Leonardtown City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IX
C-SC Commercial Shopping Center District
§ 155-38 Intent.
This district is created to permit the development of commercial shopping centers in scale with surrounding market areas in accordance with the standards set forth herein. These centers shall serve areas not already conveniently and adequately provided with commercial service facilities of the kind proposed. It is intended to permit the establishment of such districts only where planned centers with carefully organized buildings, service areas, parking areas and landscaped open space will clearly serve demonstrated public needs, reduce marginal traffic friction below that which would result from strip commercial development along highways and protect property values in surrounding neighborhoods. It is further intended that commercial shopping centers shall provide a broad range of facilities and services appropriate to the general need of the area served.
§ 155-39 Concept development plan.
A.
Any application or request for rezoning to a Commercial Shopping Center District shall be accompanied by a concept development plan, with drawings at a scale of not less than one inch equals 100 feet.
B.
A concept development plan shall contain the following:
(1)
A vicinity map at a scale of not less than one inch to 2,000 feet.
(2)
Adjacent property owners and zoning districts.
(3)
Existing land uses of adjoining tracts.
(4)
Existing and proposed streets and highways, including names.
(5)
Locations, descriptions and analyses of present and projected utilities, such as water, sewers, refuse disposal and utilities which would serve the subject site.
(6)
Projected sale prices and estimated gross value of development.
(7)
A development schedule and projected market absorption, approximate dates for beginning and completion of each phase and estimated cost of each phase of development.
(8)
The percentage of the site devoted to buildings, open space, streets and parking area and estimated total floor area of all structures.
(9)
A plan showing proposed generalized parking arrangements.
(10)
A plan or report indicating the extent and timing of all off-site improvements, such as roads, sewer and drainage facilities necessary to the construction of the shopping center. Such plan or report shall relate to the sequence of development.
(11)
A report showing the fiscal impact of the proposed shopping center on the Town.
§ 155-40 Site development plan.
A.
A site development plan, with drawings at a scale of not less than one inch equals 50 feet, must be submitted and approved prior to issuance of permits for construction. This plan may be submitted in phases with the approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
B.
Site development plans shall contain the following:
(1)
A vicinity map at a scale of not less than one inch to 2,000 feet.
(2)
Adjacent property owners and zoning districts.
(3)
Existing land uses of adjoining tracts.
(4)
Existing and proposed streets and highways, including names, present and projected conditions and capacity of the street network.
(5)
The location, description and analysis of present and projected utilities which would serve the subject site.
(6)
Boundary survey and legal description of property, including total area of the site.
(7)
Topographic map with minimum contour intervals of two feet and a scale consistent with the site development plan.
(8)
Evidence of marketable interest in the property, including title insurance policy or similar document showing owner or owners, marketable title and source of applicants' interest in property.
(9)
Slope analysis.
(10)
Watercourses and drainage area.
(11)
Natural features, such as marshes, trees, general soil condition and similar conditions.
(12)
On-site features, such as structures, roads, utilities, easements or rights-of-way.
(13)
Projected sale prices and estimated gross value of development.
(14)
Development schedule and projected market absorption, approximate dates for beginning and completion of each phase and estimated cost of each phase of development.
(15)
Land use plan or plans showing location and arrangement of all proposed land uses, heights of buildings, setbacks and side yards, proposed internal and external traffic circulation (including widths, driveways and access), pedestrian circulation, lighting, proposed open space, dedication and easements.
(16)
General landscaping and screening plan showing general types, location and design of landscaping and screening.
(17)
Covenants, restrictions and conditions pertaining to the use, maintenance and operation of common open space.
(18)
Percentage of site devoted to buildings, open space, streets and parking areas and total floor area of all structures.
(19)
A plan showing proposed parking arrangements.
(20)
Architectural sketches of typical proposed structures, typical landscaping and screening areas and typical development clusters.
(21)
A plan or report indicating the extent, timing and estimated cost of all off-site improvements, such as roads and sewer and drainage facilities necessary to the construction of the planned development. Such plan or report shall relate to the sequence of development.
(22)
A report or plan showing the adequacy of public facilities and services such as water, sewer, drainage, streets and roads to serve the proposed development.
(23)
A report showing the fiscal impact of the proposed development on the Town.
(24)
General plan for sedimentation and erosion control.
(25)
Plan for stormwater management.
C.
Any site development plan or any portion thereof involving the practice of engineering, architecture or land surveying shall be prepared and certified, respectively, by an engineer, architect, landscape architect or land surveyor duly authorized by the State of Maryland to practice as such. A site development plan may be prepared in one or more sheets to show clearly the information required by this section and to facilitate the review and approval of the plan. If prepared in more than one sheet, match lines shall clearly indicate where the several sheets join. Every site development plan shall show the name and address of the owner and/or developer, North point, date and scale of the drawing, the number of sheets and existing zoning.
§ 155-41 Permitted uses.
No building or premises shall be erected, structurally altered, enlarged or maintained nor shall any land be used, except for the following purposes:
A.
Retail sales and services.
B.
Offices and office buildings, theaters, banks and financial institutions, real estate, insurance, medical and dental offices.
C.
Eating and drinking establishments.
D.
Motels and hotels.
E.
Gas-and-go-type automobile filling stations.
F.
Automotive service centers, not to include sales of automotive fuels, major repair work such as engine overhauls, paint and body work or the outside storage of vehicles.
G.
Personal services such as beauty, barber, dry-cleaning establishments and drugstores.
H.
Grocery stores and variety stores.
I.
Similar uses which are customarily located in commercial shopping centers, subject to the approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
§ 155-42 Regulations.
A.
Minimum yard and lot requirements.
(1)
Front yard. A minimum front yard of 30 feet shall be established from the street right-of-way line for all C-SC Districts. The front yard shall be landscaped and not utilized for any building, structure, use or parking area except for permissible identification signs.
(2)
Side yard. A minimum side yard of 20 feet shall be maintained between any structure, use, parking area or driveway and the side lot of adjacent properties. When C-SC side yards adjoin residential districts, the minimum side yard shall be 100 feet.
(3)
Maximum lot coverage. No more than 30% of the buildable area of any lot in any C-SC District shall be occupied by structures.
B.
Open space. Minimum landscaped open space on any individual lot shall be not less than 10% of the buildable area of the lot. Such landscaped open space may be used in part to buffer and shield adjoining residential districts from adverse effects of shopping center operation and to enhance landscaping in parking areas.
C.
Vehicular and pedestrian entrances and exits. Principal vehicular access for the general public shall be from major streets. Vehicular access from minor streets through residential neighborhoods shall generally be avoided but, where permitted, shall be so located, designed and controlled as to be primarily for convenience of residents of adjoining residential areas and not for general public access. Pedestrian access may be provided at any suitable location within the district but shall, as a general rule, be separated from vehicular access points in order to reduce congestion, marginal friction and hazards. Service drives, turnout lanes and merging lanes may be required at principal vehicular access points by the Planning and Zoning Commission, with length and width appropriate to the anticipated flow of traffic. Traffic separation devices may be required by the Planning and Zoning Commission at such entrances and exits and along service drives, turnouts or merging lanes.
D.
Access. C-SC Districts shall have frontage and access to major arterials and intermediate arterials.
E.
Site planning: external relationships.
(1)
Commercial and service uses and structures and their parking areas shall be oriented toward major arterials, secondary arterials or collector streets and oriented away from adjacent minor streets in residential neighborhoods or adjacent residential neighborhoods that are not separated from the district by streets.
(2)
Landscaping or other devices shall be used to screen surrounding residential districts from undesirable views into the C-SC Districts and to screen the C-SC Districts from undesirable external exposures.
(3)
In particular, all service and loading areas shall be screened from view of public streets and from first-floor windows in adjacent residential districts. Parking areas for more than 10 automobiles shall, insofar as reasonably possible, be screened from similar view by landscaping, fences, walls or relation to buildings.
F.
Site planning: internal relationships. Commercial buildings shall be so grouped in relation to parking areas that after customers arriving by automobile enter the shopping center, establishments can be visited with a minimum of internal automotive movement. Facilities and access routes for deliveries, servicing and maintenance shall, so far as reasonably practicable, be separated from customer access routes and parking areas. Areas where deliveries to customers in automobiles are to be made or where services are to be provided for automobiles shall be so located and arranged as to prevent interference with pedestrian traffic within the center.
(1)
Sites should be developed in a coordinated manner to complement adjacent structures through placement, architecture and size or mass. Where possible, commercial uses requiring floor areas in excess of 10,000 square feet should be designed to appear as several distinct, albeit attached, structures, each with a floor area no greater than 6,000 square feet to reduce the visual impact of a single, larger building mass in keeping with the scale of existing structures in Leonardtown.
(2)
Whenever possible, commercial buildings on the same site should be clustered and incorporate plazas, courtyards, pocket parks, and other pedestrian use areas.
(3)
Sites occupied by commercial uses should be designed to avoid the appearance of domination by automobiles. Positive methods to achieve this guideline include:
(a)
Orienting buildings to fronting streets and placing some of the parking at the rear and/or sides;
(b)
Designing the required parking area into a series of smaller, discrete, connected lots rather than a large, uninterrupted parking lot(s);
(c)
Providing well-defined pedestrian walkways through parking areas and from public sidewalks into the site. Well-defined walkways utilize pavers, changes in color, texture, and composition of paving materials and vertical plantings such as trees and shrubs. The minimum width of walkways should be five feet.
G.
Building design.
(1)
Buildings should reflect an individual design that has considered site location, conditions, intended use, and the character/building mass of surrounding development. Building designs should reflect an individual style and form and not merely current trends.
(2)
A consistent visual identity should be applied to all sides of buildings visible to the general public. All sides should have an equivalent level of quality of materials, detailing and window placement. Abrupt ending of architectural details should be avoided with no radical change in details, features or materials.
(3)
Large buildings should avoid long, blank, uninterrupted walls. Positive methods to achieve this objective include building wall offsets regarding modulation, changes in colors and materials, placement of windows and doors, use of porches, porticos or canopies, changes in floor level, and projections that provide building shadows that visually break up long, flat building facades.
(4)
Large buildings should avoid long, blank, uninterrupted roof planes. Positive methods to achieve this objective include height variations to give the appearance of distinct elements or offsets in the roof line to provide architectural interest and variety to the massing of the building and to relieve the effect of a single, long roof.
(5)
Large buildings should use modulation (defined as a measured setback or offset in a building face) to reduce overall bulk and mass. The planes of exterior walls should not run in one continuous direction more than 50 to 60 feet without an offset or setback. Offsets should be a minimum of 3 to 5 feet.
(6)
Large buildings should use articulation in a clear rhythm to reduce their perceived size. Articulation is the giving of emphasis to architectural elements (like windows, entries, balconies, etc.) that create a complementary pattern of rhythm, dividing large buildings into smaller identifiable pieces. Articulation in the form of doors, windows and other framed building openings that articulate architectural elements break up the look of a long, blank wall.
(7)
Buildings facing streets should incorporate pedestrian-scaled entrances. Pedestrian-scaled entrances are those that provide an expression of human activity or use in relation to building size. Doors, windows, entrances and other features should be designed to respond to the size of the human body and not give the appearance of anonymity or overwhelming the building's users.
(8)
Building design should incorporate traditional building materials such as masonry, stone, heavy timbers, brick or other natural-appearing materials.
(9)
Building colors should accent, blend with, or complement surroundings. Bright or brilliant colors should be reserved for trim and accents.
(10)
Outdoor storage areas, mechanical equipment and trash receptacles should not be visible from adjacent streets and pedestrian walkways. The method of screening such areas from view should be architecturally integrated with the building with respect to materials, shape and size.
(11)
Materials used for site features such as fences, screen walls, and signs should be appropriate to the zone district where the development is located and should complement building design through materials, color, shape and size.
H.
The Mayor and Council may modify the strict application of all the preceding standards where it is felt that such would further the objectives of this chapter.