High St Franklin, VA 23851

Pursuant to the general purposes of this chapter, the intent of the B-1 neighborhood commercial district is to provide for neighborhood commercial development primarily serving the needs of the residents within the district and the surrounding neighborhood and related uses including those public and semi-public uses and accessory uses as may be necessary to serve those businesses and residents. It is also the intent of this chapter to preserve and enhance the established character of older mixed use commercial and residential neighborhoods in the city by ensuring that infill development, as well as redevelopment, will be consistent with the predominant existing development pattern of such neighborhoods. The district regulations incorporate form-based provisions that are designed to preserve the urban nature and sustainability of such neighborhoods as characterized by a mixture of detached and attached dwellings of two stories in height with a distinct orientation to the street, and situated on small lots with narrow yards, minimal setbacks from the streets and minimal interruption of the street frontages by open spaces, driveways, parking areas or accessory buildings visible from the streets. The district regulations are also intended to encourage traditional neighborhood development, as well as improvement and efficient use of older commercial-style buildings by enabling by right and through the conditional use permit process, mixed use developments, commercial uses that are limited in location, type and scale and are intended to provide for the convenience of neighborhood residents within walking distance and to avoid traffic, parking congestion, noise and other impacts that typically result from uses that draw patrons from outside a neighborhood.