How Can We Help?

You are here:
< Back

§ 265-502        Specific Conditional Use Standards

  1. Automotive Sales And Leasing
    1. The impervious area utilized for the retail display of vehicles shall not exceed twice that of the gross floor area of the principal structure.
    2. A full parking plan shall be submitted delineating areas reserved for employee and customer parking versus those to be utilized for retail display of vehicles.
    3. Display of vehicles shall be within parking spaces that are striped and landscaped in accordance with those standards otherwise applied to parking lots throughout this Chapter.
    4. In lieu of screening requirements, the applicant may install one additional ornamental tree for every thirty feet of screening omitted in order to permit visibility of the retail display of vehicles on the lot. Said trees shall be installed within the landscaping area from which the required screening was omitted.
  2. Billboards are authorized as a conditional use as follows in the C-3 Heavy commercial district on otherwise vacant parcels of land.
    1. The billboard shall be limited to 200 square feet.
    2. The billboard shall be set back a minimum of 500 feet from the property line of any lot bearing an existing single family dwelling.
    3. The billboard shall be setback at least 100 feet from any side or rear property line not withstanding stricter provisions regarding residentially zoned properties.
    4. The billboard shall be set back at least 20 feet from any street and shall be located within 125 feet of the right of way of Route 28 and oriented to Route 28.
    5. Manual changeable copy signs and electronic message centers as defined in Article VIII are not permitted in association with a billboard.
    6. No flashing or colored lighting are permitted in association with any billboard.
  3. Drive Through Facilities and Car Washes
    1. A minimum of 100 feet as a stacking lane shall be provided with an additional twenty feet of stacking required for each bay or station beyond one. The lane(s) shall be at least ten feet in width. 
    2. Drive through facilities shall be situated on parcels bearing a lot size of 20,000 square feet or greater.
    3. All drive through lanes shall abide by the same setbacks imposed on principal building structures as applied to the lot on which the facility is constructed.
  4. Animal Hospital or Clinic, Commercial Kennel
    1. Exterior runs shall be enclosed by a secured opaque fence of six feet in height which shall be setback the same distance as required for principal building, as applied to the lot on which the establishment operates. Use of the runs shall not occur before 8 am and after 9 pm. 
  5. Hospitals and Transitional Residential Facilities
    1. Notwithstanding stricter standards otherwise applied by this Chapter, the principal building housing the establishment or facility shall be set back 300 feet from a preexisting dwelling unit, day care or adult day care center, nursery school, or local public use, church, or other hospital. The same requirement shall apply to heliports accessory to the facility.  The establishment shall be situated on a lot with a lot area of one acre or greater.
  6. Service Station
    1. No gasoline service station shall be located within 1,000 feet of a preexisting service station.
    2. Access driveways to the service station shall be at least 30 feet from the intersection of any public street.
    3. Fuel pumps, air towers and water outlets may be located outside an enclosed building, provided that no portion of these facilities shall be closer than 10 feet of any property line.
    4. Inspections, lubrication, oil changes, tire changes and similar minor repairs are permitted if conducted entirely within a building.
    5. All automobile pails and supplies shall be stored within a building, except that automotive supplies may be displayed for sale at the fuel pump and at a distance no greater than five feet from the pumps.
  7. Industrial Uses in the CC Commercial Center District
    1. Loading spaces required by this Chapter shall be provided on site and out of any public right of way.
    2. Existing retail storefronts shall be preserved such that they may be utilized for future retail or use or ancillary retail use as related to the establishment.
    3. Noise or fumes associated with the production process shall not be discernible outside of the principal building.
    4. With the exception of loading and unloading in authorized spaces, no part of the production process, including storage of materials, shall occur outside of a completely enclosed building.
  8. Adult Uses and Businesses
    1. Adult businesses may be established only in the HCM District.
    2. Persons or owners who intend to open an adult business must obtain from the Borough of Tarentum a license to operate such an enterprise and must pay a five hundred dollar ($500.00) investigation fee to the Borough. In addition, such persons or owners must supply to the Borough detailed information as to the ownership and financing as required on the licensing application form.  This form can be obtained at the office of the Borough Secretary. This paragraph does not apply to nonconforming uses.
    3. No adult business may be located within five hundred feet (500’) of a pre-existing residence, mental health/mental retardation centers, community action centers, nonprofit centers established to help the mentally infirm or families or children, schools, private and public, pre-schools, hospitals, nursing homes, sanitariums, retirement or convalescent homes, group homes, personal care homes, public parks, churches or synagogue or other place of worship, and establishments which are licensed to and does sell alcoholic beverages or to other adult business.
    4. No adult business may be located within two hundred and fifty feet (250’) of an area zoned residential.
    5. An adult business shall be initially licensed, where is has met all ordinance requirements, through December 31st of the year in which the license is used. For each year thereafter that the adult business intends to continue its business as an adult commercial enterprise, it must seek from the office of the Secretary of the Borough of Tarentum a renewal of this license.  The application for renewal is due in the Secretary’s office no later than November 21st of the year preceding the year for which the license renewal is sought.  The lack of a license or the failure to seek license renewal on a timely basis shall be a proper basis for the Borough to deny or revoke an Occupancy Permit to an adult bookstore, adult movie theater, bar or similar adult commercial enterprise or other adult establishment.
    6. Operators of adult businesses shall comply with all applicable provisions of Borough Ordinance 95-3, as amended.
    7. Any adult bookstore, X-rated movie rental on any format, adult movie theater, or similar adult commercial enterprise or other adult entertainment establishment found to be in violation of this Ordinance, as amended, shall be subject to the enforcement penalties provided for in Article XIII and/or the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
  9. Gas and Oil Extraction, Mineral Extraction
    1. The applicant shall submit evidence that all required materials have been submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection.
    2. The applicant shall submit a statement of understanding concerning the noise limitations set forth in the supplemental standards of this chapter and shall to the furthest extent practical, meet said ordinance.
    3. The applicant shall submit cross sections of the proposed access where it meets Borough streets.
    4. The applicant shall submit sight distance measurements for the access drive, whether proposed or existing.
    5. The applicant shall submit a plan showing the access route (of Borough or state roads) over which heavy equipment will travel to the site.
    6. The applicant shall meet all current minimum driveway sight distance standards and shall demonstrate that the point of access to any Borough street will not cause the deposition of mud or debris onto said street.
    7. The applicant shall post all necessary street and road bonding as approved by the Borough Engineer.
    8. Mining: Deep or open pit mining shall be permitted only upon authorization of the Borough Council, as a result of a public hearing held thereon by the Borough Council, duly advertised as provided by law, and further subject to all rules and regulations of the Commonwealth that apply to such operation, plus additional safeguards to the public health, safety, and general welfare deemed necessary by the Borough Council.
  10. Communications Towers
    1. Lot Size: The lot size dimensions (depth and width) shall be dictated by the fall radius of the tower.  The minimum dimensions shall be the radius of the height of the tower in each direction.The communications company is required to demonstrate, using technological evidence that the antenna must go where it is proposed, in order to satisfy its function in the company’s grid system.
    2. If the communications company proposes to build a tower (as opposed to mounting the antenna on an existing structure), it is required to demonstrate that it contacted the owners of tall structures within a one-quarter (1/4) mile radius of the site proposed, asked for permission to install the antenna on those structures, and was denied for reasons other than economic ones. This would include smoke stacks, water towers, tall buildings, antenna support structures of other communications companies, other communications towers (fire, police, etc.), and other tall structures. 
    3. The applicant shall demonstrate that the antenna is the minimum height required to function satisfactorily. No antenna that is taller than this minimum height shall be approved.  In addition, no antenna shall exceed one hundred ninety nine feet (199′) in height.
    4. All communications towers not erected in the RRO District shall be stealth towers. A stealth tower is a Communications Tower which is not recognizable as a conventional Communications Tower (e.g. a metal lattice structure), but instead is disguised or concealed in such a fashion as to conform to its surroundings.  Examples of such stealth towers include a tower which looks like a tree or a clock tower, or one which is concealed in a church steeple or concrete silo.
    5. The Borough Council may waive the stealth tower requirement where the applicant can demonstrate that the requirement is not necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare, considering items such as impact on surrounding and abutting property values; height; screening; number of uses per tower, including public uses; location; and actual setbacks.
    6. Setbacks from base of antenna support structure: If a new antenna support structure is constructed (as opposed to mounting the antenna on an existing structure), the minimum distance between the base of the support structure or any guy wire anchors and any property line shall be the largest of the following:
      1. One hundred percent (100%) of antenna height.
      2. The minimum setback in the underlying zoning district.
      3. Fifty feet (50′) minimum.
    7. Fencing: A fence shall be required around the antenna support structure and other equipment, unless the antenna is mounted on an existing structure.  The fence shall be a minimum of eight feet (8′) in height.
    8. Landscaping: The following landscaping shall be required to screen as much of the support structure as possible, the fence surrounding the support structure, and any other ground level features (such as a building), and in general soften the appearance of the cell site.  Tarentum Borough may permit any combination of existing vegetation, topography, walls, decorative fences or other features instead of landscaping, if they achieve the same degree of screening as the required landscaping.  If the antenna is mounted on an existing structure, and other equipment is housed inside an existing structure, landscaping shall not be required.
    9. An evergreen screen shall be required to surround the site. The screen can be either a hedge (planted three feet [3′] on center maximum) or a row of evergreen trees (planted ten feet [10′] on center maximum).  The evergreen screen shall be a minimum height of six feet (6′) at planting, and shall grow to a minimum of fifteen feet (15′) at maturity.
    10. In addition, existing vegetation on and around the site shall be preserved to the greatest extent possible.
    11. In order to reduce the number of antenna support structures needed in the community in the future, the proposed support structure shall be required to accommodate other users, including other communications companies, and local police, fire, ambulance services and Borough authority and road departments. In addition, a linear two (2) mile separation shall be maintained between communications towers, measured from the base of the support structure.
    12. The communications company must demonstrate that it is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission.
    13. Antenna support structures should be painted silver or have a galvanized finish retained, in order to reduce the visual impact. Support structures may be painted green up to the height of nearby trees.  Support structures near airports, shall meet all Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Aviation and Federal Aviation Administration regulations.  No antenna support structure may be artificially lighted except as provided for and required by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Aviation and FAA.
    14. A plan shall be required for all cell sites, showing the antenna, antenna support structure, building, fencing, buffering, and access to public rights-of-way. The plan shall not be required if the antenna is to be mounted on an existing structure.
    15. In granting the use, Borough Council may attach reasonable conditions warranted to protect the public health, safety and welfare, including, but not limited to, location, fencing, screening, increased setbacks and the right to use said facilities for public purposes.
    16. All approvals will be only for specific facilities set forth in the application. No additions or alterations thereto, other than co-location which meets all associated setbacks, will be permitted without a new application and accompanying conditional use approval.
  11. Mobile Home Parks
    1. A mobile home park shall have principal access from a street or highway capable of handling the traffic generated by the park and providing adequate access for the individual mobile units without impairing the normal traffic operations of the street or highway.
    2. Ten percent of the park’s gross site area shall be set aside for common open space, including recreation areas, community buildings, storage facilities for park residents, laundry facilities, management offices for the park and storage of park maintenance equipment.
    3. All internal roads and parking areas shall be improved with an asphalt or similar all-weather surface. Internal roads shall be designed to meet anticipated traffic loads and shall have a minimum cartway width of 28 feet.
    4. The park operator shall obtain required permits and approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Allegheny County and Borough agencies for the sanitary sewer and water supply systems.
    5. Borough storm drainage standards shall apply to a mobile home park. A park shall have an erosion and sedimentation plan in compliance with Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection regulations and reviewed by the Allegheny County Conservation District and approved by the Borough Engineer.
    6. Landscaping and planting shall be provided in accordance with Article X.
    7. No individual mobile home shall be closer than 20 feet to any street right-of-way or to any property line of the park, nor shall any unit be located within a one-hundred-year floodplain.
    8. The following lot area and setback requirements shall apply for individual home lots:
      1. Lot area: 6,000 square feet.
      2. No mobile home unit shall be sited to be within 15 feet of any other unit or accessory structure.
      3. An enclosure of compatible design and material to the exterior of the mobile home shall be erected around its entire base. Such enclosure shall provide sufficient ventilation to inhibit decay and deterioration of the structure. The hitch which is employed for the normal movement of the unit shall be removed.
    9. No mobile home shall be erected on a mobile home lot except upon a mobile home pad. Each mobile home unit shall have its own separate pad.
      1. Each mobile home pad shall be at least equal in length and width to the dimensions of the mobile home to be placed on the pad.
      2. The pad, at least six inches in thickness, shall be constructed from either concrete, asphalt or other material adequate to support the mobile home and to prevent abnormal settling or heaving under the weight of the home, In order to prevent wind overturn and rocking, the corners of the mobile homes shall be secured with at least six tie-downs such as concrete dead men, screw augers, arrowhead anchors or other devices suitable to withstand a tension of at least 2,800 pounds.
      3. Each mobile home shall be set level on sturdy and substantial supports.
    10. Two off-street parking spaces shall be provided for each mobile home lot.
    11. Parking shall comply with Articles IX and X of this Chapter.
  12. Similar Uses, Undefined
    1. The Zoning Officer shall formally determine that the use is not classified under any use definition of which the particular use is authorized in any district.
    2. The use shall be reasonably similar to other uses authorized in the district in terms of general intensity, impact of noise and lighting, and hours of operation.
    3. Borough Council, in its written decision, shall set forth parameters for future expansions or alterations of the use, wherein expansions or changes to the particular establishment which is the subject of use approval beyond those limitations stated in the decision shall require additional conditional use approval to determine continuity as a undefined similar uses.
Categories: