4049 Conestoga Rd, Elverson, PA 19520

Agricultural Preservation District

The use of land in, and the economy of East Nantmeal Township are primarily oriented toward agricultural activity and it is, therefore, the intent of the Township to preserve farming as an important economic feature and to maintain, within constitutional limits, viable farmland as an irreplaceable asset.; Because conflicts can occur when residential uses are permitted in predominantly agricultural areas, it is further the intent of the Township to remove development pressures in such agricultural areas and to minimize residential intrusion in the Agricultural Preservation District. It is further the intent to permit within the AP District certain compatible farm service uses and to permit dwellings accessory to farm operations.; It is also the intent to permit the subdivision of land according to predetermined formulae so that viable farmland will not be reduced in area below minimum size requirements for effective farming operations. In order to achieve these purposes the lands in the AP District have been classified as Class I AP lands and Class II AP lands. The Class I AP lands consist of those tracts that, as of September 6, 1994, were 10 or more gross acres in area, whereas the Class II AP lands consist of those tracts that, as of September 6, 1994 were less than 10 (gross acres in area. Tracts of land that are bisected by a street shall be, for the purposes of this Article, considered as a single tract of land. Within Class I AP lands an owner may be permitted to modify the area and bulk requirements for single-family detached dwellings by use of the Clustering Option, In addition, in order to avoid undue hardship on owners of Class I AP lands, there shall be the option for the conveyance of transferable development rights from the Class I AP lands for use within the AR, Agricultural Residential District.; There are also other permitted uses that are most compatible with agricultural uses but since they may cause potential conflicts with adjacent uses they shall be permitted by conditional use or special exception and shall be subject to the performance and design standards set forth in Article XIII.