1213.06 SITE PLAN REVIEW.

   A.    Purpose. A site plan review of all new construction required by the applicable district regulations and related site and landscape development is required in order to further promote the safe and efficient use of land and to further enhance the value of property in the City. The site plan review process is intended to help ensure that newly developed properties or redeveloped properties are compatible with adjacent development, and that safety, traffic, over-crowding and environmental problems are minimized to the extent possible.

   B.    Authority.

      1.    The City Planning Commission is hereby charged with the duty of reviewing site plans and granting site plan approval for all new construction within the City and for Planned Developments as set forth therein. The City Planning Commission may delegate this duty to the Zoning Administrator.

      2.    The Zoning Administrator is hereby charged with the duty of performing site plan review and granting site plan approval for all modifications.

   C.    Parties Entitled to Seek Site Plan Review. An application for site plan review may be filed by any person, firm or corporation, or by any office, department, board, bureau, or commission which has a legal interest in the property in the form of an ownership, a lease, or a purchase agreement for the property for which the site review is requested. If the applicant is a lessor, the written approval, with signature, of the owner shall be required as determined necessary by the Zoning Administrator.

   D.    Procedure for Review.

      1.    Applications for site plan review shall contain a site plan showing all information required by the Zoning Administrator. Such site plan shall include at a minimum the following:

         a.    Elevation contours.

         b.    Existing and proposed easements and rights-of-way on the site or within one hundred (100) feet of its boundaries.

         c.    Existing and proposed structures.

         d.    Significant existing and proposed landscaping and paving.

         e.    Existing and proposed signage.

         f.    Scale, north arrow, and dimensions.

This plan shall be promptly forwarded by the Zoning Administrator to the appropriate authority as defined herein.

      2.    If the Zoning Administrator determines the application does not contain sufficient information to enable proper review, the Zoning Administrator may request additional information from the applicant.

      3.    Upon receiving a completed application on the form provided by the Zoning Administrator, the Zoning Administrator shall schedule the application for review at the appropriate review body's meeting. If the review is within the authority of the City Planning Commission, the Zoning Administrator shall schedule the application at the City Planning Commission's next scheduled meeting. If the review is within the Authority of the Zoning Administrator, then such review shall be scheduled in coordination with the Architectural Board of Review schedule.

      4.    When the proposed development requires review by the Architectural Board of Review, the site plan review will be approved by the City Planning Commission in the case of new construction and by the Zoning Administrator in the case of modifications.

      5.    When the proposed development requires review by the City Planning Commission, the site plan shall first be reviewed by the Zoning Administrator.

      6.    No application for a building permit shall be issued by the City until the site plan is approved by the reviewing authority.

   E.    Standards for Site Plan Review. The City Planning Commission and staff, when evaluating site plans, may review the following characteristics of the site plan:

      1.    The relationship of the site plan to adopted land use policies.

      2.    Parking layout with respect to how well it achieves the following objectives:

         a.    Minimize dangerous traffic movements.

         b.    Achieve efficient traffic flow.

         c.    Provide for the appropriate number of off-street parking spaces, while maintaining City design standards.

         d.    Provide for the appropriate location and number of driveways.

      3.    Landscaping, with respect to how well it achieves the following objectives:

         a.    Maintain existing mature trees and shrubs to the maximum extent practicable.

         b.    Buffer adjacent incompatible uses.

         c.    Screen unsightly activities from public view.

         d.    Break up large expanses of asphalt with plant material.

         e.    Provide an aesthetically pleasing landscaping design.

         f.    Provide plant materials and landscaping designs that can withstand the City's climate, and the microclimate on the property.

      4.    Location of principal structures, accessory uses and structures and free-standing signs as regulated in Chapter 1250, Sign Regulations, so that their location does not impede safe and efficient traffic flow.

      5.    Compliance with this Chapter and other provisions of the Shaker Heights Codified Ordinances.

      6.    Other factors deemed necessary by the City Planning Commission or the Zoning Administrator or designee.

      7.    Any part of a proposed development not used for structures, off-street parking, off-street loading, or accessways shall be landscaped or otherwise improved.

   F.    Effect of Site Plan Review Approval. A building permit may be issued after the review authority approves a site plan, provided that all other requirements of all other applicable City codes and ordinances relating to the issuance of a building permit are satisfied.

(Ord. 18-25. Enacted 4-23-18.)