Township of Grosse Ile, MI Article 6 C-1 Convenience Commercial District

[Ord. No. 286, effective 4-16-2000]

285-6.1 Intent.

The C-1 Convenience Commercial District is intended to provide for the day-to-day shopping and service needs of residents of the Township. It is intended that only low-intensity uses which produce low volumes of traffic and low noise levels be permitted in this district. It is intended that C-1 uses be developed at a relatively small scale so as to be compatible with adjacent and nearby residential uses. C-1 uses should not involve any manufacturing, processing, or packaging of goods for wholesale distribution or for sale at other retail outlets off the premises.

285-6.2 Permitted uses.

A. Principal uses. In the C-1 Convenience Commercial District no building shall be erected and no building or land shall be used except for the following uses, and subject to the standards and requirements set forth in this chapter and the review procedures in Article 21, Site Plan Review. The following shall apply to each individual use which may be located on a lot with other uses.

(1) Any generally recognized retail business up to 10,000 square feet gross floor area which supplies commodities on the premises to serve the day-to-day shopping needs of residents, including but not limited to businesses that sell groceries, meats, dairy products, drugs, dry goods and notions (a dry-cleaning outlet is also permitted with no cleaning operations on the premises);

(2) Restaurants;

(3) Essential services; and

(4) Other uses similar to the above uses not specifically addressed elsewhere in this chapter, as determined by the Planning Commission following the process outlined in Article 19.

B. Accessory uses.

(1) Accessory buildings are not permitted.

(2) The following accessory uses shall be permitted, subject to the provisions set forth in § 285-19.11:

(a) Off-street parking in accordance with the requirements outlined in Article 12 herein shall be permitted.

(b) Signs in accordance with the provisions set forth in Article 16 herein shall be permitted, except no sign may project above the roofline.

285-6.3 Required conditions.

A. Site plan review. Submission of a site plan for review and approval by the Planning Commission shall be required, in accordance with the provisions set forth in § 285-21.2, prior to issuance of a building permit and development in the C-1 Convenience Commercial District.

B. Development site. For uses located within the C-1 District, the standards that are contained in this chapter shall be applied to the zoning lot, as defined. This may include a combination of lots under unified ownership and control or a site that contains multiple uses or principal structures. The Planning Commission shall have the discretion to determine what constitutes a zoning lot during site plan review.

C. Public access.

(1) All C-1 Convenience Commercial District uses shall have direct access onto a public hard-surfaced street, except that indirect access onto a public street may be permitted where the Planning Commission determines that such an alternative would promote traffic safety and would not cause undue disruption to surrounding single-family neighborhoods.

(2) All streets, roads and access drives shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the standards of the Wayne County Office of Public Services and the Township Engineer.

D. Outside storage. Outside storage of materials, supplies, equipment, or other goods is prohibited in this district.

E. Landscaping and buffering. Submission of a landscape plan to the Planning Commission for review and approval shall be required, based on requirements set forth in Article 13. Landscaping shall include the following requirements:

(1) General site landscaping to meet the requirements of § 285-13.3A.

(2) Greenbelts along all abutting public road rights-of-way or private road easements to meet the requirements of § 285-13.3B.

(3) Buffer zones from all abutting land uses to meet the requirements of § 285-13.3C.

(4) Off-street parking landscaped in accordance with the requirements of § 285-13.3F.

(5) Landscaping shall comply with all specifications and requirements of Article 13.

F. Parking requirements. Convenience Commercial District uses shall provide parking and loading in accordance with the provisions set forth in Article 12.

(1) For those C-1 uses where required off-street parking cannot be met on site, parking requirements can be met through on-street parallel parking or off-street parking on another site where a shared parking easement is permitted or supplied by the Township.

(2) Off-street parking shall be located in the side or rear yard. On lots where parking requirements cannot be met in the side and rear yards, the Planning Commission may permit off-street parking in a portion of the front yard, provided that such parking lot meets the minimum front yard setback requirement.

(3) Where off-street parking is visible from the public right-of-way, screening shall be provided between the parking lot and the public right-of-way. Screening shall consist of a hedgerow or a three-foot-tall earth-tone brick wall. If a hedgerow is provided, it shall be planted with two-foot-tall shrubs, spaced 2 1/2 feet on center.

(4) Off-street parking shall be landscaped in accordance with the requirements of Article 13.

G. Storm sewer. All uses located within the C-1 District shall be connected to a storm sewer. Where a storm sewer is not available, then a stormwater detention pond may be allowed by the Planning Commission, provided that the site is designed to connect to the storm sewer when it is made available to the site and such connection is made when it becomes available.

H. Exterior building treatment. The exterior building materials and treatment shall be of finished quality, consistent with the quality of exterior treatment on surrounding buildings. Examples of finished quality exterior materials include brick, wood siding, and glass. Examples of materials that are not typically considered finished quality in commercial districts include cement block and cinder block.

I. Additional requirements. All permitted and special land uses shall comply with all applicable provisions of this chapter, including those listed below as a reference guide:

(1) Article 12, Parking and Loading Requirements.

(2) Article 15, Grading Regulations.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: See Ch. 124, Grading.

(3) Article 16, Sign Regulations.

(4) Article 18, Nonconforming Lots, Structures and Uses, for redevelopment or expansion of nonconforming conditions.

(5) Article 19, General Provisions, including regulations for covered trash receptacles and site lighting.

285-6.4 Area and bulk regulations.

Any structure or use of the land in a C-1 Convenience Commercial District shall be subject to the following area and bulk regulations:

Minimum lot area (square feet)		25,000
Minimum setbacks (feet)
	Front yard	40
	Side yard	251
	Rear yard	25
	Parking lot	See 2
	Natural feature	253
Maximum lot coverage
	Buildings	30%
	Impervious surfaces	80%
Maximum height
	Feet	20
	Stories	1

Notes pertaining to area and bulk regulations:
1 The minimum side yard on a side facing a street shall not be less than the minimum front yard required in the district in which it is located.
2 See Article 12, Parking and Loading Requirements, for parking lot setback requirements.
3 Natural feature setback shall be maintained in relation to the ordinary high water mark of any pond, river or channel and to the edge of any drainageway or regulated wetland. Only waterfront structures and appurtenances, as permitted in Article 17, Waterfront Provisions, may be located within the natural feature setback. This setback may be reduced by the Planning Commission upon a determination that it is clearly in the public interest. In determining whether the setback reduction is in the public interest, the benefit which would reasonably be expected to accrue from the proposed development shall be balanced against the reasonably foreseeable detriments to the natural feature. The following general criteria shall be applied in undertaking this balancing test:
	a.	The relative extent of the public and private need for the proposed activity.
	b.	The availability of feasible and prudent alternative locations and methods to accomplish the expected benefits from the activity, including alternatives which are off site or on other commercially available properties.
	c.	The extent and permanence of the beneficial or detrimental effects which the proposed activity may have on the public and private use to which the area is suited, including the benefits the wetland provides.
	d.	The probable impact of the proposal in relation to the cumulative effect created by other existing and anticipated activities in the watershed.
	e.	The probable impact on recognized historic, cultural, scenic, ecological, or recreational values and on the public health or fish or wildlife.
	f.	The size and quality of the wetland.
	g.	Proximity to any waterway.
	h.	Extent to which upland soil erosion adjacent to protected wetlands or drainageways is controlled.
	i.	Economic value, both public and private, of the proposed land change to the general area.
	j.	Findings of necessity for the proposed project which have been made by other state or local agencies.