Ridley Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VII
C-1 Neighborhood Commercial Districts
§ 325-24 Intended purpose.
These districts are intended to provide a suitable environment for certain types of uses; primarily retail sales, professional offices and personal services.
§ 325-25 Permitted uses.
[Amended 10-26-1994 by Ord. No. 1728; 5-22-2024 by Ord. No. 2084]
A structure may be erected or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following uses and no other:
A.
Any use permitted in the C Residential Districts, except single- and two-family dwellings, subject to the regulations of the C Residential Districts.
B.
Retail sales shall be conducted only in a fully enclosed building. No sales or exposure of goods for sale are permitted outside of the building.
(1)
Food market.
(2)
Drugstore.
(3)
Clothing.
(4)
Shoe store.
(5)
Restaurant, but not to include the "drive-in" type.
(6)
Jewelry store.
(7)
Gift shop, florist shop.
(8)
Book store, stationery shop.
(9)
Radio, television and music store.
(10)
Variety store.
(11)
Dry goods and notions store.
(12)
Hardware store, sporting goods.
C.
Offices for lawyers, realtors, architects, engineers, tax consultants and similar professional businesses; offices for industrial and trade union; offices for credit union and offices for commercial and civic organizations.
D.
Medical clinics and offices of doctors, dentists, osteopaths and similar or allied professions but not including veterinarian establishments.
E.
Banks, offices of stock brokers and finance agencies.
F.
Offices for nonprofit organizations, social and fraternal associations, political and religious organizations.
G.
Business office of a public utility, transportation, advertising, insurance, executive and administrative offices of commercial and industrial establishments.
H.
Offices of local, state and federal government agencies.
I.
Miscellaneous business services such as consumer credit reporting services, telephone answering services, engineering and art supply dealers.
J.
Florist shops, art galleries, specialty shops selling at retail where goods are not created or stored other than for sale.
K.
Mortician and funeral establishments.
L.
Studios for musicians, artists, photographers and dancing instruction.
M.
Educational instruction and commercial schools.
N.
Personal service shops which deal directly with consumers, offices and establishments, provided that each such use occupies a total floor area of not more than 4,000 square feet.
(1)
Barber and beauty shops.
(2)
Dry cleaning and laundry pickup shops.
(3)
Tailors and dressmaker shops.
(4)
Self-service laundry.
(5)
Finance and loan agencies.
(6)
Medical and dental offices.
O.
Other uses which are similar to the above and subject to the following regulations:
(1)
All business establishments shall be retail or service establishments dealing directly with consumers. All goods produced on the premises shall be sold at retail on the premises where produced.
(2)
All uses in this category shall be subject to approval by the Zoning Hearing Board prior to issuance of a zoning permit.
P.
Customary accessory uses and buildings incidental to any of the above permitted uses, including the following:
(1)
Advertising signs customarily incidental to any of the permitted uses pertaining only to the products or services offered for sale on the premises and subject regulation in Article XII of this chapter.
(2)
Fence, subject to regulation in Article XIII of this chapter.
Q.
No permitted use in this district shall include a drive-through or walkup window whereby the consumer transacts for goods or services outside of the building.
R.
Significant tobacco retailors as defined in § 325-7 shall be specifically excluded in this District.
(1)
Pre-existing non-conforming smoke shops and tobacco stores. Smoke shops and tobacco stores that are legally existing on the effective date of this section may continue to operate as legal nonconforming uses and shall not be required to obtain a conditional use permit. However, any change or expansion of the legal nonconforming use shall require compliance with this chapter and obtain a conditional use permit in accordance with § 325-113.
§ 325-26 Special exception uses.
The following special exception uses shall be permitted, upon the issuance of a permit by the Zoning Hearing Board as provided in this chapter:
A.
Hospitals and nursing homes.
B.
Residential uses either as the exclusive occupant of a lot or as mixed use with a permitted nonresidential use are permissible only when, in the opinion of the Zoning Hearing Board, adequate conditions exist or can be imposed that will make such uses compatible with the purposes of this chapter.
C.
Building heights in excess of those indicated in § 325-27C of this chapter.
D.
Group-based community residential facilities, subject to the requirements of Article XIII of this chapter.
§ 325-27 Lot area, building height and yard requirements.
In this district, any structure hereafter erected or any lot hereafter used or occupied for any lawful purpose shall provide the minimum and not exceed the maximum dimensions specified below.
A.
Lot requirements. Lot widths, area and yard setback requirements of not less than the dimensions shown as follows shall be provided for any use permitted in this district.
(1)
Minimum lot area: 5,000 square feet.
(2)
Minimum lot width: 40 feet.
(3)
Maximum lot coverage: 50%.
B.
Yard requirements:
(1)
Front yard: 20 feet.
(2)
Side yard: None required for individual permitted uses, except that side yards of not less than 25 feet shall be required when abutting any other districts specified in this chapter.
(3)
Rear yard: 20 feet.
C.
Building height: No principal structure shall exceed two stories or 35 feet; and no accessory structure shall exceed one story or 15 feet in height, except as provided in § 325-26C under special exception.
§ 325-28 Minimum off-street parking and loading requirements.
[Amended 9-26-2007 by Ord. No. 1903]
A.
Minimum off-street parking and loading shall be provided in accordance with Article XIII of this chapter.
§ 325-29 Limitations on signs.
Only those signs referring or relating to the uses conducted on the premises or to the materials or products made, sold or displayed on the premises shall be permitted, and further provided that all signs and advertising structures shall be maintained in accordance with Article XII of this chapter.
§ 325-30 Buffers required to separate adjacent residential district.
Where C-1 Districts abut any residential district or an alleyway separating the two districts, a landscaped strip of not less than 10 feet in width shall be planted and maintained with appropriate vegetative landscaping materials. Such vegetative planting, including any architectural screens of fences, shall be planted or constructed and maintained at not less than five feet in height, except on corner lots where a clear sight area shall be maintained in accordance with Article XIII of this chapter.
