The purpose of this district is to provide a concentration of retail and service establishments. Collectively, the uses permitted in this district are intended to provide a convenient and attractive retail and service center for the City of Eaton Rapids and the surrounding area. A prime characteristic of this district is the offering of a variety of goods and services directed primarily at the pedestrian shopper. This district is designed and intended to promote the development of a pedestrian oriented and accessible central commercial district where a variety of mutually supporting retail, commercial, office, civic, and limited residential uses are permitted.

Further objectives of this Article include:

A.

Encourage a lively social environment and economically viable downtown with a wide variety of uses in a pedestrian oriented setting, with shared parking.

B.

Discourage the development of separate off-street parking facilities for each individual use, and to encourage the development of off-street parking facilities designed to accommodate the needs of several individual uses.

C.

Discourage uses that do not deal directly with consumers and are disruptive to pedestrian activities.

D.

Promote the creation of urban places that are oriented to the pedestrian thereby promoting citizen security and social interaction.

E.

Promote developments where the physical, visual, and spatial characteristics are established and reinforced through the consistent use of compatible urban design and architectural design elements that improve the visual character of downtown.

F.

Discourage commercial and business uses that create objectionable noise, glare, odors, or other nuisances.

G.

Encourage development of an urban "Main Street" with mixed land uses, shared parking, and continuous frontage which not only serves the needs of the immediate neighborhood, but also the city and surrounding areas as a whole.

No building or land shall be used and no building shall be erected except for one (1) or more of the following specified uses, unless otherwise provided in this Ordinance.

A.

Art galleries.

B.

Tourist homes and bed and breakfast inns.

C.

Business establishments that perform services on premises such as, but not limited to: banks, savings and loans, and credit unions; brokerage houses; insurance, real estate, and travel agencies; pedestrian-oriented automated teller machine facilities, excluding drive-in or drive-through facilities.

D.

Catering establishments.

E.

Data processing and computing centers with up to ten thousand (10,000) square feet gross floor area.

F.

Essential public services when conducted within a completely enclosed building, excluding storage yards.

G.

Business service establishments, such as office machine and typewriter repair, printing, and blueprinting.

H.

Medical offices with up to ten thousand (10,000) square feet gross floor area.

I.

Mixed use buildings with business, commercial, or service uses on the ground floor and residential, office, or accessory warehouse uses on upper floors.

J.

Newspaper offices, printing, and publishing of up to ten thousand (10,000) square feet of gross floor area.

K.

Offices of an executive, administrative, or professional nature with up to ten thousand (10,000) square feet gross floor area.

L.

Outdoor cafes and outdoor eating areas.

M.

Personal fitness centers up to ten thousand (10,000) square feet of gross floor area.

N.

Personal service establishments within a completely enclosed building, including but not limited to such uses as: repair shops (watches, radio, television, shoes, etc.), tailor and dressmaking shops, beauty parlors and styling salons, barber shops, photographic studios, film processing outlets, copy centers, interior decorators, and postal centers, provided that each occupies a total useable floor area of not more than four thousand (4,000) square feet.

O.

Public, quasi-public, and institutional uses such as, but not limited to, municipal buildings and offices, courthouses, public off-street parking facilities, libraries, museums, public safety facilities, parks and playgrounds, post offices, and civic centers, but excluding storage yards for any use.

P.

Restaurants (excluding drive-in restaurants and those with drive-through facilities), where the patrons are served while seated within the building occupied by such establishments.

Q.

Retail businesses which supply commodities on the premise of up to ten thousand (10,000) square feet of gross floor area, such as, but not limited to: groceries, meats, fruits and produce, dairy products, baked goods, candies, specialty wines, specialty food products, and stores selling drugs, dry goods, flowers, clothing, notions, books and magazines, toys, sporting goods, shoes, tobacco products, musical instruments, recorded music, video rentals and sales, gifts souvenirs, antiques, furniture, and hardware.

R.

Retail sales in which both a workshop and retail outlet or showroom are required, such as, but not limited to plumbing, electrician, interior decorating, upholstering, printing, photographic-reproducing, radio, and home appliance, and similar establishments of similar character subject to the provision that not more than eighty (80) per cent of the total useable floor area of the establishment shall be used for servicing, repairing, or processing activities and further provided that such retail outlet or showroom activities area shall be provided in that portion of the building where the customer entrance is located.

S.

Studios for art, music, dance, or theatrical instruction.

T.

Theaters, cinemas, assembly halls, community centers or similar places of assembly, when conducted completely within enclosed buildings and not more than ten thousand (10,000) square feet gross floor area.

U.

Veterinary clinics and animal grooming, provided all activities are conducted within an enclosed building, with a maximum of ten thousand (10,000) square feet gross floor area.

V.

Churches and other facilities normally incidental thereto.

W.

Accessory structures and uses customarily incidental to the above permitted uses.

The following uses shall be considered conditional and shall require a conditional use approval, and shall comply with any applicable conditional use requirements of Article XXIII:

A.

Bars, taverns, pubs, and brewpubs, cocktail lounges, and nightclubs.

B.

Business schools and colleges, or private schools operated for a profit.

C.

Off-Street parking lots and structures.

D.

Indoor recreational centers such as, but not limited to bowling alleys, roller and ice skating rinks, pool or billiard halls, pinball and mechanical device arcades, and other general indoor recreation facilities.

E.

Mortuaries and funeral homes.

F.

Party stores.

G.

Other commercial uses not specifically stated or implied elsewhere which, in the determination of the planning commission, are similar to the principal permitted uses provided herein, and in harmony with the character of the district and the purpose and intent of this Article and the Eaton Rapids Comprehensive Plan.

The following requirements shall be met within a Central Business District (CBD):

A.

Development plan approval for all permitted and conditional uses as specified in Article XVI of this Ordinance.

B.

Off-street parking, loading, and access management standards for all uses as specified in Article XXI of this Ordinance.

C.

Signs for all uses as specified in Article XXII of this Ordinance.

D.

Height, area, lot coverage, yard regulations, building mass, and yard regulations as specified in Article XVII of this Ordinance.

E.

Landscaping requirements as specified in Article XX of this Ordinance.

F.

Design, architectural, and building material standards as specified in Article XIX of this Ordinance.