§ 27-471. I-3 Zone (Planned Industrial/Employment Park).

(a)

Purposes.

(1)

The purposes of the I-3 Zone are:

(A)

To provide increased and enhanced employment opportunities for the residents of the County and areas for industries, research facilities, and offices which have common characteristics with respect to site requirements, desired amenities, compatibility of operations, general functional classifications, and access;

(B)

To provide for a mixture of industrial, research, office, and in certain instances specific retail commercial uses (along with compatible institutional, recreational, and service uses) in a manner which will retain the dominant industrial/employment character of the area, while also providing for the enhanced viability of the zone by providing for the location of certain retail commercial uses on the periphery of the area, specifically when the periphery fronts on, and is adjacent to, arterial roadways;

(C)

To permit uses which, when compared to the uses permitted in other Industrial Zones, will minimize detrimental effects on uses of adjacent land, especially where adjacent land is being used commercially; and

(D)

To provide development standards which assure the compatibility of proposed land uses with surrounding land uses, maximize open space so as to create a park-like setting, and improve the overall quality of industrial/employment areas in Prince George's County.

(b)

Landscaping, screening, and buffering of development in the I-3 Zone shall be provided as set forth in the Landscape Manual.

(1)

Additional buffering and screening may be required to protect the park-like setting of the Planned Industrial/Employment Park from adjoining or interior incompatible land uses.

(c)

Outside uses.

(1)

With the exception of off-street parking and loading areas, recreational facilities (unless otherwise provided), airports, agricultural uses, sidewalk cafes (as an accessory use), surface mining operations, towers (poles, whips, and antennas), vehicle rental lots, and public utility uses, all uses allowed in the Table of Uses shall be located in wholly enclosed buildings. Outdoor storage is prohibited.

(d)

Site plans.

(1)

A Conceptual Site Plan and a Detailed Site Plan shall be approved for all uses and improvements, in accordance with Part 3, Division 9, of this Subtitle.

(2)

In addition to the requirements of Part 3, Division 9, the Detailed Site Plan shall show the design and size of lettering, lighting, and all other features of signs proposed (except those for directional or informational purposes containing not more than four (4) square feet). These signs shall be reviewed and approved or disapproved at the same time the Detailed Site Plan is acted upon.

(e)

Uses.

(1)

The uses allowed in the I-3 Zone are as provided for in the Table of Uses (Division 3 of this Part).

(f)

Regulations.

(1)

Additional regulations concerning the location, size, and other provisions for all buildings and structures in the I-3 Zone are as provided for in Divisions 1 and 5 of this Part, the Regulations Tables (Division 4 of this Part), General (Part 2), Off-Street Parking and Loading (Part 11), Signs (Part 12), and the Landscape Manual.

(2)

Not more than twenty-five (25%) of any parking lot and no loading space shall be located in the yard to which the building's main entrance is oriented, except that the Planning Board may approve up to an additional fifteen percent (15%) in its discretion if increased parking better serves the efficiency of the particular use; improves views from major arteries or interstate highways; and makes better use of existing topography or complements the architectural design of the building.

(3)

No loading docks shall be permitted on any side of a building facing a street except where the lot is bounded by three (3) or more streets.

(g)

Warehousing.

(1)

Warehousing, wholesaling, distribution, or storage of materials not used, or products not produced, on the premises may be permitted, subject to the following:

(A)

Not more than twenty percent (20%) of the net tract area of the entire Planned Industrial/Employment Park shall be devoted to these uses (including accessory uses such as off-street parking and loading areas).

(B)

More than twenty percent (20%), but not more than thirty percent (30%), of the net tract area of the entire Planned Industrial/Employment Park may be devoted to these uses if at least five percent (5%) of the net lot area (of the lot on which the use is proposed) is devoted to green area. This green area shall be in addition to any other green area required by this Part. This additional green area shall either serve to preserve irreplaceable natural features, be designed so that the visual impact of the facility will be relieved (either by natural features or changes in grade), or provide distinctive furnishings (such as sculptures, fountains, and sidewalk furniture).

(C)

More than thirty percent (30%), but not more than fifty percent (50%), of the net tract area of the entire Planned Industrial/Employment Park may be devoted to these uses if, in addition to meeting the requirements of (B), above, the Planning Board finds:

(i)

That the tract is suited for these uses because of its accessibility to railways or highways that readily accommodate warehousing;

(ii)

That the traffic generated by the uses is not directed through residential neighborhoods;

(iii)

That the use is compatible with surrounding existing land uses and those proposed on the Master Plan. In determining compatibility, the Planning Board shall consider architectural or physical features of the facility and may require that these features be compatible with surrounding land uses.

(D)

The remainder of the park shall be devoted to other uses, in the case of (A), (B), or (C), above.

(h)

Required access.

(1)

Each Planned Industrial/Employment Park (including each property in separate ownership) shall have frontage on, and direct vehicular access to, a street having a right-of-way width of at least seventy (70) feet.

(i)

Minimum area for the development.

(1)

The minimum area for the development of any Planned Industrial/Employment Park shall be twenty-five (25) gross acres.

(2)

If the area is less than twenty-five (25) acres but not less than fifteen (15) acres, the property may be classified in the I-3 Zone when the property adjoins property in the C-O Zone, provided that the area of the combined properties is at least twenty-five (25) gross acres.

(3)

If the area is less than twenty-five (25) acres, the property may be classified in the I-3 Zone when the property adjoins property in the I-3 or E-I-A Zone, provided that the area of the combined properties is at least twenty-five (25) gross acres.

(4)

If the area is less than twenty-five (25) acres, and the land was classified in the I-3 Zone prior to October 31, 1977, or upon approval of a Sectional Map Amendment, it may be developed in accordance with this Part, provided the owner of record does not own abutting undeveloped land in the I-3, E-I-A, or C-O Zone that could be used to comply with the provisions of paragraph (1), (2), or (3), above.

(CB-49-1986; CB-1-1989; CB-90-1992; CB-58-1993; CB-21-1994)