§ 255-241. Design regulations.

The following design regulations shall apply to the construction of new structures and alterations to any existing structure in the Jarrettown Village District:

   A.   General standards. All new and rehabilitated buildings shall comply with the following standards:

      (1)   All uses shall be served by public water and sewer service.

      (2)   All utility lines serving all uses shall be placed underground from the edge of the right-of-way to the place of service.

      (3)   Drive-through windows or uses are prohibited.

      (4)   A buildings primary front facade shall contain window space, public access points and signage. Windows shall be vertically proportioned wherever possible. To the extent possible, upper-story windows shall be vertically aligned with the location of windows and doors on the ground level, including storefront or display windows.

      (5)   The facade treatment of walls facing residential uses or residential zoning districts shall contain windows. The walls and fenestration shall be architecturally compatible with the style, materials, colors and details of the building .

      (6)   A building's public access points shall be articulated and visible from the street . If the building has frontage on more than one street , the building shall provide public access points oriented towards both streets or a single access point to the corner where two streets intersect.

      (7)   Driveways, parking areas and traffic circulation patterns shall be designed as shared facilities whenever feasible, in order to reduce the total number of curb cuts within the District.

         (a)   All developments shall provide for future access to adjacent properties.

         (b)   Documentation confirming the ownership and/or maintenance arrangements shall be submitted to the Township with the application for land development approval.

         (c)   The design of these elements shall create a unified site plan between lots .

      (8)   Exterior site lighting shall be designed to prevent glare onto adjacent properties and onto roadways and shall minimize the view of lights and fixtures from adjacent properties and roadways.

         (a)   Lighting shall be designed to limit both light trespass onto adjacent residential properties and light pollution into the sky.

         (b)   The illumination level shall be no more than 0.3 footcandle measured either vertically or horizontally at a height of five feet above grade from adjacent residential properties.

         (c)   Lighting shall be designed to shield the source of illumination and to prevent glare on adjacent residential properties through the use of either cutoff- or full cutoff-type luminaries and low brightness light sources.

   B.   Building design. The following provisions apply to additions to existing buildings and to new construction .

      (1)   Building placement: All buildings must be placed to encourage continuous uninterrupted pedestrian accessways that link windows and doorways.

      (2)   Building frontages: Multistory buildings shall articulate the line between the ground and upper levels with a cornice, canopy, balcony, arcade, or other visual device.

         (a)   The ground floor of a primary front facade are recommended to contain between 40 and 75% clear windows and doors.

         (b)   Windowless walls, if visible from a right-of-way or accessway, are prohibited unless the construction of a blank wall is necessitated by local building codes, in which case the wall shall be articulated by one or more of the following: details in exterior materials such as masonry courses, scoring in stucco, blank window openings, etc., or recessed or projecting display cases.

      (3)   Building massing: The mass of a building or buildings shall be deemphasized in a variety of ways, including the use of projecting and recessed elements such as porches, windows and roof dormers, to reduce their apparent overall bulk and volume, to enhance visual quality and contribute to human-scaled development .

         (a)   Such breaks in the facades and rooflines are recommended to occur no more frequently than every 25 feet, nor less frequently than every 100 feet.

         (b)   Building length: Multiple buildings fronting on a street shall vary in building length. The maximum average building length shall not exceed 150 feet on each lot .

      (4)   Roof design:

         (a)   The roof shall be designed with either overhanging eaves, bargeboards or cornices on all sides, or other architectural elements appropriate to the period of the historic resource .

         (b)   Roofing materials shall vary on buildings so that porches, cupolas, or bay windows are featured.

         (c)   Roof material may include fiberglass architectural shingles that represent slate or wood, natural slate, shakes, shingle (either wood or asphalt composition) and metal formed to resemble "standing seams." Specifically prohibited are white, tan or blue shingles, red clay tiles, and corrugated plastic or metal.

         (d)   Flat roofs shall be prohibited from the main massing of one-story buildings .

         (e)   Flat roofs may be used on buildings of two or more stories. In these instances, all visibly exposed walls shall have parapet walls or articulated cornices that project horizontally from the vertical building wall plane.

      (5)   Awnings, canopy or porches: All buildings are encouraged to have permanent porches, canopies, arcades or retractable cloth awnings to protect pedestrians along the fronting sidewalk.

         (a)   Awnings intended primarily as signs are prohibited. However, signs are permitted as accessory to the awning when located on the valance and/or sides of the awning.

         (b)   No permanent porch or canopy shall be permitted to encroach into a dedicated right-of-way .

         (c)   No canopy or awning shall interfere with the function of any pedestrian or vehicular accessway.

      (6)   Building materials: Exterior wall material shall be of a consistent or complementary material, shape, color and texture as that of the historic resource on the property.

   C.   Signs . The provisions of Article XXI shall apply in the JT Jarrettown Village District, except as set forth below.

      (1)   General standards.

         (a)   Signs shall be designed to be complementary in their use of color, shape, similar themes and/or logos to create an overall theme for the Jarrettown Village District and maintain continuity throughout the District.

         (b)   If signs are illuminated, only external lighting shall be permitted.

         (c)   No sign shall be placed within a sight triangle area.

         (d)   Signs shall not hide architectural features of buildings , nor shall they interfere with pedestrian or vehicular access on the site or within the right-of-way .

         (e)   Signs shall be in proportion with the architecture of the building and the scale of the pedestrian, yet visible to a passing motorist.

      (2)   The following standards apply to all uses within the overlay district:

         (a)   Permitted permanent building  signs : Only one of the following sign types shall be permitted per use on a building :

            [1]   Projecting signs . No portion of a projecting sign may extend more than four feet from the building facade. A clear space of not less than eight feet shall be provided below all parts of the projecting sign . The sign may be no greater than 15 square feet.

            [2]   Signs painted on shop windows or other types of window graphics are permitted, up to 30% of the clear window surface.

            [3]   Fire-resistant cloth awnings may be used for signs , provided the text is located on the vertical face of the awning flap. Business logos or emblems are permitted on the top or angled portion of the awning up to a maximum of eight square feet. One emblem or logo is permitted per awning.

            [4]   Wall signs are permitted, provided they do not exceed 10% of the wall

area, do not extend past the roof eaves and do not block windows.

         (b)   Building  sign and location approval: All permanent building  signs shall be approved by the Code Enforcement Official in accordance with the criteria of this District.

         (c)   Permitted temporary signs : A sidewalk sandwich board shall be permitted in addition to the above signs , provided the sign face is no larger than four square feet per side and it is located directly in front of the store.

         (d)   Permitted freestanding signs .

            [1]   Kiosk signs are permitted in multitenanted buildings . They shall include an updated map of the Jarrettown area and a directory of all uses . The sign shall be pedestrian-oriented.

            [2]   One freestanding sign and one directory sign per lot are permitted. Such freestanding or directory signs shall be monument signs no higher than 10 feet nor greater than 40 square feet.

   D.   Pedestrian accessibility standards.

      (1)   Pedestrian accessibility: Sidewalks shall be constructed along all street frontages and across major access driveways.

      (2)   Pedestrian crosswalks across public streets shall be designed with curb bump outs to facilitate nonvehicular movement.

      (3)   Crosswalks across public streets and major access driveways shall utilize differentiated material or color and texture from the cartway as well as appropriate signage and other pavement markings to alert drivers to pedestrians.

      (4)   Parking areas shall contain dedicated and articulated pedestrian accessways.

   E.   Parking intent and standards.

      (1)   Required parking: All buildings and uses shall comply with the parking requirements of Article XIX of this chapter.

      (2)   Parking setbacks:

         (a)   Parking shall be set back a minimum of 10 feet from all property lines and the ultimate right-of-way line . This setback may be eliminated in the case of shared parking between two adjacent properties developed in accordance with this District. When the side or rear lot line abuts a property that is in single-family detached residential use , a six-foot privacy fence and a substantial vegetated buffer shall be provided, designed to create a visual shield between the properties.

         (b)   Parking shall be set back a minimum of five feet from any building .

         (c)   The area between parking and lot lines , right-of-way lines, and buildings shall be used for pedestrian accessways and planting beds.

      (3)   Parking location and design.

         (a)   Large parking areas shall be divided into smaller sections.

         (b)   Surface parking lots shall be located behind or to the side of the principal buildings to the greatest extent possible.

         (c)   If surface parking is visible from the street frontage, then plantings shall be provided to maintain the street edge and to buffer views of the parking.

         (d)   Parking areas shall be buffered from any adjacent accessway by street trees and by a four foot wide landscaped area with a continuous row of two- to three-foot-high shrubs, fence or seating wall.

         (e)   The buildings shall be directly accessible to pedestrians from all parking areas.

         (f)   Entrance drives and aisles within a parking area may be multifunctional, serving for both pedestrian and vehicular access and providing a limited amount of parking.

      (4)   On-street parking. For new or rehabilitated buildings in compliance with the design standards of this District, legal on-street parking along the property frontage may be counted toward the minimum required number of parking spaces , subject to the approval of the Township Traffic Engineer.

   F.   Streetscape  improvements :

      (1)   Public street  improvements : All new developments and renovations shall incorporate streetscape  improvements , including sidewalks, in accordance with the Township Subdivision and Land Development Code. 48

      (2)   Crosswalks at all public intersections shall be installed using stamped concrete or some other construction materials to differentiate them from the road and drive aisles.

      (3)   Streetlights shall be placed at a minimum of 80 feet on center along all sidewalks and shall use fixtures that are compatible with the historic character of Jarrettown. In addition, pedestrian light fixtures shall be installed along all pedestrian facilities, including sidewalks, internal walkways, stairways, etc.

      (4)   Street furniture, such as benches, receptacles, and bollards, etc., shall comply with the standards contained in the Township Subdivision and Land Development Code, § 212-29.

   G.   Landscaping and buffering.

      (1)   Refuse facility: All trash refuse and recycling facilities shall be indoors or maintained in a common trash facility that is totally screened with masonry walls with wooden gates. Such refuse areas shall be located at least 25 feet from any adjacent property that is residentially used and may not be located in front of the buildings .

      (2)   Buffer requirements: When any proposed mixed-use or nonresidential development abuts a lot containing a residential use , a screen buffer, as required in § 212-32F(3) of the Township Subdivision and Land Development Code shall be provided, with the following exceptions:

         (a)   A screen buffer shall not be required along a common property line if the two properties have a shared access driveway, shared parking, or other shared facilities.

         (b)   A screen buffer shall be 10 feet in width.

         (c)   If required by the Board of Commissioners, safe, comfortable and inviting access between the adjacent residential neighborhood and the development site shall be created by providing an improved pathway through the buffer plantings.

   H.   Loading:

      (1)   All buildings and uses shall provide adequate areas for loading and unloading entirely within the lot lines .

      (2)   Loading areas near residential uses and/or zoning districts shall be screened from view in compliance with the provisions of this chapter and the Township Subdivision and Land Development Code.

48. Editor's Note: See Ch. 212, Subdivision and Land Development.