17.60.140 Limited commercial (L-C), neighborhood commercial (N-C), community commercial (C-C) and regional commercial zone (R-C).
A. Purpose. The purpose of the L-C (limited commercial) zone is to provide an area which will accommodate the orderly development of commercial business within the city.
The purpose of the N-C (neighborhood commercial) zone is to provide commercial services to neighborhoods with basic trade and personal services which occur regularly or frequently.
The purpose of the C-C (community commercial) zone is to provide a range of commercial uses greater than that of the neighborhood commercial but at a lower intensity than a regional commercial zone.
The purpose of the R-C (regional commercial) zone is to provide an area in which a full range of commercial and professional uses may locate that attract customers from a larger service area.
B. Use Table. See use table section, WPCC 17.60.050. If a use is not specifically designated, then it is prohibited.
C. Development Standards.
1. Subdivision Requirement. In addition to the following standards, all lots (including single lots) shall be approved and developed in accordance with the standards found in the subdivision ordinance, Chapter 17.130 WPCC.
2. Commercial Lot Standards Table. The following standards apply to all buildings in the L-C, N-C, C-C and R-C zones:
|
L-C |
N-C |
C-C |
R-C |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lot Size |
||||
|
Min. Lot Area (sq. ft.) |
10,000 |
10,000 |
20,000 |
20,000 |
|
Min. Frontage |
– |
– |
– |
– |
|
Min. Depth |
– |
– |
– |
– |
|
Min. Landscaping |
15% |
15% |
15% |
15% |
|
Principal Structure |
||||
|
Min. Front Yard Setback |
20' |
20' |
20' |
20' |
|
Min. Front Yard Setback Arterial Street |
20' |
20' |
20' |
20' |
|
Min. Side Yard Setback (one side) |
10' |
10' |
10' |
10' |
|
Min. Side Yard Corner Lot |
20' |
20' |
20' |
20' |
|
Min. Side Yard Corner Lot Arterial Street |
– |
20' |
– |
– |
|
Min. Rear Yard Setback |
10' |
10' |
10' |
10' |
|
Distance Between Structures on Same Lot |
10' |
10' |
10' |
10' |
|
Distance Between Structures on Adjacent Lots |
10' |
10' |
10' |
10' |
|
Min. and Max. Height |
10' and 40' |
10' and 40' |
10' and 40' |
10' and 60' |
|
Accessory Buildings |
||||
|
Min. Front Yard Setback |
25' |
25' |
25' |
25' |
|
Min. Side Yard Setback |
1' |
1' |
1' |
1' |
|
Min. Rear Yard Setback |
1' |
1' |
1' |
1' |
|
Min. Side Yard Corner |
0' |
0' |
0' |
0' |
|
Min. and Max. Height |
10' and 40' |
10' and 40' |
10' and 40' |
10' and 40' |
3. Building Design Standards. The following exterior materials and architectural standards are required:
a. Architectural drawings and elevations, exterior materials and colors of all buildings shall be submitted in conjunction with site plan review. In projects containing multiple buildings, a design layout containing architectural theme, features, exterior materials and colors governing the entire project shall be submitted.
b. Articulation and Windows. All street facing facades shall meet the following minimum standards for articulation, as illustrated in Figure 17.60.140-1. For purposes of this section “articulation” shall mean the emphasis of elements on the face of a wall including a change in setback, materials, roof pitch or height.
i. Horizontal Articulation. In the L-C, N-C, R-C, or C-C zones, no plane of a building wall shall extend for a horizontal distance greater than two times the height of the wall without having an offset of at least five percent of the wall’s height, and that new wall plane shall extend for a distance equal to at least five percent of the maximum length of the first plane. In the R/I-P zone, the wall may not extend greater than three times the height without having the offset.
ii. Vertical Articulation. In the L-C, N-C, R-C, or C-C zones, no wall shall extend for a horizontal distance greater than two times the height of the wall without changing height by a minimum of 15 percent of the wall’s height. Where allowed, a pitched roof may be considered as vertical articulation. In the R/I-P zone, the wall may not extend for a distance greater than three times the height of the wall without changing height by a minimum of 15 percent of the wall’s height.
17.60.140-1
c. All building facades that face public streets shall have windows along at least 25 percent of their horizontal length. If 25 percent actual windows is not feasible because of the nature of the use of the building facade, then the remainder of such walls shall include false windows, either glazing or pattern, and defined by frames, sills, and lintels, or similarly proportioned features.
d. Exterior walls of buildings in the L-C and N-C zones shall be constructed with a minimum of 50 percent brick or stone. The balance of the exterior wall area shall consist of brick, stone, glass, decorative integrally colored block, or stucco. All building materials shall be high quality, durable, and low maintenance. Roofs shall be hipped or gabled with a minimum six to 12 pitch. Any exception or changes to roof standards shall be made with a conditional use permit.
e. In the R-C and C-C zones masonry will be required on the exterior of all developments. The minimum area of masonry required will be determined by multiplying the outside perimeter of the building by four feet. The masonry used can be as a wainscot around the periphery of the building or a higher percentage at the main entrance(s). Corner lots and lots on arterial or collector streets are required to use the majority of the masonry on the front and sides of the building facing the street(s).
f. The exterior walls of all buildings shall be properly maintained (no peeling paint, loose bricks, broken stucco, etc.) by the owners.
g. Alternative materials may be approved by the community development director if it can be shown that the finished product shall result in a highly durable surface that enhances the building.
4. Parking Lot Landscaping and Lighting.
a. Parking Lot. Every parking lot with more than 10 spaces and 3,500 square feet shall contain internal landscaped areas.
b. Curbed Planters. Curbed planters shall be designed to accept storm water, with two-inch or larger caliper medium to large shade trees, and shall be installed at the ends of parking rows. Planters shall be at least five feet wide. The remainder of the island shall be landscaped with additional shrubs, ground cover, decorative gravel, or turf, and shall include an appropriate irrigation system.
c. For every 20 parking stalls there shall be a planter area. This area shall have a minimum of two two-inch caliper medium size trees planted along with grass, shrubs, decorative gravel, or ground cover. Said planter shall be at least five feet wide and the length of two tandem parking spaces.
d. Minimum five-foot landscaped planters shall be provided around building foundations except at building entrances, drive-up windows and loading and utility areas.
e. All landscaped areas adjacent to parking areas shall be curbed and designed to accept storm water.
f. Light poles shall be no higher than 25 feet and all associated fixtures shall be downward directed and shielded.
5. Landscaping Standards.
a. The developer shall landscape not less than 15 percent of the site including all required front, side and rear yards. Reuse and conversion of existing dwellings shall require that existing front yard landscaping be maintained, and all parking occurs to the rear or side of the home. The developer must provide an acceptable method of watering all plant materials, in accordance with an approved landscape plan. Such landscaping shall use plant materials appropriate for this area and emphasize trees and other larger ornamental plants.
b. The landscaping shall be completed before occupancy, or as soon thereafter as weather permits. If landscaping is not completed before occupancy, the developer shall provide the required guarantee of improvements to guarantee completion of the landscaping.
c. The landscaping shall be maintained as long as the site is used. Removal of the required landscaping shall void the site plan approval.
d. A minimum of 30 percent of the required yard area trees shall be minimum seven-foot evergreens. Deciduous trees shall be minimum two-inch caliper. Deciduous and evergreen trees required in this section need not be equally spaced but shall be dispersed throughout the yard areas on site.
e. Landscaping shall be installed in all park strips to the same standards as on-site landscaping as well as a minimum of two small to medium size trees per every 50 feet of frontage. Asphalt, paving stones, brick or concrete paving in place of landscaping in the park strip shall only be allowed by the community development director or designee if interspersed with appropriately sized trees at intervals that reflect the tree’s canopy at maturity.
f. Any dead plant material shall be replaced in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and the conditions of the site plan approval.
g. Exceptions to the minimum landscaping standards, based on site constraints or increased quality may be allowed by the community development director or designee during the standard approval process.
h. List of Acceptable Tree Species. Any tree not mentioned on this list may be accepted, by the community development director or designee, during the site plan approval process if it can be shown that the addition of such trees will enhance and improve the landscaping plan.
i. The following trees may be planted on the property:
Golden raintree.
Any flowering plum.
Any flowering cherry.
Any flowering pear.
American red bud.
Flowering crabapple (all nonweeping varieties acceptable).
Lavalle hawthorn (Crataegus lavallei).
Carriere hawthorn (Crataegus carrierei).
Washington hawthorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum).
Paul scarlet hawthorn.
May day tree (Prunus padus).
Amur maple (Acer ginnala).
Rocky maple.
Paperbark maple.
Bigtooth maple.
ii. These trees may be planted on the property but shall not be planted in the park strip:
Any pine or spruce.
Common hackberry.
Thornless honey locust.
Oak Norway maple.
Any oak.
Any beech.
Japanese pagoda.
Eastern redbud.
Fruitless mulberry.
Mountain alder.
Pear variegated box.
6. Landscape Buffer Yards. The buffer yard is a unit of land, together with the planting required thereon, to avoid nuisances between adjacent land uses or between a land use and public road. Both the calculated amount of land and the type and amount of planting specified for each buffer yard required by this chapter shall ensure they do, in fact, function as buffers.
a. Determination of Standards. Buffer yards shall separate different land uses from each other in order to eliminate or minimize potential nuisances such as dirt, litter, noise, glare of lights, signs, and unsightly buildings or parking areas or to provide spacing to reduce adverse impacts of noise, odor, or danger from fires or explosions.
i. Buffer yards shall be located on the outer perimeter of a lot or parcel adjacent to a different use and shall extend along the entire boundary of the property adjacent to that use. Fencing associated with buffer yards shall be located on property lines.
ii. To determine the type of buffer yard required between two adjacent parcels or between a parcel and a street, the following procedure shall apply:
(A) Identify the land use category of the proposed use.
(B) Identify the use category of the existing land use adjacent to the proposed use to determine the intensity classification from Table 1. Agricultural determination need not directly relate to whether or not someone is farming the adjacent property.
(C) Determine the buffer yard required for the proposed development by using Table 2.
(D) Using Buffer Tables 1 and 2 identify the buffer yard options using the buffer yard requirement determined in Table 3.
iii. Changes or exceptions to the buffer requirements may be granted, based on the criteria of physical site constraints that require adaptation or if the changes increase the overall landscape quality for the project, by the community development director or designee.
|
Classification |
Current Land Use |
|---|---|
|
1 |
Agriculture |
|
2 |
R-1, Parks, Recreation |
|
3 |
R-2, R-3, Schools |
|
4 |
R-4, R-5, PUD, Churches |
|
5 |
Medical Care Facilities, Professional Offices, General Retail and Small Commercial |
|
6 |
Commercial Entertainment, Big Box Development |
|
7 |
Industrial |
|
Proposed Land Use |
Current Land Use Classification |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
|
|
Industrial |
– |
E |
E |
E |
B |
B |
– |
|
Large Commercial |
– |
E |
E |
E |
A |
– |
– |
|
Small Commercial |
– |
B/D |
B/D |
B |
– |
A |
B |
|
Professional Office |
– |
B/C |
B/C |
B |
– |
A |
C |
|
A-40, A-5 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
|
R-1 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
B |
E |
E |
|
R-2 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
B |
E |
E |
|
R-3 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
B |
E |
E |
|
R-4 |
– |
B |
A |
– |
B |
D |
E |
|
R-5 |
– |
B |
A |
– |
B |
D |
E |
|
PRUD |
– |
B |
A |
– |
B |
D |
E |
|
Buffer |
Standard |
|---|---|
|
A |
Shall consist of an unbroken strip of open space, five feet wide and planted with the following: one large evergreen tree or deciduous, dense canopied tree with the approval of the community development director, every 20 feet with a maximum mature height of 25 feet. Other shrubbery and plantings shall also be included in this buffer area. A six-foot chain link fence is required at a minimum. |
|
B |
Shall consist of an unbroken strip of open space, 10 feet wide and planted with the following: one large evergreen tree or deciduous, dense canopied tree with the approval of the community development director every 20 feet with a maximum mature height of 25 feet. Other shrubbery and plantings shall also be included in this buffer area. A six-foot chain link fence is required at a minimum. |
|
C |
Shall consist of an unbroken strip of open space 15 feet wide and planted with the following: one large evergreen tree or deciduous, dense canopied tree with the approval of the community development director every 20 feet with a maximum mature height of 25 feet. Other shrubbery and plantings shall also be included in this buffer area. A six-foot vinyl or wood fence is required at a minimum. |
|
D |
Shall consist of an unbroken strip of open space, 35 feet wide and planted with the following: one large evergreen tree or deciduous, dense canopied tree with the approval of the community development director every 20 feet with a maximum mature height of 25 feet. Other shrubbery and plantings shall also be included in this buffer area. A six-foot vinyl or wood fence is required at a minimum. |
|
E |
Shall consist of an unbroken strip of open space 50 feet wide and planted with the following: one large evergreen tree or deciduous, dense canopied tree with the approval of the community development director every 20 feet with a maximum mature height of 25 feet. Other shrubbery and plantings shall also be included in this buffer area. A six-foot vinyl or wood fence is required at a minimum. |
D. Related Provisions. Chapter 17.00 WPCC, Administration and Enforcement.
Chapter 17.10 WPCC, Definitions.
Chapter 17.30 WPCC, Site Plan Review Standards.
Chapter 17.40 WPCC, Conditional Use Permits.
Chapter 17.70 WPCC, General Regulations.
Chapter 17.100 WPCC, Off-Street Parking and Loading.
Chapter 17.110 WPCC, Sign Regulations.
Chapter 17.120 WPCC, Lighting.
Chapter 17.130 WPCC, Subdivisions. [Ord. 10-17-2023A § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 05-03-2022A § 1; Ord. 08-17-2021B § 2 (Exh. A)].