(a) Purpose. The buildings in the City’s Commercial (B) Districts define Willoughby Hills’s built environment. Enhancing the quality and compatibility of these buildings and thereby protecting the character of these areas is of utmost importance.
The standards set forth below are intended to achieve among others the following purposes:
(1) To strengthen, enhance and improve the existing visual and aesthetic character of the B-1, B-2, and B-3 Districts.
(2) To ensure that new development and/or redevelopment respects the City’s qualities and resources through compatible design.
(3) To protect and enhance property values.
(4) To provide standards for property owners, architects and contractors to aid in the preparation of appropriate plans;
(b) Applicability of Regulations. In addition to the development standards set forth in this Chapter, the design standards set forth in subsection 1137.11 (c) shall apply to the exterior appearance and design of all new construction and exterior building renovations in the B-2 and B-3 Commercial Districts. The Planning and Zoning Commission may exempt applicants from these standards when the exterior building modifications are minor in nature, meaning the design modifications will have no discernable impact on neighboring properties, the public, the public right-of-way, or those intended to occupy or use the proposed development.
(c) Design Standards Applicable to B-2 and B-3 Districts. The minimum design standards for uses in the B-2 and B-3 Districts are set forth below:
(1) Pedestrian activity shall be encouraged and safe pedestrian connections shall be provided between buildings, in a multi-building development, and between principal buildings, their parking lots, and sidewalks
(2) Buildings and principal building entrances shall be oriented toward the public street so as to define the street edge and contribute to a dynamic pedestrian and street environment.
(3) Monotony of design in multiple building projects shall be avoided. Variation in detail shall be used to provide visual interest.
(4) Facade openings, including windows, shall be vertical in proportion.
(5) Facades may be supplemented by awnings, which, if provided, shall be straight sheds, not cubed or curved.
(6) A minimum of sixty-five (65) percent of each building frontage shall have transparent, display type windows, meaning windows that allow a view of the interior to be seen. The bottom edge of such window shall not be higher than three 3 feet above grade.
(7) No more than twenty (20) percent of the windows that can be seen from all public or private rights-of-way, excluding alleys, shall be opaque.
(8) Any part of the building that is visible from a public or private right-of-way, parking area, or public circulation area shall have no more than six (6) feet of contiguous wall length devoid of windows, on any ground floor, unless the wall includes architectural features such as piers, columns, defined bays, or an undulation of the building so that a pedestrian scale, rhythm, and visual interest is created. In no case shall a continuous wall length be devoid of windows for more than fifteen (15) feet.
(9) Any part of the building that is visible from a public or private right-of-way, parking area, or public circulation area shall have no more than six (6) feet of contiguous wall length devoid of windows, on any ground floor, unless the wall includes architectural features such as piers, columns, defined bays, or an undulation of the building so that a pedestrian scale, rhythm, and visual interest is created. In no case shall a continuous wall length be devoid of windows for more than fifteen (15) feet.
(10) At least ninety (90) percent of the exterior finish material on all facades that face or are within 45 degrees of facing a public street, parking area or private circulation area shall be limited to the following: glass, brick, cut stone, cast stone, or wood. Dry vit or E.F.I.S shall not be permitted.
(11) The structural frame of a building shall not be exposed to the exterior of a building.
(12) All rooftop equipment shall be screened from public view with parapets that are architecturally integral to the building, or enclosed in building materials that match the structure. Mechanical roof screens are not acceptable.
(13) Buildings, structures and landscaping is to be designed and located on the site and be of a scale to complement buildings in close proximity and to enhance the character of the surrounding area by having features that are appropriate and compatible with each other as well as with existing, contributing buildings and structures. In making this determination the Planning and Zoning Commission shall consider:
A. Building height, width and general proportions;
B. Architectural features, including patterns of windows and doors, roof pitch, cornice lines, balconies, porches, shutters, dormers, eaves and other decorative detail;
C. General site characteristics which encourage well-landscaped parking areas, safe and comfortable pedestrian ways, and convenient pedestrian movement among adjacent and nearby buildings and parking areas.
D. Building materials.
(d) Design Standard Applicable to the B-3 District. In the B-3 District, the building mass, which is adjacent or parallel to the public street or sidewalk or within 45 degrees of the street or sidewalk, should be divided into vertical bays that may vary in width from twenty (20) to forty (40) feet. These bays should be architecturally defined using pilasters, columns, or recesses with transparent windows between the columns, pilasters or recesses.
(e) Explanation of Terms. For the purpose of and use in this Chapter, certain terms and words shall be interpreted with regard to the following explanations:
(1) Appropriateness. A proposal is judged to be appropriate when it respects the existing architectural style of a building and fits comfortably within its setting, neighborhood and overall community. This condition applies to landscaping and accessory structures as well.
(2) Compatibility. A design or a material selection is compatible when it does not strongly deviate from its parent building, or the overall character of the neighborhood. To be compatible does not require look alike designs, but rather designs that reflect some aspects of its parent building or buildings in the general vicinity, such as scale of windows, overhangs, building materials, patterns of siding, roof slope. Conversely, incompatibility occurs when an architectural design, landscape design or accessory building proposal is aesthetically harsh or overwhelming relative to its neighbors.
(3) Noncontributing. A factor in a proposal or part thereof that is taken from an existing building characteristic or site feature such as design, scale, fenestration, architectural feature, or material that is determined by the Planning Commission to be not appropriate for replication in new projects or modifications to existing projects when:
A. It does not enhance or improve the character of the City and/or the surrounding environs of the project, or
B. It is unrepresentative of the overall character of the City and/or the prevalent character of the surrounding environs of the project.
(4) Proportion. The relationship of parts of a building, landscape, structures, or buildings to each other and to the whole balance.
(5) Proximity. Proximity shall be considered in terms of the potential for one property, by virtue of its location, to materially affect other properties. In determining a property to be in proximity to another, the following factors shall be considered:
A. The visibility of both properties from a common point; or
B. The location of both properties within a relatively compact network of streets, walkways or spaces.
(Ord. 2006-35. Passed 5-25-06.)