The purpose of this district is to permit the
use and erection of general corporate, professional and sales offices
within unified planned developments on large minimum sized tracts.
Within this district, no lot or building shall be used and no building
shall be erected or altered to be used, in whole or in part, unless
it complies with the regulations set forth in this article. The following
principal uses shall be permitted in this district:
A. Offices for professional services such as physicians,
lawyers or architects; small commercial offices such as realtors,
insurance or travel agencies; small governmental offices, including
post office branch or social security; and offices incidental to uses
permitted in this section.
B. Buildings and structures owned and operated by the
Borough of Haddon Heights for municipal purposes.
The following accessory uses shall be permitted
in this district:
C. Parking lots and parking garages, provided that:
(1) There is no automotive service or repair.
(2) The use will not increase traffic congestion in the
streets abutting the property.
D. Public utility installations, subject to the following
special requirements:
(1) There shall be no storage of materials and trucks
and no repair facilities or staging of repair crews except within
completely enclosed buildings.
(2) The exterior of any structure shall be in keeping
with the other structures in the immediate neighborhood.
The following conditional uses shall be permitted
in this district:
A. Banks, savings and loan associations and other fiduciary
institutions. Drive-up facilities may be permitted, provided that
such facilities do not adversely impede or conflict with the safe
traffic flow required by the principal use on or off the site.
Design considerations for permitted and conditional
uses shall be as follows:
A. Parking and service areas.
(1) Parking shall be screened from adjacent residential
properties with grass, shrubs, trees, fences and/or earthen berms
to protect residential properties from parking lot illumination and
headlight glare, automobile fumes and noise.
(2) Curbing or curb stops shall be provided in all off-street
parking areas and along all accessways.
(3) Off-street parking areas and accessways thereto shall
be properly drained, and all such areas shall have a paved hard surface.
(4) All off-street parking areas and accessways shall
be so arranged that cars and trucks may be turned on the lot so that
it is not necessary to back into any roadway. Parking shall only be
located in the rear of the property.
(5) Common or joint driveway access and parking to the
rear of sites is encouraged.
(6) Access driveways onto major thoroughfares shall be
permitted only if alternatives, including side or rear access and
common or shared single access driveways, have been considered by
the Planning Board or Zoning Board.
(7) Where appropriate, impervious parking coverage shall
be limited, to the extent possible, by the use of parking in or under
buildings, the elimination of excess paving, grassed landbank parking
and the use of permeable surfaces for paving.
(8) Parking areas shall be designed to minimize pedestrian
and moving vehicle conflicts. Pedestrian walkways, parking lot islands,
signage and pavement texture differentiation shall be required by
the Planning Board or Zoning Board, where appropriate, to ensure the
safe movement of pedestrians.
(9) No access shall be permitted to the parking area from
within the residential zone.
(10)
Every structure erected, designed or altered
for occupancy by any office use as permitted in this section shall
provide, at the rear entrance and access of its building, access and
space for the loading and unloading of delivery trucks.
B. Building design and use.
(1) The treatment of side and rear walls of any building
in terms of building materials shall be similar to the treatment of
the front facade.
(2) The display of merchandise or nonpermanent uses and/or
activities, e.g., vending machines, placed on the exterior premises
of any building is prohibited.
(3) All buildings shall have a unified architectural treatment,
whether constructed as new or as an additional structure physically
and aesthetically integrated with the existing structure. The Planning
Board or Zoning Board shall consider in its architectural review items
such as materials, colors, building setbacks, facade treatments and
building height and shall encourage the revitalization of existing
structures to ensure compatibility with proposed building additions.
C. Site design and building layout.
(1) The site design layout of buildings and parking areas
shall be reviewed so as to provide an aesthetically pleasing design
and efficient arrangement. Particular attention shall be given to
safety and fire protection, impact on surrounding development and
contiguous and adjacent buildings and lands.
(2) To promote a desirable visual environment and to ensure
a good civic design, the Planning Board or Zoning Board in its review
shall consider, but not be limited in its consideration of, visual
impacts of the proposed development, including views and view interference,
shadow effects, noise impacts and design compatibility with surrounding
land uses.
D. General design requirements.
(1) Any development in this district which will be used
wholly or in part for office purposes shall be designed so as to provide
a comprehensive development plan for the entire zone for which it
is a part, the goals being to control means of access and to coordinate
internal pedestrian and vehicular traffic flow relating to existing
development and architectural compatibility.
(2) Any new facade or change in the facade of an existing
building shall be reviewed by the Planning Board or Zoning Board for
evaluation of architecture, color and design.