Chapter 18.36
DOWNTOWN CORE DISTRICT (DC)*

Sections:

18.36.010    General intent.

18.36.020    Permitted uses.

18.36.030    Conditional uses.

18.36.040    Setback and bulk regulations.

18.36.050    Off-street parking and loading requirements.

18.36.060    Repealed.

*Code reviser’s note: Ordinance 1155 adds the provisions of this chapter as Chapter 18.38. The chapter has been editorially renumbered to prevent duplication of numbering.

18.36.010 General intent.

The intent of this zone is to implement the commercial and retail core portion of the downtown center plan. Uses within this area should enhance the pedestrian scale of the downtown core and allow for a compact walking environment in which shopping, dining, and recreational opportunities are easily accessible. (Ord. 1524 § 8, 2015; Ord. 1364 § 1, 2010; Ord. 1250 § 6, 2007; Ord. 1155 § 1, 2005).

18.36.020 Permitted uses.

A. Ground Floor. It is intended that ground floor uses maintain downtown’s commercial and retail vitality and walkability by promoting browsing and window-shopping and attracting customers on a drop-in basis. Ground floor uses should maintain ground floor visibility and have windows facing the sidewalk to display goods and services for sale. Ground floor levels will ideally contain a mix of retail, personal services, eating and drinking establishments, theater and cultural facilities, and financial institutions. Allowable uses are:

1. Antique shops;

2. Automatic teller machines (ATMs) with no drive-thru;

3. Bakeries, retail;

4. Banks with no drive-thru;

5. Barber and beauty shops;

6. Bars;

7. Beer and wine specialty shops;

8. Bookstores;

9. Brewpubs and microbreweries;

10. Coffee shops, cafes;

11. Dry cleaners;

12. Food markets, delicatessen and meat markets (may sell beer and wine);

13. Galleries;

14. Hardware stores;

15. Horticultural nursery and garden supply, indoor or outdoor;

16. Hotels, motels;

17. Libraries;

18. Massage therapy/spas;

19. Mini-day care center;

20. Nail salons;

21. Pet shop, grooming and supplies;

22. Pharmacies;

23. Photographic studios, processing and/or supply;

24. Printing, copying and mailing services;

25. Retail shops;

26. Restaurants with no drive-thru;

27. Shoe repair;

28. Tailor shops;

29. Tanning salons;

30. Theaters.

B. Upper Floors. Uses on the upper floors should support and enhance the overall activity in the downtown core by including uses allowable on the ground floor as well as residences and uses that attract visitors on an appointment or destination basis. Allowable uses are:

1. Uses permitted on the ground floor, with a conditional use permit;

2. Dancing, music, art, and vocational schools;

3. Family day care homes;

4. Home occupations, provided the provisions of BLMC 18.22.010 are met;

5. Medical-dental clinics;

6. Medical offices;

7. Professional offices;

8. Religious institutions;

9. Schools, colleges and universities or extension classrooms;

10. Veterinary clinics with no outdoor kennel space or dog runs;

11. Dwelling units at any density.

C. The community development director or designee shall have the authority to determine whether a use is a sufficiently similar use to those listed above for purposes of this chapter, such that the use promotes the intent of the chapter and should be permitted. (Ord. 1364 § 1, 2010; Ord. 1250 § 6, 2007; Ord. 1155 § 1, 2005).

18.36.030 Conditional uses.

A. The following uses are allowed on the ground or upper floors in the downtown core zone upon the granting of a conditional use permit as provided in BLMC 18.52.020. In addition to the criteria for a conditional use permit, the size, configuration, location, and design of the use shall be consistent with the goals, policies, and vision of this chapter.

1. Uses proposed for the ground floor that are allowed on the upper floors under BLMC 18.36.020;

2. Bowling alleys;

3. Parking garages as provided in BLMC 18.36.050(C);

4. Professional offices that serve customers, such as travel agencies, insurance agencies, accountants, and realtors. (Ord. 1364 § 1, 2010; Ord. 1250 § 6, 2007; Ord. 1155 § 1, 2005).

18.36.040 Setback and bulk regulations.

A. Structures shall be set back at least 20 feet from any single-family residential zone. Exception: Buildings taller than 35 feet shall increase the setback by one foot from any single-family residential zone for every one foot of building height increase over 35 feet, up to a maximum setback of 60 feet. For example, a proposed building of 50 feet in the DC zone shall be set back at least 35 feet from any single-family zone (20 feet plus 15 extra feet for the height increase over 35 feet).

B. The maximum height of buildings shall be 50 feet. Exceptions: Taller buildings, up to a maximum of 75 feet, may be permitted, provided the following criteria are met:

1. Repealed by Ord. 1686.

2. For 40-foot structures, at least 40 percent of the required parking is provided within the structure; for 50-foot structures, at least 50 percent of the required parking is provided within the structure; for 60-foot structures, at least 60 percent of the required parking is provided within the structure; for structures over 60 feet tall, more than 80 percent of the required parking is provided within the structure.

3. Buildings must comply with the design standards plus include one of the following features that appear to reduce the scale of the building and add visual interest:

a. Step back the facade of one or more of the upper floors by at least 10 feet.

b. Other building modulation technique or use of a curved facade that meets the intent of the standard per the director. (Ord. 1686 § 28, 2023; Ord. 1364 § 1, 2010; Ord. 1250 § 6, 2007; Ord. 1155 § 1, 2005).

18.36.050 Off-street parking and loading requirements.

A. Where so indicated in the downtown plan which forms a part of the comprehensive plan, parking shall be to rear of buildings, centralized and shared among businesses where feasible.

B. For off-street parking and loading requirements, see BLMC 18.22.100, Off-street parking and loading requirements, and Chapter 18.31 BLMC, Commercial Development Standards.

C. Parking Garages. Parking garages and structures shall comply with the following requirements:

1. Driveway openings shall be limited to two per structure and the number of access lanes in each opening shall be limited to two.

2. Ground level parked vehicles shall be screened from view from the adjacent rights-of-way or properties by landscaping.

3. A safe pedestrian linkage system, such as a marked crosswalk and/or sidewalk, shall be installed between the parking structure and the principal or adjacent uses.

4. The upper surface of underground parking structures shall not exceed a height of three and one-half feet above the average grade of the abutting public sidewalk and no parking shall be permitted on top of that portion of an underground parking structure which is above the established grade.

5. Above ground parking structures shall not front on Main Street, Sumner/Buckley Highway or SR 410 unless they are visually compatible with the principal use structure and the character of development within the downtown plan.

6. Parking areas or garages shall be designed to provide for off-street vehicle circulation to adjoining property and parking areas where physically feasible, except that driveways and parking aisles should not cross pedestrian linkages in the downtown core. (Ord. 1364 § 1, 2010; Ord. 1250 § 6, 2007; Ord. 1155 § 1, 2005).

18.36.060 Design in conformance with community character element.

Repealed by Ord. 1250. (Ord. 1155 § 1, 2005).