The Downtown Design Review Board shall consider the criteria in this section when reviewing any action made subject to its review hereunder. These criteria are guidelines for review purposes and not regulatory mandates or prohibitions.
(a) Maintenance.
(1) Maintenance-oriented materials.
A. New construction. To avoid the blighting effect of poorly maintained properties without placing undue maintenance burdens on property owners or occupants, building and landscaping materials and finishes utilized in new construction or rehabilitation should be selected and used with regard to theirdurability and ease of maintenance as well as their appearance. Appropriate measures and devices should be utilized to protect such materials and finishes against damage from the elements, neglect, vandalism or abuse.
B. Street furniture. Street furniture should be chosen for:
1. Durability; and
2. Resistance to vandalism and exposure to weather, children and neglect; and
3. Removability to facilitate maintenance; and
4. Ease of cleaning and maintenance.
Parts and materials of street furniture should be standardized and easily replaceable whenever possible. Street furniture should not require frequent painting. Paint and finishes, when required, should be durable, fade and chip-resistant, easily cleanable and of a color that permits easy and hard-to-detect touch-up work.
(2) Maintenance-oriented design. Design of buildings and sites should facilitate cleaning and the control of dirt and refuse. Design configurations that tend to catch and accumulate debris, dirt and leaves should be avoided.
(3) Historic buildings. Historic buildings should use the Secretary of the Interior's standards as follows:
A. A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to the defining characteristics of the building and its site and environment.
B. The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or the alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided.
C. Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place and use. Changes that create a false sense of historic development, such as adding conjectural features or architecturalelements from other buildings, shall not be undertaken.
D. Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retainedand preserved.
E. Distinctive features, finishes and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a historic property shall be preserved.
F. Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical or pictorial evidence.
G. Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting, that cause damage to historic materials, shall not be used. The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible.
H. Significant archeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.
I. New additions, exterior alterations or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment.
J. New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that, if removed in the future, theessential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.
(b) Street Furniture and Public Amenities.
(1) Comfort and convenience. Downtown merchants and the Village Government should encourage employees and shoppers to spend moretime downtown by providing street furniture and public amenities designed to make Downtown more comfortable and convenient. Particular items of street furniture should be chosen or designed to maximize comfort and convenience for the downtown user.
(2) Compatibility with surroundings. Street furniture should be compatible in form, color and scale with its surroundings, including other street furniture.
(3) Flexibility. Street furniture should be flexible in use and adaptable to changing needs. To permit adjustment to new conditions, benches andseating areas should be removable and relocatable wherever possible, consistent with the need to protect against theft and vandalism.
(4) Space efficiency. Street furniture should make the minimum use of scarce sidewalk and street space that is necessary for its function.
(5) Physical obstructions. The amount, size, design and location of street furniture should not unduly obstruct stairs, ramps, building entrancesor exits, display windows, bus stops, loading zones or pedestrian circulation or activity generally.
(6) Visual obstructions. The amount, size, design and location of street furniture should not unduly interfere with the visibility from the streetor sidewalk of traffic and public information signs, of signage identifying the location of a place of business, of store window displaysand of awnings and canopies.
(7) Location of seating. Public seating areas, where provided, should be located immediately adjacent to areas of heavy pedestrian flow rather than in less frequented areas.
(8) Seating in parks and plazas. To encourage their maximum utilization by the general public and to improve their security, all public and private parks, mini-parks and open plazas downtown should provide seating areas. Such areas may take the form of benches, chairs or ledges of a height, depth and design that encourage sitting.
(9) Seating near food vending. Where possible, public seating should be located near restaurants and other food vending establishments offering take-out fare to encourage their customers to linger in the retail area rather than to take purchases back to the office or home.
(10) Seating to discourage sleeping. To discourage the improper use of public seating areas, bench seating and ledges suitable for seating should be designed so as not to provide sufficient uninterrupted lengthsuitable for reclining or sleeping purposes.
(11) Bicycle racks. Bicycle racks should be installed by merchants or the Village Government on sidewalks in selected locations where they willnot disrupt pedestrian circulation but where they are also most likely to be used. Racks should be more generously provided in public parks or open spaces in or near downtown.
(12) Public conveniences. To encourage shoppers to prolong their stay in the downtown retail area, the Village Government and the Mt. Gilead Downtown Association should establish public telephones that are at convenient locations, that are easy to find and that are properly maintained.
(13) Outdoor eating areas. Where existing sidewalk widths or widening projects make it possible, restaurants should be permitted and encouraged to add outdoor cafe-style seating to both increase businessand to add activity to downtown streets.
(c) Facades and Display Windows.
(1) Store facades. Street-level front facades of store buildings should be designed to attract shoppers, to communicate the store's identity and to provide a transition from the street to the store's interior in a way that does not impair the functioning or value of nearby properties nordetract from the retail environment of the block as a whole.
(2) Use of show windows. Unless the nature of the business does not lend itself thereto, ground floor show windows of retail businesses should be used to attract the pedestrian into the store, either by displaying merchandise or by revealing the interior of the store. Largewindow signage or opaque window screening that conceals both merchandise and store interiors should be avoided.
(3) Show windows of vacant stores. To mitigate the depressing effect of dark, empty storefronts, owners of vacant street-level storefronts should make display windows available on a temporary basis either to other merchants for merchandise display or to arts or civic groups forthe display of art, crafts, historical material or other items of public interest.
(4) Show window lighting. Merchants and building owners should be encouraged to keep illuminated signs and show windows lighted after business hours to brighten the appearance of the street, advertise theirbusinesses and increase security.
(5) Facade paint colors. When a facade visible from the street or other public area is repainted, a maximum of three colors of paint should normally be used. The third color should serve solely as an accent in such places as window frames, doors and cornices. Wherever possible, unpainted brick should remain unpainted. It is strongly recommendedthat an architect or other design professional be used to help choose colors. More information on color selection is available upon request from the Board.
(6) Awnings and canopies. To provide protection from the sun, rain and snow for shoppers and to cool store interiors and minimize sun damage to window displays, merchants should be encouraged to installattractive awnings or canopies on front facades. Signage on such awnings or canopies is discouraged. Signage on the apron of an awningis allowed at the discretion of the Downtown Design Review Board.
(d) Landscaping and Screening.
(1) Compatibility. Landscaping should be compatible in design and size with the building on the site and with adjacent areas.
(2) Choice of materials.
A. Landscaping materials should be selected for appearance, provision of shade, drought resistance and hardiness in the Village climate and the downtown microclimate.
B. Trees with small root systems should be selected, or varieties with larger systems located, so as to minimize the disturbance of underground utilities, of sidewalk pavement and of adjoining properties.
(3) Protection. Where space permits, plant materials in locations where they may be damaged by pedestrians or vehicles should be protected by curbs, tree guards, raised beds or other devices.
(4) Safe . The type and location of landscaping should not constitute a hazard to pedestrians or an obstacle to safe visibility for vehicular traffic.
(5) Minimum tree caliper. For improved resistance to vandalism and a more mature appearance, new trees Downtown should have a minimumcaliper of 2.5 inches, measured six inches above the grade at the base of the trunk.
(6) Lighting of landscaping. Landscaping may be enhanced by unobtrusive exterior lighting.
(7) Visual obstructions. Trees should be selected and so located that at maturity they will not unduly interfere with the visibility from the street or sidewalk of traffic and public information signs, of commercialidentification signage, of store window displays and of awnings or canopies.
(8) Physical obstructions. The amount, type, size and location of landscaping should not create physical obstructions that unduly hinderpedestrian movement and activity.
(e) Street Vending. To attract new customers and increase sales from existing customers, existing Downtown merchants and others should be permitted and encouraged to engage in both outdoor display of store merchandise and in street vending under carefully controlled conditions. All vending machines must be hidden from the public view. No vending will be permitted in the public right of way.
(Ord. 1275. Passed 9-20-93.)