§ 16-20A.010. Neighborhood commercial/services (Subarea 4).

In addition to the general regulations required in section 16-20A.006, the following regulations shall apply to any new development or the conversion of any existing structures to permitted uses within the neighborhood commercial/services subarea. These regulations are intended to preserve the neighborhood commercial/services subarea and to encourage the continued use of the existing structures for commercial and service use in combination with residential uses and in support of the residential community within the Cabbagetown Landmark District. These regulations further intend to ensure that any conversion in use, which may be permitted for preservation purposes in existing structures, is compatible with the overall character of the district as a whole.

(1)

Permitted principal uses and structures. A building or premises shall be used only for the following principal purposes:

a)

Multi-family dwelling units. Multi-family dwellings are permissible if a minimum of 25 percent of the total heated floor area of each structure is constructed and used for non-residential uses as allowed in section 16-20A-010(1), (2), or (3).

b)

Any of the following uses provided that they do not exceed 2,000 square feet of floor area:

1.

Bakeries and catering establishments.

2.

Laundry and dry cleaning establishments where customers operate equipment.

3.

Tailoring, custom dressmaking, millinery, and similar establishments.

4.

Restaurants, bars, coffee shops, delicatessens, and taverns.

5.

Specialty shops such as antique stores, gift shops, boutiques, art and craft stores, and apothecary shops.

6.

Barber shops, beauty shops, manicure shops, and similar personal service establishments.

c)

Any of the following uses provided that they do not exceed 5,000 square feet of floor area:

1.

Clubs and lodges.

2.

Museums, art galleries, libraries, and similar profit or non-profit cultural facilities.

3.

Offices, studios, clinics (including veterinary if animals are kept within soundproof structures), laboratories, and similar use.

4.

Professional or service establishments.

Drive-thru and drive-in services, windows, and facilities are prohibited. Hiring halls are prohibited. Blood donor stations are prohibited. No wholesaling or jobbing shall be conducted from within the Cabbagetown Landmark District. No use or manner of operation shall be permitted that is obnoxious or offensive by reason of odor, smoke, noise, glare, fumes, gas, vibration, unusual danger of fire or explosion, emission of particulate matter, interference with radio, television, or wireless data reception, or for other reasons incompatible with the character of this subarea and its relationship to adjoining residential subareas.

d)

Urban gardens.

e)

Market gardens.

(2)

Permitted accessory uses and structures. The uses and structures that are customarily incidental and subordinate to permitted uses and structures are authorized, subject to the following restrictions:

a)

Except as otherwise herein provided, no merchandise shall be stored other than that to be sold at retail on the premises and such merchandise shall occupy no more than 25 percent of the total floor area on the premises.

b)

No storage shall be provided in any portion of a structure adjacent to any public sidewalk, public park or plaza.

c)

No off-premises storage of merchandise shall be permitted in this subarea either as a principal or accessory use.

(3)

Special permits. The following uses are permissible only by special permit of the kind indicated, subject to limitations and requirements set forth herein and in section 16-25.002(3).

a)

Special use permits:

1.

Outdoor amusement enterprises, exhibits, entertainments, meetings, displays or sales areas, or outdoor areas for religious ceremonies of 14 days or more duration.

2.

Childcare centers, kindergartens, and special schools provided that they do not exceed a maximum floor area of 5,000 square feet.

3.

Retail establishments provided that they do not exceed a maximum floor area of 5,000 square feet.

b)

Special administrative permits:

1.

Outdoor amusement enterprises, exhibits, entertainments, meetings, displays or sales areas, or outdoor areas for religious ceremonies of less than 14 days duration.

c)

Special exceptions:

1.

Churches, temples, synagogues, mosques and other religious worship facilities where the lot is less than one acre.

2.

Structures and uses required for operation of a public utility except uses involving storage, train yards, warehousing, switching, or maintenance shops as a primary purpose.

3.

Reduction in minimum off-street parking requirements.

(4)

Minimum lot requirements. In addition to the setback requirements in section 16-20A.006(9), in the case of new construction between two contributing buildings, the side yard setbacks shall be at least three feet from the lot line.

(5)

Maximum building height and width and transitional yards.

a)

The compatibility rule shall apply, but in no case shall the height of a building or structure exceed 28 feet.

b)

Additionally, no portion of any building shall protrude through a height limiting plane beginning 24 feet above the buildable area boundary, as determined by the application of the compatibility rule, which is nearest to the common residential subarea boundary and extending inward over Subarea 4 at an angle of 45 degrees.

(6)

Transitional yards:

a)

Side yards: Adjacent to residential use without an intervening street, ten feet is required, that shall not be used for parking, paving or loading or servicing. For a side yard adjacent to a side street, half the required front shall be provided.

b)

Rear yard: There shall be a rear yard of ten feet when adjacent to a residential use district that shall not be used for parking, paving or loading or servicing.

c)

Screening: Where a lot in this subarea abuts a residential use on the rear lot line without an intervening street, landscaping, opaque fencing or screening not less than six feet in height shall be provided and maintained in sightly condition (see section 16-28.008).

(7)

Lot coverage. The lot coverage shall not exceed 80%.

(8)

Storefront fenestration.

a)

All street-fronting sidewalk level development, with the exception of religious institutions and fire stations, shall provide fenestration for a minimum of 75 percent of the length of the frontage, beginning at a point not more than three feet above the public sidewalk, for a height no less than ten feet above the sidewalk.

b)

Fenestration for commercial uses shall allow views into the interior or display windows and shall not have painted glass, reflective glass, or other similarly treated fenestration.

c)

Variances in fenestration requirements may be approved by the commission.

d)

Sidewalk level development without fenestration shall not exceed a maximum length of ten feet of façade.

(9)

Relationship of building to street.

a)

The primary pedestrian entrance to all uses and business establishments with sidewalk level street frontage shall:

1.

Face and be visible from the street;

2.

Be directly accessible, visible, and adjacent to the sidewalk, pedestrian plaza, courtyard, or outdoor dining area adjacent to such street;

3.

Remain unlocked during normal business hours for nonresidential uses; and

4.

Face and be visible to an arterial street when located adjacent to such arterial streets.

b)

Buildings shall provide continuous street-fronting sidewalk level commercial, office, or residential uses.

c)

A street address number shall be located above the principal building entrance, shall be clearly visible from the sidewalk, and shall be a minimum of six inches in height.

(10)

Storefront illumination and lighting.

a)

Security, decorative, and other lighting adjacent to residential uses shall minimize light spillage onto residential properties by providing cutoff luminaries that have a maximum 90-degree illumination. The commission may also require other elements to reduce light spillage.

b)

Any security, decorative, or other lighting luminaries shall be located a minimum height of eight feet above the sidewalk, drive or pedestrian area.

(11)

Loading areas, loading dock entrances and structure mechanical and accessory features.

a)

Commercial dumpsters and loading areas may not be located within 30 feet of an adjoining residential subarea boundary, and shall be screened with opaque fences or walls six feet in height.

b)

Residential dumpsters and loading areas shall be encircled with walls six feet in height. Walls shall be smooth finish stucco or same material as the principal building.

c)

Loading dock entrances for nonresidential uses shall be screened so that loading docks and related activity are not visible from any public right-of-way.

d)

Building mechanical and accessory features shall be located to the side and rear of the principal building and shall be in the least visible location from the public right-of-way. Screening with appropriate plant and/or fence materials shall be required if the equipment is visible from the public right-of-way.

e)

When located on rooftops, building mechanical and accessory features shall be incorporated in the design of the building and screened with materials similar to the building.

f)

Building mechanical and accessory features shall not be permitted between the principal building and any public street.

(12)

Roofs. Roofing materials shall be asphalt shingles or batten seamed metal.

(13)

Dormers. Dormers shall not be permitted unless original to the structure.

(14)

Porches. Front porches are permitted.

(15)

Fences and walls.

a)

Chain link or similar elements shall not be visible from any public plaza, outdoor dining area, or public right-of-way. Chain link fencing, where permitted, shall be clad in either black or dark green coating. Canopies and associated service areas shall not be located between a building and the street.

b)

No fences are permitted between the principal building and the sidewalk.

c)

Walls shall be wood, smooth finish stucco or brick.

d)

No walls, except retaining walls, shall be located between a building and the sidewalk, with the exception of walls that screen commercial dumpsters and loading areas, which shall have a maximum height of six feet.

e)

The commission may by variance permit retaining walls that are greater than two feet in height between the building façade line and the street.

(16)

Curb cuts, driveways and surface parking areas.

a)

At least one-third of any driveway or surface parking area shall be pervious.

b)

Alternate paving materials may be approved upon review by the commission if such materials are pervious and do not detract from the historic character of the landmark district.

c)

All sidewalk-paving and curbing materials shall be continued across any intervening driveway.

d)

Driveway and curb cut widths shall be a maximum of 24 feet for two-way entrances and 12 feet for one-way entrances.

e)

Required driveways may be located outside the lot boundaries if they directly connect to a public street and are approved by the commission.

f)

No circular drives shall be located between any buildings and any public street.

g)

Except as authorized above in this subsection, parking areas or driveways are not permitted between the sidewalk and a building, and shall be perpendicular to any adjacent street, except for a driveway to reach the side or rear yard or an on-site parking facility. Driveways for childcare centers, kindergartens, and special schools may be located between the sidewalk and the building if approved by the commission.

h)

No more than one curb cut is permitted for each development. Developments with more than one street frontage may have two curb cuts. Two curb cuts on properties with street frontage greater than 300 feet may be approved by the commission.

i)

No drop-off lanes are permitted along public streets.

(17)

Lighting, security, and maintenance requirements for surface parking lots. All surface parking lots shall have the following minimum requirements:

a)

Lighting shall be provided throughout all parking facilities to equal a minimum of one-fifth foot-candle of light. A foot-candle of light is a uniformly distributed flux of one lumen on a surface of one square foot in area. Where applicable, public street lighting may be utilized to either partially or totally fulfill the lighting requirements; however, where such street lighting is removed, it shall be the responsibility of the parking facility to independently provide these required levels of illumination.

b)

Parking lots adjacent to residential areas shall minimize light spillage onto residential properties by providing cutoff luminaries that have a maximum 90-degree illumination and shall in all other ways be in compliance with Illuminating Engineering Society of North America Recommended Practice #33 - Lighting for Exterior Environments.

c)

Parking facilities shall be maintained in a clean, safe, sanitary, and attractive condition. Parking spaces and driving lanes shall be clearly defined and maintained as such. Parking lots shall not be operated when any damage impairs the drivability of the parking lot.

(18)

Minimum landscaping for parking lot and barrier requirements. Each of the provisions of the Code of Ordinances, chapter 158 Vegetation, article II Tree Protection, and section 30 Parking lot requirements shall apply to all lots of ten spaces or more in this subarea. In addition to these regulations, the following requirements shall apply:

a)

All landscaped areas shall be planted with evergreen ground cover or shrubs with a maximum mature height of 30 inches.

b)

Landscape buffer strips as described in section 16-20A.006(19)(i) shall be required.

c)

Variances in surface parking lot landscaping and barrier requirements may be approved by the commission per the criteria set out in section 158-30(14).

(19)

Minimum off-street parking requirements. The following parking requirements shall apply to all permitted uses, including those approved by special permits. (See also sections 16-28.013 and 16-28.014.) Design of parking facilities shall be subject to review by the commission.

a)

Banks and similar institutions: One space for each 200 square feet of floor area.

b)

Childcare centers: One space for each 600 square feet of floor area; in addition to providing required off-street parking, such centers shall provide safe and convenient facilities for loading and unloading children, as approved by the director of the bureau of traffic and transportation.

c)

Clothing and tailor shops: One space for each 200 square feet of floor area.

d)

Clubs and lodges: One space for each 100 square feet of floor area.

e)

Commercial recreation uses, including bowling alleys, amusement arcades, game rooms, and the like: One space for each 100 square feet of floor area.

f)

Eating and drinking establishments: One space for each 100 square feet of floor area and one space for each 200 square feet of outdoor dining area.

g)

Laundry and dry cleaning establishments where equipment is operated by customers: One space for each 200 square feet of floor area.

h)

Retail establishments, including catering, delicatessen and bakeries, but not other uses as provided below: One space for each 200 square feet of floor area.

i)

Accessory uses: One space for each 300 square feet of floor area devoted to an otherwise permissible accessory use.

j)

For all other nonresidential uses: One space for each 300 square feet of floor area.

(20)

Off-street parking variances.

a)

Reductions in parking requirements may be approved by the commission if a written shared parking arrangement that meets, the following criteria is secured:

1.

The arrangement shall avoid conflicting parking demands and provide for safe pedestrian circulation and access.

2.

All shared parking spaces shall be clearly marked and signed as reserved during specified hours.

b)

An applicant shall submit the following information as part of the application to reduce parking requirements and avoid conflicting parking demands:

1.

A to-scale map indicating location of proposed parking spaces.

2.

Indicate hours of business operation.

3.

Written consent of property owners agreeing to the shared parking arrangements;

4.

Copies of any parking leases. Renewed leases shall be provided to the commission as they are signed. Lapse of a required lease agreement shall terminate the permit.

(Ord. No. 2003-16, § 1(Att. A), 3-11-03; Ord. No. 2005-21, §§ 1, 2, 3-25-05; Ord. No. 2014-22(14-O-1092), § 2-NN-iv, 6-11-14 )