Ambridge City Zoning Code
ARTICLE V
C Commercial Districts
§ 310-21 Applicability of regulations.
In C Commercial Districts, the following regulations shall apply.
§ 310-22 Permitted uses.
[Amended by Ord. No. 814; 3-27-2007 by Ord. No. 1217A]
A building may be erected, altered or used and a lot or premises may be used for any of the following purposes and for no other:
A.
A use permitted in R Residential Districts, in which case regulations and restrictions as set forth in Article IV hereof shall apply.
B.
Sale and storage of goods at retail and wholesale including personal service shops.
C.
Business and professional offices, banks and financial institutions.
D.
Telephone, telegraph, radio and electric offices and stations.
E.
Hotels, restaurants, cafes, tearooms and nightclubs.
F.
Theaters and places of amusement.
G.
Public garage, motor vehicle sales, service or repair shops, gasoline service stations and motor vehicle parking lots, except that, from the adoption of this chapter, no more gasoline service stations shall be permitted to be erected or established along Merchant Street and Duss Avenue, public highways in said Borough.
H.
Bakery, confectionery or custom shop.
I.
Hand laundry, machine laundry, dry-cleaning or dyeing plant.
J.
Carpenter, cabinetmaking, furniture or upholstery shop.
K.
Newspaper, job printing and bookbinding.
L.
Creamery, ice cream manufacturing, butter and cheese making, milk bottling.
M.
Signs and billboards.
N.
A use of the same general character as any of the above permitted uses.
O.
Accessory use on the same lot with and customarily incidental to any of the above permitted uses.
§ 310-22.1 Conditional uses.
[Added 3-27-2007 by Ord. No. 1217A]
The following uses may be authorized by the Borough Council following review by the Planning Commission and a public hearing by the Borough Council held pursuant to public notice to determine compliance with the express standards and criteria specified for each use.
A.
Planned unit development, subject to the following express standards and criteria:
(1)
The minimum site required to establish a planned unit development shall be 20 acres.
(2)
The uses authorized in a planned unit development shall be limited to:
(a)
Dwelling units in combination with office.
(b)
Dwelling units in combination with retail on properties with frontage on an arterial or collector street only.
(c)
Retail uses authorized as permitted uses in the C District on properties with frontage on an arterial or collector street only, excluding wholesale sales, motor vehicle sales and gasoline service stations.
(d)
Business, professional or medical offices.
(e)
Hospital, clinic, nursing home, personal-care boarding home.
(f)
Housing for the elderly; Independent-living facility.
(g)
Transitional living facility.
(h)
Assisted-living facility; life-care community.
(i)
Multifamily dwellings.
(j)
Apartment houses.
(k)
Public buildings.
(l)
Community center.
(m)
Indoor or outdoor recreation facilities.
(n)
Common open space.
(3)
The conditional use application for a planned unit development shall be submitted for the entire site and shall include a development plan showing the following information:
(a)
Proposed layout of streets;
(b)
Proposed subdivision of the property into lots, if any;
(c)
The intended use of each of the lots or the location of the various types of buildings on the site and their intended use;
(d)
The relationship among the various uses and landscaping, common open space or other features proposed to buffer dissimilar uses from one another;
(e)
Proposals for pedestrian and vehicular circulation within the site, emphasizing intermodal transportation facilities and the use of pedestrian facilities to foster a sense of community, including trails, sidewalks, walkways, bikeways, bicycle and scooter parking;
(f)
The size, height and gross floor area of each building, including the number of dwelling units for residential buildings;
(g)
The proposed density for all residential dwellings, including gross density and net density;
(h)
The location and size of all areas to be reserved as common open space;
(i)
The mechanism proposed to own and maintain the common open space;
(j)
The size, number and location of off-street parking spaces;
(k)
A general landscaping plan showing the location and types of plant materials proposed to provide buffers between dissimilar uses, to enhance the architectural design of the proposed buildings or to vegetate the common open spaces;
(l)
A schedule for phasing the development;
(m)
A traffic report prepared by a qualified traffic engineer utilizing the manuals and methodologies of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) to analyze:
[1]
Projected traffic volumes associated with the proposed development;
[2]
Inventory of existing roadway and traffic conditions in the vicinity of the site, including traffic controls, peak hour and average daily traffic, planned roadway improvements by others, lane widths and roadway conditions;
[3]
Existing and future levels of service of streets, intersection and driveways in the immediate vicinity of the plan with and without the proposed development;
[4]
Access to the site utilizing PennDOT criteria, traffic controls and on-site circulation (vehicular and pedestrian); and
[5]
Recommendations for mitigating negative impacts and maximizing positive impacts of the proposed development.
(4)
Following approval of the conditional use application, individual lots and/or phases of the approved development plan may be submitted for land development plan approval subject to compliance with all applicable requirements of the Borough's Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.[1]
(5)
In the event that the land development plan proposes substantive changes in the plan granted conditional use approval, an application for an amendment to the original conditional use approval shall be submitted concurrent with the land development plan, and approval of the land development plan shall not be granted unless and until the amended conditional use application is approved. The amended conditional use application shall follow the procedure specified by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code[2] for conditional use applications. Substantive changes shall include changes in the percentage mix of the various types of land uses in the planned unit development, any new land use that was not previously proposed in the planned unit development, any increase in dwelling unit density, any increase in the number of a specific type of dwelling unit, any change in ingress or egress to or from the site, any major change in the circulation pattern on the development site or any similar change deemed substantive by the Borough.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
(6)
Common open space shall comprise at least 15% of the gross site area.
(7)
Common open space shall be protected by adequate covenants running with the land or by conveyances or dedications. Legal instruments drafted to preserve and protect the common open space shall be submitted to the Borough for review and approval. In cases where the Borough will not be accepting dedication of the common open space, the applicant shall provide for an organization or trust for ownership and maintenance of the common open space.
(8)
In the event that any organization established to own and maintain the common open space, or any successor thereto, fails to maintain the common open space in reasonable condition and in accordance with the approved development plan, the Borough shall take remedial action to cause the common open space to be properly maintained, as provided for in Section 705(f) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
(9)
Common open space shall be developed to provide for public gathering places or to provide areas for leisure activities for the residents, employees and visitors to the planned unit development.
(10)
Amenities proposed in the common open space shall be constructed in Phase I of the planned unit development, or, if Phase I does not contain any dwelling units, then in the first phase in which dwelling units are proposed to be constructed.
(11)
Maximum building height in a planned unit development shall be seven stories, but no more than 75 feet. For each foot of building height in excess of 50 feet, the building shall be set back an additional one foot for each one foot of additional height.
(14)
Maximum dwelling unit density shall be 16 units per acre. Density shall be calculated only on that portion of the site devoted to residential use, excluding any streets or common open space associated with the residential development, but including the portion of the site devoted to the dwelling units and the off-street parking necessary to serve the dwelling units.
(15)
A density bonus of up to an additional eight units per acre to a total of 24 units per acre may be authorized by Borough Council if a development plan provides for any three of the following six criteria:
(a)
Pedestrian and vehicular facilities that provide or complement intermodal transportation facilities.
(b)
An increase in common open space to a total of 20% or more of the total site area.
(c)
A mix of uses that promotes an integrated living and working environment.
(d)
A mix of uses that firings new businesses to the area and/or promotes the creation of new jobs.
(e)
A mix of uses that provides for a continuum of care for elderly residents or provides needed medical facilities for Borough residents.
(f)
A mix of uses that provides housing to accommodate residents protected by the Federal Fair Housing Act Amendments or the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(16)
Parking in a planned unit development shall be provided based on the following ratios for the various authorized uses:
Use | Parking (Number of spaces) | |
|---|---|---|
Dwelling units | 1.5 per dwelling unit | |
Offices; public buildings | 1 for each 300 square feet of net floor area | |
Retail | 1 for each 250 square feet of net floor area | |
Community center | 1 for each 50 square feet of area devoted to meeting rooms or eating areas | |
Hospital; nursing home; personal-care boarding home | 1 for each staff member on peak shift plus 1 for each 3 beds | |
Clinic | 1 for each doctor and staff member plus 2 for each examining or treatment room | |
Transitional living | 1 for each staff on peak shift plus 1 for each resident who is authorized to drive a vehicle | |
Housing for the elderly; independent living; assisted living | 1 for each employee on peak shift plus 1 for each 3 dwelling units | |
Life-care community | Parking shall be provided in accordance with the requirements for each separate use as specified in this Table |
(17)
Streets in the planned unit development, whether public or private, shall have a minimum right-of-way of 40 feet and shall have a minimum cartway width of 24 feet. The minimum radius of the right-of-way for a cul-de-sac shall be 50 feet and the minimum radius of the cul-de-sac cartway shall be 40 feet. If a modification is granted to allow a cul-de-sac with a radius less than 40 feet, "emergency only" access shall be provided at the end of the cul-de-sac to allow emergency vehicles to continue straight through the end of the cul-de-sac, rather than turning around.
§ 310-23 Offensive uses prohibited.
No building may be erected, altered or used and no lot or premises may be used for any trade, industry or business that is noxious or offensive by reason of odor, dust, smoke, gas, vibration or noise. No internal combustion engine or other machine shall be used unless objectionable noise and vibration are eliminated.
§ 310-24 Height.
The height of a building shall not exceed eight stories or 85 feet.
§ 310-25 Building area.
The building area of any building hereafter erected, altered or used in whole or in part as a dwelling shall not exceed 70% of the lot area, provided that, in the case of a building the first story of which is used principally for business purposes and in which no portion of the first story is used for sleeping purposes, the building area shall be figured on the level of the windowsills on the second story.
§ 310-26 Yard.
Yard space shall be required in cases where an alley abuts the premises, the depth of which shall be not less than 20 feet from the center line of the alley.
§ 310-27 Dimensional and design requirements.
[Added 8-28-2001 by Ord. No. 1161]
Notwithstanding other provisions of this article or other sections relating to the area in question, the following provisions shall apply:
A.
Minimum front yard depth.
(1)
Buildings erected on lots that border on Merchant Street from Third Street to Twelfth Street shall be sited with the front of the structure at the inside boundary of the pedestrian sidewalk at the right-of-way line.
(2)
Front yards may be permitted in other sectors of the C Commercial District or otherwise designated district, subject to site plan review approval as specified in § 310-28 of this article.
(3)
Pedestrian sidewalk shall be the area which abuts the designated district between Third Street and Merchant Street to Twelfth Street and Merchant Street and the property line of the property owner.
B.
Minimum side yard depth.
(1)
Buildings erected on corner lots that border on Merchant Street from Third Street to Twelfth Street shall extend to the inside boundary of the pedestrian sidewalk at the right-of-way line.
(2)
Buildings erected on lots that border on Merchant Street from Third Street to Twelfth Street that are not corner lots shall extend to the inside boundary of the side yard property line.
(3)
Side yards may be permitted in other sectors of the C Commercial District, provided that a minimum three-foot side-yard setback is maintained between the buildings and the property line.
C.
D.
Building floor area.
(1)
Buildings erected on lots that border on Merchant Street from Third Street to Twelfth Street shall not exceed a gross ground-floor area of 6,000 square feet.
F.
Curb cuts. Buildings erected on lots that border on Merchant Street from Third Street to Twelfth Street shall not be permitted to have curb cuts fronting Merchant Street. The only exceptions would involve compliance requirements with local, state or federal laws, such as compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
§ 310-28 Site plan submission requirements for specific area.
[Added 8-28-2001 by Ord. No. 1161]
For all buildings to be erected, extended, remodeled or otherwise improved on lots that border on Merchant Street from Third Street to Twelfth Street, the site plan shall include the following information:
A.
Drawings, elevations, perspective and related design criteria pertaining to structures, landscaping and facade treatments.
B.
A statement and supporting documentation that addresses compatibility with the character of the Central Business District, consistency with National Main Street Program criteria, and coordination with applicable ongoing facade and related business enhancement endeavors.