Chapter 23.13 — BUILDING AND SITE DESIGN STANDARDS

• (A) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to establish building and design standards to ensure quality design.

• (B) Applicability. The standards of this section shall apply to:

• (1) Residential development.

• (2) Mixed-use residential development in all zones.

• (3) Non-residential development in all zones.

(C) Exceptions to building and site design standards. Exceptions or modifications to the standards of this section may be granted as specifically stated or through approval of a modification where the Review Authority finds that alternative design features have been incorporated to meet the overall design intent of the standard.

(Ord. 4823, passed 1-22-24; Ord. 4831, passed 8-26-24)

• (A) Building entrances and orientation.

(1) Buildings located within 30 feet of a front or street side lot line shall be oriented toward the adjacent front or street side lot line with the building frontage parallel to the fronting public sidewalk. The primary building entrance shall face the public sidewalk.

(2) All buildings located in the interior of a site shall have an entrance from a pedestrian walkway that is a minimum of four feet wide and connects to a public sidewalk.

(3) In the CBD Zone, one or more public entrances shall be provided at the rear of all buildings which face Main Street.

• (4) Additional entrance requirements, ground floor non-residential uses.

(a) There shall be a minimum of one entrance for every 50 feet of building frontage with a maximum separation of 100 feet between entrances.

(b) Buildings located on corners shall provide an entrance toward each street or have a corner entrance that provides a common entrance to the building from both streets.

• (5) Additional entrance requirements, residential uses.

(a) Shared entrances. All buildings that provide access to more than one unit from a shared exterior entrance shall provide a minimum of one primary shared entranceway that leads to a common area, such as a lobby or community space, a minimum of ten-feet wide and ten-feet deep, and that is emphasized utilizing at least one of the following methods:

1. A roofed projection over the door (such as an awning, canopy, or overhang) with a minimum depth and width of five feet.

2. A recessed entry bay with a minimum depth and width of five feet.

3. Incorporating the entrance into a vertical mass that extends two or more feet above the height of the first floor plate vertical mass.

4. A landing, deck, or stoop with a minimum depth of six feet and minimum width of eight feet.

5. Transparent windows or openings that comprise a minimum of 50% of the area located within 20 feet of the midpoint of the primary building entrance. Glass is considered transparent where it has a transparency higher than 80% and external reflectance of less than 15%.

FIGURE 23.13.020.A.5.A: SHARED ENTRANCES

(b) Individual entrances. All residential units accessed through individual entrances at the ground level shall provide a minimum of one primary individual entranceway with a projection (such as a covered porch) or recess with a minimum depth and width of three feet and a minimum area of nine square feet or a landing, deck, uncovered porch, or stoop with a minimum depth and width of six feet.

FIGURE 23.13.020.A.5.B: INDIVIDUAL ENTRANCES

(B) Façade design. Buildings shall include the following design features to create visual variety and avoid a largescale and bulky appearance.

(1) Minimum depth of overhanging eaves. Overhanging eaves, if provided, shall extend a minimum of two feet beyond the supporting wall.

(a) Overhanging eaves incorporated as part of an addition to a building with existing overhanging eaves may be consistent with the depth of the existing overhanging eave, even if the existing overhanging eaves extend less than two feet beyond the supporting wall.

(2) Roof line. Roof lines shall be varied and designed to minimize the bulk of a building, screen roof-mounted equipment, and enhance the building's architectural design through the following methods:

(a) A minimum of one roof line offset at least 20 feet in length shall be provided for every 50 feet of façade length. For buildings greater than 50 feet in length and less than 70 feet in length, a minimum of one roof line offset at least five feet in length shall be provided.

(b) All parapets shall provide returns of at least six feet in depth at the end of the parapet face to avoid a false front appearance.

FIGURE 23.13.020.B.2: ROOF LINE

(3) Façade articulation.

(a) Buildings less than three stories. All buildings less than three stories and over 50 feet wide shall provide a massing break with a minimum width of 20 feet and a minimum depth of 2.5 feet for every 50 feet of façade length.

FIGURE 23.13.020.B.3.A: FAÇADE ARTICULATION: BUILDINGS LESS THAN THREE STORIES

• (b) Buildings three or more stories.

1. All buildings with three or more stories and over 50 feet wide shall provide a massing break with a minimum width of 20 feet and a minimum depth of five feet for every 50 feet of façade length.

FIGURE 23.13.020.B.3.B: FAÇADE ARTICULATION: BUILDINGS THREE OR MORE STORIES

2. In addition to the façade articulation requirement in division B(3)(b)1. above, upper and lower stories in buildings of three or more stories shall be distinguished by incorporating one or more of the following features. These features may be applied to the transitions between any floors, except where otherwise specified.

a. A change in façade materials, along with a change in plane at least one inch in depth at the transition between the two materials.

b. A base treatment at the ground floor consisting of a material such as brick, stone, concrete masonry, or other material distinct from the remainder of the façade and projecting at least one inch from the wall surface of the remainder of the building.

c. Setting back the top floor or floors of the building at least five feet from the remainder of the façade.

(4) Windows and openings.

(a) No wall facing a public right-of-way shall run in a continuous plane of more than 30 feet without a window, door, or other opening.

(b) Non-residential uses: building transparency/required openings. Exterior walls facing and within 30 feet of a front or street side lot line or public sidewalk shall include windows, doors, or other openings for at least 50% of the building wall area located between two and a half and seven feet above the level of the sidewalk.

1. Design of required openings. Openings fulfilling this requirement shall have transparent glazing and provide views into work areas, display areas, sales areas, lobbies, or similar active spaces, or into window displays that are at least three feet deep.

2. Reductions. The Director may approve a modification to reduce or waive the building transparency requirement where one of the following findings can be made:

a. The proposed use has certain operational characteristics with which providing the required windows and openings is incompatible; and

b. Street-facing building walls will exhibit architectural relief and detail, and will be enhanced with landscaping in such a way as to create visual interest at the pedestrian level.

(c) Residential uses: window trim or recess. Windows for residential uses shall have trim at least one-half inch in depth, or be recessed at least two inches from the plane of the surrounding exterior wall.

FIGURE 23.13.020.B.4.C: RESIDENTIAL USES: WINDOW TRIM OR RECESS

(5) Balconies and decks. Balconies and decks situated above the first floor shall be located at least 15 feet away from any interior property line to minimize "overviewing" onto adjacent residential properties. This provision shall not apply to balconies or decks located directly above an attached or detached garage that is located within the front yard setback of a sloping lot pursuant to § 23.04.030(A), Sloping Lot Adjustment.

• (6) Exterior building colors and materials.

• (a) Each façade shall have three or more colors and three or more materials, exclusive of windows.

• (b) Fluorescent and neon colors are prohibited.

• (c) The following materials are prohibited.

1. Vinyl siding.

2. T-111 plywood siding.

• (C) Space requirements.

(1) Ground floor height, non-residential uses. The minimum ground floor height for non-residential uses is 14 feet measured floor to ceiling.

(2) Tenant space depth, non-residential uses. Non-residential ground floor interior tenant spaces shall be a minimum of 60 feet in depth for a minimum of half of the width of the tenant space and a minimum of 40 feet in depth elsewhere, except as exempted by the Director through the approval of a modification on small or constrained sites. (Ord. 4823, passed 1-22-24; Ord. 4831, passed 8-26-24)

(A) Open space requirements, residential uses (excluding single-unit dwellings). Open space shall be provided in compliance with the standards of this section. No portion of required open space shall be used for driveways or offstreet vehicle parking and loading facilities, nor may one area of open space be double counted as satisfying the requirements of multiple types of required open space. However, the area provided to meet the open space requirement may count toward other site requirements such as landscaping, amenities, and stormwater retention and control if the area provided as open space also meets the criteria of those individual requirements.

(1) Amount of open space. The amount of required open space shall be equal to a minimum of 300 square feet for each unit. A minimum of 150 square feet per unit shall be provided as common open space. The balance of the required open space may be provided as private or common open space.

(a) Single room occupancy (SROs). Single room occupancy developments shall provide 15 square feet of open space per unit, which may be provided as private or common open space.

(2) Common open space. Common open space provides permanent amenity or recreation areas with shared access for all building occupants. Common open space includes but is not limited to courtyards, terraces, forecourts,

gardens, outdoor dining areas, plazas, landscaped areas, patios, swimming pools, barbeque areas, athletic courts or fields, playgrounds, recreation areas, gardens, rooftop amenities, urban furniture, family friendly uses, shade structures, and other similar common areas intended for shared use by building occupants. Common open space also includes indoor activity and amenity space that is accessible and available to all building occupants. Common open space shall be provided to the satisfaction of the Community Development Director.

(a) Required setbacks. Common open space shall be located outside of front and street side setbacks.

(b) Minimum dimensions. Common open space shall have a minimum dimension of 15 feet in all directions, except common indoor recreation/office uses.

(c) Surfacing. Outdoor common open space shall be surfaced in a manner that allows convenient use for

outdoor living and/or recreation. Such surface may be any practicable combination of lawn, garden, flagstone, wood planking, concrete, decking, or other serviceable, dust-free surfacing.

1. Maximum slope. Slopes shall not exceed 10%.

(d) Required amenities. Recreational amenities shall be required on all projects of four or more units. The amenities shall include one or more of the following: swimming pool, spa, recreation room with ping pong table and lounge furniture or billiard table, children's play equipment, barbecue and picnic table, tennis court, bocce ball, weight room or sauna, pet friendly amenities including but not limited to drink stations, dog walks/parks, etc., or other similar amenities

s of four or more units. The amenities shall include one or more of the following: swimming pool, spa, recreation room with ping pong table and lounge furniture or billiard table, children's play equipment, barbecue and picnic table, tennis court, bocce ball, weight room or sauna, pet friendly amenities including but not limited to drink stations, dog walks/parks, etc., or other similar amenities

(e) Maintenance. Common indoor and outdoor open space shall be controlled and permanently maintained by the owner of the property, or by a homeowners' association. Provisions for such control and maintenance shall be included in the covenants, conditions and restrictions.

(3) Private open space. Private open space provides open space areas for the exclusive use of the occupants of a single dwelling unit and includes but is not limited to balconies, decks, terraces, patios, fenced yards, and other similar private areas.

(a) Minimum dimensions. Private open space located on the ground level (e.g., yards, decks, patios) shall have no dimension less than eight feet. Private open space located above ground level (e.g., balconies) shall have no dimension less than five feet.

(b) Accessibility. Private open space shall be accessible to only one dwelling unit by a doorway to a habitable room or hallway.

(c) Surfacing. A surface shall be provided that allows convenient use for outdoor living and/or recreation. Such surface may be any practicable combination of lawn, garden, flagstone, wood planking, concrete, or other serviceable, dust-free surfacing. Slope shall not exceed 10%.

(B) Limitations on location of parking. Above ground parking and structured parking, including partially submerged or underground parking with three or more feet above ground shall be located a minimum of 40 feet from the primary street facing property line. The Director may approve a modification where one of the following findings may be made:

(1) The design incorporates conditioned, usable space built close to the public sidewalk to the maximum extent feasible; and

(2) The site is physically constrained such that underground parking or above ground parking located more than 40 feet from the primary street frontage is not feasible.

(C) Pedestrian access. On-site pedestrian circulation and access shall be provided according to the following standards.

(1) Internal connections. A system of pedestrian walkways shall connect all buildings on a site to each other, to on-site automobile and bicycle parking areas, and to any on-site open space areas or pedestrian amenities.

(2) Circulation network. On-site walkways shall be connected to the public sidewalk and other planned or existing pedestrian routes. An on-site walkway shall connect the primary building entry or entries to a public sidewalk on each street frontage.

(3) Pedestrian walkway design. Walkways shall be a minimum of four feet wide, shall be hard-surfaced, and paved with concrete, stone, tile, brick, or comparable material.

(Ord. 4823, passed 1-22-24; Ord. 4831, passed 8-26-24)