Downingtown City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XI
C-3 Highway-Oriented Commercial District
§ 287-46 Intent.
The C-3 Highway-Oriented Commercial District is intended to provide for the orderly development of region-serving business and commercial uses which, due to the nature of their products and services, are oriented to vehicular traffic and thus are most appropriately located with adequate frontage along and/or relatively direct access to a major road. This district also is designed to avoid undue congestion on streets that are inappropriate for such uses and to assure convenient access and off-street parking for customers.
§ 287-47 Use regulations.
A.
Uses by right. In the C-3 District, land, buildings and premises may be used by right for any one of the following principal purposes and no other, subject to Article IV and Article XIA:
[Amended 12-1-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14]
(1)
Retail sales.
(2)
General business, professional, governmental or administrative offices.
(3)
Bank or similar financial institution.
(4)
Restaurant, tearoom, cafe, bar, retail bakery, confectionary or other places preparing, selling and/or serving food or beverages.
(5)
Personal service establishment, such as barbershop, beauty salon, shoe repair, tailor, cleaning and pressing or laundry.
(6)
Public place of amusement.
(7)
Sale of new and used vehicles and similar heavy mechanical equipment; the sale of used cars shall be permitted only in conjunction with and on the same property as a new car sales operation, only in Character Zone 7 as shown in Appendix Map 1 of the Central Business Revitalization Overlay District Ordinance, in accordance with § 287-51.1.
(9)
Fitness center.
B.
Accessory uses. The following accessory uses shall be permitted in the C-3 District:
(1)
Any use on the same lot with and customarily accessory and incidental to any of the foregoing permitted uses.
C.
Uses by special exception. The following uses shall be permitted only upon the grant of a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board, subject to the terms of this article and § 287-145, and subject to Article IV and Article XIA:
[Amended 12-1-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14]
§ 287-48 Area and bulk regulations.
[Amended 12-1-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14]
Except as otherwise noted in § 287-47 above, the following regulations shall apply to all uses in the C-3 District, except as provided for in Article XIA:
A.
Minimum lot area: 20,000 square feet for all uses except vehicular sales, which shall require three acres.
B.
Minimum lot width: 90 feet at the building setback line.
C.
Minimum front yard: 40 feet.
D.
Minimum side yards: 15 feet.
E.
Minimum rear yard: 25 feet.
F.
Maximum building coverage: 20%.
G.
Maximum other impervious surface coverage: 60%.
H.
Minimum vegetative cover: 10%.
I.
Maximum building height: three stories or 35 feet, whichever is less; except as shown on the Zoning Map for Zone 1 and Zone 2 of the Height Option Overlay Districts, taller buildings may be permitted in accordance with § 287-51D. Zone 1 buildings may be built by right up to five stories to a maximum of 75 feet; and up to seven stories to a maximum of 90 feet as a conditional use. Zone 2 buildings may be built by right up to four stories to a maximum of 60 feet to the extent shown in the Height Option Overlay Districts Map.
[Amended 8-1-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-10]
K.
Buffer area. A minimum ten-foot buffer shall be provided for any use permitted in the C-3 District which abuts a residential use or district or an Open Space District. No buffer shall be required along a front property line.
§ 287-49 Design standards.
The following design standards of this chapter shall, as applicable, govern all uses within the C-3 District:
§ 287-50 Plan submission requirement.
§ 287-51 Standards and criteria for buildings taller than 45 feet or four stories for conditional uses.
[Amended 12-1-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14; 8-1-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-10]
A.
Shopping center, in accordance with Article XIA and the following:
(2)
The lot area shall be a minimum of 12,000 square feet for each individual use; minimum tract area shall be two acres.
(3)
The minimum lot width at the building setback line shall be 350 feet.
(4)
The maximum building coverage shall be 25%; the maximum coverage by other impervious surfaces shall be 50%.
(6)
The minimum front yard shall be 65 feet, unless no parking is to be provided in the front yard, in which case the front yard shall be a minimum of 35 feet.
(7)
Each side and rear yard shall be a minimum of 25 feet.
(8)
The maximum building height shall be two stories, so long as the requisite parking can be provided.
(9)
There shall be a landscaped area provided between the street line and interior parking areas, which shall have a minimum width of eight feet, extending the entire frontage. Any unpaved area between the street line and the edge of the cartway also shall be continuously maintained as a landscaped area. No improvements other than access drives and sidewalks shall be permitted within these landscaped areas.
(10)
Proposed parking facilities intended to serve a shopping center shall comply with the regulations and standards contained in Article XVIII of this chapter.
B.
Car wash, in accordance with Article XIA and the following:
(1)
Minimum lot area shall be 30,000 square feet as a principal use. Where proposed as a use supplemental to an automobile service station, the Borough Council may require that the minimum lot area for the service station, as stipulated in § 287-90A of this chapter be increased by as much as but not more than 30,000 square feet, where such area is deemed necessary by the Council to accommodate all proposed uses and comply with the objectives and standards of this chapter.
(2)
Where a proposed car wash is to be a principal use, it shall comply with all applicable requirements for uses within the C-3 District as contained in §§ 287-48B through J and 287-49. Where proposed as a use supplemental to an automobile service station, the car wash operation shall be in further compliance with the standards of § 287-90 of this chapter.
(3)
Circulation and parking requirements.
(a)
The minimum distance between an access driveway and any adjoining property line shall be 10 feet.
(b)
A waiting or stacking area shall be provided on the lot, accessible to the entrance end of the washing equipment, for at least six automobiles for each lane provided in the washing area. Stacking areas shall not interfere with the internal circulation needs of the property.
(c)
An area on the lot, beyond the exit end of the washing equipment, shall be provided for at least four automobiles for each lane provided in the washing area.
(4)
A water-recycling system shall be installed on the premises to serve the car wash operation.
(5)
An attendant shall be on duty to assist as necessary or a telephone number shall be displayed prominently as a means to contact the responsible party as needed.
C.
Day-care facility.
(1)
Minimum outdoor play or recreation space shall be 100 square feet per individual receiving care at any given time. This space or any portion of it shall not be located in any front or side yard.
(2)
Outdoor play or recreation space shall be fenced or otherwise enclosed on all sides and shall not include driveways, parking areas or land unsuited for active recreation due to other usage or natural constraints. Fencing or other enclosures shall be a minimum of four feet in height.
(3)
The owner and operator must be registered with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) and must demonstrate compliance with all DPW regulations for such a facility.
(4)
Access to and from the site and circulation patterns must be designed to maximize the safety of individuals receiving day care at the site and to prevent impediments to the flow of traffic off the site.
D.
Conditional use standards for Zone 1 and Zone 2 of the Height Option Overlay Districts.
(1)
Any proposed building, structure or part thereof in excess of 75 feet and up to 90 feet or seven stories within the Zone 1 Overlay District as shown on the Zoning Map shall be built in accordance with the regulations set forth in this subsection. Any increased building height in the Zone 2 Overlay District shall also conform to the applicable standards and criteria below.
(2)
The increase in height of a building or other structure from 75 feet up to 90 feet or any portion thereof in Zone 1 and the increase of any base height to a taller building in Zone 2 shall be in accordance with the following:
(a)
Fenestration (windows and other building wall openings).
[1]
Except for first floor/ground floor use, the fenestration for all buildings shall be all vertical in orientation. Fenestration shall not be such that vertical and horizontal orientation is mixed.
[2]
Mullions and muttons shall provide for a vertical orientation of windows from the second floor to the top floor.
[3]
In order to minimize reflections and glare, not more than 40% of any side of a building shall be constructed with windows.
(b)
First floor/ground floor use. The first floor/ground floor of all buildings shall be used to promote a continuation and continuity of shop fronts and stores, such as retail, restaurant, personal service shops, lobbies, reception and informational areas, spaces accessible to the public and indoor motion picture theaters. Offices and parking shall not be the exclusive use of the ground floor of a building.
(d)
Street wall.
[1]
The street wall is the line at which the wall of a building is located relative to the sidewalk and shall be considered that portion of the building up to 60 feet.
[2]
The street wall of any building shall adjoin the sidewalk, and shall be similar in character to the adjoining buildings on the block in order to promote a continuation of the character and pedestrian accessway system of the streetscape. Characters to be considered in making such assessment shall include, but not be limited to, style, location, materials, scale, and window/door placement.
[3]
Variations to the vertical expression of a building at the street wall shall be made at intervals of at least 26 feet to 32 feet in width so that the typical shop front width is repeated in any building. If any offsets are used, such as recesses or projections, such offsets shall be at least one foot, but shall not exceed four feet.
(e)
Setbacks.
[1]
An additional setback of 15 feet shall be made whenever the building height increases above 75 feet to 90 feet.
[2]
A building setback of 15 feet from the street wall shall be made whenever a building increases in height from 75 feet up to 90 feet. Such setback shall occur between 60 feet and 75 feet.
[3]
Additional setbacks to prevent adverse shadowing may be required as necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of the Borough and its citizens.
(f)
Light, air and visual relief.
[1]
In order to provide light, air and visual relief in terms of vertical exposure, a minimum of 60 feet in horizontal setback or separations shall be maintained between buildings which exceed 75 feet in height, unless the buildings are located on the same lot, in which case the total aggregate building width shall not exceed 250 feet.
[2]
Recesses in building mass shall be created whenever an individual building exceeds 200 feet in total aggregate building width. Recesses space shall be at least 15 feet deep and built and maintained as rooftop garden space or ground level pedestrian plaza space.
(g)
Pedestrian amenities.
[1]
No existing sidewalk along a named street or alley shall be discontinued, blocked, or narrowed.
[2]
Pedestrian plazas, courtyards, entrance courts, outdoor cafe space, and the like are encouraged in order to promote a human scale to proposed development or redevelopment.
[3]
All required street trees along the building frontages shall be increased in size at least one-inch caliper above existing ordinance requirements.
(h)
Architectural design.
[1]
The new building should be as consistent in bulk, mass, proportion, scale, orientation to the street, and orientation to the sidewalk as are other buildings in the block.
[2]
No new building shall have a flat roof, unless there is a parapet wall of at least four feet in height to conceal the flat roof.
[3]
New buildings shall be made of brick, stone, or stucco.
[4]
The base of all buildings shall be the same material as the body of the building, unless a darker color base material is used. No white base materials shall be permitted.
[5]
The cap of all buildings shall be the same material as the body of the building, unless a darker color material is used. No white color cap material shall be permitted.
[6]
Whenever piers or pilasters are utilized they shall extend to the sidewalk.
[7]
Green roofs shall be installed and maintained for every building in excess of 75 feet in height.
(3)
All applications for conditional use approval shall also be in accordance with the following:
(a)
All applications for conditional use shall be accompanied by a shadow analysis, whereby the applicant demonstrates, through the submission of plans, the effect of shadows from a forty-five-foot building and from the height of the building which is proposed on the streets, sidewalks and buildings surrounding the proposed construction or development for at least three times of the day (8:00 a.m., 12:00 noon and 4:00 p.m.) and on at least two days of the year, June 22 and December 22.
(b)
All applications for conditional use shall be accompanied by plans, diagrams and other data sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the conditional use standards set forth above.