Township of Middletown, PA Article XVI CS Shopping Center District

§ 500-1601 Purpose and intent.

The purpose of the Shopping Center District is to provide for the appropriate development of modern, well-designed, integrated retail shopping centers. The principal use of land in this district shall be commercial and service uses to serve surrounding residential areas. In order to preserve residential values and protect the general welfare, design standards which will reduce traffic and parking congestion are incorporated into the district. Among other things, the shopping center shall be comprised of a group or groups of integrated buildings within which retail trade and related service activities shall be conducted with convenient, safe and adequate vehicular and pedestrian accessways and safe and adequate off-street parking and loading facilities.

§ 500-1602 Use regulations.

[Amended 10-2-2001 by Ord. No. 01-13]

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. Retail store, subject to the regulations set forth in Article XXIII, § 500-2316, of this chapter.

[Amended 7-11-2006 by Ord. No. 06-12; 5-20-2008 by Ord. No. 08-05]

B. Bakery, confectionery or custom shop for articles to be sold at retail on the premises.

C. Personal service shop, such as, but not limited to, the following: barbershop, beauty parlor, shoe repair shop, dry-cleaning pickup store, tailor shop, automatic self-service laundry or dry-cleaning store.

D. Restaurant, cafe, or other similar place serving food and beverages, without drive-in service.

E. Indoor amusement or recreational establishment, such as bowling alley, swimming pool, skating rink, dance hall, golf driving range and indoor theater, but not including outdoor motion-picture establishment.

F. Assembly hall or community building.

G. Library or museum.

H. Day-care center.

I. Professional, business or government offices.

J. Bank or similar financial institution.

K. Parking lot, which use shall not include any on-site dispensing of motor vehicle petroleum fuels and/or lubricants.

L. Electric substation, telephone or telegraph office.

M. General service or repair shop, restricted to such uses as watch repair, television repair, and upholstering when incidental to furniture sales.

N. Apartment for one family in combination with a business use when occupied by the owner or caretaker.

O. Accessory use on the same lot with and customarily incidental to any permitted use in this district.

P. Signs when erected and maintained in accordance with the provisions of Article XXVIII.

Q. Forestry/timber harvesting, pursuant to the regulations set forth in § 500-402M of this chapter.

§ 500-1603 Area, dimensional and design standards.

[Amended 5-27-1997 by Ord. No. 97-10]

Unless a greater area or dimensional regulation is stated in § 500-1602, Use regulations, for a specific use, all uses in the CS District shall meet the following requirements:

A. Minimum lot area: two acres.

B. Minimum lot width: 150 feet.

C. Maximum building coverage: 30%.

D. Maximum impervious surface ratio: 60%.

E. Maximum building height: 50 feet.

F. Minimum yards.

(1) Front: 50 feet.

(2) Side: 25 feet.

(3) Rear: 50 feet.

G. Minimum building spacing: 20 feet.

H. Buffer yard. Along any adjacent land in existing residential or agricultural use, a buffer yard shall be provided which shall be not less than 75 feet in width measured from the property line or the street line. The buffer yard shall be in accordance with the provisions of § 500-2605.

I. The proposed development shall be constructed in accordance with an overall plan and shall be designed as a single architectural style with appropriate landscaping. The proposed development shall initially provide for the construction of either a minimum of 7,500 square feet of floor area or a minimum of six of the permitted uses listed in § 500-1602.

J. All buildings shall be arranged in a group or groups.

K. Adequate areas shall be provided for loading and unloading of delivery trucks and other vehicles; servicing of shops by refuse collection, fuel, fire and other service vehicles; automobile accessways and pedestrian walks. All areas provided for use by vehicles shall be constructed in accordance with Township specifications.

L. Parking, loading and service areas used by motor vehicles shall be located entirely within the lot lines of the shopping center, shall be physically separated from public streets, and shall have not more than two accessways to any one public street. The center line of any accessway shall be located at least 200 feet from the point of intersection of any intersecting street lines.

M. Off-street parking shall be provided in accordance with the provisions of Article XXVII.

N. The proposed shopping center shall be served by adequate public water and public sewage disposal facilities.

O. Shopping centers shall take access from an arterial or collector highway.

P. Lighting facilities shall be provided and arranged in a manner which will protect the highway and neighboring properties from direct glare or hazardous interference of any kind.