(A) Purpose. The purpose of the Central Business District is to encourage a diversity of uses which together contribute to the vitality of the downtown core. The district recognizes the unique character of downtown and its function as a center of business, government, finance, residential and social activity in the community. Land uses and building design are integral to the image and theme of the Central Business District.
(B) Permitted uses.
(1) Accessory structures;
(2) Religious assembly, except that religious assembly uses shall not be permitted adjacent to Main Street, Jackson Boulevard, or Elkhart Avenue;
(3) Department stores;
(4) Drive thru facilities, except those facilities shall not be permitted adjacent to Main Street, Jackson Boulevard, or Elkhart Avenue;
(5) Drug stores;
(6) Financial institutions;
(7) Fitness centers, dance studios, self-defense schools, etc.
(8) Government offices;
(9) Hotels and motels, with or without conference centers;
(10) Laundromats;
(11) Libraries;
(12) Live/work units;
(13) Mass transit centers;
(14) Medical and dental offices and clinics;
(15) Movie, stage, and dinner theaters;
(16) Museums;
(17) Multi-family residential dwellings, including condominiums, townhouses, and residences located above commercial uses;
(18) Offices, business and professional;
(19) Parking structures;
(20) Printing and publishing of newspapers, magazines, periodicals, etc.;
(21) Public park and recreation facilities;
(22) Public utilities and service users;
(23) Restaurants, cafes, and catering, including those with alcoholic beverage service and with interior and/or exterior seating, other than drive-in. Drive-thru windows are permitted in conjunction with a restaurant with a minimum seating capacity of 50 persons, except those facilities shall not be permitted adjacent to Main Street, Jackson Boulevard, or Elkhart Avenue;
(24) Retail sales and service, excluding adult entertainment, pawn shops, and tattoo parlors;
(25) Temporary structures, related to active construction on a site;
(26) Funeral homes, crematories and similar services (as amended per Ordinance No. 4431 on July 23, 1999);
(27) Taverns (as amended per Ordinance No. 4462 on January 13, 2000);
(28) Therapeutic massage and/or massage therapy when conducted in a massage establishment by a professional masseuse/masseur, who has completed training at a state certified school of massage and who has earned certification as a "massage therapist" or similar designation, (as amended per Ordinance No. 5044 on July 11, 2007);
(29) Rooftop entertainment areas, including decks, patios, porches, glass enclosed spaces and similar uses for the purpose of utilizing the rooftop areas of buildings.
(C) Special exception uses.
(1) Bed and breakfast home;
(2) Charitable organizations;
(3) Community centers, convention halls, arenas, auditoriums, stadiums;
(4) Private recreation facilities;
(5) Meeting hall/banquet facility (as amended per Ordinance No. 4683 July 10, 2002).
(D) Yard requirements. Yard requirements for the CBD, Central Business District are as follows: (All standards are minimums except as noted.) (As amended per Ordinance No. 4431 on July 23, 1999.)
Lots and parcels fronting on Main Street, Jackson Boulevard, and Elkhart Avenue: | ||||||
Lot Size | Frontage | Setbacks | Structure Height | Maximum Lot Coverage for Structures | Maximum F.A.R. | |
Front Yard | Side and Rear Yards | |||||
No Minimum | No Minimum | Minimum setback: 0 feet, Maximum setback: 10 feet. Up to an additional 10 feet of setback may be provided along no more than 50% of the length of the front facade to accommodate additional outdoor seating and/or amenities. | Minimum setback: 0 feet, except when abutting a residential district, then minimum setback is 10 feet. | Minimum: 20 feet * Maximum: 65 feet | 75% total | 10 |
* Structures should include architectural elements and/or roof details to give the impression of an active second floor if one is not to be provided. | ||||||
Lots and parcels fronting on all other streets: | |||||||
Lot Size | Frontage | Setbacks | Structure Height | Maximum Lot Coverage for Structures | Maximum F.A.R. | ||
Front Yard | Side Yards | Rear Yard | |||||
No Minimum | No Minimum | Established building setback. If there is no established setback, the minimum setback is 0 feet and the maximum setback is 10 feet. Up to an additional 10 feet of setback may be provided along no more than 50% of the length of the front facade to accommodate additional outdoor seating and/or amenities. | Established building setback. If there is no established setback, the building may be built up to the side property line, except when abutting a residential use, then minimum setback is 10 feet. | Established building setback. If there is no established setback, the building may be built up to the side property line, except when abutting a residential use, then minimum setback is 10 feet. | Maximum 65 feet | 75% total | 10 |
(E) Development conditions.
(2) Business activity must be conducted wholly within a completely enclosed building, except for legally permitted outdoor eating areas and sidewalk sales.
(3) Where businesses in this district are adjacent to residentially zoned or used property, all service areas, including but not limited to, loading docks and doors, dumpsters, etc. shall be screened by a solid six foot high fence, wall or dense evergreen hedge. Fences and walls shall be consistent with the architecture of the development or principal building. Any vegetative or architectural screening located along a side property line shall not extend beyond the front facade of the residential structure located on the adjacent lot.
(4) In addition to the off-street parking and loading standards specified in § 151.231, the following apply to properties fronting on Main Street from Pottawattomi Drive south to Prairie Street, Jackson Boulevard from Main Street east to Prairie Street/Johnson Street, and Elkhart Avenue from Johnson Street south to Waterfall Drive.
(a) Parking areas shall not be located in the front or side yard.
(b) The number of parking spaces required under § 151.231 may be reduced by up to 50% for structures that include at least two floors of occupiable space.
(c) Contiguous on-street parking spaces may be counted toward the required number of spaces for adjacent parcels.
(d) Parking lots shall be designed to provide coordinated access to parking areas on adjoining lots or parcels within the CBD. A Site Circulation Plan shall be submitted as part of the development plan review process to reinforce a common alley/access road to the rear parking lots for parcels along Main Street, Jackson Boulevard, and Elkhart Avenue.
(e) If access to parking areas may be gained from another street, alley, or adjacent lot, a curb cut shall not be established on Main Street, Jackson Boulevard, or Elkhart Avenue.
(f) Rear accesses should be designed to connect and reinforce a grid development pattern.
(g) New curb cuts shall be a maximum of 24 feet in width.
(h) Closure of existing curb cuts on Main Street, Jackson Boulevard, or Elkhart Avenue is strongly encouraged. A signage bonus of an additional 20% of the sign area permitted under § 151.234 shall be awarded if all curb cuts onto Main Street or Jackson Boulevard for a parcel are closed.
(a) Any site designated as a single site historic district or located within an established historic district shall obtain approval for all exterior development (building and site) from the Elkhart City Historic and Cultural Preservation Commission.
(b) All exterior wall building materials shall be high quality, and shall be any combination of the following:
1. Brick;
2. Stone;
3. Wood, excluding plywood (no more than 25% of the street facing facade);
4. Glass, excluding glass block;
5. Textured concrete masonry units;
6. Smooth concrete masonry units, however they may be no more than 25% of any single facade;
7. Architectural precast panels;
8. Architectural metal, with corrugated metal comprising no more than 25% of any single facade;
9. Exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS), with no more than 25% or the street facing facade and must be located a minimum of 24 inches above the finished grade;
10. Fiber cement board;
11. Or other high quality material as approved by Plan Commission.
(c) Exterior bars on windows, "scissor" security gates, and roll up doors are prohibited on street facing facades along Main Street, Jackson Boulevard, and Elkhart Avenue.
(d) All structures along Main Street, Jackson Boulevard, and Elkhart Avenue must have at least one sidewalk facing, pedestrian entrance.
(e) For nonresidential, ground floor facades along Main Street, Jackson Boulevard, or Elkhart Avenue, at least 50% of the wall surface between three feet and eight feet must be glass or other transparent material and allow views from the sidewalk into the interior space. Upper floors, including those for residential use, must be at least 15% transparent in the space between floor and ceiling height.
(f) Facades on Main Street, Jackson Boulevard, or Elkhart Avenue shall include relief elements including but not limited to, windows and surrounds, storefronts, doors, and details such as special brick coursing, pilasters, or lintels.
(g) All roof mounted mechanical equipment shall be screened through the use of a parapet wall or other design detail, as approved by the Plan Commission or its staff.
(6) Stormwater best management practices are strongly encouraged in new development and redevelopment.
(a) Stormwater planters, rain gardens, bio-retention areas, and other green infrastructure practices may be substituted for parking lot landscaping, buffer yard landscaping, and other landscaping requirements, as approved by the City Engineer or designee.
(b) Maximum lot coverage may be increased to a total of 85% of the lot given the use of permeable pavers in parking areas, as approved by the City Engineer.
(7) Permanent, free-standing signs shall be prohibited in front yards along Main Street, Jackson Boulevard, and Elkhart Avenue.
(8) Bicycle and pedestrian facilities:
(a) Dedicated pedestrian paths shall be provided from parking areas to building entrances.
(b) Trails and multi-use paths identified in the city's Comprehensive Plan, River District Plan, or other adopted city plans shall be incorporated into site development plans on applicable parcels.
(c) The dedication of right-of-way for bicycle and pedestrian facilities along Main Street, Jackson Boulevard, or Elkhart Avenue may be required as a condition of development plan approval.
(d) Maximum lot coverage may be increased to a total of 85% of the lot given the provision of additional bicycle or pedestrian facilities, a kayak launch, or other recreation amenities, at the approval of Planning Staff.
(9) Placement of new utilities:
(a) The installation of new utility systems, including water, sewer, gas, telephone, cable television and electric, along with component parts, structures, appendages and materials, shall be installed underground in a manner approved by the applicable utility provider in accordance with all city standards. Aboveground utility systems will not be permitted, except where certain appurtenances and accessory equipment must be installed above ground for servicing. Examples of such accessory equipment include fire hydrants, gas and electrical meters, electric service cabinets, irrigation controllers, and similar features.
(b) Parcels adjacent to existing easements or public rights-of-way where overhead utility supply lines and service connections have previously been installed may be supplied with service from those overhead lines, but the service connections from the overhead lines shall be installed underground. Should a road widening or an extension of service, or other such condition occur as a result of the proposed development and necessitate the replacement or relocation of such utilities, such replacements or relocation shall be underground.
(c) Where undergrounding of utilities within a site is not feasible due to utility or infrastructure conflicts, topographic conditions, or site limitations, alternative placement shall be approved by the Plan Commission and landscape screening may be required as a condition of approval.
(d) Electric power transmission lines are exempt from these requirements.
(F) Nonconforming uses, lots, structures, and signs.
(1) Nonconforming uses, structures, or nonconforming uses and structures in combination:
(a) Are permitted to make site and/or building improvements if such improvement does not increase any nonconformity.
(b) May be expanded one time, up to 25% of the gross floor area, but must still be able to meet all other development standards (i.e. parking requirements, landscaping, screening, etc.).
(c) Expansion of a nonconforming use and/or structure may not expand onto another zoning lot.
(2) Nonconforming signs:
(a) May not be enlarged.
(b) The message on a nonconforming sign may be altered so long as no new nonconformities are created.
(c) If a nonconforming sign remains blank for a period of one year, the sign shall be deemed abandoned and must be removed within a period of two months after abandonment.
(d) Nonconforming signs advertising a business that has ceased operation on the site for a period of one year shall be deemed abandoned and must be removed within a period of two months after abandonment.
(G) Supplemental regulations.
(1) Special flood hazard area regulations: §§ 151.120 et seq.
(2) Wetlands Conservation District regulations: §§ 151.145 et seq.
(3) Air Space Control Area regulations: §§ 151.210 et seq.
(4) Accessory structures and swimming pool requirements: § 151.225.
(5) Landscape and screening requirements: § 151.226.
(6) Permitted obstructions in required yards: § 151.227.
(7) Fence requirements: § 151.228.
(8) Intersection visibility area requirements: § 151.229.
(9) Primary street setback requirements: § 151.229.
(10) Off-street parking and loading requirements: § 151.231.
(11) Sign regulations: § 151.234.
(H) Figure. Pursuant to Ord. 4762, passed 8-1-2003 the following figure is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set out herein: Figure 15A.
(1979 Code, § 151.055) (Ord. 4370, passed 7-20-1998; Am. Ord. 4431, passed 7-12-1999; Am. Ord. 4462, passed 1-13-2000; Am. Ord. 4683, passed 7-1-2002; Am. Ord. 4762, passed 8-1-2003; Am. Ord. 5044, passed 7-9-2007; Am. Ord. 5606, passed 8-7-2017) Penalty, see §
151.999