Norristown City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VIII
NC Neighborhood Commercial District
§ 320-75 Legislative intent.
The purpose of this district is to provide for commercial areas that cater to the daily convenience shopping and service needs of the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Furthermore, it is the intent of this district to preserve, to the greatest extent possible, the existing building stock that defines the architecturally historic community character. Therefore, all new construction shall be architecturally and functionally compatible with the established streetscape. It is further the intent of this district to:
A.
Promote a balance of retail, service, office, and dining uses which serve the adjacent neighborhoods.
B.
Encourage pedestrian flow through the design of mixed-use buildings with sidewalk-level retail uses.
C.
Encourage lively activity areas and gathering places for the community.
D.
Ensure that new buildings, additions, and renovations are consistent with and enhance the surrounding streetscape.
E.
Encourage economic development through the establishment of flexible standards.
§ 320-76 Use regulation.
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)
Any R-2 residential use on a single lot as per the standards and criteria of the R-2 District.
(2)
Conversion of an existing residential building where the commercial use occupies one or more floors after conversion as per the standards in Article VI, MSMU District.
(3)
Small-scale retail establishments for the sale of dry goods, variety and general merchandise, household supplies, food, drugs, hardware, furnishings, antiques, baked goods, greeting cards, plants and flowers, optical goods, musical instruments.
(4)
Personal service shops, including barbers, hairdressers, tailors, dressmakers, shoe repair and dry cleaning provided that no cleaning operations are performed on the premises.
(5)
Studio for photography, music or dance.
(6)
Establishment serving food or beverages to the general public, such as restaurant, cafe, confectionery or ice cream shop, including walk-up windows.
(7)
Banks, credit unions and savings and loans.
(8)
Small market grocery stores.
(9)
Catering establishments.
(10)
Business office, such as real estate, travel agency, and insurance.
(11)
Nail salons, provided that 500 feet separates them from any other nail salon.
(12)
Thrift store, provided that 500 feet separates them from any other thrift store.
(13)
Professional office for the practice of medicine, law, engineering, architecture, design, real estate, insurance or financial consultation.
(14)
Laundromats where customers operate the equipment.
(15)
Automotive parts and accessories stores, excluding body shops or repair facilities.
(16)
Accessory uses on the same lot with and customarily incidental to any principal use permitted by this section, including no-impact home-based business.
§ 320-77 Dimensional criteria.
A.
All nonresidential uses.
A | All Nonresidential Uses | Uses |
|---|---|---|
1 | Minimum lot size (net square feet) | 2,500 |
2 | Minimum lot width (feet) | 25 |
3 | Minimum front yard (feet) | See § 320-77B |
4 | Minimum side yard setback (feet) | None with shared party wall, 5 with no party wall |
5 | Minimum rear yard setback (feet) | 10 and 20 when abutting a residential use or zone |
6 | Maximum building height (feet) | 35 |
7 | Maximum impervious surface (percent of net lot area) | 90% |
8 | Maximum building coverage (percent of net lot area) | 75% |
B.
Front yard. Each building shall have one front yard, and in the case of a corner lot two front yards. Distance shall be determined by measuring from the curbline of the street to the front facade of the principal building, excluding bay windows, stoops or other similar projections, on the property immediately to the right or to the left. Either measurement may be used and shall constitute the required build-to line, but in no case shall be less than 10 feet. On corner lots, the front facade shall constitute the facade that is facing the greater of the two streets (as determined by road classification or traffic volume). When bordered by vacant property on both sides, the required build-to line shall be 20 feet.
§ 320-78 Nonresidential development regulations.
A.
General.
(1)
Supplemental regulations. The relevant provisions found in Article XXIII, Supplemental Regulations, shall apply.
(2)
Only one building shall be permitted per lot with a maximum gross floor area of 8,000 square feet.
(3)
Building additions shall be located to the rear and shall be compatible with the existing building in appearance size, scale and materials.
(4)
The storage of refuse shall be provided inside the building or within an outdoor area enclosed by either walls or an opaque fence that is architecturally compatible with the primary building.
(5)
Stairways, fire escapes and other structural alterations shall be located to the rear or side of the building.
(6)
Parking shall be accommodated to the rear or side of the property and may not extend beyond the front wall of the principal building. Corner lots with two front yards may have parking within the front yard setback of the street of lesser classification.
(7)
Any building that directly faces an abutting public street shall feature at least one customer entrance to that street with a direct sidewalk connection. This requirement can be met for a building on a corner lot with an entrance facing the corner that is visible from both sides.
B.
Design standards.
(1)
Alterations to the front facade must conform to the architectural standards and criteria of the applicable HARB.
(2)
Demolition may only occur if the building has limited or no historical value as determined by the HARB or is shown to be structurally unsound and cannot be stabilized as determined by a professional structural engineer specializing in historic structures.
(3)
New infill development shall generally employ building types that are compatible to the architecture of the area in their massing and external treatment.
(4)
New infill development shall also retain the historic architectural rhythm of building openings (including windows and entries) of the same block.
(5)
Blank facades shall not be permitted along any exterior wall facing a street, parking area or walking area.
(6)
Awnings, porticos, bay windows, or any other physical protrusion from a facade on which a public sidewalk is located shall not interfere with the free flow of pedestrians by maintaining a ten-foot-wide clear pathway at all times.