Pennsylvania Statutes Title 53 P.S. Municipal and Quasi-Municipal Corporations § 10706-A. Standards and conditions for traditional neighborhood development

(1) Dwelling units of any dwelling type or configuration or any combination thereof.

(2) Those nonresidential uses deemed to be appropriate for incorporation in the design of the traditional neighborhood development.

(1) The amount, location and proposed use of common open space, providing for parks to be distributed throughout the neighborhood as well as the establishment of a centrally located public commons, square, park, plaza or prominent intersection of two or more major streets.

(2) The location and physical characteristics of the site of the proposed traditional neighborhood development, providing for the retaining and enhancing, where practicable, of natural features such as wetlands, ponds, lakes, waterways, trees of high quality, significant tree stands and other significant natural features.  These significant natural features should be at least partially fronted by public tracts whenever possible.

(3) The location and physical characteristics of the site of the proposed traditional neighborhood development so that it will develop out of the location of squares, parks and other neighborhood centers and subcenters.  Zoning changes in building type should generally occur at mid-block rather than mid-street, and buildings should tend to be zoned by compatibility of building type rather than building use.  The proposed traditional neighborhood development should be designed to work with the topography of the site to minimize the amount of grading necessary to achieve a street network, and some significant high points of the site should be set aside for public tracts for the location of public buildings or other public facilities.

(4) The location, design, type and use of structures proposed, with most structures being placed close to the street at generally the equivalent of one-quarter the width of the lot or less.  The distance between the sidewalk and residential dwellings should, as a general rule, be occupied by a semipublic attachment such as a porch or, at a minimum, a covered entryway.

(5) The location, design, type and use of streets, alleys, sidewalks and other public rights-of-way with a hierarchy of streets laid out with an interconnected network of streets and blocks that provide multiple routes from origins to destinations and are appropriately designed to serve the needs of pedestrians and vehicles equally.  As such, most streets, except alleys, should have sidewalks.

(6) The location for vehicular parking with the street plan providing for on-street parking for most streets, with the exception of alleys.  All parking lots, except where there is a compelling reason to the contrary, should be located either behind or to the side of buildings and in most cases should be located toward the center of blocks such that only their access is visible from adjacent streets.  In most cases, structures located on lots smaller than 50 feet in width should be served by a rear alley with all garages fronting on alleys.  Garages not served by an alley should be set back from the front of the house or rotated so that the garage doors do not face any adjacent streets.

(7) The minimum and maximum areas and dimensions of the properties and common open space within the proposed traditional neighborhood development and the approximate distance from the center to the edge of the traditional neighborhood development.  It is recommended that the distance from the center to the edge of the traditional neighborhood development be approximately one-quarter mile or less and not more than one-half mile.  Traditional neighborhood developments in excess of one-half mile distance from center to edge should be divided into two or more developments.

(8) The site plan to provide for either a natural or man-made corridor to serve as the edge of the neighborhood.  When standing alone, the traditional neighborhood development should front on open space to serve as its edge.  Such open space may include, but is not limited to, parks, a golf course, cemetery, farmland or natural settings such as woodlands or waterways.  When adjacent to existing development, the traditional neighborhood development should either front on open space, a street or roadway or any combination hereof.

(9) The greatest density of housing and the preponderance of office and commercial uses should be located to anchor the traditional neighborhood development.  If the neighborhood is adjacent to existing development or a major roadway then office, commercial and denser residential uses may be located at either the edge or the center, or both.  Commercial uses located at the edge of the traditional neighborhood development may be located adjacent to similar commercial uses in order to form a greater commercial corridor.

(1) Permit a variation in each section to be developed from the density or intensity of use established for the entire traditional neighborhood development.

(2) Allow for a greater concentration of density or intensity of land use within some section or sections of development, whether it be earlier or later in the development than upon others.

(3) Require that the approval of such greater concentration of density or intensity of land use for any section to be developed be offset by a smaller concentration in any completed prior stage or by an appropriate reservation of common open space on the remaining land by a grant of easement or by covenant in favor of the municipality, provided that the reservation shall as far as practicable defer the precise location of such common open space until an application for final approval is filed so that flexibility of development which is a prime objective of this article can be maintained.

(g)(1) The authority granted a municipality by Article V to establish standards for the location, width, course and surfacing of streets, walkways, curbs, gutters, street lights, shade trees, water, sewage and drainage facilities, easements or rights-of-way for drainage and utilities, reservations of public grounds, other improvements, regulations for the height and setback as they relate to renewable energy systems and energy-conserving building design, regulations for the height and location of vegetation with respect to boundary lines, as they relate to renewable energy systems and energy-conserving building design, regulations for the type and location of renewable energy systems or their components and regulations for the design and construction of structures to encourage the use of renewable energy systems, shall be vested in the governing body or the planning agency for the purposes of this article.

(2) The standards applicable to a particular traditional neighborhood development may be different than or modifications of the standards and requirements otherwise required of subdivisions or land development authorized under an ordinance adopted pursuant to Article V, provided, however, that provisions adopted pursuant to this article shall set forth the limits and extent of any modifications or changes in such standards and requirements in order that a landowner shall know the limits and extent of permissible modifications from the standards otherwise applicable to subdivisions or land development.