The following standards and design features are provided to ensure a level of quality that must be compiled with or satisfied in all new single-family residential subdivisions. Standards are mandatory requirements for all new single-family residential subdivisions. Design features are provided to allow flexibility by providing options for implementing specific standards. In order to meet a certain standard, one or a combination of design features shall be incorporated in the project’s design. In some instances, there will be no design feature(s) identified for a particular standard.
A. Site Planning.
The following standards and design features deal with the internal organization of new single-family residential development. The intent of the standards and design features are to ensure that the relationships of units to each other and to other on-site uses are functional, attractive, and create visual variety along the project's streets.
1. Site Character.
a. Standard:
Existing natural amenities (e.g., views, mature trees, and topographic features) and other amenities (e.g., structures of architectural significance and cultural resources) unique to the site shall be preserved and incorporated into the project's design whenever possible.
b. Standard:
Development on sloped properties shall generally follow the natural contours of the land by use of at least one of the following design features:
1) Terrace parking lots to conform with the terrain.
2) Step building foundations and retaining walls to follow natural terrain.
3) Avoid grading large, flat pads in hilly terrain.
4) Provide larger setbacks to preserve natural landforms.
2. Variation of Development Patterns.
a. Standard:
Variation of development patterns shall be incorporated in new subdivisions to achieve visual diversity and avoid a monotonous appearance by use of at least one of the following design features:
1) Alternate placement of homes and garages closer to and farther back from the street to create different patterns of open space along the street edge and to break up an otherwise monotonous view of houses built along the same setback.
2) Vary the distance between adjacent structures, or between structures and fences to result in different types of yards and private patio areas and to create variety and interest.
3) Design some lots wider and some narrower than the average to provide different amounts of open area between structures and to allow placement of different shapes and sizes of homes. On narrow lots, a variation of only three or four feet can make a perceptible difference in the street scene.
4) When lot size permits. vary garage placement and orientation through the provision of garages on the front side of the house, which can be entered from the front or side, garages that vary in size. or detached garages connected to the home by breezeways.
Varied Garage Placement
3. Streets.
a. Standard: New project streets shall connect with existing public streets to form a continuous neighborhood network of streets whenever possible.
b. Standard: New residential streets shall be developed with parkways in compliance with the city's standards Plans Manual when required by the Director.
c. Standard: Private streets are allowed in gated communities for projects of fifty (50) units or more. Standards for private streets shall be those specified in the city's standards Plans Manual.
d. Standard:
Blocks longer than five hundred (500) feet are discouraged, but may be considered provided they incorporate at least one of the following design features:
1) Significant differences shall be incorporated in the massing and composition (not just finish materials) of each adjacent house. Varied designs shall not be repeated more frequently than every fourth house.
2) Each group of three adjacent houses shall contain at least one house whose front setback differs from those of its neighbors by a minimum of five feet. Minimum setback requirements may be reduced to eighteen (18) feet to accommodate this variation. Average front yard setback shall be no less than twenty (20) feet.
3) Curved streets shall be integrated into the block design with radii to the centerline of the street, in conformance with city standards.
e. Standard:
Private streets with gated entries shall provide a queuing distance in front of the gate to accommodate a minimum of four vehicles. The director may require a greater distance for larger projects.
4. Landscaping.
a. Standard: Landscaping shall be used to frame, soften, and embellish the quality of the residential environment, to buffer units from noise or undesirable views, to break up large expanses of parking, and to separate frontage roads within a project from adjacent major streets.
b. Standard: Street trees along all public and private streets shall be provided in compliance with cur-rent city standards.
c. Standard: Existing healthy trees shall be preserved and incorporated into the new project's landscaping in compliance with Chapter 16.42 (Tree Preservation).
5. Walls.
a. Standard: Walls shall be designed using masonry materials such as split face and slumpstone, with colors that complement the architectural design of adjacent buildings.
b. Standard:
Walls adjacent to streets shall run in a continuous plane for more than forty-eight (48) feet without incorporating at least two of the following design features:
1) A minimum two-foot change in plane for at least ten feet;
2) A minimum eighteen- (18-) inch raised planter for at least ten feet;
3) A minimum eighteen- (18-) inch change in height for at least ten feet;
4) Use of pilasters at forty-eight (48) foot intervals and at changes in wall planes and height; or
5) A section of open grillwork a minimum four feet in height for at least ten feet.
B. Architectural Standards.
1. Building Design. There is no specific architectural "style" required for residential structures. In general, residential structures should consider compatibility with surrounding character, including building style, form, size, color, material, and roof line.
a. Standard:
The design of houses shall be varied in tract developments to create variety and interest by use of at least one of the following design features:
1) Provide a significant difference in the massing, orientation, and composition (not just finish materials and colors) for each adjacent house should be accomplished.
2) One design shall not be repeated more frequently than each fourth house.
3) Alternative garage orientations shall be used on at least every fourth house.
b. Standard: If a side or rear elevation faces a street, it shall be designed with the same care and attention to detail as the front elevation.
c. Standard:
Exterior elevations shall be articulated and detailed to provide visual interest and scale by use of at least three of the following design features:
1) Offset building planes a minimum of two feet.
2) Provide recessed entries and windows.
3) Include projecting or recessed balconies.
4) Substantial roof overhangs with detailed rafter ends.
5) Design front porches a minimum of five feet deep.
6) Dormer windows.
7) Stepping back the second story.
8) Use of different building materials with varying textures and colors.
d. Standard:
Full, sloped roofs and horizontal roof articulation shall be incorporated in building designs by use of one of the following design features:
1) Offset roof planes by a minimum of two feet.
2) Provide hip roof on street-facing elevations.
3) Incorporate dormer windows.
4) Include cross gables.
e. Standard: All corner lots in subdivisions recorded after December 19, 2006 on two street frontages that are designated as a collector or greater street type shall be single-story homes.
f. Standard: A minimum of 25% or the total number of homes in a subdivision of ten or more lots recorded after December 19, 2006 shall be single-story homes. The required mix of two-story homes and single-story homes shall be evenly plotted within the subdivision, with no more than three two-story homes next to each other, unless the requirement is waived by the Planning Director.
g. Standard: Solar panels shall be integrated into the roof design, flush with the roof slope. Frames shall be colored to match roof colors. Any support equipment shall be enclosed and screened from view.
2. Building Materials.
Standard:
The choice and mix of materials on the facades of residential units and garage doors within a subdivision shall be consistently applied and shall be chosen to work harmoniously with adjacent materials by use of at least one of the following features:
1) Piecemeal embellishment and frequent changes in materials shall be avoided.
2) Avoid material changes at the outside corners of structures or where there is no change in the wall plane to prevent giving an impression of thinness and artificiality.
3) Design changes in materials to occur at changes in plane to ensure that materials appear substantial and integral to the structure.
(Ord. 538, Exhibit A (part), 2018; Ord. 492 Exhibit 4, 2014; Ord. 377 § 4, 2006; Ord. 293 § 1 (part), 2004; Ord. 182 § 2 (part), 1997)