It is the intent and purpose of this district to provide suitable
locations for industrial, light industrial and manufacturing uses,
nonretail commercial uses and business and related uses which do not
create a nuisance and which are not noxious or offensive or create
a hazard to the safety and welfare of the citizens of the Borough
of Ambridge by reason of dust, odor, smoke, noise and/or vibrations
generated by such use.
Permitted uses shall be as follows:
A. Research and development facilities.
B. Wholesale packaging, storage, warehousing and/or distribution facilities,
excluding self-storage.
C. Wholesale manufacturing, compounding, processing and/or assembly
facilities entirely within an enclosed building.
D. Printing and publishing facilities.
F. General contractor and construction industries, such as general electric,
plumbing, heating, ventilating and air conditioning.
J. Public parks and recreational areas.
K. Waterfront marina and restaurant.
[Amended 2-26-2002 by Ord. No. 1167]
A use not expressly listed as permitted in any zoning district
may be permitted as a conditional use in the M Manufacturing and Industrial
District in accordance with the following procedures and standards.
In granting a conditional use, the Borough Council may attach such
reasonable conditions and safeguards, in addition to those expressed
in this article, as it may deem necessary to implement the purposes
of this article and the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
A. Submission
of application. The granting of a conditional use by the Borough Council
shall be predicated upon the developer demonstrating that the development
for which the conditional use is sought:
(1) Will
not endanger the public health and safety if located where proposed
and that the use will not deteriorate the environment or generate
nuisance conditions such as traffic congestion, noise, dust, smoke,
glare or vibration.
(2) Meets
all other requirements of this article for the M Manufacturing and
Industrial District.
(3) Is
in general conformity with the Comprehensive Plan for the Borough
of Ambridge and in harmony with the area in which it is proposed.
(4) Is
an appropriate use on the proposed site.
(5) Is
in compliance with all other standards of this article.
B. The applicant/developer
shall submit a deed and drawings to scale. The drawings shall indicate
the boundaries of the property, location of adjacent streets, the
location and height of proposed buildings on the property, proposed
grading and storm drainage, and location and number of proposed parking
spaces and proposed curb cuts.
C. Action
by the Planning Commission. Upon the filing of an application for
a conditional use, the Borough Council shall submit each such conditional
use application to the Planning Commission at least 30 days prior
to the hearing on such conditional use to provide the Planning Commission
an opportunity to submit recommendations. Such recommendations shall
be in writing with copies transmitted to the applicant and to Borough
Council.
D. Public
hearing. The Borough Council shall call and hold a public hearing,
with proper notice, within 60 days of the filing of the application
for conditional use.
E. Action
by Borough Council. Borough Council shall render a decision and inform
the applicant of said decision within 45 days of the close of the
hearing unless, upon mutual consent of the Borough Council and the
applicant, it is agreed to continue the proceedings. If the Borough
Council denies the conditional use, the developer may reapply for
the same use no sooner than one year after the latter of 30 days after
notice of the decision is entered or 30 days after entry of a final
decision by the court of competent jurisdiction without further appeal.
Yard space shall be required in cases where an alley abuts the
premises, the depth of which shall be not less than 20 feet from the
center line of the alley.
Off-street parking shall be provided on the premises at the
rate of the greater of one parking space for each employee or one
parking space for each 1,500 square feet of gross floor area. Additionally,
there shall be one visitor's parking space for each 25 parking
spaces.
Loading and unloading space shall be provided on the premises
in the following schedule:
A. Under 40,000 square feet of gross floor area shall require one berth.
B. Forty thousand square feet of gross floor area to 100,000 square
feet shall require two berths.
C. Over 100,000 square feet of gross floor area shall require one additional
berth for each 100,000 square feet.
A buffer zone shall be required in this district in order to
minimize the effects of glare from headlights of vehicles, lights
from structures, noise and to shield activities from adjacent residential
and commercial properties. A buffer zone shall comply with the following
requirements:
A. A buffer area shall provide a year-round visual screen and be at
least 10 feet in depth where any property in the Manufacturing and
Industrial District is adjacent to a property in the Commercial District,
and shall be at least 15 feet in depth where any property in the Manufacturing
and Industrial District is adjacent to property in the Residential
or Historic District. The buffer area may consist of one or a combination
of the following:
(1) Evergreen and deciduous plant material of varying species.
(2) An existing natural land form or wooded area.
(3) A fence between five feet and eight feet in height with at least
60% of the surface being opaque.
B. When a planted buffer is utilized, it shall consist of a mix of evergreen
and deciduous plant materials. At the time of planting, the evergreen
material shall be sufficient to screen the property visually and shall
be a minimum of five feet in height (after planting). The remainder
of the plantings may be of varying lesser heights.
C. The property owner shall be responsible for the continuing maintenance
of all buffer areas, including the replacement of any dead plant material.
Buffer areas shall be kept clean of all debris, rubbish, weeds and
tall grass.
D. No structure shall be permitted within a required buffer area, except
an authorized fence or wall, nor shall a buffer area be used for repairing,
loading, vehicular circulation, storage or any other purpose.
E. The buffer area shall be continuous along property lines where they
are required, except for points of vehicular or pedestrian access.
F. Plans for any buffer area shall be received by the Planning Commission
prior to the issuance of the building permit. The Borough Council
may authorize a modification in the otherwise applicable buffer area
requirements where it determines that the changes in elevation between
abutting properties are such that they would eliminate the need for
the buffer area at the points where the buffer area is required by
this article.