Bratenahl City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 1161
Standard Neighborhood Commercial Districts
1161.01 INTENT.
The Village Plan recognizes that the principal development of the Village should be residential in nature. However, certain very limited areas of the Village, by reason of location, nearby land uses and the need for shopping for the convenience of residents of the community, are suitable for limited, small-scale neighborhood retail establishments and office uses. Therefore, the Neighborhood Commercial District (NC) is established to allow businesses that provide goods and services primarily for the convenience of individual consumers without exposing such areas to the potential for general commercial activity that would be detrimental to the existing and surrounding residential neighborhoods and the Village.
(Ord. 4226. Passed 12-18-24.)
1161.02 USE REGULATIONS.
Buildings and land shall be used, and buildings shall be designed, erected, altered, moved or maintained in a Neighborhood Commercial District (NC) only for the uses set forth in this chapter.
(a) Principal Uses Permitted by Right.
(1) Small-scale commercial establishments that provide goods, merchandise and/or services to consumers via in-store sales, over the phone sales or e-commerce sites:
A. Retail establishments primarily engaged in the sale of merchandise to consumers for personal or household consumption. Includes the sale of merchandise such as, but not limited to clothing, personal items, household goods, food, and beverages.
B. Personal service establishments that provide services and otherwise administer to the needs of individuals, households or pets, such as, but not limited to, personal care services, businesses that provide cleaning and/or repair of personal or household items, health and wellness care, financial services, and legal services, and which may include drop-off and pick-up services.
C. Custom goods shops, such as artisan shops, studios and similar maker spaces for custom work or the making or finishing of articles for personal or residential use. Examples of uses in this category include bake shops, dressmakers, etc.
(2) Residential Uses:
A. One-family detached dwellings, with a minimum floor area of 1,200 square feet per dwelling unit.
B. Two-family dwellings, with a minimum floor area of 1,200 square feet per dwelling unit.
(b) Principal Uses Permitted as a Conditional Use.
(1) Townhouse dwellings, limited to not more than four (4) dwelling units attached side-by-side. The minimum lot size shall be 9,600 square feet and not less than 80 feet in lot width. The maximum density shall be limited to one unit per 2,900 square feet and a minimum floor area of 1,200 square feet per unit.
(2) Multi-family dwellings, limited to not more than six (6) dwelling units per building. The minimum lot size shall be 9,600 square feet and not less than 80 feet in lot width. The maximum density shall be limited to one unit per 2,000 square feet of lot area and a minimum floor area of 1,000 square feet per unit.
(c) Limitations on Commercial Establishments.
(1) Each commercial building shall be limited to a maximum gross floor area of 5,000 square feet.
(2) All aspects of the commercial use shall be conducted wholly within a building. No drive-in commercial facilities and no outside sales, storage or display of goods, supplies or equipment shall be permitted.
(Ord. 4226. Passed 12-18-24.)
1161.03 ACCESSORY USES.
Accessory uses incidental to the foregoing main uses are permitted provided such accessory uses:
(a) Are customarily accessory and clearly incidental and subordinate to the permitted principal use.
(b) Are located on the same lot as the permitted principal use or on a contiguous lot in the same ownership.
(c) For commercial uses, accessory uses shall be limited to those that:
(1) Do not involve the separate conduct of a trade or business except when related to and in furtherance of the permitted principal use and do not involve operations not in keeping with the character of the district; and
(2) Are not likely to generate significant numbers of visitors independently of visitors or users of the principal use.
(Ord. 4226. Passed 12-18-24.)
1161.04 LOT AND BUILDING REQUIREMENTS.
Development of permitted principal or accessory uses within a Neighborhood Commercial District (NC) shall conform to the following standards and requirements:
(a) Lot Requirements: Each lot shall comply with the following minimum requirements, unless a larger requirement is imposed on a conditional use:
(1) Minimum lot area: 4,800 square feet.
(2) Minimum lot width: 40 feet.
(b) Yard Requirements:
(1) Buildings shall be set back not less than fifteen (15) feet from the front lot line.
(2) A side yard of not less than five feet shall be provided along each side lot line, except in the case where an existing building on the adjacent lot contains a wall that coincides with the common boundary of such lots. In such case, a new building, or addition to an existing building, may be constructed along the lot line provided the new building or addition contains a wall that abuts the wall of the existing building on the adjacent lot.
(3) A rear yard of not less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the depth of the lot shall be provided.
(4) If a lot is a corner lot and the adjoining property on the side street is in a residential district, a front yard shall be provided along the side street having a minimum depth at least equal to the front yard of the nearest residential structure.
(c) Building Height. No principal building shall exceed twenty-five (25) feet in height. (Ord. 4226. Passed 12-18-24.)
1161.05 PARKING REQUIREMENTS
(a) Adequate off-street parking areas shall be constructed and maintained accessory to each permitted principal use in an NC District in accordance with the following:
(1) For commercial uses, one (1) parking space shall be provided for each 400 square feet of gross floor area.
(2) For residential uses, two (2) parking spaces shall be provided for each dwelling unit. The required parking spaces shall be within an enclosed attached garage, except that a one-family or two-family dwelling located on a lot with a lot width less than sixty (60) feet shall be required to provide a minimum of one parking space per unit within an enclosed garage either attached or detached. The ground floor area of a detached garage shall not exceed seventy percent (70%) of the ground floor area of the dwelling to which it is accessory and shall comply with the accessory use standards in Section 1155.06.
(b) Off-street parking spaces for a townhouse, multi-family dwelling or commercial use shall be located a minimum of five (5) feet from a front lot line, five (5) feet from a side lot line abutting a residential use and ten (10) feet from a rear lot line, and shall be located in such a manner as to not interfere with access to and egress from buildings on adjacent parcels.
(c) Each parking lot for a commercial use shall be provided with an access driveway at least ten (10) feet in width for each direction but with a maximum width of twenty-one (21) feet for any access drive.
(d) Only one two-way access drive or pair of one-way drives shall be permitted for each 100 feet of public street frontage on the street on which such drive or drives are located, provided, however, that each lot is entitled to have one access drive regardless of lot frontage and provided further that, to reduce traffic hazards, the Village Planning Commission may require consolidation of the access drives of any two contiguous lots.
(e) Off-street parking areas and driveways shall be constructed and drained in a manner approved by the Village Engineer and shall be surfaced either with asphalt, concrete or other suitable material.
(f) Off-street parking areas shall be maintained free from dust, paper and other loose particles, snow and ice. All signs, markers and any other methods used to indicate traffic movement and the location of parking spaces shall be maintained in a neat and legible condition.
(Ord. 4226. Passed 12-18-24.)
1161.06 BUSINESS SIGNS.
(a) A lot occupied by a nonresidential use shall be permitted to have an on-premise accessory business wall sign and projecting sign in compliance with this section. No freestanding signs shall be permitted.
(b) Each sign shall be designed as an integral part of the design of the building, and the sign design plan shall be submitted with the plans of the building and approved by the Planning Commission.
(c) Signs shall be securely attached to the building, either against the wall of a building, or under a marquee or structural canopy of a building or otherwise constructed as to be an integral part of a wall of a building.
(1) Signs shall not be longer than, nor extend beyond, the top or end of the wall, marquee or canopy to which it is attached, or of which it forms an integral part, and may not be set apart from the building or mounted, hung, fastened or suspended in any other fashion.
(2) Such signs shall not be attached to nor project from the roof of the building.
(3) No portion of any such attached sign shall project more than sixteen (16) inches from any wall to which the sign is attached or forms an integral part, and any sign attached under a marquee or canopy shall clear any walkway below by at least eight (8) feet. Any such sign shall be separated from such building by not more than eight (8) inches.
(4) Projecting signs. The area of a projecting sign shall not exceed twelve (12) square feet and shall be limited to a maximum height of fourteen (14) feet and a minimum clearance of eight (8) feet from the ground to the bottom of the sign, except when the projecting sign is located above a landscaped area or other area that does not permit pedestrian traffic beneath the sign.
(d) Maximum Sign Area.
(1) The total surface area of all such attached signs, whether announcing the name of the building or any uses therein, shall be limited to one-half (1/2) square foot of sign for each one (1) lineal foot of building frontage on which the sign is located.
(2) In no case shall the total sign area equal more than seventy-five (75) square feet for any establishment.
(3) The design of any special monogram or logo displayed shall be correlated with any such sign and shall be part of such sign for purposes of the aggregate surface area limitation of this section.
(e) Secondary Frontage. A commercial building located on a corner lot shall be permitted to have one (1) building sign facing each adjacent right-of-way, in compliance with subsections 1161.06(c) and (d).
(f) Window Signs. Notwithstanding the maximum permitted sign area set forth in subsection (d) hereof, signs placed in or on a window shall not exceed thirty percent (30%) of the total glass area of the ground floor windows. For the purposes of determining the window area of a ground floor, the ground floor shall be considered to be no more than fifteen (15) feet in height above grade.
(g) Illumination. Signs shall only be illuminated, whether internally or externally, in compliance with the following:
(1) Only wall signs may be illuminated and shall be illuminated only during hours when the business is open.
(2) Wall signs that have external illumination, whether the lighting is mounted above or below the sign face or panel, shall have lighting fixtures or luminaires that are fully shielded.
(3) In no event shall an illuminated sign or lighting device permit the beams or illumination therefrom to be directed upon a public thoroughfare, highway, sidewalk or adjacent premises so as to cause glare or reflection that may constitute a hazard or nuisance.
(4) Whenever a sign is illuminated, the light emitted shall be a constant intensity and no sign shall be illuminated by or contain flashing, intermittent, rotating, or moving light or lights.
(h) Noncommercial Message Permitted. The owner of any sign that is otherwise permitted by this Code may substitute a non-commercial message in lieu of any other commercial or noncommercial message. This substitution of message may be made without any additional approval or permit. The purpose of this provision is to prevent any inadvertent and unintended favoring of a commercial message over a noncommercial message or favoring of any particular noncommercial message over any other noncommercial message. This provision shall prevail over any more specific provision to the contrary in the Village of Bratenahl Codified Ordinances.
(i) Prohibited Signs. Motion of any kind, such as but not limited to animated, flashing, rotating, revolving, whirling signs and festoons, electronic message signs, inflatable signs, tethered balloons, pennants, streamers, searchlights, exposed light bulbs, strings of lights not permanently mounted to a rigid background and any clearly similar features, shall be prohibited in the NC District.
(j) Construction, Maintenance and Removal of Signs.
(1) Construction. All signs and methods to attach and anchor signs shall be constructed in accordance with applicable provisions of the Village of Bratenahl Building Code.
(2) Maintenance. All signs and sign structures shall be structurally sound and maintained in a safe and attractive condition at all times.
(3) Removal Required.
A. Any sign that pertains to a business, lessor, service, owner, or activity no longer conducted on the premises shall be removed by the permit holder or property owner at their expense within ninety (90) days following the discontinuation of the use. Any such sign not removed within the ninety (90)-day timeframe shall be considered to be an abandoned sign.
B. Any sign that has been abandoned or not maintained in accordance with applicable regulations of the Village shall be removed by the last permit holder or property owner, or by the Village at the expense of such permit holder or property owner.
C. Removal of a sign shall include the sign, enclosing frame, and all sign supporting members.
(4) Whenever the removal or maintenance of a sign has been ordered by the Commissioner of Buildings, the permit holder or the owner of property on which the sign is erected shall remove or maintain the sign within forty-eight (48) hours after receiving such notice. In the event of noncompliance, the Commissioner may remove or cause to be removed or maintained such sign at the expense of the permit holder or the owner of property on which the sign is erected.
(5) Failure to comply with this section shall be considered a violation of this Planning and Zoning Code and subject to the rules and procedures set forth in Chapter 1123 Enforcement and Penalty.
(Ord. 4226. Passed 12-18-24.)
1161.07 APPROVAL PROCEDURES.
(b) Two-Family Dwellings. New construction or modifications proposed to a dwelling that contains two dwelling units, shall be reviewed in the same manner as a single-family dwelling, including certain accessory structures, as specified in Schedule 1154.03, and shall be subject to the review procedures for single-family dwellings set forth in Chapter 1154.
(c) Nonresidential Uses and Conditional Uses. Nonresidential uses as permitted in Section 1161.02(a)(1) and associated signage, and conditional uses as permitted in Section 1161.02(b) shall be permitted only after development plans have been reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission and the Architectural and Design Review Board in accordance with the procedures set forth in Chapter 1153.
(d) Additional Requirements for Conditional Uses. Because of their nature and special characteristics, townhouses and multi-family dwellings are regulated as conditional uses and shall be permitted only if certain conditions are met and when such uses are designed to complement and enhance the surrounding neighborhood.
(1) An applicant must demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that the townhouse development or multi-family development will be compatible with the surrounding area, including but not limited to the traffic circulation, parking, and appearance of the development.
(2) Parking spaces shall be located behind the front building setback line, provided an exception to this requirement may be granted by the Board of Zoning Appeals due to depth of the lot, the location of mature trees, or other similar factors.
(3) Public Hearing Required.
A. As part of the preliminary plan review process required by Section 1153.05 and before ruling on the proposed conditional use, the Planning Commission shall give public notice and hold a public hearing.
B. Notice of such public hearing shall be given by first-class mail to the applicant and to the owners of property abutting the property on which the conditional use is proposed. Failure of delivery of such notice shall not invalidate action taken on such application. Further notice shall be provided in compliance with Section 1111.13 and on the Village's website. All notices shall include the nature of the proposed conditional use. The Commission may recess such hearings from time to time, and, if the time and place of the continued hearing is publicly announced at the time of the adjournment, no further notice shall be required.
(4) In approving a proposed conditional use, the Planning Commission may attach additional conditions and limitations concerning use, construction, character, location, landscaping, screening, and other matters relating to the purposes and objectives of this Planning and Zoning Code, as may be appropriate to ensure the proposed development is compatible with the intent of and existing development in the NC district.
(5) If the Planning Commission approves the conditional use, it shall be referred to Village Council for consideration and final approval.
(Ord. 4226. Passed 12-18-24.)