Lower Mount Bethel Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
PART 8
MUO - MIXED USE OVERLAY DISTRICT
§ 27-801 Purpose.
[Ord. No. 2022-02, 7/11/2022]
The purpose of the MUO - Mixed Use Overlay District is to provide for optional development of modest-scale primarily non-residential uses serving the residents of Lower Mount Bethel and the travelling public, in response to its location along Pennsylvania Route 611 and the Delaware River. The MUO overlays areas otherwise zoned LD or I and does not affect use of the base zoning provisions in those districts. The options afforded by the MUO are all subject to conditional use approval.
§ 27-802 Use Regulations.
[Ord. No. 2022-02, 7/11/2022]
1.
Uses Permitted as Conditional Use. One or more buildings or other structure may be erected, altered, or used, and a lot may be used or occupied, for any of the following principal uses or combination thereof, together with permitted accessory uses, where approved by the Board of Supervisors as a conditional use pursuant to § 27-1705:
A.
Retail use.
B.
Business or professional offices, medical and dental clinics.
C.
Bank or other financial institutions.
D.
Barber shop, beauty shop, self-service laundry or dry-cleaning establishment or pickup agency, tailor or dressmaking shop, or other personal service store or shop.
E.
General servicing or repair shop such as watch, clock, radio, television or other home appliance repair.
F.
Restaurant, cafe, tavern or other place serving food and beverage, excluding fast-food restaurant and drive-through service.
H.
Short-term lodging facilities within single-family detached dwellings subject to the standards of § 27-1527.
J.
Museum.
L.
Public swimming pool.
M.
Commercial recreational facilities such as bowling lanes, miniature golf courses, or other similar commercial recreation establishments.
N.
Single-stage or screen theater.
O.
Hotel or motel.
R.
Religious retreat with overnight accommodations for non-residents of the facility.
S.
Membership club, excluding club for gunning, trap shooting, trapping or other similar purpose, subject to the standards of § 27-1522.
T.
One dwelling unit for each separate commercial use in a commercial building.
V.
Nursing home, convalescent home or assisted living residence, or other similar use subject to the standards of § 27-1523.
W.
Live-work units.
2.
Accessory Uses. The following accessory uses shall be permitted, where in compliance with all applicable provisions of Part 15 and provided that they shall be incidental to any of the uses permitted by conditional use in this MUO-Mixed Use Overlay District:
A.
Private garage or private parking area.
C.
Uses or structures customarily incidental to a permitted recreational use such as parking areas, refreshment stands, concessions, fireplaces, pavilions, and picnic tables, provided that such accessory uses are operated only when the main use is open and are being used in conjunction with the main use.
E.
No-impact home-based business.
H.
Private noncommercial swimming pool.
I.
Alternative or renewable energy systems accessory to a permitted use and not for commercial energy production subject to the provisions set forth in Part 12.
K.
Other customary accessory structures and uses.
§ 27-803 Area and Bulk Regulations.
[Ord. No. 2022-02, 7/11/2022]
1.
Where sewage disposal is supplied by an individual on-site system, regardless of water supply:
A.
Minimum lot area: four acres.
B.
Minimum lot width at street line: 50 feet.
D.
Minimum front yard setback from ultimate right-of-way for all structures, except in the case of permitted flag lots where the setback shall be measured from the end of the flag: 30 feet.
E.
Minimum side yard, principal structures where not attached (each side): 10 feet. For attached structures, no side yard is required where there is a common property line at the attached portion of the buildings. The minimum side yard is required between any non-attached side of any structure and any adjacent, non-common, side lot line.
F.
Minimum side yard, accessory structures (each side) 10 feet, except where the height of the accessory structure is less than 10 feet, the minimum side yard may be reduced to a distance not less than equal to the height of the accessory structure. No side yard shall be reduced to less than five feet nor shall any accessory structure be placed in any perimeter drainage or utility easement.
H.
Minimum rear yard, principal structures: 30 feet.
I.
Minimum rear yard, accessory structures: not less than equal to the height of the accessory structure. No rear yard shall be reduced to less than five feet nor shall any accessory structure be placed in any perimeter drainage or utility easement.
J.
Maximum percentage of impervious surface: 50%.
L.
Maximum building height, accessory structures: 25 feet.
§ 27-804 Design Standards Specific to This District.
[Ord. No. 2022-02, 7/11/2022]
1.
The purpose of the following design standards is to promote site design, access design, and building design which emulates traditional rural development patterns, avoiding visual dominance of single large buildings, particularly large single-story buildings arranged linearly along parking lot(s):
A.
Any land development may have only one intersection with or access point along PA Route 611.
B.
Any land development shall result in a massing and grouping of structures, including facade treatment and use of materials, that reflects traditional rural building forms and complements the character of the surrounding area. Landscaping, pedestrian walks or paths, parking, signage and other improvements shall demonstrate a cohesive design pattern for the entire lot or tract under application.
C.
Pedestrian access within any land development shall be designed to provide convenient, safe, and direct access between the various uses within the district.
D.
Parking areas shall be designed and landscaped so as to appear broken in mass, in proportion to the scale of structural development.
E.
No more than one freestanding sign shall be permitted along the frontage of PA Route 611 for each lot or tract subject to land development. Such sign(s) shall serve as a directory to uses on the lot or tract. Additional individual signs may be mounted to the building or structure housing each use. All signs shall be designed, constructed and mounted in accordance with § 27-1413.
F.
Screen landscaping shall be required pursuant to § 27-1408, Subsection D., except that gaps in the screen shall be permitted to offer visual access to businesses in this District along the Delaware River Valley Scenic Byway (PA Route 611 frontage), so long as screen landscaping pursuant to § 27-1408, Subsection D., adequately buffers direct view from the Byway of parking lots and of buildings larger than 15,000 square feet in gross first floor area or single building facades greater than 80 feet in length where permitted.
G.
A generally central green space of at least 1/4 acre in size shall be provided as a visual focal point for the development and as a place for public gathering. The central green space may include hardscape landscaping to facilitate its use as deemed appropriate by the Board of Supervisors.
H.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to mix uses with complementary parking requirements (i.e., where differential timing of peak parking demand permits the same parking area to support more than one use).
I.
Uses which may involve second and third story space are encouraged in order to replicate traditional rural structural development patterns. In such cases, the Board of Supervisors may permit roof structures which exceed the thirty-five-foot height limit, where the Board of Supervisors agrees that such structures enhance the appearance of the overall design.
J.
Not more than 15% of the gross lot or tract area shall be occupied by structures less than 1 1/2 stories in height. For this purpose, 1/2 story shall mean a roof-story with sufficient height and space within the form of a pitched roof to permit the development of habitable or leasable space, whether or not any actually is proposed for development.
K.
Principal residential dwellings (e.g., apartments) over top of nonresidential uses are NOT subject to any further limitation beyond area, bulk and height limitations otherwise applicable to the use(s) which they are on top of.
L.
Individual Building Size Limitations. For purposes of this subsection, an individual building shall be considered as a space or contiguous spaces under one roof fully separated from any other building by setbacks as provided in § 27-803, Subsection 1.H. above.
(1)
Maximum individual building size, gross first floor area 11,000 square feet. One or more buildings larger than 11,000 square feet in gross floor area may be permitted, where applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Board of Supervisors that the design of the building(s) and the relationship(s) to surrounding buildings and landscaped areas mitigates any negative impacts of large building size on the character of this district. Mitigating factors may include arrangement of adjacent buildings, parking, and pedestrian areas and/or obvious offset in building height or facade design such that the visible or perceived size of individual buildings is generally in keeping with local historical precedent.
(2)
Where any individual building facade (or adjoining facades which abut flush to the same building line) is visible from any public right-of-way or public space (including internal public spaces within a development) and exceeds 80 feet in length, there shall be a clear dimensional differentiation of roofline (i.e., an obvious difference in height) and/or an offset in facade of at least 10 feet, effectively breaking the single facade into two or more facades each no more than 80 feet in length. Single facades greater than 80 feet in length may be permitted, where applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Board of Supervisors that the design of the building and its relationship(s) to surrounding buildings and landscaped areas mitigate any negative impacts of long continuous building facade(s) on the character of this district and its surroundings. Mitigating factors may include design which emulates characteristic historical building forms which typically included relatively long individual facade lengths such as barns, stables, or churches. Building arrangements which rely on repeated use of the same long facade element shall not be approved.
§ 27-805 Other Standards.
[Ord. No. 2022-02, 7/11/2022]
All uses shall comply with all other applicable standards in this chapter and all other applicable ordinances or regulations.