1.   General Description and Purposes of District. The Marina Overlay District is intended to foster river-oriented improvements, visual and physical river access, and encourage well-planned design along the riverfront to enhance the vision of the community. The proposed Marina Overlay District has been identified along U.S. 67 beginning just south of downtown and extending north up to the existing corporate limits. This district is intended to provide the community with better river access, increase business development along the riverfront, encourage community pride, and use of the riverfront, and eventually host a portion of the Mississippi River Trail connecting Bettendorf to LeClaire to Princeton.

   A.   To recognize, preserve, maintain, and promote economically viable uses that are a benefit to the City;

   B.   To maximize public benefit for further development of the riverfront area;

   C.   To provide for improved scenic and aesthetic controls;

   D.   To recognize the riverfront area as a visual, environmental, and recreational resource that affects and benefits the City as a whole;

   E.   To protect adjacent properties from the negative effects of incompatible development;

   F.   To establish a physically attractive pattern of development for the general welfare of the City. The MOD extends along the Mississippi River in the corporate limits of the City. The exact boundary of the MOD is delineated on the Official City Zoning Map. The Marina Overlay District regulations supplement and control (where inconsistent) the regulations of underlying district(s). All other applicable provisions and standards of the Zoning Code and other pertinent ordinances shall remain in effect.

2.   Principal Uses Permitted. All uses permitted by right in the underlying zoning district(s).

3.   Special Exceptions. The following principal uses may be permitted as special exceptions by the Board of Adjustment in accordance with the provisions contained herein:

   A.   All uses permitted by review by the Board of Adjustment in the underlying zoning district(s).

   B.   Any other uses deemed permitted by the Board of Adjustment.

4.   Height Regulations. No principal building or structure will exceed 35 feet in height, and no accessory structure will exceed the elevation of the principal building as verified by a State licensed professional engineer.

5.   Lot Area, Lot Width, and Yard Requirements. All requirements of the underlying zoning district(s) concerning lot area and yard depths shall remain applicable except where modified by the following sections.

6.   Density. All requirements of the underlying zoning district(s) concerning density shall remain applicable except where modified by the following sections.

7.   Floor Area Ration. All requirements of the underlying zoning district(s) concerning floor area ratio shall remain applicable except where modified by the following sections.

8.   Minimum Size of Dwelling. All requirements of the underlying zoning district(s) concerning dwelling size shall remain applicable except where modified by the following sections.

9.   Minimum Spacing Between Buildings. All requirements of the underlying zoning district(s) concerning minimum building spacing shall remain applicable except where modified by the following sections.

10.   Minimum Structure Width. All requirements of the underlying zoning district(s) concerning structure width shall remain applicable except where modified by the following sections.

11.   Public Space and Easements. For the benefit of the public, physical or visual access to or along the riverfront is encouraged. This will serve to provide open areas and vehicle-free areas for use by the general public. Given the path of adjacent railway, desired design standards also include visual access areas such as vistas, scenic overlooks, and open space plazas.

   A.   A public pedestrian easement should be located adjacent to the riverfront, if feasible, and not subject to excessive risks with unwarranted railway crossing.

      (1)   The easement should connect to any adjacent public pedestrian easement in a physically logical and efficient manner.

      (2)   Such pedestrian easements should be located in a safe and logical fashion and be usable by pedestrians or bicyclists.

      (3)   The City shall be responsible for the cost, installation, and maintenance of the asphalt surfacing, lighting, signage, security, and fencing where needed, and any other facilities and public space necessary for the public use along the riverfront.

      (4)   The developer, their successors, and assigns, if any, shall provide cross-easements for ingress and egress to interconnect parcels on the riverfront facing side of the property within the MOD when appropriate. In some cases, a street or drive connecting more than two parcels may be needed.

      (5)   Appropriate right-of-way easements for accommodating access to the riverfront shall be established with the platting of any and all parcels within the MOD. Maintenance responsibilities and City ingress and egress rights to said right-of-way shall be granted with any and all plats submitted. Public street right-of-way shall be dedicated to the public on the riverfront facing parcels in a coordinated and continuous manner in order to make full use of any and all pedestrian bridges or pedestrian-oriented infrastructure constructed within the district.

   B.   A public vista should be constructed to maintain, enhance, and develop river views from streets, paths and trails, and developed areas. Obstacles should be removed, and outdoor furnishings such as benches and informational and educational signs describing the scene or vista, should be provided.

   C.   A scenic overlook should be erected to provide panoramic views and specific focal points of the riverfront. Well-designed towers or raised platforms to enhance the overlook should be provided.

   D.   A plaza should be established to provide open space opportunities for passive recreation, often enclosed by either landscaping or buildings, and encouraged to complement existing land uses. Tiles lining the plaza may be artistically designed in a mosaic to tell river or community history.

12.   Development Incentives. To encourage the creation of public space along the riverfront, various developer incentives are offered upon the designation of public space and easements. These spaces shall be adjacent to the riverfront on the owners’ property, or an alternative location may be proposed, if that location is not possible.

   A.   For every 400 square feet of dedicated public space or pedestrian easement that is provided by the owner, the maximum building height allowable may be increased up to 45 feet for the principal building or structure. The granting of this increase shall also be dependent upon design and topographical considerations.

   B.   For every 400 square feet of dedicated public space or pedestrian easement that is provided by the owner, the required setbacks from public right-of-way may be varied as long as design, floodplain, safety, topographic, and view considerations are satisfactorily addressed; provided, however, the setback may not be reduced to less than 10 feet.

   C.   For every 400 square feet of dedicated public space or pedestrian easement that is provided by the owner, one parking space may be deducted from the required parking total. This provision shall not apply to residential use within the MOD.

13.   Buffer Yard Restrictions. Landscaped areas or buffer yards that obstruct the view to the Mississippi River are not permitted, unless granted approval by the Board of Adjustment.

14.   Architectural Standards. Mixed-use buildings and commercial development must demonstrate that it promotes and enhances attractive, stimulating, and visually compatible design by the following:

   A.   Any building façade oriented to the public view shall provide ground floor transparent windows to allow visual access into and out of the building;

   B.   Primary entrances shall open on to a street or interior courtyard.

   C.   Building frontages along streets shall break any flat, monolithic façade by including architectural features such as, but not limited to, bay windows, recessed entrances, fluted masonry, fenestration, cornices, or other articulation so as to provide visual interest and a pedestrian scale to the first floor.

   D.   Multi-story buildings shall extend the same architectural features above the ground floor level through variations in design, detail, and proportion, and by avoiding designs featuring a monolithic street façade.

15.   Marina Overlay District (Areas Defined on Map). The Marina Overlay District is hereby established within the City, as defined by the corresponding map in the Zoning Code. The Marina District is located along U.S. 67 beginning just south of downtown, and then extending north up to the existing corporate limits.