(A) Purpose and intent. The purpose of the EC District is to provide for and foster comprehensively planned employment centers in campus-like settings to attract employers of highly skilled workers and primarily higher paying jobs, including but not limited to research and development, institutional, office, flex space, and other light and limited industrial uses, while also providing a more flexible approach to design and development. In this district, the integration of trails, sidewalks, communal plazas, and share amenities is encouraged. The following objectives are sought in providing for the EC District:
(1) To facilitate a well-planned development with higher standards of development than are typically found in other employment districts;
(2) To provide for development that will incorporate the natural features of the land and protect the environment;
(3) To maintain a harmonious relationship between the various buildings and sites contained within the district;
(4) To provide development patterns that recognize the character of established surrounding neighborhoods and other types of land uses;
(5) To provide for interaction and integration among users, thereby contributing to a positive and healthy working environment;
(6) To ensure that the limited number of permitted and accessory residential, retail, service, eating and drinking uses within the district have the principal purpose of serving the employment campus;
(7) To encourage green spaces, walking trails and other recreational uses;
(8) To serve as an economic development tool in the effort to increase the county’s commercial and industrial tax base;
(9) To encourage development of buildings that can be easily adapted as the range of tenants and regional market for employment evolves; and
(10) To provide a flexible employment district.
(B) Development plan. The developer of any employment campus (prior to any construction), shall present to the Planning Commission for its review, a development plan of the proposed campus. The purpose of the development plan is to provide the Planning Commission with the necessary information to ascertain whether the proposed employment campus is consistent with the purposes of the district as articulated in division (A) above. The development plan shall show such items as the size of the project, the location and approximate shapes of buildings, road ingress and egress patterns, parking areas, storm drainage, and water and sewerage facilities, and such other information as is necessary for the Planning Commission to give the necessary consideration. The Planning Commission shall require phasing of construction of the residential, retail, and service portions of the employment campus to ensure that these components are in support of the primary employment uses.
(1) It shall be the duty of the Planning Commission to ascertain whether the location, size, and other characteristics of the site, and the proposed plan, comply with the following conditions:
(a) The proposed development will not cause points of traffic congestion on existing or planned roads in the areas of such proposed location; and
(b) The plans provide for a development consisting of one or more groups of establishments in buildings of integrated and harmonious design, together with adequate and properly
arranged traffic patterns, parking facilities and landscaping, so as to result in an attractive and efficient development.
(C) Parking. For all commercial, industrial, institutional, and public uses, parking shall be provided in accordance with a formula of five parking spaces for every 1,000 square feet of building space.
(D) Outdoor storage. No outdoor storage of equipment, material or products will be permitted.
(E) Signage. A signage plan shall be submitted at the time of development plan review to assure that the appearance, size, height, type of material, and other aspects of signs are consistent with the purposes and intent of the district. The regulations set forth in §§ 158.112, 158.113, and 158.114 shall also apply in the Employment Campus District.
(F) Landscaping. The minimum open space and landscaped area on any development shall not be less than 20% of the gross land area of the development. All development in this district shall comply with Chapter 157 of the Carroll County Code and to the technical standards established in the Carroll County Landscape Manual. Supplemental landscaping may be required in order to comply with the objectives set forth in division (A).
(G) Architecture. Building architectural renderings or plans shall be submitted at the time of development plan review to assure that the appearance, size, type of building material, and other aspects of the buildings are consistent with the purposes and intent of the district.
(H) Solar energy conversion facilities. Ground-mounted solar energy conversion facilities may be approved as part of or separate from the development plan, pending conditional use approval. The ground-mounted solar field may be no more than 25 acres in size or not to exceed 50% of the total gross acreage or whatever is lesser. Roof-mounted solar energy facilities may be approved as part of the development plan, subject to the requirements of § 158.153, or mounted on a canopy in a parking area.
(J) Mix of uses. The following limitations shall apply:
(1) General retail, general service, eating and drinking uses, including principal and accessory uses, shall not comprise more than 25% of the total area of the structures located in the employment campus development.
(2) Where permitted in § 158.082, the total developed area for residential uses shall not collectively comprise more than 15% of the total area of the employment campus development. Such residential uses shall be architecturally compatible with and supportive of the employment uses. All residential uses shall be subject to Chapter 156, Adequate Public Facilities and Concurrency Management.
(K) Accessory uses. Accessory uses shall be as follows:
(1) Uses customarily accessory and incidental to any principal permitted use or authorized conditional use.
(2) Solar energy conversion facility, either roof-mounted or mounted on the canopy of a parking area, subject to the requirements of § 158.153(B).
(3) General retail, general service, eating and drinking establishments, and indoor recreation uses, provided that an individual use does not exceed 3,000 square feet, except health clubs and day care centers, which may not exceed 6,000 square feet.
(L) Bulk requirements. With the exception of building height, the bulk requirements shall be established at the time of site plan approval. The maximum allowable height in this district shall be 60 feet.
(Ord. 2019-06, passed 12-12-2019; Ord. 2022-18, passed 11-22-2022)