(a) Intent. The Motorist Service District has been created in order to achieve, among others, the following purposes:
(1) To provide districts on major roads in the immediate vicinity of freeway interchanges to serve the needs of the motoring public.
(2) To protect and stabilize developments from traffic congestion and hazards by regulating the intensity of use, by requiring off-street parking, loading and on-site circulation facilities and by regulating the access to streets.
(3) To provide the maximum protection to existing and proposed residential areas.
(b) Permitted Uses. Buildings and land shall be designed, created, altered or intended only for the following uses:
(1) Principal uses.
A. Automobile service stations and repair garages (major and minor repairs).
B. Motels and hotels.
C. Restaurants and eating places serving food and beverages in wholly enclosed buildings.
D. Other similar uses which serve the long distance motoring public.
(2) Accessory uses (when operated in conjunction with the above main uses).
A. Off-street parking.
B. Restaurant, assembly rooms and auditoriums in connection with motels and hotels.
C. Enclosed snack bars in connection with service stations and motels.
D. Swimming pools and other recreational facilities in conjunction with motels and hotels.
E. Signs, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and Chapter 1274.
F. Sale of alcoholic beverages in connection with restaurants, motels or hotels.
G. Sale of gifts and novelties.
H. Personal and other services which are necessary and incidental to the usual operation of any main use set forth above, including:
Drug store. Barber, beauty shops.
Delicatessen. Picnic tables.
Tailor shop.
(Ord. 66-103. Passed 12-19-66.)
(3) Conditional uses. The following uses shall be deemed conditional uses and, upon favorable recommendation by the Planning Commission, a permit therefor may be issued by the Board of Zoning Appeals as provided for in Chapter 1264: wireless telecommunications towers and related wireless telecommunications facilities.
(Ord. 99-46. Passed 10-24-99.)
(c) Prohibited Uses. Uses or processes which would affect an extensive area or be contrary to the public health and welfare in the City are prohibited in this and all other zoning districts. Prohibited uses include, but are not limited to, bituminous concrete manufacturing facilities, commonly known as "asphalt plants".
(Ord. 98-87. Passed 3-1-99.)
(1) A storage unit facility used or intended for storage of personal property, excepting therefrom multiple storage structures used by the owners or principal business tenant for mixed storage of their property or property of their annual or seasonal tenants.
(Ord. 2022-5. Passed 11-21-22.)
(d) Building Height. The height of any building or structure in any Motorist Service District shall not exceed thirty-five feet, exclusive of towers, cornices or similar features, except as hereinafter provided.
(e) Area Regulations. Every lot occupied by a main building or use shall comply with the following table and regulations pertaining to lot area, lot width, the percentage of lot coverage by all buildings, including accessory buildings, and landscaped areas:
Main Use | Minimum Lot Area (acres) | Minimum Lot Width (feet) | Lot Coverage Maximum % |
Service station | 1/2 | 150 | 20 |
Motel or hotel (with or without eating, assembly, recreation) | 3 | 200 | 20 |
Restaurant (separate buildings) | 1-1/2 | 200 | 20 |
Other permitted uses | 1/2 | 150 | 20 |
Each lot shall have landscaped areas which shall be the part of the lot which is not covered by buildings, accessory uses, drives and parking lots. The landscaped areas shall be developed and maintained as lawns, along with trees and shrubs, or maintained in an orderly natural state.
The lot area occupied by a motel or hotel shall be not less than that set forth herein, nor less than 1,300 square feet of lot area for each lodging unit, whichever is greater. Each lodging unit shall be comprised of at least 275 square feet of floor area, shall contain not more than two sleeping rooms and shall not contain cooking facilities.
(f) Yard Regulations. Front, side and rear yards shall be provided on every lot in accordance with the following schedule:
Side and Rear Yards | |||
Use | Front Yard (feet to r/w) | Adj. Res. District (feet) | Adj. Nonres. District (feet) |
Service station building | 60 | 100 | 35 |
Service station pumps | 30 | 100 | 35 |
Motel, hotel, restaurant | 100 | 100 | 35 |
Parking | 30 | 10 | |
Signs | 20 | 30 | 10 |
Other uses | 60 | 100 | 35 |
Within the front yard and adjacent to the street right-of-way line there shall be an open and unobstructed buffer strip of twenty feet in depth. Except for the access drive, no other facilities shall be located within this area. Parking of vehicles in this buffer strip shall be prohibited. Except for accessways permitted, such buffer strip shall contain a curb or other suitable barrier against unchanneled motor vehicle ingress and egress and shall be continuous for the entire width of the lot adjoining the street or highway right-of-way line.
(g) Access Drives. Access drives to major streets shall be controlled in the interest of public safety and to maintain the designed capacity of the major street system.
(1) Drives shall be so designed and located that vehicles can safely enter and leave the facility with no need to park, stand or maneuver back and forth on the major thoroughfare right of way.
(2) Those portions of the access drive located within the highway right of way shall be paved with material equal to the highway pavement; be no greater than thirty-five feet wide; be designed to prohibit surface drainage from flowing directly onto the highway pavement; include a minimum twenty-foot turning radii between the edge of the drive and the highway pavement; and be curbed.
(3) No lot shall have more than two access drives to any one street or highway. The width of any access drive shall not be less than twenty feet nor more than thirty-five feet. Insofar as practical, the use of common accessways by two or more uses shall be encouraged to reduce the number of such highway access points. The fronting of uses on a marginal service street shall also be encouraged.
(4) There shall be no access drives permitted for a minimum distance of 600 feet, measured along road centerlines from the outermost ramp terminal right of way to the first access drive. To accomplish this objective, marginal service roads or parallel service roads, combining the access of several developments or other approved facilities, shall be encouraged.
(h) Signs. Signs in the B-4 District shall be in accordance with Chapter 1274, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
Free-standing signs or pole signs serving an individual business establishment or groups of business establishments shall be permitted in the Motorist Service District according to the following regulations:
(1) No more than one sign shall be permitted to exceed the district height regulations. Any sign which exceeds the height regulations may be not more than sixty feet in height.
(2) An individual sign in a B-4 District may have a total sign area not to exceed 150 square feet.
(i) Development Plans.
(1) Submittal of plans. A site plan shall be prepared for all types of proposals for developments in the Motorist Service District and shall be submitted in quadruplicate to the Planning Commission. A preliminary and final development plan shall be submitted. Unless exempted by the Commission, plans shall include:
A. A survey of the property and topography, showing land owned and proposed developments.
B. The location, size, height and use of all main and accessory buildings.
C. The proposed system of circulation of vehicular traffic, including delivery trucks, details for connections or accessways to present streets, type of pavement and estimates of traffic volumes.
D. Plans for all utility installations and connections.
E. The layout and estimate of the number of parking spaces, the design of features and the type of pavement.
F. Other site development, including the grading and drainage pattern, the design of landscaped yards, planting areas and strips adjoining residential areas.
(2) Approval of plans. If the Planning Commission finds that the plans are consistent with this Zoning Code and with other codes of the City, the final development plan shall then be submitted to Council for approval. Council approval shall be by the majority voting in agreement. A two-thirds majority of Council shall be required to override the decision of the Planning Commission. The plan may be modified by the same procedure. No building permits shall be issued by the Building Inspector until such development plan has been approved as provided herein.
Failure to begin construction of all or an independent component of the plan within one year after approval by Council shall void the plan as approved unless an extension of time is approved by Council.
(Ord. 66-103. Passed 12-19-66.)
(j) Sexually Oriented Businesses Not Permitted. Notwithstanding anything in this chapter to the contrary, no sexually oriented business, as defined in Chapter 1273, shall be permitted in the B-4 District.
(Ord. 98-34. Passed 6-15-98.)