(a) Purpose and Intent. The purpose of the following architectural and site design standards is to evaluate proposed buildings and site improvements during site plan review to ensure that certain design and appearance standards are maintained. These standards provide a means of evaluating whether the proposed building design and site layout meet the overall intent of site plan review, the Comprehensive Development Plan, and this Zoning Code. These standards also are intended to protect the general health, safety, and welfare of the City by ensuring that the City’s property values, building designs, appearance, character, and natural resources are preserved and respected by achieving high quality design and adding distinctive architectural features and roof lines to the viewscapes of the City, while providing for architectural creativity.
(b) Architectural Standards. All proposals requiring site plan review and fronting on a public right-of-way shall meet or exceed the following standards for architecture and building materials.
(1) Building form. For sites where setbacks are required and buildings are not permitted to be built to lot lines, building mass, height, bulk and width-to-height ratio must be within fifty percent (50%) to one-hundred-fifty percent (150%) of the scale and proportion of buildings within five-hundred (500) feet of the subject site, unless meeting such ratio is determined to be impractical or unreasonable by the Planning Commission.
A. An uninterrupted length of a single building facade shall not exceed one- hundred (100) feet for all buildings. Recesses, off-sets, angular forms, or other features shall be used to provide a changing and varying facade.
B. Windows shall be vertical, recessed and include visually-obvious sills. Spaces between windows shall be formed by columns, mullions, or material found elsewhere on the facade. Solid walls of glass are not permitted.
C. Main entrances shall be emphasized with doors larger than required by the applicable building code(s) and framing devices such as deep overhangs, recesses, peaked roof forms, porches, or arches.
(2) Architectural details and features. Buildings shall possess architectural variety, but shall be constructed of similar, but not identical, materials, and shall have similar, but not identical, entrances, to those buildings within five-hundred (500) feet of the subject site, unless the Planning Commission determines other building materials and forms are acceptable.
A. Pitched and shingled roof forms with overhanging eaves between six (6) inches of vertical rise to twelve (12) inches of horizontal run and twelve (12) inches of vertical rise to twelve (12) inches of horizontal run are recommended. Distinctively shaped roof forms, detailed parapets, and exaggerated cornice lines should be incorporated into roof lines along building facades greater than one-hundred (100) feet. Roof-top mechanical equipment must be screened by the roof form.
B. Building facades greater than one-hundred (100) feet shall contain architectural features, details and ornaments such as arches, colonnades, columns, pilasters, detailed trim, brick bands, contrasting courses of material, cornices or porches. All sides of a building shall be similar in design, details, and materials.
C. Main entrances to buildings shall incorporate devices such as canopies, overhangs, raised parapets over the door, archways, awnings, larger door openings and display windows, accent colors, and details such as tile work, moldings, pedestrian-scale lighting, and distinctive door pulls.
D. Natural colors shall be used for the main portions of building facades and roof forms. Bright or fluorescent colors are permitted for trim, accent, and other decorative architectural features only.
(3) Building materials. Building materials must be primarily natural products, conveying permanence, such as brick, decorative masonry block, stone, or beveled wood siding, and each building facade must contain at least seventy-five percent (75%) of these materials. Uses in Industrial Districts shall contain at least fifty percent (50%) of these materials for building facades facing public streets or freeways.
Twenty-five percent (25%) of building facades may contain the following materials, which should be used for decorative features or accents only: glass, unless used as windows; reflective glass; exterior insulation finish systems (EIFS); vinyl, aluminum, or steel siding; or similar synthetic or highly-reflective materials. Building facades for uses in industrial districts not facing public streets or freeways may also contain these materials and pre-cast concrete or plain masonry block.
(4) Windows. Front facades shall include at least twenty-five percent (25%) windows. The approximate size, shape, orientation and spacing of windows should match that of buildings within five-hundred (500) feet, unless the Planning Commission determines other sizes, shapes, orientation, and spacing are acceptable.