Chapter 17.118 COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS (RC, D, CC, NC)

Chapter 17.118
COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS (RC, D, CC, NC)

Sections:

17.118.010 Purpose.

The commercial districts are established to identify appropriate locations for the development of commercial land uses to serve the city, surrounding areas and neighborhoods and to recognize areas of existing commercial development.

A. Regional Center (RC). The regional center district is intended to provide for commercial development opportunities to serve the entire city and surrounding areas. These areas provide for a full range of goods and services necessary to serve large areas of the county.

B. Downtown (D). The downtown district is intended to protect, enhance and expand the historic shopping area of the city. It serves as a destination shopping area for the broader community primarily occupied by smaller retail, service and entertainment outlets.

C. Community Center (CC). The community center district is intended to provide an area for commercial development that provides for regular shopping and service needs of the immediately surrounding neighborhoods.

D. Neighborhood Center (NC). The neighborhood center district is intended to establish areas for the convenience shopping needs of the immediately surrounding neighborhood. Goods and services provided for in these areas are those that would normally be purchased weekly and for which comparison shopping would not be completed. (Ord. 17-06 § 3 (part), 2017: Ord. 04-024 § 18 (part), 2004)

17.118.020 Uses.

The following uses in each nonresidential zone are permitted (P), conditional (C) or prohibited (X) as indicated in Table 17.118-1. Uses not specifically listed are prohibited.

Table 17.118-1
Use	RC	D	CC	NC
1. Accessory uses and structures normally incidental to one or more permitted principal uses	P	P	P	P
2. Acid manufacture	X	X	X	X
3. Art galleries, libraries and museums	P	P	P	X
4. Asphalt plants	X	X	X	X
5. Auditoriums and civic centers	P	P	P	X
6. Automobile, boat, truck, tractor, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, manufactured home and other vehicle sales, service, rental and leasing, new and/or used4	P	X	X	X
7. Bulk gasoline storage and fuel oil distributors	X	X	X	X
8. Business services operated in conjunction with one or more permitted uses	P	P	P	P
9. Churches, including cemeteries and customary accessory buildings and uses, subject to BGMC 17.135.050	C	C	C	C
10. Clubs, lodges, fraternal institutions and other places of assembly for membership groups	P	P	X	X
11. Cold storage plants, frozen food lockers and ice manufacture	X	X	X	X
12. Collective gardens	P	X	P	X
13. Colleges and universities	C	X	X	X
14. Commercial recreation facilities, enclosed only	P	P	P	X
15. Commercial recreation facilities, unenclosed	C	X	X	X
16. Conical burners and incinerators, including biomedical waste	X	X	X	X
17. Contractor’s establishments	X	X	X	X
18. Cooperative (marijuana)	X	X	X	X
19. Day care centers, subject to BGMC 17.135.070	P	P	P	P
20. Distribution facilities	X	X	X	X
21. Dog day care, subject to BGMC 17.135.075	P	P	P	P
22. Dry-cleaning plants	X	X	X	X
23. Explosives manufacture and storage	X	X	X	X
24. Exterminators and pest control businesses	X	X	X	X
25. Fertilizer manufacture	X	X	X	X
26. Finance, insurance and real estate offices	P	P	P	X
27. Group living as defined in BGMC 17.103.325	P	P	P	C
28. Hospitals, health and medical clinics	P	P	P	P
29. Junkyards, wrecked motor vehicle compounds and used auto or other vehicle parts yards	X	X	X	X
30. Kennels	X	X	X	X
31. Landfills	X	X	X	X
32. Live/work, subject to BGMC 17.135.095	X	C	P	P
33. Lumber yards, planing and saw mills	X	X	X	X
34. Machine shops	X	X	X	X
35. Manufacturing, fabrication, assembling and packaging activities, including accessory storage, for the following products and/or materials: cloth, fiber, fur and hair; electrical and communication equipment; cosmetics, drugs and pharmaceuticals; food, beverage, dairy and tobacco products; and medical, dental, optical precision and surgical instruments and equipment	X	X	X	X
36. Manufacturing, fabrication, assembling, processing, canning, packaging, compounding, storage and treatment activities for the following activities and/or materials: brick, concrete, cement, clay, mortar, plaster and tile; chemicals and floor coverings; extraction or removal of sand, gravel, topsoil, clay, dirt, precious metals, gems or other natural resources; and paper	X	X	X	X
37. Marijuana production, processing and research facilities	X	X	X	X
38. Marijuana retail, subject to BGMC 17.135.105	P	X	P	X
39. Milk processing and bottling plants, and manufacturing of plastic milk jugs, existing on the effective date of the regulations codified in this title	X	P	X	X
40. Mobile food pod	P	P	P	C
41. Offices	P	P	P	X
42. Paper and pulp mills	X	X	X	X
43. Parking lot/structure3	P	P	P	X
44. Personal service establishments, in conjunction with one or more permitted uses	P	P	P	P
45. Printing, publishing, bookbinding and blueprinting establishments	P	P	P	X
46. Public and semipublic buildings and uses	P	P	P	P
47. Radio and television studios	P	P	X	X
48. Radio, television and cellular phone towers and antennas	X	X	X	X
49. Recreational facilities of a noncommercial nature, including parks, playfields and golf courses	P	P	P	P
50. Recycling plants, including any processing facilities	X	X	X	X
51. Residences for a caretaker or night watchman	X	X	X	X
52. Residences of all types, when located on upper floors of commercial buildings1	P	P	P	P
53. Drive-in and drive-through facilities associated with an allowed use	P	X	P	X
54. Lounges and taverns	P	P	P	X
55. Retail bakeries	P	P	P	P
56. Restaurants	P	P	P	P
57. Retail trade establishments, enclosed less than 5,000 sq. ft. in floor area	P	P	P	P
58. Retail trade establishments, enclosed from 5,001 sq. ft. to 50,000 sq. ft. in floor area	P	P	P	X
59. Retail trade establishment, enclosed from 50,001 sq. ft. in floor area and greater	P	X	X	X
60. Retail trade establishments, unenclosed	P	C	C	X
61. Retail trade establishment, unenclosed less than 500 sq. ft. on an existing developed parcel and associated with a permitted use	P	P	P	P
62. Retail trade gasoline sales, enclosed or unenclosed	P	X	P	X
63. Rubber manufacture	X	X	X	X
64. Schools, public, parochial, private, vocational, technical, business and others, nonprofit or operated for profit	P	P	P	P
65. Services, automotive	P	X	P	X
66. Services, business, health, miscellaneous and personal	P	P	P	P
67. Services, lodging1, 2	P	P	P	X
68. Single-family detached dwellings and their customary accessory buildings and uses, existing on the effective date of the regulations codified in this title, but not including new single-family residences	P	P	P	P
69. Storage buildings and storage yards, for nonhazardous raw materials and finished products	X	X	X	X
70. Temporary uses which may be approved by the planning director	P	P	P	P
71. Tire retreading and recapping	X	X	X	X
72. Transitional housing as defined in BGMC 17.103.700	C	C	C	C
73. Transportation, communication and utility facilities, not otherwise specifically permitted	C	C	P	X
74. Utilities and communication facilities, such as telephone exchanges, electric substations and public television stations	P	P	P	P
75. Warehouses, wholesale and storage establishments, mail order houses and distribution facilities occupying no more than 50,000 sq. ft. of enclosed gross floor area	X	X	X	X
76. Welding shops	X	X	X	X
77. Wholesale distribution and warehousing facilities, including mail order houses, occupying more than 50,000 square feet	X	X	X	X
78. Wineries, breweries and distilleries	X	X	P	X
79. Small scale food and beverage manufacture such as microbreweries	P	P	P	X

1. Where residences or lodging are located on upper floors, the ground floor must consist of one hundred percent commercial use or office use along any street frontage for a minimum depth of twenty feet.

2. Services associated with lodging such as office, restaurant, lobby, recreation, conference rooms, laundry, etc., are authorized on the ground floor. Rooms for guests, or sleeping quarters, are prohibited on the ground floor.

3. Parking lots/structures cannot count towards the one hundred percent commercial use along any street when residences are located on upper floors.

4. Preexisting automobile, boat, truck, tractor, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, manufactured home, and other vehicle sales, service, rental, and leasing, new and/or used in the downtown zoning district may be expanded per the criteria set forth in BGMC 17.135.020.

(Ord. 24-02 § 1, 2024; Ord. 22-20 § 4, 2022; Ord. 21-35 § 3, 2021; Ord. 19-22 § 3 (part), 2019: Ord. 17-06 § 3 (part), 2017: Ord. 16-15 § 3, 2016: Ord. 16-02 § 2, 2016: Ord. 15-04 § 24, 2015: Ord. 14-17 § 2 (part), 2014: Ord. 04-024 § 18 (part), 2004)

17.118.030 Dimensional requirements.

Table 17.118-2
Lot Requirements for Nonresidential Districts
Lot and Yard Performance Standards*	Zone
Lot and Yard Performance Standards*	RC	D	CC	NC
Landscaped open space, in percentage of total lot area	20	0	20	20
Maximum height, feet	45	60	45	35
Minimum distance between principal buildings, feet	None	None	None	20
Minimum lot frontage, feet	70	16	30	50
Minimum lot size, in square feet	3,000	1,600	3,000	3,000
Front and street side yard building setback in feet	10' maximum 1	0' maximum	10' maximum 1
Rear yard building setback in feet	None			20
Side yard building setback in feet	None			5
Minimum yard setbacks adjacent to residential district	Pursuant to the screening and buffering standards contained in Chapter 17.131 BGMC, Table 17.131-1, plus an additional 1/2 foot for each foot the building exceeds 20 feet in height to a maximum setback requirement of 40 feet. Buildings in excess of 20 feet may be stepped.
Maximum building coverage	Maximum determined by compliance with screening and buffering standards contained in Chapter 17.131 BGMC, Table 17.131-1, parking and loading standards of Chapter 17.133 BGMC, the stormwater control ordinance (Chapter 18.250 BGMC) and all other applicable standards.

1. An exception to the ten-foot maximum setback may be allowed pursuant to the design standards of BGMC 17.118.040.

* Setbacks and buffers shall comply with this table or Table 17.131-1, whichever is more restrictive.

(Ord. 17-06 § 3 (part), 2017: Ord. 13-07 § 20, 2013: Ord. 04-024 § 18 (part), 2004)

17.118.040 Design standards.

The following standards are intended to implement the goals and policies of the city’s twenty-year comprehensive growth management plan. The standards apply to all commercial development within the city’s commercial zoning districts. The standards are intended to encourage unique and innovative site design solutions from the applicant and to provide a varied landscape in the city.

A. Automotive Circulation and Parking Requirements.

1. The intent of this subsection is to provide design guidelines that create pedestrian-scale development and that facilitate pedestrian access to developments; connect uses to the street; decrease the distance between adjacent developments; draw users onto a site; create walkable blocks of a human scale; create a sense of place; reduce the amount of land devoted to surface parking; reduce curb cuts; reduce the frequency of auto traffic interrupting pedestrian traffic; provide greater opportunities for pedestrian connectivity; and facilitate more pedestrian-friendly design.

2. Parking lots shall be located behind and to the side of buildings and shall not be placed on the corner of two streets.

3. The auto circulation system and parking shall be designed as an extension of the public street system through the use of continuous sidewalks, landscaping consistent with public streets, utilization of the street elevation, the use of parallel parking and the use of driveways and circulation drives as mid-block connections.

4. Parking lots and developments shall be divided into blocks with perimeters of eight hundred to two thousand feet (two hundred to five hundred feet per side). Blocks can be defined by auto circulation drives and the placement of buildings on the site.

5. Shared parking between users of same or abutting properties shall occur wherever practicable. Users with differing peak periods, such as offices and movie theaters, are especially suitable for shared parking.

6. Common driveways between users on the same or abutting properties shall be required wherever possible.

7. All curb cuts shall be as narrow as safety allows (subject to BGMC Title 12, Streets and Sidewalks) in order to reduce the distance a pedestrian must cross.

8. Parking and pedestrian circulation shall be designed to accommodate connections between developments.

9. Drive-through facilities shall not be located between a building and the public street except in cases where all of the following are included:

a. Landscaping, including but not limited to a combination of trees, shrubs, ornamentals, and groundcover that would effectively screen the drive-through from the street;

b. An architecturally integrated canopy constructed over the drive-through that is built with the same materials as the principal building. The canopy must be designed with an exterior wall, thereby screening the drive-through from the public street;

c. A pedestrian connection from the street sidewalk to the building.

B. Pedestrian Infrastructure Requirements.

1. The intent of this subsection is to provide design guidelines that result in pedestrian-oriented development to provide the most direct route to the public transportation infrastructure; to reduce out-of-direction travel; to minimize travel distance; and to add human-scale interest and convenience to users of a development.

2. Pedestrian linkages shall be designed with development to connect to the public infrastructure. Linkages shall be a continuation of the public infrastructure to reduce dead-end paths and encourage users to directly access the development. Consideration shall be given to off-site destinations in the design of the on-site pedestrian system.

3. Pedestrian circulation routes shall be composed of treated surfaces, such as scored, brushed, stamped and colored concrete and brick pavers, in order to differentiate the pedestrian system from the vehicular system. Where pedestrian routes cross driveways or vehicular access aisles, different paving material shall be provided as noted above. Pedestrian circulation routes shall be a minimum of five feet in width.

4. Amenities such as benches, sitting areas, art, pedestrian squares and varied building facades shall be provided along pedestrian routes.

5. Pedestrian facilities along building frontages and developments shall incorporate rain protection and boulevard landscaping whenever possible. When such facilities are provided, special attention shall be given to ensure pedestrian safety, security and convenience by not creating enclosed spaces that may shelter potential criminal activity. Appropriate lighting shall be incorporated whenever possible.

C. Site Design Requirements.

1. The intent of this subsection is to promote a high level of accessibility for pedestrians to structures within a development and to create a welcoming streetscape; to provide spaces for civic interaction; to increase the pedestrian accessibility of developments from the street; and to foster a sense of community identity and arrival within developments.

2. Primary building entrances shall be oriented toward the public street. The entrance shall be visually prominent from the public street through the use of architectural details, entrance paving treatments and landscaping. Where there is more than one public street abutting the site, the planning director shall determine which street shall have preference based on its access classification, pedestrian use, transit use, and presence of on-street parking.

3. Buildings shall be located as close as possible to the public street and sidewalk, preferably at the sidewalk line or the minimum required buffer, and in all instances shall comply with the maximum setback requirement specified in Table 17.118-2. A minimum of fifty percent of the street-facing facade shall meet the maximum setback standard. Where there is more than one public street abutting the site, the planning director shall determine which street shall have preference based on its access classification, pedestrian use, transit use, and presence of on-street parking.

4. Pedestrian plazas, street furniture and public open spaces shall be incorporated as site amenities whenever possible. Creative configuration and type of landscaping and buffering can be used to accomplish this.

5. Buildings on corner lots shall be located on the street corner with building frontage on both streets, with primary entrances oriented toward the intersection. If no buildings are located at street corners, pedestrian plazas and amenities shall provide a focus for the area.

D. Architectural and Building Design Requirements.

1. The intent of this subsection is to encourage pedestrian-scale development through creative and innovative building and architectural design.

2. The ground floors of building facades facing streets shall have at least fifty percent of the total ground floor wall area in clear vision glass, pedestrian entrances or open shops, with no reflective surface or film permitted. This standard shall not apply to ground floor building elevations fronting SR 503. Other building facades shall have at least fifty percent of the total wall area in permeable surfaces or permanent architectural features that break up the monotony of large blank walls or facades, or a combination of permeable surfaces and permanent architectural features.

3. Buildings with frontages greater than fifty linear feet shall vary the building line and/or create offsetting walls, awnings, arcades, modulated wall textures, climbing landscaping materials and other features that visually reduce the scale of the wall.

4. Buildings shall integrate awnings, overhangs or other rain protection features when abutting pedestrian amenities. The minimum depth of such features is four feet, with a vertical clearance of between eight and twelve feet. Such features may extend up to four feet into the public right-of-way if such extension can be safely accommodated. When located in the public right-of-way, the applicant shall obtain an encroachment permit from the city of Battle Ground consistent with Chapter 12.122 BGMC.

E. Alternative Designs for Larger Retail Developments. Buildings that encompass eighty thousand square feet or more are exempt from the maximum setback standard if the following standards are met:

1. The project includes other buildings that have ground floor walls that meet the ten-foot maximum setback for at least twenty-five percent of the street frontage on site. These buildings must be constructed at the same time or before the exempt building is constructed.

2. An internal circulation system must be provided that meets the following requirements of this section. Each accessway/driveway providing access from the public street into the site must have sidewalks of at least ten feet in width running the length of the access on both sides of the access drive. Tree wells must be provided every thirty feet. Parallel parking must be provided on both sides of the accessway.

3. In addition to the aforementioned design requirements listed in subsections A through D of this section for commercial districts, the following architectural and design features shall be incorporated into the design of any building over eighty thousand square feet in area:

a. Facades and Exterior Walls.

i. Facades greater than one hundred feet in length, measured horizontally, shall incorporate wall plane projections or recesses having a depth of least three percent of the length of the facade and extending at least twenty percent of the length of the facade. No uninterrupted length of any facade shall exceed one hundred horizontal feet. The building facades should also incorporate awnings, arcades, modulated wall textures, climbing landscaping materials and other features that visually reduce the scale of the wall. Offsets shall be a minimum of twenty-four feet.

ii. Ground floor facades that face public streets shall have arcades, display windows, entry areas, awnings or other such features along no less than fifty percent of their horizontal length.

b. Roofs. Roofs shall have no less than two of the following features:

i. Parapets concealing flat roofs and rooftop equipment such as HVAC units from public view. The average height of such parapets shall not exceed fifteen percent of the height of the supporting wall and such parapets shall not at any point exceed one-third of the height of the supporting wall. Such parapets shall feature three-dimensional cornice treatment;

ii. Overhanging eaves, extending no less than three feet past the supporting walls;

iii. Sloping roofs that do not exceed the average height of the supporting walls, with an average slope greater than or equal to one foot of vertical rise for every three feet of horizontal run and less than or equal to one foot of vertical rise for every one foot of horizontal run;

iv. Three or more roof slope planes.

c. Entryways. Each large retail establishment on a site shall have clearly defined, highly visible customer entrances featuring no less than three of the following:

i. Canopies or porticos;

ii. Overhangs;

iii. Recesses/projections;

iv. Arcades;

v. Raised corniced parapets over the door;

vi. Peaked roof forms;

vii. Arches;

viii. Outdoor patios;

ix. Display windows;

x. Architectural details such as tile work and moldings which are integrated into the building structure and design;

xi. Integral planters or wing walls that incorporate landscaped areas and/or places for sitting.

d. Materials.

i. Predominant exterior building materials shall consist of high quality building materials that include, but are not limited to, brick, sandstone, glass, metal, and/or other native stone and tinted/textured concrete masonry units.

ii. Exterior building materials shall not include smooth-faced concrete block, tilt-up concrete panels or prefabricated steel panels, unless said construction materials are sided or covered with veneer consisting of acceptable materials as listed in subsection (E)(3)(d)(i) of this section, or are used in conjunction with other acceptable building materials as listed above.

e. Buildings shall integrate awnings, overhangs or other rain protection features when abutting pedestrian amenities. The minimum depth of such features is four feet, with a vertical clearance of between eight and twelve feet. Such features may extend up to four feet into the public right-of-way if such extension can be safely accommodated.

F. Additional Standards within the Downtown District.

1. Ground level building facades along streets shall include large display windows with a sill height of twelve inches to thirty inches above the street.

2. First floor ceiling heights shall be at least ten feet.

3. Flat roofs shall be used with extended parapets and projecting cornices. (Ord. 19-22 § 3 (part), 2019; Ord. 17-06 § 3 (part), 2017; Ord. 11-06 § 8, 2011; Ord. 10-08 § 10, 2010; Ord. 08-03 § 1, 2008: Ord. 07-15 § 9, 2007: Ord. 04-024 § 18 (part), 2004)