City of Batavia, NY Commercial Districts

Any use permitted in the C-1 Limited Commercial Districts, regardless of the size of the new building or expansion, must be reviewed pursuant to § 190-44, Site plan review, prior to receiving a building permit.

Any principal use permitted in R-3 Residential Districts.

Banks or monetary institutions.

Business or professional offices.

Mortuary.

Bed-and-breakfast.

Restaurants.

Retail shops, excepting automobile service stations; automobile dealers, automobile rental stores and drive-in or drive-through facilities.

[Amended 10-22-2001]

Permitted accessory uses.

Such accessory uses as are customarily incidental to the above uses, subject to the provisions of § 190-35.

Off-street parking, subject to provisions of § 190-39.

Signs subject to the provisions of § 190-43.

Uses permitted with special use permits. Any use permitted with special use permits in the R-3 Residential Districts, except professional offices, which are permitted uses in the C-1 Limited Commercial Districts.

§ 190-13 C-2 General Commercial Districts.

In C-2 General Commercial Districts, no building or structure shall be erected, altered, or extended and no land, building, or structure, or part thereof, shall be used for other than one or more of the following uses:

Permitted principal uses.

Any use permitted in C-1 Limited Commercial Districts.

[Amended 8-14-2000]

Retail store.

Restaurant or other place for the serving of food or beverages.

Hotel or motel.

(5)

Theater, bowling alley, skating rink, or other place of amusement or assembly.

(6)

Offices of veterinarians and small animal hospitals.

(7)

Barbershops, beauty shops and florists.

(8)

Shopping center.

Permitted accessory uses.

Such accessory uses as are customarily incidental to any of the above uses, subject to the provisions of § 190-35.

Off-street parking subject to the provisions of § 190-39.

Signs subject to the provisions of § 190-43.

Uses permitted with special use permits.

Municipal or public utility structures or facilities when necessary for the service of a neighborhood and of a kind and character in keeping with the residential character of the neighborhood.

High-rise apartments.

Large-scale multifamily apartments.

Cleaning establishments.

(5)

Automobile service stations and/or garages for the storage, adjustment or repair of motor vehicles, drive-in restaurants, and other similar uses.

(6)

Food and beverage processing, warehousing and distribution business.

[Added 7-11-1988]

§ 190-14 C-3 Central Commercial Districts.

In C-3 Central Commercial Districts, no building or structure shall be erected, altered or extended and no land, building or structure, or part thereof, shall be used for other than one or more of the following uses:

Permitted principal uses.

Retail store, including storage, wholesale, and service operations customarily incidental thereto.

Banks or monetary institutions.

Business or professional offices.

Restaurant or other place for the serving of food or beverages.

(5)

Hotel, motel.

(6)

Theater, bowling alley, skating rink, club rooms, or other places of amusement or assembly.

(7)

Commercial printer or publisher.

(8)

Places of business of the following and businesses of a similar nature, provided that any manufacture or processing of goods on the premises is clearly incidental to a retail business conducted on the premises:

	Appliance service and repairman	Florist
	Baker	Furrier
	Barber	Hairdresser
	Caterer	Milliner
	Cleaner	Optician
	Confectioner	Photographer
	Decorator	Shoemaker; Shoeshiner
	Dressmaker	Tailor
	Dyer	Upholsterer

(9)

Parking lots and/or parking garages.

(10)

Municipal or public utility structures or facilities.

(11)

Shopping centers.

Permitted accessory uses.

Such accessory uses as are customarily incidental to any of the above uses, subject to the provisions of Subsection C of § 190-35.

Off-street parking subject to the provisions of § 190-39.

Signs subject to the provisions of § 190-43.

Uses permitted with special use permits.

Drive-in facilities for banks or dry cleaners.

Restricted residential uses.

[Added 7-8-1996]

Downtown design guidelines.

[Added 8-14-2000]

Intent and purpose. The City Council of the City of Batavia hereby finds that poor quality of design in the exterior appearance of buildings in Downtown Batavia adversely affects the desirability of the area for business uses and by doing so impairs the benefits of occupancy of existing property in such areas, impairs the value of property in such area, prevents the most appropriate development of such areas, deteriorates conditions affecting the health, safety, comfort and general welfare of the businesses thereof and destroys a proper relationship between the taxable value of real property in such areas and the cost of municipal services provided therefor.

Application procedures. The Planning and Development Committee shall review all applications for the following actions that lie within the Downtown Batavia Business Improvement District as described in Chapter 58 of the Code of the City of Batavia:

[Amended 1-23-2017 by L.L. No. 1-2017]

(a)

Any action, except those solely related to sign permits, involving exterior changes which requires the issuance of a building permit or demolition permit.

(b)

Any application for a sign or sign structure. Applications are not necessary for the following actions:

Any actions that require review by the Historic Preservation Commission.

Any action reviewed and approved for a Facade Grant award from the Downtown Batavia Business Improvement District (BID). A letter confirming approval of the award shall be forwarded to the Code Enforcement Officer by the BID Manager or President.

Any ordinary maintenance or repair that does involve a change in design, material or outer appearance thereof. The Committee must act on all applications within 60 days of their receipt.

(c)

Hardship criteria and procedures. An applicant whose application to the Committee has been denied may apply to the Zoning Board of Appeals for relief on the grounds that the Committee standards are working a hardship upon him. To prove the existence of a hardship, the applicant shall establish that:

The property is incapable of earning a reasonable return, regardless of whether that return represents the most profitable return possible, if the application is denied. Dollars-and-cents proof shall be presented to the Zoning Board of Appeals by the applicant which demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Zoning Board of Appeals that the applicant's claim of hardship is well founded.

The property cannot be adapted for any other use permitted by this chapter in the zoning district in which the property is located, whether by the current owner or by a purchaser, which would result in a reasonable return.

In an application for demolition, reasonable good faith efforts to find a purchaser interested in acquiring the property and preserving it were made and have failed. The Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing on the hardship application within 90 days of filing the hardship application. Decisions on hardship applications shall be made not later than 60 days from the date of the final hearing.

(d)

Standards to guide Committee. To approve or disapprove an application, the Committee shall consider whether the proposed alteration or construction is compatible with the structure on the property and/or the surrounding properties in the Downtown Batavia Business Improvement District with regard to:

Neighborhood context. New construction shall be sympathetic to older buildings that surround it.

New construction should remain the common setback distance of its neighbors. In the case of a discrepancy of setbacks, the new building should align with at least one of the neighboring buildings.

Buildings situated at corners should "wrap" the corner by continuing certain facade elements (such as the cornice or horizontal accent bands) on all street elevations.

Main building entrances should face the street whenever possible, should be easily identifiable and scaled to the size of the street which they are on.

[d]

In the case of large structures, the overall building mass should be made up of smaller components. Large, uninterrupted building masses should be avoided.

[e]

Additional parking which is required to accommodate a new building should be located in back or in a central courtyard and should be out of sight from the street.

[f]

Parking lots, service areas and courtyards located within sight of the street should be screened with trees and a low wall or fence to help maintain the street edge. Such parking lots should incorporate a minimum of 10% green space in the parking area.

[g]

In the case of larger developments which may occupy an entire block, pedestrian paths which allow the public to circulate through a site are encouraged.

Building height and roof design.

The height of a building should take into account the heights of buildings in the immediate area. The height of proposed structures should be at least as tall as the lowest of the two neighboring buildings, but no less than two stories, especially at corners and intersections.

New facades should attempt to coordinate the relative heights of elements with adjacent buildings.

Longer buildings should provide fluctuations in the roofline which break up the long run of facade and which attract attention to key places such as entryways.

[d]

Air-handling equipment, antennas, satellite dishes and other mechanical equipment should be placed in such a manner as not to be visible from the street.

Building scale.

The overall facade composition should break the building down into smaller distinct portions to provide a relatively small human scale that is in keeping with the buildings around it.

The size and scale of materials should complement the size and scale of a building. Small scale materials such as brick and wood are encouraged around pedestrian areas.

[4]

Building proportions. The relative shape of a building and its parts with regards to width and height.

New construction should be sympathetic to the proportions of the surrounding buildings.

Facade elements such as windows and bays should be of a consistent proportion to each other. Elements which share a common area (e.g., all of the windows at the base level) should be of a consistent proportion and size as well.

Buildings which are "squat" in proportion or which have very strong horizontal elements that dominate the facade are discouraged.

[5]

Facade composition and rhythm. The arrangement of facade elements in a recognizable and consistent composition.

The rhythm of a facade should complement the rhythm of adjacent structures.

The use of smaller patterns at the higher floor levels is encouraged to help reinforce a base, middle and top facade composition. (e.g. a wide bay at the base level would be divided in two at the middle levels, and divided again by two at the top level.)

[6]

Facade fenestration. Depth and openings on a facade.

The lower floor levels of a facade should provide the highest amount of facade opening and articulation. The ground floor should be very open and inviting to the pedestrian, and employ the strongest use of depth in the facade.

The use of depth is encouraged to highlight facade openings such as windows and create a 3-D relief which produces shadows. Windows should not be mounted flush to the exterior of the facade.

Window types above the base level should be double hung. Awning or transom windows are encouraged on street elevations. Picture and sliding windows are not recommended.

[d]

Pairs of window shutters may be used, but should be used consistently and should appear to actually cover the entire window opening when closed.

[e]

Storefront construction should be recessed enough at the point of entry to allow the door to swing out without obstructing the sidewalk.

[7]

Building materials.

Building materials and colors should be complementary to adjacent buildings and colors selected should be historically correct. The number of selected colors should be kept to a minimum. A color chart of historic period colors found in the local architecture is available from the Department of Community Development.

A single material should be used as the dominant theme in the facade, with secondary materials used only to highlight and accent the design.

[8]

Signs and awnings. Signs in the Downtown Batavia Business Improvement District shall comply with § 190-43 and the following:

[Amended 1-23-2017 by L.L. No. 1-2017]

Long, continuous lengths of awnings are not recommended. Instead, a series of similar sized smaller ones is preferred.

(e)

Submission requirements. All applicants shall submit the following information to the Building Inspector or Code Enforcement Officer:

[Added 11-14-2005 by Ord. No. 7-2005]

Photographs of the site and building which clearly show exterior details.

Photographs of adjacent buildings or properties.

Drawings of the proposed exterior changes which clearly illustrate exterior materials, material dimensions, colors, height, lighting and includes and accurate scale.

[4]

Material details, specification sheets, and product literature/samples.

[5]

For new buildings and building additions, applicants shall also follow site plan review submission guidelines.

[6]

Additional information as needed.

Expiration. Decisions on all applications granted after the effective date of this amendment[1] shall expire if the applicant fails to obtain the necessary building permit to construct any project and begin actual construction within one year.