Lower Pottsgrove Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XX
IN Interchange District 1
§ 250-141 Declaration of legislative intent.
In expansion of the legislative intent contained in § 250-3 of this chapter and the community development objectives contained in § 250-5 of this chapter, it is hereby declared to be the intent of this article to provide appropriate locations for commercial and limited industrial usage to serve the Township and region. Further, it is the intent of this article to:
A.
Provide regulations specifically tailored to permit the development of commercial, office, warehouse and limited industrial uses typically found at an interchange area.
B.
Allow for the sharing of services and infrastructure such as parking and accessways.
C.
Prevent excessive curb cuts and regulate the number of ingress and egress points.
D.
Prevent the development of the interchange beyond the capability of the roads to handle the traffic generated by such development.
E.
Provide for the harmonious mixture of uses and the future economic vitality of the interchange area.
§ 250-142 Use regulations.
[Amended 6-7-1993 by Ord. No. 184; 7-22-1999 by Ord. No. 215; 12-16-1999 by Ord. No. 216]
In an IN Interchange District a building may be erected, altered or used or a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following purposes:
A.
Retail establishment for sale of dry goods, variety merchandise, clothing, food, beverages, flowers and plants, drugs, furnishings or household supplies and similar uses.
B.
Business or professional office, studio for dance, art, music or photography.
C.
Indoor theater, bowling alley.
D.
New automobile sales and service agency, including used car lot and repair shop adjacent to and in connection therewith.
E.
Club, fraternal organization, lodge.
F.
Restaurant, tea room or cafe serving food or beverage.
G.
Drive-in or fast-food restaurant. Drive-through areas shall comply with the following requirements.
H.
Wholesaling, storage and sales of lumber, plumbing and other building materials and supplies.
I.
Office or warehouse uses as permitted in the LI Limited Industry District.
J.
Farm and garden supply center.
K.
Any use of the same general character as those listed above when approved by the Board of Commissioners as a conditional use.
L.
Gasoline filling stations, either stand-alone or in conjunction with convenience retail stores or fast-food establishments, shall be permitted as a conditional use in compliance with the following requirements:
(1)
Minimum setback of fuel pumps from the front yard setback line shall be 25 feet.
(2)
Fuel pumps shall not interfere with parking spaces or internal circulation and shall be located 30 feet from any parking area.
(4)
Canopies shall be designed and constructed to meet the following standards:
(a)
Canopies shall conform to the required setback for principal structures.
(b)
Canopies shall have a maximum height of 16 feet measured to the underside.
(c)
Canopies shall have a maximum area of 1,650 square feet for every two pump islands; each pump island may accommodate up to four fueling stations. The total canopy area shall not exceed 3,300 square feet.
(d)
Lighting for canopies shall be permitted on the underside only.
(e)
Any signs associated with a canopy shall be regulated by Article XXVI of this chapter.
[Amended 12-3-2007 by Ord. No. 276]
(f)
Canopies shall be designed to be architecturally compatible with the principal structure with regard to color and building materials.
M.
Hotel or motel.
§ 250-143 Dimensional requirements.
In an IN Interchange District the following area width, yard and height regulations shall apply:
A.
Area, width and yard requirements.
(1)
Lot area. A lot of not less than one acre shall be provided for every use or group of uses permitted in the IN Interchange District.
(2)
Width. A lot width of not less than 175 feet, measured at the street line, shall be provided.
(3)
Impervious coverage. Not more than 65% of any lot may be occupied by buildings, roads, parking lots or any other impervious surface. Porous paving may be used to reduce the impervious coverage, provided that 25% of the site remains uncovered by any paving or impervious material.
(5)
Building density and size.
[Added 12-3-2007 by Ord. No. 274]
(a)
There shall be a maximum building density of 15,000 square feet per developable acre, with individual buildings being no larger than 15,000 square feet in size.
(b)
A multi-tenant retail shopping center up to 300,000 square feet, with individual uses up to 150,000 square feet, is only permitted if it is part of a municipally-prepared and adopted specific plan that has also been reviewed and approved by a majority vote of the Pottstown Regional Planning Committee.
§ 250-144 Height regulations.
[Amended 12-16-1999 by Ord. No. 216]
The maximum height of any building erected or used in this district shall be 35 feet, except that the height of any building may be increased to a maximum of 65 feet by special exception, and provided that, for every foot of height increase in excess of 35 feet, there shall be added to each yard requirement one corresponding foot of width or depth.
§ 250-145 Lot line development regulations.
As an alternative to one of the required side yards and in order to encourage orderly lot line development, the following shall apply:
A.
No building wall situated on a lot line shall contain windows, doors, other openings or loading areas.
B.
The roof shall not be drained toward a wall situated on a lot line.
C.
No building shall be placed on a side lot line unless access is provided onto the abutting property to allow for inspection, maintenance and repair of the building wall and foundation or other legal mechanism to the satisfaction of the Township Solicitor.
D.
Structures on abutting lots may be built along their common lot line, creating a party wall between the abutting uses, provided that, for the purposes of measuring maximum building length, the two buildings connected by the party wall shall be considered as one structure.
§ 250-146 Access regulations.
The following regulations shall pertain to access for all lots to be developed in the IN Interchange District and shall also govern lots to be redeveloped in the district.
A.
Accessways leading onto a public street shall be built to the dimensional requirements specified in the Lower Pottsgrove Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (Chapter 215).
B.
For existing lots, other than corner lots, which have less than 175 feet of frontage a maximum of one accessway to a public street shall be permitted.
C.
For any lots used for development pursuant to this district or for a group of two or more lots which share parking pursuant to requirements of § 250-147F herein, no more than two points of access may be permitted onto each street on which the lot(s) abuts.
[Amended 12-3-2007 by Ord. No. 276]
D.
Corner lots or groups of lots with shared parking that front onto two streets shall not have two points of access onto one street and one on the other, unless the placement of an access onto one street would create a traffic hazard or unduly impact existing residential development. In addition, where the lot or group of lots fronts onto two streets of differing classification (according to the Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, Chapter 215), the developer may elect to place two points of access on the street of lesser classification with none on the other fronting street if the lot or group of lots has more than 100 feet of frontage on the road of lesser classification and so doing would not create a hazardous traffic situation or unduly impact existing residential development.
E.
Accessways shall be spaced at a minimum of 100 feet on center on any lot used for development pursuant to this district or for a group of two or more lots which share parking pursuant the requirements of § 250-147F herein. In addition, accessways shall be spaced a minimum of 100 feet on center from existing accessways on adjacent properties whenever feasible. When this is not feasible, common drives and/or the use of shared common parking pursuant to § 250-147F herein shall be encouraged.
[Amended 12-3-2007 by Ord. No. 276]
§ 250-147 Parking and internal circulation.
The following regulations shall govern parking and circulation within lots to be developed in the IN District and shall also govern lots to be redeveloped in the district to the maximum extent feasible.
A.
The number of parking spaces required for any development shall be regulated by the requirements contained in § 250-203, except where a lesser number may be permitted when parking is shared according to the provisions contained in Subsection F herein. For mixed-use structures, the parking provided shall be equal to the sum total of required spaces for all uses contained therein.
D.
For double parking bays, 15% of the area of each parking space may be maintained in grass or other pervious material, provided that it is separated from the paved areas by a suitable wheelstop or bumper.
E.
For parking areas of more than 20 cars, a minimum of 10% of the parking area shall be devoted to interior parking lot landscaping, exclusive of any other landscaping or buffering requirements. The landscaping required shall be installed in such manner that no individual landscaped area shall contain less than 200 square feet; the minimum horizontal dimension of any such area shall be 10 feet.
F.
The owners of two or more adjacent lots may elect to share common parking facilities according to the following requirements:
(1)
An application to do so shall be filed jointly by all affected lot owners with the Zoning Officer, accompanied by a plan showing the location of all proposed parking, parking reserve areas and accessways as well as all buildings which shall use the common parking area.
(2)
The aggregate number of parking spaces required for all uses which will share the common parking area may be reduced up to a maximum of 25% if the applicants can demonstrate to the Zoning Officer's satisfaction that a greater efficiency is effected by joint use of a common parking area or that other circumstances warrant such reduction (i.e., complementary operating hours of the uses which will be sharing the parking area). Regardless of the number of spaces actually developed, a parking area to accommodate the aggregate number of parking spaces normally required shall be fully designed, and the area which is proposed to be eliminated shall be known as "parking reserve area." Such area shall be required to be developed as designed if and when the Zoning Officer determines the need. The parking area shall be so designed that the minimum area of vegetative cover will not be reduced below the appropriate percentage contained in Subsection D herein, in the event the entire parking area, including reserve areas, is subsequently developed. All reserve areas not utilized for parking shall be landscaped according to an approved plan.
(3)
For purposes of determining the number and location of accessways pursuant to Subsection E herein, the entire area devoted to common parking shall be considered as one parking lot.
(4)
Some portion of the common parking area shall be within 200 feet of an entrance regularly used by patrons into each use served by the common parking area.
(5)
An application to permit shared common parking shall be contingent upon each lot owner obtaining any necessary access easements and rights-of-way.
G.
Any internal access drives designed solely for delivery vehicles or for access to refuse collection areas may be dimensioned according to the standard for one-way traffic.
§ 250-148 Permanent landscaped planting area.
[Amended 3-23-1995 by Ord. No. 192]
All new development developed subsequent to the enactment of this chapter shall provide a permanent landscaped planting area designed for screening from view any residential, commercial, office or industrial uses which are adjoining and contiguous to the development, as specified in §§ 215-49 to 215-58 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (Chapter 215).
§ 250-149 Frontage landscaping requirements.
Along the frontage of every lot except for area devoted to accessways landscaping shall be provided as described in §§ 215-49 to 215-58 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (Chapter 215). The landscaped areas shall extend toward the interior of the lot for a minimum distance of five feet from the ultimate right-of-way line. Additionally, landscaping between the ultimate right-of-way and the curbline or edge of the roadway shoulder shall be encouraged, recognizing that such landscaping may have to be removed in the future for roadway improvements; landscaping in this area would therefore be encouraged to represent a low financial investment and/or be capable of relocation. In all instances, landscaping shall be so installed that clear sight triangles shall be provided as identified in §§ 215-49 to 215-58 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (Chapter 215).
§ 250-150 Refuse areas.
The design of buildings in the IN District shall include either a provision for the storage of refuse inside the building(s) or within an area enclosed by either walls or opaque fencing outside the building(s) designed to be architecturally compatible with the building(s). Such walls or fencing shall be designed to shield the refuse areas from direct view of any adjacent property and must be at least six feet high.
§ 250-151 Outdoor display and storage.
All outdoor display and storage for development in the IN District shall comply with the following regulations:
A.
When the outdoor display or storage is paved it shall count toward the total impervious coverage permitted.
B.
When the outdoor display or storage is unpaved it shall not count toward impervious coverage or green space and landscaping areas.
C.
Permanently roofed structures shall count towards building coverage, including storage sheds for lumber and other building supplies; shall not be located any closer to the property line than the specified setbacks herein; and need not have walls on all sides.
D.
Permanently roofed structures with no walls either attached or detached to the primary building shall count 75% of their total coverage toward the permitted building coverage herein. These structures will be set back at a minimum of 15 feet from property lines if at or below 10 feet in height. Above 10 feet in height the normal setbacks shall apply.
E.
Temporary covered structures (seasonably covered by canvas, etc.) shall count 25% of their coverage toward total building coverage. These structures may be within 15 feet of the property lines if at or below 10 feet in height. Above 10 feet in height the normal setback shall apply.
§ 250-152 Lighting.
§ 250-153 Integrated developments.
In those instances wherein developments in the IN District are proposed to consist of multiple buildings, the following regulations shall apply:
A.
The entire development shall be designed as an architecturally integrated unit.
B.
The minimum distance between a building or group of buildings shall be 20 feet, except that all structures connected by common rooflines or covered walkways shall be considered as one building, and the determination for maximum building dimensions shall be made as such.