This district is created to permit the development
of commercial shopping centers in scale with surrounding market areas
in accordance with the standards set forth herein. These centers shall
serve areas not already conveniently and adequately provided with
commercial service facilities of the kind proposed. It is intended
to permit the establishment of such districts only where planned centers
with carefully organized buildings, service areas, parking areas and
landscaped open space will clearly serve demonstrated public needs,
reduce marginal traffic friction below that which would result from
strip commercial development along highways and protect property values
in surrounding neighborhoods. It is further intended that commercial
shopping centers shall provide a broad range of facilities and services
appropriate to the general need of the area served.
A.
Any application or request for rezoning to a Commercial
Shopping Center District shall be accompanied by a concept development
plan, with drawings at a scale of not less than one inch equals 100
feet.
B.
A concept development plan shall contain the following:
(1)
A vicinity map at a scale of not less than one inch
to 2,000 feet.
(2)
Adjacent property owners and zoning districts.
(3)
Existing land uses of adjoining tracts.
(4)
Existing and proposed streets and highways, including
names.
(5)
Locations, descriptions and analyses of present and
projected utilities, such as water, sewers, refuse disposal and utilities
which would serve the subject site.
(6)
Projected sale prices and estimated gross value of
development.
(7)
A development schedule and projected market absorption,
approximate dates for beginning and completion of each phase and estimated
cost of each phase of development.
(8)
The percentage of the site devoted to buildings, open
space, streets and parking area and estimated total floor area of
all structures.
(9)
A plan showing proposed generalized parking arrangements.
(10)
A plan or report indicating the extent and timing
of all off-site improvements, such as roads, sewer and drainage facilities
necessary to the construction of the shopping center. Such plan or
report shall relate to the sequence of development.
(11)
A report showing the fiscal impact of the proposed
shopping center on the Town.
A.
A site development plan, with drawings at a scale
of not less than one inch equals 50 feet, must be submitted and approved
prior to issuance of permits for construction. This plan may be submitted
in phases with the approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
B.
Site development plans shall contain the following:
(1)
A vicinity map at a scale of not less than one inch
to 2,000 feet.
(2)
Adjacent property owners and zoning districts.
(3)
Existing land uses of adjoining tracts.
(4)
Existing and proposed streets and highways, including
names, present and projected conditions and capacity of the street
network.
(5)
The location, description and analysis of present
and projected utilities which would serve the subject site.
(6)
Boundary survey and legal description of property,
including total area of the site.
(7)
Topographic map with minimum contour intervals of
two feet and a scale consistent with the site development plan.
(8)
Evidence of marketable interest in the property, including
title insurance policy or similar document showing owner or owners,
marketable title and source of applicants' interest in property.
(9)
Slope analysis.
(10)
Watercourses and drainage area.
(11)
Natural features, such as marshes, trees, general
soil condition and similar conditions.
(12)
On-site features, such as structures, roads,
utilities, easements or rights-of-way.
(13)
Projected sale prices and estimated gross value
of development.
(14)
Development schedule and projected market absorption,
approximate dates for beginning and completion of each phase and estimated
cost of each phase of development.
(15)
Land use plan or plans showing location and
arrangement of all proposed land uses, heights of buildings, setbacks
and side yards, proposed internal and external traffic circulation
(including widths, driveways and access), pedestrian circulation,
lighting, proposed open space, dedication and easements.
(16)
General landscaping and screening plan showing
general types, location and design of landscaping and screening.
(17)
Covenants, restrictions and conditions pertaining
to the use, maintenance and operation of common open space.
(18)
Percentage of site devoted to buildings, open
space, streets and parking areas and total floor area of all structures.
(19)
A plan showing proposed parking arrangements.
(20)
Architectural sketches of typical proposed structures,
typical landscaping and screening areas and typical development clusters.
(21)
A plan or report indicating the extent, timing
and estimated cost of all off-site improvements, such as roads and
sewer and drainage facilities necessary to the construction of the
planned development. Such plan or report shall relate to the sequence
of development.
(22)
A report or plan showing the adequacy of public
facilities and services such as water, sewer, drainage, streets and
roads to serve the proposed development.
(23)
A report showing the fiscal impact of the proposed
development on the Town.
(24)
General plan for sedimentation and erosion control.
(25)
Plan for stormwater management.
C.
Any site development plan or any portion thereof involving
the practice of engineering, architecture or land surveying shall
be prepared and certified, respectively, by an engineer, architect,
landscape architect or land surveyor duly authorized by the State
of Maryland to practice as such. A site development plan may be prepared
in one or more sheets to show clearly the information required by
this section and to facilitate the review and approval of the plan.
If prepared in more than one sheet, match lines shall clearly indicate
where the several sheets join. Every site development plan shall show
the name and address of the owner and/or developer, North point, date
and scale of the drawing, the number of sheets and existing zoning.
No building or premises shall be erected, structurally
altered, enlarged or maintained nor shall any land be used, except
for the following purposes:
A.
Retail sales and services.
B.
Offices and office buildings, theaters, banks and
financial institutions, real estate, insurance, medical and dental
offices.
C.
Eating and drinking establishments.
D.
Motels and hotels.
E.
Gas-and-go-type automobile filling stations.
F.
Automotive service centers, not to include sales of
automotive fuels, major repair work such as engine overhauls, paint
and body work or the outside storage of vehicles.
G.
Personal services such as beauty, barber, dry-cleaning
establishments and drugstores.
H.
Grocery stores and variety stores.
I.
Similar uses which are customarily located in commercial
shopping centers, subject to the approval of the Planning and Zoning
Commission.
A.
Minimum yard and lot requirements.
(1)
Front yard. A minimum front yard of 30 feet shall
be established from the street right-of-way line for all C-SC Districts.
The front yard shall be landscaped and not utilized for any building,
structure, use or parking area except for permissible identification
signs.
(2)
Side yard. A minimum side yard of 20 feet shall be
maintained between any structure, use, parking area or driveway and
the side lot of adjacent properties. When C-SC side yards adjoin residential
districts, the minimum side yard shall be 100 feet.
(3)
Maximum lot coverage. No more than 30% of the buildable
area of any lot in any C-SC District shall be occupied by structures.
B.
Open space. Minimum landscaped open space on any individual
lot shall be not less than 10% of the buildable area of the lot. Such
landscaped open space may be used in part to buffer and shield adjoining
residential districts from adverse effects of shopping center operation
and to enhance landscaping in parking areas.
C.
Vehicular and pedestrian entrances and exits. Principal
vehicular access for the general public shall be from major streets.
Vehicular access from minor streets through residential neighborhoods
shall generally be avoided but, where permitted, shall be so located,
designed and controlled as to be primarily for convenience of residents
of adjoining residential areas and not for general public access.
Pedestrian access may be provided at any suitable location within
the district but shall, as a general rule, be separated from vehicular
access points in order to reduce congestion, marginal friction and
hazards. Service drives, turnout lanes and merging lanes may be required
at principal vehicular access points by the Planning and Zoning Commission,
with length and width appropriate to the anticipated flow of traffic.
Traffic separation devices may be required by the Planning and Zoning
Commission at such entrances and exits and along service drives, turnouts
or merging lanes.
D.
Access. C-SC Districts shall have frontage and access
to major arterials and intermediate arterials.
E.
Site planning: external relationships.
(1)
Commercial and service uses and structures and their
parking areas shall be oriented toward major arterials, secondary
arterials or collector streets and oriented away from adjacent minor
streets in residential neighborhoods or adjacent residential neighborhoods
that are not separated from the district by streets.
(2)
Landscaping or other devices shall be used to screen
surrounding residential districts from undesirable views into the
C-SC Districts and to screen the C-SC Districts from undesirable external
exposures.
(3)
In particular, all service and loading areas shall
be screened from view of public streets and from first-floor windows
in adjacent residential districts. Parking areas for more than 10
automobiles shall, insofar as reasonably possible, be screened from
similar view by landscaping, fences, walls or relation to buildings.
F.
Site planning: internal relationships. Commercial
buildings shall be so grouped in relation to parking areas that after
customers arriving by automobile enter the shopping center, establishments
can be visited with a minimum of internal automotive movement. Facilities
and access routes for deliveries, servicing and maintenance shall,
so far as reasonably practicable, be separated from customer access
routes and parking areas. Areas where deliveries to customers in automobiles
are to be made or where services are to be provided for automobiles
shall be so located and arranged as to prevent interference with pedestrian
traffic within the center.
(1)
Sites should be developed in a coordinated manner
to complement adjacent structures through placement, architecture
and size or mass. Where possible, commercial uses requiring floor
areas in excess of 10,000 square feet should be designed to appear
as several distinct, albeit attached, structures, each with a floor
area no greater than 6,000 square feet to reduce the visual impact
of a single, larger building mass in keeping with the scale of existing
structures in Leonardtown.
(2)
Whenever possible, commercial buildings on the same
site should be clustered and incorporate plazas, courtyards, pocket
parks, and other pedestrian use areas.
(3)
Sites occupied by commercial uses should be designed
to avoid the appearance of domination by automobiles. Positive methods
to achieve this guideline include:
(a)
Orienting buildings to fronting streets and
placing some of the parking at the rear and/or sides;
(b)
Designing the required parking area into a series
of smaller, discrete, connected lots rather than a large, uninterrupted
parking lot(s);
(c)
Providing well-defined pedestrian walkways through
parking areas and from public sidewalks into the site. Well-defined
walkways utilize pavers, changes in color, texture, and composition
of paving materials and vertical plantings such as trees and shrubs.
The minimum width of walkways should be five feet.
G.
Building design.
(1)
Buildings should reflect an individual design that
has considered site location, conditions, intended use, and the character/building
mass of surrounding development. Building designs should reflect an
individual style and form and not merely current trends.
(2)
A consistent visual identity should be applied to
all sides of buildings visible to the general public. All sides should
have an equivalent level of quality of materials, detailing and window
placement. Abrupt ending of architectural details should be avoided
with no radical change in details, features or materials.
(3)
Large buildings should avoid long, blank, uninterrupted
walls. Positive methods to achieve this objective include building
wall offsets regarding modulation, changes in colors and materials,
placement of windows and doors, use of porches, porticos or canopies,
changes in floor level, and projections that provide building shadows
that visually break up long, flat building facades.
(4)
Large buildings should avoid long, blank, uninterrupted
roof planes. Positive methods to achieve this objective include height
variations to give the appearance of distinct elements or offsets
in the roof line to provide architectural interest and variety to
the massing of the building and to relieve the effect of a single,
long roof.
(5)
Large buildings should use modulation (defined as
a measured setback or offset in a building face) to reduce overall
bulk and mass. The planes of exterior walls should not run in one
continuous direction more than 50 to 60 feet without an offset or
setback. Offsets should be a minimum of 3 to 5 feet.
(6)
Large buildings should use articulation in a clear
rhythm to reduce their perceived size. Articulation is the giving
of emphasis to architectural elements (like windows, entries, balconies,
etc.) that create a complementary pattern of rhythm, dividing large
buildings into smaller identifiable pieces. Articulation in the form
of doors, windows and other framed building openings that articulate
architectural elements break up the look of a long, blank wall.
(7)
Buildings facing streets should incorporate pedestrian-scaled
entrances. Pedestrian-scaled entrances are those that provide an expression
of human activity or use in relation to building size. Doors, windows,
entrances and other features should be designed to respond to the
size of the human body and not give the appearance of anonymity or
overwhelming the building's users.
(8)
Building design should incorporate traditional building
materials such as masonry, stone, heavy timbers, brick or other natural-appearing
materials.
(9)
Building colors should accent, blend with, or complement
surroundings. Bright or brilliant colors should be reserved for trim
and accents.
(10)
Outdoor storage areas, mechanical equipment
and trash receptacles should not be visible from adjacent streets
and pedestrian walkways. The method of screening such areas from view
should be architecturally integrated with the building with respect
to materials, shape and size.
(11)
Materials used for site features such as fences,
screen walls, and signs should be appropriate to the zone district
where the development is located and should complement building design
through materials, color, shape and size.
H.
The Mayor and Council may modify the strict application
of all the preceding standards where it is felt that such would further
the objectives of this chapter.
