The physical details of the Town, which include building and landscaping elements, intimate views, walkability, and expansive vistas, are essential to the definition of the Town's character. These details influence how residents and visitors feel about the Town and need to be preserved and protected.
A. 
This article intends to implement the recommendations of the St. Michaels Comprehensive Plan to encourage design qualities that reinforce the Town's unique character and identity; and
B. 
Create design guidelines for development that are sensitive to existing housing and neighborhoods.
C. 
To ensure that new development, redevelopment and infill development along the main commercial corridor and particularly in the GC Gateway Commercial Zoning District are consistent with the design quality of surrounding development and compatible with the character of the Town.
[Added 5-10-2023 by Ord. No. 542]
A. 
The provisions of this article apply to all proposed development requiring site plan or subdivision approval. In approving any subdivision application or site plan in a commercial zone in the Town, consideration shall be given to compatibility standards in § 340-185.
[Amended 5-10-2023 by Ord. No. 542]
B. 
All land uses, and development shall be located and developed per the applicable provisions of this chapter and all other applicable land development regulations except as modified by this article.
C. 
Development incentive. The Planning Commission, at their sole discretion, may modify specific minimum standards as outlined below for qualifying projects if it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Planning Commission, that such designs represent significant furtherance of the legislative intent of this article:
(1) 
Minimum lot area: decrease up to 10%;
(2) 
Minimum lot width: decrease up to five feet;
(3) 
Minimum lot depth: decrease up to 10 feet;
(4) 
Minimum setback/yards: decrease up to two feet provided no yard is less than five feet;
(5) 
Maximum building coverage: increase up to 15%; and
(6) 
Maximum impervious surface: increase up to 15%. May not be applicable in a limited development area (LDA) and resource conservation area (RCA).
[Amended 5-10-2023 by Ord. No. 542]
The collective visual images and sensory experiences offered residents, visitors, pedestrians, and motorists stem from the visual identity and character of the town. Context, sensitive design of new and renovated buildings, presents opportunities to enhance the visual identity and character and contribute to a definite sense of place in the Town. Conversely, a design that ignores the characteristics created by existing defining features of its surroundings can introduce discordant visual and functional elements to the neighborhoods that detract from place experience and sense of community. The following design criteria are not intended to restrict creative solutions or to dictate all design details. They are intended to inform the applicant of items that should be the underlying design objectives for every project. They also form the basis for judging whether the Planning Commission will exercise its authority to grant relief from specific development standards required in this chapter, as provided in § 340-184C. These standards are to be applied strictly to review of development applications including site plans in the GC Gateway Commercial Zoning District. The Planning Commission will evaluate the design of all proposed development projects based on the following criteria:
A. 
General guidelines.
(1) 
The proposed development should exhibit excellent site and architectural design and include high-quality materials that are compatible with, and do not negatively alter the character of the surrounding neighborhood.
(2) 
Buildings should be similar in height and size or designed in such a way that they appear similar in height and size, creating an overall mass that is consistent with the common mass of other structures in the area.
(3) 
Primary façades and entries must face the adjacent street and connect with a walkway that does not require pedestrians to walk through parking lots or across driveways, and that maintains the integrity of the existing streetscape. Building features such as windows and doors and site features such as landscaping and screening should optimize privacy and minimize infringement on the privacy of adjoining land uses.
(4) 
Building materials shall be like elements of the surrounding neighborhood or use other characteristics such as scale, form, architectural detailing, etc., to establish compatibility.
B. 
Setback. Buildings should respect the established setbacks of traditional buildings in the Town. Typically, this means that commercial buildings align with neighboring buildings with parking to the sides and rear. Residential buildings should usually be freestanding, with their front façades facing the street.
C. 
Orientation. Buildings should orient to the principal street with their main entrance in full view.
D. 
Scale. The scale is the relative or apparent size of a building in relation to its neighbors, typically perceived through the size of building elements, such as windows, doors, storefronts, porches, cornices, surface materials, and other exterior features.
(1) 
The scale of residential and commercial buildings should reflect the prevailing scale of the Town's traditional residential and commercial buildings; that is, they should be human in scale, that is, appear to be of a size appropriate for human occupancy and use.
E. 
Proportion. Proportion is the relation of components of buildings, such as doors, windows, storefronts, porches, and cornices to each other and their façades.
(1) 
The façade proportions for commercial buildings should be based on dimensions found on the façades of the Town's traditional commercial buildings.
(2) 
façade proportions for residential buildings should reflect proportions found on the façades of surrounding residential buildings.
F. 
Rhythm. The vertical and horizontal spacing and repetition of façade elements, such as storefronts, windows, doors, belt courses, and the like give a façade its rhythm.
(1) 
The façades of buildings should be based on the façade rhythms of the Town's traditional buildings of similar use.
(2) 
The spacing between buildings should reflect the spacing between buildings of similar use.
(3) 
Façade rhythms within a contiguous commercial block should be similar.
(4) 
The façade rhythms within a residential development of similar size houses should be compatible with each.
G. 
Massing. A building's massing derives from the articulation of its façade using dormers, towers, bays, porches, steps, and other projections. The massing of the façade of residential and commercial buildings should be based on the massing found on traditional buildings of similar use in the Town.
H. 
Height. The height of façades and their cornices, along with roof ridgelines and projections such as chimneys, and towers, contributes to the character of buildings and streetscapes.
(1) 
Designing primary façades of the party wall or adjacent buildings to be similar in height by:
(a) 
Limiting height differences between free-standing buildings by a maximum of 10% of the height of nearby buildings; and/or
(b) 
Using towers and chimneys on residential buildings to match surrounding heights like their use on the Town's traditional residential buildings.
I. 
Materials. The type, size, texture, surface finish, and other defining characteristics of exterior materials are essential to defining the overall character of a building.
(1) 
Materials used for walls, sloped roofs, and other surface features of buildings should be based on the materials found on traditional residential and commercial buildings in the Town.
(2) 
The size, texture, surface finish, and other defining characteristics of exterior materials should be like those found on the Town's traditional residential and commercial buildings.
(3) 
Nontraditional materials such as stucco, stucco-like material (EFIS), vinyl and metal siding, textured plywood, oversized brick, concrete block, textured concrete masonry units (CMU) and the like should not be used for primary façades of buildings.
J. 
Roof shape. The shape and slope of roofs are also crucial in defining their character.
(1) 
Roof shapes of buildings should be based on those found on traditional buildings in the Town and compatible with those on adjacent buildings.
(2) 
Roofs on new buildings should be primarily gable or hipped. Flat or mansard roofs may be permitted if find to be appropriate to the surrounding context.
K. 
Details and ornamentation. Details such as the shape and texture of siding used or types of brick courses used for a wall, and ornamentations such as porch brackets, dentils, scrolls, corbels, and the like, significantly add to the character of a façade.
(1) 
Buildings should use well scaled and proportioned details and ornamentation on their principal façades.
(2) 
Details and ornamentation found on existing buildings in the Town is the basis for these features on buildings, but not copied exactly.
L. 
Color. A building's color derived from its exterior materials such as unpainted brick, stone, terra-cotta, slate, asphalt shingle, copper, lead, and other naturally colored materials, or paint, stains, or other applied colors.
(1) 
The colors of buildings and structures should be compatible with its overall design and that of neighboring buildings.
(2) 
Brick and stone should typically be left unpainted.
(3) 
Traditional color schemes are used.
(4) 
No more than three painted colors are used on buildings.
M. 
Parking lots. Provide adequate landscaping, walls, or fences to screen automobiles from immediate view, but still allow visual access into the lots.
N. 
Street furniture. Street furniture is the general term used to describe benches, trash receptacles, parking meters, streetlights, and other elements found in residential and commercial districts.
(1) 
Design and locate street furniture in commercial areas that encourage pedestrians to linger, window shop, as well as provide places to sit, and in residential areas provide street furniture that promotes neighborliness.
(2) 
Locate street furniture so that it does not impede pedestrian or vehicular traffic.
(3) 
The design of street furniture should be compatible with the design of the buildings.
O. 
Landscape design. Using native and environmentally sound trees and other plant material.
P. 
Accessory buildings and structures. Accessory buildings and structures, carriage houses, sheds, etc., are character-defining features when visible from the public way.
(1) 
Base the design of accessory buildings and structures on the principal dwelling.
(2) 
Locate accessory buildings and structures, so they are not visible from principal streets.
Q. 
Fence and walls. Like accessory buildings and structures, fences and walls are character-defining elements in residential and commercial landscapes.
(1) 
Using low profile wood and metal fences in residential front and side yards, and brick walls in commercial areas.
(2) 
Taller privacy fences only used at the rear of buildings.
(3) 
Locating and designing fences, so they are compatible with the design of the buildings with which they are associated.
The Planning Commission shall approve a proposed project upon finding that:
A. 
The plan accomplishes the purposes, objectives and minimum standards and requirements of this article;
B. 
The plan is in accordance with the St. Michaels Comprehensive Plan;
C. 
The plan is internally and externally compatible and harmonious with existing and planned land uses in the area; and
D. 
Existing or planned public facilities are adequate to service the proposed development.
A. 
Notice. When approval of any proposed development is contingent on relief from minimum standards as provided § 340-184C, the subject property or properties shall be posted by the Town as outlined below.
(1) 
The Zoning Inspector shall notify all owners of property located with 100 feet of any portion of the subject property.
(2) 
Notice shall be provided 14 days in advance of the meeting at which development plans are scheduled to be discussed by the Planning Commission. Notice shall be by first class mail.
(3) 
The applicant shall be responsible for the posting of the subject property at least 14 days before the meeting at which the applicant's proposal is scheduled to be reviewed by the Planning Commission.
B. 
The applicant has the full burden of proof to demonstrate the proposed infill or redevelopment proposal meets or exceeds the compatibility standards in § 340-185. Applications shall include adequate information to address this burden of proof requirement and shall, at a minimum, include the following:
(1) 
A description of the proposed development site, i.e., a plot plan or survey plot.
(2) 
A description of existing conditions in the vicinity of the site (e.g., block-face on both sides of the street within 200 feet of the proposed development site). These descriptions shall include documenting photographs, and an analysis of the prominent architectural features along the adjacent block faces and shall address the following:
(a) 
Site location and topography;
(b) 
Street connections;
(c) 
Pedestrian pathways;
(d) 
Lot coverage; and
(e) 
Building orientation.
(f) 
A description or color photographs of existing neighborhood architectural characteristic and features, including:
[1] 
Massing and proportions;
[2] 
Entry ways;
[3] 
Windows;
[4] 
Garage doors;
[5] 
Finishes and materials;
[6] 
Ornamentation;
[7] 
Roof detail; and
[8] 
Colors.
(3) 
A description of the proposed development, including:
(a) 
Color renderings of the front, rear and side elevations of all proposed buildings;
(b) 
A description of how the proposed development is compatible with the features described in Subsection B(2) above; and
(c) 
A statement of how the proposed development meets the development and compatibility standards in § 340-185 above and the findings requirements as outlined in § 340-186 above.
C. 
Applicants are encouraged to consult the publication Historic St. Michaels, An Architectural History written by Elizabeth Hughes (ISBN Hardcover 0-9646679-0-8, ISBN Paperback 0-9646679-1-6) for additional insights into the Town's traditional site and architectural features to inform project design.
Appeals from the decision of the Planning Commission concerning any application for development under the terms of this article are made as provided in Article XII of this chapter.