The WO Waterfront Overlay District has been established to allow for a wider diversity of uses along the City's waterfront corridor and to establish the reasonable conditions and safeguards under which this diversity can be supported and maintained. This district, under special conditions and standards, may provide for such uses as: commercial, office, recreational, amusement and cultural options that are an alternative to the industrial uses permitted in the underlying industrial district. To avoid conflicts with adjacent industrial uses, residential uses are not allowed in these areas. If residential uses are desired, then an application should be submitted to the City for potential rezoning to the W-1 Waterfront District. In addition, the intent and purpose of this district is to revitalize the waterfront by creative reuse of existing structures.
A structure or land may be used for any of the following purposes in the Waterfront Overlay District when approved by City Council as a conditional use. Conditional use approval is not required if the use is listed as a permitted by right use in the underlying zoning district.
A.
Marina.
B.
Water transportation facilities.
C.
Theme amusement park.
D.
Commercial entertainment center.
E.
Sports stadium.
F.
Conference center.
G.
Commercial recreation facilities.
H.
Cultural facilities.
I.
A combination of the uses permitted above, in a single building or in more than one building, provided that such multiple building development shall be only pursuant to a single unified master development plan for the entire lot.
The following conditions shall be satisfied prior to the consideration of any tract for development as a WO conditional use by the Chester City Council. No parcel shall be eligible for development under this section unless it meets the following conditions:
A.
The parcel(s) shall be entirely within the WO District boundaries.
B.
The parcel must have a minimum size of at least one acre.
C.
Any development plan must provide for best management practices (BMPs) to control non-point-source pollution.
D.
All potentially negative, off-site impacts associated with a use under this district will be minimized through proper site planning. The applicant for conditional use shall demonstrate and disclose such potential impacts, and the application shall set forth the manner in which the adverse impact thereof shall be minimized.
E.
When deemed necessary by City Council, the applicant shall be responsible for the preparation and cost of a traffic impact study. Such study shall be prepared by a traffic engineer hired by the applicant with the approval of the City Council. The study shall enable City Council to assess the impact of a proposed development on the highway network system, to identify traffic problems associated with the proposed development, to identify solutions and to present improvements to be incorporated into the project design.
F.
In addition to the specific conditions identified above, City Council may attach such additional reasonable conditions and safeguards as it may deem necessary to implement the purposes of this chapter and to protect the health, safety and welfare of the community.
B.
New or expanded buildings shall be located to maintain any existing vistas of the Delaware River from Front Street or Route 291 via public streets.
C.
Unless otherwise stated, the dimensional requirements of the underlying zoning district shall apply.
D.
Waterfront public access requirements.
(1)
Any applicant seeking approval for the construction or alteration of a project that is not water-dependent and which is located south of Route 291 shall demonstrate to the City Planning Commission how the design of the proposed project will enhance the public's visual and physical access to the waterfront to the maximum extent feasible.
(2)
Uses that are not industrial in nature shall be required to include the construction or extension of a pedestrian pathway system, with a public pedestrian easement, along all abutting segments of the Delaware River that are under the control of the applicant. The construction specifications for the pathway shall be pre-approved by the City and include an ADA-accessible hard surface with a minimum width of eight feet. The pathway shall be connected to any adjacent existing pathway segments and shall connect to public streets and major pedestrian destinations.
E.
Building placement requirements. All uses in the WO District shall be located so as to maintain physical access to the waterfront to the maximum extent feasible.
Applications for conditional uses shall be made in writing to the Zoning Officer by the owner or authorized agent of the owner on a form supplied by the Zoning Officer. The Zoning Officer shall simultaneously refer such application to the Chester Planning Commission and City Council. The application shall contain the following information:
A.
The designated conditional use application form.
B.
A site plan, plot plan or development plan of the entire property being considered, drawn to a reasonable scale and showing the location of all abutting streets, the location of all existing and proposed structures, the types of buildings and the uses proposed.
C.
The application fee for a conditional use permit, which shall be established by City Council.
The Planning Commission shall review the proposed development as presented on the submitted plans and specifications in terms of the standards developed in this article. Such review shall be completed and submitted to the City Council while allowing sufficient time for City Council to make a decision in compliance with the time limits of the MPC.