Chapter 17.37
DOWNTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT RETAIL OVERLAY ZONE
Sections:
17.37.020 Definition of “retail use.”
17.37.030 Special use regulations within downtown historic district overlay zone.
17.37.040 Waiver of special use regulations.
17.37.050 Revocation of waiver for fraud.
17.37.010 Created.
There is hereby created a special purpose zoning classification to be known as the downtown historic district retail overlay zone, which shall include all lots and parcels fronting on Railroad Avenue S.E. from the southerly margin of the right-of-way of S.E. Northern Street at its intersection with Railroad Avenue to a line intersecting Railroad Avenue defined as the southerly property boundary of 8250 Railroad Avenue S.E., commonly known as the Town Pump extended. (Ord. 1198 § 22 (Exh. D), 2017; Ord. 869 § 1, 2000).
17.37.020 Definition of “retail use.”
A. For purposes of this chapter, “retail use” means a business primarily characterized by the sale of goods or merchandise to the local public and tourists for personal, household or business consumption, and rendering of services incidental to the sale of such goods, a business providing entertainment or recreation, a business engaged in the sale of food and/or beverages for on-premises consumption, or barber, beauty or nail salon, but excluding the sales, fueling, repair or storage of motor vehicles, excluding adult-oriented businesses of any nature and excluding any drive-through food or beverage service.
B. The director shall determine whether existing uses and any proposed new use are a retail use for purposes of this chapter, and shall consider whether the proposed use has the following retail characteristics:
1. The establishment is engaged to a significant degree in business to attract the general public to sell tangible goods to consumers for their own personal or household use, or to render personal, entertainment or recreational services to customers on the premises;
2. The business may process, repair, or manufacture some or all of the products it sells, such as jewelry, candy, baked goods, apparel, pottery, or consumer electronics; however, such processing, repair, or manufacturing shall be of items sold on the premises, whether or not also sold at wholesale, and shall be of a scale compatible with the retail component of the business.
C. By way of illustration only, the following are retail uses:
1. General merchandise, such as apparel, books, arts and crafts, furniture, and home furnishings;
2. Jewelry, records/compact discs/videos, consumer electronic equipment, hardware, sporting goods, stationery and office supplies, and toys;
3. Convenience goods such as food and grocery stores, pharmacies and drug stores;
4. Restaurants, other than drive-through food service, and taverns;
5. Personal services, such as barber shops and beauty salons, tailors, florists and shoe repair, which include incidental sale of related goods;
6. Movie theaters and bowling alleys; and
7. Museums and galleries.
D. By way of further illustration, the following are nonretail uses:
1. Professional service businesses such as advertising, architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, planning, law, medicine, music instruction, interior design, dentistry, accounting, insurance, real estate, finance and securities investments, and any similar type business;
2. Any drive-through food or beverage service;
3. Motor vehicle related uses, including sales, fueling, repair or storage;
4. Uses that require outside storage of stock, vehicles or machinery; and
5. Wholesale sales, other than those by a business also engaged in retail sales. (Ord. 1198 § 22 (Exh. D), 2017; Ord. 869 § 1, 2000).
17.37.030 Special use regulations within downtown historic district overlay zone.
A. Subject to the underlying use regulations of this title, and subject to the provisions of SMC 17.37.040, within the historic district overlay zone at least 75 percent of the storefronts on Railroad Avenue S.E. shall be occupied by retail uses, and no more than 25 percent of storefronts shall be occupied by nonretail uses. For purposes of this section, a “storefront” shall mean separately owned or leased ground floor premises with a separate entrance on Railroad Avenue S.E. A building may have one or more storefronts. City-occupied buildings fronting on Railroad Avenue S.E. shall not be included within the definition of “storefront.”
B. The director shall establish and maintain a list by address of all storefronts within the downtown historic district retail overlay zone and a determination of whether such storefront is occupied by a retail use. The list shall include a calculation of the percentage of storefronts occupied by retail uses as of the date of the list. The list shall be updated prior to the issuance of any business license for a business intending to locate in any storefront fronting on Railroad Avenue S.E. within the downtown historic district retail overlay district. No business license shall be issued for any business proposing to locate in a ground floor storefront on Railroad Avenue S.E. within the downtown historic district retail overlay zone unless the director certifies that the issuance of such business license is in compliance with the requirements of subsection A of this section; provided, the renewal of business licenses for businesses in existence as of the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter shall not be prohibited by this section.
C. Second story uses and storefronts fronting on Falls Avenue S.E. or Maple Avenue S.E. shall be subject to the underlying zoning only and shall not be subject to the special use regulations of this chapter. (Ord. 1198 § 22 (Exh. D), 2017; Ord. 869 § 1, 2000).
17.37.040 Waiver of special use regulations.
A. The owner or authorized agent of the owner of any premises subject to the special use regulations of SMC 17.37.030 may apply for a waiver of such regulations upon making a written application therefor describing the premises by address, the last retail use, the date such premises became vacant, the proposed nonretail use, and the date such proposed nonretail lease is proposed to commence. The application shall be supported by declaration signed under penalty of perjury setting forth the facts supporting the application. The grounds for such waiver shall be as follows:
1. Such premises are vacant;
2. Such owner or agent has made a good faith effort to lease the premises for a retail use for a period greater than 120 days from the latter of the date of vacancy and the date of commencement of efforts to lease the premises for a retail use;
3. Such owner or agent has offered the premises for lease for a retail use at a rate no higher than the rate for the proposed nonretail use and upon other terms and conditions at least as favorable;
4. Despite such good faith efforts, such owner or agent has not been able to lease the premises for a retail use and such premises remain vacant; and
5. Such owner or agent has not offered the premises to a potential nonretail user prior to the date of application for the waiver.
B. Such application and declaration shall be supported by copies of the following documentation:
1. Copies of all published and nonpublished advertising or other solicitations offering the premises for lease, including but not limited to newspaper advertisements, circulars or flyers, and advertisements used by brokers or agents, with annotations as to the date and place of publication;
2. A list of potential retail users contacted or expressing interest in leasing the premises, and the reason of each potential user for not leasing the premises, if known; and
3. Any other document the owner or agent desires to have considered by the director.
C. The director shall issue a written decision allowing or denying the waiver within 14 days of receipt of a complete application; provided, the application shall be allowed unless the director affirmatively finds that one or more of the grounds of subsection A of this section have not been met, or the application or declaration is fraudulent or not made in good faith. The director’s decision shall be mailed to the applicant by certified mail, return receipt requested, and by ordinary mail. The date of the decision shall be deemed to be the date of mailing.
D. The decision of the director may be appealed to the planning commission by filing a written notice of appeal with the city clerk, setting forth the factual and legal basis of the appeal within 10 days of the date of the director’s decision. The planning commission shall hold a hearing thereon at a regular meeting not less than seven nor more than 30 days from the date of filing of the appeal, and shall immediately deliberate and decide the matter upon conclusion of the hearing. The planning commission shall issue a written decision signed by the chairman within five business days after the hearing, which written decision shall be final unless appealed to superior court. (Ord. 1198 § 22 (Exh. D), 2017; Ord. 884 § 1, 2001; Ord. 869 § 1, 2000).
17.37.050 Revocation of waiver for fraud.
The planning commission may revoke a waiver granted pursuant to SMC 17.37.040, and any business license issued in reliance thereon, after a hearing on notice to the property owner and holder of the business license, upon the grounds that such waiver was obtained by a material misrepresentation in the application, declaration or supporting documents. For purposes of this section, a “material misrepresentation” is a false statement upon which reliance was placed in order to find the existence of one or more of the grounds for granting the waiver. (Ord. 1198 § 22 (Exh. D), 2017; Ord. 869 § 1, 2000).
17.37.060 Severability.
In the event any of the provisions of this chapter shall be held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the finding of invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions hereof. (Ord. 1198 § 22 (Exh. D), 2017; Ord. 869 § 1, 2000).