The purpose of the site plan review procedure is to enable the city to consider potential impacts upon the area in the vicinity of the property, to ensure consistency with good planning practice, and to ensure high standards of site design for the general welfare of the city and its residents.

(Ord. No. 94-2695, 3-22-94)

An approved site plan is required for the development or redevelopment of all parcels of land in the C-1, General Commercial; C-2, Planned Commercial District; DB-1, downtown core business district; DB-2, downtown area business district; and M-1, industrial district.

(Ord. No. 94-2695, 3-22-94)

Site plans shall be divided between major and minor site plans. Major site plans shall follow the procedures outlined in this section. A "major site plan" is defined as a plan for the development of a parcel of land that contains no buildings, or for which the existing buildings are to be removed and a new building(s) constructed. In addition, a major site plan shall be required for any development that is adding more than 5,000 square feet of new impermeable surface to a site. A major site plan must be approved by the Plan Commission.

"Minor site plans" shall be defined as plans for the expansion, change in use, or redevelopment of a site: that already contains a building(s), that does not result in any new dwelling unit(s), require any additional street access, road, or internal circulation improvements, or significantly (more than 50 percent) alter the exterior façade, and shall not consist of any development which adds more than 1,000 square feet, or ten percent of existing gross floor area (whichever is less) of new impermeable surface or gross floor area to a site.

Within this section, references to site plans include requirements for both major and minor site plans. Requirements that deal specifically with major or minor site plans are so indicated.

24.3.1.

Major Site Plan Procedure. The procedure for obtaining approval of a major site plan includes: (i) the filing of an application with the site plan; (ii) the review and comments by city departments; (iii) review of the site plan and comments from city departments by the Plan Commission; and (iv) approval of the site plan by the Plan Commission.

24.3.2.

Relationship to Other Ordinance Requirements. The requirements, procedures, and standards contained in this Section 24.0 are in addition to the requirements, procedures, and standards contained in other sections of the Zoning Ordinance which shall remain applicable to the parcel for which the application is filed. In case of conflict between the general provisions and district regulations of the Zoning Ordinance with provisions of this Section 24.0, the more restrictive requirement shall control.

(Ord. No. 94-2695, 3-22-94; Ord. No. 2020-3687, § 1, 10-27-20)

24.4.1.

Application. An applicant shall confer with the Director of Public Works, or the director's designee, to become familiar with the city's regulations and requirements affecting the district in which the parcel in question lies and shall obtain copies of all provisions of the city ordinances pertaining to procedures and requirements for site plan approval.

An application may be made by the owner or by any person with a contractual interest in the property. Written consent of the owner, in the form of an affidavit or notarized statement, shall be required if the applicant is not the owner. All owners must join if more than one.

The written application for review and approval of the site plan shall be filed on a form supplied by the Director of Public Works and shall be accompanied by twenty (20) copies of the site plan for a major site plan and five copies for a minor site plan as described in subsection 24.5 of this section. The application shall be signed by the applicant and shall state the name and address of the applicant and of the owner. If the applicant is not the owner, the application shall identify the applicant's specific interest in the property whether contractual, subject of a lease, or other interest. A fee for reviewing the site plan shall be paid to the city at the time of filing the application.

24.4.2.

Fees. The Director of Public Works shall collect fees at the time the site plan application is filed. A fee of $75.00 shall be submitted with an application for a Minor Site Plan and a fee of $150.00 shall be submitted with an application for a Major Site Plan.

24.4.3.

Review of Application. Upon receipt of an application completed in satisfactory form, the Director of Public Works shall deliver a copy of the application and accompanying papers, including the site plan, to the appropriate city departments for their review and comments on the impact of the proposed development on health, safety, traffic, public services, or facilities, and other relevant considerations, in both the area of the project, and other areas of the city which may be affected. Such comments shall be sent to the Director of Public Works and forwarded to the applicant within 15 days of the receipt of the completed application.

Within 10 days from the forwarding of comments to the applicant, the applicant shall advise the Director of Public Works of the applicant's desire to revise the application and site plan based on the city's comments or proceed to a review by the Plan Commission if the application is for a major site plan. If the applicant opts to proceed to a review of the major site plan by the Plan Commission, the application shall be placed on the agenda of the next available meeting of the commission. If the applicant opts to revise the major site plan, the previously outlined review periods will be repeated.

24.4.4.

Major Site Plan Approval. The Plan Commission shall review the major site plan at a regular meeting and the major site plan shall be approved, disapproved, or approved with conditions. If a site plan is denied, the applicant may appeal this decision to the City Council. In determining whether to approve, disapprove, or approve the major site plan with conditions, the Plan Commission shall consider:

a.

All relevant information, including the comments of city officials, the major site plan's consistency with good planning practices, its compatibility with adjacent developments and uses, and its effect on the health, safety, morals, and general welfare of the residents of the are in the vicinity of the property subject to the major site plan, and upon the residents of the city generally.

b.

The likely effect of the major site plan on vehicular or pedestrian traffic, fire hazards, fire, police and utility services, municipal expenditures, surface water drainage and control facilities, and environmental aspects.

24.4.5.

Minor Site Plan Approval. The Director of Public Works may approve a minor site plan if the site plan complies with all requirements of the city's zoning ordinance. If the Director of Public Works denies approval of a minor site plan, including the provision of written comments as to the reason for such denial, the denial may be appealed by the applicant to the Plan Commission for review. The Plan Commission shall then approve the minor site plan, approve the minor site plan with conditions, or deny the site plan.

24.4.6.

Validity of a Site Plan. Approval of a site plan shall be valid for a period of twelve months from the date of approval by the city. If no building permit is obtained during that period, the approval shall terminate. The Plan Commission may grant extensions of time not to exceed twelve months each, upon written request of the applicant for a substantially similar major site plan, provided that the request is filed prior to the expiration date. The Plan Commission may attach new conditions when an extension is granted. If, in the opinion of the Plan Commission, the application contains substantial changes to the originally approved plan, a new major site plan review process must occur, including the payment of a new application fee. The same procedure shall be followed by the Director of Public Works for minor site plans.

Approval of a site plan shall not affect the requirement for submission of plans to the Architectural Review Board.

(Ord. No. 94-2695, 3-22-94)

24.5.1.

A site plan shall include the following:

a.

The location of the parcel in relation to surrounding uses, buildings, and zoning, and including the assigned street address and locator number(s) of the parcel;

b.

The location of the parcel in relation to major thoroughfares, and any roadways or drives connecting the parcel to those major thoroughfares;

c.

The boundaries, dimensions, and area of the parcel;

d.

The proposed use and development of the parcel including principal and accessory uses;

e.

The location and size of each existing structure on the parcel;

f.

The footprint of each proposed building or structure on the parcel;

g.

The height and number of stories of proposed buildings and structures;

h.

The form of proposed buildings and structures, including plan and elevation views;

i.

A landscape plan, including a drawing to scale, and a corresponding schedule of plant material to be provided;

j.

The location, general design, and width of existing and proposed driveways and curb cuts;

k.

The location, dimensions, and number of proposed parking spaces;

l.

The location and size of loading areas;

m.

The location and dimensions of any outdoor storage or outdoor display areas and related screening, if necessary;

n.

The location of refuse collection facilities and related screening;

o.

The type, size, and location of all signs.

24.5.2.

Site Plan Drawings. The scale for all drawings shall be no smaller than 1 inch = 50 feet, and the drawings shall contain the project name, street names, a scale, north arrow, the date drawn, and the dates of any revisions.

24.5.3.

Landscape Plan. Landscape plans must be submitted to the Department of Planning and Development in conjunction with a site plan. A landscape plan shall include a drawing to scale showing any trees and plantings that are scheduled for removal and showing all trees and plantings that are to be installed with a corresponding schedule of tree and plant locations, species, height, and caliper that meet the requirements in the guidelines.

(Ord. No. 94-2695, 3-22-94; Ord. No. 2009-3416, 12-8-10)

Buildings, structures, landscaping, and other improvements shall be constructed, installed, and maintained in accordance with the site plan as approved by the city. It shall be the duty of the owner of the property to ensure that such improvements are maintained.

Site improvements shall include streets, curbs, sidewalks, storm and sanitary sewers, grading, landscaping, and any other utilities and/or facilities as identified by the Director of Public Works at the time of site plan approval.

The applicant shall submit an estimate of site improvement costs for review and approval by the City of Ferguson. Based on this approved amount, the applicant must submit an escrow agreement, a letter of credit, or a site development bond covering the entire cost of site improvements prior to issuance of any required permit(s) to assure the completion of the site improvements.

Such financial guarantee shall be enforceable by or payable to the City in an amount equal to the estimated cost of all site improvements (streets, curbs, sidewalks, storm and sanitary sewers, grading, and landscaping for the entire project), and shall be effective for a minimum of two years after commencement of construction on the site. Such financial guarantee shall be extended by the developer if construction is not substantially complete at the end of the two year period. A financial guarantee for landscaping costs under $10,000.00 dollars shall be returned after completion of installation and approval from the Director of Planning and Development.