Bern Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVIC
POB Planned Office/Business District
§ 184-132.10 Purpose.
The purpose of the Planned Office/Business District is to provide opportunities for modern office buildings and other compatible businesses that will serve businesses as well as the needs for medical, financial, legal, architectural and other professional services. Development controls will ensure sign control, attractive landscaping, desirable setbacks, traffic control and compatibility with nearby residential uses.
§ 184-132.11 Applicability.
In a POB District, the following regulations shall apply.
§ 184-132.12 Permitted uses.
A building may be erected, altered or used and a lot or premises may be used for any of the following purposes and no other:
A.
Business, professional or governmental office.
B.
Any municipal use.
C.
Laboratory, research, testing and experimentation, not involving the danger of fire or explosion nor any noise, vibration, smoke, dust, odor, glare, heat or other influence outside a building.
D.
Medical center.
E.
Veterinary clinic.
F.
Any accessory use normally associated with a permitted use.
G.
Grocery store/supermarket having a minimum square footage of 30,000 square feet and a maximum square footage of 75,000 square feet.
H.
Hotel/conference center.
I.
Forestry as defined in Section 107 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code at 53 P.S. § 10107 as it may be amended from time to time.
§ 184-132.13 Conditional uses.
The following are permitted as conditional uses requiring approval by the Township Supervisors, pursuant to § 184-210 of this chapter.
A.
Day-care centers.
B.
Interior service and convenience uses, including but not limited to eating and drinking places, specialized retail food sales, barber/beauty shops, photocopy services, pharmacies and opticians. No interior service and convenience uses shall occupy more than a total of 10% of the total floor area of the building in which they are located. Public entrances to interior service and convenience uses shall be from the interior of the building. No public entrance to any interior service or convenience use shall be located less than 30 feet from an exterior exit to the building that is used by the public for ingress and egress.
C.
Retail sale of goods appropriate to surrounding business and residential areas, such as but not limited to beverages, bicycles, books (except adult bookstores), clothing, confections, drugs, dry goods, flowers, food, gifts, hardware, liquor, newspapers, notions, paint, personal and household supplies, musical recordings, photographic supplies, sporting goods, stationery and tobacco.
D.
Banks, savings and loan associations, finance companies and similar types of businesses.
E.
Restaurants (excluding drive-through restaurants), taverns and similar types of establishments.
F.
Personal and household service establishments, such as but not limited to barbershops, beauty shops, Laundromats, laundry and dry cleaning shops, tailor and seamstress shops and shoe and appliance repair shops.
G.
Business services such as copying, office equipment sales/services, and printing.
H.
Commercial pharmacies containing a minimum of 30,000 square feet and a maximum of 50,000 square feet.
I.
Accessory uses and structure to the above-permitted uses when on the same lot as the permitted use.
J.
Academic clinical research center in accordance with the use restrictions described in § 184-153.1B.
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord. No. 309-2017]
K.
Dispensary facility in accordance with the use restrictions described in § 184-153.1E.
[Added 11-6-2017 by Ord. No. 309-2017]
§ 184-132.14 Lot area.
The minimum lot area shall be one acre.
§ 184-132.15 Yards.
The minimum side and rear yards shall be 35 feet. The front yard shall be 50 feet measured from the street line.
§ 184-132.16 Height.
The maximum building height shall be 35 feet. The height may be exceeded through the conditional use procedure in accordance with § 184-210.
§ 184-132.17 Lot dimensions.
The minimum lot width at the building setback line shall be 150 feet. The minimum lot width at the street line shall be 100 feet.
§ 184-132.18 Coverage.
At least 40% of the lot shall be maintained as open area.
§ 184-132.19 Special design requirements.
A.
No paving other than driveways or pedestrian walkways shall be located within 20 feet (50 feet in the case of Route 183) of the street line.
B.
Along each side and rear property line which abuts a residential district boundary line or an existing residential use, a minimum building setback of not less than 100 feet in width shall be provided and a minimum setback of 50 feet for parking areas shall likewise be provided. In a similar manner, where a tract of land which is zoned POB abuts an existing street and the land on the opposite side of the street is zoned residential or a residential use exists, the minimum front yard shall be 100 feet, the first 50 feet of which shall be open space. The minimum parking setback shall be 50 feet.
(1)
The 20 feet of such yard space nearest the property line or street line or district boundary line shall be screened and buffered with landscaping, fencing, earth mounds, planting materials or a combination thereof as defined in § 184-5 herein. Where adjacent land that is residentially zoned is owned by the same owner as that of the POB-zoned land and the same is part of an overall subdivision or land development plan or comprehensive series of land development plans, the front, side and rear yard setbacks in the abutting POB parcel or tract may be reduced to 50 feet, provided that the same remains open space and the first 20 feet of such yard space nearest the property line or street line or district boundary line shall be screened according to the definitions set forth in § 184-5 herein.
(2)
In the event that the Bern Township engineering/planning consultant, in the reasonable exercise of professional discretion, determines that strict compliance with the requirement of screening in the first 20 feet of yard space nearest the street line or district boundary line is impractical or contrary to sound engineering and design principles, the Board of Supervisors may, upon recommendation of the engineering/planning consultant and the Bern Township Planning Commission, approve modification of said requirement in accordance with such recommendation.
F.
Any development along the Route 183 corridor will require increased rights-of-way as determined after consultation with the Township, county and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
G.
Where greater setbacks are established in § 184-147, or elsewhere in this chapter, regarding accessory buildings, structures and uses, such greater setbacks shall apply.
H.
Any building facade which faces a patron parking area, street or other space used or viewed by the public shall be provided with decorative facade treatment, architecturally integrated with all other building faces.
I.
Site models and/or graphic portrayals providing a clear perspective of the relationship of the proposed development to the site and its visual impact on adjacent properties shall be submitted to the Township.
J.
Trucks and trailers shall only be permitted on the premises for a temporary period not exceeding 12 hours and shall be kept in a screened loading area.
K.
Loading areas shall not front on a public street. In addition, loading areas shall be screened from all other buildings, properties and public streets.
L.
Outside storage of any goods, materials, supplies or freight is prohibited.
M.
All uses permitted by right or conditional use shall be carried on within a building.
N.
Retail sales of goods, restaurants, personal and household service establishments, and business services may be located within the district. The following standards apply to retail sales of goods, restaurants, personal and household service establishments, and business services:
(1)
No individual use shall exceed 10,000 square feet in floor area.
(2)
Building length shall not exceed 400 feet.
(3)
Nor more than 20% of the total area of the POB District shall be devoted to shopping centers, including buildings, parking areas, loading areas, access drives, and all other aspects of the centers.
(4)
The applicant shall prepare a master sign plan which shall be submitted to the Planning Commission for their recommendation and is subject to approval by the Board of Supervisors.
(5)
Architectural elevation drawings of all buildings shall be provided to the Township as part of the development application. The style of architectural details such as, but not limited to, window fenestration, roof pitch, door style, porch design, and facade materials and colors shall be subject to approval by the Board of Supervisors after recommendation by the Planning Commission.
§ 184-132.20 Performance standards.
Each use shall comply with the performance standards contained within § 184-153.