[Added 8-19-2013 by Ord. No. 417-13]
The following development design standards should apply in all
Village of Berwyn Districts:
A.
Purpose. The purpose of this section is to establish consistent requirements that promote village design, pedestrian orientation, and the traditional character of the Village of Berwyn. Adherence to these standards will carry out the purposes of the district as set forth in § 455-20 of Chapter 455, Zoning. Principles guiding the administration of these standards are as follows:
(1)
Buildings should be pedestrian-focused, with windows and doors on
the front facades that are well-placed and in scale with the street
zone.
(3)
Active ground-floor uses in buildings containing nonresidential components
should have multiple entrances and distinctive entrance treatments.
In multitenant buildings, each tenant or use should have its own separate
entrance to ensure secure, proper and easy access for pedestrians
at street level.
(4)
Texture and variety of the building aesthetic should be provided
through facade articulation and composition of architectural elements.
(5)
Architectural expression should be provided in windows, doors, walls,
and roofs.
(6)
Pedestrian pathways and sidewalks should be provided that are safe
and attractive.
(7)
Street trees and shade trees should be employed to enhance development.
B.
The following should apply to buildings containing mixed-use or nonresidential
uses in the Village Business District and the Village Transition District:
(1)
Facade articulation. Facade articulation is a series of small setbacks
and projections in the overall street wall. Articulation breaks the
scale of the building into an aggregate of smaller forms, introduces
rhythm, and relates to the human scale, without detracting from the
overall sense of a consistent street wall. All projects subject to
the land development application process should comply with the following
design standards:
(2)
Facade composition. Facade composition is the arrangement of materials
and details to distinguish the components of the building, particularly
its base and top. All projects subject to the land development application
process should comply with the following standards:
(a)
Building design should distinguish and emphasize the building's
base and top and reinforce the scale of the street for the pedestrian.
(b)
On corner lots, the facade facing the primary street should
be the most prominent.
(c)
No wall-mounted mechanical or service equipment should be placed
on the primary building facade, and such equipment located on nonprimary
building facades should be screened from view to the greatest extent
feasible.
(d)
All buildings should use cornices, canopies, balconies, awnings,
and other visual devices to articulate the line between the ground
level and upper levels.
(e)
Building mass should be de-emphasized through the use of projecting
and recess elements, such as porches, windows, and roof dormers, to
reduce the overall bulk and volume, enhance the visual aesthetic,
and promote a human-scale development pattern.
(3)
Ground-floor facade. The ground floor is the primary zone of interaction
for pedestrians on the street. All projects subject to the land development
application process should comply with the following design standards:
(a)
Main building entrances should face the street or public space
and be oriented to the primary or dominant street if on a corner lot.
(b)
For buildings with a facade or tenant space facing both a primary
street and a side or rear parking lot, the main entrance should face
the primary street. Secondary entrances should face the side or rear
parking lot.
(c)
Building lobbies and retail spaces should be clearly connected
to the outdoor public space and visible from the street.
(d)
For buildings with nonresidential uses on the ground floor,
windows must be at street level and allow pedestrians to see activity
within the building.
(e)
For buildings with residential uses on the ground floor, privacy
can be achieved by raising windows higher on the building facade,
but by no more than half a level above the sidewalk.
(4)
Architectural elements. Architectural elements are the unique details
and component parts that, together, form the architectural style of
buildings and structures.
(a)
All projects subject to the land development application process
should comply with the following standards:
[1]
Windows and doors on primary building facades.
[a]
Ground floor of primary front facade should contain
between 65% to 70% clear windows and doors.
[b]
Highly reflective glass, bronze glass, tinted glass,
black glass, or smoked glass is prohibited.
[c]
Windows and door openings on the ground floor of
the primary building facade must occur in a ratio of at least 3:1
between openings and solid surfaces.
[d]
Windows above the ground floor of the primary building
facade must be clear and occur in a ratio of 1:1 along the horizontal
width of the facade to result in a pattern of solid-wall buildings
with punched windows.
[e]
Individual windows in upper stories of the primary
front facade should be vertically aligned with the location of windows
and doors on the ground level, to the extent feasible.
[f]
In buildings with nonresidential uses on the ground
level, the maximum sill height above the adjacent sidewalk elevation
should be two feet or lower.
[g]
Window heads should be eight feet to 12 feet above
sidewalk level.
[h]
The top of display window(s) in the primary front
facade should be at least as high as the door height.
[2]
Windows and doors on secondary building facades. Any building
wall with less than 25% of clear windows should be articulated by
two or more of the following methods:
[3]
Exterior wall materials.
[a]
There should be one dominant material. Dominant
materials could include brick, stone, wood, hardiplank, fiber cement
siding or approved similar material.
[b]
The number of secondary materials should be minimized
and used above the ground floor. Secondary materials could include
stucco, vinyl siding, or any of the dominant materials.
[4]
Roofs.
[a]
Tops of buildings must express the roofline and
have either pitched roofs with overhanging eaves or flat roofs with
articulated parapets and cornices.
[b]
Fascias, dormers, and gables or similar architectural
features should be employed to provide visual interest.
[c]
Pitched roofs should have a minimum slope of 4:12.
[e]
Corrugated plastic or metal roofs are prohibited.
[f]
All rooftop mechanical equipment should be screened
visually and acoustically. Such screening should be integrated into
the architectural design of the building.
(b)
The Board of Supervisors may approve the use of architectural
standards and designs that differ from those set forth in this subsection
if the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Board that
such standards and designs are consistent with the legislative intent
of this article and of this subsection.
C.
The following specific standards should apply to new residential
development or redevelopment activities that are subject to the land
development application process in the Village Transition District
and the Village Residential District:
(1)
The front facade of the principal building on a lot should face onto
a public street.
(2)
Porches, pent roofs, roof overhangs, hooded front doors, or other
similar architectural elements should define the front entrance to
new residences.
(3)
Garages should be set back a minimum of 10 feet from the building
line of the primary facade of the principal building. The minimum
side and rear yard setback for garages should be 10 feet, unless buildings
are attached.
(4)
Portions of steps, outside stairways, and/or entrance platforms extending
beyond the build-to line or into side or rear yard areas should not
comprise an area larger than 32 square feet, nor should they be located
any closer than three feet from any property line.
D.
Structured parking facilities (parking garages). Structured parking
facilities in the Village of Berwyn Districts should abide by the
following standards:
(1)
The primary building facade of parking structures should include
architectural design elements that emulate pedestrian-scaled residential,
commercial or mixed-use buildings. This appearance can be achieved
either by integrating structured parking within or behind actual residential,
commercial or mixed-use structures, or by the construction of building
facades on parking structures that employ the same dominant and secondary
building materials included herein for such buildings. Such building
materials should include elements that resemble actual windows and
be arranged accordingly on the building facade.
(2)
Vehicles in structured parking facilities should not be visible from
the street.
(3)
Automobile access to parking structures must be gained from an interior
driveway or secondary road frontage and not through the primary building
facade.
E.
Parking lot screening and greening standards. All parking and loading areas fronting public streets or sidewalks and all parking and loading areas abutting residential districts or uses in the Village of Berwyn Districts (VB, VT, and VR) should abide by the standards contained in § 274-43L of this chapter.
F.
Historic
resource protection shall be in accordance with the provisions of:
[Added 11-21-2022 by Ord. No. 453-22]
(4)
Section 274-48F. Design standards for historic resource protection in the Village of Berwyn, consisting of six sheets, dated September 12, 2022, and any updates thereto.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said design standards are included as an attachment to this chapter.
