Royersford City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IXA
MU Mixed-Use Overlay District
§ 475-58.1 Declaration of legislative intent.
In expansion of the declaration of legislative intent contained in Article I, § 475-2, of this chapter and the statement of community development objective contained in Article I, § 475-4, of this chapter, it is hereby the intent of this Article IXA with respect to the MU Mixed-Use Overlay District to encourage the development of property with mixed commercial and residential uses and to provide reasonable standards and requirements associated with such mixed use to provide more flexible housing options for residents and to revitalize the commercial viability of the Borough. The MU Mixed-Use Overlay District is intended to provide a combined space where residents can live, work and play within the Borough.
§ 475-58.2 Applicability.
The MU Mixed-Use Overlay District shall be a special overlay district that applies to those properties identified on the Zoning Map, as amended herein. Article IXA includes provisions to supplement and enhance the existing underlying district regulations for certain land areas and zoning districts. The provisions of the underlying zoning district regulations shall apply if the land area is developed in accordance with the underlying zoning district. The provisions of Article IXA shall apply if the land area is developed in accordance with the MU Mixed-Use Overlay District. To whatever extent the provisions of this Article IXA are inconsistent with other provisions of this chapter, the standards outlined in this section shall supersede the requirements elsewhere in this chapter. The underlying requirements shall apply to the extent they are not inconsistent with the provisions of the MU Mixed-Use District.
§ 475-58.3 Permitted uses.
A.
In the MU Mixed-Use Overlay District, a building may be erected, altered or used, and a lot may be used or occupied, for any of the following uses:
(1)
Multifamily dwellings, including, but not limited to, apartment building, low-rise apartment, mid-rise apartment, and/or condominium.
(2)
Hotel.
(3)
Service and/or personal service.
(4)
Office.
(5)
Child day-care center and/or nursery school.
(6)
Bank and/or other financial institution, without drive-through facilities.
(7)
Dance, art, photography and/or music studio.
(8)
Medical, dental and/or surgical office and/or clinic.
(9)
Pharmacy, without drive-through facilities.
(10)
Retail sales.
(11)
Restaurants, taverns and/or fast-food restaurants, without drive-through facilities.
(12)
Brewery pub, limited winery, and/or limited distillery, with attendant eating and/or drinking facilities.
(13)
Recreational use, including, but not limited to, indoor recreation facility, community center, outdoor recreation facility, fitness center, health club, exercise facility, spa and/or other similar uses.
(14)
Boat house for the launching, storage, repair and service of boats and watercraft intended for recreational use on the Schuylkill River. Repair, service and/or sale of commercial boats and watercraft is prohibited.
(15)
Movie theater, theater, performing arts center, other event space, and/or other similar uses.
(16)
Accessory use on the same lot with and customarily incidental to any permitted use.
(17)
Parking garage as an accessory use to multifamily dwellings and/or commercial use.
(18)
Mixed-use structures containing any combination of the uses permitted herein.
B.
Adult use is not permitted in the MU Mixed-Use Overlay District.
§ 475-58.4 Development regulations.
The following regulations shall apply to development in the MU Mixed-Use Overlay District:
A.
Tract area, setbacks, coverage, building separation and mix of uses:
(1)
Minimum tract area: 15 acres.
(2)
Maximum building coverage: 30% of tract area.
(3)
Maximum impervious coverage: 75% of tract area.
(4)
Maximum building and structure height: 65 feet, excluding rooftop canopies, awnings and unenclosed roofs serving recreational uses and rooftop mechanical equipment that is screened from view with appropriate fencing.
(5)
Minimum separation between buildings: 25 feet, unless a greater separation distance is required by the most recent edition of the International Fire Code as reviewed and approved by the Borough Fire Marshal.
(6)
Maximum floor area ratio (FAR): 0.5. (NOTE: Any development plan for which an applicant seeks approval shall demonstrate compliance with the FAR requirement set forth herein. If the development plan is recorded in phases, each recorded phase of the development need not meet the FAR requirements, provided that the development plan for the entire tract remains compliant with the required FAR.)
(7)
Mix of uses: residential maximum, 80% of FAR; nonresidential maximum, 40% of FAR.
B.
Residential density. Notwithstanding the maximum permissible residential FAR set forth in Subsection A(7) above, in no case shall residential density exceed a maximum of 18 units per acre of tract area.
C.
Sewer and water facilities. The tract shall be served by public sewer facilities and public water facilities.
D.
Utilities. All new utility lines shall be placed underground.
E.
Parking space dimensions. Parking stall dimensions, regardless of the angle of the parking stall, shall be a minimum of 18 feet in depth and nine feet in width.
F.
Shared parking. Multiple uses on a tract within the MU Mixed-Use Overlay District may elect to share common parking facilities in accordance with the requirements set forth in § 475-117 (Common parking facilities) of this chapter.
G.
Common open space. A minimum of 15% of the tract area shall be designated for common open space for a development in the MU Mixed-Use Overlay District. Common open space should include public gathering spaces and publicly accessible riverfront trails. A common open space maintenance plan detailing provisions for the maintenance and regulation of common open space shall be submitted with the final land development plan for review and approval by Borough Council.
H.
Lighting. Outdoor light shall be permitted in the MU Mixed-Use Overlay District in accordance with the criteria set forth in § 475-32 of this chapter.
J.
Pedestrian connectivity. Developments within the MU Mixed-Use Overlay District shall include interconnecting pedestrian paths and walkways throughout the tract to encourage pedestrian movement. Amenities such as benches or other furniture, trash receptacles, bicycle racks and streetlights shall be utilized along pedestrian paths and walkways. Development tracts fronting the Schuylkill River shall provide a publicly accessible trail along the riverfront side of the development at least 10 feet in width with two-foot shoulders on both sides set within a twenty-foot-wide trail easement where no existing publicly accessible riverfront trail exists. This trail shall be designed to accommodate emergency response vehicles and fire trucks. The materials utilized for the trail shall be resilient to flooding and shall be designed to accommodate pedestrian foot and bicycle use for an extended period of time. Developments within the MU Mixed-Use Overlay District shall include pedestrian connection to adjacent roadway networks and to any county or municipal trail abutting a development.
K.
Trash disposal areas. All exterior common storage areas for trash disposal shall be completely screened from view on three sides by fencing or landscaping. All trash and rubbish shall be contained in verminproof containers.
L.
Nuisance controls. Developments within the MU Mixed-Use Overlay District shall comply with the nuisance control requirements set forth in § 475-69 of this chapter.
M.
Traffic impact study. A traffic impact study prepared by a qualified professional traffic engineer utilizing trip generation data set forth in the most recent edition of the Trip Generation Standards published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers and prepared in accordance with PennDOT's Policies and Procedures for Transportation Impact Studies, found in PennDOT's Publication 282, Appendix A, dated July 2017 or later, shall be provided to the Borough for review with the preliminary land development application. The traffic impact study shall contain, at a minimum, the following elements:
(1)
Traffic impact on all Borough roadways, intersections and interchanges reasonably anticipated to be impacted by the proposed development;
(2)
Impact to pedestrian and bicycle movements along roadways, sidewalks, pedestrian paths, trails and intersections anticipated to be impacted by the proposed development;
(3)
Description of traffic characteristics of the proposed development;
(4)
Traffic volumes for average daily traffic at peak hours (as calculated pursuant to the Trip Generation Standards), before and after proposed development;
(5)
Origin and destination analysis of projected traffic;
(6)
Documentation of improvements proposed to mitigate any adverse impact.
N.
Architectural review. An architectural sketch and building elevations shall be provided by the applicant for review and approval by Borough Council prior to final land development plan approval.
P.
Riverfront buffer. Existing trees having a caliper of 12 inches or more at breast height within the FEMA 100-year floodplain, as may be amended from time to time, shall be maintained, with the exception of dead trees, diseased trees or physically compromised trees that may be at risk of falling. Trees removed due to death, disease or physical compromise shall be periodically replaced as needed to maintain the riparian character of the area abutting the Schuylkill River.
Q.
Signage. The following types of signs shall be permitted in the MU Mixed-Use Overlay District:
(1)
Individual business signs. Individual business signs are permitted as follows:
(a)
One or more signs affixed or otherwise represented upon a building. Maximum total area of all individual business signs affixed or otherwise represented upon a building shall be two square feet for every linear foot of building frontage for each use. No sign affixed or otherwise represented upon a building shall extend above the building.
(2)
Multiple directory signs. A sign listing the names of various business or professional establishments within a defined contiguous area to be erected primarily as a service to the motoring or the pedestrian public shall be permitted, subject to the following regulations:
(a)
If two or more commercial establishments are constructed, erected or operated under a common development plan, one ground or freestanding sign for each street frontage shall be allowed identifying the development and the individual tenants.
(b)
Such signs shall be located on a property serviced by the sign.
(c)
Such signs shall be ground signs or freestanding signs only.
(d)
Such signs shall be limited in number to one per street frontage per Subsection Q(2)(a) above, plus a total of not more than three internal multiple directory signs per development.
(e)
The respective permitted areas of information on multiple directory signs shall be limited to no more than 40 square feet per business listed, provided that the total sign area does not exceed 150 square feet.
(f)
Multiple directory signs shall be located a minimum of 10 feet from the street curb.
(g)
Multiple directory signs shall be located a minimum of 15 feet from the nearest paved edge of any street access driveway intersection.
(h)
Multiple directory signs shall not extend above a height of 25 feet.
(3)
Overhanging signs. A sign attached to and approximately perpendicular to a wall of a building or other structure shall be permitted, subject to the following provisions:
(a)
A building or structure may have one overhanging sign per use on each street frontage.
(b)
The sign area of any overhanging signs shall be included in the calculation of maximum permitted sign area for individual business signs affixed or otherwise represented on a building in accordance with Subsection Q(1)(a) above. The maximum area of an overhanging sign shall be 20 square feet per side. The total area of both sides of the overhanging sign shall be included in the calculation of total sign area permitted under Subsection Q(1)(a).
(c)
The lowest part of any overhanging sign or of any support thereof which extends over any street, sidewalk, alley or other public way in the Borough shall be at least 10 feet above the level of the walk or public way over which it extends; and the highest part of any such overhanging sign or support thereof which extends over any street, sidewalk, alley or other public way in the Borough shall not exceed a maximum height of 65 feet from ground level to the top of the sign; provided, however, that in no event shall the top of the sign exceed the level of the roofline of the building to which it is attached.
(d)
No overhanging sign or its attachment shall extend beyond the building for a distance greater than six feet measured perpendicularly from the face of the building; provided, however, that in no event shall a sign or its attachments extend beyond 75% of the sidewalk width.
(e)
Any overhanging sign extending over any public sidewalk, street, alley or other public place must be securely fastened and constructed so that there will be no danger of the same being dislodged by wind or falling from any other cause. Any overhanging sign shall be anchored so as to withstand gusts of wind of 100 miles per hour or sustained winds of 70 miles per hour, as certified in writing and sealed by a Pennsylvania registered professional engineer.
(4)
Illumination. Signs may be internally or externally illuminated, subject to the National Electrical Code and to the following regulations:
(a)
No sign shall have flashing, intermittent, animated or revolving illumination.
(b)
External floodlighting of any property must be so shielded that the source of light shall not be visible from any point off the lot on which the sign, building, structure or area being illuminated is situated, and so that only the sign, building, structure or area is illuminated thereby.
(5)
Digital signs. Digital signs, including changeable copy signs and electronic signs, shall be permitted in all locations, under the same requirements as permanent signs.
(6)
Message display of a digital sign abutting a public road or street shall comply with the following requirements:
(a)
No digital sign may contain text which flashes, pulsates, moves, or scrolls. Each complete message must fit on one screen.
(b)
The content of a digital sign must transition by changing instantly (e.g., no fade-out or fade-in).
(c)
The length of time each message may be displayed on a digital sign before changing is based upon the visibility and posted speed limit unique to individual signs and adjacent road conditions, but shall be no less than eight seconds. The following method should be used to calculate the minimum message duration for digital signs:
[1]
Determine the greatest distance (feet) from which the sign becomes visible on the road the sign is primarily intended to serve. If a sign is intended to be seen from more than one roadway, the road with the lower posted speed limit shall be used.
[2]
Multiply the road's posted speed limit (miles per hour) by 5,280, and then divide by 3,600 to obtain the speed limit in feet per second.
[3]
Divide the visibility distance by the speed limit (feet per second).
[4]
Add an additional 10% of this number to the total.
[5]
The resulting amount of time is the minimum permitted message duration in seconds, provided that it is no less than the minimum of eight seconds.
(d)
Text in digital signs shall have a minimum height of 10 inches.
(e)
The digital sign shall contain a default design which shall freeze the sign message in one position if a malfunction should occur.