The Town and Gown Overlay Districts reflect traditional neighborhood design principles which serve as the context and framework for this chapter of the Zoning Ordinance. The following outlines the underlying principles and prescriptive standards that apply to both overlay districts.
(A) General layout and orientation.
(1) The front facade required building line exists within a prescribed area defined by the distance from the public right-of-way. In this way, building placement within the overlay districts is coherent and agreeable, but not regimented to the degree that the effect is of a contrived, sterile, themed or highly-planned development. These prescribed areas are based on the existing framework of a traditional neighborhood oriented to the pedestrian, and not a suburban environment oriented to motorized transportation.
(2) New developments in the overlay districts should integrate street and roadway design, public space, open space, the natural environment, and the built environment to create a complementary and connected pattern for efficient growth and development access.
(B) Connectivity and access.
(1) Guiding principles.
(a) These overlay districts are intended to create and enhance a safe and welcoming pedestrian environment within a multi-modal transportation network; to decrease dependence on the automobile; and improve streetscapes and connections to make walking and biking in the overlay districts easy, safe, convenient, and desirable.
(b) These overlay districts embrace compact, traditional development patterns with street and site layouts offering multiple connections without cul-de-sacs or dead-ends.
(2) Standards.
(a) All non-residential developments which provide automobile parking facilities shall provide bicycle parking facilities (racks) at a ratio of at least one bicycle parking space for every five automobile parking spaces. Multiple-family developments shall provide said facilities at a ratio of at least one bicycle parking space for every five multiple-family units.
(b) Clearly defined, safe pedestrian walkways shall be provided from adjacent public rights-of-way through off-street parking areas or front landscaping areas to non-residential building entrances (at least one per site).
(c) Proposed developments that create new streets shall place utility lines underground.
(C) Buildings.
(1) Guiding principles.
(a) Building form promotes diversity by accommodating flexible opportunities for a variety of residential, commercial, civic, and recreational uses.
(b) Buildings oversee streets with visually active fronts. For example, orientation of household gathering spaces (porches and entryways) is toward the front of the structure which faces the street. This overview of the streetside area contributes to vital and safe public space and enhances the pedestrian environment.
(c) Buildings frame the majority of the streetside area, and have facades that are closely related in orientation, position, and scale to exhibit an agreeable public space.
(d) Preferred exterior building materials include concrete, masonry, tile, stone, and wood.
(e) A variety of rooflines are encouraged to reduce the massive scale of large buildings.
(2) Standards. At the time of new development:
(a) Primary building entrances shall be oriented toward streets, parks, and plazas, and not to the interior toward parking lots and garages. Secondary entrances oriented toward parking lots are permitted.
(b) All lots shall share a frontage line with the streetside area. Residential layouts such as single-family cluster housing, urban townhouses, or apartment clusters shall be allowed to face a common courtyard public space, but in general, primary ground floor residential entries must orient to and be visible from the street, not to interior parking lots.
(c) Building facades are the public “face” of every building. Long facades located along the required building line (RBL) shall be divided into discrete facades every 70 feet on average so as not to present one long, continuous facade.
(d) The facade shall include a functioning, primary streetside entry. The entry requirement may be satisfied through the use of liner shops (small shops with direct access onto the fronting sidewalk) that wrap large footprint buildings.
(e) In no case shall the streetside facade of a building consist of a blank wall or an unbroken series of garage doors.
(f) Building facades of commercial, retail, multi-family residential, and civic uses that exceed 100 feet in length measured along the street facade shall have variations in roofline or rooftop parapet to reduce the massive scale of the large buildings. Rooftop equipment shall be concealed behind parapets or screened from view by pedestrians.
(D) Streetscape requirements.
(1) Guiding principles.
(a) The street is a coherent space, with consistent building placement and scale on both sides, contributing to a cohesive and coherent street identity, or streetscape.
(b) Wherever practical, bicycle accommodations should be added to streets to encourage multi-modal access.
(c) Streetscape elements include both planted features and other manufactured amenities that line the streets which combine to create the character of the public domain. This includes travel lanes between the curbs as well as the sidewalks and planting strips. Public plazas and open space also contribute to the overall character of streets.
(d) Street trees provide both form (canopy) and comfort (shade) to streets. Native trees and plants efficiently contribute to the reduction of air and noise pollution, maintenance of natural habitat, the conservation of water, and stormwater management.
(e) Regular spacing of street trees gives coherence to the streetscape, enhancing character.
(f) Sidewalks should be designed to facilitate both clear access to the fronts of buildings and passage for pedestrians.
(2) Standards. At the time of new development:
(a) The tree planting zone is located immediately adjacent to the curb and shall be continuous. In addition to the required planting of trees as covered below, this area may also be used for the placement of street furniture including utility poles, waste receptacles, fire hydrants, traffic signs, newspaper vending boxes, bus shelters, bicycle racks, and similar elements in a manner that does not obstruct pedestrian access or motorist visibility, as determined by the Zoning Administrator.
(b) Street trees shall be planted at an average spacing of no greater than 40 feet on the side(s) of the street being developed (and may depend on the available right-of-way width).
(c) Tree planting areas should be at grade (no raised or curbed planters) and maximize soil area to encourage healthy growth.
(d) Upon construction of a new residential structure, at least one tree will be provided on the lot per 40 feet of street frontage, to be planted between the right-of-way and the RBL. Existing trees shall fulfill this requirement. Street trees do not fulfill this requirement.
(e) The developer is required to install sidewalks or a pathway where none currently exist.
(f) Sidewalks and other pathways shall be separated from the roadway.
(g) Public sidewalks and private walkways shall be constructed of concrete and have minimum widths of six feet.
(E) Parking. Parking goals for the overlay districts are:
(1) Guiding principles.
(a) Reduce fragmented, uncoordinated, inefficient, single-purpose reserved parking and encourage shared parking and access drives.
(b) Reduce the number of large, open parking areas that create unpleasant, windswept spaces for pedestrians.
(c) Reduce the amount of impervious surfaces that contribute to water pollution and/or excessive stormwater runoff.
(d) Avoid nuisance impacts on adjacent neighborhoods by providing for efficient and adequate parking for all uses contained within the overlay districts.
(e) Incorporate convenient bicycle parking.
(f) Conceal parking from the public right-of-way by locating the majority of parking beside or behind buildings.
(2) Standards. At the time of new development:
(a) A minimum of 1 and 1/8 parking space per residential unit, of which a minimum of 1/8 parking space per residential unit shall be provided as shared parking. There are no maximum limits on shared parking.
(b) A minimum of one space per 1,000 square feet of non-residential Gross Floor Area (GFA) shall be provided as shared parking; there are no set maximum limits on shared parking. New on-street parking spaces created in conjunction with the development, which did not previously exist, may be counted toward the minimum requirement for shared parking.
(c) A maximum of one space per 1,000 square feet of non-residential GFA or two spaces per residential unit may be made available for reserved parking.
(d) Parking requirements shall be met either on-site or within a 600 foot radius of the development parcel.
(e) Parking shall be concealed in the center or rear of lots, or shall be hidden with walls or bermed landscape buffers of at least 50% opacity.
(f) Landscape screening, landscaping, and tree canopy requirements for surface parking areas as provided for in division (F) of this chapter’s regulations shall be required upon construction of any new surface parking area, or will be required for any existing surface parking area when 50% or more of the lot is resurfaced.
(F) Landscaping, buffering, and screening.
(1) Guiding principles.
(a) Principles are intended to enhance the pedestrian environment, and to screen or buffer more intense uses from those of lesser intensity.
(b) Deciduous trees should be planted on the southern face of a building or outdoor area. Such vegetation will provide cooling in the summer (when leaves are present), while still allowing sunlight to filter in during the winter (when leaves have fallen). Coniferous vegetation should be used on the north and west sides to protect the area from prevailing winter winds.
(2) Standards. At the time of new development:
(a) Commercial uses with loading and truck parking areas, and outdoor storage located within 200 feet of and having a common lot line with a residential use, shall include a 25 foot wide landscape buffer area with a minimum three foot tall berm and trees to at least a 50% opacity running along the entire property line that is adjacent to the residential use.
(b) Parking lots that contain at least 20 parking spaces shall incorporate landscaped islands of at least 200 square feet for every 20 parking spaces. The minimum linear dimension of the landscaped area is five feet.
(c) Buffer walls shall be of brick, stone, or other similar decorative material. Retaining walls shall not be considered as a fence or wall for the purpose of this chapter.
(d) Vehicle storage/parking (not including on-street parking), refuse collection, off-street loading, and mechanical equipment areas shall be located and screened so as not to be visible from adjacent public streets and residential uses. Screening may be accomplished through the use of a fence at least six feet high with landscaping that at maturity will equal at least four feet high, or a wall constructed of materials compatible with the aesthetics of the principle structure.
(G) Lighting.
(1) Guiding principles. Principles are intended to reduce the amount of light illuminating the night sky and light that excessively impacts residential areas.
(2) Standards. At the time of new development:
(a) All exterior lighting, including free-standing, canopy, pole and building mounted, shall be fully shielded and directed downward with a 70 degree cutoff to prevent off-site glare. Canopy lighting shall be fully recessed.
(b) The intensity of light within a site shall not exceed ten footcandles within any part of the site and one footcandle at any property line, except where it abuts a residential use where a maximum of one half footcandles is permitted.
(c) The mounting height of fixtures shall not exceed 16 feet.
(Ord. 11-008, passed 12-20-2001; Ord. 13-08, passed 10-9-2013)