(A) The GHBD General Highway Business Districts are designed to serve those commercial activities which function relatively independent of intense pedestrian traffic and which should not be located in the Central Business District or in the Neighborhood Business District. The General Highway Business Districts shall be located along state and federal highways or other highways designated as major streets, and should be established in zones of two acres or larger.
(B) The following uses are permitted.
(1) Alcoholic beverages, packaged, retail stores.
(2) Veterinary facilities, provided no pens or kennels are located closer than 20 feet to any property line, and there are no open kennels.
(3) Assembly halls, coliseums, ballrooms, and similar structures.
(4) Auction houses where all sales are conducted within an enclosed structure and no goods or wares are stored or displayed on the premises outside the auction house and there is provided one space of off-street parking for each four seats of patron use plus one space for each 100 square feet of floor space not containing seats.
(5) Automobile parking lots and structures.
(6) Automobile parts and supplies, new.
(7) Automobile repair garages, including body works.
(8) Automobile sales, new and used, including related repair services.
(9) Automobile washing establishments.
(10) Bakery product distributing facilities.
(11) Banks, drive-in.
(12) Barber and beauty shops.
(13) Bicycle sales and repair
(14) Boat works and sales.
(15) Bottling works.
(16) Bowling alleys, skating rinks, baseball and golf driving ranges, miniature and par-3 golf courses, mechanical rides, riding stables, and other commercial recreation facilities.
(17) Building materials and equipment sales, including open storage when fenced.
(18) Bus repair and storage terminals.
(19) Bus stations.
(20) Business colleges, barber and beauty colleges, art schools, music and dance studios, and similar uses.
(21) Cabinet, woodworking, and upholstery shops.
(22) Chiropractic and dental clinics.
(23) Churches and their related uses.
(24) Clubs and lodges operated on a nonprofit basis as evidenced by an Internal Revenue Service tax exemption granted under the provisions of § 501(c)(3) and (4) of the Internal Revenue Code and which cater exclusively to members and their guests.
(25) Contractor's offices and storage yards.
(26) Crematories, as defined in G.S. § 90-210.121(11), to wit:
"CREMATORY" or "CREMATORIUM." The building or buildings or portion of a building on a single site that houses the cremation equipment, the holding and processing facilities, the business office, and other parts of the crematory business. A crematory must comply with all applicable public health and environmental laws and rules and must contain the equipment and meet all of the standards established by the rules adopted by the Board.
(27) Curio and souvenir shops.
(28) Customary accessory uses and structures, including open storage, provided the areas devoted to open storage are enclosed by a solid fence not less than eight feet in height.
(29) Dairy bars and ice cream manufacturing for retail sales on the premises only.
(30) Dairy products processing and distributing facilities.
(31) Developmental group care facility, defined as a facility licensed by the state, or operated by a nonprofit corporation chartered pursuant to G.S. Ch. 55, which provides personal care and rehabilitation services for persons having developmental disabilities. Such facilities may have accessory uses conducted on the premises, including but not limited to daycare schooling of residents, training programs in occupational fields, and production of goods and crafts to be sold off premises.
(32) Dry cleaning and laundry plants.
(33) Electrical supplies and equipment, sales and service.
(34) Farm machinery assembly, sales, and repairs.
(35) Feed and seed stores.
(36) Floral shops.
(37) Food stores and meat markets, retail only, but excluding the killing or dressing of flesh or fowl.
(38) Freezer lockers and ice plants.
(39) Fruit stands and grocery stores housed in reasonably permanent structures.
(40) Funeral homes and mortuaries.
(41) Furriers and fur storage.
(42) Glass and mirror shops, venetian blind and awning shops, tile companies, and similar building specialties outlets.
(43) Greenhouses and horticultural nurseries.
(44) Industrial supplies and equipment, sales, and service.
(45) Industrial trade schools, research laboratories.
(46) Jewelry repair and pawn shops.
(47) Launderettes and Laundromats.
(48) Libraries, museums, and art galleries.
(49) Locksmiths and gunsmiths.
(50) Lumberyards, building materials storage and sales, including open storage when fenced.
(51) Machine and welding shops.
(52) Medical and dental clinics and laboratories.
(53) Manufactured and mobile home and recreation equipment display lots.
(54) Monument works and sales.
(55) Hotels/motels.
(56) Motorcycle, lawnmower, and power saw sales and service.
(57) Newspaper offices and printing plants incidental to the offices.
(58) Offices, business, professional, and public.
(59) Opticians and optical goods stores.
(60) Photographic studios and camera supply stores.
(61) Physical culture and reducing salons excluding massage parlors and related businesses subject to the provisions of Chapter 63 of this code.
(62) Plumbing and heating supply houses.
(63) Printing, publishing, and reproducing establishments.
(64) Bars, any structure in which a bar is in operation shall be at least 400 feet from any residential use, residential district, place of worship, school, or licensed child day care and located not less than 1,500 feet from any other existing bar and/or billiard hall. Measurements of location shall be a straight line from nearest point of property line to nearest point of property line.
(65) Public safety facilities, subject to the conditions of § 92.093(C)(5) relating to public safety facilities.
(66) Public works and public utility facilities, subject to the conditions of § 92.093(C)(6) relating to public works and public utility facilities.
(67) Radio and television repair shops, electric shops.
(68) Radio and television stations and towers.
(69) Railroad stations and yards.
(70) Restaurants, including drive-in restaurants, provided the drive-in restaurants are fenced on all sides which abut residential districts. The fences shall be solid from the ground to a height of six feet.
(71) Retail establishments such as department, clothing, fabric, shoe, variety, notion, drug, hardware, furniture, appliances, floor covering, paint, antique, art goods, jewelry, gift, music, toy, sporting goods, books and stationery, magazine, candy, tobacco, pet, hobby, and craft stores, but not excluding similar retail outlets.
(72) Secondhand stores and swap shops.
(73) Service stations, provided that gasoline pump islands shall be located at least 15 feet behind the property line; provided that pump island canopies may be constructed to extend to the street right-of-way; provided further that on all sides where such stations abut residential districts, a six foot high fence and suitable landscaping shall be provided.
(74) Sexually oriented business subject to the following conditions and restrictions:
(a) Spacing from other sexually oriented business. No such business shall locate within 1,200 feet of any other adult oriented business, as measured in a straight line from property line to property line;
(b) Spacing from other uses. No sexually oriented business shall be located within 1,000 feet of a church, public or private elementary school, child day care, nursery school, public park or residentially zoned property, or within 250 feet of any establishment with an on premises ABC license, as measured in a straight line from property line to property line;
(c) Maximum area. The gross floor area of any adult oriented establishment shall not exceed 3,000 square feet;
(d) Prohibition of sleeping quarters. Except for an adult motel/hotel, no adult oriented business may have sleeping quarters;
(e) Restriction of uses on the same property or in the same building, structure, or portion thereof. There shall not be more than one adult oriented business in the same building, structure or portion thereof. No other principal or accessory use may occupy the same building, structure, property, or portion thereof with any adult oriented business;
(f) No exceptions from the location requirement of sexually oriented businesses. The Albemarle Zoning Board of Adjustments shall have no authority to grant a variance from the separation standards set forth in (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) above.
(75) Sheet metal, roofing, plumbing, heating, and refrigeration shops.
(76) Shoe repair and shine shops.
(77) Shops for grooming pet animals, provided that there are no open kennels.
(78) Sign painting and fabricating shops.
(79) Tailoring, dressmaking, and millinery shops.
(80) Tattoo parlors.
(81) Taxicab stands.
(82) Telephone and telegraph offices.
(83) Tent services conducted by church. Church services conducted temporarily in a tent when off-street parking is provided and a permit is obtained from the City Fire Department as required by § 29.1 of the Fire Prevention Code. Any person or organization desiring to conduct tent services shall first file an application with the City Clerk stating the location, date, time, duration, and size and capacity of the tent.
(84) Theaters, drive-in, subject to the following conditions.
(a) No part of any theater screen, projection booth, or other building shall be located closer than 500 feet to any residential district or closer than 50 feet to any property line of the public right-of-way; and no parking space shall be located closer than 100 feet to any residential district.
(b) The theater screen shall not face a major street or highway, and reservoir parking space off the street shall be provided for patrons awaiting admission in an amount of not less than 30% of the vehicular capacity of the theater.
(85) Theaters housed in permanent indoor structures.
(86) Tire recapping shops.
(87) Trucking terminals, transfer companies.
(88) Vending companies.
(89) Wholesale storage of gasoline and oil products, including bottled gas and oxygen.
(90) Winery and tasting room.
(91) Pilot plant manufacturing not involving chemical process, noise, odor, smoke, or other environmental pollution, and not employing more than 50 people, to be conducted in an existing building originally constructed for other permitted uses in this district but no longer suitable for the commercial uses; provided that off-street parking is provided for all employees, visitors, and loading operations.
(92) Nursery schools and kindergartens; provided that at least 100 square feet of outdoor play area is provided for each child.
(93) Skateboarding (indoor and outdoor except upon any public sidewalk and street as prohibited by G.S. § 82-37.1).
(94) Inflatables (indoor and outdoor).
(95) Paintball (indoor and outdoor).
(96) Fitness gym (indoor).
(97) Batting cages (indoor and outdoor).
(98) Zip-line (indoor and outdoor).
(99) Rock climbing (indoor and outdoor).
(100) Laser-tag (indoor and outdoor).
(101) Micro-brewery.
(102) Brewery.
(103) Tasting room (accessory use for retail beer or wine store - indoors, if allowed by state regulations.
(104) Automotive rental (car and truck).
(105) Boarding kennel, provided no outdoor kennels are allowed.
(106) General gaming establishment.
(107) Extended stay hotel/motels when located not less than one half mile from the same use.
(108) Inpatient rehabilitation facilities when located at least one half mile from the same use.
(109) Drop-in short-term child care.
(C) The following special uses are permitted when authorized by the City Council after the Council holds a public hearing.
(1) Wholesale and warehousing establishments.
(2) Pilot plant manufacturing not involving chemical processes, noise, odor, smoke, or any other environmental pollution and not employing more than 150 people, to be conducted in an existing building originally constructed for other permitted uses in this district but no longer suitable for the commercial uses. The permit granted shall be for no longer than two years, and off-street parking shall be provided for all employees, visitors, and loading operations.
(3) Coal and wood sales.
(4) A building or group of buildings that contain varying sizes of individual, compartmentalized, controlled, and exterior-accessed stalls or lockers for the dead storage of non-hazardous materials; provided, however, that the storage units shall be enclosed by a fence not less than six feet in height. No business activities other than the rental of storage units shall be conducted on the premises.
(5) Light manufacturing not involving chemical processes, noise, odor, smoke, or other environmental pollution and not employing more than 50 people. The operation shall be conducted in an existing building originally constructed for other permitted uses in this district but no longer suitable for those uses; and provided that the manufacturing process has been operated as a pilot plant operation as a special use as provided in division (2) above and an environmental impact report is prepared at the expense of the applicant based on the pilot operation. The manufacturing process may not be changed to any other than that used during the pilot project and covered by the environmental impact report, nor shall this permit be transferable to another owner. Off-street parking shall be provided for all employees, visitors, and loading operations.
(6) The collection of nonhazardous recyclable materials such as aluminum cans, glass, and paper, provided that adequate packing be provided, no litter or trash be allowed, and there be no outside storage.
(7) Beach bingo as defined in G.S. § 309.6(6), provided that at each establishment where operated there shall be one parking space for each four seats provided for patron use, plus one parking space for each 100 square feet of floor or ground area used for amusement or assembly, but not containing fixed seats.
(8) Telecommunication towers and facilities complying with the provision of § 92.075 of the City Code of Ordinances.
(9) Billiard halls provided that they shall be located not less than 1,500 feet from any other existing bar and/or billiard hall. Measurements of location shall be a straight line from nearest point of property line to nearest point of property line.
(10) Go-cart tracks.
(11) Flea market - outdoor.
(12) Emergency temporary housing when located not less than one half mile from the same use.
(13) Donation drop boxes, trailers, accessory buildings or any other method of collection for donated items including but not limited to clothing that is located outside the principal structure on the property shall meet all of the following:
(a) Operated by a nonprofit group [IRS § 501(c)(3)];
(b) Display the owner's name and phone number in prominent location on the donation drop box and a list of charitable activities that will benefit from donation;
(c) Located on a developed lot that is owned or leased by the nonprofit group who maintain the boxes;
(d) Located no closer than 20 feet to any public street right-of-way;
(e) Constructed of noncombustible material and be watertight and properly maintained;
(f) Removal of any donations left outside the box within 36 hours;
(g) Not be located within any parking space or within any landscaped area required by regulations of the City of Albemarle Code;
(h) Obtain a City of Albemarle special use permit prior to placement.
(14) Colleges, universities, technical institutes, public elementary and secondary schools, and private schools having curricula substantially the same as offered in public schools and including dormitories when located on the campus of any of the above.
(D) Any donation box placed in the zoning jurisdiction of the city without an approved special use permit will be impounded on city property and the owner of the box must pay an impoundment fee of $100 per box. If boxes have a telephone number or email information on them, city staff will attempt to make contact and advise that contact that they will have 72 hours from the time of contact to remove the box prior to impoundment.
(E) After a box is impounded, the owner must contact the Planning Department to arrange payment and show proof of ownership before the box is returned. Boxes left in impoundment over 60 days will be disposed of by the city.
(‘58 Code, §§ 19-87 and 19-91) (Ord. 79-1, passed 1-15-79; Am. Ord. 79-4, passed 6-25-79; Am. 79-12, passed 8-20-79; Am. Ord. 80-9, passed 5-19-80; Am. Ord. 81-3, passed 3-16-81; Am. 81-8, passed 4-21-81; Am. Ord. 83-28, passed - - ; Am. Ord. 86-8, passed 5-19-86; Am. Ord. 87-8, passed 5-11-87; Am. Ord. 88-9, passed 4-18-88; Am. Ord. 88-17, passed 6-12-88; Am. Ord. 89-4, passed 4-3-89; Am. Ord. 89-15, passed - -89; Am. Ord. 93-23, passed 6-21-93; Am. Ord. 94-17, passed 8-15-94; Am. Ord. 94-30, passed 12-19-94; Am. Ord. 97-08, passed 3-17-97; Am. Ord. 97-58, passed 1-5-98; Am. Ord. 99-23, passed 6-21-99; Am. Ord. 00-36, passed 10-16- 00; Am. Ord. 00-47, passed 12-18-00; Am. Ord. 17-01, passed 4-16-01; Am. Ord. 01-34, passed 7-16-01; Am. Ord. 02-48, passed 10-21-02; Am. Ord. 06-06, passed 2-6-06; Am. Ord. 06-08, passed 4-3-06; Am. Ord. 07-21, passed 7-16-07; Am. Ord. 08-21, passed 6-16-08; Am. Ord. 08-27, passed 7-21-08; Am. Ord. 11-35, passed 12-19-11; Am. Ord. 12-09, passed 3-19-12; Am. Ord. 12-14, passed 4-16-12; Am. Ord. 12-33, passed 10-15-12; Am. Ord. 13-23, passed 6-17-13; Am. Ord 14-28, passed 10-6-14; Am. Ord. 17-15, passed - - ; Am. Ord. 18-31, passed 9-4-18; Am. Ord. 21-02, passed 1-19-21; Am. Ord. 21-26, passed 7-12-21; Am. Ord. 22-01, passed 1-3-22; Ord. 22-49, passed 7-11-22; Am. Ord. 24-05, passed 2-19-24; Am. Ord. 24-25, passed 8-19-24) Penalty, see § 10.80