Four proposed ordinances limiting development in downtown commercial districts will be voted on next month, the State College Borough Council decided last night.

All four ordinances were recommended by the Downtown Plan, a study that tries to control traffic, commerce and building to keep the area economically vital, completed last year by the Maryland-based Land Design Research Inc.

One proposal requires the first floor of all new buildings in downtown commercial zones to be for pedestrian-oriented services, such as shops and businesses, said President Ruth Lavin.

"This is exactly what the downtown planners want," Lavin said. "You just flow into one shop from another."

Council member Thomas Berner was disturbed by the proposal.

"I intend to vote against this. It's regulatory overkill," Berner said.

Such an ordinance would stifle future development, he said. Besides, there is already a tendancy to build shops and businesses on the first floor, Berner said.

The first-floor retail ordinance would not allow for first-floor apartments. Also, developers would not be able to put parking spaces on the first floor if they are visible from the street.

"We need to let the market work and not say we're regulating usage in the commercial zones," Berner said.

Another proposed ordinance would restrict the space allowed for residential use in new buildings in commercial zones. The ordinance aims to reduce the downtown population density by limiting floor area ratio.

The limitations are based on the size of lots. In the downtown area between College and Beaver Avenues and between Fraser and McAllister Streets, the amount of floor space allowed for residential use, such as apartments, would be about twice the size of the lot -- about two floors in most cases.

A third proposal regulates the amount of space between new buildings and the curb.

Buildings along College Avenue would have to be at least 18 feet from the curb, while buildings on the south side of Beaver Avenue would have to be set back at least 30 feet. All other streets would have 15-foot limits.

The fourth proposed ordinance would limit the height of new downtown buildings downtown to 75 feet. Floors above 45 feet, or four stories, would have to be set back 18 feet from the building face.

"There is a definite cap we want to put on downtown height limits," State College Borough Planning Director Carl Hess said.