Town of Agawam, MA Article IX Business B Districts

§ 180-48 Permitted uses.

In any Business B District as indicated on the Building Zone Map, no building or other structure shall be erected, altered or used and no land shall be used or occupied for any purpose except one or more of the following:

A. Except as otherwise provided in this article, any use permitted in a Residence, Agricultural or Business A District.

B. Residential buildings and appurtenant buildings such as garages, sheds, barns, etc., presently existing in Business B Districts may be added thereto, altered or rebuilt.

C. In any Business B Districts as indicated on the Building Zone Map, no new building or other structure shall be erected for residential purposes unless the land so located in the Business B District is part of a subdivision plan duly recorded prior to the enactment of this section or unless individual building lots have been similarly recorded.

D. Body and fender work and the painting of cars out of doors is prohibited. The storage of dismantled vehicles or vehicle parts out of doors is prohibited. The storage of complete units such as truck bodies, tailgates, road sanders, farm machinery, school buses and ambulances is permitted. The selling of motor vehicles in or out of doors is prohibited.

[Amended 11-15-2004 by TOR-2004-17]

E. Amusement parks, bowling alleys and roller skating rinks, or arcades containing six or more pinball or electronic games and/or automatic amusement devices with a special permit issued by the Board of Appeals. No more than five automatic amusement devices duly licensed in accordance with § 75-1 of the Code of the Town of Agawam.

[Amended 12-7-1981; 9-7-2004 by TOR-2004-7]

F. Wholesale sales and warehousing.

G. Converting, fabricating, manufacturing, altering, finishing or assembling, provided that in no case is a total of more than 20,000 square feet of floor space devoted to such use.

H. Trucking terminals may be allowed only after a public hearing by the Board of Appeals.

I. Retail shopping centers comprised of only one building, planned as a total entity with on-site common parking areas for customer and employee parking provided so as to comprise an efficient and architecturally integrated shopping area.

[Added 2-6-2006 by TOR-2005-12]

(1) Allowed uses.

(a) Retail shopping centers may include department stores, variety stores, supermarkets, furniture stores, household appliance stores, home improvement stores, lawn equipment stores, gift shops, restaurants, including drive-in and drive-through restaurants, drugstores, barbershops, beauty shops, office supply stores, food stores, optical stores, clothing stores, financial institutions and banks (with or without drive-through windows), health clubs, movie theaters, doctors’ offices, dentist offices and other professional offices open to the public, children's day-care and activity centers. Only one principal building per lot is allowed.

(b) These uses will not include, as a principal or accessory use, motor vehicle services, such as new or used motor vehicle sales, freestanding tire, brake and muffler shops, automobile repair shops, and gasoline stations. No accessory use or building is permitted under this zoning.

(c) Unless by special permit of the Agawam Town Council, temporary outside uses upon the parcel are prohibited, including but not limited to, circuses, festivals, tent sales, sidewalk sales, retail displays, vehicle displays.

(2) Retail shopping center requirements.

(a) Application procedures.

[1] Site plan. Site plans for any such retail shopping center shall be submitted to the Planning Board for its approval as to site layout, provisions for handling traffic flow, parking area, landscaping, traffic, and architectural characteristics before a building permit is issued. To assure that retail shopping centers shall be reasonably attractive in appearance, the developer or its representative shall submit to the Planning Board, in addition to the requirements set forth in § 180-13, an architect's rendering or comparable illustration of the planned construction, including landscaping, prior to applying for a building permit. The architectural concept will be required to fit the character of the community and be at the approval of the Planning Board prior to issuing a building permit. Unless such a drawing approved by the Planning Board is submitted to the Inspector of Buildings, no building permit shall be issued, nor shall an occupancy permit be granted unless and until the finished construction reasonably conforms to the drawing submitted.

[2] Special permit.

[a] No building permit shall be issued for, and no person shall undertake, any use or improvement for a retail shopping center unless an application for a special permit has been prepared for the proposed development in accordance with the requirements and § 180-11. For the purpose of this section, the special permit granting authority shall be the Agawam Town Council.

[b] No building permit shall be granted by the Inspector of Buildings until the Agawam Town Council has given its final approval that the development or any phase thereof and any associated off-site improvements conform to the approved application for a special permit under this section, including any conditions imposed by the Agawam Town Council. No temporary occupancy permits shall be granted.

(b) Parking. No space within the required front setback area may be used for parking unless approved by the Planning Board. An overall shared parking scheme is preferred and developed in such a way that conforms to parking space requirements for retail shopping centers as specified herein. In the overall shared parking scheme, the applicant shall specify how shared parking areas are to be owned, constructed, operated and maintained and provide the Planning Board with the proposed deeds, deed restrictions, association bylaws or other legal documents or mechanisms for ensuring the same. All parking lots shall be designed according to the following standards:

[1] Minimum 4.5/1,000 overall parking ratio inclusive of all buildings (no unheated garden shop or seasonal retail or wholesale sales);

[2] Minimum size for parking spaces shall be nine feet by 18 feet unless when using angled parking as specified in the Institute of Transportation Engineers, Traffic Engineering Handbook, Parking Class A.

[3] Minimum width for drive aisles shall be:

[a] Twenty-four feet for two-way lanes with ninety-degree angle parking.

[b] Eighteen feet for one-way lanes with sixty-degree angle parking.

[c] Eighteen feet for one-way lanes with forty-five-degree angle parking.

[4] With the exception of parking for the disabled, all other parking spaces shall be located at least 50 feet or greater from any building.

[5] Pavement markings, signage and any other required traffic control devices within the site shall be specified according to the latest edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (M.U.T.C.D.) standards. All roadway, stop line and traffic markings shall be of thermoplastic.

[6] Pedestrian and handicapped access from the parking areas to the site sidewalks and entrances to all buildings shall be specified to provide safe access and internal circulation within the site.

[7] No overnight parking of vehicles not related to the ongoing operation of the shopping center.

(c) Traffic impact report. A traffic impact report, indicating projected traffic flows to and from the project at its build-out, projected traffic flows and levels of service on nearby roadways in five years and at build-out of the development, current traffic flows, levels of service and accident records for said roadways, projected capacity, service level and safety problems anticipated in five years and at project build-out, proposed mitigation measures and other relevant information shall be submitted as part of the site plan application and presented to the Planning Board at a public meeting by a professional traffic engineer or transportation planner. The area to be included in the traffic impact study shall be determined by the Planning Board. The Planning Board may require traffic signals, traffic or turn lanes, sidewalks, bikeways or any other mitigation measures that it believes necessary to protect public safety and maintain proper traffic flow on roadways within or impacted by the development.

(d) Streets and drives. Streets and drives within the development shall be constructed in accordance with the Planning Board's subdivision regulations, except that the Planning Board may require additional sidewalks, traffic lanes, turn lanes, traffic signals, additional lane width based on truck traffic, additional pavement depth based on truck traffic or other items or increases in existing standards as needed or required. A minimum of two means of egress from a public way must be provided.

(e) Buffers and greenspace. Retail shopping centers shall contain a minimum of 25% greenspace not including parking and/or interior roadways. A space of not less than 100 feet shall be maintained as an open space buffer with natural vegetation or landscaping along and adjacent to agriculturally and residentially zoned property lines. The buffer shall not be built on, have no structures to include barrier fencing, be paved or used for parking, dumpsters and/or storage, but may be utilized for stormwater management and greenspace only. All buffer areas shall be maintained and kept free of litter. Additional area, plantings, decorative fencing or other items may also be required by the Planning Board to protect adjacent property owners from adverse impacts or to protect the character of the neighborhood, including landscaped berms and/or fences along and adjacent to residentially zoned property lines.

(f) Parking lot interior landscaping. Fifteen percent of the interior space of all parking lots shall be landscaped areas. All parking lot islands, connecting walkways through parking lots and driveways through or to parking lots shall be landscaped according to the following standards:

[1] Visibility. To avoid landscape material blocking driver sight distance at driveway-street intersections, no plant material greater than 24 inches in height shall be located within 15 feet of a curb cut.

[2] Landscape islands. In addition to any pedestrian refuge areas, each landscaped island shall include two, minimum two-and-five-tenths-inch caliper canopy deciduous trees, be of length greater than eight feet in its smallest dimension, include at least 80 square feet of ground area per tree to allow for root aeration, and have raised concrete curbs.

[3] Walkways and driveways. Connecting walkways through parking lots shall have two, minimum two-and-five-tenths-inch caliper canopy deciduous trees per 60 linear feet of such walkway planted in landscape areas within five feet of such walkway. Driveways through or to parking lots shall have two minimum two-and-five-tenths-inch caliper canopy deciduous trees per 60 linear feet of and along each side of such driveway, in landscape areas within five feet of such driveway.

[4] Parking bays shall extend no more than 20 parking spaces without an intervening tree, landscape island or landscape peninsula where landscaped end islands are provided. Where landscaped end islands for parking bays are not provided, an equivalent landscaped area must be provided internally within the parking lot.

[5] Adhere to all existing engineering regulations and requirements.

(g) Lighting. Parking lot lighting shall be as unobtrusive as possible to provide safe circulation and protect people and property. Light sources shall be concealed and fully shielded and shall feature sharp cutoff capability so as to minimize up-light, spill-light, glare and unnecessary diffusion on adjacent property. Unique areas or neighborhoods within the Town may have additional design guidelines for lighting as required by the Planning Board. Maximum on-site lighting levels shall not exceed 10 footcandles, except for loading and unloading platforms where the maximum lighting level shall be 20 footcandles. Lighting levels measured 20 feet beyond the property line of the development site (adjacent to residential uses or public rights-of-way) shall not exceed 0.1 footcandle as a direct result of the on-site lighting. Parking lots shall remain fully lit for one hour following the closing of the store or establishment for which the parking lot serves, and shall be lit by security lighting thereafter. All lighting level measurements shall be determined by mean footcandles over the designated lighted area. Maximum height on lot poles shall be 20 feet and the fixture shall be shielded to prevent excess spillage of light onto adjoining properties.

(h) Outdoor storage areas/mechanical equipment.

[1] No areas for outdoor storage, trash collection or compaction, loading or other such uses shall be located within 100 feet of any public street, public sidewalk or internal pedestrian way, and in no event shall be visible from roadways (such areas will be screened from view, including the use of live plantings such as arborvitae). These enclosed areas for only the above purposes must be shielded by an opaque fence, or site-obscuring landscaping, either of which shall be not less than six feet.

[2] Loading docks, truck parking, outdoor storage, utility meters, HVAC and other mechanical equipment, trash collection, trash compaction and other service functions shall be incorporated into the overall design theme of the building and the landscape so that the architectural design is continuous and uninterrupted by ladders, towers and equipment.

[3] All rooftop mechanical equipment shall be screened.

[4] No outside sales areas/yards are permitted at any time, which include any type of stationary or mobile vendor carts (i.e., food stands).

[5] No temporary or fabric structures shall be used for outdoor storage.

(i) Building facade. All exterior building elevations that face public streets and/or customer parking areas shall be designed so that there are no large expanses of blank walls. This requirement can be met by employing the use of architectural features, including but not limited to the following, doors, windows, pilasters, columns, horizontal and vertical offsets, material and color variations, decorative cornices, awnings, dormers, pediments and canopies. Buildings are to have reasonably consistent architectural elements to provide continuity, while allowing individuality in architectural features to distinguish individual businesses. In order to assure conformance with this requirement, exterior building elevations must be reviewed and approved as a part of the overall final site plan process by the Planning Board.

[Amended 11-19-2018 by TOR 2018-14]

(j) Noise. No outside loudspeaker or audio sound systems shall be installed or used other than for drive-through uses.

(k) Maintenance. All properties developed for commercial purposes, whether they are occupied or not, shall be regularly maintained by the owner of the property to the reasonable satisfaction of the Zoning Enforcement Officer, so that they are not allowed to fall into a state of disrepair or neglect; and they shall consistently present a neat and orderly appearance to the general public as well as adjacent and nearby tenants and property owners. Regular maintenance shall include at a minimum, mowing of lawns, general maintenance of landscaping beds, landscaping irrigation, trash and litter removal, removal of signs, painting/maintenance of facades and signs, and proper snow removal.

(l) Other requirements.

[1] Minimum size: five acres.

[2] Maximum facility 100,000 square feet, overall single building size. The square footage of a mezzanine shall be included in the calculation of the total square footage.

[3] Minimum frontage: 100 feet.

[4] Front yard setback: 100 feet.

[5] Rear yard setback: 100 feet.

[6] Side yard setback: 100 feet.

[7] Highway setback: 100 feet.

[8] Maximum building coverage shall not exceed 35% of the lot area.

[9] No building within the retail shopping center shall be greater than one story in height. Notwithstanding the foregoing, internal mezzanines (i.e., a low-ceilinged intermediate floor above the ground floor) shall be allowed.

[10] Signage for individual businesses within retail shopping centers shall be allowed as provided by § 180-80. In addition to the signs permitted for the individual businesses, retail shopping centers are allowed one multifaced ground sign at each major street providing access to the property identifying the retail shopping center and any specific uses or occupancies within the shopping center. The maximum signage area for each individual business depicted on the retail shopping center ground sign shall not exceed 100 square feet per face for each individual business. The total maximum signage area for each face of the retail shopping center ground sign shall be limited as follows: a) If the sum of the building area for all individual businesses within the retail shopping center is less than 100,000 square feet, each face of the retail shopping center ground signage shall not exceed 200 square feet plus 20 square feet per each individual business listed; b) If the sum of the building area for all individual businesses within the retail shopping center exceeds 100,000 square feet, each face of the retail shopping center ground signage shall not exceed 350 square feet plus 35 square feet per each individual business listed. Ground signs shall not exceed 20 feet in height as measured from the top of the sign. Signage design shall fit the character of the community and be in communion with the architecture of the proposed retail complex as well the surrounding environment. Signage for this type of development requires the approval of the Planning Board. No scrolling, tethered or temporary signs are permitted. Signage per individual establishment shall not exceed 15% of the establishment's facade.

§ 180-49 Height regulations.

[Amended 6-6-2005 by TOR-2005-8; 11-5-2008 by TOR-2008-2]

A business building or structure shall not be erected or altered to a height in excess of three stories or more than 45 feet except as expressly provided herein and in § 180-49.1. These provisions shall not apply to chimneys, flag or radio poles, water tanks, hose towers or required bulkheads or elevator penthouses. A residence building shall comply with the height provisions for Residence B Districts. Heights of other buildings or structures permitted in § 180-48A shall not exceed the heights permitted in Residence B Districts. Notwithstanding the foregoing, § 180-49.1 shall govern the height of amusement devices which constitute part of an amusement park.

§ 180-49.1 Amusement park height regulations.

[Added 11-5-2008 by TOR-2008-2]

A. An amusement device which constitutes part of an amusement park and which is situated more than 250 feet from the street line and any side lot line shall not be erected or altered to a height in excess of 200 feet, except as expressly provided herein. An amusement device which constitutes part of an amusement park and which is situated within 250 feet from the street line or any side lot line shall not be erected or altered to a height in excess of 45 feet, except as expressly provided herein. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an amusement device which constitutes part of an amusement park may exceed the height limitations contained herein only after issuance of a special permit by the Board of Appeals.

B. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any applicant seeking to erect or alter an amusement device to a height in excess of 45 feet shall be required to send notice by certified mail, postage prepaid, to the abutters and owners of land within 300 feet of the property lines as they appear on the most recent applicable tax list, including those in another city or town. Such notice shall inform such abutters and owners of land of the date, time and location of the Planning Board’s public meeting as required under § 180-13C(4) hereof for the applicant’s site plan for the proposed amusement device. Such notice shall be sent at least 10 days prior to the Planning Board’s public meeting and such notice shall be prepared and mailed by the applicant.

§ 180-50 Setbacks; yards; loading areas.

A. Setbacks and rear yards shall be at least 35 feet in their least dimension.

B. Side yards requirements shall be a minimum of 10 feet, except adjacent to residential or agricultural zones, at which time it would be 15 feet.

[Amended 4-7-1986 by TOR-86-6]

C. Space shall be provided for vehicle parking and for the loading and unloading of all materials, equipment and merchandise on the premises and entirely off the traveled way, with such additional space as may be necessary to provide free and easy access to that portion of the building so as not to interfere with traffic on the public way. Loading and unloading are prohibited on the front of any building.

D. A building devoted in whole or in part to residence uses shall comply with the requirements for setbacks, side yards and rear yards of the Resident B District.

§ 180-51 Lot coverage.

[Amended 4-7-1986 by TOR-86-6]

No business building shall be erected or altered so as to cover more than 50% of the area of the lot on which it is located. A building devoted in whole or in part to residence or other permitted purposes in § 180-48A shall comply with the requirements of lot coverage in Residence B Districts.

§ 180-52 Lot frontage.

[Amended 4-7-1986 by TOR-86-6]

No lot shall have a frontage of less than 100 feet on a street or an area less than 10,000 square feet.

§ 180-53 Landscaping.

To assure that structures in Business B Districts shall be reasonably attractive in appearances, the builder or his representative shall submit to the Planning Board, in addition to other requirements, an architect's rendering or comparable illustration of the planned construction, including landscaping, prior to applying for a building permit. Unless such a drawing approved by the Planning Board is submitted to the Inspector of Buildings, no permit for a business building shall be issued, nor shall an occupancy permit be granted, unless and until the finished structure conforms in appearance to the drawing submitted.

§ 180-54 Lumberyards; residences; gasoline stations.

A. Secondhand lumberyards and secondhand buildings material yards are prohibited.

B. No building or other structure shall be erected, altered or used for residential purposes which shall accommodate or house more than four families. All four-family buildings or structures used for residential purposes shall be erected on a parcel of land containing not less than one acre in area and having not less than 150 feet of frontage on a street.

C. Not more than one unregistered motor vehicle shall be allowed on any parcel of land used as a gasoline filling station; provided, however, that any such gasoline filling station having an automobile dealer's permit shall be governed by the provisions of such permit.