1. Evaluation Factors. The following primary factors and characteristics will guide the Design Review Committee’s evaluation of each application. As defined and conditioned herein, these factors and characteristics augment the Zoning Regulations, Chapter 165 of this Code of Ordinances.
2. Definitions of Terms:
A. “Appearance” means the outward aspect visible to the public.
B. “Appropriate” means sympathetic, or fitting, to the context of the site and the whole community.
C. “Appurtenances” means the visible, functional objects accessory to and part of buildings.
D. “Architectural concept” means the basic aesthetic idea of a building, or group of buildings or structures, including the site and landscape development, that produces the architectural character.
E. “Architectural style” means the characteristic form and detail, as of buildings of a particular historic period.
F. “Attractive” means having qualities that arouse interest and pleasure in the observer.
G. “Berm” means a raised form of earth to provide screening or to improve the aesthetic character.
H. “Cohesiveness” means unity of composition between design elements of a building or a group of buildings and the landscape development.
I. “Compatibility” means harmony in the appearance of two (2) or more buildings, structures, and landscape developments along the same streetscape.
J. “Conservation” means protection and care that prevent destruction or deterioration of historical or otherwise significant structures, buildings, or natural resources.
K. “Graphic element” means a letter, illustration, symbol, figure, insignia, or other device employed to express and illustrate a message or part thereof.
L. “Harmony” means an aesthetically pleasing image resulting from an arrangement of various architectural and landscape elements.
M. “Landscape” means elements of nature, topography, buildings, and other manmade objects viewed in relation to one another.
N. “Mechanical equipment” means equipment, devices, and accessories, the use of which relates to water supply, drainage, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and similar purposes.
O. “Miscellaneous structures” means structures, other than buildings, visible from public ways. Examples are: memorials, antennas, sheds, shelters, fences and walls, transformers, drive-up facilities.
P. “Plant materials” means trees, shrubs, vines, ground covers, grass, perennials, annuals, and bulbs.
Q. “Proportion” means balanced relationship of parts of a building, landscape, structures, or buildings to each other and to the whole.
R. “Scale” means the relationship of the size of elements to one another and to the human figure.
S. “Screening” means structures and/or plantings which conceal an area from view from a public way.
T. “Street furniture” means manmade objects other than buildings which are part of the streetscape. Examples are: benches, litter containers, planting containers, sculptures, vending machines and newspaper dispensers.
U. “Streetscape” means the scene of a public street or way composed of natural and man-made elements, including buildings, paving, plantings, street furniture, and miscellaneous structures.
3. Relationship of Site Development to Streetscape:
A. Sites shall be planned to accomplish desirable transitions with the streetscape and to provide for adequate planting, safe pedestrian movement, and parking areas.
(1) Town Center District: The desirable relationship of site development to streetscape is illustrated in Plate No. 6.3-1 through Plate No. 6.3-6 on file at City Hall.
(2) Other Districts: None designated.
B. Building and parking setbacks and yard requirements shall comply with the zoning restrictions of the applicable district except where variations are encouraged to provide more interesting and appropriate relationships between buildings, and buildings and streetscape.
(1) Town Center District: The desirable building and parking setbacks are illustrated in Plate No. 6.3-1 through Plate No. 6.3-6 on file at City Hall.
(2) Other Districts: None designated.
C. Parking areas shall be treated with decorative elements, building wall extensions, plantings, berms, or other innovative means so as to screen parking areas from view from public rights-of-way.
D. Without restricting the permissible limits of applicable zoning district, the height and scale of each building shall be compatible with its site and existing adjoining buildings.
(1) Town Center District: One, two, and three story, residential scale architecture is desirable.
(2) Other Districts: None designated.
E. New utility services, and service revisions required by renovation or remodeling, shall be underground.
4. Relationship of Building and Site to Adjoining Site:
A. Adjacent buildings of different architectural styles shall be made compatible by such means as screens and changes in architectural style and construction materials.
(1) Town Center District: Renovation of existing buildings within the district shall follow the guidelines established for new construction.
(2) Other Districts: None designated.
B. Provide attractive landscape transitions to adjoining properties.
C. Avoid monotonous design and achieve harmony in texture, lines, and masses.
5. Building Design.
A. Architectural style is not restricted. Evaluation of the appearance of a project shall be based on the quality of its design and relationship to its surroundings.
(1) Town Center District: Residential style architecture with appropriate detailing of architectural features such as window and doorways is desirable for all new construction and renovation or remodeling of existing buildings for expansion or adaptive reuse.
(2) Other Districts: None defined.
B. Buildings shall have good scale and be in harmonious conformance with permanent neighboring development.
(1) Town Center District: Residential scale architecture with moderate (4:12) to steep (6:12) pitched, gable roofs and human scaled features such as windows and doorways is desirable for all new construction and renovation or remodeling of existing buildings for expansion or adaptive reuse.
(2) Other Districts: None designated.
C. Building materials shall be selected for suitability to the building type and design. Buildings shall have the same materials, or those that are architecturally harmonious, used for all building walls and other exterior building components wholly or partly visible from public ways. Materials shall be of durable quality.
(1) Town Center District: Brick and stone masonry are the dominant, desirable building materials for use in the district. Standing seam metal or architectural, asphalt shingles are recommended roof materials. Limited use of synthetic materials such as plaster, vinyl or metal siding, etc. may be considered.
(2) Other Districts: None designated.
D. Building components, such as windows, doors, eaves, and parapets, shall have good proportions and relationships to one another.
E. Colors shall be harmonious and color accents shall be compatible with the primary color.
F. Mechanical equipment or other utility hardware on roof, ground, or buildings shall be screened from public view with materials harmonious with the building, or they shall be so located as not to be visible from any public ways.
G. Exterior lighting shall be part of the architectural concept. Fixtures, standards, and all exposed accessories shall be harmonious with building design.
H. Refuse and waste removal areas, service yards, storage yards, and exterior work areas shall be screened from view from public ways.
I. Monotony of design in single or multiple building projects shall be avoided. Variation of detail, form, and siting shall be used to provide visual interest. In multiple building projects, variable siting or individual buildings may be used to prevent a monotonous appearance.
6. Site Design.
A. Conserve and develop natural or existing topographic patterns which contribute to the beauty and utility of the development.
B. Slope walks, parking spaces, terraces, and other paved areas to provide an inviting and stable walking surface.
C. Provide landscape treatment to enhance architectural features and to create environmental interest and diversity.
D. Select plant material for interest in structure, texture, and color and for ultimate growth effect.
E. Enhance parking areas and traffic ways with landscaped spaces containing trees or tree groupings.
F. Provide for seasonal screening of service yards and other places that tend to be unsightly by use of walls, fencing, planting, or combinations of these.
G. Use exterior lighting to enhance the building design and the adjoining landscape. Lighting standards and building fixtures shall be of a design and size compatible with the building and adjacent areas. Lighting shall be restrained in design and excessive brightness avoided.
7. Streetscape and Site Amenities.
A. Include miscellaneous structures and street furniture as a part of the site and architectural design concept. Materials, scale, proportions, and colors shall be compatible with the architecture and streetscape.
(1) Town Center District: Streetscape furniture located within the public rights-of-ways shall conform to the standard units selected by the City for public streetscapes in the district. It is desirable that other streetscape furniture in areas adjoining the public ways be compatible with the City standards. (See 12th Avenue streetscape.)
(2) Other Districts: None Designated.
B. Lighting in connection with miscellaneous structures and street furniture shall meet the criteria applicable to site, landscape, buildings, and signs.
(1) Town Center District: Streetscape lighting, including street lighting, located in the public rights-of-ways shall conform to the lighting styles and standards selected by the City for public streetscapes in the district. It is desirable that other site lighting in areas adjoining the public ways be compatible with the City standards. (See 12th Avenue streetscape.)
(2) Other Districts: None designated.
8. Signage.
A. Every sign shall have good scale and proportion in its design and in its visual relationship to buildings and surroundings.
(1) Town Center District: Signs shall conform to Section 165.36, Sign Standards of Chapter 165, Zoning Regulations. The principal business identification signs in the district shall be building signs, ground signs, and development signs. In the case of ground signs and development signs, monument style bases, in lieu of pole supports, are recommended.
(2) Other Districts: None designated.
B. Every sign shall be designed as an integral architectural element of the building and site to which it principally relates.
C. The colors, materials, and lighting of every sign shall be restrained and harmonious with the building and site to which it principally relates.
D. The number of graphic elements on a sign shall be held to the minimum needed to convey the sign’s major message and shall be composed in proportion to the area of the sign face.
E. Each sign shall be compatible with signs on adjoining premises and shall not compete for attention.
F. Identification signs of a prototype design and corporation logos shall conform to the criteria for all other signs.
9. Maintenance Considerations.
A. Continued good appearance depends upon the extent and quality of maintenance. Ease of maintenance and upkeep should be considered in selecting building materials and material finishes.
B. Material finishes should be selected for their durability and wear as well as for their beauty.
C. Building and site design should include provisions for maintenance and cleaning of the building, other site structures, and site areas.
D. Maintenance of landscape plantings is required to insure continuity and longevity of the original landscape design intent.