Commercial uses. A building or buildings containing one or more of the following uses:

Vertical mixed-use development.

Accessory uses incidental to a permitted use.

Uses exempt under MGL c. 40A, § 3

Community uses: as permitted in the Commercial District in accordance with § 300-12, Table of Use Regulations.

For any permitted commercial use subject to a maximum net floor area requirement under Subsection A above, the Planning Board may grant a special permit to authorize an increase in net floor area, provided that no restaurant shall exceed 6,500 square feet and no individual retail establishment shall exceed 25,000 square feet.

Horizontal mixed-use development.

Drive-through service for a commercial establishment such as a pharmacy, located in the rear or side of the building, but not a drive-through food service establishment

New one-family detached dwelling.

Brewery.

Any uses not specifically listed under Subsections A and B above.

Any uses prohibited under Article III of this bylaw

Minimum lot area: 1/3 acre. Additional minimum lot area for the second and each additional dwelling unit: 3,000 square feet.

Minimum frontage: 75 feet.

Yard setbacks.

Minimum open space % lot area: 10%.

Maximum building coverage:

Maximum height: 35 feet.

Setbacks.

Maximum building eight or maximum building coverage. The Planning Board may grant a special permit to increase the maximum height to 40 feet or the maximum building coverage to not more than 50% in order to encourage any of the following: the provision of consolidated or shared access or shared parking for two or more adjoining parcels, subject to a legally enforceable agreement or restriction in a form acceptable to the Planning Board; below-grade parking that reduces the amount of surface parking on a lot; or an increase in the minimum percentage of affordable units required under § 300-82.9.

Density of residential uses. The Planning Board may grant a special permit for dwelling units in a mixed-use development at a density greater than allowed under Subsection A, but not more than one unit per 2,500 square feet for the second and each additional unit

In a mixed-use development, commercial uses shall occupy not less than 30% of the floor area of any building(s) facing the street, and the ground floor of the front facade shall be occupied by commercial uses only.

Residential uses may be located above the ground floor or at grade, provided that space occupied by commercial uses complies with Subsection C(1) above and entrances to any at-grade residential units are on the side or rear of the building(s).

Studio unit (zero bedroom): 600 square feet.

One-bedroom unit: 700 square feet.

Two-bedroom unit: 900 square feet.

Three-bedroom unit: 1,200 square feet.

Residential uses: for a studio or one-bedroom dwelling unit, one parking space; for a dwelling unit with two or more bedrooms, two spaces.

Retail uses: four spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area for the first 10,000 square feet; 2.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet for between 10,001 and 12,500 square feet of gross floor area; and two spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area over 12,500 square feet.

Restaurant: one space per three seats or one space per 50 square feet of public floor area (i.e., area reserved for actual consumption of food and beverages by the general public), whichever is greater.

Personal service establishment: one space per 250 square feet gross floor area.

Professional or business office, bank or post office: three spaces per 1,000 square feet gross floor area for first-floor offices; an average of 2.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet gross floor area for upper-story offices.

Inn or bed-and-breakfast facility: one space per sleeping room, and one space for every three employees on the largest shift.

For a use not specifically listed in this section, the minimum required number of off-street parking spaces shall be as specified by the Building Inspector based on a listed use with similar characteristics of parking demand generation.

For shared parking that is subject to a legally enforceable agreement or restriction, the Planning Board may authorize, as part of site plan review, a reduction in parking of up to 25% of the total required spaces for the uses served by said parking.

Parking shall be located to the rear of the building or to the side, but not within 20 feet of the front facade, or within a building at grade, accessible from the rear of the building, or under a building. Where parking is located behind buildings in a mixed-use development with additional buildings located to the rear of the site, a quadrangle effect should be created with parking, landscaping, and walkways.

The Planning Board may grant a special permit for an alternative off-street parking plan, including an increase in the maximum front yard setback to the extent required to accommodate said parking, provided that the parking is screened from pedestrian view with appropriate building elements or landscaping features, or a combination thereof.

Any off-street parking or storage area which abuts a residential district or residential overlay district shall be separated from the adjacent property by a ten-foot buffer area. The buffer shall be suitably landscaped and maintained so as to create an effective year-round visual screen at least six feet in height in order to insulate the residentially zoned land from the off-street parking area.

At minimum, any off-street parking and loading area shall be separated from adjacent properties by a four-foot buffer area planted with grass or similar ground cover, or adjacent properties may be connected by a landscaped walkway. Where adjacent parcels agree to share a common parking area with a common entrance and exit, the Planning Board may approve eliminating the minimum four-foot buffer on all common property lines. No buffer area shall be required for a one-family detached dwelling.

Buildings should have a vertical orientation, which means that (a) the building actually has a greater height than width, or (b) the facades and roof lines of the building are designed to reduce massing and bulk so that it appears as a group of smaller masses with a distinct vertical orientation. In addition, the height of the first floor should be taller than the upper floors and expressed through facade treatments that convey the functional diversity within the building.

Building should be oriented on the lot parallel with the front setback line to establish and preserve a consistent building line, with primary entrances oriented toward the street. They may be oriented around a courtyard or respond in design to a prominent feature, such as a corner location.

Buildings and site design should provide an inviting entry orientation. The main business entrance to each ground floor business should be accentuated by larger doors, signs, canopy, or similar means of definition.

On the ground level portion of the front facade of a commercial building, windows should comprise at least 20% but not more than 80% of the facade surface. Ground floor display windows should be framed on all sides by the surrounding wall and highlighted with frames, lintels and sills or equivalent trim features, or may instead be recessed into the wall or projected from the wall.

Buildings should avoid unarticulated and monotonous facades and window placements, regular spacings, or building placements that will be viewed from the street as continuous walls. Buildings should provide continuous visual interest and human-scale features from a pedestrian's point of view, emphasizing design features such as bay windows, cupolas, recessed doorways, pilasters, columns, horizontal and vertical offsets, material and color variations, decorative cornices, awnings or canopies. In general, architectural diversity is encouraged as long as individual design solutions are compatible with the purposes of the Village Center District as a compact, mixed-use area with a strong visual definition.

Exterior materials may include painted clapboard, wood shingles, brick or materials of comparable appearance. Neutral or earth-tone colors are appropriate, but brighter colors may be applied to building trim with approval of the Planning Board as part of site plan review. Variation in appropriate materials, colors and textures is encouraged.

Garage doors or loading docks are prohibited in the front facade of any building facing the street.

A flat or nearly flat roof is generally prohibited. However, the Planning Board may grant a special permit to authorize a flat-roof design, provided that the flat roof structure is capped by an articulated parapet design that acts as a structural expression of the building facade and its materials, visible from all sides of the building. For other buildings, roofs shall, at a minimum, have articulated parapets concealing flat roofs and rooftop equipment (such as HVAC units) which are visible from adjoining streets or properties.

Addresses the purposes of the Village Center District; and

Appropriately addresses site-specific attributes or site-specific concerns.