In order to achieve the purpose of this Ordinance, the following zoning districts, based on the concepts and proposals set forth in the adopted Land Use Plan of the Town of Mint Hill, are hereby established. In addition to the primary use indicated herein in the various districts in the Table of Principal Permitted Uses, Section 5.2, uses that are accessory to the primary uses, are also permitted.

(Ord. No. 598, 4-14-2011; Ord. No. 798, 7-8-2021)

State Law reference— Zoning districts authorized, G.S. 160D-703.

4.2.1

R, Residential District. This district is designed to encourage the protection of the natural and manmade environment and resources and the retention of existing farm lands, rural estates, forested and water areas and other open type uses. This district contains diverse modes of living and housing types by encouraging building lots of varying size and dwelling unit densities consistent with the stated goals and objectives for promoting and protecting the unique rural and country village character of the Town set forth in the adopted Land Use Plan. Other selected uses, consistent with the needs of the community, are also provided for in this district.

4.2.2

O-A, Office and Apartments. Provides for business and professional offices, as well as apartments, for those preferring this mode of living.

4.2.3

B-G, General Business. Provides basically for retail sales and services, and other compatible uses primarily.

4.2.4

B-D, Distributive Business. The purpose of this district is to provide areas in which distributive uses, such as warehouses, office and wholesaling concerns, plus other complementary uses, may be established and may be given assurance of wholesome surroundings in the future. The development standards for this district are designed also to aid in preventing the creation of traffic congestion and traffic hazards on highways and to aid in protecting nearby residential areas from detrimental aspects of uses permitted within this district.

4.2.5

B-P, Planned Business. Provides for retail sales and services in facilities planned as an architectural unit in one or more structures, and providing common off-street parking areas and landscaping on the site, as well as uniformity in signs and other accessory uses.

4.2.6

I-G, General Industrial. Provides for limited industrial uses as well as retail sales and services and other compatible uses.

4.2.7

I, Institutional. This district is intended to accommodate mid and large sized public, semipublic and institutional uses, such as schools, libraries or large churches which have a substantial land use impact or traffic generation potential. It is not intended for the small institutional uses customarily found within residential areas, such as small churches. Because of potential adverse impacts, all institutional uses shall require site plan approval by the Board of Commissioners.

4.2.8

PUD-CZD, Planned Unit Development-Conditional Zoning.

A.

The Commercial Planned Unit Development ("PUD-CZD") Conditional Zoning District is hereby established in order to accommodate, in areas outside the downtown, commercial projects of innovative design and layout that would not otherwise be permitted under this Ordinance because of the strict application of zoning district or general development standards. The PUD-CZD encourages innovative land planning and design concepts by:

1.

Reducing or eliminating the inflexibility that sometimes results from strict application of zoning and development standards that were designed primarily for individual lots;

2.

Allowing greater freedom in selecting the means to provide access, light, open space and design amenities;

3.

Promoting quality urban design and environmentally sensitive development by allowing development to take advantage of special site characteristics, locations and land uses.

B.

In return for greater flexibility in site design requirements, Commercial Planned Unit Developments are expected to deliver exceptional quality community designs that preserve critical environmental resources, provide above average open space amenities, incorporate creative design in the layout of buildings, open space and circulation; assure compatibility with surrounding land uses and neighborhood character; and provide greater efficiency in the layout and provision of roads, utilities and other infrastructure. The PUD-CZD shall not be used as a means of circumventing the Town's adopted land development regulations for routine developments.

C.

At the time of rezoning, an application that includes a detailed Site Plan of the entire site will also be required pursuant to the regulations and application procedures of Article 8. Decisions with respect to the establishment of a PUD-CZD and the issuance of a Conditional Zoning District approval in connection therewith shall be legislative decisions subject to judicial review using the same procedures and standard of review as apply to general use district zoning decisions.

D.

Specific requirements and regulations for design and use as well as application requirements are located in Section 7.2.31 and Article 8, respectively.

(Ord. No. 598, 4-14-2011; Ord. No. 798, 7-8-2021)

The Conditional Zoning (CZ) rezoning process allows for the establishment of certain uses that, because of their nature or scale, have particular impacts on both the immediate area and the community as a whole. The development of these uses cannot be predetermined or controlled by general district standards. In order to accommodate these uses, this Section establishes the Conditional Zoning process. The process for approval of a CZ is explained in Article 8, Subsection 8.5.2A. The rezoning of any parcel of land to a CZ shall be a voluntary process initiated by the property owner or his authorized agent. Any area rezoned to a CZ shall be in general compliance with the goals, objectives and implementation strategies of the adopted Comprehensive or Land Use Plan and all other plans and regulations officially adopted by the Board of Commissioners. The review process established in this Section provides for the accommodation of such uses by a reclassification of property into a CZ, subject to specific conditions (which may exceed those that would otherwise be required for the use in question), which ensure compatibility of the use with the enjoyment of neighboring properties and in accordance with the general plans of development of the Town. Some uses require a Conditional Zoning approval and compliance with the set of initial specific conditions as indicated in the Table of Permitted Uses, Section 5.2 and the corresponding Section 7.2. Conditional Zoning is not intended for securing early zoning for a proposal.

Once a property has been rezoned to a CZD, it shall be referenced with the letters "CZD" behind the name of the applicable general zoning district listed in Section 4.2. Thus, a property rezoned to a Conditional Zoning District in the B-G (general use district) shall appear on the Zoning Map as "B-G(CZD)."

(Ord. No. 598, 4-14-2011; Ord. No. 798, 7-8-2021)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 598, adopted July 8, 2021, amended the title of § 4.3 to read as herein set out. The former § 4.3 title pertained to conditional districts.

A.

Overlay Districts are zoning districts which are applied only in conjunction with the underlying zoning districts and may grant or impose additional use or development requirements upon the underlying zoning districts.

B.

The effect is to have both the overlay district and the underlying district controlling the use and development of the lot. Overlay districts may be applied to general or conditional zoning districts.

C.

An overlay district may be initiated as a zoning map amendment by the Board of Commissioners, Planning Board or property owner. The establishment, amendment or repeal of the boundaries of any overlay district shall be in accordance with procedures set forth in Article 8 for Zoning Map Amendments.

4.4.1

Manufactured Home Overlay District.

A.

Manufactured Home Overlay District. The Town of Mint Hill has established Manufactured Home Overlay District(s) as shown on the official zoning map. The purpose and intent of this district is to provide areas in which manufactured homes can be located on individual lots. In order that such homes, when placed on the lot, are compatible with single-family residences, the Manufactured Home (MH) Overlay District provides certain size, construction and aesthetic standards for manufactured homes. The MH Overlay District supplements the range of uses permitted in the underlying zoning district. All other uses and regulations for the underlying district shall continue to remain in effect for properties classified in the MH Overlay District. The MH Overlay District may only be applied in areas which contain a (R) Residential underlying general zoning district.

B.

Allowed Uses. All uses permitted in the underlying R (Residential) Zoning District are permitted.

C.

Minimum Standards for All Manufactured Homes Located in the Manufactured Home Overlay District on Individual Lots or Tracts. All manufactured homes erected after the effective date of this Ordinance amendment shall conform to the following minimum standards for design:

1.

All manufactured homes shall conform to all federal manufactured home construction and safety standards and/or building requirements and/or codes for manufactured homes and bear the required United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) tag and/or data plate.

2.

Reserved.

3.

The manufactured home has a length not exceeding three (3) times its width and the structure must be at least twenty-four (24) feet in width along the majority of its length.

4.

Manufactured homes on individual lots and/or tracts shall be oriented lengthwise with no more than a thirty-degree variation, either way, from parallel to the front of the lot and/or property boundary except on corner lots. On corner lots a manufactured home can be oriented lengthwise to be parallel to either street front which will allow the required yard setbacks, or it can be oriented on the diagonal on a corner lot, if setbacks can be met.

5.

The structure shall be set up in accordance with the standards set by the North Carolina Department of Insurance, including tie down standards.

6.

The structure will have all wheels, axles, transporting lights and towing apparatus removed. If any of these items cannot be removed, they shall be screened from view with landscaping or fencing if it is still visible after the unit is underpinned.

7.

The structure shall not be occupied unless it is supported on masonry blocks, provided with continuous skirting from the bottom of the walls to the ground made of continuous brick or other material unpierced except for required ventilation and an access door.

8.

Each manufactured home shall have a pitched roof with a minimum vertical rise of three (3) feet for every twelve (12) feet under of horizontal run and must provide an eave projection of no less than six (6) inches, and the roof shall be finished with a type of shingle that is commonly used in standard single-family residential construction.

9.

A permanent access of either brick or pressure-treated wood or a deck of pressure-treated wood shall be installed leading into each door. For purposes hereunder, a composite deck product that looks like pressure-treated wood but has a longer life span and requires less maintenance is an acceptable material.

10.

All manufactured homes shall otherwise meet all applicable zoning regulations for the zoning district in which it is located as well as all housing standards in the Town of Mint Hill Code of Ordinances, Chapter 12.

11.

Each manufactured home shall be for single-family occupancy only.

4.4.2

Downtown Overlay District. The Town of Mint Hill has established Downtown Overlay District(s) as shown on the Official Zoning Map. The purpose and intent of the Downtown Overlay District(s) is to implement the Downtown Mint Hill Master Plan and regulate uses within the DO-A and DO-B Overlay Districts while also requiring specific building standards and design requirements. The DO-A Overlay District zone is mixed in function, but principally residential in character. The DO-A Overlay District is the largest area of the downtown. As it is shared by many neighborhoods in the downtown area, the DO-B District (also referred to as "Town Center") shall be the most dense business, service and institutional area and contain the highest concentration of said respective uses. The DO-A and DO-B Districts encourage a greater variety of uses in close proximity to one another. In order to manage this flexibility, a specific set of design guidelines has been established to regulate buildings and their relationship to the public realm of the street and formal open spaces. Buildings in the Town Center are close to the street and off-street parking is generally to the rear to create an active pedestrian environment. Uses within the DO-A and DO-B will be subject to the special requirements ("SR") found in Section 7.4 and as noted in the Table of Permitted Uses in Section 5.2. To the extent any special requirements in Section 7.4 for the DO-A or DO-B are inconsistent with any general zoning requirements in Article 6 (or elsewhere in this UDO), the special requirements of Section 7.4 shall control and govern the development.

(Ord. No. 598, 4-14-2011; Ord. No. 798, 7-8-2021)