(a) Goals of Design Standards. The overall goal of these design standards is to maintain and build upon the positive qualities of the Borough's Town Center while maintaining and enhancing the Borough's traditional community character and pedestrian-oriented development. The principles guiding the administration of these standards are as follows:
(1) Buildings should complement the pattern of the existing landmark structures and have a building fabric and relate to their site and surroundings, noting in particular that the existing streetscape is characterized by continuous street walls and multiple storefronts.
(2) Buildings should respond at street level to a pedestrian scale and encourage visual access and active uses at the ground floor.
(3) Emphasis should be provided at prominent locations to buildings:
A. With prominent façades that terminate view corridors;
B. Whose corners are at gateway locations; or
C. That either surround or are surrounded by open space.
(4) New and existing development should have a complementary character.
(5) Texture and variety should be provided through façade articulation and composition.
(6) Architectural expression should be provided in windows, doors, walls, and roofs.
(7) Pedestrian pathways should be provided that are safe and attractive and that accommodate a high volume of pedestrian traffic.
(8) Street trees and shade trees should be employed to enhance development.
(b) Façade Articulation. Façade articulation is a series of small setbacks and projections in the overall street wall. Articulation breaks the scale of the building into an aggregate of smaller forms, introduces rhythm, and relates to the human scale, without detracting from the overall sense of a consistent street wall. All new, renovated or expanded buildings shall comply with the following standards:
(1) The main façade of buildings shall be designed to emphasize entryways, windows, corners, and vertical elements of the building façade, as well as other special features.
(2) The massing of all buildings shall be deemphasized through the use of projecting and recessed elements, such as porches, windows, and roof dormers to reduce overall bulk and volume, enhance visual quality and contribute to human-scale development.
(c) Façade Composition. Façade composition is the arrangement of materials and details to distinguish the components of a building, particularly its base and top. All new, renovated or expanded buildings shall comply with the following standards:
(1) All new building facades shall be built to the scale of other buildings on the street.
(2) The design shall distinguish and emphasize the building's base and top, and reinforce the scale of the street for the pedestrian.
(3) All buildings shall articulate the line between the ground and upper floors with a cornice, canopy, balcony, arcade or other visual device.
(d) Ground Floor Façade. The ground floor is the primary zone of interaction for pedestrians on the street and includes the elements of doorways, access points and window transparency. All new, renovated or expanded buildings shall comply with the following standards:
(1) The primary pedestrian entrance shall be placed along the build-to line of the dominant street and not the rear or side of the building. Additional pedestrian access points may be located along other façades.
(2) When buildings are located on street corners, primary entrances shall be located on the corner with an appropriate building articulation, such as a chamfered corner, turret, canopy, or other similar building feature. If such design is not feasible, the building shall be most prominent on the primary street.
(3) Lobbies and retail spaces shall be clearly connected to the outdoor environment and visible from the street.
(4) All primary building entrances shall be accentuated. Entrances permitted include recessed, protruding, canopy, portico, or overhang.
(5) Ground floor windows shall be at street level and allow pedestrians to see the activity inside the building.
(e) Architectural Elements. The architectural design of buildings should complement the scale and proportion of surrounding buildings, celebrate innovative design, and be varied in context. Windows at the ground floor are important in activating the building and encouraging pedestrian traffic. All new, substantially improved or expanded buildings shall comply with the following standards:
(1) Windows and doors: primary front façade.
A. The ground floor of the primary front façade shall contain between sixty-five percent clear windows and doors and be complementary in design to existing properties in the Town Center District.
B. Bronze glass, highly reflective glass, tinted or black and smoked glass is prohibited.
C. Windows above the ground floor on the primary front façade of new or expanded buildings shall be clear and occur in a wall-to-window ratio of .75:1 to 1.25:1 along the horizontal width of the façade to result in a pattern of solid wall buildings with punched windows.
D. The maximum sill height of sidewalk-facing ground floor windows shall be two feet above the height of the finished ground floor.
E. Ground floor window heads shall be nine feet to twelve feet above the height of the finished ground floor.
F. The top of the display window shall be at least as high as the door height.
G. Individual windows in upper stories of the primary front façade(s) shall be vertically aligned with the location of windows and doors on the ground floor to the extent possible.
(2) Windows and doors: secondary façades. Any building wall with less than twenty-five percent of clear windows shall be articulated by two or more of the following methods:
A. Details in masonry courses;
B. Blank window openings trimmed with frames, sills and lintels;
C. Recessed or projecting window cases.
(3) Exterior walls.
A. Construction materials shall be in keeping with the surrounding pattern of construction. Acceptable materials shall be as set forth by resolution of Borough Council, which may be changed as needed from time to time.
B. Awnings shall complement the distinct character of each storefront.
(4) Roofs.
A. The tops of buildings must express the roofline and have either pitched roofs with overhanging eaves or low-slope roofs with articulated parapets and cornices. Fascias, dormers and gables or similar architectural features shall be employed to provide visual interest.
B. Pitched roofs shall have a minimum slope of 4:12.
C. Roof materials shall be in keeping with the surrounding pattern of construction. Acceptable materials shall be set forth by resolution of Borough Council, which may be changed as needed from time to time.
(Ord. 1056. Passed 11-12-13.)