[Ord. No. 2118 §§1 — 3, 8-18-2008]
A.
The City of St. Robert Comprehensive Plan identifies areas within the City for development of mixed-use development areas where compact, pedestrian-scaled, mixed-use residential and commercial districts may be developed. Within these areas of development, and in other appropriate sites, mixed-use zoning helps provide a desirable combination of compatible residential, office, retail and selected light industrial uses. The development of Mixed-Use Districts will foster further economic development opportunities; create harmonious and compatible mixed land use types; foster safe and active pedestrian environments; provide residential and employment density to support neighborhood businesses; and attract residents and employers looking for innovative land use amenities.
B.
Intent. These regulations are intended to encourage and provide a means for effecting desirable and quality developments by permitting greater flexibility and design freedom than that permitted under the conventional zoning and to accomplish a well-balanced, aesthetically satisfying City and economically desirable development of building sites within a Mixed-Use District. These regulations are established to permit creativity in the design and compatibility of mixed-use projects that are found not to be hazardous, harmful, offensive or otherwise adverse to the environment, property values or the character of adjacent neighborhoods or the health, safety and welfare of the community. It is intended to permit and encourage diversification, variation and imagination in the relationship of compatible uses, structures, open spaces and heights of structures for developments conceived and implemented as comprehensive and cohesive unified projects.
C.
Conceptual Plan: Developers of projects shall submit a conceptual plan for review by the Planning and Zoning Commission and final approval by the Board of Aldermen. The conceptual plan must be approved by the City before any development activities can commence. At a minimum, the conceptual plan shall include the following:
1.
Conceptual site layout illustrating:
a.
Proposed open space and public park areas, and
b.
Proposed locations of all mixed land uses, and
c.
Proposed locations of any single land uses, and
d.
Proposed traffic ways, pedestrian ways and parking areas, and
e.
Proposed locations of freestanding and monument sign structures, and
f.
Proposed conceptual landscape plans.
4.
The conceptual plan shall be approved if it is shown that:
b.
No single land use category other than mixed-use buildings occupies greater than sixty percent (60%) of the total land area.
c.
The proposed land use at any location within the proposed project site is within walking distance of one thousand (1,000) feet of a different land use, as measured from the shortest pedestrian route.
D.
Area. No Mixed-Use District shall have a land area of less than three (3) acres for the proposed development.
E.
Uses. The proceeding mixed-use ("MU") classifications are hereby established and delineate the permissible land uses that can be developed within a mixed-use project area. Land uses not listed here are determined to be expressly prohibited and incompatible for use within a mixed-use development.
1.
Mixed-use low-intensity ("MU-1").
a.
Residential uses.
(1)
Single-use detached one- or two-family residential (maximum lot size is ten thousand (10,000) square feet).
(2)
Single-use garden apartments, town homes and condominiums.
(3)
Mixed-building attached loft apartments.
(4)
Mixed-building attached studio apartments.
(5)
Mixed-building attached condominium.
b.
Commercial uses. Uses specified below can be developed in combination as "single-use" and "mixed-building" to comprise the mixed-use project.
(1)
Businesses associated with lawyers, accountants, appraisers, brokers, realtors, tax preparers, insurance agents and uses of similar character.
(2)
Offices for engineers, architects, landscape architects, interior decorators and uses of similar character.
(3)
Offices for optometrists, physicians, dentists, psychologists and chiropractors.
(4)
Businesses that provide personal services such as drop-off laundry, shoe repair, eyeglass store, hearing aids and business ventures of similar character (excluding secondhand resale stores, tattoo parlors and pawnshops).
(5)
Artists, photographers and sculptors.
(6)
Authors, writers and composers.
(7)
Sporting goods, dress shops, shoe store and clothing shops.
(8)
Museums, libraries, galleries and exhibit halls.
(9)
Banks, credit unions, loan companies and mortgage companies (excluding payday loan and check-cashing businesses).
(10)
Art, dance and music teachers.
(11)
Flower shop, bookstore, stationery stores, picture frame shop and craft store.
(12)
Cellular phone stores, computer store, electronics store, electronic repair shop and appliance store.
(13)
Beauty parlors, barbershops, tanning parlors and day spas.
(14)
Grocery stores, bakery shops and butcher shops.
(15)
Restaurants without drive-thru service, cafes, coffee shops and sandwich shops.
(16)
Day care, child care facilities and pre-schools.
(17)
Churches and other similar places of worship.
(18)
Pharmacies, medical and dental clinics (excluding out-patient surgery).
(19)
Swimming pools, fitness centers and public parks.
2.
Mixed-use medium-density ("MU-2").
a.
Residential uses.
(1)
Permitted residential uses authorized in a Mixed-Use, Low-Intensity ("MU-1") District.
b.
Commercial uses. Uses specified below can be developed in combination as "single-use" and "mixed-building" to comprise the mixed-use project.
(1)
Permitted commercial uses authorized in a Mixed-Use, Low-Intensity ("MU-1") District.
(2)
Hotels, motels and extended stay inns (excludes outside parking of boats and RVs).
(3)
Convention center, skating rinks, gymnasium, athletic club, miniature golf, bowling alley and cultural centers.
(4)
Community centers, family recreation centers, theaters and video arcades (excluding billiard and pool halls).
(5)
Sports bar and grill, bars and taverns that do not exceed six thousand (6,000) square feet in gross floor area.
(6)
Treatment centers, medical heliports and medical clinics providing out-patient surgery.
(7)
Greenhouses, nurseries and farmers market.
(8)
Pet stores, dog grooming and veterinary clinics.
(9)
Single-use retail stores.
F.
Ownership. The development shall be in single or corporate ownership at the time of application, or the subject of an application filed jointly by all owners of the property.
G.
Open Spaces. Preservation, maintenance and ownership of required open spaces within the development shall be accomplished by either:
1.
Dedication of the land as a public park or parkway system; or
2.
Creating a permanent, open space easement on and over the said private open spaces to guarantee that the open spaces remain perpetually in recreational use, with ownership and maintenance being the responsibility of an owners' association established with articles of association and bylaws which are satisfactory to the St. Robert Board of Aldermen.
H.
Landscaping. Landscaping, fencing and screening related to the uses within the site and as a means of integrating the proposed development into its surroundings shall be planned and presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission for approval, together with required plans for the development. A planting plan showing proposed tree and shrubbery plantings shall be prepared for the entire site to be developed. Landscape plans must show the landscape area's dimensions, screens and buffers, retaining walls, irrigation, plantings, decorative paving, sidewalk furniture and other elements that convey the conceptual plan for the project. Specific criteria for landscape plans are found in Chapter 420 of this regulation.
I.
Signs. The size, location, design and nature of signs, if any, and the intensity and direction of area or floodlighting shall be detailed in the conceptual plan.
J.
Desirability. The proposed use of the particular location shall be shown as necessary or desirable to provide a service or facility that will contribute to the general well-being of the surrounding area. It shall also be shown that under the circumstances of the particular case, the proposed use will not be detrimental to the health, safety or general welfare of persons residing in the vicinity of the mixed-use development.
K.
Considerations. In carrying out the intent of this Section, the Planning and Zoning Commission shall consider the following principles:
1.
Conceptual plans, drawings and illustrations shall be prepared by a registered designer or team of designers having professional competence in urban planning.
2.
It is not the intent of this Section that control of the design of the mixed-use project by the Planning and Zoning Commission be so rigidly exercised that individual initiative be stifled and substantial additional expense incurred; rather, it is the intent of the Planning and Zoning Commission that the control exercised be the minimum necessary to achieve the purpose of this Section.
3.
The Board of Alderman of the City of St. Robert shall have final approval authority over any proposed mixed-use ("MU") development.
L.
In an approval, the Board of Aldermen shall be permitted to attach such conditions as it deems necessary to secure compliance with the purposes set forth in this Section.
M.
The Board of Aldermen, as part of the approval of a mixed-use development, shall be permitted to require an applicant to make reasonable contributions to include, but not be limited to, any combination of the following:
1.
Dedication of land for public park purposes.
2.
Dedication of land for public road right-of-way and utility easement purposes.
3.
Construction of, or addition to, roads serving the proposed project when such construction or addition is reasonably related to the traffic to be generated.
4.
Installation of required traffic safety devices.
5.
Preservation of areas containing significant natural, environmental, historic, archeological or similar resources.
N.
Approval. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall have the authority to require that the following conditions for mixed-use development (among others it deems appropriate) be met by the applicant:
1.
The proponents intend to start construction within one (1) year of either the approval of the project or of any necessary zoning district change and intend to complete said construction, or approved stages thereof, within four (4) years from the date construction begins.
2.
The development is planned as one (1) complex land use rather than as an aggregation of individual and unrelated buildings and uses.
O.
Limitations On Application.
1.
Upon approval of a mixed-use development, construction shall proceed only in accordance with the plans and specifications approved for a mixed-use development and in compliance with any conditions attached to the approval of said mixed-use.
2.
Amendments to approved plans and specifications for a mixed-use shall be obtained only by following the procedures herein outlined for first approval.
3.
The Building Department shall not issue any building permit or certificate of occupancy for any proposed building, structure or use within the project unless such building, structure or use is in accordance with the approved development plans and with any conditions imposed in conjunction with its approval.