West Chester Township reviews major zoning and land-use code overhaul; short-term rentals, signs and garages draw the most comment

West Chester Township officials and consultant McBride Dale Clarion presented a draft comprehensive land use plan update and a near-complete rewrite of the township's zoning resolution at a Feb. 19 joint work session with the Board of Trustees and Zoning Commission.

The consultant said the land use plan changes are strategic edits that update demographics and the future land use map and align terminology with the new zoning code, while the zoning resolution is a near-total rewrite intended to modernize formatting, strengthen design standards and make the code easier to use.

The draft code would: restrict short-term rentals to multifamily and commercial districts and not permit them in single-family districts; raise the maximum allowable size for detached residential garages from 480 square feet to 1,000 square feet while limiting garages to no more than 50% of a principal structure's floor area and a 20-foot maximum height; replace pole and pylon freestanding signs with lower-profile ground signs that must include a masonry base and landscaping; allow wall-sign area based on linear frontage rather than building elevation and permit multiple wall signs if the overall allowance is not exceeded; require landscaping buffers and a 10-foot parking-lot buffer from the right-of-way for new commercial construction; adopt specific temporary-sign rules (residential temporary signs: up to two signs per lot, 16 square feet each and a 6-foot height limit; commercial temporary signs: generally 90 days at a time, up to two periods per year); permit food trucks for special events and private-property uses with owner permission and required state/county licenses (operations limited to 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; overnight parking prohibited unless associated with the principal use); and restrict new standalone used-car lots unless paired or adjacent to new-car sales (existing used-car lots would remain legal nonconforming but could lose that status after six months of discontinuance).

Consultant Liz Fields of McBride Dale Clarion said the land use plan update "was much more of a strategic update" and that the future land use map changes largely reflect prior map amendments and recent development. Township planner Tim Dawson told the group the land-use map changes "were made with zoning map amendments, throughout the process from 2013 till now," describing many edits as corrections to reflect approved rezonings.

Several trustees and members of the public pressed for detail or changes. Trustee Becker asked for examples of how the sign-size switch from an elevation percentage to one square foot per linear foot would affect Old West Chester, noting the district currently uses a tighter 2% allowance. Consultant Fields said Old West Chester's design and smaller building faces mean the practical effect would likely remain restrictive and that the Architectural Review Committee step could be eliminated while retaining district design standards.

On garages, Fields summarized the proposed detached-garage rules and noted the draft ties garage size to house size so small houses cannot have disproportionately large accessory garages. "You can't have a detached garage that's more than 50% of the square footage of your house," she said. Staff and trustees discussed the difference between accessory structures that require building permits and sheds (typically under 200 square feet) and agreed to add or clarify a definition for "detached garage" in the draft.

Sign rules prompted extended discussion about how to calculate frontage on corner lots and whether the revised system would increase the number of sign-variance requests. Fields said the draft permits splitting a frontage-based allowance among multiple wall signs and includes a per-sign maximum for linear-foot calculations, a common approach staff recommended.

Landscaping and parking rules drew pushback from several developers and engineers who said heavy landscaping islands can introduce stormwater and pavement deterioration issues if not engineered correctly. Staff said the draft already allows some flexibility (for instance clustering islands) and that final development plan review would consider maintenance and stormwater integration. The draft requires landscape and parking plans for new builds.

Food trucks: the draft allows mobile food vendors as temporary uses for special events with a zoning certificate and requisite state/county licenses, and commercial operators on private property only with owner permission and written consent; Fields read the rules aloud: operations would be limited to 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., they are permitted on private property with written permission of the owner, and overnight parking is not allowed except where the vehicle is associated with the principal use on the property.

Short-term rentals generated public comment and trustee debate. Fields reported that public input at an earlier meeting was "about, what, 85, 90 percent of the comments were on short term rentals" and that the draft defines a short-term rental as "a dwelling which is rented wholly or in part to a person or persons for a fee for less than 30 consecutive days." The draft would conditionally permit short-term rentals in R-3 and R-4 multifamily districts and B-1/B-2 commercial districts, but not in single-family residential districts under the current draft. Residents and trustees traded views on whether 30 days was too short; one participant favored a longer threshold for multi-month rentals such as traveling nurses.

Used-car sales: the draft would bar new standalone used-car lots and allow used-car sales only when tied to new-car dealerships (or adjacent/connected holdings); existing used-car lots would be legal nonconforming but would lose that status if the use is discontinued for six months.

Next steps: Fields said the adoption process will move the draft zoning resolution and updated zoning map to the Zoning Commission the following month and to the Board of Trustees thereafter for final approval. The work session concluded without final votes on policy changes; the only formal recorded action at the session was an adjournment motion that passed at the end of the meeting.

What happened next: Trustees Welch and Becker voted to adjourn; the transcript records their roll-call affirmatives and the chair closed the workshop.

Why it matters: The proposed ordinance-level changes would reshape how residential accessory uses, commercial signage, landscaping, and temporary uses are regulated across West Chester Township. If adopted, the changes would affect property owners, developers, landlords and neighborhood character, and will have follow-up steps before any provisions become enforceable.

Questions and clarifications staff said they will return to the commission and trustees with: a clearer definition of "detached garage," a sign-size comparison for specific Old West Chester buildings, options for clustering parking-lot landscaping and whether to exempt M (industrial) districts from particular landscaping standards, and potential changes to the short-term rental time threshold or registration/enforcement approach.

Votes at a glance

- Adjourn meeting: motion made and seconded; Trustees Welch and Becker recorded "yes." Outcome: approved.