The Flexible Development District (F-D) is hereby
established as a district in which regulations are intended to permit
and encourage flexibility in development to encourage reinvestment
and redevelopment. In promoting such development, the specific intent
of this article is to allow for the use of vacant and under-utilized
lands and buildings through the use of flexible development and redevelopment
standards; sustainable development practices, including compatible
architectural design; environmental performance standards, and by
strictly prohibiting any use that would substantially interfere with
the development, continuation or expansion of such uses within this
district.
[Added 4-22-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-04]
A. The following uses are allowed in the F-D District:
(1) Principal permitted uses:
(a)
All nonresidential uses listed as principal permitted uses in §
325-90.1B(1).
(b)
Storage and retail sale of rock, gravel, sawdust, coal or topsoil.
(f)
Product processing, assembly and packaging.
(g)
Laundry, dry cleaning, dyeing or rug cleaning plant.
(m)
Manufacturing when conducted wholly within a completely enclosed
building.
(n)
Research and testing laboratory.
(q)
Agricultural implement sales.
(r)
Glass installation and sales.
(s)
Tool and equipment rental.
(t)
Sales of industrial hand tools, industrial supplies such as
safety equipment and welding equipment, that are products primarily
sold wholesale to other industrial firms or industrial workers.
(u)
Lumber and coal yards, building material storage yards, provided that not more than 20% of the developed portion of the site that is reasonably necessary for outside storage of equipment and material is devoted to such use. This area must have a screened buffer yard and landscaping or fencing as defined in the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (Chapter
289).
(v)
Retail automobile service stations and nonretail card lock stations.
(w)
Truck sales, service, and rental.
(x)
Marine craft sales, service and rental.
(y)
Manufactured dwelling sales and services.
(z)
Automobile service and repair. A minimum of 15% green area must
be provided on the site.
(aa)
Automobile accessory sales and auto parts retailing and wholesaling.
(bb)
Automobile body and/or paint shops.
(cc)
Building and home improvement materials and supplies, wholesale
sales, and warehousing.
(dd)
Retail stores or outlets providing such use is subordinate or
supplemental to a warehouse or manufacturing establishment.
(ff)
Principal supply utility.
(hh)
Trade or industrial school.
(ii)
Public works shops and storage yards.
(jj)
Private or public parking as a primary use.
(kk) Energy conversion systems, subject to the provisions in Energy Conversion Systems, Article
XXXIV of this chapter.
[Added 3-24-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-04]
(2) Permitted accessory uses (see Article
XXVII):
(a)
Child day-care centers, subject to the provisions of §
325-135.
(b)
Living or residential quarters as an accessory use including,
but not limited to, security guards' quarters where such quarters
are customarily provided for security and/or insurability of the premises
and other residential uses directly related to the operation of the
primary permitted use.
(c)
Off-street parking and loading.
(d)
Energy conversion systems.
(e)
On-site hazardous waste treatment and storage facilities.
(3) Prohibited uses: any use that is not a permitted use.
[Amended 10-11-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-17; 4-22-2010 by Ord. No.
2010-04]
Uses are defined by the base zoning in the F-O Flexible Development
overlay as listed below:
A. The following uses are allowed under a flexible development overlay
in the N-C or N-C/H base zoning districts:
(1)
Permitted principal uses:
(a)
Detached single-family dwelling.
(b)
Attached single-family dwelling.
(c)
Semi-attached single-family dwelling.
(h)
Skilled nursing facility.
(i)
Assisted living facility.
(j)
Accessory dwelling unit for family members.
(o)
The following retail and service uses occupying not more than
3,000 square feet in floor area for which operating hours are limited
to between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.:
[4] Bakery or cafe, provided that all goods made or
processed are sold at retail on premises.
(t)
Mixed use with one or more commercial activity listed above
and residential apartments upstairs.
(u)
Public parks and playgrounds.
(v)
Public utility facilities (subject to §
325-130).
(2)
Permitted accessory uses (see Article
XXVII):
(a)
Off-street parking and loading areas.
(g)
Energy conversion systems.
(h)
No-impact home-based business.
(l)
Recreational vehicle parking and storage.
(m)
Satellite antennas and dishes.
B. The following uses are allowed under a flexible development overlay
in the M-U, C-H and F-D base zoning districts:
[Amended 2-12-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-03]
(1)
Principal permitted uses:
(b)
Institutional:
[3] Public or private school.
[4] Skilled nursing facility.
[5] Assisted living facility.
[6] Medical care facility, including hospital and clinic.
[12] Electrical transmission and distribution facilities
and telephone central offices.
[13] Public parks and playgrounds.
(c)
Commercial:
[1] Automobile or trailer sales when the lot is improved
with an automobile or trailer display building having not less than
1,000 square feet devoted exclusively to the display of automobiles
or trailers.
[2] Automobile/vehicle service and repair areas, sales
and installation of parts, accessories and replacement equipment.
[4] Manufactured home sales when the lot is improved
with a building containing an office, display room and appurtenant
facilities, having an area of not less than 1,000 square feet.
[7] Financial institutions, including drive-through
facilities.
[8] Medical office or clinic and/or medical laboratory.
[11] Neighborhood convenience store.
[12] Animal hospital, pet shops and grooming.
[13] Artist studio or gallery.
[14] Appliance and small equipment sales and repair.
[18] Retail sales; including drive-through facilities.
[19] Shopping center, shopping plaza or shopping mall.
[20] Specialty shops such as baking, confectionery,
dressmaking, dyeing, laundry, shoe repair, printing and copying services,
tailoring and similar shops and services.
[22] Recreational or entertainment facility.
[23] Restaurants and cafes with or without drive-through
facilities.
[25] Gasoline service stations and car washes.
(2)
Permitted accessory uses (see Article
XXVII):
(a)
Gasoline sales as an accessory use to a neighborhood convenience
store.
(b)
Off-street parking and loading areas.
(c)
Bar as an accessory use to restaurants, recreational or entertainment
facilities.
(d)
Storage, if less than 50% of the gross floor area of the primary
structure.
C. All uses permitted in the F-D District are permitted under a flexible
development overlay in the B-I and G-I base zoning districts.
[Amended 2-12-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-03]
It is the intent of the following criteria to
provide a set of guidelines that will result in unified, harmonious
and high quality architecture throughout the Flexible Development
District without inhibiting the imaginative work of architectural
designers and the individuality of property owners and tenant businesses.
Design methods are encouraged that tend to minimize the large-scale
visual impact of buildings and create a complex of buildings compatible
with a pedestrian scale of the streetscape. Developers and designers
are encouraged to explore the creative possibilities on individual
sites while seeking to maintain an architectural consistency with
the basic patterns and elements throughout the Flexible Development
District.
A. Site design criteria.
(1) Entrance drives shall be clearly visible and intuitively
located to the first-time visitor.
(2) Conflict between service vehicles, automobiles and
pedestrians should be minimized.
(3) Main building entries shall be emphasized by accent
features including:
(a)
Ceremonial entry porte-cochere.
(c)
Decorative planters and landscape plantings.
(4) Architecture and site development shall be coordinated
and unified.
(5) Each phase of a development project should be able
to attain a stand-alone visual unity.
B. Building form and materials.
(1) Building walls shall be designed to create pedestrian-scale
exterior spaces by utilizing smaller wall segments, landscaping, wall
texture and shadow lines.
(2) Architectural design or signage that draws excessive
attention from surrounding roadways is not acceptable.
(3) For building exterior wall materials:
(a)
One primary material should be used. Materials
that express permanence, substance, timelessness, and restraint are
required.
(b)
Materials should be sufficiently durable to
guarantee low maintenance, stability and a reasonable life span.
(c)
Materials shall be consistent or blend with
existing materials in adjacent areas of the district.
(d)
Pre-engineered buildings featuring predominantly
metal painted exteriors are strongly discouraged except for industrial
development.
(e)
Exposed drainage pipes on building fronts are
not permitted, except if specifically approved by the Planning Commission.
(f)
Highly reflective surfaces that create hazardous
glares for motorist are discouraged.
(4) For building roofs:
(a)
When flat roof areas can be viewed from above,
roof-mounted equipment should be installed in a neat and compact fashion
and be of a color that blends with the visual background.
(b)
Sloped roofs should be constructed of a traditional
roof material. Corrugated metal, fiberglass and asphalt are not allowed
unless specifically approved by the Planning Commission.
(c)
Building parapets should be of such a height
to screen roof-mounted mechanical equipment. If parapets cannot provide
adequate screening, an unobtrusive screening device designed to appear
integral with the building architecture may be used. Such screening
devices shall be constructed of durable materials and finished in
a texture and color scheme consistent with the architectural character
of the building.
C. Lighting guidelines.
(1) All lighting which might be visible from an adjacent
street must be indirect or utilize a full cutoff shield-type fixture.
Pedestrian-scale bollard lighting is encouraged and may be directly
visible from adjacent streets.
(2) Parking areas, access drives, and internal vehicular
circulation areas shall be illuminated by zero cutoff fixtures. The
parking-lot illumination level shall achieve a uniformity ratio of
3 to 1 (average to minimum) with a maintained average of one footcandle
and a minimum of 0.3 footcandle.
(3) Service-area lighting must be substantially contained
within the service yard's boundaries and enclosure walls.
(4) Indirect (invisible source) wall lighting or "wall-washing"
overhead down lighting of site architecture, or interior building
illumination which spills outside is encouraged. Architectural lighting
should articulate and accent building design, as well as create functional
illumination for safety and clarity of pedestrian movement.
(5) Pedestrian area lighting:
(a)
Lighting of outdoor pedestrian use areas (including
courtyards, entryways, etc.) should achieve a uniformity ratio of
3.5 to 1 (average to minimum), with an average illumination of 0.60
footcandle and a minimum of 0.18 footcandle.
(b)
Lighting of pedestrian walkways should clearly
identify the walkway and imply the direction of travel.
(6) Inoperable bulbs shall be replaced and fixtures maintained/repaired
within five business days to maintain required lighting levels.
D. Landscaping. The project shall provide landscaping
to accomplish the following design objectives:
(1) Landscape strips shall be used to separate travel
lanes of adjoining roads from the buildings, off-street parking lots,
off-street loading areas, outdoor storage and display facilities and
any other uses and/or activities conducted on the site.
(2) Landscape strips shall be used to delineate travel
lanes of on-site access drives, driveways and interior drives within
off-street parking lots, off-street loading areas and other vehicle
storage/movement areas.
(3) Landscape materials shall be used to adequately buffer
and screen the activities of each use so as to promote compatibility
between different adjoining land uses. Adequate buffering and screening
shall be determined by conformance with those other impact-related
standards, including but not limited to those presented in this zone.
Where nonresidential uses are proposed adjoining residences and/or
a residential zone, the nonresidential use shall be required to establish
a vegetative screen (e.g., trees, shrubs and berms) that effectively
blocks the view between grade and a minimum height of six feet at
the property line at the time of planting. View blockage shall achieve
no less than eighty-percent opacity at all times of the year.
(4) Landscape materials shall be selected from native
species that are healthy and vibrant. All landscape materials shall
be maintained and any required landscape materials that do not survive
shall be replaced with healthy specimens within six months.
(5) Where a site adjoins any public street, no areas devoted
to the outdoor storage of goods or materials, nor any off-street loading
areas shall be located in the area that includes the full width of
the site and is located between that face of the principal building
that is closest to the street right-of-way.
(6) All areas devoted to outdoor storage of goods or materials and any off-street loading areas shall be screened from adjoining roads and properties that do not share such common outdoor storage areas or off-street loading areas. Screening shall be provided in accordance with those standards listed in Subsection
D(3) above.
(7) Required side and rear yard landscape strips shall
be provided along all side and rear property lines, except for that
portion of the side occupied by a joint off-street parking lot, joint
off-street loading area and/or joint outdoor storage areas shared
by adjoining uses according to the following regulations:
(a)
Each planting area shall be a minimum of 10
feet in width.
(b)
A screen of at least six feet in height at time
of planting that results in a noise-and-sight-obscuring buffer that
is any one or a combination of the following methods:
[1]
A solid row of evergreen trees or shrubs.
[2]
A solid row of evergreen trees and shrubs planted
on an earthen berm an average of three feet high along its midline.
[3]
A combination of trees or shrubs and fencing
(metal or wood) or wall (brick, masonry or textured concrete).
(c)
Trees and shrubs should be spaced to grow together
within four years from planting, and ground cover provided to attain
seventy-five-percent coverage within four years.
(d)
Breaks in perimeter landscaping for pedestrian
access may be required as determined by the Zoning Officer during
site plan review.
(e)
Perimeter landscaping shall be required in an
amount which, when combined with other on-site landscaping requirements,
does not exceed 15% of the total site area.
(8) Required ground cover. Any portion of the site not
used for buildings, structures, parking compounds, loading areas,
outdoor storage areas, access drives, interior drives, driveways and
walkways shall be maintained with a vegetative ground cover.
(9) Required interior landscaping of parking lots. In
any parking lot containing 20 or more parking spaces (except a parking
garage), 5% of the total area of the lot shall be devoted to interior
landscaping. Such interior landscaping shall be used:
(a)
At the end of parking space rows.
(b)
To break up rows of parking spaces at least
every 10 parking spaces.
(c)
To help visually define travel lanes through
or next to the parking lot.
(d)
Landscaped areas situated outside of the parking
lot, such as required landscaped strips, peripheral areas and areas
surrounding buildings, shall not constitute interior landscaping.
For the purpose of computing the total area of any parking lot, all
areas within the perimeter of the parking lot shall be counted, including
all parking spaces and access drives, aisles, islands and curbed areas.
Ground cover alone is not sufficient to meet this requirement. Trees,
shrubs or other approved material shall be provided. At least one
shade tree shall be provided for each 300 square feet (or fraction
thereof) of required interior landscaping area. These trees shall
have a clear trunk at least five feet above finished-grade level.
Parked vehicles may not overhang interior landscaped area more than
2 1/2 feet; where necessary, wheel stops or curbing shall be
provided to ensure no greater overhang. If a parking lot of fewer
than 20 spaces is built without interior landscaping and later additional
spaces are added so that the total is 20 or more, the interior landscaping
shall be provided for the entire parking lot.
E. Integration. The project shall be designed and arranged
to integrate within its surroundings and become part of its overall
community according to the following objectives:
(1) The configuration of the development shall provide
for a logical and seamless connection with its surroundings. The location
of roads, access drives, driveways, sidewalks and/or pedestrian paths
and traffic control devices shall all either connect with existing
adjoining similar facilities at logical locations or establish logical
patterns for new such facilities if no such adjoining facilities exist.
(2) The configuration of the development should promote
the use of coordinated development features. Shared use of access
drives, driveways, off-street parking and loading areas, outdoor storage
and display features, dumpsters, signs, parks and open spaces, sidewalks
and other pedestrian paths and stormwater management facilities is
encouraged so long as each use's individual impact is adequately managed.
The use of shared facilities shall also be accompanied by the recording
of common use and maintenance agreements between the affected properties
in language acceptable to the Township Solicitor.
(3) The development shall be required to provide for safe
and convenient pedestrian access to each use from adjoining properties
and nearby residential areas of the Township.
Off-street parking and loading space shall be provided in accordance with Article
XXV of this chapter.
The design, size and placement of signs shall be in accordance with Article
XXIV of this chapter.