It is the purpose of this district to provide for convenient retail and personal service establishments that cater to the day-to-day needs of families residing within the township or surrounding area. All commercial development within this district shall be serviced by a public water supply public sanitary sewer. The public water supply shall be capable of providing fire protection meeting standards of the Michigan Insurance Services Office (ISO) and codes promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and shall be further capable of meeting these standards for existing and planned land uses within the residential neighborhoods having proximity to the commercial center. The sanitary sewer service shall have capacity to collect wastewater from the center together with existing and planned land use for the entire service area of the sanitary sewer district in which sewers are located. It is the basic intent of this district to encourage future commercial development within planned areas rather than on scattered sites, but also to provide for those necessary services which are most appropriately and conveniently located to more than one residential neighborhood.

The following buildings and structures, and uses of parcels, lots, buildings and structures are permitted in this district:

a.

Clothing and apparel services, including laundry pickup, dressmaking, millinery, tailor shops and shoe repair shops.

b.

Food services including grocery, meat market, bakery, restaurant, delicatessen and fruit market, ice-o-mats and similar self-service units.

c.

Personal service, including barber shops and beauty salons, medical and dental clinics, music studios, banks and savings and loan associations.

d.

Retail services, including drugstores, hardware, gift shop and dry goods and notions stores.

e.

Souvenir and gift shop, public information booth.

f.

Motel, hotel.

g.

Business and professional office, including, but not limited to, medical, legal, engineering, accounting, financial and insurance offices.

h.

Equipment services, including repair: radio and television, electrical appliance shop, plumber, electrician and other similar services and trades.

i.

Publicly owned museums, libraries, fire stations, administrative buildings and other public buildings.

j.

Retail and service establishments of a drive-in or drive-through nature except gasoline service stations.

k.

An accessory use, building(s) or structure(s).

l.

A sign, only in accordance with the regulations specified in article 8.

m.

Animal hospital or clinic.

n.

Gasoline service stations, including minor repair facilities.

o.

New and used vehicle sales and service and/or body shops.

p.

Planned drive-in plaza.

q.

Open air display area for the sale of manufactured products, such as or similar to garden furniture, earthenware, hardware items and nursery stock, or the rental of manufactured products or equipment, small tool, pneumatic tired two- and four-wheel utility trailers, pneumatic-transit cement mixers, wheelbarrows, rollers and similar products or equipment.

r.

Wholesale businesses; provided that no manufacturing, processing, fabrication, or assembling of goods shall be permitted.

s.

Wholesale service structure except as provided in article 10.

t.

Dry cleaning and laundry establishments provided that customer's presence on premises is required to transact business.

u.

Frozen food lockers.

The following buildings and structures, and uses of parcels, lots, buildings and structures are permitted subject to obtaining a special use permit as provided in article 10:

a.

Places of amusement, entertainment, or recreation.

b.

Temporary building or trailer office or semi-trailer for use while erecting a building for use in a business.

c.

Ministorage rental facility.

d.

Funeral establishments or mortuary.

e.

Tourist homes, boarding houses, rooming houses and full residential care facilities.

f.

Parking garages, auto storage garages, trucking and cartage facilities, truck storage.

g.

Agricultural services including machinery sales and repair.

h.

Special temporary uses.

i.

Flea markets.

j.

Telecommunication towers as provided in section 10.27 of this ordinance.

k.

Woodworking shops, including shops engaged in the onsite assembly and sale of lawn furniture, docks, cabinets, and other wood products.

l.

A marijuana processor as authorized by article IV of chapter 18 of the Emmett Charter Township Code of Ordinances.

m.

A marijuana provisioning center as authorized by article IV of chapter 18 of the Emmett Charter Township Code of Ordinances.

n.

A marijuana secured transporter as authorized by article IV of chapter 18 of the Emmett Charter Township Code of Ordinances.

o.

A marijuana safety compliance facility as authorized by article IV of chapter 18 of the Emmett Charter Township Code of Ordinances.

p.

Single-family dwellings.

q.

Small principal-use SES, subject to section 10.53.

r.

Indoor shooting range.

(Ord. No. 1-2017(2), § 3, 6-8-2017; Ord. No. 1-2018(2), § 6, 3-22-2018; Ord. No. 5-2018, § 6, 9-13-2018; Ord. No. 3-2019, § 1, 11-14-2019; Ord. No. 3-2023, § 8, 4-13-2023; Ord. No. 3-2024, § 3, 6-13-2024; Ord. No. 4-2024, § 3, 6-13-2024; Ord. No. 7-2024, § 1, 11-14-2024)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 7-2024, § 1, adopted Nov. 14, 2024, amended the title of § 15.03 to read as herein set out. The former § 15.03 title pertained to conditional uses.

The following regulations shall apply in all "GC"—general commercial districts:

a.

Lot area. No building or structure shall be established on any lot less than 30,000 square feet.

b.

Lot width. The minimum lot width shall be 150 feet.

c.

Lot coverage. The maximum lot coverage shall not exceed 25 percent.

d.

Yard and setback requirements.

1.

Front yard. Not less than 40 feet.

2.

Side yard. The width of either yards shall not be less than 25 feet, except in the case of a corner lot or parcel where the side yard on the road or street shall not be less than 40 feet.

3.

Rear yard. Not less than 30 feet.

4.

The above yard requirements shall apply to every lot, building or structure.

e.

Height. No building or structure shall exceed a height of 25 feet, with the height increasing one foot per each one foot of additional setback up to a maximum height of 35 feet.

f.

Greenbelt buffer.

1.

A greenbelt buffer shall be provided in accordance with the regulations specified in section 6.07.

2.

A use or structure on any lot in this district fronting a public road, street, or way shall provide in addition to and as an integral part of any site development, on the front yard, a landscaped strip of land 20 feet or more in depth; such landscaped strip to be defined and designed to provide access to the lot and separate off-street parking areas from the public right-of-way.

g.

Required off-street parking. The planning commission, upon showing that the parking standards are excessive to meet practical needs associated with the proposed use, may waive up to 20 percent of the required parking. All other standards shall be as required in article 9.