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Collegeville City Zoning Code

ARTICLE XVI

V-2 Village District

§ 680-115 Declaration of legislative intent.

It is the specific intent of this article to:
A. 
Permit, by right, single-family detached dwellings.
B. 
Allow, by conditional use, limited commercial and office uses that are low traffic generators.
C. 
Provide special rights and benefits for buildings that are designated historic.
D. 
Provide incentives in the form of development bonuses that encourage shared parking facilities, limited curb cuts, and proper floodplain management.
E. 
Preserve the Perkiomen Creek corridor through a riparian setback.

§ 680-116 Use regulations.

On any lot in the V-2 District, the following use, and no other, is permitted:
A. 
Single-family detached dwelling.

§ 680-117 Conditional uses.

On any lot in the V-2 District, any of the following uses, and no other, may be permitted by Borough Council as a conditional use, according to the requirements of § 680-55 of this chapter and § 680-121 of this article:
A. 
Office for the professional practice of medicine, law, engineering, accounting, architecture, real estate, insurance, financial consultation, and similar activities.
B. 
Studios for art, dance, music, or photography.
C. 
Antique, consignment, or secondhand thrift shop.
D. 
Repair shop for professional, scientific, musical, or electronic instruments and the limited sale of these instruments provided that any sales are a secondary feature of the shop and are limited only to the items being repaired.
E. 
The following uses, provided that they are on a lot of at least 34,000 square feet:
(1) 
Bed-and-breakfast home.
(2) 
Restaurant, cafe, or similar establishment serving food or beverage.

§ 680-118 Prohibited uses.

A. 
Drive-in uses.
B. 
Drive-through window.
C. 
Fast food restaurants.

§ 680-119 Designated historical buildings.

[Amended 7-12-2006 by Ord. No. 519]
In the V-2 District, any building that has been designated historic by either the Borough, state, or federal government, is permitted use bonuses as an incentive to preserve the structure. If the property owner restores and/or preserves the front and side facades and roofline, any of the conditional uses listed in § 680-117 and the uses listed below are permitted by right. Such uses may be separated or combined throughout the building. If the building is not preserved, the owner is still allowed the permitted or conditional uses of this chapter provided the necessary requirements are satisfied.
A. 
Hotel.
B. 
Tavern.
C. 
Apartments, provided they have no greater density than 12 dwelling units per acre.
D. 
Bed-and-breakfast inn, pursuant to § 680-45 of this chapter.
E. 
Banquet or reception hall.

§ 680-120 Development standards.

[Amended 7-12-2006 by Ord. No. 519; 3-7-2007 by Ord. No. 526]
The following standards shall apply to all uses, except where otherwise specified in the V-2 District:
A. 
Minimum lot area: 15,000 square feet.
B. 
Minimum lot width: 40 feet, to be measured at the building setback.
C. 
Yard requirements.
(1) 
Front yard. The minimum distance shall be 15 feet, to be measured from the ultimate right-of-way line.
(2) 
Side yard. The minimum distance shall be 15 feet from each yard.
(3) 
Rear yard. The minimum distance shall be 40 feet.
D. 
Maximum height requirements: 35 feet.
E. 
Accessory structures.
(1) 
Property line setback: 10 feet.
(2) 
Maximum height: 15 feet.
F. 
Impervious surface coverage. A minimum of 80% of the lot shall be landscaped open space. However, lots that are not eligible for the bonus provision § 680-121 because of their location and can demonstrate through an engineering survey that no impervious surface coverage is within a floodplain are only required to provide 60% landscaped open space on a lot.
G. 
Stream corridor setback: 35 feet from the edge of any stream corridor. This setback shall apply to all buildings, parking areas, and access drives. The area shall remain in a natural state. The stream corridor is defined as the area containing the waterway, its bank, and contiguous sloping land.
H. 
Maximum building footprint of commercial buildings:
(1) 
For a single use: 15,000 square feet.
(2) 
For all uses on site: 30,000 square feet.

§ 680-121 Bonus provisions.

[Amended 3-7-2007 by Ord. No. 526]
The following shall apply to all lots, where applicable, in the V-2 District:
A. 
If a property owner reforests the stream corridor setback area with native floodplain trees and shrubs, then the landscape coverage requirement in § 680-120F shall be reduced to 70% of the lot area. To qualify for this reduction, a landscape plan must be submitted to the Borough for review by the Planning Commission and the Shade Tree Commission. The plan shall demonstrate that the trees, at maturity, will create a canopy over the stream corridor setback area and that shrubs are interspersed between the trees. The applicant should consult with a landscape architect or horticulturist for a list of approved native floodplain trees and shrubs.
B. 
If a property shares one common access drive with one or more properties and the other access drives are permanently closed, then the landscape coverage requirement in § 680-120F shall be reduced to 55% of the lot area.
C. 
If both Subsections A and B are followed, then the landscape coverage requirement in § 680-120F shall be reduced to 40% of the lot area.

§ 680-122 Conditional use standards.

The following shall apply to all conditional uses in the V-2 District:
A. 
If a new structure is being built for any conditional use, it shall be designed to be compatible with the pre-1940 buildings in the district. Traditional building materials and design motifs such as peaked roofs, sash windows, and varied facades with bays and porches are recommended.
B. 
Parking shall be to the rear of the building, or in the side yard behind the line of the building's front facade or the minimum front yard setback line, whichever is greater.
C. 
Any conditional use applicant shall grant an irrevocable cross-access easement and an interconnection drive, where feasible, to all adjacent properties.

§ 680-123 Buffering and lighting.

The following shall apply to all uses in the V-2 District:
A. 
All parking lots shall be screened by a landscaped buffer from all adjacent properties or streets. The buffer shall be at least 10 feet wide. The adequacy of this buffer shall be determined by Borough Council based upon the recommendations of the Borough Planning Commission or other Borough agencies chosen by Council.
B. 
Opaque fences and walls are not permitted in the floodplain area.
C. 
All exterior lighting shall not unreasonably or unnecessarily disturb adjacent property owners or interfere with traffic by either location or glare. Lighting on fixtures shall not exceed 20 feet, unless it is in the setback area, then the height criteria of § 680-57 of this chapter must be met.

§ 680-124 Parking areas and signs.

The following shall apply to all uses in the V-2 District:
A. 
All parking and all signs erected in the V-2 Village Commercial District shall be in accordance with Article IX, Off-Street Parking, and Article XXIII, Signs, of this chapter.