(A)

Intent.

This district is intended to permit professional office uses, selected commercial uses, and limited residential uses. This district is also ideally located between Commercial Districts on major streets in close proximity to street intersections and between higher density residential development and commercial uses.

(B)

Principal Permitted Uses.

The following uses shall be permitted in the OS District:

(1)

Artist studio.

(2)

Banks, savings and loans, and credit unions.

(3)

Barber/beauty shops.

(4)

Business/secretarial school.

(5)

Churches.

(6)

Colleges and universities.

(7)

Drugstores/health care supplies.

(8)

General offices.

(9)

Governmental buildings & uses.

(10)

Hospitals, to include private ambulance service.

(11)

Housing for the elderly and persons with disabilities, to include group homes. See Section 31-27(C).

(12)

Inter mediate care facility.

(13)

Medical/dental labs.

(14)

Medical offices/clinics.

(15)

Mortuaries and funeral homes.

(16)

Non-commercial art galleries, museums and libraries.

(17)

Nursing facility, skilled.

(18)

Outpatient care facility.

(19)

Personal Services.

(20)

Photographic studio.

(21)

Public or private parks, golf courses, or similar natural recreation areas.

(22)

Railroads and public quasi-public utilities.

(23)

Residential care facility.

(24)

Shoe Repair.

(25)

Schools of private instruction.

(26)

Vocational school.

(27)

Nursery school/day care center.

(C)

Accessory Permitted Uses.

The following uses shall be permitted as accessory uses as provided in Section 31-22 of this Ordinance:

(1)

Any use customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use it serves.

(3)

Off-street parking of operable vehicles.

(2)

Parking structure.

(D)

Conditional Permitted Uses.

The following conditional uses are permitted in the OS District subject to the permit provisions of this Ordinance upon approval by the Board of Aldermen of a Conditional Use Permit:

(1)

Community service organizations, provided that the parking group requirements can be met.

(2)

Convenience store, to include gasoline sales as defined, provided that:

(a)

A site plan has been submitted, reviewed, and approved by the City Site Plan Review Team as to adequate ingress and egress traffic movements prior to Commission review.

(b)

The parking group requirements can be met.

(3)

Halfway houses. See section 31-27(C)

(4)

Gas stations (not including service stations), provided that:

(a)

A site plan has been submitted, reviewed, and approved by the City Site-Plan Review Team as to adequate ingress and egress traffic movements prior to Commission review.

(b)

The parking group requirement can be met.

(5)

Residential or outpatient treatment facilities for alcohol and other drug abuse.

(6)

Oil and gas wells.

(E)

Performance Standards.

(1)

Citywide Commercial and Industrial Building Appearance Requirements.

(a)

Site and Building Design and Compatibility with Surrounding Development:

(i)

The form and proportion of buildings shall be consistent or compatible with the scale, form and proportion of other surrounding development.

(ii)

The rhythm of structural mass to voids, such as windows and glass doors, of a front façade shall relate to the rhythms established in adjacent buildings.

(iii)

Care shall be exercised to coordinate final grades and site arrangement with those of adjoining properties and streets.

(2)

Design Focus.

(a)

Front Façade and Entrance.

The front façade of a building, as well as the main entrance(s), shall be designed as focal points to the building. The main entrances shall incorporate devices such as canopies, overhangs, arcades, raised parapets over the door, larger door openings, display windows, accent colors, and other architectural details such as moldings. The remaining portions of the building shall be designed in a way that complements and is consistent with the building's street façade.

Building details shall be
incorporated to break the façade
of a structure.

(3)

Visual Interest.

(a)

Architectural Design.

Create visual interest through the use of different textures, complementary colors, shadow lines and contrasting shapes. Monotonous design shall be avoided. Variation of detail, form, and siting shall be used to provide visual interest. Façades shall be articulated with variations in the building plane and parapet height, materials and colors, entrance canopies, and landscaping. At a minimum, façades facing a public or private street shall incorporate at least two (2) of the following features along each applicable façade. These standards shall be applied to each façade individually:

(i)

Recesses and projections along at least 20 percent of the length of the building façade.

(ii)

Windows, awnings, arcades or other significant architectural features used along at least 60 percent of the front building façade length or 30 percent of the side or rear building façade length.

(iii)

Materials outlined in 31-17(F)(4) covering at least 50 percent of the area when applied to the front building façade or 25 percent of the area when applied to a side or rear building façade.

(iv)

Landscaping islands or planting against the building, covering at least 30 percent of the length of the building façade.

Recesses and projections along at least 20% of the length of the building façade.

(b)

Loading docks, trash enclosures, outdoor storage and similar facilities and functions shall be incorporated into the overall design of the building and the landscaping so that the visual and acoustic impacts of these functions are reduced to as great an extent as possible and are out of view from adjacent properties and public streets.

(c)

In commercial districts and or when abutting residential zones, long expanses of overhead doors shall be relieved by matching their color to the wall or trim, recessing the doors, or adding architectural details to diminish the dominance of the doors.

(d)

The use of unusual shapes, color and other characteristics that cause new buildings to call excessive attention to themselves and create disharmony should not be allowed.

(4)

Materials.

(a)

The use of high-quality materials such as brick, glass, stucco, natural and fabricated stone, treated wood or similar durable and visually pleasing material shall be used on the front façade and main entrances to the building. The remaining portions of the building shall be designed to be compatible with the front façade and building entrance features. The following construction materials shall be permitted:

(i)

Reinforced Concrete and Masonry - A concrete finish or pre-cast concrete panel (tilt-wall) must have an exposed aggregate, be hammered or sandblasted, or be covered with a cement-based acrylic coating to add visual interest. Masonry includes solid cavity faced or veneered-wall construction or materials. Brick material used for masonry should be composed of hard fire (kiln fired) all-weather common brick or other all-weather facing brick.

(ii)

Corrugated Metal or Aluminum Panels - The use of panels on front building façades or side building façades when abutting a public or private street is prohibited. Corrugated metal or aluminum façades shall be complemented with the use of masonry, whether brick, stone, stucco, split-face block, or broken up with the use of landscaping. Panels should have a depth of one (1) inch or greater and/or a thickness greater than U.S. Standard 26 gauge.

(iii)

Stucco or Gypsum Concrete/Plaster - These materials shall be complemented with the use of masonry, whether brick, stone, stucco, split-face block, or broken up with the use of landscaping.

(iv)

Treated Wood -Wood paneling or plywood shall not be used on the front building façade or side building façades when abutting a public or private street.

(v)

Structural Steel or Structural Aluminum

(vi)

Glass

(vii)

Similar materials to what has been previously listed

Brick, Stone, and Treated Wood

(b)

All elevations of the building shall be designed in a consistent and coherent architectural manner.

(c)

Where a change in material, color, or texture along the exterior side of a building is proposed, the demarcation of the change should occur a minimum of twenty (20) feet on both adjacent sides of the building or to the natural dividing point established by the physical plan of the building.

(d)

Building materials and design shall be subject to the approval of the Director of Community Development and Building Official.

(5)

Building Color.

(a)

Building color shall be limited to light, medium, and dark shades of earth tone gold and brown colors. Approximately 90 percent of each building wall surface shall be light and medium colors. The remaining surfaces shall be restricted to a darker color. The use of walls in a single color, with little detailing or completely blank, shall not be permitted.

(i)

Alternatives to the previously mentioned color tones my be approved by the Director of Community Development.

(6)

Outside display of merchandise for sale to the public shall be permitted in the front yard only and limited to twenty-five percent (25%) of said front yard area, provided it does not interfere with the area utilized for off-street parking of vehicles. Additionally, outside display of merchandise shall not be placed upon the right-of-way.

(7)

Outside storage of merchandise shall not be permitted. All storage of merchandise shall be completely within an enclosed building.

(8)

Exterior lighting shall be provided for sidewalks and areas of pedestrian circulation and for off-street parking areas providing space for five (5) or more vehicles which spaces are normally used during the hours of darkness after 6:00 p.m. The lighting fixtures shall provide at least an average of one-fourth (0.25) foot candle over the entire parking lot area, measured on the ground surface and shall be shaded so that no direct light is cast upon any property located in a residential district and so that no glare is visible to any traffic upon any public street.

(F)

Bulk Regulations.

1.

See Building Codes for additional restrictions on setbacks.

++

Except where abutting a Residential District, then ten feet (10') of side yard setback is required, plus one additional foot for every foot over the height limit.

**

Except where abutting Residential District, then twenty feet (20') of rear yard setback is required, plus one additional foot for every foot over the height limit.

(G)

Parking Requirements

See Section 31-24 of this Ordinance.

(H)

Signs.

See Section 31-26 of this Ordinance.

(I)

Landscaping and Screening Requirements.

See Section 31-25 of this Ordinance.