Avondale City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIII
Design Standards
§ 430-66 Purpose.
This article of the Borough Zoning Chapter provides standards to protect the safety, mobility, and visual integrity of the Borough which may otherwise be compromised through the development of uses permitted by this chapter.
§ 430-67 Vegetative screening and landscaping.
B.
Vegetative screening and landscaping shall be required for one or more of the following situations:
(1)
Where a proposed commercial use abuts an existing residential district or use.
(2)
Where a proposed industrial use abuts an existing residential district or use.
(3)
Where outdoor storage of materials or equipment is proposed.
(4)
Where parking lots are proposed or are proposed to be expanded.
(5)
Where other sections of this chapter specify that screening is required.
C.
Design criteria. Vegetative screening shall be provided in accordance with the following provisions:
(1)
Screening shall use native and noninvasive species of plants, unless otherwise authorized by the Borough.
(2)
To provide a year-round screen, the design shall incorporate a variety of deciduous and conifer species.
(3)
The vegetative screen shall be designed to produce a 75% opaque buffer within one year of planting.
(4)
Evergreen species shall represent not less than 50% but not more than 75% of the total plantings within the vegetative screen.
(5)
The layout of plants shall be designed as groupings intended to represent a naturalistic setting rather than in the form of continuous linear plantings.
(6)
The design of vegetative screens shall be reviewed and approved by the Borough prior to installation.
§ 430-68 Lighting.
The provisions of this section are intended to provide lighting that will assist in creating safe pedestrian areas, especially where pedestrian and automobile traffic intermix or where additional safety conditions arise.
A.
To assist in providing safe conditions, artificial lighting shall be incorporated into the design of the following uses at the following levels:
Use | Maintained Footcandles | Uniformity Ratio |
|---|---|---|
Pedestrian facilities | ||
Residential | 0.2 minimum | 4:1 |
Commercial | 0.6 minimum | 3:1 |
Parking facilities | ||
Residential | 0.5 average | 4:1 |
Commercial | 1.0 average | 3:1 |
Industrial | 0.5 average | 4:1 |
Walkways/bikeways | 0.5 average | 5:1 |
Building entrances | 5.0 average | 3:1 |
Storage areas | ||
Active (commercial operation) | 20.0 average | 4:1 |
Inactive | 1.0 average | 6:1 |
Loading and unloading areas | 3.0 average | 3:1 |
Automated teller machines | 5.0 average | 3:1 |
B.
Borough Council may require lighting facilities to be incorporated into uses that do not otherwise fall within the categories established under § 430-68A but have the potential to create unsafe conditions.
C.
All lighting fixtures shall use underground wiring.
D.
No light shall be permitted which shines directly into a residential dwelling unit.
E.
Any glare produced by artificial lighting shall be shielded so as to not create a nuisance or safety concern to pedestrians, drivers, or neighboring property owners.
F.
Lighting fixtures shall be continually maintained as to be in continual compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
G.
When a change of use occurs on a property, the new use shall comply with the regulations of this section
§ 430-69 Loading and unloading areas.
Off-street loading and unloading spaces, with proper access from a street or alley, shall be provided on any lot on which a building for trade, business, or industry is hereafter erected or substantially altered according to the following:
A.
Parking spaces, interior streets, alleys, or roads shall neither count towards required loading and unloading areas nor be used as loading and unloading areas.
B.
For the purposes of this chapter, one loading and unloading space shall be a minimum of 16 feet by 75 feet.
C.
Structures with 20,000 square feet of leasable floor area or less shall be required to have no less than one loading and unloading space.
D.
Structures with total leasable floor area in excess of 20,000 square feet shall be required to have a minimum of two loading and unloading spaces.
§ 430-70 Outdoor displays.
Outdoor display of products, goods, or services shall adhere to the following:
A.
The outdoor display of products or goods shall only be allowed when expressly permitted by the regulations of the underlying zoning district, provided said products or goods are placed indoors during nonworking hours.
B.
Signs advertising services, products or goods shall be in conformance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
C.
No outdoor display of products or goods shall be permitted within any right-of-way area or within any required parking or sidewalk area that would interfere with pedestrian or automobile circulation.
§ 430-71 Outdoor storage.
Outdoor storage areas associated with commercial or industrial uses shall be governed by the following regulations:
A.
Areas for the outdoor storage of material and equipment shall be screened from adjacent uses according to the provisions of § 430-67 of this chapter.
B.
Storage of material and equipment shall not be permitted within any Flood Hazard Overlay District as identified by this chapter.
C.
Storage areas shall not be permitted within any front yard area.
D.
All areas for storage of materials or equipment shall be set back from all property lines a minimum of 10 feet, unless adjacent to a residential use or residential district, in which case the minimum setback shall be 15 feet.
§ 430-72 Off-street parking.
Parking shall be provided for all uses according to the following:
A.
No less than two off-street parking spaces shall be provided on any lot that contains a building or structure. The following types of uses shall provide additional off-street parking space(s) as indicated:
(1)
Multifamily dwelling: two spaces for each unit.
(2)
Hotel: one space for each room.
(3)
Tourist house: one space for each rental room.
(4)
Restaurant, cafe, tavern or tea room: one space for each 50 square feet of floor space devoted to patron use.
(5)
Theater, auditorium, or other place of public assemblage, except churches: one parking space shall be required for every four seats.
(6)
Churches: one space shall be required for every six seats in the sanctuary or main assembly room.
(7)
Barbershop, beauty salon, or similar establishment: one parking space for each 25 feet of floor space.
(8)
Recreational establishments:
(a)
Miniature golf courses: one space for each hole.
(b)
Bowling alleys: three spaces for every one lane.
(c)
Outdoor recreation facilities: one space for every 1,500 square feet of area.
(d)
Other recreational facilities not listed: one space shall be required for every 150 square feet of gross floor area.
(9)
Commercial buildings, other than those specified above, shall be required to have a minimum of four parking spaces when the use has 1,000 square feet or less. One additional space shall be required for each 300 square feet, or portion thereof, of floor area in excess of 1,000 square feet.
(10)
Industrial establishment: one space for each two employees.
B.
All off-street parking spaces shall have proper access from a street or alley. Whenever feasible, vehicular access to buildings shall not be accessed directly from the primary street frontage and there shall be no parking in the front yard, particularly if alley access is available. When front yard access is necessary, it shall be designed to avoid vehicle parking in the front yard, and garage doors shall be set back at least 20 feet from the front building facade.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
C.
Off-street parking facilities existing at the effective date of this chapter shall not subsequently be reduced to an amount less than required under this chapter for a similar new building or new use. Off-street parking facilities provided to comply with the provisions of this chapter shall not subsequently be reduced below the requirements of this chapter.
D.
In the case of a change in use, the requirements pertaining to the new use shall be applied if they are greater than the requirements for the old use.
E.
All parking shall be located on the same lot for which the use is located, but may be permitted on an alternate lot, not attached to the proposed site, according to the following:
(1)
Sufficient land area is not available on the lot.
(3)
The alternate lot is within 500 feet of the proposed use.
(4)
Sufficient pedestrian facilities are available that connect the alternate parking area to the proposed use.
(5)
The alternate lot is not on the other side of an arterial or collector road from the proposed use.
(6)
The alternate lot is under the same ownership as the lot containing the proposed use, or the alternate lot is owned by a separate party, provided a witnessed and notarized written agreement is made between the owner of the proposed use and the owner of the alternate parking area and said agreement is satisfactory to the Planning Commission.
F.
It is the intent of this section to encourage joint or shared off-street parking facilities for restaurants/taverns, two or more adjacent buildings or uses, or mixed-use projects, such as commercial on the first floor and residential on the second floor. As part of a conditional use approval process or land development process, off-street parking requirements as set forth above may not be required to be satisfied if the proposed parking is shown to meet the demand for the proposed land use. The applicant shall calculate this demand based on accepted standards, such as published in the Institute of Transportation Engineer's Parking Generation Reports. Mixed-use projects or shared-parking arrangements shall provide parking according to a shared-parking analysis that projects parking needs based on the peak hour of parking demand. For example, a building with first-floor retail and office space and upper-floor residential use will be able to adjust total parking demand to address the fact that peak residential parking demand will occur in the evening, while peak office parking demand will occur during the day. This analysis shall be based on accepted methodologies, such as the Urban Land Institute Shared Parking Study.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
G.
Any parking lot with 10 or more spaces shall be designed in accordance with the following:
(1)
Parking areas shall be set back from the street right-of-way line by a planting strip with a minimum depth of three feet.
(2)
When adjacent to residential uses, parking lots shall be screened in accordance with the provisions of § 430-67.
(3)
Planting strips within parking areas, in addition to those required for screening and right-of-way separation, shall be required according to the following:
(4)
Responsibility and maintenance of parking lot screening shall be governed by § 430-67D of this chapter.
(5)
Parking lots shall be designed and maintained so that there is no increase in the rate of stormwater run off from the site.
§ 430-73 Vehicular access.
A.
Roadway access shall be regulated in order to:
B.
Applicability. The standards of this section and the street standards within Chapter 375, Subdivision and Land Development, shall apply to all uses which propose to create one or more vehicular accessway(s) to a public street.
C.
Access provisions.
(1)
Access to all buildings, lots or parking areas shall be provided from a local road as identified in the Comprehensive Plan and shall not directly access any arterial road, as identified in the Comprehensive Plan, unless no alternative is available.
(2)
Where possible, common accessways shall be provided to reduce the number and proximity of access points along the street or highway.
(3)
The number of roadway access points to an individual use or building, or group of buildings constructed as part of an integrated plan, shall be limited to one when the lot width at the street line is equal to or less than 50 feet.
(4)
When the lot width at the street line exceeds 50 feet for an individual use or building, or group of uses or buildings constructed as part of an integrated plan, a maximum of two accessways shall be permitted.
(5)
Any lot or area which is used for the parking and movement of motor vehicles shall be physically separated from the street by a curb and a three-foot-wide planting strip to guard against unchanneled motor vehicle entrance or exit, except at the location of authorized accessways.
D.
Sight distance. At any street intersection or the intersection of any accessway with a street, no wall, fence or other structure shall be erected or altered, and no hedge, tree, shrub or other growth shall be planted or maintained, which may cause danger to traffic on a street or public road by obscuring the view. Intersections and accessways to any street shall meet the sight distance and streets requirements of Chapter 375, Subdivision and Land Development.
§ 430-74 Performance standards.
A building may be erected or used, and a lot may be used or occupied for any lawful purpose, provided they comply with the following standards:
A.
Emit no obnoxious, toxic or corrosive fumes or gases.
B.
Emit no odors perceptible at the lot boundaries.
C.
Emit no smoke from primary activities of sufficient density to obscure sunlight.
D.
Discharge into the air no dust or other particulate matter created.
E.
Produce no heat or glare perceptible at or beyond the lot boundaries.
F.
Utilize lighting in a manner which produces no glare in public streets or on any other parcel.
G.
Produce no physical vibration perceptible at or beyond the lot boundaries.
H.
Produce no electromagnetic radiation or radioactive emission injurious to human beings, animals or vegetation. Electromagnetic radiation or radioactive emissions shall not be of any intensity that interferes with the use of any other property.
I.
Do not engage in the reproduction or storage of any material designed for use as an explosive, or in any way create any other danger to the safety of the surrounding area.
J.
Discharge no untreated, potentially dangerous or polluting effluent.
K.
Do not engage in the open storage of waste material which might cause fumes or which constitute a fire hazard or which may be edible or otherwise be attractive to rodents or insects; the same shall be stored outdoors only in closed containers and the storage upon the lot may not exceed any period beyond 15 days.
L.
Do not cause or permit materials or wastes to be deposited upon a lot in such a manner that they may be transferred or scattered off the lot by natural causes or forces.
§ 430-75 (Reserved) [1]
§ 430-76 Fences.
[Added 4-21-1998 by Ord. No. 181]
The following regulations shall apply to fences:
A.
In the R-1 Residence District, the R-2 Residence District, the FD Flexible Use District, and the TC Town Center District, the following regulations shall apply to all fences:
(1)
Front yard setback: 18 inches from front lot line.
(2)
Side yard setback: three inches from side lot line, or on the side lot line as the side lot line is determined by a survey plan prepared by a registered land surveyor; and provided, further, that a copy of the survey plan, certified as to its accuracy by the registered land surveyor (or by a professional engineer), is filed with the application for the building permit necessary in order to construct the fence.
(3)
Rear yard setback: three inches from the rear lot line, or on the rear lot line as the rear lot line is determined by a survey plan prepared by a registered land surveyor; and provided, further, that a copy of the survey plan, certified as to its accuracy by the registered land surveyor (or by a professional engineer), is filed with the application for the building permit necessary in order to construct the fence.
B.
In the C Commercial District and the I Industrial District, the following regulations shall apply to all fences:
(1)
Front yard setback: 18 inches from front lot line.
(2)
Side yard setback: three inches from side lot line, or on the side lot line as the side lot line is determined by a survey plan prepared by a registered land surveyor; and provided, further, that a copy of the survey plan, certified as to its accuracy by the registered land surveyor (or by a professional engineer), is filed with the application for the building permit necessary in order to construct the fence.
(3)
Rear yard setback: three inches from rear lot line, or on the rear lot line as the rear lot line is determined by a survey plan prepared by a registered land surveyor; and provided, further, that a copy of the survey plan, certified as to its accuracy by the registered land surveyor (or by a professional engineer), is filed with the application for the building permit necessary in order to construct the fence.