§ 58-272. Downtown overlay district.

(a)

Downtown overlay boundary. The downtown overlay shall apply to those parcels designated as future business in the Town of Weddington 2013 Land Use Plan. The downtown overlay shall include the northern edge of parcels 06150059A and 06150059, the northern boundary; Weddington-Matthews Road, the eastern boundary; Weddington Road (Highway 84), the southern boundary; and Providence Road, the western boundary. All commercial development proposed within any parcels included within this downtown overlay shall also be subject to the requirements of with the MX zoning district (section 58-60), and the conditional zoning application process described in section 58-271. The downtown overlay district will supersede any requirements defined in section 58-60 (MX zoning district) when there is a conflict in the requirements between the two sections.

(b)

Maintenance of shared facilities within the downtown overlay. The council may require that the owners, or applicants, create, participate in, or be a signatory to a maintenance agreement with any or all other property owners located within the downtown overlay's jurisdiction. The maintenance agreement shall provide for the maintenance of any shared facilities or spaces within the downtown overlay, potentially including but not limited to, shared open space, pathways, roadways, shared entrances, entryway monuments, decorative street lighting, stormwater facilities, and sewer/septic facilities. Existing property owners shall be allowed to join in any maintenance agreements.

(c)

Access from thoroughfares.

(1)

Access to parcels within the overlay district from Providence Road shall be limited to the existing number of access points. Any existing access point may be shifted or modified to accommodate new development and/or parking, subject to council approval and provided the total number of access points is not increased.

(2)

Access to parcels within the overlay district from Weddington-Matthews Road shall be limited to one shared access point.

(3)

The town council may require all applicants proposing new commercial development within the downtown overlay to coordinate with NCDOT and contribute to the cost of construction for the east-west collector road as shown in the local area regional transportation plan. The cost of the contribution will be approved by both the town council and NCDOT and may be placed into an escrow account, or a similar account, until sufficient funds are in place for construction of the road.

a.

The town council may require that maintenance of the collector road to be the responsibility of any or all of the owners within the downtown overlay, until the point that NCDOT takes over maintenance of the road.

b.

If and when the collector road is constructed, it shall be limited to one shared access point to parcels within the downtown overlay.

(d)

Connectivity within the Town Center.

(1)

Any proposed development site plan must create roadway stubs to connect with any or all adjacent parcels also located within the downtown overlay district.

(2)

Any proposed development site plan must create pedestrian pathway stubs to connect with any or all adjacent parcels also located within the downtown overlay district.

(3)

Any proposed development site plan must include clearly identifiable crosswalks to allow pedestrians to safely cross parking lots and interior streets.

(4)

Any proposed development site plan must coordinate with NCDOT and include sidewalks along the thoroughfare or the collector road. Maintenance of the sidewalks must be the responsibility of the property owner, or included within a maintenance agreement including several property owners.

(5)

Any proposed development must include street trees and decorative street lighting to encourage pedestrian activity. All street trees must be included in the Town of Weddington's List of Acceptable Plant Species.

(e)

Open space and natural features.

(1)

Any proposed development within the Town Center shall be required to provide ten percent open space. The development shall also be required to dedicate an additional ten percent of open space to create shared open spaces. The council will approve the location of any shared open space, and may require that the shared open space be located on the boundary of the parcel so that it can be combined with the shared open space of an adjoining parcel.

(2)

Any application for a conditional rezoning for property within the downtown overlay district shall include an environmental survey locating and detailing all natural features on the property, including but not limited to trees. The town council may require that any or all existing natural features on the property be preserved and/or maintained by the property owner as a condition of a conditional zoning approval.

(f)

Design and parking.

(1)

New construction should align facades with those of any adjacent structures. Exceptions may be granted if the setback is pedestrian-oriented and contributes to the quality and character of the streetscape. An example would be for outdoor dining.

(2)

All roof equipment must be screened from public view and shall not be visible from the street.

(3)

All exterior trash and storage areas, service yards, loading areas, transformers and air conditioning units must be screened from view. Camouflaging air conditioning units is an acceptable screening method. The screening must use the same materials, color and/or style as the primary building in order to be architecturally compatible with the adjacent building.

(4)

Shared entry monuments located at shared access points shall be predominantly brick and compatible with existing entryway monuments within the downtown overlay district. Maintenance of the entry monument structures and any landscaping associated with the monuments shall be the responsibility of property owners within the downtown overlay district and/or signatories to the maintenance agreement.

(5)

Decorative street lighting shall be approved by the Town of Weddington, and must be installed within any new development proposed within the downtown overlay at the sole cost of the developer. The decorative street lighting should be placed at an appropriate and uniform distance along the roadways or pathways, and shall be coordinated with the spacing and locations of the lighting on adjoining parcels within the downtown overlay district.

(6)

Proposed structures within the downtown overlay district must be designed in a manner that promotes adaptive reuse, as defined in section 58-4.

(7)

Proposed structures within the downtown overlay should be located towards the exterior of the parcels (along the thoroughfares), and contain interior parking. The town council may approve structures located towards the interior of the parcels if more than one structure is proposed on the same parcel.

(8)

The town council may reduce parking requirements by up to 50 percent if proposed development provides shared parking between more than one use or property owner.

(g)

Infrastructure. Any new development within the downtown overlay must connect to a sewer system, whether private or public, unless it is shown to be unreasonable to make the connection, or unless the applicant provides a suitable alternative.

(h)

Planned unit development. The overlay district is designed to create a unified Town Center out of separate development projects. However, a large area could be developed simultaneously by one developer. One major project could allow for development to meet the intent of the overlay district, while not meeting every specific requirement as stated this section. Therefore, the town council may provide exceptions to any requirements within this ordinance if the overall intent of the ordinance is being met by a proposed development of nine acres or more.

(Ord. No. O-2015-07, 6-8-2015)