Santa Clara Zoning Code § 7.3 Standards

• A. Specific to Facades Outside the Neighborhood Edge. Massing increments within the Downtown General Zone outside of the Neighborhood Edge shall be differentiated in the following ways:

1. The primary facade (see Section 6.3.E ) height of each Massing Increment—as measured from the adjacent sidewalk level to the eave, cornice, or parapet— shall differ from the primary facade height of its neighboring Massing Increment(s) by 10% of the lesser facade height (per Table 7-1 ) Upper floors which are set back from the primary facade of the lower floors by a minimum of 15' (per Table 7-1 ) are not considered part of the primary facade height The resulting setback area may be covered by an open structure—such as a trellis or upper floor arcade—with a front facade that is no more than 10% solid, excluding any parapet wall height Figure 7-1 displays a simple difference in primary facade height, while Figure 7-2 shows two other strategies

• a. Forecourts and upper floor forecourts—subject to §9.3.B —that are a minimum of 15' deep satisfy this standard as the portion of facade set back does not count as part of the primary facade height

2. The height of the building base (see Section 6.3.H for more on building bases) shall differ from the neighboring building base by a minimum of 3' For a greater impact, the height of the base can change by an entire floor (see Figure 7-3 )

3. Facade elements—such as openings and Architectural Projections (see Chapter 10 ) that are typically organized into bays—shall not overlap the division between Massing Increments The entire facade composition shall be contained within its Massing Increment

4. A Massing Increment design may be repeated up to a maximum of 3 times on the same project elevation Repeated Massing Increments may not be immediately adjacent to each other

• a. A forecourt—subject to §9.3.B —may provide separation between repeated Massing Increment designs

5. See Section 7.3.C regarding when Massing Increments shall and shall not appear as distinct buildings

FIGURE 7-2 | STRATEGIES FOR VARYING PRIMARY FACADE HEIGHT

15' B UPPER FLOORS SET BACK —The upper level of the right portion of the building is set back at least 15' in order to create an adequate difference in facade height (B) between the two Massing Increments (A). A A B A UPPER-LEVEL FORECOURT —All upper floors above A the building base are set back to A create an upperlevel forecourt which is one strategy to create an adequate differentiation between Massing Increments (B).

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SANTA CLARA CODE

31 | Chapter 7: Building Massing

FIGURE 7-2 | STRATEGIES FOR VARYING BUILDING BASE HEIGHT

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C

CHANGE OF 3.5 FEET —The building base height simply changes from the level of the level of the 2nd floor up to the level of the sill of the 2nd floor.

CHANGE OF 1 FLOOR —The left building base height is one floor taller. This is especially useful to bring contrast where the building material does not change. Note: a 2-story building base is required for buildings of 5 stories or more, per Standard 6.3.H .

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C

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Publication, Apr 2026

ZONING

32 | City of Santa Clara Downtown Form-Base Code