Phoenixville City Zoning Code
PART 4
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS
§ 27-401 Streets, Alleys and Sidewalks.
[Ord. No. 2025-2410, 8/12/2025]
Street Type | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Residential | Nonresidential | Alley [1] | |
Sidewalk | 5 feet | 10 feet | NA |
Planting Strip | 4 feet, min. | NA | NA |
Curb | 0.5 foot | 0.5 foot | NA |
Parking Lane | 7 feet | 7 feet | NA |
Travel Lane | 8.5 feet | 11 feet | 8 feet |
Total Cartway | 31 feet | 36 feet | 16 feet |
Right-of-Way | 50 feet | 60 feet | 20 feet |
Amenities | |||
Corner Bump-Out | NA | Yes | NA |
Street Trees [2] | 40 feet OC | 40 feet OC | NA |
NOTES: | |
|---|---|
1. | One-way alley: eight-foot minimum cartway and 10-foot minimum right-of-way. |
2. | Street trees to be planted in planting strip along residential streets, tree wells along commercial streets. |
3. | The values indicated above are minimum values. |
 |
§ 27-402 Blocks.
[Ord. No. 2025-2410, 8/12/2025]
1.
The following are general land development standards for the design of new streets and blocks. While the length and depth of blocks shall fall within these standards, they are not meant to imply that they have to conform to a rigid grid pattern. Street and block layout should be modified as necessary to meet site conditions, such as site topographic and hydrologic features.
2.
New blocks shall be connected to the Borough network of streets, alleys and Sidewalks to enable a continuous vehicular and pedestrian network.
Blocks | Residential | Commercial |
|---|---|---|
Length | 400 to 600 feet | 400 to 800 feet |
Depth (Street to Street) | 250 to 300 feet | 300 to 400 feet |
 |  |
Residential Block | Commercial Block |
§ 27-403 Building Placement and Access.
[Ord. No. 2025-2410, 8/12/2025]
2.
Vehicular access to a property's parking facilities shall not be provided through a front yard when alley access is available.
3.
When visible from and facing a street abutting a front yard, all garage doors, enclosed carports or similar shall be set back at least 20 feet away from the primary facade of the principal building(s).
4.
While buildings are to be placed at the required build-to line in their respective zoning districts, municipal/institutional buildings may be set back farther than the build-to line in order to enhance their architecture and civic function along the street.
5.
Identified by the primary point of ingress/egress of a building, the primary facade of dwellings and nonresidential buildings shall be oriented parallel to/facing existing streets when present, and to new streets when being proposed. When abutting more than one street, the primary facade shall be oriented toward the street of higher classification or, if both streets are of the same classification, the more trafficked street.
6.
Mechanical equipment, such as air conditioning and heating units, shall not be located in the front yard and in all other cases shall be screened from public views of the property through the use of fencing, walls, landscaping or a combination thereof.
§ 27-404 Building Size.
[Ord. No. 2025-2410, 8/12/2025]
1.
Principal Buildings.
A.
In all districts other than the Industrial District, individual buildings with street frontage shall not have any street wall greater than 150 feet in length without a mid-building change in the street wall plane for a minimum of eight feet deep and 20 feet wide.
B.
Mid-building change in any street wall plane shall provide adequate architectural detail, buffering and/or screening. In no case shall a single building or a contiguous block of attached buildings be greater than 300 feet in width, regardless of changes in street wall planes.
C.
Mid-block spacing shall meet the requirements of the District Specifications' building spacing requirement.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: District Specifications are included as an attachment to this chapter.
2.
Accessory Buildings. Accessory buildings shall be designed to be:
A.
Subordinate, incidental and complementary to the scale and design of the principal building.
B.
Smaller in scale and bulk to the principal building.
(1)
The building footprint shall be no more than 2/3 that of the principal building.
(2)
The building height shall be no more than two stories or 2/3 the principal building height, whichever is less. If the principal building is one story, an accessory building shall not exceed the height of the principal building.
(3)
The number of accessory buildings shall be no more than two.
§ 27-405 Parking.
[Ord. No. 2025-2410, 8/12/2025]
1.
General. Off-street, on-site parking shall be provided to meet the demand for all proposed uses on a property. Off-site parking may be considered when located on a separate parcel in accordance with the following conditions:
A.
The separate parcel containing the required parking shall be within 500 feet, measured perpendicularly between all property boundaries containing the project and the off-site supply.
B.
The separate parcel containing the required parking is under the same ownership as the subject property, or a parking agreement shall be drafted, executed and recorded so that if sold, it will pass to any subsequent owners of the parcel containing the required parking. The agreement shall be subject to the review and approval by the Borough Solicitor and Council.
2.
Parking Demand and Impact Study. An impact study is intended to enable the Borough to assess the feasibility and adequacy of supply as well as potential off-site impacts of a proposal.
A.
Applicability. Except where specifically stated to the contrary in this Part, off-street parking facilities and/or a parking demand and impact study shall be provided whenever:
B.
Preparation of Study. The Traffic Impact Study shall be prepared by a qualified professional traffic engineer holding a current Professional Engineer (P.E.) license issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in accordance with accepted traffic-engineering standards, with the cost borne by the applicant.
C.
A Parking Demand and Impact Study shall not be required for residential developments consisting of four or less dwellings. For residential developments consisting of four or less dwellings, the following off-street parking requirements shall apply:
Land Use | Required Off-Street Parking |
|---|---|
Single-family detached | 2 spaces per dwelling unit |
Two-family (twin/duplex) | Efficiency and one-bedroom unit Minimum: 1.0 per dwelling unit |
Two or more bedroom unit Minimum: 2 per dwelling unit | |
Townhouse | 2 spaces per dwelling unit |
Triplex | Efficiency and one-bedroom unit Minimum: 1.0 per dwelling unit |
Two or more bedroom unit Minimum: 2 per dwelling unit | |
Multifamily | Efficiency and one-bedroom unit Minimum: 1.0 per dwelling unit |
Two or more bedroom unit Minimum: 2 per dwelling unit | |
Accessory dwelling unit | 1 space |
3.
Parking Requirement Adjustments for Individual Uses. The Borough may make adjustments to minimum parking requirement for an individual applicant through the following conditions:
A.
Shared Parking. An applicant shall be entitled to reduce its minimum parking requirement, provided that the applicant can demonstrate that it has entered into an agreement to share parking in a shared parking facility, that is contiguous to the tract, with other developments.
B.
Adjustment Based on Proximity to Transit. An applicant shall be entitled to reduce its minimum parking requirement by 10% for projects located within 600 feet of any transit station. A transit station does not include a bus stop.
C.
Town Center Zoning District. Off-street parking is not required for uses occupying buildings with frontage along any of the following: Main Street, Gay Street, and Bridge Street east of Church Street.
4.
Design. The design and layout of parking facilities for all projects are subject to the approval of the Borough Zoning Officer, and/or Planning Commission and Borough Council.
A.
Front yard parking is prohibited.
B.
Vehicular access to properties shall not be provided through a front yard when alley access is available.
C.
When visible from and parallel to a street, all garage doors, carports or similar shall be set back at least 20 feet from the primary facade of buildings.
D.
When parking in the rear yard for single-family detached dwelling and twin dwelling lots with no alley access requires excessive paving and a resultant increase in impervious coverage and decrease in usable rear yard occurs, alternative parking designs may be permitted as follows:
(1)
When garages are proposed, they may be detached and located in the rear yard or between the principal buildings or may be attached to the principal buildings, subject to compliance with Subsection 4C above.
(2)
When no garages are proposed, parking shall be aside buildings and designed and laid out for parking that prevents vehicular parking in a front or rear yard.
E.
Multifamily dwellings shall not be permitted to count stacked parking spaces toward the required parking amount for such use.
5.
Electric Vehicle Parking.
A.
EVCS are permitted in every zoning district when accessory to the primary permitted use. EVCS located on lots dedicated to residential uses shall be designated as private restricted use only.
B.
If the primary use of the parcel is the retail electric charging of vehicles, then the use shall be considered an automobile sales and services use for zoning purposes and shall comply with the regulations associated with said use. Installation shall be located in zoning districts which permit such uses.
C.
Except when located in conjunction with single-family dwellings, EVCS shall be reserved for parking and charging of electric vehicles only.
D.
EVCS located within parking lots or garages may be included in the calculation of the minimum required parking spaces.
§ 27-406 Buffering/Screening.
[Ord. No. 2025-2410, 8/12/2025]
1.
(Reserved)
2.
All buffering and screening shall be installed and maintained, shall be designed in accordance with the Phoenixville Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance,[1] and shall be subject to approval by the Borough for the following:
A.
Off-street parking and loading areas that can be viewed from public streets shall be screened through the use of landscaping, fencing and/or walls.
B.
Kennels shall have a 25-foot-wide buffer and shall be screened through the use of landscaping.
C.
Commercial and/or office uses in the MG District shall have a 25-foot-wide buffer area, when adjoining the RI District, and shall be screened through the use of landscaping and fencing.
D.
Industrial uses in the I District shall have a 25-foot-wide buffer area and shall be screened through the use of landscaping or fencing.
E.
Any windowless building in the MG and I Districts shall be screened through the use of fencing, landscaping or a combination thereof.
F.
Permanent or pad-mounted mechanical equipment, such as air conditioning and heating units, shall be screened from public views of the property through the use of fencing, walls, landscaping or a combination thereof.
G.
Views of plumbing vent pipes, electric/phone/cable terminals and utility meters in front yards and on front building facades shall be screened or partially screened to help mitigate views of this equipment.
§ 27-407 Open Space, Public.
[Ord. No. 2025-2410, 8/12/2025]
1.
New public open space shall be provided in new land development projects in the Mixed Use Growth District and shall be designed as spaces to be used by the public. Spaces of 500 to 2,000 square feet can be designed as plazas. Plazas should be built according to a detailed landscape plan that can include ornamental structures, such as fountains, along with benches, low walls and gazebos for sitting. Greens are larger public spaces of 2,000 to 10,000 square feet that provide open lawn areas for informal play or picnicking. All public open spaces should be built according to a detailed landscape plan that meets the minimum requirements of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance[1] and is subject to approval of the Borough. At the Borough's discretion, public open space shall be managed privately, by a property owners' association, or subject to a continuous offer of dedication to the Borough.
2.
Public open space shall also be permitted to be considerably larger in size and improved with various public amenities which may be deemed to qualify as a new use within the designated tract area, subject to the sole discretion and approval of the Borough.