(A) Purpose. The Public Zoning District is established for the following purposes:
(1) To accommodate the development of property for public and/or institutional purposes where such development will be done in an orderly manner that would promote the public’s health, safety and general welfare;
(2) To establish a district that will not create excessive amounts of continuous traffic patterns spilling over onto residential areas, and where such uses may be located on street(s) that are suitable to accommodate heavy traffic that may be incidental to its use;
(3) To create a district that will not have a permanent detrimental effect on adjoining or nearby residential areas; and
(4) To promote the most desirable use of land in accordance with the forthcoming Comprehensive Plan of the city.
(B) Permitted uses.
(1) Institutional uses such as office buildings or facilities for city, county, state and federal government for administrative and/or emergency responding purposes;
(2) Schools and associated office buildings including sentry structures;
(3) Recreational amenities owned by public entities, including, but not limited to, public parks, football stadiums or similar arenas, gymnasiums, swimming pools, skate parks, pavilions, tennis courts, soccer fields and similar uses and structures;
(4) Institutional uses such as a church and related amenities protected under the freedom of religion;
(5) An accessory use customarily related to a principle use authorized in this district;
(6) Paved or unpaved institutional parking lots which may include accompanying retention/detention storm ponds; and
(7) Institutional signs being generally one sign only per site with a maximum height of 15 feet; maximum square footage preface to be 80 square feet; structural setback to be five feet to the property lines; and the maximum number of advertising faces to be no more than two; also, any exempted signs as outlined in Ch. 153 of this code of ordinances shall also be exempt in this zoning district.
(C) Conditional uses.
(1) Telephone, radio, television and/or other telecommunication towers;
(2) Any civic sponsored recreational amusement and/or event such as a circus, carnival or similar activity that isn’t normally associated with the use of the site specific property;
(3) Activities associated with civic and/or cultural events where the complimentary availability of alcoholic beverages may be evident;
(4) Prisons, jailhouses or similar structures used for similar purposes, including halfway houses for juvenile offenders or similar type of rehabilitation services;
(5) Public hospitals and/or health care facilities intended for treating mental health patients who may have a tendency for erratic behavior that may be a risk to the public’s safety; and
(6) Other uses not foreseen at the time of this chapter that the City Council may deem appropriate to be best considered through the conditional use permit process.
(D) Prohibited uses. Any building erected or land used for other than one or more of the preceding legitimate public uses.
(E) Other requirements.
(1) Building setbacks shall be in accordance to the commercial area requirements of § 156.086 of this chapter or as specifically established by the recorded subdivision plat.
(2) No structure should be built over a utility easement.
(3) Uses in this district shall comply with the paved off-street parking requirements of the city’s prevailing parking ordinance(s).
(4) The city shall have the inherent right to impose a minimum eight-foot buffer fence of public buildings and/or facilities during the permit process when adjacent to residential uses to better deflect emanating noise, flying debris and the like.
(5) Integral to any proposed rezoning to a public zone, the applicant shall provide a site plan reflecting the proposed use, points of entry/exit, parking, setbacks and the like, in order to substantially inform the planning staff and general public of the property’s public intent.
(6) Special provisions: any pre-existing institutional buildings, structures, facilities and/or uses on properties that may be inadvertently zoned to another non-public zone will be grandfathered as to use; however, the city may at any time initiate a public rezoning process to said site(s), such decision to be made by the City Council.
(Ord. 2016-07, passed 8-9-2016)