Bethlehem Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXVII
Commercial Enhancement Overlay District
§ 275-227 Purpose.
The purpose of this district is to:
A.
Enhance larger commercial lots and uses through redevelopment and improved pedestrian amenities, landscaping, and lighting.
B.
Promote mixed use to diversify and add variety to existing monocultural environments.
C.
Create a sense of place in commercial environments so that they do not appear as big boxes with a sea of macadam.
D.
Upgrade the architectural character of larger commercial buildings.
E.
Maintain and expand public transportation opportunities along the major highway corridors of the Township.
F.
Improve the transition from commercial areas to existing residential neighborhoods.
G.
Enhance commercial development areas existing at the time of enactment of this article, through effective retrofit, redevelopment and infill development in accordance with this article.
§ 275-228 Applicability.
§ 275-229 Use regulations.
[Amended 6-4-2012 by Ord. No. 04-12; 11-18-2024 by Ord. No. 05-24]
A.
Permitted-by-right uses.
(1)
All uses permitted in the underlying zoning districts, as well as the uses permitted by right in § 275-71, except for car wash, commercial indoor or outdoor recreation, including miniature golf course, bowling alley, exercise club, indoor or outdoor movie theater or skating rink, animal hospital, small building contractor's office and storage, printing and bookbinding, flea market, nursing home, indoor storage as an accessory use, self-storage development, wholesale sales or warehousing, truck terminal, kennel, campground, plant nursery, recycling collection center, crop farming, golf course, or public swimming pool.
(2)
Office uses above any commercial use on the first floor/ground floor.
(3)
Auto service station.
(4)
Convenience store.
(5)
Fast food restaurant, with or without a drive-through service.
C.
Conditional uses (subject to the provisions of §§ 275-2 and 275-232, and §§ 275-189 and 275-190, where applicable).
(1)
Residential uses above any commercial use on the first floor/ground floor.
(2)
Any other residential use permitted in § 275-54A(11).
§ 275-230 Area, bulk, height and yard regulations.
A.
The minimum lot area and lot width regulations of the underlying zoning district(s) shall apply.
B.
The maximum lot coverage may be increased by 5% for buildings and by 10% for total impervious surface coverage, above the requirements of the underlying zoning district(s).
C.
The minimum landscape area shall be 20% of the lot area.
D.
The minimum front yard setback shall be 10 feet.
E.
The maximum building height shall be three stories or 36 feet, whichever is less, and the minimum building height shall be two stories or 24 feet, except as provided in § 275-232B.
F.
All other minimum or maximum yard requirements of the underlying zoning district(s) shall apply.
§ 275-231 Development requirements.
A.
The Commercial Enhancement Overlay District shall be consistent with the smart growth principles and key design elements adopted as part of the Comprehensive Plan Update 2004, and included in Article XXV. The retrofit or redevelopment of properties within the Commercial Enhancement Overlay District, and infill development within the district, shall focus on the creation of a more mixed-use, walkable, compact place as illustrated and described in Exhibit A of Article XXV.
B.
The Commercial Enhancement Overlay District shall be built and maintained in accordance with the Streetscape Enhancement Overlay District, Article XXXII.
C.
Building plan.
(1)
A separate plan sheet shall be submitted to depict the proposed building program. Said plan shall indicate the proposed principal and accessory uses, the gross square footages of all uses, and the building heights. The building plan shall also indicate the total tract building coverage, existing and proposed, and the total tract impervious surface coverage, existing and proposed.
D.
Street, alley, service lane and streetscape plan.
(1)
A separate plan sheet shall be submitted to depict the proposed interconnected street, alley, and service lane network. Such plan shall indicate all widths of vehicular accessways.
(2)
The plan shall indicate proposed blocks for reorganizing the commercial environment.
(3)
The plan shall meet the requirements of Article XXXII, Streetscape Enhancement Overlay District.
(4)
An alley shall be a minimum paved width of 12 feet for one-way alleys, and 16 feet for two-way alleys.
E.
Pedestrian access plan.
G.
Parking plan.
(1)
A separate plan sheet shall be submitted to depict proposed surface and deck parking. Such plan shall list the number of parking spaces proposed in relation to the proposed use(s).
(2)
Parking shall be located to the side or rear of new buildings, not in the front of new buildings. If an existing building is already set back from the road far enough to fit parking, then a hedge, fence, or wall of at least 30 inches in height shall be provided to screen any parking in the front yard.
§ 275-232 Conditional use standards and criteria.
A.
Buildings of 40,000 square feet or greater on the ground floor.
(1)
The maximum building length shall be 175 feet.
(2)
The length of the facade of any new building which exceeds 24 feet in length shall have vertical design elements such as pilasters, columns, piers, or recesses or projections of one to four feet, so that no new vertical bay or section of a building facade exceeds 24 continuous feet in length.
(3)
Building windows and openings shall constitute no less than 30% of all frontage walls on the ground floor/first floor.
(4)
No building shall have opaque windows on the ground floor/first floor.
(5)
No residential building shall have a flat roof. If a nonresidential building has a flat roof, it shall have a parapet wall screening all mechanical equipment.
(6)
No single building shall exceed 80,000 square feet on the ground floor.
B.
Principal buildings less than 20 feet in height.
(1)
Accessory buildings may be one story in height.
(2)
Up to 30% of the total building square footage of a lot within the Commercial Enhancement Overlay District may be in principal buildings less than 20 feet in height.
(3)
No principal building less than 20 feet in height shall have a flat roof. If a building has a flat roof, it shall have a parapet wall screening all mechanical equipment, unless it has a parapet wall screening all mechanical equipment from public view along streets, sidewalks, and public alley accessible parking areas.