Occupation; Home Professional Office which are accessory.
2. Open space for recreational and conservation purposes, subject to Article 20.
3. Life care facility; Full care facility.
4. Community Center.
5. Development under the Flexible Open Space Option on any tract not less than twenty (20) acres in area and in accordance with Article 20.
The maximum height of dwellings and other structures erected, enlarged, altered or used shall be thirty-five (35) feet, except as provided in Article 18.
Except as specified in Article 19 relative to setbacks from the Delaware Canal, the following shall apply:
A. Single-family detached residential dwelling units with on-lot sewage disposal and water supply systems shall met or exceed the following .standards:
2. Minimum Lot Width at Building Line - 125 feet
4. Maximum Impervious Surface - 35%
5. Maximum Building Coverage - 20%
6. Minimum Depth of Front Yard - 50 feet
7. Minimum Depth of Rear Yard - 45 feet
8. Minimum Individual Side Yard - 25 feet
B. Single-family detached residential dwelling units with public water supply and sewage disposal systems shall meet or exceed the following standards:
2. Minimum Lot Width at Building Line - 125 feet
4. Maximum Impervious Surface - 40%
5. Maximum Building Coverage - 20%
6. Minimum Depth of Front Yard - 40 feet
7. Minimum Depth of Rear Yard - 35 feet
8. Minimum Individual Side Yard - 20 feet
C. Single-family semi-detached dwelling units with community sewage disposal and water supply systems shall meet the following standards:
1. All area and bulk regulations as provided in Section 703.A. shall apply for each individual dwelling unit, except that the side yard requirements shall only apply to one side of the unit.
2. The side yard for each semi-detached dwelling unit shall be forty-five (45) feet.
D. Single-family semi-detached dwelling units with public water supply and sewage disposal systems shall meet the following standards:
1. All area and bulk regulations as provided in Section 703.B. shall apply for each individual dwelling unit, except that the side yard requirements shall only apply to one side of the unit.
2. The side yard for each semi-detached dwelling unit shall be 35 feet.
E. Single-family attached dwelling units and mobile home park shall meet the following standards:
1. The maximum gross density for all such units shall be five (5) dwelling units per acre.
2. All such units must be served by public sewage disposal and water supply systems.
3. The property shall be a minimum of 35 acres in size.
4. The design standards of Sections 704 and 1901 shall be met for all such dwelling units.
F. Multi-family dwelling units (apartments) and such units in a lifecare or fullcare facility shall meet or exceed the following standards:
1. The maximum gross density for all such units shall be five (5) dwelling units per acre.
2. All such units shall be served by public sewage disposal and water supply systems.
3. The property shall be a minimum of thirty-five (35) acres in size.
4. The design standards of Sections 704 and 1901 shall be met for all such dwelling units.
G. Community centers shall be in accordance with Section 503.C.2.
A. General Design Standards
1. All performance standards in the open space provisions of Article 20 shall apply.
2. The topography and natural features of the site and the direction of prevailing winds and solar orientation shall be analyzed and evaluated in planning, designing, locating, orienting and constructing all residential buildings and other structures, to improve the aesthetic design and energy efficiency of the development. The development plans shall show and supplemental notes shall explain how these factors are incorporated into the design. The analysis and evaluation of these factors shall be evidenced by plans, maps, illustrations, and the like.
3. Residential buildings and other structures shall be located, oriented and designed to create architectural interest and to preserve areas of environmental concern and further the amenities of light and air, recreation and visual enjoyment.
4. Residential buildings and other structures shall be located and situated to promote pedestrian and visual access to open space, in accordance with the provisions of Article 20.
5. Single-family attached dwellings and multi-family (apartment) buildings shall be designed and constructed in staggered groups and not in long rows parallel to street or property lines. The arrangement of such units shall create a physical and visual distinction in the lines of the facades and the roof s of at least three (3) feet. Such distinctions shall be achieved through the use of varied floor plans for adjoining units and alternating the projections and angles of exterior walls and roofs, exterior fencing and other diversified space articulating techniques.
6. All housing shall be sited so as to enhance privacy.
7.The maximum impervious surface coverage shall be forty (40) percent.
8. The maximum building coverage shall be twenty-five (25) percent.
9. Development within one hundred fifty (150) feet of the perimeter of the property shall be designed to be harmonious with neighboring residential land uses from an architectural height and volume standpoint.
10. All utilities shall be placed and/or installed underground.
11. Refuse stations to serve residential and recreational areas shall be designed with suitable opaque fencing with a minimum height of six (6) feet, located so as to be convenient for trash removal and not offensive to nearby residential areas.
12. Any preparatory flood control work shall be completed before construction of buildings is started.
B. Dimensional Standards
1. The length of any single-family attached dwellings shall not exceed six dwelling units in any single direction.
2. The length of any multi-family building shall not exceed 180 feet in any single direction.
3. No building shall be less than one hundred (100) feet from any RD district boundary line which abuts an RA, RB, or VR district, and fifty (50) feet from the perimeter property line of any tract within the RD district; and no accessory structure shall be less than twenty-five (25) feet from such property line, except for signs and those structures associated with ingress and egress, lighting standards, benches and the like.
4. No building shall be closer than fifty (50) feet from any other building.
5. No building shall be closer than fifty (50) feet from the street line.
6. A buffer area of fifty (50) feet in width shall be provided along the perimeter property lines, within which a twenty (20) foot buffer planting strip shall be provided, both of which shall be in accordance with Section 1908 H.
7. No common parking area shall be closer than twenty (20) feet to any single-family attached residential building or multi-family building and shall be screened from any such buildings to prevent direct glare from headlights and other lights. However, common parking areas assigned to particular dwelling units shall not be more than 100 feet from the assigned dwelling units.
8. A 20-foot buffer planting area shall be provided between any two principal buildings, in accordance with the approved landscaping plan, in the fifty (50) feet required between buildings.
C. Open Space Standards
1. A minimum of forty (40) percent of the property shall be designated as, restricted to and used for open space uses, subject to the provisions in Article 20.
2. A minimum of ten (10) percent of the property shall be devoted to, and constructed, to provide active recreation use. Such recreation lands may be counted as part of the open space requirement described in Section C. I above, however, no more than (5) percent of the active recreation use in the form of structures such as parking, tennis courts or other paved surfaces, as walkways, fitness courses and stations, and the like, shall take place in the required buffer area and buffer planting strip.
D. Stormwater Control
1. The storm draining system shall be designed and constructed so as to minimize erosion and flooding, using as necessary, drainage easements, swales, catchment basins, silt traps, and the design of cartways so as to minimize runoff.
2. Where existing storm sewers are deemed by the Board of Supervisors as accessible, the Board may require that proposed development connect therewith.
3. All stormwater management design standards shall be in accordance with the provisions for Design Standards and Required Improvements embodied in the Solebury Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, as may be amended from time to time.
4. Storm sewer systems for the development shall be designed, constructed and shall operate and be readily capable of being maintained to prevent concentration of stormwater runoff on adjacent developed or undeveloped properties and streets and other areas of impervious surface.
5. The design and construction of all storm drainage facilities and storm sewer systems shall be subject to the approval of the Township.
E. Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control
1 .Plans submitted for any development shall conform to the guidelines for minimizing erosion and sedimentation as set forth in the Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Manual of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources prepared by the State Conservation Commission and Bureau of Water Quality Management and the U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service, as amended. In developing a plan for the control of erosion and sedimentation, the developer shall meet as a minimum the standards and specifications outlined in the aforementioned manual, as well as the standards set forth in the Solebury Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
F. Other Environmental Controls
1. In addition to the controls presented in the above subsections herein, all development shall be governed by the environmental controls set forth in Article 18, Section 1811, pertaining to such matters as noise, vibration, storage, glare and heat, fire and explosion, and traffic control; and all plans, documents and other submissions in regard to any approval sought shall demonstrate compliance herewith to the Board of Supervisors.
G. Streets and Pathways
1. The street system shall be designed so as to relate harmoniously with land uses within and adjacent to the development through the establishment of a hierarchy of roadway functions which includes internal collector and local streets, to create a separation of automobile and pedestrian traffic through the coordinated design of streets, dwelling units, open space areas and pedestrian walkways, to create efficient and safe connections with the existing road system of the municipality in order to ensure proper ingress and egress and to minimize through traffic in residential areas.
2. Internal collector streets and local streets shall be so designated and shall have a minimum right-of-way of sixty (60) feet and minimum cartway widths of twenty-eight (28) and twenty-six (26) feet respectively.
3. Cul-de-sac streets shall be in accordance with the Solebury Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
4. In order to separate automobile and pedestrian circulation and to increase accessibility to common open space areas, pedestrian walkways and pathways shall be provided throughout the property.
5. The construction of streets must conform to the standards set forth in the Solebury Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance relative to paving specifications, cartway design, horizontal and vertical alignment, sight distances and the like.
H. Parking
1. All provisions of Article 16 shall apply. However, in the case of dwelling units with three (3) or more bedrooms, four (4) parking spaces for each such unit shall be provided, exclusive of attached garage space.
2. In addition to the number of off-street parking spaces required above, an additional ten (10%) percent allowance for visitor parking space shall be made, which shall provide at least twenty-five (25) visitor parking spaces.
3. Off-street parking spaces shall not be less than nine and one half (9.5) feet in width and nineteen (19) feet in depth. However, four (4) percent of the spaces shall not be less than twelve and one half (12.5) feet in width and nineteen (19) feet in depth and shall be reserved for the handicapped and so marked with an appropriate symbol.
4. Where parking spaces are grouped in lots, aisles at least twenty-five (25) feet in width shall be provided.
5. Parking areas shall be screened and landscaped as required in Article 16, Section 1608.
6. No more than sixty (60) parking spaces shall be accommodated in any single parking area.
7. All off-street parking and/or loading areas shall be surfaced with an asphaltic or portland cement pavement.
I. Lighting
1. All streets, off-street parking areas, and areas of intensive pedestrian use shall be lighted. All such lighting shall be designed and located so as to direct light away from adjacent residences.
2. Lighting shall be provided after dark. Lighting fixtures shall be provided for walkways and to identify steps, ramps, and signs. Such lighting shall be designed and located so as to direct light away from adjacent residences.
J. Tree Conservation and Landscaping
1. Existing trees shall be preserved wherever possible. The protection of trees ten (10) inches or more in caliper (measured at a height four and one-half (4 1/2) feet above the original grade) shall be a factor in determining the location of open space, structures, underground utilities, walks and paved areas. Areas in which trees are to be preserved shall remain at original grade level and in an undisturbed condition. For every tree of ten (10) inches or more in caliper which is removed, as evidenced in a woodland and tree inventory plan, the Board of Supervisors may require that a tree of at least two (2) inches in caliper is planted in addition to the required street trees.
2. Where extensive natural tree cover and vegetation does not exist or cannot be preserved on the site, landscaping shall be regarded as an essential feature of the development. In these cases, extensive landscaping shall be undertaken in order to enhance the appearance of the development, aid in erosion control, provide protection from wind and sun, screen streets and parking areas, and enhance the privacy of dwelling units.
3. Street trees shall be provided along all internal collector and local streets in accordance with Section 1908.
4. A buffer area of fifty. (50) feet in width shall be provided along all perimeter property lines, within which a twenty (20) foot buffer planting strip shall be provided, both of which shall be in accordance with Article 19.
5. Buildings and parking areas shall be landscaped in accordance with Section 1908.
