West Conshohocken City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXI
O Office District
§ 113-141 Legislative intent.
In expansion of the declaration of legislative intent contained in Article I, § 113-3, of this chapter and the statement of community development objectives contained in Article I, § 113-5, of this chapter, it is hereby declared to be the intent of the Office District to establish reasonable performance standards for the development of office and selected commercial uses, that will take advantage of the location and highway accessibility offered by the interchange of the Schuylkill and Mid-County Expressways and promote employment within the Borough, while protecting the Borough's sensitive environmental features. It is further the intent of this article that development shall not have a detrimental effect upon traffic conditions or community services and facilities and that development provide adequate buffering and landscaping to protect adjacent areas.
§ 113-142 Permitted uses.
A building may be erected, altered or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following uses, and no other:
A.
Office buildings.
B.
Banks and other financial institutions.
C.
Restaurants (excluding fast-food).
D.
Motels or hotels.
E.
Takeout restaurants, postal services and recreational facilities within an office building, motels or hotels subject to the following requirements:
(1)
The uses are not permitted as a separate building and are limited to no more than 20% of the gross floor area of the office building.
(2)
The uses shall be intended to serve the daily service needs of employees and users of the office building.
(3)
No external signs advertising said uses shall be permitted.
F.
Accessory uses.
§ 113-143 Dimensional standards.
A.
Lot area. A lot area of not less than two acres shall be provided for every use in the Office District.
B.
Lot width. A lot width of not less than 200 feet shall be provided for each lot in the Office District.
C.
Building coverage. Not more than 35% of the area of each lot may be occupied by buildings.
D.
Impervious surface coverage. Not more than 80% of each lot may be occupied by impervious surfaces.
E.
Height. The maximum height of any building shall be 120 feet, not to exceed nine stories.
F.
Setbacks. The following setbacks shall apply for any structures in the Office District:
(1)
The minimum setback, measured from the ultimate right-of-way lines, shall be 30 feet.
(2)
The setback measured from any other lot line shall be 50 feet.
(3)
Setbacks may be reduced, upon approval by the Borough Council, when it can be demonstrated that such reduction will have no detrimental impact on adjacent properties.
[Amended 10-14-1986 by Ord. No. 377, approved 10-14-86]
G.
Minimum distance between buildings. The minimum distance between a building or group of buildings shall be 25 feet, except that all structures connected by common rooflines or covered walkways shall be considered one building.
§ 113-144 Development standards.
A.
Access. Provisions shall be made for safe and efficient ingress and egress to and from public streets and highways serving the Office District. No development shall cause confusion, congestion or undue interference with normal traffic flow. The Borough Council, with the advice of the Borough Engineer, shall satisfy itself as to the adequacy of the throughfares and access points intended to accommodate the traffic generated by a proposed Office District development. All office buildings, motels and hotels shall also meet the criteria for a traffic study in § 113-145 of this chapter.
B.
Drive-in facilities and automated banking machines for banks and other financial institutions.
(1)
In the case of a bank or other financial institution with drive-in facilities, the circulation plan for the drive-in window shall be integrated safely and efficiently into the overall circulation pattern of the Borough in a manner that minimizes internal traffic congestion. The plan shall be presented to the Borough Council for approval prior to issuance of a building permit. Drive-in facilities for banks or financial institutions shall provide a minimum of six automobile waiting spaces for each bank teller or remote teller window. These waiting spaces shall not interfere with parking spaces.
(2)
Automated banking machines shall be located in areas which will not encourage interference with internal circulation of the site. Lighting shall be provided for the safety and convenience of the users of the automated banking machines.
C.
Service areas. Loading and unloading areas shall be provided which do not conflict with pedestrian or vehicular movement.
D.
Landscaping. Landscaping, including buffers, screens, parking lot landscaping, street trees and preservation of existing vegetation, shall be provided according to the requirements of Chapter 102, Subdivision and Land Development.
[Amended 10-14-1986 by Ord. No. 377, approved 10-14-1986; 11-14-1995 by Ord. No. 95-436, approved 11-14-1995]
G.
Storage. No storage of materials, equipment or goods shall be permitted outside of a building.
H.
Outside lighting. All outside lighting shall be shielded so that the source of light shall not be visible from any point off the lot on which the light is located. In no case shall lights be permitted to be directed or reflected toward any residential district, and there shall be no glare or hazardous interference of any kind on any roadway.
I.
Utilities. All utility lines (electrical, telephone, etc.) shall be placed underground.
J.
Sewage. All uses shall be in conformance with Chapter 93, Sewers and Sewage, of the West Conshohocken Borough Code.
§ 113-145 Office buildings, motels and hotels.
The Borough Planning Commission shall review all plans for office buildings, motels and hotels proposed within the Office District and shall submit these plans with their recommendations to the Borough Council for final approval or disapproval. The submitted plans shall show compliance with the dimensional and development requirements in §§ 113-143 and 113-144 and the community impact analysis in this section. The plans shall also show compliance with all other applicable Borough codes and ordinances.
A.
Community impact analysis. A community impact analysis shall be submitted to the Borough containing the following information for review by the Borough Planning Commission and by the Borough Council:
(1)
The conformance of the proposed development with the West Conshohocken Comprehensive Plan and compatibility with land uses adjacent to the site.
(2)
The impact on any existing floodplains, steep slopes, wooded areas and other sensitive natural features.
(3)
The impact on public utilities, including but not limited to sewage disposal, garbage and rubbish disposal, water supply, storm drainage and electrical utilities.
(4)
The impact on the provisions of police and fire protection for the proposed development.
(5)
A traffic study which indicates that satisfactory provisions are being made to prevent traffic congestion and hazardous road conditions resulting from the proposed development. This study shall be prepared by a professional traffic engineer and shall contain the following information:
(a)
A study impact area agreed to by the Borough Engineer.
(b)
An inventory of site conditions which shall include:
[1]
A sketch plan of the proposed development.
[2]
Existing average daily traffic (ADT) on roads within the study area. This shall include traffic volumes at peak highway hours and at peak development generated hours.
[3]
Exiting levels of service (A through F) on roads and intersections within the study area.
[4]
Other information requested by the Borough Engineer.
(c)
The impact of the proposed development on the area's transportation system, which shall include:
[1]
The number of trips generated by the proposed development (in and out and at peak hours).
[2]
The estimated average daily traffic on roads within the study area with the proposed development.
[3]
The level of service (A through F) with the anticipated development.
[4]
Documentation of the source(s) of generated traffic estimates (such as the Institute of Transportation Engineers, Trip Generation Report).
[5]
Evaluation of the adequacy of the development's ingress and egress points.
(d)
Documentation of on-site or off-site improvements proposed to mitigate any projected adverse transportation impacts of the proposed development. This shall include, when warranted, such improvements as road widening, intersection improvements, acceleration/deceleration lanes, traffic control devices, signs or other improvements deemed necessary by the Borough Engineer.
B.
Evaluation of the community impact analysis. The community impact analysis required in § 113-145A shall be evaluated to determine the appropriateness of the site in question to accommodate the magnitude of the proposed development, as well as the impact of the proposed development on the community facilities and services of West Conshohocken Borough. The following alternative findings shall result from the evaluation process:
(1)
Evaluations which lead to an overall negative assessment for a proposed development shall lead to a denial by the Borough Council.
(2)
Evaluations which lead to an overall negative assessment for a proposed development may lead to a conditional approval by the Borough Council either when the developer agrees to undertake activities or improvements which will compensate or correct deficiencies or negative impacts caused by the implementation of the proposed development; or when the developer agrees to implement the proposed development at a reduced square footage of gross leasable area, as specified by the Borough Council.
(3)
Evaluations which lead to an overall positive or neutral assessment for a proposed development shall lead to an approval by the Borough Council.