A. Purpose: the purpose of the Neighborhood Commercial District (NCD) Zone is to:
1. Provide for planned business district of special interest to the proper development of the city;
2. Promote the revitalization of the existing business district of the city;
3. Promote flexibility in the design and development of the business district, in a planned and coordinated fashion; and
4. Provide for the neighborhood commercial-type needs of the city and the surrounding area.
B. Criteria for evaluation of development in the NCD: in order to encourage and guide the development of the city’s business district in a way that will result in a coordinated approach to the entire area and ensure its proper integration into the surrounding community, the following criteria shall be used as the basis to evaluate any new development, including expansions or changes to existing development, in the area zoned NCD (refer to Figure 1 of § 10.15, which illustrates some of these criteria):
1. High intensity retail/service (for example, high activity or traffic generators) uses shall be encouraged to locate adjacent to Sixth Avenue;
2. Pedestrian access shall be encouraged/promoted along Sixth Avenue via the provision of continuous sidewalks, crosswalks, and pedestrian resting areas or shelter areas;
3. Those areas within the NCD Zone which are adjacent to existing residential development, specifically the areas abutting 5th and 7th Streets are transitional areas between the high intensity commercial development along Sixth Avenue and the residential development. Every effort should be made to utilize these areas for off-street parking facilities to provide a transition (or buffer area) as well as encourage access on the periphery of the business district. Any other type of development in these areas should be designed in a manner as to be beneficial to the business area and not be detrimental to those areas which are zoned for residential use;
4. The facade treatment of buildings including the utilization of sings in the NCD Zone should be relatively uniform in design and type of materials in order to improve the overall attractiveness of the business district;
5. The orientation of commercial buildings should be towards 5th Avenue as well as towards Sixth Avenue (front, rea, or side entrance) in order to promote the best utilization of 5th Avenue and the safety or ease of access for customers.
6. Areas adjacent to existing residences should be landscaped to protect existing residential development. Lighting should be provided for the safety of customers, but should not glare onto adjacent residences. Whenever possible, areas within the NCD Zone should also be landscaped to improve the attractiveness of the commercial district.
7. Private off-street parking facilities shall be located within a reasonable walking distance of the use they are intended to serve.
C. Permitted uses: these are the uses which are permitted on property zoned NCD as outlined on the official zoning map providing that they are in general conformance with the NCD plan:
1. Retail sales and service businesses as listed below:
a. Advertising agency;
b. Antique shop;
c. Apparel shop;
d. Art supplies;
e. Automobile service center;
f. Bait shop;
g. Bakery and bakery goods store where the products are sold exclusively on the premises;
h. Banks and other financial institutions including savings, loan, finance companies;
i. Barber shops;
j. Beauty shops;
k. Book, stationary, and gift shop;
l. Bus shelter;
m. Camera and photographic supplies;
n. Candy, soda fountain and ice cream stores;
o. Carpet and rug stores;
p. Ceramic shop;
q. Delicatessen;
r. Drug store;
s. Dry cleaners and laundromats;
t. Eating and drinking places;
u. Employment agencies;
v. Florist;
w. Food store;
x. Furniture store including upholstery;
y. Garden supplies;
z. Glass, china, or pottery store;
aa. Haberdashery;
bb. Hardware store;
cc. Health spas;
dd. Hobby shops;
ee. Household and electrical appliance store (including incidental repair);
ff. Interior design/decorating store;
gg. Jewelry store (including repair);
hh. Leather goods and luggage store;
ii. Locksmith shop;
jj. Music, musical instruments, and records store (including incidental repair);
kk. Office appliances and supplies store;
ll. Offices (such as realtors, private consulting firms, medical, dental, legal);
mm. Off-street parking lots and parking garages;
nn. Opticians and optical supplies;
oo. Package liquor and alcoholic beverage store;
pp. Paint and wallpaper store;
qq. Pet shops, excluding boarding and outside runs;
rr. Plant shop;
ss. Printing shop;
tt. Radio and television stores, including repair;
uu. Service station, including auto repair facilities;
vv. Shoe store and repair;
ww. Sporting goods;
xx. Studios for professional work on teaching of any form of fine arts, photography, music, drama or dance;
yy. Tailor shop;
zz. Toy store;
aaa. Travel bureau; and
bbb. Variety store, including notations and five and ten stores.
2. Residential dwelling units, second and third floors or attached to the rear of a commercial use.
D. Accessory uses: the following uses shall be permitted as accessory uses in conjunction with a permitted use in the NCD Zone, providing they are in general conformance with the criteria for evaluation of development in the NCD:
1. Fences and walls as indicated on the required site plan and approved by the Planning Commission;
3. Customary accessory buildings or uses;
4. Outdoor eating and drinking area with a capacity of no more than 20 seats;
5. Mobile food vending vehicle as an accessory use to a permitted non-residential use.
E. Conditional uses.
1. Area, height, and yard requirements: requirements for all permitted and accessory uses shall be as approved by the Planning Commission, in the form of a site plan, as regulated by § 9.19 and provided that the proposed improvements are in the general conformance with the criteria for evaluation of development in the NCD.
2. Outdoor eating and drinking areas with more than 20 seats, provided that such area meets the following minimum requirements:
a. Such area shall be designed to clearly identify the limits of the outdoor dining area.
b. Such area shall not exceed 70% of the maximum seating capacity of the premises and the total number of outdoor seats shall not exceed 75.
c. Accessory structures associated with the use shall not be permitted to locate within any minimum required front, side, or rear yards, except where a variance has been approved by the Board of Adjustment.
F. Off-street parking and loading or unloading areas: off-street parking and loading or unloading areas shall be provided in accordance with §§ 11.0 through 12.2, except for the following: the applicant/owner/developer of the proposed improvement shall provide the required number of off-street parking spaces as provided for in this appendix.
G. Zoning permit process:
1. Application for a zoning permit to authorize any construction, reconstruction, or alteration of any building or other improvement in the NCD Zone, shall be filed with the City Inspector/Zoning Administrator. The application shall be accompanied with a site plan, in accordance with § 9.19, indicating the proposed improvements to be made.
2. The City Inspector/Zoning Administrator shall submit the site plan to the Planning Commission for their review, who shall make a determination whether or not the proposed improvements (new construction, and addition to existing development, accessory uses, parking, and the like) are in general conformance with the criteria for evaluation of development in the NCD. If it is determined that the proposed improvements are in general conformance with these criteria, and all other applicable requirements of this appendix are met, the Planning Commission shall approve the plan and authorize the City Inspector/Zoning Administrator to issue a zoning permit for that proposal.
3. If the Planning Commission determines that the proposed improvements are not in general conformance with the criteria for evaluation of development in the NCD it shall be disapproved and a zoning permit shall not be issued unless the site plan is revised, which would result in the proposed improvements becoming in general conformance with the criteria for evaluation of development in the NCD.
H. Site plan variations to the criteria for evaluation of development in the NCD: when reviewing the site plan for a proposed improvement, the Planning Commission may approve a site plan that includes minor variations from the criteria for evaluation of development in the NCD provided that the variation does not adversely affect or negate other criteria.
I. Other development controls:
1. No outdoor storage of any material (usable or waste) shall be permitted in this zone except within enclosed containers;
2. No lighting shall be permitted which would glare from this zone onto any street or into any residential zone;
3. No use producing objectionable odors, noise, or dust, as determined by the Planning Commission shall be permitted in this zone.
4. Screening areas shall be provided where necessary to protect adjacent residential uses and approved by the Planning Commission according to the required site plan.
5. All business activities permitted within this zone shall be conducted within a completely enclosed building with the exception of off-street parking and loading or unloading areas, gas pumps, incidental minor auto repairs (such as changing tires), mobile food vending under D. 5., and outdoor dining under D. 4. or E. 2.
J. Conditional uses:
1. Drive-through facilities may be provided subject to the following requirements:
a. Access management controls be utilized to protect existing pedestrian and vehicular flows, including the limitation or closure of curb cuts.
b. The proposed drive-through window for ordering or pick up will not be on a building elevation that abuts a residential zone.
c. The drive-through may only operate between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
(Ord. 2017-6, passed 4-4-17; Am. Ord. 2019-4, passed 3-5-19; Am. Ord. 2019-10, passed 5-7-19; Am. Ord. 2021-15, passed 9-7-21)