(A)   Preamble. This amendment deals with the designation of an area of the town which will be known as the Downtown Business District and an additional designated area, within the Downtown Business District which will be known as the Row House District.

   (B)   Designated areas.

      (1)   The Downtown Business District Area, (which is located in the Rockville Historic District), is intended to be a major center of the town’s government, finance, offices, retail, professional offices, health care facilities, services, and higher density residential; and is intended to provide goods and services for a maximum concentration of consumer traffic. Included are all properties and uses within the area bounded by and with properties adjacent to:

 

      (2)   The area designated as the Row House District shall have additional restrictions (along with the restrictions and guidelines applicable to the entire Downtown Business District) placed upon structures and land. This area is defined as existing historic structures that share common walls and abut existing sidewalks, and are all properties bounded by and with properties adjacent to:

 

 

(Ord. 2007-715, passed 2-21-2007)

   (A)   Uses.

      (1)   Establishments for the retailing of goods and merchandise such as but not limited to: food, groceries, clothing, hardware, toiletries, furniture and furnishings, gasoline, meals, alcoholic beverages, package stores, vehicles including accessories and servicing, jewelry, appliances, books, boutiques, farmer’s markets including seasonal fruit, vegetable and plant sales, antiques and similar establishments.

      (2)   Establishments for the sale or provision of services such as, but not limited to: personal appearance or care, health care, finance, legal, insurance, real estate, accounting, clothing and goods repair, offices, printing, entertainment, recreation, hotels, motels, educational institutions, food and drink, apartments, and similar establishments.

      (3)   Establishments for community, cultural and educational purposes such as, but not limited to: museums, libraries, churches, schools, art galleries, theatres, boutiques, art and photography studios, picture framing, printing, publishing, recreation and community centers, public safety buildings, and similar institutions and establishments.

      (4)   All activities involving the production, processing, cleaning, servicing, testing, or repair of materials, goods or products shall conform with the established performance standards, provided that performance standards shall in every case be applied at the boundaries of the lot on which such activities take place.

   (B)   Accessory uses permitted. Accessory uses are allowed when they are clearly incidental and subordinate to an adjoining permitted principal use. Wholesaling, warehousing, or light industry will be considered only in mixed-use properties with public and pedestrian oriented ground level facilities.

   (C)   Prohibited uses. The uses prohibited in the Business District area are those which are land intensive, as opposed to people intensive, and include prohibition of the following: industry and manufacturing; truck terminals and freight yards; outdoor and land intensive recreation such as drive-in theaters or race tracks; scrap or junk yards; stock yards; and similar uses.

   (D)   Dimensional requirements.

      (1)   Modifications to existing nonconforming buildings, including parking lots and accessory uses, shall be exempt from the dimensional requirements contained herein, provided however that any modification to a building’s facade must comply with division (E)(4). A modification shall be defined as an addition with its own footprint having an area no more than 50% of the existing area of the building, parking lot, or accessory use being modified.

      (2)   All new construction shall have its primary entrance facing the front property line. This entrance must be readily apparent as a prominent architectural component as well as displaying the street number. Lots fronting more than one street shall designate one street as the front property line. Plan submittals to the town shall clearly designate the front property line.

      (3)   Rear setback is five feet minimum.

      (4)   Side yard setbacks shall not be more than five feet from side property lines except that one side yard setback may be a maximum of 20 feet.

   (E)   Off-street parking provisions.

      (1)   There shall be no parking required for individual establishments in the Downtown Business District, except as noted hereinafter. This will encourage the establishment of new enterprises which would find it especially difficult to provide parking on relatively small building lots.

      (2)   All surface parking lots require a five foot minimum width landscaping area between the vehicular use area and any street right-of-way, adorned with visual screening (fencing or landscaping, or living hedge) between 30 and 42 inches in height, plus a minimum of one tree per 25 linear feet. Landscape plans shall be approved by the Town Council. Automobile access to any parking lot from the front property right-of-way is prohibited unless an alley entry or side yard ingress/egress is not practical, as determined by the Town Manager.

   (F)   Sign provisions. To be addressed in future addendum to Special Ordinance #2007-715.

   (G)   Variance from special ordinance. Applications for variances are permitted from any provision of this special ordinance except for the provisions of division (D).

(Ord. 2007-715, passed 2-21-2007)

   The special uses shall be:

   (A)   Drive-through lanes to serve customers in waiting motor vehicles, as an accessory use contiguous to the primary use, provided that:

      (1)   Adequate stacking distance, as approved by the Town Superintendent, shall be provided that does not interfere with any public right-of-way;

      (2)   Screening, other than berms, between 30 and 42 inches in height, shall be provided to abate headlights from reaching windows and doors of adjacent buildings;

      (3)   No electronic speaker devices shall be audible beyond the property being served by them between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.; and

      (4)   Curb cuts for such a drive-through shall not total more than 24 feet in width along any street right-of-way.

   (B)   Lodging houses and motels which satisfy all other requirements of this chapter, provided that:

      (1)   No outdoor recreation facilities are located adjacent to any public street right-of-way; and

      (2)   All buildings and outdoor recreation facilities are at least 150 feet from any residentially zoned district or any other residential property containing four or more residential units.

      (3)   Bus turn-arounds (allowed only out of Row House District).

      (4)   Parking structures which satisfy all the requirements of this chapter and are located along a public right-of-way or adjacent to an existing use.

      (5)   Surface parking lots not adjacent to the parcel containing the primary use served by said parking lots.

      (6)   Uses which require an excessive number of parked vehicles, such as special events (such as, bridge festival).

(Ord. 2007-715, passed 2-21-2007)

   (A)   The ground floor of any building in the Row House District may not be used for residence or significant warehousing/storage.

   (B)   A minimum of 60% of the ground-level front facade width in the Row House District must be abutting the sidewalk or located at former building’s original location for new construction. Buildings shall be set on the front property line. This may be increased to ten feet at the building entrance, or if the additional space is landscaped for outdoor retail dining.

   (C)   Front ground level facades parallel to the front property line, and any facade parallel to and within 20 feet of a street right-of-way, shall have no more than ten consecutive linear feet without a window, door, or other prominent architectural feature in the Row House District. Front ground level facades shall have no more than ten consecutive linear feet without a window, door, display opening, or other prominent architectural feature, and not more than 50% of the area between the height of two and ten feet shall be solid or opaque. Buildings on street corner intersections shall designate one of the two frontages as the primary facade, facing the front property line, and shall comply with the frontage requirements above. The other, or secondary, facade shall comply with the frontage requirements.

   (D)   Building height, minimum, in Row House District is 24 feet, measured on the front facade of the building.

   (E)   Any off-street parking or loading area shall be located behind the building that it serves. Under no circumstances shall surface parking be a primary use on a lot located along Ohio Street and the Row House District.

(Ord. 2007-715, passed 2-21-2007)

   (A)   The Board of Zoning Appeals shall determine and vary the regulations of this chapter in harmony with its general purpose and intent, only if the Council makes specific findings of fact, that there are practical difficulties or particular hardships in the way of carrying out the strict letter of the regulations of this chapter which is unduly injurious to the property in question and the owner of said property.

   (B)   Any property owner who acquires property in the Downtown Business District Area after the adoption of this subchapter must apply for a variance from any of the above conditions, or face penalties and/or fines consistent with violations of the town nuisance ordinance presently in effect.

   (C)   All existing property owners with their existing buildings are exempt from this subchapter and any violations of same are “grandfathered”. However, if the ownership of a property within the described district changes or a building is changed or lost, this subchapter will is applicable to the property.

(Ord. 2007-715, passed 2-21-2007)