The commercial districts regulated in this article are designed to promote and protect the public health, safety and general welfare. These general goals include, among others, the following specific purposes:
(a) To provide sufficient space, in appropriate locations in proximity to residential areas, for local and neighborhood retail development catering to the regular shopping needs of the occupants of nearby residences, with due allowance for the need for a choice of sites.
(b) To provide, insofar as is possible, that such space will be available for use for commercial and related activities, and to protect residences by separating them from commercial activities.
(c) To provide appropriate space and, in particular, sufficient depth from a street, to satisfy the needs of modern local and neighborhood retail development, including the need for off-street parking spaces in areas to which a large portion of shoppers come by automobile, and to encourage the natural tendency of local and neighborhood retail development to concentrate in continuous retail frontage, to the advantage of both consumers and merchants.
(d) To protect commercial development and nearby residences from fires, explosions, toxic and noxious matter, radiation and other hazards, offensive noise, vibration, smoke, dust and other particulate matter, odorous matter, heat, humidity, glare and other objectionable influences.
(e) To protect commercial development and nearby residences from congestion, particularly in areas where the established pattern is predominantly residential but includes local retail uses, by regulating the intensity of local and neighborhood retail development, by restricting those types of establishments which generate heavy traffic and by providing for off-street parking and loading facilities.
(f) To provide sufficient and appropriate space and, in particular, sufficient depth from the street, to meet the needs of the city's central and community commercial centers, including the need for off-street parking space in areas where a large proportion of customers come by automobile, with due allowance for the need for a choice of sites and to encourage commercial development to concentrate in continuous retail frontage within commercial areas, to the advantage of both consumers and merchants.
(g) To provide sufficient space in appropriate locations for all types of commercial and miscellaneous service activities, with due allowance for the need for a choice of sites.
(h) To provide freedom of architectural design in order to encourage the development of more attractive and economic building forms.
(i) To promote the most desirable use of land and direction of building development in accordance with a well-considered plan, to promote stability of commercial development, to strengthen the economic base of the City and to protect the character of the City's tax revenues.
(1970 Code Sec. 32-33)