17.03.050 General commercial zone (C-2) | Hood River Municipal Code

17.03.050 General commercial zone (C-2).

A. Permitted Uses. Except for C-2 Zoned land within the Waterfront Area, which are specifically addressed in Subsection D, the following uses are generally allowed in the C-2 Zone:

1. Rooming and boarding houses

2. Home occupations

3. Bed and breakfast

4. Family day care

5. Residential care facility

6. Group residential, if less than 15 persons

7. Transportation facilities pursuant to 17.20.050(A)

8. Accessory dwelling units

9. Residential use of existing detached single-family dwellings, manufactured homes, duplexes and triplexes

10. Hosted homeshares subject to Section 17.04.115

11. Vacation home rentals subject to Section 17.04.115

B. Permitted Uses Subject to Site Plan Review. Except for C-2 Zoned land within the Waterfront Area, which are specifically addressed in Subsection D, the following uses are generally allowed in the C-2 Zone subject to Site Plan Review:

1. Commercial uses

2. Industrial uses incidental and essential to an on-site commercial use (Refer to the section below, “K”)

3. Change of use

4. Parking lots of four (4) or more spaces, new or expanded, and or the equivalent of paving equal to four (4) or more parking spaces

5. Multi-family dwellings for residential use, with a minimum density of 11 units/net acre.

6. Group residential, if fifteen (15) or more persons

7. Transportation facilities pursuant to 17.20.050(B)

8. Professional Office and Office Uses.

9. Hostels

C. Conditional Uses. Except for C-2 Zoned land within the Waterfront Area, which are specifically addressed in Subsection D, the following uses are generally allowed with a conditional use permit in the C-2 Zone:

1. Residential development, excluding multi-family, subject to the following: a) shall be reviewed through the Planned Unit Development (PUD) process; b) PUD common open space criterion is not applicable; and c) shall achieve a minimum of 11 units/net acre.

2. Residential development a minimum of 11 units/acre in conjunction with commercial uses on the same lot or parcel.

3. Hospitals, sanitariums, rest homes, nursing or convalescent home

4. Schools and day care facilities

5. Public parks, playgrounds, and related facilities

6. Utility or pumping substations

7. Churches

8. Commercial Uses on parcels of more than 1.5 acres.

9. Public facilities and uses

D. Special Restrictions on development in the C-2 Zone within the Waterfront Area. The Waterfront Area, as defined in Section 17.01.060, includes certain development restrictions that apply in addition to and supersede the regulations that apply in the C-2 Zone generally. Uses generally allowed outright, subject to site plan review and conditionally in the Waterfront Area are those set forth in Subsections A, B and C, respectively, except that all of the following additional restrictions apply to development within the Waterfront Area, none of which are eligible for a variance under HRMC Chapter 17.18:

1. Residential development are prohibited unless combined with commercial uses in the same structure, i.e, must be mixed use; all such development that includes a residential component requires a conditional use permit.

2. There is no minimum required residential density in the C-2 Zone within the Waterfront Area.

3. No more than 50% of the gross floor area of any building may be devoted to residential development, and the building primary use shall be commercial, not residential.

4. No residential development is allowed on the ground floor, and no more than 50% of the ground floor may be used for parking.

5. For any residential uses approved in the C-2 Zone within the Waterfront Area, a deed restriction, in a form acceptable to the city attorney, shall be recorded with title to the residential property that precludes any residential owner, lessee or guest from objecting to normal and customary commercial, recreational or light industrial uses (including operation of the city’s wastewater treatment plant) and any impacts there from, such as noise, dust, glare, odors, hours of operation, truck traffic, parking and the like.

6. The City may impose reasonable conditions on the approval of any residential development in the C-2 Zone within the Waterfront Area to ensure compliance with these special restrictions.

1. Minimum Lot Area: None.

2. Minimum Frontage:

a. Fifty (50) feet on a dedicated public street or

b. Thirty (30) feet on a public dedicated cul-de-sac.

F. Setback Requirements. The minimum setback requirements shall be as follows:

1. Front – not required.

2. Side and rear – not required except in the case where the structure is adjacent to a residential zone, in which case a three (3) foot setback is required for structures up to two (2) stories, and increased one (1) foot for each additional story above two (2) stories.

1. Thirty-five (35) feet for residential development.

2. Forty-five (45) feet for commercial use or for mixed commercial and residential development.

3. No commercial structure shall exceed a height of forty-five (45) feet.

a. Except within the Central Business District, one off-street parking space shall be provided on the building site or adjacent to the site for each employee. In addition, adequate off-street parking shall be provided on or adjacent to the building site to meet the needs of anticipated clientele.

b. In no case shall there be less than two off-street parking spaces.

c. The Central Business District, the Heights Business District and the Waterfront are exempt from the minimum two off-street space parking requirement but shall pay a fee in lieu of parking in accordance with HRMC Chapter 17.24 for the balance of parking required but not provided.

d. Within the Central Business District, one and one-half off-street parking spaces shall be provided on the building site or adjacent to the site for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area.

e. Parking in the Central Business District, Heights Business District and the Waterfront may be satisfied by substituting all or some of the parking requirement at adjacent or nearby off-site off-street locations and/or by adjacent or nearby shared parking if the substitute parking reasonably satisfies the parking requirements of this section.

f. If less than all required parking is provided, the fee in lieu of parking shall be paid in accordance with HRMC Chapter 17.24, except that a credit shall be given for the number of spaces provided.

a. Except within the Central Business District, all individual dwelling units, duplexes, and triplexes shall be provided with two parking spaces for each unit on the building site, one of which may be within the required front yard setback area.

b. Except within the Central Business District, multifamily dwellings shall be required to furnish one and one-half off-street parking spaces per dwelling unit on or adjacent to the building site.

c. Unless specifically exempted under the historic parking waiver provisions for upper story residential conversions, individual dwelling units within the Central Business District shall be required to provide one and one-quarter off-street parking spaces on or adjacent to the building site.

d. Required setback areas may be utilized for off-street parking for multifamily dwellings.

e. Parking spaces utilizing access from a public dedicated alley may be located within the setback areas.

f. Upper Story Residential Parking Exemption. Existing buildings within the Downtown Historic District included on the local historic building inventory and listed within HRMC 17.14 CHART B – Cultural Resources Inventory Local Downtown District: 1994 (updated 2004), as amended, are not required to provide additional parking for the conversion of upper stories to nontransient residential dwelling units. Street-level conversion of a historic building for residential use is not eligible for this exemption. The exemption is not applicable to transient lodging or hotel use.

Neither historic conversion exemption nor fee in lieu of off-street parking may be utilized to satisfy parking requirements for hosted homeshares, vacation home rentals, transient or short-term rentals. Hosted homeshares, vacation home rentals, transient and short-term rentals shall be required to satisfy parking requirements in compliance with the Hood River Municipal Code.

3. All parking areas and driveways shall be hard surfaced prior to occupancy, under the following circumstances:

a. New construction.

b. Change of use.

c. New parking area.

I. Lighting. Artificial lighting shall be subdued and shall not shine, cause glare, or be unnecessarily bright on surrounding properties. Both interior and exterior lighting shall take into consideration the viewshed and shall be dimmed as much as possible after closing without compromising safety and security. Flood lights on poles higher than fifteen (15) feet shall not be permitted.

J. Signs. All signs shall be in conformance with the sign regulations in this title.

K. Landscaping. All landscaping shall be in conformance with the landscaping standards in this title.

L. Manufacturing. Manufacture or assembly of goods is a permitted use, provided such manufacturing or assembly is within or contiguous to a permitted commercial use. The retail sales and the commercial character shall be the prominent use. The goods manufactured and/or assembled shall be sold on a retail basis out of the commercial use which is the storefront for such sale. All uses shall meet the following standards:

1. Any use, or portion thereof, causing noise shall be performed in such a manner as not to create a nuisance or hazard on any adjacent property.

2. Any use, or portion thereof, causing vibration shall be performed in such a manner as not to create a nuisance or hazard on adjacent property.

3. Any operation producing intense heat or glare shall be performed in such a manner as not to create a nuisance or hazard on adjacent property.

4. There shall be no emission of odorous, toxic, noxious matter, or dust in such quantities as to be readily detectable at any point along or outside property lines so as to produce a public nuisance or hazard.

5. If the retail and industrial uses are housed in separate buildings on the site, the industrial building shall be equal to or less in size to the commercial building.

6. In the case of two or more separate buildings, the one closest to the public dedicated street must retain a retail storefront and a pedestrian-friendly character. New construction or major renovations shall achieve this standard through use of the following design elements:

a. Major renovations are considered any activity on the exterior of a building that exceeds ten percent (10%) of the structure’s cost or fair market value or $75,000, whichever is more, as determined by the building official.

b. The building entrance shall be oriented toward the primary street, whenever physically possible.

c. Off-street parking or driveways shall not be placed between the building and the primary street, whenever physically possible.

d. The retail storefront shall utilize regularly spaced and similarly shaped windows with window hoods or trim.

e. The retail storefront shall have large display windows on the ground floor and shall be framed by bulkheads, piers, and a storefront cornice.

f. For properties located within the Downtown Local Historic District, refer to the District’s Design Guidelines.

M. Commercial buildings between 25,000 square feet and 50,000 square feet. No new buildings shall exceed a combined contiguous length of three hundred (300) feet; nor shall any one building exceed a footprint of 50,000 square feet. Any building or contiguous group of buildings which exceed these limitations and which were in existence prior to the effective date of this ordinance may expand up to ten percent (10%) in area or length beyond their original area or length. Neither the gross square footage nor combined contiguous building length, as set forth in this section, shall be changed by a variance. The following standards shall apply to buildings or a group of buildings on one (1) site over 25,000 square feet in size:

1. Buildings shall have an entrance for pedestrians directly from the street to the building interior. This entrance shall be designed to be attractive and functional and shall be open to the public during all business hours. Public sidewalks shall be provided adjacent to a public street along the entire street frontage.

2. Building facades greater than one hundred (100) feet in length shall have offsets, jogs, or other architectural distinctive changes.

3. Any wall which is within thirty (30) feet of the street, plaza, or other public open space shall contain at least twenty percent (20%) of the wall area facing the street in display areas, windows, or doorways. Windows must allow views into working areas or lobbies, pedestrian entrances, or display areas. Blank walls within thirty (30) feet of the street are prohibited. Up to forty percent (40%) of the length of the building perimeter, with the exception of the side facing the street, is exempt from this standard if facing toward loading or service areas.

4. A building shall be setback not more than twenty (20) feet from a public sidewalk unless the area is used for pedestrian activities such as plazas or outside eating areas. If more than one structure is proposed for a site, at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the aggregate building frontage shall be within twenty (20) feet of the sidewalk.

5. Developments shall divide large building masses into heights and sizes that relate to human scale by incorporating changes in building mass or direction, sheltering roofs, a distinct pattern of divisions on surfaces, windows, trees, and small scale lighting.

6. One street tree chosen from the street tree list shall be placed along the perimeter of the parcel fronting the street for each thirty (30) feet of frontage for that portion of the development facing the street.

7. Landscaping shall be designed so that fifty percent (50%) coverage occurs after one year from the date the certificate of occupancy is issued and ninety percent (90%) landscaping coverage occurs after five (5) years from the date the certificate of occupancy is issued.

8. Parking areas shall be shaded on the interior and exterior by deciduous trees, buffered from adjacent non-residential uses, and screened from residential uses. The appearance of a “sea of asphalt” shall be avoided.

9. A ratio of one (1) tree for each seven (7) parking spaces shall be required to create a canopy effect. The trees shall be an appropriate large, canopied shade tree and/or a conifer.

10. Landscaped areas shall be substantially evenly distributed throughout the parking area and parking perimeter. (Ord. 2056 §1 (Exh. A), 2020)