The purpose of this district is to provide for aircraft operations, air services, and related commercial uses for all portions of land comprising the Chandler Municipal Airport as owned or leased by the City of Chandler. The development regulations of this district are intended to establish building heights, setbacks, and other site development standards in the interests of safety and compatibility with airport operations, and to ensure the development quality of a public land use. Since the boundaries of this district are intended to coincide exactly with the property lines of those parcels owned or leased by the City for operation of the airport, it is not intended as a rezoning classification to be sought by, or to be applicable to, private interests for off-airport parcels or uses. Off-airport uses shall be considered under other zoning designations, such as Planned Area Development (PAD), as appropriate to particular needs and circumstances.

(Ord. No. 3063, § 3, 11-18-99)

The following uses shall be permitted within the AP-1 zoning district as principal uses:

(1) Airport structures and facilities that are necessary for the operation of the airport and for the control of air traffic therefrom, such as the following:

(a) Runways, taxiways, and parking aprons, including lighting.

(b) Aircraft hangars, tie-down areas, and maintenance buildings.

(c) Air traffic control tower and facilities; navigational aid equipment and structures.

(d) Terminal buildings; pilot quarters.

(e) Administrative offices for operation of the airport and its facilities.

(f) Aviation fuel farms.

(g) Off-street parking lots and garages; loading docks; storage yards and warehouses housing the equipment necessary to the maintenance, safety, and security of the airport.

(2) Fixed base operators (FBO's), as defined in section 35-200 of the Zoning Code.

(3) General aviation specialty shop, as defined in section 35-200 of the Zoning Code.

(4) Heliports.

(5) Office space clearly accessory to another principal use or uses as permitted herein.

(6) Notwithstanding the prohibitions of the airport noise overlay district as set forth in Article XXX of the Zoning Code, commercial retail and service uses aimed primarily at the customary convenience needs of airport employees, patrons, and other users, and accommodated within the same building(s) as the principal uses to which they relate, such as meeting rooms for aviation related facilities; eating and drinking establishments, but excluding liquor sales for off-site consumption; card and gift shops; newsstands; physical fitness facilities; automobile rentals; travel agencies; branch bank services; and similar uses.

(Ord. No. 3063, § 3, 11-18-99)

The following uses shall be subject to approval of a use permit by City Council, upon recommendation by the Planning and Zoning Commission, as provided in section 35-305 of the Zoning Code:

(1) Training and educational facilities for purposes unrelated to aviation.

(2) Watchman's quarters.

(Ord. No. 3063, § 3, 11-18-99)

(1) Any application for a building permit within the AP-1 zoning district under any of the following circumstances shall be accompanied by a site development plan which demonstrates conformance with the site plan data and development standards set forth in this section:

(a) New construction of a building or buildings, irrespective of whether the site was previously developed.

(b) Altering an existing floor plan or site plan which intensifies a use in terms of additional parking, occupancy capacity, outdoor display area, outdoor storage area, or the like, irrespective of whether the building or use is physically expanded beyond existing confines.

(c) Initiating a new use on a vacant or vacated site, or changing one (1) use to another as determined under the Zoning Code.

(d) Expansion of a use which increases its land area, except that the improvements specified by this article shall be required only for that site area of the expansion.

(e) Adding on to an existing building except that an addition involving less than twenty (20) percent of the total existing floor area or two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet, whichever is less, shall be exempt from the requirements of this article; however, the requirements of section 35-1902(4)(a)2.b., relating to corner obstructions, and section 35-3103(3)(e), "Landscaping," shall be met with respect to the addition.

The repair of any building, such as its walls, roof or other structural component, or the renovation of any building facade, including relocation of doors and window openings, or the repair of existing on-site improvements such as screen walls and fences, parking lot surfaces, landscape features and the like, none of which fall into the development activities described herein, shall be exempt from the requirements of this section.

(2) Required plan data: The following items shall be shown on the site development plan:

(a) Name and address of business owner, project engineer and/or architect.

(b) Boundaries of the building site, whether property lines or lease lines.

(c) Scale of drawing and north arrow.

(d) Existing and proposed streets, drives, curblines and curb cuts.

(e) Location, site, height, and use of existing and proposed buildings and building additions.

(f) Location of existing ditches, canals, fences, and easements.

(g) Location and extent of existing and proposed parking areas, with stall and aisle widths dimensions.

(h) Location of existing and/or proposed trash pickup area.

(i) Location and extent of existing and proposed stormwater retention areas, with landscaping.

(j) Location, height, and type of material for existing and proposed walls and fences.

(k) Location and extent of existing and proposed landscaping, including the type, size, and number of plants, with irrigation details.

(l) Any existing or proposed civil engineering improvements as may be applicable, such as the location of existing and proposed water and sewer mains, service lines, meters, street lights, and overhead power lines.

(3) Development standards and regulations:

(a) Height regulations:

1. No building or structure shall exceed two (2) stories or thirty-five (35) feet in height, whichever is the lesser; except those buildings or structures located not less than one hundred (100) feet from any site boundary line and not contrary to any Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) restriction may achieve a maximum height not to exceed fifty (50) feet.

2. In no event shall any structure, parked vehicle, or other obstruction to traffic visibility exceeding two (2) feet in height be located within a triangular area formed by two (2) site boundary lines, and a line connecting points thirty (30) feet from the intersection of the boundary lines. With regard to driveway locations, the perpendicular sides of said triangular area may be reduced to fifteen (15) feet.

(b) Setback regulations:

1. Street yard: No building, structure, or vehicular parking shall be located less than twenty (20) feet from any site boundary line abutting a public or private street, nor less than ten (10) feet from any site boundary line abutting a ramp access drive.

2. Interior yards: No building, structure, or vehicular parking shall be located less than ten (10) feet from any interior site boundary line not abutting a public or private street; and in no event shall any building, structure, or vehicular parking be located between the building restriction line (BRL) as established by the current Chandler Municipal Airport Layout Plan, and the centerline of a runway. Setbacks from any taxiway shall be in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards.

(c) Fence regulations:

1. No fence or wall, other than the airport security fence, shall be constructed within the street yard setback as prescribed for this district exceeding a height of three (3) feet, and no fence or wall shall be constructed along an interior site boundary line exceeding a height of eight (8) feet.

2. No fence or wall shall feature wood as an element, except for gate openings. Chain link fencing may be used for security purposes; however, no form of chain link fencing shall be used for screening.

3. Although prohibited as a primary means of fencing, barbed wire may be utilized as an accessory feature in conjunction with a masonry or chain link fence to achieve security.

(d) Parking regulations: Off-street parking provisions for all uses permitted herein shall be required in conformance with the standards and requirements of Article XVIII of the Zoning Code. In the case of determining the amount of off-street parking to be required for a use not listed therein, the following supplemental parking schedule may be utilized:

(e) Landscaping regulations: Landscaping shall be provided in conformance with the standards and requirements of section 35-1903 of the Zoning Code. Where such standards differentiate between industrial and all other zoning districts, the AP-1 district shall be subject to the requirements of the industrial districts. In cases of conflict between the required height or location of landscaping as specified by this Code, and the applicable restrictions of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the FAA regulations shall govern. For example, tree-planting requirements shall not be applicable to the aviation side of on-airport uses, and in no event shall any shrubs or ground cover be planted to exceed a maximum height of four (4) feet.

(f) Screening regulations:

1. Storage of airframe components, supplies, equipment, or materials, shall be confined within a completely enclosed building or within an area enclosed by a minimum six-foot-high solid masonry wall, or solid metal fence integrated with a metal building, if said metal building houses the primary use(s) of the site. In no event shall objects be stacked higher than the wall enclosure.

2. All trash collection dumpsters shall be screened by a six-foot-high solid masonry wall, with openings for access not visible from street view.

3. Mechanical equipment screening: All mechanical equipment and appurtenances shall be concealed and/or screened from view in their entirety as an integral part of the building in one (1) of the following manners, and subject to approval by the Zoning Administrator:

a. Parapets are acceptable for screening provided the height shall be equal to, or higher than, the highest point on the mechanical equipment; or

b. Screening of mechanical equipment shall be constructed of similar materials and painted colors similar to the building, and so arranged that the screening is perceived to be an integral part of the building mass.

All mechanical equipment and appurtenances shall be indicated and shown on building sections and elevations indicating dimensions of equipment and screening.

(g) Metal buildings: Metal buildings for any use permitted within the AP-1 district shall be eligible for approval by the Zoning Administrator, upon recommendation by the airport Commission. Approval shall be subject to a finding that the facades of the buildings are architecturally treated to assure mitigation of stark metal construction. T-shades, hangars, and metal utility buildings not exceeding two hundred (200) square feet and accessory to the primary building(s) on the site, shall be exempt from this requirement.

(h) Sign regulations: All signing as may be erected within the AP-1 district shall be subject to the requirements of the City of Chandler Sign Code [Chapter 39] as adopted by Council Ordinance No. 674 and as subsequently amended. The following design standards shall constitute a supplement to the Sign Code, for signing within the AP-1 district only:

1. Identification signs may designate the name and address of the occupant, as well as the product or service offered from the premises, subject to the following standards:

a. Wall-Mounted: A maximum of two (2) single-faced signs mounted on and parallel to the wall of the building, and not to protrude more than sixteen (16) inches from the face of the wall; one (1) such sign may be directed to the aviation area of the airport and the other to be visible from the nonaviation areas, in accordance with the following:

b. Freestanding: For either a single user building or a multi-tenant building, one (1) freestanding monument sign shall be permitted for each street from subject to a maximum sign face area of sixty (60) square feet, a maximum sign height of six (6) feet, and a minimum setback of ten (10) feet from any site boundary line.

c. Identification signs with three (3) or more tenants on a single face, whether freestanding or wall-mounted, shall be prohibited on the nonaviation side.

2. Directional signs may designate by arrow the locations for three (3) or fewer occupancies on a single sign face, subject to a maximum eight (8) square feet in total sign face area, a maximum of six (6) feet in height, and a minimum ten (10) feet in setback from any site boundary line.

3. Safety signs as may be necessary to alert the public to potential dangers shall be permitted in accordance with the standards and requirements of the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), current edition.

4. Roof-mounted signs shall be prohibited; except that for roof slopes not exceeding forty-five (45) degrees from horizontal, and not visible from street view, an identification sign or directional sign may be painted directly onto, or mounted flush with, said roof slope. Such signing shall be equal to and in lieu of the amount of wall-mounted identification signing otherwise allowed for an aviation side [site].

5. The design of all signing, including, but not limited to, its size, shape, colors, letters, and other graphics, shall be integrated with the architectural design of the building(s) to which they relate, for approval by the Zoning Administrator upon recommendation by the Airport Commission. Pole-mounted signing shall be prohibited.

(Ord. No. 3063, § 3, 11-18-99; Ord. No. 4931, § 2(Exh.), 8-13-20)