Promote the economic development, general welfare and safety of the community through the use of basic urban design standards in special development areas.

Provide the broadest range of compatible commercial and residential uses and encourage the development and redevelopment of underutilized or obsolete commercial property and ensure development and redevelopment that includes current retail and service trends and allows for a wide variety of mixed uses.

Encourage reuse and redevelopment of existing buildings and building lots along portions of the gateway corridors of Route 18, Route 53, and Route 3A and Columbian Street.

Encourage the consolidation of smaller lots and curb cuts.

Promote urban design that is consistent with the Town of Weymouth's economic development, planning and programmatic efforts.

Provide flexibility with regard to dimensional requirements in a manner that is consistent with the purposes and intent of this article.

The Town intends with the overlay district to provide additional development options for qualifying properties. The overlay district shall not take away the rights permitted by the underlying zoning district.

Definitions.

The following subzones within the Commercial Corridor Overlay District are established and defined. Refer to the Town of Weymouth Zoning Map for the precise extents of the Commercial Corridor Overlay District and its subzones.

Generally.

Application for special permit can be made to the Board of Zoning Appeals under this article provided that the lot consists of at least 30,000 square feet and any of the below is true:

Adequacy of the site for the size of the proposed project and the extent that building design elements as well as setbacks, height and density (FAR) prevent large monolithic structures that overwhelm the streetscape and adjoining neighborhoods. Design elements shall be tailored to the building's specific location.

Suitability of the site for the proposed use or uses ensuring that the retail use is compatible with the residential component of the proposal as well as with existing residential uses abutting the proposal. Specific consideration should be given to noise, lighting, and hours of operation.

Degree to which the proposed project complies with the goals of the Town's Master Plans.

Impact on traffic, pedestrian flow, safety, and access for emergency vehicles.

Impact on established residential properties and areas including noise, lighting, and traffic.

The extent to which the project promotes sustainable building, site design, and internal walkability.

Extent to which buildings, driveways, parking areas, loading areas, outdoor activity areas, light sources, trash areas, and other potential nuisances shall be located and designed to minimize adverse impacts on abutting residential properties. To limit the adverse impact of any proposed use the special permit may require alternative site layouts, including increased setbacks from residential property lines, different locations of buildings, parking areas, and driveways, the incorporation of loading and trash collection areas as part of the principal building design, and increased screening for light sources and outdoor activity areas.

Driveway intersections with streets and traffic circulation patterns within lots shall be located and designed to minimize congestion and safety problems on adjacent streets and nearby intersections. The special permit may require alternative driveway locations and site design in order to alleviate potential congestion or safety problems and to maximize internal circulation.

Further, the Board of Zoning Appeals shall review all special permit requests with these criteria in mind.

Height.

Setbacks.

Recognizing that the primary mode of transportation along major commercial corridors will be the automobile, the goal of this article is to safely accommodate traffic while preventing these gateway corridors from being visually dominated by large expanses of paved parking areas. To the greatest extent practicable, parking for the commercial use will be provided at the front of the building with parking for the residential component concentrated behind the building. With this in mind the following setback requirements shall be, at least, as follows:

Additional requirements when abutting a residential use.

A twenty-foot "no build" and "no parking" buffer will be provided along any property line abutting an existing residential use. A landscape and irrigation plan shall be submitted showing the size, species and location of planting material as well as the design and building materials of a fence. The buffer must adequately screen the proposed development from abutting residential uses as determined by review by the Director of Planning and Development. At a minimum, buffer trees should be of three-inch to four-inch caliper.

The buffer will consist of a privacy fence and landscape screen as illustrated below.

Generally.

Parking shall be provided per below:

Shared parking arrangements.

The Town encourages the use of shared parking arrangements. The Board of Zoning Appeals may consider proposals of this kind as justification for at most a twenty-percent reduction in the required on-site parking.

In considering proposals for shared parking, the Board of Zoning Appeals shall use the following criteria:

Charging stations for electric, hybrid, or similar types of vehicles shall be installed with the below frequency based on parking spaces:

Bicycle racks shall be installed as part of each development. The required number of rack spaces shall be at least 15% of the total number of residential units.

Buildings shall generally be sited to face streets and sidewalks of the main corridor with entrances located to provide convenient access from the sidewalk network.

An accessible, primary pedestrian entrance to the building shall face an abutting street. For interior buildings sites, entrances should connect to a pedestrian way that provides convenient access to the abutting street and sidewalk network.

Building walls facing the street should present an active facade incorporating windows, doors, columns, changes in materials, modulation of the facade, and similar details to add visual interest.

Parking for ground level, non-residential uses may be provided along the front, the sides, or both the front and sides of the building while parking for residential uses is encouraged to be sited in the rear of the building or within an interior parking structure. A detailed landscape, irrigation, and lighting plan for all parking areas shall be submitted as part of the application.

Any portion of an above-ground parking structure fronting a public way shall include facade details and landscaping to maintain an attractive streetscape.

Dumpsters, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, mechanical, electrical and plumbing equipment and loading docks shall be fully screened from view.