Village of Pittsford, NY Mixed-Use Districts

Purpose and intent. The purpose of the MU-EC District is to recognize and preserve the history, presence, and character of land use along the Erie Canal within Pittsford Village. The intent of this district is to achieve the following:

(a)

Implement the vision and policies of the Village's Comprehensive Plan;

(b)

Enhance the canal waterfront in conformance with the principles of the Village's Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP);

(c)

Ensure the preservation and adaptive reuse of existing historic mills, warehouses, and other buildings for retail, service, and other uses; and

(d)

Conserve the canal waterfront and adjacent natural areas for recreational uses and public enjoyment.

Conservation lands.

(a)

A portion of the MU-EC District lies adjacent to conservation easement protected agricultural lands, formerly known as the Hawley-Zornow farm. This land is subject to a 1998 conservation easement enacted by the Town of Pittsford. The conservation easement was funded in part with a grant from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and is subject to the restrictions of that grant.

(b)

The conservation easement preserves the interpretive value of the barns and mills located within the Schoen Place and Northfield Common areas. Proposals adjacent to this land shall therefore be evaluated based on appropriateness in this context and effect on the conservation easement lands and potential visual impact on the historical agricultural viewshed.

Mixed Use Office (MU-OF) District. The purpose and intent of the MU-OF District is to implement the future land use vision and recommendations of the Pittsford Village Comprehensive Plan in the mixed-use office/residential areas. The application of the MU-OF District shall serve the following objectives:

Maintain and enhance the District as a location for the provision of low-impact retail, office, service, and residential uses in close proximity.

Provide increased economic opportunity through the reuse and rehabilitation of existing buildings for office, residential, or limited nonresidential use.

Capitalize on already developed space by permitting an increased development density with the addition or use of upper floors.

Enhance the aesthetic character and walkability of the district through streetscape and landscaping improvements, including the maintenance of a complete sidewalk network.

(5)

Ensure infill and redevelopment opportunities are compatible with the context of the Village's traditional character, form, and scale.

§ 210-22.4 Use lists.

Use table.

Uses identified with a "P" are permitted as-of-right, subject to compliance with all other applicable standards of this zoning law.

Uses identified with a "SP" may be allowed if reviewed and approved in accordance with Article 35 (Special Use Permits) of this chapter.

Uses identified with a "TP" may be allowed if reviewed and approved in accordance with Article 39 (Temporary Use Permits) of this chapter.

Uses not listed and those identified with a "-" are expressly prohibited.

(5)

Article 24 (Additional Use Regulations) section references have been noted where applicable. Uses identified with an "NA" are not addressed in Article 24, and therefore are not subject to use specific restrictions.

Land Use	MU-EC	MU-OF	Additional Regulations
Residential
Single-or two-family dwelling	P	P	NA
Multifamily dwelling, maximum 10 units	SP	SP	§ 210-24.9
Bed-and-breakfast	SP	—	§ 210-24.6
Home occupation	P	P	§ 210-24.8
Hospice, nursing home, or assisted living facility	—	SP	NA
First-floor dwelling units, in mixed-use building	—	P	NA
Upper-floor dwelling units, in mixed-use building	P	P	NA
Commercial
Animal grooming shop	P¹	—	§ 210-24.5
Veterinarian office	—	P	NA
Bakery	P	—	NA
Art or photo studio	P¹	P¹	NA
Instructional facility	SP	SP	NA
Day-care center, child or adult	—	P¹	§ 210-24.7
Financial institution	—	P¹	NA
Gym or fitness club	SP	P¹	NA
Boutique hotel or inn	SP	SP	NA
Laundromat	—	P¹	NA
Office, administrative or professional	P¹	P	NA
Office or clinic, medical	—	—	NA
Personal service shop or spa	SP	—	§ 210-24.11
Recreation or entertainment facility, indoor	SP²	—	NA
Repair or service of personal items	P¹	P	NA
Restaurant	SP	—	§ 210-24.16
Tattoo studio	—	SP	NA
Retail store	P	—	NA
Other
Municipal building or use	P	P	NA
Museum or library	P	P	NA
Community or service club	P	SP	NA
Place of worship	SP	SP	NA
Public park or playground	P	P	§ 210-24.13
Public utility	—	SP	§ 210-24.14
Telecommunications equipment	SP	SP	§ 210-24.18
Mix of uses in a single building or lot	Refer to Each Use
Permitted uses over 1,500 square feet	SP	SP	See Use
Accessory
Accessory use or structure	P	P	§ 210-24.4
Outdoor assembly, sales, display, or storage area	SP	SP	§ 210-24.10
Pond	P	P	§ 210-24.12
Temporary storage unit	—	P	§ 210-24.17

NOTES:
¹	Provided the use occupies a gross floor area of no more than 1,500 square feet.
²	Provided the use occupies a gross floor area of no more than 2,000 square feet.

Prohibited uses. The following uses are specifically prohibited in the MU-EC District:

Medical offices;

Industrial facilities and storage facilities;

Bowling alleys or pool halls;

Parking partially dismantled or junked motor vehicles;

(5)

Used car lots including the sale of used or new passenger vehicles and the sale of all other motor vehicles;

(6)

Automobile junkyards;

(7)

Junk dealer businesses, check cashing businesses, pawn shops/resale businesses, and precious metal exchange businesses;

(8)

Distilleries, smoke shops/smoking bars, and vapor establishments; and

(9)

Other businesses otherwise objectionable by reason of odor, dust, smoke, cinders, gas fumes, noise, glare, vibration, refuse matter, water-carried waste or traffic hazards or businesses likely to cause litter to be deposited within the Village.

§ 210-22.5 Dimensional requirements.

Requirement	MU-EC	MU-OF
Minimum Lot Size
Residential use	3,600 square feet/unit¹	3,600 square feet/unit¹
Nonresidential use	—	15,000 square feet
Minimum Lot Width
Residential use	40 feet	65 feet
Nonresidential use	50 feet	85 feet
Front Yard
Residential use	10 feet minimum	20 feet minimum
Nonresidential use	0 feet minimum	10 feet minimum
	20 feet maximum	30 feet maximum
Minimum Side Yard
Primary use or structure	0/10 feet²	0/10 feet²
Accessory use or structure	5 feet	5 feet
Minimum Rear Yard
Primary use or structure	15/35 feet²	25/35 feet²
Accessory use or structure	5 feet	5 feet

NOTES:
¹	The notation "square feet/unit" indicates square feet per dwelling unit.
²	The larger requirement shall apply to residential uses and nonresidential uses adjacent to a residential use or district.

§ 210-22.6 Bulk requirements.

General requirements. The following bulk requirements shall apply to the mixed use districts as noted.

Requirement	MU-EC	MU-OF
Maximum Building Height
Primary structure	45 feet¹ (3 stories)	35 feet¹ (2.5 stories)
Accessory structure	20 feet²	15 feet²
Maximum Building Footprint
Per individual building section	5,000 square feet³	—
Maximum Building Width
Per individual building section	60 feet³	60 feet³
Maximum Lot Coverage
Gross impervious surface	80%	50%

NOTES:
¹	Building height shall be determined in feet, while the visual scale or appearance in height of the building shall be determined in stories. In some cases, the Historic Preservation Board may require lower heights to ensure compatibility with the adjacent context.
²	No accessory building may exceed the height of the principal structure on the lot.
³	An individual building section shall be considered a structure built to stand alone and/or connect to adjacent buildings such as a wing or addition adjoined via a fire wall, breezeway, or other structural element providing for the articulation of the principal structure(s) to appear as a smaller scale.

MU-EC District modifications. The Planning Board and Historic Preservation Board may consider applications that exceed the height and footprint restrictions for the MU-EC District in the following circumstances when it is demonstrated the proposed building design is visually compatible with the context. In determining compatibility, the following factors shall be considered:

The mass of the building is visually broken into smaller components. An example would be a building including a main block and smaller extending wings where the distribution of mass and general proportions recall historic complexes within the district or other regional construction of a similar age, design, and scale to that found in the district.

The proposed building does not block known important viewsheds or drastically change the view from the street and from the canal of important existing historic landmarks.

The proposed building is set behind existing buildings, thereby reducing its visual impact.

Exception to the height and/or footprint restrictions are necessary to allow the incorporation of architectural features that are visually compatible with and/or representative of the vernacular construction in the district. Appropriate examples include roof ventilators, cupolas, or penthouses.

§ 210-22.7 Mixed-use district design standards and guidelines.

Village of Pittsford Design Standards incorporated. The Village of Pittsford Historic and Archifectural Design District Building Design Standards shall hereby be incorporated into this chapter for the purposes of guiding development application review in the mixed-use districts by the Historic Preservation Board, Planning Board, and/or Village Board. Development applications include, but are not limited to, certificates of appropriateness, site plan review, and special use permits as provided for in Part 3 of this zoning law.

Historic design principles. Guidance regarding the historic design principles of the Village may be found in Section 3 of the Village of Pittsford Design Standards document.

General principles of design, including scale, proportion, rhythm, location and orientation, balance, massing, and materials.

Design considerations for new construction, including height, scale, width, orientation, setback, proportion and rhythm of openings, neighborhood rhythms, roof form, massing, horizontal versus vertical elements, materials, landscape treatment, and outbuildings.