Chester Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE 51
Design Standards for B and LB Zones
§ 113-338 Objectives.
Recognizing the fact that certain additional requirements are necessary to regulate development within areas of the Township of Chester, specifically contained within the B and LB Zones, and in order to enable the Township of Chester to meet certain stated objectives, to wit:
A.
To provide for commercial development consistent with the heritage, culture, ambience and predominantly semi-rural and residential character of Chester Township.
B.
To provide a frame of reference for such development which, nevertheless, allows for creativity and innovation and does not mandate adherence to a particular architectural style.
C.
To minimize the impact of commercial development on neighboring property owners, as well as on the Township as a whole.
D.
To provide significant landscaping and otherwise to maintain or improve existing natural landscape features.
E.
To protect additional aspects of the natural environment and ecological balance.
F.
To ensure the safe and convenient movement of traffic.
G.
To encourage civic pride.
§ 113-339 Compliance required.
All development within the B and LB Zones, in addition to any other requirements of this Part 5, shall be required to conform to the following regulations.
§ 113-340 Exceptions; compliance with other sections.
The regulations contained in this article shall apply only in the B and LB Zones and shall not apply to single-family or two-family dwellings. Otherwise, no use shall be permitted, established, maintained or conducted in the Township within the B or LB Zones except in compliance with the standards as set forth in this section and Article 50.
§ 113-341 Design standards.
[Amended 9-5-1989 by Ord. No. 2:19D-89; 4-18-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-06]
The following design standards shall apply, where appropriate, to all construction with the B and LB Zones:
A.
The minimum floor area of any single building shall be 1,000 square feet.
B.
The minimum distance between buildings on the same lot shall be 30 feet.
C.
Building design standards.
(1)
The overall architectural design shall complement the rural residential character of Chester Township to the greatest extent feasible.
(2)
The material, design, and colors of building facades and structures shall relate to one another to the greatest extent feasible in order to promote a visually cohesive environment. Residential building materials (such as brick, stone, wood, and clapboard) are encouraged.
(3)
Fenestration, articulation, and other architectural treatments shall be provided on each building façade to the extent practical. Building facades shall be made with similar or complementary materials between one another.
(4)
Building entrances should be easily identifiable, and should be highlighted through such means, including but not limited to projecting bays, columns, canopies, overhangs, porches, and/or stoops.
(5)
Windows should align vertically from floor to floor where practical.
(6)
All windows should have dimensionality so as to create shadows and texture within the building façade.
(7)
At a minimum, all windows should have deep headers and sills. In addition, trim on all sides that projects from the building façade is encouraged.
(8)
Buildings shall be topped with pitched roofs with overhanging eaves. A minimum pitch of 6/12 shall be used to the greatest extent feasible.
(9)
All permitted structures shall have a roof type which has an obvious and readily discernible ridge line. No heating, ventilating, air conditioning, cooking and exhaust work, or other type of appurtenance shall be visible from adjacent or nearby tracts of property.
(10)
No more than 25% of the front wall area of any structure shall be glass. No single pane of glass used in the front wall shall exceed 25 square feet.
D.
No off-street parking shall be permitted in the front yard on any lot, including corner lots.
E.
No off-street parking shall be permitted within 15 feet of any principal building or any lot line.
F.
Off-street loading areas, if required, shall be located in the rear yard areas only.
G.
A fifty-foot-wide buffer strip shall be established along the boundaries of the B or LB Zone. Such buffer strip shall be properly landscaped so as to provide a visual and acoustical barrier during all seasons of the year.
H.
Each business unit or structure shall provide an area or areas concealed from customers to be used for the orderly deposit and collection of trash.