[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Lower Gwynedd 4-12-2011 by Ord. No. 479.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Signs — See Ch. 1292.
Off-street parking and loading — See Ch. 1294.
Nonconforming uses — See Ch. 1296.
General provisions and definitions — See Ch. 1298.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch.
1285, D-3 Special Business District, adopted 3-17-1987 by Ord. No.
233, as amended.
In a "D-3" Special Business District, the regulations set forth
in this chapter shall apply.
In a "D-3" Special Business District, a building may be erected
or used, and a lot may be used or occupied, for any of the following
purposes and no other:
(a)
Branch bank.
(b)
Professional office.
(c)
Medical office.
(d)
Real estate office.
(e)
Municipal use.
(f)
Gasoline service station.
(g)
The following combination of uses when authorized as a special exception
by the Zoning Hearing Board, which uses shall be subject to the area
requirements set forth below:
|
Combination Use
|
Minimum Lot Area
(acres)
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Gasoline service station and sale of food and/or convenience
items
|
2
| |
|
Gasoline service station and public garage
|
1
|
(a)
Front Yard. There shall be a front yard on each lot which shall not
be less than 10 feet; however, the front yard for any property containing
a gasoline service station use shall not be less than 30 feet.
(b)
Side Yards. There shall be two side yards on each lot, neither of
which shall be less than five feet, with an aggregate width of 30
feet; however, any property containing a gasoline service station
use shall have two side yards, neither of which shall be less than
30 feet.
(c)
Rear Yard. There shall be a rear yard on each lot which shall not
be less than 30 feet; however, the rear yard for any property containing
a gasoline service station use shall not be less than 50 feet.
(d)
District Yard. A side yard or a rear yard adjacent to a residential
district shall not be less than 50 feet; however, for any property
containing a gasoline service station use, the district yard shall
not be less than 100 feet.
(a)
Building Coverage. In a "D-3" Special Business District, the total
building coverage shall not exceed 30%; however, the building coverage
for any property containing a gasoline service station use shall not
exceed 20%.
(b)
Impervious Coverage. The total impervious coverage shall not exceed
65%; however, the impervious coverage for any property containing
a gasoline service station use shall not exceed 50%.
The maximum height for buildings or other structures erected
or enlarged in a "D-3" Special Business District shall be 30 feet,
not exceeding two stories.
(a)
Parking and Loading. All-weather parking and loading facilities shall be provided in accordance with Chapter 1294.
(b)
Setbacks. No parking, loading or driveway area shall be located closer
than five feet to any front, side or rear property line; however,
the parking, loading, and driveway setback for any property containing
a gasoline service station use shall not be less than 20 feet from
side or rear property lines, and 25 feet from any front property line.
(b)
Gross Building Floor Area. No building, whether containing single
or several uses, shall contain a gross area greater than 4,000 square
feet of floor area, including unoccupied basements. No request for
a variance from this subsection shall be granted without a proportionate
or equivalent increase in the yard areas, as determined by the Zoning
Hearing Board.
(c)
Landscaping. All development in the "D-3" Special Business District
shall be designed and maintained in accordance with Sections 1234.05,
1238.16 and 1238.17(f) of the Lower Gwynedd Township Subdivision and
Land Development Ordinance.[1] In addition, there shall be a suitable and effective landscape
buffer at the edge of the property adjacent to any public street.
Such buffer strip shall be at least five feet wide and shall channel
motor vehicle ingress and egress from the property, providing a maximum
of one access road per 200 feet of frontage and in no case more than
two access roads per property. In the case of a property containing
a gasoline service station use, the landscape buffer shall not be
less than 10 feet in width.
(d)
Utilities. All development in the "D-3" Special Business District
shall be served by public sewer and water. All utilities serving a
permitted use in this district shall be underground.
(e)
Outdoor Land Use. There shall be no outdoor storage or display of
goods or materials for marketing, storage or any other purpose. The
outdoor storage of trash shall be designed and maintained to be completely
screened from view by a landscape buffer.
(f)
Hazardous Uses. No building may be erected, altered or maintained
and no lot shall be used for any purpose, trade or business that is
noxious, offensive or potentially injurious to health by reason of
odor, noise, dust, smoke, heat, gas, radiation or vibration. No hazardous
materials, defined as all materials listed as hazardous by the Environmental
Protection Agency, or its successor, shall be permitted on the site.
(g)
Site Lighting. Exterior lighting provided in conjunction with any
building or use shall be placed not higher than 14 feet above grade
and shall be screened so as not to permit the source of illumination
to be seen from off premises. Only incandescent or color-corrected
types of illumination shall be used. The hours of operation of such
lights shall be limited to normal business hours, and in no case shall
such lights remain illuminated between 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m.,
prevailing time.
(h)
Distance Between Structures; Slope of Roofs. If there is more than
one structure on a site, the minimum distance between structures shall
be 30 feet. For the purpose of this section, any open canopy-type
structure or roof overhang shall be considered in the same manner
as an enclosed building. Further, no more than 1/4 of the total roof
area of all structures shall have a slope of less than 6/12.
(i)
Soffit Lighting. Notwithstanding the above lighting regulation, soffit
lighting may be installed in roof overhangs and in canopies, including
canopies over a gasoline pump island, not in excess of 16 feet in
height.
(j)
Redevelopment of Properties for Permitted Uses Other than Gasoline
Service Station by Conditional Use.
(1)
A property in the "D-3" District may be permitted by conditional
use to retain any existing nonconforming dimensional or lot coverage
characteristics even though the property is to be completely redeveloped.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, any property in the "D-3" District
which is completely redeveloped shall provide a setback from any adjacent
public street of at least five feet.
(2)
Shared parking and shared ingress and egress shall be permitted
by conditional use, provided that easements acceptable to the Township
are entered into by adjacent property owners. Such adjacent properties
shall only be located in a nonresidential zoning district.
A.
When shared parking is allowed, the total parking requirement
for both sites may be reduced by 10%.
B.
When shared ingress and egress is allowed, the additional impervious
coverage connecting any shared facilities on one property with the
other property sharing such facilities shall be used in the calculation
of coverage requirements applicable to either property as determined
by the applicant. In addition, with regard to such shared parking
facilities, the five-foot parking setback shall not apply, and the
rear yard requirement may be reduced to five feet.
(3)
An applicant for conditional use approval shall demonstrate
architectural continuity with the neighboring properties as reasonably
determined by the Board of Supervisors.
