The general purposes of the Institutional-Residential District are to:

(a)

Provide appropriate zoning for major institutions and support services that will allow for continuation and expansion without adverse impacts on adjacent residential neighborhoods.

(b)

Provide sufficient buffering between institutional properties and adjacent residential neighborhoods.

(c)

Promote the orderly development of institutional and residential land uses.

(d)

Establish appropriate standards for reviewing proposals for new development of institutional uses and for expansion of existing institutional uses.

(Ordained by Ord. No. 15-2004, eff. Feb. 13, 2004)

Schedule 1417-03 below prescribes the land use regulations for IR Institutional-Residential Districts. Use classifications are defined in Chapter 1401, Definitions. Use classifications not listed in Schedule 1417-03 below are prohibited.

The regulations for each district are established by letter designations as follows:

(a)

"P" designates permitted uses. These uses may be subject to additional regulations as indicated.

(b)

"L" designates uses that are permitted, subject to certain limitations. Numeric suffixes refer to limitations listed at the bottom of Schedule 1417-03. Except as otherwise indicated, modifications of a numerical, locational or dimensional limitation requires a variance under Chapter 1445 - Variances, Special Exceptions and Conditional Uses.

(c)

"C" designates uses permitted only after review and approval of a conditional use by the Zoning Hearing Examiner. These uses may be subject to additional regulations as indicated.

Schedule 1417-03: Use Regulations - Institutional-Residential Districts

Specific Limitations

L1

Antenna height may not exceed 20 feet; greater height requires a conditional use approval. The antenna may be attached to multi-family, public or semi-public, public utility or commercial building or structure.

L2

Accessory uses determined by the Zoning Administrator to be customarily incidental to a use of the district other than those specified in § 1417-05 are permitted. All others require conditional use approval.

L3

The maximum number of rooming units is two.

L4

Provisions of § 1421-35 apply when refuse storage area is within 100 feet of any property used for residential purposes.

L5

The storage space is less than 30 cubic yards; enclosed by a screen fence or within a structure; and at least 100 feet from any property used for residential purposes.

L6

Fencing, a minimum of four feet in height must be provided for purposes of securing outdoor play areas which must be located in the rear yard only.

L7

Permitted only when subordinate and incidental to a single-family dwelling that is the principal use of the lot.

(Ordained by Ord. No. 15-2004, eff. Feb. 13, 2004; a. Ord. No. 154-2008, § 1, eff. June 7, 2008; a. Ord. No. 414-2008, § 20, eff. Jan. 4, 2009; a. Ord. No. 310-2009, § 1, eff. Dec. 12, 2009; a. Ord. No. 038-2010, § 1, eff. March 18, 2010; Emer. Ord. No. 141-2015, § 20, eff. July 1, 2015; a. Ord. No. 127-2018, § 14, eff. July 6, 2018; a. Ord. No. 251-2019, § 22, eff. July 26, 2019; a. Ord. No. 266-2023, §§ 13, 15, eff. Oct. 2, 2023)

The following uses are permitted or conditional accessory uses to colleges, hospitals, schools and commercial laboratories:

(a)

Permitted Accessory Uses:

(1)

Dormitories, student residences, patient family homes, conference centers without guest lodging rooms, auditoriums, theaters, sports facilities, amphitheaters, book stores, nursing homes and day-care centers.

(2)

Automated teller machines, gift shops, florist shops, pharmacies, restaurants and similar uses; provided, that such uses must be conducted primarily for the convenience of the staff, students, patients, patrons and other invitees of the institution; such accessory uses may not occupy in the aggregate more than 25 percent of the gross floor area of the building in which located; and display of goods or advertising calling attention to the accessory use must not be visible from outside of the building.

(3)

Parking lots, decks and garages, provided that the location of all vehicular entrances and exits must first be approved by the Department of Transportation and Engineering.

(4)

Utility plants for the production, transmission and distribution of gas, electricity, steam or chilled water, serving institutional uses, provided that the plant may not be nuclear powered. Further, such plant may be erected on its own lot.

(5)

Small-scale specialized incinerator accessory to hospitals, clinics, medical laboratories, facilities for scientific research, development or testing, provided that the material incinerated is generated on-site and the incinerator is at least 100 feet from any property used for residential purposes.

(b)

Conditional Accessory Uses:

(1)

Conference centers with guest lodging rooms.

(2)

Business and personal services listed in paragraph (a)(2) above not complying with the standards set forth in that paragraph.

(3)

Landing pads for helicopters.

(4)

Underground parking garages located in buffer yards.

(5)

Small-scale specialized incinerator accessory to hospitals, clinics, medical laboratories, facilities for scientific research, development or testing, provided that the material incinerated is generated on-site or by its operator at another site and the incinerator is located on a roof or is at least 100 feet from any property used for residential purposes.

(Ordained by Ord. No. 15-2004, eff. Feb. 13, 2004; a. Ord. No. 0346-2007, § 9, eff. Oct. 13, 2007; a. Emer. Ord. No. 199-2024, § 2, eff. 7-1-2024)

Schedule 1417-07 below prescribes the development regulations for IR Institutional-Residential Districts, including maximum floor area ratio (FAR), maximum height and setbacks. Additional standards are included in Chapter 1419, Additional Development Regulations.

Schedule 1417-07: Development Regulations - Institutional-Residential Districts

(Ordained by Ord. No. 15-2004, eff. Feb. 13, 2004; a. Ord. No. 154-2008, § 2, eff. June 7, 2008)

Truck docks, loading and service areas are not permitted within 50 feet of a residential district boundary and are not permitted to be used between 10 PM and 7 AM on weekdays and between 11 PM and 7 AM on weekends. These facilities must be located at the side of buildings or in the rear of the site and screened so as not to be visible from public streets.

(Ordained by Ord. No. 15-2004, eff. Feb. 13, 2004)

The development of colleges, hospitals, schools and commercial laboratories in an Institutional-Residential District must be in accordance with an approved Institutional Buffer Yard Plan.

(a)

Purpose. The Institutional Buffer Yard Plan is intended to foster the appropriate growth of colleges, hospitals, schools and commercial laboratories. The purpose of the buffer yard regulations is to require building setbacks and landscaping in a park-like setting to provide a transition from the scale of institutions to the scale of the surrounding residential neighborhood and to address conditions sometimes associated with intense institutional land uses.

(b)

When Required. Buffer yards must be provided whenever a new institution facility is constructed. New facilities include any new building, addition of more than 2,500 square feet of gross floor area to an existing building, parking garage or deck or expansion thereof, or an existing building whose use is changed to a use listed in (a) above. When the entire new facility is more than 200 feet from any district boundary line, a buffer yard is not required.

(c)

Buffer Yard Plan. On the first occasion that an institution provides a buffer yard pursuant to the requirements of this section, the institution must file a buffer yard plan with the Zoning Administrator. The plan must show all property within the IR District under control of the institution, the location of all buildings and paved areas for all parts of the institution property within 200 feet of a residential district that abuts the IR District. The plan must show the location of all buffer yards required by this section.

(d)

Buffer Yard Location. Buffer yards must be provided at all points on the perimeter of an IR District where the IR District abuts a Residential District. Buffer yards are not required, however, at any point where the new facility is obscured by an existing building when viewed by a person standing at grade on the boundary between the IR District and the residential district or where the boundary is more than 200 feet from the new facility.

(e)

Required Buffer Yard Depth. Buffer yards must be provided to a depth from the perimeter of the property a distance equal to one-sixth the height of the building or addition plus 25 feet when abutting a Residential District. An institution may designate additional depth to a required buffer yard in order to satisfy the standards over the expanded area.

(Ordained by Ord. No. 15-2004, eff. Feb. 13, 2004; a. Ord. No. 0346-2007, § 9, eff. Oct. 13, 2007; Emer. Ord. No. 141-2015, § 21, eff. July 1, 2015)

Buffer yards must meet the following standards:

(a)

Plant Material. Buffer yards must contain plant materials such as trees, grass, flowers, shrubs and ground cover over at least 55 percent of the buffer yard area. The area beneath any building or parking lot that was constructed prior to the designation of the IR District in which the institution is located may be excluded in the calculation of the percentage under this paragraph.

(b)

Trees. Buffer yards must contain at least one shade or ornamental tree of at least three-inch caliper for every 20 linear feet of buffer yard, measured along the property line, with no more than 50 feet between trees.

(c)

New Structures Prohibited. New buildings, fences other than protective railings required by the Cincinnati Building Code, walls other than retaining walls, parking lots or loading areas may not be located in any buffer yard.

(d)

Walls. Retaining walls must be faced with stone or maintained with plant material appropriate to a park-like setting.

(e)

Waste Collection. Garbage, trash or recycling containers or facilities may not be located in any buffer yard. At the time of the establishment of a buffer yard, any existing garbage, trash or recycling containers or facilities must be removed. This prohibition on trash containers does not extend to trash receptacles located along walkways or in plazas intended for use by pedestrians.

(f)

Underground Parking. Buffer yards may contain underground parking garages when approved by the Zoning Administrator as a conditional use, utility services and other accessory structures, if located entirely below grade and the surface is restored to park-like appearance with plantings.

(g)

Landscape Maintenance. All required trees and plants must be maintained in a healthy condition and replaced if damaged or destroyed. Further, all buffer yards must be maintained in good condition and kept free of debris.

(Ordained by Ord. No. 15-2004, eff. Feb. 13, 2004; Emer. Ord. No. 141-2015, § 22, eff. July 1, 2015)

Signs in the I-R must comply with the following:

(a)

Internal Signs. The following permitted signs, not intended for view from beyond the premises of the institution, are subject to the following standards:

(1)

Ground Signs.

(A)

Maximum Area Per Sign Face: 24 square feet

(B)

Maximum Number of Sign Faces: 2

(C)

Maximum Number: One per building

(D)

Maximum Sign Height: 6 feet

(E)

Maximum Sign Width: 12 feet

(F)

Minimum Sign Setback: N/A

(G)

Illumination Permitted: External or internal

(2)

Wall Signs Indicating the Name of the Institution and Other Information.

(A)

Maximum Area Per Sign Face: 24 square feet

(B)

Maximum Number of Sign Faces: 1

(C)

Maximum Number: Two per building

(D)

Maximum Sign Height: 20 feet above the average grade of the wall

(E)

Maximum Sign Width: None

(F)

Minimum Sign Setback: None

(G)

Illumination Permitted: External or Internal. If internally illuminated, the background of the sign shall be opaque and the letters light emitting.

(3)

Marquee, Canopy, or Awning Signs.

(A)

Maximum Area Per Sign Face: 24 square feet

(B)

Maximum Number of Sign Faces: 1

(C)

Maximum Number: One per building

(D)

Maximum Sign Height: None

(E)

Maximum Sign Width: None

(F)

Minimum Sign Setback: None

(G)

Illumination Permitted: External or internal

(4)

Ground or Wall Signs Directing the Way to Hospital Emergency Facilities.

(A)

Maximum Area Per Sign Face: 20 square feet

(B)

Maximum Number of Sign Faces: 2

(C)

Maximum Number: Two per building

(D)

Maximum Sign Height: None

(E)

Maximum Sign Width: None

(F)

Minimum Sign Setback: None

(G)

Illumination: External or Internal. If internally illuminated, the background of the sign shall be opaque and the letters light emitting.

(5)

Changeable Copy Signs may be Erected as a Ground or Wall Sign only and Must Comply with the Following:

(A)

Maximum Area Per Sign Face: 24 square feet

(B)

Maximum Number of Sign Faces: 2

(C)

Maximum Number: 1 per building

(D)

Maximum Sign Height:

Ground Sign: 6 feet

Wall Signs: 20 feet above the average grade of the wall

(E)

Maximum Sign Width: None

(F)

Minimum Sign Setback: None

(G)

Illumination Permitted: External or internal. If internally illuminated, the background of the sign shall be opaque and the letters light emitting.

(6)

Instructional Signs may be Erected as Ground or Wall Signs Only and Must Comply with the Following:

(A)

Maximum Area Per Sign Face: 12 square feet

(B)

Maximum Number of Sign Faces: 2

(C)

Maximum Number: 6 per building

(D)

Maximum Sign Height: 6 feet

(E)

Maximum Sign Width: None

(F)

Minimum Sign Setback: None

(G)

Illumination Permitted: External or internal. If internally illuminated, the background of the sign shall be opaque and the letters light emitting.

(b)

External Signs. The following permitted signs, that are intended to be seen from beyond the premises of the institution are subject to the following standards:

(1)

Ground Signs indicating the name of the institution and other information:

(A)

Maximum Area per Sign Face: 72 square feet

(B)

Maximum Number of Faces: Two

(C)

Maximum Number: One for every public street frontage on the perimeter of the institution.

(D)

Maximum Sign Height: 16 feet

(E)

Maximum Letter Height: N/A

(F)

Maximum Sign Width: N/A

(G)

Maximum Sign Setback: Twice the sign height

(H)

Illumination Permitted: External or internal. If internally illuminated, the background of the sign must be opaque and the letters light emitting.

(2)

Wall Signs indicating the name of the institution and other information:

(A)

Maximum Area Per Sign Face: One-half square feet for each foot of wall width, not to exceed fifty square feet

(B)

Maximum Number of Sign Faces: 1

(C)

Maximum Number: One per building.

(D)

Maximum Sign Height: 20 feet above the average grade of the wall.

(E)

Maximum Sign Width: N/A

(F)

Minimum Sign Setback: N/A

(G)

Illumination Permitted: External or internal

(c)

Building Identification Signs. Building identification signs that are intended to be seen from beyond the site must be erected as wall signs and meet the following standards:

(1)

Maximum Display Area: 250 square feet for every sign face.

(2)

Placement: Within 20 feet of the top of the wall and shall not project above the roof line. (See Chapter 1427 Sign Regulations.)

(3)

Maximum Number On a Single Building: One per external wall and a maximum of four per building.

(4)

Maximum Number for Each IR Campus: 4

(Ordained by Ord. No. 15-2004, eff. Feb. 13, 2004; a. Emer. Ord. No. 199-2024, § 2, eff. 7-1-2024)