Pennsburg City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXII
LIC Light Industrial and Commercial District
[Amended 8-5-2002 by Ord. No. 9-02]
§ 110-2200 Declaration of legislative intent.
In expansion of the declaration of legislative intent and statement of community development objectives contained in Article I of this chapter, it is the intent of this article to provide regulations for light industrial, commercial and office uses that are generally consistent with the goals and recommendations of the Upper Perkiomen Valley Regional Comprehensive Plan and the following objectives:
A.
Provide for the orderly and planned development and redevelopment of office, research and development, and laboratory uses, as well as a variety of nonpolluting, small-scale industries.
B.
Provide performance standards, setback regulations and buffering requirements to minimize traffic congestion, noise, glare, pollution, and safety hazards, and in general to ensure that the type and scale of office and industrial development will cause minimal negative impacts on surrounding neighborhoods.
C.
Establish reasonable standards of performance for the development of commercial uses that provide for the sale of convenience goods and personal services that meet the daily needs of the local population.
D.
Protect the character and integrity of adjoining residential areas by minimizing the negative effects of noise, glare, pollution, overcrowding of land, and traffic congestion from any shopping center development or other commercial use.
§ 110-2201 Uses permitted on parcels of five or more acres.
On parcels of five acres or larger, a building may be erected, altered, or used, and a lot may be occupied, for any of the following uses and no other:
A.
Light industrial uses:
(1)
Scientific or industrial research, engineering, training, testing, experimental laboratory or similar establishment.
(2)
Administrative or corporate offices.
(3)
Public or governmental utility building or use, including storage yard, repair shop or similar use.
(4)
Printing, publishing, lithography or similar processes.
(5)
Manufacturing, fabrication, assembly, processing and packaging of natural and man-made materials, chemicals, synthetics and other organic and inorganic products, except those uses specifically prohibited below.
(6)
Warehouse, storage, or distribution center.
(7)
Contractor's office and storage.
(8)
Lumberyard or building supply center.
(9)
Retail sales of industrial products similar to those may be produced in the district.
(10)
Accessory use on the same lot and customarily incidental to any of the above permitted uses and in compliance with the provisions of § 110-312 of this chapter, including, but not limited to:
(a)
Storage within an enclosed building or fenced area.
(b)
Repair shop or maintenance facilities normally required for the conduct of industrial operations.
(c)
Cafeteria, recreation facility or other service facility located within a permitted use and operated solely for the occupants of the buildings.
(d)
Dwelling quarters for a watchman or caretaker employed on the premises shall be permitted in connection with any industrial establishment. A maximum of one dwelling unit per property shall be permitted.
(11)
In the case of mixed-use developments, all of the above limited industrial uses are permitted by conditional use.
B.
Retail uses:
(1)
Retail sales establishment or service shop.
[Amended 6-5-2006 by Ord. No. 1-06]
(2)
Restaurant or other eating establishment, excluding fast-food and drive-in establishments.
(3)
Bakery or confectionery.
(4)
Indoor theater.
(5)
Accessory uses on the same lot as and customarily incidental to any of the above permitted uses, in compliance with § 110-312 of this chapter.
(6)
Any use of the same general character as those listed in Subsection B(1) through (5) above, when authorized as a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board.
(7)
Pad sites in a shopping center, when authorized as a conditional use and in compliance with § 110-328 of this chapter, and also in compliance with § 110-2207, pad site regulations, of this article, including the following uses:
(a)
Fast-food or drive-in eating establishment.
(b)
Drive-in bank or financial institution, including drive-in automatic teller machine.
(c)
Tire, battery, and accessory store for motor vehicles.
(d)
Farm and garden supply center.
(e)
Indoor theater for motion pictures.
(f)
Gasoline service or filling station.
(g)
Any use of the same general character as those listed in Subsection B(7)(a) through (f) above, when approved by the Zoning Hearing Board as a special exception.
(8)
Arcade or indoor place of amusement, when authorized as a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board in compliance with § 110-1003 of this chapter.
(9)
Signs in compliance with Article XV of this chapter.
C.
Office uses:
(1)
Business or professional office, studio, bank or other financial institution. Drive-in establishments shall be permitted if the requirements of § 110-2207E of this chapter can be satisfied.
(2)
Personal service shop.
(3)
Municipal or government use.
(4)
Assembly hall, community center, or library.
(5)
Any use of the same general character as those listed in Subsection C(1) through (4) above, when authorized as a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board.
D.
Other uses:
(1)
Hotel, motel, or tourist home.
(2)
Child day-care center, in compliance with § 110-313 of this chapter.
(3)
Public parking lot or public parking garage.
(4)
Any use of the same general character as those listed in Subsection D(1) through (3) above, when authorized as a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board.
§ 110-2202 Uses permitted on parcels smaller than five acres.
On parcels smaller than five acres, a building may be erected, altered, or used, and a lot may be occupied, for any of the following uses and no other:
A.
All industrial uses listed in § 110-2201A.
B.
The following retail, office and other uses:
(1)
Business or professional office, studio, bank or other financial institution. Drive-in establishments shall be permitted if the requirements of § 110-2207E of this chapter can be satisfied.
(2)
Personal service shop.
(3)
Municipal or government use.
(4)
Assembly hall, community center, or library.
(5)
Child day-care center, in compliance with § 110-313 of this chapter.
C.
Any use of the same general character as those listed in Subsection B(1) through (5), when authorized as a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board.
§ 110-2203 Prohibited uses.
All uses prohibited in the Limited Industrial District by § 110-1101J of this chapter and electrical power generation are prohibited in this district.
§ 110-2204 Dimensional standards.
The following dimensional standards shall be applied to subdivision and/or land development proposals and other construction and uses classified herein:
A.
Building dimensions.
(1)
Minimum lot area: 40,000 square feet.
(2)
Minimum lot width: 200 feet.
(3)
Minimum required building setbacks for buildings 50 feet or less in width and/or 100 feet or less in depth:
(a)
Front yard: minimum 15 feet, maximum 25 feet.
(b)
Side yard: 25 feet each. Where the side yard abuts an existing railroad right-of-way, the side yard setback may be reduced to five feet from the outer edge of the railroad right-of-way.
(c)
Rear yard: 50 feet. Where the rear yard abuts an existing railroad right-of-way, the rear yard setback may be reduced to five feet from the outer edge of the railroad right-of-way.
(d)
From a residential zoning district boundary: 50 feet. This setback area shall include landscaping and buffering in compliance with the provisions of the Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 96, Subdivision and Land Development.
(4)
Minimum required building setbacks for buildings more than 50 feet in width and/or more than 100 feet in depth:
(a)
Front yard: minimum 30 feet, maximum 80 feet.
(b)
Side yard: 25 feet each. Where the side yard abuts an existing railroad right-of-way, the side yard setback may be reduced to five feet from the outer edge of the railroad right-of-way.
(c)
Rear yard: 50 feet. Where the rear yard abuts an existing railroad right-of-way, the rear yard setback may be reduced to five feet from the outer edge of the railroad right-of-way.
(d)
From a residential zoning district boundary on parcels smaller than five acres: 50 feet. From a residential zoning district boundary on a parcel of five acres or greater: 100 feet. This setback area shall include landscaping and buffering in compliance with the provisions of the Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
(5)
Minimum distance between structures: 25 feet.
(6)
Minimum parking and service area setbacks:
(a)
Minimum distance from a property line abutting a residential district: 25 feet.
(b)
Minimum distance from all other property lines: 10 feet.
(c)
These setback areas shall include landscaping and buffering in compliance with the provisions of the Pennsburg Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
(7)
Maximum building coverage: 20% of lot area.
(8)
Maximum impervious coverage: 75% of lot area.
(9)
Maximum building height: 2 1/2 stories or 40 feet. The maximum building height may be increased to 50 feet as a conditional use if the applicant can demonstrate the building meets the following conditions for firesafety:
(a)
The building contains an NFPA-approved sprinkler system in instances where the building exceeds 6,000 square feet;
(b)
The building contains an automatic fire alarm system; and
(c)
The building contains a Knox box at or near the front access.
(10)
Building to the front building setback line will result in a development bonus of 5% additional building coverage and 5% additional impervious coverage, thereby permitting maximums of 25% building coverage and 80% impervious coverage.
(11)
The maximum building dimension of any structure measured parallel to exterior building walls shall be 100 feet, except that variations in the height or depth of the building facade that are greater than 10 feet shall permit a greater length, but only when these variations are provided at intervals of 100 feet or less.
§ 110-2205 Building characteristics for buildings within 200 feet of an arterial street.
A.
Bulk and construction.
(1)
Building bulk and construction shall be similar to one or more of the historical types of residential or mixed-use buildings along Main Street.
(2)
Building materials, windows, doors, and detailing shall be similar to and compatible with the architectural heritage of the Upper Perkiomen Valley Region and shall consist of the same quality on all sides of the building.
B.
Rooflines. All buildings shall have pitched roofs covering at least 80% of the building, with a minimum pitch of six vertical inches to every 12 horizontal inches.
C.
Building entrances.
(1)
Building entrances for everyday use shall be visible and accessible from a network of street sidewalks, sidewalks along parking areas, and walkways or courtyards between buildings.
(2)
Buildings with multiple leaseholds shall have at least one everyday entrance along the facade facing the street.
(3)
Locations of building entrances shall be emphasized by appropriate building articulation, such as chamfered corners, turrets, porches, canopies, or other similar building features.
D.
Windows and doors. All building walls that face a street, driveway, parking area, walkway, or courtyard shall contain windows compatible with the style and scale of the building and shall have compatible doors in appropriate locations.
E.
Pedestrian access. Pedestrian access shall be provided by a network of street sidewalks, sidewalks along parking areas, and walkways or courtyards between buildings.
§ 110-2206 Development regulations.
A.
Shopping centers. Each shopping center development shall be constructed in accordance with an overall master plan and shall be designed as a single architecturally integrated unit. An existing shopping center may be expanded into the LIC District.
B.
Public utilities. All uses shall be capable of being served by public sewer and water facilities.
C.
Landscaping. All landscaping, including parking lot landscaping, buffers and screen plantings, shall be provided according to the provisions of the Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
D.
Access and service areas. All development shall have a planned system of efficient ingress, egress, internal circulation of traffic, loading and unloading, and disposal of solid waste or recycling material. The system of access shall be designed to minimize any undue congestion or interference with the normal traffic flow in surrounding areas.
(1)
Areas for loading, unloading, refuse collection and recycling shall be screened from view using the buffer and screen planting requirements in § 96-39 of the Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
(2)
Loading and unloading areas shall be arranged so that they may be used without blocking or interfering with the use of driveways or parking areas.
(3)
All solid waste and recycling material shall be stored in covered containers, no less than 25 feet from any property line.
(4)
Refuse collection and recycling areas shall be shielded from the direct view of any adjacent property by walls or fences which measure a minimum of six feet in height.
E.
Parking. All parking areas shall be designed in compliance with the provisions of the Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. Parking for all uses shall be provided in compliance with Article XIV of this chapter.
F.
Performance standards. All industrial development in this district shall comply with the performance standards in § 110-321 of this chapter.
G.
Traffic impact study. A traffic impact study shall be required for all developments with 50,000 or more square feet of building floor area or gross leasable area. For industrial developments, the study shall comply with the provisions of § 110-327 of this chapter. For shopping center developments, the study shall comply with the provisions of Article XIV of this chapter.
H.
Arcades and places of indoor amusement. All arcades and places of indoor amusement shall comply with the standards outlined in § 110-1003 of this chapter.
§ 110-2207 Regulations for pad sites in shopping centers.
Pad sites may be proposed in the initial shopping center plan approval process, or be added to a shopping center following initial plan approval, in compliance with the following regulations:
A.
Access to parking and service areas intended for pad site uses shall be taken only from driveways within the development and shall not connect directly to an abutting street.
B.
Parking and service areas intended for pad site uses shall be separated from primary retail or office parking areas by landscaped islands to direct and control traffic flow. Such landscaped islands shall comply with the provisions of the Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
C.
The number of parking spaces required for each pad site use shall be included in the overall capacity for the entire development, as determined by § 110-2206E of this chapter.
D.
The parking spaces serving each pad site use shall be adjacent to the use and extend no further than 150 feet from the use and shall not require patrons to cross major interior development driveways.
E.
Drive-through areas for any pad site use shall have a minimum of six stacking lanes provided for each window, including the space at the window itself. These stacking lanes shall not interfere with other parking spaces or the internal circulation of the site. The number of stacking lanes may be reduced to four per window if it can be demonstrated that there is adequate circulation space within the site to contain overflow cars.
F.
Minimum required building setbacks for all pad site uses:
(1)
Minimum distance from the ultimate right-of-way line of all public streets or alleys: 25 feet.
(2)
Minimum distance from a property line abutting a residential district: 50 feet.
(3)
Minimum distance from all other property lines: 25 feet.
§ 110-2208 Plan requirements.
In addition to the plan submission requirements in the Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, the following information shall be required for all developments:
A.
Architectural plans sufficient to show building entrances, service and loading areas, refuse collection and recycling areas, elevations, signs, lighting facilities, and all other pertinent information required by the Borough Council.
B.
A description of the industrial, commercial, or other permitted use operations proposed in sufficient detail to indicate the effects of those operations, and plans for handling the production of traffic, noise, glare, air and water pollution, and fire and safety hazards, in compliance with the performance standards of § 110-321 of this chapter.
C.
All information required by the Borough in order to determine compliance with pertinent Borough regulations.
