Laurel Springs City Zoning Code
ARTICLE V
P/O Professional Office/Residential Zone
§ 270-25 Purpose; permitted uses.
The purpose of this zone is to permit the use or erection of buildings for either residential use or mixed use of professional office and residence in one building. Within this zone, no lot or building shall be used, and no building shall be erected or altered to be used, in whole or in part, unless it complies with the regulations set forth herein. The following principal uses shall be permitted in the professional office/residential zone:
A.
A single detached one-family dwelling house, in connection with which there may be a private garage if consistent with § 270-26. There shall be no more than one single detached one-family dwelling on a single lot.
B.
Accessory uses incidental or subordinate to a single detached one-family dwelling.
C.
Residential uses mixed with professional offices, provided that the professional office shall be located only on the first floor of the building and shall meet the following criteria:
(1)
There shall be no physical evidence of said office use from the exterior of the building.
(2)
The remodeling of any residential building in order to create an impression of business activity is prohibited.
(3)
Separate entrances and exits shall be provided for residential and non-residential portions of the building.
(4)
The owner of the building shall be an occupant.
§ 270-26 Accessory uses.
The following accessory uses shall be permitted in this zone:
A.
Fences and walls (See § 270-55).
B.
Signs (See § 270-59).
C.
A detached garage of not more than a two-car capacity, used solely by the persons living in the dwelling house, and a building for housing garden tools, provided that such garage or building is on the same lot as the dwelling house or on a lot contiguous thereto. No such accessory building shall be constructed upon a lot until the construction of the dwelling house has been commenced, nor shall an accessory building be used unless the dwelling house has been completed and put into use. No such accessory building shall exceed 450 square feet, and it will be a maximum height of not more than 24 feet to the peak of the roof measured from the average grade line perimetering the building to the top of the main roof cornice line. The height of the accessory building shall not be greater than 75% of the height of the principal structure.
D.
Public utility installations, subject to the following special requirements:
(1)
There shall be no storage of materials and trucks and no repair facilities or staging of repair crews except within completely enclosed buildings.
(2)
The exterior of any structure shall be in keeping with the other structures in the immediate neighborhood.
§ 270-27 Design considerations for permitted uses.
Design considerations for permitted uses shall be as follows:
A.
Parking and service areas.
(1)
Parking shall be screened from adjacent residential properties with grass, shrubs, trees, fences and/or earthen berms to protect residential properties from parking lot illumination and headlight glare, automobile fumes and noise.
(2)
Curbing or curb stops shall be provided in all off-street parking areas and along all accessways.
(3)
Off-street parking areas and accessways thereto shall be properly drained, and all such areas shall have a paved hard surface.
(4)
All off-street parking areas and accessways shall be so arranged that vehicles may be turned on the lot so that it is not necessary to back into any roadway. Parking shall only be located in the rear of the property.
(5)
Common or joint driveway access and parking to the rear of sites is encouraged.
(6)
Access driveways onto major thoroughfares shall be permitted only if alternatives, including side or rear access and common or shared single access driveways, have been considered by the Board.
(7)
Where appropriate, impervious parking coverage shall be limited to the extent possible by the use of parking in or under buildings, the elimination of excess paving, grassed landbank parking and the use of permeable surfaces for paving.
(8)
Parking areas shall be designed to minimize pedestrian and moving vehicle conflicts. Pedestrian walkways, parking lot islands, signage and pavement texture differentiation shall be required by the Board to ensure the safe movement of pedestrians.
(9)
Every structure erected, designed, or altered for occupancy by any use permitted in this section shall provide an entrance and access at the rear of the building for the loading and unloading of delivery trucks.
B.
Building design and use.
(1)
The treatment of side and rear walls of any building materials shall be similar to the treatment of the front facade.
(2)
The display of merchandise or nonpermanent uses and/or articles, e.g., vending machines placed on the exterior premises of any building is prohibited.
(3)
All buildings shall have a unified architectural treatment, whether constructed as new or an additional structure physically and aesthetically integrated with the existing structure. The Board shall consider in its architectural review items such as materials, colors, building setbacks, facade treatments and building height and shall encourage the revitalization of existing structures to ensure compatibility with proposed building additions.
C.
Site design and building layout.
(1)
The site design layout of buildings and parking areas shall be reviewed so as to provide an aesthetically pleasing design and efficient arrangement. Particular attention shall be given to safety and fire protection, impact on surrounding development and contiguous and adjacent buildings and lands.
(2)
To promote a desirable visual environment and to ensure a good civic design, the Board in its review shall consider, but not be limited in its consideration of, visual impacts of the proposed development, including views and view interference, shadow effects, noise impacts and design compatibility with surrounding uses.
D.
General design requirement. Any new facade or change in the facade of an existing building shall be reviewed by the Board for evaluation of architectural design.
§ 270-28 Area and bulk regulations.
A.
Lot area and width. A lot area of not less than 9,000 square feet shall be provided for every single detached one-family dwelling hereafter erected. Each lot on which a single detached one-family dwelling is or shall be erected shall have a width of not less than 60 feet at the building line.
B.
Lot coverage. The maximum lot coverage, including all structures, shall not be greater than 50% of the gross lot area.
C.
Front yard. A front yard shall be provided. The front setback shall be not less than those setbacks established for buildings on either side of the lot in question, whichever of those is the greater, and in any event not less than 25 feet. In the case of a corner lot or any other lot abutting two streets, for purposes of determining setback, each yard abutting a street shall be considered a front yard.
D.
Side yards. Each dwelling shall have a yard on each side, which shall be not less than 20 feet wide in the aggregate and neither of which shall be less than 10 feet wide.
E.
Rear yard. There shall be a rear yard of not less than 25 feet, measured from the rearmost portion of the main building to the rear property line, including all decks, patios and additions attached to the main building.
F.
Outbuildings. Outbuildings shall not be considered in connection with the rear yard. They shall be constructed so as to not protrude into the front yard and shall not be constructed closer than five feet to any property line.
G.
Height. A principal dwelling shall not have a greater height than 2 1/2 stories or 35 feet, measured from the average grade line perimetering the building to the top of the main roof cornice line, excluding necessary utility-type roof structures.
