Pocomoke City City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IX
B-1 Shopping District
§ 230-61 Site plans; applicability.
A.
In addition to all other requirements of this article, any proposed new construction or substantive exterior modification of any principal buildings or other site improvements, or additions thereto, shall be first submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission for site plan approval, as described in § 230-91 of this chapter. A building permit for such work may be issued following approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission and subsequent approval by the Mayor and Council based upon the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
B.
The uses enumerated in this article shall be permitted and the following regulations and the applicable regulations contained in other Articles shall apply in the B-1 Shopping District.
§ 230-62 Principal permitted uses.
Principal permitted uses in the B-1 District shall be as follows:
A.
Public parks, playgrounds and cultural or historical activities.
B.
Boat dock slips, piers, wharves, anchorages or moorages for yachts and pleasure boats or for boats for hire to carry passengers or for excursions, sightseeing, pleasure trips and fishing trips.
C.
Government buildings.
D.
Motels and hotels.
E.
Any community retail business or service establishment, such as a food, drug, clothing, hardware, accessory, variety or department store, a barber-, beauty, florist or specialty shop, a shoe repair shop, an automatic laundry or cleaning shop, a bank or savings and loan office or the like supplying commodities or performing services primarily for residents of the City and surrounding community.
F.
Restaurants, cafes or confectioneries.
G.
Antique or gift shops.
H.
Commercial parking garages and lots for passenger vehicles.
I.
Theaters, bowling alleys and dance studios.
J.
Funeral homes.
K.
Printing, upholstery, furniture repairing and interior decorating shops, provided that all operations are confined to enclosed buildings.
L.
General administrative and executive offices.
M.
Pet grooming establishment provided:
(1)
The pet grooming establishment shall be located and designed to create no objectionable condition to adjacent properties resulting from animal noise, odor, or waste;
(2)
All animal waste shall be placed in closed waste disposal containers and shall be disposed at least weekly. Offensive odors shall be controlled;
(3)
External yards or other external facilities for the keeping of animals shall not be permitted; and
(4)
Any sale of pet supplies is an accessory use only.
N.
Dwelling units on the second or third floor subject to site plan review by the Planning Commission. Parking requirements for upper floor dwelling units shall be subject to review and approval by the Planning Commission.
[Added 12-4-2021 by Ord. No. 449]
§ 230-63 Conditional uses.
Conditional uses requiring Board authorization shall be as follows:
B.
Nursery schools and child-care centers when located not less than 20 feet from any lot in an R District, provided that there is established and maintained a completely fenced and screened play lot of adequate size.
C.
Auto service stations, light repair and storage garages, provided that all motor tuning or testing or other noisy activities shall be conducted within enclosed buildings.[1]
D.
Neighborhood shopping centers or mini-malls.
E.
City sponsored farmers markets, including produce, arts, crafts and related items.
F.
Outdoor cafes.
G.
Rest homes, nursing homes or for transients or permanent residents.
H.
Boarding- and lodging houses.
[Added 6-2-1997 by Ord. No. 349]
I.
Bed-and-breakfast establishments.
[Added 6-2-1997 by Ord. No. 349]
J.
Community Residential Facility (Group Home).
L.
Alcohol sales in conjunction with a restaurant only and with appropriate licenses.
M.
Towers, but subject to the following minimum requirements:
[Added 10-19-2021 by Ord. No. 458]
(1)
The engineering, design and construction of towers is subject to approval of the Board.
(2)
The Board may impose setback distances and require landscaping plans and security fencing as appropriate.
(3)
Towers must meet all international building code standards in addition to those as may be required by federal or state law.
§ 230-64 Accessory uses.
Accessory uses in the B-1 District shall be as follows:
A.
Private garages, parking areas and other customary outbuildings and structures.
B.
Identification or exterior signs pertaining only to the uses conducted on the premises. Such signs shall be integral with or attached to the building. The areas of all signs on the premises shall not exceed in the aggregate one square foot for each linear foot of building frontage.
C.
Directional or incidental signs, not exceeding four square feet each in area, required in connection with the operation of an automobile service station, parking lot or similar use, provided that such signs do not extend over street lines nor otherwise obstruct or impair the safety of pedestrians or motorists.
D.
The cleaning, laundering, repairing or other treatment of objects as a retail service to the customers on the premises, in which operation not more than three persons shall be engaged at one time.
E.
Solar energy equipment, subject to the following:
[Added 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 429]
(1)
Solar energy equipment may be on roofs of principal buildings or ground-mounted.
(2)
Placement of solar energy equipment is not permitted within the required front yard setback unless the Zoning Administrator determines that it is adequately screened from view from the public way so as to preclude any glare from the equipment which would adversely impact the vision of motorists on the public way. It is understood that this equipment may, on occasion, be visible from the public way even if located in the side or the rear yard.
(3)
If the solar energy equipment is unable to be located on the roof of the principal structure as is preferred, placement of ground-mounted solar energy equipment in the required side or rear yard may be permitted only if the equipment is not located in the required setback for a structure in the subject zone from the property line or a distance equal to the height of the accessory structure, whichever is greater.
(4)
The solar energy equipment must be adequately screened from view of residential neighbors by appropriate vegetative screening or appropriate and adequate solid fencing.
(5)
Any proposed fencing must comply with all applicable height requirements. Natural-colored fencing is preferred.
(6)
Roof-mounted solar energy equipment shall be located so as not to increase the total height of the structure above the maximum allowable height of the structure on which it is located, in accordance with the applicable zoning regulations.
(7)
The Zoning Administrator, prior to issuing a permit for the placement of any solar energy equipment, shall be provided with any requested information in regard to proving compliance with this section. This information may include sun and shadow diagrams specific to the subject proposed installation which would enable the Zoning Administrator to determine if solar access will be impaired due to the proposed location or to the location of objects which may obstruct the solar access.
(8)
The Zoning Administrator may also require submission of detailed information, including maps, plans or dimensioned sketches, showing the proposed location, including setbacks from property lines or distances from structures which are used for habitation on neighboring properties.
(9)
The Zoning Administrator may also require the submission of an as-built plan showing the actual location of any installed solar energy equipment. If the equipment is not installed as permitted, the Zoning Administrator may order its removal and/or relocation as appropriate.
§ 230-65 Use regulations; prohibited uses.
A.
All business and processing shall be conducted wholly within completely enclosed buildings, except for the farmer's market building, outdoor cafes and the sale of automobile fuels, lubricant and incidental services at service stations.
C.
Where a B-1 District fronts directly across the street from any R District, the parking and loading facilities shall be set back at least 25 feet from the street line, and the intervening space shall be landscaped. All buildings in such cases shall be set back at least 15 feet.
D.
Goods sold or stocked shall consist primarily of new merchandise or of bona fide antiques, except for items sold at farmers market.
E.
Processes and equipment employed and goods processed or sold shall be limited to those which are not objectionable by reason of hazard, odor, dust, smoke, cinders, gas, fumes, noise, vibration, radiation, refuse matter or water-carried waste.
F.
Prohibited uses include any uses first allowed in a lower zoning district and residential apartments or housing units at first floor (ground) level.
G.
Other prohibited uses include pawn shops, tattoo parlors, body piercing parlors (not including ear piercing), adult bookstores, massage parlors, or similar uses.
[Amended 10-19-2021 by Ord. No. 458]
§ 230-66 Area, yard and bulk regulations.
§ 230-67 Height regulations.
No structure shall exceed three stories or 40 feet in height. Where a building is to be located between two existing principal buildings and within 200 feet in the same block front, the proposed building shall be constructed to a height that is the average of the height of the adjacent buildings.