Lower Providence Township Montgomery County
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXXIII
Ridge Pike Business District
§ 143-257 Legislative intent.
It is the intent of the Ridge Pike Business District (RPBD) to provide regulations to improve the overall appearance and safety of Ridge Pike as well as allow for continuing commercial use opportunites. Specifically, it is the intent of the district to:
A.
Minimize the potential for increased traffic congestion, by providing incentives that require shared access points, cross-access easements, shared parking areas, and quality public spaces.
B.
Increase the number of pedestrian and vehicular connections between adjacent properties to provide complementary and coordinated development of adjacent properties.
C.
To provide regulating standards which require orderly, well-planned development and to ensure that new buildings and additions enhance the surrounding streetscape, including incentives for burial of existing utilities within the right-of-way.
D.
Use scale, building orientation and landscaping to establish community identity.
E.
Effectively and efficiently regulate the establishment and maintenance of businesses requiring outdoor storage of vehicles, types and heights of signage, equipment or merchandise.
F.
Establish a walkable streetscape by promoting a pedestrian orientation of streets and buildings and providing a safe and convenient interconnected sidewalk network.
§ 143-258 Uses permitted unless prohibited.
The Ridge Pike Business District (RPBD) will permit all uses listed below, unless otherwise listed in § 143-261 as a prohibited use.
§ 143-259 Permitted uses.
The following are permitted uses:
A.
Retail establishment for the sale of dry goods, variety merchandise, clothing, food, beverages, flowers, plants, drugs, hardware, books, furnishings and the 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 dropoff establishment.
D.
Sale of small automotive accessories.
E.
Job printing; copy center.
F.
Business or professional office; bank and financial institution.
G.
Restaurant, bar or tavern.
[Amended 9-4-2014 by Ord. No. 618]
H.
Dance, music or art studio.
I.
Municipal or governmental use.
J.
Banks with drive-through service windows shall meet the following performance standards:
K.
Auto service center, including body work, painting, and emissions testing centers, shall meet the following performance standards:
(1)
All activities shall be performed within an enclosed building.
(2)
All storage of vehicles, parts, or accessories shall be contained behind a minimum twelve-foot opaque fence; all storage shall be shielded from view from any adjacent property.
(3)
The applicant shall provide documentation that any emissions or exhaust levels are acceptable for a residential area.
M.
Undertaking or funeral establishment, not to include a crematory.
N.
Educational, religious or philanthropic use.
O.
A gasoline service station containing a car wash, not to include body repair work or painting, shall meet the following performance standards:
(1)
A 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 shall be performed within an 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 shall be within an enclosed building.
(5)
No paint spraying or body work shall be permitted on site.
P.
A hotel or motel, which shall meet the following performance standards:
(1)
Recreational facilities limited to guests of the use.
(2)
A hotel or motel shall serve only temporary guests. A use that is routinely inhabited by any persons for periods longer than 30 days shall be considered a boardinghouse and regulated as such.
(3)
Meeting rooms may be an accessory use to the hotel/motel and shall limited to only a forty-person capacity for each room. Capacities above 40 persons shall be regulated as an auditorium and must be approved by special exception only.
(4)
Hotels/motels must have at least five parking stalls 12 feet by 24 feet available for recreational vehicle and tractor-trailer parking.
(5)
Restaurants are allowed within a hotel/motel by special exception approval only.
(6)
All pools must be enclosed or be constructed as an indoor pool.
(7)
All hotels and motels must provide cross-easements to adjacent properties.
(8)
No balconies allowed.
(9)
All parking must be enclosed or a parking garage must be constructed for a hotel/motel over two stories.
(10)
All check-in areas must be clearly seen from the highway by a window.
Q.
Indoor theater. A place of performing arts or a motion-picture theater, except for adult uses as defined in the Lower Providence Township Zoning Code § 143-219, shall meet the following performance standards:
(1)
A theater shall have no more than 1,000 seats. Nontheater entertainment uses shall not have a participant capacity in excess of 100 individuals when occurring in combination with a theater or 500 individuals when freestanding.
(2)
Unimpeded access (both ingress and egress) shall be provided between the theater or entertainment use and Ridge Pike by means of a signalized intersection. The property upon which the theater structure is located must be contiguous and adjacent to Ridge Pike, and the direct access must be located within the frontage of the theater property along and upon Ridge Pike.
(3)
A safety and security plan shall be submitted identifying measures to be followed in the operation of the premises, including, but not limited to, the following:
(4)
A pedestrian circulation plan, including sidewalks, bikeways, bike paths and other facilities, shall be submitted to adequately separate vehicular movements from pedestrian traffic within the site.
(5)
A traffic impact study must be submitted which clearly identifies the proportion of the development traffic attributed to the theater or entertainment use and shall demonstrate that the use will not adversely impact traffic safety and/or traffic levels of service in the surrounding neighborhoods.
(6)
A patron pickup and dropoff area shall be provided adjacent to the building facade containing the main theater entrance in a location which does not interfere with the vehicular or pedestrian circulation that would otherwise be required.
R.
Indoor sports facility, such as a bowling alley, billiard room or indoor court for racquet sports.
S.
Building materials supply center, garden supply center, nursery or lumberyard.
T.
Sale of new automobiles, excluding motorcycles, recreational vehicles, boats, and trucks with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) in excess of one ton.
U.
Bed-and-breakfast.
V.
Any one use of the same general character as those listed above, when approved by the Township Board of Supervisors as a conditional use.
W.
A self-storage development, which shall meet the following performance standards:
[Added 12-3-2009 by Ord. No. 588; amended 9-4-2014 by Ord. No. 617]
(1)
A minimum lot area of 10 acres is required;
(2)
Any building, whether new or existing, used for a self-storage development use shall conform to the design standards of SLDO § 123-142[1] or create a uniform architectural scheme with the other buildings located on the property. Whether a uniform architectural scheme exists shall be within the sole discretion of the Board of Supervisors; and
(3)
Outdoor storage, including the storage of recreational vehicles, including, but not limited to, RVs, campers, boats, snowmobiles , and ATVs, shall be permitted subject to the following:
(a)
Such storage must be in conjunction with and on the same tract as an indoor self-storage development facility;
(b)
The area dedicated to outdoor storage shall not exceed 50% of the gross floor area dedicated to indoor storage;
(c)
Outdoor storage shall not be located in the front yard or between the principal building and any adjoining public or private street;
(d)
Any outdoor storage shall be screened from view from all adjacent properties and/or public and private streets. Screening may include, but shall not be limited to, opaque fencing. Fencing shall be a minimum of six feet in height.
§ 143-260 Conditional uses.
The following uses are permitted when authorized by the Board of Supervisors as conditional uses subject to the standards set forth in § 143-80 of this Code:
B.
Undertaking or funeral establishment, with a crematory.
C.
Private club, lodge or fraternity.
D.
Outdoor amusement or recreation facility.
E.
Animal hospital or kennel with no outdoor facilities, except by conditional use approval.
F.
Radio and/or television studios.
G.
Newspaper publishing.
H.
Single-family dwelling unit(s) above permitted and/or conditional uses.
I.
Any one use of the same general character as those listed above, when approved by the Board of Supervisors as a conditional use subject to the standards set forth in § 143-80 of this Code.
J.
Fast-food or drive-in restaurant with drive-through service. Fast-food or drive-in restaurants with drive-through services shall be subject to the following standards:
[Added 9-4-2014 by Ord. No. 618]
(1)
Any building, whether new or existing, used as a fast-food or drive-in restaurant with drive-through services shall conform to the design standards of § 123-142 of the Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, unless waived, or create a uniform architectural scheme with the other buildings located on the property. Whether a uniform architectural scheme exists shall be within the sole discretion of the Board of Supervisors.
(2)
If an application to establish a fast-food or drive-in restaurant with drive-through service is not subject to the plan submission requirements and procedures of Article III of the Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, the proposed landscaping shall be reviewed by the Board of Supervisors as part of the conditional use proceeding under § 143-80 of the Township Zoning Ordinance, and the Board of Supervisors may approve or require modification of the proposed landscaping prior to approval of the use.
§ 143-261 Prohibited uses.
The following uses are prohibited in the RPBD:
A.
Conversion of a single-family residence into a tourist home, rooming house or boardinghouse.
B.
Two-family conversion of a single-family residence.
C.
Multifamily conversion of a single-family residence.
D.
Multifamily apartments.
E.
Family day-care home.
§ 143-262 Dimensional regulations for all uses.
The following dimensional requirements shall apply to all properties within the RPBD:
A.
Maximum building height: Three stories, not to exceed 35 feet.
B.
Front, side and rear yard setbacks: The front, side and rear yard setbacks shall be no less 10 ten feet, unless adjacent to an existing residential zoning district, in which the minimum side and rear yard setbacks shall be 30 feet.
C.
Parking setback: In lieu of Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (SLDO) § 123-37E, all parking shall be set back a minimum of 10 feet from the ultimate right-of-way along all Ridge Pike frontages. The parking setback along all collectors or residential streets may be zero feet from the ultimate right-of-way. A minimum of 10 feet from the curbline shall be provided for the placement of sidewalks, landscaping, and utilities.
D.
Occupation of ultimate right-of-way: A minimum of 15 feet within the ultimate right-of-way shall be preserved between the curbline and the front yard setback along the entire Ridge Pike frontage; any remaining lot area may be used by an owner or applicant for nonrequired parking, landscaping, outdoor displays, and dining.
E.
Maximum impervious coverage: Fifty percent, except that impervious coverage may be increased to a maximum of 70% through the cooperative actions by the property owner or land development applicant to comply with the sections as listed and described below. In order to take advantage of the additional bonus provision of 20% as well as to further meet the intent of the Ridge Pike Business District, an applicant must provide the Township with three of the five following bonus provision options, listed below:
(1)
Pedestrian and vehicular connections with adjacent properties to facilitate circulation.
(2)
Consolidation of two or more parcels, under separate ownership, prior to development, with the purpose of providing a more unified development.
(3)
A minimum of one three-inch caliper Township-qualified street tree as required in the Lower Providence Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, having a minimum of six feet high planted on the back side of the public sidewalk for every 25 feet of the property lot frontage width.
(4)
Renovation of existing building facades along Ridge Pike to conform to SLDO § 123-142, Design Standards for all uses within the RPBD.
(5)
Where existing use is to remain, bring facade wall and sidewalk into conformity with SLDO § 123-142, Design standard for all uses.
§ 143-263 General regulations for all uses.
A.
A maximum of one curb cut of 30 feet is allowed per street frontage.
§ 143-264 Special sign regulations for all uses.
The following standards shall apply in addition to the regulations set forth in Article XIX, Signs, of the Lower Providence Township Zoning Code, as amended. Where the regulations of Article XIX are in conflict with the standards of this section, this section shall control.
A.
No outdoor off-premises advertising shall be permitted.
B.
The maximum height of freestanding signs shall be 10 feet. Ground monument signs are encouraged.
C.
The maximum height of wall-mounted signs shall be 15 feet. No sign shall extend above the eave line of a roof.
D.
The Illumination of signs shall be from interior sources only.
E.
Moving parts or signs with changeable copy (digital) any more than once per 24 hours shall be prohibited, except for signs indicating time, date and weather.
F.
Signs shall not exceed 50 square feet per side.