It is the intent of this subchapter to establish regulations for the General Commercial District to provide well-designed commercial land uses in conformance with the goals of the Comprehensive Plan of the Town of Beverly Shores, and the following objectives:

   (A)   Provide a broad range of commercial uses in the General Commercial District.

   (B)   Encourage construction in the General Commercial District that is compatible with the natural environment of Beverly Shores and minimizes storm water runoff on to public streets by installing pervious surfaces for parking areas or installing adequate drainage facilities.

   (C)   Encourage consolidation of driveways, parking, and curb cuts that minimize congestion and hazardous traffic conditions and provide more efficient and economical off-street access and parking.

   (D)   Encourage a coordinated pedestrian path system to provide efficient and convenient off-street pedestrian access from parking areas to and among the various permitted uses.

   (E)   Encourage and permit reasonable use of outdoor lighting for advertising, nighttime safety, utility and security while preserving the ambiance of the night and curtail any degradation of the nighttime visual environment and the night sky.

(Ord. 2013-09, passed 12-16-2013)

   Property in the General Commercial District may be used for one or more of the following uses, in compliance with the standards and the requirements contained in regulations for the General Commercial District:

   (A)   Retail store offering: hardware, clothing, groceries, meats, milk and milk products, fruits, vegetables, baked goods, confectionaries, beverages, flowers, plants, books, furnishings or other household supplies, camping supplies, rentals of bicycles and other non-motorized recreational equipment, antiques, books, newspapers, magazines, paper products, art supplies, art products, hardware, jewelry, clocks, optical goods, cameras, home appliances, videos, computers or electronic equipment.

   (B)   Gas station and mini-mart or convenience store with fuel pumps, provided:

      (1)   All activities except those to be performed at the fuel pumps, air pumps or outside vending machine are performed within a completely enclosed building.

      (2)   Servicing of vehicles and body repairs and/or painting shall not be permitted.

      (3)   Canopies shall be designed to be architecturally compatible with structures in the surrounding area with regard to color and building materials.

      (4)   One pylon sign is permitted on the sign zoning parcel, provided that it does not exceed 25 feet in height.

   (C)   Club or fraternal organization.

   (D)   Personal service shop offering: hair care, shoe repair, tailoring, nail care, tanning, and dry cleaning (pick-up establishments only; no on-site processing).

   (E)   Business or professional office.

   (F)   Office of doctor, dentist, and other healthcare providers.

   (G)   Studio for dance, art, music, or photography.

   (H)   Health club or exercise facility.

   (I)   Business services establishment including copy centers, retail printing and duplication services, computer rental and copying centers, and shipping, cartage, express and parcel delivery services and sale of office equipment and supplies.

   (J)   Bank or financial institution.

   (K)   Restaurant, diner or coffee shop, excluding drive-through facilities. Outdoor dining is permitted.

   (L)   Liquor store.

   (M)   Bar or tavern. Outdoor service is permitted.

   (N)   Religious institution.

   (O)   Municipal building, office, and uses.

   (P)   Post office.

   (Q)   A mobile food truck, cart or van that serves food and beverages on the lot that is either owned by the mobile food truck, cart or van operator or is leased, licensed or granted occupancy rights by the owner of the lot to the mobile food truck, cart or van operator. The mobile food truck, cart or van shall remain parked on the lot during hours of its operation and shall vacate the lot after hours. The dining area must contain a temporary barrier from the parking area. The mobile food truck, cart or van shall obtain a permit from the Porter County Health Department and shall comply with all applicable federal, state, county and municipal ordinances, statutes, laws, rules, regulations, permits and orders.

   (R)   Outdoor farmers' market.

   (S)   Outdoor fruit or vegetable stand.

   (T)   Garden center.

   (U)   Antique restorations.

   (V)   Pharmacy.

   (W)   Art gallery.

   (X)   Accessory use on the lot, which is customarily incidental to the primary use, permitted and utilized. Accessory uses shall meet all requirements for permitted uses.

   (Y)   All uses permitted in the Residential District are permitted provided, however, that the residential use and the building and other structures shall be built in accordance with and conform to the regulations of the Residential District.

(Ord. 2013-09, passed 12-16-2013; Am. Ord. 2018-06, passed 8-21-2018)

   The following uses may be permitted by the Board of Zoning Appeals if the proposed use will constitute a desirable and stable development which will be in harmony with developments in adjacent areas and will not cause undue congestion on public streets nor will be contrary to the spirit and purpose of this chapter.

   (A)   Government facilities;

   (B)   Religious facilities;

   (C)   Gas, water, electrical and communication facilities;

   (D)   Renewable energy equipment accessory to commercial use; and

   (E)   Dish tower antennas accessory to commercial use.

(Ord. 208, passed 12-19-1983)

   (A)   Drive through facilities are not permitted.

   (B)   Drive-in facilities offering goods or services directly to a customer waiting in a parked motor vehicle are not permitted.

   (C)   All buildings in the General Commercial District must be served by public water facilities.

   (D)   All septic or sewage disposal systems shall be located and installed in accordance with the State of Indiana and Porter County Board of Health ordinances, laws, statutes, rules, regulations, permits and orders. It shall be the responsibility of the owner of a lot in the General Commercial District to provide evidence of soil suitability and area to the Building Commissioner as determined by a soil scientist licensed by the State of Indiana.

   (E)   Pre-engineered metal buildings are permitted provided that 50% of the facade facing a public street shall consist of brick, stone or cultured stone and 33.33% of each side of the building (excluding the rear) shall consist of brick, stone or cultured stone.

   (F)   No building or structure shall be constructed, located, erected, altered, modified, repaired, maintained or used in the General Commercial District, in whole or in part, except for the specific uses authorized in the General Commercial District in compliance with the regulations of this subchapter, the provisions of the State of Indiana Administrative Building Code (IAC Title 675 et seq., as amended), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 USC 12101 et seq., as amended) ("ADA") and all other applicable federal, state, county and municipal ordinances, statutes, laws, rules, regulations, permits and orders.

   (G)   All utilities servicing a building or structure shall be installed underground.

   (H)   Side facades shall be of finished quality and shall be of color and materials that are similar to the front facade and blend with structures within the lot. Any lot with more than 1 building shall have a common and coherent architectural theme throughout the lot.

   (I)   Principal buildings shall have clearly defined, highly visible customer entrances with features such as awnings, canopies, porticoes or arches.

   (J)   Rooflines shall be varied to add visual interest and shall either be:

      (1)   Pitched with a pitch of at least 3 vertical inches to every 12 horizontal inches and shall contain an eave that is no less than 12 inches; or

      (2)   Shall contain parapets or mansard roofs that conceal a flat roof and rooftop equipment such as HVAC units along all roof edges.

   (K)   Loading docks, utility meters, HVAC equipment, trash receptacles and other service functions shall be incorporated into the overall design theme of the building or structure so that the architectural design is continuous. These areas shall be located and screened so that the visual and acoustic impacts of these functions are fully contained and out of view from adjacent lots and public streets.

   (L)   No rubbish, debris, garbage, filth, refuse or other obnoxious matter shall be kept in open containers or piled on the open ground. Outdoor trash receptacles shall be screened from view from adjacent lots and public streets and shall be enclosed and covered. All waste materials must be periodically disposed of at least once in each 7-day period.

   (M)   No outdoor storage of goods, business articles or implements, shall be allowed on the lot except for seasonal inventory in an outdoor sales area. All storage of goods, business articles or implements shall be within the building or structure on the lot or be surrounded by a solid 6-foot tall fence located in the rear or side yard.

   (N)   Owners of adjacent lots are encouraged to provide continuous off-street parking areas or connecting off-street driveways and sidewalks to promote off-street pedestrian and vehicular ingress and egress between lots.

   (O)   Buildings, structures and accessory uses on a lot shall be screened from abutting residential uses with an evergreen hedgerow in accordance with the following provisions:

      (1)   The planting area shall be made fertile and planted within 6 months from the date of issuance of a certificate of occupancy and thereafter reasonably maintained with permanent materials to provide for a suitable screen from adjacent lots;

      (2)   Minimum height for plant materials shall be 4 feet;

      (3)   Minimum planting width shall be 5 feet on center; and

      (4)   Plant materials shall not be placed closer than 5 feet from the lot line.

(Ord. 2013-09, passed 12-16-2013)

   The following off-street parking regulations shall apply in the General Commercial District:

   (A)   An off-street parking area shall be located on each lot and shall contain at least 1 space per 200 square feet of gross floor area of the buildings (but no less than 4 parking spaces) plus employee parking for the maximum number of employees on duty in the buildings at any 1 time.

   (B)   A driveway permit is required for all off-street parking areas on the lot. The Building Commissioner shall not issue a driveway permit until all regulations promulgated for the off-street parking areas and for a driveway permit have been met and farther that the driveway curb cut has been approved by the State Indiana Department of Transportation.

   (C)   The off-street parking area on the lot shall provide accessible parking spaces in compliance with ADA (ADA requires a minimum of 1 accessible space for parking totals of 1 to 25 spaces and 2 accessible spaces (1 for a car and 1 for a van for parking totals of 25 spaces to 50 spaces).

   (D)   Parking spaces shall be at least 9 feet in width and 20 feet in length exclusive of access drives or aisles, ramps or work areas, provided that ADA parking spaces shall contain an adjacent access aisle of a minimum of 60 inches wide for a car parking space and an access aisle of a minimum of 96 inches wide for a van parking space. The vertical clearance for a parking space shall be a minimum of 8 feet.

   (E)   Off-street parking areas on the lot shall be installed with either:

      (1)   A suitable compacted base with a porous aggregate, porous asphalt or porous concrete surface; or

      (2)   If the off-street parking area is to be improved with an impervious asphalt or concrete surface the parking area shall be impressed with a 6-inch aggregate base and the lot shall contain adequate grading and drainage facilities to prevent storm water run-off from the lot onto a public street and adjacent lots.

   (F)   All parts of the lot which are not covered by a building, structure parking area, driveway and sidewalk, shall be landscaped with plantings of flowers, grass, ground cover, shrubs or trees which shall be maintained continuously. The planting of native plant species is encouraged. The planting of invasive exotic plant species is not permitted.

   (G)   Designated parking spaces shall be marked on the surface of the parking area with paint or permanent marking materials and maintained in clearly visible condition. ADA parking spaces shall have clearly visible signage and shall be clearly marked on the surface of the parking area.

   (H)   The off-street parking area on the lot shall be solely for the parking of motor vehicles of patrons, occupants or employees of the permitted uses.

   (I)   Off-street parking spaces may be located in yard setback areas.

   (J)   Each required off-street parking space shall open directly upon an aisle or driveway of a width and design so as to provide safe and efficient means of vehicular access to a parking space.

   (K)   The off-street parking area on the lot shall be designed with appropriate means of vehicular access to a street or alley in a manner that will least interfere with traffic movements.

   (L)   A landscaping strip 6 feet in width, which shall not include a sidewalk or trail, shall be located between the parking lot and the property line with plants that are no less than 3 feet in height.

(Ord. 2013-09, passed 12-16-2013)

   The following sign regulations shall apply in the General Commercial District:

   (A)   No animated signs shall be permitted in the General Commercial District.

   (B)   No pennants, streamers or inflatable devices shall be permitted in the General Commercial District.

   (C)   Roof and wall signs shall be permitted.

   (D)   Except for a gas station and mini-marts or convenience stores with fuel pumps, pylon signs are not permitted.

   (E)   No billboards shall be permitted in the General Commercial District.

   (F)   Signs shall not be located in any public right-of-way and shall not be any closer than 5 feet to any boundary lot line.

   (G)   A sign zoning parcel may contain multiple signs for each permitted use on the sign zoning parcel provided that their total area does not exceed 100 square feet in the aggregate and no individual sign shall be larger than 36 square feet.

   (H)   All illuminated signs shall be front lit and the lighting fixtures shall be mounted facing down at or near the top of the sign structure and located a minimum of 200 feet from any residential property line or any residential lot of record.

   (I)   Signs shall not be attached to any tree or shrub.

   (J)   All existing permanent wall and freestanding signs lawfully in existence immediately prior to December 16, 2013 can remain until removed or replaced by a lawful sign as defined by this subchapter or until such time as said existing legal sign is no longer safely maintained or the use is changed. An existing sign may be changed so long as the sign’s gross surface area is not increased.

(Ord. 2013-09, passed 12-16-2013; Am. Ord. 2018-06, passed 8-21-2018)

   Outdoor sales areas shall conform to the following requirements:

   (A)   Outdoor sales shall not be located within 15 feet of any public street or boundary lot line.

   (B)   Outdoor areas for the sale of seasonal inventory shall be constructed of materials and colors conforming to those used as predominant materials and colors of the principal building. If such areas are to be covered, then the covering shall conform to those used as predominant materials and colors of the principal building.

   (C)   Only 1 outdoor sales area is permitted on a lot and, except for a garden center, an outdoor farmers' market or fruit or vegetable stand, such area shall not exceed 10% of area of the lot. Outdoor dining areas are not subject to the outdoor sales area limitation.

(Ord. 2013-09, passed 12-16-2013)

   All buildings, structures and uses shall conform to the following requirements:

   (A)   Lot area. Each principal building erected in the General Commercial District together with accessory buildings, required parking spaces and required loading berths shall be erected on a zoning parcel having an area not less than 20,000 square feet. A minimum building parcel width of at least 100 feet measured at the lot line bordering an improved street and the required minimum front yard setback.

   (B)   Floor area ratio. The combined floor area ratio of the principal building and all accessory buildings on a lot shall not exceed 35% of the total area of the lot.

   (C)   Front yard. Each lot shall have a front yard with a depth of not less than 30 feet. On zoning parcels with depth of less than 70 feet the front yard shall have a depth of not less than 15 feet.

   (D)   Side yards.

      (1)   Each lot shall have 2 side yards, 1 on each side of the principal building.

      (2)   The width of each side yard shall not be less than 10 feet, provided, however that on a corner lot, the side yards on the street side shall be 15 feet.

   (E)   Rear yard. Each zoning parcel shall have a rear yard of 10 feet in depth from the property line.

   (F)   Height limits. No building or structure shall exceed 2 stories, nor shall any building or structure exceed 35 feet in height from the existing grade of the lot.

   (G)   Accessory uses and buildings. All accessory uses, buildings and structures shall comply with all standards applicable to the General Commercial District. No accessory use shall be established or erected prior to the establishment or erection of the principal use, building or structure to which it is accessory.

   (H)   Lighting standards. The purpose of these lighting standards and the policy of the Town of Beverly Shores is to minimize glare and over-lighting beyond the property boundary of each lot by limiting outdoor lighting that is misdirected, excessive or unnecessary. The density of outdoor lighting, whether shielded or unshielded, shall not exceed in the aggregate 50,000 lumens per acre in the General Commercial District. Lighting shall be shielded to meet the following requirements:

      (1)   No light shall shine directly into the windows of a building on abutting lot.

      (2)   No light shall shine directly from a light source onto the ground or improvements of an abutting lot, although incidental light may be permitted to fall on an abutting lot. Such lighting shall not exceed 1/2 of an ISO foot-candle at ground level on the abutting lot.

      (3)   No light shall shine directly onto public roads.

      (4)   No parking lot lighting standard or building fixture shall exceed 25 feet in height from grade level.

      (5)   Light fixtures located closer to a side or rear lot line than the side or rear yard setback, shall be no more than 10 feet high, and shall direct the light source away from the boundary line of the lot.

      (6)   Light fixtures located adjacent to a residential use of a lot shall be setback a minimum of 20 feet from the boundary line of the lot.

      (7)   No streamers or festoon lighting, comprising a group of incandescent light bulbs, shall be hung or strung on a building or any other structure.

      (8)   No flashing or intermittent or moving lights, including lights on signs, shall be permitted.

      (9)   Any lighting fixture with a lamp or lamps rated at a total of more than 1,800 lumens, and all flood or spot lighting fixtures with a lamp or lamps rated at a total of more than 900 lumens, shall not emit any direct light above a horizontal plane through the lowest direct-light-emitting part of the lighting fixture.

      (10)   All existing lighting fixtures lawfully in existence immediately prior to December 16, 2013 can remain until removed or replaced by a lawful lighting fixture as defined by this subchapter or until such time as said existing lighting fixture is no longer safely maintained or the use is changed.

   (I)   Violations. All violations of the regulations of the General Commercial District shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $2,500 per violation. Each calendar day that the violation shall continue to exist, or each distinct repetition of any violation, shall constitute a separate violation.

(Ord. 2013-09, passed 12-16-2013)