Chapter 18.94 — Residential Subdivision Design Guidelines

This Chapter provides residential design guidelines to assist project designers and property owners in understanding and implementing the Town’s goals for attaining high quality residential development and for preserving the small town character of its neighborhoods. Truckee neighborhoods are unique and new subdivisions should respect and strengthen existing character, while creating a positive design of their own. These guidelines are not intended to promote one type of development over another. Their primary objective is to encourage well designed residential neighborhoods which:

• A. Mitigate the dominance of the automobile;

• B. Promote pedestrian and bicycle activity;

• C. Provide community open space and opportunities for active and/or passive outdoor recreation;

• D. Protect significant features of the natural environment including environmentally sensitive areas;

• E. Provide connectivity between neighborhoods and foster community interaction; and

• F. Discourage monotonous and sprawling development patterns.

• A. The provisions of this Chapter apply to all tentative maps for residential projects.

• B. The review authority may exercise discretion in applying these guidelines to specific projects as not all design criteria may be workable or appropriate for each project. In some circumstances, a guideline may be relaxed in order to accomplish another, more important guideline. The overall objective is to ensure that the intent and spirit of the design guidelines are followed, and to attain the best possible project.

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Residential Subdivision Design Guidelines

Truckee’s unique natural environment defines many of the most important aspects of the town’s community character. The mountain landscape dominates the built environment in Truckee. Scenic views of surrounding mountain peaks and ridgelines, and sweeping vistas of the forested hillsides, meadows, and the Truckee River Valley in which the town lies, provide an environment of uncommon beauty and a powerful connection to the nature. All developers of residential subdivision projects should demonstrate an understanding of this General Plan Community Character Element guiding language as part of the Tentative Map. The following guidelines should be used to prepare residential subdivision tentative maps:

A. Respect existing contexts and natural features.

1. Identify existing site constraints including environmentally sensitive areas and design open space to encompass these areas. Natural amenities (e.g., views, mature trees, creeks, riparian vegetation, and similar features) should be preserved and incorporated into proposed projects to the greatest extent feasible. See Chapter 18.36 (Hillside Development Standards). See Figure 5-4.

2. Consider adjacent development and connectivity between built and proposed projects and design homes, open space, subdivision amenities, and infrastructure appropriate for the surrounding context; Subdivisions that appear out of context shall be strongly discouraged;

3. Design streets, lot locations and dimensions, and infrastructure to blend with existing topography and natural features. Consideration should be given to providing connectivity to adjacent neighborhoods to the greatest extent feasible consistent with Circulation Element policy 2.4; and

4. Incorporate materials, color schemes, and architectural styles that allow the subdivision to blend into the landscape and rural and mountain environment. The use of rustic and natural material such as stone and wood, and color palettes that reflect the natural environment, are strongly encouraged.

B. Develop “neighborhoods.” New residential subdivisions should ensure that:

1. They do not significantly change the character of established neighborhoods;

2. Groups of new projects together create true neighborhoods, not isolated compounds;

3. Features of the natural landscape are preserved;

4. Subdivision amenities such as clubhouses and recreation facilities are centrally located to encourage interaction at the neighborhood core;

5. A variety of housing opportunities can be accommodated within the subdivision (such as small and large units or lots).

6. Consideration is given to how the subdivision connects to existing community assets such as trail systems, commercial centers, schools, and economic centers.

C. Design connected streets.

1. New residential subdivisions should align public streets with those of adjacent developments, avoiding the tendency to become enclaves apart from the rest of the community. Public streets should be planned to be continuous through adjacent

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residential developments, where permitted by terrain and other natural features, to weave the community together and simplify traffic circulation patterns;

2. Grid street patterns should be used where appropriate to provide alternative traffic routes within subdivisions;

3. Cul-de-sacs interrupt the pattern of connecting streets, thereby decreasing accessibility within and between adjacent neighborhoods. The used of cul-de-sacs is strongly discouraged except where through connections would degrade existing environmentally sensitive areas or where pedestrian and/or bicycle trail connections are desired.

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----- Start of picture text -----
DO THIS: NOT THIS:
Diagram of residential grid street Diagram of residential cul-de-sac
pattern. Traffic is evenly distributed street pattern. Fewer route choices
and more pedestrian opportunities are provided and pedestrian
!
are provided. opportunities are discouraged.
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FIGURE 5-1 CONNECTED STREETS

D. Fences.

1. Fences along ridges should be of “open” construction to allow for protection of scenic views.

2. Fencing adjacent to open space areas should be of a wood-rail type. Fencing should have a maximum height of four feet, with horizontal rails or open wire sufficiently spaced to restrict trespassing and to provide security, but to allow for animal movement (deer, etc.) across these areas. See Figure 5-3.

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3. Fencing of subdivision perimeters is strongly discouraged.

FIGURE 5-2 APPROPRIATE FENCING

• E. Rural Residential Subdivisions. New projects and additions to existing projects located within rural residential neighborhoods, as identified in General Plan Community Character Element Figure CC-2, should maintain a rural character as follows:

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1. The overall appearance of a natural mountain landscape should be preserved. Site design should emphasize retention of native and mature vegetation, especially along roadways, within front yards, and surrounding trails and subdivision amenities.

2. Pedestrian facilities should be provided along at least one side of major roadways.

3. Provide transitional areas between the natural environment and the urban fringe (e.g. a home with formal landscaping close to the residence that shifts to a more “natural landscape” and ultimately to undeveloped areas beyond). “Soft” or feathered edges should be created rather than “hard edges” or more abrupt transitions created by building edges or walls.

4. Homes should be screened from roadways;

The following guidelines relate to the internal organization of residential subdivisions. The intent of these guidelines is to ensure that the relationships between housing units and to other on-site uses are attractive and create visual variety along project streets.

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FIGURE 5-3 INCORPORATING NATURAL AMENITIES

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• A. Site design should not change natural drainage patterns. Site grading should be sensitive to existing landforms and topography so that the natural setting may be preserved to the greatest extent possible. When modifications are necessary, surface drainage with appropriate retention facilities is preferred to underground systems.

• B. Subdivisions for detached single-family homes should be designed with varied front and side yard setbacks. Long monotonous rows of homes set at the same setback are strongly discouraged. See Figure 5-5.

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FIGURE 5-4 VARIED ENTRY SETBACKS

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• C. Single-family parcels should avoid a patterned “cookie cutter” look by employing a variety of lot sizes, widths, and shapes, whenever possible, except where this pattern has already been established in the neighborhood. See Figure 5-6.

• D. Existing healthy mature trees should be preserved and incorporated into project landscaping to the greatest extent feasible.

• E. Development on sloping sites should follow the natural contours of the land. Stepped building pads, and larger setbacks should be FIGURE 5-5 used to preserve the general shape of natural VARIED PARCEL DESIGN land forms and to minimize grade differentials with adjacent streets and with adjoining properties. See Chapter 18.36 (Hillside Development Standards), and Figure 5-7.

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FIGURE 5-6 DESIGN SENSITIVE TO TERRAIN

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• H. Snow storage areas should be incorporated into subdivision site design. Sufficient snow storage areas should be provided on cul-de-sacs and at street corners to ensure adequate snow storage within the subdivision. The location, dimensions, improvements, and type (i.e., rightof-way vs. easement) shall be determined by the Town Engineer. Off-hauling of snow shall be discouraged unless a finding of necessity is made by the Town Engineer and adopted by the review authority with the tentative map. Snow storage from streets onto private property is not allowed unless snow storage easements are established. Provisions should be included so that sidewalks are not covered with snow by snow plowing operations.

• I. Curb-adjacent sidewalks create an undesirable urban appearance and are strongly discouraged. Detached sidewalks or pedestrian paths separated from the road with variable-width parkways are preferred.

• J. New roads and roadway improvements should be located, constructed, and maintained in a manner that prevents adverse impacts to water quality and significant biological, scenic, and historic resources.

The consideration of passive solar energy techniques in subdivision design is strongly encouraged, where not in conflict with the objective of preserving the natural features of the site.

• A. Street orientation. Streets that run generally east and west are encouraged because they increase the likelihood and desirability of houses sited with solar access to the south. Southwall glass is important to providing maximum passive solar heating. Where streets do run primarily east and west, solar access can still be provided by creative lot configuration and siting of units on the lots. See Figure 5.8.

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FIGURE 5-7 SOLAR ORIENTATION OF PARCELS

• B. Setbacks. Placing a house near the north boundary of its lot allows a major portion of the open space to the south of each unit to be controlled by the owner of the house rather than by an adjacent neighbor. Flexibility in setback requirements may be considered to achieve adequate solar orientation when other aspects of the project are also designed to incorporate passive heating and cooling techniques. See Figure 5-9.

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• C. Siting. In general, houses should be sited so that south-facing glass is maximized, east- and west-facing glass is minimized. Units attached in preferred east-west directions should not be staggered so as to block south glass collector surfaces. Also, units should not be sited closer to northern units than solar access angles will allow. See Figure 5-10.

• D. Compact design. Minimize heat loss by reducing the area of exterior wall and roof surfaces. Use a compact design, (i.e., a two-story house), rather than have the same amount of floor space spread out on a single story.

• E. Roof pitch and color. In a snow country climate, the need for heating is greater than the need for cooling. Dark colored rooftops, if steep enough, can absorb solar energy and can add some of this heat to the interior of the structure.

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18.95

Urban Lot Split and Two-Unit Projects (Senate Bill 9)

– CHAPTER 18.95 URBAN LOT SPLIT AND TWO-UNIT PROJECTS (SENATE BILL 9)

Sections:

18.95.010 – Urban Lot Splits, Purpose of Chapter 18.95.020 – Urban Lot Split Preparation, Application Contents, Approval 18.95.030 – Two-Unit Projects, Purpose of Section 18.95.040 – Two-Unit Projects Preparation, Application Contents, Approval