Township of Lower Salford, PA MU Mixed-Use District Design Requirements

Nonresidential/mixed-use buildings with footprints greater than 3,000 square feet but less than 8,000 square feet shall meet the following standards, in order to minimize the overall scale and bulk of these buildings and promote an appearance consistent with the traditional historic architecture of Lower Salford Township.

(1)

Buildings shall be designed to have the appearance of several smaller attached buildings or a main building with additions, using jogs in the facade, changes in story heights, changes in materials, or roofline changes to demarcate different portions of the building mass.

(2)

Buildings shall have pitched roofs covering, at a minimum, the main portion of the building or 50% of the building, whichever is greater. All pitched roof areas shall have a pitch of at least five vertical inches to every 12 horizontal inches. HVAC equipment may be roof mounted only on flat-roofed portions of the building. Flat-roof areas shall include decorative cornice lines and parapet walls appropriate to the building and of a size and scale needed to effectively screen all roof-mounted equipment so that it is not visible from grade level or from Sumneytown Pike. Roof parapets, sloped or not, shall wrap around all sides of a building to avoid the visual appearance of a faux roof.

(3)

The main portion of any buildings shall have a minimum height of two stories or shall have a pitched roof with dormers or clerestory windows to give the appearance of a second story.

(4)

The greatest overall dimension of any buildings shall not exceed 100 feet, measured horizontally parallel to exterior walls.

(5)

Buildings shall contain windows, doors, and architectural detailing of a residential or farm-building scale and character. Window mullions are preferred, where appropriate.

(6)

The front facade and entry area of each retail space shall face Sumneytown Pike or a main drive of a new development that is perpendicular to Sumneytown Pike, and there shall be safe, convenient pedestrian access to the entry of the retail space from both the main street and the parking area.

(7)

The front facade of each retail space shall be transparent between three feet and seven feet above the walkway grade for at least 30% of the linear width of the retail facade. This transparent area may include windows, doors, and display windows.

Nonresidential/mixed-use buildings with footprints greater than 8,000 square feet shall meet the following standards, in order to minimize the overall scale and bulk of these buildings and promote an appearance compatible with the traditional historic architecture of Lower Salford Township:

(1)

Buildings shall be designed to be architecturally compatible with other buildings in the MU development or with the surrounding, existing residential or historic architecture of the Township.

(2)

(3)

The greatest overall dimension of any buildings shall not exceed 180 feet, measured horizontally parallel to exterior walls.

(4)

The front facade and entry area of each retail space shall face Sumneytown Pike or a main drive of a new development that is perpendicular to Sumneytown Pike. If a building is located at a corner of roads or driveways, the main entry shall be oriented toward that corner. Entry areas shall be architecturally emphasized with covered porches, porticos, arcades, or similar architectural treatment and shall be covered with a pitched roof rising at least five vertical inches to every 12 horizontal inches.

(5)

The front facade of each retail space shall be transparent between three feet and seven feet above the walkway grade for at least six linear feet on each side of the entry door. This transparent area may include display windows with changeable displays.

All visible facades of all nonresidential/mixed-use buildings greater than 3,000 square feet should include a variety of architectural design elements to avoid monotonous or blank building facades.

§ 142-132 Overall layout.

Nonresidential and mixed-use buildings in mixed-use developments shall be laid out to encourage walking along streets by using the following design practices:

Windows and public doors should be placed in facades facing streets.

Buildings should be grouped together along streets so it is a short walking distance from one building to the next.

Buildings should be placed to make the distance between the central green and residential areas no greater than 500 feet.

Drive-through facilities, when permitted, shall be located to the side or rear of the building.

§ 142-133 Corporate office building bonus design requirements.

Corporate office building bonus design requirements for buildings with a footprint greater than 6,000 square feet shall meet the following standards:

(1)

The maximum continuous plane without a break on corporate office buildings shall not exceed 100 feet with a minimum offset of 15 feet.

(2)

Corporate office buildings shall have a pitched roof or decorative roof elements which conceal HVAC and service equipment located on the roof.

(3)

Corporate office buildings shall include a variety of architectural design elements to avoid creating monotonous building facades. To encourage visual diversity, a corporate office building shall have at least three different exterior building materials to provide variations in color and in texture. These architectural features may include, but are not limited to, a combination of any three of the following:

(a)

Masonry (but not flat concrete block);

(b)

Concrete or masonry plinth at the base of walls;

(c)

Belt courses of a different texture or color;

(d)

Projecting or decorative cornices;

(e)

Quoins;

(f)

Decorative tile work;

(g)

Trellis containing planting;

(h)

Medallions;

(i)

Opaque or translucent glass;

(j)

Bay windows;

(k)

Artwork;

(l)

Vertical articulation;

(m)

Stylized lighting fixtures;

Porticos;

Building extensions;

Stonework; and

Other architectural elements.

§ 142-134 Parking design standards.

On tracts where the total nonresidential, mixed-use buildings and office parking exceeds 250 spaces, the following standards shall apply:

(1)

No parking areas shall be located between nonresidential, mixed-use buildings or corporate office buildings and existing semicontrolled access streets.

(2)

Along Sumneytown Pike, up to 10% of the required parking, but not more than 30 parking spaces, may be allowed in front of the line of the building facade, but no more than 30 feet in front of the building facade, when it is between two or more buildings and does not enter the front yard building setback area and when it is screened with Screen Type 4 or screened with Screen Type 1 or 9 with two ornamental trees for each 20 feet of street frontage, arranged formally or informally next to the wall or shrubs. The screen types are defined in § 142-42G of this Code.

(3)

At least 80% of the area between these buildings and streets or driveways shall consist of green space and shall be landscaped.

On tracts where the total nonresidential, mixed-use buildings and office parking exceeds 250 spaces, no parking areas shall be located between nonresidential, mixed-use buildings or corporate office buildings and proposed streets on the tract, unless the Township Board of Supervisors determines that it is impossible to locate parking on a lot without violating this requirement. In such cases, the Board of Supervisors may allow applicants to put parking between the building and those streets that are located furthest from the primary walking destinations/central green on the tract.

All parking areas which would otherwise be visible from Sumneytown Pike shall be screened through the use of landscape elements such as hedges, walls, decorative fencing, berms or buffer plantings.

Off-street parking areas may be located to the side and rear of nonresidential buildings, mixed-use buildings and corporate office buildings, provided that the parking area meets the location requirement outlined above, if applicable, and provided that all parking areas are visually screened from existing and proposed streets by berms, hedges, walls or buffer plantings that meet the standards of Chapter 142, Subdivision and Land Development.

Parking areas on abutting nonresidential and/or mixed-use lots shall be interconnected by access driveways for ancillary access when deemed necessary by the Board of Supervisors.

Each nonresidential lot, mixed-use lot and corporate office lot on a tract shall provide easements for its parking areas and access driveways guaranteeing access and use to all other nonresidential/apartment lots.

Parking lots and parking structures on corporate office lots shall be screened with Screen Type 1 or Screen Type 6.

Shared parking is encouraged between nonresidential uses. A reduction of up to 15% of the total required parking may be permitted when the adequacy of parking is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Board of Supervisors.

Parking structures shall have the following design standards:

(1)

The side and rear yard setback from abutting tracts shall be 300 feet.

(2)

The setback from residential lots on the same tract and from existing residential lots shall be 300 feet.

(3)

The setback from existing public street ultimate right-of-way lines shall be 100 feet.

(4)

The maximum height shall be 20 feet.

(5)

The maximum length of the structure shall be 500 feet.

§ 142-135 Access and circulation design standards.

No more than two street access points to existing, exterior roads are permitted per street frontage per tract.

All lots shall have vehicular access only from streets and main access driveways proposed to be constructed on the tract or existing local access streets. They shall not take vehicular access from any existing primary or secondary arterials.

Any street or main access driveway serving nonresidential and mixed-use buildings must also connect with streets serving the central green and streets serving the residential lots within the tract.

All streets and main access driveways in a tract shall be interconnected.

All streets and main access driveways serving corporate office buildings and lots shall be interconnected with open thoroughfares or limited emergency access.

§ 142-136 Central green design standards.

Each central green shall:

Have no more than 15% of its area consist of wetlands, floodplains or steep slopes.

Be surrounded along at least 45% of its perimeters by streets or commercial driveways. When a central green is directly fronted on at least two sides by nonresidential/mixed-use buildings with public doors facing the green, the Board of Supervisors may allow the percentage of street frontage to be reduced to 20% of the green's perimeter.

Be a minimum of 30,000 square feet in size, with its center no closer than 50 feet to any abutting lot, equivalent lot or street.

Be located in the area of the site that will be most visible to and best serve the site's existing and proposed uses.

Be part of the open space requirement.

Have at least 30% of its area consist of lawn, while at least 70% of it must consist of green space.

Be improved with a gazebo, pavilion, paved patio area with a fountain, or decorative seating area to help identify this park as the central gathering place for the development. This improvement shall be a minimum of 300 square feet in size.

§ 142-136.1 Open space design standards.

The open space portion of the tract shall be developed in accordance with the design and ownership standards of § 164-22 of this chapter,[1] except as noted below; the ownership standards apply to all lots on the tract, residential and nonresidential.

[1]

Editor's Note: So in original.

At least two acres of the required open space shall be centrally located within and readily accessible from the residential lots; however, the Township Board of Supervisors may eliminate this requirement if this acreage is needed in another location to preserve extensive amounts of environmentally sensitive land.

Open space used to meet the mix requirement of § 164-70.25 must be located on separate lot(s).

The location and layout of all open space lots shall be approved by the Board of Supervisors, in consultation with the Township Planning Commission and Park Board.

All open space lots shall be permanently preserved as open space through a deed restriction.

§ 142-136.2 Sidewalk, lighting and trash disposal design standards.

Sidewalks shall be provided along both sides of streets and main access drives and between parking areas.

Sidewalks shall form a continuous, coordinated pedestrian system that connects all buildings, parking areas and open space with each other and with abutting developments and open space.

Lighting shall be installed along streets and sidewalks in a manner acceptable to the Board of Supervisors, in consultation with the Township Engineer.

In nonresidential lots, mixed-use lots and corporate office lots, trash and refuse shall either be stored inside a building or within an opaque screened area that shall be at least six feet in height. This screened area shall be put in the rear or side yards.

§ 142-136.3 Village house design standards.

All village houses shall contain a roofed, but unenclosed, porch extending across at least half of the front of the dwelling and being at least seven feet in depth.

All parking for village houses must be located at least 10 feet behind the building's front facade.

All village houses shall meet at least one of the following front yard features:

(1)

A front yard raised above sidewalk grade by at least 24 inches and containing at least four flowering or evergreen shrubs.

(2)

A front yard enclosed by a permanent ornamental wall or wooden fence between 24 inches and 36 inches in height.

(3)

A front yard enclosed by a hedge, with each shrub planted 18 inches apart.

Village house lots shall be deed restricted to require perpetual maintenance of the porch and one of the front yard features.

§ 142-136.4 Lot line home design standards.

The requirements outlined in § 164-50A, Article XI, of this Code for lot line homes shall not apply in the MU District.

No more than 50% of the lot line homes in a development shall be designed with front-loaded two-car garages that are fully visible from the street. There shall not be more than three consecutive adjacent homes with front-loaded two-car garages.

§ 142-136.5 Twin lot design standards.

The parking for twin homes, including garages, must be located at least five feet behind the building's front facade.

§ 142-136.6 Landscape buffer standards.

Buffer and screen plantings shall be provided in accordance with this chapter.