The Rural Mixed Use District is designed to
focus a mixture of higher intensity residential and nonresidential
development in close proximity to arterial roads, building on historical
development patterns. The following specific design purposes are established:
A. To facilitate development which results in a massing
and grouping of structures that creates a cohesive sense of place,
not visually dominated by large expanses of parking. It is intended
that such development complement the character of the surrounding
area and, to the greatest extent practicable, maintain open lines
of sight at points of scenic view.
B. To encourage development which provides for complementary
mixed uses, including residential uses as well as small-scale commercial,
service and employment-oriented development, while maintaining the
rural and small-town residential character of the community through
limitations on density, lighting, noise, outdoor activities and hours
of operation to mitigate adverse impacts on existing and proposed
residential and agricultural uses.
[Amended 10-5-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-04]
C. To discourage conventional single-story "strip" development.
D. To promote coordination of pedestrian and vehicular
access and parking, to minimize traffic congestion and turning movement
conflicts on arterial roads, and to moderate the impacts of impervious
surfaces introduced within development areas.
E. To protect
such uses from intrusive, incompatible, or objectionable influences
such as noise, glare, odor, and the hazards of fire.
[Added 10-5-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-04]
The following design standards under Article
XV shall apply to all uses under the Rural Mixed Use District:
A. Required off-street parking requirements, §
200-101.
B. The parking lot standards of §
200-102 shall apply. Parking shall not be located within the required minimum front yard setback. To the degree practicable, all parking shall be located to the side or rear of buildings fronting toward the street.
D. The access and traffic control standards of §
200-104 shall apply. In addition, vehicular access within the Rural Mixed Use District shall be designed to limit the number of new access points to public roads and to limit potential for turning movement conflict. Direct access to arterial and collector streets and highways shall be limited to no more than one point of ingress or egress, or a single point of ingress and egress for any lot, tract, or parcel with frontage on such road. For the purposes of this section, a planned mixed use development shall be considered as a single parcel. Any parcel with frontage on more than one arterial or collector street or highway may provide for access to each of such streets or highways. Where practicable, access to adjoining parcels with frontage along arterial and collector streets and highways shall be combined so as to limit potential turning movement and pedestrian movement conflicts.
E. Interior circulation standards, §
200-105.
G. Landscaping standards, §
167-66.1 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
[Amended 1-21-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-01]
H. Screening and buffering standards, §
200-108.
In addition to the design standards of §
200-39, as applicable, the following provisions shall apply to planned mixed use development, where approved by the Board of Supervisors as a conditional use:
A. As part of conditional use application, the applicant
shall prepare a plan indicating how the lot or tract will be developed
and used. The plan shall also identify specific ownership and maintenance
responsibilities of the lot or tract, including buildings, structures,
access and parking areas, landscaped open space, and other improvements.
B. The combined uses, buildings, structures and other improvements shall collectively comply with the bulk regulations under §
200-38B above.
C. Signs. No more than one freestanding sign shall be permitted along the frontage of each public street or highway abutting the lot or tract developed for planned mixed use development and no more than two freestanding signs shall be permitted on the entirety of such lot or tract. Such sign(s) shall serve as a directory to uses on the lot or tract. All individual signs shall be mounted to the building or structure housing the use. Signs shall be designed in accordance with Article
XVII and shall be designed to complement overall appearance within the Rural Mixed Use District.
D. Pedestrian and vehicular access.
(1) Pedestrian access within the planned mixed use development
shall be designed to provide convenient, safe, and direct access between
the various uses within the district and nearby concentrations of
development which it is intended to serve.
(2) Parking needs shall be independently calculated for each use in accordance with Article
XV. Parking facilities may be designed as a common parking lot, provided that the required number of parking spaces are provided for each use. As a condition of approval the Board of Supervisors may reduce collective parking requirements, provided that applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Board that intended uses and parking lot design promote shared parking usage.
(3) Parking areas shall be designed so as to appear broken in mass, in proportion to the scale of structural development, and shall be landscaped in accordance with the provisions of §
167-66.1 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
[Amended 1-21-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-01]
E. Site design.
(1) Development of a planned mixed use development shall
result in a massing and grouping of structures that complements the
character of the surrounding area, and which enhances management of
vehicular access to arterial and collector streets and highways. Landscaping,
pedestrian walks or paths, parking, signage and other improvements
shall demonstrate a cohesive design pattern for the entire tract under
application. Applicants are strongly encouraged to mix uses with complementary
parking requirements (i.e., where differential timing of peak parking
demand permits the same parking area to support more than one use).
Uses which may involve second and third story space are encouraged
in order to replicate traditional rural structural development patterns.
As a condition of approval, the Board of Supervisors may permit roof
structures above the cornice line which exceed the thirty-five-foot
height limit, where the Board agrees that such structures enhance
the appearance of the overall design.
(2) Within a planned mixed use development, not more than
15% of the gross lot or tract area shall be occupied by structures
less than 1 1/2 stories in height. For this purpose, 1/2 story
shall mean a roof-story with sufficient height and space within the
form of a pitched roof to permit the development of habitable or leasable
space, whether or not any actually is proposed for development.
F. Mixed use requirements. Consistent with the purposes
of this RM District and in consideration of historical and characteristic
rural development patterns, any planned mixed use development on a
tract or tracts exceeding five acres in gross area shall include a
variety of permitted land uses. In providing for a mix of land uses
and residential dwelling types, the standards set forth hereunder
shall apply unless modified at the sole discretion of the Board of
Supervisors as a condition of conditional use approval. The purpose
of these numerical standards is to ensure that adequate lands may
be set aside for a diversity of uses, including potential public and/or
quasi-public uses, such as a church, community organization, post
office, or fire hall, for example. The numerical standards essentially
establish a range of between 35% and 65% of the net tract area that
may be used for either residential or nonresidential development.
There also is a limit on the amount of area that may be dedicated
to larger-scale multifamily residential buildings (mainly apartment
buildings), as an objective of this article is to promote a "village-like"
scale of development. With the village theme, apartments over top
of nonresidential uses are NOT subject to any further limitation beyond
normal area, bulk and height limitations. This section does not require
any applicant to develop any particular range of uses. Where, for
example, only residential development is proposed, it may be permitted
subject to limitation to use of 65% of the tract. The remainder may
be left open or may be sold or dedicated to another party to develop
for nonresidential purposes.
[Added 7-17-2003 by Ord. No. 03-10]
(1) No more than 65% of the net tract area of the tract
or tracts undergoing development of a planned mixed use development
shall be used to meet applicable area and bulk or coverage requirements
for permitted residential development or to provide for purposes ancillary
to such residential development, including but not limited to parking,
stormwater management and sewage disposal, and no land area used to
satisfy such requirements nor applicable open space requirements shall
also be used to satisfy similar requirements for any nonresidential
use. Apartment dwellings in second- and/or third-story space above
permitted nonresidential uses shall be exempt from this limitation.
(2) No more than 35% of the total number of residential
dwelling units in a planned mixed use development shall be multifamily
dwellings in structures containing more than six such dwellings. Apartment
dwellings in second- and/or third-story space above permitted nonresidential
uses shall be exempt from this limitation.
(3) No more than 65% of the net tract area of the tract
or tracts undergoing development of a planned mixed use development
shall be used to meet applicable area and bulk or coverage requirements
for permitted nonresidential development, or to provide for purposes
ancillary to such nonresidential development, including but not limited
to parking, stormwater management and sewage disposal, and no land
area used to satisfy such requirements shall also be used to satisfy
similar requirements for any residential use. Apartment dwellings
in second- and/or third-story space above permitted nonresidential
uses shall be exempt from this limitation.
(4) Area(s) developed for permitted nonresidential uses
shall include land set aside at appropriate locations to be made available
for public or quasi-public uses such as a day-care center, church,
library, museum, educational or cultural use. No less than 15% of
that portion of the tract area developed and/or allocated for permitted
nonresidential uses shall be devoted to or set aside for such public
or quasi-public use(s). Compliance with area and bulk requirements
shall be calculated to include such areas, whether or not such public
or quasi-public use(s) are part of initial land development plans.
Building space or sites thus made available need not be dedicated
but may be marketed for such purposes as would any other real estate.