The C-3 Highway-Oriented Commercial District
is intended to provide for the orderly development of region-serving
business and commercial uses which, due to the nature of their products
and services, are oriented to vehicular traffic and thus are most
appropriately located with adequate frontage along and/or relatively
direct access to a major road. This district also is designed to avoid
undue congestion on streets that are inappropriate for such uses and
to assure convenient access and off-street parking for customers.
[Amended 12-1-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14]
Except as otherwise noted in §
287-47 above, the following regulations shall apply to all uses in the C-3 District, except as provided for in Article
XIA:
A. Minimum lot area: 20,000 square feet for all uses
except vehicular sales, which shall require three acres.
B. Minimum lot width: 90 feet at the building setback
line.
C. Minimum front yard: 40 feet.
D. Minimum side yards: 15 feet.
E. Minimum rear yard: 25 feet.
F. Maximum building coverage: 20%.
G. Maximum other impervious surface coverage: 60%.
H. Minimum vegetative cover: 10%.
I. Maximum building height: three stories or 35 feet, whichever is less; except as shown on the Zoning Map for Zone 1 and Zone 2 of the Height Option Overlay Districts, taller buildings may be permitted in accordance with §
287-51D. Zone 1 buildings may be built by right up to five stories to a maximum of 75 feet; and up to seven stories to a maximum of 90 feet as a conditional use. Zone 2 buildings may be built by right up to four stories to a maximum of 60 feet to the extent shown in the Height Option Overlay Districts Map.
[Amended 8-1-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-10]
J. Minimum building height: two stories and a minimum
of 30 feet.
[Added 8-1-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-10]
K. Buffer area. A minimum ten-foot buffer shall be provided
for any use permitted in the C-3 District which abuts a residential
use or district or an Open Space District. No buffer shall be required
along a front property line.
The following design standards of this chapter
shall, as applicable, govern all uses within the C-3 District:
A. Signs: as required by Article
XIX.
B. Parking: as required by Article
XVIII.
D. Landscaping: as required by §
287-77.
E. Screening and buffering: as required by §
287-78.
F. Access and traffic control: as required by §
287-80.
H. Interior circulation: as required by §
287-81.
J. Central Business Revitalization Overlay District design standards: as required by §
287-51.1.
[Added 12-1-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14]
K. Any use within the C-3 District shall comply with the applicable requirements of Chapter 109, Building Construction, Article
I, Building Code.
[Amended 12-1-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14]
[Amended 12-1-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14; 8-1-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-10]
A. Shopping center, in accordance with Article
XIA and the following:
(1) Uses that may be included within a shopping center shall be those permitted as of right or by special exception in the C-3 District, as stipulated in §
287-47A and
C above, or any use deemed comparable by the Borough Council.
(2) The lot area shall be a minimum of 12,000 square feet
for each individual use; minimum tract area shall be two acres.
(3) The minimum lot width at the building setback line
shall be 350 feet.
(4) The maximum building coverage shall be 25%; the maximum
coverage by other impervious surfaces shall be 50%.
(5) A minimum of 20% of the tract shall be in landscaped, vegetative cover. Standards for landscaping and screening shall be as specified in §§
287-77 and
287-78 of this chapter.
(6) The minimum front yard shall be 65 feet, unless no
parking is to be provided in the front yard, in which case the front
yard shall be a minimum of 35 feet.
(7) Each side and rear yard shall be a minimum of 25 feet.
(8) The maximum building height shall be two stories,
so long as the requisite parking can be provided.
(9) There shall be a landscaped area provided between
the street line and interior parking areas, which shall have a minimum
width of eight feet, extending the entire frontage. Any unpaved area
between the street line and the edge of the cartway also shall be
continuously maintained as a landscaped area. No improvements other
than access drives and sidewalks shall be permitted within these landscaped
areas.
(10)
Proposed parking facilities intended to serve a shopping center shall comply with the regulations and standards contained in Article
XVIII of this chapter.
(11)
Only one freestanding (ground) sign shall be permitted on a shopping center tract. Such sign may serve as a directory sign for uses on the tract. Each individual use may have one flat-wall sign. Signs shall be designed in accordance with Article
XIX.
(12)
The application for conditional use approval shall be submitted and reviewed in accordance with the terms of §
287-137. Specific ownership and maintenance responsibilities for the tract, buildings, structures and other improvements also shall be identified.
B. Car wash, in accordance with Article
XIA and the following:
(1) Minimum lot area shall be 30,000 square feet as a principal use. Where proposed as a use supplemental to an automobile service station, the Borough Council may require that the minimum lot area for the service station, as stipulated in §
287-90A of this chapter be increased by as much as but not more than 30,000 square feet, where such area is deemed necessary by the Council to accommodate all proposed uses and comply with the objectives and standards of this chapter.
(2) Where a proposed car wash is to be a principal use, it shall comply with all applicable requirements for uses within the C-3 District as contained in §§
287-48B through
J and
287-49. Where proposed as a use supplemental to an automobile service station, the car wash operation shall be in further compliance with the standards of §
287-90 of this chapter.
(3) Circulation and parking requirements.
(a)
The minimum distance between an access driveway
and any adjoining property line shall be 10 feet.
(b)
A waiting or stacking area shall be provided
on the lot, accessible to the entrance end of the washing equipment,
for at least six automobiles for each lane provided in the washing
area. Stacking areas shall not interfere with the internal circulation
needs of the property.
(c)
An area on the lot, beyond the exit end of the
washing equipment, shall be provided for at least four automobiles
for each lane provided in the washing area.
(4) A water-recycling system shall be installed on the
premises to serve the car wash operation.
(5) An attendant shall be on duty to assist as necessary
or a telephone number shall be displayed prominently as a means to
contact the responsible party as needed.
C. Day-care facility.
(1) Minimum outdoor play or recreation space shall be
100 square feet per individual receiving care at any given time. This
space or any portion of it shall not be located in any front or side
yard.
(2) Outdoor play or recreation space shall be fenced or
otherwise enclosed on all sides and shall not include driveways, parking
areas or land unsuited for active recreation due to other usage or
natural constraints. Fencing or other enclosures shall be a minimum
of four feet in height.
(3) The owner and operator must be registered with the
Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) and must demonstrate
compliance with all DPW regulations for such a facility.
(4) Access to and from the site and circulation patterns
must be designed to maximize the safety of individuals receiving day
care at the site and to prevent impediments to the flow of traffic
off the site.
(5) When the day-care facility is proposed to abut a residentially zoned property, it shall provide screening sufficient to protect the adjacent properties from potential impacts of its operation and in all cases shall comply with the requirement of §
287-78 of this chapter.
D. Conditional use standards for Zone 1 and Zone 2 of
the Height Option Overlay Districts.
(1) Any proposed building, structure or part thereof in
excess of 75 feet and up to 90 feet or seven stories within the Zone
1 Overlay District as shown on the Zoning Map shall be built in accordance
with the regulations set forth in this subsection. Any increased building
height in the Zone 2 Overlay District shall also conform to the applicable
standards and criteria below.
(2) The increase in height of a building or other structure
from 75 feet up to 90 feet or any portion thereof in Zone 1 and the
increase of any base height to a taller building in Zone 2 shall be
in accordance with the following:
(a)
Fenestration (windows and other building wall
openings).
[1]
Except for first floor/ground floor use, the
fenestration for all buildings shall be all vertical in orientation.
Fenestration shall not be such that vertical and horizontal orientation
is mixed.
[2]
Mullions and muttons shall provide for a vertical
orientation of windows from the second floor to the top floor.
[3]
In order to minimize reflections and glare,
not more than 40% of any side of a building shall be constructed with
windows.
(b)
First floor/ground floor use. The first floor/ground
floor of all buildings shall be used to promote a continuation and
continuity of shop fronts and stores, such as retail, restaurant,
personal service shops, lobbies, reception and informational areas,
spaces accessible to the public and indoor motion picture theaters.
Offices and parking shall not be the exclusive use of the ground floor
of a building.
(c)
Parking. All parking, including deck parking, shall be in accordance with §
287-108.
(d)
Street wall.
[1]
The street wall is the line at which the wall
of a building is located relative to the sidewalk and shall be considered
that portion of the building up to 60 feet.
[2]
The street wall of any building shall adjoin
the sidewalk, and shall be similar in character to the adjoining buildings
on the block in order to promote a continuation of the character and
pedestrian accessway system of the streetscape. Characters to be considered
in making such assessment shall include, but not be limited to, style,
location, materials, scale, and window/door placement.
[3]
Variations to the vertical expression of a building
at the street wall shall be made at intervals of at least 26 feet
to 32 feet in width so that the typical shop front width is repeated
in any building. If any offsets are used, such as recesses or projections,
such offsets shall be at least one foot, but shall not exceed four
feet.
(e)
Setbacks.
[1]
An additional setback of 15 feet shall be made
whenever the building height increases above 75 feet to 90 feet.
[2]
A building setback of 15 feet from the street
wall shall be made whenever a building increases in height from 75
feet up to 90 feet. Such setback shall occur between 60 feet and 75
feet.
[3]
Additional setbacks to prevent adverse shadowing
may be required as necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare
of the Borough and its citizens.
(f)
Light, air and visual relief.
[1]
In order to provide light, air and visual relief
in terms of vertical exposure, a minimum of 60 feet in horizontal
setback or separations shall be maintained between buildings which
exceed 75 feet in height, unless the buildings are located on the
same lot, in which case the total aggregate building width shall not
exceed 250 feet.
[2]
Recesses in building mass shall be created whenever
an individual building exceeds 200 feet in total aggregate building
width. Recesses space shall be at least 15 feet deep and built and
maintained as rooftop garden space or ground level pedestrian plaza
space.
(g)
Pedestrian amenities.
[1]
No existing sidewalk along a named street or
alley shall be discontinued, blocked, or narrowed.
[2]
Pedestrian plazas, courtyards, entrance courts,
outdoor cafe space, and the like are encouraged in order to promote
a human scale to proposed development or redevelopment.
[3]
All required street trees along the building
frontages shall be increased in size at least one-inch caliper above
existing ordinance requirements.
(h)
Architectural design.
[1]
The new building should be as consistent in
bulk, mass, proportion, scale, orientation to the street, and orientation
to the sidewalk as are other buildings in the block.
[2]
No new building shall have a flat roof, unless
there is a parapet wall of at least four feet in height to conceal
the flat roof.
[3]
New buildings shall be made of brick, stone,
or stucco.
[4]
The base of all buildings shall be the same
material as the body of the building, unless a darker color base material
is used. No white base materials shall be permitted.
[5]
The cap of all buildings shall be the same material
as the body of the building, unless a darker color material is used.
No white color cap material shall be permitted.
[6]
Whenever piers or pilasters are utilized they
shall extend to the sidewalk.
[7]
Green roofs shall be installed and maintained
for every building in excess of 75 feet in height.
(i)
Other context-sensitive design parameters.
[1]
Rooftop mechanical equipment and structures
shall be screened by a parapet wall or other similar feature to conceal
views of same.
[2]
Building features such as cupolas, domes, and
the like are encouraged to enhance skyline aesthetics.
(3) All applications for conditional use approval shall
also be in accordance with the following:
(a)
All applications for conditional use shall be
accompanied by a shadow analysis, whereby the applicant demonstrates,
through the submission of plans, the effect of shadows from a forty-five-foot
building and from the height of the building which is proposed on
the streets, sidewalks and buildings surrounding the proposed construction
or development for at least three times of the day (8:00 a.m., 12:00
noon and 4:00 p.m.) and on at least two days of the year, June 22
and December 22.
(b)
All applications for conditional use shall be
accompanied by plans, diagrams and other data sufficient to demonstrate
compliance with the conditional use standards set forth above.