It is the specific intent of this article to:
A. 
Provide for development of a wide range of commercial uses in the Township.
B. 
Take advantage of access and visibility from the major roadway.
C. 
Provide regulations for continued commercial use opportunities in areas of existing commercial development.
D. 
Establish standards for the orderly and well-planned development and expansion of commercial facilities, in accordance with the objectives and policies of the 2014 Central Perkiomen Valley Regional Comprehensive Plan, as amended.
E. 
Relate specific types of uses to appropriate minimum lot sizes to ensure adequate land area relative to use classifications and intensities.
F. 
Provide regulations that minimize conflicts between commercial facilities and adjacent residential properties.
G. 
Assure suitable design to protect the character and property values of adjacent neighborhoods.
H. 
Provide regulations that minimize congestion, hazardous traffic conditions and potential noise, glare and pollution resulting from commercial development.
A building may be erected, altered or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following purposes and no other:
A. 
Retail store for sale of dry goods, variety merchandise, books and stationery, clothing, food, beverages, flowers and plants, drugs, furnishings or other household supplies and/or similar goods.
B. 
Retail stores for sales and repair of jewelry, clocks, optical goods, cameras, home appliances, electronic equipment, scientific and professional instruments and/or similar goods.
C. 
Personal service shop: barbershop, hairdresser, custom tailoring shop, dry-cleaning shop (provided no dry cleaning is done on the premises), shoe repair shop, household appliance repair shop, laundromat and any other similar use, at the discretion of the Township. There shall be no outdoor storage permitted.
D. 
Restaurants, retail bakery, confectionery or ice cream shop, other places serving food and beverages, excluding drive-through windows for restaurants permitted under § 310-157 of this article.
E. 
Business or professional office.
F. 
Bank, savings and loan association, financial institution, excluding drive-through windows permitted under § 310-157 of this article.
G. 
Indoor athletic facility.
H. 
Dance, exercise, music or art studio/gallery.
I. 
Any use similar to those listed above.
The following may be permitted as a Class One conditional use in the CR District by the Board of Supervisors in accordance with § 310-53 of Article VIII and §§ 310-160, 310-161, 310-162 and 310-164 of this article.
A. 
Automatic or self-service car wash.
B. 
Garden supply, nursery.
C. 
Building materials and home equipment supplies.
D. 
Wholesale sales in conjunction with retail sales.
E. 
Office building.
F. 
Indoor theater, bowling alley, pool hall, arcade or other place of indoor amusement or recreation.
G. 
Any permitted use that is proposing a drive-through window either as a land development under Act 247[1] or as an addition to an existing building.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq., the Municipalities Planning Code.
H. 
Automobile service, parts and supply center with automobile service as an ancillary use.
I. 
Any use similar to those listed above.
The following uses are prohibited in the CR District:
A. 
Sales of automobiles, trailers, motorcycles, motor homes or similar vehicles.
B. 
Rental centers for construction equipment, home maintenance tools or motorized vehicles.
A. 
Minimum lot area, lot width and yards.
(1) 
Minimum lot area: 20,000 square feet.
(2) 
Minimum lot width: 100 feet, to be measured at the building line.
(3) 
Front yard: 30 feet, to be measured from the ultimate right-of-way.
(4) 
Rear yard: 30 feet, when adjacent to a nonresidential district; 60 feet, when adjacent to a residential district.
(5) 
Each side yard: 15 feet, when adjacent to a nonresidential district; 60 feet, when adjacent to a residential district.
B. 
Maximum permitted height for building: 35 feet.
C. 
Maximum lot coverage.
(1) 
Building coverage: 20%.
(2) 
Impervious coverage: 65%.
D. 
Minimum parking, driveway or loading area setback.
(1) 
From another commercial use or district: 15 feet.
(2) 
From a residential district: 30 feet.
(3) 
From the ultimate right-of-way of a street: 15 feet.
Two or more Class One uses that share parking and a common access drive shall be allowed to develop utilizing the following bonus provisions. To qualify for such provisions, the property owners must provide the Township with an irrevocable cross-access easement. Unless mentioned below, all other dimensional standards shall be followed.
A. 
Section 310-160D(1) is eliminated.
B. 
Section 310-160C(1) is increased to 35%.
C. 
Section 310-160C(2) is increased to 85%.
The following standards shall apply, where applicable, to Class One conditional uses.
A. 
All car washes and automobile service, parts and supply centers shall meet the following:
(1) 
No repairs to vehicle shall be performed outdoors;
(2) 
Parking spaces shall be designated for vehicles being serviced;
(3) 
No unregistered or unlicensed vehicles shall be permitted on the premises;
(4) 
Any bays for services or wash areas shall not be located on a street frontage;
(5) 
No gasoline sales; and
(6) 
No trucks over one-ton payload shall be repaired or serviced.
B. 
Drive-through windows shall meet the following:
(1) 
A minimum of four automobile spaces shall be provided for each drive-through bank window, remote teller window, and drive-through automatic teller machine (ATM), which may include the automobile space at the pickup window.
(2) 
A minimum of eight automobile spaces shall be provided for each drive-through restaurant window, which may include the automobile space at the pickup window.
(3) 
A minimum of four automobile spaces shall be provided for all other drive-through uses other than banks and restaurants as they are provided for in § 310-162B(1) and (2) above, which may include the automobile space at the pickup window.
(4) 
The automobile spaces referred to in Subsection B(1), (2) and (3) above shall not interfere with other parking spaces or the pedestrian or vehicular travel or circulation of the site.
(5) 
Drive-through windows and the drive-through queue shall, to the extent possible, be placed to the rear or the side of the structure.
C. 
The Board of Supervisors reserves the right to place any reasonable restriction upon any conditional use. In considering any conditional use request, it may consider the potential effect the use could have on any adjacent use or residential neighborhood.
A. 
Uses permitted in shopping centers.
(1) 
Any use permitted in § 310-156 of this article is permitted by right.
(2) 
Any use in § 310-157 of this article is permitted as a conditional use.
(3) 
The following satellite uses are permitted as a conditional use:
(a) 
Drive-through window for a restaurant or bank or savings and loan association or financial institution, provided it meets the applicable requirements of § 310-162 of this article.
(b) 
Automobile service, parts and supply center with automobile service as an ancillary use, provided it meets the applicable requirements of § 310-162 of this article.
(c) 
Gasoline service stations, provided they meet the requirements of § 310-165 of this article.
B. 
Dimensional standards.
(1) 
Minimum lot size: five acres.
(2) 
Minimum lot width: 250 feet, at ultimate right-of-way line.
(3) 
Building setbacks.
(a) 
From the ultimate right-of-way of streets:
[1] 
When a primary building's width exceeds its depth: 200 feet.
[2] 
When a primary building's depth exceeds its width: 100 feet.
[3] 
When a primary building's width and depth are equal or cannot be compared because of the building's odd shape: 150 feet.
[4] 
For satellite buildings: 75 feet.
(b) 
From an abutting residential district: 80 feet for all buildings, sales or merchandise storage areas.
(c) 
From an abutting commercial use or district: 30 feet for all buildings, sales or merchandise storage areas.
(4) 
Minimum parking and loading area setbacks.
(a) 
From the ultimate right-of-way of streets: 30 feet.
(b) 
An abutting residential or institutional use or district: 50 feet.
(c) 
An abutting commercial or industrial use or district: 25 feet.
(d) 
All internal driveways shall be 15 feet from an adjacent commercial use or district, 30 feet from an adjacent residential district.
(5) 
Maximum building coverage, including both major and satellite buildings: 20%.
(6) 
Minimum vegetative coverage: 35%; detention basins may be included in this calculation only if they are landscaped pursuant to Chapter 264, Subdivision and Land Development.
(7) 
Maximum building height: 35 feet. An increase to 45 feet is permitted for decorative architectural features such as clock towers or parapets.
C. 
Design regulations.
(1) 
No more than two access points shall be located along each street on which the Class Two use fronts.
(2) 
Central common area. Class Two shopping centers shall provide a central common area to focus attention on major building entrances and provide an area suitable for shared use by tenants, customers and visitors, special events such as cultural performances, exhibitions, health fairs, sidewalk sales, and use as a sitting area and meeting place. Each central common area shall comply with the following standards:
(a) 
It may be an atrium, courtyard or plaza located at the front of the principal building, visible from entrance driveways and parking lot.
(b) 
It shall have walkways, seating and landscaping. Water features, play equipment, performance stage, and table facilities for adjacent restaurants are encouraged.
(c) 
As an alternative, the central common area may be located on a large parking lot island adjacent to the storefront driveway, subject to approval by the Board of Supervisors.
(d) 
The total area shall be not less than 5% of the gross leasable area of the principal buildings it serves and may be divided into two separate locations when approved by the Board of Supervisors.
(e) 
A minimum of 30% of the central common area shall be ornamentally landscaped (may include water features). The landscaped area may be included in calculation of the minimum of 35% landscaped area of the site.
(f) 
The minimum required space for a central common area shall not include paved areas used for parking, service or driveways, required storefront landscaping, softening and screen buffers, required parking lot planting and commercial recreation facilities operated as a principal use.
(3) 
Building bulk and construction. Variations in building facades, canopies, height and rooflines are required, and contrasts in color, texture and materials are encouraged in compliance with the following.
(a) 
Building facades that exceed 250 feet in length shall be varied by one or more of the following methods:
[1] 
Wall offsets to a minimum depth of 10 feet at intervals of 100 feet or less.
[2] 
Variation in the facade height of at least 10 feet in height at intervals of 100 feet or less.
[3] 
Addition of major architectural features at intervals of 200 feet or less, including canopies, towers and three-dimensional ornamental structures.
(b) 
Building materials such as brick, stone, decorative block and wood are encouraged.
(c) 
Side and rear building facades shall be constructed of materials that reflect the character, color scheme and architectural features of the buildings' front facades.
A. 
Outdoor display and storage. All uses, except for parking, the sale of gasoline, diesel, ethanol and kerosene, and loading areas shall be completely enclosed within a building. No merchandise, goods, articles or equipment shall be stored, displayed or offered for sale outside the building except seasonal articles. Any outdoor display areas shall be considered to be sales floor area for the purposes of computing building coverage and for computing parking requirements.
B. 
Refuse areas. The design of buildings in the Commercial Retail District shall either include a provision for the storage of refuse outside the building(s) or within an outdoor area enclosed by either walls or opaque fencing. Any refuse area outside the building shall be designed to be architecturally compatible with the building(s) and shall not interfere with nor be visible from circulation within the parking lot; such walls or fencing shall be designed to shield the refuse areas from direct view of any adjacent property and must be at least six feet high. No trash storage area shall be located within 10 feet of an adjacent nonresidential property line or within 40 feet of a road right-of-way or residential lot line.
C. 
Off-street loading. Adequate off-street loading and unloading space with property access from a street, highway or common service driveway shall be provided for all commercial properties. All areas for loading and unloading of delivery trucks and other vehicles and for the servicing of establishments or shops by refuse collection, fuel and other service vehicles shall have adequate and unobstructed access from a street or service driveway and shall be so arranged that they may be used without blocking or otherwise interfering with the use of automobile accessways, parking facilities or pedestrianways. They shall also be so arranged that they may be used without backing out onto a street. Service areas shall be screened from view from any abutting roadway, customer parking area or residential lot line.
D. 
Wherever stormwater detention/retention basins are within 10 feet of parking or driveway areas, guardrail barrier should be installed between vehicular area and the basin.
A. 
Use standards.
(1) 
No repairs to vehicles shall be performed.
(2) 
No unregistered or unlicensed vehicles shall be permitted on the premises.
(3) 
No outdoor storage facilities shall be allowed on the premises.
(4) 
No paint spraying or body work shall be permitted.
(5) 
The fuel pump area shall not interfere with parking spaces or internal circulation.
(6) 
Sale of motor vehicle fuels, such as liquefied petroleum gas, propane, natural gas and hydrogen fuel products, shall not be permitted.
(7) 
Sale of diesel fuel, ethanol, kerosene, gasoline and similar liquid fuel blends is permitted.
B. 
Structure setbacks.
(1) 
Minimum setback from any ultimate right-of-way shall be at least 75 feet for fuel pumps.
(2) 
Minimum setback from an abutting commercial use or district shall be 30 feet for all structures, including buildings, fuel pumps and canopies.
(3) 
Minimum setback from an abutting residential use or district shall be 80 feet for all structures, including buildings, fuel pumps and canopies. Where the center line of a public road separates the site from a residential district, the setback shall meet the requirements of § 310-163 of this article.
(4) 
Minimum setback of parking (any portion) from fuel pumps shall be 30 feet.
C. 
Canopies shall be designed and constructed to meet the following standards:
(1) 
Canopies shall have a maximum height of 14 feet six inches measured to the underside.
(2) 
Maximum height to the top of the canopy shall be 16 feet seven inches.
(3) 
Lighting for canopies shall be recessed so that the bottom of the lighting fixture is flush with the underside of the canopy.
(4) 
Canopies shall be designed to be architecturally compatible with principal and satellite structures with regard to color and building materials.
D. 
The Board of Supervisors ("Board") reserves the right to place any reasonable restriction upon any conditional use. In considering any conditional use request, the Board may consider the potential effect the use could have on any adjacent property, use or residential neighborhood. Specifically, the Board may consider the following:
(1) 
Canopy dimensions.
(2) 
Alignment of pumps.
(3) 
Requirements for station attendant and safety.
(4) 
Hours of operation.
(5) 
Sufficient buffering of adjacent residential districts.
(6) 
Effects of lighting on adjacent roads and properties.
E. 
All signs shall be regulated by Article X of the chapter, governing signs.
A. 
General approval conditions. A shopping center use, including expansion of a shopping center, shall be subject to the conditions of this article and this section, and any other applicable regulations of the Township's Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances.[1]
(1) 
Character of the surrounding area.
(a) 
The impact of the proposed use on the surrounding properties shall be considered. If the proposal is adjacent to a residential district, the scale of the use shall relate to and complement the surrounding area.
(b) 
All buildings and other structures shall be similar in size, scale, general appearance and building materials to one or more buildings on the adjoining lots or to an existing historic building. The applicant and/or owner shall submit architectural drawings for evaluation of the proposed principal buildings, satellite buildings, structures and expansions, including building elevations and color renderings. The Board of Supervisors may approve a facade different from the surrounding buildings, provided that it conforms to the characteristics of the zoning district and does not detract from the intent of this chapter to preserve the area's appearance.
(2) 
Traffic. The road system must be able to accommodate the peak traffic generated by the use in a safe and sufficient manner. In order to fully evaluate this, the Board of Supervisors shall request a traffic impact statement, as described below:
(a) 
The traffic impact study shall present enough information to enable the Township to assess the impact of the proposed uses on the roads within the Township. The study must demonstrate that the proposed use will not adversely affect surrounding areas or traffic circulation generally in the Township or else identify any traffic problems that might be caused or aggravated by the proposed use and delineate solutions to those problems. Based upon the findings of the study, the Township may require other improvements both on site and off site which would alleviate hazardous or congested situations directly attributable to the proposed development as a condition of approval.
(b) 
The traffic impact study shall include an analysis of all significant intersections within a study area extending a minimum of 1/2 mile from the site boundary on all roads which the traffic generated by the proposed development would reasonably be expected to utilize. Intersections greater than 1/2 mile but not more than one mile away also shall be studied if deemed necessary by the Township Manager.
(c) 
The traffic impact study shall be prepared by a qualified traffic engineer who possesses the credentials outlined for a municipal traffic engineer defined in Pennsylvania Code Title 67, Chapter 205, entitled "Municipal Traffic Engineering Certification."
(3) 
Community impact analysis. The Board of Supervisors shall require the applicant to submit a community impact analysis, described below, prior to any final plan approval.
(a) 
The compatibility of the proposed development with land uses that are adjacent to the site, and consistent with the Central Perkiomen Valley Regional Comprehensive Plan or the Perkiomen Township Comprehensive Plan, whichever is in effect at the time.
(b) 
The impact of the proposed development on sensitive natural areas, including floodplains, steep slopes, woodlands, waterways, recreational areas, and conservation areas.
(c) 
The impact of the development on public utilities, including public sewage disposal, public water supply, solid waste disposal, storm drainage and electrical utilities, and the provision of police and fire protection.
(d) 
Documentation of on-site or off-site improvements proposed to alleviate any projected negative impacts of the development.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 264, Subdivision and Land Development.
B. 
Specific approval conditions. The general plan for a shopping center development shall include evidence and facts showing that it has considered and made provision for, and the development shall be executed in accordance with, the following essential conditions:
(1) 
The proposed development shall be substantially in accordance with the Central Perkiomen Valley Regional Comprehensive Plan or Perkiomen Township Comprehensive Plan, whichever is in effect at the time, shall consider the surrounding land features of the area and shall contain appropriate provision for open spaces, width and grade of streets and location and arrangement of parking spaces, all with due regard for the character of the neighborhood and its peculiar suitability for this type of use.
C. 
Market analysis. The owner/developer will provide to the Township upon request a market analysis for the proposed project which addresses the present and future need within the market area, which shows the impact of the proposal on that need, and supports the scale and types of units which are proposed.
D. 
All expansions shall be required to submit a land development plan and comply with the requirements of Chapter 264, Subdivision and Land Development.