Morrisville Land Use Plan 2009

5.3 Future Land Use Categories, cont’d 4. BUSINESS ACTIVITY CENTER (BAC) A. Function i. Provide access to daily retail and service needs within walking distance of primary of- fice/industrial uses. ii. Provide for a mix of residential, local retail, and office opportunities in the nature of a small mixed-use community center, primarily oriented around a surrounding office or industrial concentration. B. Preferred Uses i. Land uses in this district should be small-scale mixed commercial uses including local services, workshops, professional offices, institutional, housing (if located outside the Airport Overlay District) and specialty shops catering to local workers. ii. Retail uses should generally provide the goods and services needed by local employ- ment and residential communities in the vicinity of the BAC. C. General Policies + Development Character i. The Business Activity Center use should be compatible with and should illustrate a co- ordinated design, transportation connection or other relationship with the surrounding communities that exist or have been approved. ii. Buildings should remain compatible with the surrounding neighborhood – generally from two to six stories. iii. Development should combine uses vertically, as well as horizontally (i.e. mixing uses among buildings and within individual buildings), to achieve convenience, variety and walkability. In general, residential uses should be located above the first floor, reserving first floor storefront space for activity-generating uses such as retail shops, restaurants or grocery stores. iv. New automobile-oriented retail uses such as building supply, nursery operations, auto dealers, truck terminals, warehousing, service stations, furniture stores, drive-through res- taurants and drive-through banks are not intended for Business Activity Centers. v. Design elements should be integrated with wide sidewalks, street trees, benches, and entrances to buildings at the edges of street rights-of-way. Bicycle facilities, on-street parking, and usable public spaces should be provided. vi. Land use or intensity/density transitions should be provided between non-residential uses and existing low-density residential communities. vii. Development should be oriented away from sensitive natural resources, such as flood- plains and ponds to minimize environmental impacts and provide open space. viii.Access to surrounding major thoroughfares should be limited, but local vehicular, tran- sit, bicycle and pedestrian links to adjacent parcels should be provided. ix. Vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian links should extend into the surrounding develop- ment. x. Development proposals in BACs will combine open and civic space in features such as pedestrian promenades and plazas, public art, entrance features, linear parks and trails, outdoor seating, lawns and greens or similar design features that invite pedestrian activity.

Mixed use buildings that locate residences above retail or service uses, known as live-work units, allow people to conveniently access daily destinations.

encouraged discouraged

Development should combine uses vertically, as well as horizontally (i.e. mixing uses among buildings and within individual buildings), to achieve convenience, variety and walkability. In general, residential or employment uses should be located above the first floor, reserving first floor storefront space for activity- generating uses such as retail shops, restaurants or grocery stores.

Access to surrounding major thoroughfares should be limited, but local vehicular, transit, bicycle and pedestrian links to adjacent par- cels should be provided.

Buildings should remain compatible with the surrounding neighborhood – generally from two to six stories.

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