Lower Providence Township Montgomery County
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVI
HC Highway Commercial District
§ 143-104 Legislative intent.
It is the intent of the HC Highway Commercial District to provide regulations for continuing commercial use opportunities in areas of existing commercial development. Specifically, it is the intent of the district to:
A.
Relate specific types of uses to appropriate minimum lot sizes to ensure adequate land use area relative to intensity of use.
B.
Minimize the potential for increased traffic congestion, overcrowding of land, noise, glare and pollution resulting from commercial development.
C.
Discourage any use which would interfere with the use of the district as a shopping and service center for surrounding residential areas.
D.
Ensure that the character of adjacent and nearby neighborhoods is protected by design controls.
E.
Effectively regulate the establishment and maintenance of businesses requiring outdoor storage of vehicles, equipment or merchandise.
§ 143-105 General regulations.
The following general requirements shall apply to all properties within the HC Highway Commercial District:
B.
The following regulations shall apply to all outdoor display:
(1)
Outdoor display is intended to comprise samples or examples of the goods, merchandise, equipment or vehicles available for purchase, rather than the entire stock of an item.
(2)
Displayed items may not be permanently affixed in front yards.
(3)
Outdoor display areas may not encroach upon any required parking areas.
(4)
Outdoor display areas may not exceed 50% of the required front yard area.
(5)
Outdoor display areas shall be considered to be sales floor area for the purpose of computing parking requirements.
(6)
Outdoor parking areas shall be separated from the ultimate right-of-way of any street by a twenty-foot landscaped buffer, planted in grass, ground cover or low shrubs.
C.
Outdoor storage. Any commercial use which includes outdoor storage of merchandise shall conform to the following standards:
(1)
No vehicles, equipment or merchandise shall be parked, stored or displayed within the ultimate right-of-way of any street or any other areas intended for pedestrian use.
(2)
All storage areas shall be permitted only to rear of buildings and shall be set back at least 30 feet from property boundaries.
(3)
All storage areas shall be screened from public view by an opaque fence or wall at least 6 feet and no more than 12 feet high. Stored materials may not exceed the height of the fence.
D.
Refuse areas. All commercial uses shall provide for storage of refuse either inside the building(s) or within an outdoor area enclosed by walls or opaque fencing, at least 6 feet and no more than 12 feet high. Refuse shall be kept within one or more lidded container(s) not to exceed 6 feet in height. All refuse areas shall meet the following requirements:
(1)
The refuse area shall not interfere with circulation within the parking lot.
(2)
The refuse area shall be shielded from direct view of any adjacent property.
(3)
The refuse area shall be located at least 10 feet from any adjacent nonresidential property and 50 feet from any residential property line or ultimate right-of-way line.
E.
Buffers. Where a commercial use abuts a residential use or district, a screen buffer at least 15 feet wide shall be provided along the property boundary between the districts or uses. Where a district boundary divides a single lot, the buffer shall be placed along the nearest property boundary between commercial and residential uses. The buffer shall be designed according to the requirement of § 123-50 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
§ 143-106 Class One permitted uses.
[Amended 2-15-2001 by Ord. No. 453; 6-5-2025 by Ord. No. 687]
On lots with a minimum area of 20,000 square feet and a minimum width at the building line of 10 feet, any one of the following uses and no other is permitted:
A.
Retail establishment for sale of dry goods, variety merchandise, clothing, food, beverages, flowers, plants, drugs, hardware, books, furnishings and sale and repair of jewelry, optical goods, cameras and home appliances; and similar uses.
B.
Personal service shop, provided that at least 30% of the gross floor area is devoted to customer service.
C.
Dry-cleaning drop-off establishment; copy center.
D.
Sale of small automotive accessories (no automobile service work permitted).
E.
Job printing.
F.
Business or professional office; bank and financial institution, not to include banks with drive-in windows.
G.
Restaurant, bar or tavern, not to include fast-food or drive-in restaurants.
H.
Dance, music or art studio.
I.
Municipal or government use.
J.
Family day-care home.
K.
Bed-and-breakfast establishment.
L.
Two-family conversion of a single-family residence.
M.
Animal hospital (no outdoor facilities permitted.)
N.
Any one use of the same general character as those listed above, when approved by the Zoning Hearing Board as a special exception.
O.
Communications antennas and communications buildings, in accordance with the requirements of § 143-250 of this chapter.
P.
Communications towers shall be permitted by special exception, in accordance with the requirements and standards of § 143-250 of this chapter.
Q.
Tobacco store, smoke shop or vape shop.
§ 143-107 Class One conditional uses.
On any Class One lot, a combination of two or more Class One uses may be permitted by the Board of Supervisors as a conditional use, meeting the standards of § 143-113 of this article.
§ 143-108 Class Two permitted uses.
On any Class Two lot, a minimum area of 40,000 square feet and a minimum width at the building line of 200 feet, any one of the following uses and no other is permitted:
A.
Any Class One permitted use.
C.
Fast-food or drive-in restaurant. Restaurants with drive-in windows shall meet the following standards:
D.
Conversion of a single-family residence into a tourist home, rooming or boarding house.
F.
Undertaking or funeral establishment.
G.
Ancillary indoor storage building (for other permitted use).
H.
Multifamily conversion of a single-family residence, to a maximum of four dwelling units.
I.
Private club, lodge or fraternity.
J.
Educational, religious or philanthropic use.
K.
Car wash, motor vehicle garage or repair shop, not to include body repair work or painting.
L.
Tires, batteries and automotive accessories store, with service bay.
M.
Gasoline service station (not to include a car wash) that meets the following standards:
(1)
Minimum lot width of at least 200 feet along each street the lot abuts.
(2)
All activities except those performed at fuel or air pumps to be performed within enclosed building.
(3)
Fuel pumps shall be set back at least 25 feet from any ultimate right-of-way.
(4)
All auto parts and other storage within enclosed building.
(5)
No paint spraying or body work permitted.
O.
Any one use of the same general character as those listed above, when approved by the Zoning Hearing Board as a special exception.
P.
Communications antennas and communications buildings, in accordance with the requirements of § 143-250 of this chapter.
[Added 2-15-2001 by Ord. No. 453]
Q.
Communications towers shall be permitted by special exception, in accordance with the requirements and standards of § 143-250 of this chapter.
[Added 2-15-2001 by Ord. No. 453]
R.
Retail motorcycle sales and service.
[Added 9-2-2004 by Ord. No. 515]
§ 143-109 Class Two conditional uses.
On any Class Two lot, a combination of two or more Class One or Class Two permitted uses may be permitted by the Board of Supervisors as a conditional use, meeting the standards at § 143-113, Condition use standards for multiple uses on lot.
§ 143-110 Class Three permitted uses.
On lots with a minimum area of two acres and a minimum width at the building line of 300 feet, any one of the following uses and no other is permitted:
A.
Any Class One or Class Two permitted use.
B.
Outdoor amusement or recreation facility.
C.
Hotel or motel.
D.
Indoor theater.
E.
Indoor amusement facility, such as a bowling alley, billiard room or indoor court for racquet sports.
F.
Animal hospital or kennel with no outdoor facilities except by special exception.
G.
Radio and/or television studios.
H.
Newspaper publishing.
I.
Garden supply center, nursery.
J.
Building materials supply center or lumber yard.
K.
New motor vehicles or recreational vehicle sales or rental and related service.
L.
Sale of used vehicles or recreational vehicle sales or rental and related service.
M.
Gasoline service station containing car wash and meeting all the requirements of § 143-108M of this article.
N.
Any one use of the same general character as those listed above, when approved by the Zoning Hearing Board as a special exception.
§ 143-111 Class Three conditional uses.
On any Class Three lot, a combination of two or more Class One, Two or Three permitted uses may be permitted by the Board of Supervisors as a conditional use, meeting the standards of § 143-113 of this article.
§ 143-112 Dimensional standards, Class One through Three uses.
[Amended 10-20-2011 by Ord. No. 602]
Dimensional standards for Classes One through Three shall be as follows:
Class One | Class Two | Class Three | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Minimum lot size | 20,000 square feet | 40,000 square feet | 2 acres | |
Minimum lot width | 100 feet | 200 feet | 300 feet | |
Minimum front yard | ||||
No Parking in front yard | 30 feet | 30 feet | 50 feet | |
Parking in front yard | 50 feet | 75 feet | 100 feet | |
Minimum side yard | 15 feet minimum/40 feet aggregate | 15 feet minimum/40 feet aggregate | 20 feet minimum/60 feet aggregate | |
Minimum rear yard | 30 feet | 50 feet | 75 feet | |
Maximum building height | 35 feet | 35 feet | 35 feet | |
Maximum impervious coverage | 30% | 30% | 25% | |
Minimum landscaped area | 20% | 20% | 25% | |
Maximum building dimension | 100 feet | 150 feet | 300 feet | |
Minimum building set-back from residential district | 50 feet | 50 feet | 75 feet | |
Minimum parking, driveway, loading area setback from residential district | 25 feet | 25 feet | 50 feet | |
§ 143-113 Conditional uses standards for multiple uses on lot.
More than one use per lot may be permitted by the Board of Supervisors as a conditional use, provided that the proposed land development meets the following standards:
A.
All uses, whether in a single building or in several buildings, shall be designed according to a unified architectural scheme, including treatment of building facades, lighting, signage, landscaping and circulation.
B.
A maximum of two curb cuts for vehicular access shall be permitted for the entire development, unless traffic safety considerations require an alternate arrangement, based on the evaluation and recommendation of the Township Engineer.
C.
Parking for each use shall meet the requirements of Article XII, Off-Street Parking Standards. The shared parking concept may be utilized where appropriate.
D.
Signs shall be erected and installed in conformance with Article XIX of this chapter.
[Amended 1-18-2018 by Ord. No. 652]
E.
The development shall comply with all other requirements of this article, including general regulations, dimensional standards and coverage requirements.
§ 143-114 Conditional use standards for lots of insufficient width.
Any lot which has the required lot area for a given size class but which lacks sufficient street frontage for that class may qualify for any use in that class, as a conditional use, if one or more of the following conditions are met. [NOTE: for example, if a lot is 40,000 square feet in size (Class Two) but has a lot width of only 150 feet (Class One), the lot may be used for a Class Two use if these conditions are met.]
A.
Access is shared with one or more adjacent properties, resulting in no more than one driveway entrance per 200 feet for all properties served. Shared access may be provided along property lines to serve future land uses.
B.
Access is taken from an intersecting side street, rather than from the primary arterial street.
C.
Applicant is willing to make additional road improvements (such as partial construction of a frontage or marginal access road) which will improve vehicular and pedestrian circulation as determined by the Board of Supervisors, with the advice of the Planning Commission and Township Engineer.