§ 48-862. Commercial 2 district.

(a)

Intent. The commercial 2 district is established to provide for the proper grouping and development of small, independently owned commercial facilities to serve the community. All commercial 2 districts shall be at least five acres in area. The commercial 2 districts are those areas identified as the commercial/office areas on the Village at Nags Head Master Land Use Plan.

(b)

Permitted uses. The following uses shall be permitted by right in the commercial 2 district:

(1)

Neighborhood shopping cluster, with a maximum allowable gross square footage of 10,000 feet.

(2)

Office cluster.

(3)

All uses contained in subsections 48-407(b)(1), (2), and (3), and detached single-family uses as specified in section 48-865, provided that:

a.

Lots intended for SF #1, SF #2, or SF #3 use shall be designated on the plat of record; and

b.

Commercial boundaries are buffered as specified in subsection (h) of this section.

(4)

Outdoor stands as an accessory use to neighborhood shopping cluster pursuant to section 48-372.

(c)

Conditional uses. The following uses shall be permitted in the commercial 2 district, subject to the requirements of the commercial 2 district, the conditions specified for that use in section 48-407(c), and additional regulations and requirements imposed by the board of commissioners as provided in article XIV of this chapter:

(1)

Telephone switching station and electric substation.

(2)

Automobile service station and repair garage.

(3)

Public utility facility.

(4)

Animal boarding kennel or veterinary clinic.

(5)

Indoor public assembly.

(6)

Religious complex.

(7)

An attended car wash (automated and enclosed only).

(8)

Restaurant, drive-in.

(9)

Restaurant, drive-through.

(10)

Sport-climbing wall.

(11)

Pet shop.

(12)

Grass-surface putting course.

(d)

Access points . Accessways in the commercial 2 district off U.S. Highway 158 (South Croatan Highway) shall be only where designated on the illustrative master plan. Each lot that fronts on either Mall Drive or Epstein Drive shall be entitled to one access (curb cut) onto either of those streets except where the town has approved a unified access plan. When a unified access plan has been approved by the town, access shall be in strict adherence with that approved access plan. All accessways shall be at least 100 feet from an intersection with N.C. 12 or U.S. 158.

(e)

Dimensional requirements. Dimensional requirements in the commercial 2 district are as follows:

(1)

Maximum density: not applicable.

(2)

Coverage:

a.

Maximum building: 30 percent.

b.

Maximum parking: 50 percent.

c.

Minimum landscaped space: 20 percent. Landscaped space does not include parking, drives, or buildings, but does include walks, gazebos, fountains, plant material, other landscaping features, etc.

(3)

Building setback requirements, unless otherwise specified in article V of this chapter:

a.

A minimum of 40 feet from U.S. Highway 158 (South Croatan Highway) right-of-way.

b.

A minimum of 30 feet from N.C. Highway 12 (South Virginia Dare Trail) right-of-way.

c.

A minimum of 50 feet from residential districts.

d.

A minimum of 25 feet from side road rights-of-way.

NOTE: Ten feet may be deducted from the minimum when the area is bermed and planted or solidly fenced. The height of the planting or fence shall be six feet above the road's surface.

(4)

Building-to-building separation:

a.

A minimum of ten feet separation between one-story structures.

b.

A minimum of 20 feet separation between two-story structures.

c.

A minimum of 30 feet separation between three-story structures.

(5)

Building height limitation: A maximum of 35 feet.

(6)

Building size: No single retail space, either freestanding or within an attached cluster, shall exceed 10,000 square feet in floor area.

(f)

Architectural. Each building cluster in the commercial 2 district shall be architecturally compatible. A building cluster shall be a grouping of two or more businesses housed in either attached or detached structures in a definable district. Attaching will be encouraged.

(g)

Signage. There shall be a limitation on signage in the commercial 2 district which will require architectural review committee approval for uniform district conformity and a building permit from the town. (See article VIII of this chapter for the signage approval process.)

(1)

As an alternative to the village commercial 2 district sign, and applicable only to the village commercial 2 district, one freestanding sign may be located on-site, subject to the following criteria: It is the purpose of this section to permit an applicant an opportunity to erect one permanent freestanding sign on-site as long as specific architectural, site, and building design standards developed by the town are adhered to. These standards are designed to preserve and promote open space on commercial sites, promote more landscaped area, reduce impervious surfaces, and to promote architectural and design standards that are indicative of our Nags Head heritage. A freestanding sign may be erected, subject to the following conditions:

a.

The current village C2 district sign shall be removed before a developer can erect a freestanding sign.

b.

A freestanding sign shall not exceed ten feet in height above street grade.

c.

The freestanding sign shall require architectural review and approval by the town planning board and the board of commissioners.

d.

Only one freestanding sign shall be allowed per site.

e.

Reserved.

f.

A developer shall be allowed one freestanding sign based on adherence to the development points listed below. The following development point system shall be used to determine the maximum allowable freestanding sign for a site.

g.

A developer must meet the minimum number of required points for each section if a freestanding sign is to be allowed:

SECTION I. BUILDING ARCHITECTURE.

The town has a rich architectural history. A combination of certain design elements, i.e. wraparound porches, cedar shake shingles, and cupolas, have helped to define our area and are an integral part of what allows our community to stand out from the rest. By encouraging these architectural designs we are not only promoting our heritage, we are preserving an aesthetic quality that has made our community a desirable place to live and vacation. (Construction specifications from the Residential Design Manual, Appendix A, as amended, shall be used as reference for the criteria below.)

Criteria	Development Points
1. A front porch along the entire front of the building or a wraparound porch along two sides of a building that is not used for commercial purposes. The porch roof must be a lower pitch than the roof of the building	Three points
2  Cedar shake, natural wood exterior, or the use of hardiplank; must cover the entire exterior of a building excluding doors and windows	Three points
3. A 6 to 12 or greater building roof pitch (Note: All roofs must still observe the town height limitation of 35 feet)	Two points
4. The presence of functional wood shutters on all windows	One point
5. The presence of hip or gable dormers on the building, one point. A shed dormer, three points	Three point
6. The total area of the building's facade is made up of only 15 percent of glass or window area	Two points
7. The presence of a multipane window facades on single pane windows	One point
8. Lifesaving station watch tower, 10 feet × 10 feet, or greater	Three points
Coastal watch tower, 6 feet × 6 feet, or greater	One point
9. Hip roof, or combination of hips and gables, or mansard if the building contains more than 6,000 enclosed square feet on the ground level	Three points
10. Cedar shake shingles on entire roof (gable, hip, shed, or mansard; not parapet)	Three points
Minimum number of required points:	13 points

 

SECTION II. LANDSCAPED SPACE AND INTENSITY.

The town has made it a goal to preserve to the greatest extent possible the aesthetic and visual integrity of the town. This includes our natural and manmade environments. One way to accomplish this goal is to work with developers to try and preserve as much of a natural landscape as possible. By requiring more open space, providing for more protection of existing vegetation, and in providing more landscaping the town is working to lower the intensity of commercial development and afford greater protection of our natural environment.

Criteria	Development Points
1. Reduce the overall building coverage to 20 percent of the site area	Three points
2. Reduce the overall parking lot coverage to 40 percent of the site area	Three points
3. Increase the overall landscaped area of the site to 40 percent in accordance with the buffering requirements outlined in section 48-482 and subsection (h) of this section	Three points
4. Preserve a minimum 15 percent of a site's existing natural vegetation and dune elevations. This 15 percent shall be based on a site's total lot area and can be utilized in conjunction with the site's required landscaped area	Three points
5. Placement of landscaping within, or next to, on-site impervious surface area to be no less than five percent of the total proposed landscaped area that is required for the site	Two points
Minimum number of required points:	Four points

 

SECTION III. BUILDING AND SITE DESIGN.

As a community that can, and is, inundated by coastal storms and other natural disasters it is vital that the town encourage sound development principles. It is also important for the town to encourage sound building and site design criteria to ensure that existing and future commercial developments will complement each other. By encouraging development that addresses these concerns we are lowering the potential for loss of life and property during storm events.

Criteria	Development Points
1. Wind load design elements that exceed the minimum state building code requirements	Three points
2. Building to be placed above base flood level
By one foot:	Two points
By two feet:	Three points
By three feet or more:	Four points
3. Separation from an off-site building by at least 50 feet	One point
4. A stormwater management plan that provides on-site retention of the first 1½ inches of rainfall	One point
5. Installation of sidewalks across the front of the property along the nearest street right-of-way and show how future additions will connect to create a pedestrian system	One point
6. The building is on an elevated concrete or wood foundation rather than a slab on grade style foundation	Two points
7. The installation of bollard style parking lot lights	Three points
8. The use of elevated light poles that do not exceed 18 feet in height and provide shielding for the lights	Two points
9. Minimum architectural and security level lighting in accordance with article IX of this chapter. No internally illuminated signage or neon window signage.	Two points
10. Building footprint is not a square or rectangle. Footprint is a result of a dominant structure with additive structure extensions or combined structures of similar size and shape with a uniform roof design. Either style creates an "L," "T," or "H" building footprint.	Three points
Minimum number of required points:	Four points

 

(2)

The following sign dimensions are authorized based on the number of development points incorporated into the building or site:

Sign Dimensions	Development Points
Eight square feet	16 points
12 square feet	18 points
16 square feet	20 points
24 square feet	22 points
32 square feet	24 points

 

(3)

The maximum sign area allowed for a freestanding sign in the village C2 district shall be 32 square feet.

(4)

If any of the development criteria selected by the applicant are eliminated from the site then the freestanding sign shall be reduced in area to the previous allowable sign area as prescribed in the above point system. If all the improvements are eliminated in total then the freestanding sign shall be removed.

(5)

If a developer does not desire to utilize any of these development standards, they shall be regulated to the existing district standards as outlined in section 48-842 and the town sign regulations in article VIII of this chapter.

(h)

Landscaping. Each commercial 2 district shall conform to an overall landscaping plan. All landscaping plans are to be submitted to the town as part of the site plan approval process. There shall be a minimum 20-foot landscaped or natural buffer around each district boundary. 50 percent of this buffer is to be bermed or planted to a minimum height of 42 inches.

(i)

Lighting. Lighting in the commercial 2 district shall meet the requirements of this chapter.

(j)

Sewage disposal. Approval by the appropriate agency of a sewage disposal system to be used in the commercial 2 district shall be verified before site plan approval or, if necessary, before a building permit can be granted.

(Code 1990, § 22-832; Ord. No. 04-01-002, § 1, 1-7-2004; Ord. No. 04-03-008, § I, 3-3-2004; Ord. No. 04-07-025, § I, 7-7-2004; Ord. No. 08-06-016, § 1, 6-4-2008; Ord. No. 09-05-019, § IV, 5-6-2009; Ord. No. 09-12-049, Pt. IV, 12-2-2009; Ord. No. 10-04-011, Pt. IV, 4-7-2010; Ord. No. 10-05-014, Pt. VII, 5-19-2010; Ord. No. 10-10-029, Pt. I, 10-6-2010)

Cross reference

Businesses and licensing, ch. 12.