The purpose of this district is to provide convenient
retail, business, and commercial facilities of sufficient variety
to supply daily requirements of adjacent residential areas. The regulations
are designed to limit the size of business and commercial facilities
to a scale that is in keeping with the character of nearby residential
districts. In a C Commercial District, no building or premises shall
be used and no building shall hereafter be erected, altered or added
to unless otherwise provided in this chapter, except for one or more
of the following uses:
A.
Principal permitted uses. (*) indicates a use that is also subject to Planning Board site plan approval pursuant to § 77-60 of this chapter.
(1)
(*) Animal hospitals, kennels and veterinarians' offices;
no crematoria.
(2)
(*) Bakery, retail, no drive-in or drive-through.
(3)
(*) Business and professional offices, financial services,
and banks, including drive-in banks.
(4)
(*) Business, vocational and training schools.
(5)
(*) Convalescent or nursing homes.
(6)
(*) Convenience store, no gasoline sales, no drive-in
or drive-through.
(7)
(*) Delicatessen, no drive-in or drive-through.
(8)
(*) Funeral homes.
(9)
(*) Health and fitness clubs.
(10)
(*) Hotels and motels.
(11)
(*) Indoor theaters.
(12)
(*) Laundromat.
(13)
(*) Membership clubs and lodges.
(14)
(*) Museums, art galleries, libraries, and community
centers.
(15)
(*) Nursery for the retail sale and accessory storage
and display of garden materials, plants and supplies, including nursery
operations, provided that the outdoor storage or display of plant
materials does not obstruct the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic
and does not occur in any required yard or parking area.
(16)
(*) Places of religious worship, including rectories,
parsonages, parish houses and the like.
(17)
(*) Public parks, playgrounds and similar recreational
uses.
(18)
(*) Public utility structures and rights-of-way, but
excluding communication facilities.
(19)
(*) Restaurants, no drive-in or drive-through
(20)
(*) Retail business, service business, no drive-in
or drive-through.
(21)
(*) Shopping centers designed and managed as a unit.
(22)
(*) Supermarket, grocery.
(23)
(*) Telephone exchanges, excluding communication
facilities.
B.
Permitted accessory uses. (*) indicates a use that is also subject to Planning Board site plan approval pursuant to § 77-60 of this chapter.
(1)
(*) Off-street parking and loading in accordance with the provisions of Article XI of this chapter.
(4)
Satellite antennas which receive and/or transmit,
are less than two meters in maximum diameter, and which do not produce
or contribute to the production of emission levels exceeding the emission
standards adopted, from time to time, by the FCC, based on the maximum
equipment output.
(5)
(*) A residential unit located above a nonresidential
use.
(6)
(*) Other customary accessory uses and buildings.
C.
Special uses permitted upon approval of the Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of § 77-59 of this chapter. (*) indicates a use that is also subject to Planning Board site plan approval pursuant to § 77-60 of this chapter.
(1)
(*) Adaptive reuse of existing residential structure
for professional, medical, or general office use.
(2)
(*) Bakery, retail, with drive-in or drive-through.
(3)
(*) Commercial recreation facility.
(4)
(*) Convenience store, no gasoline sales, with drive-in
or drive-through.
(5)
(*) Contractor business office, no contractor yard.
(6)
(*) Car wash.
(7)
(*) Communication facilities subject to the following
requirements:
(a)
The communication facility may be located on
a lot occupied by a principal use provided that the lot area is no
less than the minimum lot area set forth below.
(b)
The maximum height of any communication tower
shall not exceed 150 feet.
(c)
No other principal use shall be permitted on
a lot containing a communication tower.
(d)
For the purposes of calculating maximum lot
coverage, coverage by a communication tower shall include the outer
rectangular area drawn about the perimeter of the tower's base and
any anchoring (such as guy wires).
(e)
For a communication tower with a height of 80
feet or less, no part thereof shall be located within a distance equal
to the height of the communication tower, plus the minimum yard area
requirements set forth below, of any street or lot line.
(f)
For a communication tower with a height in excess
of 80 feet, no part thereof shall be located with a distance equal
to twice the height of the communication tower of any street or lot
line.
(8)
(*) Day-care center.
(9)
(*) Delicatessen, with drive-in or drive-through.
(10)
(*) Motor vehicle repair shop, motor vehicle
service station, with or without convenience store, with or without
car wash and commercial garages, subject to the following requirements:
(a)
No building permit shall be issued for any such
establishment within a distance of 500 feet of any school, public
or private, religious institution, hospital, library, park, nursing
home, extended-care facility or any similar institution or other place
of public assembly designed for occupancy by more than 50 persons,
said distance to be measured in a straight line along or across a
street between the nearest points of each of the lots or premises,
regardless of the district where either premises is located.
(b)
No inoperative or partially dismantled automobile
shall be stored on the premises for more than 90 days. All such vehicles
shall be screened from view.
(c)
Entrance and exit driveways shall have an unrestricted
width of not less than 12 feet nor more than 20 feet, shall be located
not nearer than 10 feet to any lot line and shall be so laid out as
to avoid the necessity of any vehicle backing into any public right-of-way.
(d)
Vehicle lifts or pits, dismantled automobiles,
all parts or supplies, goods, equipment, materials, refuse, garbage
or debris shall be located within a building enclosed on all sides.
(e)
All service or repair of motor vehicles shall
be conducted in a building enclosed on all sides. This requirement
shall not be construed to mean that the doors to any repair shop must
be kept closed at all times.
(f)
Gasoline or flammable oils in bulk shall be
stored fully underground not nearer than three feet to any street
line or 10 feet to any other lot line, and the top of the tank shall
be not less than two feet below the surface of the ground.
(g)
Gasoline pumps or lubricating or other devices
shall be located not nearer than 20 feet from any street or other
lot line.
(h)
Signage shall conform to the provisions of § 77-37. In addition, the following signs shall also be permitted:
[1]
Signs advertising, for each grade, the quality
of gasoline, sales price and taxes with an area not exceeding 12 inches
wide by 12 inches in height posted so as to be clearly visible to
motor vehicle drivers shall be permitted on each pump.
[2]
Each pump shall also be marked with the brand
name and quality of gasoline, with such sign not exceeding 24 inches
square. In the case of self-service gasoline pumps, not more than
one sign with an area of not more than 10 square feet shall be permitted
on each side of each pump island for instructional purposes and identification
of self-service.
(i)
If a car wash is involved, the following restrictions
shall apply:
[1]
Lot size for automobile washing facilities shall
be a minimum of two acres, and such lot shall have street frontage
of at least 200 feet.
[2]
All washing and machine-drying operations shall
be conducted within a structure.
[3]
No washing, vacuuming, steam-cleaning, waxing,
polishing nor machine-drying operation, nor building within which
such operations are conducted, shall be permitted within 100 feet
of a residential building located in a residence district.
[4]
All entrance and exit lanes and parking areas
shall be surfaced with an asphaltic or portland cement pavement so
as to provide a durable and dustless surface and shall be so graded
and drained as to dispose of all drainage water therein in a manner
that does not adversely impact adjacent properties, uses and abutting
roadways.
[5]
Exit drives for new facilities shall be designed
to avoid the accumulation of water on the surface normally traversed
by exiting vehicles. The exit drive shall have a minimum length of
150 feet located past the wash facility structure and incorporate
speed bumps designed to shake the vehicle sufficiently to remove as
much wash water as possible prior to the vehicle's exiting the site.
(11)
(*) Motor vehicle sales, rental and service,
with or without accessory repair facilities, subject to the following
requirements;
(a)
Sale of used vehicles or boats shall be conducted
only as accessory to the sale of new vehicles or boats.
(b)
Entrance and exit driveways shall have an unrestricted
width of not less than 12 feet and shall be so laid out as to avoid
the necessity of any vehicle backing out into any public right-of-way.
(c)
Vehicle lifts or pits, dismantled vehicles and
all parts and supplies shall be located within a building enclosed
on all sides.
(d)
All services or repair of motor vehicles shall
be conducted in a building enclosed on all sides. This requirement
shall not be construed to mean that the doors to any repair shop must
be kept closed at all times.
(e)
Gasoline or flammable oils in bulk shall be
stored fully underground, not nearer than three feet to any street
line or 10 feet to any other lot line.
(f)
No commercial sale of gasoline shall be permitted,
nor shall any pump be located in a front or side yard.
(g)
No inoperative or partially dismantled automobile
shall be stored on the premises for more than 90 days. All such vehicles
shall be screened from view.
(12)
(*) Commercial recreation facilities including
uses accessory and incidental to commercial recreation, such as locker
rooms, eating and drinking facilities and retail sale of goods associated
with the primary activity, on lots with an area of not less than three
acres.
(13)
(*) Wholesale, warehousing and indoor storage
establishments but excluding trucking terminals and the storage of
coal, coke and fuel oil.
(14)
(*) Residential uses above retail stores, personal
service establishments, and restaurants.
(15)
(*) Retail business, service business, with
drive-in or drive-through.
(16)
(*) Restaurants, with drive-in or drive-through.
(17)
(*) Taverns, bars, no drive-in or drive-through.
A.
Minimum lot area. The minimum lot area shall not be
less than 15,000 square feet, unless otherwise specified.
B.
Minimum lot width. The minimum lot width shall not
be less than 100 feet.
C.
The minimum highway frontage shall not be less than
100 feet as measured along a single unbroken linear length at the
street line.
D.
Maximum lot coverage. The maximum area covered by
all principal and accessory buildings shall not exceed 50% of the
total lot area, unless otherwise specified.
E.
The maximum impervious surface coverage shall not
exceed 75% of the total lot area.
G.
Minimum distance for accessory building or uses, including
off-street parking and loading, to any property line shall not be
less than 30 feet.
H.
Maximum height shall be 2 1/2 stories or 30 feet.
A.
Design standards. The following standards shall be
applied during the site plan and subdivision review of any development
project in the Commercial District. The Planning Board may use its
discretion to waive or modify these standards.
(1)
Screening and landscaping. A hedge, fence or wall
of a design and material subject to approval by the Planning Board,
with a height of not less than six and, except in the case of planting
screens of not more than eight feet, adequate to screen, to the extent
practicable, at all seasons of the year the operations conducted on
the lot from any abutting residence district. In addition:
(a)
The side yard and rear yard setbacks shall be
landscaped to a depth of not less than 15 feet along their length
except openings required for driveways, utilities and pedestrians
as determined by the Planning Board.
(b)
The front yard setback shall be landscaped to
a depth of not less than 10 feet along its length except openings
required for driveways, utilities and pedestrians as determined by
the Planning Board.
(c)
Buildings, parking areas, and loading areas
associated with nonresidential uses, shall be required to meet the
following additional setbacks:
[1]
If the property proposed for development adjoins
a residential property located in a residential district all site
improvements, with the exception of a driveway, shall be set back
an additional 15 feet from the minimum yard setback.
[2]
The additional setback is intended to provide
a visual and noise buffer between residential and nonresidential uses.
The additional setback, as well as the minimum yard setback area,
shall be planted with a mixture of evergreen and deciduous plantings,
or fencing, at a height so as to provide, as much as practicable,
a visual screen of the nonresidential improvements from residential
uses. The species type, location and planted height of such landscaping
shall be subject to the approval of the Planning Board.
(2)
There shall be no parking or loading areas placed
or located within any front, side, or rear setback.
(3)
Utilities shall be placed underground.
(4)
All exterior trash storage containers shall be screened
so that they are not visible from off the property. Each trash enclosure
shall be constructed of masonry walls and with a steel gate painted
to be compatible with the color of the masonry walls and building
it is to serve.
(5)
Sidewalks shall be provided along any existing or
proposed public street. The sidewalks shall be separated from the
street by a tree lawn at least four feet wide. New streets shall,
unless waived by the Planning Board, incorporate sidewalks into the
design, and shall, where practicable, link with existing and future
potential sidewalks and pedestrian pathways.
(6)
New or in-fill construction should be designed so
as to be compatible with the general character of buildings on the
street frontage. The setback, height, bulk, gable and pitch of roofs,
use of porches, shutters and other exterior design elements should
result in an overall design that complements the existing character
of the streetscape.
(7)
Existing tree rows and hedgerows, stonewalls, and
similar features shall, to the extent practicable, be retained in
the development of any new use or the expansion of any existing use.
(8)
Additions to existing buildings shall use materials
and details complimentary to those incorporated in the parent structure.
(9)
The construction of any blank, windowless facade facing
a street shall be avoided.
(10)
The utilization of ribbon or continuous strip
glazing in any building facade shall be avoided.
(11)
Pitched roofs shall be used on buildings in
lieu of flat roofs to the extent feasible. If pitched roofs are not
feasible or practical in a given situation, then, at a minimum, a
pitched roof architectural feature shall be required as a detail element,
i.e., entryway or tower element to break the horizontal facade. Buildings
located adjacent to residential districts shall incorporate the use
of pitched roofs for the entire structure.
(12)
All roof-mounted equipment shall be screened
entirely from view utilizing screens of a height equal to the height
of the equipment.
(13)
Any large building facade and the sides visible
from a street shall incorporate changes in plane and architectural
features that give the appearance of several common-wall buildings.
(14)
Major modifications to the existing landscape
such as extensive grading, clear-cutting of trees, or other similar
activities shall be avoided to the extent possible.
(15)
All streets shall be designed to permit the
installation of electric, water, sewer, gas and other utilities underground,
either initially or at the time major improvements or upgrades are
made to the street or the particular service.
(16)
The use of a "boulevard" entrance for new streets
and driveways is encouraged. Such boulevard entrance shall be improved
with landscaping, fencing, stone walls or other suitable aesthetic
improvements as approved by the Planning Board. Lots in excess of
two acres should provide a secondary access for emergency purposes.
(17)
Parking and loading areas shall be located at
the rear of the principal building. The Planning Board may permit
parking spaces to be located to the side of the principal building
where the Board has determined that site conditions do not permit
parking to be located at the rear of the building.
(18)
The primary entrances to any building should
be oriented to the lot frontage. Secondary entrances should be oriented
to parking, plazas or parks.
(19)
New buildings in proximity to historic structures
and historic districts listed on the National or State Register of
Historic Places shall be designed in a manner consistent with the
general architectural features of such historic features in terms
of form, materials, fenestration, and roof shape.
(20)
The total number of required parking spaces
shall be broken up into smaller "blocks" of parking, with no more
than 10 parking spaces per parking block. Parking blocks shall be
separated from each other by a landscaped island no less than five
feet wide.
(21)
Service alleys for deliveries and utility access
shall be established along rear property lines wherever practical.
(22)
Where permitted, drive-through facilities shall
be located at the rear of principal structures and landscaping shall
be used to reduce the visibility of such facilities.
(23)
Pedestrian safety and internal vehicular circulation
must be considered in the design of any drive-through facilities.
(24)
Cross-easements between lots shall be used to
provide shared access to parking whenever possible.
(25)
Off-street parking lots and loading areas, accessory
use structures or storage other than sheds shall be screened from
public walkways and streets utilizing landscaping and/or fencing as
determined by the Planning Board.
