[Added 9-23-1999 by Ord. No. 436; amended 2-15-2001 by Ord. No. 453; 8-15-2002 by Ord. No. 470]
In expansion of the community development objectives
of Lower Providence Township, it is the intent of this article to:
A.
Provide for a balanced, interrelated combination of
light industrial uses, offices and commercial stores in a setting
which will be harmonious.
B.
Encourage new development which will continue the
mixed-use character found in the corridor along Ridge Pike.
C.
Provide a transition from county institutional uses
to light industrial and commercial uses.
D.
Limit the adverse impact of future commercial and
light industrial facilities on roads by controlling access and orienting
development toward appropriate road systems.
A lot may be used for one or more of the following
uses, in combination with the performance standards and dimension
standards contained in this article. In mixed-use developments, the
following uses are permitted:
A.
Commercial uses.
(1)
Retail establishment of sale of dry goods, variety
merchandise, clothing and food, including supermarkets, beverages,
flowers, plants, including garden centers and nurseries, drugs, hardware,
books, furnishings and sale and repair of jewelry, optical goods,
cameras, home appliances and similar uses.
(2)
Personal service shop, provided that at least 30%
of the gross floor area is devoted to customer service.
(3)
Dry-cleaning dropoff establishment; copy center.
(4)
Sales of small automotive accessories (no automobile
service work permitted).
(5)
Job printing.
(6)
Business or professional offices, including:
(a)
Operations designed to attract and serve customers
or clients on the premises, such as the offices of physicians, lawyers,
other professions (excluding veterinarians), insurance and stock brokers,
travel agents and governmental entities, provided that an office or
clinic of doctors or dentists shall not exceed 10,000 square feet
of gross floor area; and
(b)
Operations designed to attract little or no
customer or client traffic other than employees of the entity operating
the principal use.
(7)
Banks and financial institutions, not to include banks
with drive-in windows.
(8)
Restaurant, bar or tavern, not to include fast-food
or drive-in restaurants.
(9)
Theaters, cinemas or similar recreational, amusement
or cultural uses, excluding sexually oriented uses.
(10)
Indoor amusement facility, such as a bowling
alley, billiard room, indoor court for racket sports or similar uses.
(11)
Exercise or fitness facilities.
(12)
Studios for dance, music, art, photography and
radio and television.
(14)
Hotels, motels or inns.
(15)
Bed-and-breakfast establishments or the conversion
of a single-family residence into a tourist home, rooming or boarding
house.
(16)
Not-for-profit museums, libraries or other educational,
religious, cultural or philanthropic uses of a similar nature.
(17)
Transit stations.
(18)
Public buildings or structures owned or operated
by the Township or an authority organized by the Township.
(19)
Accessory uses on the same lot customarily incidental
to any of the above permitted uses.
(20)
Any one use of the same general character as
those listed above, when approved by the Zoning Hearing Board as a
special exception.
A.
Minimum original tract size: 40 acres; subdivided
lots within the original tract shall be not less than two acres each,
notwithstanding any smaller lot size requirements as set forth in
the Limited Industrial District.
B.
Mixed-use development may be executed in phases according
to a phasing plan submitted by the applicant and approved by the Board
of Supervisors.
C.
No more than 75% nor less than 25% of the original
tract in the MU Mixed-Use District may be used for commercial uses.
No more than 75% nor less than 25% of the original tract which is
in the MU Mixed-Use District may be used for limited industrial uses.
D.
An application for land development or subdivision
in the MU Mixed-Use District shall be accompanied by a plan showing
the proposed construction of public improvements for that phase of
the original tract being developed and a concept plan showing possible
uses for the remainder of the original tract, subject to future change,
in compliance with the use mix and other applicable requirements of
this district. Each application for land development or subdivision
must be accompanied by a certification setting forth the square footage
and acreage area of the original tract which is the subject of the
land development or subdivision application; the designation of the
area which is the subject of the application for land development
or subdivision as limited industrial or commercial; and a calculation
of the total area (acreage) of the original tract which has been developed
(including that area which is the subject of the current application)
for limited industrial and commercial development. All applications
for land development shall be accompanied by architectural plans of
the proposed building(s). Each phase of development in the original
tract shall be constructed in accordance with a development agreement
to be executed by the developer and Lower Providence Township.
E.
No limited industrial use in a tract which is the
subject of a mixed-use development application shall be within 300
feet of Ridge Pike.
F.
All mixed-use developments must be served by public
water and public sewer service.
A.
The gross acreage of the original tract shall contain
the following mix of lots usage:
|
Type of Lot/Usage
|
Minimum Percentage of Original Tract Area
|
Maximum Percentage of Original Tract Area
| |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Commercial
|
25%
|
75%
| |
|
Limited Industrial
|
25%
|
75%
|
B.
At the time of its initial occupation, and annually
thereafter, property owners within a mixed-use development shall submit
a report to the Township indicating the apportionment of the various
uses within the development.
A.
Commercial uses. Any lot or lots within the original
tract designated for commercial uses shall meet the general regulations,
mixture of uses, development and performance standards, dimensional
standards, building size and spacing, open space areas and pedestrian
circulation and landscape plan requirements set forth below:
(1)
General regulations.
(b)
Outdoor display regulations. The following regulations
shall apply to all outdoor displays:
[1]
Outdoor display is intended to comprise samples
or examples of the goods, merchandise or equipment available for purchase,
rather than the entire stock of any item.
[2]
Displayed items may not be permanently affixed
in front yards.
[3]
Outdoor display areas may not encroach upon
any required parking areas.
[4]
Outdoor display areas may not exceed 50% of
the required front yard area.
[5]
Outdoor display areas shall be considered to
be sales floor area for the purpose of computing parking requirements.
[6]
Outdoor display areas shall be separated from
the ultimate right-of-way of any street by a twenty-foot landscaped
buffer, planted in grass, ground cover or low shrubs.
(c)
Outdoor storage. Any commercial use which includes
outdoor storage of merchandise shall conform to the following standards:
[1]
No vehicles, equipment or merchandise shall
be parked, stored or displayed within the ultimate right-of-way of
any street or any other areas intended for pedestrian use.
[2]
Outdoor storage shall be permitted only to the
rear of buildings and shall be set back at least 30 feet from the
property boundaries.
[3]
All storage areas shall be screened from public
view by an opaque fence or wall at least six feet high. Stored materials
may not exceed the height of the fence.
(d)
Refuse areas. All commercial uses shall provide
for storage of refuse either inside the building(s) or within an outdoor
area enclosed by walls or opaque fencing, at least six feet and no
more than 12 feet high. Refuse shall be kept within one or more lidded
container(s) not to exceed six feet in height. All refuse areas shall
meet the following requirements:
[1]
The refuse area shall not interfere with circulation
within the parking lot.
[2]
The refuse area shall be shielded from direct
view of any adjacent property.
[3]
The refuse area shall be located at least 10
feet from any adjacent nonresidential property line and 50 feet from
any residential property line or ultimate right-of-way line.
(e)
Buffers. Where a commercial use abuts a residential use or district, a landscaped screen at least 15 feet wide shall be provided along the property boundary between the districts or uses. Where a district boundary divides a single lot, the buffer shall be placed along the nearest property boundary between commercial and residential uses. The buffer shall be designed according to the requirements of § 123-50C of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
(2)
Development and performance standards. The following
development and performance standards shall apply to the portion of
the original tract of land to be developed for commercial usage:
(a)
Maximum building coverage: 25% of the tract
area.
(b)
Maximum impervious coverage: 75% of the tract area, including buildings, driveways, parking and storage areas, but excluding qualifying landscaped pedestrian walkways, courtyards and plazas as described in Subsection A(5)(b) of this section.
(c)
Maximum height. The maximum height for buildings
and other structures erected or enlarged in this district shall be
three stories but not to exceed 35 feet.
(d)
Minimum open space or landscaped areas: 25%
of the tract area.
(h)
Satellite uses. Satellite uses, such as drive-in
banks, fast-food restaurants, tires, batteries and accessory stores
and similar freestanding uses, are not permitted in this district.
(3)
Dimensional standards for lots.
(4)
Building size and spacing.
(a)
Maximum building size. In no case shall the
greatest horizontal length of a structure exceed 300 linear feet.
For the purposes of this subsection, covered, open walkways less than
10 feet in length shall be excluded from dimensional calculations.
(b)
Minimum spacing between buildings. The minimum
distance between buildings on a single lot shall be 15 feet, except
that all structures connected by a common roof line or covered walkways
shall be considered as one building.
(5)
Open space areas and pedestrian circulation.
(a)
At least 25% of the tract area shall be devoted
to open space. Open space shall predominantly consist of natural environmental
features or planted and maintained vegetation, but up to 20% of the
total open space area may also consist of exterior common use areas
such as pedestrian paths, sidewalks, plazas, courtyards and recreational
amenities. Whenever practicable, these common use areas shall be constructed
of pavers in a sand setting bed with permeable joints or of similar
partly pervious surface treatments.
(b)
Pedestrian access between buildings and between
principal uses in a commercial development shall be accommodated by
means of continuous all-weather, lighted pedestrian paths and sidewalks
which, except for occasional crossings of driveways and internal streets,
shall be for exclusive pedestrian use. These paths and sidewalks shall
be extended to the tract boundaries, where appropriate, to allow for
pedestrian connections to and from off-site community facilities and
major pedestrian traffic-generating uses. Where public transit is
to be available, a shelter with benches shall be provided.
B.
Limited industrial uses. Any lot or lots within the original tract designated for limited industrial uses shall meet the general provisions, use prohibitions, general performance standards, general design requirements, procedural requirements and additional requirements for the LI District set forth in Article XVIII, §§ 143-124, 143-125, 143-126, 143-128, 143-129, 143-131 and 143-132 of the Lower Providence Township Zoning Ordinance. In applying the requirements of § 143-132C pertaining to buffering, the requirements in § 123-50C of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance shall be applicable.
C.
Parking and loading. Parking for the development shall meet the requirements of Article XII, Off-Street Parking Standards. The shared parking concept may be utilized where appropriate. Off-street parking areas may be located within the setback areas between the commercial uses on the original tract and the limited industrial uses on the original tract; however, no parking shall be permitted within the required minimum front yard of any lot in this district, nor closer than 100 feet to a residential district. Adequate off-street loading facilities shall also be provided for all buildings in this district.
D.
Access and circulation design standards. Vehicular
access to the development from external roadways shall be located
no closer than 300 feet from any existing major intersection. Access
driveways shall be spaced according to sound traffic engineering practice
and no closer than 300 feet apart along any external roadways. A maximum
of two curb cuts for vehicular access shall be permitted for the entire
development on any single arterial or collector street on which the
tract has frontage, should traffic safety considerations warrant,
based on the evaluation and recommendation of the Township Engineer.
Modifications to these requirements may be permitted by the Board
of Supervisors based upon evaluation and recommendation of the Township
Engineer. Access to lots from interior roadways to be constructed
within the original tract shall comply with the standards of the Lower
Providence Township ordinances and shall be designed in accordance
with recommendations of the Lower Providence Township traffic consultant.
E.
Traffic impact study. An application for development
in this district shall be accompanied by a traffic impact study, demonstrating
the manner in which projected traffic flows will be accommodated and
proposed road improvements to be undertaken in conjunction with development
of the tract. The traffic impact study shall be prepared by a professional
traffic engineer or transportation planner and shall include the following
elements:
(1)
A description of existing traffic characteristics
of the proposed development.
(2)
Traffic volumes for the average daily traffic at peak
hours, before and after the proposed development.
(3)
Source of the trip generation rates used.
(4)
Assessment of traffic impact on all roadways, intersections
and interchanges within a half-mile radius of the site.
G.
Lighting. All lighting, including sign lighting, shall
be arranged so as to protect adjoining properties from direct glare.
No lighting standard shall exceed 25 feet in height.
H.
Unified architectural design. All uses, whether in
a single building or in several buildings, shall be designed according
to a unified architectural scheme, including treatment of building
facades, signs, lighting, landscaping and circulation. In order to
avoid a monolithic appearance, variations in roof lines, facades and
building materials are encouraged. In addition, facades of all buildings
within the limited industrial phases of the original tract which are
in view from external roadways adjacent to the original tract shall
contain materials and architectural detailing which are compatible
with facades in the commercial buildings in the Mixed-Use District.
