layout: default title: “1280.08 SITE PLAN REVIEW CRITERIA APPLICABLE TO PARTICULAR LAND USES.”—
In addition to the general review set forth in Section 1280.07, the following land uses shall be subject to the specialized review criteria set forth below:
(a) All business uses located on state routes and major thoroughfares: all business uses, regardless of location, occupying a building with a first floor area in excess of 10,000 square feet. regardless of whether such building is used for single or multiple occupancy:
(1) Visual separation.
A. Shall use buildings, walls, plantings, mounding and fencing to achieve effective visual screening of vehicles, outdoor storage and mechanical equipment from state routes and major thoroughfares.
B. Shall use one or more of the following to create required screening:
1. Buildings;
2. Brick or stone walls;
3. Evergreen plantings;
4. Mounding;
5. Wood fences;
6. Combinations of above.
C. Screening shall be designed to achieve year-round effectiveness and coordination with adjacent frontage development (existing and prospective), separation from adjacent residential uses, and effectiveness at time of planting. All walls and fences shall be in compliance with the City’s fence ordinance.
D. Walkway/bikeways fronting on public roads shall be designed and integrated with the screening and landscaping in a manner conforming to the relevant renderings provided in the City’s Land Use Master Plan.
E. Walkway/bikeway design, landscaping and plant material selection, and screening techniques shall not only relate to the development of the subject site but also coordinate with the existing and prospective development of adjacent sites and public facilities.
(2) Assurance of access and maintenance; development and use limitations.
A. A public access easement thirty-five feet in width along each frontage of a parcel abutting a state highway or major thoroughfare shall be dedicated to the City. Such easement shall not be considered right-of-way in the calculation of building setbacks or yard requirements. It shall be developed and maintained as open space in accord with the approved site plan. It shall not be used for motor vehicle parking, display of goods or storage of equipment unless specifically permitted by ordinance. Signs shall be permitted as regulated by the Sign Code.
B. The operative language of the easement shall be substantially similar to that set forth below: GRANT OF EASEMENT
“A Public Access Easement is hereby granted by (owner name) (hereinafter “Grantor”) to the City of Springboro, Ohio (hereinafter “Grantee”), upon the premises which are more particularly described in Exhibit “A” attached hereto, within which the Grantee shall have the following rights:
1. To enter upon and travel over the easement at any and all times, and to permit the public to do the same.
2. To regulate such use by the public by administrative rule or ordinance.
3. To prohibit or remove without notice any obstruction of lawful public access or use.
4. To require the owner of the property upon which the easement is located to properly maintain the paving, screening, landscaping and other improvements located thereon which were shown on the approved site plan for the premises.
5. Upon failure of the owner to promptly perform such maintenance, as determined by the Grantee’s zoning inspector, after affording the owner notice and opportunity for hearing, to take such action as may be reasonably necessary to fully correct any deficiencies in maintenance; and to charge the owner for the entire cost of such corrections, including but not limited to labor, materials, administrative expenses and legal fees; and at the Grantee’s discretion, to enforce the collection of such costs either by civil action or by special assessment against the property as in the abatement of nuisances.
6. The rights conveyed to Grantee under this easement shall not create any duty on the part of Grantee to eliminate hazards to the public health or safety within the easement area, nor diminish the owner’s legal duty to maintain the premises in a condition free of such hazards.
7. The easement herein conveyed shall run with the land and shall inure to the benefit of the Grantee and its successors in perpetuity.”
(b) Gasoline service stations; drug stores and grocery stores occupying more than 3,000 square feet of floor area; drive-in or drive-through restaurants; drive-through banks; car washes; all business uses with drive-in or drive-through facilities.
It is recognized that the businesses identified above are prone to (i) operate in a manner which promotes noise, traffic congestion and air pollution, or (ii) congregate in a manner which commits prime locations in the City to redundant businesses which cannot all survive and prosper, with resulting long-term detrimental effects on business diversity and on the economic well-being of the community. Therefore, the following criteria shall be met as a condition of site plan approval:
(1) Traffic safety and circulation.
A. The use shall be located for direct access to an arterial road or major collector.
B. The use shall have adequate off-street vehicle stacking area for drive-through function at peak times.
C. A credible traffic analysis shall be provided showing that the proposed use will not create a traffic hazard or excessive congestion because of its location. The analysis shall consider the following, at a minimum: the effects of turning movements in relation to nearby access points and intersections; the new traffic volume to be generated and its effects; proximity to and impact on pedestrian and bicycle movements; proximity to and impact on nearby public or private schools, playgrounds, hospitals, churches, and other public facilities or places of assembly.
(2) Streetscape impact. For all uses involving fueling or drive-through facilities, the site development shall locate vehicle parking, fueling areas, outdoor apparatus and drive-through facilities behind the principal structure and away from public streets to the maximum extent feasible. Automatic teller machines which are attached to the principal structure may be located on any side of the principal structure, however.
(3) Community need. A credible study shall be provided showing a significant community need for the business. There shall be a presumption of insufficient community need if the proposed business is to be located within one-half mile of a similar business on the same side of the same street or within the four quadrants of an intersection, including the road frontage extending one-half mile from the intersection in any direction. The presumption may be rebutted only by demonstrating that (i) sufficient economic demand exists to justify establishing the business at the proposed location, and (ii) in view of the existing competition, the market will readily support the use.
(c) Buildings Exceeding Thirty-Five (35) Feet in Height. No site plan for a building which exceeds 35 feet in height shall be approved without a special review by the Commission to assure the following, at a minimum:
(1) All legal requirements related to air traffic safety have been fully satisfied.
(2) The comfort and privacy of nearby residential uses will not be materially compromised.
(3) The scale of the development, taking into account the size and shape of the parcel and the location of structures to be constructed within it, is compatible with adjacent land uses and the surrounding neighborhood.
(4) No unusual and significant negative impacts on the public health, safety or general welfare will be created by the height of the building.
(d) Outdoor Storage Associated with Business Uses. Permitted outdoor storage of goods or business equipment shall be effectively screened from public streets by the method set forth in Sections 1280.08 (a)(1)C. to the maximum extent feasible. Unless otherwise specifically permitted, outdoor storage shall not be permitted closer to any public street than any building lawfully constructed on the site.
(e) Greenhouses, Garden Centers and Plant Nurseries. These uses are liberally permitted by the Zoning Ordinance to help preserve the rural ambiance of the original village. Accordingly, such uses shall be designed to minimize the visibility of manufactured items and parked vehicles and to emphasize the display of natural products. These uses shall also be carefully designed to avoid the creation of nuisances. To meet these objectives, the site plan shall generally provide for the following:
(1) Display of trees, plants, produce and other natural products along the frontage of the parcel to emphasize these items and to screen the interior of the parcel. This outdoor storage may be located closer to the street than the buildings on the parcel and within a public access easement, if attractively arranged.
(2) Display of manufactured and/or packaged materials (such as mulch) out of sight from the public street.
(3) Vehicle parking in the interior or at the rear of the parcel.
(4) Storage of bulk particulate goods such as mulch, topsoil, sand, etc. in the interior or at the rear of the parcel and within walled enclosures to minimize wind dispersal.
(5) Concrete or asphalt pavement of all surfaces on which customer vehicles are permitted to drive or park, to prevent tracking of mud and debris onto adjacent public streets.
(f) Car Washes.
(1) The site plan shall provide for adequate stacking of vehicles both before washing and during the drying process.
(2) The facility shall be designed to prevent dripping of water from washed vehicles onto the public street in quantities sufficient to form ice in freezing temperatures, or the facility shall be closed whenever there is a risk of icing. Techniques to avoid drippage may include: lengthy exit drives, traffic “bumps” and drains in exit drives, or automated blowers.
(3) Washing bays shall be oriented for the drive-through movement to be parallel to the street, or such bays shall be screened from the public street by the method set forth in Sections 1280.08(a)(1)C.
(g) Auto and Truck Rental Agencies. The site plan shall be designed to locate rental vehicle storage, employee parking and customer parking behind the building setback line. Storage of rental vehicles and employee parking shall be screened from the public street by the method set forth in Sections 1280.08(a)(1)C. to the extent feasible.
(h) Vehicle Repair Facilities.
(1) The site plan shall be designed to locate vehicles awaiting or undergoing repair, employee parking, and customer parking behind the building setback line.
(2) Outdoor storage of vehicles awaiting or undergoing repair shall be screened on all sides by a solid wood fence or brick or stone wall six (6) feet in height. Such fence or wall shall be maintained in good repair and attractive condition at all times.
(3) Tracking of oil or other petroleum-based substances onto the public right- of-way shall be avoided by proper management of such materials.
(i) Animal Hospitals and Veterinarians. No outdoor containment of animals shall be permitted. (Ord. 00-16. Passed 2-17-00.)