The purpose of this district is to provide for the creation
and continuation of retail, service and office development in appropriate
areas throughout the Township.
[Added 8-18-2016 by Ord.
No. 2016-03; 3-16-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-01; 10-20-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-13]
A building may be erected or used, and a lot may be used or
occupied, for any of the following purposes, and no other:
A.
Uses permitted
by right. The following uses are permitted by right:
(1)
(B2)
School.
(2)
(B3)
Trade or Commercial School.
(3)
(B5)
Private Club.
(4)
(B7)
Day-Care Center.
(5)
(B8)
Hospital.
(6)
(B12)
Public Park/Public Recreational Facility.
(7)
(C1)
Office.
(8)
(C2)
Medical Office.
(9)
(D1)
Retail Shop.
(10)
(D2)
Large Retail Store.
(11)
(D3)
Financial Establishment.
(12)
(D4)
Sit-Down Restaurant.
(13)
(D5)
Fast-Food Restaurant.
(14)
(D6)
Repair Shop.
(15)
(D7)
Funeral Home or Mortuary.
(16)
(D8)
Motel, Hotel and Inn.
(17)
(D13)
Tavern.
(18)
(D14)
Veterinary Office or Clinic.
(19)
(D21)
Marina.
(20)
(D25)
Nursery.
(21)
(D30)
Forestry.
(22)
(F6)
Contracting.
(23)
(G5)
Dormitory.
(24)
(G6)
Nonresidential Accessory Building or Display.
(25)
(G7)
Accessory Outside Storage and Display.
(26)
(G11)
Aerials, Masts, Radio and Television Towers.
(27)
(A9) Group Homes.
B.
Uses permitted by special exception. The following uses may be permitted as authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board in accordance with the standards contained in § 205-187 of this chapter:
(1)
(A7)
Life-Care Facility.
(2)
(B6)
Community Center.
(3)
(D9)
Indoor Entertainment/Athletic Facility.
(4)
(D12)
Outdoor Entertainment.
(5)
(D17)
Automotive Sales-New.
(6)
(D19)
Truck Sales.
(7)
(D27)
Dwelling in Combination.
(8)
(E1)
Utilities.
(9)
(G8)
Temporary Structure or Use.
(10)
(G9)
Temporary Community Event.
C.
Conditional uses. The following uses may be permitted as authorized by Council in accordance with the standards contained in § 205-178 of this chapter:
(1)
(B9)
Nursing Home.
(2)
(D15)
Service Station.
(3)
(D16)
Car Wash.
(4)
(D20)
Parking Lot or Garage.
(5)
(D26)
Commercial Kennel.
(6)
(D29)
Pawnshop/Check-Cashing Establishment.
(7)
(E2)
Emergency Services.
(8)
(E3)
Terminal.
(9)
(D31)
Medical Marijuana Dispensary.
(10)
(D33) Smoke Shops and Tobacco Stores.
Unless a greater area or dimensional requirement is listed in Article II, Use Regulations, for a specific use, all uses in the C District shall meet the following requirements:
A.
Minimum
lot area: 5,000 square feet.
B.
Minimum
lot width: 50 feet.
C.
Maximum
building area: 35%.
D.
Maximum
impervious surface ratio: 70%.
E.
F.
Minimum
distance between buildings: 12 feet.
Within the C District, properties having frontage along the
Neshaminy Creek from its confluence with the Delaware River to Route
13 and having a minimum tract size of 10 acres may be subject to the
following regulations:
C.
Any development
which includes Use A3 Single-Family Attached Dwelling must comply
with other regulations applicable to Single-Family Attached Dwelling
(Use A3) as listed below:
(1)
Every
attached dwelling shall have a record lot on a recorded subdivision
plan.
(2)
Each
parcel or tract used for a group of townhouses must have at least
100 feet of frontage with access on either an arterial, collector,
or primary street, having a minimum cartway width of at least 32 feet.
Interior access drives which are dedicated for public use shall be
improved to minimum standards contained in Section 503 of the Bristol
Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.[1] If not dedicated for public use, conveyance to a community
association shall be required and provision for maintenance charges
shall be made.
(3)
It
is not necessary that each lot have frontage on a public street. Some
lots may have frontage on a public street, while others may have access
by right-of-way owned by a community association, provided that:
(a)
No individual lot shall be more than 200 feet from a point of approved
emergency vehicular access.
Within the C District, properties having frontage along State
Road from the Neshaminy Creek to Emily Avenue and along U.S. Route
13 from the Neshaminy Creek to Dorset Avenue shall be subject to the
following regulations:
A.
Landscaping. Street trees shall be provided every 25 feet along all public street frontages. Where parking areas are located between the street and the proposed principal building, plant materials shall be installed at the edge of the parking area closest to the street which shall be at least three feet in height when planted and which shall meet the landscape requirements of Chapter 177, Subdivision and Land Development. The development shall meet any additional buffer requirements of all applicable Township ordinances.
B.
Parking.
(1)
All parking areas shall be set back a minimum of 10 feet from the ultimate right-of-way line of any public street unless otherwise specified in § 205-130A of this chapter. The area between the cartway and the parking area shall be devoted to required street trees, landscaping, and sidewalks.
(2)
Parking
lots are encouraged to be designed so that a portion of the parking
spaces are located to the side and the rear of the building, as well
as the front of the building.
(3)
The
parking layout shall provide for pedestrian circulation throughout
the parking area. The pedestrian circulation system shall be illustrated
on the site plan.
C.
Lighting.
(1)
All
parking areas, walkways, and passages shall be adequately illuminated
with a lighting system designed to complement the general area and
the site of the proposed development and to prevent any off-site glare
and spillover light onto adjacent properties.
(2)
Lighting
plans must provide detailed isocandle levels with a minimum 1.0 maintained
footcandle level and a maximum 3.0 maintained footcandle level. The
incident spillover light at property boundaries shall not exceed 0.3
footcandles, except that this maximum may be increased to 0.5 footcandles
along adjacent public roadways.
(3)
All
lighting sources are to be high-pressure sodium.
(4)
Freestanding
fixtures shall utilize appropriate sharp cutoff luminaries with shielding
of the light source at angles above 72° from the vertical.
(a)
Various freestanding fixture types may be permitted as approved by
the Township. The design lighting plan shall provide details on all
proposed fixtures and poles and shall be accompanied by appropriate
manufacturer cut sheets at the time of plan submission.
(b)
The maximum height of freestanding fixtures shall vary to provide
scale and dimension to the project. A maximum of 25% of the fixtures
required on the site shall not exceed 25 feet in height. All other
fixtures shall not exceed 15 feet in height. Fixture heights shall
be measured from the bottom of the fixture to ground level.
(5)
Building-mounted
lighting shall be shown on all plans. All building-mounted lighting
shall be designed so that all light from the source is shielded at
angles above 72° from the vertical so as not to create any glare
or visible source of light. Lights are not permitted along the outline
of buildings or along rooflines.
(6)
All
canopy lighting shall be recessed in the canopy with no lens extending
below the canopy surface. Canopy lighting sources shall be shielded
at angles above 90° from the vertical glare and view of the lighting
source.
D.
Signs.
(1)
Developments
shall comply with all applicable sign regulations of this chapter,
except as modified or supplemented by these regulations.
(2)
All
building-mounted signs shall be consistent and compatible with the
style, composition, materials, colors, and details of the building
and the purposes of this district.
(3)
Internally
lit signs shall consist of a dark background and light lettering so
that the characters, letters, and graphics of the sign are illuminated
but the background is not.
(4)
Freestanding
signs shall not exceed a height of eight feet and shall be mounted
to the ground and landscaped to the satisfaction of the Council.
(5)
Flashing,
rotating or revolving signs, pennants, flags, banners, balloons, and
objects such as tires, automobiles, food products, or other items
designed to draw attention to a product or business are prohibited.
E.
Building
design. The following building design guidelines are recommendations
which should be considered for any development proposed in this identified
area. Although only recommendations, every effort should be made to
follow the suggested guidelines so that future development along these
portions of State Road and U.S. Route 13 occur in a uniform fashion:
(1)
All
sides of a building should be architecturally consistent with the
front facade, and all building faces visible from the street or abutting
properties should have the same architectural features and style as
the front facade. Modifications may be made in the design for necessary
loading and other utility areas.
(2)
Recommended
building materials include stone, clapboard (wood, vinyl, or simulated),
brick, stucco, board and batton, cedar shakes or simulated shakes
looking like cedar, slate or slate substitute, and decorative block.
(3)
Pitched
roofs are recommended. Flat roofs are discouraged, except where there
is a partial or pent roof that extends along all sides of the building.
HVAC units should not be visible from the surrounding properties or
any public street on the same elevation.
(4)
Buildings
and roofs should be designed to use primarily earth tones, colors
of natural materials, or colors of traditional building materials
such as brick, stone, or wood. The use of appropriate augmenting trim
colors is encouraged.
(5)
Building
walls of more than 50 feet in length for properties along State Road,
and more than 150 feet in length for properties along U.S. Route 13
should be designed so that there are no long expanses of unbroken
wall. The building wall may include changes in materials, color, or
texture; windows, entranceways; or other variations.
(6)
Structures
should have symmetrical facades with an odd number of equally spaced
openings (doors and windows) per floor.
