2019-0084
INTRODUCED BY: LARRY COCHRAN, PARISH PRESIDENT
(DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING & ZONING)
ORDINANCE NO. ___________
Title
An ordinance to amend the Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, St. Charles Parish Zoning Ordinance of 1981, Section III. Definitions., Section VI. Zoning district criteria and regulations. B. Residential districts, [VIII]. R-3, Multi-family residential: 1. Use Regulations and 4. Special Provisions: b.1. Townhouses., and Section VII. Supplemental use and performance regulations. Townhouses., to clarify the definition and regulations for townhouse building and townhouse developments.
Body
WHEREAS, the Zoning Ordinance of 1981 established townhouses as a permitted use in both the R-1T and R-3 zoning districts; and,
WHEREAS, Ordinance 88-3-9 revised the zoning districts and regulations affecting townhouses; and,
WHEREAS, Ordinance 15-7-5 revised the definition of townhouses and added supplemental use and performance regulations for townhouses without deleting the existing regulations established by Ordinance 88-3-9; and,
WHEREAS, the St. Charles Parish Council wishes to clarify the definition and regulations for townhouses and townhouse developments.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE ST PARISH COUNCIL ORDAINS:
SECTION I. That the Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, Section III. Definitions. is amended as follows, with additional text in underline and deleted text in strikethrough:
Dwelling, townhouse: A building on its own separate lot of record containing one (1) dwelling unit that occupies space from the ground to the roof, and that is attached to one (1) or more other townhouse dwelling units by at least one (1) common wall. A single-family dwelling on its own separate lot of record with its own front and rear access to the outside, and with its own yards, in a row with other similar dwelling units, in which no unit is located over another unit, and each unit is separated from other units by one or more common fire resistant walls.
Townhouse: A single-family dwelling in a row of at least three (3) such units in which each unit has its own front and rear access to the outside, no unit is located over another unit, and each unit is separated from any other unit by one or more common fire resistant walls see ‘Dwelling, townhouse’
SECTION II. That the Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, Section VI. Zoning district criteria and regulations, B. Residential districts, [VIII]. R-3, Multi-family residential is amended as follows, with additional text in underline and deleted text in strikethrough:
1. Use Regulations:
a. A building or land shall be used only for the following purposes:
(1) All uses allowed in the R-2 district. (Ord. No. 88-5-5, 5-16-88)
(2) Multi-family dwellings including duplexes, apartments, apartment houses, townhouses, and condominiums.
(3) Boarding and lodging houses.
(4) Townhouses (see Section VII for Supplemental Use and Performance regulations).
SECTION III. That the Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, Section VI. Zoning district criteria and regulations, B. Residential districts, [VIII]. R-3, Multi-family residential: 4. Special Provisions, is amended as follows, with additional text in underline and deleted text in strikethrough:
b. 1. Townhouses: Single-family attached dwellings on individual lots for sale served by servitudes of access or fronting a public street.
(a) Location: In R-3 districts, townhousing shall be allowed.
(b) Procedure: Applicants wishing to subdivide existing multi-family lots into townhouse lots shall file for subdivision as per section II, subsection B.4., of St. Charles Parish Subdivision Regulations (Appendix C).
2. Site Plan and Design Criteria, Details:
(a) Minimum width for the portion of the lot on which the townhouse is to be constructed shall be twelve (12) feet.
(b) Minimum yard requirements:
(1) Front-twenty (20) feet.
(2) Side-ten (10) feet.
(3) Rear-twenty (20) feet.
(4) Area-twenty-five hundred (2500) square feet.
(c) Each townhouse shall have its own rear yard of at least one hundred twenty (120) square feet. When rear parking is provided it shall be reasonably secluded from view from a street, parking area or from neighboring property. Such yard shall not be used for any accessory building.
(1) Grouped parking facilities: Insofar as practical, off-street parking facilities shall be grouped in bays, either adjacent to access drive or in the interior of blocks. Adequate drainage shall be provided by developers in connection with common parking facilities, and all such facilities shall be improved to parish standards for off-street parking areas, with at least two (2) spaces per unit on the lot plus one (1) visitor parking space per each two (2) units.
(2) Courts, Open Space, and Recreational Areas: A minimum of two hundred (200) square feet per dwelling unit of recreation space must be provided. At the discretion of the director, recreation space may not be required provided that the developer pay a two hundred dollar ($200.00) recreation fee per unit to the parish for the development of recreational facilities.
3. Utilities and Landscaping: Design and construction of drives, drainage, and location of utilities shall be subject to review and approval by the Planning and Zoning Department. A minimum of twenty (20) percent of the site must be appropriately landscaped.
(1)[a] Interior access drives shall be at least twenty-two (22) feet wide for two-direction drives or twelve (12) feet with one-direction drive and must be properly drained.
(2)[b] Parking areas shall conform to section VIII of the St. Charles Parish Zoning Ordinance.
(3)[c] Before approval of the final subdivision plat, restrictions shall be submitted, including designation of all servitudes, lot lines, parking areas and other open spaces, with provision for perpetual maintenance of all improvements, including pavements, landscaping, utilities and servitudes. The above items will be filed with the resubdivision of the R-3 parcel.
(4) Buffer zone: There shall be a six-foot solid wood or masonry fence along the sides and rear of the property wherever it adjoins any single-family residential zoning district.
SECTION IV. That the Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, Section, Section VII. Supplemental use and performance regulations. Townhouses. is amended as follows, with additional text in underline and deleted text in strikethrough:
Townhouses.
a. The maximum density for townhouse developments is twelve (12) seventeen (17) units per acre.
b. In townhouse developments, structures shall front on a public street or servitude of access and be generally compatible with existing developments in the neighborhood.
c. Design criteria.
i. No more than six (6) dwelling units shall be included in any one (1) townhouse building.
ii. The facades of dwelling units in a townhouse shall be varied by changed front yards of not less than three (3) feet and variation in materials or design so that no more than two (2) abutting units will have the same front yard depth and the same or essentially the same architectural treatment of facades and roof lines.
iii. Frontage, measured at the building line, for individual units of a town house may not be less than fifteen (15) feet. Minimum width for an interior townhouse lot - fifteen (15) feet
iv. Minimum width for an exterior townhouse lot-twenty-five (25) feet
v. Minimum building setback from a public street--twenty (20) feet
vi. Minimum building setback from a rear lot line-twenty (20) feet
d. Drives, Parking, and Utilities.
i. Where alleys are provided, off-street parking facilities shall be grouped in bays, either in the rear of the structure or in the interior of blocks the townhouse development.
ii. All parking areas shall meet the standards and minimum requirements set forth in Section VIII, Site design requirements, of this ordinance, and must include one (1) visitor parking space per each two (2) dwelling units. Visitor spaces may be provided in separate areas when an adequate area is not provided on an individual lot.
iii. Servitudes shall be provided at the front or rear of the lots within the required front or rear yard for off-street parking and utilities. Entrances to front yard parking areas shall be at least fifty (50) feet apart, unless an individual space is provided for each lot.
iii. Interior access drives shall be at least twenty-two (22) feet wide for two-direction drives or twelve (12) feet with one-direction drive and must be properly drained and accessible to all dwelling units.
iv. The Zoning Regulatory Administrator may require a six-foot landscape buffer, at maturity, along the sides and rear of any Townhouse development that abuts an R-1A, R-1B, or R-1A(M) district or any lot containing a single-family dwelling.
e. Open Space and Buffering
i. Maximum land cover is 80%; 20% of a townhouse development site must be left open.
ii. Each townhouse unit shall have its own rear yard of at least one hundred twenty (120) square feet. The rear yard shall not be used for any accessory building.
iii. A five (5) foot wide landscaped buffer is required along the sides and rear of any townhouse development that abuts an R-1A, R-1B, or R-1A(M) district or any lot containing a single-family dwelling.
The foregoing ordinance having been submitted to a vote, the vote thereon was as follows:
And the ordinance was declared adopted this _______ day of __________, 2019 to become effective five (5) days after publication in the Official Journal.
CHAIRMAN:
SECRETARY:
DLVD/PARISH PRESIDENT:
APPROVED: DISAPPROVED:
PARISH PRESIDENT:
RETD/SECRETARY:
AT: RECD BY: