General business districts are designed for heavy uses and those businesses which tend to serve other businesses and industry as well as residents. These uses can be incompatible with residential development; therefore, businesses in this zoning classification are concentrated and insulated as much as possible from residential areas.

(‘81 Code, § A1-36) (Ord. 291, passed 4-21-83; Am. Ord. 436, passed 2-23-89)

   Within any GB district, no structure or land shall be used, except for one or more of the following uses or uses deemed similar by the City Council:

   (A)   Offices as accessory use to the principal use. Medical, professional, real estate offices and office buildings are not permitted;

   (B)   Lumber, heating and plumbing shops and similar construction material sales and service facilities, outdoor storage subject to conditional use;

   (C)   Wholesale office, sales or showroom for furniture, carpets and rugs and similar household goods which shall not include retail food sales;

   (D)   Bowling alley, tennis club, skating, theater, archery, coin-operated amusement devices and similar commercial recreation facilities when contained within a building;

   (E)   Car wash, motor fuel sales subject to conditional use;

   (F)   Auto accessories sales, service facilities subject to conditional use;

   (G)   Storage facilities contained within a building, outdoor storage subject to conditional use;

   (H)   Rental shop, outdoor display or storage subject to conditional use;

   (I)   Animal hospital or clinic when contained within a building;

   (J)   Television and radio studios, towers subject to conditional use;

   (K)   Stone and monument sales, outdoor display or storage subject to conditional use;

   (L)   Motor vehicle repair and auto body shop, outdoor storage subject to conditional use;

   (M)   Armories or convention hall;

   (N)   Motor vehicle sales when conducted entirely within a building, outdoor sales or storage subject to conditional use;

   (O)   Small engine or appliance repair conducted entirely within a building;

   (P)   Warehousing or wholesale businesses when conducted within a building. Office/warehouse combination permitted when office space does not exceed 30% of floor area;

   (Q)   Research or testing laboratories conducted within a building;

   (R)   Garden store when conducted within a building, outdoor sales subject to conditional use;

   (S)   Bicycle, boat and snowmobile sales and service, outdoor display or storage subject to conditional use; and

   (T)   Warehouse/outlet store.

(‘81 Code, § A1-36) (Ord. 291, passed 4-21-83; Am. Ord. 436, passed 2-23-89)

   Within any GB general business district, no structure or land shall be used for the following uses or uses deemed similar by the City Council, except by conditional use permit:

   (A)   Motor fuel sales either as principal use or accessory use;

   (B)   Outdoor sales or storage of motorized vehicles;

   (C)   Outdoor storage of damaged vehicles;

   (D)   Outdoor research or testing facilities;

   (E)   Outdoor sales as principal use or as accessory to principal use of the property;

   (F)   Outdoor display for rental shop;

   (G)   Retail sales of liquor as part of any facility;

   (H)   Restaurant facilities only when incidental to another use and not principal use of site;

   (I)   Light fabrication/manufacturing where at least 25% of goods produced are retailed on site; and

   (J)   Buildings constructed with exposed vertical exterior finish materials other than those provided under § 155.346 when:

      (1)   The proposed materials represent the same or similar materials used on at least 66.7% of the existing buildings adjacent to the site;

      (2)   The proposed materials are demonstrated to be of comparable grade and quality as those otherwise required; and

      (3)   Under no circumstance shall sheet or corrugated aluminum, iron, steel, asbestos, sheet plywood, plain or painted plain concrete block or similar materials be used. Any decorative concrete block shall be colored only by means of a pigment impregnated throughout the entire block.

   (K)   Towers as regulated in § 155.385.

(‘81 Code, § A1-36) (Ord. 291, passed 4-21-83; Am. Ord. 436, passed 2-23-89; Am. Ord. 760, passed 10-14-04)

   Within any GB district, accessory uses permitted in the LB district or uses deemed similar by the City Council shall be permitted accessory uses.

(‘81 Code, § A1-36) (Ord. 291, passed 4-21-83; Am. Ord. 436, passed 2-23-89)

   (A)   The following minimum area standards and requirements shall be met. No improvements shall be placed on lands unless the lands to be so used or improved shall meet the following minimum area and dimensional requirements. The city may vary these minimum requirements when construction is done in accordance with an overall development plan.

      (1)   Minimum area requirements and standards are as set out in Appendix C.

      (2)   Maximum impervious surface, see § 155.350.

      (3)   Screening, see § 155.348.

      (4)   Landscaping, see § 155.349.

      (5)   Parking, see §§ 155.370 through 155.379.

      (6)   Building materials, see § 155.346.

      (7)   Off-street loading areas, see § 155.354.

   (B)   Additional area standards and requirements. The following requirements are in addition to those in division (A) above. Where there may be a conflict, those requirements under this section shall prevail:

      (1)   Front setbacks prevailing. Where adjoining structures existing at the time of adopting of this chapter have a greater setback than that required by this chapter, the front setback of a new structure shall conform to the prevailing setback in the immediate vicinity. The building inspector shall determine the necessary front yard setback in such cases. In no case shall a building be required to be set back more than 50 feet.

      (2)   Side and rear setbacks, party walls. Buildings may be excluded from side and rear setback requirements if party walls are used and if the adjacent buildings are constructed as an integral structure. This shall not permit structures closer to residential districts, however, than required under division (A) above.

(‘81 Code, § A1-40) (Ord. 291, passed 4-21-83; Am. Ord. 436, passed 2-23-89; Am. Ord. 447, passed 6-22-89; Am. Ord. 471, passed 1-11-90)