[Amended 3-10-2004 by Ord. No. 310; 4-23-2008 by Ord. No. 360; 4-27-2011 by Ord. No. 386; 3-12-2014 by Ord. No. 410]
A.
Purpose.
(1)
Intent. It is the intent of this district to promote the development
of a pedestrian-oriented central area within the Township which contains
an integrated mix of residential, retail, office, entertainment, civic,
institutional, and recreational uses which can serve as a community
focal point.
(2)
Goal. It is the goal of the Town Center to provide a clearly defined
single location for the most intensive kinds of uses. The Town Center
will encourage innovative planning techniques which will facilitate
higher-quality development with unified architectural and building
schemes, pedestrian-oriented walkways connecting buildings, bicycle
and mass transit access, unified landscaping and signage, and coordinated
storm drainage and open space areas that are consistent with the Township
Comprehensive Plan.
[Amended 4-22-2020 by Ord. No. 453]
B.
Use regulations. A lot may be used or occupied for one or more of the following purposes. Conditional use review shall be required only where specifically stated or when the project exceeds one or more of the thresholds specified in § 325-124A of this chapter.
[Amended 9-9-2015 by Ord.
No. 426]
(1)
Group I - residential.
(a)
Multifamily dwellings and townhouses.
(b)
Life-care facility or personal care facility when authorized as a conditional use by the Board of Supervisors subject to § 325-124 of this chapter, and the following conditions:
[1]
The property upon which the facility is located must be contiguous
and adjacent to a major arterial street and primary access must be
located within the frontage of the property along and upon a major
arterial street.
[2]
The Township shall not issue any use and occupancy permit for
such a facility until the applicant for such permit has documented,
to the satisfaction of the Township, receipt of all pertinent approvals
and licenses from the appropriate state agencies.
(2)
Group II - nonresidential and mixed use.
(a)
Office buildings.
(b)
Hotels and motels. Permitted accessory uses include but are
not necessarily limited to eating and drinking establishments, fitness
facilities, personal services, retail stores, retail services, and
meeting rooms and areas suitable for hosting conferences, conventions,
receptions, and similar events. Access to accessory uses may be restricted
to guests of the hotel or motel at the discretion of the owner.
[Amended 4-22-2020 by Ord. No. 453]
(c)
Personal services.
(d)
Retail stores and services.
[Amended 4-22-2020 by Ord. No. 453]
(e)
Eating and drinking establishment.
(f)
Banks and other financial institutions and services.
(g)
Fitness facility.
(h)
Medical services.
(i)
Continuing education facility.
(j)
Public place of amusement and motion-picture theater when authorized as a conditional use by the Board of Supervisors subject to § 325-124 of this chapter, excepting that when such use is a sexually oriented business it shall be prohibited in the Town Center district.
(m)
Mixed-use buildings, subject to the following conditions:
[1]
A mixed-use building may contain any combination of uses permitted
in Group II above, except a vehicle fueling station.
[2]
A mixed-use building may contain multifamily residential dwellings
in combination with any uses permitted in Group II above, except as
noted herein, provided that no such residential dwelling units shall
be permitted on the ground level of the building.
(n)
Governmental facility.
C.
Area and bulk regulations. The area and bulk regulations shall be based upon developable acreage unless stated otherwise. Where a project consists of a tract with multiple contiguous lots in common ownership or under common control or is being developed according to a Master Plan in accordance with § 325-13E, below, the provisions of this section shall be applied as if those lots were a single lot and without regard to the lot lines separating them. Furthermore, the term "perimeter" in such cases shall be interpreted to mean the perimeter of the entire project tract as if the constituent lots of said tract were a single lot. The provisions of this section are subject to modification in accordance with the terms of Exhibit 4, " Bonus Menu," of this Chapter. [1]Where bonuses are employed, the Township shall determine
whether they have been properly calculated and applied in the course
of conditional use review; in the event conditional use review is
not required, such determination shall be made during the land development
review.
[Amended 9-9-2015 by Ord.
No. 426; 4-22-2020 by Ord. No. 453]
(1)
Tract size (minimum): two acres (gross acreage).
(2)
Total impervious coverage (maximum): 70% of net lot area.
(3)
Building height (maximum): 60 feet.
(5)
Setbacks.
(a)
Principal buildings, including parking structures.
[1]
Buildings and portions of buildings with a building height of 30
feet or less shall be set back at least 25 feet from the right-of-way
of PA Route 100 and U.S. Business Route 30. Where the building height
is greater than 30 feet, the portion above 30 feet shall be set back
at least 60 feet from the right-of-way of PA Route 100 and U.S. Business
Route 30.
[2]
For all public streets except PA Route 100 and U.S. Business Route
30, buildings and portions of buildings with a building height of
30 feet or less shall be set back at least 15 feet from the right-of-way.
Where the building height is greater than 30 feet, the portion above
30 feet shall be set back an additional 10 feet for each 10 feet of
building height. Therefore, buildings and portions of buildings with
a building height more than 30 feet up to 40 feet shall be set back
at least 25 feet; more than 40 feet up to 50 feet shall be set back
at least 35 feet; and more than 50 feet shall be set back at least
45 feet.
[3]
Buildings shall be set back at least 25 feet from all other property
lines (or from the perimeter of the tract where the project involves
contiguous lots) if the adjoining property is in the Town Center zoning
district; if the adjoining property is not in the Town Center zoning
district, the said setback shall be at least 50 feet.
(b)
Setbacks for accessory buildings and other structures shall be as provided for in § 325-31 of this chapter.
(c)
Surface parking areas.
[1]
Surface parking areas shall be set back at least 25 feet from the
right-of-way of PA Route 100 and U.S. Business Route 30. A site element
screen shall be provided within the setback and shall be continuous,
except for driveway and road crossings and permitted signage. The
site element screen may include a sidewalk, but such inclusion shall
not reduce the amount of required landscaping.
[2]
For all public streets except PA Route 100 and U.S. Business Route
30, surface parking areas shall be set back at least 15 feet from
the right-of-way. A site element screen shall be provided within the
setback and shall be continuous, except for driveway and road crossings
and permitted signage. The site element screen may include a sidewalk,
but such inclusion shall not reduce the amount of required landscaping.
[3]
Surface parking areas shall be set back at least 10 feet from all
other property lines (or from the perimeter of the tract where the
project involves contiguous lots) if the adjoining property is in
the Town Center zoning district; if the adjoining property is not
in the Town Center zoning district, the setback shall be at least
25 feet.
(7)
The following building separation distances shall apply to all Group
II (nonresidential and mixed use) buildings within a development tract:
(8)
Buildings shall be set back not less than 15 feet from all private
cartways, drive aisles, and parking areas. No building setback is
required from a dedicated loading area.
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibit 4 is included as an attachment to this chapter.
D.
Architectural design standards. All new construction, including exterior renovations of existing buildings, shall comply with the architectural design standards established by § 281-67 of the West Whiteland Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
(1)
Where no land development or conditional use approval is required
for a proposed building or other improvement addressed by the said
architectural design standards, the zoning permit application for
said building or improvement shall be accompanied by documentation
demonstrating compliance of the proposed construction with the said
standards.
(2)
Where a proposed building or other improvement addressed by the said
architectural design standards requires conditional use approval but
not land development review, the conditional use application for said
building or improvement shall be accompanied by documentation demonstrating
compliance of the proposed construction with the said standards.
(3)
Where a proposed building or other improvement addressed by the said
architectural design standards requires land development review, documentation
of compliance with the said standards shall be as provided for in
the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
(4)
The Township reserves the right to refer the documentation required
hereabove to a Township Architectural Review Committee.
E.
Master Plan requirement.
[Added 4-22-2020 by Ord.
No. 453]
(1)
The
following development shall be permitted on tracts with a gross tract
area of 10 or more acres only if the Zoning Officer determines that
such development is consistent with an approved Master Plan for the
tract, as provided for below:
(a)
Any subdivision of land, including subdivisions for the purposes
of lease or condominium, except that plans proposing only the merger
of two or more lots into a single lot and no other development shall
be exempt from the Master Plan requirement.
(2)
Master
Plan contents.
(a)
The Master Plan shall show the development of the entire tract.
(b)
The Master Plan shall demonstrate compliance with the Township Zoning
Ordinance and shall demonstrate feasibility of compliance with the
Township Stormwater Management Ordinance[2], the landscaping requirements found in Article IV of the Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance[3], and the Exton Town Center Design Standards found in Article VII of the Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance[4].
(c)
The Master Plan shall be prepared by a licensed professional engineer,
architect, or landscape architect and shall include the following
information as a minimum. The use of multiple sheets is encouraged
in the interest of showing this information clearly.
[1]
The legal limits of the tract and a statement of its gross and net
lot area, including the property lines and gross and net lot area
of all constituent parcels.
[2]
Existing conditions on the tract, including all structures and paved
areas, topography with a contour interval of not more than two feet,
areas where slope exceeds 25%, woodlands, permanent streams and other
surface waters, wetland areas, FEMA-designated floodways and areas
of 1% annual chance of flood, critical habitat areas identified by
the Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory, and the boundaries of
easements that limit the use of the land.
[3]
Historic resources identified on the Township' s Historic Resources
Map that are on the tract or are within 300 feet of the tract perimeter.
[4]
Proposed conditions, including as a minimum:
[a]
The footprint, massing, and use(s) of all proposed buildings,
including existing buildings to remain, and including the number and
type of proposed dwelling units and the approximate square footage
and type of all nonresidential uses;
[b]
Accommodations for vehicular circulation and parking, including
connections to the public road network;
[c]
Accommodations for pedestrian and bicycle circulation, which
shall be consistent with the Township's Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan
and shall provide for connections to existing and planned bicycle
and pedestrian infrastructure as may be depicted on that Plan;
[d]
Permanent open spaces and public gathering places, which may
be landscaped or hardscaped and may include performance spaces, outdoor
market areas, and water features;
[e]
Provisions for public transit;
[f]
Areas available and suitable for placement of solar photovoltaic
panels and a shadow plan depicting the shade impact of all improvements
depicted on the Master Plan at the summer and winter solstices and
the equinoxes; and
[g]
Provisions, including, but not limited to, cross-easements,
deed restrictions, and other covenants to ensure development, access,
operation and maintenance of the tract in accordance with the Master
Plan.
[5]
Phasing.
[a]
Development in accordance with the Master Plan may be undertaken
in phases or sections by more than one developer or builder.
[b]
The Master Plan shall indicate the limits of each phase and
its gross area, but no phase shall be smaller than 10% of the gross
tract area of the entire tract for which the Master Plan has been
created.
[c]
The Master Plan may, but is not required to, indicate a sequence
for the development of the phases. In any event, the phases shall
be developed in a manner that allows for a logical and efficient progression
in the development of the roads, trails, and other public improvements
depicted on the Master Plan and construction of the utility infrastructure
that the development will require.
(4)
Status
of the approved Master Plan.
(a)
An approved Master Plan shall have the same status as an approved conditional use application. The development of one or more phases shown on an approved Master Plan that is consistent with the Master Plan shall not require submission of a conditional use application, even if those phases involve development that would otherwise require such application pursuant to § 325-124A(1) of this chapter.
(b)
A land development plan for any phase may be deemed consistent with
the Master Plan where the use(s) proposed by the land development
plan is the same as proposed by the Master Plan and the area of the
building footprint(s), the total square footage of nonresidential
floor space, the total number of residential units, and the total
square footage of proposed open space shown on the land development
plan are all within 10% of what is shown for that phase on the Master
Plan. If the building configuration(s), and/or massing of the proposed
buildings, and/or public amenities shown on a land development plan
are, in the determination of the Zoning Officer, significantly different
from the approved Master Plan, or if they are inconsistent with the
provisions of the Zoning Ordinance, the Township reserves the right
to deny approval of the land development plan even if it complies
with the preceding quantitative standards.
(c)
If the Master Plan indicates a sequence for the development of its
phases, out-of-sequence development of a phase or phases shall not
be deemed inconsistent with the Master Plan, provided that the new
sequence still represents a logical progression in the development
of the tract in the determination of the Zoning Officer.
(5)
Amending
the Master Plan.
(b)
Amendments may affect one or more unbuilt phases of an approved Master Plan, but the application must still comply with the standards of § 325-13E(2).
(c)
The configuration of the unbuilt phases may be amended, provided
that no phase shall be smaller than 10% of the gross tract area of
the tract shown on the original. Master Plan.
(d)
An approved Master Plan shall not be amended within five years of
the date of its approval by the Board of Supervisors.
(e)
An amended Master Plan shall not be amended again within five years
of the date of the approval of the most recent amendment by the Board
of Supervisors.
