All new development or redevelopment projects in a Mixed Use District shall be subject to the following design standards and principles.
(a) Building and Site Design.
(1) Buildings shall be designed to respect the street context, to form street walls where appropriate, and to respect or create view corridors.
(2) Buildings and sites shall be designed to emphasize pedestrian scale, human scale architecture, and landscaping, while avoiding large expanses of paved areas, large featureless buildings, and monotonous or franchise-style architecture.
(3) All sides of a building open to view by the public shall display a similar level of architectural quality, and shall be subdivided and proportioned using features such as windows, entrances, arcades, awnings, or other such features.
(4) Each building facade shall incorporate design elements for each 20 horizontal feet, such as changes in color or texture; projections, recesses, and reveals; arcades or pergolas providing pedestrian interest; or equivalent elements that subdivides the wall into human scale proportions.
(5) First floor facades facing streets or pedestrian ways should incorporate large amounts (at least 60 percent of the facade) of clear windows that permit views into the interior of the building and/or product display areas.
(6) Building facades shall have highly visible customer service entrances that feature canopies, overhangs, arcades, distinctive roof forms, arches, display windows, or landscaped features. Primary entrances should face, and be visible from the street on which they are located and shall be directly accessible and visible from the sidewalk.
(7) Buildings shall be designed and arranged to define the public and private space with open views and surveillance for public areas and privacy for private areas.
(b) Vehicular Circulation and Access.
(1) To the maximum extent feasible, common or shared service and delivery access shall be provided between adjacent parcels or buildings, and provided to the rear of buildings.
(2) Consolidation of existing vehicular access points along Pearl Road and W. 130th Street is encouraged.
(3) Transit stops should be incorporated into site plans, where feasible.
(c) Pedestrian Access and Circulation.
(1) Pedestrian connections shall be provided to adjacent properties to the maximum extent feasible.
(2) Continuous sidewalks or other pedestrian facilities shall be provided between the primary entrances to buildings, all parking areas that serve the buildings, pedestrian facilities on adjacent properties that extend to the boundaries shared with the development, any public sidewalk along perimeter streets, or other community amenities or gathering spaces.
(3) Pedestrian-scale lighting fixtures shall be provided along all sidewalks and walkways to provide ample lighting during nighttime hours.
(4) Street furniture, benches, decorative light and similar pedestrian amenities are encouraged.
(5) Open and public space should be provided as a mixture of green space landscaping and hardscape pedestrian areas.
(d) Parking Lot Design and Layout.
(1) The required interior parking lot landscaped islands should be distributed throughout the parking lot to divide parking spaces into groupings to minimize the visual impact of off-street parking lots.
(2) Parking structures shall be designed to be compatible with the adjacent buildings and district architecture and shall provide clearly marked pedestrian connections to the sidewalk.
(3) Parking structures should be designed so that all or a portion of the structure could be converted to alternative uses.
(e) Landscaping and Screening.
(1) Landscaping shall be used to define public entrances using signature landscaping elements.
(2) Entryways shall be planted with ornamental plant materials such as ornamental trees, flowering shrubs, and perennials, and ground covers.
(3) Landscaping should be designed and constructed to promote on-site water management and infiltration through the use of native plants and porous landscape detention, swales, and filter strips.
(f) Streetscape Improvements.
(1) Whenever a development project includes the creation of new streets, a streetscape plan shall be submitted for the entire site. The streetscape plan shall address the relationship between vehicular and pedestrian traffic, pedestrian facilities, street and sidewalk lighting, landscaping, street furniture, trash receptacles, and transit stops.
(2) Site furnishings such as benches, seating, trash receptacles, bike racks, lighting fixtures, and tree grates shall be provided as part of the streetscape plan.
(g) Service Area and Mechanical Screening.
(1) Service areas shall be located away from streets and pedestrian areas, and shall be screened to reduce the visual impact of service activities.
(2) The following shall be screened from public view with obscuring material: mechanical equipment (regardless of location), waste containers, recycling containers, and utilities.
(h) Signage. All signs shall be constructed and located in conformance with all applicable provisions of Chapter 1383
.
(i) Lighting.
(1) Lighting shall be designed to avoid spillover onto adjacent properties through the use of cutoff shields or other similar features.
(2) A lighting plan shall be prepared, including a photometric illustration.
(Ord. 2021-6. Passed 1-25-21.)