Chapter 18.28
C-2 CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT
Sections:
18.28.010 Intent.
18.28.030 Uses requiring permit.
18.28.040 Development standards.
18.28.050 Supplemental development standards.
18.28.060 Development standards for parking garages.
18.28.010 Intent.
The intent and objective of this classification and its application is to set apart that portion of the city which forms the center for financial, commercial, governmental, professional, and cultural activities all of which have common or similar performance standards in that they represent types of enterprises involving the rendering of services, both professional or to the person, or on-premises retail activities. This zone encourages and provides amenities conducive to attracting pedestrians. This zone shall only be applied within the central business district as defined by the comprehensive plan. (Ord. 5555 § 1, 2001; Ord. 5510 § 1, 2001; Ord. 5193 § 1, 1998; Ord. 4914 § 1, 1996; Ord. 4229 § 2, 1987.)
18.28.020 Permitted uses.
Hereafter, all buildings, structures, or parcels of land shall only be used for the following, unless otherwise provided for in this title:
A. Apartments, provided they are located in a multistory building the ground floor of which must contain a permitted use as listed in subsections B through HH of this section. No density limitations shall apply;
B. Art, music and photography studios;
C. Automobile parking facilities;
D. Bakery and pastry shops; products made must be sold at retail on premises;
E. Banking and related financial institutions. For drive-in facilities see ACC 18.28.030(C);
F. Caretaker apartment;
G. Civic, social, and fraternal clubs;
H. Daycare, including home-based, mini daycare, daycare center, preschools or nursery schools;
I. Delicatessens;
J. Dry cleaning and laundry services;
K. Grocery stores;
L. Health and physical fitness clubs;
M. Hobby shops;
N. Hospitals, to include small animal, but does not allow outside runs or kennels;
O. Hotels;
P. Laundry, self service;
Q. Liquor store;
R. Massage therapy;
S. Meeting rooms and/or reception facilities;
T. Motels;
U. Newsstands;
V. News syndicate services;
W. Nursing homes;
Y. Pharmacies;
Z. Printing and publishing;
AA. Professional offices;
BB. Radio and television broadcasting studios;
CC. Retail stores and shops, including department and variety stores which offer for sale the following and similar related goods:
1. Antiques;
2. Art supplies;
3. Automobile parts and accessories, excludes service and machine shops;
4. Baked goods;
5. Beverages;
6. Bicycles;
7. Books and magazines;
8. Candy, nuts, and confectionery;
9. Clothing;
10. Computers;
11. Dairy products;
12. Dry goods;
13. Flowers and houseplants;
14. Fruits and vegetables;
15. Furniture and home furnishings;
16. Hardware, including electrical, heating, plumbing, glass, paint, wallpaper and related goods;
17. Home garden supplies;
18. Household appliances;
19. Household pets;
20. Housewares;
21. Jewelry and clocks;
22. Meat, fish and poultry, preprocessed;
23. Notions;
24. Office supplies and equipment;
25. Photographic equipment, including finishing;
26. Radio, television, and stereos;
27. Shoes;
28. Sporting goods;
29. Stationery;
30. Toys;
DD. Religious institutions;
EE. Restaurants, including outdoor seating. For drive-in facilities, see ACC 18.28.030(C). Sale of alcoholic beverages is only allowed pursuant to ACC 18.04.805;
FF. Schools, including art, business, barber, beauty, dancing, martial arts and music;
GG. Secretarial services;
HH. Theaters, except drive-in;
II. Other uses may be permitted by the planning director if the use is determined to be consistent with the intent of the zone and is of the same general character of the uses permitted in this section;
JJ. Commuter rail stations and bus transfer stations;
KK. Commercial recreation. Outdoor recreation areas may be allowed but must be part of and incidental to the principally permitted commercial recreation use. The outdoor area can be no larger than 25 percent of the floor area of the building of the associated commercial recreation use. The entire perimeter of the outdoor recreation area must be landscaped with a five-foot width of Type III landscaping pursuant to ACC 18.50.040(C) unless existing building walls are used. (Ord. 5555 § 1, 2001; Ord. 5510 § 1, 2001; Ord. 5193 § 1, 1998; Ord. 4914 § 1, 1996; Ord. 4229 § 2, 1987.)
18.28.030 Uses requiring permit.
The following uses may be permitted when a conditional use permit has been issued pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 18.64 ACC:
A. Apartments, no density limitations are applied. The first floor of any apartment building that has frontage on Main Street shall contain a use, other than residential or parking, which is otherwise permitted by the C-2 zone. Only that portion of the first floor that fronts on Main Street needs to be occupied by the nonresidential use. All apartment projects on Main Street must meet these requirements and then will be considered a permitted use and therefore a conditional use permit is not required;
B. Arcades;
C. Drive-in facilities, including banks and restaurants. No drive-in facilities shall be allowed vehicle access to or from Main Street;
D. Government facilities, this excludes offices and related uses that are permitted outright;
E. Brew pubs;
F. Utility substations;
G. Any expansion of the space, volume, area or facilities of any automobile repair, maintenance or service, automobile service station, or car wash business that existed before the effective date of Ordinance No. 5555. Any such expansion must be physically connected to the existing business, must be contained within the same lot or adjusted lot as the existing business and cannot be separated by a street or alley;
H. Gasoline dispensing facilities for passenger vehicles, provided the following requirements, which supersede the requirements of ACC 18.28.050(F), are met. These facilities are not intended to be the same as or allow for an automobile service station as defined by ACC 18.04.140.
1. The facility must be accessory to an existing retail/service establishment in which the principal tenant has a minimum floor area of at least 25,000 square feet. The principal tenant must own and/or manage the facility. The facility must be located on the same parcel of property as the principal tenant and the property must be at least 100,000 square feet in area.
2. The facility must be located on the property to minimize the amount of conflict to the pedestrian traffic.
3. The facility must be located on and have direct access to an arterial using existing curb cuts and driveways whenever practical. If the curb cuts and driveways do not meet current city standards then they shall be brought up to such standards.
4. The facility cannot interfere with the existing parking and/or traffic circulation on the property. There shall be enough room on the property to allow for adequate stacking space for vehicles waiting for fuel in order to avoid cars interfering with vehicles on the street. The facility cannot reduce the amount of parking required by the zoning code.
5. The facility shall have a roof that covers all activities including the pay window, refuse containers, fuel pumps and the adjacent parking area for the cars being fueled. The area that is covered by the roof of the facility shall be no larger than 6,000 square feet. The number of pumps shall be limited to five such that no more than 10 vehicles may be fueled at any one time.
6. Columns or similar architectural features shall be provided that screen the visibility of the pump islands as well as give the visible impression of enclosing the structure. If necessary, provisions must be made to avoid a safety issue of enclosing any fumes associated with the fueling of the vehicles. The overall height of the facility shall not exceed 20 feet.
7. The design, architectural treatment and streetscape features of the facility must be consistent with the design concepts as outlined in paragraph “P” of Section 1.4 of the downtown plan as well as provide some design continuity between the facility and primary structure.
8. A five-foot width of Type III landscaping shall be provided along the street frontage(s) that the facility is oriented to.
9. Any other products for sale shall only be displayed within the building containing the pay window and any such products shall be incidental to automobile care/maintenance, or snacks and beverages. No sales of alcoholic beverages will be allowed.
10. Signs shall be limited to permanent wall signs, attached to the face of the canopy, only.
11. The application for the conditional use permit shall illustrate how it complies with these standards. (Ord. 5555 § 1, 2001; Ord. 5510 § 1, 2001; Ord. 5383 § 1, 2000; Ord. 5193 § 1, 1998; Ord. 4914 § 1, 1996; Ord. 4229 § 2, 1987.)
18.28.040 Development standards.
A. Minimum lot area: none required.
B. Minimum lot width: none required.
C. Minimum lot depth: none required.
D. Maximum lot coverage: none required.
E. Maximum building height:
1. The maximum height of that portion of a building that abuts a street(s) shall be no higher than the width of the abutting street(s). Building height may increase; provided, that the building is stepped back one foot (from the abutting street right(s)-of-way) for each foot of increased building height.
2. If the building abuts more than one street and the abutting streets have different widths then the height of the building allowed at any street frontage shall be the average of the abutting street widths.
3. The following rooftop features may extend up to 15 feet above the maximum height limit: stair towers, elevator penthouses, and mechanical equipment.
F. Minimum yard setbacks: none required, see ACC 18.28.050(F) for specific building orientation.
G. Fences shall be decorative and relate architecturally to the associated building. Acceptable materials are brick, wood, stone, metal, or textured concrete. Typical galvanized wire mesh (chain link), barbed wire or razor wire are not permitted. When a fence abuts a street right-of-way, a five-foot width of Type III landscaping shall be provided between the fence and street right-of-way. For further information see Chapter 18.48 ACC. The provisions of this section shall not apply to temporary fences required for construction projects permitted by the city.
H. Parking: see Chapter 18.52 ACC.
I. Landscaping: see Chapter 18.50 ACC.
J. Signs: see Chapter 18.56 ACC. (Ord. 5555 § 1, 2001; Ord. 5510 § 1, 2001; Ord. 5193 § 1, 1998; Ord. 4914 § 1, 1996; Ord. 4229 § 2, 1987.)
18.28.050 Supplemental development standards.
A. All uses, including any automobile repair, service or maintenance, shall be conducted entirely within a building or structure except:
1. Automobile parking lots;
2. Display or sales of goods that do not extend eight feet past the front of the building, do not block entrances or interfere with pedestrian travel, do not interfere with the parking areas and do not encroach upon public property;
3. Outdoor seating for restaurants, theaters, or other entertainment;
4. Temporary uses as permitted by the hearing examiner, building official, planning director or city engineer pursuant to applicable ordinances;
5. Unloading and loading areas;
6. Utility substations;
7. Refuse containers;
8. Play areas for daycares;
9. Outdoor commercial recreation;
10. For automobile repair businesses there shall be no vehicles stored outside that are not operable unless such vehicles are contained within a fenced and paved area. The entire perimeter of the outdoor storage area shall be landscaped with a five-foot width of Type I landscaping pursuant to ACC 18.50.040(A) unless the walls of an existing building are used. The maximum size of the outdoor storage area shall be no more than 25 percent of the associated building area. All automobile repair businesses shall have one year from the effective date of Ordinance No. 5555 to comply with this subsection (A)(10);
11. Car washes, but must have at least two walls and a roof for each wash bay;
12. Service station pump islands;
13. Public spaces/uses including but not limited to parks, plazas, and pedestrian shelters/waiting areas, including those for bus and train stops.
B. Any repairing, except automobile, done on the premises shall be incidental only, and limited to custom repairing of the types of merchandise sold on the premises at retail. The floor area devoted to such repairing shall not exceed 30 percent of the total floor area occupied by the particular enterprise, except that the limitations of this subsection shall not apply to shoe, radio, television, or other small appliance repair services.
C. Storage shall be limited to accessory storage of commodities sold at retail on the premises or materials used in the limited fabrication of commodities sold at retail on the premises. No outside storage is permitted unless allowed elsewhere by this chapter.
D. Operations conducted on the premises shall not be objectionable beyond the property boundary lines by reason of noise, odor, fumes, gases, smoke, vibration, hazard, or other causes.
E. No on-site hazardous substance processing and handling or hazardous waste treatment and storage facilities shall be permitted, unless clearly incidental and secondary to a permitted use. On-site hazardous waste treatment and storage facilities shall be subject to the state siting criteria (Chapter 70.105 RCW).
F. Building Orientation Requirements. The following requirements apply to the construction of all new buildings or structures:
1. Existing buildings or structures, including facades, that do not have setbacks or otherwise cannot comply are exempt from these requirements regardless of the amount of improvements made to the building, structure or facade as long as any alteration does not make the existing facade more nonconforming.
2. Existing buildings, structures, or facades that are set back and within 20 feet of a street shall comply to the fullest extent possible as determined by the planning director, with the following requirements when any cumulative structural improvements are made that exceed 50 percent of the assessed value of the existing building, structure, or facade.
3. Any addition to an existing building, regardless of value, that will be within 20 feet of a street shall also comply to the fullest extent possible as determined by the planning director, with the following requirements.
a. For each lineal foot of frontage a building has on a street, there shall be provided an area(s) for pedestrian amenities at the rate of one square foot of ground area for each lineal foot of building frontage. Pedestrian amenities shall consist of such features as landscaping, benches, entry ways with accents such as brick pavers, art work, or a combination of these or similar features. The pedestrian amenities shall be located on the property between the street right-of-way and the building. The planning director shall approve the amount and type of the pedestrian amenities.
b. For buildings that have a street frontage that exceeds 50 feet then at least 25 percent of the building’s frontage shall be immediately adjacent to the street right-of-way.
c. For buildings that have a street frontage that is less than 25 feet then no pedestrian amenities will be required and the building may be located at the property line. There shall, however, be provided a landing in front of each door that opens to a street that is large enough such that no part of any door will encroach into the street right-of-way when the door is being opened or closed.
d. For buildings that provide additional setbacks, except as restricted by subsection (F)(3)(b) of this section, the area between the street right-of-way and the building shall only contain pedestrian amenities.
e. If a building has more than two street frontages then at least two of the frontages shall comply with subsections (F)(3)(b) and (F)(3)(g) of this section and contain pedestrian amenities between the building and the street right-of-way. Any remaining frontages shall either have pedestrian amenities, windows, murals, flat surfaced art work or other similar architectural features that would avoid large blank walls.
f. For new buildings that will infill between two other existing buildings the new building shall be set back no further than either of the adjacent buildings unless additional setback is required to comply with subsection (F)(3)(a) of this section. The proposed setback shall be reviewed by the planning director to ensure the setback will maintain building continuity along the street.
g. Buildings shall have windows that encompass at least 60 percent of the first floor facade and at least 40 percent of the facade of each additional floor. At least 50 percent of the area of the first floor windows of nonresidential buildings shall provide visibility to the inside of the building. This subsection shall only apply to the facades, of new buildings, with street frontage and shall not lessen the requirements of the Uniform Building or Fire Codes.
h. The building’s principal pedestrian entrance shall be oriented to the street. If the building is at a corner, either street or alley, then the principal pedestrian entrance shall be at the corner unless a better architectural design is attained at another location and approved by the planning director.
i. Buildings that are at the intersection of either two streets or a street and an alley shall provide for a sight distance triangular setback as required by ACC 18.48.020(B)(1)(a) and (B)(1) (b). These triangular areas may contain pedestrian amenities that satisfy the requirements of subsection (F)(3)(a) of this section.
j. A site plan shall be prepared by the proponent which addresses compliance with the requirements as outlined in subsections (F)(3)(a) through (F)(3)(i) of this section. The site plan shall be approved by the planning director prior to the submittal of any building permit.
k. For the sole purposes of subsection F of this section the term “street” shall include the right-of-way of private and public streets. The term shall also include pedestrian walkways, encumbered by an easement or similar means, that are used by the general public to travel from one property to another.
G. Mechanical equipment on rooftops shall be sited and designed to minimize noise and effectively screen the equipment from view from adjacent properties and rights-of-way. The following methods, or a combination thereof, may be used:
1. Setback from the roof edge to obscure visibility from below;
2. Integration into the building architecture, using building walls, roof wells or roof parapets to conceal the equipment;
3. Equipment enclosure or sight-obscuring fencing or landscaping;
4. Overhead trellis or roof to obscure visibility from above.
Materials used to screen mechanical equipment shall be the same as or compatible with the design of the principal structure.
H. Stair towers and elevator penthouses shall be designed to be architecturally integrated into the principal structure. This may include using the same building materials, repeating common building forms, colors or elements, or incorporating the roof and wall of the stair tower or elevator penthouse into the upper wall of the structure.
I. Any automobile repair, service, maintenance, machine shop, car wash or service station that was legally established before the effective date of Ordinance No. 5555 will not be considered a nonconforming use. Any expansion of said use(s) will require a conditional use permit. (Ord. 5555 § 1, 2001; Ord. 5510 § 1, 2001; Ord. 5193 § 1, 1998; Ord. 4914 § 1, 1996; Ord. 4294 § 3, 1988; Ord. 4229 § 2, 1987.)
18.28.060 Development standards for parking garages.
Parking garages shall be exempt from the supplemental design standards of the C-2 zone, ACC 18.28.050(F), unless otherwise indicated. The intent of this section is to ensure that parking garages are designed to be architecturally harmonious with associated buildings, and reflect traditional, commercial building forms. The following development standards shall apply:
A. Maximum building height: 60 feet. An elevator penthouse, stair towers or mechanical equipment may extend above this height by 15 feet.
B. First Floor Commercial Space.
1. For parking garages with street frontage on Main Street, commercial spaces shall occupy 100 percent of the first floor of the parking garage’s Main Street frontage. Parking garage driveway entrances and/or exits shall not be permitted directly to and/or from Main Street.
2. For parking garages within the following area: Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad right-of-way; all parcels fronting 1st Street SE (both sides of street); A Street SE; and 3rd Street SE, commercial spaces shall occupy a minimum of 50 percent of the first floor of the parking garage’s street frontage or primary public exposure of the parking structure.
3. Parking garages that provide required off-street parking for a commercial or mixed-use development and that are located on the same parcel as, or on a contiguous parcel to, the commercial or mixed-use development being served shall be exempt from the requirements of subsection (B)(2) of this section. However, the provisions of subsection (B)(1) of this section shall still apply to such parking garages with street frontage on Main Street.
C. Where concrete is used for walls that are visible from a public sidewalk, street, plaza or pedestrian route, then the concrete construction must be architecturally treated. Following are several acceptable methods for architectural treatment:
1. Textured or patterned surface.
2. Colored admixture in concrete.
3. Other masonry types as accent, such as brick, glass block, or tile.
D. Windows and openings in the parking garage facade shall meet the following requirements:
1. Glazed windows are not required for the car park section of parking structures. Any first floor area devoted to commercial use shall meet the window requirements listed in the supplemental development standards, ACC 18.28.050(F)(3)(g).
2. The rhythm and proportions of the openings on upper floors should complement the design of the lower floor storefront. Upper floors should avoid long, continuous horizontal openings. Along pedestrian-oriented streets or public spaces openings on all floors should be architecturally treated, to create the impression of a traditional downtown commercial building. These might include treatments which are or resemble windowsills, lintels, mouldings, mullions and muntins, or openings with a unique shape, such as an arch, pediment, or hood.
E. Lighting requirements include the following:
1. Lighting inside the garage shall meet a minimum standard of five foot-candles, not to exceed the Washington State Energy Code Lighting Power Allowance.
2. Light fixtures shall be protected from breakage by means such as a wired cage.
F. Pedestrian entrances to the garage from adjacent streets or plaza shall be clearly defined through design of the pavement, and/or building opening, and shall be signed.
G. The total square feet of landscaping area to be provided shall be determined by multiplying each parking garage frontage along a public street, sidewalk, plaza, or pedestrian route by 0.75.
The minimum acceptable dimension for any landscaping area is two feet for vines only, or three feet for other types of landscaping. Landscaping should be located along a minimum of 25 percent of any frontage. However, landscape location may be revised and consolidated if severe space limitations restrict the ability to provide the minimum landscape area on each frontage. Pedestrian amenities, as defined in ACC 18.28.050(F)(3)(a), may be used to meet the landscaping requirement, up to a maximum of 50 percent of the required landscaping area, and may include benches, artwork, or decorative paving.
The planning director shall approve the amount, type, and location of landscaping and/or pedestrian amenities.
H. Parking garages shall be architecturally consistent with other buildings in the same project, and shall use the same, or harmonious, colors and materials. Parking garages that are not part of a larger project shall be architecturally compatible with neighboring structures or consistent with the urban design vision for the area as expressed in the downtown plan.
I. Stair towers and elevator penthouses shall be designed to be architecturally integrated into the principal structure. This may include using the same building materials, repeating common building forms, colors or elements, or incorporating the roof and wall of the stair tower or elevator penthouse into the upper wall of the structure.
J. Standard sized parking spaces in parking garages are allowed an exception to ACC 18.52.090, Parking space dimensional requirements. Spaces oriented at 90 degrees to the aisle are allowed a minimum length of 18 feet, a minimum width of eight and one-half feet and a minimum aisle width of 22 feet. (Ord. 5555 § 1, 2001; Ord. 5510 § 1, 2001.)