155.5601. MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL DESIGN STANDARDS

   A.   Purpose

      These multifamily residential design standards are intended to:

      1.   Establish a minimum level of design quality for multifamily residential development to foster sustained value and stability within developments and neighborhoods; and

      2.   Promote greater compatibility between multifamily residential development and other allowable uses in the city through standards addressing building massing, facade appearance, as well as the location and configuration of site features like parking and outdoor activity areas.

   B.   Applicability

      1.   General

   Unless exempted in accordance with subsection 2 below, the standards in this section shall apply to the following:

         a.   All new multifamily dwelling development.

         b.   Any expansion or alteration of an existing multifamily residential development if the expansion increases the development's gross floor area by 50 percent or more or the alteration involves 50 percent or more of the development's gross floor area.

         c.   Development required to obtain Major Building Design approval.

      2.   Exemptions

   The standards in this section shall not apply to individual upper story dwellings located on floors above a nonresidential use.

   C.   Multifamily Residential Design Standards

All multifamily development subject to this section shall comply with the following standards:

      1.   Building Orientation and Configuration

         a.   Single-Building Development

      The primary entrance of a single-building multifamily residential development shall face the street, not an off-street parking lot.

         b.   Multi-Building Development

      Multifamily residential developments with more than one building shall be configured so that primary building entrances are oriented towards external streets, internal streets, or open space areas (like courtyards). Buildings may be oriented towards off-street parking lots only in cases where no other practical alternative exists. (See Figure 155.5601.C.1.b: Multi-building orientation.)

Figure 155.5601.C.1.b: Multi-building orientation

         c.   Building Configuration

            i.   Multifamily residential developments with six or fewer dwelling units shall be configured through massing, door placement, centralized parking location, and use of exterior materials to give each building the appearance of a large, single-family home.

            ii.   Ground-floor dwelling units shall be accessed via internal corridors or from individual exterior porches or stoops served by a sidewalk or other designated walkway.

      2.   Maximum Building Size

         a.   Individual structure footprints shall not exceed a maximum of 20,000 square feet.

         b.   The maximum length of any multifamily residential structure shall be 180 linear feet, regardless of the number of units.

      3.   Building Facades

         a.   Facades of multifamily residential development facing a public street shall incorporate wall offsets, in the form of projections or recesses in the facade plane, spaced no more than 30 feet apart.

         b.   Wall offsets shall have a minimum depth of two feet.

         c.   In addition to wall offsets, front facades shall provide a minimum of three of the following design features for each residential unit fronting onto a public street:

            i.   A recessed entrance;

            ii.   A covered porch ;

            iii.   Pillars, posts, or columns adjacent to the doorway;

            iv.   One or more bay windows projecting at least twelve inches from the facade plane;

            v.   Eaves projecting at least six inches from the facade plane;

            vi.   Raised corniced parapets over the entrance door;

            vii.   Multiple windows with a minimum four-inch-wide trim; or

            viii.   Integrated planters that incorporate landscaped areas or places for sitting.

      4.   Architectural Variability

   Repetitive "look-alike" multi-building developments shall be prohibited. Multi-building developments subject to these standards shall ensure that each structure is distinguished from others through the use of two or more of the following features:

         a.   A variation in structure length of 30 percent or more;

         b.   A variation in the structure footprint size of 30 percent or more;

         c.   A distinct variation in color and use of materials;

         d.   A variation in the type of dwelling unit contained in the structure that results in a significantly different scale and mass (e.g., garden apartments vs. townhomes);

         e.   A variation in structure height by at least ten percent; or

         f.   A variation in roof form.

      5.   Roofs

         a.   Flat roofs on principal buildings shall be concealed by parapet walls that extend at least three feet above the roof level.

         b.   Alternative roof forms or pitches may be allowed for small roof sections over porches, entryways, or similar features.

         c.   All roof-based mechanical equipment, as well as vents, pipes, antennas, satellite dishes, and other roof penetrations (except chimneys), shall be located on the rear elevations or otherwise be configured, to the maximum extent practicable, to have a minimal visual impact as seen from the street.

      6.   Materials

         a.   Materials changes shall occur along a horizontal line or where two forms meet. It is acceptable, however, that change of materials occur as accents around windows, doors, cornices , at corners, or as a repetitive pattern.

         b.   Where two or more materials are proposed to be combined on a facade, the heavier and more massive elements shall be located below the lighter elements (i.e., brick shall be located below stucco). It is acceptable to provide the heavier material as a detail on the corner of a building or along cornices or windows.

      7.   Location of Off-Street Parking

         a.   No more than two single-loaded bays of off-street surface parking may be located between a multifamily building and the street it faces unless the parking bays are screened from view from the street by another building. Interior structures within a multi-building development served by a central, private driveway are exempted from this requirement.

         b.   Guest and overflow parking associated with a townhouse unit within a multifamily residential development shall be located to the side or rear of the building containing the townhouse unit, to the maximum extent practicable.

         c.   Off-street surface parking located beside a building shall not occupy more than 25 percent of the parcel's street frontage. Associated driving areas shall be included as part of such off-street surface parking.

      8.   Outdoor Activity Areas

         a.   Ground-level outdoor activity areas, porches, decks, vending areas, and other similar site attributes shall be screened from adjacent single-family dwellings with a type B perimeter buffer in accordance with Section 155.5203.F, Perimeter Buffers.

         b.   Upper-story balconies serving individual dwelling units located within 100 feet of a single-family dwelling shall be oriented or configured to prevent direct views into the dwelling's rear yard .

(Ord. 2012-64, passed 9-11-12; Am. Ord. 2013-73, passed 7-23-13; Am. Ord. 2023-34, passed 2-28-23)