Chapter 18.30
PB PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS DISTRICT
Sections:
18.30.010 Use and bulk regulations.
18.30.060 Property development standards.
18.30.010 Use and bulk regulations.
Use and bulk regulations applying specifically to professional business districts are set forth in this chapter. Also applying to professional business districts are additional regulations set forth in other chapters and sections of this title as follows:
(A) HMC 18.05.040, Zoning districts – Establishment and application.
(B) HMC 18.05.050, Rules of interpretation of district boundaries.
(C) HMC 18.05.060, Interpretation and application – Supplementary district regulation.
(D) HMC 18.05.070, Miscellaneous business regulations.
(E) Article II of Chapter 18.05 HMC, Definitions.
(F) Chapter 18.70 HMC, Planned Unit Development Districts.
(G) Chapter 18.75 HMC, Landscape Regulations
(H) Chapter 18.80 HMC, Off-Street Parking and Loading.
(I) Chapter 18.85 HMC, Signs.
(J) Chapter 18.90 HMC, Nonconforming Uses and Nonconforming Buildings.
(K) Chapter 18.110 HMC, Administration.
(L) HMC 18.115.050, Use variances. [Ord. 1659 § 1, 2017].
18.30.020 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to establish a district designed and intended to accommodate uses such as offices for professional and personal services which can provide a transition area between residential uses and the more intense uses found in business districts, major thoroughfares, and railroads. [Ord. 1659 § 1, 2017].
18.30.030 Permitted uses.
The following listed uses and no others are permitted uses in a PB district.
(A) Offices of an administrative nature, including but not limited to banking, savings and loan or other financial institutions, accounting, real estate, insurance, government, other institutional uses, educational, training and similar professional activities. Drive-up teller windows, cash stations and the like are permitted only as an accessory use.
(B) Retail uses; provided, that:
(1) Uses shall be limited to those permitted in the central business district (B-2), excluding garden supply and seed stores, pawn shops, residential above the first floor, and laundries and dry cleaners, automatic, self-service coin-operated.
(2) Retail uses are located on the first story only.
(3) No more than 50 percent of the gross building area is used for retail uses.
(C) Merchandising firms, including related galleries and showrooms.
(D) Physician, health care, medical and dental clinics and related uses, including out-patient surgery centers, physical and rehab therapy facilities, chiropractor, acupuncture, and holistic medicine.
(E) Offices of a professional nature, including, but not limited to, architects, engineers, lawyers, planners, surveyors and similar professions.
(F) Offices of a technology character, including software development, computer and internet-based firms, research-and-development businesses, small business incubators, and similar activities.
(G) Off-street parking lots.
(H) Other uses as determined by the plan commission to be similar in design and intent to the above listed uses.
(I) Accessory structures and uses customarily incidental to the above listed uses. [Ord. 1659 § 1, 2017].
18.30.040 Use variances.
In a PB district, use variances may be allowed in accordance with the limiting conditions and procedures as set forth in HMC 18.115.050. [Ord. 1659 § 1, 2017].
18.30.050 Prohibited uses.
In a PB district, the following uses are prohibited:
(A) Drive-in establishments.
(B) Outdoor storage of goods and materials.
(C) Warehousing and distribution centers.
(D) Outdoor sales. [Ord. 1659 § 1, 2017].
18.30.060 Property development standards.
(A) Minimum Lot Size in an PB District. Minimum lot size requirements for a PB district are as follows:
(1) Every interior lot containing a building shall have, at minimum, a lot width of 50 feet at the building line, a lot depth of 125 feet, and a lot area of not less than 6,250 square feet.
(2) Every corner lot containing a building shall have, at minimum, a lot width of 100 feet at the building line, a lot depth of 125 feet, and a lot area of not less than 12,500 square feet.
(B) Floor Area Ratio. In a PB district, the minimum FAR shall be 0.5. The maximum FAR shall be set as follows:
(1) For developments along local or collector streets: 1.0.
(2) For developments along minor arterial streets: 2.0.
(3) For developments along principal arterial streets or highways: 4.0.
(C) Maximum Lot Coverage. Not more than 80 percent of the area of any lot shall be occupied by the combination of buildings, drives, sidewalks and parking area, except where green roofs and/or solar panels, or other specified amenities are provided. In such case, the allowable lot coverage may be proportionally increased according to Chapter 18.75 HMC.
Exhibit 9 – Professional Business Development Example
(D) Front Yards. In a PB district, front yards shall be provided as follows:
(1) For developments fronting local or collector streets, a minimum 10-foot front yard shall be provided, but in no case larger than 30 feet.
(2) For developments fronting all other streets, a 15-foot front yard shall be provided, but in no case larger than 30 feet.
(E) Side Yards. In a PB district, side yards shall be provided as follows:
(1) Where abutting lots have buildings or other structures, employing a common party wall, no side yard is required.
(2) All interior lots shall have two side yards, each having a width of not less than five feet, except where party walls are used or adjoining uses are similar in character and use. In such case, no side yard shall be required.
(3) On each corner lot, the front yard and the side yard abutting the public street shall be equal in size, but in no case more than 10 feet.
(4) Where any side lot line in this zoning district adjoins a residential zoning district within the same lot, a minimum five-foot buffer shall be provided. In addition, there shall be an effective screening of the abutting lot extending from the front building line to the rear lot line. This screening shall include landscaping that complies with Chapter 18.75 HMC.
(F) Rear Yards. In a PB district, rear yards shall be provided as follows:
(1) There shall be a rear yard on each lot, the depth of which shall be not less than 20 feet from the rear property line.
(2) When the rear of the lot adjoins a residential zoning district, a minimum 15-foot buffer shall be provided. In addition, there shall be in addition an effective screening from the abutting lot along the rear lot line in accordance with Chapter 18.75 HMC.
(G) Building Height. In a PB district, the minimum height of any building shall be 30 feet, and include a minimum of two stories. The maximum height of any building shall be 35 feet.
(H) Landscape Plan. A landscape plan shall be prepared, submitted, and approved in accordance with the provisions set forth in Chapter 18.75 HMC.
(I) Off-Street Parking.
(1) Off-street parking requirements shall be in accordance with the regulations set forth in Chapter 18.80 HMC.
(2) No off-street parking lots or facilities shall be located in the front yard.
(3) For developments in this district that include retail development within the requirements of this title, no parking above and beyond what would normally be required for office development shall be required, based on the majority of uses in the building.
(4) Where two or more office developments abut each other on the side lots, said developments shall be required to share and/or access a common driveway and parking lot, with curb cuts limited to one for every 200 linear feet along the front or side lot line.
(5) For all corner lots in this zoning district, curb cuts shall only be permitted from the side lot line, and in no case less than 75 feet from the street intersection. [Ord. 1659 § 1, 2017].
18.30.070 Design standards.
(A) A minimum of 75 percent of all building facades in this zoning district shall be covered with brick/masonry or natural stone materials, including 100 percent on all sides that face a public street.
(B) A minimum of 50 percent of the front facade shall be composed of storefront windows between two feet and eight feet above the sidewalk on the first floor. A minimum of 30 percent of upper floors shall be composed of windows that are vertically oriented and spaced regularly to allow visibility onto the street from these floors.
(C) Blank walls along any facade of more than 20 linear feet long are prohibited.
(D) Fenestration shall be architecturally related to the style, materials, colors, and details of the building.
(E) Flat roofs shall be enclosed by parapets a minimum of 42 inches high, or as required to conceal mechanical equipment to the satisfaction of the town plan commission.
(F) Overhead services such as utility poles, transformers, and connections should be underground when possible.
(G) The primary entrance to all buildings shall be located facing the front right-of-way. Building materials used at entrances should be complementary to the building’s design. The use of enhancements such as projected canopy, alcoves, cast stone decoration, and decorative lamps/lighting is encouraged.
(H) Buildings located on corner lots may be permitted to develop attractive and appropriate pedestrian amenities, such as plazas, gardens, seating, and the like. Such amenities shall be comparable in style to the building architecture, and may be subject to approval from the town of Highland.
(I) Buildings placed on major intersections and high-visibility locations, or have facades that terminate a view corridor, should have distinct profile features to serve as landmarks to give the place and location an identifying marker. Such features may include:
(1) Building entrances with increased and more elaborate design treatments.
(2) Slight building recessions or protrusions.
(3) Increased articulations and architectural elements on building corners.
(4) Increased landscaping and public arts at the most visible portions of the lot.
(J) Mechanical equipment, utility meters, storage areas, trash enclosures, transformers, generators and similar features or other utility hardware on roof, ground, or buildings shall be screened from public view and public streets with materials similar to the structure or they shall be so located as not to be visible from any public view or from potential buildings nearby.
(K) Loading areas shall be located on the rear yard and away from the public view.
(L) Frontage Standards.
(1) Individual building facades and walls that front a public street shall not exceed 50 feet in length. Long facades and building walls should be designed with sufficient building articulation and landscaping to break them up into smaller visual elements, such as articulations with different materials, recession or projection of the wall, or other architectural variation or elements. Articulations shall not exceed three feet in depth or protrusion. Building areas that do not front a public street shall have complementary facades in terms of material and character.
(2) Buildings shall include at least one public entrance on the front facade for every 50 feet of building width. Building entrances may include doors to individual shops or businesses, lobby entrances, entrances to pedestrian-oriented plazas, or courtyard entrances to a cluster of shops or businesses.
(3) Buildings shall provide pedestrian sidewalks or walkways that are directly accessible from the public right-of-way.
(4) Streetscape frontage shall be coordinated, requiring that the public and private frontages are harmonized as a single, coherent landscape and paving design.
(M) Curb Cut Standards.
(1) Where access to a lot is readily available from an alley or service drive, proposed or existing, no more than one curb cut along the front right-of-way shall be permitted.
(2) For all corner lots, curb cuts shall only be permitted along the side lot line, and in no case less than 75 feet from the street intersection.
(3) Where practical, shared curb cuts shall be established among adjoining properties.
(N) Pedestrian Access.
(1) To the extent practical, all business districts shall provide direct pedestrian access to the adjoining residential properties.
(2) The town’s bicycle network consisting of trails, routes, and lanes shall be connected to existing or proposed networks wherever possible.
(3) Pedestrian walkways should connect each primary entrance of a commercial building to adjacent parking lots, structures, or site amenities and public sidewalks. Pedestrian routes are required, by law, to be ADA accessible. [Ord. 1659 § 1, 2017].