The Regional Shopping District (RS) is designed to provide for a large concentration of comparison shopping, office, and service needs for persons residing in a densely settled suburban area. This district will allow for an intense use of land to service regional needs and will be located adjacent to high volume major thoroughfares.

No building, structure or land shall be erected or used in a Regional Shopping (RS) Center District unless a site plan therefore has been approved per the provisions of section 5.22.

(Ord. No. 1484, 2-16-03; Ord. No. 1793, § 10, 8-19-24)

In regional shopping districts, no building or land, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, shall be erected or used except for one (1) or more of the following specified uses:

(1)

Stores of a generally recognized retail nature which supply commodities on the premises, such as, but not limited to, groceries, baked goods or other food, drugs, dry goods, clothing, notions and hardware.

(2)

Medical offices and clinics.

(a)

Mobile medical trailers are permitted in conjunction with an existing and occupied medical office/facility use on the same property in accordance with the following:

i.

Mobile medical trailers must be housed in attached or detached accessory structures, with or without a roof, with overhead and/or access door(s) to maneuver the mobile medical trailer into and out of the structure, with the following conditions:

a.

If no roof is proposed, the enclosing walls shall be not less in height than the height of the highest portion of the mobile medical trailer;

b.

All structure facades are to exhibit a durable material (i.e. stone, brick, or other materials determined to be adequately durable for commercial application by the city planner and/or building official) at the base of the structure either three (3) feet in height or to the sill line of any exterior windows (whichever is lower);

c.

If not attached to the principal building, an accessible route from the primary medical office use/facility to the mobile medical trailer must be designated as part of the planning department review process and designed in accordance with relevant State of Michigan Barrier-Free and Federal ADA requirements;

ii.

Any unenclosed mobile medical trailer which was unlawfully located and/or operated prior to the effective date of this section must be removed as of the effective date of this section.

iii.

All mobile medical trailers and enclosing structures must adhere to requirements set forth by the State of Michigan Department of Community Health regarding approval for operation of the mobile medical trailer.

(3)

Banks and similar financial institutions.

(4)

Government office buildings and public utility offices, but not including storage yards.

(5)

Administrative and professional offices.

(6)

Day care center, nursery school, with a permanently secured outside play area.

(7)

Photographic studios and interior decorating studios.

(8)

Personal services.

(9)

Assembly halls, concert halls, banquet halls, religious institutions, or similar places of assembly, when conducted within enclosed buildings.

(10)

Open-air retail sales of plant materials and sales of lawn furniture, playground equipment and garden supplies provided that:

(a)

The open-air sales area is enclosed with a fence.

(b)

That such sales area is in conjunction with indoor sales of the same general type.

(c)

That the square footage of the open sales area is no greater than the indoor sales area.

(11)

Hotels.

(12)

Free-standing restaurants, including restaurants with a bar/lounge, fast food restaurants, and carry out restaurants, and any of the above restaurants when attached to and located within a shopping center building complex. Excluding restaurants with a drive-thru, restaurants open 24 hours, and drive-in restaurants.

(13)

Accessory uses customarily incidental to any of the above permitted uses.

(14)

Health and fitness clubs.

(Ord. No. 1484, 2-16-03; Ord. No. 1699, § 10, 12-27-18; Ord. No. 1745, § 6, 11-4-21)

The following uses may be permitted upon the review and approval of the city council after a recommendation from the planning commission. The use or uses shall only be approved when the following general standards have been satisfied and subject to the conditions hereinafter imposed.

(1)

Uses.

(a)

Recreation centers, similar to bowling alleys, skating rinks, archery ranges, dance studios, amusement areas, arcades with a minimum of one hundred (100) gross square feet of floor area per machine and if located within a building or structure containing other uses, the amusement arcade shall be separated and segregated from such other uses, by the means of approved walls, rails, fences or similar approved means as to specifically delineate the area in which said machines are to be located, the minimum square footage of floor area per machine being measured thereby, and similar forms of commercial recreation or amusement when conducted wholly within a completely enclosed building.

(b)

Automobile and truck agency sales and showrooms subject to the following provisions:

1.

The automobile and truck sales agency must be located on a site having a frontage of not less than one hundred and fifty (150) feet on a major thoroughfare and an area of not less than two (2) acres.

2.

Ingress and egress to the outdoor sales area shall be at least sixty (60) feet from the intersection formed by the existing or proposed right-of-way lines, whichever is greater.

3.

Major repair and major refinishing shops will be permitted as accessory when located not less than two hundred (200) feet from residentially zoned property and conducted entirely within an enclosed building.

4.

No outside display of discarded or salvaged materials, junk vehicles or junk parts shall be permitted on the premises.

5.

The outside display of new and used automobiles and trucks shall be permitted, but the outside storage of vehicles shall be limited to new vehicles, and such storage area shall occupy no more than thirty-five (35) percent of a lot, which is used for new vehicle sales.

6.

A fifteen (15) foot landscaped setback shall be provided between any existing or proposed right-of-way line, whichever is greater, and any outdoor display of new or used automobiles.

7.

All lighting shall be shielded from adjacent residential districts and the use of open or base bulbs shall be prohibited.

(c)

Automobile repair and service facilities subject to the following provisions:

1.

Minor repair and service of automobiles are permitted with prohibited activities including, but not limited to, automobile, truck and trailer renting and leasing, motor vehicle body repair, undercoating, painting, tire recapping, engine and transmission rebuilding, motor vehicle dismantling, upholstery work, and other such activities whose adverse external physical effects would extend beyond the property line.

2.

All activities shall be conducted in an enclosed building.

3.

All buildings shall be set back not less than forty (40) feet from all existing or proposed street right-of-way lines, whichever is greater.

4.

No storage nor display of any kind shall be allowed within the street right-of-way. All display shall be so located as not to obstruct view of vehicles.

5.

There shall be no outside storage or display of any kind except for the display of new merchandise related to the primary use of the facility and for retail sale during the hours of operation of the facility.

6.

There shall be no parking of damaged motor vehicles except on a temporary basis not to exceed seventy-two (72) hours. Junk parts and junk vehicles shall not be kept on the outside of the building.

7.

Parking shall be provided per section 5.30, off-street parking requirements.

8.

The parking of tow trucks shall be permitted only in designated areas and shall not be permitted in the corner clearance areas.

(d)

Drive-in, any restaurant with a drive-thru, and any restaurant open twenty-four (24) hours.

(e)

Full-time or continuing retail sales operations specializing in primarily handcrafted, used merchandise and antiques which are displayed on portable tables in undivided open areas or in booth or stall-like enclosures using arcade as a common entrance and being separated from each other by portable partitions. Said retail sales operations shall include, but shall not be limited to, so-called farmers' markets, flea markets, trading posts and the like.

(f)

Multiple family residential when located within a building containing other uses allowed within the regional shopping district and further, provided that:

1.

All dwelling units shall consist of at least a living room, bedroom, kitchen and private bath and toilet, and each unit shall contain not less than seven hundred and fifty (750) square feet for a one (1) bedroom unit and eleven hundred and twenty-five (1,125) square feet for a two (2) bedroom unit.

2.

Off-street parking requirements provided per section 5.30, off-street parking requirements.

(g)

Motels.

(h)

Theaters.

(i)

Additional commercial uses, related to and reasonably necessary or convenient for, the satisfactory and efficient operation of a complete and integrated regional shopping center.

(j)

Smoking lounges, subject to the following conditions:

1.

Must be approved by the State of Michigan Department of Community Health as a tobacco specialty retail store or cigar bar and possess a valid exemption of the State of Michigan smoking prohibition of Section 12603, Public Act 368 of 1978. Smoking lounges not possessing a valid state exemption as a tobacco specialty retail store or cigar bar are not permitted.

2.

Hours of operation are limited to 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.

3.

Cannot be located any nearer than one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet to any other smoking lounges.

4.

Minimum separation between uses:

i.

Cannot be located any nearer than two hundred (200) feet to any residential use (measured by the shortest distance between the exterior of the portion of the structure occupied by the smoking lounge to the parcel line of the residential use).

ii.

Cannot be located any nearer than two hundred (200) feet to any outdoor playground of a school, childcare facility, religious institution, park, or similar use (measured by the shortest distance between the exterior of the portion of the structure occupied by the smoking lounge to the outer perimeter of the playground).

5.

Outdoor smoking: Outdoor patios used for smoking cannot be any closer than twenty (20) feet from any other business entrance or outside dining area of another business, nor any nearer than three hundred (300) feet to any residentially used parcel or any outdoor playground of a school, childcare facility religious institution, park, or similar use.

6.

Odor control: Smoking lounges shall provide adequate ventilation for the smoke in accordance with all requirements imposed by the building and fire departments. At a minimum, the ventilation system shall also assure that smoke from the smoking lounge is incapable of migrating into any other portion of the building hosting the smoking lounge or into any other building or premises in the vicinity of the smoking lounge. A detailed description of the odor control methods and equipment the smoking lounge will utilize to comply with this section shall be required. Exception: outdoor patios approved per subsection (5) above.

7.

The interior of the smoking lounge shall be maintained with adequate illumination to make the conduct of patrons within the premises readily discernible to persons with normal visual acuity.

8.

No window coverings shall prevent visibility of the interior of the smoking lounge from outside the premises during operating hours. Any proposed window tint shall be approved in advance by the police department.

9.

The maximum occupancy level for a smoking lounge shall be established by the fire department.

(k)

Shelters for the homeless, subject to the following conditions:

1.

The facility must be operated by a recognized human service agency (or religious institution), incorporated by the state and which is not for profit.

2.

Resident manager and support services shall be provided.

3.

Cannot be located any nearer than two thousand (2,000) feet to any other emergency shelter for the homeless or soup kitchen.

4.

Cannot be located any nearer than five hundred (500) feet to any school, park, childcare facility, firearm dealer or business selling alcohol.

5.

Must be located on a major thoroughfare.

6.

Maximum occupancy is limited to thirty (30) persons.

7.

Facilities jointly operated as an emergency shelter for the homeless and soup kitchen must also meet the requirements for soup kitchens.

(l)

Soup kitchens, subject to the following conditions:

1.

The facility must be operated by a recognized human service agency (or religious institution), incorporated by the state and which is not for profit.

2.

Must provide proof of license or approval by the Oakland County Health Department.

3.

Seating shall be provided at one hundred (100) percent of meal service capacity.

4.

Waiting area(s) shall be on the premise where the meal service is being provided. The owner/operator must ensure that persons receiving service do not block public access to sidewalks, rights-of-way and private property, and that emergency access points are clearly identified and maintained. Adequate space must be available to accommodate the expected number of persons who will be served meals.

5.

All meals served shall be limited to a consecutive three-hour period within a 24-hour day between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. The hours should be posted and clearly visible to the public. This limitation does not apply to meals served to the residents and staff of a facility that is jointly operated as an emergency shelter for the homeless and a soup kitchen.

6.

Cannot be located any nearer than two thousand (2,000) feet to any other soup kitchen or emergency shelter for the homeless.

7.

Cannot be located any nearer than five hundred (500) feet to any school, park, childcare facility, firearm dealer or business selling alcohol.

8.

Must be located on a major thoroughfare.

9.

Maximum occupancy is limited to fifty (50) persons.

(m)

Small box retail subject to the following conditions:

1.

Cannot be located any nearer that one (1) mile (5,280 linear feet) as measured from property line to property line to any other small box retail location.

2.

Hours of operation are limited to 8:00 a.m. To 10:00 p.m.

3.

Any small box retail location approved prior to the effective date of this section shall be considered a legal nonconforming use.

(Ord. No. 1484, 2-16-03; Ord. No. 1619, § 3, 3-9-14; Ord. No. 1641, § 4, 5-31-15; Ord. No. 1654, § 6, 3-20-16; Ord. No. 1678, § 9, 7-6-17; Ord. No. 1699, § 10, 12-27-18; Ord. No. 1734, § 4, 4-22-21; Ord. No. 1781, § 1, 12-21-23; Ord. No. 1801, § 1, 12-9-24)

No activity shall be carried on in a regional shopping district so as to be obnoxious or offensive by reason of the emission of odor, fumes, dust, smoke, waste or vibration.

The area and bulk regulations shall be regulated as set forth in the "schedule of regulations" in article 22.

For those uses permitted within a regional shopping center, parking shall be provided per section 5.30, off-street parking requirements.

(Ord. No. 1641, § 4, 5-31-15)

1.

Whenever a project is developed under the RS, Regional Shopping District, a landscape plan by a registered landscape architect shall be submitted to and reviewed and approved by the city planner or his designated representative. The landscape plan shall be developed in accordance with the city general landscape standards and shall contribute significantly to the overall appeal of the site. Landscape plans and green infrastructure/low impact development methods required per article 4section 5.31(21)(b).

2.

Storm water detention shall be designed in accordance with the city storm water management requirements and stormwater management plan for the site.

3.

An underground sprinkler system shall be required for all landscape areas, including rights-of-way.

4.

The owner/developer shall execute a perpetual maintenance agreement for landscaping and parking areas for the entire site.

5.

The owner/developer shall implement the recommendations of the city police department's crime prevention bureau.

6.

The owner/developer shall participate in a special assessment district (SAD) for street lighting along any public right-of-way abutting the development.

(Ord. No. 1484, 2-16-03; Ord. No. 1678, § 9, 7-6-17)