A. Design Standards. Due to the nature of industrial uses and their locations, limited design standards are required for buildings housing industrial uses. Only the following design standards are required for buildings used for industrial uses as defined in this UDO:
1. Industrial Building Facades. Industrial building facades in any district shall:
a. Include windows and pedestrian features such as roof overhangs over identifiable public entrances to the building. Public entrances should be well defined through the use of projections, recesses, roof structures (such as overhangs or canopies) and other similar design elements.
b. Be faced in a compatible and consistent manner for any elevations fronting on a public or private street or where visible from an existing right-of-way.
2. Blank Wall Length. Maximum permitted blank wall length for industrial buildings shall be one-hundred (100) feet, or twenty-five percent (25%) of the building length, whichever is greater.
3. Lighting. Industrial use buildings and required parking areas shall not exceed a maximum thirty (30) feet fixture height and one-half (0.5) foot-candle intensity.
4. Equipment and Loading Areas. Equipment and loading areas shall comply with the following standards:
a. All building roofs are to be uncluttered; cooling towers, HVAC and ventilation fans, mechanical units, etc., should be either screened using a pitched roof facade or parapets, or constructed adjacent to the building and properly screened from view by either landscaping or the use of similar building materials.
b. Ground-mounted equipment and mechanical equipment visible from a public right-of-way shall be screened from view by an opaque wall, landscaping, or a combination thereof.
c. Except where regulated otherwise, walls and landscaping shall have a minimum opacity of eighty-five percent (85%) and shall be the height of the equipment or facility plus six (6) inches.
d. Where the configuration of the building makes it impractical to locate the loading areas in the rear of the building, front or side loading areas may be proposed as a design alternative with additional screening or landscape requirements.
e. Areas used for the parking and or storage of vehicles, materials and or goods may utilize a chain-link fence/barbed wire or similar along the perimeter of those areas. Chain-link fences may not be utilized as part of the required perimeter buffer/screening requirements set forth in Section 8.3 Landscaping, Buffering, Fences and Walls. Chain-link may only be utilized in the front yard as part of a design alternative. Fencing required as part of a state and or federal requirement (i.e., Federal Aviation Administration, NC-DOT, etc). are exempt from these standards.
5. Parking. Parking for industrial use buildings shall comply with the following standards:
a. Employee parking should be located on the sides or rear of buildings where practicable.
b. A design alternative maybe requested to allow for employee parking in front.
6. Foundation Plantings. Foundation plantings shall be provided as follows:
a. Required along a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the building facing a public or private street.
b. Service and loading areas shall be excluded from these calculations.
c. The average width of the foundation planting bed must be a minimum of four (4) feet.
d. Plantings shall consist of evergreen and deciduous ornamental shrubs from the approved landscape materials list and must be planted at a minimum size of twenty-four (24) inches at time of installation.
7. Prohibited Elements. The following design elements, which do not promote high quality development or redevelopment, are prohibited:
a. Reflective surfaces;
b. Exposed and untreated block walls; and
c. Barbed wire and chain link fencing.