Middlesex Township Butler County
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXIV
RT-228 Route 228 Corridor Commercial and Mixed Use Overlay District
§ 175-250 Purpose.
The purposes of this district are to:
A.
Allow for new commercial and office development while also accommodating the preservation of farm land, open space, and rural character;
B.
Provide a gradation of land use intensity and density from the rural nature of the Township to the more suburbanized Town Center zoning area of the Township within the Route 228 Corridor;
C.
Create a desirable "front door" gateway for the Township;
D.
Accommodate land uses that primarily provide for services and amenities utilized by the local community;
E.
Introduce commercial and other uses into an area of the Township where these uses were previously not permitted. The introduction of these uses shall be sensitive to the existing land use context and landscape. The uses and development of land along this corridor overlay is intended to be of lesser density than that permitted in the existing C-2 Highway Commercial or C-3 Regional Commerce Zoning Districts.
§ 175-251 Location.
The Route 228 Corridor Overlay applies to all properties within the corridor, generally abutting the existing and/or proposed realigned Route 228 right-of-way, as indicated on the revised Middlesex Township Official Zoning Map, and the Route 228 Corridor Overlay District Sheet.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said map and sheet are on file in the Township offices.
§ 175-252 Applicability.
The requirements of the Route 228 Corridor Overlay District are complementary and in addition to any other applicable requirements of the existing base zoning districts and any other applicable zoning regulations. Where there is a conflict between the Route 228 Corridor Overlay District and any other applicable zoning requirement of the existing base zoning districts, the Route 228 Corridor Overlay District shall supersede the conflicting requirement to the extent of the conflicting requirement only, except that the Route 228 Corridor Overlay District shall completely preempt any base zoning district regulations with respect to billboards.
§ 175-253 Authorized uses.
[Amended 8-21-2019 by Ord. No. 134; 12-20-2023 by Ord. No. 138]
§ 175-254 Additional conditional use regulations.
In addition to any applicable conditional use requirements of this article, the following additional requirements shall be met for the following conditional uses in the Route 228 Corridor Overlay District:
A.
All conditional uses must meet the following requirements:
(1)
The maximum building footprint shall be 40,000 square feet, except as otherwise may be specifically provided for by the requirements of this Overlay District.
(2)
The development of any proposed conditional use within 1,000 feet of the western Township boundary on the southern side of Route 228 shall construct a Township gateway sign. The sign shall meet the following requirements:
(3)
Grocery store, retail, and office uses.
(a)
In addition to any other required setback or buffering, grocery store, retail, and office uses may exceed the maximum building footprint of 40,000 square feet up to a maximum building footprint of up to 80,000 square feet, provided that the building shall be set back a minimum of 100 feet from any boundary line of any adjacent property within the following zoning districts: R-1, R-2, PRD, AG-A, and R-AG, whether the abutting property is within or outside of the Overlay District.
(b)
Grocery store, retail and office uses proposed as part of a multi-parcel, master-planned development that includes two or more buildings and two or more land uses, may have a building footprint larger than 80,000 square feet, provided that the building shall be set back at least 200 feet from any boundary line of any adjacent property within the following zoning districts: R-1, R-2, PRD, AG-A, and R-AG, whether the abutting property is within or outside of the Overlay District.
§ 175-255 Area and bulk regulations.
A.
Residential uses.
(1)
Setbacks, lot coverage, and other area and bulk regulations for residential uses in a planned residential development shall be those as required by the applicable base zoning district.
(2)
Residential uses are permitted only where nonresidential development is existing or proposed between the residential development and the Route 228 right-of-way; residential uses may not be located immediately adjacent to Route 228. Alternatively, all residential uses must be set back from the Route 228 right-of-way by 300 feet.
[Amended 8-21-2019 by Ord. No. 134]
(3)
Setbacks, lot coverage, area and bulk regulations and other requirements for townhouses in this zoning district shall be as follows:
[Added 8-21-2019 by Ord. No. 134]
(4)
No accessory structures are permitted.
[Added 8-21-2019 by Ord. No. 134]
(5)
Sidewalks. Sidewalks shall be provided within the front yard setback, and side yard setback on corner lots, on both sides of public or private roads. The minimum width of all sidewalks shall be four (4) feet. When practical, all new sidewalks shall directly connect to existing sidewalks situated on adjoining lots.
[Added 8-21-2019 by Ord. No. 134]
B.
Nonresidential uses.
(2)
Setbacks.
(a)
Front yard setback: setback from Route 228 right-of-way: minimum of 75 feet from the edge of the right-of-way or 100 feet from the center line of Route 228, whichever is greater. However, the front yard setback may be reduced to no less than 50 feet from the edge of the right-of-way, provided that the following buffering is provided between the Route 228 right-of-way and any parking lot, at a minimum:
(b)
Side yard setback: 20 feet.
(c)
Rear yard setback: 50 feet.
(4)
Landscaping shall be required pursuant to the requirements of § 175-140. In addition to any other requirements of this section, the following landscape buffers shall apply:
(a)
Bufferyard A shall be provided along the side and rear perimeter of any land development where such land development abuts property that is within the AG-A Rural Residential, R-2 Residential, or R-AG Residential Agricultural PRD and R-1 Suburban Residential Zoning Districts.
(b)
Bufferyard B shall be provided where any proposed residential use abuts an existing or proposed nonresidential use.
(c)
Bufferyard C shall be provided along the side and rear perimeter of any land development where such land development abuts property that is within the Town Center or C-2 Highway Commercial Zoning Districts.
(5)
Buildings.
(a)
Front building facade materials shall be brick, stone, or similar material from the ground level to the top of the building structure.
(b)
The ground-level front facade and the facade of any building facing a public, private or internal street shall have windows and/or doors covering at least 50% of the horizontal length of the facade, between the height of three feet and eight feet above the walkway or grade, allowing views into and out of the interior. Product display windows may be used to meet the transparency requirement.
[1]
The percentage of required window and door openings, above, allowing interior views, may be reduced by using false or opaque window features, provided that they match the form of the required window and door openings and comprise no more than half of the required 50% coverage requirement and that the openings appear as an integral part of the facade.
[2]
No more than two sides of any one building shall be subject to the transparency requirements.
(c)
All buildings shall provide prominent and highly visible street-level doorway entrances along the front or side of the building which faces a public street.
(d)
No mechanical or electrical equipment related to a building or structure shall be visible from a public right-of-way. Wherever feasible, the use of exterior mechanical systems should be minimized.
(e)
Buildings included in proposed land development within the Overlay District shall have a common architectural theme that includes colors, materials, and architectural design that are common among buildings within the Overlay District.
§ 175-256 Parking and loading.
A.
Number of spaced required: See Article XIII.
(1)
To the greatest extent possible, off-street parking areas shall be designed to reduce negative visual effects of extensive paved areas and contain defined landscaped pedestrian walkways. Parking areas shall be constructed within centralized locations accessible to multiple land uses. Parking areas on multiple lots shall be interconnected to the greatest extent possible to reduce traffic congestion and the number of curb cuts along public streets. If said layout can be demonstrated not to be physically feasible, then said parking shall be located to the rear or side of the lot's structures.
(2)
No single parking lot area shall exceed 40% of the overall lot.
(3)
All parking areas shall be landscaped as per Township standards.
(4)
One landscape island measuring at a minimum of 160 square feet in area shall be constructed for every 10 parking spaces. The island shall contain a minimum of one deciduous tree that has a minimum caliper size of three inches and ground cover planting covering 50% of the island's area.
(5)
Parking lots shall be located a minimum of 10 feet from any lot line of an adjacent property or adjacent land development. This requirement shall not apply where multiple parking lots and properties are included within one land development.
(6)
All service and loading areas shall be located in the rear yard of a lot. The service and loading area of all nonresidential developments shall be screened by an eight-foot-high hedge, earth berm, masonry wall or fence with a minimum opacity of 80%.
§ 175-257 Lighting.
A.
Lighting along streets and within parking lots shall not exceed 24 feet in height. Pedestrian lighting in public areas and along sidewalks shall not exceed 16 feet in height.
B.
All parking lot light fixtures shall be sharp cutoff fixtures such that the source of illumination is not visible.
C.
All light fixtures installed within 50 feet of an adjacent land development or property not within the same land development where the fixture is located must be shielded to direct the illumination from the fixture away from the adjacent land development or property.
§ 175-258 Signs.
See Article XIV. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any previous ordinance, billboards are not permitted in the Route 228 Corridor Overlay District, including any properties within the Overlay District that are also within the C-2 base zoning district.
§ 175-259 Steep slope controls.
See § 171-141.
§ 175-260 Storage.
See § 175-149.
§ 175-261 Access and circulation.
A.
Vehicular access.
(1)
Access to Route 228: Access shall be designed to minimize the number of points of access to arterial and collector streets. Any site which contains two or more buildings shall be designed to encourage the use of common driveways to control access to Route 228.
(2)
All land developments shall have no more than one point of access for every 500 feet of frontage on Route 228.
(3)
Ingress, egress and internal traffic circulation on the site shall be designed to minimize congestion, to ensure safety and to provide adequate accessibility to all buildings for firefighting equipment and emergency vehicles.
C.
Connectivity.
[Amended 9-21-2022 by Ord. No. 137]
(1)
All land developments in which public roads are proposed for dedication shall provide for vehicular and pedestrian access between the proposed development and any adjacent existing development. Where such a proposed land development is adjacent to undeveloped land, the proposed land development shall accommodate future pedestrian and vehicular connections to such adjacent undeveloped land by accommodating such access within the overall sight layout and reservation of recorded construction and access easements to facilitate construction of the future connection.
§ 175-262 Screening and landscaping.
See § 175-140.