East Fallowfield Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
PART 10
VC VILLAGE COMMERCIAL DISTRICT
§ 27-1001 Purpose.
[Ord. 2002-06, 11/11/2002, § 1001]
1.
The Village Commercial District allows for commercial and service establishments designed to serve the needs of local residents. A limited amount of residential uses are also accommodated in the Village Commercial District. The Village Commercial District is specifically intended to:
A.
Recognize the historical importance of the villages while providing a focus to the surrounding community and serving local commercial, office, and institutional service needs.
B.
Provide for a mix of uses at a scale consistent with the historic character of the villages.
C.
Provide opportunities for infill development, redevelopment of existing buildings, and some minor expansion in a manner consistent with the historical and architectural character of the villages.
§ 27-1002 Use Regulations.
[Ord. 2002-06, 11/11/2002, § 1002]
1.
Uses Permitted by Right. Any building may be erected, altered, or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following purposes and no other:
2.
Accessory Uses. Accessory uses must be clearly incidental to and customarily associated with the principal use and located on the same lot as the principal use listed in Subsection 1.
3.
Conditional Uses. The following uses will be considered by the Board of Supervisors, subject to the conditions as specified in Part 17 and the procedures as specified in Part 19:
A.
Individual retail stores for the sale of antiques, gifts, food, meat and poultry, drugs, flowers, dry goods, household goods, hardware, newspapers, stationery, jewelry, office supplies, or similar items, not to exceed a gross leasable floor area of 2,000 square feet.
B.
Restaurants and drinking establishments without drive-through service and not including fast-food restaurants, in accordance with § 27-1724.
C.
Personal service establishments such as beautician, barber shop, shoe repair, real estate and insurance, tailor shop, photographic studios, and dry cleaners, not to exceed 2,000 square feet of gross leasable floor area.
D.
Individual professional or administrative offices not to exceed 2,000 square feet of gross leasable floor area.
E.
Bakery or catering facility (food preparation only), not to exceed a gross leasable floor area of 2,000 square feet.
F.
Residential conversion of a single-family detached dwelling or nonresidential building in accordance with § 27-1723.
G.
Residential use located above a commercial or office use.
H.
(Reserved)
[Amended by Ord. No. 2018-01, 7/24/2018]
§ 27-1003 Lot, Yard, and Coverage Requirements.
[Ord. 2002-06, 11/11/2002, § 1003]
1.
Unless otherwise specified in Part 17, "Supplemental Land Use Provisions," or elsewhere in this chapter, the following requirements shall be applied to all uses permitted in the VC Village Commercial District:
A.
Minimum Lot Area and Maximum Density.
(1)
Where a single use is proposed on a lot served by individual on-lot sewers and water systems, a minimum lot area of 40,000 square feet shall be required. Where more than one use is proposed on a lot served by individual on-lot sewers and water systems, a minimum additional area of 20,000 square feet per each additional proposed use on the lot shall be required (i.e., a total of 60,000 square feet for two uses, 80,000 square feet per three uses, etc.).
(2)
Three establishments per acre for uses or establishments in the same building when served by either community or public sewage systems.
(3)
Every lot shall have the requisite area stated above, provided that in the case of an interior lot, any right-of-way or accessway connecting such lot to a street shall be in addition to the minimum lot area.
B.
Minimum Lot Width. One hundred feet at street line.
C.
Minimum Property Line Setbacks.
(1)
Front Yard Setback:
(a)
Twenty-five feet at street right-of-way, except as noted in clause (b) below.
(b)
The front yard of a proposed building may be decreased in depth to the average alignment of existing buildings within 200 feet on each side of the proposed building. However, in no case shall the front yard setback be reduced to less than 15 feet from the street right-of-way or allow a proposed structure to interfere with the clear sight triangle required by § 22-609 of the Subdivision and Land Development [Chapter 22].
(2)
Side yard setback: 20 feet for either side yard and 50 feet aggregate.
(3)
Rear yard setback: 25 feet. Accessory structures, 10 feet.
D.
Maximum Height. Two stories or 25 feet.
E.
Maximum Lot Coverage. Sixty percent impervious surface.
F.
Maximum Building Coverage. Forty percent.
G.
Minimum Landscape Area. Fifteen percent.
§ 27-1004 Village Design Standards.
[Ord. 2002-06, 11/11/2002, § 1004]
1.
New development proposed within the Village Commercial District, as well as rehabilitation, alteration, or modification of existing structures or uses, shall comply with the following design standards to the extent possible:
A.
New development proposed within the Village Commercial District should be designed to complement the historic character of the village as well as the overall character of the Township in terms of building placement, style, bulk, construction, materials, and site design.
B.
The removal of mature trees shall be limited to the individual building sites and access to the sites and shall comply with the standards set forth in Part 14, "Natural Resource Protection Standards."
C.
A pedestrian orientation shall be maintained in the villages and sidewalks or walking paths shall be provided where practical and appropriate.
D.
Every effort shall be made to locate new structures in such a manner as to minimize changes to the existing contours and original topography of the site.
F.
Mechanical systems, trash receptacles, and dumpsters shall be located in a side or rear yard and shall be screened from view in compliance with § 27-1808, "Landscaping, Screening, and Buffering."
G.
The rehabilitation, alteration, or modification of buildings and structures located in this district that contribute to the historic character of the village are encouraged to comply with the Secretary of the Interior's standards for rehabilitation as described below:
(1)
Every reasonable effort should be made to provide a compatible use for a property that requires minimal alteration of the building, structure, or site and its environment, or to use a property for its originally intended purpose.
(2)
The distinguishing original qualities or character of a building structure or site and its environment should 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 site should be recognized as products of their own time. Alterations, which have no historical basis and which seek to create an earlier appearance are discouraged.
(4)
Changes which 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 should be recognized and respected.
(5)
Distinctive architectural features or examples of skilled craftsmanship which characterize a building, structure, or site should be treated with sensitivity.
(6)
Deteriorated architectural features should be repaired rather than replaced wherever possible.
(7)
The surface cleaning of structures should be undertaken with the gentlest means possible.
(8)
Every reasonable effort should be made to protect and preserve archeological resources affected by, or adjacent to, any acquisition, stabilization, preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, or reconstruction project.
(9)
Contemporary design for alterations and additions to existing properties should not be discouraged when such alterations and additions do not destroy significant historic architectural or cultural materials, and such design is compatible with the size, scale, color, materials, and character of the property, neighborhood, or environment.
(10)
Whenever possible, new additions or alterations to structures should 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.
H.
For additional requirements and design standards, refer to Part 14, "Natural Resource Protection Standards"; Part 16, "Sign Regulations"; Part 17, "Supplemental Land Use Provisions"; Part 18, "Common Regulations"; and Part 19, "Conditional Use Regulations," for additional regulations applicable to this district.