The designation "Downtown District" shall apply to an area which
has been designated on the City's Zoning Map as a Downtown District.[1] Except as provided hereinbelow, the permitted uses, yard
and height requirements, and bulk standards within the Downtown District
(DD) are all of those permitted within Business A Districts. In addition
to design standards which apply to this district, street-level use
in the Downtown District is restricted to retail sales, restaurants
and personal customer services. Residential uses may be located above
such street-level uses in the Downtown District.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Zoning Map is on file in the City Clerk's
office.
Accessory uses customarily incidental to permitted principal
uses.
[The lot size, area, yard and building requirements for the
Downtown District are included at the end of this chapter.]
A.
Purpose. It is the intention of this section to encourage property
owners to maintain their properties in such a manner as to create
within the Downtown District a coordinated and aesthetically attractive
composition of building facades.
B.
Building line. The existing building line, at the street line, should
be maintained, unless a proposed setback is part of a larger development
plan or is part of a functional open space plan acceptable to the
Planning Board at site plan review.
C.
Storefront treatment. If several storefronts are located in one building,
they should be unified in design treatment; i.e., design of windows
and door openings, signage, use of materials and color. All storefronts
shall include display windows with a sill height not more than two
feet from grade.
D.
Facade renovations.
(1)
Facade renovations should not destroy or cover original details
on a building. Brick and stone facades should not be covered in artificial
siding or panels.
(2)
Natural, unpainted brick should be retained. Already painted
brick, if weathered and losing its paint finish, can be stripped using
chemical solutions.
(3)
Roof cornices should be retained, repaired or replaced. When
replacing windows on a facade, windows and window trim of the same
size and character as the original should be used.
(4)
Building materials should be compatible with the predominant
materials of adjacent buildings. Facade renovations should include
as few new or different materials as possible.
(5)
Roof shape should remain original, and construction materials
should be architecturally compatible with the rest of the building
and should reflect the area pattern.
E.
Paint and metal finish.
(1)
No bare metal is permitted. Metal may be bronzed, iodized or
painted with the recommended color to be approved by the Trenton Downtown
Association (TDA), the downtown district management corporation of
the City.
(2)
Only approved colors for exterior paints may be used. Accent
or complementary colors harmonizing with the main color may be used
for trim or awnings.
F.
Awnings and canopies.
(1)
Awnings and canopies should be solid or striped canvas in colors
recommended for exterior paints. Solid colored awnings and canopies
may include lettering on the portion parallel to the street.
(2)
No awning or canopy shall extend more than five feet over the
building line.
(3)
No awning or canopy shall be less than eight feet above the
sidewalk.
(4)
No awning or canopy shall be closer than one foot to the bottom
sill of windows above the first floor, nor higher than the bottom
of the cornice trim at the first-floor level.
(5)
All awnings and canopies shall be constructed and installed
so that the frame and fabric are of integral design. No supports shall
extend to the ground in the public right-of-way.
G.
Marquees.
(1)
All marquees shall be installed so that the method of installation
is concealed or made an integral part of the design of the canopy.
No supports for the marquee shall extend to the ground in the public
right-of-way.
(2)
No marquee shall extend more than five feet over the front building
line.
(3)
No part of the marquee shall be less than 10 feet above the
sidewalk, or closer than one foot to the top of the sill of the first
level of windows above the first floor, nor higher than the bottom
of the cornice trim at the first-floor level.
(4)
The marquee shall not extend beyond the width of the property
nor exceed 18 inches in vertical overall construction.
H.
Signage.
(1)
The only signs permitted in the Downtown District will be signs
attached to buildings. Freestanding signs are prohibited.
(2)
A hanging sign projecting more than 12 inches from the wall
surface must be made of wood, have a maximum five-foot projection
from the wall surface and measure a maximum of 12 square feet in total
area. The sign must be well maintained and professionally prepared.
(3)
All other signs may be of wood, metal, plastic or painted lettering
on glass, and must be installed flush to the wall surface. The preferred
signable area is the horizontal length between the first and second
floors of the building.
(4)
Installation of a sign by individual letters or devices cut
into or securely fastened to the exterior wall of a building is permitted,
provided that such letters have a minimum depth or projection of 1/4
inch.
(5)
Sign lighting should be indirect or external to the sign, except
in the case of interior backlit signs. No flashing, blinking or colored
lights are permitted.
(6)
The bottom of a sign attached to the building must be no closer
than one foot to the top of the ground floor window, and its top must
extend no higher than whichever of the following is the lowest:
(7)
No sign or billboard shall be on top of a building.
(8)
No window sign may exceed 30% of the total glass area of the
window or door.
(9)
All signs attached to the building and all signs in a ground
floor window shall not be, individually or in the aggregate, larger
in square footage than the square footage derived by multiplying 2 1/2
times the width of the frontage occupied by the business, with a maximum
of 2 1/2 feet in height.
(10)
All rectangular signs shall be of a proportion with the width
greater than the height.
(11)
No product/brand sign shall be attached to, or project from,
the building unless this trademark represents the principal business
conducted.
I.
Review of general design guidelines.
(1)
Preliminary site plan, variance, conditional use or other applications
for the Downtown District shall be presented to the Trenton Downtown
Association (TDA) for design review and recommendations to either
the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Adjustment, before the public
hearing.
(2)
Those Downtown District applications to the Building Inspector
not requiring either Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment
review shall be presented to TDA for design review. If TDA approves
the application, the Building Inspector shall proceed as usual. In
the case of a denial of an application for approval by TDA and the
applicant's rejection of TDA's recommendations, the applicant shall
be entitled to exercise his/her rights to apply to the Zoning Board
of Adjustment for a variance and to reapply to the Building Inspector
on the basis of a new application.
(3)
An applicant shall be entitled to seek relief from the strict
application of any standard or requirement imposed by this subsection,
provided that:
(a)
An exemption from the strict application of any such standard
is necessary to avoid hardship relating to expense associated with
structural alterations or other building modifications necessary to
achieve compliance with such standards; or
(b)
The exemption relates to a fixture regulated by this subsection,
the design or location of which constitutes an element of an overall
plan or proposal for the design or redesign of the structure or facade
thereof; or
(c)
The relaxation or modification of the standards would not subvert
the intent and purpose of this subsection by substantially detracting
from the aesthetic design and composition among the properties within
the Downtown District which is intended to be coordinated, maintained
and preserved by this subsection.
