For properties located in the NBD, O, GBD, CBD Zoning Districts and for non-industrial uses in the M-1 and M-2 the following design standards shall apply:
(a) Elements such as openings, sills, punched windows, bulkheads, columns, pilasters, and other architectural features shall be incorporated into the design of all buildings.
(b) Building shall front on a street or courtyard. Buildings shall not front onto a parking lot. Building facades that front the street shall extend parallel to the street.
(c) A primary building frontage shall incorporate at least one main entrance door onto the public right-of-way. At a building corner where two primary building frontages meet, one main entrance door may be located at the corner so as to meet the requirement for both building frontages.
(d) Buildings at corners or an axial terminus should be designed with additional height and architectural details, such as a curved wall parallel to intersection or corner towers, to emphasize their location.
(e) A building frontage that exceeds a length of fifty (50) feet shall include vertical piers, building wall offsets, projections, recesses, changes in floor level or other vertical visual elements to break the plane of the building frontage. The vertical piers, columns, pilasters, or other vertical elements shall be spaced at intervals of fifteen (15) feet to thirty-five (35) feet along the entire building frontage.
(f) The building sides visible from the public right-of-way shall comply with the following:
(1) For commercial uses at least sixty percent (60%) of the area between the height of two (2) feet and ten (10) feet above the nearest sidewalk grade shall be window glass with a maximum tint of thirty percent (30%).
(2) For all uses, at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the area above twelve and one half (12.5) feet shall have vertically oriented windows with a maximum tint of thirty percent (30%). This requirement may be waived if historic photos from when the building was first constructed can be provided that show a different percentage of window glass was used.
(3) For any replacement of upper story windows, the maximum window tint shall be thirty percent (30%).
(4) Existing windows shall not be blocked, boarded up, or reduced in size.
(g) Architectural features, materials, and the articulation of buildings shall be continued on all sides visible from the public right of way. Materials shall be selected for suitability to the type of buildings for which they are used.
(h) All roof-mounted mechanical equipment shall be screened from public view to the height of the equipment. The materials shall be architecturally compatible with the rooftop and aesthetic character of the building.
(i) Awnings, balconies, or arcades extending on or over a street right-of-way, the following apply:
(1) Awnings over ground-story doors or windows shall have a depth of at least five (5) feet and a clear height of at least eight (8) feet above the sidewalk. Awnings shall extend over at least twenty-five (25) percent of the width of each primary façade. Backlit, high-gloss, or plasticized fabrics are prohibited.
(2) Second-story balconies shall have a depth of at least (6) feet and a clear height below of at least ten (10) feet above the sidewalk. These balconies shall extend over at least twenty-five (25) percent of each primary façade. These balconies may have roofs but shall be open toward the street.
(3) Arcades must have a clear width from their support columns to the building's primary façade of at least eight (8) feet and a clear height above the sidewalk of at least ten (10) feet. Support columns can be spaced no farther apart than they are tall and must be placed to allow at least two (2) feet and up to three (3) feet from their outer face to the curb. Arcades must extend over at least seventy-five (75) percent of the width of each primary façade.
(4) Any of these features may extend into the street yard and over public sidewalks provided that they maintain two feet of horizontal clearance from a parking lane or travel lane. Eaves, roof overhangs, and gutters may project not more than four (4) feet into the required yard.
(Ord. 8-2013. Passed 2-26-13.)