Upper Moreland Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVI
SC Shopping Center District
§ 350-99 Declaration of legislative intent.
In expansion of the declaration of legislative intent and statement of community development objectives contained in Article I, §§ 350-3 and 350-4, respectively, of this chapter, and in furtherance of the goals and policies of the adopted Upper Moreland Township Comprehensive Plan, it is hereby declared to be the intent of this article, with respect to the SC Shopping Center District, to:
A.
Serve the shopping needs of the Township's population.
B.
Minimize conflicts between shopping center development and adjacent residential neighborhoods.
C.
Provide for the logical development of appropriately located larger tracts.
D.
Maintain traffic volumes of the roads serving the Shopping Center District and avoid congestion and hazardous traffic conditions as a result of development.
E.
Provide varying regulations appropriate for the development of neighborhood-scale and community-scale shopping centers.
F.
Encourage economic development through the creation of a mix of uses adjacent to existing commercial centers.
G.
Promote development that accommodates the automobile but also emphasizes alternative travel means such as trains, buses, biking, and walking.
H.
Encourage the redevelopment of underutilized or obsolete commercial property.
§ 350-100 Use regulations.
A building may be erected, altered, or used, and a lot may be occupied or used, in whole or in part, for any of the uses permitted, as shown in the Use Matrix,[1] and no other, provided that such uses shall comply with the district regulations established in this article and all other applicable sections of this chapter. Such uses shall comply with the district regulations established in Article IV, Use Regulations (in the event of a conflict between district and use regulations, the more stringent regulation shall be applicable), and all other applicable sections of this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Table of Uses is included as an attachment to this chapter. See also Art. IV, Use Regulations.
§ 350-101 General development requirements.
The development shall be executed in accordance with the following:
A.
All buildings shall be arranged in a group or in groups. The development shall consist of a harmonious selection of uses and grouping of buildings, service and parking areas, circulation and open spaces planned and designed as an integrated unit, in such a manner as to constitute a safe, efficient and convenient retail shopping center.
B.
Landscaped buffer. Where such shopping center abuts any residential use or district, an uninterrupted coniferous planting screen, not less than 25 feet in depth, shall be provided and maintained by the owner of the shopping center in accordance with Chapter 300, Article V, § 300-43, of the Upper Moreland Township Code.
C.
Adequate provisions shall be made for safe and efficient pedestrian and vehicular traffic circulation within the boundaries of the shopping center.
D.
Provision shall be made for safe and efficient ingress and egress to and from public streets and highways serving the center without undue congestion to or interference with normal traffic flow within the municipality.
E.
Adequate lighting and adequate off-street parking and loading spaces, as required in § 350-178, shall be provided and shall be set forth on the plan as an integral part thereof; except, however, that the required parking spaces for individual establishments need not be provided separately but may be a component part of such space jointly serving two or more establishments.
F.
All utility lines serving the center shall be placed underground.
G.
If the development of the shopping center is to be carried out in progressive stages, each stage shall be so planned that the foregoing requirements and the intent of this chapter shall be fully complied with at the completion of any stage. The initial stage of development shall comprise a total ground-floor area of not less than 25,000 square feet and at least three of the selected and designated uses.
§ 350-102 Dimensional requirements.
All lots within shopping center developments shall meet the following dimensional requirements:
A.
The minimum tract size for a shopping center development shall be six acres, excluding the rights-of-way of existing public roads.
Setbacks | |
Building Setback From the Edge of Street Curblines | |
Minimum building setback from street curblines, portions of buildings up to 40 feet in height, provided buildings are not located within the street legal right-of-way line: | |
Arterial streets | 50 feet |
All other streets | 20 feet |
Maximum building setback | 70 feet |
Minimum building setback from street curblines, any portions of buildings from 40 feet to 60 feet in height: | |
Arterial streets | 60 feet |
All other streets | 30 feet |
Maximum building setback | |
When a plaza is located between the building and the street, the minimum and maximum building setback from street curblines shall be the depth of the plaza. | |
Minimum Building Setback From Property Lines Not Abutting Streets | |
Portions of buildings sharing a party wall | 0 feet |
Portions of buildings not sharing a party wall | 15 feet |
Minimum Setback Between Portions of Separate Buildings Not Sharing a Party Wall | |
Portions of buildings up to 40 feet in height | 20 feet |
Portions of buildings from 40 feet to 60 feet in height | 40 feet |
Minimum Building and Parking Setbacks | |
From abutting residential properties or districts that are not part of the proposed shopping center development | 40 feet |
Minimum surface parking area setback from street ultimate right-of-way lines and property lines | 10 feet |
Building Height | |
Maximum building height | 4 stories, or up to 60 feet |
Maximum Impervious Coverage All areas not covered by impervious surfaces shall be considered "green area" and shall adhere to the standards in § 350-103. | 60% |
Minimum Pedestrian Plaza Area (see § 350-103F for pedestrian plaza requirements) | 5%, or 1,000 square feet, whichever is greater |
§ 350-103 Additional regulations.
A.
Building standards.
(1)
Building orientation and entrances.
(a)
The front facade of buildings shall be oriented towards streets and sidewalks, with an everyday public entrance in this front facade.
(b)
Buildings with multiple street frontages shall have entrances in each of the front facades.
(c)
All primary building entrances shall be accentuated with architectural elements such as recesses, canopies, porticos or overhangs.
(2)
Building facade articulation. All building facades visible from a public or private street, parking area, or public space shall be designed to incorporate architectural details that create visual interest, reduce the apparent scale and mass of a large building, and create a pedestrian-friendly development.
(3)
Walls and windows. Blank walls shall not be permitted along front or side exterior walls.
B.
Pedestrian circulation standards.
(1)
Sidewalks, with a minimum unimpeded width of eight feet, are required along all street frontages.
(2)
Sidewalks are required to connect the street frontage to all front building entrances, parking areas, and pedestrian plaza. Sidewalks shall connect to existing sidewalks on abutting tracts and other nearby pedestrian destination points.
(3)
Additional internal pedestrian pathways shall be provided in order to create convenient pedestrian connections between all building entrances, parking areas, and other public amenities within the development.
C.
Bicycle parking. The number of bicycle parking spaces and the design of such shall adhere to § 350-183.
D.
Service and loading areas. Loading docks shall be incorporated into the overall site design. These areas shall be located and screened so that the visual and acoustic impact of these functions are fully contained and out of view of adjacent properties and public streets. (See Article XXVI, Parking and Loading, § 350-181, for loading, unloading, waste disposal, and service area regulations.)
E.
Green area standards. All green areas, including landscaped buffers and screens, lawns, woods, stormwater BMPs (rain gardens), and any areas not paved with impervious material, shall be landscaped with trees, shrubs, ornamental plants and grasses, or other appropriate ground cover. Use of native plant materials and naturalistic design is to be used when feasible.
(1)
All new and expanded stormwater management controls, drainageways, and facilities shall be planted in a naturalistic manner with native, water-tolerant plant materials.
F.
Pedestrian plaza standards.
(1)
The required pedestrian plaza shall be located next to pedestrian accessways, public streets, or front facade of buildings, or located between buildings. The pedestrian plaza shall be in the form of a courtyard or pocket park.
(2)
A pedestrian plaza shall not include a fence or wall between the sidewalk and the plaza.
(3)
Required pedestrian plaza areas shall be designed as focal points within the development and shall make pedestrian access as easy and straightforward as possible.
(4)
Up to 25% of the pedestrian plaza can be used for natural features preservation or stormwater management, provided the stormwater management facilities are designed as a vegetated amenity, such as rain gardens.
(5)
Required landscape islands within surface parking lots and required buffer and setback areas shall not be included as part of the pedestrian plaza.
(6)
An operations and maintenance plan, ensuring that all landscaping and man-made items are maintained in perpetuity and are replaced if they can no longer be feasibly maintained, shall be prepared for the pedestrian plaza area and submitted to the municipality for approval.
(7)
Pedestrian-scale lighting shall be provided within the pedestrian plaza and along sidewalks or internal pedestrian accessways connecting to the pedestrian plaza.
(8)
The pedestrian plaza shall meet the following design standards:
G.
Vehicular access.
(1)
All points of vehicular access to and from public streets shall be located not less than 200 feet from the intersection of any public street lines with each other.
(2)
Driveways shall be limited as follows:
(a)
For lots of one acre or less, a maximum of one driveway, with a maximum width of two lanes or 24 feet, is permitted on each street frontage of the lot.
(b)
For lots larger than one acre, a maximum of two driveways, with a maximum width of one lane or 12 feet each, is permitted on each street frontage of the lot, provided the driveways are spaced a minimum of 50 feet apart.