[Added 7-10-1984 by Ord. No. 360, approved 7-11-1984]
In expansion of the declaration of legislative intent contained in Article I, § 113-3, of this chapter and the statement of community development objectives contained in Article I, § 113-5, of this chapter, it is hereby declared to be the intent of the Office District to establish reasonable performance standards for the development of office and selected commercial uses, that will take advantage of the location and highway accessibility offered by the interchange of the Schuylkill and Mid-County Expressways and promote employment within the Borough, while protecting the Borough's sensitive environmental features. It is further the intent of this article that development shall not have a detrimental effect upon traffic conditions or community services and facilities and that development provide adequate buffering and landscaping to protect adjacent areas.
A building may be erected, altered or used and a lot may be
used or occupied for any of the following uses, and no other:
A.
Office buildings.
B.
Banks and other financial institutions.
C.
Restaurants (excluding fast-food).
D.
Motels or hotels.
E.
Takeout restaurants, postal services and recreational facilities
within an office building, motels or hotels subject to the following
requirements:
(1)
The uses are not permitted as a separate building and are limited
to no more than 20% of the gross floor area of the office building.
(2)
The uses shall be intended to serve the daily service needs
of employees and users of the office building.
(3)
No external signs advertising said uses shall be permitted.
F.
Accessory uses.
A.
Lot area. A lot area of not less than two acres shall be provided
for every use in the Office District.
B.
Lot width. A lot width of not less than 200 feet shall be provided
for each lot in the Office District.
C.
Building coverage. Not more than 35% of the area of each lot may
be occupied by buildings.
D.
Impervious surface coverage. Not more than 80% of each lot may be
occupied by impervious surfaces.
E.
Height. The maximum height of any building shall be 120 feet, not
to exceed nine stories.
F.
Setbacks. The following setbacks shall apply for any structures in
the Office District:
(1)
The minimum setback, measured from the ultimate right-of-way
lines, shall be 30 feet.
(2)
The setback measured from any other lot line shall be 50 feet.
(3)
Setbacks may be reduced, upon approval by the Borough Council,
when it can be demonstrated that such reduction will have no detrimental
impact on adjacent properties.
[Amended 10-14-1986 by Ord. No. 377, approved 10-14-86]
G.
Minimum distance between buildings. The minimum distance between
a building or group of buildings shall be 25 feet, except that all
structures connected by common rooflines or covered walkways shall
be considered one building.
A.
Access. Provisions shall be made for safe and efficient ingress and egress to and from public streets and highways serving the Office District. No development shall cause confusion, congestion or undue interference with normal traffic flow. The Borough Council, with the advice of the Borough Engineer, shall satisfy itself as to the adequacy of the throughfares and access points intended to accommodate the traffic generated by a proposed Office District development. All office buildings, motels and hotels shall also meet the criteria for a traffic study in § 113-145 of this chapter.
B.
Drive-in facilities and automated banking machines for banks and
other financial institutions.
(1)
In the case of a bank or other financial institution with drive-in
facilities, the circulation plan for the drive-in window shall be
integrated safely and efficiently into the overall circulation pattern
of the Borough in a manner that minimizes internal traffic congestion.
The plan shall be presented to the Borough Council for approval prior
to issuance of a building permit. Drive-in facilities for banks or
financial institutions shall provide a minimum of six automobile waiting
spaces for each bank teller or remote teller window. These waiting
spaces shall not interfere with parking spaces.
(2)
Automated banking machines shall be located in areas which will
not encourage interference with internal circulation of the site.
Lighting shall be provided for the safety and convenience of the users
of the automated banking machines.
C.
Service areas. Loading and unloading areas shall be provided which
do not conflict with pedestrian or vehicular movement.
D.
Landscaping. Landscaping, including buffers, screens, parking lot landscaping, street trees and preservation of existing vegetation, shall be provided according to the requirements of Chapter 102, Subdivision and Land Development.
[Amended 10-14-1986 by Ord. No. 377, approved 10-14-1986; 11-14-1995 by Ord. No.
95-436, approved 11-14-1995]
G.
Storage. No storage of materials, equipment or goods shall be permitted
outside of a building.
H.
Outside lighting. All outside lighting shall be shielded so that
the source of light shall not be visible from any point off the lot
on which the light is located. In no case shall lights be permitted
to be directed or reflected toward any residential district, and there
shall be no glare or hazardous interference of any kind on any roadway.
I.
Utilities. All utility lines (electrical, telephone, etc.) shall
be placed underground.
J.
Sewage. All uses shall be in conformance with Chapter 93, Sewers and Sewage, of the West Conshohocken Borough Code.
The Borough Planning Commission shall review all plans for office buildings, motels and hotels proposed within the Office District and shall submit these plans with their recommendations to the Borough Council for final approval or disapproval. The submitted plans shall show compliance with the dimensional and development requirements in §§ 113-143 and 113-144 and the community impact analysis in this section. The plans shall also show compliance with all other applicable Borough codes and ordinances.
A.
Community impact analysis. A community impact analysis shall be submitted
to the Borough containing the following information for review by
the Borough Planning Commission and by the Borough Council:
(1)
The conformance of the proposed development with the West Conshohocken
Comprehensive Plan and compatibility with land uses adjacent to the
site.
(2)
The impact on any existing floodplains, steep slopes, wooded
areas and other sensitive natural features.
(3)
The impact on public utilities, including but not limited to
sewage disposal, garbage and rubbish disposal, water supply, storm
drainage and electrical utilities.
(4)
The impact on the provisions of police and fire protection for
the proposed development.
(5)
A traffic study which indicates that satisfactory provisions
are being made to prevent traffic congestion and hazardous road conditions
resulting from the proposed development. This study shall be prepared
by a professional traffic engineer and shall contain the following
information:
(a)
A study impact area agreed to by the Borough Engineer.
(b)
An inventory of site conditions which shall include:
[1]
A sketch plan of the proposed development.
[2]
Existing average daily traffic (ADT) on roads within the study
area. This shall include traffic volumes at peak highway hours and
at peak development generated hours.
[3]
Exiting levels of service (A through F) on roads and intersections
within the study area.
[4]
Other information requested by the Borough Engineer.
(c)
The impact of the proposed development on the area's transportation
system, which shall include:
[1]
The number of trips generated by the proposed development (in
and out and at peak hours).
[2]
The estimated average daily traffic on roads within the study
area with the proposed development.
[3]
The level of service (A through F) with the anticipated development.
[4]
Documentation of the source(s) of generated traffic estimates
(such as the Institute of Transportation Engineers, Trip Generation
Report).
[5]
Evaluation of the adequacy of the development's ingress and
egress points.
(d)
Documentation of on-site or off-site improvements proposed to
mitigate any projected adverse transportation impacts of the proposed
development. This shall include, when warranted, such improvements
as road widening, intersection improvements, acceleration/deceleration
lanes, traffic control devices, signs or other improvements deemed
necessary by the Borough Engineer.
B.
Evaluation of the community impact analysis. The community impact analysis required in § 113-145A shall be evaluated to determine the appropriateness of the site in question to accommodate the magnitude of the proposed development, as well as the impact of the proposed development on the community facilities and services of West Conshohocken Borough. The following alternative findings shall result from the evaluation process:
(1)
Evaluations which lead to an overall negative assessment for
a proposed development shall lead to a denial by the Borough Council.
(2)
Evaluations which lead to an overall negative assessment for
a proposed development may lead to a conditional approval by the Borough
Council either when the developer agrees to undertake activities or
improvements which will compensate or correct deficiencies or negative
impacts caused by the implementation of the proposed development;
or when the developer agrees to implement the proposed development
at a reduced square footage of gross leasable area, as specified by
the Borough Council.
(3)
Evaluations which lead to an overall positive or neutral assessment
for a proposed development shall lead to an approval by the Borough
Council.
