The boundaries of the Central Business District shall include parcels bounded by Block Avenue, Ford Road, Central Avenue, and Middlebelt Road; Krauter Avenue, Ford Road, Garden Avenue, and Central Avenue; parcels bounded by Ford Road, Pardo Avenue, Garden Avenue, and Middlebelt Road; parcels bounded by Pardo Avenue, John Hauk Road, the east property line of Lot 26a of the Folkers Full Acre Farms Subdivision, and Middlebelt Road; parcels with frontage on the south side of Ford Road between Brandt Avenue and Middlebelt Road; parcels with frontage on the west side of Middlebelt Road between Ford Road and John Hauk Road; parcels bounded by Beechwood Avenue, Ford Road, Middlebelt Road and Brandt Avenue; and parcels with frontage on the west side of Middlebelt Road between Beechwood and the north property line of Lot 188a of the Folker's Full Acre Farms No. 1 Subdivision. The CBD boundary is illustrated in Graphic 1.

(Ord. 96-008, passed 12-2-96; Am. Ord. 10-015, passed 4-12-10)

         (a)   Art, music, dance, crafts, cooking, martial arts, photography, and similar schools and studios.

         (b)   Art galleries.

         (c)   Banks, credit unions, and savings and loan associations (excluding drive-through facilities, which may be permitted with special land use approval per § 154.352(B)(3).

         (d)   Bars, lounges, and taverns (live entertainment and music permitted, but not adult regulated).

         (e)   Business, technical, and beauty schools.

         (f)   Cafes, coffee houses, and delicatessens.

         (g)   Child care centers (subject to § 154.142).

         (h)   Club and fraternal organizations.

         (i)   Establishments which perform services on the premises and associated offices, showrooms, and workshops, such as: appliance repair; barber, beauty shops, and health spas; catering; computer centers and similar uses, including the sales, serving, and maintenance of electronic equipment; dry cleaning or laundry pick-up stations with processing on the premises (excluding drive-through facilities, which may be permitted with special land use approval per § 154.352(B)(3); interior decorating; mail and packaging; optical; photography studios; printing and photocopying; shoe repair; tailor shops; and, travel agencies.

         (j)   Funeral homes and mortuaries (subject to § 154.141).

         (k)   Medical, dental, and physical therapy clinics and offices.

         (l)   Offices for any of the following occupations or similar fields: accounting; administrative; advertising; architectural; clerical; engineering; insurance; legal; management; personnel services; professional; public relations; real estate; sales; security brokers; and tax services.

         (m)   Outdoor seating and dining areas.

         (n)   Personal fitness centers.

         (o)   Pet grooming and obedience training, with no boarding.

         (p)   Public buildings such as government offices, libraries, police and fire stations, community centers, and similar uses, but not including storage yards.

         (q)   Restaurants, fast-food (excluding drive-through facilities, which may be permitted with special land use approval per § 154.352(B)(3) (subject to § 154.140).

         (r)   Restaurants, standard (subject to § 154.150).

         (s)   Retail businesses which supply commodities on the premises, such as: antiques; automobile parts and supplies; baked goods; bikes; books (not including adult bookstores); camera; clothing; drugstores (excluding drive-through facilities, which may be permitted with special land use approval per § 154.352(B)(3); electronics and appliances; florists; fruit and vegetable market; furniture; general merchandise; gift/novelty; groceries; hardware; hobby; jewelry; music (CDs, records, tapes); shoes; specialty meats/fish market; sporting goods; stationary; toys; variety stores; video rental and sales; and similar businesses.

         (t)   Theaters (indoor, motion picture or live performance, but not adult regulated).

         (u)   Therapeutic massage therapy establishments (subject to § 154.167).

         (a)   Home occupations.

         (b)   Live-work dwelling units.

         (c)   Loft apartments.

         (d)   Residential apartments on upper floor above a retail, personal service, or office use on the ground floor.

      (1)   Amusement/recreation (miniature golf courses, playgrounds, and indoor facilities only) (subject to § 154.152).

      (2)   Automobile and/or vehicle rental establishments (subject to § 154.162).

      (3)   Drive-through facilities for banks, credits unions, dry cleaners, drugstores, and fast-food restaurants.

      (4)   Open air businesses (subject to § 154.149).

      (5)   Doggy day care establishments (subject to § 154.145).

   General provisions of this subchapter shall conform to §§ 154.020 through 154.040. However, if certain provisions contained in this subchapter conflict with those provisions, the provisions of this subchapter shall apply.

(Ord. 96-008, passed 12-2-96; Am. Ord, 10-015, passed 4-12-10) Penalty, see § 154.999

 

         (b)    Buildings situated at a corner shall possess a level of architectural design that incorporates accents and details that accentuate its prominent location, as illustrated in Graphic 3. This can be accomplished through height projections incorporated into a design feature such as additional height, a building peak, tower, or similar accent with the highest point located at the intersecting corner. Alternatively, a pedestrian plaza may be provided at the corner of the intersecting streets.

         (c)    Where possible, a main entrance shall be on a street-facing wall and either at the corner or within 25 feet of the corner.

      (1)   Except as otherwise permitted for collective off-street parking, the location of off-street parking shall be on the same block as the facility on the same side of Ford Road or Middlebelt Road.

      (2)   Off-street parking shall be located in the rear portion of the subject property and behind the principal building or use. Off-street parking lots having frontage on Ford Road or Middlebelt Road right-of-way are prohibited.

      (3)   If parking in the rear of the lot is not feasible because the lot is too shallow, or other unique circumstances, then parking may be allowed on the side of the building in conformance with the following:

      (4)    Where possible, if the parking lot is located adjacent to a building, a five-foot wide sidewalk shall be installed between the building and the parking area.

      (5)   A curb of at least six inches in height shall be installed to prevent motor vehicles from being driven or parking so that any part of that vehicle extends within two feet of abutting landscaped areas, sidewalks, streets, buildings, or adjoining property. In lieu of a curb, wheel chocks may be provided to prevent vehicles from extending over grass areas, setback lines, or lot lines. A freeway-type guardrail is prohibited from use in lieu of curbs or wheel chocks.

      (6)    Grading, surfacing, and drainage plans shall comply with city engineering standards and shall be subject to review and approval by the city DPS Director. The surface of the parking lot, access lanes, driveways, and other maneuvering areas shall be hard-surfaced with concrete or plant-mixed bituminous material. If the maneuvering lane will be used by commercial vehicles (tractor trailers, stake trucks, panel trucks, and the like) it shall be constructed with a deep strength bituminous surface.

      (7)   Off-street parking areas, access lanes, and driveways shall be graded and drained so as to dispose of surface waters. Surface water shall not be permitted to drain onto adjoining property, unless in accordance with an approved drainage plan.

      (8)   For a lot facing two streets, parking is prohibited on the corner facing the intersection.

      (9)   Access to parking lots shall be provided off alleys when available in order to minimize curb-cuts across pedestrian sidewalks.

      (10)   Loading areas shall meet the requirements of § 154.070. Additionally, loading bays/docks shall be hidden from public view by walls and landscaping to the greatest extent possible. When any loading bay/dock is visible from customer or general parking areas, visible from a private or public road, or adjacent to land that is zoned or used for non-commercial uses, the loading bay/dock shall be enclosed with a solid masonry wall or live plant materials forming a solid screen a minimum of six feet in height. The wall shall be integrally designed and consistent with the style and materials of the building.

      (11)   Collective off-street parking. Parking for separate buildings or uses may be provided collectively subject to the following:

         (a)   If the parking facility is deemed to be a private collective parking lot (not for public use), the total number of spaces provided collectively shall not be less than the sum of spaces required for each separate use.

         (b)   If the property owner participates with the city Downtown Development Authority in a public collective parking facility by contributing, through an easement, their property behind the rear building line, the required parking spaces for the subject building or use may be reduced by up to 20%.

         (c)   If a property cannot physically accommodate off-street parking and is within 300 feet of a public collective parking facility, the property owner/tenant may use the public collective parking facility to satisfy their off-street parking requirements upon the Planning Commission making a determination that the parking demands of the uses served do not overlap, or there is sufficient capacity in the off-street parking facility to accommodate the increased parking. Further, the property owner exercising this provision will contribute an annual amount, as established by the Downtown Development Authority with City Council approval (based on their parking demand) to the Downtown Development Authority Collective Parking Maintenance Fund.

         (d)   When required parking is located on a lot or parcel that is under different ownership from the building it serves or is not contiguous to the building site, a formal written agreement or easement assuring the continuing usage of the parking for the building must be properly drawn and executed by the parties concerned and made part of the site plan approval.

         (e)   Design and layout. Collective off-street parking facilities, public or privately-owned, shall comply with the following standards in addition to those contained in § 154.081(F).

            1.   Buildings abutting the collective parking facility shall provide connecting walks to their building and adjacent buildings. These walks shall be at least five feet in width. Walkways which connect adjacent buildings shall be setback from the building a distance sufficient to accommodate a landscape entrance area between the walkway and the building.

            2.   Rows of parking shall include landscape islands at each end. The landscape islands shall be a minimum of ten feet wide with a length equal to the length of the parking stall(s). Further, no row of parking may exceed 25 spaces and shall include landscape islands to break rows of parking stalls. All islands shall be landscaped per the requirements of § 154.081(F).

            3.   Access drives into the collective parking facility shall be bounded by median islands with a minimum width of 15 feet. These median islands shall be landscaped per the requirements of § 154.081(F).

            4.   The primary circulation route(s) within the collective parking facility must be designed for limited access. The number of parking stalls which back directly on the primary circulation route(s) shall be minimized.

      (1)   Mechanical equipment such as transformers, compressors, HVAC systems, and chillers shall be located on the side, top, or rear of the buildings and appropriately screened from pedestrians. Screening shall include a planting bed per § 154.081(E)(2), or a low, solid masonry screen wall consistent with the predominate materials of the building. The clearance between the screen wall and the mechanical equipment shall conform to local building codes. Ground mechanical units shall not be permitted in front of a building and shall be located in safe, convenient, and unobtrusive locations and adequately protected from vehicles.

      (2)   Trash dumpsters and their enclosures shall conform to the provisions of § 154.032, standards for trash dumpsters.

      (3)   Utility meters, electrical conduit, and other service lines shall not be located on the building façade facing the street and should, when practical, not be visible from the street.

      (4)   Gutter downspouts shall not be located on the front building façade. If the rear of the building abuts a collective parking facility, the gutter downspout shall not discharge water on a sidewalk or other pedestrian way.

   The intent of these requirements is to encourage the renovation of existing buildings and the construction of new buildings in the Central Business District that follow the rules established by the majority of the existing buildings. The goal is to re-establish and build upon the visual character that once existed in order to recreate Downtown Garden City.

   (A)   Building scale. The intent of these guidelines is to encourage the construction of buildings that are in scale with the majority of the existing buildings in the Central Business District. The majority of the older buildings are narrow in width. The intent of these guidelines is not to limit building width, but to encourage the subdivision of wider façades, breaking-up the scale and mass of larger buildings, making them more compatible with existing façades.

         (c)   Entry doors shall be one- or two-lite door that matches the storefront glass framing system.

         (d)   Windows shall not be blocked with opaque materials or the back of shelving units.

         (a)   For purpose of this division, the following definition shall apply (see Graphic 7):

   (A)   Site plan review. Principal uses and structures in the Central Business District shall be subject to all applicable standards and requirements set forth in §§ 154.400 through 154.405, Site Plan Review.