32C-072 NO2226-350h table Use and Dim URC 2015-12-01ZONING
350 Attachment 8
City of Northampton
Table of Use and Dimensional Regulations
URC District
Description: Example Structures
Primarily residential with range of building
and unit configurations allowed: single, multi-family, townhouse,
home businesses allowed. Some mixed uses and
institutional uses allowed, see list.
Lot Dimension Requirements Layout/Setbacks For All Uses
Lot Size 2,500 ft2 minimum
(min.) per unit Frontage/Width = 50 feet min.
Depth = 75 feet min. Setbacks Front =10 feet min. Side = 10 feet* min. Side = 20 feet min. if
building taller than 40 feet Side = 0 feet on one
side for zero lot line Rear= 20 feet min.
Max. Height = 50 feet See Educational Use Overlay District for other height
requirements within the overlay.
Open Space = 30% min.
20’ if building taller than 40’
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Design Standards Illustrated Planning Board may waive, by site plan approval, elements 2, 3, 4 if it can be shown that a different design meets a pedestrian-scale design that encourages public/private transition and interface (e.g., similar elements facing internal
courtyards or private streets)
1. If a garage or other
parking structure is attached, it must be set back 20 feet and the garage/structure shall comprise no more than
30% of the front facade of the primary structure.
2. Front doors must face the street. For
units extending behind front units, where entries orient to the
side lot, 20-foot side setback shall apply unless other means to create a buffer/private outdoor space to
adjoining property are approved by the Planning Board.
Buildings must have a covered entry.
Covered entry
20' 20' 20' 20' 10' 10'
10' 10'
street
Max. 30% of total combined area of facades
Max 30% of total combined area of
facades
Connector elements must be set back & include glazed openings that face the street
Living space above
DOESN’T FIT
Max. 30% of total combined area of facades
Living space above
Exceeds 30% of total combined area of facades
Garage or Parking Structure
Area
Primary Structure
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3. For new buildings, setback, scale, massing should fit within the
block face.
4. Parking for more than 5 cars shall be distributed on the site
to minimize impact to the neighborhood character, which shall
be accomplished by small groupings of spaces surrounded by
landscaping or parallel parking along a narrow driveway to mimic an
alley. Driveways wider than 15 feet shall be visually buffered from side lot lines through setbacks or screening to adequately block car
headlights.
Minimum parking for residential uses
For other uses see table in § 350-8.2.
1 space per 1,000 ft2 gross living area (round up). No more than 2 spaces required per unit.
Doesn’t fit
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URC USES ALLOWED
Uses Allowed By Right:
• Single-, two-, three-family multifamily, townhouses with six or fewer units
• Attached (to a single-family) accessory dwelling unit not to exceed 900 square feet gross living area.
See § 350-10.10. Same setback as for principal structures.
• Home business up to 25 visits per week as defined in § 350-2.1
• Zero lot line single-family; see § 350-10.14
• Accessory uses to residential: Tag sales: temporary sales of personal and household articles Pets/Animals (§ 350-5.3)
• Accessory structures, detached (but no larger than 1,000 ft2 of lot coverage or 3% of lot area, whichever is greater, unless it is used for agricultural purposes). See also § 350-6.7. Setbacks:
Front: 20 feet Side: 4 feet
Rear: 4 feet
• Family day care (registration w/Building Commissioner required)
• Preexisting nonconforming uses (may trigger ZBA permit)
• Cemetery
• Temporary event as defined in § 350-2.1
• Agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, noncommercial forestry, the growing of all vegetables and a
temporary (not to exceed erection or use for a period of four months in any one year) greenhouse or stand for retail sale of agricultural or farm products raised primarily on the same premises
• Rooftop solar hot water and photovoltaic
• Accessory solar photovoltaic (PV) ground-mounted on a parcel with any building or use, provided that the PV is sized to generate no more than 100% or 8 KW of the annual projected electric use of
the non-PV building or use. Same setbacks as for detached accessory structures.
• Solar photovoltaic of any size, ground-mounted over any legal parking lot or driveway
• Municipal facility; facilities for essential services
Site Plan Approval Required for the Following:
• Any construction (other than for a single-family home) greater than 2,000 square feet
• The addition of a principal structure to a parcel where one already exists.
• Educational use: nonprofit, dormitories, any religious use, day care, school-aged child-care program
(MGL c. 28A, § 9) and historical association or society and nonprofit museum (may include the residence of a caretaker). See also educational use overlay standards.
• Parking off-site and combined parking. See §§ 350-8.5 and 350-8.7.
• Creation or expansion of six or more parking spaces
• Parking lot access for nonresidential uses across a residential lot. See § 350-8.9.
• Parking requirement reduction. See § 350-8.10F.
• Residential shared driveways. See § 350-8.8, Expansion of parking by more than six spaces.
• Telecommunications antennas located on existing telecommunications towers or other structures which do not require the construction of a new tower (in accordance with § 350-10.9)
• Reuse of historic educational or religious building(s) for any residential use, live/work space, or office; provided, however, that no more than 20% of the floor space of the building(s) shall be used
for medical, banking or any offices where a primary function is to provide services to retail customers or individuals. All such uses approved under this provision shall be within the footprint of
existing building(s) and may only be approved contingent upon protection of all historically contributing portions of the building with an historic preservation restriction granted to the City of
Northampton in a form acceptable to the Planning Board, with input from the Historical Commission, as preserving the key character-defining features visible from the road (and not
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necessarily meeting federal or state preservation standards for the entire building). The existing building may be expanded to accommodate elevators and stairwells. Portions of the building that are
not part of the original architecture of the building and which do not contribute to the historical or architectural significance of the building as determined by the Planning Board, with input from the
Historical Commission, may be demolished.
Special Permit Approval Required for the Following Uses by Planning Board Unless Otherwise Noted:
• Detached accessory dwelling unit (see § 350-10.10—Zoning Board of Appeals special permit)
• Home business for personal service business by appointment only or home business more than 25 visits, etc. (see § 350-10.12 for other criteria—Zoning Board of Appeals special permit)
• Any multifamily or townhouse project creating seven or more units in one or more phases within a five-year period. Any such project shall comply with the following: A. Buildings and parking.
1) The first row of buildings along a street shall face the street and add to the streetscape. There shall not be any parking, except incidental to a driveway or roadway, between
the first row of buildings and the street. Parking shall be located behind buildings or designed otherwise to minimize view from the public street.
2) The area between the property and the road pavement shall be made to be pedestrian friendly, with sidewalks, street furniture, trees and other vegetation, all of which shall
be in conformance with City standards. All landscaping incorporated as part of the applicant’s design between the street and the building(s) shall facilitate and enhance
the pedestrian use of sidewalks and other areas adjacent to the building. Such streetscape may include rebuilding by the applicant, as necessary, of granite curbs,
ADA-compliant concrete sidewalks, tree belts, and drainage improvements incorporating low-impact development standards for any necessary drainage
improvements triggered by these changes. 3) Buildings that abut existing residential properties shall incorporate building
articulation alongside facades. Building projections shall be incorporated for any side façade that is longer than 30 feet.
4) Front facades shall have setbacks consistent with other buildings within the block or provide a different setback that is necessary to address any natural resources
constraints. B. Streets and roadways.
1) Projects shall connect to all surrounding neighborhoods with bicycle and pedestrian access to the extent possible. a) For projects that have more than one vehicular access, driveways and roadways shall internally and externally connect to each other and dead-end streets shall be
avoided whenever possible. Dead-end roadways and driveways shall never exceed 500 feet and, to the extent possible, must include a bicycle and pedestrian
connection from the dead-end street to a street, common area, park or civic space.
b) For projects that have a single vehicular access, such access shall not exceed 500 feet and pedestrian access shall also be provided directly from any street to residential units.
2) The design standards for the length of dead-end streets, protection of natural features, sidewalks, wheelchair ramps, landscaping, utilities, and the construction method and materials for water lines, sanitary sewers, storm sewers, fire protection, sidewalks, private roads and other infrastructure shall be those set forth in Chapter 290,
Subdivision of Land. These standards shall apply even for private roadways and driveways that are not part of a subdivision, unless waived by the Planning Board.
3) Driveways and private roadways shall be designed to function as private alleys, or
shared streets with pedestrians and cyclists, and engineered to keep speeds below 15
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miles per hour, or yield streets with separate sidewalks as shown in the subdivision regulations. Such sidewalks shall connect to sidewalks along adjacent streets.
4) Vehicular access shall connect to surrounding streets as appropriate to ensure safe and efficient flow of traffic within the surrounding neighborhood and to mitigate increases
in traffic on nearby streets. 5) Preexisting paths historically used as bicycle and pedestrian trails shall be preserved
to the extent possible and marked with appropriate signage. C. Park space.
1) All projects shall include a park/common area fully designed and constructed to be integrated into the project, which area shall be easily accessible and available for
residents of the project. At a minimum, this space shall be 300 square feet or 30 square feet per dwelling unit of buildable land area, whichever is greater.
2) All such space shall be contiguous unless waived by the Planning Board upon finding that it is in the public interest and consistent with the intent and purpose of this
section. D. Environment and energy. Buildings shall meet one of the following environmental
standards: 1) Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rating for the building envelope at least 25%
lower than the current municipal standard at the time the special permit is requested, but in no event shall the HERS rating be greater than 47 for units of 1,200 square feet
or less, and no greater than 41 for units larger than 1,200 square feet. Alternatively, for units of 1,200 square feet or less, the Planning Board may consider a comparable
energy standard to the HERS rating of 47 after consultation with the Building Commissioner.
2) U.S. Green Building Council LEED New Construction Gold or Neighborhood Development Gold Certified.
E. Size, access and affordability. 1) Buildings shall meet one of the following standards:
a) 11% of the units shall be “affordable units” as that term is defined in § 350-2.1 of the Code of the City of Northampton; or
b) Contain 25% or more of the units no larger than 1,200 square feet gross floor area.
2) Equal access. All projects shall provide equal access to all building amenities, park and civic space and public entrances to buildings to residents of both affordable and
non-affordable units. F. Internet connectivity. All projects that include infrastructure making internet connectivity
available shall do so without differences in quality, capacity or speed to residents of both affordable and non-affordable units.
• Educational use: private for-profit colleges, schools, etc.
• Mixed-use buildings/lots, live/work (mixed residential/work)—All uses may be on any floor; business uses are limited to miscellaneous professional and business offices and shall not include banking, real estate and insurance offices or retail, personal and consumer service establishments,
medical doctors, dentists or chiropractors.
• Community center
• Nursing homes, assisted living
• Lodging house
• Bed-and-breakfast/tourist home
• Halfway house
• Membership club operated as a not-for-profit corporation, as defined by MGL c. 180, excluding any adult establishments which display live nudity
• Filling of any land. See § 350-10.4.
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• Filling of water or wet area. See § 350-10.3.
• Funeral establishment
• Crematory meeting accessory structure setbacks
• Year-round greenhouse/stand for wholesale and retail sale of agricultural farm products raised on-
site
• New telecommunications facilities (in accordance with §§ 350-2.1 and 350-10.9)
• Accessory solar photovoltaic ground-mounted on a parcel with any building or use, between 8 KW
or over 100% but no more than 200% of the annual projected electric use of the non-PV building or use; same setbacks as for detached accessory structures
• Private utility, substation or district utility
• Heavy public use—City Council special permit
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