Salem City Zoning Code
ARTICLE V
Nonresidential Districts
§ 490-501 Commercial-Industrial District; Subdistricts CI-A, CI-B and CI-C.
A.
Applicability of section. The following regulations shall govern the erection and alteration of buildings and structures and the use of land in the Commercial-Industrial District; except, however, that these regulations shall not apply to an existing building or structure, nor to the existing use of any building, structure or land, if such existing building or structure or existing use of any building, structure or land was a lawful use under the governing provisions of prior zoning ordinances, nor to an alteration thereto for a use or for any purpose or in any manner which is not substantially different from that to which it was put before alteration, nor to lots shown in a subdivision plat which has been approved by the Salem Planning Board. However, in the event of discontinuance of a nonconforming use for whatever reason for 12 consecutive months, then the following regulations shall govern the erection and alteration of buildings and structures and the use of land in the Commercial-Industrial Subdistricts.
B.
Permitted uses. The following uses shall be permitted in Commercial Subdistricts:
[Amended by the 1981 Town Meeting]
(1)
In all subdistricts:
(a)
Business and professional offices, banks, studios, municipal buildings, passenger and taxi stations, and parking lots.
(c)
Restaurants and other places for the preparation, serving or sale of food or beverages.
(d)
Personal service shops, including tailor, barber-beauty, shoe repair, dressmaking and similar shops, and self-service laundry.
(3)
In Commercial-Industrial Subdistricts B and C:
[Amended by the 2004 and 2009 Town Meetings]
(a)
Feed, hay, grain and building material storage and sales facilities.
(b)
Public garages and repair shops, sales agencies for automobiles, boats, farm, industrial and construction equipment and filling stations. However, no such filling station shall be permitted on a lot that is within 1,000 feet of another lot on which there is an existing filling station or of another lot for which a building permit has been issued for the erection of such a filling station.
(c)
Establishments for the sale or storage of furniture, plumbing supplies, construction supplies, coal, oil or gas, monuments and liquor.
(d)
Hospitals, health care facilities, funeral homes, animal hospitals, kennels and animal shelters, veterinarian establishments, greenhouses and nurseries, roadside stands, printing plants, commercial laundry or cleaning plants.
[Amended by the 2014 Town Meeting]
(e)
Racetrack, amusement park, bowling alley, golf driving range, dance halls and drive-in movies.
(f)
Motels and hotels.
(g)
Facilities for research and for the manufacture, assembly, storage, distribution and servicing of products and materials. However, any manufacturing or industrial use shall be conducted solely within a building or buildings. Products and materials must be stored in a fashion that prohibits their being seen from highways or streets. No fabrication, processing, converting, altering, chemical treatment or process, manufacturing, or industrial procedure shall be permitted which will result in:
[1]
Dissemination of noise, vibration, odor, dust, smoke, observable gas or fumes or other noxious or toxic atmospheric pollutants beyond the boundaries of the immediate site of the building in which such use is conducted;
[2]
Hazard of fire or explosion or other physical hazard to any person, building or vegetation;
[3]
Radiation or interference with radio or television reception beyond the boundaries of the immediate site of the building in which such use is conducted;
[4]
A harmful discharge of waste materials;
[5]
Unusual traffic hazards or congestion due to the type of vehicles required;
[6]
The flowage of waste into the municipal sewer system that would impose an unusual or abnormal burden upon the system either because of the amount or quality of the waste; and
[7]
The requirement of an unusual or abnormal supply of water from the municipal water system.
(h)
Health clubs, sports and recreational facilities, indoor movie theaters, colleges, private schools, and other educational uses, agricultural uses, and places of worship.
(i)
Accessory uses customarily incident to any of the foregoing.
(j)
Facilities offering games of chance for charitable organizations, as defined in RSA 287-D, which are licensed by the state, provided such facilities are located in that portion of the Commercial-Industrial B and C Districts to the east of Route 93 and also to the east of South and North Policy Streets. The minimum gross floor area devoted to gaming activities shall be 4,000 square feet.
[Added by the 2017 Town Meeting]
C.
Restrictions. The following restrictions shall govern permitted and all other uses:
(1)
In all Commercial-Industrial Subdistricts:
(b)
When applicable, regulations and restrictions in the following sections shall be met:
(c)
Wrecking and salvage yards shall be fenced or screened so as to be completely hidden from view from the highway or street.
(d)
Church steeples, flagpoles within the Commercial-Industrial Subdistricts, and amusement rides in properly zoned amusement parks may exceed 35 feet in height but may not exceed 80 feet in height. Office buildings may be allowed a maximum height of 45 feet.
[Amended by the 1989 and 2004 Town Meetings]
(2)
In Commercial-Industrial Subdistrict A:
(a)
Adequate provision shall be made for sidewalks in front of lots where no public sidewalks have presently been provided by the Town. In front of such lots, provision shall be adequate if either sidewalk space is available for continuation of existing sidewalk lines or sidewalk space, not less than six feet in width, is made available. A certificate from the Selectmen of intent ultimately to make sidewalk areas available in front of the property shall be sufficient to exempt such area from the requirements of this subsection.
(b)
Each building may be located so that the building front coincides with the inner sidewalk line.
(3)
In Commercial-Industrial Subdistrict B:
(a)
In that portion of CI-B north of the intersection of North Broadway and Rockingham Road, no structures other than signs will be permitted within 75 feet of the North Broadway right-of-way.
(c)
In that portion of CI-B north of the intersection of North Broadway and Old Rockingham Road, no pavement shall be permitted within 25 feet of the North Broadway right-of-way. This area shall be grassed or landscaped and may be included in the open space requirement.
[Amended by the 1987 Town Meeting]
(d)
That portion of CI-B north of the intersection of North Broadway and Old Rockingham Road is designated as a controlled highway access area. The purpose of this designation is to provide for control of the number and location of accesses to the highway, subject to approval of the State Highway Department, to ensure the safety of those using the highway and abutting properties. The Planning Board shall have the power to require dedication of rights-of-way to provide for access to and circulation within the designated area and to limit the number and location of driveways connecting to North Broadway.
[Amended by the 1987 Town Meeting]
(e)
In that portion of the CI-B west of Interstate Route 93, the permitted uses under Subsection B(1) and (3) shall be restricted as follows:
[Amended by the 1992 and 2003 Town Meetings]
[1]
Any single retail store permitted under Subsection B(1)(b) shall be limited to not more than 5,000 square feet, and no more than 10,000 square feet of retail uses shall be allowed on any one lot.
[Amended by the 2007 and 2018 Town Meetings]
[3]
Restaurants permitted under Subsection B(1)(c) shall not be larger than 5,000 square feet. Drive-through service shall only be allowed if the Planning Board finds that the site is suitable for the proposed use, there will be no adverse impact on traffic or pedestrian safety, and that the modification will be consistent with the spirit and intent of this chapter and the Master Plan.
[Amended by the 2007 and 2018 Town Meetings]
[4]
Retail stores associated with permitted uses under Subsection B(3) shall be accessory to the main use and shall not comprise more than 20% of the gross floor area of the building.
[5]
Sales agencies for automobiles and boats shall not be allowed.
[Added by the 2006 Town Meeting]
(f)
In that portion of CI-B District between Interstate Route 93 and South/North Policy Street, any single retail store permitted under Subsection B(1)(b) shall be limited to not more than 1,500 square feet in gross floor area, and no more than three such uses, in combination, shall be permitted on any one lot. Sales agencies for automobiles and boats shall not be allowed.
[Added by the 1994 Town Meeting; amended by the 2006 Town Meeting]
(4)
In Commercial-Industrial Subdistricts B and C:
(a)
In a filling station, a gasoline pump, light standard or similar installation may be placed to within 20 feet of the street line.
[Amended by the 1980 and 1981 Town Meetings]
(b)
No used car dealership in CI-B and CI-C may be located any closer than 2,000 feet to any other used car dealership. See § 490-107 for the definition of "used car dealership."
(c)
All buildings, parking lots, and other commercial improvements in CI-B and CI-C shall include a buffered area when abutting a Residential or Rural District. The buffer area shall include evergreens, fences, shrubs, walls, or some combination thereof, which will provide a visual screening at all seasons of the year as approved by the Planning Board.[2]
[Added by the 1990 Town Meeting]
[2]
Editor's Note: Original § 5:1.3.16, which immediately followed this subsection and listed restrictions in the Commercial-Industrial Subdistrict C, as amended by the 1996 Town Meeting, was repealed by the 2014 Town Meeting.
D.
Exceptions. The Board of Adjustment shall grant the following exceptions in the Commercial Subdistricts upon finding that the specified conditions exist:
[Amended by the 2005 Town Meeting]
(1)
Relief from any of the provisions of this section for a specified temporary period of time, if the Board of Adjustment shall find either:
(a)
That a public emergency exists or is threatened of so serious a character as to outweigh any diminution of surrounding property values or any fire, health or traffic dangers or overcrowding of land or of public facilities occasioned by such relief; or
(b)
That such relief from any such provisions for such temporary period, not to exceed one year, would be reasonably necessary or desirable for the ultimate use or development of land in a permitted or desirable way, and that any disadvantage of such relief would be outweighed by the advantages available from such ultimate use of the land.
(2)
Relief from any of the regulations of this section if, and to the extent necessary or desirable for the proposed use, such proposed use involves the availability of a railroad siding as a necessary or desirable adjunct.
E.
Variances. In granting or denying variances in the Commercial Subdistricts, the Board of Adjustment shall consider:
(1)
That the compact development of CI-A, with maximum utilization of its land area without waste thereof, is within the spirit of this chapter.
(2)
That traffic hazards and traffic congestion exist in CI-B and that, except in extraordinary cases, any increase in such hazards and congestion is contrary to the spirit of this chapter.
(3)
That growth of activity in the districts is considered desirable within the spirit of this chapter, and that the retention of parking area for such growth is in the public interest.
§ 490-502 Industrial District.
A.
Applicability of section. The following regulations shall govern the erection and alteration of buildings and structures and the use of land in the Industrial District; except, however, that these regulations shall not apply to an existing building or structure, nor to the existing use of any building, structure or land, if such existing building or structure or existing use of any building, structure or land was a lawful use under the governing provisions of prior zoning ordinances, nor to an alteration thereto for a use or for any purpose or in any manner which is not substantially different from that to which it was put before alteration, nor to lots shown in a subdivision plat which has been approved by the Salem Planning Board. However, in the event of discontinuance of a nonconforming use for whatever reason for 12 consecutive months, then the following regulations shall govern the erection and alteration of buildings and structures and the use of land in the Industrial District. Further, signs of all types and descriptions must conform to all requirements of this chapter not later than April 1, 1982.
B.
Permitted uses. The following uses shall be permitted in the Industrial District:
(1)
Business and professional offices, banks, studios, municipal buildings, and passenger and taxi stations.
(2)
Facilities for research.
(3)
Facilities for the assembly, warehousing, storage, and/or manufacture of goods and materials, except for truck terminals.
[Amended by the 2007 Town Meeting]
(4)
Commercial indoor skating and tennis facilities.
(5)
Motels and hotels.
(6)
Health care facilities.
[Added by the 2015 Town Meeting]
(7)
Accessory uses customarily incidental to any of the foregoing.
(8)
Facilities for wholesale trade of goods and materials.
[Added by the 2018 Town Meeting]
(9)
Showrooms up to 40% of the gross floor area of the unit but not exceeding 5,000 square feet.
[Added by the 2018 Town Meeting]
C.
Restriction. The following restrictions shall govern all uses in the Industrial District:
(2)
No building, parking lot or other industrial improvements shall be located within 100 feet of residentially or rurally zoned land if such residentially or rurally zoned land is not separated by a public way. Existing vegetation within this setback shall remain undisturbed but may be enhanced to provide a year-round visual screen.
[Amended by the 1998 Town Meeting]
(3)
Frontage is on a paved Class I, II, II, IV or V highway, as defined in RSA 30,[1] or on a street shown on a subdivision plat approved by the Salem Planning Board. Frontage on Interstate Route 93 shall not be deemed to constitute frontage under this provision.
[1]
Editor's Note: See RSA 229 and RSA 231.
(4)
Lighting devices shall have continuous light. Lights shall not shine on any street or adjacent property. Illuminating devices shall not have visible moving or flashing parts.