Brunswick City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 1261
GW-C Gateway Commercial District
1261.01 PURPOSE.
The Gateway District (GW-C) is hereby established to provide for needs for both convenience goods and the more common and often recurring shopping goods, personal services and household services.
(Ord. 24-08. Passed 4-28-08.)
1261.02 PRINCIPALLY PERMITTED USES.
Principally permitted uses in the Gateway District shall be as follows:
(a) Personal services;
(b) Retail businesses;
(c) Financial institutions;
(d) Professional offices;
(e) Medical and dental clinics and offices, veterinary hospitals and clinics;
(f) Educational institutions;
(g) Restaurants, taverns;
(h) Funeral homes;
(i) Religious places of worship;
(j) Theaters.
(Ord. 24-08. Passed 4-28-08.)
1261.03 PERMITTED ACCESSORY USES.
Permitted accessory uses shall be as follows:
(b) Any use or structure which is accessory and incidental to any of the Gateway District principally or conditionally permitted uses.
(Ord. 24-08. Passed 4-28-08.)
1261.04 CONDITIONALLY PERMITTED USES.
The Planning Commission may issue conditional zoning certificates for the following uses, subject to the listed provisions of Chapter 1274:
(b) Governmentally owned and/or operated recreational facilities, subject to Section 1274.08(a) and (h);
(c) (EDITOR’S NOTE: Fomer subsection (c) was deleted by Ordinance 69-2021, passed September 27, 2021.)
(d) Privately owned recreational facilities, subject to Section 1274.08(a), (d) and (g);
(e) Governmentally owned and/or operated buildings and facilities, other than those listed above, subject to Section 1274.08(d) and (g);
(f) Bed and breakfast establishment, subject to Section 1274.12;
(g) (EDITOR’S NOTE: Former subsection (g) was deleted by Ordinance 109-2020, passed February 22, 2021.);
(h) Clubs, subject to Section 1274.08(a), (d) and (g);
(j) Automobile repair, subject to Section 1274.08(a), (d), (f), and (g);
(l) Building materials, lumber or garden sales, subject to Section 1274.08(d), (f) and (g);
(n) Wireless service provider structures subject to Section 1274.15; and
(o) Nightclubs. (Ord. 24-08. Passed 4-28-08; Ord. 68-14. Passed 10-6-14.)
(p) Electronic moving message/digital display signs.
(Ord. 12-09. Passed 4-27-09.)
(r) (EDITOR’S NOTE: Fomer subsection (r) was deleted by Ordinance 69-2021, passed September 27, 2021.)
(s) Vape and smoke shops shall not be permitted within 3,500 feet of any parcel or unified site within or outside of the City of Brunswick corporate boundaries upon which any of the following are located, which shall be measured from the nearest point of the parcel on which the vape/smoke shop is located to the nearest property line upon which any of the following are located:
(1) A church, synagogue, mosque, temple or building which is used primarily for religious worship and related religious activities.
(2) A public or private educational facility, including, without limitation, child care facilities, nursery schools, pre-schools, kindergartens, elementary schools, private schools, intermediate schools, junior high schools, middle schools, high schools, vocational schools, secondary schools, junior colleges and universities, trade schools, tutorial services and commercial learning centers.
(3) A playground that is open to the public or City park.
(Ord. 120-2022. Passed 2-27-23.)
(t) Tattoo and body piercing parlors.
(Ord. 136-17. Passed 2-12-18.)
1261.05 YARD AND HEIGHT REQUIREMENTS.
Yard and height requirements in a GW-C District are as follows:
(a) Front Yard Zone.
(1) Minimum front yard: 30 feet.
(2) Maximum front yard.
A. Major arterial streets as designated on the Thoroughfare Plan where right of way is less than 90 feet: 75 feet.
B. Major arterial streets as designated on the Thoroughfare Plan where right of way is 90 feet or more: 60 feet.
C. Other streets: 60 feet.
(3) Corner lots shall comply with the minimum and maximum for each street.
(b) Minimum Side Yard Width: 50 feet when adjacent to a residential district or use, on the side adjacent to the residential district or use only.
(c) Minimum Rear Yard Width: 25 feet, 50 feet adjacent to a residential district or use.
(d) Maximum Building Height.
(1) Principally or conditionally permitted buildings: 45 feet.
(2) Accessory buildings: 15 feet.
(Ord. 24-08. Passed 4-28-08.)
1261.06 SITE PLAN REVIEW.
1261.07 FRONT YARD ZONE.
(a) Street Facades. Street facades shall be designed with offsets and other breaks in the vertical plane to create an interesting and varied streetscape. A minimum of two-thirds of a building’s street facade shall fall within the front yard zone established above. Street facades greater than 60 feet in length shall incorporate one or more wall plane projections or recesses having a minimum depth or at least three percent (3%) of the street facade and extending at least twenty percent (20%) of the length of the street facade.
(b) Parking Within Front Yard. Parking within the front yard zone established above, and extending between the front yard zone and the right of way line, shall be limited to a maximum width of 45 feet measured perpendicular to the right of way line. This dimension allows a single loaded parking bay as established in Table 1276-3 in Chapter 1276.
(c) Modifications. Planning Commission may approve front yards or front yard parking greater than the maximum in the following instances:
(1) An applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Planning Commission that a greater yard is necessary for maneuvering or display for uses such as, without limitation, auto dealers, auto service stations, and garden centers.
(2) The master plan for the site shows that the negative effect of buildings with more than the maximum front yard will be offset by other buildings included in the master plan that will line the right-of- way in compliance with the maximum yard.
(3) An applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Planning Commission that more front yard parking than a single loaded bay is necessary because of the unique characteristics of the business or site.
(d) Review Standards. Before approving a front yard or front yard parking greater than the maximum, the Planning Commission shall find:
(1) That the objectives of the Pearl and Center Road Corridor Plan adopted by Ordinance 86-04 will be met, including the vision, goals and preferred characteristics in Chapter 3 of the Corridor Plan; and
(2) That the negative effects of greater building yards, including without limitation the impairment of pedestrian activity and streetscapes visually defined by a “sea of asphalt” will be outweighed by required landscaping and other required site amenities as provided below in subsection (e) hereof.
(e) Greater Yards or Parking. Where the Planning Commission approves a front yard or front yard parking exceeding the maximum, the Planning Commission shall, as part of its findings, require one or more of the following improvements to lessen the negative effects of larger front yards:
(1) Pedestrian amenities to create a physical and design linkage with the street, including, without limitation, plazas, benches, bike racks and landscaped or covered walkways.
(2) Structural elements such as walls or decorative metal fencing used to satisfy the purpose and intent of the maximum yard requirement. Such walls or fencing shall be a minimum height of 4 feet, constructed of materials similar to or harmonious with the street facades of nearby buildings, and shall have openings no wider than necessary for vehicles or pedestrians to pass through.
(3) Landscaping within adjacent parking areas equal to twice the minimum requirements in Section 1282.08(b).
(Ord. 24-08. Passed 4-28-08.)