The purpose of this chapter is to set forth design guidelines for industrial development in Tulare that will work to achieve high standards of project design. These regulations complement the standard site development regulations listed in the individual zone district chapters. These design regulations are general in nature and may be interpreted with some flexibility in their application to specific projects. Issues addressed in this chapter include site planning, parking and circulation, landscaping, walls, building design, signs and lighting.
(1995 Code, § 10.76.010) (Ord. 2021-03, passed 11-2-2021; Ord. 00-1854, passed - -2000)
(A) To enhance the visual appearance of new development in the community;
(B) To promote energy conservation opportunities through increased shading from trees and landscaping;
(C) To protect property values by maintaining high standards of property development;
(D) To promote safe and efficient vehicle and pedestrian circulation; and
(E) To improve the safety and security of the residents and visitors of Tulare.
(1995 Code, § 10.76.020) (Ord. 2021-03, passed 11-2-2021; Ord. 00-1854, passed - -2000)
The following guidelines apply to all development occurring within the M districts and are intended to facilitate high quality development that complements the character of Tulare.
(A) Site design.
(1) A variety of building and parking lot setbacks should be provided to avoid long, monotonous building facades and to create diversity.
(2) For industrial complexes that include multiple buildings (such as an industrial campus) the placement of structures which creates opportunities for plazas, courts or gardens is encourage. This generates visual interest that is generally absent from square, featureless buildings. Setback areas may be used to provide space for employee lunch/break areas.
(3) Where industrial uses are adjacent to non-industrial uses, buffering techniques such as setbacks, screening and landscaping need to be provided to reduce/eliminate any negative impacts of industrial operations.
(B) Parking and circulation. Important design considerations for parking and circulation include, the location of ingress and egress points, on-site pedestrian and vehicle traffic and circulation patterns and service functions. The purpose is to ensure efficient circulation, safety and visual quality.
(1) Site access and internal circulation should be designed in a manner which emphasizes safety and efficiency. Consideration should be given to the separation of employee/customer parking and commercial vehicle operations (trucking, delivery, etc.).
(2) Parking facilities should be designed so that vehicles can move from one area to another on the same site without entering the street. This will work to reduce on-street traffic.
(3) Addressing pedestrian movement in parking lots can improve safety and make parking lots more visually appealing. Separate vehicle and pedestrian circulation systems should be considered in the design of parking facilities. Pedestrian linkages between buildings in multi-structure industrial developments should be strongly emphasized. To improve vehicle circulation, parking aisles should be aligned with vehicle circulation routes.
(4) To improve vehicle circulation, parking access to adjacent sites and improve on-site circulation.
(5) Common driveways are encouraged to provide access to adjacent sites and improve on-site circulation.
(6) Parking areas shall be generously landscaped to provide interior and perimeter treatments.
(7) Parking driveways (access points) should be located as far as possible from street intersections to avoid traffic problems. The number of access points should be limited to the minimum amount necessary to provide adequate circulation.
(8) Large parking lots should be divided into a series of connected smaller lots, to the extent possible. Landscaping and offsetting portions of the lot are effective in reducing the visual impact of large parking areas.
(9) Parking lots should be screened from adjoining streets by the use of low earth berms, walls, landscaping or a combination of these methods.
(10) Industrial sites should be designed to accommodate all parking needs generated by the use. The use of the public street for parking and staging of trucks is not permitted.
(11) Parking lots shall be designed to accommodate solid waste pick-up service without excessive backing-up of service trucks.
(C) Loading facilities.
(1) Loading facilities should be located out of sight of the public-of-way, to the extent possible. Loading docks are most appropriately located at the rear of buildings.
(2) Highly visible loading facilities should be screened from view particularly if it is not possible to locate them at the rear of the building.
(3) Loading facilities should be located so that vehicles are not required to use public streets backing into loading docks.
(D) Landscaping.
(1) Landscaping for industrial uses should be used to define specific areas such as entrances to buildings and parking lots; define the edges of various land uses, provide transition between neighboring properties and provide screening for loading and equipment areas.
(2) Landscaping around the entire base of structures is recommended to soften the edge between the parking lot and the building.
(3) Trees should be located throughout parking lots not simply at the ends of aisles. This will achieve shading requirements and enhance the overall appearance of parking facilities.
(4) Landscaping must be protected from vehicle encroachment by means of raised planting areas, walls and curbs.
(5) Vines and climbing plants integrated on buildings, trellises and perimeter garden walls are recommended, in order to soften the hard appearance of long building walls.
(E) Walls and fences.
(1) Walls are often highly visible part of many projects and their appearance can add or detract from the overall visual quality of a site. To the extent possible, walls should be designed to blend with the overall architectural character of the site, including material, color and texture. Where possible, landscaping should be used to soften the appearance of walls.
(2) Where visible form the public right-of-way, walls should not be blank, long surfaces, but rather should be articulated with intervening pillars, alternating heights, offsetting sections and materials that provide variety, including material texturing (as with plaster treatments).
(3) Screening fences for storage/ equipment/work areas should be compatible with the overall site design. Chain link fencing with slats is acceptable. Exterior storage should be limited to portions of the site least visible to public view.
(F) Building design. As a category of structural types, industrial buildings house a variety of uses, and as such, often present unattractive and monotonous facades. However, there are a variety of design techniques that can be utilized to promote visual variety and facilitate a cohesive, attractive design statement:
(1) Avoid long, blank building facades, particularly on walls visible form the public right-of-way. Facades with varied setbacks are encouraged. If possible, wall planes should not run in one continuous direction for more than 50 feet without an offset.
(2) All elevations to a building should be architecturally treated to avoid monotonous overall design.
(3) Window and doors are key elements of a structure's form and should relate to the scale of the facade on which they appear. Windows and doors can help establish character by their rhythm, spacing and variety. Recessed openings further work to provide depth and contrast on elevation planes.
(4) Berming and associated landscaping can be used at the building edge to reduce structure mass and height along facades.
(5) Metal buildings should be architecturally designed, providing variety and visual interest to the streetscape.
(6) All roof-mounted equipment shall be screened from public view by materials similar to those used in the overall structure. Mechanical equipment should be located below the highest vertical element of the building.
(7) Design elements which are undesirable and should be avoided include:
(a) Highly reflective surfaces;
(b) Large blank, unarticulated wall surfaces;
(c) Exposed, treated block walls;
(d) Poorly designed mansard roofs on a portion of the roofline; and
(e) Materials with high maintenance requirements, such as stained wood or shingles.
(G) Signs.
(1) New development should be designed with a precise concept for signage, including provisions for sign placement, sign scale (in relationship to the building) and sign readability.
(2) The design of individual signs should be integrated with building architecture, in terms of materials, colors and texture.
(3) Monument-style signs are the preferred sign type for new development, where possible. This type of sign reduces visual clutter and is more visible to the eye-level of motorists.
(4) The use of individually-cut letter signs, either internally or externally lit is strongly encouraged.
(H) Lighting.
(1) Exterior lighting is encouraged to provide illumination for the security and safety of on-site areas such as parking, loading, shipping and receiving, pathways and other work areas.
(2) The design of light fixtures should be architecturally compatible with on-site buildings.
(3) All light fixtures must be shielded to confine the spread of light within the boundaries of the site, particularly where incompatible uses are located in close proximity.
(I) Driveways.
(1) Driveways shall conform to city industrial driveway approach standards.
(2) Driveways designed for heavy truck usage shall not exceed 60 feet in width without approval from the City Engineer.
(3) Minimum separation between on-site driveways shall be 100 feet.
(J) Monitored electrified security fences.
(1) Definition. MONITORED ELECTRIFIED SECURITY FENCE means a perimeter alarm system with an assembly of battery powered equipment, including but not limited to: a monitored alarm device and energizer which is intended to periodically deliver pulses to a security fence, a battery charging device used exclusively to charge the system's battery, and other integrated components.
(2) The monitored perimeter security fence system shall transmit a signal to an alarm monitoring business in response to an intrusion or burglary. The system shall not directly connect to or call law enforcement. The business must first verify the alarm event prior to requesting deployment of law enforcement.
(3) The design, construction, and use of monitored electrified security fences shall be allowed, subject to the following requirements:
(a) IEC Standard 60335-2-76. Unless otherwise specified herein, Monitored Electrified Security Fences shall be constructed and operated in conformance with the specifications set forth in International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Standard No. 60335-2-76, current edition.
(b) Power source. The energizer for monitored electrified security fences must be driven by a commercial storage battery not to exceed 12 volts DC. The storage battery is charged by a solar panel.
(c) Perimeter barrier. Monitored electrified security fences shall be installed behind a minimum five-foot high, maximum seven-foot high, non-electrified perimeter barrier. On all new fencing the minimum of six-foot high shall apply.
(d) Emergency gate access. Before a monitored perimeter security fence is activated, a Knox device shall be approved by the Fire Department. The Knox device will be installed at the main entry gate and fully functional at all times when the monitored electrified security fence is operational.
(e) Setback. The monitored electrified security fence shall be setback four inches to 12 inches from the non-electrified perimeter barrier.
(f) Height. Monitored electrified security fences shall be a minimum of two feet above the non-electrified perimeter barrier, but in no event, more than ten feet in height.
(g) Warning signs. Monitored electrified security fences shall be clearly identified with warning signs that read: "Warning-Electric Fence" at intervals of not less than 30 feet.
(4) It shall be unlawful for any person to install, maintain or operate a monitored electrified security fence in violation of this chapter.
(1995 Code, § 10.76.030) (Ord. 2021-03, passed 11-2-2021; Ord. 00-1854, passed - -2000)