Lee City Zoning Code
ARTICLE III
Special Overlay Districts
§ 199-3.1 Adaptive Reuse Overlay District (AROD).
A.
Purpose of district. The purpose of the Adaptive Reuse Overlay District (AROD) is to:
(1)
Provide specific regulations allowing for the reuse of privately owned buildings, municipal buildings, and public and private school buildings and as defined in § 199-3.1B below.
(2)
Allow for the reuse of existing buildings as defined above throughout the Town to increase the Town's overall tax base, create employment opportunities and ensure efficient use of municipal services so as to not create an undue burden on them.
(3)
Ensure that such uses are compatible with their surroundings.
(4)
Maximize the use of the site's natural characteristics.
B.
Eligibility for conversion.
(1)
C.
Scope of authority.
(1)
The AROD is superimposed over rather than replacing the underlying zoning districts. The regulations of this overlay district shall govern all reconstruction or expansion of privately owned buildings, municipal buildings and public and private school buildings as defined in § 199-3.1B above. Provisions of § 199-3.1 shall supersede those of Article IV, Use Regulations, and Article V, Intensity Regulations, in this chapter. On all other matters, the provisions of the underlying districts shall continue.
D.
Uses permitted.
(1)
Uses allowed by right. Any uses permitted by right in the underlying zoning district in which the structure is located shall be permitted by right.
(2)
Uses allowed by special permit. The following uses are allowed by special permit and subject to site plan review:
(a)
Assisted living.
(b)
Senior housing.
(c)
Nursing home.
(d)
Multiple dwelling.
(e)
Professional or administrative offices.
(f)
Elder care facility.
(g)
Community recreational center or personal training centers.
(h)
Medical clinic, dental office, veterinarian office, and ancillary offices and facilities.
(i)
Senior center, community center or conference center with meeting rooms.
(j)
Studios for art, drama, speech or dance.
(k)
Retail sales where the sales area is not more than 10% of the total floor space of primary use and such sales are incidental to the primary use.
(l)
Research and development uses, including ancillary office use and electronic and computer laboratories, but not including ancillary manufacturing, assembly, sale or resale or storage for sale or resale of any goods, items, or material.
(m)
Municipal use.
(3)
Multiple or mixed uses. Any combination of uses allowed by right in § 199-3.1D(1) and uses allowed by special permit in § 199-3.1D(2) may be allowed, provided they are compatible with each other and maintain the public health, safety and welfare of the community.
E.
Development standards.
(1)
The lot area, lot frontage, coverage and setback requirements of the underlying districts shall govern development in the AROD. The SPGA may waive these requirements if the building meets the eligibility requirements in § 199-3.1B and the reuse of the building necessitates enhancements, which are not designed to increase the building capacity, but are required to make the building functional for the intended new use (i.e., lighting, elevator, railings, heating and cooling ducts, etc.) and the converted premises will be adequately landscaped in a way that promotes harmony with the neighborhood.
(2)
Off-street parking spaces and loading and unloading spaces shall conform to the provisions of Article VIII. The SPGA may grant waivers if existing parking does not meet current parking requirements and additional space would be a detriment to the compatibility of the use with neighborhood character.
(3)
All proposed signs shall comply with Article VII of this chapter, excepting that if the building and land on which situated are located in a single-family district, the special permit granting authority may permit a sign of no larger than six square feet which identifies only the building and its occupants.
F.
Additional conditions.
(1)
The SPGA may attach such additional conditions and limitations to a special permit granted under this section as may be necessary to protect the neighborhood surrounding the property, and as may be necessary to encourage the most appropriate use of the land and building to be converted.
§ 199-3.2 Floodplain District.
A.
Purpose. The purposes of the Floodplain District are to protect the public health, safety and general welfare; to protect human life and property from hazards of periodic flooding; to preserve the natural flood-control characteristics and flood storage capacity of the floodplain; and to preserve and maintain the groundwater table and water recharge areas within the floodplain.
B.
District delineation.
(1)
The general boundaries of the Floodplain District are shown on the Lee Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) dated June 1, 1982, as Zones A and A1-30 to indicate the 100-year floodplain. The exact boundaries of the district are defined by the 100-year water surface elevations shown on the FIRM and further defined by the flood profiles contained in the Flood Insurance Study dated June 1, 1982. The floodway boundaries are delineated on the Town of Lee Floodway Boundary Floodway Map (FBFM) dated June 1, 1982, and further defined by the floodway data tables contained in the Hood Insurance Study. These two maps, as well as the accompanying study, are incorporated herein by reference and are on file with the Town Clerk, Conservation Commission, Planning Board, Building Commissioner and the Board of Selectmen.
(2)
Within Zone A, where the 100-year flood elevation is not provided on the FIRM, the developer/applicant shall obtain any existing flood elevation data, and it shall be reviewed by the Building Commissioner. If the data is sufficiently detailed and accurate, it shall be relied upon to require compliance with this chapter and the State Building Code.
C.
Use regulations. The Floodplain District is established as an overlay district to all other districts. All development, including structural and nonstructural activities, whether permitted by right or special permit, must be in compliance with MGL c. 131, § 40, and with the requirements of the Massachusetts State Building Code pertaining to construction in the floodplain.
(1)
Permitted uses. The following uses of low flood damage potential and causing no obstructions to flood flows shall be allowed, provided that they are permitted in the underlying district or in Article IX, Supplemental Use Regulations. The following uses must not require permanent structures, fill or permanent storage of materials or equipment:
(a)
Agricultural uses such as farming, grazing, truck farming, horticulture, etc.
(b)
Forestry and nursery uses.
(c)
Outdoor recreational uses, including fishing, boating, play areas, etc.
(d)
Conservation of water, plants and wildlife.
(e)
Wildlife management areas and footpaths, bicycle paths and/or horse paths.
(f)
Temporary nonresidential structures used in connection with fishing, boating, play areas, growing, harvesting, storage or sale of crops raised on the premises.
(g)
Buildings lawfully existing prior to the adoption of these provisions.
(2)
Special permits. No structure or building shall be erected, constructed, substantially improved or otherwise created or moved, and no earth or other materials shall be dumped, filled, excavated or transferred unless a special permit is granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals. Said Board may issue a special permit hereunder (subject to other applicable provisions of this chapter) if the application is compliant with the following provisions:
(a)
The proposed use shall comply in all respects with the provisions of the underlying district.
(b)
Within 10 days of receipt of the application, the Board shall transmit one copy of the development plan to the Conservation Commission, Planning Board, Board of Health, Building Commissioner and Board of Public Works. Final action shall not be taken until reports have been received from the above Boards or until 35 days have elapsed.
(c)
All encroachments, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements to existing structures and other developments, are prohibited unless certification by a registered professional engineer is provided by the applicant, demonstrating that such encroachment shall not result in an increase in flood levels during the occurrence of the 100-year flood.
(d)
The Board may specify such additional requirements and conditions it finds necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public and the occupants of the proposed use.
(e)
In Zone AO, any new construction and any substantial improvements to existing buildings or structures must, in addition to the above requirements, comply with the following:
[1]
Residential structures shall have the lowest floor (including basement) elevated above the crown of the nearest street to or above the depth number specified on the Town of Lee FIRM.
[2]
Nonresidential structures shall have the lowest floor (including basement) elevated above the crown of the nearest street or above the depth number specified on the community's FIRM or be floodproofed to or above that level. The term "floodproofed" is defined to mean watertight with walls substantially impermeable to the passage of water and with structural components having the capability of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and effects of buoyancy.