A. Provide standards that will help to reinforce existing and desired development patterns and building features intended to implement the Comprehensive Plan;
B. Design sites and orient buildings with an emphasis on character and creating a comfortable walking environment;
C. Design buildings that respond to the unique context of the site;
D. Reduce impacts to wildlife;
E. Promote original and distinctive building design; and
F. Incorporate sustainable development practices.
3. Compliance with Additional Form and Design Standards Required:
(2) All new Multiple-Family, mixed-use, and nonresidential development, including but not limited to Parking Garages shall comply with all other standards and mandatory content related to building design in the Citywide and Downtown Design Standards and Guidelines, as applicable in the area where the property is located.
(3) Residential uses with four or fewer units in a single structure are exempt from these standards.
B. In the event of a conflict between two or more standards in this Section 11-04-06, or between the standards in this Section 11-04-06 and applicable standards in the Citywide or Downtown Design Standards and Guidelines, the provision requiring the higher level of visual building quality and interest, as determined by the Planning Director, shall apply.
4. General Site and Building Design Form Standards:
A. Buildings and Parking Placement: In all zoning districts except the R-1A, R-1B, R-1C, A-1 and A-2 zoning districts, each primary building and each parking garage shall be located so that no surface parking lot is located closer to any abutting street than the façade of the building or parking garage fronting that street.
B. Building Entrances:
(1) At least one pedestrian entry to each primary building shall be visible and directly accessible from at least one of the adjacent streets unless Subsection (3) below requires additional pedestrian entries or Subsection (4) below requires pedestrian entries in different locations.
(2) At least one pedestrian entry to each primary building shall be visible and directly accessible from any pathway designated on the Boise Pathways Master Plan that is located on the same lot or on an abutting lot.
(3) On each primary building frontage exceeding 100 feet in length that has a nonresidential ground floor use, at least one pedestrian entry to the building shall be visible and directly accessible from the street within each 50 horizontal feet of building length.
(4) In districts with an established pattern of building entrances facing the street, new buildings shall be designed with entrances complying with the established pattern to the maximum extent practicable.
(5) Regardless of whether the entry is required by Subsections (1) through (3) above, each outward opening pedestrian entry facing a street shall be designed so that it does not encroach on or interfere with pedestrian passage along any designated sidewalk.
(6) Regardless of whether the entry is required by Subsections (1) through (3) above, each pedestrian entry that provides access to a primary building or parking lot, and that faces a street or a surface parking lot, shall incorporate a covered area providing weather protection to those entering or leaving the building. Each covered weather protection feature shall extend at least five horizontal feet outward from the façade of the building or be inset a minimum of five feet into the façade of the building. Weather protection may be accomplished by canopies, arcades, awnings, or other building features. Covered areas shall not drain onto sidewalks.
C. Façade Transparency:
(1) If the ground floor of the building is located within 10 feet of the sidewalk, at least 40 percent of the ground floor, street-facing façade between four and eight feet above the sidewalk, shall be transparent.
(2) If the ground floor of the building is located between 10 and 20 feet from the sidewalk, at least 25 percent of the ground floor, street-facing façade between four and eight feet above the sidewalk shall be transparent.
(3) When the ground floor of the building is occupied by residential uses, at least 15 percent of the street-facing façade (all vertical surfaces generally facing the street) shall be transparent.
(4) Window glazing on the bottom two floors on street-facing façades of each primary building that does not provide visibility into residential dwelling units shall achieve a visible transmittance ratio (VT) of at least 0.60.
(5) At least 90 percent of the glazing of any building façade shall include features that enable birds to perceive the glass as a solid object using at least one of the following treatments:
(a) Non-reflective glass or window film that is opaque or translucent;
(b) External screens installed permanently over glass windows;
(c) Paned glass with mullions on the exterior of the glass;
(d) Glass covered with patterns (e.g., dots, stripes, images, abstract patterns. lettering), etched. fritted, stenciled, silkscreened, applied to the glass on films or decals, or another method of permanently incorporating the patterns into or onto the glass. Elements of the patterns shall be at least one-eighth (1/8) inch tall and separated no more than two inches vertically, at least one-quarter (1/4) inch wide and separated by no more than four inches horizontally; or
(e) Other glazing treatments providing an equivalent level of bird safety and approved by the Planning Director.
D. Building Façade Articulation: Each street-facing façade of a primary building shall be designed to avoid undifferentiated wall planes by dividing street-facing façade into a series of smaller horizontal and vertical components that comply with the following standards.
(1) Each street-facing façade shall incorporate at least three of the following elements within each 50 horizontal feet of the building façade:
(a) Use of vertical piers or columns;
(b) Change in building material or siding style;
(c) Providing vertical building modulation of at least 12 inches in depth;
(d) Projections, recessions, or reveals that include but not limited to, columns, pilasters, cornices, and bays, and having a change of wall plane that is a minimum of 12 inches in depth;
(e) A change in building material, siding style, or color; and/or
(f) Other methods as approved by the Planning Director.
(2) In the Industrial zoning districts, each street-facing façade shall follow what is required in the Citywide Design Review Standards and Guidelines.
5. Use-Specific Building Form Standards:
A. Applicability:
(1) All uses listed in Table 11-03.1
: Table of Allowed Uses, as an Allowed Use shall comply with the following Use-Specific Form Standards (the Allowed Forms), as applicable to the zoning district in which the property is located. In the event of a conflict between these standards and applicable standards in Chapter 11-02
, Zoning Districts or in Subsections 3 or 4 above, the standards in this Subsection 5 shall apply.
(2) If an application for an allowed use does not comply with one or more of the Allowed Form standards in this Section 11-04-09.5, an Alternative Form for the building or development containing the use may be approved by the Planning Commission pursuant to Section 11-05-05.3.A, Allowed Use with Alternative Form.
(3) These standards shall apply to all new construction or site redevelopments that result in the expansion and alteration of the gross floor area of an existing primary building by 50 percent or more.
B. Uses Located in the MX-1 District:
(1) The use shall be located in a building at least two stories in height; or
(2) The use shall be located in a building or development containing at least two different uses listed in Table 11-03.1
: Table of Allowed Uses;
C. Uses Located in the MX-3 District:
(1) The use shall be located in a building at least four stories in height; and
(3) As an alternative to Subsection (2) above, a Multiple-Family Dwelling may meet the requirements of Section 11-04-03.7.D(4) regarding affordable housing and sustainable development and earn the related incentives.
D. Uses Located in the MX-4 District:
(1) The use shall be located in a building at least four stories in height;
(2) The use shall be located in a building or development that does not include a surface Parking Lot;
(3) The use shall be located in a building or development that does not include a Parking Garage with a greater number of vehicle parking spaces than the minimum required by Section 11-04-08.5, Minimum and Maximum Off-Street Parking Standards, as adjusted pursuant to Section 11-04-08.7, Parking Adjustments; and
(4) The use shall be located in a building where at least 80 percent of the ground floor street frontage is occupied by uses that are in active use by occupants or users of the building or development, or by the general public. This requirement is not met by ground floor parking areas, storage areas, utility facilities, or stairwells that are not accessible from the street frontage.
(5) As an alternative to Subsections (2), (3), and (4) above a Multiple-Family Dwelling may meet the requirements of Section 11-04-03.7.D(5) regarding affordable housing and sustainable development and earn the related incentives.
E. Uses Located in the MX-5 District:
(1) The use shall be located in a building at least four stories in height;
(2) The use or development shall not include a Surface Parking Lot outside of the building footprint; and
(3) The use shall be located in a building where at least 80 percent of the ground floor street frontage is occupied by uses that are in active use by occupants or users of the building or development, or by the general public. This requirement is not met by ground floor parking areas, storage areas, utility facilities, or stairwells that are not accessible from the street frontage. (Ord. 27-23, 7-18-2023, eff. 12-1-2023; amd. Ord. 43-23, 12-5-2023)