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Marple Township City Zoning Code

ARTICLE V

Commercial Districts

§ 300-36 General provisions.

A. 
Permitted uses. Uses are permitted in commercial districts in accordance with § 300-37. Accessory uses are permitted in accordance with Article XIII.
B. 
Special exception uses. The Zoning Hearing Board is authorized to grant special exceptions for uses specified in § 300-37 for applications meeting the following criteria:
(1) 
The use shall not generate high levels of vehicular traffic, nor noise, noxious odors, air pollution or glare.
(2) 
The manner, location and hours of operations and of deliveries to the premises shall be compatible with the daily cycle of active and quiet periods associated with any adjacent residential uses.
(3) 
The use shall complement other uses in the district, creating a mixed-use character that contributes towards an increased rate of pedestrian access to local services, minimized auto-trip generation and additional security for district businesses.
(4) 
Mixed-use structures containing residences shall have nonresidential uses only on a level or floor below residential uses.
(5) 
Additional special exception criteria specified in §§ 300-39 to 300-43 of this article are met, when appropriate.
C. 
Off-street parking and loading. Off-street parking and loading shall be provided in accordance with Article XI.
D. 
Buffers. Buffers shall be provided in accordance with Article X.
E. 
Signs. Signs shall be in accordance with Article XII.
F. 
Sewer and water facilities. All development in commercial districts shall be served by central water facilities and central sanitary sewer facilities acceptable to the Board of Commissioners and subject to the approval of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection or its successor agency and the appropriate municipal authority providing water or sewer facilities.
G. 
Subdivision of a tract. The subdivision of a tract of land into lots may occur only for financial purposes and not so as to permit individual lots to be treated as independent parcels for separate development at a future time. Subdivision of a tract may occur only when deed restrictions are executed and recorded which maintain the lots as an integral part of a total tract land development.
H. 
Performance standards. Any activity or use in commercial districts shall comply with the performance standards of Article VI, § 300-44E.

§ 300-37 Permitted uses.

The Table of Permitted Uses - Commercial is included at the end of this chapter.

§ 300-38 Development standards.

The Table of Development Standards — Districts O, O-1, N, B, B-1 is included at the end of this chapter.

§ 300-39 N Neighborhood Center District.

A. 
Intent. The intent of the N Neighborhood Center District is to provide appropriate locations and development standards for low-intensity commercial uses where more intensive commercial use would have adverse effects on adjacent and neighboring residential areas. The regulations that apply within the district provide for retail and office uses of limited scale that primarily serve nearby residents, affording opportunities for pedestrian access to local services. Buildings in this district should be compatible in size and scale with those in adjacent residential areas.
B. 
Permitted uses. Uses are permitted in N Neighborhood Center districts in accordance with § 300-37. Specified uses are allowed as special exceptions in accordance with § 300-36B when authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board. Accessory uses are permitted in accordance with Article XIII.
C. 
Development standards. Uses shall occur in accordance with the standards of § 300-38.
D. 
Building size and spacing. The greatest dimension of a structure, measured parallel to exterior walls, shall not exceed 75 feet. The minimum distance between structures shall be 10 feet, except that all structures connected by a common roofline or covered walkways shall be considered as one structure.

§ 300-40 O Office LM District.

A. 
Intent. The intent of the O Office LM District is to provide appropriate locations and development standards for low-to-moderate-intensity business or professional offices where more intensive office use or more general commercial use would be undesirable. The regulations that apply within the district provide for business or professional offices of limited size that primarily serve nearby residents, affording opportunities for pedestrian access to local services and minimizing automobile trips. Buildings in this district are intended to be compatible in size and scale with those in adjacent residential areas.
B. 
Permitted uses. Uses are permitted in O Office LM Districts in accordance with § 300-37. Specific uses are allowed as special exceptions in accordance with § 300-36B when authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board. Accessory uses are permitted in accordance with Article XIII.
C. 
Development standards. Uses shall occur in accordance with the standards of § 300-38.
D. 
Building size and spacing. The greatest dimension of a structure, measured parallel to exterior walls, shall not exceed 75 feet. The minimum distance between structures shall be 10 feet, except that all structures connected by a common roofline or covered walkways shall be considered as one structure.

§ 300-41 O-1 Office MH District.

A. 
Intent. The intent of the O-1 Office MH District is to provide appropriate locations and development standards for medium-to-high-intensity business or professional offices. Uses in this district may expect employees and clients from throughout the region. Suitable locations for these uses should be limited to the Commercial Cores identified in the Comprehensive Plan.
B. 
Permitted uses. Uses are permitted in O-1 Office MH Districts in accordance with § 300-37. Specified uses are allowed as special exceptions in accordance with § 300-36B when authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board. Accessory uses are permitted in accordance with Article XIII.
C. 
Development standards. Uses shall occur in accordance with the standards of § 300-38.
D. 
Additional special exception criteria. In addition to the special exception criteria of § 300-36B, applications for retail commerce special exception use (any use specified or similar to uses described in the use classification of § 300-37 containing retail commerce) shall also meet the following criteria:
(1) 
The retail commerce special exception use (as defined above) is clearly subordinate to the permitted use of the tract and is intended primarily for the use of employees of the permitted use.
(2) 
The total gross floor area of retail commerce special exception use is no more than 5% of the total gross floor area constructed on the tract.

§ 300-42 B Business District.

A. 
Intent. The intent of the B Business District is to provide appropriate development standards for the traditional West Chester Pike commercial area, consisting primarily of relatively small-scale shops, offices and mixed-use structures. The characteristics of this district include rows of one-, two- and three-story narrow-frontage buildings constructed to front and side lot lines, with lots substantially covered by buildings. There is often little or no off-street parking. Patrons must use West Chester Pike on-street parking. While the retention of traditional Broomall businesses is to be encouraged, this district should not be physically extended beyond this traditional area, nor to properties not already meeting the above-noted lot-and-building characteristics.
B. 
Permitted uses. Uses are permitted in B Business Districts in accordance with § 300-37. Specified uses are allowed as special exceptions in accordance with § 300-36B when authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board. Accessory uses are permitted in accordance with Article XIII.
C. 
Development standards. Uses shall occur in accordance with the standards of § 300-38.

§ 300-43 B-1 Business District.

[Amended 5-8-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-7]
A. 
Intent. The intent of the B-1 Business District is to provide appropriate locations and development standards for general commercial use. Uses in this district may expect patrons from throughout the area and region. Suitable locations for these uses should be limited to the Commercial Cores identified in the Comprehensive Plan.
B. 
Permitted uses. Uses are permitted in B-1 Business Districts in accordance with § 300-37. Specified uses are allowed as special exceptions in accordance with § 300-36B when authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board. Accessory uses are permitted in accordance with Article XIII.
C. 
Conditional uses.
(1) 
Medical marijuana dispensary shall be permitted as a conditional use pursuant to Board of Commissioners' approval and subject to the general standards set forth in § 300-131 governing conditional uses and the specific standards set forth below:
(a) 
A medical marijuana dispensary facility shall have a single secure public entrance and shall implement appropriate security measures to deter and prevent unauthorized entrance in areas containing medical marijuana.
(b) 
Permitted hours of operation of a dispensary facility shall be 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., daily.
(c) 
A dispensary facility shall have secure storage area for storage of medical marijuana, which such area shall be a minimum of 1/3 of the gross floor area of the facility, and shall have an interior customer waiting area equal to a minimum of 25% of the gross floor area of the dispensary facility.
(d) 
A dispensary facility shall not have any of the following: drive-through service, an outdoor seating area, outdoor vending machines.
(e) 
A dispensary facility shall not be located within 1,000 feet of a property line of any institutional zoning district or institutional zoning use, including but not limited to, public, private and parochial schools and day-care centers. This distance shall be measured in a straight line from the closest exterior wall of the building or portion thereof in which the dispensary is located, to the closest property line of the protected district or use, regardless of the municipality in which it is located.
(f) 
A dispensary facility shall be a minimum distance of 1,000 feet from the next nearest medical marijuana dispensary facility.
D. 
Development standards. Uses shall occur in accordance with the standards of § 300-38.

§ 300-43.1 Highway Interchange District.

[Added 7-13-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-4]
A. 
Intent. The intent of the Highway Interchange District is:
(1) 
To provide appropriate locations for a variety of commercial/business uses in a close proximity to major highway interchanges so that vehicular access to the uses will have negligible impact on local roadways.
(2) 
To provide for the development of a well-planned, designed, built and maintained commercial/business complex consisting of a combination of retail, shopping, professional, health and business facilities and offices and entertainment on a large Highway Interchange District tract of ground.
(3) 
To preserve substantial portions of environmentally sensitive areas on the Highway Interchange District tract in their existing state by having conservation easement areas consisting of streams, wetlands, woodlands and steep slopes, thereby creating viewscapes from the commercially developed areas, resulting in a unique blending of a natural and commercial setting.
B. 
Use regulations. The uses permitted in the Highway Interchange District are as follows:
(1) 
Uses by right.
(a) 
Supermarkets, including a grocery pick-up facility either in a free-standing building or as part of a convenience store or supermarket.
(b) 
Convenience store with or without a motor vehicle fuel dispensing facility; provided, however, if the fuel dispensing facility includes diesel fuel, it shall be limited to one diesel dispensing station with not more than two hoses, each hose pumping not more than 10 gallons per minute.
(c) 
Retail stores and services.
(d) 
Restaurants.
(e) 
Banks and financial institutions.
(f) 
Pharmacies.
(g) 
Business or professional offices.
(h) 
Outpatient medical facilities.
(i) 
Hotels, provided the hotel is a minimum of three stories.
(j) 
Educational establishments or studios for dance, art or music.
(k) 
Civic or municipal facilities.
(l) 
Accessory uses customarily incidental to the uses listed above.
(2) 
Uses permitted as a conditional use.
(a) 
Restaurants with drive-through facilities and/or outdoor seating.
(b) 
Banks and financial institutions with drive-through facilities.
(c) 
Pharmacies with drive-through facilities.
(d) 
Cinemas or similar recreational or cultural establishments.
(e) 
Health club, fitness or exercise facilities.
(f) 
Nursery schools or day-care centers.
C. 
Area, bulk regulations and development standards.
(1) 
The following area, bulk and development regulations shall control development in the Highway Interchange District:
(a) 
Highway Interchange District tract location. The Highway Interchange District tract shall be located within one-third of a mile of an interchange of an interstate highway with a major state highway.
(b) 
Highway Interchange District tract area. The minimum size of the Highway Interchange District tract shall be 25 acres exclusive of any street rights-of-way.
(c) 
Maximum building coverage. Not more than 25% of the Highway Interchange District tract, and each portion thereof separated by a street, shall be occupied by buildings.
(d) 
Maximum impervious coverage. Not more than 70% of the Highway Interchange District tract shall consist of impervious surfaces, and not more than 75% of any portion thereof separated by a street shall consist of impervious surfaces.
(e) 
Maximum gross floor area. The total of gross floor area of all buildings and structures within a Highway Interchange District tract shall not exceed the number of square feet determined by multiplying the number of acres of the Highway Interchange District tract times 8,500. The maximum gross floor area of all buildings and structures within a Highway Interchange District tract shall not exceed 8,500 square feet per acre of the Highway Interchange District tract.
(f) 
Maximum height of buildings. No building shall exceed 55 feet in height.
(g) 
Minimum building setback from streets. A building shall be set back a minimum of 60 feet from an arterial street and 20 feet from a street traversing the Highway Interchange District tract.
(h) 
Minimum building setback from a Highway Interchange District tract boundary. A building shall be set back a minimum of 100 feet from a Highway Interchange District tract boundary adjacent to an existing residential use in a residential district and 35 feet from all other Highway Interchange District tract boundaries.
(i) 
Minimum surface parking areas setback from streets. A surface parking area shall be set back a minimum of 10 feet from streets.
(j) 
Minimum surface parking area set back from Highway Interchange District tract boundaries. A surface parking area shall be set back a minimum of 80 feet from a Highway Interchange District tract boundary adjacent to an existing residential use in a residential district and 10 feet from all other Highway Interchange District tract boundaries.
(k) 
Buffering from a Highway Interchange District tract boundary adjacent to a residential use in a residential district. Except as provided in Subsection C(1)(l) hereof, there shall be an eighty-foot buffer area from a Highway Interchange District tract boundary adjacent to an existing residential use in a residential district. The perimeter buffer shall provide a continuous visual screen by use of a combination of deciduous and/or evergreen plantings, berms, walls and/or fencing.
(l) 
Buffering and landscaping. In addition to buffering required by Subsection C(1)(j), and notwithstanding the buffering and landscaping requirements of Article X, due to the complexity of a large tract required for development in a Highway Interchange District, the buffering and landscaping requirements need to be determined on a site-by-site basis. Therefore, the applicant shall submit a detailed buffering and landscaping plan as part of the land development plan to be approved by the Board of Commissioners during the land development plan application process.
(m) 
Existing nonconformities. Any roads, structures or buildings existing on the Highway Interchange District tract which do not conform to the above setback requirements or are located within a buffer area are deemed to be nonconforming and may remain.
(n) 
Preservation of environmentally sensitive areas. Any area of the Highway Interchange District tract designated as Conservation Easement Area on the Land Development Plan shall be preserved in its existing state and a "Declaration of Restrictive Covenants for Conservation" recorded with the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, simultaneously with the recording of the Final Land Development Plan.
(o) 
Off-street parking and loading. All off-street parking and loading standards in Article XI of the Marple Township Zoning Ordinance shall apply to the Highway Interchange District, except the number of required parking spaces, including spaces designated for cart storage, shall be four parking spaces for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area of buildings on the Highway Interchange District tract.
(p) 
Lighting. A lighting plan shall be submitted as part of the land development plan in accordance with the design guidelines requirements of Subsection E(7)(b) hereof.
D. 
Signs. Supplemental to and notwithstanding any provisions of Article XII, Signs, of the Marple Township Zoning Ordinance to the contrary, the following sign regulations shall apply in a Highway Interchange District (it being the intent that the provisions of Article XII shall continue to apply in the Highway Interchange District except where in conflict with the provisions of this § 300-43.1D, in which case this § 300-43.1D shall apply):
(1) 
Permitted signs:
(a) 
Main West Chester Pike entrance sign. One main entrance sign at the West Chester Pike entrance identifying the name of the development and tenants in the Highway Interchange District and/or tenants with frontage on those portions of Langford Run Road and Langford Road, between West Chester Pike and Lawrence Road, provided that all properties are under common ownership, shall be permitted in the Highway Interchange District, subject to the following:
[1] 
The maximum surface display area of the sign shall not exceed 250 square feet on any one face.
[2] 
The maximum height shall not exceed 25 feet.
[3] 
The sign shall not overhang any parking area, drive or pedestrian walkway or be closer than five feet to a street right-of-way or be installed in a sight triangle necessary for the clear view of traffic.
(b) 
Monument sign. One monument sign shall be permitted on one pad site along the tract frontage on West Chester Pike, subject to the following:
[1] 
The maximum total surface display area of the sign shall be 50 square feet on any one face.
[2] 
The maximum height shall not exceed 12 feet.
[3] 
The sign shall not overhang any parking area, drive or pedestrian walkway or be closer than five feet to a street right-of-way or be installed in a sight triangle necessary for the clear view of traffic.
(c) 
Driveway entrance sign. A sign shall be permitted at each driveway entrance to a parking field from the road traversing the Highway Interchange District tract, subject to the following:
[1] 
The maximum surface display area of any one face of the sign shall not exceed 100 square feet.
[2] 
The maximum height shall not exceed 10 feet.
[3] 
The sign shall not overhang any parking area, drive or pedestrian walkway or be closer than five feet to a street right-of-way or be installed in a sight triangle necessary for the clear view of traffic.
(d) 
Wall-mounted signs. Signs mounted on the walls or facades of a building shall be permitted, subject to the following:
[1] 
Area of signs.
[a] 
The area of wall-mounted signs on the primary wall/facade of a building shall not exceed one square foot of sign area for every 10 square feet of the primary wall/facade to which it is attached, including windows, doors and cornices, or 300 square feet, whichever is less.
[b] 
The area of wall-mounted signs on one other wall/facade of a building shall not exceed 0.5 square feet of sign area for every 10 square feet of wall/facade to which it is attached, including windows, doors and cornices, or 100 square feet, whichever is less.
[2] 
Wall-mounted signs shall be installed parallel to the supporting wall and project no more than 18 inches from the face of such wall and shall not extend above the roof line of such building.
(e) 
Directory signs. At each of the driveway entrances to the parking fields from the road traversing the Highway Interchange District tract, one sign for the direction of traffic to parking or identification of individual buildings or tenants within the development shall be permitted, subject to the following:
[1] 
The maximum surface display area of each sign shall not exceed 40 square feet on any one face.
[2] 
The maximum height shall not exceed five feet.
[3] 
Each sign shall be set back a minimum of five feet from the curb line or edge of paving of any driveway measured from the vertical plane established by the leading edge of the sign. The sign shall not be installed in a sight triangle necessary for the clear view of traffic.
(f) 
Traffic control. Signs for the control of vehicular traffic shall be permitted, provided that the area of each sign shall not exceed seven square feet in size.
(g) 
Flags. Flags of the United States of America, other sovereign nations, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, and the corporate flags of the name of the development or its tenants shall be permitted, provided that the total number and location of such flags shall be subject to the review and approval of the Commissioners and that the square footage of each flag shall not be greater than 25 square feet.
(h) 
Calculation of the sign area. For the purposes of this section, "surface display area" or "sign area" shall mean the entire area within a continuous perimeter formed by straight lines joined at right angles which enclose the extreme limits of the writing, background, representation or display of the sign face. The supports, uprights or structure on which any sign is supported shall not be included in determining the surface display area unless such supports, uprights or structure are designed in such a manner as to form an integral background of the display or conveys meaning.
E. 
Special regulations.
(1) 
Unified plan. The Highway Interchange Development plans shall consist of a unified, harmonious grouping of buildings, parking areas, landscaped areas, buffer areas and conservation easement areas planned and designed as an integrated unit. The tract may be developed in phases under the Highway Interchange District land development plans.
(2) 
Ownership. The tract of land to be developed shall be in single ownership or shall be the subject of an application filed jointly by all of the owners of the entire tract, together with an agreement that the tract will be developed under single direction in accordance with an approved land development plan.
(3) 
Condominium. The owner/owners of a property in the Highway Interchange District, who have received land development plan approval for a project, shall be permitted to subject their property to the Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act without having to obtain separate land development plan approval for the establishment of the condominium.
(4) 
Bus shelters. Bus shelter(s) shall be provided at location(s) consistent with area bus routes and subject to approval during land development plan review.
(5) 
Utilities. All utility lines servicing a Highway Interchange District shall be underground.
(6) 
Traffic. A traffic impact study shall be required and submitted as part of the land development plan process. The extent of the traffic study is to be determined by the Township Engineer.
(7) 
Design guidelines. The owner/owners shall submit design guidelines for the development in the Highway Interchange District to the Township during the land development plan process, which shall be reviewed by the Township as part of the land development process and if approved, become a part of the land development plans. The design guidelines shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following:
(a) 
Architectural design guidelines for all of the principal buildings, such guidelines providing for facade ornamentation, building offsets, window treatments, variations of roof lines and other elements designed to reduce the horizontal mass of the buildings.
(b) 
Landscape design guidelines for proposed trees, shrubs and ground cover, as well as hardscape design guidelines for such features as pavers, benches, waste receptacles and lighting.