Township of Springfield, PA Article XI S Shopping Center District

§ 114-110 General.

A. In any district hereafter designated as an S Shopping Center District, the regulations contained in this Article shall apply.

B. The Township Board of Commissioners may authorize as an amendment to the Zoning Map the designation of an area as an S Shopping Center District for the location of an integrated shopping center, subject to the regulations of this and any other pertinent Article.

§ 114-111 Plan requirements.

A. The request for amendment shall be accompanied by a copy of the plan which shall show the layout of the total area to be included in the shopping center, which shall include, among other things, the information required below. If, however, portions of the project are to be completed in successive stages, a less detailed sketch or layout of the areas not scheduled for immediate development will suffice initially, provided that, as further development occurs, a plan showing all of the required detail shall then be submitted prior to the construction of any portion.

B. Information to be shown on the plan shall include:

(1) The location, dimensions and proposed use of all buildings or structures.

(2) The location and dimensions of sidewalks and all other areas to be devoted to pedestrian use.

(3) The location, size, arrangement and capacity of all areas to be used for automobile access, parking, loading and unloading.

(4) The location, dimensions and arrangement of areas to be devoted to require buffers and other landscaping.

[Amended 7-8-1992 by Ord. No. 786]

(5) Sufficient data, in all instances, to enable the Board of Township Commissioners to judge the effectiveness of the design and character of the entire shopping center area and its relationship to surrounding areas.

§ 114-112 Area and design requirements.

A. The proposed development shall be constructed in accordance with an overall plan; shall be designed as a single architectural unit with appropriate landscaping; and shall provide initially for the construction of either a minimum of 7,500 square feet of floor area or a minimum of six of the uses listed in § 114-113 below as permitted in a shopping center district.

B. The total area shall be not less than two acres.

C. All buildings shall be arranged in a group or in groups.

D. Not more than 30% of the lot area shall be occupied by buildings.

E. The distance, at the closest point, between any two buildings, or groups or units of attached buildings, shall be not less than 12 feet.

F. Adequate areas shall be provided for loading and unloading of delivery trucks and other vehicles; servicing of shops by refuse collection, fuel, fire and other service vehicles; automobile accessways; and pedestrian walks. All areas provided for use by vehicles and all pedestrian walks shall be constructed in accordance with Township specifications.

G. No building, parking, access or service area may be located within 25 feet of a side or rear property line adjacent to a residential district.

H. [1]Parking, loading or service areas used by motor vehicles shall be located entirely within the lot lines of the shopping center, shall be physically separated from public streets and shall be landscaped in accordance with the requirements of § 95-11I of Chapter 95, Subdivision of Land.

[Amended 7-8-1992 by Ord. No. 786]

[1] Editor's Note: Former Subsection H, concerning parking space, was repealed 4-8-1981 by Ord. No. 702, which ordinance also relettered Subsections I, J, K and L as H, I, J and K.

I. Buffers shall be provided along property boundaries and buffers or street trees along all streets in accordance with § 95-11I of Chapter 95, Subdivision of Land.

[Amended 7-8-1992 by Ord. No. 786]

J. The proposed shopping center shall be served by adequate water and sewage disposal facilities, the adequacy of which shall be demonstrated and guaranteed.

K. The Township Board of Commissioners may prescribe particular requirements or any further reasonable conditions deemed appropriate with respect to the suitability of the shopping center in the neighborhood.

§ 114-113 Use regulations.

A building or combination of buildings may be erected or used and a lot area may be used or occupied for any of the following purposes and no other:

A. Retail store, including retail outlet or showroom for uses permitted in Subsection I hereof, but not including automobile sales agency, provided that no goods shall be displayed on the exterior of any building or on the lot, and provided that only incidental storage, including floor samples, shall be permitted.

B. Restaurant.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: See Ch. 38, Food and Drink.

C. Office or studio.

D. The following personal service shops, dealing directly with customers, provided that all repair or processing work is conducted in accordance with Subsection I below:

(1) Beauty parlor, barbershop.

(2) Clothes cleaning agency (not including a cleaning and dyeing plant), automatic self-service laundry.

(3) Dressmaking, millinery or similar shop.

E. Theater, not including outdoor motion picture establishment; assembly hall, or community building, indoor recreational establishment or library; child day center.

F. Bakery, confectionery or custom shop for the production of articles to be sold at retail on the premises, provided that all baking or processing is conducted in accordance with Subsection I below.

G. Bank.

H. Passenger station; electric substation; telephone and telegraph offices.

I. The following uses, provided that if such uses are located on the ground floor they shall not be located within 20 feet of the front of the building, and provided that they shall be effectively screened from the front portion of the building by a wall or partition:

(1) General servicing or repair.

(2) Upholstering.

(3) Carpentry or woodworking.

(4) Electrical, radio or television repair.

(5) Hand laundering, dry cleaning or pressing, provided that no flammable fluids are used.

(6) Tailoring, dressmaking or repair.

(7) Millinery repair or processing.

(8) Watch or clock repair.

(9) Baking, confectionery making or similar processing.

(10) Frozen food lockers.

(11) Any similar use involving repair, processing or storage activity.

J. Accessory use customarily incidental to any of the above uses.

K. Signs, when erected and maintained in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.