19.16.04 Site Design Standards: Non-Residential Development

1. Shopping Cart Corrals. a. Shopping cart corrals are required for big box or mid box retail uses. b. Roof covers are recommended as the local climate includes wind, rain, and winter snow conditions. If roof covers are utilized, they shall blend in with the established building design. c. The shopping cart corral rail finish shall match or compliment the exterior finishes of the main building through the use of two out of three of the same exterior colors and finishes. 2. Uses within Buildings. All uses established in any Commercial, Office Warehouse, Business Park, or Industrial zone shall be conducted entirely within a fully enclosed approved building except those uses deemed by the Land Use Authority to be customarily and appropriately conducted in the open. a. Uses which qualify for this exception include vegetation nurseries, home improvement centers with lumber, outdoor cafes, outdoor retail display, car wash vacuums, auto dealerships, and similar uses. b. Approved temporary uses, such as Christmas tree lots, shall be exempt from this requirement. 3. Outdoor Display a. All retail product displays shall be located under the buildings’ permanent roof structure or on designated display pads within front landscape areas. b. All display areas shall be clearly defined on the approved Site Plan and designated on the site with a contrasting colored, painted, or striped surface. c. Display areas shall not block building entries or exits, pedestrian walks, required parking spaces, or required landscaped areas. d. Seasonal uses outside of these areas may be approved through the Temporary Use process. 4. Outdoor Storage Standards: a. Outdoor storage areas shall be located to minimize views from adjacent public rights-of-way, residential development or zones, and adjacent developments. They shall be located behind or to the side of buildings. b. Outdoor storage shall be screened from public view. Screening shall consist of a solid wall, excluding CMU blocks. Screening shall be a minimum of 6 feet high and may reach a maximum height of 20 feet subject to approval by the Land Use Authority. A building permit is required for all fencing or walls higher than 7 feet. Chain link fencing is prohibited. c. The method of screening shall be architecturally integrated with the adjacent building in terms of materials and colors. d. A landscape strip with a minimum width of five feet shall be installed next to the screening fence or wall when the storage area is adjacent to or visible from a public right-of-way. e. Outdoor storage materials must be stored in an orderly manner such that fire codes are met and access to all areas of the yard is possible (e.g. access lanes). f. The outdoor storage materials may not extend above the height of the fence or wall. 5. Access Requirements. For each commercial lot: a. each roadway shall not be more than forty feet in width, measured at right angles to the center line of the driveway except as increased by permissible curb return radii; and b. the entire flare of any return radii shall fall within the right-of-way. 6. Off-street Truck Loading Space. Every structure involving the receipt or distribution by vehicles of materials or merchandise shall provide and maintain on the building’s lot adequate space for standing, loading, and unloading of the vehicles in order to avoid undue interference with public use of streets, alleys, required parking stalls, or accessible stalls. 7. Screening of Storage & Loading Areas a. To alleviate the unsightly appearance of loading facilities, these areas shall not be located on the side(s) of the building facing the public street(s). Such facilities shall be located interior to the site. This does not apply to Municipal Buildings. b. Screening for storage and loading areas shall be composed of 6 foot high solid masonry or architectural precast concrete walls with opaque gates and self-latching mechanisms, to keep gates closed when not in use. Bollards are required at the front of the masonry walls to protect the enclosure from trash collection vehicles. i. Distribution areas in Heavy Commercial, Office Warehouse, Light Industrial, and Industrial zones shall be buffered from view of the public right-of-way through the use of landscaping and opaque screening walls. Paved loading areas shall be set back a minimum of 10 feet from the right- of-way, and the setback area shall be landscaped with street trees every 30 feet adjacent to the public right-of-way. c. Gates shall be made of opaque metal for durability. Chain link gates with opaque slats are prohibited. d. The method of screening shall be architecturally integrated with the adjacent building in terms of materials and colors. e. Trash areas shall be designed to include the screening of large items (e.g. skids and pallets) as well as the trash bin(s) that are needed for the business (unless storage is otherwise accommodated behind required screened storage areas). 8. Buffers. a. A wall and landscaping, fencing, or landscaping of acceptable design shall effectively screen the borders of any commercial or industrial lot which abuts an existing agricultural or platted residential use. Such a wall, fence, or landscaping shall be at least six feet in height, unless a wall or fence of a different height is required by the Land Use Authority as part of a site Plan review. Such wall, fence, or landscaping shall be maintained in good condition with no advertising thereon, except as permitted by Chapter 19.18. b. No chain link or wood fences are permitted as buffering or screening between commercial and residential. Masonry and solid vinyl are suggested types of fences, and as circumstances require, one or the other may be required. c. Unless otherwise required by this Title, walls or fences used as a buffer or screen shall not be less than six feet in height. 9. Parking Lot Buffers. a. There shall be a minimum of 10 feet of landscaping between parking areas and side and rear property lines adjacent to agricultural and residential land uses. (See Chapter 19.09, Off-street parking requirements for additional standards.) 10. Building Buffer: No building shall be closer than five feet from any private road, driveway, or parking space. The intent of this requirement is to provide for building foundation landscaping and to provide protection to the building. Exceptions may be made for any part of the building that may contain an approved drive-up window, Loading Bays, or for the corners of buildings. Building corners shall be protected by bollards if an exception is granted. 11. Change in Grade Buffer: Where a proposed change in grade would increase the elevation of a non-residential development adjacent to existing residential development greater than three feet, a buffer shall be established adjacent to the existing residential development, as follows: a. An increased setback requirement of two feet per one-foot of elevation change, as measured by the difference between the existing finished floor elevation of the nearest building on the residential property and the proposed finished floor elevation of the nearest non-residential building. The increased setback requirement shall be in addition to the existing setback requirement, as outlined in Section 19.04. i. Should there be any dispute regarding the requirement of this buffer, the applicant for the proposed non-residential development shall be responsible for providing a survey showing the change in finished floor elevation between the proposed non-residential development and the existing residential development. b. Screening: i. A six-foot masonry wall shall be constructed on the subject property, inward from the shared property line, and shall be set at or within one foot vertically of the finished floor elevation of the nearest non-residential building located on the subject property; and ii. One tree shall be required per 15 linear feet along the masonry wall required in (i) above to provide additional screening and privacy. c. No drive-thru lanes shall be permitted within the setback area. d. This buffer shall be in addition to any other required buffers. e. Exceptions: The Land Use Authority may grant exceptions to the buffer requirements outlined in this section, as follows: i. The proposed non-residential development is separated from an existing residential development by a roadway, canal, trail corridor, or powerline easement, measuring at least twenty feet in width, or by any other existing natural or man-made feature that provides equivalent physical separation; or, ii. An existing natural or man-made feature that provides visual screening equivalent to that required by the standard buffer as described in this section. iii. The determination of “equivalent physical separation” or “equivalent visual screening” shall be made by the Land Use Authority based on site specific conditions, including but not limited to topography, vegetation, and built structures.