Middletown Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVI
C-2 General Commercial District
§ 275-85 Purpose.
It is the purpose of this district to provide opportunities for shopping in locations where there are groups of stores designed in a unified manner and accessible from a major road or roads. The General Commercial District is also planned to create a coherent design for the site and its buildings and to ensure compatibility with adjoining uses and districts.
§ 275-86 Use regulations.
A.
Permitted principal uses. A building may be erected, altered or used, and land may be used or occupied, subject to the General Provisions in Article XXI and Special Provisions of Article XXII, for any of the following purposes and for no other:
(2)
Motor vehicle repair or motor vehicle service station, including car wash facility, subject to § 275-139.
(3)
Automotive sales and service center, including rental agencies.
(5)
Indoor or outdoor place of amusement other than an open-air or drive-in theater.
(6)
Business, trade or private school.
(7)
Commercial greenhouse.
§ 275-87 Area and bulk regulations.
A.
Permitted principal uses and conditional uses, except as those that apply otherwise in Article XXII.
(1)
Minimum lot area: one acre.
(2)
Minimum lot width at the building line: 100 feet.
(3)
Minimum lot width at street line: 100 feet.
(4)
Maximum impervious surface area: 60%.
(5)
Maximum building coverage: 25%.
(6)
Maximum height: 45 feet.
(7)
Minimum depth of front and rear yard: 60 feet.
(8)
Minimum aggregate width of side yards: 60 feet.
(9)
Minimum width of each individual side yard: 25 feet
(10)
Minimum yard abutting the street on a corner lot: 60 feet.
§ 275-88 Design standards for General Commercial uses.
A.
Ownership. No lot or parcel of ground located in the C-2 District shall be used for any of the uses provided herein unless said lot or parcel shall be held in one ownership, except as may otherwise be authorized as a conditional use.
B.
Buffer area. Along each property line which directly abuts any residential district, a buffer area not less than 100 feet shall be provided, of which at least 50 feet shall be landscaped. Along any street line, a landscaped area not less than 30 feet in width shall be provided. Buffer areas and landscaped areas shall be in accordance with Article XXI.
D.
Each business use or service, including sales, exhibitions for sale, or service repair or processing activities, shall be conducted wholly within a completely enclosed building.
E.
Building placement.
(1)
Distance between buildings. The distance at the closest point between buildings or groups of buildings on a lot shall be at least as great as the average height of the two adjacent buildings and not less than 20 feet in width, plus walkways.
(2)
No building or permanent structure other than a permitted sign or traffic control device shall be erected within 70 feet of a street line or within 50 feet of any other property line.
F.
Off-street parking and circulation.
(2)
All required parking shall be available for use at the time of occupancy of any building.
G.
Sanitary sewage, water facilities and other facilities. No application for a use in the district shall be considered unless such use can and will be served, prior to occupancy, by a public sewage and public water system owned. All utilities, including water, electricity, gas, telephone, etc., shall be carried underground by approved standards of construction.
§ 275-89 Enhanced appearance options for C-2 General Commercial District uses.
A.
The following area and bulk regulations shall apply to all permitted principal uses, if enhanced appearance options, approved by Township Council in accordance with Subsections B through F are provided.
(1)
Impervious surface may be increased to 75%.
(2)
Minimum depth of the front yard may be reduced to 50 feet.
(3)
Minimum depth of rear yard may be reduced to 50 feet.
(4)
Minimum yard abutting a street on a corner lot may be reduced to 50 feet.
(5)
The buffering alongside property lines may be reduced to an aggregate of 15 feet with no side yard less than five feet.
(6)
Landscaped islands in parking areas may be omitted.
B.
Enhanced appearance options shall consist of three components: improved landscaping, improved hardscaping and improved building materials and design. In order to meet the minimum criteria of enhanced appearance options, a plan shall provide for all of the following, unless specified otherwise:
(1)
Improved landscaping.
(b)
The quantities of plants set forth in §§ 275-133 and 275-174 shall be increased by 20% to determine quantity requirements. However, plants may be grouped in selected areas of the site to achieve special functional and aesthetic objectives. In the event that the increased quantities of plants cannot fit on the property, the applicant may substitute larger plants or higher grade plant species to compensate for those plants that cannot fit on the property, subject to the approval of the Township Landscape Consultant.
(c)
At least three planting areas for shade trees shall be created and maintained at or near the corners of the principal building.
(d)
When decorative bollards are utilized in the perimeter landscaping, they shall be wooden or black steel types.
(2)
Improved hardscaping.
(a)
Pedestrian pathways of at least four feet six inches in width made of brick, concrete or approved equivalent shall be installed and maintained along all street frontages.
(b)
Pedestrian pathways of at least four feet six inches in width made of brick, or approved equivalent shall be installed and maintained to connect all perimeter pathways to all entry doors of a principal building.
(c)
Crosswalks made of brick, concrete or approved equivalent shall be maintained and installed along any curb cuts at vehicular entranceways to promote a continuation of the pedestrian pathway system. Such crosswalks shall be at least six feet in width.
(d)
Decorative streetlights, with black poles and bases, shall be provided along all street frontages and within the parking lot. Cobra head or shoebox type lights shall not be considered as being decorative.
(e)
A decorative wall, made of brick, stone, or approved equivalent, 24 inches in height, shall be installed and maintained along all primary street frontage planting beds, between the sidewalk and the parking lot, except in any area where a lower wall is needed to achieve safe sight distance within a clear sight triangle.
(f)
Where fencing is utilized, it shall be wooden such as shadowbox, picket or split rail or steel or wrought iron of at least 48 inches in height. Stockade fence and chain-link fence and plastic fence shall not be used.
(g)
The base of all freestanding signs shall be made of brick, stone, or approved equivalent, and shall be at least 30 inches in height.
(h)
All trash enclosure areas shall be made of brick, stone, or approved equivalent, except for the gates.
(3)
Improved building materials and design.
(a)
No principal buildings shall have a flat roof.
(b)
All principal buildings shall have a vertical design proportion defined by vertical architectural elements, such as windows, pilasters, columns, piers, or by recesses and projections of building walls such that no more than 12 continuous feet of blank building wall is created.
(c)
All principal buildings shall be designed to have a defined base. The base shall be made of brick, stone, or approved equivalent, with horizontal banding, and shall be at least 30 inches in height around at least three sides of the building, including all street-side elevations.
C.
Landscaping and screening.
(1)
General regulations. The following is required in and around off-street parking areas and loading areas in order to provide a visual and acoustical buffer for adjacent properties, to provide a visual buffer for adjacent streets, to define traffic routes and pedestrian paths through parking areas, to control soil erosion, to slow and filter stormwater runoff, and to moderate microclimatic effects.
(a)
Functions of parking-lot and loading area landscaping. Landscaping of parking lots and loading areas shall perform certain functions depending upon its arrangement and the type of space occupied, as described below. Aesthetic considerations are important to these functions. Where screening is required, such screening needs to be opaque, and shall be of sufficient density and height to obstruct casual observation.
(b)
Perimeter of area, abutting street. Landscaping materials so located shall visually define the perimeter and other parking areas, shall emphasize points of ingress and egress to and from the street, and shall visually screen the parking or loading area from the street so that headlights shining into or out of the area will not affect other drivers.
(c)
Perimeter of area, abutting other properties. Landscaping materials so located shall provide a windbreak trapping trash and dust and a visual and acoustical buffer for adjoining properties. When parking or loading areas abut a residential use or property zoned for such use, a dense screen of plantings, designed to be an effective screen, shall be provided and maintained to a minimum height of six feet from the ground at time of planting.
(d)
Landscaping within the interior of the parking areas. Landscaping located within parking areas shall be designed to promote pedestrian safety by defining walkways, to enhance driver safety by defining traffic lanes and discouraging cross-lot taxiing, to act as a windbreak trapping trash and dust, to provide shade, to reduce stormwater runoff, and to enhance the appearance of the parking area. Interior landscaping shall be designed to preserve sight distances and not obstruct the vision of motorists or pedestrians, and shall in no way create a hazard to safety.
(2)
Applicability and standards:
(a)
Perimeter landscaping. Perimeter landscaping along abutting properties and public or private streets shall be required for all off-street parking areas with more than five parking spaces, and for all loading areas regardless of size.
(b)
Interior landscaping. Interior landscaping shall be required for all off-street parking areas with more than 15 parking spaces.
(c)
Sight distance. No landscape elements or other objects may obstruct vision above the height of two feet and below 10 feet measured from the center line grade of the driveway and an intersecting street. A clear sight triangle at the intersection of the driveway and the street shall be determined in accordance with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Publication No. 201 (current issue), entitled "Engineering and Traffic Studies."
D.
Maintenance provisions. The owner of the facility shall be responsible for the continual maintenance of all enhanced appearance options in an attractive and healthy condition. Dead and pruned plant material and debris shall be routinely removed and replaced or within 30 days of a directive to do so issued by the Township Code Enforcement Officer.
E.
Landscape plan. A landscape plan shall be prepared and sealed by a landscape architect registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The landscape plan shall be incorporated as a part of the plan submitted with the subdivision or land development plan. The landscape plan shall be drawn to the same scale as the proposed subdivision or land development plan. The landscape plan shall show all existing individual specimen trees, tree masses, shrubs, water features and other natural elements of the site which are to be preserved or removed, and all trees, shrubs, ground covers, lawn area, walls and fences, pedestrian pathways, crosswalks and other enhanced appearance options, as per this section, which are to be installed in conjunction with the development of the land, including a continuous pedestrian pathway and crosswalk along the street frontage, and a continuous pedestrian pathway made of pavers connecting the perimeter sidewalk to the principal use building. A legend shall be provided to the plan which contains the botanical and common name of each species of tree and shrub to be installed, and the quantity and size of each species of tree and shrub to be provided. The landscape plan shall also be accompanied by detail sheets depicting all details for landscape and hardscape features.
F.
Approval of Township Council. The details of the enhanced appearance options shall be subject to approval by the Township Council as part of the subdivision and/or land development plan. Upon request of the applicant, the Township Council may permit variations from the standards set forth herein if the Township Council determines that the proposed variations will further improve the appearance of the development.