Heath City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 1173
B-3 General Business District
1173.01 PRINCIPAL PERMITTED USES.
Any use permitted and as regulated in the B-2 District, except as hereinafter modified and the following:
(a) Retail and Service. Laundries, clothes cleaning or dyeing establishments, art or antique shops, artists' supplies, furniture and appliance stores, department stores, mail order houses, used merchandise stores, roadside stands, funeral homes and mortuaries and similar uses.
(b) Wholesale and Warehousing. Any wholesale business, storage and warehousing; commercial greenhouses.
(c) Eating and Drinking Establishments. Drive-in eating and drinking places, summer gardens and roadhouses, bars, restaurants and cocktail lounges, subject to all applicable regulations and such permits and licenses as may be required by law, provided the principal building is distant not less than fifty feet from any R-1 District; and provided that the premises shall be enclosed by a solid wall or fence at least six feet high where it adjoins in the rear on the sides any R District, public park, school or church.
(d) Entertainment. Nightclubs, theatres, billiard parlors, pool halls, bowling alleys and similar enterprises, subject to all applicable regulations and such permits and licenses as may be required by law.
(e) Trade or Business Schools. Provided machinery which is used for instruction purposes is not objectionable due to noise, fumes, smoke, odor or vibration.
(f) Commercial Art Studios. Including photographic studios, dancing studios, motion pictures, radio and television production studios, transmitters and similar uses.
(h) Automotive Services; Farm Implements. Automobiles, trucks, trailers, farm implements, for sale, display, hire or repair, including sales lots, used car lots, trailer lots, repair garages, body and fender shops, paint shops, but not within fifty feet of any R District; provided that the premises shall be enclosed by a solid wall or fence at least six feet high where it adjoins in the rear or on the sides any R District, public park, school or church.
(i) Animal Hospitals; Veterinary Clincs. Animal hospitals, kennels, display and housing or boarding of pets and other domestic animals, provided that any enclosures or buildings in which the animals are kept shall be at least 200 feet from any R District and at least 100 feet from any B-1 or B-2 District, and exercise runs shall be enclosed on four sides by a sight-obscuring, unpierced fence or wall at least five feet in height.
(j) Commercial Recreation. Any type of commercial recreation, including baseball fields, swimming pools, skating rinks, golf driving ranges, drive-in theaters and similar open air facilities, provided such establishments shall be distant at least 100 feet from any R District.
(k) Bottling Works. Bottling of soft drinks and milk or distributing stations, providing a building used for such processing and distribution shall be at least 200 feet from any R District.
(l) Parking Structures and Lots. Parking structures and lots for passenger vehicles only, provided that the premises shall be enclosed by a solid wall or fence at least six feet high where it adjoins any R District.
(m) Building and Related Trades. Carpenter shops, interior decorating, painting and paper hanging shops, furniture upholstering and similar enterprises, not including contractors' yards, but not within 100 feet of any R-1 District.
(n) Miscellaneous Trades and Business. Sheet metal shops, sign-painting shops, monument service shops, but not within 100 feet from any R-1 District and not within fifty feet from any R-2 or R-3 District.
(o) Contractors' Yards and Related Establishments. Building material yards, excluding concrete mixing; contractors' equipment storage yard or plant, or storage yard for rental of equipment commonly used by contractors; trucking or motor freight stations or terminals; retail lumberyards, including incidental millwork; storage and sales of grain, livestock feed or fuel; carting, express or hauling establishments, including storage of vehicles, providing such uses are conducted either:
(1) Wholly within a completely enclosed building or buildings, except for storage of vehicles, which building shall be distant at least 100 feet from any R District, unless building has no openings other than stationary windows and required fire exits within such distance, but not within fifty feet of any R District in any case; or
(2) When conducted within an area completely enclosed on all sides with a solid wall or uniformly painted solid board fence not less than six feet high, but not within 200 feet of any R District; provided further, that all storage yards related to the uses in this subsection shall be enclosed.
(p) Printing and Related Trades. Publishing, including newspaper publishing, job printing, lithographing, blue printing, etc., but not within 100 feet of any R District.
(q) Other Uses. Any other use which is determined by the Board to be of the same general character as the above permitted uses, but not including any use which is first permitted in the M-1 District, or which is prohibited is the M-1 District.
(Ord. 21-67. Passed 12-4-67.)
1173.02 CONDITIONAL USES.
The following uses shall be permitted only if specifically authorized by the Board in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 1127:
Any conditionally permitted use as regulated in the B-2 District.
(Ord. 21-67. Passed 12-4-67.)
1173.03 ACCESSORY USES.
Accessory uses and structures as permitted and as regulated in the B-2 District and such other accessory uses and structures not otherwise prohibited, customarily accessory and incidental to any of the foregoing permitted B-3 uses.
(Ord. 21-67. Passed 12-4-67.)
1173.04 REQUIRED CONDITIONS.
Processes and equipment employed and goods processed or sold shall be limited to those which are not objectionable by reason of odor, dust, smoke, cinders, gas, fumes, noise, vibration, refuse matter or water-carried waste, and must comply with the performance standards in Chapter 1181.
(Ord. 21-67. Passed 12-4-67.)
1173.05 HEIGHT.
No principal structure shall exceed three and one-half stories or fifty feet in height.
(Ord. 21-67. Passed 12-4-67.)
1173.06 AREA; FRONTAGE; YARDS.
(a) The following minimum requirements shall apply, except as provided in subsection (b) herein:
Use | Side Yard Width (feet) | Rear Yard (feet) |
Uses other than residential | None, except when adjoining R District, then the same as the adjhoining R District | 10 ft., except when adjoining R District, then the same as the adjoining R District |
Front yard: 50 feet when fronting on a street officially designated as a major thoroughfare on the official Thoroughfare Plan; otherwise 30 feet. Residential: Same as specified in the R-3 District.
(b) The following minimum requirements shall apply when B-3 District property is contiguous to property situated in any residential district:
Building S.F. | Side Yard Set-Back (feet) | Rear Yard Set-Back (feet) |
Existing |
10 |
50 |
With Landscaping Ordinance |
20 - 45 |
20 - 45 |
5000 S.F. or Less |
30 |
50 |
5000 - 10,000 S.F. |
50 |
75 |
10,000 - 50,000 S.F. |
75 |
100 |
50,000 S.F. & Above |
100 |
150 |
(Ord. 70-99. Passed 10-18-99.)
1173.07 OFF-STREET PARKING AND LOADING.
There shall be provided in the B-3 District off-street parking and loading in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 1183.
(Ord. 21-67. Passed 12-4-67.)
1173.08 LANDSCAPING OR SCREENING.
For nonresidential uses abutting an R District, screening shall be a solid fence, six feet in height maintained in good condition and free of all advertising or other signs.
(Ord. 41-2004. Passed 6-7-04.)
1173.09 ARCHITECTURAL REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Guidelines. The following architectural guidelines shall apply within the General Business Zoning District including business and retail usages in other zoning districts and shall serve as a guide to the design process, and shall be used by the Planning Commission in approving site plans within this district.
(b) Building Entrances. Entryway design elements and variations shall provide orientation, aesthetically pleasing character, and pedestrian scale to the building. These elements shall be architecturally integrated with the building and create the appearance of multiple entrances and storefronts. Each principal building shall have clearly defined, highly visible customer entrance(s) featuring an appropriate combination of two or more of the following:
(1) Overhangs
(2) Recesses/projections
(3) Verandas
(4) Arches
(5) Landscaped areas for pedestrian seating
(6) Architectural details such as tile work and moldings which are integrated into the building structure and design.
(7) Outdoor patios/public plazas with seating
(8) Peaked roof forms
(9) Canopies (not backlit) or porticos
(c) Aesthetic Character. Facades shall be articulated to reduce the massive scale and the uniform, disengaging appearances of retail buildings, and to provide visual interest that will be consistent with the community's identity, character, and scale. Composite shapes shall be utilized in the site layout of large structures. The intent is to require developments to incorporate high quality materials and a pedestrian friendly scale so as to contribute to and identify a sense of community as articulated in the Master Plan. The following standards shall be applied to accomplish these goals.
(1) No uninterrupted length of any facade shall exceed seventy-five (75) horizontal feet, and wall plan projections or offsets shall have a depth of at least ten (10) feet and shall extend at least thirty (30) feet of the length of the facade.
(2) No segment of wall shall exceed ten (10) vertical feet without interruption by an architectural feature such as a change in color, texture, material, design, etc.; and
(3) Ground floor facades that face public streets or parking areas shall have display windows, awnings, verandas, entry areas, or other such features along no less than sixty percent (60%) of their horizontal length.
(d) Building Features. Buildings shall have architectural features, finishes, and patterns that provide visual interest, contribute to a pedestrian scale, reduce massive effects, and recognize local, as well as community-wide character. The elements in the following standard shall be integral parts of the building fabric, and not superficially applied trim, graphics, or paint.
(1) Building facades shall incorporate a repeating pattern that includes the elements listed below. At least one of these elements shall repeat horizontally. The elements are as follows:
A. Color
B. Texture
C. Material
D. Reveals
E. Offsets
F. Columns
G. Pilasters
(2) Expression of architectural or structural bay through a change in plane is recommended. The following are examples of such expressions:
A. Offsets
B. Projecting ribs or columns
C. Recessed arches or other features
(e) Roofs. Variations in roof lines shall be used to reduce the mass and add interest to large buildings. The lenth of a continuous stretch of roof shall not exceed 75 fet without a change in pitch, roof level or parapet height to break up the roof massing. Flat roofs shall not be visible, except if verandas, trellises, etc. are utilized. Roof features shall complement the character of adjoining neighborhoods and/or developments where applicable. All rooftop mechanical equipment must be screened from public view and the enclosure shall be designed to meet a minimum STC rating of 35, using materials and designs appropriate for the noise pitch. Parapets will feature three-dimensional cornice treatment. Parapet backing, if visible, must match the materials of the front elevation of the parapet. Roofs shall incorporate at least two of the following features:
(1) Overhanging eaves, extending no less than three (3) feet past the supporting walls.
(2) Sloping roofs that do not exceed the average height of the supporting walls, which utilize trusses and pillars.
(3) Multiple horizontal roof planes per building elevation.
(f) Building Materials and Colors. Building materials shall be of high quality. It is the applicant's responsibility to demonstrate that materials, systems, and their supporting connections, enclosures, joints, joint materials, ability to expand and contract, ability to maintain color and finish, long term durability and maintenance meet or exceed acceptable industry standards as accepted by the Planning Commission. The applicant shall provide all appropriate data, samples, and warranty information. The Planning Commission will consider new products, systems, and technologies, but retains discretion over their issue.
The use of brick or stone (including limestone and manufactured stone) is significant in the development’s community-wide acceptability and contextual appearance. Therefore, one or oth materials shall be utilized on every building facade. A minimum of 60 percent of every building front facade must be standard or utility sized brick or natural stone. Split face concrete block is not considered brick or stone and thus may not be used to meet the 60 percent requirement; however, it may be used for the remaining 40 percent. Other facades must have a minimum of thirty percent (30%) brick or stone. This required percentage may be increased if the development location warrants it.
Definitions.
“Brick” means ceramic structural material that is made by pressing clay into blocks and firing them to the requisite hardness in a kiln.
“Stonework” means natural stone that has been quarried, cut, dressed and finished.
“C.M.U.” means structural masonry made by mixing broken stone or gravel with sand, cement and water and allowing the mixture to harden in a solid mass.
The following materials are not acceptable:
(1) Standard concrete masonry units, such as concrete block, painted or unpainted, other than textured (split face) block.
(2) Vinyl or aluminum siding
(3) Wood siding and trim other than cedar
Tinting of glazing and the percentage of facade area devoted to glazing are both subject to review and approval by the Planning Commission.
Building materials and colors must contribute to the visual impact of a building. Therefore, they should be aesthetically pleasing and compatible with materials and colors used throughout the community. These shall be subdued low chroma colors, including grey, buff, beige, taupe, brown, and tan. "Corporate identity" or "logo" colors may not be used in any material colors unless they coincide with accepted colors. Business "logo colors" may be used sparingly in signage.
Facade and trim colors shall be of low reflectance, subtle, and neutral colors. The use of high intensity colors, metallic colors, black, or fluorescent colors is prohibited. Painted stripes or designs shall be avoided. Exposed neon tubing on the building is subject to review and approval by the Planning Commission.
(g) Rear and Side Facades. No structure is considered as having "front" and "rear" facades. The same quality of finish shall be utilized on all sides of the building. All facades will contribute to the scale and features of the building by featuring similar characteristics as the front facade.
(h) Miscellaneous Requirements. Loading areas and outdoor storage areas of large format retailers exert visual and noise impacts on surrounding areas. All of these areas must be completely screened or enclosed. Standards for these areas are summarized in the following:
(1) Storage, sales, truck parking, trash collection/compaction, loading, or other such uses must be fully screened.
(2) Storage, sales, trash collection/compaction, loading, or other such uses shall be located at least thirty-five (35) feet from a public street, public sidewalk, or internal pedestrian way, public or private.
(3) Loading docks, truck parking, storage, utility meters, HVAC equipment, trash collection/compaction, and other service functions shall be incorporated into the overall design of the building and the landscaping. The visual and noise impacts of these functions shall be fully contained/enclosed and out of view from adjacent properties and public/private streets. Attention shall not be attracted to these functions by the use of screening or building materials different from or inferior to the principal materials of the building and landscapes.
(4) No delivery, loading, trash removal, or other such operations should be permitted between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. when any part of the site is within five hundred (500) feet of residential uses. Trash collection containers shall have top enclosures. Violations of these policies will be handled by the Heath Police Department and the Code Enforcement Officer.
(5) Outdoor speakers are not permitted.
(6) The Planning Commission should will hours of operation and may restrict them at its discretion, if warranted. Twenty-four hour operation is strongly discouraged when any part of the site is within five hundred (500) feet of residential areas.
(Ord. 22-00. Passed 6-19-00.)