HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.b. C-4 General Commercial Zoning District Discussion
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
City Council Regular Meeting: November 2, 2018
AGENDA ITEM: C-4 General Commercial Zoning District
Discussion
AGENDA SECTION:
New Business
PREPARED BY: Kyle Klatt, Senior Planner AGENDA NO. 7.b.
ATTACHMENTS: C4 General Commercial Zoning Excerpt
APPROVED BY: LJM
RECOMMENDED ACTION: No action required
POTENTIAL ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT
Staff would like to discuss with the City Council the uses allowed in the C-4 General Commercial zoning
district. Of particular interest are the City’s regulations for non-commercial uses within the C4 General
Commercial zoning district, and whether or not these types of uses are consistent with the purpose and
intent of this district (i.e. to promote commercial activity). Attached is an excerpt of the City’s C4 zoning
requirements for discussion; staff will further discuss this matter at the workshop.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff is looking for feedback from the Council concerning the C4 district and zoning for membership
organizations and similar uses.
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11-4-14: C-4 GENERAL COMMERCIAL DISTRICT (Excerpt with Purpose Statement and Uses):
A. Purpose and Intent: The purpose of the general commercial district is to provide a wide range of
goods and services to the entire community. Due to their proximity to major arterial streets, businesses
in this district are dependent on large volumes of traffic, thus need to be highly visible and accessible. It
is the intent of this district to promote development that maximizes the full development potential in
this area. Zoning standards are intended to promote compatibility in form, function and style. (Ord. B-
161, 11-1-2005)
B. Permitted Uses: The following uses are permitted uses in the C-4 district:
Brew on premises and wine on premises stores.
Brewpubs, excluding drive-through facilities.
Child and adult daycare.
Communications businesses.
Eating and drinking establishments without drive-through facilities.
Essential service facilities.
Financial institutions without drive-through facilities.
General repair services, including appliance repair, furniture reupholstery and repair, jewelry,
clock, watch, radio, small electronics, small engine and television repair occurring within an
enclosed building.
Hotels and motels.
Indoor amusement and recreation services, including video arcades subject to the following
restrictions:
1. Any arcade with fifteen (15) or more machines shall have an adult supervisor on duty during all
hours of operation.
2. No arcade shall be operated within five hundred feet (500') of a school, church, or residence
unless it is an integral part of a shopping center and does not have an entrance except from
within the shopping center.
Membership organizations.
Microbreweries, with or without associated taprooms.
Microdistilleries, with or without associated cocktail rooms.
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Personal services, including barber and beauty shops, fitness centers, funeral services and
mortuaries, facilities, laundry services, shoe repair, photography and video rental.
Professional services and offices, including architects and attorney offices, dental and medical
clinics, financial services, insurance providers, real estate businesses and the like.
Public or governmental services.
Public parking lots and transit stations.
Public parks, owned and operated by a government unit, including recreational facilities and
structures consistent with the public area.
Retail sales, including automobile parts, books and stationery, clothing, drug, gifts and
novelties, groceries, furniture and hardware, hobby, video sales, jewelry, and sporting goods
stores or the like. Automobile sales, new and used, are prohibited.
Small wireless facilities within right-of-way, subject to the regulations contained in title 4,
chapter 2 of this Code.
Theaters, excluding drive-in theaters.
Veterinary services, not including outdoor runs or kennels. (Ord. B-161, 11-1-2005; amd. Ord.
B-243, 5-20-2015; Ord. B-265, 11-21-2017)
C. Accessory Uses: The following uses shall be permitted accessory uses:
Car wash, full service, accessory to minor auto repair or nonservice motor fuel stations.
Off street parking for a permitted, conditional, or interim use.
Outdoor display/sales and storage. Outdoor display/storage or sales of goods shall be allowed
on the private sidewalk immediately in front of the principal building, provided that:
1. The outdoor display/storage or sales area shall not block a handicap accessible route and shall
maintain a minimum four foot (4') clearance for pedestrian access.
2. The outdoor display/storage or sales area does not exceed four feet (4') in height and is
maintained in an orderly fashion.
3. No public address system shall be audible from a noncommercial or nonindustrial use or
district.
4. Outdoor display/storage or sales shall only be conducted by the owner or lessee of the
premises.
5. Only merchandise that is normally manufactured, sold, or stored by the occupant on the
premises shall be sold and/or promoted.
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Outdoor seating or dining areas for ten (10) or fewer seats, accessory to permitted or
conditional uses, subject to:
1. The site shall be designed to limit the effects of this outdoor seating or dining areas on
adjacent properties.
2. The outdoor seating or dining area shall be located on private property along the front, side or
rear of the principal building, but shall not be located within a required setback or on a side
abutting any residential use or district.
3. The outdoor seating or dining area shall not interfere with circulation in any required parking,
loading, maneuvering or pedestrian area. A minimum four foot (4') passageway shall be
maintained along the private sidewalk for pedestrians.
4. Patrons shall not be served food or beverages outside, except that employees may refill
beverage containers in the seating area. At no time shall the seating area be used for the
consumption of alcoholic beverages.
5. The outdoor seating or dining area shall be equipped with refuse containers. The business
owner shall ensure that the area is properly maintained and litter free.
6. No public address system shall be audible from a noncommercial or nonindustrial use or
district.
Roof mounted solar energy systems, subject to section 11-2-12 of this title. (Ord. B-161, 11-1-
2005; amd. Ord. B-231, 3-4-2014; Ord. B-248, 7-21-2015)
D. Conditional Uses: The following uses are conditional uses in the C-4 district, and are subject to the
conditional use permit provisions outlined in this title:
Automotive repair, minor, subject to:
1. The site and building(s) shall be designed to limit the effects of this use on adjacent properties
and public rights of way. No automotive repair use shall be located on a site abutting any
residential use or district. Sites or properties separated by a public right of way shall not be
considered abutting.
2. All repair, assembly, disassembly or maintenance of vehicles shall occur within a closed
building, except minor maintenance, including tire inflation, adding oil, wiper replacement and
the like. All overhead vehicle doors on the building shall remain closed except when a vehicle is
entering or exiting the building.
3. Gasoline pumps/sales shall require an additional conditional use permit subject to the
performance standards outlined in this subsection for nonservice motor fuel stations.
4. Outdoor storage of parts, materials, and equipment is prohibited.
5. Automotive repair uses shall designate on a site plan separate areas for customer parking and
storage of inoperable vehicles awaiting repair or repaired vehicles awaiting pick up. These areas
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shall meet the design standards outlined in section 11-6-1, "Off Street Parking Requirements", of
this title and be screened as follows:
a. Customer parking areas shall meet the applicable screening standards outlined in this
title including, but not limited to, section 11-6-1, "Off Street Parking Requirements", of
this title and this section.
b. Inoperable vehicles awaiting repair or repaired vehicles awaiting pick up shall be
stored behind the principal building. Landscaping and berming shall be a secondary
source for screening said vehicles. Should landscaping and berming be found ineffective
by the city, the city may approve screening walls and/or decorative fencing as an
alternative. Screening walls shall be constructed of the same materials as the principal
building and shall not extend more than twenty five feet (25') without a change in
architecture to reduce their mass and appearance. Stacking areas shall have a minimum
ninety percent (90%) opacity screen to a height of six feet (6').
c. Junk or unlicensed vehicles awaiting repair or pick up shall be stored completely
inside a closed building in accordance with the performance standards outlined in
section 11-2-9 of this title.
6. Parking of vehicles on public right of way shall be prohibited.
7. All painting must be conducted in an approved paint booth. All paint booths and all other
activities of the operation shall thoroughly control the emission of fumes, dust, or other
particulate matter in compliance with Minnesota pollution control standards and applicable fire
and building codes.
8. All flammable materials, including liquids and rags, shall conform to the applicable provisions
of the Minnesota fire code.
9. No public address system shall be audible from a noncommercial or nonindustrial use or
district.
Drive-through facilities.
1. The site and building(s) shall be designed to limit the effects of the drive-through on adjacent
properties and public rights of way. No use with a drive-through window shall be located
abutting any residential use or district.
2. Drive-through facilities shall have a minimum six (6) stacking spaces per drive-through
window. Fast food uses operating more than one window per individual drive aisle shall meet the
stacking requirements for a single drive-through facility. Each space shall be a minimum of nine
feet (9') wide by eighteen feet (18') long.
3. The principal building shall be the primary source for screening the drive-through facility and
stacking and exiting areas from adjacent properties and/or rights of way. Landscaping and
berming shall be a secondary source for screening drive-through, stacking or exiting areas.
Should landscaping and berming be found ineffective by the city, the city may approve screening
walls and/or decorative fencing as an alternative. Screening walls shall be constructed of the
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same materials as the principal building and shall not extend more than twenty five feet (25')
without a change in architecture to reduce their mass and appearance. Stacking areas shall have
a minimum ninety percent (90%) opacity screen to a height of six feet (6') while exiting areas
shall have a minimum fifty percent (50%) opacity screen to a height of at least four feet (4').
4. Stacking lanes, order board intercom, and service window shall be designed and located to
minimize noises, emissions, and headlight glare upon adjacent properties and public rights of
way.
5. Stacking lanes shall not interfere with circulation through any required parking, loading,
maneuvering or pedestrian area.
6. No public address system shall be audible from a noncommercial or nonindustrial use or
district.
7. In addition to the freestanding sign allowed by the sign ordinance, fast food uses may display
menu signs related to drive-through facilities, provided that:
a. Not more than one menu sign per defined drive-through aisle is allowed.
b. Individual menu signs shall be single sided with an area not to exceed thirty two (32)
square feet including both menu information and sign cabinet.
c. The height of the menu sign(s) shall not exceed eight feet (8') including its base or
pole measured from grade to the top of the structure.
d. The menu sign(s) shall not encroach into any parking setback and shall be located
directly adjacent to the drive-through aisle and oriented in such a manner that the sign
provides information to the drive-through patrons only and does not provide
supplemental advertising to pass-by traffic and does not impair visibility or obstruct
circulation.
Educational services, excluding elementary and secondary schools.
Nonservice motor fuel station subject to the requirements in the C-3 district in subsection 11-4-
13D of this chapter.
Outdoor seating or dining areas for eleven (11) or more seats.
1. The site and enclosure(s) shall be designed to limit the effects of outdoor seating or dining
areas on contiguous properties and/or public rights of way.
2. The seating area shall be located on private property along the front, side or rear of the
principal building but shall not be located within a required setback or on the side abutting any
residential use or district.
3. The seating area shall not interfere with circulation in any required parking, loading,
maneuvering or pedestrian area. A minimum four foot (4') passageway shall be maintained along
the private sidewalk for pedestrians.
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4. The seating area shall be located in a controlled or cordoned area acceptable to the city with
at least one opening to an acceptable pedestrian walk.
5. When a liquor license is granted, an uninterrupted enclosure is required and the enclosure
shall only have access through the principal building.
6. The seating area shall not be permitted within two hundred feet (200') of any residential use
or district as measured at the property line and shall be separated from residential use or district
by the principal structure or other method of screening acceptable to the city. The minimum
distance from a residential use or district may be reduced should the city determine the
applicant has added sufficient elements to reduce the impact of this use.
7. No public address system shall be audible from a noncommercial or nonindustrial use or
district.
Small breweries, with or without associated taprooms, subject to:
1. The site and building(s) shall be designed to limit the effects of this use on adjacent properties
and public rights of way. No loading docks or overhead vehicle doors shall be on a side abutting
any public rights of way or any residential use or district.
2. The principal building shall be the primary source for screening of the loading area or any
required outdoor equipment.
3. Outdoor seating is subject to the performance standards outlined in this subsection for
outdoor seating and section 3-1-14 of this code.
Transmission facilities greater than one-fourth (1/4) mile in length. (Ord. B-161, 11-1-2005;
amd. Ord. B-236, 7-15-2014; Ord. B-243, 5-20-2015; Ord. B-248, 7-21-2015)
E. Interim Uses:
Those interim uses listed in the C-3 highway commercial district.