Township of Radnor, PA Article XIII C-3 Service Commercial District

§ 280-54 Purpose and objectives; application of regulations.

A. C-3 Service Commercial Districts make appropriate provision for a wide range of highway-oriented retail, automotive and heavier service-type business activities which ordinarily require main-highway locations and cater to transient as well as to local customers, and for an appropriate mix of residential and nonresidential uses. Among the objectives of C-3 Service Commercial Districts are:

[Amended 10-26-2020 by Ord. No. 2019-15]

(1) To encourage the sound and appropriate commercial development of compact segments of major highway frontage.

(2) To provide locations for important highway and service-type business use convenient to central and other retail business location.

(3) To protect major highway as thoroughfares.

(4) To buffer adjacent existing and proposed residential uses from commercial uses where there is not access to an arterial highway.

B. In C-3 Service Commercial Districts, the regulations contained in this article shall apply.

§ 280-55 Use regulations.

[Amended 9-22-1980 by Ord. No. 80-21; 10-26-2020 by Ord. No. 2019-15]

A detached nonresidential building may be erected or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any one of the following nonresidential purposes, provided that the use and conversion of any existing dwelling to a nonresidential use shall comply with the provisions of § 280-45. Townhouse dwelling units are permitted subject to compliance with the requirements below.

A. Any use permitted in C-2 General Commercial Districts.

B. Drive-in or automobile service establishment as follows: motor vehicle service station (not to include a repair shop or car wash establishment as a main use); public garage or automobile sales agency (not to include a used car lot or a trailer or truck sales agency as a main use); and drive-in restaurant or similar use, provided that:

(1) The lot on which such use is established shall be not less than one acre in size.

(2) All facilities are located and all services are conducted within the confines of the lot.

C. General service or contractor's shop, including carpenter, cabinetmaking, furniture repair, light metalworking, tinsmith, plumbing or similar shop, provided that the floor area devoted to such use shall in no case exceed 10,000 square feet.

D. Wholesale business establishment.

E. Indoor storage building or warehouse.

F. Laundry, dry-cleaning or clothes-pressing establishment, provided that the equipment and materials to be employed will not involve danger from fire or explosion and that the use will not detract from the predominant commercial character of the district.

G. Public-utility corporation building, grounds or facility or any similar use.

H. The following uses when authorized as a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board, subject to the general standards prescribed in § 280-145:

(1) Outdoor place of amusement, recreation or assembly (not including drive-in theater), on a lot not less than two acres in area.

(2) Express, trucking or hauling station.

(3) Trailer or truck sales agency.

(4) Motor vehicle repair shop.

(5) Car wash establishment.

(6) Used car lot.

(7) Yard for the storage and sale of coal, firewood, fuel oil or building materials, provided that:

(a) Such use shall be located adjacent to a railroad.

(b) The area used for such use is enclosed and suitably screened from the surrounding area by a satisfactory fence or other barrier, not less than six feet in height.

(8) Trade school.

(9) Commercial greenhouse or nursery.

(10) Wholesale dairy or bakery.

(11) Any use of the same general character as any of the above permitted uses, but not to include any use that is objectionable, as defined in § 280-107.

(12) Open-air fish or produce market, provided that no products shall be stored, displayed or offered for sale within 40 feet of the curb or edge of the pavement on which the lot abuts.

I. A townhouse development, provided the site area is located in excess of 450 feet from an arterial street, as defined in § 255-6D of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, and is adjacent to or across the street from a residence district listed in § 280-5. Townhouses shall meet the requirements of § 280-93.

J. Accessory uses, as permitted in § 280-47J.

K. Hotel rooftop dining as an accessory use to a hotel use containing a restaurant space with indoor seating, subject to the provisions of § 280-115.4.1.

[Added 11-22-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-08]

§ 280-56 Area and height regulations.

[Amended 4-27-1998 by Ord. No. 98-04; 11-8-1999 by Ord. No. 99-30]

A. Lot area and width. Every lot shall have a lot area of not less than 30,000 square feet, and such lot shall be not less than 150 feet in width at the building line.

(1) Lot area and width exception for townhouses. Each townhouse dwelling unit shall meet the lot and area requirements below, provided that a townhouse development may be located on a single lot, provided that the development complies with § 280-36 (Special regulations for multiple-dwelling groups) and either the Pennsylvania Planned Community Act[1] or the Pennsylvania Condominium Act,[2] and further provided that each townhouse unit demonstrates compliance with the lot area and width requirements below. Except where exceptions are provided below, townhouses shall comply with the requirements of § 280-56.

[Added 10-26-2020 by Ord. No. 2019-15]

(a) Minimum lot area per dwelling unit: 3,250 square feet.

(b) Minimum lot width for each group of townhouses (three dwelling units or more): 100 feet at building setback line.

(c) Minimum lot width for each townhouse: 20 feet.

(d) Minimum yards:

[1] Front (from existing curbline): 25 feet.

[2] Side (between buildings): 25 feet aggregate, 10 feet minimum (between buildings), 10 feet from property line for end units.

[3] Rear: 25 feet.

(e) Lot coverage: 60% maximum impervious surface.

[1] Editor’s Note: See 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 5101 et seq.

[2] Editor’s Note: See 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 3101 et seq.

B. Building area. Not more than 35% of the area of each lot may be occupied by buildings.

C. Front yards. There shall be a setback on each street on which a lot abuts, which shall be not less than 65 feet in depth.

(1) Front yard exception. Where located adjacent to a residential zoning district, the front yard setback may be reduced to not less than 25 feet in depth in order to maintain the general setback characteristics of the residential zone and to provide for flexibility in the design and location of buildings.

[Added 4-12-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-9]

D. Side yards. For every building there shall be two side yards, neither of which shall be less than 20 feet in width.

[Amended 4-12-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-9]

E. Rear yards. There shall be a rear yard on each lot which shall be not less than 25 feet in depth or not less than 25% of the lot depth, whichever is the greater.

F. Height regulations. No building shall exceed 35 feet in height.

G. Lot coverage. Not more than 65% of each lot may be occupied by impervious surfaces.

H. Riparian buffer setback: 35 feet.

[Added 12-8-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-22]

§ 280-57 Special regulations.

A. Along each side or rear property line which directly abuts a residence district in the Township or a similar district in an adjoining municipality, a buffer planting strip, as defined in § 280-4B, not less than 40 feet in depth shall be provided.

B. No goods, articles or equipment shall be stored, displayed or offered for sale beyond the front lines of a building, except for outdoor dining and the display of automobiles not less than 20 feet from a street right-of-way line and also in the case of a motor vehicle service station.

[Amended 4-8-2013 by Ord. No. 2012-09]

C. The off-street parking, off-street loading and special provisions relating to highway frontage prescribed in §§ 280-103, 280-104 and 280-105 shall apply in C-3 Commercial Districts.