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Rapid City City Zoning Code

17.30 SC-1

Neighborhood Shopping Center District

17.30.010 General description.

The neighborhood shopping center, designated as SC-1, is intended to serve as a unified grouping of retail shops and stores to provide for the regular needs and convenience of people residing in adjacent residential neighborhoods. It is intended that the neighborhood shopping center development shall consist of a harmonious selection of uses and grouping of buildings, service, off-street parking, circulation and open spaces, planned and designed as an integrated unit, with appropriate landscaping and screening materials.

(Prior code Appendix A, Art. IV (§ 14 (A)))

17.30.020 Uses permitted.

A. Property and buildings in an SC-1 neighborhood shopping center district shall be used only for the uses enumerated in subsection B of this section; provided, however, that these uses shall be located in a unified shopping center which shall have not less than 5 nor more than 20 shops and stores, at least one of which will typically be a supermarket of not less than 10,000 square feet of gross floor area. The shops and stores of the shopping center shall have a combined total gross floor area of not less than 20,000 square feet.

B. Any of the following uses may be permitted:

1. Antique shop;

2. Apparel store, family, children, men or women;

3. Appliance store;

4. Artist supplies;

5. Automobile parking lot;

6. Bakery goods store;

7. Bank;

8. Barbershop;

9. Beauty shop;

10. Book or stationery store;

11. Camera shop;

12. Candy store;

13. Catering establishment;

14. Cleaning and pressing collection station;

15. Curio shop;

16. Dairy products or ice cream store;

17. Delicatessen;

18. Drugstore or fountain;

19. Dry goods store;

20. Florist shop;

21. Furniture store;

22. Garden centers;

23. Gift shop;

24. Grocery store;

25. Hardware store;

26. Help-yourself laundry;

27. Jewelry store;

28. Meat market;

29. Medical facility;

30. Music store;

31. Newspaper or magazine sales;

32. Notions store;

33. Office supply store;

34. Off-sale liquor and beer;

35. Optometrist sales and service;

36. Paint and decorating shop;

37. Pharmacy;

38. Photographer studio;

39. Radio and television sales and service;

40. Restaurant;

41. Sewing machine sales and service;

42. Shoe store or repair shop;

43. Sod farms;

44. Specialty shop for women;

45. Sporting goods sales;

46. Supermarket;

47. Tailor shop;

48. Theaters;

49. Toy store;

50. Variety store;

51. Offices;

52. Gasoline service or filling stations which shall be planned as an integral part of the center but may be constructed in advance of the remainder of the center. The area covered by the gasoline service or filling stations will not be considered as part of the 25% site area limitation listed in § 17.30.040B., however, the stations must not decrease the off-street parking requirements listed in § 17.30.060;

53. Business signs relating to the shopping center, the stores and shops therein and products sold therein. All business signs and structures shall be designed as an integral part of the shopping center development and shall be harmonious with the other design features of the center;

54. Accessory buildings and uses customarily incidental to the uses listed in this section;

55. Drop-off centers for household recyclables; such centers do not involve processing;

56. Other uses similar in character to those listed in this section and in conformity with the general description of the district mentioned in § 17.30.010 and which in the opinion of the Common Council will not be injurious to the district; and

57. Other temporary, seasonal, and continuous retail business or structure as defined in § 17.50.230H., I., and J.

58. Medical cannabis dispensary, if the following requirements are met:

a. The property shall not be located within 1,000 feet of a public or private school;

b. The property shall not be located within 500 feet of a child care center, church, public park, or property zoned as a residential district.

c. The dispensary is operated completely within an enclosed structure.

d. The dispensary submits the following plans demonstrating compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, administrative rules, and ordinances, including but not limited to § 17.50.105:

i. An operating plan;

ii. A waste management plan; and

iii. An odor control plan.

e. The dispensary complies with all requirements of the Fire Code adopted as Chapter 8.24 of the Rapid City Municipal Code.

C. No material or goods offered for sale or stored in connection with the operation of the shopping center shall be stored or displayed outside of a building; provided, however, that, new material or goods which are actively being offered for sale may be temporarily displayed outside of a building; provided, that it shall not be displayed on a public street or sidewalk or in an off-street parking area. Notwithstanding the foregoing, all medical cannabis uses shall comply with § 17.50.105.

(Ord. 6500, 2021; Ord. 5680, 2010; Ord. 3797, 2002; Ord. 3360, 1997; Ord. 3004, 1993; Ord. 2931, 1992; prior code Appendix A, Art. IV (§ 14 (B)))

17.30.030 Conditional uses.

A. The following uses shall be allowed only as conditional uses:

1. On-sale liquor establishments;

2. Child care centers;

3. Microcell wireless communications facilities on poles as defined in § 17.50.400B.; and

4. Medical cannabis dispensary that meets the requirements of applicable state law but does not qualify as a permitted use under § 17.30.020B.58.

(Ord. 6500, 2021; Ord. 5680, 2010; Ord. 5097, 2005; Ord. 3643, 2001; Ord. 3152, 1994; Ord. 2931, 1992; prior code Appendix A, Art. IV (§ 14 (H)))

17.30.040 Area regulations.

A. Minimum area. The site on which a neighborhood shopping center is to be located shall not be less than 4 acres in area.

B. Coverage. Main and accessory buildings shall not cover more than 25% of the site area on which the shopping center is to be located; provided, however, that, the area coverage may be decreased if topographic limitations so dictate.

C. Yards.

1. All parking areas and buildings, both main and accessory, shall be set back not less than 25 feet from all street lines abutting the shopping center site.

2. Where any side or portion of the shopping center site adjoins a residential district, there shall be a side yard of not less than 25 feet.

3. There shall be a rear yard, or alley, or combination thereof, of not less than 30 feet.

4. Setback from section lines. Principal and accessory buildings and structures shall be setback no less than 58 feet from any section line. No set back is required from any legally vacated section line; however, if the vacated section line forms a property line, the applicable side, rear or front yard setbacks shall be observed.

(Ord. 3744, 2001; prior code Appendix A, Art. IV (§ 14 (C)))

17.30.050 Height regulations.

No building shall exceed 2½ stories, or 35 feet in height, except as provided in § 17.50.260.

(Prior code Appendix A, Art. IV (§ 14 (D)))

17.30.060 Off-street parking requirements.

An off-street parking area shall be provided on the shopping center site, the area to be not less than 2½ times the gross retail floor area of the shopping center. Driveways required for ingress and egress shall be considered as part of the parking area when computing the area to be provided.

(Prior code Appendix A, Art. IV (§ 14 (E)(3)))

17.30.070 Screening requirements.

When a neighborhood shopping center is near or abuts a residential district, fences, walls or year-round screen planting shall be provided when necessary to shield the residential districts from parking lot illumination, headlights, fumes, heat, noise and dust and to reduce the visual encroachment of commercial architecture, signs and activity on residential privacy and residential neighborhood character. The screening fence shall consist of an opaque fence not to include chain link fencing with slats. Only a 4-foot high fence may be located in the front yard or side yard abutting a street. No fences shall encroach into sight triangles. The Director may grant an exception to allow the relocation and/or elimination of the screening fence along the property line when there is a conflict due to easements, topography, drainage, floodplain, or other issues.

(Ord. 6299, 2019; Ord. 3872, 2002; prior code Appendix A, Art. N (§ 14 (EX 1)))

17.30.080 Landscaping.

A. Any part of the shopping center site not used for buildings or other structures, parking, loading, access ways or pedestrian walks shall be landscaped with grass, trees or shrubs.

B. When a neighborhood shopping center district is adjacent to a residential district, landscaping shall be provided as regulated in the landscape regulations adopted by § 17.50.300. Fifty percent of the plant material shall be visible from the residential district whenever possible.

(Prior code Appendix A, Art. IV (§ 14 (E)(2), (G)))

17.30.090 Administrative procedure for shopping center development.

A. Application for zoning amendment.

1. An application for a proposed shopping center zoning amendment shall be filed with the Planning Commission. The application shall fully describe the area to be rezoned and be accompanied by a market analysis showing the need for a shopping center in the location requested and the inadequacy of the existing zoning to meet this need. For these purposes, the market analysis shall contain, but not be limited to the following determinations:

a. Determination of the trade area of the proposed shopping center;

b. Determination of the trade area population, present and future;

c. Determination of the effective buying power in the trade area;

d. Determination of the net potential customer buying power for stores in the proposed shopping center; and

e. Determination of the residue of buying power to be expended in existing shopping centers or commercial areas serving the trade area.

2. The application shall also contain a statement showing that the applicant or applicants are financially able to carry out the proposed shopping center development.

3. Upon receipt of the application, the Planning Commission shall review the application and make a report and recommendation thereon to the Common Council. Upon receipt of the application, the Common Council shall follow the amendment procedure outlined in § 17.54.040.

B. Site plan. Upon approval of the zoning amendment, the applicant shall submit a site plan of the proposed development to the Planning Commission for its review and recommendation to the Common Council. The site plan shall contain the following:

1. All information required for the approval of preliminary plats of subdivisions as set forth in § 16.20.040;

2. Location and arrangement of main and accessory buildings;

3. Design and circulation pattern of the off-street parking area; and

4. A report of the methods to be employed to adjust the shopping center to surrounding land uses, including statements of intent related to provisions and amount of landscaping, lighting and screening.

C. Final site development plan. Upon adoption of the zoning amendment, and approval of the site plan by the Common Council, the applicant shall submit a final site development plan to the Planning Commission for review and recommendation to the Common Council. The final site development plan shall contain all information required by subsection B. of this section, and be drawn to scale with controlling dimensions. The final site development plan shall be submitted for the entire shopping center and may be considered in stages of development.

D. Review of final site development plan changes. The approved final site development plans shall limit and control the issuance of all building permits and shall restrict the construction, location, use and operation of all land and structures to all conditions set forth in the plans; provided, however, that, upon application to and approval by the city’s Planning Commission, minor changes in the location of structures, and other details, may be allowed. No change shall be allowed that substantially violates the spirit or intent of the originally approved plans under this chapter unless the change is also approved by the Common Council.

E. Time schedule for construction. A building permit shall be secured and construction begun on the shopping center in accordance with the approved final site development plan within 3 years from the effective date of the ordinance establishing the Neighborhood Shopping Center District. Application may be made to the Planning Commission for not more than a 1-year extension of the time limit for commencement of construction. A plan for staged development which will require more time than the limits contained herein may be approved by the Planning Commission and the Common Council at the time of approval of the final site development plan. In the event that construction is not started within the specified time limits, the Planning Commission shall review the zoning and the progress which has taken place and, if deemed necessary, initiate proceedings to rezone the property in a manner consistent with the comprehensive plan.

(Prior code Appendix A, Art. IV (§ 14 (F)))