(A) Drive through facilities are not permitted.
(B) Drive-in facilities offering goods or services directly to a customer waiting in a parked motor vehicle are not permitted.
(C) All buildings in the General Commercial District must be served by public water facilities.
(D) All septic or sewage disposal systems shall be located and installed in accordance with the State of Indiana and Porter County Board of Health ordinances, laws, statutes, rules, regulations, permits and orders. It shall be the responsibility of the owner of a lot in the General Commercial District to provide evidence of soil suitability and area to the Building Commissioner as determined by a soil scientist licensed by the State of Indiana.
(E) Pre-engineered metal buildings are permitted provided that 50% of the facade facing a public street shall consist of brick, stone or cultured stone and 33.33% of each side of the building (excluding the rear) shall consist of brick, stone or cultured stone.
(F) No building or structure shall be constructed, located, erected, altered, modified, repaired, maintained or used in the General Commercial District, in whole or in part, except for the specific uses authorized in the General Commercial District in compliance with the regulations of this subchapter, the provisions of the State of Indiana Administrative Building Code (IAC Title 675 et seq., as amended), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 USC 12101 et seq., as amended) ("ADA") and all other applicable federal, state, county and municipal ordinances, statutes, laws, rules, regulations, permits and orders.
(G) All utilities servicing a building or structure shall be installed underground.
(H) Side facades shall be of finished quality and shall be of color and materials that are similar to the front facade and blend with structures within the lot. Any lot with more than 1 building shall have a common and coherent architectural theme throughout the lot.
(I) Principal buildings shall have clearly defined, highly visible customer entrances with features such as awnings, canopies, porticoes or arches.
(J) Rooflines shall be varied to add visual interest and shall either be:
(1) Pitched with a pitch of at least 3 vertical inches to every 12 horizontal inches and shall contain an eave that is no less than 12 inches; or
(2) Shall contain parapets or mansard roofs that conceal a flat roof and rooftop equipment such as HVAC units along all roof edges.
(K) Loading docks, utility meters, HVAC equipment, trash receptacles and other service functions shall be incorporated into the overall design theme of the building or structure so that the architectural design is continuous. These areas shall be located and screened so that the visual and acoustic impacts of these functions are fully contained and out of view from adjacent lots and public streets.
(L) No rubbish, debris, garbage, filth, refuse or other obnoxious matter shall be kept in open containers or piled on the open ground. Outdoor trash receptacles shall be screened from view from adjacent lots and public streets and shall be enclosed and covered. All waste materials must be periodically disposed of at least once in each 7-day period.
(M) No outdoor storage of goods, business articles or implements, shall be allowed on the lot except for seasonal inventory in an outdoor sales area. All storage of goods, business articles or implements shall be within the building or structure on the lot or be surrounded by a solid 6-foot tall fence located in the rear or side yard.
(N) Owners of adjacent lots are encouraged to provide continuous off-street parking areas or connecting off-street driveways and sidewalks to promote off-street pedestrian and vehicular ingress and egress between lots.
(O) Buildings, structures and accessory uses on a lot shall be screened from abutting residential uses with an evergreen hedgerow in accordance with the following provisions:
(1) The planting area shall be made fertile and planted within 6 months from the date of issuance of a certificate of occupancy and thereafter reasonably maintained with permanent materials to provide for a suitable screen from adjacent lots;
(2) Minimum height for plant materials shall be 4 feet;
(3) Minimum planting width shall be 5 feet on center; and
(4) Plant materials shall not be placed closer than 5 feet from the lot line.
(Ord. 2013-09, passed 12-16-2013)