The intent of the Business CR Zoning Use District is to allow
for the development of small clusters of shops, including eating and
drinking establishments and professional offices, geared primarily
toward providing daily services to residents in the adjacent residential
areas. The scale and design of new development in this district are
intended to complement the rural character of the Town and preserve
and enhance natural open space areas and habitat. Where lot sizes
and depths permit, development is intended to be clustered in a campus-style
pattern.
In the Business CR Zoning Use District, no building, structure,
or premises shall be used or arranged or designed to be used, and
no building or structure shall be hereafter erected, reconstructed,
or altered, unless otherwise provided in this chapter, except for
the following permitted uses or specially permitted uses and their
customary accessory uses:
A. Permitted uses:
(2) Specialty food stores, wine shops and bakeries with retail sales
on premises.
(4) Restaurants, cafes, and ice cream parlors.
(6) Professional studios and performing arts studios.
(10)
Banks.
[Added 8-19-2008 by L.L. No. 30-2008]
B. Special permit uses:
(1) Bed-and-breakfast establishments.
(2) Day-care centers or nursery schools.
C. Accessory uses. Accessory uses shall include those uses customarily
incidental to any of the above permitted uses or specially permitted
uses when located on the same lot. Specifically included are the following:
[Amended 7-6-2005 by L.L. No. 17-2005]
(1) Drive-through windows for pharmacies and banks.
D. Prohibited uses:
(1) Buildings with a floor area exceeding 10,000 square feet.
[Amended 10-2-2012 by L.L. No. 25-2012]
(2) Drive-through windows serving restaurants.
[Amended 7-6-2005 by L.L. No. 17-2005]
(4) An automobile sales lot; motor vehicle sales room; public or private
garage; or storage warehouse or wholesale establishment.
(5) Any vending machine or amusement device located outside of any structure.
This prohibition does not apply to electronic funds transfer facility
substations.
(6) Any display, storage or sale of goods, wares or merchandise outside
of any structure in any area other than that indicated for such outdoor
display, storage or sale on an approved site plan. Such display, storage
or sale areas shall not encroach on any landscaped areas, parking
areas or areas intended for customer access.
(8) Rolling or sliding security-type grilles and doors.
No buildings shall be erected nor any lot or land area utilized
unless in conformity with the Zoning Schedule incorporated into this chapter by reference and made a
part hereof with the same force and effect as if such requirements
were herein set forth in full as specified in said schedule, except
as may be hereafter specifically modified.
[Amended 5-5-2009 by L.L. No. 20-2009]
The design standards and parking standards listed in the provisions
below (Subsections A and B of this section) are intended as a guide
or measure for improvements in parcels in this zoning district, and
the word "shall" recited in the provisions below, with the exception
of Subsection B(1) which requires adherence to the Parking Schedule,
is intended to obtain compliance with the provisions to the extent
practicable as determined by the Board responsible for review.
A. Design standards.
(1) For all parcels three acres or greater in area, the proposed floor
area shall be distributed into a minimum of four buildings.
(2) For all parcels, the front yard shall be landscaped, except for areas
devoted to walkways and an optional limited amount of parking. Parking
is allowed in the front yard only as follows:
(a)
No more than 20% of the parking supply may be provided in front and street-facing side yards combined; see Subsection
B(4) below for more information.
(b)
Only one row of parking is allowed in front yards, with a paved
area not to exceed 40 feet in depth, measured perpendicular to the
front street.
(c)
To mitigate the appearance of any parking in the front yards,
any front yard parking areas shall be set back at least 30 feet within
landscaped front yards.
(3) For corner parcels, the street-facing side yard shall be landscaped,
except for areas devoted to walkways and an optional limited amount
of parking. Parking is allowed in street-facing side yards only as
follows:
(a)
No more than 20% of the parking supply may be provided in front and street-facing side yards combined; see Subsection
B(4) below for more information.
(b)
Only one row of parking is allowed in street-facing side yards,
with a paved area not to exceed 40 feet in depth, measured perpendicular
to the side street.
(c)
To mitigate the appearance of any parking in street-facing side
yards, parking areas shall be set back at least 15 feet within landscaped
side yards.
(4) The central organizing element for buildings in the Business CR Zoning
Use District shall be one or more "central squares," such as greens,
plazas, or courtyards.
(a)
Such central squares shall open towards, and be visible from,
front streets and any adjoining side streets.
(b)
Such central squares shall measure at least 30 feet by 50 feet.
(c)
The open space(s) provided by central squares shall be outside
of and in addition to the required front and side yards.
(d)
Central squares shall include landscaping, plantings, decorative
pavers, seating, outdoor eating areas, shade elements, and other features
so as to create attractive public spaces that serve as amenities for
shoppers and nearby residents.
(5) No structures are allowed within front, side, or rear yards.
(6) Buildings shall be arranged along one, two, or three sides of the
central squares, and their main entries shall face these spaces.
(7) Secondary building entries may be provided from rear parking areas;
however, such entries shall not remove the need for a front entrance
facing the central square.
(8) In no case shall the rear of buildings face a public street, and
in no case shall the front of a building face a rear service access
road or a side driveway.
(9) The provision of improved cross access shall be provided between
those parcels located on the south side of NYS Route 25A between the
westerly Town boundary and Wading River Manorville Road.
[Amended 10-2-2012 by L.L. No. 25-2012]
(10)
Building design and landscaping shall serve to reinforce and
announce the main pedestrian building entrances.
(11)
Development shall provide walkways for safe and convenient pedestrian
access to storefront entries from all parking areas and public sidewalks
and, where possible, to link storefronts to adjacent residential areas.
(12)
Building placement shall, wherever possible, minimize walking
distances from rear parking areas to front building entries; for example,
by breaking large buildings into smaller units of less than 200 feet
in width, interspersed with walkways.
(a)
Breaks between buildings where automobile access is not necessary
shall provide for safe and attractive pedestrian walkways and shall
be at least 15 feet wide.
(b)
Breaks between buildings where automobile or truck access is
necessary (such as to rear parking lot access roads or driveways)
shall provide a combined roadway and sidewalk of at least 30 feet
in width, including one eight-foot-wide sidewalk.
(13)
Facades of commercial buildings that face streets, central squares,
or pedestrian walkways shall be broken up into bays of no more than
30 feet in width, through use of variations in facade plane, piers,
or other architectural features.
(14)
At least 50% of the linear width of facades facing streets or
pedestrian pathways shall be comprised of transparent windows. Where
shade is desired, awnings are encouraged. Windows may not be obscured
more than 20% by opaque banners, or either permanent or temporary
advertisements or signs. In no case shall blank walls face a public
street.
(15)
The exteriors of buildings in the Business CR District shall
utilize natural cladding materials such as wood, brick, stucco, stone
or a combination of such materials. The use of synthetic, metallic,
and reflective materials should be avoided.
(16)
Signs shall be provided in accordance with Article
XLVIII, Signs, of this chapter. Signs for commercial uses within shopping centers shall be a uniform design to the greatest extent practicable.
[Amended 10-2-2012 by L.L. No. 25-2012]
(17)
Buffering and transitions.
(a)
Trash/dumpster areas shall be screened by wood fences or landscaping, or a combination thereof, pursuant to §
245-8.
(b)
Front yards, street-facing side yards, and rear yards shall
be landscaped or maintained as natural open space. To the extent possible,
existing woodlands, stands of or individual trees, and other unique,
indigenous, or significant vegetation within such setbacks should
be protected.
(c)
Buffer landscaping shall be provided between commercial uses
and adjoining residential uses or zones. Such plantings shall include
canopy trees and evergreens that may reach a mature height of not
less than the commercial structures, and planted in sufficient quantity
to screen views of the commercial structures from residential areas.
However, buffer landscaping shall not interfere with the potential
for pedestrian access from residential areas to the commercial businesses.
B. Parking standards.
(1) The number of off-street parking spaces in the Business CR Zoning Use District shall be provided in accordance with §
301-231, Off-street parking, of this chapter.
(2) Where credible evidence is provided by traffic counts or data by
a licensed traffic engineer, up to 20% reduction in off-street parking
may be permitted for shared parking, where the peak parking of two
or more uses occurs at different times.
(3) Parking requirements may be reduced with payment of a fee or land dedication in lieu of providing off-street parking as provided for in §
301-231.
(4) No more than 20% of the required parking supply may be provided in
front and street-facing side yards. Any parking in front or street-facing
side yards shall be sited within the rear portion of said yard, behind
landscaping. The remaining 80% or more of the parking supply shall
be sited to the rear or side of buildings, adjacent to interior lot
lines or access driveways, and away from front and side street frontages.
(5) Curb cuts shall be limited to one curb cut every 400 linear feet
on public front and side streets. Driveway entrances to adjacent parking
lots shall be shared and consolidated.
(6) Shared parking lots with cross-access agreements are encouraged so
as to allow drivers to park in one lot and walk to other businesses
without moving their cars, or to drive from one lot to another without
returning to the street.
(7) In order to soften the appearance of parking lots, parking lots shall
be landscaped with ground cover, grasses, or low shrubs for at least
15% of their land area.
(8) Parking lots with 21 or more spaces shall have "orchard" planting
for shade: one tree per 10 off-street spaces. Such trees shall be
spread throughout the parking lot, rather than clustered only along
the edges.
(9) In order to provide recharge of the groundwater basin and minimize
runoff, at least one of the following stormwater management techniques
shall be used in parking lots where underlying soils support infiltration
of precipitation to the groundwater:
(a)
Entire parking areas shall be surfaced with gravel, rather than
pavement.
(b)
Where sanding and salting are not used in the winter, low-traffic
or seasonal parking overflow areas of the parking lot shall be surfaced
with porous pavement or gravel.
(c)
Landscaped areas of the parking lot shall be sited, planted,
and graded in a manner to provide infiltration and detention of runoff
from paved areas.
(10)
Large areas of surface parking shall be broken up by landscaped
walkways connecting sidewalks and parking areas to business entrances,
in order to create parking fields of no more than 250 spaces each.
C. Additional requirements.
(1) Hours of operation of retail business establishments. As used herein,
a "retail business establishment" shall mean and include a retail
store or shop or other business establishment in which goods, wares,
foods, commodities, articles or products are sold at retail, except
that a "retail business establishment" shall not be construed to include
any business establishment licensed to sell alcoholic beverages at
retail for on-premises consumption. No retail business establishment
shall remain open for business during the five-hour period between
12:00 midnight and 5:00 a.m. Every retail business establishment shall
be closed to the public during the aforementioned five-hour period,
and business with the public therein is prohibited after the hour
of 12:00 midnight and before the hour of 5:00 a.m. of every day.