In order to ensure high-quality Development within the OSGOD
and to ensure design that respects the built and natural character
of North Andover, the following Design Standards are established.
These standards are intended to be flexible, and applied by the Plan
Approval Authority as appropriate to the Development as part of the
site plan review process to enable the purpose of this district to
be realized. While these guidelines apply to all site improvements
and Buildings and Structures, it is not the intent of this Part 9
to prescribe or proscribe use of materials or methods of construction
regulated by the State Building Code, but rather to enhance the appearance
of the built environment within an OSGOD. In the case of inconsistency
between applicable federal and state law, including without limitation
the State Building Code or life safety codes and these Design Standards,
the applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations shall
govern.
The placement of Buildings and Structures in an OSGOD shall:
A. Provide for buffering of Buildings and Structures to adjoining properties
either within the proposed OSGOD or to adjacent land Uses. Such buffering
includes, but is not limited to: Landscaping, screening materials,
natural barriers, fencing, and related measures;
B. Development should acknowledge Route 125 as its front entry. Rooftop
equipment shall be appropriately screened to avoid visual impacts
to residential Uses;
C. Buildings adjacent to usable Open Space should generally be oriented
to that space, with access to the Building opening onto the Open Space;
D. Provide street trees with tree grates or in planter strips, using
appropriate species to provide summer shade and winter light. Species
should be native, resistant to salt and drought, and be tolerant of
urban conditions;
E. Orient Structures to provide pedestrian entrances to the sidewalk;
F. Street Design Standards shall not be limited to defined rights-of-way
but shall also apply to Driveways and internal ways which function
as streets;
G. Trash collection and dumpster locations shall be appropriately located
and screened to avoid adverse impacts on neighbors and neighboring
properties. Within a Development, the containment of all solid waste
storage and handling within the Building(s) of the Development is
encouraged; and
H. Any loading docks or areas associated with the mixed-use Development
component shall be located to minimize (visual and operational) impacts
on the site and on neighboring properties.
The massing of Buildings shall:
A. Avoid unbroken Building facades longer than 50 feet. Buildings shall
not be longer than 210 feet in length, unless waived by the PAA. In
approving Building lengths that exceed 210 feet, the PAA must find
that pedestrian circulation is enhanced by the provision of archways,
passageways, or other similar throughways;
B. Mixed-use Buildings should incorporate the use of dual facades to
foster integration of Uses where appropriate;
C. Provide a variety of Building heights and varied roofline articulation;
and
D. Buildings on corner lots shall be oriented to the corner and public
street fronts. Parking and automobile access shall be located away
from the corners, where practical.
To the extent not inconsistent with or preempted by the State
Building Code, the following shall be considered as applicable:
A. It is not intended that Buildings be totally uniform in appearance
or that designers and developers be restricted in their creativity.
Rather, cohesion and identity can be demonstrated by:
(1)
Similar Building scale or mass;
(2)
Consistent use of facade materials;
(3)
Similar ground-level detailing, color or signage;
B. Preferred exterior Building siding materials include brick, stone,
wood, cement and composite materials and other types of exterior siding
materials upon a determination by the PAA that the quality of such
siding will not detract from the aesthetics of the proposed Buildings.
C. New Buildings. The design of new Buildings shall incorporate architectural
features such as:
(1)
Transom or clerestory windows above entrances, display windows
and projected bay windows are encouraged within commercial, retail,
and industrial Developments.
(2)
Multiple-paned windows that divide large areas of glass into
smaller parts shall be used.
(3)
Incorporate Building entry treatments that are arched or framed
and protect people from the elements.
(4)
Nonreflective storefront windows and transoms; architectural
detailing on the first floor; and detailing at the roofline.
D. Ground floor: transparent, open facades for commercial Uses at street
level;
E. Middle floors: architectural features may include change in materials
and color and/or texture that enhance specific elements of the Building;
and
F. Top floors. Clearly distinguish tops of Buildings from the facade
walls by including detail elements such as steep gables with overhangs,
parapets and cornices.
The landscape design shall strive to provide greenery so that
streets and access drives are lined with shade trees, large paved
areas are visually divided and screened and buffers are provided within
and around the Development. Said landscape design shall be prepared
and stamped by a registered landscape architect. Landscaping criteria
are as follows:
A. Native trees and shrubs shall be planted wherever possible, such
as lilac, viburnum, day lilies, ferns, red twig, dogwood, oak, maple,
sycamore, linden, hawthorne, birch, shadbush, etc.).
B. Provide hedges or continuous shrubs to screen parking areas from
streets, where practical;
C. All Buildings shall have foundation Landscaping, where practical;
D. All islands and landscape areas shall be of a minimum width and size
to support healthy plant growth. The minimum width for plant beds
shall be five feet and an eight-foot width for trees;
E. All open areas, exclusive of areas to remain in an existing natural
state, shall be landscaped, utilizing both natural and man-made materials
such as indigenous grasses, trees, shrubs, and attractive paving materials
and outdoor furniture;
F. Deciduous trees shall be placed along new and existing streets and
ways. Street trees shall be located every 30 feet on center along
both sides of the Roadway within the district.
(1)
The species of street trees selected shall be a minimum of four
different species from the list of recommended street trees below:
(a)
Plantanus acerifolia (London planetree);
(b)
Fraxinus pennsylvanica (green ash);
(d)
Gleditsia triacanthos inermis (honey locust);
(g)
Tilia cordata (little-leaf Linden);
(h)
Pyrus calleryana (Chanticleer Callery pear); and
(i)
Zelkova serrata (Japanese Zelkova).
(2)
The existing Roadways, Route 125 and the existing property Driveway,
shall have larger trees that typically grow to heights greater than
50 feet. The species of street trees selected shall be a minimum of
four different species from the list of recommended street trees below:
(a)
Picea pungens (Colorado blue spruce);
(b)
Picea abies (Norway spruce);
(c)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech);
(d)
Fraxinus Americana (white ash);
(e)
Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch);
(f)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple);
(h)
Quercus rubra (northern red oak);
(i)
Quercus coccinea (scarlet oak);
(j)
Platanus acerifolia (London planetree); and
(k)
Betula papyrifera (paper birch).
G. Outdoor lighting shall be considered in the Landscaping plan and
requires the submission of a photometric lighting plan. Cutoff shields
shall be used to minimize glare and light spillover onto abutting
property. Ornamental streetlights, 16 feet maximum height on minor
roads and 24 feet maximum height on major roads;
H. Preservation of existing vegetation or tree-lined areas shall be
maintained; and
I. Landscaped, required Open Space and green areas, in addition to serving
as visual amenities, shall be employed to reduce the rate and volume
of stormwater runoff compared to pre-development conditions; for that
reason, Department of Environmental (DEP) Stormwater best management
practices and other measures to minimize runoff and improve water
quality shall be implemented. It is also generally intended that said
space be designed and located to connect with existing off-site usable
Open Space, and provide potential for connection with future Open
Space by extending to the perimeter of the Development, particularly
when a plan exists for the location and networking of such future
Open Space.
Development shall include the following components:
A. Provide long-term, covered bicycle parking areas;
B. Provide well-lit transit shelters where necessary;
C. Pedestrian-oriented features such as walkways, pergolas, outdoor
sitting plazas, landscaped Open Space, drop-off areas, and recreational
facilities shall be emphasized, and bike racks shall be provided in
appropriate locations throughout the site; and
D. Tree-lined or otherwise appropriately landscaped pedestrian paths
and walkways shall link together areas designated as Open Space within
the site, and wherever possible, to adjoining public areas.
The PAA shall approve signage within the nonresidential and
mixed-use components of the district(s) as part of the site plan review
process. One sign will be permitted at the principal entrance(s) to
the nonresidential portion of the property. The sign shall be limited
to identifying the name and address of the Development.
A. One sign per nonresidential Use is permitted. The attached or hanging
sign shall not exceed, in total area, more than 10% of the dimensional
elevation of the commercial Building as determined by the Building
frontage multiplied by the floor-to-ceiling height of the individual
business or as specified in applicable sections of the bylaw;
B. For premises having multiple occupants, a single sign identifying
those occupants is permitted. The total area of attached signs, including
this one, shall not exceed 10% of wall area;
C. Temporary unlighted signs inside windows, occupying not more than
20% of the area of the window, requires no sign permit;
D. No sign shall project more than three feet over any public right-of-way.
The sign shall be covered by appropriate liability insurance as determined
by the Building Inspector and verified by a certificate of insurance
filed with the Town Clerk;
E. Building directories shall be located inside of the Building;
F. Traffic control orientation and guidance signs located on private
property, up to four square feet in area, displayed for purposes of
direction or convenience, including signs identifying parking, fire
lanes, rest rooms, freight entrances and the like;
G. Design standards for signs:
(1)
These standards are not mandatory.
(2)
Sign content normally should not occupy more than 40% of the
sign background, whether a signboard or a Building element.
H. Environmental relationship.
(1)
Overhanging signs should be used only in such circumstances
as on side streets where overhanging positioning is necessary for
visibility from a major street;
(2)
Sign brightness should not be excessive in relation to background
lighting levels, e.g., averaging not in excess of 100 foot-lamberts
and not in excess of 20 foot-lamberts in unlighted outlying areas.
I. Building relationship.
(1)
Signs should be sized and located so as to not interrupt, obscure
or hide the continuity of columns, cornices, roof eaves, sill lines
or other elements of Building structure. Clutter should be avoided
by not using support brackets extending above the sign or guy wires
and turnbuckles.
J. Sign master plans. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary to the language contained in §§
195-17.42 and
195-17.43, an Applicant may, in lieu of seeking compliance with the sign provisions described, propose a master plan for signs to be permitted on the premises by the PAA. Such sign master plan shall include a listing of each sign type, square footage, location, height, color, materials, and such other information as may be requested by the PAA to confirm that the master plan, once implemented, shall consist of a single coordinated and clear plan for signage within said premises which generally conforms to the guidelines described in §§
195-17.42 and
195-17.43, as applicable.
Private Roadways shall be allowed in OSGOD.
A. While Roadway surface widths may be narrower than widths associated
with a traditional subdivision, the durability of private Roadway
surfaces and subsurfaces within an OSGOD should be designed based
on standard engineering principles. Waivers of the following standards
may be granted when appropriate. The following criteria apply:
Roadway Criterion
|
Minimum
|
Maximum
|
---|
Minimum ROW width (feet)
|
50
|
60
|
Minimum pavement width (feet)
|
18
|
26
|
Minimum center line curve radius (feet)
|
225
|
250
|
Minimum tangent length between reverse curves (feet)
|
150
|
150
|
Minimum intersection corner curb radius (feet)
|
40
|
40
|
Minimum horizontal and vertical site distance (feet)
|
200
|
250
|
Center line profile grade - maximum
|
8%
|
7%
|
Center line profile grade - minimum
|
1%
|
1%
|
Vertical curve - minimum length (feet)
|
100
|
100
|
Vertical curve: K value - crest
|
30
|
30
|
Vertical curve: K value - sag 40
|
40
|
40
|
Pavement cross slope - normal crown
|
3%
|
3%
|
Maximum superelevation
|
6%
|
6%
|
B. The PAA shall encourage narrow pavement widths for traveled ways
when appropriate. Pavement widths for traveled ways (excluding on-street
parking spaces) shall not be less than 18 feet or more than 26 feet
for two-way traffic, or less than 14 feet for one-way traffic. The
PAA will have discretion to waive these standards when considering
public safety and circulation issues, but under no circumstance shall
vehicular ways be less than 14 feet wide.
C. Parking and vehicle access:
(1)
Provide for continuous sidewalks that are minimally broken within
a block by vehicular access.
(2)
Unstructured surface parking areas facing the main street frontages
are discouraged.
(3)
Parking areas shall be set back from Structures, property lines
and internal ways by a minimum of 10 feet.
(4)
Multipurpose parking areas paved with unit pavers are encouraged
(i.e., areas that serve both parking and public Open Space needs).
D. All two-way traveled ways shall provide a pedestrian sidewalk of
a minimum six-foot width on both sides of the Roadway. All sidewalks
shall be of standard concrete or brick set in concrete and are encouraged
where applicable. Minor ways may provide a pedestrian sidewalk on
a minimum of one side of the Roadway. On cul-de-sac turnarounds and
at intersections, vertical granite curbing shall be required. Vertical
granite curb inlets with curb transition sections shall be required
at the back of catch basins, on grades over 6%, and at the intersections
with arterial streets.
E. Crosswalks with handicap-accessible curb cuts shall be provided at
all intersections. All crosswalks and curb cuts shall comply with
the requirements of the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board (MAAB)
and/or Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.
F. Streetscape elements shall be encouraged, including:
(1)
Sidewalks and crosswalks as noted above;
(2)
Ornamental streetlights, 16 feet maximum height on minor roads,
24 feet maximum height on major roads;
(3)
Brick, concrete or other specialty pavements at Building entrances;
(4)
Ornamental fences of less than 30 inches in height, when appropriate;
(5)
Ornamental bollards to direct pedestrian traffic and define
public space.
Street signs shall be installed at all intersections in conformity
with the specifications of the Department of Public Works. The signposts
at the intersection of each street with any other street shall have
affixed thereto a sign designating such street as a private way.
Monuments shall be four feet long, six-inch square concrete
or granite, and shall be installed at all Roadway intersections, at
all points of change in direction or at curvature of Roadways, at
two property corners of all new lots and at any other points where,
in the opinion of the Board, permanent monuments are necessary.
A. Monument spacing. Monuments located in the street right-of-way shall
be spaced so as to be within sight of each other, the sight lines
being contained wholly within the street right-of-way limits. The
maximum interval shall be 1,000 feet;
B. Monument materials. Monuments shall be standard granite markers of
not less than four feet in length and not less than five inches square,
and shall have a drill hole in the center. If subsoil conditions prohibit
installation of four-foot monuments, with advance approval by the
Board, monuments meeting alternative specifications shall be installed.
Monuments shall be set flush with the finished grade; and
C. Monument certification. No permanent monuments shall be installed
until all construction which would destroy or disturb the monuments
is completed. Placement and location of bounds are to be certified
by a registered professional land surveyor after installation of the
street, and shall be shown on the "as-built" or record plans.