§ 8.18.2. Development standards—Aesthetic character.

A.

Facades and exterior walls.

1.

Facades greater than 100 feet in length, measured horizontally, must incorporate wall plane projections or recesses having a depth of at least three percent of the facade's length and extending at least 20 percent of the facade's length. No uninterrupted length of any facade can exceed 100 horizontal feet.

2.

Ground floor facades that face public streets must have arcades, display windows, entry areas, awnings, or other such features along at least 60 percent of their horizontal length.

B.

Small retail stores. Where principal buildings contain additional, separately-owned stores that occupy less than 25,000 square feet of gross floor area with separate, exterior customer entrances, the street level facade of such stores must be transparent between the height of three feet and eight feet above the walkway grade for at least 60 percent of the horizontal length of the building facade of additional stores.

C.

Detail features. Building facades must include a repeating pattern that includes at least three of the following elements:

1.

Color change;

2.

Texture change;

3.

Material module change;

4.

An expression of architectural or structural bays through a change in plane at least 12 inches wide, such as an offset, reveal or projecting rib.

Note: At least one of the above elements must repeat horizontally. All elements must repeat at intervals of no more than 30 feet, either horizontally or vertically.

D.

Roofs. Roofs must have at least two of the following features:

1.

Parapets concealing flat roofs and rooftop equipment, such as HVAC units, from public view. The average height of these parapets must not exceed 15 percent of the height of the supporting wall and the parapets must not at any point exceed one-third of the supporting wall's height. Parapets must feature three-dimensional cornice treatment;

2.

Overhanging eaves, extending at least three feet past the supporting walls;

3.

Sloping roofs that do not exceed the average height of the supporting walls, with an average slope greater than or equal to one foot of vertical rise for every three feet of horizontal run and less than or equal to one foot of vertical rise for every foot of horizontal run;

4.

Three or more roof slope planes.

E.

Materials and colors.

1.

Predominant exterior building materials must be high-quality materials, including, but not limited to brick; sandstone; other native stone; and tinted/textured concrete masonry units.

2.

Facade colors must be low-reflectance, subtle, neutral or earth tone colors. Use of high intensity colors, metallic colors, black or fluorescent colors is prohibited.

3.

Building trim and accent areas may feature brighter colors, including primary colors. However, neon tubing is not an acceptable feature for building trim or accent areas.

4.

Exterior building materials must not include smooth-faced concrete block, tilt-up concrete panels or prefabricated steel panels.

F.

Entryways:

1.

Each principal building on a site must have clearly-defined, highly-visible customer entrances with at least three of the following:

(a)

Canopies or porticos;

(b)

Overhangs;

(c)

Recesses/projections;

(d)

Arcades;

(e)

Raised corniced parapets over the door;

(f)

Peaked roof forms;

(g)

Arches;

(h)

Outdoor patios;

(i)

Display windows;

(j)

Architectural details, such as tile work and moldings that are integrated into the building's structure and design;

(k)

Integral planters or wing walls that incorporate landscaped areas and/or places for sitting.

2.

Where additional stores will be located in the principal building, each store must have at least one exterior customer entrance that complies with the above requirements.

G.

Site design and relationship to surrounding community.

1.

Entrances. Main entrances are encouraged but not required on all sides of a principal building that faces abutting streets.

2.

Parking lot location. No more than 50 percent of the off-street parking area for the lot, tract, or area of land devoted to the large retail establishment can be located between the front facade of the principal building(s) and the abutting streets.

3.

Back sides. The minimum setback for any building facade must be 35 feet from the nearest property line. Where the facade faces adjacent residential uses, an earthen berm must be provided. The berm must at least six feet high and contain, at a minimum, evergreen trees planted at intervals of 20 feet on center or in clusters or clumps.

4.

Connectivity. The site design must provide direct connections and safe street crossings to adjacent land uses.

H.

Pedestrian circulation.

1.

Sidewalks at least eight feet wide must be provided along all sides of a lot that abuts a public street.

2.

Continuous internal pedestrian walkways at least eight feet wide must be provided from the public sidewalk or right-of-way to the principal customer entrance of all principal buildings on the site. At a minimum, walkways must connect focal points of pedestrian activity, such as, but not limited to, transit stops, street crossings, building and store entry points. They must also have adjoining landscaped areas that include trees, shrubs, benches, flower beds, ground covers or other such materials for at least 50 percent of the walkway's length.

3.

Sidewalks at least eight feet wide must be provided along the full length of the building along any facade with a customer entrance and along any facade abutting public parking areas. These sidewalks must be located at least six feet from the building's facade to provide planting beds for foundation landscaping, except where features such as arcades or entryways are part of the facade.

4.

Internal pedestrian walkways provided in conformance with part (2) above must include weather protection features, such as awnings or arcades, within 30 feet of all customer entrances.

5.

All internal pedestrian walkways must be distinguished from driving surfaces through the use of durable, low-maintenance surface materials such as pavers, bricks or scored concrete to enhance pedestrian safety and comfort, as well as attractiveness of the walkways.

I.

Central features and community space. Each retail establishment must contribute to the community and public spaces by providing at least two of the following:

1.

Patio/seating area;

2.

Pedestrian plaza with benches;

3.

Transportation center;

4.

Window shopping walkway;

5.

Outdoor playground area;

6.

Kiosk area;

7.

Water feature;

8.

Clock tower;

9.

Or other such deliberately shaped area and/or a focal feature or amenity that, in the planning director's judgement, adequately enhances such community and public spaces. These areas must have direct access to public sidewalks, and these features must not be constructed of materials that are inferior to the principal materials of the building and landscape.

J.

Delivery/loading operations. Delivery, loading, trash removal or compaction or other similar operations are permitted only between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., unless the applicant submits evidence that sound barriers between all areas for these operations effectively reduce noise emissions to a level of 45 dB measured at the lot line of any adjoining property.

(Res. No. 01232007R005, Exh. A, 1-23-2007)