The C-2 Central Business District is intended to provide a wide range of goods and services to residents of the City, as well as surrounding areas, in a downtown setting. This District is characterized by a compact shopping area with on and off-street, municipal and private parking areas. Emphasis is placed on pedestrian safety, convenient access and ease of vehicular circulation.

The C-2 District is also intended to serve as a Free Market District. The intention of a Free Market District is to allow business owners to develop their businesses in a manner that creates a specialized experience and offering not typically found in a tightly zoned, restricted environment. Creativity in product or service delivery is encouraged to create a unique atmosphere that attracts and retains downtown businesses.

(Ord. 285. Passed 1-13-97; Ord. 392. Passed 7-24-06.)

For land and/or buildings, the permitted uses for the C-2 District shall be as follows, subject to the site plan review provisions of Chapter 1284:

(1)

Antique shops, provided that all articles for sale are displayed or stored within the shop;

(2)

Bakery goods shops;

(3)

Banks, loan offices and other financial offices;

(4)

Barber shops or beauty salons;

(5)

Book, stationery or gift shops;

(6)

Candy stores, soda fountains, ice cream stores;

(7)

Catering services, delicatessens;

(8)

Clinics, dental, medical and optical, including laboratories;

(9)

Clothing and dry goods stores;

(10)

Dance studios, fitness centers;

(11)

Dress shops;

(12)

Drug stores;

(13)

Dry cleaning and laundries, custom and self-service;

(14)

Exterminator services;

(15)

Florists and gift shops;

(16)

Funeral homes;

(17)

Grocery stores and meat markets;

(18)

Hardware stores, auto supply stores and retail sales of electrical and plumbing supplies;

(19)

Household appliance stores;

(20)

Jewelry stores;

(21)

Liquor stores;

(22)

Locksmiths;

(23)

Museums, libraries, public parks;

(24)

Office machine sales and service;

(25)

Office supply stores;

(26)

Offices for businesses or professionals or governmental and other similar professional and service activities;

(27)

Paint and wallpaper stores;

(28)

Parking lots;

(29)

Pet shops;

(30)

Photographic studios;

(31)

Printing and publishing shops;

(32)

Professional studios;

(33)

Radio and television sales and service;

(34)

Restaurants, cafes, bars, grills and cocktail lounges;

(35)

Retail businesses conducting business entirely within an enclosed building;

(36)

Shoe repair;

(37)

Tailors;

(38)

Taxidermists;

(39)

Theaters;

(40)

Train and bus stations;

(41)

Travel agencies;

(42)

Variety stores, including notion and "five & ten" stores;

(43)

Any other retail business or service establishment which is determined by the Planning Commission to be of the same general character as uses permitted by this section; and

(44)

Breweries with onsite consumption and sales.

(Ord. 285. Passed 1-13-97; Ord. 392. Passed 7-24-06; Ord. 481. Passed 11-12-18.)

Land and/or buildings in the C-2 District may be used for the following purposes when approved by the Planning Commission in accordance with the special land use requirements of Chapter 1286:

(a)

Automobile service and repair facilities, when conducted entirely within an enclosed building or structure;

(b)

Parking lots, public or private;

(c)

Upper floor apartments in commercial buildings (see Section 1280.20);

(d)

Multiple-family dwellings;

(e)

Automobile sales, new/used, with outside vehicle display not to exceed twenty vehicles;

(f)

Farm services, such as grain elevators and feed supply facilities, west of Eastmanville Street; and

(g)

Railroad service and repair facilities, when conducted entirely within an enclosed building or structure, west of Eastmanville Street.

(Ord. 285. Passed 1-13-97.)

The height of any principal or accessory building in the C-2 District shall be fifty feet. Mechanical space for building equipment placed on the building roof may be allowed above the maximum height specified, provided that such mechanical space is set back at least five feet from any exterior wall, does not exceed fifteen feet in height and is adequately screened from view.

(Ord. 285. Passed 1-13-97.)

(a)

Business uses in the C-2 District shall have a minimum lot width of twenty-five feet and a total lot area of not less than 2,500 square feet.

(b)

Multiple-family dwellings in the C-2 District shall comply with the minimum floor area regulations established for multiple-family dwellings in the R-4 District, as set forth in Section 1260.04(d).

(c)

There shall be no required front, rear or side yard setbacks for any use in the C-2 District, except that a ten-foot setback shall be provided for any window, door or other opening used for emergency exit purposes.

(d)

There shall be a ten-foot required side or rear yard whenever any use in the C-2 District abuts a Residential District, and screening shall be provided in accordance with the standards set forth in Section 1285.04.

(Ord. 285. Passed 1-13-97.)

In the C-2 District, notwithstanding any other provision of this Zoning Code, the land area occupied by the main and accessory buildings and uses, including parking, shall be permitted to be 100 percent.

(Ord. 285. Passed 1-13-97.)

Signs in the C-2 District shall be designed, erected, altered, moved and maintained in accordance with the regulations as set forth in Chapter 1282.

(Ord. 285. Passed 1-13-97; Ord. 392. Passed 7-24-06; Ord. 539. Passed 1-13-25.)

(a)

Any nonresidential use in the C-2 District that applies to the DDA and is accepted as a member of the Municipal parking program shall not be required to provide parking for its individual use.

(b)

Multiple-family dwellings in the C-2 District shall provide one parking space for each dwelling plus an additional space for every five total dwellings.

(c)

Commercial uses in the C-2 District that are not members of the Municipal parking program shall provide off-street parking as set forth in Chapter 1288 of the Zoning Code.

(Ord. 285. Passed 1-13-97; Ord. 307. Passed 1-12-98.)

The sale of food or merchandise is encouraged on sidewalks in the C-2 District to enhance the vibrancy of downtown. Merchandise, tables, chairs, or other objects designed to deliver a service or good must be arranged in a manner that does not prohibit pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk.

(a)

Tables or sidewalk sale merchandise must allow 5 feet of walk space for pedestrians on the street side of the sidewalk.

(b)

All objects pertaining to a business owner must stay within the confines of that business owner's frontage width along the sidewalk.

(c)

Downtown business owners are exempted from ordinances that prohibit sidewalk obstructions as long as those obstructions are enabling a good or service to be provided.

(d)

All outside objects placed on sidewalks shall be secured by business owners and not be allowed to negatively impact the environment through littering or the attracting of insects, rodents, animals or pests.

(e)

Objects or merchandise are not allowed to occupy downtown sidewalks after business hours.

(Ord. 392. Passed 7-24-06.)

(a)

Purpose and Objectives. It is the purpose of this section to provide for the review and approval of the architecture and design standards to achieve the following objectives:

(1)

To provide desirable living, shopping, and working environments with distinct quality;

(2)

To maintain identifiable community character;

(3)

To encourage developers to use a more creative and imaginative approach in the development of commercial buildings;

(4)

To protect the quality of the business district and surrounding property investments;

(5)

To promote flexibility in the design and location of structures;

(6)

To promote the efficient use of land for a more economic arrangement of buildings, circulation systems, land use, and utilities; and

(7)

To combine and coordinate architectural styles, building forms, and building relationships within the commercial district.

(b)

Design Standards. Architectural design and facade materials are to be complimentary to existing or proposed buildings within the site and the surrounding areas if the surrounding buildings/structures adhere to these standards. It is not intended that contrasts in architectural design and use of facade materials is to be discouraged, but care shall be taken so that any such contrasts will not be so out of character with the existing building designs and facade materials so as to create an adverse effect on the stability and value of the surrounding areas. Brick and stone are the primary building materials to be used on the facade and all exposed elevations.

FACADE TRANSPARENCY

(1)

Facades on the first floor should be designed to encourage and complement pedestrian-scale activity. It is intended that this be accomplished by the usage of windows and doors so that activities of visual interest within the building are plainly visible from and/or accessible to the street.

(2)

Facade transparency designs should apply to the area of the facade between two and ten feet above the sidewalk. Only clear or lightly tinted, nonreflective glass in windows, doors, and display windows are considered transparent. Excessive signage shall not impair interior visibility from the street.

(3)

A minimum of eighty percent transparency for the primary street side facade with a minimum of sixty percent of the street level facade facing other public rights-of-way and plazas.

(4)

Facade transparency is not necessary for assembly uses or other similar uses provided that the facade is enhanced by architectural detailing, artwork, landscaping, or other similar features.

REHABILITATION

When renovations, alterations or additions are made to an existing building within the C-2 District, the entire exterior building facade shall be brought into compliance with this subsection.

(1)

Every reasonable effort shall be made to provide a compatible use for property, which requires minimal alteration of the building, structure, or site and its environment, or to use a property for its original intended purpose.

(2)

The distinguishing original qualities or character of a building, structure, or site and its environment shall not be destroyed. The removal or alteration of any historic material or distinctive architectural features should be avoided when possible.

(3)

All buildings, structures, and sites shall be recognized as products of their own time. Alterations that have no historical basis and which seek to create an earlier appearance shall be discouraged.

(4)

Changes, which may have taken place in the course of time, are evidence of the history and development of a building, structure or site and its environment. These changes may have acquired significance in their own right, and this significance shall be recognized and respected.

(5)

Distinctive stylistic features or examples of skilled craftsmanship, which characterize a building, structure or site shall be treated with sensitivity.

(6)

Deteriorated architectural features shall be repaired rather than replaced, wherever possible. In the event replacement is necessary, the new material should match the material being replaced in composition, design color, texture, and other visual qualities. Repair or replacement of missing architectural features should be based on accurate duplications of features substantiated by historic, physical, or pictorial evidence rather than on conjectural designs or the availability of different architectural elements from other buildings or structures.

(7)

The surface cleaning of structures shall be undertaken with the gentlest means possible. Sandblasting and other cleaning methods that will damage the historic building materials shall not be undertaken.

(8)

Every reasonable effort shall be made to protect and preserve archaeological resources affected by, or adjacent to any project.

(9)

Contemporary design for alterations and additions to existing properties shall not be discouraged when such alterations and additions do not destroy significant historical, architectural or cultural material, and character of the property, neighborhood or environment.

(10)

Wherever possible, new additions or alterations to structures shall be done in such a manner that if such additions or alterations were to be removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the structure would be unimpaired.

(c)

Review and Approval. In order to assure conformance with this requirement, exterior building elevations must be reviewed and approved as a part of the overall final site plan review or remodeling process. When facades materials are to be used in accordance with brick or stone for a building within the C-2 District, the Planning Commission may permit such additional facade materials provided it finds that all of the following conditions are satisfied:

(1)

The selected facade materials and material combinations will be consistent with and enhance the building design concept.

(2)

The selected facade materials and material combinations will be complementary to existing or proposed buildings within the site and surround area.

(3)

The request is accompanied by a written design statement describing how the selected facade materials will satisfy the above requirements.

The Planning Commission may request the report and recommendations of a professional design or architectural constant as a part of its review of the proposed waiver.

(Ord. 392. Passed 7-24-06.)