§ 27-525. Commercial site design standards.

Commercial site design in the 47th and Mission Road area shall conform to the principles outlined in the 47th and Mission Road Concept Plan. The following design standards implement and shall be interpreted consistent with the plan.

(1)

Building placement

a.

Front setback. All new buildings shall be built to the right-of-way line, except as provided in subsection (1)g of this section.

b.

Side setbacks. The minimum side setbacks shall be:

1.

Zero feet, provided each sidewall of all buildings on the zero-foot side are constructed with a fire wall;

2.

Five feet, if a firewall is not provided;

3.

Property abutting residential districts, shall have a side setback equivalent to that of the abutting residential district. In this case, the side setback area shall be used to provide a buffer according to subsection (5) of this section.

c.

Rear setback. Minimum rear setbacks shall be 15 feet except that property with a rear lot line abutting a residential district shall have a setback equivalent to the residential district. In such case, the rear setback shall be used to provide a buffer according to subsection (5) of this section.

d.

Continuous building frontage. Building facades on the street frontage should be maximized to provide continuous corridors within the overlay district. All lot frontages should be occupied by building frontages except for entrance drives or alleys to rear parking, courtyards or patios, or any side parking. In the case of courtyards and patios, or side parking, the appearance of a continuous building frontage shall be maintained by a 2½ to four-foot fence or wall constructed out of the same material as the building facade, or by a continuous landscape element impenetrable by pedestrians. In all cases, at least 60 percent of the lot frontage shall be occupied by a building facade.

e.

Main entrance. The main entrance of all buildings shall be oriented to the street. In the case of corner lots, a building may have one entrance on each street or may have one corner entrance.

f.

Building area. In addition to meeting all site requirements for landscaping, parking, and building setbacks, no building shall occupy more than 75 percent of the total lot area.

g.

Exception. Buildings on commercial lots outside the village area described in the attached exhibit A may be set back from the right-of-way line. In no case shall a front building setback exceed 80 feet. Any parking facilities in front of buildings shall be setback a minimum of ten feet from the right-of-way line.

(2)

Site access.

a.

Pedestrian access. All buildings shall have a continuous sidewalk along the frontage of the lot. The sidewalk shall be a minimum of ten feet wide, except as provided in subsection (2)d of this section.

b.

Vehicle access. Curb cuts in the 47th and Mission Road area should be minimized. Wherever possible, adjacent properties should minimize curb cuts by use of shared parking or shared access to separate parking lots.

c.

Connections. Continuous pedestrian connections shall be provided through all parking lots and between parking lots and store front sidewalks. These pedestrian connections shall primarily be pedestrian-only sidewalks, but may include crosswalks across parking lot drive aisles and driveways where necessary. The following design elements shall be used to maintain pedestrian connections and minimize conflicts with vehicles:

1.

Alleys, driveways, and parking lot drive aisles shall not exceed 24 feet for two-way access or 12 feet for one-way access.

2.

"Bulb outs" for pedestrian-only travel should be used to minimize the distance of pedestrian walkways across driveways, alleys, parking lots, or other vehicle accessways.

3.

All pedestrian walkways across driveways, alleys, parking lots, or other vehicle accessways shall be distinguished from the vehicle accessway by a visually identifiable path or distinctly textured surface.

d.

Exception. Pedestrian access on commercial lots outside the village area in the attached exhibit A may be provided by smaller sidewalks, but shall meet the minimum accessibility standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act across the front of all lots. Additional pedestrian access may be provided as the site allows or may be provided on private property. If the building is setback from the right-of-way line, an additional pedestrian sidewalk, at least eight feet wide, shall be provided across the front of the building and connected to the sidewalk at the lot frontage as provided in subsection (2)c of this section.

(3)

Parking.

a.

Required parking. The parking required for uses in the overlay district shall be established by the applicable standards for the underlying zoning ordinance. However, parking shall not cover more than 50 percent of the lot area.

b.

Location. Parking shall be provided primarily behind buildings in the village area, however up to 50 percent of the required parking may be provided to the side of a building. No off-street parking shall be provided in front of the building line in the village area. Parking on commercial lots outside the village area should be located primarily behind the building, but may be located on the side or in front of the building.

c.

Shared parking. Parking requirements in the overlay district may be met through shared parking according to the following conditions and standards:

1.

A written agreement for the joint use of parking facilities shall be executed by the parties, approved by unified government and recorded with the register of deeds for any county in which property subject to the agreement is situated. The agreement shall include any necessary cross access easements among property owners.

2.

Parking requirements are cumulative except that parking may be shared, at the sole discretion of unified government according to the following standards:

(i)

When two or more uses located on the same or adjacent lot have distinctly different hours of operation (e.g., commercial office and residential, or church and school), 100 percent of the required parking may be shared. Required parking shall be based on the use that demands the greatest amount of parking per the underlying ordinance requirement.

(ii)

When two or more uses located on the same or adjacent lot have distinctly different peak hours of operation (e.g., office and restaurant/entertainment), 50 percent of the required parking spaces may be shared among the uses.

(iii)

Shared parking shall not be allowed if the parking spaces are more than 700 feet from the main entrance of the building.

3.

Direct pedestrian access, meeting the requirements of subsection (2)c of this section, shall be provided between any shared parking and the main entrance of any building proposing to share parking.

4.

Applicant's for shared parking shall submit a statement indicating the ability of the proposed shared parking arrangement to meet the demands of all uses involved. The statement shall include hours of operation, hours of peak operation, forecasted demand, and other data indicating the appropriateness of shared parking.

5.

Any change of use or other change causing violation of the shared parking agreement or these standards shall invalidate the shared parking eligibility and the parking requirements of the underlying zoning ordinance shall be met.

d.

On-street parking. Any on-street parking, authorized by unified government and within 300 feet of the lot, may be credited towards the on-site parking requirements at a rate of one on-site parking space credit for every four on-street parking spaces. A maximum of 50 percent of the required parking may be satisfied by on-street parking credits. On street parking spaces may be counted by more than one user in meeting this requirement.

e.

Bicycle parking. Bicycle parking facilities are encouraged. Any bicycle parking spaces provided within 100 feet of the main entrance of a building may be credited towards the on-site parking requirements at a rate of one parking credit for every five bicycle parking spaces. A maximum of ten percent of the required parking may be satisfied by the bicycle parking credit.

f.

Landscape elements. Parking lots larger than 20 spaces shall incorporate at least one internal landscape island into the lot design. Landscape islands shall be at least ten percent of the parking lot area. Each required landscape island shall be a minimum of 20 square feet and a maximum of 500 square feet. Landscape islands shall maintain a minimum five-foot width at all times. Landscape islands shall be planted with landscape elements consistent with subsection (5) of this section. Landscape elements along the perimeter of a parking lot shall not count towards the landscape island requirement.

g.

Lighting. Exterior lighting on commercial properties shall be designed and maintained as to not cast obtrusive glare onto sidewalks, streets, or property used for single-family residences.

(4)

Architecture features.

a.

Enhanced entrances. All main entrances shall be enhanced by architectural details. Such details may include recessed or slightly protruding entrances, building material variations, color variations, or artistic elements and other special treatments.

b.

Windows. All buildings shall be predominantly transparent at the street level with a minimum of 40 percent and a maximum of 80 percent of the facade occupied by windows. Upper levels may be less transparent with a minimum of 25 percent of the facade occupied by windows.

c.

Building materials. The preferred building material in the overlay district is masonry, including brick or stone. Commercial grade materials should only be incorporated into the building as accent features.

d.

Colors. Primary building colors should be earth tones. Trim or other specialty features should compliment the material and color of the building. Brighter or more dramatic color applications may be provided on doors, windows, awnings, and signs.

e.

Awnings and canopies. Awnings or canopies are encouraged on facades to provide weather protection and shade to pedestrians, and to add visual appeal to the 47th and Mission Road area. Awnings and canopies may project into the building setback or right-of-way provided they are a minimum of 7½ feet above grade. Any awnings provided shall be fabric and shall not be back-lit. Permanent canopies may be constructed if designed as an integral part of the structure. All awnings or canopies on a single block shall be hung at the same height above finished grade.

f.

Facade lighting. Facade lighting is encouraged within the overlay district. Facade lighting may be used to highlight architectural features of a building, provide secondary light to the pedestrian zone, or to enhance visibility of signs. Facade lighting shall be shielded so that the light source is applied to the building and does not provide any direct light or glare on sidewalks or streets.

g.

Proportion. Deviations in building heights of greater than one story or 15 feet, whichever is less, shall be prohibited between adjacent buildings. Three-story buildings or buildings between 35 and 40 feet shall only be allowed at the intersections of streets, unless the entire block is constructed of buildings of the same height. No buildings shall exceed 40 feet in height.

h.

Roofs. Flat and pitched roofs are allowed. Flat roofs shall incorporate a roof-screening element such as a parapet or pediment as part of the building design. Pitched roofs shall not have a reflective finish and shall have a color complementary to the building color and design.

(5)

Landscape requirements and screening.

a.

Residential buffers. All commercial uses shall provide a landscape buffer from any single-family uses. The landscape buffer shall be of a density to provide an all-season visual screen from the single-family property. Treatments may include a combination of earth-berms, masonry walls or privacy fences, and tree, bush and shrub plantings. The buffer shall be a minimum of ten feet in width.

b.

Landscape materials. All private landscape materials shall be consistent with the standards for public landscape improvements in the 47th and Mission Road area, and be consistent with the 47th and Mission Road Area Concept Plan.

c.

Screening. Specialty equipment such as antennas, satellite dishes, trash and recycling containers, meter and utility boxes and HVAC equipment shall be screened from direct view from streets, sidewalks, and other areas of regular public access. Ground-mounted equipment shall be screened from view with year-round landscape coverage or masonry wall enclosure consistent with the main building material. Roof-mounted equipment shall be placed far enough from the roof edge, or shall be screened with architectural elements incorporated into the design of the building, so as to not be seen from the sidewalk across any adjacent street.

(6)

Signs. The following signs are allowed in the overlay district:

a.

Facade sign. One facade sign shall be allowed per building tenant, identifying the business or tenant. However, no more than ten percent of a building facade may be occupied by facade signs.

b.

Pedestrian signs. One pedestrian sign shall be allowed per building tenant, identifying the business of the tenant. Pedestrian signs may be suspended from canopies or awnings, or affixed perpendicular to a building. Pedestrian signs shall not be lower than seven feet, six inches from grade level and shall not exceed ten square feet. Building-affixed pedestrian signs shall not protrude more than three feet from the building surface.

c.

Monuments signs. Each building shall be allowed one monument sign no greater than four feet in height and no larger than 40 square feet in area. Where a building has multiple tenants, only one monument sign shall be allowed which may identify the multiple tenants. No monument sign shall obscure any vehicle or pedestrian sight lines or obstruct pedestrian and vehicle movement. Monument signs shall be constructed of the same material as the primary building material, or with materials consistent with the public streetscape elements. Illumination of all signs should only be by external illumination. Internal sign illumination and back-lit signs are strongly discouraged.

(Code 1988, § 27-1208; Ord. No. O-49-02, § 1, 6-27-2002)