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Borough of Pennsburg, PA
Montgomery County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
In expansion of the declaration of legislative intent and statement of community development objectives contained in Article I of this chapter, the specific intent of this district is to:
A. 
Establish reasonable standards of performance for the development of shopping centers which provide for the sale of convenience goods and personal services that meet the daily needs of the local population.
B. 
Protect the character and integrity of surrounding residential areas by minimizing the negative effects of noise, glare, pollution, overcrowding of land, and traffic congestion from any shopping center development.
In the SC Shopping Center District, a building may be erected, altered or used, and a lot may be used or occupied, for any of the following uses and no other:
A. 
Retail sales establishment or service shop.
[Amended 6-5-2006 by Ord. No. 1-06]
B. 
Restaurant or other eating establishment, excluding fast-food and drive-in establishments.
C. 
Business or professional office, studio, bank or other financial institution, excluding drive-in establishments.
D. 
Personal service shop.
E. 
Indoor theater, assembly hall, community center, or library.
F. 
Bakery or confectionery.
G. 
Municipal or government use, public utility, public transit station.
H. 
Hotel, motel, or tourist home.
I. 
Child day-care center, in compliance with § 110-313 of this chapter.
J. 
Public parking lot or public parking garage.
K. 
Accessory uses on the same lot as and customarily incidental to any of the above permitted uses, in compliance with § 110-312 of this chapter.
L. 
Any use of the same general character as those listed in § 110-1001A through K, when authorized as a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board.
M. 
Satellite uses in the shopping center, when authorized as a conditional use and in compliance with § 110-328 of this chapter, and also in compliance with § 110-1004, Satellite use regulations, of this article, including the following uses:
(1) 
Fast-food or drive-in eating establishment.
(2) 
Drive-in bank or financial institution, including drive-in automatic teller machine.
(3) 
Tire, battery, and accessory store for motor vehicles.
(4) 
Photographic film processing outlet.
(5) 
Farm and garden supply center.
(6) 
Indoor theater for motion pictures.
(7) 
Gasoline service station.
(8) 
Any use of the same general character as those listed in Subsection M(1) through (7) above, when approved by the Zoning Hearing Board as a special exception.
N. 
Arcade or indoor place of amusement, when authorized as a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board in compliance with § 110-1003 of this article.
O. 
Signs, in compliance with Article XV of this chapter.
A. 
Minimum tract size: five acres.
B. 
Maximum building coverage: 30% of lot area.
[Amended 1-7-2002 by Ord. No. 3-02]
C. 
Maximum impervious surface coverage: 75% of lot area.
D. 
Minimum required setbacks for all uses except satellite uses:
(1) 
Minimum distance from the ultimate right-of-way lines of all public streets or alleys: 100 feet.
(2) 
Minimum distance from a property line abutting a residential district: 50 feet.
(3) 
Minimum distance from all other property lines: 25 feet.
E. 
Minimum distance between structures: 25 feet.
F. 
Maximum permitted height: 40 feet.
G. 
Minimum parking and service area setbacks:
(1) 
Minimum distance from a property line abutting a residential district: 25 feet.
(2) 
Minimum distance from all other property lines: 10 feet.
H. 
Maximum building dimension of any structure measured parallel to the exterior building walls shall be 150 feet, except that variations in the height or depth of the building facade that are greater than four feet shall permit a greater length, but only when these variations are provided at intervals of 150 feet or less.
A. 
Each shopping center development shall be constructed in accordance with an overall master plan and shall be designed as a single architecturally integrated unit.
B. 
Shopping centers shall be developed in compliance with the provisions of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance[1] and shall have appropriate areas for loading and unloading, other services such as refuse collection and fuel delivery, pedestrian walkways, emergency services, vehicular accessways, parking, and landscaping.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 96, Subdivision and Land Development.
C. 
Access. Each shopping center development shall have a system of safe and efficient ingress and egress to and from public streets and alleys, as well as an internal circulation system. The system of access shall be designed to minimize any undue congestion or interference with the normal traffic flow in surrounding areas. Access points on public streets shall be at least 200 feet from the nearest intersection of any other public street and at least 200 feet from each other.
D. 
Traffic impact study. A traffic impact study shall be required for all shopping center developments with 50,000 or more square feet of gross leasable area. The study shall comply with the provisions of § 110-327 of this chapter.
E. 
Parking. The parking capacity shall be a minimum of five spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross leasable area. All parking areas shall be designed in compliance with the provisions of the Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. Reserve parking is permitted in compliance with the provisions of Article XIV of this chapter.
F. 
Landscaping. All landscaping, including parking lot landscaping, buffers and screen plantings, shall be provided according to the provisions of the Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
G. 
Each shopping center development shall be served by public water and sewage disposal facilities, the adequacy of which shall be demonstrated and guaranteed to be adequate.
H. 
Arcades and places of indoor amusement. All arcades and places of indoor amusement shall comply with the following standards:
(1) 
All facilities shall have proper supervision at all times during hours of operation.
(2) 
Sound which is emitted from the various uses shall not be perceptible beyond the property line.
(3) 
The Zoning Hearing Board reserves the right to set or limit the hours of operation to suit the character of the surrounding area.
(4) 
Location of amusement devices. A floor plan of the building, premises or other permitted place shall be provided to the Borough Zoning Officer, showing the proposed placement of the amusement devices in compliance with the following:
(a) 
Not less than three feet of open space shall be provided along the side of each device or game. Where two such devices or games are next to each other, there shall be not less than six feet of open space between devices or games.
(b) 
Not less than four feet of open space shall be provided for the operator directly in front of each device or game. Where two such devices or games are opposite each other, there shall be no less than eight feet of open space for the operators directly in front of each device or game.
(c) 
The location of all devices or games is subject to all other applicable state and local codes.
(d) 
The owner of an amusement device or game shall not allow it to be available for use or used unless it is under the control of and supervision by a person over 18 years of age, who shall ensure that it is operating in compliance with this chapter.
(e) 
No cash awards shall be offered or given in any contest, tournament, league or individual play on any amusement device or game, and no such device or game shall be permitted to operate if said device or game delivers or may readily be converted to deliver to the player any piece of money, coin, slug or token.
Satellite uses may be proposed in the initial shopping center plan approval process, or be added to a shopping center following initial plan approval, in compliance with the following regulations:
A. 
The permitted number of satellite uses shall be one per 2 1/2 acres of tract size. However, the maximum number of satellite uses shall be four per shopping center development.
B. 
Not more than 10% of the total allowable building coverage for shopping centers shall be devoted to satellite uses. The total building coverage for all uses shall not exceed the maximum coverage permitted in this article.
C. 
Access to parking and service areas intended for satellite uses shall be taken only from driveways within the shopping center and shall not connect directly to an abutting street.
D. 
Parking and service areas intended for satellite uses shall be separated from primary shopping center parking areas by landscaped islands and strips to direct and control traffic flow. Such landscaped islands and strips shall comply with the provisions of the Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
E. 
The number of parking spaces required for each satellite use shall be included in the overall capacity for the entire shopping center, as determined by § 110-1003E of this chapter.
F. 
The parking spaces serving each satellite use shall be adjacent to the use and extend no further than 150 feet from the use and shall not require patrons to cross major shopping center driveways.
G. 
Drive-through areas for any satellite use shall have a minimum six-car stacking lane provided for each window, including the space at the window itself. These stacking lanes shall not interfere with other parking spaces or the internal circulation of the site.
H. 
Minimum required setbacks for all satellite uses:
(1) 
Minimum distance from the ultimate right-of-way line of all public streets or alleys: 25 feet.
(2) 
Minimum distance from a property line abutting a residential district: 50 feet.
(3) 
Minimum distance from all other property lines: 25 feet.
In addition to the plan submission requirements in the Pennsburg Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, the following information shall be required for all shopping center developments:
A. 
Architectural plans sufficient to show building entrances, service and loading areas, elevations, signs, lighting facilities, and all other pertinent information.
B. 
A description of the proposed uses in the development.
C. 
All information required by the Borough in order to determine compliance with pertinent Borough regulations.