[Added 9-18-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-829]
A.
The purpose of this article is to:
(2)
Promote high-quality development by utilizing appropriate building
materials to create highly articulated architecture with a fully integrated
streetscape.
(3)
Provide for safe, convenient, direct pedestrian access to buildings
and to and from public sidewalks, transit facilities, crosswalks,
pedestrian/bicycle paths and between various buildings in the district.
(4)
Promote the use of alternative modes of transportation such
as bicycle and pedestrian paths and public transit and provide and
maintain high-quality public transportation waiting areas.
(5)
Provide a pedestrian-friendly character and atmosphere throughout
the district with public gardens, courtyards, plazas, pedestrian/bicycle
paths, street trees, seating areas, coordinated street furnishings,
omamental lighting and pedestrian-scale signage and wayfinding.
B.
Applicability.
(1)
These design standards shall apply to any land development application
as defined by the Township ordinances except as provided below.
(2)
These standards shall not apply when the new building or expanded
building is located 300 feet or more from a street ultimate right-of-way.
(3)
Chain architecture. If a proposed use has standard architectural
styles, materials and motifs, the proposed architecture shall be subject
to the Architectural design standards.
(4)
If there is a conflict between the design standards for the
KPMU District and other Township land development and subdivision
ordinance standards, the KPMU standards shall govern as determined
by the Board of Supervisors.
C.
Compliance.
(1)
A design manual shall be submitted in conjunction with a land
development to demonstrate how the development will comply with the
design standards. The Design Manual shall include the following items:
(a)
Site plan, drawn to scale, showing the plan elements as contained
within this article;
(b)
Photographs of existing buildings that illustrate the design
intent of the proposal; or building elevations drawn to scale; or
photorealistic illustrations depicting proposed scale, proportions,
design elements, materials and color;
(c)
Colored rendering of the plan(s);
(d)
Landscape plan; and
(e)
Current photographs of site.
(2)
Once the preliminary styles are reviewed by the Board of Supervisors
and the Township provides the applicant with verbal and/or written
comments, additional and more-detailed architectural renderings, prepared
by a registered architect, shall be submitted for all proposed buildings,
together with a list and samples of types of exterior building materials
that will be visible from any public street. Similarly, a rendered
landscape plan, prepared by a registered landscape architect, shall
also be submitted for review. An outdoor lighting plan shall also
be submitted for review.
A.
Overall site coordination. The site shall be designed as a unified
development, with a coordinated site design, landscape plan, signage,
wayfinding, lighting, site amenities, paving and other similar site
features that create a high-quality environment.
B.
Location of parking. The site shall be designed to minimize the negative
impact and appearance of the parking lots. The amount of parking shall
be minimized between the building(s) and the street. Parking shall
be concentrated to the side and rear of the building(s) and behind
the front yard setback line.
C.
Vehicle access.
(1)
In order to facilitate efficient internal traffic circulation
and minimize road traffic for short trips, all parking areas shall
connect directly to parking areas on adjacent lots. If a connection
is not possible at the time of land development, site design provisions
shall be made for a future connection to adjacent properties. Permanent
cross-access easements between properties should be enacted whenever
possible. Shared or common driveways shall be designed whenever feasible.
(2)
If a lot is developed or redeveloped, any new vehicular access
point shall be located along a side lot line in order to create a
shared driveway with the adjacent lot, whenever feasible.
D.
Pedestrian circulation.
(1)
A safe and direct pedestrian access shall be provided from the
pedestrianway and sidewalks to the building entrances and exits.
(2)
When 150 feet or more of new building wall is constructed between
a pedestrianway and parking at the rear of the building, a pedestrian
accessway shall be provided (i.e., through a lobby or via an alley)
from the pedestrianway to the parking facilities.
Treatments between any building and the street edge shall utilize
the following design standards:
B.
Primary building entrance.
(1)
A primary pedestrian building entrance shall be located on one
or more primary front facades facing the street and pedestrianway,
rather than the rear or sides of the building, and shall be well articulated
and visible from the street as described herein. Secondary access
points may be located along other facades.
(a)
In multiuse buildings, each building use and street floor tenant
space shall have at least one functional entrance directly visible
and accessible from the street. Where tenant entrances are via common
lobbies, lobby entrances shall create architectural emphasis through
design features such as changes in plane, stepbacks, fenestration
patterns, balconies, towers, bays, or similar features.
(2)
If the primary building entrance is not located along the primary
front facade, then the applicant must demonstrate that the primary
building entrance may not feasibly be located along the primary front
facade, and the primary building entrance shall be located to the
side of the building in accordance with the following:
(a)
Buildings with the primary building entrance on the side shall
be visually emphasized to make the entry visible from adjacent and
nearby public roadways. Architectural emphasis shall be achieved through
design features such as changes in plane, stepbacks, fenestration
patterns, balconies, towers, building entries, bays, or similar features.
(b)
Buildings with the main entry on the side shall be accessible
by a public walkway connecting the sidewalk along the site's street
frontage to the parking areas.
The architectural design standards are intended to ensure that
the size, proportions and design of new or substantially improved
buildings create a pedestrian-friendly environment, that is highly
articulated as described herein. The visual mass of all buildings
shall be deemphasized through the use of architectural elements, including
form, architectural features and materials, in order to reduce their
apparent bulk and volume, to enhance visual quality and contribute
to human-scale development in accordance with the following:
A.
All structures proposed under the same land development application
shall consist of a unified and coordinated architectural theme.
B.
Exterior building materials. The predominant material of all facades
facing public streets shall be brick, stone, highly textured masonry
block, curtain wall, metal panel systems with concealed fasteners,
glazed panels, cement-board siding or wood. Stucco or Dryvit may be
utilized, provided that it is no more than 20% of nonwindow facades
at the street floor level and no more than 50% of nonwindow facades
above the street floor level.
(1)
All sides of a building shall be architecturally designed to
be consistent with regard to style, materials, colors and details.
The architectural treatment of the front facade shall be continuous
in its major features around all visibly exposed sides of a building
with the exception of parking structures or that portion of a building
containing a parking structure. Blank wall or service area treatment
of side and/or rear elevations visible from public view shall be prohibited.
(2)
If approved by the Board of Supervisors, simulated brick or
simulated stone may be used as the predominant material of all facades
facing public streets.
C.
Vertical articulation. Buildings are required to provide articulation
on the exterior of any wall surface in order to provide architectural
interest and variety to the massing of a building and to relieve the
effect of a single, long monotonous wall or roof. Blank facades, without
windows or architectural elements to create interest, are prohibited.
(1)
The massing of any one building wall shall not exceed 50 feet
(horizontal dimension) without a vertical articulation along its entire
height. Vertical articulation may include a change of facade plane
or material. The depth of change in facade plane for vertical wall
articulation shall be a minimum of two feet zero inches. Such articulation
may consist of building wall offsets, recesses and projections such
as bays, balconies, canopies, awnings, pilasters, columns and other
similar features.
(2)
Building corners located at the intersections of public streets
shall incorporate the following:
(a)
Building corners shall be chamfered at least 10 feet from the
corner setback or a minimum of five feet from both street frontages.
The chamfer shall extend from the ground to the top of the building
unless the following features are incorporated:
[1]
Building corner chamfers may be limited to the
street level story only if the portion of building corners above the
street level story is visually emphasized through design features,
such as stepbacks, fenestration patterns, balconies, towers, building
entries, bays, or similar features.
D.
Horizontal articulation. Horizontal articulation of the building
facade, including changes to the horizontal building plane and/or
materials, shall be used to break up the scale of the building facade.
Such horizontal articulation may be provided by roof terraces, setbacks
or other devices. Horizontal articulation shall emphasize the building
base, body and roof/parapet edge.
(1)
Buildings greater than 30 feet in height shall be designed utilizing
a definition of the base, body and roof or parapet edge (or similar
designations) as the primary method of defining and relating buildings
to one another.
(2)
The base shall generally be considered the first story of the
facade facing a public street but can vary depending on the overall
building height and range from ground plane to the floor line of the
third floor in buildings of at least four stories in height. The design
of the base should be emphasized through the design, quality and durability
of its materials to create visual interest. The transition from the
base of a building to the body may be expressed either horizontally,
through a shift in the horizontal plane, and/or through a change in
building materials.
(3)
The top of a building greater than 30 feet in height shall be
architecturally distinguished by providing a visual termination to
the facade and interest at the skyline by incorporation of highly
detailed architectural elements that are visible from street level.
(4)
Any building measuring taller than 50 feet in height shall provide
an expression line on the wall plane, continuing around all sides
of a building above the first or second floor. The expression line
may consist of a projecting element, a minimum four inches in depth,
such as a belt course or cornice, as well as a terrace that sets back
the walls of the building above the expression line.
E.
Roofs.
(1)
Rooflines shall be articulated vertically with a change in roofline
every 50 feet. This requirement does not apply to flat roofs.
(2)
On buildings with flat roofs, all visibly exposed walls shall
have an articulated cornice that projects a minimum of four inches
horizontally form the top of the vertical building wall.
(3)
Fixed or retractable awnings are permitted at street floor level
and on upper levels where appropriate, if they complement a building's
architectural features. Metal or internally lit awnings are prohibited.
In buildings with multiple storefronts or on adjacent buildings, compatible
awnings should be used as a means of unifying the structures.
(4)
All rooftop mechanical equipment, including antennas, shall
be visually and acoustically screened from view of both the public
right-of-way and adjacent properties. Screening may be accomplished
by using parapets, walls or roof elements. Such screening shall be
integral to the architectural design of the building.
F.
Proportions of walls to openings for street level facades.
(1)
A street level facade is the building wall or walls where there
are primary and secondary customer entrances and where they are the
prominent facades as viewed from streets or parking areas.
(2)
A wall to clear window/door ratio of between 2:1 and 4:1 is
required. For street-floor-level commercial and retail uses, a wall
to clear window ratio between 1:1 and 2:1 is required.
(3)
The maximum length of a blank wall between clear window/door
openings shall be 15 feet.
(4)
Elements such as pent eaves, pediments, or sills and lintels
above and below windows and doors are required.
G.
I.
Requirements for sidewalks and trails.
(1)
Pedestrian crosswalks. Pedestrian crosswalks shall be marked
with a textured paving treatment. Pedestrian crosswalks shall also
be installed where sidewalks intersect driveways and roadways. Design,
textures and colors shall be as approved by the Township. Pedestrian
crosswalks shall also be installed in parking lots as determined by
the Township.
(2)
Pedestrian-level lighting along First Avenue and Moore Road.
Pedestrian lighting shall be installed at 60 feet on center along
sidewalks and shall conform to the following standards:
(a)
Illumination level. The average footcandle level of sidewalks
shall be 0.5.
(b)
The maximum height of the light fixtures shall be 18 feet zero
inches.
(c)
The lighting fixture shall be the Domus Small Series DOS-LR-DBC
with LED fixture and black finish manufactured by Phillips-Lumec or
approved equal by the Township.
(d)
Footings for pedestrian-level lighting shall not project above
the finished elevation of the adjacent sidewalk.
(3)
Streetscape site amenities along First Avenue and Moore Road.
Additional amenities and design elements shall be added to the streetscape.
These include but are not limited to the following:
(a)
Benches shall be provided at a rate of one per lot or one per
500 linear feet of lot frontage, unless otherwise approved by the
Township. The benches shall be model CBF-138, six feet in length,
with black finish manufactured by Victor Stanley or approved equal
by the Township. Benches shall be permanently mounted to a concrete
pad or other means acceptable to the Township.
(b)
Trash receptacles shall be provided at bus stops and roadway
intersections as directed by the Township. The trash receptacles shall
be model S-42 with a black finish manufactured by Victor Stanley or
approved equal by the Township. Trash receptacles shall be permanently
mounted to a concrete pad, footing or other means acceptable to the
Township.
(c)
Planted areas of flowering perennials, ornamental grasses, flowering and evergreen shrubs, flowering bulbs that provide four seasons of interest and color as required by § 145-24.1.
(d)
Bus passenger accommodations. Existing or proposed bus passenger
facilities within or abutting a proposed development shall provide
pedestrian connections between the bus passenger facilities, existing
sidewalks and the proposed development. Adequate paving shall be provided
to accommodate curbside passenger facilities in accordance with the
latest version of the SEPTA Bus Stop Design Guidelines with the following
minimum requirements:
[1]
Curbside passenger accommodations shall comply
with the minimum dimensional standards in accordance with Table 4:
Dimensional Specific Standards, Type 6: Stop with Standard Shelter,
except that an eight-foot-wide multipurpose path shall be provided
outside the passenger waiting area.
[2]
Developments with internal SEPTA bus circulation
or those which propose new or relocated bus stops shall comply with
the standards established in Table 5, Development Review Checklist
for Consideration of SEPTA Operating and Passenger Needs.
[3]
All streetscape site amenities shall be compliant
with the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) and ADA Accessibility
Guidelines (ADAAG).
J.
Where a landscaped verge is required by the Zoning Ordinance,[1] it shall be designed in accordance with the following:
(1)
The landscaped verge as described in the Zoning Ordinance shall
be planted with turf, perennials, or other hardy ground cover plant
material as approved by the Township.
(2)
If a paved hardscaped verge is desired, it shall be designed
with consistent materials, textures and colors approved by the Township.
(3)
Where a paved hardscaped verge is proposed, it shall be designed to accommodate street trees with tree grates in accordance with the requirements of § 145-24.1E(2)(a) and as follows:
(a)
The tree pit shall consist of an area of not less than 150 square
feet and shall be of dimensions of no less than five feet in width
and 10 feet in length.
(b)
The tree pit shall be a minimum of 24 inches in depth or the
depth of the root ball, whichever is greater. Structural soil shall
not be provided in the tree pit. Street trees are not to be planted
directly into structural soil. Exposed or permeable surfaces shall
be excavated and replaced with fresh topsoil meeting the minimum tree
planting specifications.
(c)
Structural soil shall be provided underneath impermeable surfaces
from the curbline to the edge of the pedestrianway where tree pits
exist, unless otherwise directed by the Township.
For any proposed use in the KPMU District, signs shall be an integral part of the architectural design for the building(s). Sign materials shall utilize the same, similar or complementary materials as utilized for the buildings and are subject to the review and approval of the Board of Supervisors. Sign dimensions and other standards shall be regulated in accordance with use and with Article XXVII, signs, of the Upper Merion Township Zoning Ordinance,[1] except to the extent specifically modified or limited
by the following:
A.
Directory signs for one or multiple tenants shall be consolidated
and located within 20 feet of the driveway entrance.
