§ 19.02. SPECIAL APPROVAL LAND USES.

The following uses, and others similar to those cited in this article, may be permitted by the Planning Commission, subject to the general standards of section 25.02 and the specific standards for each use:

A. Building and construction material wholesalers and contractors, including but not limited to storage facilities and storage yards for building materials, sand, gravel, lumber and construction contractor’s equipment, subject to the following:

1. Such site shall (except for frontage on a public street) abut only land within an industrial district;

2. All outdoor storage shall be surrounded by an approved obscuring wall or fence of at least eight feet in height; provided, however, those sides abutting any major thoroughfare as described in the Master Road Plan shall be screened by an obscuring wall of at least eight feet in height;

B. Nonautomotive painting and varnishing shops, lumber and planing mills, subject to the following:

1. The site for such use shall, except for frontage on a public street, abut only land within an industrial district;

2. Devices and controls adequate to meet the standards enumerated in section 19.06 relative to sound, vibration, smoke, odor or gas shall be installed;

3. Adequate means of sanitary disposal of any waste material shall be provided;

4. All painting and varnishing operations shall be conducted within an enclosed building;

C. New and leased car sales establishments, excluding auto auctions, subject to the following:

1. Devices and controls adequate to meet the standards enumerated in section 19.06 relative to sound, vibration, smoke, odor or gases shall be installed;

2. Adequate means of sanitary disposal of any waste material shall be provided;

3. All areas provided for storage of automobiles shall be hard-surfaced and maintained with a permanent durable and dustless surface constructed of asphalt or concrete and shall be so graded and drained as to dispose within the site of all surface water accumulated within the area;

4. Parking of vehicles for the display and sale of new car sales and lease establishments shall be permitted in the front yard setback. Any such display, however, shall observe the setback requirements specified in section 19.04, area, height and bulk requirements, minus 30 feet;

D. Auto service centers and reconditioning establishments, subject to the following:

1. All repair operations shall be conducted within an enclosed building;

2. Devices and controls adequate to meet the standards enumerated in section 19.06 relative to sound, vibration, smoke, odor or gases shall be installed;

3. Adequate means of sanitary disposal of any waste materials shall be provided;

4. Storage of vehicles awaiting repair or pickup shall be restricted to parking spaces reflected on the approved site plan. In no case shall vehicles be stored for a period in excess of 15 days;

E. Automobile repair garages, subject to the following:

1. The site for any such use shall (except for frontage on a public street) abut only land within a commercial or industrial district);

2. All overhead service doors servicing the facility shall either face industrially zoned property or the public street if the doors are within 75 feet of a commercial zoned district;

3. All repair operations shall be conducted within an enclosed building;

4. Devices and controls adequate to meet the standards enumerated in section 19.06 relative to sound, vibration, smoke, odor or gases shall be installed;

5. Adequate means of sanitary disposal of any waste materials shall be provided;

6. Parked vehicles waiting to be repaired shall be located in designated areas and screened from public view by a decorative masonry wall meeting the requirements of section 24.01;

F. Recreational vehicle storage, subject to the following:

1. Such site shall (except for frontage on a public street) abut only land within an industrial district;

2. All such storage shall be enclosed within a building or shall be surrounded by an approved obscuring wall or fence of at least eight feet in height; provided, however, those sides abutting any major thoroughfare as described in the Master Road Plan shall be screened by an obscuring wall of at least eight feet in height;

3. Holding tank disposal facilities shall be provided which shall meet all state, county and city requirements;

4. No major repair or maintenance of any vehicles shall be performed on the premises;

5. The site or area shall be hard-surfaced and maintained with a permanent durable and dustless surface constructed of asphalt or concrete and shall be so graded and drained as to dispose within the site of all surface water accumulated within the area;

G. Limited retail sales of products customarily incidental to the uses permitted in sections 19.01 and 19.02, subject to the following:

1. No more than 10% of the gross floor area, not to exceed a total of 1,500 square feet, may be available as a sales area or for retail display;

2. Retail sales and display shall be limited to the specific item or items manufactured, processed, fabricated or produced and/or the display of the components used in fabrication of the finished product produced;

3. The Planning Department may require additional parking to be provided not to exceed the retail requirements of section 23.02 if the parking for the industrial use is determined by the Planning Department to be insufficient to accommodate both the industrial and retail operations of the site;

4. Signage and lighting shall be compatible with surrounding industrial uses;

5. The display of products for sale shall not be visible from outside the building;

6. All such uses shall either be located in a building containing the permitted principal uses which will be served or in service centers consisting of one or more buildings designed with common drives, parking and loading areas and landscaping;

H. Automobile impound lots, subject to the following:

1. The entire area shall be enclosed on all sides with fencing not less than six feet in height;

2. The site shall (except for frontage on a public street) abut only land within an industrial district;

3. A concrete driveway of at least 15 feet in width shall be installed to provide access to the site from a public thoroughfare;

4. The site or area used as the impound lot shall be hard surfaced or maintained with a durable gravel base which shall be maintained in a dust-free condition and shall be so graded and drained so as to dispose within the site of all surface water accumulated within the area;

5. The impounded lot shall not be located within a planned industrial park;

6. Storage of all materials shall be in conformance with applicable Fire Department codes, rules and regulations;

7. Sufficient off-street parking shall be provided for the parking of vehicles of participants in periodic auctions to be held on the site;

8. All buildings and/or structures shall conform with applicable codes and ordinances;

9. Permanent or portable sanitary facilities shall be provided on site or available for use within 300 feet of the impound lot;

10. Lighting shall be provided to enhance security on the site;

11. The impound lot shall be maintained for the exclusive storage of vehicles and articles impounded, seized or recovered by authorized governmental agencies and shall not be used by the operator of the impound lot or any contractor for the storage of articles or vehicles;

12. The operation of the lot shall be in accordance with all applicable federal and state statutes and regulations and all applicable local codes, ordinances and regulations;

I. Indoor recreation facilities, including the ice arenas, gymnastic facilities and tennis facilities;

J. Truck, utility trailer, industrial and commercial vehicles and equipment, boat, recreation vehicle and mobile home rental facilities, subject to the following conditions:

1. No storage shall be permitted within the front yard setback;

2. All outdoor storage areas shall be paved;

3. The minimum size of the site devoted entirely to such use shall be not less than five acres;

K. Public utilities, as regulated by section 3.02.(I). Wireless communication towers, antennas and related facilities shall be further subject to the provisions of section 28.18;

L. Lighted outdoor commercial sports centers, including baseball, golf driving ranges, miniature golf and other intense activities. Because such centers possess the unique characteristic of often being used late into the night while attracting large numbers of spectators and attendant vehicular traffic in conjunction with ingress and egress to parking areas, these uses shall be permitted only in industrial districts subject to the following conditions:

1. Outdoor commercial sports centers shall be permitted only upon parcels of land zoned M-1 and M-2 which are surrounded by similarly zoned property on all sides, except a side abutting a major thoroughfare of 120 feet of right-of-way or greater. Such uses shall be limited to parcels of property which exceed 20 acres and are not conducive to industrial development by virtue of large floodplain areas, previous landfill use or similar circumstances. The petitioner shall provide the Planning Commission with supporting documentation and data, including but not limited to topographic surveys, soil tests and any other information determined to be necessary for the Planning Commission to determine whether these requirements have been met;

2. Because it is of primary concern to the city to preserve large areas of industrial property for industrial uses, the Planning Commission when considering approval of such a use shall take into account the compatibility of the lighted outdoor commercial sports center with existing and future industrial development and the requirements of sections 25.02 and 25.03;

3. The proposed internal site design of the facility shall meet all standards of the city and other affected governmental agencies, including but not limited to those standards pertaining to proper drainage, lighting, hard-surfacing and other engineering standards;

4. Points of ingress and egress shall be available to the complex only from abutting major thoroughfares of 120 feet of right-of-way or greater. The site shall comply with all standards of the City of Sterling Heights and other affected governmental agencies relative to driveways, acceleration and deceleration lanes and related items;

5. The use and parking area shall be screened from adjacent major thoroughfares with berms and other approved landscaping;

6. All lighting used to illuminate the area shall be installed so as to be confined within and directed upon the site;

7. Devices for the transmission of broadcasting of voices or music shall be so directed as to prevent said sound from being audible beyond the lot lines of the site;

8. Storage buildings, restroom facilities, facilities for the sale and consumption of food, beverages and refreshments and other similar accessory uses shall comply with all standards of the City of Sterling Heights and other affected governmental agencies. Such accessory facilities shall operate only during the hours of operation of the principal use of the property;

M. Firearm and archery ranges, subject to the following:

1. All activities shall take place within an enclosed building;

2. The use shall comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws, rules, regulations and licensing requirements;

N. Kennels, subject to the following:

1. No such use shall be located within 150 feet of any residential zone;

2. All housing of animals shall be done in completely enclosed freestanding buildings or with a corner tenant in such a manner as to produce no offensive odor or audible sound at the lot line or to adjacent tenants;

3. An adequate, enclosed method of refuse storage and disposal shall be maintained so that no public nuisance shall be created at any time;

4. The site shall be located so as to have one property line abutting a major thoroughfare of at least 120 feet of right-of-way, existing or proposed;

5. Outdoor exercise areas shall be secured or fenced and shall not be located within 50 feet of any property line.

(Ord. No. 278-A, § 35, 4-17-90; Ord. No. 278-F, § 7, 8-8-90; Ord. No. 278-P, § 3, 10-3-95; Ord. No. 278-R, § 9, 8-20-96; Ord. No. 278-Y, § 26, 5-16-00; Ord. No. 278-AA, § 7, 3-20-01)