Bethlehem Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXIX
Town Center District
§ 275-238 Purpose.
The purpose of this district is to:
A.
Create a town center as a mixed-use, compact, walkable place featuring qualities of traditional neighborhoods.
B.
Promote a streetscape character with one- and two-story shops and stores along sidewalks, and with street trees, streetlights, and benches.
C.
Minimize the adverse visual impact of expansive parking fields through the use of shade trees, screening, and grade changes.
D.
Provide for needed transportation and traffic improvements to minimize the impact of the town center on surrounding roads.
E.
Connect the two undeveloped tracts on the east and west sides of PA Route 33 south of Freemansburg Avenue, and maintain vehicular access to the Lehigh River.
F.
Create a network of open space and recreational opportunities for pedestrians and bicyclists.
G.
Protect the natural features of the Lehigh River and connect the development program to this scenic amenity.
§ 275-239 Conditions of eligibility.
A.
The district shall be as shown on the Smart Growth Zoning District and Overlay District map in Article XXV.
B.
Minimum tract size: 150 Acres.
C.
Utilities: public water and public sewer.
D.
The design guidelines of Exhibit XXIX-A shall be met.
E.
The provisions of Article XXXII, Streetscape Enhancement Overlay District, shall be met, except as modified by the Design Guidelines, Exhibit XXIX-A.
F.
The provisions of this Article XXIX, Town Center District, including the provisions of §§ 275-240, 275-241, 275-242 and 275-243, shall apply in each case unless otherwise agreed to by the Board of Commissioners after a recommendation from the Planning Commission and Township staff at the time of review of a site plan pursuant to the provisions of Article XIX, General Regulations, § 275-178, Site plan review, of this chapter, or of a subdivision and/or land development plan submitted to the Township pursuant to Chapter 230, Subdivision and Land Development.
[Added 7-17-2006 by Ord. No. 05-06]
§ 275-240 Use regulations.
[Amended 11-18-2024 by Ord. No. 05-24]
A.
Permitted-by-right uses.
(1)
Commercial and retail uses found in § 275-71A, provided that such uses are not located directly adjacent to existing residential uses on the eastern perimeter of the district, except for car wash, convenience store, commercial indoor or outdoor recreation, including miniature golf course, bowling alley, exercise club unless on a second floor, outdoor movie theater or skating rink, animal hospital, small, building contractor's office and storage, nursing home, self-storage development, wholesale sales or warehousing, truck terminal, kennel, campground, recycling collection center, crop farming, golf course, and swimming pool, public.
(2)
Offices.
(3)
Institutional uses such as a U. S. Postal Service facility, library, museum, and nature center.
(4)
Municipal uses such as a police station and substation, and fire company substation.
(5)
Residential uses.
(6)
Recreation and open space use.
§ 275-241 Area, bulk, height, yard, density and open space regulations.
A.
Minimum tract area: 150 acres.
B.
Minimum lot area: reference the Manual on page 29-19.
C.
Maximum impervious surface coverage: 75% for the tract.
D.
Maximum building footprint: no individual building shall exceed 150,000 square feet on the ground floor, unless in compliance with § 275-243.
E.
Maximum building height: 10 stories or 120 feet for nonresidential uses, and six stories or 75 feet for residential use, except as indicated below:
(1)
Within 300 feet of a residential district boundary, not including a residential district boundary separated by an existing or officially proposed expressway: 35 feet.
(2)
Between 300 and 500 feet of a residential district boundary, not including a residential district boundary separated by an existing or official proposed expressway: four stories or 75 feet.
F.
Minimum principal building height: 20 feet, subject to the provisions of § 275-243. Whenever two or more principal buildings adjoin one another along a main street, variations in building height are encouraged to create visual interest, so that buildings next to one another vary, for example, from 20 feet to 24 feet to 22 feet, etc.
G.
Minimum district perimeter building setback: 50 feet for all building along PA Route 33, except along Freemansburg Avenue where the setback shall be 10 feet, and except along the eastern and southern perimeter boundary which shall be 35 feet, unless otherwise specified.
H.
Minimum yard areas: refer to the Design Guidelines, Exhibit XXIX-A.
I.
Maximum residential gross density: 10 dwelling units per gross acre for that portion of the tract to be used for residential use, or for any live-work units.
J.
Common open space within residential development areas: a minimum of 10% of the gross residential tract area shall be devoted to common open space within residential use areas.
§ 275-242 Development requirements.
A.
The Town Center District shall be conceptually in accordance with the Master Plan included in the Appendix of the Comprehensive Plan Update 2004 (see Subsection I).
B.
The Town Center District shall be a compact, walkable, mixed-use village that is emblematic of a college campus in the Lehigh Valley, or neighborhoods/precincts in the cities, boroughs and towns of the Lehigh Valley.
C.
The Town Center 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.
D.
The Town Center District shall be built and maintained in accordance with the Streetscape Enhancement Overlay District, Article XXXII, except as modified by the Design Guidelines, Exhibit XXIX-A.
E.
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.
(2)
No commercial and/or garden apartment or mid-rise apartment building lot may be located adjacent to an abutting existing residential lot, unless such buildings are located at least 100 feet from abutting existing residential lots, and 50 feet of the setback area is landscaped and buffered in accordance with § 275-171D.
F.
Street, alley, and streetscape plan.
(1)
A separate plan sheet shall be submitted to depict the proposed interconnected street and alley network. Such plan shall indicate all street widths.
(2)
Alleys shall be provided in residential areas in order to avoid midblock curb cuts for driveways. The Board of Commissioners may allow a midblock curb cut if there is no possible way to locate an alley due to topographic conditions, or that due to other conditions, the total number of midblock driveway curb cuts does not exceed 10% of dwelling units.
(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.
G.
Pedestrian access plan.
(1)
A separate plan sheet shall be submitted to depict the proposed interconnected network for pedestrian access including sidewalks, trails, bicycle paths, and other pathways.
H.
Common open space plan.
(1)
A separate plan sheet shall be submitted to depict the proposed common open space network. Such plan shall show the required minimum 10% common open space areas as per § 275-241J.
(2)
The plan shall indicate all proposed recreational areas, proposed improvements, and their uses.
(3)
The plan shall indicate the proposed arrangements for ownership, maintenance, and management of the common open space areas, which shall be subject to the review and approval of the Township.
I.
Master Plan.
(1)
A Master Plan drawing shall be submitted with each plan submission to depict all existing development and all proposed development. The Master Plan or updated Master Plan shall indicate the current phase or stage of the Town Center that is being proposed for land development plan approval.
(2)
The Master Plan, which will be updated from time to time, shall be a refinement of the Plan included in the appendix of the Comprehensive Plan Update 2004 report.
L.
Parking plan.
M.
O.
Civic uses.
(1)
A public emergency services building space shall be reserved by the developer, at the direction of the Bethlehem Board of Commissioners.
P.
Manual of design guidelines.
(1)
At the time of land development plan submission for each phase or stage of development, a Manual of Design Guidelines shall be submitted to illustrate the proposed Architectural, Streetscape, and Landscape Design Guidelines for the proposed construction. The Manual of Design Guidelines shall be consistent with Exhibit XXIX-A.
§ 275-243 Conditional use standards and criteria.
A.
An individual building of 150,000 square feet or greater on the ground floor by one user:
(1)
The maximum building length shall be 385 feet.
(2)
The length of the facade of any new building which exceed 32 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 32 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.
B.
Buildings less than 20 feet in height:
(1)
Accessory buildings may be less than 20 feet in height.
(2)
Up to 30% of the total office building square footage on the ground floor may be twenty-foot tall buildings.
(3)
Up to 30% of the total residential building square footage on the ground floor may be in twenty-foot tall buildings, provided that such buildings are for age-qualified housing.
(4)
Up to 90% of the total retail/commercial building square footage on the ground floor may be twenty-foot tall buildings.
(5)
No principal building shall have a flat roof, unless it has a parapet wall screening all mechanical equipment from public view along streets, sidewalks, and public alley accessible parking areas.