Rockaway City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VI
Borough Center Commercial District
§ 172-57 Purpose.
The B-C District and its regulations are intended to promote single use small-scale businesses and services in a downtown commercial district which serves the daily needs of the Borough and surrounding local areas. The district regulations intend to recognize and preserve the historic character of the Borough's central core, to discourage land uses which are not compatible with pedestrian traffic and to encourage the implementation of new municipal shopper parking areas and better utilization of existing lots.
§ 172-58 Permitted principal uses.
[Amended 3-25-2010 by Ord. No. 05-10; 11-10-2022 by Ord. No. 25-22]
The following shall be permitted principal uses in the B-C District:
A.
Retail sales business.
B.
Restaurants, cafes, taverns and other food and beverage establishments, excluding those with drive-up facilities.
C.
Banks and financial offices.
D.
Studios for instruction in the arts, dancing, music, languages, photography and similar activities.
E.
Professional and real estate offices on upper floors and accessed via a front door entrance.
F.
Retail service businesses limited to hair-cutting, tailoring, beauty parlors, nail salons, massage, bodywork or somatic therapy establishments, and retail dry-cleaning shops, not including bulk processing on or from the premises.
G.
Travel agencies.
H.
Residential apartments on upper floors.
I.
Institutional uses.
J.
Theaters.
K.
Hotels.
L.
Breweries and distilleries.
M.
Rooftop terraces.
N.
Temporary uses in existing vacant storefronts.
§ 172-59 Permitted accessory uses.
The following shall be permitted accessory uses in the B-C District:
B.
Parking and parking facilities.
[Amended 12-14-2023 by Ord. No. 23-24]
§ 172-60 Prohibited uses.
[Amended 3-25-2010 by Ord. No. 05-10; 11-10-2022 by Ord. No. 25-22]
A.
None of the foregoing uses shall be construed to include either as principal or accessory uses: price or club retail or warehouse uses, auction establishments, commercial recreational uses, flea markets, industrial, manufacturing, processing or assembly uses, warehousing or storage uses, junkyards, motor vehicle sales or service establishments or gas stations or similar auto-oriented uses, funeral service uses, or public or private schools.
§ 172-61 Borough Center District design criteria and bulk standards.
[Amended 12-17-2007 by Ord. No. 22-07; 9-22-2011 by Ord. No. 09-11; 10-11-2012 Ord. No. 17-12; 12-13-2012 by Ord. No. 26-12; 11-10-2022 by Ord. No. 25-22; 12-14-2023 by Ord. No. 23-24; 11-14-2024 by Ord. No. 24-25]
A.
Bulk and dimensional requirements in the B-C District shall be as follows:
(1)
Minimum lot area: 2,500 square feet, except that freestanding office buildings, banks and restaurants shall be located on a minimum ten-thousand-square-foot lot.
(2)
Minimum lot width: 25 feet, except that freestanding office buildings, banks and restaurants shall be located on a lot which has a minimum lot width of 100 feet.
(3)
Minimum lot depth: 100 feet.
(5)
Minimum rear yard: 55 feet.
(6)
Minimum side yard: zero feet, except that new freestanding office buildings, banks and restaurants shall have a minimum side yard setback of 12 feet.
(7)
Maximum building height: three stories or 40 feet, whichever is less.
(8)
Maximum building coverage: 70%.
(9)
Minimum nonimpervious area: 10%.
(10)
Maximum building size: 100 feet of length or width for freestanding, nonadjacent buildings.
(11)
Minimum interior courts and yards: No interior open space measured between buildings on the same lot shall have a dimension less than 20 feet.
(12)
Off-street parking. The Land Use Board, in its sole discretion, when reviewing applications for development in the B-C District, shall have the authority to grant exceptions from the parking requirements contained within §§ 172-114 through 172-119 when the applicant demonstrates, and the Board specifically finds, that sufficient on-street or municipal parking and loading exists nearby to serve the proposed development.
B.
Rooftop terraces shall comply with the following standards:
(1)
Rooftop decks shall be for residential building tenants only.
(2)
The rooftop decks shall not be used between 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m., and all lights shall be turned off during these hours.
(3)
Sound systems shall not be installed on rooftop decks, and a sign containing the Borough Noise Ordinance requirements and rooftop deck rules shall be posted on the rooftop deck.
(4)
For a rooftop deck to not qualify as a story, enclosed spaces on a rooftop deck shall be limited to:
C.
Retail sales uses shall be permitted to have sidewalk displays of retail merchandise.
(1)
Sidewalk displays are permitted and limited to the sidewalk area directly in front of the retail establishment which owns the display. At least six feet of clearance shall be maintained at the storefront entrance, for adequate and unimpeded pedestrian access. The display shall be located against the building wall and shall be not more than three feet deep. The display area shall not exceed 75% of the length of the storefront.
(2)
Displays and display cases, shelves and other equipment shall be permitted outdoors only during normal daylight business hours and shall be removed at dusk. Cardboard boxes shall not be used for sidewalk displays.
(3)
Sidewalk displays shall be maintained in a clean, litter-free and well-kept condition at all times and shall be compatible with the building from which the business operates.
D.
Supplemental sign requirements in addition to Article IV, Signs, of this chapter shall apply to business signs in the B-C District as follows:
(1)
Signs affixed to the exterior of a building shall be architecturally compatible with the style, composition, materials, colors and details of the building, as well as with other signs used on the building or in its vicinity.
(2)
All signs shall be designed to fit within the existing facade features of the building and shall not interfere with door and window openings, conceal architectural details or obscure the composition of the facade on which they are located.
(3)
Whenever possible, signs located on buildings within the same blockfront shall be placed at the same height to establish an orderly and consistent sign band along the street frontage.
(4)
Wood, painted metal and durable composite materials of similar appearance texture and density are the preferred materials for signs. Flat signs shall be framed with raised edges. Only high-quality exterior grade materials and finishes shall be used.
(5)
Sign colors shall be visually compatible with the colors of the building facade and adjoining buildings. A dull or matte sign finish is recommended to reduce glare and enhance legibility.
(6)
Signs shall be either spotlighted or backlighted with a diffused light source. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a neon sign being placed inside a window, provided that such signs shall comply with all other applicable sign design standards and regulations. Neon signs are defined as signs that contain glass tubes filled with neon, phosphors or like materials, or that use fiber optics, bent to form letters, symbols or other shapes.
(7)
Signs shall be securely mounted in a manner that conceals the method of installation.
(8)
Outdoor neon signs are prohibited. Only neon signs located within windows shall be permitted.
(9)
Neon lighting that outlines windows or architectural features such as doors, roofs, cornices and the like is prohibited.
(10)
Flashing, moving, animated or intermittent neon signs are prohibited.
(11)
All neon signs shall comply with all standards established by the National Electrical Safety Code and any other applicable safety standards, and shall be UL certified.
(12)
All neon signs shall be extinguished by 11:00 p.m. or the time of closing of the business served by the sign, whichever is later.
E.
The following outdoor lighting guidelines shall be applicable in the B-C District:
(1)
Street lights shall be decorative fixtures of the standard design as approved by the electric utility company serving the Borough.
(2)
Streets and sites shall provide adequate lighting and minimize adverse impacts, such as glare and overhead sky glow, on adjacent properties and the public right-of-way. Light shields shall be provided where fixtures abut a residential use.
(3)
Along sidewalks, walkways, courtyards, community greens and interior open spaces, twelve-foot-high decorative lampposts shall be installed in accordance with a lighting plan which shall be approved by the Land Use Board on recommendation of the Borough Engineer.
(4)
In parking lots for more than 10 cars, lamppost heights may be increased to a maximum height of 16 feet.
(5)
Use of minimum wattage metal halide or color corrected sodium light sources is recommended. Non-color-corrected low-pressure sodium and mercury vapor light sources are prohibited.
(6)
Building facade lights and yard post lighting shall be incorporated into the overall lighting plan design.
F.
The following urban design elements and treatments and site details are encouraged within the B-C District wherever practical and as will be approved by the Land Use Board at site plan review:
(1)
Special ground texture treatments, including the use of paving brick, stamped concrete, paver walks and crosswalks, buildings or structures of historic or architectural merit and other uses or structures which create focal points within the Borough Center.
(2)
Landscape site details and street furniture including traditional style benches, decorative trash receptacles, ornamental tree grates and planters and planting beds edged with belgian block, brick or other decorative masonry materials.
(3)
Street trees which are tolerant of an urban environment including zelkova, littleleaf linden, honey locust, green ash, london plane, red maple, Bradford callery pear and redspire pear.
(4)
Fences, low walls, ornamental ironwork and hedges are permitted where appropriate to define courtyards, parking areas, pedestrian walks and like spaces. Masonry elements may include brick, stone or stucco. All fencing shall be of traditional design and shall have decorative caps, rails and posts. Chain link fencing shall not be used for decorative purposes and shall only be used if approved by the Land Use Board at site plan review.