Bridgeport City Zoning Code
ARTICLE X
NC Neighborhood Commercial District
§ 560-1001 Intent; applicable regulations.
The purpose of the NC Neighborhood Commercial District is to promote pedestrian-oriented activities in the downtown, to strengthen the downtown and commercial areas that are close to homes, to recognize commercial areas that are close to residential areas, as opposed to commercial areas that are more highway-oriented, to promote an appropriate mix of retail, service, office, public, institutional and residential uses, to avoid heavy commercial uses that are most likely to conflict with nearby neighborhoods and which are most likely to spur demolition of historic buildings, to primarily provide for smaller-scale uses that utilize existing buildings, as opposed to uses that would involve substantial demolition, to recognize that the availability of off-street parking at the former Bridgeport Elementary School makes it more suitable for commercial reuse than other institutional buildings in the Borough.
§ 560-1002 Permitted uses.
In the NC Neighborhood Commercial District, a building may be erected or used or occupied and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following purposes and no other when in compliance with applicable use regulations set forth in Article III, Use Regulations:
A.
Uses permitted by right. The following uses are permitted by right:
(1)
Residential uses.
(a)
Multifamily building/unit.
[1]
Multifamily building/unit shall only be permitted if in a mixed-use building with the permitted principal commercial use or uses occupying 70% of the street-level floor area and fronting DeKalb Street, 4th Street, or Ford Street. No living space for any dwelling unit may be located on the ground floor.
(2)
Commercial uses.
(a)
Athletic/health club.
(b)
Bank.
(c)
Brewery/distillery/winery.
(d)
Convenience store.
(e)
Event facility.
(f)
Funeral home.
(g)
Microbrewery/microdistillery/microwinery.
(h)
Mixed-use building.
(i)
Personal care business.
(j)
Professional service business.
(k)
Recreation, indoor.
(l)
Restaurant, dine-in.
(m)
Restaurant, take-out.
(n)
Retail establishment.
(o)
Studio.
(p)
Supermarket.
(q)
Tavern/bar/nightclub.
(r)
Theater.
(3)
Community service, institutional, utility uses.
(a)
Conservation/recreation.
(b)
Day care facility.
(c)
Educational institution.
(d)
Government facility.
(e)
Library, museum, or community center.
(f)
Membership club.
(g)
Place of worship.
(h)
Plant nursery.
(i)
Residential care facility.
(j)
Swimming pool, non-household.
(4)
Office uses.
(a)
Co-working space.
(b)
Office, business/professional.
(c)
Medical office or clinic.
(5)
Industrial uses.
(a)
Animal care.
B.
Accessory uses permitted by right. The following accessory uses are permitted when subordinate and customarily incidental to any of the above permitted uses and upon the issuance of a zoning permit:
(1)
Keeping of pets.
(2)
Mobile food vending.
(3)
No-impact home-based business.
(4)
Outdoor dining.
(5)
Renewable energy systems.
(6)
Rooftop dining.
(7)
Short-term rental.
(8)
Such other accessory use or structure that the applicant proves to the satisfaction of the Zoning Officer is clearly customary and incidental to a permitted by right, special exception or conditional principal use.
C.
Uses permitted by conditional use.
(1)
Cemetery.
(2)
Emergency services.
(3)
Home occupation.
(4)
Massage therapy establishment.
(5)
Unit for care of relative.
D.
Prohibited uses. The following uses are specifically prohibited in the NC District as principal or accessory uses:
(1)
Drive-through facilities.
§ 560-1003 Dimensional requirements.
A.
Minimum lot area: 1,800 square feet.
B.
Minimum lot width: 15 feet.
C.
Setbacks.
(1)
Minimum building setback from the edge of street curbline: 14 feet.
(2)
Maximum building setback from street curbline for 60% or more of the front facade of the ground floor level of buildings: 20 feet.
(3)
Minimum side setback: five feet, except that 10 feet shall be provided when abutting a lot occupied by a residential use in a residential district existing at the time of development. This exception does not apply to mixed-use buildings.
(4)
Minimum rear setback: 10 feet.
D.
Maximum building coverage: 80%.
E.
Maximum impervious coverage: 90%.
F.
Principal building height.
(1)
Maximum principal building height: three stories or 40 feet, whichever is more restrictive.
(2)
Minimum principal building height (on 4th Street between DeKalb and Ford Streets): three stories or 40 feet, whichever is more restrictive.
§ 560-1004 Design standards.
A.
Building design standards.
(1)
Elevation drawings shall be provided with the building permit application.
(2)
For a mixed-use building, the building height may be increased to five stories or 60 feet by conditional use, whichever is more restrictive, in compliance with the following criteria:
(a)
A front stepback of 15 feet from the ground floor facade for the fourth and fifth floors.
(b)
The minimum building setback from the edge of street curbline is increased to 20 feet.
(c)
Rooftop amenities for residents such as a common space with furniture shall be included.
(3)
Maximum building length. Front facades of buildings which face a street shall have a maximum length of 100 feet.
(4)
Doors and entrances.
(a)
Buildings must have a primary entrance door facing a public sidewalk. Entrances at building corners may be used to satisfy this requirement.
(b)
Building entrances may include doors to individual shops or businesses, lobby entrances, entrances to pedestrian-oriented plazas, or courtyard entrances to a cluster of shops or businesses.
(c)
All primary building entrances shall be accentuated. Entrances permitted include recessed, protruding, canopy, portico, or overhang. One of the following architectural entrance accents are required: door surround, arch, awning, pediment, transom window, landscaping with shrubs, ground cover or perennials covering a minimum area of 20 square feet.
(5)
Walls and windows.
(a)
Blank walls shall not be permitted along any exterior wall facing a street, parking area, or walking area. Walls or portions of walls where windows are not provided shall have architectural treatments that are similar to the front facade, including materials, colors, and details. Examples of architectural treatments include: masonry (but not flat concrete block); concrete or masonry plinth at the base of the wall; belt courses of a different texture or color; projecting cornice; projecting metal canopy; decorative tilework; trellis containing planting; medallions; opaque or translucent glass; artwork; vertical/horizontal articulation; lighting fixtures; an architectural element not listed above that meets the intent.
(b)
Windows.
[1]
The ground floor primary facades of buildings visible from the pedestrian view shall consist of a minimum of 60% window area and a maximum of 75%, with views provided through these windows into the business. The ground floor nonprimary facades of buildings visible from the pedestrian view shall consist of a minimum of 30% window area and a maximum of 60%. Ground floor windows shall be 12 to 20 inches above the sidewalk.
[2]
Upper story windows of front facades shall not be boarded or covered and shall comprise a minimum of 35% window area in the facade above the ground floor and a maximum of 75%.
[3]
Smoked, reflective, or black glass in windows is prohibited.
[4]
A minimum of 70% of the street-facing building facade between two feet and eight feet in height must be comprised of clear windows that allow views of indoor space or product display areas.
[5]
The bottom of any window or product display window used to satisfy the transparency standard of Subsection A(5)(b)[1] above may not be more than four feet above the adjacent sidewalk.
[6]
Product display windows used to satisfy these requirements must have a minimum height of four feet and be internally lighted.
(6)
Roofs. Where gable roofs are utilized they shall have a minimum slope of 4:12 and a maximum slope of 12:12. Roofs in keeping with the character of adjacent buildings are recommended.
B.
Screening:
(1)
All wall-mounted mechanical, electrical, communication, and service equipment, including satellite dishes and vent pipes, shall be screened from public view by parapets, walls, fences, landscaping, or other approved means.
(2)
All rooftop mechanical equipment and other appurtenances shall be concealed by or integrated within the roof form or screened from view at ground level of nearby streets. The following, when above the roofline, requires screening: stairwells, elevator shafts, air conditioning units, large vents, heat pumps and mechanical equipment.
(3)
Parking lots visible from a street shall be screened as follows:
(a)
Where abutting a residential use, a screen consisting of a six-foot-high wall/fence or a year-round continuous evergreen screen shall be used. Evergreen plantings are to be six feet at the time of installation and are required to be maintained and kept free of litter.
(b)
Parking lot screening along street frontages or property lines with nonresidential uses shall consist of the following:
[1]
A three-foot-high wall/fence or year-round plantings (evergreens). Such screening may include:
[a]
Hedges, not to exceed 36 inches in height; or
[b]
Mixed planting (trees and shrubs); or
[c]
Wall sections, with no wall break of more than six feet, and landscaping to provide a continuous screen.
(c)
Service and loading areas must be visually screened from street and pedestrian ways. For new construction, service and loading areas must be behind the building. Loading docks shall not be located on the Main Street frontage, but to the side or rear of the building.
§ 560-1005 Additional regulations in NC Neighborhood Commercial District.
A.
No use shall be open to the public between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.
B.
For mixed-use buildings:
(1)
Only those permitted uses that are open for walk-in customers/clients may be located on the ground floor of a mixed-use building.
