City of Coatesville, PA Mixed Use Development (MU) Overlay District

A project that is submitted and subsequently approved under the Mixed Use Development Overlay District provisions shall be known as a "mixed-use development." A mixed-use development shall include at least two types of uses, provided that at least one of those uses shall be a business use. In order to be eligible for these provisions, the minimum lot size shall be 8,000 square feet. A parking structure of two or more levels shall also be allowed to use these Overlay District provisions.

Compliance with other provisions. All other provisions of City development regulations shall continue to apply to a mixed-use development, except for provisions that are specifically modified by this § 224-103 to be more restrictive or more permissive for an approved mixed-use development. Where a conflict exists between a provision of this § 224-103 and a provision of another City development regulation, the provision of this § 224-103 shall prevail.

If a mixed-use development is approved under this MU Overlay District, then the provisions of § 224-60C shall not apply.

Application of the Historic Overlay District to a mixed-use development approved under the MU Overlay District.

The provisions of the Historic Overlay District shall remain in full effect for: a) "Class I" historic resources, and b) other buildings that are included on the Chester County Planning Commission's 2013 Historic Resources Map, which includes buildings that have been determined to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

[2]

The provisions of the Historic Overlay District shall not apply to buildings that were built after January 1, 1940.

[3]

For other structures controlled by the Historic Overlay District:

[a]

Any existing provisions for review and approval of a building demolition shall continue in effect; and

[b]

For activities other than a building demolition, any provisions for required review by the Historic and Architectural Review Board (HARB) shall continue to apply, but action by City Council to approve a certificate of appropriateness shall not be required.

[4]

For the purposes of this section, any required review by a HARB shall be conducted by the Coatesville Historical Commission, until such time as any HARB may be appointed and be actively in place.

[5]

Changes to a building shall only be subject to the Historic Overlay District provisions if they are visible from a public street.

Where any application is subject to the MU Overlay District, the final subdivision or land development plan shall clearly specify the landowner or entity that will be responsible to complete, own and maintain any required improvements over time.

Uses.

Within the MU Overlay District, the following uses shall be permitted by right:

Mass transit station.

Multifamily residential uses, provided that on a lot that is adjacent to the Lincoln Highway, new multifamily residential uses shall only be allowed in a building that, at a minimum, includes business or office uses along the entire length of the street-level frontage of the Lincoln Highway, and 1st Avenue, 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue. This street level provision shall apply for a depth of at least 80 feet from the front of the building.

Retail stores, which may include a farmers market or a convenience store, but which shall not allow gasoline sales.

(d)

Offices, including, but not limited to, a doctor's or dentist office or an urgent care medical center.

(e)

Day care.

(f)

Hotel or motel.

(g)

Restaurants (which may include fast food), taverns or nightclubs, and which may include an outdoor cafe, banquet halls, a brewpub, a microbrewery, a microdistillery, or a limited distillery.

(h)

Financial institution.

(i)

Movie theater.

(j)

Playhouse, cultural center, community center, museum, live theater, conference center or special events center.

(k)

Meeting places of civic, veterans or similar organizations.

(l)

Church/religious use.

(m)

Parking lots and structures.

(n)

Commercial/trade school or college.

(o)

Residential conversion, but not including the conversion of an existing single-family building into two or more dwelling units.

(p)

Health/recreation spa or fitness center.

(q)

Indoor recreation, which may be commercial in nature.

(r)

Group home within a lawful dwelling unit.

(s)

A restaurant (which may include fast-food), pharmacy or financial institution, may include drive-through service, provided a new drive-through window does not face onto the Lincoln Highway.

(t)

Retail service business, such as a hair salon, photocopy shop, travel agent or state-licensed massage therapist.

(u)

Live-work units that combine a dwelling unit with an office, personal service or artist's studio that is operated primarily by a resident of the dwelling unit.

(v)

Accessory uses that are customarily incidental and subordinate to allowed uses.

Specifically prohibited uses. The following uses are specifically prohibited in an approved mixed-use development: adult entertainment use, arcade/amusement hall, junkyard, sexually oriented business, wagering and gambling establishment, commercial kennels, auto service business, auto sales, trucking terminals, crematoriums, and in-patient or out-patient drug and alcohol treatment centers.

Uses per building. A building or lot may include more than one allowed type of use.

Dimensional and supplementary requirements. The following dimensional requirements shall apply to an approved mixed-use development, in place of the provisions of the table entitled "224 Attachment 5:"

Coverage. Maximum building coverage: 100%. Maximum lot coverage: 100%.

Yards. A minimum building setback is not required. A new principal building located adjacent to the Lincoln Highway shall have a maximum building setback from the right-of-way of the Lincoln Highway of 15 feet, except where a pedestrian plaza or outdoor cafe will be located or where a greater setback is needed for adequate sight distances.

Minimum tract area: 8,000 square feet.

(4)

Minimum lot width: 30 feet.

(5)

Buffer. A landscaped buffer yard with a minimum width of eight feet shall be provided where the side or rear yard of a new commercial development is proposed abutting to or directly across an alley from an existing principal dwelling in a R-1 or R-2 District. A buffer yard is not required in other cases.

(6)

Height. The maximum building height within a mixed-use development shall be seven above-ground stories or 90 feet, whichever is more restrictive, except as follows:

On lots in the C-1 District that are not adjacent to an industrial district, the maximum height shall be four stories or 50 feet, whichever is more restrictive;

In the C-2, I-1 or I-2 District, a parking structure in a district within the MU Overlay District may include a maximum of seven above-ground levels;

This height restriction shall not apply to decorative peaked roofs, mechanical areas that are not occupied by persons, parking level(s) that are placed primarily under the street level floor or other height exceptions provided in § 224-48D;

(d)

City Council may approve an additional two stories and 30 feet in height as a conditional use, if City Council determines the added height would be compatible with the surroundings; and

(e)

A minimum height of two building stories shall apply for new building construction on a lot that is adjacent to the Lincoln Highway.

(7)

Dwellings. The minimum average square feet of lot area per dwelling unit shall be 400 square feet.

The minimum indoor building floor area for each dwelling unit in a mixed-use development shall be 550 square feet.

An architectural elevation of each proposed new principal building shall be provided to the City for review and approval at the time of, or prior to, the submittal of a final land development application for the building.

Major customer and resident pedestrian entrances to buildings shall include a roof overhang, awning, canopy, inverted entrance or roof extension to provide protection from inclement weather.

(8)

Development and architectural standards.

A minimum of 20% of the front facade facing onto the Lincoln Highway of a new commercial building (other than a parking structure) below a height of less than 10 feet shall be comprised of glass or similar transparent materials.

Conveniently located decorative trash receptacles shall be provided along the front facade of a building of more than 10,000 square feet of floor area. The design of outdoor trash receptacles shall be consistent with the overall architectural design, and shall meet City standards.

The front facade of any new building (other than a parking structure) that is more than 70 feet in length shall include architectural features that provide variations in the design, such as decorative cornices, decorative parapet walls, Juliet or regular balconies, a clock tower, a turret, the appearance of varying roof-lines as viewed from the front, variation in colors or building materials, offsets, projections, variations in relief, awnings, canopies, variations in setbacks, and/or decorative light fixtures that extend from the building. For a parking structure of two or more levels, the front facade facing onto a public street shall include an architectural facade that has the appearance of brick or similar architectural masonry and that is mostly solid in appearance, as opposed to allowing unobstructed views from the street of most of the parked vehicles.

(d)

Prohibited exterior building materials for building sides that face directly onto a public street shall include the following: T-1-11 wood siding; painted concrete masonry units that are not shot-blast or ground-face; prefabricated metal panels; or aluminum siding.

(e)

Rooftop heating and air conditioning equipment shall be screened from view from public streets by parapet walls, architectural screens, roof slopes or similar features.

(f)

A set of architectural and design standards for the entire mixed-use development shall be submitted by the applicant at the time of the first land development plan submission within the development. The standards shall be subject to review by City officials and approval by City Council. These standards shall become binding upon the development of the lots, as a condition of land development approval, as a recorded deed restriction or declaration of covenants and restrictions, through a developer's agreement, or through another method acceptable to the City. These standards shall become binding prior to any lot being sold to a different entity.

The architectural and design standards shall address the following matters, at a minimum: prohibited exterior building materials, requirements for variations and architectural features in building facades; consistency in the design of parking lot lighting poles and any street lighting poles, consistency in commercial signs, styles of designs of signs, placements of signs with typical sizes and materials of tenant signs, and provision of site furnishings. A master sign plan shall also be submitted at the same time to describe typical locations, designs and materials of signs.

[2]

After the architectural and design standards are legally established under this section, any later changes or modifications shall require approval by resolution of the City Council or through another City-approval process acceptable to the City.

(9)

The existing off-street loading requirements of § 224-65 shall only apply to a lot with a mixed-use development including more than 25,000 square feet of business building floor area.

For a mixed-use development that is not regulated by Subsection D(9)(a) above, the applicant shall prove to the satisfaction of the Zoning Officer, after a review by the City Engineer, that there is an acceptable system of addressing loading and unloading needs for the proposed uses, which may include one or two of the following:

A suitable off-street loading location;

[2]

An alternative approved under § 224-65D;

[3]

Occasional short-term loading and unloading of trucks along a commercial building, provided it will not block traffic along a public street and does not occur during peak hours of parking demand; or

[4]

City approval of an appropriate on-street loading area.

If an option under Subsection D(9)(b) is utilized, the applicant shall submit a written policy restricting the sizes of vehicles and the times of delivery, and the Zoning Officer may require that the applicant enter into an agreement allowing enforcement by the City or its Parking Authority of the loading limitations, and which enforces any time limits or restrictions on the maximum sizes of trucks through leases.

Bicycles. A bicycle rack shall be provided adjacent to a new building of more than 10,000 square feet of building floor area, unless provisions are made for indoor or enclosed shelter of bicycles for such a building.

Dumpster screening. Trash dumpsters shall be screened from view of public streets by architectural masonry walls, changes in grades, solid decorative fences with a solid gate, and/or landscaping with a minimum height of five feet.

Landscaping.

Deciduous shade trees shall be planted adjacent to public streets, unless one of the following conditions are met: 1) existing trees will be maintained along the same segment, 2) the applicant proves to the satisfaction of the Zoning Officer that shade trees are not feasible because of the narrow width of the right-of-way or obstructions from utilities, or 3) PennDOT does not approve the placement of shade trees within a state road right-of-way. Where required, an average of one deciduous shade tree shall be located for each 60 feet of lot-line length along the right-of-way. The locations and species of such trees shall be subject to approval by the City.

A minimum average of one deciduous shade tree on a lot shall be planted for every 20 required off-street surface parking spaces. Landscaped islands are not required within parking areas.

Signs. See Subsection D(8)(f) above concerning architectural standards for signs. The following sign maximum sign areas shall apply to each side of a two-sided sign. No sign shall have more than two sides. In a mixed-use development, the following sign provisions shall apply:

A mixed-use development shall include a maximum of one ground or freestanding sign which shall be allowed facing each public street with a maximum total sign area of 32 square feet on each of two sides, and a maximum height above the ground level of eight feet. Decorative stone and cornice areas and structural elements that do not include a message shall not be considered part of the sign area.

Each street level business establishment may have one projecting sign per street frontage with a maximum sign area of 16 square feet and a maximum total height of 16 feet above the ground level, and which meets the minimum sidewalk clearance height in the Construction Code.

In addition, a maximum of one projecting sign per mixed-use development shall be allowed to have a maximum sign area of 90 square feet and a maximum height above the ground of 40 feet. The detailed design and location of this larger projecting sign shall be specifically addressed within the architectural and design standards to result in an architecturally distinctive landmark sign.

(4)

Wall signs, awning signs, window and canopy signs.

[Amended 5-14-2018 by Ord. No. 1504-2018]

Except as provided herein at § 224-103H(4)(b), all wall signs, awning signs, window and canopy signs attached to a building shall have a maximum total sign area of one square foot for each foot of building length along the side upon which the signs are attached. However, individual temporary nonilluminated signs of less than 1.5 square feet each (such as menus) that are attached to windows and doors shall not be regulated.

Notwithstanding § 224-103H(4)(a), for any mixed use development building with a minimum gross floor area of 30,000 square feet, and also with street frontage on both Route 30/Lincoln Highway and Route 82, all wall signs, awning signs, window and canopy signs attached to a building shall have a maximum total sign area of one square foot for each foot of building length, per each floor, limited to two total floors of signage allowance, and allocated evenly by floor, along the side upon which the signs are attached. This sign calculation shall apply in measuring allowable signage for each of floor, limited to two total floors of signage allowance, and allocated evenly by floor. However, individual temporary nonilluminated signs of less than 1.5 square feet each (such as menus) that are attached to windows and doors shall not be regulated.

(5)

Projecting signs and awning or canopy signs may project into the public right-of-way, provided they do not project over more than 1/3 of the width of a public sidewalk, and provided the signs also are set back a minimum of six feet from the street or alley curbline.

(6)

A new sign attached to a building wall shall not be constructed using a rectangular metal box with a plastic face. However, this provision shall not prohibit internally lit signs that only display company logos.

(7)

If an artistic mural is painted on or adhered onto the side of a building, only the portion of the mural that includes a commercial message shall be regulated as a sign. This type of mural shall not be internally illuminated.

(8)

Flashing signs, signs with moving or animated images, and signs with scrolling words are prohibited.

(9)

A restaurant drive-through lane may include one menu board sign with a maximum sign area of 80 square feet and a maximum height of 10 feet.

(10)

Directional and wayfinding signs shall also be allowed, with a maximum sign area of six square feet per sign side and a maximum height of six feet.

Parking.

Size. All parking spaces may have a minimum size of nine feet by 18 feet, except that a maximum of 30% of the required parking spaces may be compact car parking spaces of nine feet by 16 feet. Such signs shall be marked as "Compact Cars Only." See requirements for parking for persons with disabilities in the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (SALDO).[1]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 197, Subdivision and Land Development.