A. Historic Preservation Exception: The Board of Adjustment may grant a special exception to waive or modify any dimensional or site development standards listed in this article or in chapter 5 of this title or any approval criteria listed in chapter 4, article B of this title that would prevent use or occupancy of a property located in a Historic District Overlay (OHD) or registered on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to the general special exception approval criteria set forth in chapter 4, article B of this title, the following approval criteria must be met:
1. The modification or waiver will help preserve the historic, aesthetic, or cultural attributes of the property.
2. The applicant must obtain a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission.
B. Highway Commercial Zone Exemption:
1. Dairy products processing and packaging facilities established in the highway commercial zone prior to January 1983 are to be treated as a conforming use and as such may continue. Such a facility must otherwise comply with all the requirements and regulations of the highway commercial zone and other applicable regulations of this title.
2. If an existing dairy products processing and packaging facility, as described in subsection B1 of this section, is discontinued for a period of one year, such facility will lose the conforming rights granted in said subsection B1 of this section and must be converted to a use that is allowed in the CH-1 zone according to section 14-2C-2, table 2C-1, of this article. The dairy products processing and packaging facility will be deemed “converted” when the existing use is terminated and a new use commences and continues for a period of seven (7) consecutive days.
C. Riverfront Crossings District:
D. Commercial Reuse Exception
1. Purpose. The commercial reuse exception allows the alteration of existing buildings for which the constraints of the building and/or site make it difficult to meet certain zoning code standards. It is intended primarily for use in less intense commercial areas in or near developed residential neighborhoods.
2. Applicability. The exception provides flexibility in the design and use of existing structures provided the following circumstances are met:
a. The exception is requested for an alteration or expansion of an existing building;
b. The project does not result in the demolition of any existing principal structures;
c. The property is not designated as an Iowa City landmark or registered in the National Register of Historic Places; and
d. The property is not in a CI-1, CH-1, or CB-10 zone.
3. Waivers. The Board of Adjustment may grant a special exception to waive or modify any approval criteria listed in 14-4B-4 “Specific Approval Criteria for Provisional Uses and Special Exceptions” or 14-4C-2 “Specific Approval Criteria,” or any standard in 14-2C-4 “Dimensional Requirements”, 14-2C-6 “Commercial Site Development Standards”, 14-2C-7 “Central Business Site Development Standards”, 14-2C-8 “CN-1 Zone Site Development Standards”, 14-2C-9 “Site Development Standards in MU Zone”, or 14-5 “Site Development Standards. However, waivers and modifications cannot be requested for required minimum distances separating land uses or standards in 14-5I “Sensitive Lands and Features” and 14-5J “Floodplain Management Standards”.
4. Approval Criteria. In addition to the general special exception approval criteria set forth in chapter 4, article B of this title, the following approval criteria must be met:
a. The exception is necessary due to existing building or site constraints that make it difficult to meet that standard.
b. The exception will be compatible with and/or complementary to adjacent development in terms of building mass and scale, relative amount of open space, traffic circulation, general layout, and lighting.
c. The exception will not adversely affect views, noise, stormwater runoff, light and air, and privacy of neighboring properties any more than would a development that satisfies the applicable standard.
d. The exception is not contrary to the intent of the standard.
e. The exception will be in the public interest.
E. Sustainability Density Bonus: The minimum lot size or minimum lot area per unit may be reduced by ten percent (10%) of the applicable requirement for each of the following provisions that is met, up to a maximum of twenty-five percent (25%). This bonus may be used in conjunction with subsection 14-5A-4F10 (Sustainability Parking Reduction).
1. A solar energy system is installed onsite where the size is equal to forty percent (40%) of the surface area of the roofs of all buildings.
2. All uses within the development utilize electricity for one hundred percent (100%) of their regular energy consumption after construction.
3. All buildings within the development are constructed to the most current edition of the International Energy Conservation Code standards published by the International Code Council.
F. Affordable Housing Bonus: Residential uses are eligible to utilize affordable housing bonuses pursuant to Article 14-4F, "Affordable Housing". (Ord. 05-4186, 12-15-2005; amd. Ord. 06-4220, 7-18-2006; Ord. 13-4520, 4-9-2013; Ord. 20-4833, 11-17-2020; Ord. 22-4884, 8-2-2022; Ord. 23-4893, 1-24-2023; Ord. 23-4914, 11-6-2023)