[Amended 11-8-2000 by Ord. No. 00-04]
In expansion of the declaration of legislative intent and community development objectives contained in Article I of this chapter, the specific intent of this district is:
A.
To preserve and build upon the strengths of Zieglerville,
Delphi, and Spring Mount as the core area of the Township.
B.
To encourage development that is compatible with the
unique historical and cultural character and scale of the Township's
villages, with respect to uses, building dimensions, building materials,
and function.
C.
To provide reasonable standards for the development
of small-scale commercial, office, service, residential and community
uses to serve the needs of Township residents and workers.
D.
To discourage development of strip-type highway-oriented
commercial uses which require incongruous architectural styles, excessive
paved areas, numerous curb cuts, and large signs, and attract large
volumes of vehicular traffic.
E.
To minimize potential conflicts between residential
and nonresidential uses within and abutting the district.
F.
To encourage preservation of existing structures while
requiring nonresidential conversions to maintain the visual character
and architectural scale of existing development within the district.
G.
To encourage pedestrian and vehicular connections
between buildings, parking areas, and sidewalks, and to encourage
consolidation and sharing of driveways, parking and curb cuts to provide
more efficient, economical, and safe access and parking.
In the VC Village Commercial District, a principal building may be used or occupied by right for any one or more of the following uses, in compliance with § 170-69, Development regulations, herein:
A.
Single-family detached dwelling.
B.
One apartment located in the same building with one
permitted nonresidential use.
C.
Small-scale retail establishment for the sale of dry
goods, variety and general merchandise, clothing, food, drugs, household
supplies, beverages, hardware, furnishings, antiques, baked goods,
books, greeting cards, plants and flowers; and the sale and repair
of jewelry, watches, clocks, optical goods, musical, professional
or scientific instruments.
D.
Business office, such as real estate sales, travel
agency, insurance sales, advertising, or retail copying and printing
services.
E.
Professional office, such as those for the practice
of medicine or other health services, or for law, engineering, architecture,
or accounting.
F.
Personal service shop, such as tailor, barber, beauty
salon, shoe repair, dressmaker, or dry cleaner (provided that no cleaning
operations are performed on the premises).
G.
Establishment serving food or beverages to the general
public, such as restaurant, cafe, taproom, tavern, retail baker, confectionery
or ice cream shop, but excluding drive-through facilities.
H.
Financial institution, such as a bank or savings and
loan association, but excluding drive-through facilities.
I.
Studio for dance, music, fitness, art or photography.
J.
Bed-and-breakfast establishment in compliance with § 170-26, Bed-and-breakfast accommodations, of this chapter.
K.
Family day-care home, group day-care home, day-care center, according to the provisions of § 170-28, Child day-care facilities, of this chapter.
N.
Government uses, post office, community center, public
library, public utility facility, not including electrical power generation.
O.
Residential conversion in compliance with § 170-27, Residential conversion for accessory apartments, of this chapter.
P.
In the VC Village Commercial District, a principal building in compliance with § 170-70.1 on an existing parcel that is divided by the boundary line between the VC and BD Zoning Districts may be used or occupied by conditional use for any of the following uses herein: large retail establishment with accessory drive-through facilities for the sale of dry goods, variety and general merchandise, clothing, drugs, household supplies, beverages, hardware, furnishings, antiques, baked goods, books, greeting cards, plants and flowers; and the sale and repair of jewelry, watches, clocks, optical goods, musical, professional or scientific instruments.
[Added 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 05-10]
In support of the legislative intent and statement of community development objectives of this article, the following uses are permitted in the VC Village Commercial District when authorized by conditional use by the Board of Supervisors, in compliance with the standards and criteria in § 170-69, Development regulations, § 170-70, Conditional use standards and criteria, and § 170-31, Conditional use applications, of this chapter:
A.
Uses determined by the Board of Supervisors to be of a similar nature to the uses permitted by right in § 170-65 herein, when located in a principal or accessory building.
B.
Uses permitted in § 170-65 herein, such as restaurants, banks, and other retail or service uses with accessory drive-through facilities.
C.
Undertaking establishment and funeral home.
In support of the legislative intent and statement
of community development objectives of this article, the following
uses are prohibited in the VC Village Commercial District:
A.
Automobile or other vehicle sales, service, or repair
establishments, including vehicle body repair, vehicle painting, or
washing.
B.
Gasoline service station and filling station.
C.
Self-service storage facilities (mini warehouses).
D.
Bulk storage and sale of lumber, plumbing and other
building materials and supplies; home center.
F.
Uses determined by the Board of Supervisors to be
of similar nature to the prohibited uses listed in this section.
A.
For uses permitted under §§ 170-65A through O and 170-66A through C, the following regulations apply:
[Amended 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 05-10]
(1)
Minimum lot area and minimum buildable area: 10,000 square feet. The lot area may be further modified by the environmental adjustment factors in § 170-41 of this chapter.
(2)
Minimum lot width: 75 feet.
(3)
Minimum front yard setback: 25 feet.
(4)
Minimum side yard setback: 15 feet each.
(5)
Minimum rear yard setback: 25 feet.
(8)
Unless specifically regulated elsewhere in this chapter, the maximum height for all accessory buildings and structures is 15 feet and is 35 feet for all other buildings and structures. (See § 170-24 and § 170-32 for additional height regulations.)
[Amended 2-7-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-01; 10-3-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-03]
(9)
Minimum parking setback: five feet from any property
line; 10 feet from the ultimate right-of-way. This parking setback
shall not be paved, and shall be landscaped with lawn, trees, or shrubs.
The parking setback shall not be required along property lines when
two or more lots share a common parking area or driveway.
(10)
Zoning district boundary setback. A minimum twenty-five-foot setback is required between any principal building used for nonresidential purposes in the VC Village Commercial District and any Township boundary or any boundary of a residential zoning district. This setback may be part of a required yard area, and shall include landscaping and/or berming according to the provisions of Chapter 145, Subdivision and Land Development.
(11)
Maximum ground floor area: 4,000 square feet
for any individual building.
(12)
Maximum length of a building: 100 feet.
(13)
Minimum distance between buildings on one lot:
15 feet.
(14)
Minimum parking setback from any building: 10
feet.
B.
Additional regulations for uses with drive-through
facilities.
(1)
Drive-through facilities shall have a minimum of a
five-car stacking lane for each window, including the space at the
window itself.
(2)
The stacking lanes shall not interfere with other
parking spaces or internal vehicular or pedestrian circulation, and
shall be designed to prevent stacked vehicles from extending into
any streets.
[Amended 2-7-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-01]
(3)
The minimum lot size otherwise required shall be increased
by a minimum of 2,500 square feet.
The following regulations apply to all new development,
all redevelopment, and all uses permitted in this district:
A.
Sewer and water. All uses in the VC Village Commercial
District shall be served by public sewer and water systems if available.
B.
Parking, loading, and signs.
(2)
All service and loading areas, dumpsters, and similar site elements shall be in the rear of the property and shall be adequately screened from view according to the provisions of Chapter 145, Subdivision and Land Development.
(3)
All required parking spaces shall be located in the
side yard or to the rear of any principal building that fronts on
a public street unless they are partially screened from view from
the street by dense, continuous evergreen planting or a decorative
wall a minimum of 2.5 feet high.
(4)
Parking and loading areas shall not interfere with
driveways, accessways, sidewalks, or pedestrian walkways.
C.
Pedestrian circulation. All uses shall be connected
by a safe and convenient pedestrian circulation system, which shall
connect buildings with sidewalks along streets, and parking areas,
common areas, and other buildings.
D.
Vehicular connections and shared parking.
(1)
Vehicular connections. Safe and convenient vehicular
connections between parking areas on adjacent lots used for nonresidential
purposes shall be required except where impracticable because of environmental
constraints (such as steep slopes or mature trees), other site constraints
(such as existing buildings or structures), or incompatible uses.
(2)
Incentive for shared parking. For all permitted uses,
maximum building coverage and maximum impervious coverage may each
be increased by 5% when shared parking areas serving two or more lots
are provided to increase design flexibility and reduce the number
of access points on the street. Each use shall provide parking to
meet the requirements of this chapter. Cross-access easements shall
be provided for all shared parking areas.
E.
Preservation of existing buildings and village character.
Any new additions to an existing building shall be at the rear of
the property, including any fire escapes or similar features not part
of the original building. The existing style and character of the
front and side facades and rooflines of the original building shall
be retained.
F.
Compatibility of new buildings with village character.
New buildings shall reflect the styles, bulk, setbacks, rooflines,
and architectural details of existing historic and/or culturally significant
buildings in the VC Village Commercial District to the satisfaction
of the Board of Supervisors, with the advice of the Township Engineer
and Planning Commission, and other advisors as deemed necessary.
All uses permitted by conditional use in this district shall comply with the development regulations of § 170-69 and the following regulations:
A.
Compatibility of impacts. The applicant shall provide evidence that anticipated levels of traffic congestion, noise, glare, and pollution created by the proposed use will be similar to the levels created by uses permitted under § 170-65 of this chapter, satisfactory to the Board of Supervisors with the advice of the Township Engineer and Township Planning Commission.
B.
Maximum traffic volume. No use shall be permitted
that is anticipated to generate more than 750 vehicular trips per
day (PennDOT Low Volume Driveway), using ITE trip generation data.
C.
Mitigation of impacts. Any visual or functional conflicts
between the proposed use and surrounding existing uses shall be kept
to a minimum. Increased setbacks, more intensely planted buffers,
wooden fences or other measures may be required by the Board of Supervisors
to minimize potential conflicts, or to reduce anticipated levels of
noise. Sources of potential visual and functional conflicts include,
but are not limited to, loading docks, parking lots, service driveways,
or large nonresidential buildings adjacent to residential neighborhoods
or open space areas without adequate buffering.
[Added 11-8-2005 by Ord. No. 05-10]
An existing parcel that is divided by the boundary
line between the VC and BD Zoning Districts may be developed by conditional
use under the following regulations:
A.
Boundary tolerance for permitted uses. Uses of the VC Village Commercial District shall be permitted to extend into and occupy BD-zoned land for a distance no greater than 150 feet beyond the boundary between the VC and BD Districts when the parcel meets the minimum dimensional standards of Subsection B.
B.
Dimensional regulations. For all uses permitted, the
following regulations apply based upon gross lot area:
(1)
Minimum lot area: three acres.
(2)
Minimum lot width. Minimum lot width shall be
300 feet measured 50 feet from the ultimate right-of-way of an arterial
road.
(3)
Minimum front yard setback: 25 feet.
(4)
Minimum side yard setback: 15 feet each.
(5)
Minimum rear yard setback: 25 feet.
(6)
Minimum distance from right-of-way line to building
on arterial roads shall be 200 feet.
(7)
Maximum building coverage: 15% of lot area with
a maximum individual building footprint of 15,000 square feet.
(8)
Maximum impervious surface coverage: 65%.
(9)
Unless specifically regulated elsewhere in this chapter, the maximum height for all accessory buildings and structures is 15 feet and is 35 feet for all other buildings and structures. (See § 170-24 and § 170-32 for additional height regulations.)
[Amended 2-7-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-01; 10-3-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-03]
(10)
Minimum parking setback: five feet from any
property line; 10 feet from the ultimate right-of-way. This parking
setback shall not be paved and shall be landscaped with lawn, trees
or shrubs. The parking setback shall not be required along property
lines when two or more lots share a common parking area or driveway.
(11)
Maximum length of a building: 145 feet.
(12)
Minimum distance between buildings on one lot:
15 feet.
(13)
Minimum parking setback from any building: 10
feet.
C.
Additional regulations for uses with drive-through
facilities by conditional use.
(1)
Drive-through facilities shall have a five-car
stacking lane for each window, including the space at the window itself.
(2)
The stacking lanes shall not interfere with
other parking spaces or internal vehicular or pedestrian circulation,
and shall be designed to prevent stacked vehicles from extending into
any streets.
[Amended 2-7-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-01]
D.
Development regulations. The following regulations
apply to all new development, all redevelopment and all uses permitted
in this district:
(1)
Sewer and water. All uses on an existing parcel
that is divided by the boundary line between the VC and BD Zoning
Districts shall be served by public sewer and water systems.
(2)
Parking, loading and signs.
(a)
(b)
All service and loading areas, dumpsters and similar site elements shall be in the rear or side of the property and shall be adequately screened from view. Dumpsters may be located in the rear yard setback. All service and loading areas shall comply with § 170-14 of this chapter.
(c)
All required parking spaces shall be located
in the side yard or to the rear of any principal building that fronts
on a public street unless they are partially screened from view from
the street by dense, continuous evergreen planting and/or berms a
minimum of 2.5 feet high or an equal landscaping approved by the Board
of Supervisors of Lower Frederick Township.
(d)
Parking and loading areas shall not interfere
with driveways, accessways, sidewalks or pedestrian walkways.
(3)
Pedestrian circulation. All uses shall be connected
by a safe and convenient pedestrian circulation system which shall
connect buildings with sidewalks along streets and parking areas,
common areas and other buildings.
(4)
Vehicular connections. Safe and convenient vehicular
connections between parking areas on adjacent lots used for nonresidential
purposes shall be required except where impracticable because of environmental
constraints (such as steep slopes or mature trees), other site constraints
(such as existing buildings or structures) or incompatible uses.
(5)
Compatibility of new buildings with village
character. New buildings shall reflect the styles, setbacks, rooflines
and architectural details of existing historic and/or culturally significant
buildings in the VC Village Commercial District to the satisfaction
of the Board of Supervisors, with the advice of the Township Engineer
and Planning Commission, and other advisors as deemed necessary.
(6)
Vehicular access. Driveway access to a proposed
development shall be taken only from a local street or streets, either
existing or constructed as part of a development. No new driveways
shall be permitted to take direct access from any arterial road.
(7)
Preservation of open space. A minimum of 30%
of the development's lot area shall be permanently preserved as open
space that establishes a park-like character along the arterial road
frontage.
