Article IX C Commercial District

Cannabis dispensary.

Cannabis dispensary with cannabis processing accessory use.

Independent cannabis testing laboratory.

§ 205-37 Conditional uses.

[Amended 9-15-2014 by Ord. No. 960; 4-16-2018 by Ord. No. 1001; 2-7-2022 by Ord. No. 1064; 8-21-2023 by Ord. No. 1113]

The Board of Appeals may permit the following conditional uses:

Funeral establishments, provided that the principal vehicular access shall be located on a public right-of-way not less than 50 feet wide and site illumination shall be limited to parking areas and landscaped areas.

Gas stations, provided no gas station shall be located within the Chesapeake Bay at mean high tide critical area as shown on the Critical Area Map.

Flea markets and auction establishments, provided that the activity and storage is conducted in a completely enclosed structure.

Public utility structures, telecommunication towers and facilities described under Chapter 145 of the City Code.

Cemeteries.

Temporary commercial circuses and carnivals, provided that:

Occupancy permits may be issued for a period not exceeding 15 days.

Such uses shall not be located closer than 200 feet from a residential district.

A minimum lot area of one acre shall be provided.

Bakery meeting Lot Specification O, Table I.

Laundry, clothes cleaning, dyeing, carpet cleaning and linen supply meeting Lot Specification O, Table I.

Wholesaling meeting Lot Specification O, Table I.

Offices meeting Lot Specification O, Table I.

Retail sales meeting Lot Specification O, Table I.

Banks meeting Lot Specification O, Table I.

Personal service shops meeting Lot Specification O, Table I.

Distillery.

Any distillery shall conform to § 205-11, PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AND CONDITIONS, and the applicant shall provide expert, sworn testimony certifying that the proposed use will comply with said standards and conditions.

No distillery shall be located within 500 feet of any structure containing residences.

All loading and unloading shall be permitted at the rear of the building only, unless the view is fully screened from any public street or adjacent residential use. Loading and unloading shall only take place at a loading dock or other area integral to the principal building.

Any roof-top equipment used for the distillation process shall be screened from view from any public street.

A craft distillery shall not produce more than 25,000 gallons of intoxicating liquors per year.

Pain management clinic.

No pain management clinic shall be permitted to be located within 1,000 feet of another pain management clinic, or within 2,000 feet of a public or private school, day-care facility or public recreational facility. For the purposes of establishing the distance between pain management clinics, an applicant shall provide a certified survey from a registered surveyor demonstrating the distance between the proposed pain management clinic and the above-referenced uses. The distance shall be measured from property line to property line.

The hours of operation of a pain management clinic shall be limited to 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The minimum size of any pain management facility shall be 1,000 square feet.

The dispensing of all medications shall be within an enclosed building.

§ 205-37.1 Commercial corridor mixed use.

Patients shall not be permitted to loiter or congregate outside the facility.

Laboratories over 5,000 square feet in gross floor area.

Clean manufacturing.

Uses related of the sale, rental, maintenance or storage of commercial vehicles, including automobiles, bicycles, motorcycles, trucks, boats, travel trailers and mobile homes, but not including mobile home parks.

[Added 12-16-2019 by Ord. No. 1026]

Purpose. The intent of this section is to provide opportunities for developments to mix multifamily residential uses with retail trade, service and institutional uses, with an emphasis on creativity, quality design, and in close proximity to mass transit within the C Commercial District.

Objectives.

To create a mix of commercial and residential uses within a single structure or within multiple structures, where all related structures, parking and open spaces are designed to function as a cohesive and integrated site.

Encourage harmonious and coordinated development of sites, considering the existing natural features, bicycle, pedestrian and vehicular circulation and compatibility with surrounding uses.

Encourage development that is of excellent design and architecture with a mix of uses that contribute to the revitalization of commercial corridors.

Eligibility.

A minimum parcel area of five acres must be established. Parcels may be combined to establish the minimum parcel area.

A mixed use development must be served by City water and sewer.

A mixed use development shall have direct access to either US Route 40 or MD Route 7.

Permitted uses. All uses permitted within the C Commercial District shall be allowed in a mixed use development except those expressly prohibited in Subsection E.

The Planning Commission may approve any commercial or institutional uses not listed in the C Commercial District as part of a mixed use development.

In approving any use that is not principally or conditionally permitted, the Commission shall find that the proposed use will not be detrimental to, or adversely impact, the residential uses within the development.

Multifamily residential units shall comprise no more than 75% of the gross floor area when a mix of commercial and residential uses are proposed within the same building.

If standalone commercial buildings are proposed, the commercial component shall be a minimum of 5,000 square feet, or 15% of the building footprint of all multifamily residential buildings, whichever is greater.

Commercial uses may be located within the first floor of a multifamily residential building or within separate buildings.

(a)

If a developer proposes to utilize a multifamily residential building for commercial uses, the exterior of the commercial space must be finished and the interiors must be finished to the point of being able to obtain a certificate of occupancy for the multifamily residential portion of the building.

(b)

If a developer proposes standalone commercial buildings, the pad site(s) for the commercial buildings must be rough graded and stabilized with utilities extended to the pad site prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for any multifamily residential building within the development.

(6)

Hotels are permitted in a mixed use development and do not count towards the percentage of commercial use.

Prohibited uses.

Adult entertainment activities or related businesses.

Automotive and other vehicle repair, services, and gas stations.

Commercial equipment repair and rental.

Industrial uses.

Uses that store or ship flammable liquids or hazardous materials.

(6)

Convenience stores.

(7)

Any establishment engaged in the sale of tobacco, or those businesses commonly referred to as "vape shops."

(8)

Restaurants with drive-through windows.

(9)

Mini-warehousing or mini-storage.

(10)

Liquor stores.

(11)

Any methadone clinic or medical marijuana dispensary.

(12)

Pawn shops or secondhand merchandise shops.

(13)

Any other activity or use determined by the Director of Planning to be incompatible with residential activities and/or to have the possibility of adversely affecting the health or safety of residents within, or adjacent to, a mixed use project because of the potential for the use to create excessive dust, glare, heat, noise, noxious gasses, odor, smoke, traffic, vibration, or other impacts, or to be unreasonably hazardous because of materials, processes, products or wastes.

Density. The residential density within any mixed use project shall not exceed 15 units per gross acre.

Site design.

The project shall provide a unified arrangement of buildings, service areas, parking, open spaces and landscaped areas.

Site design shall incorporate elements that foster community interaction, such as outside plazas and eating areas, ponds or fountains, public art or other amenities that generally serve the public.

The mixed use development may include the subdivision of individual building sites or the creation of lease spaces for freestanding buildings. The project shall function as a cohesive commercial center with pedestrian linkages between the buildings and amenities, as well as linkages to adjacent parcels and the public right-of-way.

The architecture, site design, lighting and signage shall incorporate consistent and coordinated design and theme elements.

Sidewalks shall be provided along the road frontage of each project when a project is adjacent to undeveloped parcels or is adjacent to parcels that have existing sidewalks along the road frontage. Provisions shall be made to allow for internal pedestrian connections to adjacent parcels where appropriate.

Building design standards. An architectural rendering of the building facade and elevations of the structures shall be submitted to the Department of Planning as part of the site plan approval process. The architectural renderings submitted with the application for site plan approval require approval by the Planning Commission. The rendering shall demonstrate how the project will meet the following standards and objectives:

Emphasis should be placed on enhancing the appearance of the commercial corridor through innovative building design utilizing a range of colors, textures and materials to break up the monotony often found in large commercial and multifamily residential buildings.

Building exterior. At least three of the following categories of architectural features shall be incorporated into street-facing facades:

Porches or porticos.

Balconies.

Dormers.

Gables.

Bay or bow windows.

Door and window ornamentation, which may include surrounds, pediments, lintels and sills, hoods, and/or shutters.

(g)

Rooftop treatments such as cupolas or balustrades.

The roof pitch of new residential buildings shall range between 7:12 and 12:12. The roof pitch of porches, wings and other projections shall equal or exceed that of the lowest pitch of the principal roof.

No exterior stairways shall be visible from a public street.

At least 30% of the surface area of each building facade shall be brick, natural stone or faux stone veneer.

(6)

Individual balconies shall not span more than 1/3 the length of the facade. Balconies that face an interior driveway, or which are not visible from a street, are exempt from this requirement.

(7)

Street-facing facades shall include offsets in the wall plane to break down the mass of residential buildings into smaller units:

(a)

For every 40 feet of horizontal wall plane, there must be facade variations of at least two feet in depth and six feet in width.

(b)

For every 120 feet of horizontal wall plane, there must be facade variations of at least eight feet in depth and a total of at least 24 feet in width.

(8)

For every 40 feet of horizontal roof plane (measured at the roof eave) on street-facing facades, a gable, dormer, or other change in roof plane must be provided.

(9)

A minimum of three different and significantly contrasting colors shall be used on all facades of a building.

(10)

The use of split-face concrete block is prohibited for use in the construction of any building within a mixed use development.

(11)

The roof eave overhang of new residential buildings shall be at least one foot.

(12)

A multifamily residential building shall be limited to five stories, including any commercial levels.

(13)

The Planning Commission may approve building designs that do not meet the specific requirements of this Subsection H, if the developer proposes innovative designs that are consistent with the spirit and intent of this Subsection H and incorporate New Urbanist and traditional neighborhood design principles.

Mechanical equipment, trash receptacles and loading areas.

Mechanical equipment is not allowed to be mounted above the roof surface, unless architectural treatments fully obscure the equipment from horizontal view.

Ground level mechanical equipment shall not be mounted above the ground surface, and shall be obscured by fences or walls.

Loading and refuse/recycling areas. Commercial loading areas, recycling areas, and refuse storage facilities for the commercial and other nonresidential uses shall be located a minimum of 100 feet from residential units and shall be substantially screened from view from the residential portion of the project. Where appropriate, the project may provide for the shared use of recycling and refuse storage facilities. Trash enclosures shall be obscured from view by a fence or wall at least six feet in height.

Commercial uses shall provide sufficient loading areas that do not interfere with drive aisles or parking.

Building placement and orientation.

Buildings shall be set back from arterial and collector roads a minimum of 50 feet.

Rear and side yard setbacks shall be approved by the Planning Commission.

Open space.

A minimum of 10% of the parcel shall be dedicated to open space within the project. A total of 50% of the required open space shall be in the form of active open space. This provision can be met through the installation of macadam-based walking trails, recreational courts, or similar amenities.

The open space areas and amenities may be shown on a separate plan, or incorporated as part of the landscape plan for approval by the Planning Commission.

Bicycle racks shall be provided at or near the entrance to every building in the project.

Parking.

Notwithstanding the parking provisions contained in Chapter 122, Off-Street Parking, two parking spaces per unit are required for multifamily residential uses in the C Commercial District.

Shared parking provisions. A portion of the required residential parking may be provided on an adjacent property, provided that:

(a)

The underlying zoning of the adjacent property permits parking for the principal use of the site being developed.

(b)

There is adequate parking to meet the parking requirements for all uses served by the parking.

(c)

The shared parking area is located less than 300 feet from the entrance of the primary building located on the site being developed.

(d)

The shared parking area is subject to a shared parking agreement made between current owners of the properties. The agreement shall be recorded in the land records of the county. The agreement shall be reviewed and approved by the City Attorney prior to recordation. All shared parking agreements must also contain a provision for maintenance of the parking area.

(e)

The parking area must have safe vehicular or pedestrian access from the shared parking area to the subject property.

(f)

The required parking area shall be paved with an impervious surface, or a combination of impervious and pervious surfaces, as authorized by the Directors of Planning and the Department of Public Works.

(g)

Parking for residential uses shall be clearly designated.

(h)

The shared parking area shall have sufficient lighting to ensure safety for pedestrians.

Lighting. A lighting plan shall be submitted at the time of site plan application for approval by the Planning Commission.

The plan shall provide a description of the type and location of lighting fixtures and the light intensity and shielding provisions to be used.

Lighting fixtures shall be compatible and consistent with the architecture of the proposed buildings.

Lighting shall be designed, installed and maintained in a manner not to cause a glare or reflection on adjacent parcels.

Dark-sky lighting practices shall be utilized and specified on the lighting plan, including the shielding and dimming of light fixtures.

Landscaping. A landscaping plan shall be submitted at the time of site plan application.

Street trees or individual tree landscaping shall be provided at a ratio of one tree per 10 parking spaces.

Street trees shall also be provided along all public roads and internal drives at a ratio of one tree per 40 feet of road or driveway.

All islands internal to the parking area shall be landscaped with street trees.

Native trees that are two-inch caliper at the time of planting shall be used for all street tree plantings. Street trees species shall be suitable for planting adjacent to sidewalks and approved by the Department of Planning.