Norristown City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIII
TC Town Center District
§ 320-128 Legislative intent.
The purpose of the Town Center District is to encourage and permit uses that are compatible with the historic character of the downtown and to assist in its revitalization. Pedestrian-oriented uses are permitted and encouraged, while automobile-related uses that promote a suburban mall or strip commercial appearance are restricted. Also, uses that traditionally accompany and strengthen the commercial core are permitted, such as office, cultural, residential and related uses. Parking lots shall be separated and buffered from streets and sidewalks by low-lying walls and decorative fences, while new construction should utilize traditional building materials and accepted principles of urban design. Furthermore, all new construction shall preserve the existing streetscape by requiring that all new buildings be built to the edge of the public sidewalk.
§ 320-129 Use regulations.
A.
Permitted uses. A building may be erected, altered or used and a lot may be used or occupied for one or more of the following purposes, with uses allowed to be mixed within a building or mixed in separate buildings on a property, and no other:
(1)
Retail establishments, including department stores for the sale of new dry goods, variety and general merchandise, books, magazines, clothing, food, medical supplies, drugs, pets, flowers and floral arrangements, furnishings or other household supplies and the sale and repair of jewelry, watches, clocks, optical goods or musical, professional or scientific instruments.
(2)
Business offices, professional offices, government offices and office buildings. Medical offices are only permitted on the second floor and above. Client-based social service providers shall not be permitted.
(3)
Banks, savings-and-loan associations and financial institutions, provided that no drive-in window service shall be permitted.
(4)
Telephone central offices and telegraph or other public utility offices.
(5)
Restaurants, tearooms, delicatessens, luncheonettes, coffee shops, retail bakers, confectionary or ice cream shops, bars, taverns or other places serving food or beverages, provided that no drive-through restaurants or similar uses disbursing food and beverages by means of a drive-in window shall be permitted, while outdoor dining shall be permitted as an accessory use.
(6)
Hotels.
(7)
Indoor theaters and performing arts centers.
(8)
Antique stores.
(9)
Studios for dance, music, photography or martial arts.
(10)
Private schools or colleges (such as a barber school or business or technical college).
(11)
Art galleries.
(12)
Accessory uses on the same lot with and customarily incidental to any principal use permitted by this section, including no-impact home-based businesses and surface parking lots.
B.
Special exception. Any of the following uses when authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board as a special exception pursuant to Article XXI and any additional criteria set forth herein.
[Amended 5-5-2020 by Ord. No. 20-09]
(1)
Apartments, provided that they are above a nonresidential use.
(2)
Houses of worship, provided the house of worship is located on a lot 20,000 square feet or greater in size.
(4)
Tailors, barbers, beauty salons, shoe repair, dressmaking or similar shops.
(5)
Health spas.
(6)
Retail dry cleaning.
(7)
Job printing and photocopying.
(8)
Consignment shops.
(9)
Single-family detached, twin, rowhouse and duplex dwellings as per the applicable standards of the R-2 Residence District and provided the dwellings were originally constructed as such.
C.
Signs. Unless otherwise noted, when erected and maintained in accordance with the provision of Article XXVII, Signs.
D.
Conditional use. Any of the following uses when authorized by Municipal Council as a conditional use in accordance with the standards set forth in § 320-326 (relating to conditional use standards) and any additional criteria set forth herein.
[Added 5-5-2020 by Ord. No. 20-09]
(1)
Mid-rise apartment houses, provided all dwelling units are located on the second floor and above.
(2)
High-rise apartment houses, provided all dwelling units are located on the second floor and above.
(3)
Residential mixed uses, provided all dwelling units are located on the second floor and above.
(4)
Public transit stations or terminals.
(5)
Any use listed in § 320-129A, which contains a gross floor area in excess of 10,000 square feet.
(6)
Parking garages as a principal use.
§ 320-130 Dimensional criteria.
A.
All uses.
(1)
No minimum lot area shall be required.
(2)
Each lot shall have a width of at least 20 feet at the street line.
(3)
One hundred percent of the area of any lot under 5,000 square feet in area may be occupied by buildings. No more than 90% of the area of any lot 5,000 square feet or more in area may be covered by buildings.
(4)
No front, rear or side yards shall be required.
(5)
Any principal structure constructed, modified or remodeled in this district must have its front facade built to the edge of the public sidewalk, unless the structure is utilizing an existing historic facade as part of a redevelopment project. Corner properties shall be considered as having two front facades. Rear facades are exempt from this requirement. Instead, they are encouraged to provide space for loading docks and dumpsters.
(6)
The maximum height of any building or structure erected or used in this district shall be 10 stories or 120 feet.
(7)
The minimum height of any building erected in this district shall be two stories and 25 feet.
§ 320-131 Off-street parking and loading.
A.
All uses.
(1)
The off-street parking regulations, including requirements for a minimum number of parking spaces, of Article XXVI shall not apply in the TC Town Center District.
(2)
Adequate provision for loading shall be provided for each use in the TC District, unless provision of loading areas is not feasible due to existing buildings or site constraints.
(3)
When properties have access to two generally parallel streets or to a street and an alley, surface parking lots shall be located to the rear of principal buildings, in accordance with the following standards:
(a)
Surface parking lots shall not be located between any front facade and any street. On corner properties, surface parking lots shall not be located between the two front facades and the two streets.
(b)
Surface parking lots shall not be located to the side of buildings when the parking lot will be visible from the street.
(c)
On through lots, where the property has frontage on two generally parallel streets, surface parking lots shall not be located between the front facade and the street of higher classification, with Main Street always having the highest street classification for purposes of this chapter.
(4)
When properties do not have access to two generally parallel streets or to a street and an alley, surface parking lots may be located to the rear or side of principal buildings, in accordance with the following standards:
(5)
Surface parking lots shall be screened from view from streets through the use of low-lying decorative walls not to exceed three feet in height, decorative iron fencing, and evergreen plantings.
(6)
Structured parking facing arterial streets shall have ground floor retail, restaurant, or personal service uses along the street. Structured parking facing other streets shall have ground floor retail, restaurant, or personal services along the street or design treatments such as colonnades, screens, arcades, awnings, landscaping, street furniture, and other public amenities to create the appearance of an occupied building. Blank walls are not permitted to face streets, and all sides visible from public streets shall be designed to create the appearance of an occupied building.
(7)
Underground structured parking that is below grade and not visible from streets shall be permitted at any location on a lot.
§ 320-132 Architectural and site design standards.
A.
Preliminary architectural elevations shall be prepared by a registered architect. Such elevations shall illustrate the general design, character, and materials for facades of buildings visible from public streets, walkways, and other lands available for public use.
B.
The architectural design of all buildings should provide a variety of rooflines and treatments when viewed from public streets, walkways, and other lands available for public use. Buildings shall not have the exterior appearance of large monolithic structures. Instead, large buildings shall have the appearance of connected smaller buildings. Building walls shall not have an unbroken single appearance for more than 75 feet on the average in horizontal length. Instead, variations in materials, colors, textures, overhangs, setbacks of at least five feet, display windows, and/or entranceways shall be used to provide visual interest.
C.
Front facades of buildings shall be oriented towards existing and proposed streets, with an everyday entrance in the front facade.
D.
All primary building entrances shall be accentuated. Permitted entrance accents include: recessed, protruding, canopy, cupola, tower, portico, or overhang.
E.
Buildings shall be similar in height and size or shall be articulated and subdivided into vertical and horizontal massing that is more or less proportional to adjacent structures and maintains the existing architectural rhythm on the block.
F.
New infill development shall attempt to maintain the horizontal rhythm of Town Center facades by using a similar alignment of windows, floor spacing, cornices, awnings, and other elements. Portions of buildings that are substantially taller than surrounding buildings shall be set back five or more feet from the ground level front facade to minimize the impact of the building on the horizontal building rhythms established on the block.
G.
Blank walls shall not be permitted along any exterior wall facing a street, parking area, or pedestrian walkway. These walls shall comprise a minimum of 30% window area and a maximum of 70% window area, with the following exception.
(1)
The ground floor front facades of buildings facing arterial streets shall consist of a minimum of 50% window area and a maximum of 85% window area, with views provided through these windows into the business or lobby area. The lower edge of ground floor windows for retail, restaurant, and related uses shall be a maximum of 12 to 30 inches above the sidewalk.
H.
Rooftop heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning equipment shall be screened from view from adjacent buildings, public streets, walkways and other lands available for public use in a manner that is consistent with the architectural design.
I.
All buildings and roofs shall avoid garish or dissonant color schemes.
J.
Loading and unloading docks, dumpsters, and exterior compactors shall be located, designed, and screened in a manner that minimizes their visibility from adjacent public streets, walkways, and other lands available for public use and dwellings. No outdoor storage is permitted.
K.
Sidewalks and streetscape improvements shall match the most recent improvements installed by Norristown along portions of the same street within the Town Center District area.
§ 320-133 Design review.
A.
All proposed developments shall be reviewed by the Historical Architectural Review Board when this board has jurisdiction. When the Historical Architectural Review Board does not have jurisdiction, all proposed developments shall be reviewed by a Design Review Board in accordance with § 320-243.
B.
In addition to its other review standards, the Design Review Board shall determine whether the proposed development adequately matches the character of downtown Norristown.