(A) These standards are intended to ensure that commercial building development is compatible with its surrounding area and contributes to the unique community character of the county. The intent is to encourage a more human-scale development that residents of the city/county will be able to identify. The resulting scale of commercial buildings will ensure a greater likelihood for reuse of structures by subsequent tenants.
(B) It is well-recognized in the planning and development literature that careful attention to attractive and citizen-friendly urban design is in the economic interests of a municipality, its citizens, and business owners. Attractive and integrated urban design features tend to improve a town’s image, raise overall property values, attract new businesses and residents, and improve the quality of life. Research and experience has demonstrated that there is a positive return on investment for design features for both government, private industry, and property owners. For example, the money a town spends on landscaped roadway medians, sidewalks, and street trees is likely to be amply returned in the form of increased tax revenue resulting from the overall increase in property values that accompanies attractive and desirable urban areas.
(C) In towns and cities across the country, including the city/county, there is a growing realization that incompatibilities between land uses are very often a function of design and development impacts rather than of differences in their land uses. The focus in current use-based development regulation is to require strict separation and substantial buffers between different land uses, regardless of design or site impacts. However, with appropriate and compatible urban design it could be entirely reasonable for commercial, office, and residential uses to be placed literally side-by-side, with little need for strict separation and buffering. This realization has in part led to the emergence of the traditional neighborhood development movement and has prompted numerous municipalities to shift from strict use-based regulation of development to design-based and impact-based regulation which is much more flexible. This Commercial Establishment Design Standards chapter is a first step towards such design- and impact-based guidance of development in the city/county.
(D) State and National Trend Towards Pedestrian-Friendly Design Guidelines.
(1) Throughout the state and country, communities are reevaluating their standards for commercial development and demanding that national and regional chains integrate local custom and character into their site and building designs. This trend has surfaced as the commercial industry has continued its shift towards generating national commercial chains (often through corporate mergers), and as various regional chains have expanded into new markets. Because these larger companies have standardized their designs to mass-market products at a lower cost, there is little variation in building and site design from coast to coast. This phenomenon has begun to concern citizens as they see their communities become "normalized" and molded into patterns similar to every other town and city in America.
(2) This loss of a sense of uniqueness and place, in addition to the continued focus on designs which cater solely to the automobile, has led many communities to implement stronger local design requirements in order to recapture individual town character and to reclaim the realm of the pedestrian. Many of these communities’ design guidelines have sought to balance the mobility needs of residents with respect to a range of transportation modes (i.e., by automobile, transit, pedestrian, and bicycle modes). Municipalities locally and across the country have adopted design guidelines that encourage the integration of common design themes which complement those existing in the community, reduce building setbacks, and orient buildings onto streets and public spaces to achieve a more human-scale and pedestrian-friendly environment.
(3) Lexington and Georgetown, Kentucky, Gresham, Oregon, Fort Collins, Colorado, Bellevue, Washington, and Mashpee, Massachusetts, are examples of municipalities from across the state and country that have successfully adopted design standards for local development which are intended to preserve local character and promote pedestrian-friendly, human-scale development. Examples of successful commercial projects developed under these standards are given below:
(a) Mashpee Commons is a commercial center in Mashpee, Massachusetts. It offers a good example of a center that was redeveloped under new municipal design guidelines. It is also representative of the activity center concept described throughout the Nelson County 2020: A Comprehensive Plan Land Use Plan. The Mashpee Commons renovation consisted of reorienting shops from a strip configuration to one oriented towards the streets, and which created public spaces such as plazas and porticos, as well as providing a mix of shops that include larger national chains and local operators. Mixing office, institutional, and public spaces has brought more people to the center, and it has become a focal point for the community. The gross leasable area on the site’s 25 acres doubled, and average annual rents have nearly doubled as well. Expansion of this center was conducted in a fully saturated commercial market.
(b) In Gresham, Oregon, no building footprints larger than 70,000 square feet are allowed in the Neighborhood Civic District. Thus, "big box" retailers are required to design buildings having smaller footprints, and/or build upward. Guidelines requiring pedestrian-oriented commercial centers have been in place for eight months. A Walgreen’s Drugstore site has been approved for development based upon their conformance with these guidelines. Some of the town’s other design guidelines include restrictions against blank walls along streets, having buildings oriented and built to street fronts, and having parking distributed to the sides and rear of sites. Retailers continue to seek approval of development plans in Gresham, knowing that they will have to work within local guidelines. The pace of development and local economic growth has not slowed under these guidelines.
(c) The City of Bellevue, Washington, requires that all new development and redevelopment of commercial sites abide by its pedestrian-oriented design guidelines, which have been in place for six years. Bellevue Square was developed under these standards, and has proven to be immensely successful. The Square was converted from an old open-air mall to a two-story enclosed structure. The mall fronts two streets at a corner and is sited on 35 acres. Parking is distributed around the building and in structured lots. Major anchor tenants with sidewalk entrances are located there, including JC Penney, which had historically not located in non-conventional mall settings. Other stores within the Square include high-end retailers like Nordstroms, Ann Taylor, and Bally.
(4) Not only do design guidelines that seek to foster development of natural amenities and architecturally pleasing features at a human scale provide public benefits, but in most instances, the rate of return for the developer is dramatically higher. This trend has been recorded through surveys conducted by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and documented in its publication, Value by Design. These studies have documented that added financial benefits are routinely reaped in both commercial and residential developments where extra design features are incorporated. Results of other surveys conducted for ULI have concluded that home buyers value open space, pedestrian/bicycle paths, community control over design, and small clusters of neighborhood-oriented retail located near residences.
(5) Evidence shows that implementation of design standards that focus development in a human-scale, pedestrian-friendly manner are profitable both emotionally and financially. While such design standards are being adopted more and more throughout the country, retailers are altering their design models in order to compete in these towns’ large and growing markets. Areas that are viewed as desirable commercial markets are obviously in a sound position to implement local design guidelines. The city/county is just such a market. Retailers know that there is likely to be untapped consumer demand in the city/county as it grows, making Bardstown-Nelson County an extremely attractive commercial development market.
(6) This chapter does not seek to create a set of rigid standards. Instead, the plan ordinance provides a flexible alternative to conventional shopping center development, designed to answer residents’ wishes for commercial and residential development that gives greater consideration to pedestrian access, is more accessible to neighborhoods, and builds an even more attractive town environment. The Nelson County 2020: A Comprehensive Plan suggests the following:
"Page 33. Interview and Workshop Findings.
4. Maintain Quality of Community. The issue of maintaining the quality of life in Nelson County was identified as an issue that should be a top priority. The attractiveness of Nelson County was recognized as a major factor for the amount of growth in the County recently. The prevalent attitude expressed was that growth and new development should respect, maintain or improve the quality of life in Nelson County, and not detract from it. Several factors were identified as contributing to or determining the quality of life in the community. Preserving the historic appearance and atmosphere of Nelson County is a major concern, as is the preservation of strong downtown areas (in New Haven and Bloomfield as well as Bardstown). Similarly, it is important that the rural character and atmosphere be maintained throughout the County in order to sustain the quality of life that has attracted and retained residents and industry to Nelson County.
Page 34. Visions for the Future.
• Strong rural character
• Small town atmosphere
• Adequate roads to serve demands
• Quality entryways/gateways to each Community
• Maintenance of the historic character
• Increased tourism industry
Page 35. Cornerstone Issues - Objectives
Community Identity - Maintain the sense of place and small town atmosphere of each community by recognizing the contributions of historic structures, small town character, public institutions, central business districts and the appearance and land use composition of existing neighborhoods and by evaluating the impact that future development will have on community identity.
Quality of Life - Support growth and development that enhances the overall quality of life of Nelson County through the encouragement of quality schools and education, a strong economic mixture and diversity in industry, high quality and planned services and utilities, a responsive local government, a mixture of housing types, an aesthetically pleasing built environment, and a safe, healthy environment.
Page 36. General Development Policies.
• Future non-residential growth should be guided to locate within existing Commercial/Industrial Centers in Urban Area, Central Business District.
• Careful impact assessment of proposed industrial establishments should be conducted to determine potential impacts on environmental, infrastructure and community conditions.
Page 37. General Development Policies.
• Evaluate future large scale development proposals on the basis of the impact on the existing and future public services and infrastructure, requiring mitigation techniques where feasible. The public services impact evaluation should include at a minimum an assessment of impact on roads, water treatment and distribution capabilities, sewer treatment and distribution capabilities, schools, electric, police and fire services and a statement of the availability of adequate service levels for each type of service.
• Limit the impact of future and existing development on the rural character of Nelson County by establishing criteria and development standards to address issues associated with development, such as noise, light, and storm water runoff impacts.
Pages 50-51. Commercial Retail Centers.
1. The Eastern Bardstown Gateway refers to the largely undeveloped land located at and surrounding the Bluegrass Parkway exit at US 150, including the land adjacent to SR 245 in this area. The development of this area will be important to Bardstown and to Nelson County, because this area is a gateway to Bardstown and many visitors utilize this route. The Land Use Plan for the Urban Community Area recommends that the Eastern Gateway develop as a planned commercial park - combining retail, service and office uses. The construction and layout of this area should be coordinated to ensure a compatible design theme is established for the entire area. It is recommended that a more detailed conceptual plan for the land uses in this area be developed with the input of the property owners, Nelson County officials, City of Bardstown officials and the Joint Planning Commission. The development of a Conceptual Plan for the Eastern Gateway, which is primarily zoned Light Industrial Park (LIP) that includes the participation of the parties described above, could result in a well-defined vision for the future development of this area. Such a conceptual plan should address land use composition (including uses and densities), site design (parking, surface area and open space ratios), circulation and access, and design/appearance (internal circulation, landscaping and signage).
2. The South Bardstown Gateway isolated on US 31E surrounding the Blue Grass Parkway interchange and is also a primary entry into the City of Bardstown. The current zoning regulations should be amended to include more detailed standards and evaluation criteria for such issues as traffic impact, lighting control, noise impacts, screening and buffering and access location for future uses in this area.
3. The US 31 E/SR 245 Corridor Area is the primary retail center for Bardstown and for Nelson County. Retail commercial development is concentrated on the western side of the US 31 E/SR 245 intersection. Traffic congestion, access management and future development designs are primary concerns for the future in this area. This Commercial Center is recommended to remain the designated location for regional retail commercial uses. The Land Use Group Map indicates that this Commercial Center should expand west along the south side of SR 245 to the intersection of Withrow Court and SR 245. Proposed transportation improvements in this area should improve traffic congestion. For example, the State has included widening at SR 245 to five lanes from Templin Avenue east to US 62 in its six year road budget plan. This should provide needed transportation capacity, particularly during noon and evening peak hour traffic. Also, the Transportation Plan (Chapter 6) recommends that the City construct an extension of Withrow Court. While this proposed road is not intended to be a bypass, it will remove local traffic that currently must use US 31 E and SR 245.
The City/County should undertake a more detailed traffic and access study for this area. Future access locations, potential frontage roads, traffic signal timing and more detailed land use analysis should be conducted as part of such a study. This area would also benefit from the proposed zoning regulation amendments described for the South Bardstown Gateway. The use of Planned Unit Developments should also be encouraged in this Commercial Center to provide greater design flexibility and control.
(Ord.795, passed 1-27-04)