Laying Out A Project
As a developer of large areas and individual parcels in the Highway 20 Corridor, you will need to apply the previously described design standards to your project design process. This process will include site analysis, building and site design, and a self evaluation of the proposed design.
A. Large Area Site Analysis
Analysis of the area's natural characteristics and existing neighboring patterns of development will help identify its design constraints and opportunities, create a site and building design that is integrated with the setting, and assist the designer in meeting development standards. The following is a checklist of site characteristics to be analyzed.
1. Topography.
2. Vegetation.
3. Soils.
4. Groundwater and surface runoff.
5. Solar orientation.
6. Vistas from and through site.
7. Views to site.
8. Site access.
9. Existing traffic patterns.
10. Adjacent site and building designs.
11. Presence of historic structures.
B. Site and Building Design
The design of a site and its building(s) involves determining how the project fits into the Highway 20 Corridor and the site's design district, the larger development pattern, the desired site and building character, and the site's particular characteristics. The Design Manual describes standards at each of these levels that are applicable to your project. Figure X.1 following this section provides an example of how a development may be laid out using all of these standards.
1. Review Highway 20 Corridor development concepts. Use these concepts to begin to shape your understanding of the future character of the corridor.
2. Determine the design district in which the project is located and use the proposed character for that district to being to shape your vision of your project. (The project proposal will be evaluated on these characteristics).
3. Determine Highway 20 access points and access route to site. Access to your project will be via a limited access point and cross street from Highway 20.
4. Determine whether site is in a nodal or internodal location. This determination will affect standards for setbacks, locations of building and parking areas, etc.
5. Determine setbacks and separation requirements for building and parking areas.
6. Combine results of site analysis and the parameters of the above constraints to develop site design strategies and concepts. Develop strategy for building locations to protect vistas, preserve historic structures, integrate development into site, minimize impervious surfaces, etc. Develop concept plan including determination of access points, site circulation, parking areas, building location, building service and customer entry locations.
7. Evaluate concept plan to see if it meets design standards.
8. Develop plan with real footprints of building, parking, drives, walkways, and landscaping. Utilize Site Development Standards to guide site design.
9. Develop building design to meet architectural building standards.
10. Evaluate design:
a. Disturbance, cut-and-fill, impervious surface.
b. Nodal concepts.
c. Site access.
d. Building and parking locations.
e. View corridors.
f. Site standards.
g. Architectural building standards.
h. Traffic analysis including projected trip generation, peak hourly traffic, parking stacking, sight lines, access relationship to existing intersections.
i. Compatibility with adjacent development.