Legal Documents of Sweetwater

This district is established to foster the development of comprehensively planned, pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods. This is to be accomplished by promoting a variety of land uses, housing types, and density by requiring skillful architectural and landscape design in creating buildings and open spaces. This district is also created to avoid the negative impact of suburban sprawl by minimizing infrastructure costs, traffic congestion, and environmental degradation. Within the TND Traditional neighborhood development district, as shown on the "Zoning Map Sweetwater, Tennessee," the following regulations and other applicable provisions of this zoning code shall apply.

1. General description. The design of the neighborhood should reflect the principles of noteworthy city development found in the United States prior to the 1940's, including:
   
   1. Architectural harmony, including compatibility in styles, materials, colors, and building size and setbacks;
   2. Variety in housing types, density, and cost;
   3. Parks, squares, and other common open spaces for residents to interact and recreate, and to provide a setting for the architecture of the development;
   4. Neighborhood centers and civic spaces, which, depending on the scale of the development, can include places to shop, work, learn, or worship;
   5. An interconnected street system which:
      1. On generally level terrain (slopes less than ten percent (10%); ten-foot (10') rise in one hundred feet (100') vertical distance) is based on a modified grid system.
      2. On rolling to moderately slope terrain (ten percent (10%) to twenty-five percent (25%) slope) is composed of interconnecting, curvilinear streets, designed to conform to the topography.
   6. Sidewalks, street trees, and substantial on-street parking, providing distinct separation between pedestrians and traffic;
   7. Streets and sidewalks that are spatially defined by buildings in a regular pattern, unbroken by parking lots;
   8. Traffic calming, including more narrow streets with shorter turning radii than suburban streets, and medians, circles and related features along prominent streets;
   9. Lighting which is designed for safe walking and signage which has a pedestrian-orientation; and
   10. A system of land subdivision and development which links one (1) neighborhood to another can logically be extended.
2. Permitted uses. The following uses, buildings and structures are permitted:
   
   1. Single-family dwellings.
   2. Townhouses.
   3. Two-family dwellings.
   4. Multiple-family dwellings.
   5. Open space, including parks, squares, greens and other recreational uses (as provided for in the following section).
   6. Commercial and office uses (as provided for in the following sections).
   7. Civic and religious buildings (as provided for in the following sections).
   8. Accessory uses, subject to the provisions of § 14-402.
   9. Assisted living facilities and nursing homes. For the purposes of this section, these uses shall comply with commercial, office, and multi-family area regulations.
   10. Customary home occupations, provided the conditions in § 14-403 are met.
3. Guidelines for permitted uses:
   
   1. Commercial and office uses:
      1. Property and buildings in the district shall be used for the following purposes: grocery stores, bakeries, arts and crafts, book and stationary stores, drug stores, barber/beauty shops, cleaning and processing collection stations, gift shops, self-service laundries, shoe shops (including repairs), similar uses which the planning commission finds to be appropriate, and business and professional offices.
      2. The ground floor shall have door(s) and windows, covering at least fifty percent (50%) of the front facade.
      3. The total ground floor area of the commercial and office uses, including off-street parking areas, shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the district, unless the planning commission finds that a larger commercial area would meet the grocery and other day-today shopping needs of an area which is underserved by a neighborhood shopping center.
      4. Commercial and office development shall have an architectural design which is compatible with the design of residential buildings. The design of commercial and office buildings shall be included with the development plan (as outlined in subsection (9)).
      5. Parking regulations for commercial and office uses are presented in subsection (6).
4. Open space, including parks, squares, greens and other recreational uses:
   
   1. Within a development no less than fifteen percent (15%) of the total land, exclusive of land set aside for roads shall be devoted to common open space for recreation, conservation, and beautification purposes. At least seven and one-half (7-1/2%) of the total land shall be devoted to parks, greens and squares. Yards of residential, commercial, office uses are not to be considered common open space. In cases where a portion of the site is in a floodway or on steep slopes (twenty-five percent (25%) or more), the planning commission may require additional common open space. The planning commission may require less open space in a development which is less than twenty (20) acres if a neighborhood or community park is within one quarter mile of the property. If a golf course or other large open space is to be created as part of the TND development, at least seven and one-half (7-1/2%) of the area outside of such recreational space, shall be devoted to parks, squares or greens.
   2. Common open space may be designed for active recreation, passive recreation, pathways (other than sidewalks), traffic circles, medians, and similar traffic calming features, conservation, or natural buffers.
   3. Provisions shall be made to ensure that no more than 20 percent of the common open space will be devoted to paved areas and structures such as courts, or recreation buildings. Parking lots and on-street parking may be located within or along the side of a street bordering parks, greens and squares upon review and approval by the planning commission.
   4. Use of the common open space shall be subject to use on review by the planning commission.
   5. Land which has been environmentally damaged prior to final approval of the development by the planning commission as a result of soil removal, tree clearing or similar degradation shall not be accepted as common space unless and until the land is restored to a condition which the planning commission determines to be reasonable and appropriate to effect the purpose of this article. The planning commission may grant final approval for a development subject to such restoration of the common open space provided an appropriate performance bond is posted.
   6. Open space shall be protected against building development and environmental damage by conveying to the city, homeowners' association and/or a land trust, an open space easement restricting the area in perpetuity against any future building, and against the removal of soil, trees and other natural features, except as the planning commission determines is consistent with conservation or recreational purposes.
5. Civic and religious uses:
   
   1. Uses can include primary and intermediate schools, libraries, post offices, museums, auditoriums, recreation centers, satellite town halls, fire and police stations, day care facilities, or similar uses which the planning commission finds to be appropriate, and buildings for religious assembly.
   2. Buildings shall be designed to complement the architecture of their surroundings.
   3. Civic and religious buildings should be located at prominent locations, or serve as landmarks in the neighborhood, particularly at such focal points as the end of a street axis.
   4. The height of civic and religious buildings, excluding towers, steeples, or similar features, shall not exceed 45 feet.
   5. All civic and religious uses are subject to review and approval by the planning commission.
   6. Parking regulations for civic and religious buildings are presented in section (8).
6. Area regulations:
   
   1. Minimum size: Property proposed for the TND district shall be a minimum of 20 acres or more, with the exception for areas of less than 20 acres which are adjacent to and can be interconnected to an existing TND district upon approval by the planning commission.

   2. The following table lists the site development regulations:

      REGULATIONS	SINGLE-FAMILY	TWO-FAMILY	TOWNHOUSE	COMMERCIAL OFFICE, MULTI-FAMILY
      Minimum Lot Size	5,000 sq. ft., or 5,500 sq. ft. on corner lot	7,000 sq. ft.	2,000 sq. ft., or 2,500 sq. ft. on corner lot	3,500 sq. ft., or 4,000 sq. ft. on corner lot
      Maximum Lot Size	None	None	4,000 sq. ft.	43,560 sq. ft.
      Minimum Lot Width	40', or 45' on corner lot; 50' if driveway is provided from front of property	50'	20', or 25' on corner lot	25'
      Maximum Height	2-1/2 stories/35'	2-1/2 stories/35'	2-1/2 stories/35'	3-1/2 stories/45'
      Maximum Front Yard Setback	25'	25'	10'	10'
      Minimum Front Yard Setback	15'	20'	5'	0'
      Minimum Street Side Yard Setback	10'	10'	5'	5'
      Minimum Interior Side Yard Setback	5'	5'	0'	0'
      Minimum Rear Yard Setbacks: Main Building/Accessory Buildings	10'/10'	10'/10'	25'/5'	0', if adjoining other commercial; 10' if adjoining other use
      Maximum Building Coverage/Maximum Impervious Coverage	55%/65%	55%-65%	70%-90%	70%·90%

   3. Driveways: Driveways shall be setback five feet (5') from all side or rear property lines. A driveway may be constructed closer to a side or rear property line if a drainage plan is submitted which shows accommodation for stormwater runoff. At a minimum, when a driveway is constructed closer than five feet (5') from a side or rear property line, drainage swales shall be constructed to divert water away from adjacent properties.
7. Housing density, composition and location:
   
   1. The overall housing density of all principal residential units shall not exceed 8 units per acre, based upon the land suitable for development, that is, land outside of floodplains and not on steep slopes (areas exceeding 25 percent slope). The planning commission may require fewer overall residential units per acre, based on the surrounding patterns of development, adopted plans, traffic and environmental constraints, and related factors.
   2. Composition and location of housing:
      1. Detached single-family houses shall comprise at least 50 percent of the total number of residential units;
      2. Two-family units, townhouses, and multi-family units shall comprise less than 50 percent of the units.
      3. The location of the various types of units shall be depicted on the development plan submitted under section (9).
8. Parking regulations:
   
   1. Residential parking:
      1. Single-family detached units require two off-street parking spaces per unit.
      2. Townhouse and two-family housing requires two off street parking spaces per unit unless the planning commission finds that one of the spaces per unit can be accommodated through on-street parking.
      3. Off-street parking for townhouses shall be off an alley.
      4. Garage doors which face the front of the property shall be placed 20 feet beyond the setback of the principle structure. Exception: the planning commission may modify this requirement for no more than 20% of the dwelling units in a development if warranted by topography or other environmental conditions.
      5. The minimum lot width for detached houses with driveways from the front property line shall be 50 feet.
      6. Multi-family housing requires one parking space for the first bedroom of a dwelling unit and 0.5 parking space for each additional bedroom.
   2. Parking provisions for non-residential uses:
      1. Parking lots shall be located to the rear or side of buildings. Side parking lots shall account for no more than 25 percent of parking, and shall be screened from sidewalks by a combination of low walls or fences and landscaping.
      2. Parking lots and garages shall not abut a street intersection, the front yards of multi-family, civic or religious buildings, shall not be adjacent to squares or parks, and shall not occupy space which terminates a T-intersection within the district or similar prominent point.
      3. In view of the pedestrian-oriented nature of this district, the parking requirements for commercial, office and other non-residential uses shall be 50 percent of the number of spaces required for uses in § 14-404.
      4. In the case of commercial or office uses which have shop fronts adjacent to sidewalks and streets, on-street parking directly in front of the lot shall count toward fulfilling the parking requirement.
      5. The required number of spaces for commercial and office uses may be further reduced by demonstrating the use of shared parking.
      6. Parking lot landscaping shall be consistent with the provisions of section (10).
      7. If the developer desires additional customer parking for non-residential uses, it shall be provided on grassy, pervious surfaces (reinforced/plastic grid, reinforced block or similar material) which are adequate to sustain parked vehicles.
9. Streets, utilities, alleys and sidewalks:
   
   1. The street network on the TND shall be connected to the existing streets, unless the planning commission determines that topography, requirements of traffic circulation or other considerations make such connections impractical. When applicable, TND streets should be laid out to allow extensions to future neighborhoods.
   2. Travel lanes of local streets shall be no less than 10 feet wide.
   3. Sidewalks shall be provided along both sides of each street. For pedestrian safety, sidewalks shall be separated at least 7 feet from the curb. To minimize crosswalk distances, a curb return radius of 15 feet shall be used on local streets. In creating a suburban TND, with a density less than 3 dwelling units per acre, sidewalks shall be at least 4 feet wide.
   4. Alleys can provide parking access for residential properties. Alley rights-of-way shall be 20 feet, with at least 10 feet of pavement. Alley pavement shall be built to the local street standard of the subdivision regulations for pavement thickness.
   5. The average perimeter of all blocks within the district shall not exceed 1,200 feet. No block face shall have a length greater than 400 feet without a dedicated alley or pathway providing through access.
   6. Utilities shall be placed underground and or shall run within alley easements.
   7. Street lamps shall be installed on both sides of the street, no less than 100 feet apart.
   8. The axis of the most significant streets shall have appropriate termination with either a public or quasi-public building, park, square or other open space or neighborhood commercial center.
   9. Landscape provisions regarding streets are presented in section (10).
   10. The detailed design of streets and alleys which are to be publicly dedicated shall conform to the current city street regulations as defined in the Sweetwater Subdivision Regulations.
10. Landscaping regulations:
    
    1. Native shade trees which grow to a minimum height of forty feet at maturity shall be planted along all streets at a maximum average spacing of 30 feet on center. The trees shall have a minimum caliper of 2 1/2 inches at the time of planting.
    2. Trees shall be arranged and maintained at intersections and alley entrances to provide adequate visibility, avoiding conflicts between vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians.
    3. For all parking lots with more than six spaces, the landscaped area shall be comprised of a minimum of 20 percent of the total parking lot area. One native shade tree which grows to a minimum height of 40 feet at maturity shall be required for each three hundred square feet of the above required open space. Native shade trees shall have a minimum caliper of 2 1/2 inches at time of planting.
    4. Trees proposed for planting in public rights-of-way shall comply with the Sweetwater Tree Board Ordinance as specified in section 16 chapter 5 of the Sweetwater Municipal Code.
11. Administrative procedure for TND district:
    
    1. The planning commission shall review the proposed development and may give approval, request modification, or reject the proposed development in accordance with these regulations.
    2. The applicant is required to submit a concept plan for the proposed overall development, before or at the same time the TND zoning district is being requested.
    3. The applicant is required to follow the same procedure for submission of a preliminary plat and final plat, as well as site plan requirements for any non-residential structure. (as added by Ord. #772, Oct. 2004, and amended by Ord. #955, Jan. 2018, and Ord. #984, Dec. 2020 Ch7_02-07-22)