(A)   The Main Street Redevelopment District is hereby established as an option to the use of the underlying zoning in order to facilitate redevelopment and new development along the Main Street corridor and adjacent streets in the area south of the Central Business District. This area is characterized by the following features:

      (1)   Contains a mix of commercial, industrial and residential uses.

      (2)   The area's historic industrial and commercial uses are declining.

      (3)   The area displays a "pre-1950" development pattern in which lot areas and dimensions are typically substandard by current zoning requirements and building setbacks are much closer to lot lines than what would be permitted under current zoning.

      (4)   Many commercial and industrial buildings and the housing stock were erected prior to 1950 and are in need of repair and rehabilitation.

      (5)   Limited availability of off-street parking.

      (6)   A lack of private investment, which has resulted in many vacant or underutilized properties.

   (B)   The purposes of this district are:

      (1)   To allow for the orderly redevelopment and reuse of existing buildings and structures in an older area of the city for which the original uses of the structures may no longer be appropriate or desired.

      (2)   To provide guidelines for construction and design of new buildings and structures so as to be compatible with the existing building and setbacks typically found in the district.

      (3)   To allow for the appropriate mixing of compatible residential, commercial and light industrial uses within a given building or on a given property.

      (4)   To promote economic vitality and encourage reinvestment.

      (5)   To minimize or eliminate the disincentives to redevelopment created by strict compliance with traditional zoning.

   (C)   This district shall be in the form of an overlay zoning district, whose boundaries and inclusive properties shall be delineated and included with the zoning district map of the City of Wadsworth, Ohio, as provided for in § 154.017 of the zoning code as noted in § 154.358 of this subchapter.

   (D)   Definitions. In addition to the definition of terms found in § 154.002 and elsewhere in the zoning ordinance, the following terms are hereby defined for the purpose of implementing this section:

      (1)   Compatible land uses. The characteristics and impacts of different uses or activities are either similar to the characteristics and impacts of other uses in the general vicinity or the characteristics and potential impacts of new uses or activities are not anticipated to have a significant detrimental impact on the other uses in the general vicinity, especially residential uses.

      (2)   Overlay zoning district. A special zoning district which is superimposed upon the underlying base zoning district or districts, the purpose of which is to allow the base zoning district uses and requirements to be altered in order to address special land use circumstances or existing development patterns that preclude the rational redevelopment of such land using only the requirements of the underlying base zoning district or districts.

(Ord. 07-109, passed 11-20-07)

   (A)   Single family residential dwellings - attached and detached.

   (B)   Multi-family residential dwellings, including apartments above the first floor of non-residential buildings.

   (C)   Commercial uses.

      (1)   Offices;

      (2)   Banks, credit unions and other financial services without drive-through facilities;

      (3)   Professional and medical services;

      (4)   Personal services such as barber shops, beauty shops, shoe repairs, laundries and dry cleaning services;

      (5)   Retail establishments;

      (6)   Restaurants, taverns and other places serving food or beverages without drive-through facilities;

      (7)   Amusement and recreational uses including theaters for movies and performing arts and fraternal organizations and clubs;

      (8)   Accessory uses clearly incidental to a permitted use.

   (D)   Cultural, educational or religious facilities operated by a governmental organization, religious entity or non-profit organization.

   (E)   Light industrial uses:

      (1)   Assembling or manufacturing of finished goods from materials, parts or components that are manufactured off the premises;

      (2)   Warehousing and storage of non-hazardous materials;

      (3)   Wholesaling establishments;

      (4)   Repair services for machinery and equipment within an enclosed building;

      (5)   Accessory uses clearly incidental to a permitted use.

   (F)   Off-street parking lots and garages.

   (G)   Other uses which the Planning Commission determines to be similar to and compatible with those uses in this section and in conformance with the intent and purpose of this district.

(Ord. 07-109, passed 11-20-07)

   (A)   Specific requirements for all uses.

      (1)   Minimum contiguous land area for project: 20,000 square feet.

      (2)   Minimum lot sizes: Within the project area, no individual lot may contain less than 5,000 square feet.

      (3)   Building setback requirements:

         (a)   Single-family residential dwellings:

            1.   Front yard setback along a public street: Zero lot line setbacks are encouraged along the front property line, but no front setback shall exceed 15 feet.

            2.   Side yard setbacks for detached dwellings and end-units of attached dwellings: 7 feet.

            3.   Rear yard setback: 20 feet.

         (b)   Multifamily, mixed use and non-residential structures:

            1.   Front setback along a public street: Zero lot line setbacks are encouraged along the front property line, but no front setback shall exceed 15 feet.

            2.   Side and rear setbacks to residential uses adjacent to the project area: 25'.

            3.   Side and rear setbacks to non-residential uses adjacent to the project area: 15'.

            4.   Setbacks within the project area: Internal zero-lot line setbacks are permitted provided that the buildings demonstrate compliance with commercial building and fire codes.

      (4)   Maximum building height:

         (a)   Single-family residential dwellings: 35 feet.

         (b)   Multifamily residential and non-residential buildings: 60 feet.

      (5)   Minimum off-street parking requirements:

         (a)   The development project shall demonstrate with the off-street parking provisions found in §§ 154.405 through 154.409, except that required off-street parking can be reduced by 10% when the project involves the redevelopment of an existing site.

         (b)   The Planning Commission may approve another 15% reduction to the off-street parking requirement, allow such parking spaces to be "land banked", if the applicant can demonstrates that:

            1.   A shared parking and access agreement and related easements shall be created for all lots within the project area, and

            2.   The peak parking times for the proposed mix of uses with the project area differs sufficiently so that the available off-street parking will be adequate to serve the intended uses.

      (6)   Parking design requirements:

         (a)   Front entry parking spaces and front-entry garages for residential uses shall be discouraged.

         (b)   Off-street parking spaces, garages and other parking structures should be located behind the main structures.

         (c)   Shared driveways and parking for residential uses shall be incorporated into the project layout whenever practical in order to promote a continuous building line along public streets.

      (7)   Landscaping and perimeter buffering requirements: A landscaping plan prepared as required by § 154.069 is required for all projects. However the Planning Commission may reduce the width of, or eliminate entirely, the landscaping buffer requirement if location site conditions do not provide adequate land area for such buffer. In such cases, a wall or opaque fencing up to a height of 10 feet may be required to provide appropriate buffering for neighboring properties.

      (8)   Signs as permitted in §§ 154.470 through 154.486.

   (B)   Specific requirement for residential uses.

      (1)   One-, two- and three-family residential density shall not exceed 8.7 units per acre.

      (2)   Multifamily residential density shall not exceed 20 units/acre as calculated over the entire project area, exclusive of land area set aside for single family residential lots.

      (3)   Minimum floor area per dwelling unit:

         (a)   Single-family dwellings: 800 square feet.

         (b)   Multi-family dwellings: 700 square feet.

   (C)   Use segregation by floor.

      (1)   Whenever a building or structure contains both residential and non-residential uses, the use types should be segregated by floor whenever possible, with the ground floor being reserved for retail, office and other non-residential uses.

      (2)   Whenever different use types are located on the same floor, the uses should be separated from each in such a manner that minimizes impacts between the use types while maintaining compliance with applicable building and fire code.

   (D)   Compliance with commercial building code. All buildings and structures used for commercial, industrial, multi-family uses or a mix of such uses must demonstrate compliance with applicable commercial building and fire codes before the city shall issue a certificate of occupancy.

(Ord. 07-109, passed 11-20-07)

   (A)   Preliminary discussion meeting required.

      (1)   Prior to an application being placed on the Planning Commission's agenda, the applicant or the applicant's agent shall contact the Planning Director and establish a preliminary discussion meeting. The purpose of the preliminary discussion meeting is to allow city agencies and officials involved in site development to review the proposal and comment on the plan's compliance with the Comprehensive Land Use and Thoroughfare Plan, public service provisions and other health, safety and welfare regulations.

      (2)   The applicant shall provide the Planning Director with ten sets of a general development plan, which shall show existing and proposed lot lines, existing and proposed structures, parking lots, access drives and circulation, public and private utilities and easement and other pertinent site data. The plans shall be distributed to other city agencies involved in site development for review prior to the discussion meeting.

      (3)   At the discussion meeting, the city agencies shall provide feedback and recommendations for plan revisions to the applicant. The applicant will then have an opportunity to revise the plan to address the concerns and issues raised before making a formal submittal for Planning Commission review.

   (B)   A general development plan review by the City Planning Commission is required for all proposed uses permitted under § 154.351 according to procedures detailed in § 154.070.

   (C)   Prior to approval of the general development plan, the Planning Commission shall hold a public hearing and the Zoning Inspector or his or her designee shall notify in writing the owners of all properties adjacent to and across the street from the project area. Such written notification shall be sent by regular mail at least ten days prior to the hearing.

(Ord. 07-109, passed 11-20-07)

   Each application for site plan review using these provisions must be accompanied with the following documents:

   (A)   Completed application for Planning Commission review.

   (B)   Cover letter explaining the intent of project; list of proposed uses; a description of the how the proposed uses are compatible; the proposed floor area (in square feet) for each use; the proposed density of residential uses; off-street parking required for the project area; and time line for anticipated "build-out" or phasing of the project.

   (C)   Fifteen copies of :

      (1)   Site location map.

      (2)   Site plan showing location of existing and proposed buildings; existing and proposed off-street parking facilities, existing and proposed utilities, infrastructure easements and other improvements as required by § 154.070 of this code.

      (3)   Floor plans and proposed uses for existing and proposed structures.

      (4)   Development phasing plan and time line.

   (D)   Traffic impact study and traffic improvement plan as required by city code.

   (E)   Additional studies as required by the Planning Commission.

(Ord. 07-109, passed 11-20-07)

   (A)   Architectural design review is required for all uses permitted under § 154.351 according to procedures detailed in § 154.071.

   (B)   All new commercial, industrial, multi-family or mixed use buildings or additions to existing structures shall comply with the following standards:

      (1)   The front door or entrance to a building shall be visible from a public street.

      (2)   Blank walls are not allowed on walls facing a public street. Openings for windows or doors on these walls should constitute between 30-60% of the wall surface.

      (3)   All structures shall have a minimum height of two stories as measured from the average grade at the front property line. For buildings on corner lots the average grade along both street frontages may be averaged and used as the basis for this standard.

      (4)   All walls facing public streets shall be faced in brick or concrete masonry unit (CMU) painted or stained to resemble brick.

      (5)   New buildings shall be located on the site so as to conform to the existing front setback line established by existing structures. A variation of up to 20% is permissible.

      (6)   All loading areas and trash receptacles shall be located along side and rear walls and screened from the public streets.

(Ord. 07-109, passed 11-20-07)

   (A)   The Planning Commission's approval of a general development plan shall be an exception to the zoning regulations to the extent that the approved plan supercedes the regulations of the underlying zoning district. The Commission's approval also constitutes a limitation on the use and design of the site unless the plan is amended as per modified pursuant to § 154.358.

   (B)   An approved general development plan allows the applicant to:

      (1)   Submit infrastructure improvement plans to the Engineering Department for review, as required.

      (2)   Submit preliminary and final subdivision plats, as required.

   (C)   The Planning Commission's general development plan approval shall be valid for 18 months. If the project has not received Engineering plan approval or construction has not started within that time frame, the Planning Commission approval shall become null and void, and a new plan will need to be approved.

(Ord. 07-109, passed 11-20-07)

   Changes or modification to the approved general development plan including but not limited to, modifications to the proposed use mix, building locations, building setbacks, location and amount of parking facilities, and residential density require review and approval by the City Planning Commission.

(Ord. 07-109, passed 11-20-07)

   The Main Street Redevelopment District consists of the land designated for such district on the "Map of the Main Street Redevelopment District" approved by the Planning Commission on August 27, 2007 for inclusion with the zoning district map of the City of Wadsworth, Ohio as provided for in § 154.017 of the zoning code, subject to such changes of zoning classifications as may be made by subsequent ordinances.

(Ord. 07-109, passed 11-20-07)