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It looks as if my small town may be turning into an auto mall.
New residential development in the town consists mainly of move-up and "entry level high end" homes in the 2,500 to 4,000 square foot (230-370 m^2) range.
The major street through the town, a very heavily traveled four lane thoroughfare with a disproportionately large amount of heavy truck traffic, is largely undeveloped. The section of street is about two and a half miles (4 km) long. Site planning, signage, landscaping and architectural regulations are very strict. In recent development activity, a high-end motorcycle dealership just opened, a new gas station is coming online in a couple of months, another gas station is a few weeks away from Town Commission, and a recent design review submittal includes two spec buildings for auto sales. Other commercial development along the street includes an existing gas station and a lumberyard. That's everything.
The quandry -- EVERY person that inquires about land use along the street is looking to do something related with vehicles -- auto sales, RV sales, quick lube joints, gas stations, auto parts stores, and so on. NO retail, NO restaurants, NO office, NO nothing but stuff that has to do with the sales, repair and accessorizing of transportation devices with internal combustion engines.
A mile east of the town limits, the road devolves into a "mechanical commercial" district, with the assortment of RV dealers, gas stations, mixed skilled mechanical trades, used car dealers, auto parts stores, portable building dealers, stores selling Dale Earnhardt paraphenalia, and the like. That strip of "redneck retail" is nearly four miles long, and it's slowly moving west towards my small town.
I'm currently rewriting the town's zoning code. I don't want to ban internal combustion-related uses, and thus render all such uses nonconforming. Not wanting to see the area turn into a continuation of a "corridor of cylinders," albiet one with pretty buildings, lots of trees and short signs, I'm proposing the following language ...
210.40 C-G Commercial – general (formerly C-1)
.02 Diversity of commercial uses. The major east-west corridor through XXXXXXX of XXXXXXXX, vehicle sales, vehicle service, and other “mechanical commercial” businesses form the dominant land uses along XXXXXXXX. The result is an unattractive commercial strip that presents a poor impression of the host municipality. The eventual growth of the strip westward into XXXXXXX would deprive the Town of the opportunity to create a vibrant and diverse retail environment, hurt the Town’s reputation as a desirable community, and harm the distinctive “sense of place” that is an integral part of the Town.
To protect XXXXXXX from externalities caused by a concentration of “mechanical commercial” uses, the cumulative area of parcels containing the following uses may not exceed 25% of the total area of all C-G zoned land in the Town.
• Convenience stores with gasoline sales
• Gas stations, including those with co-branded uses such as restaurants and convenience stores
• Large item sales and rental – class 1
• Large item sales and rental – class 2
• Vehicle minor repair
• All businesses whose primary function is the sales, rental, repair, and modification of self-propelled vehicles and/or items powered by internal combustion engines, and the sales of parts and accessories for self-propelled vehicles.
For such uses in shopping centers and similar facilities with multiple commercial tenants on one lot, where the portion of the lot dedicated to the use is located is not clearly defined, the area of the use is calculated using the following formula.
Use area = lot area × (gross floor area of use ⁄ gross floor area of building or center)
Example:
60,000 GFA shopping center on 300,000 square foot parcel
10,000 square feet used for auto parts sales (Large item sales and rental – class 1)
300,000 × (10,000 / 60,000) = 50,000 square feet
So, has anyone tried to place a cap or "reverse quota" on certain permitted uses?
New residential development in the town consists mainly of move-up and "entry level high end" homes in the 2,500 to 4,000 square foot (230-370 m^2) range.
The major street through the town, a very heavily traveled four lane thoroughfare with a disproportionately large amount of heavy truck traffic, is largely undeveloped. The section of street is about two and a half miles (4 km) long. Site planning, signage, landscaping and architectural regulations are very strict. In recent development activity, a high-end motorcycle dealership just opened, a new gas station is coming online in a couple of months, another gas station is a few weeks away from Town Commission, and a recent design review submittal includes two spec buildings for auto sales. Other commercial development along the street includes an existing gas station and a lumberyard. That's everything.
The quandry -- EVERY person that inquires about land use along the street is looking to do something related with vehicles -- auto sales, RV sales, quick lube joints, gas stations, auto parts stores, and so on. NO retail, NO restaurants, NO office, NO nothing but stuff that has to do with the sales, repair and accessorizing of transportation devices with internal combustion engines.
A mile east of the town limits, the road devolves into a "mechanical commercial" district, with the assortment of RV dealers, gas stations, mixed skilled mechanical trades, used car dealers, auto parts stores, portable building dealers, stores selling Dale Earnhardt paraphenalia, and the like. That strip of "redneck retail" is nearly four miles long, and it's slowly moving west towards my small town.
I'm currently rewriting the town's zoning code. I don't want to ban internal combustion-related uses, and thus render all such uses nonconforming. Not wanting to see the area turn into a continuation of a "corridor of cylinders," albiet one with pretty buildings, lots of trees and short signs, I'm proposing the following language ...
210.40 C-G Commercial – general (formerly C-1)
.02 Diversity of commercial uses. The major east-west corridor through XXXXXXX of XXXXXXXX, vehicle sales, vehicle service, and other “mechanical commercial” businesses form the dominant land uses along XXXXXXXX. The result is an unattractive commercial strip that presents a poor impression of the host municipality. The eventual growth of the strip westward into XXXXXXX would deprive the Town of the opportunity to create a vibrant and diverse retail environment, hurt the Town’s reputation as a desirable community, and harm the distinctive “sense of place” that is an integral part of the Town.
To protect XXXXXXX from externalities caused by a concentration of “mechanical commercial” uses, the cumulative area of parcels containing the following uses may not exceed 25% of the total area of all C-G zoned land in the Town.
• Convenience stores with gasoline sales
• Gas stations, including those with co-branded uses such as restaurants and convenience stores
• Large item sales and rental – class 1
• Large item sales and rental – class 2
• Vehicle minor repair
• All businesses whose primary function is the sales, rental, repair, and modification of self-propelled vehicles and/or items powered by internal combustion engines, and the sales of parts and accessories for self-propelled vehicles.
For such uses in shopping centers and similar facilities with multiple commercial tenants on one lot, where the portion of the lot dedicated to the use is located is not clearly defined, the area of the use is calculated using the following formula.
Use area = lot area × (gross floor area of use ⁄ gross floor area of building or center)
Example:
60,000 GFA shopping center on 300,000 square foot parcel
10,000 square feet used for auto parts sales (Large item sales and rental – class 1)
300,000 × (10,000 / 60,000) = 50,000 square feet
So, has anyone tried to place a cap or "reverse quota" on certain permitted uses?