Article 12 — Story Poles

[§ 1, Ord. 1102-10, eff. January 6, 2011; § 1, Ord. 1139-15, eff. August 6, 2015]

• (a) The installation or staking of story poles shall be required in the following instances:

  • (1) For all applications for proposed new development or redevelopment projects which request a variance from standards of development dictating height requirements; or

  • (2) On a case-by-case basis as required by the Planning Commission when, upon consideration of an application for an entitlement, the Planning Commission finds that story poles would assist the Planning Commission in its consideration of the entitlement.

• (b) All story poles must be installed or staked not less than 15 days prior to the date for which the hearing on the application is scheduled.

• (c) A story pole plan shall be reviewed by Planning Staff in coordination with the applicant prior to installation of story poles. The plan shall include the following:

  • (1) Placement of story poles that are sufficient to show the mass, bulk, height, and scale of the structures and measured from a permanent benchmark on or near the proposed project.

  • (2) Major building corners, finished floor levels, significant elements, length of facade within a specific view shed, ridgelines, and a scale should be shown. It may be necessary to stake more than just the four corners of a structure if significant spans are involved.

  • (3) Outline of the building footprint with stakes and construction netting or other visible project elements.

  • (4) Changes proposed in grade, with finished height and elevations, should be shown by color coding the stakes or poles.

  • (5) Materials proposed to be used for story poles: Story poles should be made of 2x lumber or metal pipe (PVC piping may be allowed in some instances) or other study material and cable, wire or rope of sufficient gage to be visible from off-site. All lumber or pipe should be braced for safety purposes. The cable, wire or rope connections should clearly depict the roofline and ridgelines. Installed story poles, site key, and associated flagging shall be of materials and method of installation to withstand reasonably foreseeable weather or other site factors for the required duration of display.

  • (6) For large or complex projects (determined at the discretion of the Planning Director), a story pole plan and legend (11 inches by 17 inches) will be posted on the project site and the Planning Staff's website to inform viewers about the project.

  • (7) The plan is to include the date the story poles are proposed to be installed, as well as the length of time the story poles will remain on site.

• (d) Notwithstanding the requirements in subsection (c) , the story poles do not have to and should not depict all the articulations of the building.

• (e) The story poles shall be installed according to the story pole plan and the following requirements:

• (1) The story pole installation shall be certified by the licensed professional (surveyor, architect, landscape architect, or contractor) who prepared the story pole plan and/or installed the story poles. The certification shall be submitted to staff after installation of the story poles, but before review by the Planning Commission or other review body.

  • (2) Story poles shall remain in place for a minimum of 15 days after the review hearing to allow for filing of any appeal per § 1-4.02 . The poles shall also remain in place throughout the duration of the appeal process and until final resolution of the matter by the City Council, unless the City Council has given permission for the poles to be removed during the appeal process.

  • (3) If story poles are damaged, replacement may be required as directed by the Planning Director.

• (f) Staff is required to:

  • (1) Notify the Planning Commission or City Council if story poles are installed for a project on which they are the decision maker.

  • (2) Document the installed story poles with photographs.