Douglass Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XI
LC Limited Commercial District
§ 265-88 Declaration of legislative intent.
The following is an expansion of the Statement of Community Development Objectives contained in Article I of this chapter. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the LC - Limited Commercial District to establish reasonable standards that permit and control limited commercial and office uses in the Township. Furthermore, it is the intent of this article to:
A.
Encourage commercial and office uses which do not attract large volumes of traffic and continuous customer turnover.
B.
Limit and discourage development of strip-type, highway-oriented commercial uses which create traffic hazards and congestion because they require numerous, individual curb cuts and generate higher traffic volumes.
C.
Permit uses which promote conversion of existing buildings in a manner which maintains the visual character and architectural scale of existing development within the district.
D.
Minimize visual and functional conflicts between residential and nonresidential uses within and abutting the district.
E.
Encourage consolidation of curb cuts for vehicular access and promote more efficient and economical parking facilities.
F.
Encourage uses which minimize noise and congestion.
§ 265-89 Permitted uses.
A building or other structure may be erected, altered or used, and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following purposes:
A.
By-right uses.
(1)
Use C-3: Single-Family Attached Dwelling (Townhouse).
(2)
Use C-4: Single-Family Semi-Detached Dwelling (Twin).
(3)
Use C-5: Two-Family Detached Dwelling (Duplex).
(4)
Use C-7: Multifamily Development.
(5)
Use D-8: Convenience Store.
(6)
Use D-17: Mixed Use.
(7)
Use D-20: Personal Service/Care.
(8)
Use D-22: Restaurant, Dine In.
(9)
Use D-23: Restaurant, Take Out.
(10)
Use D-24: Retail Establishment.
(11)
Use D-27: Studio.
(12)
Use E-1: Animal Care.
(13)
Use E-2: Business/Professional Office.
(14)
Use F-5: Parkland.
C.
Accessory uses.
(1)
Use A-1: Residential Accessory Structure.
(2)
Use A-2: Nonresidential Accessory Structure.
(3)
Use A-5: Fences and Walls.
(4)
Use A-6: Home Occupations.
(5)
Use A-7: Family Day-Care Home.
(6)
Use A-9: Accessory Roof-Mounted Solar Energy System.
(7)
Use A-11: Outdoor Dining.
(8)
Use A-12: Communications Antennae.
(a)
Special exception approval by the Zoning Hearing Board is needed if antennae are more than 15 feet higher than the structure on which they are mounted, or if not mounted on an existing structure.
(9)
Use A-14: Mobile Food Vendor.
§ 265-90 Standards and criteria for special exceptions and conditional uses.
The Zoning Hearing Board may authorize a use as a special exception or the Board of Supervisors may approve a use as a conditional use if it conforms with the following standards and criteria:
A.
The proposed use will not attract large volumes of vehicular traffic, nor require more than one curb cut for vehicular access.
B.
The proposed use is of a similar architectural scale to existing development in the district, or will utilize an existing building for its purposes.
C.
Minimum visual and functional conflict will be created between the proposed use and nearby uses.
D.
The proposed use will share an access driveway and/or parking with another abutting use, or is designed to permit such sharing when and if it becomes feasible.
E.
Anticipated noise and congestion created by the use will be comparable to the levels created by the uses permitted in § 265-89 of this article.
F.
The use shall not require servicing or deliveries of materials, stocks, or supplies by trucks having more than two axles.
G.
Authorization of a special exception for use of a lot between 50 and 60 feet in width shall be granted only to uses which will be located in an existing building, and which otherwise comply with the requirements of this district.
§ 265-91 Dimensional standards.
The following dimensional standards shall apply to uses in the LC District.
LC Dimensional Standards | |
|---|---|
Minimum lot area | 7,500 sq. ft.; 3,000 sq. ft. per dwelling unit if more than 1 building per lot |
Minimum lot width at the building setback line | 60 ft. |
Minimum front yard setback | 10 ft. from the ultimate right-of-way. Corner lots: equal to the front yard of the adjacent building on each street frontage or 25 ft., whichever is greater. Front yards are required on each street for corner lots. |
Maximum front yard setback | 25 ft. |
Minimum side yard setback | 20 ft. agg.; 8 ft. min. |
Minimum accessory use setback from rear or side property line | 5 ft.; Accessory uses are not permitted in the front yard. |
Minimum rear yard | 20 ft. |
Maximum building length | 100 ft. measured parallel to exterior building walls |
Maximum size of an individual commercial or office building use | 30,000 sq. ft. |
Maximum building height | 40 ft. (3 stories) |
Minimum distance between buildings | 16 ft. |
Maximum building coverage* | 40% |
Maximum impervious coverage** | 80% |
Minimum landscaped area | 20% of the lot |
Maximum residential density | 6 dwelling units/acre |
Notes: | |
|---|---|
* | Building coverage is the percentage of the total lot area covered by the principal building. |
** | Impervious coverage is the percentage of the total lot area covered by buildings and paved surfaces which do not permit water to penetrate into the soil. This includes buildings (both principal and accessory), parking, driveways, walks, courts, pools (swimming and ornamental) and patios, unless constructed of pervious or porous materials, as determined by the Township. |
§ 265-92 Parking and vehicular access design standards.
A.
All parking spaces shall be:
(1)
Located behind the building setback line or 25 feet from the ultimate right-of-way of streets, whichever is greater.
(2)
Setback a minimum of 10 feet from the edge of paving of alleys.
(3)
Setback a minimum of eight feet from all buildings.
(4)
Setback a minimum of 25 feet from the boundary line of a residential zoning district.
(5)
Setback a minimum of five feet from property lines, except that parking shared by the uses located on two or more adjacent lots may extend to and over the boundary line of the lots it serves subject to a shared parking access and maintenance agreement or easement between the lots be provided.
C.
Each use shall provide access easements for its parking aisles and driveways guaranteeing access to all abutting lots zoned Limited Commercial, unless all possible interconnections between two abutting lots must cross 20 linear feet or more of wetlands, floodplain, or natural slopes of 15% or more. Parking areas on adjacent lots shall be directly connected by a driveway.
(1)
Liability safeguards for all property owners and lessees served by the common parking areas and/or accessways shall be guaranteed to the satisfaction of the Township Solicitor.
E.
No parking is permitted within the front yard area.
§ 265-93 Standards for conversions.
Any proposal which constitutes a conversion under the provisions of this chapter shall comply with all the regulations contained herein, as if it were a proposal for new development. Exceptions to this requirement may be made by the Township Supervisors only for major existing conditions which cannot reasonably be expected to be brought into compliance, including but not limited to existing buildings.
§ 265-94 Sewer and water facilities.
All new development and conversions shall be served by public sewer facilities; public water service shall be provided where it is available.
§ 265-95 Other development regulations.
A.
Utilities. All utility lines (electrical, telephone, etc.) shall be placed underground, whenever feasible.
D.
Landscape planting. Shade trees and other plant materials satisfactory to the Board of Supervisors shall be provided along the street frontage occupied by developments in the Limited Commercial District, in other non-paved areas of the site, and within traffic-barrier islands installed in the parking lot, in compliance with § 230-48 of the Township's Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. No shrubs shall be used that will interfere with drivers' sight distances at driveway intersections.
E.
Trash and refuse area. Trash and refuse shall either be stored inside the building or within an opaque screened area, which shall be at least six feet high. All outdoor trash disposal areas shall be set back at least 25 feet from residential property lines.
F.
Service areas. Loading and unloading areas shall be provided which do not conflict with pedestrian or vehicular movement. All loading areas and loading docks shall be located to the sides and rears of buildings. Loading docks shall not be visible from public streets. All loading areas and loading docks shall be set back at least 25 feet from residential property lines.
G.
Sidewalks. Sidewalks and curbing shall be provided in accordance with Douglass Township's Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
(1)
Sidewalks are required to connect the road frontage sidewalks to all front building entrances, parking areas, central open space, and any other destination that generates pedestrian traffic.
(2)
Sidewalks shall connect to existing sidewalks on abutting tracts and other nearby pedestrian destination points and transit stops.
§ 265-96 Buffer requirements.
Buffers shall be provided in compliance with § 230-47 of the Township's Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
§ 265-97 Building design standards.
All buildings shall meet the following requirements.
A.
In mixed-use buildings, a commercial/retail use is required along the primary frontage of all buildings in the Limited Commercial district for a minimum depth of 40 feet.
B.
Building orientation and entrance. Front facades shall be oriented towards the street, with a public entrance in this front facade. When buildings are located on corners, the entrance may be located on the corner with an appropriate building articulation, such as a chamfered corner, turret, canopy, or other similar building feature.
C.
Walls and windows. Blank walls shall not be permitted along any exterior wall facing a street. Exterior walls in these locations shall meet the following criteria:
(1)
Such walls shall have architectural treatments that are the same as the front facade, including consistent style, materials, colors, and details.
(2)
Windows. The ground floor of any wall facing a street shall contain windows in accordance with the following requirements:
(a)
The ground floor front facades of retail commercial uses, personal service businesses, and restaurants shall consist of at least 35% window area, but not more than 75% window area, with views provided through these windows into the business.
(b)
All other ground floor walls facing a street shall contain at least 25% window area but not more than 75% window area, with views provided through these windows into the business.
(3)
Dark tinted glass or reflective glass in windows is prohibited.
(4)
Walls or portions of walls where windows are not provided shall have architectural treatments designed to break up the bulk of the wall. Nonresidential buildings must have at least a three-foot off-set in all facades or roofs for every 40 feet of continuous facade. Such off-sets may be met through the use of bay windows, porches, porticos, building extensions, towers, bays, gables, dormers, steeples, and other architectural treatments.
(5)
Front porches shall not be completely enclosed.